The summer air travel license plate game

As a vacationing child, I was prone to play the “license plate” game – especially on long, interstate travel. If your are not fimilar with the game, here’s how it’s played: you try to observe cars from with license plates from all 50 states. The first one to fifty wins or if non one reaches 50 (usually the case) – the person with the most wins. If you’re not competitive; the game can also be a collaborative effort.

The Holy Grail of the game is Hawaii. Because there is no highway that connects the islands to the continental US. DC and Canadian providences are usually fair substitutes, but no one gets all 50 anyway.

Vacationing this week by air travel has left me without my usual road trip distraction. No cars, no license plates, no game. That is until I realized that it’s summer and baseball season is in full swing. Finding caps, tshirts, and jerseys from all 30 teams (one from each) became the new game.

The hardest teams to find thus far have been the AL West teams. I’ve found the Rangers, but no one else. Come to think of it, the AL teams in general have been quite difficult to find. The NL teams on the other hand have been quite easy to find. On this trip, I am only missing three (Dodgers, Marlins, and Pirates). Atlanta was a virtual goldmine of team support – Raliegh-Durham was the least helpful. Although I think some went ran by with an oriels hat on, but without a full viewing if stands as unconfirmed. Even La Gaurdia was no help. In case you were wondering, the nine MLB teams with no support on my trip were: Dodgers, Marlins, Pirates, A’s, Mariners, Tigers, Royals, Blue Jays, and Oriels.

Memorial Forensics Honored; Others don’t compete

The Madison Common Council honored the James Madison Memorial Forensics team for claiming its sixth state championship earlier tonight. I found the proclamation fitting, giving special credit for the assistant coaches who are as dedicated to the activity as their/our head coach – Tom Hardin. (Check out the following Isthmus article illustrating all that Hardin does.) Here’s the text of that document, emphasis is mine:

WHEREAS, the James Madison Memorial High School Spartans forensics team finished the 2008-2009 season undefeated for the second consecutive year in the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association tournament season; and,
WHEREAS, the Spartan team is comprised of over 70 students from 9th through 12th grade, and the students prepare for the competition throughout the school year, and the team sent their top 25 events to the State tournament with 29 students including 19 Seniors representing the Spartans, and after 3 preliminary morning rounds; and,
WHEREAS, 6 individual students were declared State Champions and 7 more were awarded second place, and the Spartan team placed first with 332 team points, while the second place team had 285 points which is the largest margin in WFCA State history; and,
WHEREAS, Coach Thomas Hardin with the assistance of Tim Schefler, Beth LeMay, Andrew Gordan, and David Olson helped the team and individual members achieve excellence; and,
WHEREAS, the Madison community is proud of the teamwork, dedication and spirit shown by the students of the Spartan Forensics team; and,
WHEREAS, the Mayor and Common Council recognizes the support of the parents, student body, faculty, staff and all Spartan fans,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council congratulates Coach Hardin, his assistant coaches and the entire Forensics Team on their successful season and 2009 State Championship.

One thing to point out: JMM hasn’t lost a forensics tournament in two years. The last time they lost was at the 2007 WFCA State tournament, where they took second. And even during that year, they had not lost a tournament. To find the last regular season tournament that JMM has lost, you’d have to go back to the 2006 Brookfield East tournament. That is much, much more impressive than what that sentence makes it sound.

Finding this online, I was curious to see how many other proclamations I could dig up online. I could only find the 2008 and the 2006 (2002, 2003, and 2004 are all displayed next to the championship plaques in the school). Again the emphasis is mine.

In 2008:

WHEREAS, Madison Memorial High School’s forensics team once again claimed first prize this year in the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association State Tournament; and
WHEREAS, the team scored 331 points to triumph over a field of 64 other teams; and
WHEREAS, individual team members won first place honors in six different categories: four-minute speaking, oratory, play acting, poetry, public address and storytelling; and
WHEREAS, this latest triumph is the school’s fifth state championship in eight years, continuing a tradition of forensics excellence;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Common Council recognize the great achievements of the Madison Memorial High School forensics team and their talented coach, Tom Hardin

In 2006:

WHEREAS, Madison Metropolitan Public Schools have high standards for excellence; and
WHEREAS, on April 22, 2006, the James Madison Memorial Forensics Team fulfilled and exceeded that charge by competing with 89 teams and winning the overall team competition (tying Appleton East, with a team score of 325 points out of a possible 375) and the 36th Annual High School State Tournament at Ripon College; and
WHEREAS, James Madison Memorial place 1st in Division 1 for the fourth time in the past five years; and
WHEREAS, forensics teams from around the state have prepared students for competitive events in dramatic and language arts for many years; and
WHEREAS, head coach Tom Hardin and other coaches view forensics as a way to make learning the arts fun and devote great energy to the program along with all members of the club, many of whom competed in the state tournament; and
WHEREAS, James Madison Memorial students captured first in 8 of the twenty-two events; and
WHEREAS, the team’s accomplishment has brought much well-deserved attention to Memorial’s arts program;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison applaud the Madison Memorial Forensics Team and its achievement in winning the state tournament.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we hope their accomplishments inspire their peers at Madison Memorial and elsewhere to emulate the team’s high standards of excellence and to learn and use these skills that will serve them for a lifetime.

A couple points: In every year that Memorial has won, the city has emphasized the importance of this extracurricular activity. The common council has gone so far as to say that community is proud of these accomplishments. At best this seems shallow. Of course we are proud of our students accomplishments, but will we invest in successful programs and teachers?

Madison West and Madison Memorial are the only ones from the Madison Metropolitan school district that has attended the WFCA State tournament within the last seven years. Come to think of it – I’m appalled that over the long time that JMM has won state championships no one on the common council has asked how the high school that is in their district could replicate their success. If any would have asked, we might have suggested that going to the state tournament might be a step in the right direction. Unlike sports, everyone can attend the State Forensics Tournament. Yet, no one seems to ask the question why East and LaFollette are not participating in these activities. The Common Council has said that it hopes Memorial’s example will inspire others. It seems that the MMSD has not been inspired enough to field credible programs at East and LaFollette and it seems that no one is inspired enough to ensure that this important activity endures.

As someone who has worked with the Memorial Forensics team for years, I appreciate the sentiment the Common Council makes in every year Memorial is successful. But the time for proclamations is over. Forensics and debate in Wisconsin has been on the edge of a feather for the last few years. It is this kind of all talk, no action that will prevent future generations of students from participating in these activities. I understand that the Common Council has no direct influence over school districts, but it doesn’t sound unreasonable to assume they might have a passing interest. Do we want more inspirational teachers and coaches like Tom Hardin? Or is the MMSD content with giving some one a pay check without offering much educational advancement?

Clarification before Backlash

This morning I was covering the Breakfast of Champions at the 2009 University of Kentucky’s Tournament of Champions for high school debate. My internet connection was spotty at best and so I had to work using a word document. When we got to the Julia Burke award, I wanted to use the language from the foundation – because in terms of capturing what the award means their language is just better. Due to my spotty internet connection, I was not able to get that language and so I left a placeholder “(whatever)”. When I finally got a connection, I was only able to email Jeff the document without editing it first. In the interest of posting the information quickly, Jeff threw it on the website and we’ve been working backwards to correct the misspelled names and missing information.

In no way do I mean for this to be a slight against the Julia Burke foundation or its award. On the other hand, I believe that it is important. I made sure that my debaters were at the award ceremony so that they could honor those that have excelled. Additionally, it is imperative for our activity that debaters be good members of the community. No one wants to reward smart, hardworking, selfish, jerks. We can’t improve the world if we cannot relate to it and the people that inhabit it.

This blog needs a new title

Please forgive how amatuerish this sounds. But, after seeing people links to my posts on Dane101, WisOpinion, School Information System, and the Illegal Use of Joe Zopp, I think I really need a new title. Something that is a bit more explanatory or something that, at least, wouldn’t look completely retarded when someone else refers people here.

That would be good. I have been talking to my friend, Chad Kruger, about the fact that I can’t seem to develop an editorial vision. A month ago, all I wanted to write about was basketball. This week, it’s the film festival. Who knows where it will be next week. At some point, I’m sure I will want to turn my attention to baseball before focusing on something else. If anything, my current title seems to suggest that I can’t tune into a particular subject. While this is true, it certainly doesn’t define what my writing is about (in fact, it defines what it’s not about – something). Nor does it help people return for a second or third visit.

Any suggestions?

I’ll back later tonight/early tomorrow with reviews of The Illegal Use of Joe Zopp and Milk in the Land.

Meta blogging

Memorial’s forensics tournament is this week, and as usual, I’m helping Tom/Tim prep as much as possible. Driving home last night, I realize that I hadn’t written anything for almost a week – despite having a developing list of posts to make. I then realized why it’s been so difficult for me to maintain my writing here on a regular basis (despite having no theme or thesis). I do too much.

From hosting future in laws, to hosting oscar parties, to staffing speech and debate tournaments – I have so little time to spend on my own intiatives. In general this has prompted me to think about why things are so much different now than what they were before. I’m no longer a student – meaning I don’t stay up until 2am on a daily basis any more (shocking); my job works during normal business hours instead of “after school” hours; and I have little interest in things that I don’t find rewarding.

I guess that means if I find this blog as being worthwhile, then I need to make it a priority. And find a better title. And find a common thing to write about.

Coming Full Circle

Last night I couldn’t sleep – I was thinking too much about a number of things. Earlier in the evening, I got the news that state employees wouldn’t be receiving any increases over the next two years, among other (more important) items in Governor Doyle’s budget. This had me upset and confused.

Less than a year ago, I was deathly scared that I wouldn’t have a job after graduating. My preferred agencies to work for (the Legislative Fiscal Bureau and the Legislative Audit Bureau) weren’t interested in me. My first major interview and a good agency to work for – the State Budget Office (briefing the Governor!), took a month to call me back for my second interview. When Health and Family Services offered me a position – I was so happy to have a job. I was even happier later when I learned how important the budgetary work is to ensure that funds are there to take care of abused and neglected kids. Not only was I going to have a job – but that job would be helping to make state policy better towards kids that need it. Making money was about the last thing on my mind.

And then I decided to get engaged, buy a ring, plan for a wedding, AND we plan to purchase a house. Of course I know the statistics that over the course of my working life I should make enough – Professor Haveman might call me if I forgot. Dollars over my lifetime do not pay for expenses now. Sure, I could rely on Alissa and her much higher paying job, but that’s not the best of ideas.

I was caught in between the finical demands of the plans that Alissa and I made and the fiscal reality that the state faces. (I’m not even going to talk about how I think that “no state employee” raises is more a convenient political choice; than a serious budgetary one – that’s an entirely different post)

So I turned to writing. I’ve been thinking a lot about writing lately. I just wrote another topic analysis for Victory Briefs. I probably will write for the nationals LD book. (This month was a bit different, I wrote for the PF topic.) I really like blogging, but this blog has no purpose other than to express my own thoughts, as random as they are. As good as those thoughts may be, I am not a professional writer (yet). I am not Wil Wheaton – whose blog I’ve been reading quite frequently over the last few days. As much as I love the internets, I’m not up on new things. I don’t have kids, I’m not a geek celebrity, and I don’t have awesome star trek experiences to write about. So getting this blog (or even Wisconsin Forensics Daily) to turn a profit, is highly unlikely. I can’t get more than three hits a post. And those are probably all from me and google.

(In fact, because I recently left some half way decent comments on his blog and he recently had a post about the Led Zeppelin song Ramble On – I’ve had an obscure fantasy that he’s surfed over here).

While there might not be any internet money, there might be debate money. And Victory Briefs seems to always need writers. This could be the beginning of using my debate experience to create a speech/debate consulting business. Hey! I gots ta get the money somehow. Giving up on what I studied for is not an option. Giving up on Alissa, really isn’t an option either. (Kidding, but she doesn’t even read this.) Returning to debate might be the only way to solve my problems. I don’t really know what to say…

Vote Negative?

Wisconsin Film Fest Ramp Up!

Tickets go on sale for the eleventh Wisconsin Film Fest in a little less than a month. Already, local news and blogs are starting to write previews of this year’s festival. Needless to say, I’m excited. Here’s a list of some of the features that have been written about:

Win or Lose: A Summer Camp Story. From Dane 101:

What if camp wasn’t just tubing and camp fires but competition all day, every day. That was my camp. What would it do to natural winners? Would they be able to handle defeat? Could a less popular kid succeed in this environment? And then there are the kids that just don’t care if they win or lose. Would they step up to the plate at all? Most importantly: what does it mean for kids to come of age in a competitive environment?

Handmade Nation From Dane 101:

the film “documents a movement of artists, crafters and designers that recognize a marriage between historical techniques, punks, and DIY ethos while being influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism, and art.”

Paper or Plastic? from the Isthmus:

[The] new film Paper or Plastic? follows eight grocery store workers vying to win the 2007 National Grocers Association Best Bagger Championship in Las Vegas.

Between the Folds from the Isthmus:

One beautiful and unexpected intersection between art and science is crossed in Between The Folds from Green Fuse Films. Directed by Vanessa Gould, this is the first documentary to explore the realm of origami, a onetime folk craft has blossomed into a global art form… As the film progresses, however, the artists become less conventional, and the post-modern concepts of abstraction, minimalism, deconstruction, process, and empiricism take root — mirroring 20th century art itself. Abstract artists emerge with a greater emphasis on process and concept, rattling the fundamental roots of realism that have long dominated traditional paperfolding.

You can follow the announcements/previews yourself by using the following links:
Dane101: Wisconsin Film Fest 2009 (Tagged Articles)
Isthmus: Wisconsin Film Fest 2009 (Category)
Wisconsin Film Fest on Twitter

Give me a break

I like college basketball. I like the New York Times. So when I found that the Times had a college basketball blog – I added it to my google reader and I thought that all was right with the world.

And this morning I stumbled to find a load of garbage, in the New York Times, no less:
Student Athletes Just Want to be Normal.

Give me a break.

I love college athletics, but this is a load of whining bullshit. Student athletes get perks other student don’t get, end of story. As a former college instructor, I can understand this. I had some student athletes in my classes. Those students were fortunate enough to have an academic adviser assigned to keep track of students progress in his or her classes and were there to find help when needed. How many of the rest of us when through college with someone email our TA’s and Prof’s asking if we were getting our homework done and were making satisfactory progress?

Aside from academic benefits, most athletic departments also have nutritional consultants. This means that those students receive not only help on what to eat and why to improve their bodies, but they are also getting tips in what to buy and how to prepare food. What normal college student gets the benefit of having that all figured out?

And let’s not forget the biggest benefit: Free education. Scholarships for most of us are hard to obtain. Student athletes get a reduced education and a chance to play sports for money. The rest of us have to slog through attempting to justify what exactly a liberal arts education does in the real world while working to pay off debt.

It sounds like your definition of normal is “lazy.” I have a hint for you – the rest of us work hard too. Excuse me if you want to be “normal,” but you made the oh-so-difficult choice to have a reduced price education with amazing fringe benefits. Deal with it.

Sigh. I wish more college students were required to read Camus and Satre. Accept the consequences of your choices, don’t publish them in the New York Times.

Oscar Predictions – Sure things

The oscar nominations come out tomorrow morning/afternoon (depending on what timezone you’re in). For whatever reason, Oscar viewing has become required for my finance and I. Most years we try to see all the best picture nominees and for the last two years we have hosted an oscar party. Our invitations for our third party went out early this year. Before tomorrow’s nominees are announced, here’s what I think are locks to get nominations. Granted, I haven’t seen all the films in question – but I’m doing a better job than I usually do.

Wall-e/Kung-Fu Panda are locks for the animation award. This is pretty much a guarantee. Let me move on to more risky selections e.g. – a field where there are more options to choose from.

Downey Jr./Heath Ledger are locks for best supporting actor. Black face that doesn’t start a protest and a face that gives a continually haunting performance = good. Who will fill out the other three spots will be determined by what happens in the other categories.

Clint Eastwood/Mickey Rourke are locks in best actor. I’m not convinced about Sean Penn (again), although I didn’t see Milk. I might get around to seeing it – but its not on my must see list. The critique I’ve heard about Penn in his role is all about cognitive dissonance, which makes some sense to me. I think one of the leads from Frost/Nixon is likely to get a nod, but which goes where – I have no idea. I haven’t seen it yet, so I don’t know but the movie is high on my list of movies to see (it’s actually number one).

I’m quite clueless when it comes to this year’s actress nominees. I haven’t seen Benjamin Button, Changeling, Revolutionary Road, Doubt, Rachel Getting Married or any of those other films. None of those movies appeal to me.

For Best Picture, I’m willing to go on a limb and attempt to pick all five: The Dark Knight, Gran Torino, Frost/Nixon, Slumdog Millionaire, and Benjamin Button. The only one I’m not sure about is Button. Best Picture nominees tend to be less sensitive to the “artsy” feel that most of the other nominations usually have – Titanic and Rocky are best pictures for example. And despite being the highest grossing movie of all time (how, is still beyond me – you knew the boat was going to sink from the beginning), Titanic sucked! Since The Dark Knight is the number two grossing film of all time, has no CGI, and is a completely engrossing story from comic book literature it is likely to get nominated. I think Gran Torino is also likely to get nominated because of late game box office success and Clint Eastwood is oscar magic. With this being potentially one of his last films, I think the praise is as likely to fall on him as producer/director, as it to fall on him for his acting. My sense of things comes from reading things online and the movies I’ve seen. I think Milk has lost momentum and other films are gaining. That and the people who are likely to like films like Milk are also likely to like Slumdog, Button, and others.

Best Director – these are usually the second place awards to the Best Picture. Think Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain. Christopher Nolan is likely to get one for The Dark Knight, Eastwood for Torino, and the director for Slumdog. Since Oscar has this weird thing about not honoring foreign films – expect Slumdog to get a nomination here.

To clarify, I’ve seen: Wall-E, The Dark Knight, The Wrestler, Gran Torino, and Tropic Thunder. Granted that’s not enough (no Button/Milk/Rev Road/others) to make a full scale prediction – but half of these films just made it to Madison.

On top of my wish list to see: Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon. If I’m about a smarter than average movie goer (appreciates good acting, loves good commercial films and hates the bad ones), then my choice of things to see might be a decent predictor of what’s to come tomorrow and month later.

Live From Italy: Actually in Rome

Ok. So this has been less than live. A couple of things. We brought the wrong charger so I can’t charge the battery in my laptop. (Yet, our current hotel might have some.) The battery expired several days ago. Second, it’s been hard to find time to hit up the internet cafes. The opportunity cost is so great… I could sit for an hour in a cafe or explore a foreign country. Which do you think is going to be more persuassive? Third, Italian keyboards are really difficult to type on. Many of the punctuation keys are in different spots, making typing a bit slower than what it would be if I were on my own keyboard.

Right now I’m in the “business center” of our hotel. It’s really just one room with an old computer. But it has the internet, so I’m not complaining. I made some Thanksgiving day fantasy football selections, checked a few things on facebook, and responded to a few emails.

Things have been mostly good. Yesterday was by far our worst day – an even so it wasn’t that bad. I got “hustled” for a blurry picture and some expensive roses on the Spanish Steps. At least for 20 Euros the dude took one good picture. We also over paid for tea and got lost returning to our hotel. On the flip side, we found some good wine and Cuban cigars. I was shocked to find out that I wasn’t in the United States and that these are entirely legal over here. Who knew?

Anyway, a few posts will be coming later with a back dated time stamp. I wrote them in word on my macbook. I just need power and the internet to post them. And finding that has been a bit more than difficult.

Today we are off to see the Roman Forum and other Roman ruins. I hope everyone has a great day, a huge turkey leg, and a long nap.