2009

Belle & Sebastian: “O Come O Come Emmanuel”

What is perhaps the very best part about the weekend of Thanksgiving is the fact that more often than not, it ends with a beginning, namely the beginning of the Advent season!
And as much as I consider Mosaic my church family, one of my biggest gripes [...]

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A New Job Idea

 
I always thought that the point of propaganda was to be fiendishly effective in converting an audience to your own perspective. And certainly with all the inadequacies and administrative bumbling that has plagued the Los Angeles Unified School District over the past few years, now is certainly the time for it.
But come on. Come on! [...]

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One out of three ain’t bad (at least in baseball)

Why Magnet Schools from rustum jacob on Vimeo.
Disclaimer: This video is what my students would term “bootleg”.
Regardless, it’s up, it’s running, and hopefully it will help some parents and kids be more aware of their options for high school!
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UCLA Students Visit!

Yesterday as I walked into school, I was greeted by a fellow teacher who asked me “Are you having the UCLA students in your room today?”. Darn it. I had totally forgotten about the fact that I had volunteered (seemingly months ago) to be an “observed teacher” for a cohort of UCLA education students who [...]

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An Amazing Pianist

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. Yes, that is Ben Folds. Yes, that is a giant “frowny” face. And yes, that is a keytar.
And yes, it is extremely refreshing to see an entire audience hyped up over a rock group centered on the amazing musical prowess of the pianist!
Speaking of other, far less amazing [...]

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How I Feel today

Yikes!….
This is how I’m feeling today. (Although I must admit, that I find this photo a highly appropriate image of the uses of a mac).
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Magardich Tavitian is still alive

This is weird. Truly weird. A few weeks ago I was in a cemetery in Hollywood for a film screening and passed by a gravestone which apparently demarcates the place where one Magardich Tavitian is buried. However, there is one small thing…..Magardich Tavitian is still alive. I can’t imagine why on earth someone would [...]

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The Inevitable

Admit it. You knew it all along. After all, it’s why everyone moves out here to Los Angeles in the first place, right? Our mail carriers, our trash collectors, our Starbucks baristas, all of them have a screenplay in their back pocket, simply waiting for the right director, producer, or other star to shop [...]

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Single-handedly Keeping Dominoes in Business for the Past Half-Decade

I’ve got to rest up. Tomorrow begins one of the annual traditions of my classroom at Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle School; the quarterly Pizza / Movie party to celebrate success on the LAUSD district assessment. This quarter, my 7th graders rocked the test, with every class averaging in the Proficient category. Yes, they had [...]

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Decide already!!!!

Polls have opened here in California and by now, you should have decided already which Presidential Candidate you are going to vote for as you head to your local polling place today!
However, thanks to the glorious ways in which the California Constitution governs elections, in addition to a simple choice for President, California [...]

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