I Speak of Dreams

Gods, We Got Gods

There is indeed a database of the gods, and just in time. (I'm sort of flailing on the higher power bit. )

From Pepper of the Earth, who is funny, via Language Log (clicked on the record company to get to Pepper of the Earth).

Anyway, I'm liking Hecate these days--(especially the invocation by the Witch of Colchis from Jason and the Argonauts--this version) .

But I've been wondering--is there a trickster aspect to the Judeo-Christian God? Trickster, you ask? Coyote? It seems that the Sephardic Joha is a trickster, but where is the Christian trickster? ?

Burning Man, The Desert, and Oh, The REAL Meaning of Burning Man

There was a comparison made between Rainbow Gathering and Burning Man (2004 started yesterday). One big difference is that Burning Man is, well, organized: entrance is controlled and costs money. If you still want to go, tickets are $350.00. The encampment does indeed cause ecological damage, which the Bureau of Land Management as acknowledged Desert ecologies are incredibly fragile.

Oh, and the real meaning of Burning Man? Wouldn't you know that somebody has an answer?

Why is the Burning Man growing in popularity?  There is an ominous answer.   Billy Graham declares,  “Lucifer, our archenemy, controls one of the most powerful and well-oiled war machines in the universe.  He controls principalities, powers, and dominions.  Every nation, city, village, and individual has felt the hot breath of his evil power.  He is already gathering the nations of the world for the last great battle in the war against Christ—Armageddon.”

Snort. Well, the majority of folks in Tennessee know Satan is a real being. Of course, science will never be able to detect...it, him, whatever.

Rainbow Family Is Responsible--This Time

"It will take a few years to repair itself, but it doesn't seem that there'll be any long-term damage at all," Asrow said.

I called the Rainbow Family Gathering a Public Nuisance, and told you about some brilliant Rainbow Family criminals. Now it seems that the Forest Service is pretty satisfied with the cleanup job. I still don't agree that the Rainbow Gathering constitutes "living lightly on the land".

(Image sources: sitting circle; standing circle)

Students with Dyslexia: ASL as a Foreign Language? Post #2

I first wrote about it here, which has a roundup of why a second language, and why ASL is a good alternative for dyslexics, and why ASL qualifies as a second language. Today's article is about the Total Immersion Program at Washington School for the Deaf.

Another Three Good Things About Masons, This Time in Michegan

Those Masons are at it again! Teaching kids with dyslexia how to read! What will they think of next? I can't say enough good things about the 32-degree Masonic Learning Centers--they use techniques that have been proven to work, they know it takes a lot of time and are up front about it, they reach out to teachers in public schools, and they

DON'T CHARGE PARENTS A DIME

This time the story is in Michigan, where there are three learning centers: Bay City, Grand Rapids and Detroit.

Test or Barrier?

I'm all anxious over the about to be "world class" changes at one of my homes-away-from-home. . I am supposed to be all reassured because "experts" are consulting on the changes. But the project manager has never built a damn thing, and I am supposed to be reassured? Guess what, building stuff--even little stuff like barns--is rocket science. Oh, and horse keeping has some wrinkles to it too.

On high stakes testing once out into the workworld:

The next “Progressive” that tells me how necessary and important it is to have the government protecting the public from the vicious side of capitalism will be surprised to find a 22 ounce waffle-headed framing hammer sticking out of his ear. I have 20 years of experience in the construction industry, and I can tell you for a fact that the whole rigmarole of licensing doesn’t protect the public from squat.

The testing and continuing education is a joke. It doesn’t protect you, Gentle Reader, from anything. Plenty of dishonest, lazy, incompetent, know-nothings can pass the initial licensing test.

Scroll down to the part where he talks about his first boss not being able to pass the test. (Thanks, Joanne.

Eventing Fatality

There was a 3-day event at Senator Bell Farm in New Hampshire--description here (here's a report from the 2002 event at the lowest division--about 2 foot fences.)

Yesterday William Booth (who lived in Dover, MA) was competing in Open Novice (typically fences below 36 inches), when his horse stopped at a stone wall fence. The news reports says it was in the woods--moving from bright light to shade is one of the questions commonly asked in events, as you can see in the above photo.

Booth came off at the stop and was pronounced dead at the scene.

What do I think? Horses stop. Some are "dirty" stops--the horse isn't trying. The photo of the refusal looks like the mare just couldn't figure out how to get safely over, and the rider went flying. (She's fine, as you can read if you go to the source below.)

All horse sports are risky. Most of the other fun stuff I do (and Al does) is risky. I am sorry for Mr. Booth's family--he was a young man of 50. But if I had a choice, I'd rather buy the farm from a horse fall than some pileup on the freeway.

(Image sourcejumping photo image source refusal photo

Pullum's 6-12 Curriculum

I'm avoiding Monday, I know I am. Never mind:

Geoff Pullum proposes a new middle school/high school curriculum. After some thought, I believe he is correct (as opposed to right):

And John's remark brought back to me something more general that I have been thinking about for some time concerning middle and high school. Below is a short list of some things that I feel I really needed to know (still need to know, in some cases) in order to be a functioning human being in a modern society.

I also disagree with his response to the young woman's comment. I often feel that way about half-done housework. A little is better than none, and that's all you're getting today

Hypothesis Not Proven

'to do science is to search for repeated patterns' (MacArthur, 1972)

For science to work, the patterns need to have lots of parts--including the reports that well, we couldn't prove our hypothesis. Two journals, one in ecology and evolutionary biology, the other in psychology, restrict their accepted publications to those which come to that conclusion.

I am waiting for similar journals from the new age folk, from the interventions-for-learning-disability folk, and a few more....

It's not that the scientific method does not produce mistakes, it is that it is at base a self-correcting mechanism.

(Forgotten what the scientific method entails? This brief article for home schooling parents will refresh your memory.)

53 states

Joanne Jacobs wrote about it--the school chain that recruited through churches and awarded "diplomas". Jason Felch wrote about it for the LA Times, and now there's a follow up.