The Hobbit Hole VI - And Whither Then? I Cannot Say...

[Ramius]

Morning Jen!! :-)

[Wneighbor]

(((Ramius)))

Don't know what else to say. Knew this was bad. Just didn't know how bad it could get did we? All the things I was concerned about - and then it turns out to be a whole different circumstance. :-(

I wish I could give you a good back-scratchin' while you have your turkey tonight. You'll just have to settle for the sentiments. :-(

[300winmag]

That's ghastly. Whose idea was it to advertise for the guy's job before he was fired? Is there anybody naturally that clueless, or do they have to work at it? Besides being inhumane and utterly professional, it was stupid.

[300winmag]

... utterly UNprofessional... (Unless that's what they teach in HR school today).

[Fedora]

Was that a pre-emptive "Good morning"?--LOL!

[msdrby]

Collin county has:

Registered Voters 332233 - Cards Cast 6679.

We were talking about civic duty this morning in the Hole. Think this kinda backs up my theory on the current apathy from society.


didja vote?

[Fedora]

didja vote?

Not in Collin County: I'm in Wisconsin :)

That is a really low voter turnout--wow. How's that compare with statewide?

[msdrby]

I just took a looksee at Tarrant county, seems they faired a little better with a whopping 3% turnout.

[msdrby]

Meant to get back to ya this am re:teaching. I think you are right about the making it relevant and hands on style being able to reach kiddos. It's just that I have seen too many public school kids utterly and completely uninterested in learning of any kind. That is a learned trait BTW. Forces teachers to jump through hoops and get blamed for kids not learning... on the flip side however, much of the history/social studies curriculum has been rehashed, rewritten, and slaughtered to the point where it barely is recognizable as educational material IMO (legislators made it a bunch a PC frap).

Last year, we didn't even use the social studies textbooks to teach what the kids needed to learn. We taught regarding Columbus, the Spanish conquistadors in the New World, The Mayflower, Jamestown, (each of the) Founding Fathers, Revolutionary War, The Louisiana Purchase, national symbols and their significance, and finally Lewis and Clark. We ended the year with a review on public safety and social behavior. The only one of those actually in their text was the whole thing on public safety and social behavior. Guess that is all the state expects from first graders.

[msdrby]

hmm, excuse me for the burp.

[Fedora]

I just took a looksee at Tarrant county, seems they faired a little better with a whopping 3% turnout.

Wow! Do you happen to know what the percentage is for an average election? I wonder if it's partly that low because people are assuming Kerry has it sown up.

[msdrby]

Wierd, I posted, and it showed the post twice on my screen. When I refreshed, it was only there once. FR having issues tonight?

[Fedora]

Yeah, kids who don't want to learn is another big part of the problem. I agree it's a learned trait. Hard for teachers to address that without help from the parents. Teachers have a real uphill battle these days.

[msdrby]

Not sure about that one either. Dean got 4% in Collin Co. and Edwards got a whopping 22% in Tarrant Co. I am thinking etiehr people don't realize these candidates have pulled out, or they are protest voting. Either way it does not give reason to low voter turnout. MY guess is that people honestly don't get the reason for having primary elections. Maybe they think it is abotu the Presidential race and that's it?

[Fedora]

Wierd, I posted, and it showed the post twice on my screen. When I refreshed, it was only there once. FR having issues tonight?

It only showed up once for me, so I was wondering what you meant by that post about the "burp"--I figured I must've missed something, so I'm glad to hear it wasn't just me, LOL!

[msdrby]

Again, it appears I am the night owl of the family. I am not even close to getting to sleep. Elf-boy and PE went to sleep a long time ago.

[msdrby]

This is a good time to catch up on my Silmarillion. Later.

[Fedora]

Not sure about that one either. Dean got 4% in Collin Co. and Edwards got a whopping 22% in Tarrant Co. I am thinking etiehr people don't realize these candidates have pulled out, or they are protest voting. Either way it does not give reason to low voter turnout. MY guess is that people honestly don't get the reason for having primary elections. Maybe they think it is abotu the Presidential race and that's it?

I suspect that's part of it. I can't remember a time in school they ever taught us about the role of the primaries, so I have to imagine a lot of people only learn about it what they hear from the media. It would be interesting to get some hard stats on that, though--I know they do studies of causes of voter apathy, a friend of mine in the PoliSci Department researched stuff like that. I'd be interested to look into that and see what the political analysts are saying about this election's turnout. No doubt there must be some threads on that on FR I've overlooked--anyone got a good link on that?

[Fedora]

Have a good one! I'll probably be logging off, too, then. G'night all!

[Rose in RoseBear]

Well, go pick up Roberta Gellis' Roselynde series (Roselynde, Alinor, Joanna, Gilliane, Rhiannon, and Sybelle), if it's English knights and medieval swordfights you want. Lots and lots of sieges and jousts and melees; the male characters in these books follow Richard to the Crusades, and John on his interminable kicking-butt tours, and Henry III at the end. The books are highly prized by us readers, and often go on eBay for more than list price; but Harlequin is about to reprint the series, and she's writing a new book for it!!! Hoooooo-wheeee! I'm on pins and needles!

For the Napoleanic Wars, it's Roberta Gellis again, this time the Heiress series and the two add-ons (The English Heiress, The Cornish Heiress, The Kent Heiress, Fortune's Bride, and A Woman's Estate). This series spans the Wars, from the exploits of an English gentleman gunsmith trapped in Revolutionary France (300winmag, what do you know about Lorenzoni quick-loading pistols, circa late 1700s?), to another English gentleman soldier fighting the Corsican in Russia, to the Peninsular War. The Corunna retreat in 1809 is personalized, and if the privations of that forced march don't get you, nothing will. But give A Woman's Estate, which concerns an American woman in England in 1811-1812, a miss if you're looking for good fights --- it's a murder mystery more than anything.

If you like guns and the Old West, pick up Elizabeth Lowell's Reckless Love and her Only series (Only His, Only You, Only Mine, and Only Love). Set in the wild times directly after the Civil War, each book is a snapshot of the various folks who came West, and why. I especially like Reckless Love because of the horses, who are secondary characters.

Sheesh ... and you asked a simple question! I'm sorry ... I get verbose!