Raaaaaaaaandom-ness-essence

Here's a little smorgasboard (and isn't that a FUN word? It always makes me think of that old cartoon version of Charlotte's Web ... where Templeton's chowing down at the county fair. Or is it the state fair? No matter, really. Catchy song, though.)

First up: Man takes his mugger to dinner!
No, really. Social worker gets mugged. He gives the kid his wallet, then invites him to dinner ... telling the mugger that the mugger's going to have to foot the bill because he has the social worker's money. The kid returns the wallet. They go to dinner and talk. The social worker gives the kid 20 bucks. He gets the knife (because he asked for the kid to hand it over.)

Okay, I think this is cool. I mean, really ... This is totally what Christ is talking about with the whole "turn the other cheek" stuff. Social worker, ftw!!

NEXT: Flying penguins! (Yet another reason I *heart* Neatorama)



I love those Monty Python boys, too.

I do enjoy a good deal of the xkcd comics. I especially love it when there's references to Firefly or LOLcats.

Summer Glau
When Serenity was coming to theaters
A great Summer Glau/Firefly/Serenity joke. It makes me snicker everytime.
And a LOLcat tribute
(Little warning: Sometimes xkcd isn't quite ... family friendly. Just so you know.)

In the "Making you think" category: The French president is making a push to teach young students history by having them each research the life of one of the 11,000 French children who died in the Holocaust.

On the one hand, what a meaningful and personal way to learn history!
This is a really unique and powerful way to teach that the Holocaust was truly what happened when prejudice goes out of control. (Not that there should be prejudice at all, really. But, still! This was madness!)

At the same time, this may be a little ... traumatic and overwhelming for 10-year-old students.

I still say that it's an excellent idea. Have the students talk about this experience and what they're learning with their parents and teachers. Let them see the world through the eyes of a Jewish child doomed to the ghettos/work camps/death camps/etc just for his or her religion and/or pedigree.

Like I've mentioned before, it SCARES me that we will be losing all the first-hand survivors of the Holocaust. I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER want to have anything like that happen on this planet again. Nor any other planet. We just can't let it.

And, really, -- getting back to the topic at hand -- studying a first-hand account and researching the life of a real person ... that's what history is all about. Historical fiction is a wonderful thing ... but it's vital that one add to that. history is stories, yes. But it's not all just pretty stories where everyone ends up happy and coming home safely from a war. It's gritty and fierce and visceral, often.

I think that 10-year-old children may be mature enough to understand that life is often hard and very unfair. And researching the life of a child who lived 60 years ago ... it will be a very powerful lesson.

I think that President Sarkozy has an excellent idea. I hope that it works. I hope that people appreciate what he is trying to accomplish.
Heck, I should try and do some research myself.