Regurgitation vs. Education

As the school year gets started back, I want to talk about something a younger cousin of mine was talking about over the summer break. He said that all the tests he had to do at the end of the semester was a headache and it was basically just a giant review of everything they had learned in the year. In fact, the last three weeks of school before summer was nothing but being sure him and his classmates could recite every note they had taken throughout said semester. Now he is only a sophomore in high school, but this was interesting to me. Having experienced college already and seeing what the job market offers, this method of “regurgitation” learning does not sit well. Now I am not saying it was any different when I went to school. We had the same sort of “Megatest” at the end of the semester, but the questions were more hand-picked from everything we learned. However, from what he was saying, it sounds like it has gotten worse. Now it sounds more like you have to repeat everything you have learned verbatim as you pace through hundreds of monotonous questions that only want to know if you remember what you learned. This does not actually help kids. Because in the adult world, whether it be further education or the job market, professors and employers don’t want people who know a lot; they want people who can take what they do know and apply it to a bigger scenario. In other words, they do not want regurgitation, they want someone who is actually educated. Imagine an example where a file has been lost in a system. Someone from this modern regurgitation style of schooling may know everything about the file and how the system works. They may even know why the file went missing. However, could they actually find the file? Moreover, if the file cannot be found, would they know what to do to remedy the situation that needed the file in the first place? My bet is no. They have a lot of knowledge and no means to apply it. An educated someone with actual problem-solving skills, however, would be able to not only fix the problem, but probably recreate the file from other files in the system. I know this example is a bit far-fetched and maybe even impossible, but it does speak to a growing problem in the education system. Children are taught to remember lots of things and not taught how those things can be used. Furthermore, it is often a situation that to teach so many things, the youth are given basic examples of the knowledge that makes a larger question nearly unanswerable using that base example. More than that, they are often taught to remember something until the test and then you can forget it. A theme of “you probably will never use it anyway.” It is disgusting. The original learning was “reading, writing, and arithmetic,” and while I won’t get into how wrong calling these the “three R’s” is, I will end by saying that knowledge for knowledge’s sake is fine, but to learn things and then learn how to apply them to life examples makes a population of very smart people that also know a lot of things. A population who remembers lots of information but also have the skills to work and create in a world that values adaptability and thrives on extending a base set is extremely important. By all means, let’s read and enjoy Tom Sawyer, but let’s also understand why Tom is inherently a bad character so we don’t end up painting the fence white. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Candy Cannot Fix It

Red hearts, cards, flowers, and a box of nasty chocolate. That solves everything. Or does it. It is simple for most people this time of year. No matter how much of a piece of trash you have been, you can give a gift, a kiss, and an “I love you,” and that makes up for all the wrong-doings. It is hysterical to me when I see a partner putting up with the crap from their significant other 360 days a year and then on a few select holidays, Valentine’s being one of the big ones, these horrible partners all of sudden change for a day. All is forgiven and then it is another marathon to the next holiday. I am here to rant on the fact that this should stop. I am talking to both sides. Abusers: stop being horrible people except “when it matters,” and abusees: stop taking it. We all can do better and deserve better. Now let me slow for a second and say that I am not talking about domestic violence; that is a ramble for an entirely different time, if I could even do justice to any of those very bad situations. What I am talking about is a general nasty person, who is just on the edge of being a complete putrid pile of trash. They wine all the time, never have a beneficial opinion, or contribute in any way that expands a relationship further than two people who engage in coitus once in a while, but you better believe, they are ready on Valentine’s Day for their coitus. I mean after all, they bought flowers and chocolates for their special someone. My opinion is that all people should have partners that value them every day and both people should be willing to give and take in a way that makes a balanced scale of love, affection, and, most of all, appreciation of your forever Valentine. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Merry FestiKwanYuleHanamas

Holiday greetings and gay, happy meetings when friends come to call. Words of a carol have never rung so hard. The issue comes when people get so disheveled at what a holiday greeting should be. My family is bad for this. To my parents, it is “Merry Christmas” or nothing. They absolutely despise the idea of saying “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays.” I then have to explain that it is something most companies do as a measure to not offend anyone. Which is where my ramble starts. Why do we have to worry about offending people with a holiday greeting. I think everyone should say their holiday greeting, whatever that should be. If I say “Merry Christmas” to you, then by all means say “Happy Kwanzaa” back to me. I will take no offense because you did not wish me my holiday be happy. In the same sense, you should not feel upset because I do not know what you celebrate. Honestly, we all need to settle down about how we send cheer. It is not about religion or freedoms of speech or any other thing like that. It is simply one person trying to make another person’s day a little better by passing on festive spirit, because the holidays is no time for downtrodden feelings. So, to all my ramble readers, may your days be merry, may your candles burn all 8 days, may your ancestors get much gratitude, may your log stay hot, and may your pole stay silver. This year lets all have a great holiday, greeting people with a gay, happy smile. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

It Is Not About Neo-Dystopian Outlaws

Have you ever seen a movie with a friend and gotten into a hot debate about what the movie was actually about? Is your friend one of those people who over-analyzes every scene in a way that makes it nearly impossible to enjoy said movie? Welcome to my life. A life full of watching movies alone, because I have more than one friend like this. Long gone are the days of simply enjoying a movie for what it is. Unfortunately, I have a friend group that actively try to get their rotten tomato basket full as they decide what movies are actually about. The Barbie movie was a woman empowerment movie that spelled out how bad it can get if we ignore the signs of sexism. The Rise of Skywalker was about overcoming inner darkness and how we choose our identity. I remember one time trying to have a conversation about what a great movie The Fifth Element was, only to be told that the movie was actually a view on a dystopian future where the female has become a true object of sex and the only real masculine character was Bruce Willis as Corben Dallas. Now don’t misunderstand me, some of this is probably true. Moreover, what is a great movie without a little subtext of one theme or another, but does every movie have to be analyzed to death? What is wrong with just enjoying a movie for what it is, a piece of cinema. We are not in English class folks. We can watch a movie, enjoy what we saw and heard, and move on. What’s worse is when you have a friend who clearly has a bias and tries to make their bias seem correct for every film they see. The inequality of people of different race, gender, faith, and social class is something that everyone should be aware of, but if you expect me to feel this sense of inequality in The Secret Life of Pets, you are crazy. I am a movie buff. It brings me great pleasure to sit for a solid 2 or 3 hours and gnaw a bucket of popcorn, but I refuse to have a lengthy discussion about how deep Meet Dave gets. For me, I just like any movie Eddie Murphy plays in. In the end, I guess the aliens in control of my body need to learn how to overanalyze movies instead of just having opinions about random subjects. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Don't Give Out Raisins

Trick or treat, smell my feet, here’s a ramble that can’t be beat, or something like that. Halloween is here and I cannot believe the conversation that I had with a parent a few days ago. Instead of giving out candy, this person was buying raisins to give out to the local candy grabbers because she did not want to contribute to the obesity problem in America. The conversation arose when she saw my shopping cart full of candy and wondered what I was going to do with it all. I explained that I was the hit of the neighborhood for giving out full sized candy bars and not those fun-sized jokes. She could not believe that I was being so irresponsible with the neighbor’s children. I had to hold back laughter as I listened to her explanation of why she had raisins in her cart. Let’s get something straight here. The obesity problem is not going to be fixed by not giving out candy at your house. In fact, it will probably not have an effect at all, because you will be known as the raisin witch of the neighborhood. Kids will avoid your house, and they will still be able to come to houses like mine and stock up on the good stuff. Honestly folks, it’s one day a year. What is the harm in having a fun-filled night of terror, tooth rot, and mild regret for the next day as kids fill up their pillowcases and plastic pumpkins, eat way too much candy, and possibly wet themselves from all the haunted houses they will visit. You are only young once and no child wants raisins, apples, toothbrushes, or pennies for Halloween. Otherwise, there may be a good egging and a roll of toilet paper in one particular house’s future. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Problem Solvers vs. Problem Fixers

The sky is falling and we are all going to die. Okay, so not every problem is Chicken Little level of difficulty to figure out, but at least the little fellow was trying. My question is could the sky falling have been prevented? Did CL have to go through the trouble of fixing a situation or could it have been solved before the first piece of sky fell? This is the difference in problem-solvers and problem fixers. One chooses to get in front of the problem and see that it never becomes a situation while the other is happy to limp along and control the mess afterward. In other words, problem-solvers make constant repairs and inspections on the dam so that it does not burst, while problem fixers stick a finger in the holes until there are too many leaks for their number of fingers. Then they help clean up all the water once the tidal wave washes everyone away. The biggest problem is that society as a whole has become a collection of problem fixers that do damage control constantly because there are no preventative measures. The work force is the biggest population of these people. Job listings ask for problem-solvers, but they really only want fixers who can handle angry and disgruntled people after an occurrence has damaged something. Ask any boss you know. They do not want to hear about a problem until it actually becomes an issue. This mindset is so asinine. If we would instead all work together to prevent what could become a mess, the mess might never happen. This my readers is a problem-solving mindset and it needs to be taught to the youth of the world. Teach them to think ahead instead of living in the right now, and there will not be major issues in their futures. Climate change, the economy, our national leaders, racial inequality, and even education. Every sector of our society needs solvers thinking about the bumpy road ahead and being busy beavers preemptively taking measures to smooth out those bumps so that we can all live happier lives without constant worry that the sky will plumet down with ill intent. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I Confess, I Messed Up

Responsibility is something we are taught from a young age. We learn that our actions have consequences and when we do something wrong or mess something up, we should own up to it. So why is it that when people begin their working careers, all that goes out the window. I am not saying everyone does this, but I can personally attest to at least 10 different instances where a co-worker of mine has screwed something up and then let the chips fall where they did instead of fessing up to the mistake and then trying to fix it. I even know of one account where the person tried to fix the mistake before it was noticed, failed, and then tried to blame it on someone else. Lack of responsibility for one’s actions is something that has led to very toxic work environments in many industries. Most of the time, it is people fearing for their jobs if they actually admit they did something wrong. My advice to bosses and work leaders out there is to allow an environment of honesty and forgiveness that makes it so that a worker will always want to own up to their mistakes and then hopefully fix said mistakes. Also, to all the workers out there, I know it can be scary to know that your job may be on the line, but honesty really is the best policy so that crap doesn’t hit the fan because no one admits what really happened. The last thing most bosses want to do is line up their workers like siblings after a broken vase and grill everyone to see where mistakes were made. If you get in front of the mistake, it is probably not as hard to fix as you think it is. In the end, we all need to work together, not just so everyone keeps their jobs, but so an environment of understanding and compassion is built instead of the cobra fangs of workplaces that exist now. We will all get paid and we will all be okay, as long as we take responsibility for everything we touch, even if we break it. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Parenting is Necessary

It is around every corner. It is in every school, supermarket, and courtroom. It is directly affecting your children. No, I am not talking about drugs. I am talking about the lack of parenting. I find it extremely annoying that it almost has to be a newsflash to certain parents that their kids are not going to raise themselves. They need proper guidance and attention so that they don’t end up on an episode of cops or worse. It’s truly flabbergasting. People progenerating and not realizing how much actually goes into being a parent. However, it needs to be addressed that parenting is not like folding a fitted sheet. It doesn’t take an expert, and there is not some fancy set of tricks to raising a child. A parent’s main objective is to teach their children how to be respectful and productive members of society. Now the nitty-gritty of how this is done is a little different for everyone. Some have a natural instinct. Some have to read Lipschits. Some believe in the way of the paddle. Any way you spell it, it is usually the same end result. Teach them the basics of being a law-abiding citizen, a decent human being, a working-class civilian, and most importantly a willing learner for more advanced lessons. Put them through at least high school, make them understand the value of a dollar, and for the love of God, teach them how to operate as a person in the modern world. (i.e. washing clothes, phone etiquette, safe sex, etc.) Now don’t get me wrong, I do understand this is a lot, but there is a reason that being a parent was labeled as the most important job an adult could take on in days prior. It was because even though hatching the kid is not difficult, transforming the kid into an adult themselves takes a bit of work. So, to all the parents, or future parents, out there, let’s all agree to make our children better adults, and potential parents, than we were. Let’s all agree to not just coast through our children’s lives riding on that #1 parent mug we got. Let’s try to actually make it true with every cup of coffee that goes in it. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

A Wittle Old to Get in Twouble

I have been on this planet for around 30 years and one of the things that always surprises me is how many people actively worry about if their day-to-day actions are going to get them in trouble. What I mean is they, as grown adults, are worried about people saying something to them, or chewing them out, as one person I know put it, for just doing what they need to do during a day. I have had coworkers with this mentality. They worried that the boss might be listening or they skipped one step in a process, nothing was harmed, and yet they sat and chewed their fingernails over if someone would find out. First of all, let’s just level and say that, as a grown adult, we have the rights to do just about anything we want, within reason, of course. We can eat what we want, sleep whenever, watch as much TV as our brains can handle, and, overall, just enjoy ourselves as human beings. Second, let’s all agree that the phrase “getting in trouble” is not the right terminology. I am not saying there are not repercussions for our actions. That is just not true. For instance, at work, for not doing what we are supposed to do or intentionally doing it wrong, we can be docked pay, made to take mandatory time off, or even handed a pink slip. In society, if we mess around we can be arrested, charged for our crimes, packed in a barred cell, and even given the electric chair if we mess around enough. However, in all of these cases, we are not getting stood in the corner, or being put in a time out, or having our hands smacked with a ruler. In fact, we are allowed to thoroughly object to those scenarios. I don’t know, maybe I am just mincing words. Maybe “getting in trouble” is a nicer way of saying something more derogatory. I just think that people that stand around worrying about if life is going to paddle their backside are missing out on bending some rules and having a funner time with everything they do. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Don't Try To Change Me

It is a great world we live in and more specifically the US of A is a wonderful free land where we can do whatever we want, within reason. We eat what we want, wear what we want, we can start any kind of business we want, and, most importantly, we are free to believe what we want to believe. However, in every barrel of apples, there is that one rotten apple that tries to sour the rest. I am talking about those people who try to change our beliefs just because they do not agree with them. They run around all day on a mission to call into question our daily routines and then shame us for them. I speak before you today and say, “Please STOP!!!” I don’t just mean one opinion or another. I am speaking to everyone, in every group. Stop trying to change people. If you have cut out meat and all animal by-products from your life because of dietary restrictions or because you can’t stomach the idea of where that slab of meat actually came from, then kudos. I am happy for you and good luck with your culinary endeavors, but do not try to shame me for my greasy, full-dairy cheeseburger. Just get in line, order your Impossible burger with vegan cheese, and leave me alone. Also, many of us are not that religious. In fact, most of us view a church as a place to get in on a free cook-out. I would love to have the extra time to sit and read pieces of a book, and then once I finished it, go back and read again that same book every day for the rest of my life. However, I am a very busy man, with a day full of activities, and I do not have the capacity to have a read-a-long with King James every day. It is just simply not in the cards for me. So praise Jesus, God bless you, go away. Lastly, it was established in this country two centuries ago the right to choose which party you wanted to hang with. One of the greatest freedoms of this country is the right to vote for whoever you wish. Donkey, elephant, or other, we as civilians should not be shamed for our particular candidate, even if they are bat-crap crazy. It is nobodies’ business but our own and the electoral college whose name is on our docket when we throw it in the box. Superman fought for truth, justice, and the American way. It is difficult to think of anyone as a Superman for their cause when they are bashing the last of those three morals. Because the American way is the freedom to do, live, and believe anyway we feel the urge. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

The Earth is Not Flat Right?

Since the dawn of humanity, we sapiens have been extremely curious about the world around us. Over time this has led to some of the greatest discoveries of all time. Different elements on the table, electricity, where Fez from That 70’s Show is from, but one of the biggest problems we still face through our methods of discovery is the groups of people that condemn others just because they have a novel idea. For instance, the first time a scientist proposed the Earth was not the center of the universe, the scientific community ousted an individual named Copernicus. How about the first time it was proposed that we actually evolved from a more primitive species? The religious groups of the world started throwing around the idea it was being proposed we evolved from monkeys and said that was crazy and only the Lord can create life. In the modern era, the notion that self-driving cars will ever be more than fiction is still hotly debated, even as select big companies have proven it to be possible. Now based on the title, one might think that I am leaning towards the idea of a flat earth being real. I am not. We have definitely proven the Earth to be spherical, and anyone who believes otherwise is a few continents short of a globe. However, what I am saying is that people who were later proven right, started out with what seemed like insane ideas. Of course, every idea is not going to be a ringer, and believing in concepts that have already been proven wrong is a step in the wrong direction, but maybe the next time a science fiction thought is attempted to be made reality, perhaps we should all listen. In other words, instead of laughing at a man holding a kite in a thunderstorm, maybe help him find a safer way to hold it and be on the front line when a new fact is proven. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I Don't Have an Accent, You Do

“I’m sorry, I cannot understand you through your thick accent.” It is something I have heard my entire life from different people I have met. The only problem is, where I am from, everyone can understand me perfectly. When I ask for a glass of water at a local establishment, I am never questioned about what “wadder” is from the waiter. When I talk about one subject or another – usually rambling – everyone understands and is able to converse back because we don’t actually have accents. What people hear as accents is the cadence of speaking that a particular region has. We hear that way of speaking and then develop our speech with what we have already heard previously. It is the same concept as someone who has only read a word and never actually heard it spoken. They mispronounce the word because they have never actually heard it said out loud before. Words like Linux or acai come to mind. Your parents say words a certain way and then you say those words the same way because it is all you have ever heard. Oftentimes you will find people with more muddled accents when their households contain more than one nationality of people. That person hears their grandparent’s foreign accent, one of their parent’s more Americanized accent, and then their other parent’s fully Americanized accent. This person will then not be so influenced by one sound or the other. They sound “normal” and everyone only hears slight variations in their speech. And don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that hearing an accent is a bad thing. If the person you are talking to asks where you are from because they heard an accent, it is a conversation starter and can help connect more people. The problem arises when derision is in the listener’s voice. It always tickles my ribs when I hear someone poke fun at someone else’s accent because even when the accent is really noticeable like someone from Australia or Ireland, they are just talking in the manner they know to talk. In fact, it is kind of dumb to make fun of anyone’s “accent” because if the person poking fun was in the accented person’s home country or home region, that person wouldn’t be laughing when they were the one with the accent. I bet they would really enjoy their glass of water with that extra hard “T” if they were the butt of the joke. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I Don't Read, But My Eyes Still Work

I think in the modern age there is one thing that everyone can agree on – books are dead. Amongst all the arguing and fighting going on in the world, most people agree that it is so much easier to just watch the movie. I mean so what if Hestor Prynne never takes a bath in the book and so what if Forrest Gump was actually a fowl-mouthed, cynical piece of work. Demi Moore and Tom Hanks play the characters better anyway. If ever a book report is needed to be written, I am sure the teacher didn’t read the book either so for all they know your report on how short of a book The Hobbit is will probably go unnoticed. All of this to say, that people in the modern age are WRONG. Books are great and it is not that difficult to find them if you want them. I cannot tell you how many movies omit so many neat little details that the book fully explains and actually helps to make sense for later parts of the story. I was so disappointed when I actually borrowed and read Eragon. The movie is not even related to the book. It has similar character names and I do love Jeremy Irons as an actor, but it is not the same story. I have no problem with someone getting the gist of a story from a movie, but it should definitely be on a bucket list to read the actual book before making any judgements on a story that you have seen in films. To all my reading impaired friends out there, don’t give up hope. There are many audio recordings out there with one large company in particular coming to mind. Also, to all of my Harry Potter fanatics out there, just know that if you thought the movies were good, the extra little details in the books will only make you love the characters more. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Fetishes are Fine

Let me start off by saying that I think Fifty Shades of Grey is a stupid set of books and movies. They take a thing that many people have and oversexualize it. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the cat-o-nine-tails and a little leather as long as it helps keep you and your partner’s love life exciting. Most people who practice these “methods” do not have a sex dungeon. That is crude at best and a ridiculous stereotyping at its worst. But I will go further than a Fifty Shades scenario. I think that most fetishes are perfectly harmless. Whether it be a foot fetish, an anime cosplay fetish, or a fetish where you like an earlobe massage. It does not mean that you like to smell people’s shoes or you can only have sex with someone dressed as a Pokémon or that you have to have your ear licked before you can “get in the mood”. I mean, there will always be outliers, but for most people it is just a little quirk about themselves that they only share with their true significant other and something that a few people never delve into at all. I think as long as all parties are agreed, then enjoy your fetish. Revel in the fact that we live in a place that allows every person to enjoy life the way they want, within reason. And for the love of Pete, stop reading books like Fifty Shades of Grey that only set up false expectations and perpetuate a gross stereotype. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Boy in Blue Not Interested in You

 Driving down the interstate, running 30 minutes late and then everyone sees a police officer that has pulled someone over and they start driving 25 miles per hour under the speed limit. It is seriously frustrating and completely unnecessary. To all the people out there that do this, that cop is not interested in you. They have their focus directed toward another mission. Now if you are breaking laws, flying down the road, mooning the officer, they may suddenly have a reason to look at you. Otherwise continue as you are and do not hold the rest of us up by slowing way down because your nervous about whatever thing that makes people nervous around cops. Remember their job is to serve and protect, not stalk and make people’s lives miserable. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.