Local Anesthesia?

It is time once again for six word Saturday over at show my face dot com. Today's Six:

Think Local. Drink Local. GPS Needed.

There are many unusual things about me. Here are just a few that relate to today's rant.

1) I listen to the radio quite often.
2) I pay attention to the commercials.
3) I notice discrepancies between fact and error (in advertisements and other programming.)
4) When I notice these discrepancies or abnormalities, I talk back to the radio as if it could hear me.


While I am for the most part a Chicago White Sox fan, I listen to quite a few Chicago Cubs games. A long time sponsor of Chicago Cubs baseball is Old Style Beer. For the past few years Old Style has had the advertising catch phrase: Think Local. Drink Local. They have had several different radio ads over the past few years but the idea is to tie in the Old Style product with being authentically Chicago.

This is not a bad idea, as I have been following the Cubs since the early 70's and Old Style has been connected to the team and the broadcasts as far back as I remember.

The thing that gets to me is at the end of the commercial after they have made the whole think local, drink local, pitch they announce the name of the company and where there company is from: G Heileman Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Hey! So let's get this straight. Chicago Cubs fans should think local and drink local by buying beer from a company from a different state?

This year the ads have been about how to "kraeusen (the sytematic way Old Style is brewed)" different Chicago institutions. The idea is that since Kraeusening makes Old Style better, the ads tell how to make other typically Chicago things like 16 inch softball better. So when those commercials come on I usually talk back to the radio and say: here is how I would Kraeusen this commercial: I wouldn't talk about how great it is to be local and then say: "Hey, we're not even from here."

One of the first years this campaign was on the radio, the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers were fighting for the lead in the division almost all Summer. I found it ironic that the company championing being local had their offices in a town where most of their residents were cheering against the Cubs.

The crazy thing is I don't drink alcohol at all. So Why does non beer drinking Sox fan get all worked up about beer commercials primarily played during Cubs games? If I could answer that question, my therapy bills would be much much lower.

Now that you know that I think loco, head back to Six Word Saturday at Show my face dot com.

Things Fortnightly

I am a few book reviews behind and have decided that these reviews will be my "things" for this edition of things fortnightly.

Review 1: Down To The Wire By David Rosenfelt

David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter books are series that my wife and I enjoy very much. Down to the Wire is Rosenfelt's second foray outside the series. The result is a much more satisfying read than his previous Carpenterless contribution: Don't tell a soul.

While I still prefer the Andy Carpenter books, Down to the Wire takes some of the more evocative elements from Don't Tell a Soul and even a secondary character and creates a vibrant, humorous page turner.

Review 2: A Mountain of Crumbs by Elena Gorokhova

This book is a memoir of Soviet life from the late 1950's through the 70's. Gorkhova presents a sometimes sentimental and sometime sardonic view of growing up Russian.

Having lived in Russia from 1992 to 1994 this book really struck a chord with me. While my Russian experience was in a different continent (I lived in Far East Russia and she lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg ) in Europe and both Gorokhova and her mother (the 2 principal characters) in the book were both residing in New Jersey by the time my Russian adventures began, Their Russia and my Russia were eerily similar.

This enchanting memoir really swept me off my feet. Her use of the English language is much more powerful than my own and it is not her native language. I would have liked to have read more about her husband and daughter. But like most good books, you are left wanting more.

Review 3: Autumn With the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell

A few years ago I picked up this book at a home school seminar. It is the second a four book series. My daughter Emma really enjoyed it, so this Summer I read it to the whole family, a chapter at a time after dinner.

It is the story of a home school family with 4 children and a 5th on the way. This particular book follows their exploits through the season of Autumn. While the book is based on the author's own family, it reads like a fiction in comparison to our own family. The children get along with each other and are generally obedient and compliant.

I was actually pretty surprised that all 3 of my kids like the book when our own life is so different than theirs. I would highly recommend this book, but be prepared if your family doesn't stack up. Another feature of a good book is that it leaves you wanting more for yourself.

Those are all the things I have for today. If you would like to share your things link them below.

Next Time: A rant about a beer commercial

2 thumbs up

I have a new computer. part early birthday present, part necessity for blogging class I am teaching in the fall. I have joined the world of laptop users.

It has a camera which allows me to pose for goofy pictures at a moments notice. Like this one.


Next Time: Things Fortnightly

Charlie goes to school

Five weeks left until school starts!

Charlie started a 4 week summer school class at our local public school today. It is 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. He is not yet reading at grade level. Last summer we had him tutored by a special ed teacher and that really seemed to help. We are hoping for some good results from this class as well.

Charlie has never been part of a daily classroom learning environment before. The local school understands that this is just for the summer and has been very accomodating.

When we walked in the school this morning there was a piece of artwork in the entryway. It is a picture of a tiger cub frolicing. Besides the tiger are the words: children are not things to mold, they are people to unfold.

Emma used to have Girl Scouts at that school, so I have seen that poster before. But today, the first day I was entrusting my child to its care I got to thinking as to what that saying means.

My first thought is that pithy sayings like that are more for molding than unfolding. My second thought was the unequal word association with molding and unfolding. If you choose to mold some one's character than that person is a thing; but if you are going to let them unfold then they are a person. My third thought was that this phrase would seem like the credo of an unschooling advocate and thought of what strange bedfellows unschooling advocates and public school administrators make.

I think parenting and any other type of educating is part molding and part unfolding. My kids are all different with different strengths, interests and abilities. Some of those abilities need to be unfolded or in my words, unwrapped. Other character traits need to be molded or in my words, modeled to my students.

I will post more about Charlie's progress as his class unfolds. Sorry I couldn't resist.

Next Time: Book Reviews and plenty of 'em.

Christmas in July

Two years ago, Amy set the camera up and left the room here is the result . . .

When we were going through discs looking at photos and videos recently we came across it. The first thing Charlie said was put it on youtube. So here it is

Next Time: Six Word Saturday