Virtual Martial Arts

The Pandemic won't stop Master Li from conducting her Taekwondo sessions! Zoom is an amazing thing.

More Moments of Respite

It is indeed a strange time we're living in. I couldn't sleep the first couple of weeks of the Quarantine. I finally have developed the bare bones of a routine. I have kind of figured out how to continue teaching my classes remotely.

I am enjoying many of my favorite artists who are performing from their own quarantined situations. David Arthur Brown, of Brazzaville, has begun holding live online mini-concerts from his living room in Barcelona. He his holding them every Saturday at 1:00 central time (8 pm Barca time). I find these little casual concerts very refreshing.

Moments of Respite

Stressful times we're living in. Sometimes I have to break away from all the horrible news and find a moment of respite. This live mini-concert performed by M Ward of material from his new album he released this week gave me some peace.

The War Room

This is our war room. Looks like something out of The Matrix.

Today our school district extended our shut down indefinitely. I would have never imagined this at the beginning of the school year. Just unbelievable. I have been learning how to be a remote educator on the fly. I've learned that Zoom is a much better platform than Google Meets. I'm very glad I already had a YouTube Channel set up. I'm thankful for good internet service.

So when that photo was taken above, Ava was studying math on Prodigy. Jackson was in his room participating in a Zoom chat with his Robotics class on his phone. Kim was recording a short video for her students on her YouTube Channel. I was prepping presentation slides for my online Zoom class sessions tomorrow.

It has been a weird time. Thanks for family, a home, WiFi and Netflix!

Pandemic

It's a weird time.

We are under quarantine in North Texas. School shut down...likely for the year. I packed up my classroom yesterday. All learning is now online. I've been scrambling to get it all together.

Was stressed enough but then apparently there are those out there who think it's okay to end social distancing in order to get the economy going again. These people are willing to sacrifice people's lives for money.

Most of my friends in Texas have come around about how serious COVID-19 is. But I still have some moronic friends who are living in denial. These attitudes are dangerous and deadly. 

Super Tuesday in Texas

Went and voted in the Super Tuesday Primary during my lunch break today. A friend of mine is the Election Judge for my polling station. I saw that the guy behind me was wearing a MAGA hat. I told her and she promptly made him remove his hat and take it to his car. This made me so happy. It's the small victories...

I have to admit that as I pulled into the parking lot I was slightly intimidated by all the last minute campaigners sitting among the hundreds of signs planted beyond the 100 foot radius they must be from the polling station entrance. I've voted many times and am strong of conviction. Even so, I always find such displays jarring. I think these signs need to be removed even further afield.

I voted for fellow Oklahoman, Elizabeth Warren. Pragmatically I should have voted for Biden. But I went with both my brain and heart. I'm sick of pragmatism. I'll vote for Bernie if he's the nominee. But I honestly don't think he has a chance against Trump. I'm also not impressed with his dogmatic, uncompromising view of doing politics. That's not how leadership works and that type of intransigence will spell disaster in Washington. I think Biden is too old and too cozy with the establishment.

Warren probably doesn't have a chance. But she got my vote.

Here We Go...

So I was looking at my presidential predictions from February 2019 and man was I was way off. I've always been a terrible predictor of presidential politics. One year ago I predicted Kamala and Booker as the last two standing in the Democratic nomination process. I didn't expect Bernie to get back in it. Buttigieg was not even on my radar. Same for Klobuchar and Bloomberg.

American presidential politics is extremely unpredictable. Who would have thought a reality TV star would get elected and get the evangelicals to worship him despite his brazen amorality? Who would have thought high profile senators from California and New Jersey would fail so miserably in the nomination process? The mayor of South Bend, Indiana as a contender? You kidding me? A 78 year old self-proclaimed socialist as the leading candidate? I was a history/political science major in college and I saw none of that coming.

So...my predictions are pretty much worthless. But here goes anyway.

If Bernie gets the nom, Trump wins in a landslide.

The Democrats are going to screw this up, again. They have an amazing shot at victory. They have in their sights a president who is unpopular and a mess. But they're going to put up a nominee who will scare moderate Americans to death. The word socialism will be uttered in every Republican ad. Bernie is volatile and a bit scary when he gets angry.

Trust me, I will vote for Bernie if he's the nominee. I just don't see him attracting the votes of average Americans especially when the economy is strong. No one is going to vote for a revolution when unemployment is at 3% even if many of those jobs can't pay the bills. If he continues to say he will raise taxes on the middle class...he'll be toast in the general election.

So, with my record, I've probably just handed the election to Bernie Sanders. I just don't see it. Elizabeth Warren maybe. Amy Klobuchar possibly. But Sanders?

Lots of things can change over the next few days and months. Coronavirus. Stock markets. Wars. No telling what might happen. It's a chaotic world.

Things Old and New

One of the many things I really admired about my Grandfather was his refusal to be left behind the times. He was not scared of change and was always curious about how new technology worked. This was a guy who grew up on a farm in central Kansas during the Dust Bowl days of the Great Depression. His family used an outhouse. But he was always curious about how things worked. He got a degree in Industrial Physics from Kansas State University and became an engineer for McDonnell-Douglas.

But even after retirment he didn't quit learning. In his 70's, he enrolled in an Intro to Computers course at a local Juco so he could remain ahead of the curve when it came to understanding the newest technological innovations. VCRs, vinyl records, eight-tracks, cassettes, Compact Discs, DVD players, Mp3 players, the internet, email and wifi did not intimidate him as they did for so many of his generation. He learned how to use excel even though he had been retired for years. He used it for his financial planning. He did not fit the old stereotype that you can't teach old dogs new tricks.

But he also took great care of the things he had purchased. When my Grandmother told me to look to see if there was anything of his that I wanted after he passed, I found some old super 8 cameras and a movie projector. I also found an amazing analog non-electric typewriter. He probably hadn't used that typewriter in years. But it was clean and safely kept in its case. He took care of stuff even if he had moved on to newer things.

Recently I've taken a liking to old tech. I have an old overhead projector in my classroom that I use as a decorative piece. I have an old fireside chat type radio. I've got a few old super 8 cameras. I have an old stereo receiver and turntable. I like these things even if I don't use them much. I wish I still had my old Walkman! These things are heavy duty, built to last. I guess they came before the planned obsolescence way of doing things.

I really like the look of this typewriter in my classroom. It reminds me of my Grandfather. It also reminds me of a time when products were impressively engineered and were often works of art themselves. My wife makes me keep these things in my classroom. Not sure what I'll do with these things when I retire. But for now, I'll enjoy looking at them and how they remind me of the past.

Barometers

I have to admit I thought about closing down this blog after my Grandfather passed away last week. He was one of my most loyal readers. In fact, I'm not even sure anyone else even reads this thing. To be honest, most blogs are vanity projects and The Internet Lounge is no different. After he passed I thought, what's the point of continuing since my only reader is gone? But I started this blog really for myself. It keeps me writing. I also find it cathartic. So, even if no one is actually reading this, I may keep it going. A voice crying in the wilderness.

So anyway, my Grandmother asked me if there were some things of my Grandfather's that I might want. So I came home with a few items. These items are not worth a whole lot financially. But they hold a lot of sentimental value for me.

One of these items was a German made ATCO barometer. This hung in my grandparent's kitchen for as long as I can remember, at least forty years. It hung in an indention in the wall above their phone. I don't even know the story behind it. I'm not sure where or when they got it. I just know that it fascinated me as a kid. I would check it regularly whenever we visited Grandpa and Grandma. To me it represents a continuity that's lasted my entire life. My entire life it hung on that wall showing the barometric pressure of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I'm not sure how accurate it is. That doesn't really matter. But it would be super cool if it actually does work. I calibrated it yesterday and so far it seems to be pretty close to the barometer reading on my Weather App on my phone. I plan on keeping an eye on it for awhile to see if it truly works. Either way, I really like this piece. It reminds me of great memories in that kitchen in that house on Oswego in Tulsa with wonderful people.

Rest in Peace, Grandpa

My Grandpa was and is one of my heroes. This past weekend he passed away after 94 years of living an amazing life. A compassionate and godly man, he was always helping others. He was a rock in my life. An engineer who worked on the Apollo spacecraft, learned to ski at age 54 and skiied until he was 77. A scratch golfer, proud Kansas State Wildcat and great singer. He served in dozens of capacities at Will Rogers United Methodist Church for over 50 years. I will miss his infectious laugh and great stories. He was also one of the few readers of this blog. So much more I could say. I will miss his advice and wisdom. Rest in Peace, Grandpa.

Chiefs Rally

Be forewarned: I'm going to sound like a grumpy old man on this post.

I must admit I was disappointed by the Chief's Super Bowl Victory Parade that wrapped up in front of Union Station yesterday. Two major things stood out to me...

1.) The crowd size. People were saying beforehand that they expected a million people to attend the parade and rally. 800,000 had come to the Royal's victory parade and city officials expected even more for the Chiefs. The NFL is more popular than Major League Baseball and it had been 50 years since the Chiefs had won the World Championship.

But, watching on TV,  I noticed pretty quickly that the hill in front of Liberty Memorial was much more sparsely crowded than in 2015. The early photos had captions that said more and more were coming. But even by the end of the rally, the Chief's crowd paled considerably to the crowd that came to the Royal's celebration. That crowd was spectacular. The Chief's crowd? Kind of embarrassing. I will admit that photos can be highly misleading for numerous factors.

I have to assume that the weather was the big difference maker. 2015 saw a beautiful fall day of 70 degrees for the Royals parade. Yesterday was 20 degrees with wind chills in the teens. Knowing that you would have to wait for hours in cold weather to get a good spot might have convinced many to watch the rally on TV. Still, cold weather would not have stopped fans in Buffalo or Denver. Even Boston had bigger crowds after six Super Bowl titles. Granted, KC's population is not the size of Boston but I would have expected more fans to show up.

The Royals also drew fans regionally to their rally. The weather looked dodgy, with snow and ice in the forecast. I'm guessing fans from Topeka or Harrisonville were not going to risk it this year.

In 2015 there were many logistical issues that arose due to the large mass of people coming to downtown Kansas City. People parked on the shoulders and banks of freeways and interstates. There were not enough port-a-potties. Although joyous, it was a bit chaotic. Even though the metro area made vast logistical improvements this year (many more restroom facitilies, more shuttles, simpler parade route, no alcohol) a lot of people may have not been willing to deal with it, especially in bad weather.

Another factor is that in 2015 it had been thirty years since the last championship parade. In 2020, only five years had lapsed despite being a parade for a different team and sport. My guess is that many were of the mindset that 'I did it in 2015 and dealt with all the hassles because it had been a long time, but now...I'll just be watching from home.' There's also an expectation that the Chiefs may be set up for many more of these parades in the years to come. That expectation is very premature. Championships should never be taken for granted. But most Royals fans cherished that 2015 title knowing that because of how MLB economics work, it might be a long time before the next one.

Even though is was 50 years between championships for the Chiefs, I think most Chiefs fans know that the NFL's structure makes it much more likely KC can afford to keep their star athletes. Royals fans knew that the window for their team was much shorter and that they should enjoy each and every moment of 2014 and 2015. I know I sure did. Maybe things will change with a new owner but for a small market team, it's much harder for a team to do what the Royals did in 2015 than for what the Chiefs did in 2019-2020.

I'm guessing all those factors led to smaller crowd sizes. I could be way off. Who knows? Still kind of embarrassing. I bet the commemorative photos of the Chiefs rally will be zoomed in pretty tight.

Here's where I will sound like an old man...

2.) I was disappointed by the overt alcohol consumption of the Chief's roster. Alcohol was banned for public consumption along the parade route. But Mahomes and Kelce made fools of themselves by multiple shotgunning of beers. Mahomes had to make a pit-stop halfway in the parade. Then, from the top of a bus he poured beer down to the street to a waiting Kelce. A lot of Chiefs fans think that was awesome. I found it sophomoric. It was the antics of frat boys. You didn't see the Royals act that way in 2015. The Royals had much more class.

Half the team, when they spoke at the rally, were obviously inebriated. Slurred speeches and Tyreek Hill having to be held up by teammates is an embarrassing moment for the team. I was particularly embarrassed by Mahomes. He's always carried himself with dignity and respect. Yes, he's been seen pounding beers at different sporting events around town. But this was a big stage with a lot of kids in attendance. A lot of KC schools cancelled yesterday for the parade and there were a lot of students on the parade route. And that's what they saw, the leader of the team shotgunning beers. I expect that from Kelce and Hill. But Mahomes? You're the 2018 MVP and the reigning Super Bowl MVP. You're the face of the Chiefs and maybe even the NFL. You want to be paid $40 mil a year? Then put the beer down and enjoy the crowd's adulation. That was bush league.

I'm not throwing away my Mahomes shirt or anything. I don't expect these guys to be saints. But such public displays of idiocy by the MVP was troubling. I certainly hope this isn't the beginning of a trend. The Chiefs have had enough Kareem Hunt type stupidity. He's only 24 and he's been pretty mature in so many ways. Let's hope the maturation process continues at the next Super Bowl parade (if Chiefs fans are so lucky to have another one).

Chiefs Win!

I did not think it would happen. I seriously never believed the Kansas City Chiefs would win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. They last won the title four years before I was born. And all those films of Hank Stram and Len Dawson looked like ancient history as I was growing up in Overland Park.

Wow.

Mahomes is the real deal. Andy Reid so deserved this.

Only downside is that when I wear my Chiefs gear from now on people might think I'm a bandwagon. Other downside is my Dad wasn't here to see it. I would have loved being in the room with him for this. He died one month before the Royals won it all in 2015 and also missed this. But I got to share these memories with my son, so that's something special. 

A Tale of Two Cities (again)

Yesterday I finished reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. This was my third time to read the book. I first read it in high school and was underwhelmed. I read it again after I graduated college. I was living in Europe and I found it spectacular on the second read. I picked it back up a few weeks ago because my classes were studying the French Revolution and I was fondly reminiscing walking by many of the sites (and sights) mentioned in the book on our trip to France in 2018.

I found the beginning slow going. Some of the prose seemed over-wrought. There were too many convenient coincidences. All these criticisms have been expressed for the last 200 years by smarter people than me. But wow, the ending still packs a punch even when you know what's coming. Any shortcomings, and who am I to critique Dickens, are forgiven with the fantastic build up to a poignant climax. Two Cities is one of those books that when finished, you lay it down and just sit for a few minutes to take in what you just read. Not a lot of books do that for me.

The photo above is from my September 2018 trip to Paris. That's me at the Place de Concorde. That Egyptian obelisk behind my shoulder was put there decades after the French Revolution. But that's the spot where the Guillotine reportedly stood. It's in that square where Louis and Marie Antoinette were executed among with thousands of others both innocent and guilty. Very few books do as good a job describing the fury and terror of the French Revolution as A Tale of Two Cities.  

Kansas Day

Happy Kansas Day!

Unbelievable

Well, it finally happened. The Kansas City Chiefs will be playing in the Super Bowl. This will be the first time in my life that they finally broke through and made it to the Championship Game. KC had only made it to the AFC Championship three times during my lifetime. So, Chiefs fans are not used to this. Fifty years since the last time they appeared in the big game.

So many years of playoff disappointment. Leading the Colts 38-10 in the third quarter and still losing that game. Having a successful two-point conversion against the Steelers only to be called back for a bogus holding call which cost KC the game. Being up 21-0 to the Titans two years ago and losing 22-21. Finally getting home field advantage in '95 only to lose 10-7 to the Colts with KC's kicker missing three field goals. Losing to the Colts in the No Punt Game of 2003. And the worst of all...last year, leading the Patriots by 7. Dee Ford lines up six inches offsides which negates an interception of a Tom Brady pass which would have ended the game and sent last year's Chiefs to the Super Bowl.

And those are just the playoff disappointments.

There were many years of awful football in between. And some great regular season success. But even Joe Montana could not break through as the QB of the Chiefs.

But now, exhale, the Chiefs are in. And I've been nervous and skeptical all year. But now I'm all in. I'm laying it all out there. I started rooting for the Chiefs when I was five-years old when I moved to Kansas City. I went to my first game in Arrowhead in 1985 with my Dad. He and I sat through many a disappointment in front of the TV. Man, I wish my Dad was here to see this. He remembered Len Dawson and Super Bowl IV. But that was before I was born.

So I'm going to enjoy this. This is why staying loyal to one team is so rewarding. Those bandwagon fans can enjoy swapping teams year to year. But the joy runs deeper when you've rooted for a team through the ups and downs and they make it to the pinnacle. It's all gravy for me now. I want them to win badly. But I'm also just glad to be here as a fan!  

Thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker, Part Two

 

Another reminder of SPOILERS below...

I found The Rise of Skywalker highly entertaining. I walked out of the theater very satisfied. It wasn't perfect, I have my quibbles, but overall I thought it was a fitting way to end the Disney trilogy of Star Wars films. It was obviously a massive attempt at course correction. Throughout the movie there are pretty blatant signs of JJ Abrams distancing himself from the disastrous Last Jedi. The example I like most is when Rey attempts to throw Luke's (and Anakin's) old light saber into a burning TIE fighter. Luke, as a force ghost, catches the light saber and says "A Jedi's weapon deserves more respect." This was an obvious paean to Star Wars fans who felt disrespected by Luke's casual flinging away of that same light saber at the beginning of The Last Jedi. There are other little digs at TLJ throughout the movie. Each one gave me great satisfaction.

Some critics have dismissed such moves as mere fan service. That type of criticism is elitist and insulting. Who else should Star Wars be made but for the fans who have supported it for over 40 years? Be creative, subvert expectations all you want, but what's wrong with throwing in a Lando or Wedge here or there? "Fan service" is an artificial term created by non-Star Wars fans to insult those the movies are made for. 

One issue mentioned a lot is that the movie seems to pack a lot of narrative action in just two and half hours. Again, it's pretty obvious that Abrams had some vision of where he wanted this to go in TFA but found that vision destroyed in TLJ. He had to reroute some ideas and it's like he was burdened with cramming two Star Wars movies into one. The pace would have been considerably different if The Last Jedi had not gone off the rails. 

So yeah, I liked The Rise of Skywalker but...let's take a look at this whole thing from 30,000 feet. 

First of all, I'm amazed that Disney seemed to fly by the seat of their pants on these three movies. Allowing different directors to create their own visions created an inconsistency that will dilute this canon forever. You would think that Disney, possessing a property as financially valuable and culturally influential as Star Wars, would take greater care in having an overall plan for the three movies. But storylines were created and then abandoned at will. It's sloppy planning and it shows. That's what ticked off SW fans the most about TLJ, stories were started and then haphazardly thrown away. Movie goers often complain about studio influence in the creation of movies. But in this case, more studio influence may have been welcome.

My final question regarding these three movies, now that the saga is complete, is were they really necessary? Nothing strikingly new was offered. An orphaned teenager on a desert planet discovers a  connection to a mysterious life force that connects them to a larger universe. They shockingly discover they are related to one of the great evil figures in the galaxy and must confront them in order to save democracy. On the way, they confront a mysterious man, dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a red laser sword. They join up with a  pack of fast talking friends and robots and go on various adventures including destroying a planet-killing space station (and then planet-killing Star Destroyers). 

The over arching narrative is merely a copy of the original trilogy. The only thing this new trilogy accomplished was marketing even more merchandise for Disney and perhaps rekindling interest in various Star Wars spin-off projects. 

I hate to be that cynical of the overall project. I truly did enjoy The Rise of Skywalker. I liked much of The Force Awakens. Even the The Last Jedi had some nice bits here and there. But I can't help to think this was an opportunity lost. How much fun would it have been to see Luke, Leia and Han (and Chewie, R2, Threepio) all together again...at least for a little bit. The original characters could have easily been integrated with the introduction of new characters. Greater cohesion and planning could have made this work. But, we're all experts aren't we? I think JJ pulled off a near miracle in wrapping this up the way he did.

 

Thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker, Part One

I guess I shouldn't delay the inevitable expression of my thoughts on the (supposed) closing chapter of the Skywalker saga...Star Wars, The Rise of Skywalker. I've refrained from posting comments earlier for two reasons. I didn't want to divulge any spoilers and I needed to see the movie again and have some time to process.

So yes, there may be SPOILERS in this post. You've been forewarned.

First, like the yellow crawl before each Star Wars movie, let me provide some context. I loved the original trilogy, was disappointed by the prequels and was skeptical when a closing trilogy was announced. I thought The Force Awakens started well and then faltered in the second half as it pretty much mirrored the original A New Hope and Return of the Jedi with yet another attack on a planet killing base. But I gave TFA some room for doubt because I assumed it was a movie that was simply laying the foundations for a larger and greater story. I remember walking out of the theater on first viewing and thinking to myself that at least it was better than the prequels (although my estimation for Revenge of the Sith has only grown over the years).

Then, The Last Jedi screwed everything up. Trust me, I wanted a fresh and original story. But the execution of the new directions explored in TLJ was sloppy and amateurish. The casino side story was a narrative waste. The Holdo Maneuver was a cheap cop out. The Poe Mutiny was unnecessary. The throwing away of Admiral Akbar's character, unforgivable. Unfortunately any criticism of the Rose Tico character has been shielded with automatic responses that you must be racist if you didn't like her. Yes, there were terrible racist trolls who cyber-bullied Kelly Marie Tran on her instagram page. That is despicable behavior. But that shouldn't rule out legitimate criticism of a poorly conceived and executed character. I found Rose's sister a much more compelling figure in just the few seconds she had onscreen. Rose's character was introduced clumsily and even more clumsily forced into a romantic relationship with Finn when his feelings toward Rey had already been alluded to. It felt like forced inclusion of ethnic diversity rather than an organic relationship.

TLJ reeked with "look how clever I am" direction from Rian Johnson. Look, I'm going to take everything JJ set up in TFA and flush it down the toilet. The opening scene of Luke throwing his light saber away over his shoulder was a "screw you" to both JJ Abrams and Star Wars fans. All the Star Wars fans I know don't mind their expectations subverted if done in an entertaining way that's faithful to the character development previously established. TLJ was simply a hack job done in lazy fashion. I could go on and on about the deficiencies of TLJ, but this post was originally supposed to be about my thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker. So I'll end my TLJ rant there.

And with the fear that this post is getting too lengthy I'll post my detailed thoughts on TROS tomorrow. But suffice it to say. I left the theater both times I saw it satisfied. It was a very well done course correction...a massive attempt to fix what had been ruined in TLJ. But I have some overall thoughts about whether or not this new trilogy was necessary and other thoughts on TROS. More tomorrow.

HBDJDW

 We have a teenager in the house! 13! Happy Birthday, man!

Hot Chocolate Days

We had a good holiday season and a nice sabbatical from blogging. We were busy with all sorts of fun activities. Celebrated Christmas at home. Headed up to Indiana to celebrate some more. Made it back on New Years Eve. Still had a few days to rest and get reloaded. Today we're back at the grind. Got to make the most of it. Only 18 more weeks left in the school year!

During the break, my daughter decided to run a Hot Chocolate Stand in front of our house. She wanted all proceeds to go to the local animal shelter. She conceived and executed her vision with very little assistance from us. Her big brother did agree to help her run the stand. She made $21 in an hour! That was a much bigger take than I was expecting in that we live on a quiet street on a horse shoe road so we don't get much traffic. She was excited and they had a lot of fun.

HBD Dad

Well, today would have been my Dad's 69th birthday. I miss him every day. Literally every day. Yesterday I went to his grave site and shared a Mexican Coke (his favorite drink) with him. Happy Birthday, Dad.