Last day of school. The end of my 27th year in education. Bout two more to go in PubEd. It was a very good year.
Completed another go-around through the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu. This edition was translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. I read one chapter a day during my lunch break at school. Really calms things down during hectic days.
Eighty-one "chapters" so about sixteen school weeks. I read a different translation during the first half of the year. Very esoteric and abstract with a few practicalities thrown in here and there. The Dao was compiled between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE and became the foundation for Daoism. Restful reading.
It’s a classic summer popcorn movie. And the ending, when they show the cast with that Righteous Brothers song playing, the youthful possibilities of summer seem endless. Everytime when the credits roll a little bit of me is transported back to my 13 year old self.
Town Topic is a Kansas City institution. Open since 1937 they serve great burgers and wonderful pie. There's only ten seats in the tiny place and they were famously open 24 hours a day. Until today. Due to recent criminal events in the area they are closing up nights at 8 pm. Temporarily the say in order to protect their staff and customers. Apparently a man was murdered in the adjacent parking lot last month and the neighboring property owners have done little to stop loiterers from causing problems in the area. This is very sad to hear and hopefully they can get the issues resolved quickly. Supposedly the mayor is on it. We shall see.
I read this after seeing the movie a few weeks ago. I find it a good companion piece to the movie. It fills in some gaps and goes deeper into the story. Much more science. The movie is very faithful to the book. However, I wonder if I would enjoy this book without having seen the movie. Usually I find books much better than their movie adaptations. But in this case, I don't know. I enjoyed the book but I wasn't blown away. And I'm not sure I would have liked it as much without seeing the movie. I have been unfair to Andy Weir...I only read The Martian after seeing the movie and I think I liked the movie more. But it's really hard to know. Either way, Project Hail Mary is a nice enjoyable read.
Some photos of the old Glenwood Theatre popped up on my Facebook feed the other day on some retro Kansas City FB page. This was my favorite theater when I was a kid and they don't make them like this anymore. Built in the 1970's it began with only two screens then in the late 80's expanded to four. It finally closed down in the late 90's and was tragically razed in 2000.
Theater One had over 900 seats. It was carpeted with a thick red carpet with red cushioned seats. There was a giant velvet curtain that covered the screen until time for trailers. It was majestic. For awhile it was the only theater in town outfitted with the THX sound system. This is where you wanted to see all the big movies. This is where I saw Superman in 1978 and The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. I saw dozens of movies here with both my family and friends. I believe the last movie I saw here before my family moved away from Overland Park was Batman in 1989. My friends couldn't make it and I really wanted to see it a second time so I actually went by myself. It was one of the first movies I ever saw by myself in a theater. Little did I know it would be my last visit to the Glenwood.
Even the lobby was grandiose. We took it for granted. You could see the giant chandelier from Metcalf Ave. Underneath that chandelier was where you looked at the movie times, bought your tickets and concessions. There was even a fire place! It was a cool place to wait for your showtime. Eventually me and my friends would frequent other theaters as well. The AMC at Oak Park Mall, or the theaters at Metcalf South became cheaper options. But when a big movie was coming out there was no better place in Johnson County than The Glenwood Theatre.
I visited that location last year. Now the spot is filled with strip malls and restaurants. Times have changed and not always for the better.
I posted this photo thirteen years ago. It just came up again on my photo feed. I wrote this on an actual chalkboard in my old classroom. I miss those old chalkboards. Dry Erase Boards are just not the same. I moved out of that classroom in December 2016 as that wing of our high school was demolished a few months later. These four "secrets" to success still hold up. Honestly, they are more important than ever since so many of my advanced students just aren't in the mindset to be the one in the room who is ready.
