December 2011 - Page 4 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

Snow Days

It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter went to the same school district a couple years back.

As an itinerant teacher, my wife works in two different school districts. My daughter goes to school in another. The thing that would be most disruptive involves snow days.

Oh, not snow days for me. I got to leave early on a Valentine’s Day storm a few years ago – and a good thing, too, since the buses stopped running shortly thereafter – but generally, I work every day, regardless of the weather.

If wife’s school districts and daughter’s school district are all open or all closed, it’s no problem. If wife’s districts are closed but daughter’s is open, not an issue. But if either of my wife’s districts are open and my daughter’s is closed, that would mean that I would have to take a vacation day off.

The other situation involves snow days not taken. If there are no, or fewer snow days used than scheduled, there may be extra days off and that may mean me taking off in May because it DIDN’T snow. It was so much easier the year the wife and the daughter were in the same school district a couple of years back.

An interesting thing they are considering in Ohio: telecommuting to class. If they did something like that around here, it would help the students not miss so much class because of the elements. I’m not sure, though, how such a program would relieve a parent working outside from missing work, or in the alternative, dragging their children to work in a blizzard.

Jingle Bells – the Fab Four

Kickstarter rules

One can never go wrong by underpromising but overdelivering, while the reverse will cause all sorts of bad will.

I’ve become a big fan of Kickstarter, which prides itself as “A new way to Fund & Follow Creativity.” The very first project, actually, was this from this obscure (to me) record label: Help Polyvinyl Save 10,000 Records From Destruction. “We clear out space, we don’t have to destroy great records, and you get the opportunity to get some awesome music from the likes of Aloha, of Montreal, Mates of State, Joan of Arc, Mike Kinsella, Rainer Maria, and many more,” a total of $26 CDs for $50; wotta deal!

Since then, I’ve backed about a dozen projects, all involving music, film, and/or comics (strips or books), except one. Having done so, I’m getting a good feel for what will really annoy, or not attract, potential donors:
1!) Not being kept informed, particularly when something is going to be delayed. The Winsor McCay Resurrection Project let us know that the film would be delayed because it was, surprisingly, accepted at a prestigious film festival, and releasing it earlier would have disqualified it. And we got to see works in progress. I was cool with that.
2) The goodies offered at different levels are illogical. Why is THAT worth $20 donation, while THIS is worth $50?
3) Fail to send out stuff by the deadline the creator has set. It also takes time to send out those videos, or CDs, or whatever. One can never go wrong by underpromising but overdelivering, while the reverse will cause all sorts of bad will.
4) Change the terms of the agreement. One entity I backed then asked for additional money for international orders because (surprise) it cost more to ship outside the US. Though this did not affect me personally, the move REALLY ticked me off. Related to this: I get the sense that some participants haven’t calculated the COST of sending out the swag. I get the clear impression that some folks don’t ask for enough in the first place.

On the other hand, one music project, only about halfway to the $5000 goal with a week left, added more incentives targeted at businesses, and it was those that pushed her over the top.

If you’re considering seeking funding for your creative endeavor and are considering Kickstarter, make sure you are consistent with your followers. Here are some answers to common Kickstarter questions.

“It worked in China” – Internet-Blocking SOPA Legislation

Tomorrow, a bill that would create America’s first Internet censorship system is going to a full committee for a vote, and is likely to pass. This week, millions will protest censorship, censoring our own posts and asking you to call Congress.

Here’s some background.

Kennedy Center Honors 2011

I have seen over half the movies Meryl Streep has made.

The Kennedy Center Honors took place on December 4, and as usual, it is being broadcast the Tuesday after Christmas, December 27 at 9 pm Eastern time on CBS-TV. I always watch it, because it’s always entertaining, no matter how well I know the honorees.

The inductees, as usual, represent a wide array of talent. Singer Barbara Cook I’ve seen perform on televised versions of her extensive Broadway career.

My knowledge of Sonny Rollins is primarily through the Modern Jazz Quartet, who I’ve heard perform, again primarily on TV.

I actually own a couple of albums of Yo-Yo Ma. As the description notes, he is the country’s “cellist-in-chief.” The last time I saw him play was on TV at the 9/11/2011 performance in New York City.

The early work of singer-songwriter Neil Diamond I really loved. Solitary Man has been covered by Chris Isaak and Johnny Cash, among many others; Kentucky Woman by Deep Purple [listen]; Red, Red Wine by UB40 [listen], and I’m a Believer by the Monkees [listen]. He also had hits with Cherry, Cherry [listen]; Cracklin’ Rosie; Holly, Holly; Sweet Caroline; I Am…I Said; Song Sung Blue; and my personal favorite, Thank the Lord for the Nighttime [listen]. I also own his 2005 album 12 Songs.

As for Meryl Streep, I saw her in Holocaust, the 1978 TV mini-series, and heard her on early episodes of The Simpsons. I’m looking forward to catching The Iron Lady, where she’ll play Margaret Thatcher since I have also seen over half the movies she’s made:
2009 It’s Complicated; Julie & Julia
2008 Doubt; Mamma Mia!
2006 The Devil Wears Prada; A Prairie Home Companion
2004 The Manchurian Candidate
2002 The Hours; Adaptation.
1999 Music of the Heart
1998 One True Thing
1996 Before and After
1995 The Bridges of Madison County
1994 The River Wild
1992 Death Becomes Her
1991 Defending Your Life
1990 Postcards from the Edge
1988 A Cry in the Dark
1986 Heartburn
1985 Out of Africa
1985 Plenty
1983 Silkwood
1982 Sophie’s Choice
1981 The French Lieutenant’s Woman
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer; The Seduction of Joe Tynan; Manhattan
1977 Julia

V is for Vice-Presidents

What of the VPs who never became President?

The United States has had 43 men who have served as President, but 47 who have served as Vice-President.

The first two Vice-Presidents became the second (Adams) and third (Jefferson) Presidents. Those elections, in 1796, when Adams was stuck with a VP of another party, and in 1800, when Jefferson and Aaron Burr had the same number of electoral votes, led to the passage of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution (1804), after which electors voted separately for President and Vice-President, rather than casting two votes for President, superseding a portion of Article II, section 1 of the Constitution.

13 men who were Vice-President became President,

including four after a President was assassinated, and four after a President died of natural causes.

As a result, some Presidents had no Vice-President for all or part of their time of service. This was rectified by the passage of 25th Amendment (1967) which established a procedure for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, among other issues. This got utilized a few times in the decade after its passage.
Richard Nixon was re-elected President in 1972. His VP, Spiro Agnew resigned over improprieties in 1973, and Congress confirmed Gerald Ford as VP. Then Ford became President in 1974 as a result of Nixon’s resignation over Watergate. Congress then confirmed Nelson Rockefeller to be Ford’s VP.

What of the VPs who never became President? The first of these, Burr, is probably best known for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. George Clinton and John C. Calhoun served under two different Presidents. Elbridge Gerry’s behavior in the state of Massachusetts helped create the word gerrymander.

But mostly Veeps are known for the disparaging things they themselves have said about their office, such as these; the John Nance Garner, usually cleaned up to use the word ‘spit’, is the most infamous. It is generally agreed, though, that the VPs in the latter part of the 20th Century and beyond have had far more responsibilities than their predecessors.

Someone came up with a BINGO game so that one could learn the Veeps. I should print this out; I must admit that some of those late 19th-century dudes escape my memory.

ABC Wednesday – Round 9