It was days before our Albany presbyter (think bishop – but not really) was to lead the adult education class about race and white privilege and the book Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
That Thursday morning, I watched Black-ish, the ABC sitcom. (I’m a notorious TV time shifter.). And it was good, very good. Sojourners, a journal that “sits at the intersection of faith, politics, and culture,” noted that In Less Than Two Minutes, This Clip From ‘black-ish’ Explains Why Racism in America Isn’t Over. And the New York Times declared With Police Brutality Episode, ‘black-ish’ Shows How Sitcoms Can Still Matter.
Of course, the episode referenced the Coates book, even having the author on briefly. One of those shows that if you get a chance to see, you should. Oh, and read the book, which I should review, shouldn’t i?
A restless night
The night before, I had been watching Modern Family another ABC sitcom. The plot was about a thunderstorm knocking out the power. Suddenly, the loudest thunderclap I think I’d ever heard went off, and I quite literally jumped out of my chair, startled. I turned off the TV.
This blast woke up my household. While The Wife was able to return to sleep, the Daughter could not.
You know I don’t think I can write an excuse for school saying, “Daughter is a little fuzzy today because of thunder.” Heck, I was a little fuzzy myself.
3+3 does not equal 94
Somehow, I got sucked into a Facebook conversation about facts.
A: [who I know]: If I were your math teacher and you told me 3 + 3 = 94 and argued that you were right, I’d have to ask you if you had actually read your lesson in the book…
B: Well that depends on who is doing the math. Now you have to show the 15 steps you took to come up with that 6.
A: you mean I have to show that I’m holding up 3 fingers on each hand and counting them?
B: Have you seen the common core math? [Note: I have. He’s not far wrong.]
Eventually, I threw in my six cents.
“3+3=12 in base 4, 11 in base 5, and 10 in base 6. Just sayin’.”
A: In case anyone is wondering, Roger is a lot smarter than your average person – Not a good one to argue with. He was on Jeopardy.
Damn, I get a lot of mileage being on a game show nearly 20 years ago.