Like how Magic The Gathering retires decks and the game evolves, academic contests should do the same. One year is spelling, the next grammatical use. Perhaps flip it; we’ll give you the spelling and you use it in a sentence. It can evolve towards the Poetry Out Loud national competition, while having those poetry kids…

I’m going to propose the opposite: Infield only games.

I was about to note that I’ve not thought of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Donald Trump in the same thought before. Then, I could not help but think that, watching Trump, his administration and the constant election cycle, I am constantly reminded of Zaphod Beeblebrox as President. More specifically, this:

Stacey Abrams.  Calling it now.

Where’s the Conan love?  Bee?  She’s great.

But smug asshats, when called on THEIR ignorance, dismiss that fact as “unimportant.”

So, does he mean “grandstanding like THEY’RE in the middle....” or “like THEY ARE....”

In Dr. Sears’ Baby Book (a must for every new parent) he gives an anecdote about trying to get soldiers on a Marine base to use a sling and practice attachment parenting. No bites. Then he went to the PX, bought a few yards of camo fabric and made a sling. Bam, Marines walking around with their newborns.

If you have not read the New York Times interview with Stacey Abrams I encourage you to do it now. I’ll wait.

I am a big David Allen Getting Things Done (GTD) fan who has dabbled in using Google Keep lists (I made one for each day, plus extra lists (grocery!)). The problem I ran into was, when that moment came, nothing on the list looked appetizing.

This is everywhere. Both Game of Thrones and Handmaid’s Tale became less coherent once they moved beyond the books. Those books grounded everything because the plot had an arc and all of the elements were already proven. Unless the producers have a story they want to tell, it just becomes derivative.

Cool. I teach middle school and, in the morning, we post a list of information (lunch, special events) but end with a low risk question, the answer to be written below on the whiteboard. Some are benign (favorite drink) and generate little response. Others get conversations going, if no written answers. They include…

“Gnomeo and Juliet”. While I agree that those Muppet moments are special, Elton John himself doing a performance that has little-to-no actual story is just a cool concert for kids. “Gnomeo and Juliet” at least have to work those Elton John songs into the plot.

Thanks.  I’m the type of person who would let Huh-Buh-Coo come out as a brain fart.

I understand the concept of punching up vs. punching down, but I don’t know if terms like “porch monkey” or the n-word are ever okay. Too much....

So many kids don’t know how to play cards; any games. Once they know a good one, it becomes a natural go-to.

Older white male in Vermont question: Is HBCU pronounced H-B-C-U or is it somehow said as a single word? I’ve never heard it spoken aloud.

It means nothing to men because we can skirt responsibility. If someone pushes that responsibility, men push the “I have rights” card and make it all so awful. A start would be:

I’d say, “If there IS A SOUL, why do you get off on a women’s suffering?” If Jesus is anti-abortion, I’m sure he’d support free health care and preschool. I’m sure he’d feel a personal responsibility to make sure every child is loved and taken care of. The last thing Jesus would do, I’m thinking, is slut shaming or…

The people who are passing these laws just don’t want to know, but want to tell everyone else how to run their lives (based on their own ignorance).