I used to really enjoy watching The Ellen DeGeneres Show.  It’s on tv in my area at 4pm, so I used to watch it all the time while I was feeding my youngest daughter.  Since that is no longer a job that requires sitting down for a good 30-60 minutes – quite the opposite nowadays actually! – I haven’t caught Ellen in ages.  But the other day, I was reminded of a viewer of Ellen’s who she made a few phone calls to on the show…  An 88-year-old named Gladys who was as matter-of-fact as can be and just hysterical.  Check out the clip from her first sound byte on the show below.  Gladys first calls Ellen’s show and leaves a message, which is funny enough by itself, but when Ellen calls her back, hilarity ensues!  Check it out:

And here Gladys gives a glowing review of American Idol, specifically Sanjaya’s hair:

I wonder if Ellen still talks to Gladys or how she’s doing?  Wish I had time to catch Ellen’s show, it was really funny and fun to watch.  Well, I will have a newborn to sit and feed in a matter of months, so maybe then I can turn on the tv and enjoy some comedy once again…

I betcha you’re thinking, wow, she thinks highly of herself…  I am Legend, geez…  but no, I was just realizing how it’s been a REALLY long time since I’ve reviewed a movie!  Part of it is because we aren’t watching nearly as many, just been pretty busy lately.  With the time change, it stays light out until 8, so we like to take family walks after dinner.  By the time the kids get settled after that though, there hasn’t been any time for movies, so we’ve been watching old episodes of The Office instead…  not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s been fun, but I just haven’t seen many movies lately.  The other night, we did manage to pop in “I am Legend“, an end-of-the-world movie starring Will Smith.  It chronicles the story of the very last man on Earth (well, kinda) as he strives to find a cure for the virus that is responsible for exterminating mankind.  I said he’s kinda the last man on Earth because he co-exists with these creatures who used to be humans, until the virus turned them into creepy, maniacal, flesh-devouring beasts.  Luckily for Smith, they can only come out at night because light proves fatal to them, so he spends his days collecting samples and information to study and do experiments in his lab at night, hoping to find a cure for the virus, a virus that interestingly mutated from what humans originally believed was a cure for cancer.

The movie was entertaining, though I have to admit when I first starting watching it, I had a bit of “Doomsday” dread – see my previous post of the same name about one horrible movie – if you dare.  However, “I am Legend” ended up only sharing generic end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it characteristics with the movie “Doomsday”, thank goodness for that.  Speaking of end-of-the-world movies, the creatures in “I am Legend” also reminded me a bit of the ravaging monsters in “28 Weeks Later“, but in a genre like this, I guess it’s difficult to be entirely unique.

It might seem lonely being the last man on Earth, but Will Smith’s character does have a faithful companion, a dog named Sam.  I’m going to risk a minor spoiler here so I can tell you what I really liked about their relationship.  In a moment of weakness, Will Smith is cradling his strong dog buddy Sam, and we learn that the dog’s name is actually Samantha.  The symbolism here is very well done and notably appreciated – you’ll have to see the movie to get it, even though I probably just spoiled that part for you – oops.

Overall, as I said, it was entertaining to watch, and pretty creepy at times.  The overuse of computer animation was annoying to say the least.  There were lots of animals in the film – beasts roam the deserted shell of what’s left of New York City – but they were all computer animated.  I agree with the person who reviewed the movie on imdb.com, I can live with the animals being computer generated, but the virus-addled humanesque beasts, now THAT was BEYOND annoying!  They could be pretty scary at times, but it was probably due to the snarling noises more than the way they looked.  During most of the action scenes involving the creatures, the computer animation was horribly fake-looking and even laughable, which of course takes away from the mood of a film such as this.

If you like the mankind-is-extinct type of movies or are a Will Smith fan, I think you should see this movie.  The best parts were the scenes of him roaming a deserted New York City – those were pretty cool to see.  But if you’re the type of person who doesn’t like the hopelessness or loneliness one might feel when imagining the end of the world, not to mention watching frightening creatures unleash terror and violence, skip “I am Legend” and go for “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” instead – classic Will Smith the whole family can enjoy!

Middle school is an interesting age.  Not quite child anymore, but not completely adolescent either.  It is a transition state.  Many teachers stay away from this age, but I don’t mind it so much, depending on the class.  They can range of course from not-a-problem to watch-your-back depending usually on the area.  It is my belief that the family income has a lot to do with it, though really only because it leads to parental involvement.  With low income families, kids are often left to their own devices much of the time when not in school, and I think we can all, by experience 😀 , attest to the fact that young pre/adolescents don’t always make the best choices in life, especially when they are starting to listen to their peers more and the parents become even less active in their kids’ lives, meaning if they were already less active then that almost leaves it at, “Hello son/daughter” and little else.  I am not saying this to blame these parents, as they are often just trying to make ends meet with sometimes two or three jobs and are often the sole parental figure doing it.  I am merely trying to explain why sometimes students are very hard to handle.

Another group of kids that tend to be a problem are ELL kids. Often, but not always, low income is an issue here as well, but another factor causes these students to be a problem.  That factor being that the school system they come from is far more disciplined and strict than our own.  When they come here then, they see school as something to blow off.  Detention has no effect as they just see it as a break instead of a punishment.  Some see getting in trouble as an opportunity to see the teacher get steamed because our options are limited compared to back where they came from.  They learn, in other words, to play our system knowing serious consequences (as they would see it) can’t happen because then the teacher would be in trouble for improperly discipline.  Typically I just warn these students, maybe move them, but other than that just leave a note to let the regular teacher deal with the problem.  There is actually a school where I no longer accept ELL jobs.

Anyway, I just bring this up because for the last two days I was at middle schools.  Thursday was my unexciting science day I already wrote about, and yesterday I did language arts/life skills at another school.  Apparently they were short a sub at that school because they gave me an extra class one period and I know they were doing that throughout the day for that one teacher- every class period had a different sub.  I actually worked with all three grades as a result.  This teacher’s (the main one I subbed for) normal schedule had language arts with 7th grade and life skills (cooking, sewing, ironing, washing clothes…) was with 6th grade.  My added class was with 8th grade.  It was certainly more interesting than the day before.

Well this post is getting really long so I think I will just wrap it up now.  I will probably post tomorrow about drama this week at church and how my teaching goes in the morning- I will be teaching about Saul.  The king, not the pharisee turned Apostle.

This was the telescope I just received for my birthday. It is a 70mm refractor with a Altazimuth mount.  This telescope came with a planetary imager that I will review at a later date.

The mount with this scope, as with most inexpensive scopes is lacking.  It is much to small to support the telescope. It also is a little short to use the telescope standing and looking near zenith.  

This mount was also difficult to aim and keep in the same place.   It had a lot of wobble and wiggle in  both the horizontal and vertical axis.  It also was prone to heavy vibration.  The small finder scope was almost impossible to use.  Most scopes in this class now come with the red dot sights.  That would have been much easier to use. Since this scope is geared toward a beginner, I find that these problems are just too extensive for a beginner to get much real use out of the telescope.

Now on to the telescope.  The optics really weren’t that bad.  There was some blue fringing on the moon and bright stars.  I haven’t looked at any planets yet, so I can’t say on that, but I would assume that any of the brighter planets will have the blue fringe.  This is what I expected with the scope. What I didn’t expect was the amount of reflection in this scope.  It was almost as if there was no baffling or the inside of the tube was painted with a gloss paint instead of flat.  This was very noticeable when looking at the moon.  The detail of the moon after centering it in the eyepiece was good.   I’ll push the power up the next time I get out.

The two eyepieces were inexpensive models, but the views were again what I expected.  I did get some better views when I used my plossels.  I haven’t fully examined all there is to this scope, and have yet to compare it head to head with other scopes.  The diagonal mirror was of similar quality as other parts of the assembly. 

All this said, I’m going to play with the mount to see if I can get it to be a little more friendly.   I want to see if the scope warrents getting a mount update or just making something up in the workshop.   It could be  quick grab and go scope when I don’t want to lug out the reflector or set up the computerized scope.   I will be mounting a small red dot finder to make things easier to find. 

Or incomplete reporting? A story in today’s paper talks about a choir director who quit after the school disciplined him by reducing him from director to assistant director, accompanied by a 20% pay cut. What was his infraction? He let two students who “recently violated the school’s co-curricular code” dress for a concert though they did not actually perform. School code says they could not even dress for the event. Wait, they dressed for a performance?? How… how could the director allow this? Hang him by his thumbs! The students didn’t actually sing? Well so what? Hang him up anyway! To me, this punishment is only a little less ridiculous. However, before I get all bent out of shape, I have to admit to myself there may be more that the paper isn’t reporting, such as were there any problems before this that may have caused the punishment to be more severe than it otherwise would have been? However, the article really gives no indication there could me more than meets the eye.

Prospect High School choir director quits over punishment

On a side note, the former choir director at this school was convicted a couple years ago of sexual abuse of some of his students. It was all over the paper at the time and I actually had been in a musical with him at one time. So had someone else somehow involved at this blog site- you know who you are. 🙂 Just thought I’d mention it even if it’s not at all relevant.

I find it truely fascinating when I discover little tidbits about today’s youth. Recently, a first grade teacher quizzed her students on proverbial phrases. She began by handing each of her 26 pupils a slip with half of a popular saying and asked them to complete it. I was amazed at the number I did not known…..

1. Don’t change horses……………………………..until they stop running
2. It’s always darkest before……………………… Daylight Saving Time (true)
3. You can lead a horse to water but……………..How?
4. Don’t bite the hand that………………………….looks dirty (very wise)
5. If you lie down with dogs, you’ll…………………stink in the morning (don’t know that one)
6. An idle mind is……………………………………..the best way to relax (don’t I know it)
7. Where there’s smoke there’s……………………..pollution
8. Happy the bride who……………………………….gets all the presents (what about the groom?)
9. A penny saved………………………………………is not much (so true…. and won’t get you much gas for your car, either)
10. Two’s company, three’s…………………………..the Musketeer‘s
11. Laugh and the world laughs
with you, cry and………………………………………you have to blow your nose
12. There are none so blind as…………………….. Stevie Wonder (surprised 1st graders know who Stevie Wonder is)
13. Children should be seen and not…………………spanked or grounded
14. When the blind lead the blind……………………get out of the way
15. A bird in the hand………………………………….is going to poop on you (HAHAHA)

I came across this insightful tidbit while glancing at our copy of “Now Hear This” the newsletter from Kenwood Hearing Center in Toledo, Ohio.

No, I am not talking about Wal-Mart. This summer’s Pixar release is called Wall-E. I know very little about it other than it concerns a robot. Apparently, reaction to the concept and promotional tools has prompted talk of a remake of another masterpiece concerning a robot. That fantastic tale of Number Johnny 5 in Short Circuit (and its sequel).

For the uninitiated, Short Circuit stars Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy. The real star of the movie is a military prototype robot that is struck by lightning thereby giving the machine human personality. While on the run from his military masters, Number 5 is taken in by an animal loving peace fanatic. The robot immerses himself in culture primarily found through the television. He develops an affinity for The Three Stooges and learns to dance like John Travolta by watching Saturday Night Fever. The robot and his friend attempt to convince his creator and the entire military that he in fact is alive.

Although, it is cheesy and the special effects are quite dated. Short Circuit is good fun. “You’re mama was a snowblower.”

It may cost more nowadays to play a song on a jukebox (think the last time I played one it cost a quarter). Which brings me to another trend in musical theatre of the past few years: the jukebox musical. These are shows which include songs from artists from other genres: country, pop, rock and roll, etc. Music from artists such as Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Patsy Cline, Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, the Beach Boys,  and Johnny Cash have each had their music be the focal point of stage shows. Smokey Joe’s Cafe was a Broadway hit which brought the Mike Stoller and Jerry Lieber songbook to the stage. Songs such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakety Yak,” “Charlie Brown,” and 36 others are the focal point of the musical revue.

An attempt was made to set the tunes of Elvis Presley to an original story. All Shook Up probably would have done better if it had something to do with the king of rock and roll or at least staged one of his better movies (many of which are better left forgotten).

Perhaps the best known jukebox musical is Jersey Boys. The turbulent history of the 1960s pop music group Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons is told through many of its greatest hits (“Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Sherry,” “Walk Like A Man,” and several others. Jersey Boys was the recipient of four 2006 Tony Awards; is still playing strong at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway; and has touring companies throughout the U.S. and other countries, including Australia.

So…. the next time you are playing a game and the question is asked; “What kind of music makes you want to get up and sing?” be careful. Broadway music may now have more than one meaning.

I recently received an email which directed me to a site where you can find out how many people in the United States share your name.  I thought that it would be fun to discover just how many lucky people shared my name.  To my shock, there was not a single person who has my name.  That is exactly what the result was “There are 0 people in the United States who have that name.”  That is strange, I have had that name for the last 34 years 8 months and some odd days.  I knew I was unique but did not know I was THAT unique.

Subject: How Many Are There of ME????

This activity is fun to do!   Be sure to add your name
to the bottom of  this list. 

Go to this web site https://www.howmanyofme.com/
Put in your first and last name and see how many people in the USA have your name as well.  

After me just put your name and results below like I did. MAKE SURE YOU ONLY WRITE HOW
MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME EXACT NAME. 

Send the message to your friends and remember to SEND IT BACK TO ME so  I can see how the list is growing!

1. There are 41 people in the US named Debbie Pugh.
2. There are 36 people in the U.S. named Kesha Davis.
3. There are 274 people in the U.S. named Evelyn
Arnold.
4. There are 292 people in the U.S. named Rose Burns.
5. There are 72 people in the U.S. named Terri
Gilbert.
6. There is only 1 person in the U.S. named Jenniffer
Kinney.
7. There are 33 people in the U.S. named Esther Good
8. There is only 1 person in the US named Rhonda
Erway.
9. There are only 2 people in the U.S. named Joyce
Antes.
10. There are 9 of us in the U.S. named Thomas
Swartout.
11. There are 12 'females' with the name Debbie
luther.
12. There are 4,461 people named Patricia Martin (oh
my!).
13. There are 1,150 ppl in the U.S. named Kelly Walker
(Kelly Daw-4).
14. There are 18 people in the US with the name
Tiffany Zimmer.
15. There are 97 people in the US with the name Donna
McGhee.
16. There are 1318 people in the US with the name
Donna Phillips.
17. There are 3859 people in the US with the name
RIchard Phillips.
18. There are 2 people in the US with the name of
Karla LaPlante.
19. There are 36 people in the US with the name
Colleen McLaughlin.
20. There are 2,962 people in the US with the name
Mary Murray.
21. There are 77 people in the US with the name Dianne
Murray.
22. There are 10 people in the US with the name Susan
Addy.
23. There 186 people in the US with the name Cheryl
Caldwell.
24. There are 37 people in the US with the name Lisa
Lea.
25. There are 337 people in the US with the name Cathy
Nelson.
26. There only one person in the U.S. named Lea
Sikora.
27. There are 1,010,592 people in the U.S. named Betty
Smith
28. There are 33 people in the U.S. named Mary
Blakeley.
29  There are 9,047 people in the U.S. named Mary
Lewis.
30. There are  487 people in the U.S.  named Charles
Grimes.
31. There are 13 people in the U.S. named Debra Fenn.
32. There are 593 people in the U.S. named Jill
Harris.
33. There are 931 people in the U.S. named Anne
Thompson.
34. There is only 1 person in the U.S. named Aletha
Shell.
35. There are only 35 people in the U.S. named Shelly
Rhodes.
36.  There are only 1 person in the U. S. named
Valorie Rouse
37. There are  140 people in the U.S. named Beth
Griffin
38. There are 143 people in the U.S. named Wilma
Jenkins
39. There are 1,081 people in the U.S. named Louise
Anderson
40. There is 1 person in the U.S. named Treasure
Wasdin
41. There are 3,777 people in the U.S. named Patricia
Clark
42. There are 22 people in the U.S. named Courtney
Mercer
43. There are 20 people in the U.S. named Clarissa
Jenkins
44. There is 1 person in the U.S. named Mikel Bean
45. There are 26 people in the U.S. named Lee Street
46. There are 1 person in the U.S. named Renea
Durrence
47. There are 51 people in the U. S. named Sandy Lane
48. There are 15 people in the U. S. named Sondra Lane

49. There are 3 people in the U.S. named Yolonda Hart
50. There are 35 people in the U.S. named Sharon
Alderman.
51.  There are 10 people in the U.S. named Leslie
Hutchens.
52. There is 1 person in the U.S. named Niki Mainer.
53.  There are 8 ppl in the US named Lucy Brinson.
54.  There are 35 people in the U. S. named Jan Bowen.

55.  There are 4 people in the U.S. named Lisa Ruffo.
56.  There is 1 person in the U.S. named Sheri
Harshman.

57.  There are 29 people in the U.S. with the name Cathy Holder.
58. There are 204 people in the U.S. with the naem Renee Richardson.

59. There are 77 people in the United States with the name Heather Gamble
60. there is 1 person in the united states named charnel hazelton

I should probably explain where the title of my blog comes from.  It’s actually a title I picked out years ago as I was musing while doing housework one day.  I thought, a story about our household should be called, “The Food Chain Gang”.  At the time, we had a few more pets than we have now, completing the chain.  Back then, we were the happy owners of 2 dogs, a cat, a parrot, and a little marsupial (animal with a pouch, like a kangaroo) called a sugar glider.  The sugar glider and the cat have since crossed the “Rainbow Bridge” which some people call pet heaven.  And, if you’re a regular reader, you’ve read that we’ve added a new dog to our family in the last month.  But the new dog doesn’t exactly complete a food chain, so I just felt the need to explain why my blog is called “My Food Chain Gang” even though we are down to 3 dogs and a parrot.

As an animal lover, I would love to add even more pets to our menagerie, however, it’s just not practical right now.  We have 1 dog with some terrier (terror!) in her, Jack Russell to be exact, and she will “hunt” any kind of small animal we bring into the house.  So, my dreams of owning a rat or 2 or 3 will have to wait at least a few years, hopefully more, since the “Jerk” Russell mix is only called that in jest – she is our baby.  My husband and I adopted her before we were married and before the kids were born.  And before you judge me, do the research – rats actually make very good pets!  Unlike many of their rodent cousins; hamsters, gerbils and the like, rats are actually pretty clean, very smart, and they are even friendly and cuddly!

Since I already mentioned wanting a rat, which many people think is a crazy pet, it should be no surprise when I say with sincerity that if I didn’t have small children, I would have a pet alligator.  Again, a little bit of research will tell you that alligators are almost nothing like (in behavior) their fellow crocodilians.  They are actually quite docile and easier to handle than you would think if you know what you’re doing of course – stress that point.  I know some about handling alligators, though I’ve only held small to medium sized ones, and I have never even owned a reptile, so needless to say, this is not an option for me right now…  but maybe someday!

I would also like a tortoise, but with 4 kids, 3 of which will be under the age of 5, I do enough cleaning up around the house as it is – don’t need a tank to clean!  Plus, we are very lucky to be able to afford some mini-vacations now and then, and any more responsibilities for the pet sitter might put her over the edge 😉 

I have always wanted a goat, and now that we live in the country, I can see how easy it is to get one – you can just open up the paper, call a number and buy a goat.  But I don’t think the neighbors would appreciate what our lawn would look like.  Something tells me our quiet residential neighborhood near the heart of the downtown of the city would not be a good place to house a goat.

I would love another cat someday, but I’m allergic.  And it all but broke my heart when I lost my beloved cat earlier this year…  I felt very guilty that I couldn’t really pet her or spend time with her as much as I (and she) wanted because of my allergies.

And talking about cheap farm animals reminds me of another realization I had after moving to the country – baby chicks and ducks are really cute AND very cheep, err inexpensive!  But again, our Jerk Russell would just try to eat any kind of animal like that.  She STILL likes to hunt the parrot when he flies in the house, even though he’s taken a nip at her more than once with his huge beak!

And I would LOVE my own parrot – I’ve always wanted an African Grey, ever since I was really little and read a wonderful book by the same guy who wrote the movie, “The Water Horse”.  The author is Dick King-Smith, and his book, “Harry’s Mad” is just a wonderful story for kids about a boy and his pet parrot.  But while I’m on the subject of parrots, let me talk for a minute about pets NOT suitable for families.  Parrots sure are beautiful animals, and they’re lots of fun when they talk, laugh, and imitate, but they are also very moody and unpredictable.  Most are not cuddly, and if they are, it’s usually only with one person in the household, and they will resent every other person who gets in their way.  Which is what happened with our parrot – he has bonded to Daddy, that’s his “mate”, and the rest of us cannot touch him, OR ELSE we have to deal with the rath of a beak that is strong enough to snap a broomstick in HALF!  Parrots are VERY loud – and there is no relief from their noise.  Their scream can rattle your eardrum, and is almost always guaranteed to make a small child cry.  And, they scream to have fun!  It’s not just when they are upset or want something, so if you think you’ll be able to quiet a screaming parrot, guess again!  Luckily, ours is about to celebrate his 7th year with us, so through lots of growing pains, we’ve learned how to make it work in our house.  Parrots can also be very dangerous, so just like any other animal, kids need to have constant supervision around parrots.  Overall, as the owner of a parrot, I would HIGHLY recommend another pet choice to anyone with kids in the house.

I wouldn’t recommend a sugar glider as a pet either.  Ours was “used” – we actually f0und her at a garage sale – and that is a testament to how often people think it’d be cool to have one of these only to decide later they’re too much work.  They are intelligent, social animals, so they require lots of attention.  However, they are also nocturnal, so you have to be available at night to take them out of their cage to play.  Light will actually damage their eyes, so taking them out at night in a specially under-lit room is required.  They can be nippy, smelly (they excrete an odor to mark their territory), and can even make loud noises all night that keep you awake.  And they require a special diet of fresh fruits and vegetables also, which can be inconvenient and expensive.

So anyway, now that I’ve recommended all the pets that AREN’T good for families, I would say that the standard dog or cat IS great for families.  Obviously, there is a lot to take into consideration when shopping for one of these, and I won’t go into that this time…  if you really need some good advice about why humane societies are a better choice than pet stores and what to look for while choosing a pet, see my previous post called, “3’s a Crowd?”.

So, now you know where the title “My Food Chain Gang” came from.  Maybe someday, I will add to the chain and have a real zoo to call my own.  But for now, I will stick with the gang we have – everybody knows their place in the chain and gets along great!