Micronauts movie a possibility

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Steve

This will draw out the usual cliche of “Hollywood is totally out of ideas” from most people yet I beg to differ somewhat. I’m no fan of those crappy Transformers or GI Joe attempts, the former was a chore to get through but the ‘nauts have a little more potential. For years the comic book industry often published titles based upon toy lines, a few were integrated into the core universe with Marvel: Micronauts, Rom the Spaceknight. The majority were insipid, terrible and forgettable: Shogun Warriors, Sectaurs. They didn’t help sell the toys, I think they did the opposite by pointing out the lameness of these toys.

Micronauts was a weird, amazing exception. Author Bill Mantlo created a pretty impressive storyline which borrowed somewhat from Star Wars yet it had a more mature subject matter. It was like there was no concerted effort to sell a product, just good narration.

It would be cool to see the writers assigned to this copy some of the concepts from Mantlo’s run: the Microverse, the Prometheus Pit and the Body Banks; or the Image mini-series. When I saw J J Abrams’ involvement, I figured it will be a collection of explosions, cheesy quotes and major plot holes all at the behest of Hasbro toys.

Let’s see what happens. I think it will never get past development.

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Chicago bound for the holidays

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Steve

What my Jones soda said after confirming this with Nelson and work.

After Grandma died 10 years ago, I have never returned to the Midwest again. All my travel has been to Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Orlando or DC. There was a desire because I still have friends and family up North but I guess it wasn’t strong enough, the sirens of casino machines were just too powerful! Actually, weddings and coordinating Somara’s schedule to coincide with mine were the frequent impetus to those destinations. The years went by. Procrastination set in. Then I got an opportunity to really take advantage of the holiday shut-down period at work; Apple is like the deceased Nortel: from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day, all the salaried employees get an additional week of vacation. In Nortel’s case, I was a glorified temp so I had to fill the salary void by working more hours at my part-time gig. With Apple, phone-support and retail people continue to work since customers need assistance, especially all of the ones who recently got a shiny new iPod or iPad as a gift. I can’t vouch for the retail people but my phone-support comrades get extra pay to compensate or if time off can be gained, a free vacation day.

Last year I was given the opportunity to take the whole period off…a couple days before it started. At first I thought this would be great and I enjoyed it: sleeping in, seeing a friend who visiting from Switzerland, videogames, writing, etc. As the days progressed I realized it would’ve been cooler if I was told much earlier, I could’ve traveled to another city catch up with an old friend. Las Vegas automatically was not considered, New Year’s is the busiest time of the year, same for NYC. This Fall I decided to get a jump on it. The boss said it was alright as long as the other two people at my level planned on working. Both want to be around so they received no objection from me.

Next was thinking of a place to go. My immediate first pick was Chicago to see my brother and his family. I sent an e-mail. We had some great correspondence. I was surprised to see his enthusiasm; we didn’t get along as kids-teens-young adults. Sadly, it fell through due to our parents’ plans. Nick and Anna are their only grandchildren which leaves Brian little choice in my opinion. The falling out I had with the ‘rents isn’t a big secret and there’s little indication it will ever smooth over. So I withdrew. I wanted to be a good guest, not a source of friction. Brian was cool about it. He hopes I will try another day and bring Somara along.

While I was going through the negotiations, I discussed it with my doctor and Nelson. Nelson lives farther south than Brian, practically Joliet from my understanding. He offered to be the ‘escape valve’ location. I thanked him yet said it wouldn’t fair to him. Thus, Chicago was scrapped.

I went back to the drawing board during a monthly budget meeting with Somara about our holiday plans: what to spend on cards, who gets cookies, how many children are we giving gifts, etc. Other locations were pitched as replacements: Nashville, Phoenix, DC, Houston and Dallas. They seemed nice, I just felt those friends would be pre-occupied with their families or work.

The deadline drew closer and gave Chicago another try with Nelson, only if he would be off from work too. He agreed. We discussed some things to do (see below). Most importantly, we got an accord with his wife Tammy; they have four kids, she wanted to make sure this wouldn’t be a week of her having to exclusively juggle them all. Seeing the children is a major component for me, thus it’s not a problem.

The time off from work was secured Sunday afternoon. Nelson gave me the green light on Sunday night. Then the evening’s synchronicity was nailed by my bottle of Jones Green Apple Soda! I have my plane ticket now. What remains? A trip to the airports. Some walking around money. A good cowboy hat, I have to live up to kids’ expectations for living in Texas.

Here’s my initial list of things to do and eat in Chicago, feel free to suggest:

  • Chicago Wolves game, Blackhawks are too expensive if we’re taking the kids.
  • White Castle!
  • Real Chicago deep-dish pizza.
  • A day-trip to Milwaukee to see what Marquette looks like now, pay my respects to Dr. Grams.
  • Weasel some time to see my brother, niece and nephew.
  • Maybe see Phil, another college buddy.
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Less than 650 days to go!

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Steve

Closer and closer we’re getting to our tenth wedding anniversary in Las Vegas. You all better (in Texan, y’all; in Southside Chicagoan, youse) reserve the end of July 2013 for the occasion. I owe some a wedding.

Just the friendly ever-50-days reminder! Or nagging, take your pick.

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I finally got my initials up on a game!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Steve

Ever since I visited Pinballz to celebrate my 43rd birthday, I have practically been to the joint twice a week. It’s a great way to relieve some of the stress I have from work and I’m probably reliving just the positive memories regarding Aladdin’s Castle in the Seventies.

Last month Somara gave me a belated birthday gift, a gold-level membership card. I was reluctant over it initially when she offered this around August. A hundred bucks is a lot plus I feared the novelty would wear off; the PS3 doesn’t get much game action lately. As you can see, I capitulated due to my attendance and doing the math…it pays for itself easily in 10 months. How? Every month I get $20-worth of tokens for $10, a snack (usually candy, this would be a dollar), a soda (another dollar), a discount on renting the party room (Somara plans on having the big 44 there, local friends be ready for a great time!), something with the tickets (I don’t play those games), advanced opportunities to see/play newer machines Pinballz deploys and here’s the kicker, two tickets in the raffle for a machine they give away at Christmas. Oh, finally as you see above, I get exclusivity on MAG as my handle or initials when I nail the high score. I’m not sure how they’ll enforce it yet I won’t worry, I doubt I’ll ever pull this off again with the systems getting more traffic by the serious players: Spider-Man and Medieval Madness for example.

Anyway, I achieved the thrill and honor on Creature from the Black Lagoon which doesn’t focus on the 1954 movie (despite an incredible essay by Joe Bob Briggs), its ramps, targets and goals pertain to elements in a drive-in theater during the Fifties. I played it a couple times before, did alright while I found the replay goal a bit steep (roughly 200 million), it was great fun. Yesterday I made my rounds on mostly favorites, tried some I never had played and figured I’d wrap up on this, then pick up Somara at work. I was definitely in the zone: numerous successes get the ball up the left ramp, racking up 500,000-plus launching it into the “Move Your Car” gate and two “shoot again” opportunities (making it a five-ball game). Before I knew it, the machine made the infamous “smack” noise indicating a replay. It also shows an animation of a projector on its display stating the victory. The bigger thrill was it awarding me an additional replay for having the highest daily score and letting me enter my initials! MAG has always been what I used since I was a kid in the Eighties, not like I did often, other kids had the time and money on their hands to master Asteroids or Ms. Pac Man. Whenever I did have the opportunity, the videogame had been recently reset by the owners.

I didn’t redeem the games though. I donated them to a guy so I could pick up Somara…I was then running late. When I saw the dude jostling Creature rather forcefully on my way out (I had to share my joy with the staff), I regretted my charitable action somewhat. One thing I rarely do is tilt, I find it rude and disrespectful to the owners’ equipment.

Many of you might be thinking, *sigh!* “so what.” Sure, I give you that. However, pinball is making a small comeback. Arcades may have evaporated over the last decade thanks to home consoles being more versatile with videogames. Pinball is a completely different experience. It’s similar to bowling. The real thing requires more skill, stamina and/or technique versus the simplicity through the Wii. Pinball on a computer or console feels sterile plus kids probably know all the cheats to spoil it. I dare Jack Silder to nail the gate to trigger a multi-ball from the toilet without looking!

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Tiki the Jester!

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Steve

We couldn’t resist testing out this Halloween outfit for one of our cats on Tiki. He’s such a good sport about most things. I feel he would be a great Grand Marshall at next year’s Mardi Gras.

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Italian #13: Mike Eruzione

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Steve

Hockey is filled with great Italian players, Phil Esposito often tops this list and I always loved the signs saying “Jesus saves, Espo scores on the rebound!” However, I have to go with Mike Eruzione first because he was captain of the 1980 US team and he scored the game-winning goal that nailed the win over the Soviet Union.

Nicknamed Rizzo, he had a fairly promising career after his four years at Boston University, namely being the second highest scorer in the school’s history. This got him the opportunity to join the US National Team but I think the rules were more lax on amateur eligibility since he played for two years in the IHL. If the movie Miracle is to be believed, Mike wasn’t considered seriously by anyone running US Hockey…except Head Coach Herb Brooks. Here I think it’s some poetic license. Brooks knew Eruzione was captain during his senior year and recognized a strong defensive forward in the NCAA.

After winning his Olympic Gold Medal, numerous NHL offers came in and he turned them all down saying he was retired. His reasoning? He earned a rare and high achievement in the sport, why not finish at the pinnacle of his career. I think he also knew his limits professionally; goalie Jim Craig didn’t fare very well.

Mike’s post-hockey career focused on motivational speaking and sports commentary on ABC and the Madison Square Garden Network. Currently he handles alumni matters at Boston University (where a friend’s niece is going and it’s the alma mater of Stars blueliner Dan Spang!) and assists in charity work.

Finally, I have an autographed puck form #21 which was a gift from a co-worker. I keep it in my cube as a little inspirational reminder.

Posted in History, Hockey, Italians | Leave a comment

DC reboot part four

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve

JLD will focus on the magical characters

Justice League Dark appears to be hybrid of a traditional superhero comic and a more-adult Vertigo title. For those not familiar with Vertigo, its DC’s imprint which caters to nontraditional comic buyers, namely Goth kids who love Sandman, vampires and anything written by a British dude. I was personally attracted to it because the team’s membership includes Zatanna, Deadman and Shade the Changing Man. Just to nitpick though, Shade’s M-Vest isn’t magical, it’s a gadget from his native dimension but author Peter Milligan may have altered its nature when he wrote the Nineties comic.

Out of the five initial titles I chose in DC’s 52 reboot, Dark has been the clear winner through its story, an origin story about the team’s formation, grabbed my interest immediately and left me hanging at the right point. Justice League and JLI tried but came up short. Suicide Squad and Teen Titans weren’t even close. The artwork has been excellent as well.

The story appears to begin in the present day. The Justice League is an established organization with Zatanna as a lesser member, as she has since Seventies. Somewhere in the sticks, longtime adversary the Enchantress is wreaking havoc with her magic through a young woman named June Moon. Superman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg are sent to stop Enchantress. There’s a huge flaw in the plan. Superman is not just vulnerable to Kryptonite, he’s powerless against magic so he gets cut to shreds while the other two heroes have to rescue Supes. Zatanna and Batman witness this remotely, ponder a new battle plan. Zatanna tangles up the Dark Knight with her famous spells, understanding she has to go it alone; she figures that if she dies, the world will be alright, if Batman dies, the world will be in deep trouble.

Little does Zatanna know, fortune teller Madame Xanadu has foreseen the crisis and is pulling the strings to assemble a team consisting of John Constantine (a Vertigo staple from Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing days), Deadman and Shade. I know Deadman can possess people’s bodies and Shade’s M-Vest can manipulate reality. I’m not sure what Constantine brings to the party beyond indie credibility.

Where things go next should be interesting. Sadly, I think this book will be one of the first casualties when DC has to start culling less profitable titles. The last couple times I went by my store, there was a hefty stack of unsold JLD #1’s and I don’t think they were reprints. I’m hoping interest will pick up soon. It would be a shame to see a rather intriguing experiment fail before it has the chance to be the next Vertigo-esque Doom Patrol or Seven Soldiers of Victory without the disappointment.

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Italian #12: John Capelletti

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve

Franco Harris is usually the more logical choice with football, especially with his Super Bowl titles during the Steelers’ dominance. However, I went with this former Heisman winner because of a cheesy, made-for-TV movie I saw a couple times as a kid, Something for Joey. My ex-roommate Paul, a walking sports encyclopedia probably knows it. I would agree with him that it’s not Brian’s Song or Rudy yet it belongs in their company because it really happened.

John played football in high school and went on to Penn State. He was relegated to defensive halfback since the Nittany Lions had Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell as runningbacks (or whatever college has). Once John got the chance to play tailback, he really shined. In 1973, he scored 17 TDs, rushed for 1522 yards (three games with 200-plus) and helped Penn State go 12-0. It’s a small wonder this got him the prestigious college trophy.

Unfortunately, while he was riding high as a college-football phenom, John’s younger brother Joey was fighting leukemia and losing. If the movie is to be believed, Joey’s situation inspired John to play as well as he did. Regardless, John’s Heisman acceptance speech, primarily dedicated to Joey was the impetus for the movie.

Posted in Diversions, History, Italians | Leave a comment

Italian #11: Manu Ginobli

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve

Since I kicked off with a baseball Italian, I’m going to keep pressing on with sports as I try to catch up, being behind by a few of my one-Italian-a-day goal.

It’s a shame that the NBA 2011-12 season will likely be cancelled. I know the pain all too well since the pinhead NHL owners did the same for 2004-05 season; trust me, the athletes may look rich but the franchise owners get the more lucrative licensing deals and other steady revenues which aren’t dependent upon personal appearances.

Many of you might be disagreeing over this because Manu hails from Argentina which is correct. What most people get wrong is the ethnic makeup of the South American nation. Argentina is dominated by the Spanish language and culture yet there is a significant Italian faction, makeup and influence which the other nations lack (Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, etc).

Being a member of the San Antonio Spurs, the guy is loved by many fans in Central Texas, both English and Spanish speaking. You see his face on billboards plugging Time Warner’s cable services.

What makes him an amazing basketball player goes beyond his heritage. Before he played in the NBA, Manu was on Argentinian and Italian teams. In Europe he earned a couple honors (MVP, Italian championships) which probably piqued the NBA’s interest yet not very much…he was chosen 57th in the 1999 draft by the Spurs. Not a very promising beginning. So he went back to keep playing in Europe until joining the Spurs in 2002 and proved to be one of the greatest steals in NBA history; with his skills, the Spurs have won three titles over the last 10 years.

Lastly, he is only one of two basketball players to have a European championship title, an NBA championship title and an Olympic gold medal (Athens 2004). The other player is Bill Bradley, now more famous for being a former US Senator to anyone under 30. Not a bad set of accomplishments! Most people think Italians are too short to play hoops effectively!

Posted in Diversions, History, Italians | Leave a comment

Italian #10: Joe Girardi

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve

Bear with me on this gentleman, maybe Jeremy can help out via Comments because he’s into baseball, I’m a casual fan at best. Joe was selected as a favor to my friend Helen but he has morphed into a good choice.

Currently, you probably know him as the Yankees’ manager and most people are rejoicing over the Detroit Tigers taking them out of the playoffs. Despite this, he has had a pretty winning record running this team for the last three years.

Before coaching, Joe had a pretty good 15-year career as a catcher with three World Series titles to his name, all with the Yankees. He also played for the Cubs, Rockies (based upon the years, he was a victim of the expansion draft) and Cardinals. So I can like him because he was mostly a National League guy. I may not dig baseball as much as hockey or basketball but one thing I am set on is a dislike of the American League’s teams, they have the same pathetic vibe as the NFL’s AFC. The DH rule is cool though.

Another cool fact I stumbled upon was his alma mater, Northwestern University which is considered popular by its association with another alumnus, Stephen Colbert. According to the bio I pulled up, Joe has a degree in Industrial Engineering so his long sports career may have been a happy accident and/or he was planning on getting a real job. Most jocks I went to Marquette with often avoided “harder” degrees since they had delusions of making it to the Pros.

Thumbs up to Mr. Girardi. May he have a successful run as a manager and I think it would be cool if he went on to be a game-show host like another Italian ex-catcher…Joe Garagiola.

Posted in Diversions, History, Italians | 1 Comment

Roger Daltrey

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Steve

Picture from the Austin American-Statesman.

Most of you who’ve known me for 20-plus years will getting treatment for whiplash; you got it from the double-take you did after reading the headline. Let me repeat, yes, I went to see Roger Daltrey of the Who. My friend Mark B had extra tickets to see this show. They were relatively free because he leased ad space at the Cedar Park Center for the Stars’ 2011-12 season. This being Austin, my love of music, a free ticket and getting a chance to hang out with a friend I don’t see as often as I would like to socially (the core of our relationship hovers around D&D), I couldn’t refuse. Besides, ever since I stopped listening to terrestrial radio, older works by are enjoyable again. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t have to hear the same few hits ad nauseum. The iPod didn’t kill radio (or TV), Lee Abrams, Emmis, Clear Channel, Viacom and the Right-Wing Noise Machine did. The real lesson is that content matters, not technology otherwise NPR and the broadcast networks would’ve evaporated.

Back to the review.

Roger is currently touring North America performing Tommy in order and in its entirety. Substituting for Pete is Simon Townshend, Pete’s much younger brother plus a small four-piece band covering the instruments vacated by Pete (he needed two guitarists), Keith and John. A chunk of the money is donated to teen-cancer research. I don’t think Roger needs the dough, I feel he just enjoys performing. Trust me, at 67, the man could rake in easier lucre than endure the grind of touring.

How was it? Surprisingly impressive given the lineup and circumstances. The only way it could’ve been better was the ticket incorporating a time machine to see the early Seventies’ performances or the early Nineties ensemble on Fox: Billy Idol as Kevin Cousin and Phil Collins as Uncle Ernie.

I have a soft spot for Tommy dating back to childhood. During HBO’s infancy, the network showed the Ken Russell film. It became quite the topic on the playground for a couple weeks, especially the part with Ann-Margaret writhing around in chocolate. The music’s context became more apparent through the indirect Classic Rock History lessons I received from Houston’s KLOL. I never have seen the 1993 London-Broadway musical. I do have the first casting which included Pete Townshend writing an additional song. Maybe someone more knowledgeable of the story can set the record straight for me too. Who killed whom? The boyfriend kills Captain Walker or the other way around? Since the movie is my foundation, I tend side with the former and it makes more sense.

Seeing this concert was another weird instance of synchronicity in my life. Recently, I read about how the whole record came together in the July-August 2011 issue of mental_floss, a magazine designed for me and Jeopardy! contestants. The author considers it a right-brain masterpiece. I have to agree. Without it, The Who probably would’ve dissolved and never made their biggest album Who’s Next which ironically was another attempt at a rock opera, not the all-killer-no-filler collection of singles.

What else about the show? After Tommy concluded, Roger thanked the audience for coming, introduced the band and performed some Who hits alongside a Johnny Cash medley. The biggest surprise was him singing his mid-Seventies solo hit “Without Your Love.” I always thought he was embarrassed by it. Never mind how it’s a great song, it just seemed contrary to his Rock n’ Roll, tough-guy image while this tune is more appropriate for Leo Sayer or Gino Vanelli. He did apologize to the Austin-based crowd that The Who has never performed in Austin and plans to take it up with Pete.

Overall I’m glad I went. It really strengthened my reconciliation with The Who’s music. I used to have a vinyl copy of Who’s Next in high school. I played it pretty heavily while living in North Dakota. “Behind Blue Eyes” has a built-in appeal to teenage boys is my personal theory. Then I ditched it around college with my Classic Rock purge and had a hard time stomaching The Who further because of a douchebag co-worker at GDW. Blaming The Who for this dickweed’s overall bad personality was unfair to them and inconsistent; Roxy Music didn’t suffer the same fate despite GDW’s resident alcoholic. Now I have another notch in my memory dedicated to seeing Rock/Pop History and Legacy filled.

Next up? Getting Mark B a copy of the show, available through iTunes!, as his Christmas present; killing the earworm in my head caused by Mark B’s brother-in-law saying how he wished Roger did “Another Tricky Day,” and finding the Easter egg on The Simpsons‘ 13th season DVD when The Who came to Springfield.

One last thing! I wore my new Roger Daltrey/Tommy shirt to Pinballz and fared pretty well for someone whose senses work.

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Happy Birthday Helen

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Steve

What can I say that hasn’t been already said?

Hopefully she got my funny and blasphemous (to the thin-skinned) card on time. I recall a couple amusing birthday parties we’ve had on her behalf. One involved vandalism through spaghetti and another with an impromptu re-enactment of This is Spinal Tap using the host’s deli tray. Those times both involved Milwaukee too.

This weekend should be fun. Maybe a little celebration through her students (she’s a teacher) and a nice dinner with her family. The weather will be pleasant in the DC area, compared to Central Texas because we need three rainy days a week for the next decade to get back to just stage one. I don’t know what else I could speculate on beyond my rushed homework on her Italian request, I do love a challenge and the assist from her.

If you know my friend, post a b-day wish here. I guarantee you no character limit unlike FaceBook’s 400-something.

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DC reboot part three

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Steve

This team makes CN's show seem brilliant.

Entry number three regarding the DC reboot encompasses another well-loved book from the Eighties as it undergoes its umpteenth do-over. With Teen Titans, I’m guessing 2011 is attempt number five. Titans was originally intended to be a Junior Justice League in the Sixties with the more famous superheroes’ sidekicks. The name was chosen for its alliteration too because Aqualad and Speedy were (and still are) pretty lame characters. When Marvel’s The Uncanny X-Men began its domination over comics in the late Seventies, DC ordered writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez to make something equivalent. I’m sure the editors laughed nervously with their pitch to revamp The (New) Teen Titans since the first series limped along to cancellation by 1978; there were even a couple multi-year gaps between issues due to the industry not being concerned with collectors’ obsession over number ones. Wolfman and Perez succeeded though. They removed the uninteresting members (mentioned earlier), made the three remaining ones closer to adulthood (Wonder Girl, Robin and Kid Flash), brought over Beast Boy from the (even lamer) Doom Patrol and created three new characters which reflected the Eighties’ zeitgeist: Cyborg, Starfire and Raven. They also did interesting stories and developed old and new enemies for them to face: Deathstroke, Trigon, the Fearsome Five, H.I.V.E. and Trigon. The Wolfman-Perez thrill ride ran for about four years, culminating with The Judas Contract story arc which remains a top-three favorite for me. It blows away The Phoenix Saga by a long shot. Sadly, the magic was lost through DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths revamping (the beginning of their crappy rebooting trend) and the title being moved over to a premium, direct-sales only version in an attempt to corner the collector market. Perez soon left to restart Wonder Woman. Wolfman continued writing as the book grew stale, eventually with it being cancelled in the Nineties.

From the ashes of Young Justice (it was a good comic involving Peter David before it was the crappy Emo cartoon on CN), another Teen Titans group arose. This time the characters were second-generation versions (the originals grew up, changed their names): Tim Drake was Robin III, Conner Kent as Superboy, Cassie Sandsmark as Wonder Girl II and Bart Allen as Kid Flash II; plus several previous, more experienced Titans stuck around as mentors: Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven. Much like Justice League of America version number four, the book lost traction thanks to DC’s crossovers and a pointless universe reboot called Infinite Crisis. Titans transformed into a revolving door due to Superboy and Kid Flash dying (they came back to life near the end). New members who weren’t interesting took their place: Kid Devil, sidekick of…wait for it…Blue Devil; or cliche, Ravager, Deathstroke’s “unknown” daughter. One was around and disappeared with little explanation…the new Speedy.

In this reboot, DC has gone to the well one time too many. The core team has Red Robin (Tim has a new name because Batman’s bastard son is Robin IV), Superboy, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash. The cover shows three new ones I have no idea about, I figure they’ll show up in the next issue. However, I don’t know if I will bother. The revised Wonder Girl and Kid Flash are insufferable. Superboy gets a pass since he’s unconscious, waiting to be released from clone tank by the villains. The poor artwork isn’t helping neither. Several weeks ago, I figured Suicide Squad would be my first dropped title thanks to the lazy storytelling and Amanda Waller’s makeover. Teen Titans has overtaken the lead on most craptacular comic book by a country mile. I’m giving it five more issues before I ask my store to take it off my subscriptions.

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Italian #9: Maria Montessori

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Steve

You may see her schools in your neighborhood, especially around Austin. There’s even one near my house. However, what the hell is it exactly? A Montessori school is an alternative learning institution (or plan) which takes a more radical approach on letting the children take the lead, going at their own pace. Since the surname can be used by anybody and accreditation tends to be controlled by states, you need to do your homework to make sure the methods are employed. Contrary to perception, there are public schools which also take her approach but after a century it’s still seen as very radical because the West, namely America, continues to follow the failing 19th century factory technique.

Let me go about the person.

Maria was born to an affluent Chiaravallean family in 1870 (the community is on Italy’s east side) and at 13 she attended a technical school hoping to be an engineer, not a teacher, the only career path women were corralled into if they didn’t get married first. Instead of engineering, she went on to medical school and became the first doctor in the (relatively) young nation. After graduation Maria worked in the psychiatric ward around Rome, namely with “special needs” children. Due to her success in bringing “special needs” kids up to speed on reading and writing, she was given the opportunity to apply her strategy on “normal” poor kids from the Roman slums. The approach on having the students figure things out for themselves brought her international fame. Invitations to America from Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison followed. Schools using her technique continued to appear throughout the West as these continued to get results.

Mussolini exiled her for her pacifistic views, she was no fan of Fascism neither. Maria’s first new home was Spain but the Spanish Civil War ended this residency. She set down new roots in the Netherlands until 1939. Luck was with her the next time. Dr. Montessori avoided the horrors of WWII through an invitation to demonstrate her school in India. What was originally a business trip morphed into a temporary home for a decade. Thus began her long relationship with the Asian nation. She chose to live out the final three years of her life in the Netherlands.

Does her approach work? This is still being argued in education circles. A huge criticism is cost. Montessori schools aren’t cheap which is one thing she’d be upset about. A teacher I met from such an institution said the doctor believed education was for everyone, money shouldn’t be a barrier. However, I think it probably does succeed. Prince Charles’ sons were brought up by these means and I know the English Royal Family, let alone the average Brit isn’t too fond of Italian ideas, especially after WWII. Other famous graduates? The founders of Google, Dakota Fanning and Washington Post owner Katherine Graham.

In the long run, we’ll see how much Maria’s strategies get incorporated. I know I agree with many tenets she proposed as I’ve grown older, namely that we need to abolish social promotion, overcome the stigma over some being held back. Not everybody learns at the same pace causing numerous late bloomers to get classified as hopeless cases. Then advanced students (I was at math and reading until St. Agnes) are stifled so they lose their edges or misbehave out of boredom. It’s going to be a rough couple decades though. Currently Americans prefer to blame teachers instead of realizing what a bunch of short-sighted tightwads they are.

Posted in History, Italians | Leave a comment

Italian(s) #8: Tom & Ray Magliozzi

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Steve

I thought I had turned the corner on my monthly feature but I was wiped out Monday and on Tuesday I was invited to attend the Roger Daltrey concert (waiting for a photo). But today is officially Columbus Day so I’m going to bombard youse (not a typo) with several actual Italians.

First though, let me explain why I’m not going to bother with Columbus even though he is a source of great pride amongst Italians. Hell, government workers get the second Monday in October off for it which means he couldn’t have been completely evil as the politically correct revisionists have painted him. Seriously though, the reality is this…Christopher Columbus is a bit of an enigma and US primary school books are dead wrong about the man.

  1. Nobody knows what he looked like. He never had his portrait painted, therefore any image of him you see…FAKE.
  2. There are accounts from other crew members that he didn’t write Italian very well and he may have been from Portugal or Corsica, not Genoa. He may have also been a Jew who converted to avoid the Inquisition.

You can learn more about the mythology of Columbus from the awesome book Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen.

Now to the Magliozzis!

These two brothers are another Italian foundation in NPR through their show Car Talk. When I was starting to listen more often, I found their show annoying. Besides, what kind of moron thinks his/her car could be diagnosed over the phone? A couple years later, I saw 60 Minutes do a story about them (I was living at my Grandma’s, it is an old people staple). I was wrong about the two, they do know cars because they run their own repair shop near Boston plus they’re both MIT graduates: I wouldn’t last a week there. The clincher to change my opinion was a segment they do called Stump the Chump. A caller describes a problem, they think it over really hard and give a solution. The caller follows up later to tell them and the audience if they were right. According to their site, they currently have a 67.8% success rate. Pretty impressive and I do computer/phone support for a living.

In closing, I make it no secret about how much I dislike Cars. To me it and its unnecessary sequel are weakest Pixar movies made. One bright spot was having Tom and Ray in Cars as Lightning McQueen’s original sponsors, probably the human equivalent of a rash cream or Prep H. I’m sure they were a hoot in the studio.

More can be learned about them here.

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