We, ourselves, and us

Have you seen the trailer for that new Mel Gibson movie? He's like this B.A. cop or something, and he goes around kicking ass and taking names. Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about him, at this stage in the game, playing that role. Just like the new John Travolta movie. I'm sorry, the sight of John Travolta does not inspire fear. Not even the shaved head and goatee is going to make me believe that Travolta is a super powered agent in the same league as Jason Bourne. He's definitely not in the same league as Smith.

Has John Travolta ever fired a gun using a carrot? Can Scientologists even eat carrots?

Anyways, that's not really the point. In fact, that has nothing to do with the point. I merely took advantage of your captive audienceship to post a little rant about John Travolta. What I really wanted to mention was from that Mel Gibson trailer. There's this scene where Gibson has a flashback with his daughter, and he's shaving, and his daughter has shaving cream on her face. As a father, that scene just gets me every time. I wish that there was some way where we could go back and really re-live these awesome special moments that we have with our kids. I mean, we have our memories, and we have technology where we can record them on video and watch them- but we can never really have them again.

But that also isn't really the point of this blog either, although I'm getting closer to being on point. What I really wanted to focus in on the current "shaving cream" moment that I am sharing with Delaney. It involves copyright infringement and muliple personality disorder. It's awesome.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Robin Williams or Phil Vischer by any stretch- that is, I don't have insanely good talents of voice manipulation. That is, I don't do great impersonations. I dabble in messing with different accents and the like, and I am very interested in the qualities of verbal components like pitch, tone, cadence- basically, it's not what you say but how you say it. So while I might not be "good", I am qualified. Sort of.

Let me just get to the point- Currently I am responsible for, at any given time, 16 different personalities/voices. 16. Why do I do this? Because my daughter asks me to. Well, maybe asks isn't the right word. Expects is probably closer to the truth. Demands probably is the truth.

It started with this finger puppet Christmas book that we have. It's probably been a couple years or whatever, but anyways, there are five characters on this book- an elf, a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, a snowman, and a reindeer. So I would sing the song "We wish you a merry Christmas" to her using 5 different voices for each of the puppets. Elf is my impression of Bobby from Bobby's World, the Christmas tree is just a flat, monotone voice (I mean, if a tree could talk, how much inflection would it really have?), Santa Claus has the obligatory 'Ho ho ho', Snowman has a deep bass voice (not sure why), and for the reindeer I always put my hand over my mouth. Probably because I don't know how to speak deer.

It really started to pick up with Map. From Dora. You know..."I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'm the map I'M THE MAP". I do a pretty good map. It's this sort of whiney, high pitched whine. And so Delaney wanted to be able to interact with Map. Obviously there is no Map. So it fell to me to "be" the Map.

Then...and I really am not sure how this happened, other than perhaps the fact that we got a Mario game for the Wii and my Mario pajama pants...but she wanted to be able to talk to Mario. And so, I had to delve into my pseudo-Italian accent. It's not very good, but since Mario only really says like 3 or 4 phrases in his games, there is a little wiggle room for artistic liberty.

But those two weren't enough. Soon she wanted to add Dora and Boots to the mix. Dora- well, I could probably do a much better Dora if I really really tried, but I pretty much just gave up right away and it's definitely my worst voice- just a lame kind of fake girl voice. Boots- well, if Dora is the worst, then Boots is like second worst, because I don't really do anything special for him. Probably why Boots and Dora don't get called on any more (that and we don't really watch Nickelodeon anymore- Disney rocks, but that's a blog for another time).

Then there was this mass infusion of new "talent". I'll try to remember this in order, but I think it was Manny and Mr. Lopart (from the show Handy Manny), Zabruder (who I made up as the brother of Zooter from Jungle Junction), zeFronk (a between-show character on Disney), Eeyore, Luigi, and Buck (from the latest Ice Age movie).

This whole thing has been one big exercise in both joy and frustration. I love the fact that she has this crazy active imagination. She always (and trust me when I say always) is wanting at least one or two of them to be actively involved in whatever we are doing. Often it's Mario or Elf, although she went through a Manny spell, and last night she was really digging on Buck. They've become a part of our daily lives. Here is a picture of everybody on the couch:


Plus, it's my shaving cream thing. I just know that this is something I'm going to look back on years down the road and it will bring tears to my eyes. This is our thing- sure, Sara has had a couple voices (Zooter and an obviously fake Mario), but this is what Delaney and I do. We connect through all of these really poorly done vocal caricatures.

However, if you've ever had a young child, you know how they are with things they enjoy- they literally cannot get enough. Which is why sometimes I get frustrated- and then I get frustrated at myself for being frustrated. Because she's always asking for "Mario to talk to Manny" or "Elf to sing this" or what have you...and I have to be honest that I get worn out from it sometimes. Often, actually. So I'll make something up- they're washing their hair, or they're out of the country, or sleeping.

Of course, Delaney is not stupid, and she has me call them on the phone.

But I hate that I get frustrated, because I know that she's not going to be this age forever. This is what really sucks as far as being a parent- you have to have this balance between getting through each day, surviving, and at the same time taking in as much of each day as you can. I can't believe that Delaney is going to be 4 already in May. 4!!!! I take some solace in the fact that Shane is not yet 3- but that's happening in October.

The moral of the story? Take interest in your kids, and what their interests are. You want to connect with them? Then get involved in their lives. I'm not perfect by any stretch, and I spend way more time than I should on the computer (obviously only to labor endlessly to keep supplying you with your daily dose of sweet blog posts!)...but I have this niche that I've found where Delaney and I can come together and interact and bond- and I tell you that it is the most beautiful thing in the world. Even when I want to rip out my vocal chords.

Pics from:
Shoot 'em up- http://www.filmjackets.com/FEATURES/IMAGES/Feature_ShootEmUp-med.jpg
Travolta- http://blog.taragana.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/john-travolta.jpg

Ode to Snow Day

If you've ever played Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, you know about the Comet levels. Aside from being a necessary evil, they are notable because when you go to visit the galaxy, this sort of faux siren starts going, and the screen flashes a little bit, and it says "Comet in orbit". It lets you know that something serious is about to go down.

Well this blog post is not about that.


Basically I wanted to let you know that a rant was coming, and since I don't have any access to sirens or flashing lights (except the ones that I use when I play Dance Dance Revolution), that was the only way I could have done it. Or, I guess I could have done this:

Sirens. Flashing lights.

But really, all that brouhaha was just to let you know that A RANT IS COMING!! It's a tragic tale of a young Snow Day- a Snow Day that DIDN'T COME.

So this rant has been brewing a little bit. You might not have noticed this, but I'm not often up to speed on current events. It's one of the reasons why I don't always blog about the new hotness (other reasons being that I'm lazy and that I don't want to be white noise). It's the reason the Playstation 2 caught me off guard. It's why I'm pissed off that there's never any payphones around when you need them. It's why I'm still living in the stone age of having a slippy slidey blankey.


So Monday, in class, our teacher mentions that there is a "big snow storm" coming "Tuesday night into Wednesday morning". She says this right before she hands out our exam. She might as well have just said "sex", because my focus was no longer on that exam. It violently shifted to the weather phenomenon I reverently refer to as: Snow Day.

So I get just a little bit excited, because a) we haven't had a snow day in a long time b) Spring break is next week and c) I only have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays! This is (pardon the pun) the perfect storm! A long awaited snow day, which would give me (in effect) a 2 week Spring break! How awesome is that?

So naturally I begin to (periodically) fervently pray for the snow to fall like rain. Hmmmm...actually, you know now that I think about it, if the snow actually would have fallen like rain, I'd be sitting at home right now CELEBRATING A SNOW DAY!!!

The snow has fallen like dandruff. And we've never ever had a dandruff day.

So now I'm sitting here, watching this weak "snow" continue to fall, knowing that in a few hours, I'll have to go to school. It's sort of a cruel teaser, a reminder of what might have been. It's like having Brett Favre take you to the championship game. You're one step away from the Super Bowl- but you're not really one step away from the Super Bowl- you're actually one step away from having your heart ripped out of your chest.


Of course, if I was thinking rationally and logically (which I'm not), I could look at the fact that, other than a 1:40 class, I effectively do have a two week spring br...wait, snap out of it!!! What am I saying??? THIS IS A FREAKING RANT!!! THIS IS NO TIME TO MAKE SENSE!!!

Now I only have a one and a half week Spring break. You know who I blame? I don't blame God. I don't blame Mother Nature. I don't even blame Karl Bohnak.

No, I blame my wife. My beautiful, amazing, JINX LADEN, DOUBTING, DESTROYER OF DREAMS, DEVOURER OF HOPE, wife.

See, Matt and I were sitting around last night, singing the praises of Snow Day, and telling stories about the glory of Snow Day, and making sacrificial offerings at the altar of Snow Day...and Sara has to come along and be like "blah blah blah I've lived in the U.P. my whole blah blah blah and it's not snowing hard enough/blah blah/not windy enough"...and we were like, no one likes a buzz kill, and resumed our Snow Day fantasy dream world. Like what does she know, right?

And now, here I lie with my body broken on the tattered remains of my hopes and dreams. There will be no Snow Day. Only School Day. All I can hope for now is that the dandru...er, snow, will continue to fall and maybe (just maybe) my teacher will get stuck in her driveway and we'll end up not having class afterall. Maybe the Abominable Snow Monster from the North will invade NMU's campus, and his dandruff will fall all over us and we'll think it's snow and....well, there is still hope, my friends!

And that's the whole point to this seemingly meaningless tirade-there is always hope. That is, unless your wife is a a) realist b) yooper c) big meany-head.

Pic: Mario- http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/super-mario-galaxy-wii-screenshot.jpg
Snuggie- http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/135/657/165/qB9E7mFgyci4GWn.jpg
Brett Favre- http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/famecrawler/2008/08/01-07/brett.favre.jpg

'A' is for Apple, 'B' is for Banana, 'C' is for the flaw in the system.

I am a product of a flawed system. If you are American, chances are, you are too.

That system? The public-education system.

I just took a mid-term exam today. And I think I did well.

But what does that mean? Mathematically, I probably scored enough points in relation to the 100 points the exam was worth to receive a "passing" grade.That grade will be translated into a letter, and then subsequently translated further into another point system, and all of the grades I receive in my classes will be averaged out to compute my G.P.A.- Grade Point Average for those who truly do not know.

What did I learn though? And who decides pass/fail? Will I really be able to remember these things that I have received credit for from a post-secondary educational institution- that I will be expected to have learned because of the standards of the Council of Social Work Education?

I've received all A's at Northern- except I got an A- last semester. And I learned the most in that class out of all of them.

And that's not to say I haven't learned anything in my other classes- far from it! I've learned hundreds of new ideas. I've learned how to think about things in a different way, and how to see the workings of our society through different lenses. But if you ask me to pull out specific theories, or dates, or which specific policy was responsible for permanency planning becoming a part of our child welfare system...I am not so good at that.

The thing is, though, that the American education system- at least where I was, and when I was growing up- is at least partly to blame.

All along, I've been told to memorize specific things, places, parts, cities, all so that I could take tests and get enough questions right so that I could get enough points to get good grades. I was rewarded for the ability to put a bunch of information in my short term memory, regurgitate it, and move on. There was no real accountability to actually remember things. At least most of the time, that is.

That doesn't mean that I never 'learned' anything. Obviously there are things that I learned- I have basic math and English skills, I know 'Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species'. There are various other things floating around in there.

And to be fair, I bought in hook, line, and sinker. I never really applied myself above and beyond what was expected of me. I got the good grades required, and not much more. I was more interested in sports than I was in education- so I did what I had to do. I knew more about pro football in high school than I did about Deductive Geometry (which was where math really began to fall apart for me).

Society rewarded me too- I had so much praise from family for "doing good in school". There were other accolades as well. I didn't get in trouble. I was a 'good kid'. It all worked together to create a perfect storm for my educational mediocrity.

Since going back to school a couple years ago, I've been more focused and trying harder to actually "learn" things. And like I said, it's worked. But there is still residue of the old system. There is still a propensity for 'data in/data out'. When I read, I find myself looking for catch phrases- "_____ identifies four basic...., _____ exists on three levels, the table identifies four major dimensions...."- you get the idea. See! Even our textbooks feed into this system. We don't have to critically look for what's important- they feed it to us. If there's a number, make sure you highlight it, because it's going to be a question on the test.

Like I said before, my experience is my experience. It's from my personal schooling, during the years I was in school. I know things have changed, and will continue to change.

But as a parent, I have a responsibility to make sure that my children get the best education that they can. And honestly? We're seriously looking at home schooling our children. Is it a religious thing? I think that's part of it- but really, for me, it's a small part. See I want my kids to learn, at their own pace. I want them to learn about things that interest them, in a way that they can really learn. I want them to have social outlets, but with less drama than is afforded by most public schools.

I know that home schooled kids are still responsible to meet certain standards, but at the same time, I feel like the public school system is bound by the need to process children from a certain age to a certain age, and make sure that they score high enough on standardized tests and have attendance on the right days so that they can have funding...basically, there are too many kids and too many other responsibilities to really make sure that kids are 'getting it'.

In the end? All I want my kids to be able to think, critically, for themselves, and to make informed decisions for themselves, and to be able to know who they are as people- to have some power in deciding who they are, to not have it dictated to them by where they stand in some imaginary social hierarchy. And right now, I have no faith in the public education system to get them to that place.

And so I tucked my tail between my legs and ran away

Why is it that we (or maybe more accurately, "I") have such a difficult time with confrontation?

I can't begin to tell you sometimes how much internal struggle and angst I go through when trying to write things sometimes. It's not happening right this second....because that would imply that I was working on two blog posts while I was supposed to be studying/watching the kids. And I just don't do that.

But it was just a thought that popped into my head, and so here we are- me writing, you reading, me trying to figure out what to say, you trying to figure out what I'm trying to say.

I just...I've always had this blessing/curse of being able to/always trying to get along with people. And so, truth be told, I avoid confrontation at times. Many times. Some might say all the time. For better or for worse, I care about what people think. It's one of my best and worst qualities. I'm starting to feel like Gollum here a little bit.

I'm getting better- but it's still difficult. And I ponder this, thinking of things I want to write about in my blog, things that might make people upset, or angry, or...even change the way they think or feel about me! GASP!

Is it silly? Yes. And no. Because I know how people are. People can be fickle and folly, and allow things that are insignificant in the grand scheme of things to get in the way. I also know how I am. I know that I can be insecure, and I can sometimes view these challenges in the wrong way.

Like so many things in life, there are multiple stakeholders, and many sides, and cause-effect is not always so easy to determine.

What's that old saying? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater? Unfortunately, I've seen my fair share of babies go down the drain because someone decided to throw their tub away. Also, I've seen myself refuse to take baths for fear of being mistaken for said bathwater. You do know I'm speaking metaphorically, right?

Anyhow, my point is that I'm working towards trying to get to that point where I can say what I really think and feel, regardless of what other people think and feel about it (and about me). It's not always easy to undo 30 years of habit. But I'm working on it.

NOTTA FINGA

There. I said it.

Oh the times, they are a-changing

You know what I've been doing a little bit of the last few days? Writing awesome new blog posts? No. Studying for my impending test? A little. Watching Eric Bana streak across the TV screen? Only just now.

I've been reading some of my old blog posts. It's interesting, to have an extremely handy journal of events, ideas, and thoughts of mine from the past year and a half. I'm enjoying seeing how much I've changed and grown in some ways. I'm really loving some of the funny things I've written...while others make me cringe a little bit.

This isn't an anniversary post, by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe like a '1 year, 4 month, 10 day'iversary. Which is stupid, so I won't say it. But I did say it. Fudge.

I've grown so much these past months. And I hope to reflect that in my writing. Future blog posts might strike you as odd. You might not agree with me. You might think I'm off my rocker. All I ask is that you bear with me. I've changed so much. I see things differently- but I'm still me. I'm Jason Parks. I'm still quirky as all get out. I'm still happy-go-lucky. I still laugh at inappropriate things. I still make mistakes. I'm still human.

I think I have a lot to share. My experiences make me who I am- I'm the only me that you'll ever know. And I have wisdom and insight to share with you. Just like you all do.

I named this blog "You should know Jason Parks". I thought it meant something, but now I know it means something completely different. Because I believe that every person is worth knowing. Every person has their own random, weird quirkiness. Every person has lived a life that no one else has. Similarities? They're on the surface. You are you. And you are worth knowing. No one else sees things quite how you do. And as you find yourself, you realize just how much you need to connect with your fellow man. Because we're all in this together.

The avatar of capitalist conservative heteronormative patriarchal Brito-America...or you probably know him as Superman

I was studying tonight and...well, who am I kidding. I was sort of studying, but also catching up on my HCRealms reading. For those of you who don't know, HCRealms is a forum where people who play Heroclix get together on-line and talk about Heroclix. Is it nerdy? Yes. Do I love it? YES.

There was a thread about Superman, and I came across this quote from one of the members of HCRealms about the Big Blue Boy Scout: he's "the avatar of capitalist conservative heteronormative patriarchal Brito-America".

And of course I'm up at 2:30 in the morning writing about this, because A) the kids have been trying to shake off this dang cold, and so obviously they were up coughing and woke me up, and B) I love the idea behind this quote.

I guess what I love is these terms- Capitalist. Conservative. Heteronormative. Patriarchal. They get my mind racing. When I went back to school, the very first class I took at Northern was a sociology class, and I haven't looked at things the same way since.

In social work, we talk about systems theory, and how everyone is immersed in multiple systems at multiple (macro/mezzo/micro) levels, and how these systems interact together to make us into the people that we are.

It got me thinking about something that I frequently chew on, and that is the idea of human beings as social beings...some say social animals. Whatever the case, we were born to be social.

And that means that there has to be a social order. Think of a wolf pack- from the Alpha to the Omega, there are norms that they follow in order to keep things humming along, like a fine tuned machine. Without order, it's just a bunch of dogs, running around, hoping to stumble on some scraps or a sick animal. Together, they can take down a moose.



Do some live as "lone wolves"? Yes. But their existence is not nearly what it could be. They might be stronger and more dangerous- but they'll never really be all that they could be.

Every society, every culture on our planet has some sort of "system" in place. Obviously the USA looks much much much different than say, a tribe of Amazons. But in many ways, they are not so different- there is hierarchy, there is some division of labor, there are rules, there are customs, there are ceremonies- and without these things, I'm honestly not sure how we as people would function in society.

I'm sure we all get mad at the system every once in a while, and we want to fight the system, to overthrow the system...but what is going to happen is that another system is just going to be put into place. It might not be called a "system"...and it might not even conventionally (or explicitly) look like a system. But trust me- it will be a system.

You know, several years ago, the idea of relativism was brought into my head, and rejected out of hand. Years later, while I still reject the idea in it's purest form, it has helped me to reframe the human experience. See, it's so easy to think that the way we do things is the right way, and to instantly look at the way another society runs and to judge it as "wrong".

But what is right? What is wrong? Can these concepts really, legitimately be made across cultural contexts? Look at Native Americans. European settlers and missionaries came over to this country so eager to quash a way of life and replace it with a "superior" one. How has that turned out? From your point of view, it's "savage". It's "barbaric". For them, it's "life". It's "survival". Who are we to be the judge of mankind?

So what can we deduce from all this? Hopefully something. Honestly, at this hour, I'm not sure I'm doing much more than emptying my brain so that (hopefully) I can get some sleep. I know that there is much more about these ideas that could be said. I hope that there is some interesting food for thought. At the very least, I'm tired enough to go to bed. If that's all this article has accomplished, then it is worth it.

In completely unrelated news, just a week and a half before my last undergrad Spring Break ever! I have several blog ideas on the burner...I know I say that all the time and then never come through. But I'm motivated and inspired and by the time the ides of March have come, you'll have no idea what hit you! Until next time, God bless!

PIC: http://www.worldofwallpapers.nuche.org/content/animal/canines/1024/pack-of-wolves-wolf-pack-wild-dogs-wallpaper.jpg
QUOTE: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4554348#post4554348