I hear tell the major television networks are going to carry Michael Jackson’s memorial service live, as if he were a head of state or something. It seems the public has an insatiable desire for celebrity news, but little interest in the mundane matters that affect their everyday lives. All we need now is for Elton John to rewrite “Candle in the Wind” again….
But you don’t have talk about that — it’s Open Soapbox Monday, so feel free to write on whatever topic you would like.
Does give one pause for thought … what does our society value … and where are the big media splashes for heroes…
http://www.military.com/news/article/moh-recipient-ed-freeman-dies.html
Like it or not, people will be talking about Michael Jackson’s death for a very long time. Remember that MJ’s Thriller sold 110 million albums, which is twice as much as any other album. Think about how much of a big deal Elvis’ death was and how fans still flock to Graceland. With today’s culture and his worldwide fame, this will be much much bigger.
I agree with Matt. If you don’t like it don’t watch it. Shut off the TV and go do something else. And stop griping about it. There are others out there who are very interested.
Good Suggestion, SHUT OFF THE TV!, go do something outside, or read a book. It’s summer. There are plenty of better things to do than watch tributes to that creep.
or shut off the blogs and go outdoors.
Along those same lines, it seems like the press, while given opportunity to report on good over bad, is giving Steve McNair’s death far more airspace than the multi accomplishments Roger Federer achieved at Wimbledon this year. I guess skin, gossip and negativity sells and pays the bills.
Robert McNamara.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908806,00.html?iid=tsmodule
“Fog of War” is excellent and worth checking out, even if you aren’t a Vietnam buff.
Chef Kevin: Walk up to someone on the street and ask the person to, without looking up the answer, name two current male tennis players.
It’s not about accomplishment. It’s about whether the public is interested or not.
Wasn’t District 150 supposed to name the high school they are going to close by the end of June?
If I remember correctly, they were supposed to make a formal announcement the end of July. This was in response to the public asking them to make a well-thought out decision, not a knee-jerk one. From what I have heard, King Ken told the WHS staff at the end of the year that they would not be open for the 2010-2011 school year.
I have also heard that Hinton was told by architects that the Woodruff building would not be appropriate for young kids because there are not enough classrooms on first floor. I heard that he may have said he would put offices on 3rd floor–smart idea??? Time will tell whether or not Hinton listens to the voice of reason.
Please look at the physical facilities at Manual, Central and Woodruff; how can anyone possibly not say close Central and keep the others open? Only the snobs who attended Central say keep it open and that’s only because they can’t see over the tops of their wallets. We went to Spalding, which had every bit and more of the history that Central has, they closed us up for good, we hated it, but got over it and now we have a beautiful institution. So can Central, Manual and Woodruff.
Sorry, wacko, I don’t agree. I have looked at the facilities and come to a different conclusion.
The facility at Central is significantly bigger than Woodruff or Manual and so is the campus. The ONLY reason some parts are dilapidated is lack of upkeep from Central Admin, which is deliberate in my opinion. Also, the Central campus is cheaper to operate than either of the other facilities. The only drawback to Central is that it is landlocked on the south because of the interstate. There is room across North St., across Richmond and even on the west end if the properties are bought. There is also room down the hill for more structure. ALSO, Central is the only high school that raised their test scores in 2008, including Richwoods. TO quote Dr. Gorenz. “Why change what is working?” They likely made Safe Harbor this year, which buys them extra time under NCLB. Central and Woodruff are under STATE restructuring, not federal restructuring, as Manual is. There are huge differences between the two.
This is not about Central alums throwing their weight around ( I am not one), but you also should consider that you can never regain the history of Peoria High as the oldest continuously operating high school west of the Allegheny mts. if you close it, even if you re-open it several years later somewhere else, you lose that historical significance. Once the continuous operation ceases, you lose the history. All those people that voted for the Peoria Museum should be against closing Central if they have any concept/appreciation for history.
Which school to close–Manual HS butts up against the SW end of D150, has the lowest enrollment and has had the lowest test scores –for MANY years. If a HS has to close, it should be Manual. They’ve already changed their name, so closing the facility doesn’t invalidate their charter of operation. They already did that when they changed the name.
BTW, Richwoods was built many years ago as a 30-40 year building, which they have already exceeded. And it is very expensive to operate due to the building’s construction.
People who don’t understand look at Central as an easy target. It’s not valid, and shouldn’t be the HS that closes. It is the closest to Bradley and the hospital/medical complex, as well s downtown, and has many viable neighborhoods that still feed into it.
I would ask you to reconsider your position with full knowledge of the facts. If you do that and still think PHS should close, I will respect your position and agree to disagree with you. (But you’ll still be wrong!! LOL)
SHARON–
Watching School Board meeting. Sharon Crews, you ROCK!!! Good job. I know you were nervous but you did a good job. I just hope some of the BoE members listened. You know Hinton won’t. GOod use of numerical statistics and you pointed out positives about Manual as well. I’m proud of you!
You done good, girlfriend! I leave on Sunday for a 2-week fellowship at U Nevada-Reno. So I’ll miss the next meeting.
PLEASE put some of your numbers in writing so we can refer to them later.
Again, you rock!!
Took 30 seconds for this to turn into a District 150 bash fest. Go out, read a book.
Does anyone think that Colleen Callahan would have gotten her federal appointment if she hadn’t run for congress? $123,000 a year is a pretty good payoff to run against a candidate she had no chance against.
If the state was not represented by 2 Democrat Senators I would not think she would have been considered.
One thing we know she excels at is running a hyper nasty and negative campaign. Maybe there are some translatable skills there.
Colleen’s campaign nasty? I don’t think so… not by any standard.
Emtronics… is there a way that it could have become a District love fest? Is there anything to celebrate about our school district?
School board is deadlocked over who will be President and Vice President. Wolfmeyer, in a reflection of her commitment to her constituents, was out of down and unable to cast the deciding vote. So… residents of Peoria have a couple more weeks until they meet again to convince their reps to change their votes.
Will they all have to revote? Or will her vote simply be added? What are the rules for this?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-c-anderson/beijing-borrowing-from-wa_b_220006.html
Anyone catch this?
MAWB: elections have consequences,.
Parker (2nd), Petelle (3rd), and Ross (1st) voted for Ross.
Gorenz (3rd), Butler (1st) and Stowell (3rd) for Wolfmeyer.
Wolfmeyer (2nd) was absent…
mawb: there will be a “revote” at the next board meeting. It is obvious who Barack Hinton’s minions are, isn’t it……
“Barack Hinton’s” I see what you did there…. just to hazard a guess but I think you will find the Republicans on the school board are voting for Wolfmeyer.
Sorry for my faux pas! Ken Hinton THINKS he has the same power as Barack Obama—nothing to do with republican/democrat.
Political Party affiliation should have no impact on school board decisions.
What about this idea?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/10/MNT6189U0U.DTL&nopu=1