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Aslana

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Everything posted by Aslana

  1. Oh and for those curious--there are several books out that reference many different movies and the Physics behind them. Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics (which references the Matrix, for one) The Physics of Superheros House and Philosophy Just to name three. All very interesting reads and all very relevant to a classroom; just as with the movies they talk about.
  2. Oh and yes, I DO count movie watching as school time. Especially if they are watching something related to what we are studying. In fact, I factor in and lesson plan every movie we are going to watch.
  3. This...vehemently...we, as homeschoolers (the lot of us), are constantly asking for resources to help aid us in teaching our kids. There's even a curriculum out called Teaching with Movies! Yes, some teachers do it to excess, but I call into question anyone who says that's "all" they do and that the administration just waves it off. Legally, they cannot do that and no school system is going to risk it. Movies have value, even ones you think do not. I despise DeCaprio, but the version of Romeo and Juliet with him in it is just as valid as the Zeffirelli version. I went to a school play this past weekend called Little Shop of Kitties. It mashed up Little Shop of Horrors and Cats. For high school and a play with no budget and only one hour, they did an excellent job of covering both plays. In that theatre class, they watched both plays before the teacher had the students rewrite all the songs and the script in order to put on the mash up. While those two plays may be at home in a theatre class, they would also be at home in a Literature class. They have inherent value to both. So is public school bashing what you guys do to waste the time? This is like the nth thread bashing what they do. 40 kids in a class, so many hours per day, a cross-curricula teaching mandate, and you bash because they show movies?
  4. One thing I do wish Christians (in general) would take into consideration is that pushing the very strong views that Ken Ham pushes does nothing more than turn those of us who are not "saved" away from your belief. In short, it's a huge turn off. Why would I want to become the kind of person my mother raised me not to be (I'm speaking of Ham here. Being blunt is one thing, being so adamant that everyone but you is wrong to the point of calling everyone else sinners and casting them straight into hell, is doubly wrong). I am staunchly old earth and agree with the science of Evolution (notice I did not use the word believe as that requires faith, of which science is not). But I do know that one can reconcile their faith with the science. The easiest way to do this is to read both sides of it. And learn what not to read--don't read the extreme side one way that says "literal 7 days, etc.." or the side that says "monkeys to man (because evolution does not espouse this)"; but instead read the sides that tell you how each can be reconciled without the name calling, bashing, thumping, and condemning to hell. Ken Ham's books are not books I'd recommend for that. Likewise, much as I love Dawkin, I wouldn't recommend his staunch side of it either (to someone researching). Instead, I'd start out with a simple reading of what Darwin actually said and recommend On the Origin of Species and go from there.
  5. It's a lot easier to tell a transgendered that you think. This isn't a matter of looking at a particularly masculine female or feminine man. They usually have and give off clues that they are transitioning. In fact, if they are welcomed in their circle of friends, you will know it just by that. It really isn't that complicated. Unless you are of the belief that this is wrong and it shouldn't be (as your previous post indicates), you shouldn't have this problem with identifying pronouns.
  6. If they are in the process of transitioning, most would prefer you ask. In fact, they welcome the asking. Just ask "how should I address you?" and they'll tell you. Once they've transitioned, you address them as they present. I wouldn't ask parents if I thought the parents were not welcoming to this. I would ask the person. If the parents are welcoming and accepting, then I would ask them as well.
  7. Homeschooler confession: I've been homeschooling now for almost 15 years and I've NEVER been to a big convention! I've been to a few, very small, very local ones. And guess what? I managed to graduate one kid and am about to graduate another. :D To the person who had to sit, for the whole hour, listening to Ken Ham? I am SO sorry. My eyerolling would not only have been obvious, but I think they would have heard it all over the building. And the snorting too.
  8. I do not like the new itunes either. No one I know does. It's just too clunky and you can't find anything.
  9. I don't know why you guys are going to the mac store. You can find apps for the mac in iTunes as well and there are plenty free apps. Hmm, I'll have to check the mac store now.
  10. I got my 27 in a few months ago and I'm STILL playing with APPS in the store and such. I only download the free ones, though. I'm still learning how to use a mac too (after over 25 years as a PC user). My suggestion? Waste your sunday morning browsing the app store. :D Have fun with it. I don't have any specific names to give you though. I just browse and download.
  11. You are agreeing with me but I can see the confusion. My quote got lost when I attempted to quote LauraColumbus below. SHE's the one who was trying to equate the asylum grant for this German family to the China thing. I was trying to show her that her examples were erroneous and did not fit this conversation in any way.
  12. I'd like to see this one blow up in their face. EVERY server working for them now and then said they take tips. They even admitted it on the show! How are they going to back out of this one? They are rotten. I hope it fails, miserably. What I saw of her food did not look appetizing either. Even though I love a good greasy burger now and then, that burger was rank. And her pizza? I make a better one using nothing but tortillas. **On the tip issue: The servers make salary, which is what people have always said someone in that position should be making (that they shouldn't rely on tips). Even when I made salary as a server, we were still allowed to keep the tips (we had an elaborate system for claiming them too). That POS system they use is the exact system used at restaurants like Denny's and allows for the server to claim tips right in the system. They are stealing tips from their employees. What they should do is place a sign that says "Tipping optional. We pay our servers salary" or even better "We take our servers tips, so don't tip them or else we will take them".
  13. The right to education is a fundamental right in this country, but your examples all bring to mind the danger of a life. In China, the second child could be aborted (or forced into abortion) or they could face much worse than a fine if they kept the child. In Germany, their lives were not in danger. Not in any way. Your examples do not mesh with the case at hand. The courts made the right decision. There were much closer options than the US and by the courts denying them asylum, it proves the courts saw through HSLDA's shenanigans. That's all that matters to me. HSLDA does not represent anyone but themselves. I'm glad the court saw this.
  14. She did say that she only wanted Gordon to tell people the food was good, but then she changed it to add that she also wanted to find out why they had such a high turnover. But in the end, Gordon was smart and refused to tell a lie. :D
  15. The state made the decision to have the surgery, NOT the parents. The state turned him into a girl, NOT the parents. The boy has identified as a boy NOT girl and the parents are doing nothing more than honoring the choice the BOY made. It was the only choice the state didn't and can't take from him. Joanne is correct--your post is insulting and insinuating the parents are the bad in this case. They are not.
  16. I'm assuming this is the 10 year old? If so, the point of Creative writing is to write creatively and it takes a lot of creativity to write fan-fiction (that isn't smut) that is in keeping with the core of the story arc. Yes, I'd allow her to do it as school work with a few caveats: 1--she must write at least one a day (or week, whatever your writing schedule is) 2--She must be open to correction (grammar and punctuation, formatting, etc..) 3--You won't change anything in her story, but you may ask her to explain how her version fits in with the general plot line--is it a continuation, an alt-universe, a "what if?", etc.. 4--she must correct the things needing correction and turn in a final paper. This would follow the layout of many writing programs. Which means you could still give her credit for creative writing as a course.
  17. These shows are usually staged, just like the lot of them; but Ramsey is sort of a one-of-a-kind. He really is a Michelin Chef with absolutely stellar skills in the kitchen. And yes, he doesn't always wear his big-boy pants and throws temper tantrums. However, the point of Kitchen Nightmares is so that Ramsey can help people who need it. He's lost his cool with many on the show over its time, but never to the level of Hell's Kitchen (at least not in the many episodes I've seen). It is staged and edited of course; but this episode, I don't think was as staged/edited as the previous shows. There's just something about the way they presented it. Usually Ramsey does more talking, more walking them through things, more showing them how to do things, more instruction if you will. This episode really lacked that and I think it's because Ramsey and the producers realized that this situation was not like the others and they just went with it as best they could. As Amy said, their only reason for calling Gordon was to find out why such a high turnover was occurring. He found that out plus a number of other things (did you know she only cooks one meal at a time?) and tried to get them to see all these changes that need to be made (like the way they treat their staff). Amy and Samy had one thing in mind when calling Gordon (that it wasn't their fault they had a high turnover, so Gordon help us devise a plan to fix this) and they got and Gordon got so much more than they bargained for. I actually felt sorry for Gordon watching this.
  18. The persecution complex is alive and well in my homeschooling group. I've yet to get a response from the email I sent to the person who sent out the HSLDA alert regarding this; where I cited a number of sources cited within this thread as proof that it is not a Christian "thing" nor is it a "sad" thing that this family was denied. The person who sent the email genuinely feels HSLDA are god-like and work for homeschooler's best interests and that we should truly be supportive of them. I know on a few other homeschooling boards, there are some who feel like this and any negative word against HSLDA is seen as an attack on their faith and homeschooling. It's almost cult-like how some froth at the mouth when you try to point to them the truth of the situation only to have them label you evil and bad for not outright supporting any and all homeschooling endeavors and not supporting HSLDA in any and all things they do. eta: I am going to head to bed. I'll respond in the morning to any comment about my post.
  19. Understanding your dilemma, but I would still simply call the person what they identify as. Their prior identification does not matter one whit to anyone you are speaking. I would simply say "My nephew" and that's that. If the person I was speaking to asks "Oh. Did your sister/brother have another child?" My answer would be "Nope". I'd get this o__O from them and I'd ask "problem?" Point is, I'd make them state outright the question they truly want to ask. It isn't my place to volunteer that information to anyone unless I have the permission of the person in question. Therefore, my niece prior will become, simply, my nephew. No muss. No fuss. No reason to over-think it. (unless I'm writing a paper on gender issues and I need to be specific. But again, this assumes I have permission from the person in question to do so)
  20. A read of any standard general psychology book will tell you that prior to mandates in place now indicating a wait was the best, gender reassignment (in the case of hermaphrodites or even those born with a mix of gentialia (there are many different combinations)), parents did, in fact, have this surgery while child was young. Parents chose the sex. I wish I was in Psychology class right now, I would have loved to evaluate this case. That boy (he self identifies as a boy, therefore I will call him a boy) should have been given the choice --and remaining as is, untouched, is as viable a choice as choosing one side over the other--and he was not. This angers me beyond any ability to type out what's in my head. This was so very wrong of them to do and I do hope the parents and the young boy, win and win big. Wrong on every level--ethically, morally, just plain wrong of them to take that decision away from him. Yes, you can "just pick" a sex (sex is what's between your legs, gender is how you identify yourself. Psychology Today for citation). But most of the time, these people know what they are despite what they show as being. Now, if this young man identifies as male but is sexually female, he's going to need a second surgery to "correct" the problem. Unnecessary. The first should never have been done. It's almost as if they just chose the easier route (internally female so they made him a girl). What if their choice means he does not develop breasts like a female should? So wrong... I really feel for that boy.
  21. Excellent decision on the court's side. This is not a blow for America, for homeschoolers, or for freedom. This proves that our courts follow the law with consideration to everything one brings to them. They could have sought asylum elsewhere in a legally homeschooling EU country. They did not need to come here and then try to claim asylum after caught. Plus, HSLDA is a blight on our society. It's a shame so many have bought into their rhetoric and fear mongering. They had no business getting involved.
  22. Some of the people in this thread (not the thread itself) make me sad. The sheer audacity of just outright blurting out "murderer" towards anyone who has ever had an abortion boggles my mind. I sure hope you are never in a position where you have to think of so much more than just bringing a child into this already pathetic world. A little compassion goes a long way. There are many--well respected, mind you--women on this board alone who have been faced with this decision and have had to choose the decision you now call them murderers for doing so. The lack of compassion towards any woman who has to face this decision coupled with the claim of being a Christian, confuses me as well. How can you say you are a follower of Christ when he, himself, would have helped these very women? No, sometimes, there are no other options. I do not care what you think there should be, sometimes there are not. Period.
  23. Plus this IS a homeschooling board and in a way, we ARE a social network. Why wouldn't we post headlines and such to have things to talk about???
  24. In a heartbeat, I'd have it done. Right now, my husband is kind of on the fence. He won't leave me if I have it done, it'll just take explaining a little more to him the why part. I am so not attached to any body part except my feet, my hands, and my eyes. I'm already losing my hearing, so I've come to terms with that. But losing my hands, eyes, and feet would probably do me in. My breasts? Off them if they want to try and kill me. I had a close friend who had a double mastectomy last year and they rebuilt her breasts via stomach fat. I'd go that route. My grandmother died mainly of just plain old age and illness, but she developed breast cancer right before her death. So I'm not sure if there is a gene in my family or not. I probably should have the test done.
  25. There is plenty that is educational about it. Just google minecraft plus lesson plans. You will see. And my vote? Evilly good..:D I am so not in the camp many are regarding these things. It is not hurtful. It actually has useful skills. Too many links to place here, but google and find out for yourself. And please, don't deny your child something he finds fun just because a bunch of parents on a message board wouldn't allow it for their kids.
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