Waking up at 6:00 AM for a 7:00 AM car maintainance maintenance (when will my brain remember that word?) appointment is not my bag. Sitting around a car shop for three hours, and thus missing a morning class, and trying to block out corporate television is definitely not my bag. Owning a car is not my bag either, but I’ll leave this topic at bay; the brakes were fixed and that’s all that matters presently.

It’s Tuesday and the week before finals. Had a horrible “presentation” this afternoon that I’d rather just forget, but might will post about here or elsewhere when I get the time. I can’t wait to get my hands on the course evaluation.

I just need to make it to Friday and all will be well with my world.

1. Aretha Franklin — Respect
2. Fugees — Ooh la la la
3. Elvis Costello — Spooky Girlfriend
4. Aerosmith — Janie’s Got A Gun
5. Men Without Hats — Safety Dance
6. Death Cab For Cutie — We Laugh Indoors
7. Billie Holiday — Misty
8. Rob Zombie — More Human Than Human (Techno Remix)
9. Keith Sweat — Bump and Grind – This is probably the worst on this list. *Cringe.*
10. Sponge — Plowed

I’m on a mailing list with my university’s education department. One of the emails I received this morning was written by a person who had the following as their signature:

We could learn a lot from crayons.
Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull.
Some have weird names, and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.

My signatures that I rotate, on the other hand, are not as warm and fluffy:

Once you understand something about the history of a people, their heroes, their hardships and their sacrifices, it’s easier to struggle with them, to support their struggle. For a lot of people in this country, people who live in other places have no faces. And this is the way the u.s. government wants it to be. They figure that as long as the people have no faces and the country has no form, Amerikans will not protest when they send in the marines to wipe them out.

-Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

and

Today I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.” I think that’s right, but it’s also only part of the story. I think that the judicial system is also what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. And the police. And what we are taught in school keeps the poor from murdering the rich. The stories we are taught at home from infancy are what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. The belief that it is acceptable to be rich is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. The desire to be like them keeps the poor from murdering the rich. None of this, of course, keeps the rich from murdering the poor.

- Derrick Jensen, The Culture of Make Believe

and

The most important piece of technology in any classroom is the second hand of the clock. The purpose is to teach millions of students the identical prayer: Please God, make it move faster.

- Derrick Jensen, Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution

Celebrating diversity in our classrooms is a great ideal, but what about the reality of student’s lives and the world(s) in which they exist? Can they see themselves reflected in the first quote? What, if any, empowerment do they glean from it?

I believe the folks we would address makes the difference. I will not be looking to teach in middle-to-upper-middle class districts and I fear messages of “can’t we all get along?” won’t be swallowed so easily. Conflict (be it race, class, or otherwise) is a constant for most students in so-called disadvantaged districts and we ought to give attention to this.

I am very much looking forward to my summer education courses.

Since most authorities suggest taking breaks between studying, I’m taking a break from writing two essays for Spanish, for tomorrow. Because I’m a procrastinator. And one of them was due a week ago.

I’m trying to get my act together on this whole “doing homework” thing, and being Monday, I’m on the right track. However, with only two weeks left of the semester, my attempts may not make much of a difference, grade-wise at least. But I have felt the pain of sitting inside, slumped over a text, while friends and neighbors frolicked outside, and I think I can handle it.

I’ll have some free time. Sometime.

This week was a stressful week. I had an algebra exam that I was totally unprepared for, and Spanish assignments are pilling up before my eyes. I’ve been playing the “What classes can I afford to slack off on?” game and this weekend will be full of doing homework I’ve been neglecting. And a trip or two to the annual Purdue Entomology Bug Bowl. BUGS!

The most interesting aspect is on their website, which claims Terminix as their leading sponsor. I thought this was a celebration of bugs… the mind boggles.

On to the music!

1. Devendra Banhart — Rejoicing In The Hands – I forget where I first heard Devendra, but I had never heard anything like him so I immediately went out and purchased all of his CDs I could find at our local shop. Worth every penny and more.
2. Andre 3000 — Dracula’s Wedding (Feat. Kelis)
3. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds — Darker With The Day
4. Bob Marley — I Shot The Sheriff
5. The Postal Service — Sleeping In
6. Anti-Flag — Die For Your Government
7. Dido — Do You Have A Little Time
8. Billie Holiday — All Of Me
9. Blue Oyster Cult — Don’t Fear The Reaper – Every single time I hear this song, Stephen King’s The Stand pops into my head. Every single time. Damn, I love that book and movie.
10. Black Eyed Peas — Joints And Jams

UPDATED 07-24-08: Post edited to fix dead links.