California in Three

Following in the footsteps of Kerouac - Bixby Canyon Bridge





Progressive Power - Wind Turbines in the desert





Standing Guard from the Mountain - Joshua Tree

Cutbacks for a Greener School System?

As an environmentally aware individual I am always looking to find solutions in my own profession. Schools are often a massive contributor to our poor relations with the environment. Between photocopying handouts, submitted assignments and letters sent home we are contributing much more to the problem than to the solution.

Today I came across this interesting article that looks at cutbacks in public education and how they can be taken as opportunities to create a more sustainable school system.

Currently I am sitting in a conference on technology in the classroom and it comes across to me as obvious that an added benefit to bringing in technology is the lessened impact on the environment. Assignments submitted online, reports evaluated on blogs, report cards being sent home electronically...these are what I find to be most exciting about new educational applications for technology.

And like this article points out being environmentally sustainable saves schools money. Saving trees, saving money.

Weekends In Montreal

A spontaneous weekend journey to La Belle Province gave me my first encounter with the hip, anything goes, city of Montreal. It was while looking for a lively establishment where like-minds would gather we came across Le Divian Orange. Immediately upon entering the doors it was clear that we were home, and with us were our compatriots The Wooden Sky. The four-piece folk rock band out of Ontario became an unprompted addition to the weekend making for a long night and pleasant recollections.

Paris

Not a Lost Generation, But a Generation Not Yet Found

Throughout human history it has been tradition that a generation must always critique the one that preceded it and the one that is to inherit the earth from it. Generations are defined in such ways, given characteristics by other generations and less often by themselves.

This brings us to the task of attempting to define a generation which has so far been easily dismissed by those preceding it and by themselves.

What we are not.

We are not the generation with our minds lost in space. Nor were we the ones ducking under our desks and allowing ourselves to be shaped by fear.

We have not felt the child-like amazement of watching something as significant as a man stepping foot on the moon for the first time. We have also escaped an upbringing with a fear of a powerful enemy and an even more powerful weapon able to destroy life on catastrophic terms.

We are not a generation who marches against war. In the late 60’s, early 70’s millions around the world marched against what they believed was an unjust war. This was not just one march but countless demonstrations over a decade. Our generation is not without our unjust war but marches have become viewed as being an unnecessary method to display what we all already know.

So what are we then?

Are we a generation of unwavering, reliable consumers who are completely aware that they are being fed the rotten stuff but don’t mind taking it? Are we a generation who knows how to play the game of society but takes comfort in knowing that it is a game and we aren’t really believing in its ideals?

Generations are often defined by events that help to shape their definition. Something always seems to happen that forms how they will be remembered. It is hard to contemplate a generation existing without this. How can we fathom a generation of individuals who spent their prime years in a complete uninterrupted state of monotony.

Many would claim the surprise event of an early September tragedy is the one that defined us. Yet even it was met with lack of prolonged focus in regards to how the western portion of the generation was shaped.

Maybe the event that defines a generation has not yet occurred? It would be an injustice to write off this generation as one that becomes defined by a tragedy. Is it not just as plausible that this generation could be defined by a great triumph? A common, collective accomplishment? It seems quite possible for a generation that seems to know what is going on behind the curtains will be able to find a way to bridge the gap between believing and doing.

If this were to happen who knows what this generation may be capable of.

Ben Stein and the Real Intelligent Design

Television watches or internet movie trailer watchers may have come across a preview for Ben Stein’s new movie Expelled. The trailer shows Stein in a classroom where a crusty old teacher is explaining evolution to the class. Stein then stands up and asks “but who created life to begin with?” This statement angers the teacher who sends Stein to the principals office.

It is humorous to watch Stein attempt to paint Darwinism as an old, washed-up idea and creationism as something new and rebellious.

Evolution is only considered to be a theory for those outside of the scientific community.

Creationists often defend their beliefs claiming that organisms in the world are so complicated that it is proof that a super intelligent being created them. Yet that belief seems extremely ambivalent in explaining where life came from. Is it not more probable that such complicated organisms exist through millions of years of natural selection? Where the attributes of plants and animals have been shaped by their interaction with one another?

How could anything truly be more intelligent in its design than evolution?

If Stein is going to use one-line criticisms such as “where did life first begin?” then evolutionists can play along by asking “where did the intelligent creator come from?”

Yet those games do not need to be played as stores of evidence exists to back up evolution. I see it around me everyday in everything living. To criticize scientific evidence for superstition can be detrimental to how society has progressed over the last 150 years. Let’s continue to move forward.

Modern Times