tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49536441708991034892024-03-10T20:23:56.694-07:00Monkey TrialsScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.comBlogger648125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-13259865855118486562014-06-08T07:32:00.002-07:002014-06-08T07:32:46.860-07:00DAY OF NEW BEGINNINGSToday is Pentecost at my church, as it is in most of Christendom that still follows a liturgical calendar. The rhythms of the 'church year', with its seasons, commemoration of past saints and various festivals is, indeed, part of Christianity. In Wesley's always-useful metaphor, they are aspects of tradition, which is one 'leg' of the chair that upholds faith and practice in Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-56109275160179292062013-03-28T13:51:00.001-07:002013-03-28T13:51:18.747-07:00MARRIAGE EQUALITY: WHY I CHANGED MY MIND, PART 2Previously, I talked about how my experience as a classroom teacher and my commitment to examining scientific evidence led me to reconsider my opposition to same-sex marriage. Now, I want to talk about another line of reasoning whose roots are in law and in history.
The opponents of same-sex marriage (which, in this state, means the backers of Proposition 8) made essentially three Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-57389279665087213392013-03-27T18:59:00.000-07:002013-03-27T18:59:12.942-07:00MARRIAGE EQUALITY: WHY I CHANGED MY MIND, PART 1
I haven't posted much of late, and I'm probably not going to be posting much in the future, either.
I've had so much additional work from various quarters in the last year that this blogging pasttime had to either start to significantly benefit other areas of my life, or else be neglected.
But today, I'm wearing red, and with some free time courtesy of "Spring Break",Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-33900230102114328812013-01-02T13:22:00.000-08:002013-01-02T13:22:04.111-08:00DEFICITS ARE DECLINING: BUT NOT ENOUGH, YET PLEASE READ THIS.As you read it, keep in mind that Reich is actually not all that enthused by recent events. Reich and progressives like him wanted to go over the fiscal cliff, in order to cut a deal with greater leverage against the GOP obstructionists. He doesn't say so explicitly here, but he clearly believes that had we gone over the cliff, the leverage Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-91942954259952061872012-11-09T16:24:00.000-08:002012-11-09T16:46:00.137-08:00BRAGGING RIGHTS, POST-ELECTION NIGHT
In this just-completed election cycle, one thing should be
clear to everyone: the GOP got thumped. Their candidate failed to upend Obama. Their slate failed to retake the Senate, and
in fact lost seats. The Boehner team in the House retained control,
but saw the chamber’s approval ranking plummet to historically-low levels while
losing, as of this writing, atScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-11461830654767141552012-10-16T13:31:00.001-07:002012-11-09T16:25:14.463-08:00SEEING DOUBLE!
I wanted to give a little love to my friend Max De Vivo, an outstanding guitarist, and his new project, the Foreigner tribute band "Double Vision". Most so-called "tribute" bands are basically just playing the hits. But, like Fresno's Fab Faux ("The Beetles") and a handful of other acts I've seen over the years, Max and his friends deliver the whole vibe, including Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-81209340790729591442012-10-14T00:52:00.001-07:002012-10-14T00:53:38.554-07:00CRYPTIC VOICE MAIL: DETENTION AND FAILUREI got a curious voice mail just a few minutes ago from a "Blocked Number". It SOUNDS like the person was trying to say, "You eight detention-failed me last year." I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean, but if you have my number, "mystery caller", you might also know I'm on Facebook, or you might know I have a blog. So let's clear up a few things, about Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-88979136450432299412012-09-28T17:01:00.000-07:002012-10-02T10:23:29.077-07:00PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE (KOLOB, NOT COBOL)A reader of my blog (and a formidable acquaintance) takes me to task for an earlier post about Mitt Romney in which I alluded to Kolob, a legendary planet that figures in LDS traditions. Their comment is too sharp and too thoughtful not to be reproduced in full:
This just in: planet Kolob has yet to be discovered, but Willard Romney's 2011 tax returns have been released,Yes, Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-72617232420174433352012-09-28T15:01:00.000-07:002012-09-28T15:01:47.848-07:00TELL ME ANOTHER ONEToday, Governor Romney proclaimed that Pennsylvania was in play, and that he believed that his supporters in the Keystone State would triumph, and that because of that, Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes are going to go to Team Red.
In further news, the Romney camp announced that 147 percent of Americans now support him, that catsup is a vegetable, that being down in the polls Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-64185948028448578182012-09-24T16:15:00.000-07:002012-09-24T16:23:09.983-07:00I'M READY FOR SUPPER'S READYLook at this. I mean, seriously, look and listen to this.
This is five guys back in 1973, just five guys, but just so much happening musically and visually during 26 minutes or so. It's not a single, it's not a rock opera per se, but it's a piece of music that's organic, ever-shifting, with recurring themes and development. VisuallyScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-20701223907389695722012-09-22T09:18:00.002-07:002012-09-22T09:20:48.793-07:00DEATH, TAXES AND ROMNEY
This just in: planet Kolob has yet to be discovered, but Willard Romney's 2011 tax returns have been released, which means that an issue that had seemingly lost interest for nearly everyone but Nevada Senator Harry Reid is suddenly back front-and-center, which had the handicappers who cover these things scratching their heads.
Puzzled about what's puzzling them? Let's recap: &Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-88814122424098947122012-09-21T17:24:00.002-07:002012-09-21T17:24:26.497-07:00SCHIKELGRUBER STYLESo...there's usually nothing remotely amusing about the Third Reich.
However, this is a well-known Internet meme, whose purpose is most certainly not to celebrate anyone in jackboots. There are a zillion versions of this, so I beg your pardon in advance if you don't think this is funny. But, since we're now in the middle of the Seoul Pop Invasion, this gave me a chuckle:
Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-32355408909837362792012-09-17T16:55:00.002-07:002012-09-17T16:57:16.429-07:00IT'S ABOUT TIME
Today,
Dr. Tony Vang officially resigned from the Fresno Unified School District Board
of Trustees.
I am relieved, to put it mildly.
Dr. Vang's tenure as Board President undermined some of the good will he had
built up in nine previous years of service on the Board. As the first
Hmong-American to be elected to the FUSD Board, and one of the more prominent
Hmong-Americans in the Valley, his Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-82545123434191118362012-09-16T21:38:00.003-07:002012-09-16T21:43:40.686-07:00EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT OF SCIENCE-FUSo, somebody forwarded me one of those articles on "science" you can find on the Internet. Over the years, I've crusaded against creationism, particularly the young-Earth variety that attempts to inject itself, with disastrous results, in the public school curriculum.
I've gained some notoriety, some respect and made a few enemies along the way. And, thanks toScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-9124412526133013902012-09-13T08:13:00.001-07:002012-09-13T08:13:46.330-07:00MANIFESTO FOR THE NEXT SEVEN WEEKSSo, by noon yesterday I decided not to go on-line for the rest of the day. In my regular gig (a public school science teacher), this can be hard to do. Not only do I have to check district e-mail on a regular basis for communications, not only do I enter attendance and grades into an online system (ATLAS), but now I have two periods of a computer-based tutorial to monitor.Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-64941905863590717732012-09-11T18:42:00.000-07:002012-09-11T18:43:48.923-07:00IN WHICH I PLAY CASSANDRASo, I'm not a political pundit, I just play one in the private little melodrammer of my mind, a place where the corpus callosum doesn't necessarily connect the "right" and "left" brain, issue-wise, but hopefully engages the creative faculties as well as those of logic.
Here, on the 11th anniversary of the 11th, the number that interests me is 270 (the number of votes in the Electoral College Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-40358845534927969752012-09-04T18:39:00.002-07:002012-09-04T18:41:01.157-07:00KILLING MY JESUS, WITH 50,000 WATTS OF POWERJust listened to a caller on the Chris Daniel Show (KMJ 580) who was calling in to complain that, by golly, the Democrats had a Muslim lead a prayer early on in the first day of the convention, and so, you know, what a travesty that is (according to the caller) since "Muslims hate Israel."
Which of course is false: the majority of Muslims worldwide are not opposed to Israel's existence, or evenScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-88882512941457778762012-08-30T13:18:00.000-07:002012-08-30T13:19:14.691-07:00AIKEN-BREAKING HEARTSIn a building and a city under the assault of the elements, there are some rather unsettling flurries of controversy: a prominent journalist is terminated for some off-mike remarks, some people are ejected for racially-tinged incivility and now one former reality show "celebrity musician" is taking another to task for....wait for it....making a joke about something that's true in the Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-48501699920634650442012-08-26T21:32:00.003-07:002012-08-26T21:32:36.839-07:00A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL, PANAMAToo good not to share. Anyone who has read Hofstadter's 'Godel, Escher, Bach' all the way through is probably hip to this already, but it makes the point visually for people who've never had coursework in harmony or species counterpoint.
This is the famous "crab canon" from J.S. Bach's Musical Offering, which contains a highly-chromatic theme which is difficult to harmonize according to the Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-71702517438284317182012-08-25T09:11:00.001-07:002012-08-25T09:11:55.182-07:00CUE THE ROBERT FROST POEM? NOT!A high school classmate shared this image on Facebook (thanks, Kris!), and it got me thinking:
This image is an apt metaphor for many who struggle with their political choices. Ethically, the high road is to be found through something like the Gospels: being your 'brother's keeper', and caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan. People not raised with the Bible mightScott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-68593228413015672662012-08-23T17:24:00.001-07:002012-08-24T15:54:19.654-07:00GOLDEN AGEA couple of decades back, there was “Styxmania”. Propelled by the cross-over appeal of Dennis DeYoung’s schmaltzy ballad “Babe”, the already successful quintet from Chicago briefly commanded the kinds of stadium audiences previously only achieved by a handful of acts. They were an outfit of chameleons whose different members tended to craft very different types of tunes for different audiences, Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-91987748354920737732012-08-21T19:37:00.001-07:002012-08-21T19:38:14.283-07:00PHILOSOPHIZING ABOUTS WHUT EVOLUTION AIN'TWhat IS biological evolution ? It is not metaphysical, it is not a philosophical movement, it is not a theory, it is not a belief system. Educated people know this, but the general public, for a variety of reasons, continually swallows the idea that evolution is a "world view", a way of looking at things, rather than an empirically-determined fact about the natural Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-21823650749893863682012-08-15T23:47:00.001-07:002012-08-23T17:26:21.694-07:00MY BROTHER THE PROPHETIn a previous post, I talked about how I went through a phase where I made my own comics, and identified the steps (and missteps) that I recall from that process of creation. I am a creative person. I think everyone derives some joy from creation, but some people seem to do it habitually in every area of their life. A rather shrewd professor (and mentor) of Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-22285988248159738262012-08-14T23:18:00.000-07:002012-08-14T23:18:02.202-07:00BALD AND A CRYBABYWhat, you thought I was talking about me?
Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953644170899103489.post-52284267934453502112012-08-11T10:03:00.002-07:002012-08-11T10:03:37.408-07:00IMITATION OF ARTI’ve always loved comics, but I didn’t always appreciate them.As a kid, I would create my own comics, and I developed a fairly time-consuming routine to produce them---on sheets of my Dad’s typing paper. Somehow, it never occurred to me that the actual means of comics production would involve using heavier paper in a much larger format. I was aware, however, that comics Scott Hatfield . . . .http://www.blogger.com/profile/00363885800131794994noreply@blogger.com0