Awww, Paddy! You would fit right in at the Chana Goanna House of Chaos, with one cat who vomits on the rugs and upholstered chairs, the other cat who has now taken to escaping onto the deck, where she’s chased around by the Doberman puppy, who still occasionally takes a dump on the dining room floor when he’s not pestering the Belgian malinois, who decided to bite my mother-in-law this past weekend. As for me...I just warn guests not to expect too much in the way of order or cleanliness.
Pets are wonderful. Paddy is normally excellent about dumping where he is supposed to (aka on a walk or outside) so I was v surprised. He does chase one cat (Hercules) who I thinks enjoys the game. If he accidentally starts with the other (Persephone), he stops with a bemused look on his face and the brain cells collide -- uh, oh wrong cat. The cats are litter mates and nearly identically black.
And chaos is great. Why would one want sterile order?
One thing about dogs -- I discovered when we had old Lab was that the younger ones take their cue about people from the older one. The Border collies used to race back to him to ask if it was okay to greet people. It is how I discovered that the lab did not actually like certain people...and in the end it turned his instincts were correct.
Fingers crossed for the book. Re: celebrity books, it is disheartening to know that big advances will go to them and the rest of the writers as usual get short changed. It’s like the superhero movie model that gets recycled and is so tiresome (except Wonder Woman- the best franchise!).
Love Paddy. I have two cats either attacking the Christmas trees or fighting underneath! If the decorations last it’ll be the second Christmas miracle.
We keep the Christmas tree behind closed doors in the sun room for partly that reason. Cats will climb trees and they do knock ornaments off.
Huge advances make the news because they are unusual and there are usually a number of conditions attached to them -- sales you need to make, multiple books etc. And sometimes they can be counterproductive if the book tanks because it means they are no longer interested in the follow ups. It truly is an industry driven by sales but predicted on hope.
The problem with Marvel is that the movies stopped being stand alone and had lots of 'Easter eggs' and mythology only 'true' fans would know. Thus they have become incomprehensible to the average movie goer. The franchise model will only get you so far.
Hello Northumberland! This is Central Ohio calling.
That was an interesting article by Katherine Rundell. Celebrity authors pushing ghost-written books? Pffft. Figures.
That was some story about Leanne Flynn and the Donohoe family being heros of the stabbing. (Along with "the Brazilian lad.")
Just figures about the multiple trans-gendered. Maybe I'm too much of a cynic about Scotland.
I hadn't heard-a compassionate pedagogy before. TY for pointing out this stupidity. "compassionate pedagogy involves ‘teaching and learning practices that are flexible, equitable, and sustainable’". "the compassionate lecturer has a decolonised and diverse curriculum." Got all the woke buzzwords. What does that even mean?!? "Tuition fees, for example, are assumed to be a mental health problem – a source of stress – more than a practical, financial problem." Simple. Just do away with fees altogether. Let everything be free, and You have heaven on earth.
"Ultimately, the emphasis on democracy in the classroom means students are effectively ‘liberated’ from being taught." "This dumbed-down form of instruction is promoted as benefiting all students." "University is no longer a place of intellectual struggle but a site offering therapy to the vulnerable. Lecturers are not to challenge students but to care for them." "Rather than daring to know, or striving for excellence, students are encouraged to settle for emotional safety and mediocrity."
Sorry for all the quotes. As You can see, I really enjoyed this article. The conclusion says it all: "Compassionate pedagogy subsumes the traditional goals of a university – the pursuit and communication of knowledge and truth – to a politicised, therapeutic ethos." "The notion that compassion is needed in response to the emotional fragility and vulnerability that lies at the heart of the human condition reduces academics and students alike to the status of patients." I just skimmed the article about the Cambridge students. Like You say, it just follows.
Lord ha' mercy for the students in Scotland. 92 percent of teachers deal with this crap daily?! Sad. Very sad. I'm not surprised the pandemic closures are suspected to be one-a the causes.
Equally sad is Kathleen Stock's article. "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." ~ "We Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who.
Finally, here's to keeping fingers crossed. Hope all goes well with Paddy and the revised edits. That was quick!
I thought you'd find the compassionate pedagogy article interesting. I hadn't heard of it before. As you say -- all the buzz words. It is helpful to understand what is going on.
And the revisions were very minor -- I had forgotten to plug a few holes and had to slow a scene down slightly.
I suspect it is not cold by Ohio standards (certainly not by Minnesotan ones). However it is cold by English ones...
Paddy will be better this week, I hope. He will get there. In time. It is all about steadiness.
TY for Your reply, Michelle. A couple days here it was in the 20s. One day was so windy I didn't go out for my walk. Today is warm, in 50s, but raining. Supposed to let up later on.
Good to "hear" about revisions, and Paddy? ... With time, I'm sure.
Fairytale of New York! My wife and I serenade each other every year.
I am sorry to hear about Shane.
There is a certain something about that song, isn't there?
From what I understand, it was a miracle that he lived as long as he did. Rock stars do not all have the Keith Richards metabolism. It certainly is the end of an era. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/11/30/shane-macgowan-fast-living-ireland-drinking-songs/ or https://archive.is/CoVua
Awww, Paddy! You would fit right in at the Chana Goanna House of Chaos, with one cat who vomits on the rugs and upholstered chairs, the other cat who has now taken to escaping onto the deck, where she’s chased around by the Doberman puppy, who still occasionally takes a dump on the dining room floor when he’s not pestering the Belgian malinois, who decided to bite my mother-in-law this past weekend. As for me...I just warn guests not to expect too much in the way of order or cleanliness.
Pets are wonderful. Paddy is normally excellent about dumping where he is supposed to (aka on a walk or outside) so I was v surprised. He does chase one cat (Hercules) who I thinks enjoys the game. If he accidentally starts with the other (Persephone), he stops with a bemused look on his face and the brain cells collide -- uh, oh wrong cat. The cats are litter mates and nearly identically black.
And chaos is great. Why would one want sterile order?
One thing about dogs -- I discovered when we had old Lab was that the younger ones take their cue about people from the older one. The Border collies used to race back to him to ask if it was okay to greet people. It is how I discovered that the lab did not actually like certain people...and in the end it turned his instincts were correct.
Agreed! Chaos--and our wonderful animals--make life much richer and more exciting.
Fingers crossed for the book. Re: celebrity books, it is disheartening to know that big advances will go to them and the rest of the writers as usual get short changed. It’s like the superhero movie model that gets recycled and is so tiresome (except Wonder Woman- the best franchise!).
Love Paddy. I have two cats either attacking the Christmas trees or fighting underneath! If the decorations last it’ll be the second Christmas miracle.
We keep the Christmas tree behind closed doors in the sun room for partly that reason. Cats will climb trees and they do knock ornaments off.
Huge advances make the news because they are unusual and there are usually a number of conditions attached to them -- sales you need to make, multiple books etc. And sometimes they can be counterproductive if the book tanks because it means they are no longer interested in the follow ups. It truly is an industry driven by sales but predicted on hope.
The problem with Marvel is that the movies stopped being stand alone and had lots of 'Easter eggs' and mythology only 'true' fans would know. Thus they have become incomprehensible to the average movie goer. The franchise model will only get you so far.
I do love Wonder Woman.
Hello Northumberland! This is Central Ohio calling.
That was an interesting article by Katherine Rundell. Celebrity authors pushing ghost-written books? Pffft. Figures.
That was some story about Leanne Flynn and the Donohoe family being heros of the stabbing. (Along with "the Brazilian lad.")
Just figures about the multiple trans-gendered. Maybe I'm too much of a cynic about Scotland.
I hadn't heard-a compassionate pedagogy before. TY for pointing out this stupidity. "compassionate pedagogy involves ‘teaching and learning practices that are flexible, equitable, and sustainable’". "the compassionate lecturer has a decolonised and diverse curriculum." Got all the woke buzzwords. What does that even mean?!? "Tuition fees, for example, are assumed to be a mental health problem – a source of stress – more than a practical, financial problem." Simple. Just do away with fees altogether. Let everything be free, and You have heaven on earth.
"Ultimately, the emphasis on democracy in the classroom means students are effectively ‘liberated’ from being taught." "This dumbed-down form of instruction is promoted as benefiting all students." "University is no longer a place of intellectual struggle but a site offering therapy to the vulnerable. Lecturers are not to challenge students but to care for them." "Rather than daring to know, or striving for excellence, students are encouraged to settle for emotional safety and mediocrity."
Sorry for all the quotes. As You can see, I really enjoyed this article. The conclusion says it all: "Compassionate pedagogy subsumes the traditional goals of a university – the pursuit and communication of knowledge and truth – to a politicised, therapeutic ethos." "The notion that compassion is needed in response to the emotional fragility and vulnerability that lies at the heart of the human condition reduces academics and students alike to the status of patients." I just skimmed the article about the Cambridge students. Like You say, it just follows.
Lord ha' mercy for the students in Scotland. 92 percent of teachers deal with this crap daily?! Sad. Very sad. I'm not surprised the pandemic closures are suspected to be one-a the causes.
Equally sad is Kathleen Stock's article. "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." ~ "We Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who.
Finally, here's to keeping fingers crossed. Hope all goes well with Paddy and the revised edits. That was quick!
TY, as always Michelle. Stay warm!
I thought you'd find the compassionate pedagogy article interesting. I hadn't heard of it before. As you say -- all the buzz words. It is helpful to understand what is going on.
And the revisions were very minor -- I had forgotten to plug a few holes and had to slow a scene down slightly.
I suspect it is not cold by Ohio standards (certainly not by Minnesotan ones). However it is cold by English ones...
Paddy will be better this week, I hope. He will get there. In time. It is all about steadiness.
TY for Your reply, Michelle. A couple days here it was in the 20s. One day was so windy I didn't go out for my walk. Today is warm, in 50s, but raining. Supposed to let up later on.
Good to "hear" about revisions, and Paddy? ... With time, I'm sure.