Thursday 30 April 2009

I marvel at the stupidity...

Kingdomcomic:

Evolution in First Grade?

Well, it's happened. My first-grader came home the other day excited to tell me that "my teacher says dinosaurs lived millions of years ago!!" :XD:

Oh jeez. I knew it would happen, I just didn't know it would be so soon. Last year we had a talk about this and I told her that the earth hasn't even existed for millions of years so how the heck can dinosaurs. I think it's all words to her right now; she doesn't know the difference between six thousand and four billion. I'm not pushing her to understand. But I will definitely be ready for any questions she wants to ask.

(For any of my viewers who didn't know, I come from a creationist family. We believe that scientific findings point to a 6,000 year old earth and that the dating methods used to support the theory of evolution are flawed and inaccurate, partly because they fail to take into account a global flood that occurred 4,500 years ago. Factor in the effects of this flood, which is recorded by nearly every civilization but mysteriously rejected by evolutionists, then substitute the flawed dating method with a more accurate one, and you will ultimately come up with a much younger earth...which would be impossible without a creator. :) Tada.)


~KingdomComic

Yes, I believe there were dinosaurs. :D They were created during the same 6 days as everything else, and they are even mentioned after the flood in scripture, so I believe Noah took their kind onto the ark. You know that before the flood lifespans were longer, right? God said that after the flood a human's lifespan would decrease until it did not exceed 120 years. Some scientists say there was a "water canopy", a protective firmament in the atmosphere that made conditions on earth optimal for us to survive, and that during the flood this firmament rained down and altered the conditions on earth. Well before the flood, animals had longer lifespans too. The cool thing about lizards is that unlike us they spend their entire lives growing. The older the lizard, the bigger he'll be. So if you have a 500-year-old iguana...that's going to be one huge honking iguana. lol. I think that's where most of our "dinosaurs" came from.




Has she, perhaps, considered the idea that evolution is taught because it's TRUE?

She seems to enjoy spouting Hovind bullshit quite readily, all the while appearing not to be using a single iota of her own brain. It's quite sad and I feel for her kid's futures. They are going to feel SO fucking stupid when they hit high school.

(Hopefully, by that point, the Creationist bullshit will have been expunged from schools in any form.)

Monday 27 April 2009

PGCE in Secondary Art!!!

On Saturday, Mom took me to Bath so I could attend Bath University's PGCE Open Day.

It was held in a rather small room, in a hotel off've Queen Square, in the centre of Bath. It was PACKED and not very well run (no-one had signs, when a sign would definitely have been helpful!) all the various subject leaders were sitting around the room, on a seperate small table each and you kinda had to guess who represented what subject!

I stood around with some prospective teachers at the Primary and Early Learning table for a few minutes, while Mom tried to talk me into becoming a Primary Teacher. That was until a man (who I think was the head of subject for Music) came over from the back of the room asking for anyone who wanted information on Secondary teaching.

So I joined him, and a bunch of prospective teachers (only one other woman!) and he asked us if we'd like anything specific, or should he talk generally about teaching for now?

I suggested generalities for starters, so he gave us the cross-board information for student-teachers and answered some questions. Mostly, his info boiled down to:

A: research the curriculum
B: brush up on our personal learning and thinking skills
C: spend time in schools, watching our chosen subject teachers at work, helping out in classes etc
D: get a (full and intensive) CRB check done

And all of this BEFORE we attend the interview to get on the course. The most important part is the Classroom Experience - we need to be sure that this is something we want to do, and we need to be sure that we have the capabilities - so spending time in classes helps us confirm this AND shows that we really do want to be teachers (by showing the interviewers we took the initiative to find a school and take time to attend classes).

After he got al ittle too much into talking to one young man who wants to be a Music Teacher, I decided to move on to the Art teacher. She was talking to a young woman, and a younger man was waiting. So, I sat with Mom and we went over everything the Music-Head had talked about, I wrote down all my (apparently more numerous than I realised) skills and thought of and wrote down some questions to ask when it was my turn.

The girl left, and the young man had his go (and, seriously, he sounded like he was only there to make sure Art was something he DIDN'T want to do.. ugh) and when it was my turn, Art-Head (June Bianchi, I read from her tag) went for a mug of coffee to restore her voice and called over all the other people in the room her were there for Art. So I didn't get the one-on-one that I wanted >>

Anyway - there were five other women, ranging from four or five years older than me, to twenty or thirty years older than me (!) - most of them were specialists, in either Fine art, Jewelry/Fashion or Sculpture. I got my question in first - Maths GCSE?????

Turns out we need that BEFORE the interview, or they won't accept us at all. They used to do an Equivalence test, or allow us to take GCSE Math at the same time - but not anymore. Bath's PGCE is 'Gold Standard' and is one of the best in the country, they expect the best of their students and apparently churn out the best NQTs. So, we need the Math first.

After me there were a few questions asked, the answers to which you could find out be reading the damn prospectus or the Bath Uni website. Back round to me again and I asked about the range of knowledge needed for the course, explaining that while I do Fine Art in traditional media, I also work in digital media, craft and so on - but lack knowledge in 3D - so should I look into doing a refresher in something like Sculpture or Ceramics?

At this point, Art-Head's body-language went all 'INTERESTED NOW' and we spent a few minutes being told that in order to do well on the course you NEED at least some knowledge in all areas, and SPECIFICALLY the basics in drawing and that, yes, a refresher course would be a good idea and that wow, you do digital media, that's a good thing, we need that as well these days.

All in all, a damn good sitting, even though I didn't get my one-on-one that I wanted. Mom says Bianchi seemed highly interested in the fact that I had a grounding in all subjects and didn't specialise in only one thing and that, there's a good chance she'll remember me and recognise me at the interview. Which can only be a good thing XD

After that, we went over the notes I had made - June Bianchi went into detail on what we'll be doing for the year-long, full-time course:

A: the weeks are exactly that - 2 days of lectures, 2 days spent in school learning to teach and 1 day of personal study
B: 2/3s of the entire 9 - 10 months course will be spent in schools, with real classes, learning to teach and helping out classes
C: there will be 3 assignments -

1: Planning/Reflection/Resources - basically, learning how to and actually writing Lesson Plans
2: Creating/Adding to my Portfolio, to be taken to School Placement Interviews
3: Action Research - write-ups and research into my specific expertise area

And a slyly added 4th assignment:

4: Non-Art Research into the generic aspect of teaching itself - which is something like the Theory of Teaching

D: On top of all this, will be the need to refresh my wider knowledge, in both practical application and theory of art.
E: I will need to refresh myself on Art History and probably a little Art Philosophy.
F: I will need to know the Curriculum back-to-front (even if only in simple terms) for both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 (that's an entire six years of curriculum!)
G: I will have to prove that I can Manage my Time and I will have to be Flexible.

Bianchi had also told us that, though there is not a shortage in Art teachers (and it's also not a Core Subject) Bath University has an extremely high rate of NQTs going straight into work, either as Part-Time, Full-Time or even as Supply Teachers. (Again, this'll be because Bath is a 'Gold Standard' PGCE.)

I had tried to ask Bianchi about the Bursaries or Finances available, specifically for Art PGCE, but she seemed vague and asked us to find the Financial rep, who would be able to tell us anything definitively, as she wasn't comfortably aware of what it is like now.

So - Mom and I went to find someone who could tell us about the Finaces. We managed to find a Teaching Rep (whom I think was a Math rep, actually) and he simply pointed us at the financial section in the Prospectus.

Turns out, that for my Non-Core subject choice, there is:

A: a Bursary of £6,000 from 'TDA Training'
B: a Bursary of £1,000 from 'Bath Spa'

(If it was Core, the TDA is £9,000 and there's an additional £2,500 'Golden Hello' on top of those!)

I'm thinking, that because I'm unemployed and homeless, I'll get the full amounts from both TDA and Bath Spa. I can then use the TDA one for traveling and so on expenses.

So - it's all looking good!

I've spent the day afterwards and most of today, looking up on the Curriculum and finding out about refresher courses and the Math GCSE.

Come July 2011, hopefully, I will be an NQT in Secondary Art and Design! ^^

Sunday 19 April 2009

And now, something completely different...

Bookshelf; an Odd Ode

A simple foot, maybe more, above my head;
Lies nothing interesting to take to bed.

An ancient, foot-long bible, old sketch books;
Overflowing folders, sticks chosen for scent, not looks.

Here, lower, easy to find, ‘Persuasion’, ‘The Tangle Box’;
There, even more so, Kelley Armstrong or Robert Holdstock.

Not a library, by any means, not even close;
But just enough rhyme and (fiction or not) prose,

To keep me (Pratchett) amused, (Pullman) tearful, (Gaiman) ecstatic;
With books enough, (hundreds, if not more) genres erratic.

Not just books, but trinkets, gifts, many keepsakes;
Adorning your shelving, making you creak and ache.

A stripy vase, peacock feathers, a bust of (not Merry, but) Pippin;
A collection of Christmas earrings, in a small, clear, tin.

Bookshelf, to you I write this (rather) Odd Ode;
Though, perhaps, better expressed in another mode.

You stand tall, sturdy and safe, best friend to lazy nights;
Refreshing calm, soothing romance, inviting adventure, in replace of days full of blight.

‘Step up!’ you say, ‘Look here!’ offering your wares;
‘I have everything you need!’ a simple wooden friend that cares.

At least once a day, (twice, thrice, more!) I peruse your shelving;
Forever happy that you are here, ready for the delving.

I will often re-stock you, adding to your weight, your strain;
But you will stand strong, holding my hand, especially during dull rain.

So, thank-you bookshelf, for your steady work;
Here’s hoping you continue, despite the odd little quirks,

To hold entertainment for me, and mine, for many years to come;
And foster the reader, writer, learner, and stave off the dumb.


Bookshelf; an Odd Ode
By
Hannah King




( I'm not a poet, I don't write poetry often, this was written for a challenge XD )

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Eloping couple killed in front of mosque

Mr Azad said: "An unmarried young boy and an unmarried girl who loved each other and wanted to get married had eloped because their families would not approve the marriage."

Officials said the couple were traced by militants after they tried to go to Iran. They were made to return to their village in Khash Rod district.

"Three Taleban mullahs brought them to the local mosque and they passed a fatwa (religious decree) that they must be killed. They were shot and killed in front of the mosque in public," the governor said.



BBC news post



Now, remind me why I hate Islam, again? I think I forgot...

Monday 13 April 2009

Tony48219









Sad. I feel for both families. I also agree with Coughlan666, his 'insanity' was glossed over, as he was 'just another fundy'. I saw some of his vids, ages ago, and wrote him off as a nutjob.

People did try to stop him, people tried to talk him out of it and people even contacted the cops. Obviously, none of that helped.

Amazon.com VS LGBT Lit - full story so far

More Info:

Amazon.com has decided to take books with "adult content" out of their site's ranking and/or search engine. In other words, you can't view how some works such as "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx, E.M. Forster, and Alex Beecroft's False Colours (which to my understanding has no adult content and is not erotica) are ranking on Amazon's site. Other books have been removed completely from the site's search engine (this includes the aforementioned False Colours). You can still Google these titles and their Amazon pages will come up, but if you try to search for them on Amazon's site, some of them won't.

So, what do these books all have in common? They contain GLBT content. Are they all graphic? No. Books such as The Advocate College Guide for GLBT Students - which is, as the title suggests, a guide for college-bound GLBTs - have been completely removed from the site's ranking system as well (it still comes up in a search, fortunately, but you just can't see how well it sells). Are any heterosexual erotica being removed from Amazon's search engine and ranking system? You'd think that the answer is "yes", but it's a big resounding NO. It seems that Amazon is essentially censoring GLBT books on their site.

Ironically, yaoi and BL has not been removed from either the search or rankings. Who knows how long this may last, though.

From creatingmyth's journal



A chronological round up of articles and journals blogging about it.

List of books so far censored.

Mark Probst's LJ entry in which he asks an Amazon sales rep about what's going on and gets a response.

Craig Seymour's blog entry on how this has been going on since February.

Petition against this obvious discrimination towards GLBT literature.




NEW INFO:

Amazon now claims that there is no new policy and that what happened was the result of a glitch. Bullshit.

If it was a glitch, I'd like to know how it affected ONLY the LGBT lit.

Sunday 12 April 2009

Amazon.com - what HAVE you done?

Petition - sign here.

We the undersigned, state our strong objection to Amazon's "Adult" policy as outlined in their letter in italics below

"In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage

We find it hypocritical that Amazon continues to sell adult books but thinks that removing the sales rating to (keep them out of the public eye) will achieve this.

We would like to hear the rationalisation for allowing sales ratings for explicit books with a heterosexual focus such as:

--Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds by Chronicle Books (pictures of over 600 naked women)
--Rosemary Rogers' Sweet Savage Love" (explicit heterosexual romance);
--Kathleen Woodiwiss' The Wolf and the Dove (explicit heterosexual romance);
--Bertrice Smal's Skye o'Malley which are all explicit heterosexual romances
--and Alan Moore's Lost Girls (which is a very explicit sexual graphic novel)

Yet the following books, which have a gay or lesbian focus, have been classed as "adult books" and stripped of their sales ratings:

--Radclyffe Hill's classic novel about lesbians in Victorian times, The Well of Loneliness, and which contains not one sentence of sexual description;
--Mark R Probst's YA novel The Filly about a young man in the wild West discovering that he's gay (gay romance, no sex);
--Charlie Cochrane's Lessons in Love (gay romance with no sex);
--The Dictionary of Homophobia: A Global History of Gay & Lesbian Experience, edited by Louis-George Tin (non-fiction, history and social issues);
--and Homophobia: A History by Bryan Fone (non-fiction, focus on history and the forms prejudice against homosexuality has taken over the years).

Please tell us, Amazon, why the explicit books with a heterosexual focus are allowed to keep their sales ratings while the non-explicit romances, the histories and the biographies that deal with LGBTQ issues are not.

We would love to hear your reasoning.

Monday 6 April 2009

'Fossils are so easily refutable.'

Fossils are so easily refutable. While I was outside, a briliant argument I thought of to refute fossil records.

Scientists have no idea what the fossils had gone through over the years. Humans, animals and weather could have all contributed to make it look like the fossil is a million years old.

I used a stick to help demonstrate it (I don't know if sticks can beocome fossilized, but it is just for a demonstartion). I can take stick right now, and I can manipulate it, to make it look like it is 50,000, 100,000, 1 million years old. Then after I did that, it became fossilized. Now 10 years, 100 yars, 500 years, 6000 years, 10,000 years later, evolution scientists will find that fossil and determine it is 1 million years old, becuase I made it look like it was 1 million years old. But realy it is only 10 years old, 100 years old, 500 years old, 6000 years old, or 10,000 years old.

There are so many ways I can find to make sure there is not one trace of human evidence on it, that would give away that I manipulated the stick.

So, who knows what could have contributed to the other fossils that would make them appear that they are millions of years old, yet they are only a few thousand years old.

Archaeleon



......>>

Sometimes, just sometimes, there really is nothing you can say...

I find myself wondering just where this guy went to school, that he thinks scientists 'look' at fossils to determine their age. When I was at school, we were told all about the dating methods used.

Apparently, this guy wasn't.

Saturday 4 April 2009

Not Always Right


Copycats…and Copy Dogs, Copy Sheep…
Bookstore | New York, USA

Customer: “I need a book on cloning.”

Me: “OK - would you like a book on the ethics of cloning, or maybe the history of it?”

Customer: “No, I need a how-to book on cloning animals.”

Me: “Um…cloning is a pretty complicated process. You’ll need several years of college education to be able to clone an animal.”

Customer: “No you don’t! That’s just what we’ve been told! I read about it, and you can do it with a turkey baster in your kitchen!”

Me: “I think you’re thinking of artificial insemination…”

Customer: “NO I’M NOT! I NEED TO CLONE MY DOG!”

Me: “…”

Customer: “I have a boy dog, and I love him very much, but he’s a bad dog. I heard that girl dogs are much nicer, so I want to clone my dog and make a girl dog! STOP HIDING THE BOOKS FROM ME!!!”

Me: *points to back corner* “Our science section is that way. Go knock yourself out.”

Next Customer In Line: “How the h*** did you just keep your cool through that?”


I found a new site to amuse me when I'm in a bad mood XD

notalwaysright.com

Friday 3 April 2009

Jenny Mccarthy Body Count

Jenny Mccarthy - girlfriend of Jim Carrey, comedian and anti-vaccination campaigner - has now got a body-count website.

The site tracks the statistics of her effect on prevetanble cases and deaths, following her outspoken beliefs.

Check it out here.

Thursday 2 April 2009

Religion = Stupid



Seriously. It's like this guy took his religious faith as an excuse to be as stupid as he fucking wanted to be.