The Middle

To Whom It May Concern (notably elected officials in the state of Ohio):

In letters such as this, it is often best to keep your emotions in check and remain objective. However, I am beyond the point of objectivity. I am a disappointed educator and a ticked off citizen. The school district in which I teach and live just failed its third straight levy needed to make up for the loss in funding from the passage of House Bill 66. Our district has one more chance in November to pass this emergency levy before our school board has to undertake the difficult task of cutting 4.4 million of our operating budget. While I am relatively new to the area, many of my family members have been rooted in this area for generations. Time after time, levies are placed on the ballot and fail. Sure, they eventually pass, but not before the district is forced to skim here and there, leaving schools that are a shell of their former selves.

I have attributed blame to various groups as each of the previous three levies have failed. Why don’t the local voters value the future of their community regardless of whether they have children or grandchildren in school? Why can’t the district leaders run an effective, proactive levy campaign to garner as much support as possible? But you know what I am starting to realize? It should not be the responsibility of the citizens to foot a big chunk of the school district’s bill. I cannot blame the district leaders for being unable to reach some of the stubborn voters who are simply a product of our current political climate. What I can do is ask the elected officials of Ohio why 1997 came and went thirteen (13!!!!!!) years ago and the school funding system of the state is still unconstitutional?

I won’t pretend to know the process of creating legislation, nor will I tell elected officials what should or should not be included in a funding bill. However, our governor was elected in 2006 on an education platform and four years have passed without a statewide vote on a constitutional bill for school funding. If I had been a resident of Ohio in 2006, as a registered Democrat I most likely would have cast my ballot for Governor Strickland. In the three years I have been an Ohio resident, I have cast my ballot with Democratic representatives. I have never trusted the education agenda of Republicans and most likely never will. But regardless of political affiliation, I have lost trust in each and every one of you sitting in the state capitol. You are elected officials who represent your community and their interests. Education is one of those interests.

In conversations with family and friends over the years, I have defended public education at all costs. “Yes, we can rescue our low-performing schools. It takes dedicated educators and families, and a lot of hard work, but it can be done.” “Yes, we are preparing our students to be citizens. Sure, high stakes tests and drill-and-kill pedagogies are a reality, but kids are leaving our schools ready to survive the real world.” As much as I hate to type this, I am losing hope. When I vote, I cast my lot with the candidates who represent my views as a citizen first and an educator second. Until recently, I believed that political change could happen if enough elected officials did what they were elected to do: represent their communities. I wanted to believe in each of you. But that was naïve of me given our current political climate. We have reached a point in our country’s history where there is no middle. There is left and there is right. We can’t all just get along; we have to get our way. So let me get straight to my point…

Get off your butts, work together (not as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents) as concerned citizens of a state that has many schools struggling financially to provide the best education for our FUTURE, and get a constitutional bill for school funding for the state of Ohio available for us to vote on!

With (little) hope,
Brian Brown

Lebron the basketball player probably made the best decision for himself. Lebron the Brand needs to go back to school for marketing. The Brand took a hit.

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3?

SCHEYERFACED!

By the way, I hate *dook.

"What is Jackass?"

In the spirit of the UNC-dook rivalry, I submit this completely non-biased* nugget of hilarity.

*By non-biased, I mean this college student attends Dartmouth and still has this opinion of Coach K.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Films of the Decade

in alphabetical order...


ALMOST FAMOUS - a highly enjoyable, smile-inducing semi-autobiographical story about Cameron Crowe's teenage exploration of the world of rock 'n roll; Kate Hudson's career, unfortunately, peaked here


BEFORE SUNSET - the most unlikely triumph of the decade; a real-time rekindling of an unfulfilled romantic encounter


CITY OF GOD - a bleak look at the lives of gangsters (and citizens) in Rio's slums; ultra-violent and ultra-stylish


COLLATERAL - Mann's first true foray into filmmaking using HD cameras; moody and atmospheric night spent with a hapless LA cabbie (Foxx) and an ultra-cool, ultra-smooth contract killer (Cruise); great chemistry


THE DARK KNIGHT - the ultimate superhero movie that strips all boundaries of that genre of film; it's HEAT for Gotham City


ESPIONAGE/SPY THRILLERS (The Bourne Trilogy & CASINO ROYALE) - three cheers for the rebirth of the thinking-person's action film; Damon and Craig are great in their respective roles


ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND - Gondry takes a wonderfully bizarre script by Charlie Kaufmann and turns it into a trippy adventure into our memories of love


KILL BILL (Volumes 1 & 2) - Tarantino returns with his first outing of the decade with a fun and hilarious concoction of spaghetti westerns, martial art flicks, and revenge stories


THE LORD OF THE RINGS Trilogy - no one thought it could be done; grand and glorious fantasy filmmaking; the genious move of filming all three films at the same time for rapid release


RATATOUILLE - Pixar could've had a number of entries on this list, but I had a constant smile on my face during this charming animated film

Best in Film - 2009

1. UP - The only film on my list to bring a tear (or two) to my eyes. From the moving opening montage to the hilarious adventures of a disgruntled old man, a wilderness scout, a talking - SQUIRREL! - dog, and Kevin the bird, I had a smile on my face. Pixar does it again!


2. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - If there were any tears shed during this movie, they would have been a direct result of laughing too hard. Tarantino is, once again, razor sharp with his dialogue. Sure, he rewrites history a little. But, out of all the possibilities for revenge fantasies, who wouldn't choose the Third Reich?


3. PUBLIC ENEMIES - Mann was a little more faithful to his source than Tarantino. From his beautiful use of HD (the clouds in the opening prison break sequence POP off the screen) to the excellent performance by Johnny Depp as Dillinger, I wasn't disappointed with another successful Michael Mann crime saga.


4. DISTRICT 9 - I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but this is the first of THREE sci-fi films on my list! However, this film defies you to label it simply as a sci-fi. The documentary style of the film brings a realness to the action.


5. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER - An extraordinarily atypical romantic comedy. A story about love rather than a love story. It doesn't hurt that I love Zooey!

6. THE HURT LOCKER - Wow, what an unbelievably intense movie-going experience! Unbelievably, this film about soldiers in Iraq was executed without any political pretense at all. Jeremy Renner was absolutely awesome.


7. AVATAR - This is the second sci-fi film on my list. While it is a little light on story, it is more than made up for in imagery. I forgot at times that what I was watching was not real, but CGI. The painstaking detail that went into the creation of Pandora was worth the 12-year break that James Cameron took between TITANIC and now.


8. STAR TREK - That's it! If this is the future of the Star Trek brand, then sign me up! I'm a Trekkie for life! From the directing (JJ Abrams) to the acting, there is nothing to complain about from this summer blockbuster.


9. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE - Make no mistake, this was not a kid's movie. This was a movie about childhood for all audiences.


10. CHE - By no means am I a Che supporter, but I love Soderbergh. If he makes a film, I'm going to see it. This was a beautiful film about an important historical figure. Grand filmmaking!

Still to see...
UP IN THE AIR, THE INFORMANT!, INVICTUS