This article from the BBC tells of a survey that shows that children who avert their eyes when answering a question are more likely to get it right. The reason cited? "Looking at faces is quite mentally demanding," Dr Doherty-Sneddon told the BBC News website. Uhh... what's the point of asking a question if you are not trying to demand a level of mental ability? It makes sense that you want the right answer, but you also want the child to "learn"... putting him under added pressure by making him look at you will allow him to develope this mental ability. The last part of the article talks about the necessity of waiting for the child to answer the question, giving him adequate time and I think that is a good point. Though, it is also important to have timed tests and, once again, put the student under pressure to keep his mind on track and answer quickly and concisely.
Thank You For Smoking
Every once in a while a movie rolls out that just makes me say wow. And as you may have guessed... "Wow!" Thank You For Smoking looks like it might be one of the funniest movies I will ever see. I don't know if it will have a re-watch quality (the ability of some movies to not get old after one viewing, this is a problem that constantly plagues M. Night Shyamalan films), but the first time through it will be great…maybe. The story follows a good looking young business man and his antics as the top lobbyist for the tobacco industry (it also shows his friends the gun lobbyist and the alcohol lobbyist). I know the film is an anti-smoking movie about how cool it is to smoke, but the entire premise, and thus the entire trailer, and so hopefully the entire movie, is(are) hilarious. Nick Naylor, played by Aaron Eckhart (Paycheck, Nurse Betty etc...) tries to sell cigarettes to kids while being a good role model for his own son (the scene at his sons school will be really funny). I think the dynamics and character caricatures will be great. This film was screened in Toronto last and will hopefully make it's way to the local silver screen (or at least the local silver-double-sided-multi-layered-disc case in the local video/game/food/apparel store)
News from the Middle East
Not having a TV at home, and never reading the newspaper, I have found the interent to be a great source to keep me up-to-date on current events. Here is a video of a story reported, I guess, on the BBC.
PS. I know it's a joke.
$5,913.40 for $50!
Do you want to buy $6000 worth of used military uniform equipment for $50 (plus S+H)? Or how about 130 Survival vests (a $29,435.00 value) again, for only $50 (plus S+H)? If so, then check this out! This site sells everything from airplane engines to pellet rifles, even an X-ray machine! Check it out.
Pandora
Check this out (anyone who is online ever...like you are right now!) - Pandora is a new music player that revolutionizes "random" and internet radio. There is nothing random about this player actually, but it appears random to the listener. Joseph was telling me about it yesterday. You type in the name of an artist or song and it begins to build a playlist based on the characteristics of that artist or song. I put in the song "Burn one down" by Ben Harper and it starts playing this other music that I have never heard before but that's awesome. You NEED to check this out, seriously. It is the coolest thing I have run across in a long time.
My favorite quote of all time:
This taken from William Shakespear's Richard II (Act II, Scene I).
"This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England."
Of course Jon would be quick to tell us his favorite movie that contains a part of this quote, The Scarlet Pimpernel (I'm not sure if Sir. Percy quotes Shakespear in the book).
PS. I, of course, am not refering to the 1982 version of The Scarlet Pimpernel with Jane Seymour, but rather Herald Young's 1935 classic staring Leslie Howard (Pygmalion, Gone With the Wind).
