Something like that, yes.

[soothing tone].............. it's only a dreeemmmm.........

Dream love is only in a dream, remember
Remember life is never as it seems, dreams dreams................

(Nilsson)

now no more non sequiturs about bunnies and weird Germans. Ever read Bertold Brecht? He was a dirty old guy with a cigar who wrote really odd German plays, part of the Dada movement. We did *Caucasian Chalk Circle* with one of the Doobie Brothers on the trash can band I think (Sonoma State, 1977) ......... man one weird show. There was an even earlier German play write, can't think of his name, but this German soldier is overdosing on green peas.............

Dada probably came about by some mistranslation. Germany did some odd things in the 1800s, unified the Lutheran church, but everyone kept on shooting each other anyway. THEN Dr. Freud came along to tell them what it all meant. Daddy Jung too.

Dreams dreams........

What you need is a good movie!!!

Wow you're further afield with Brecht than I am. I bow to your literary knowledge.... I've never had the courage to track down more Brecht. He was a creepy ol' dude. He stole the plot of Three Penny Opera from Hogarth anyway. (Beggar's Opera, it was English)

I thought of that play with the soldier and the peas. And it was beans. Woyzeck. Very very twisted as I recall. It's considered the beginning of the Impressionistic movement in Europe I think, and no doubt gave Dr. Freud some of his better ideas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woyzeck

We had to read that in Drama class, and boy did some of the wittier guys get mileage out of it. Really hideous. The Germans wrote some very warped stuff. Ever try reading the original Nutcracker? The ballet may be weird Christmas fare, but the book far outstrips it. I'm becoming more and more fascinated with the era of German history. My genealogy winds back through it..... Baron Munchausen, all that sort of thing. They must have been prescribing a lot of opium.

Why do German doctors always have this very strange warp to them??? Look no further than Woyzeck.

Galileo Galileo................. it moves it moves.........

What dreams may come.........

Beethoven. I like him very much. OK your turn Sphinx!!!

The German "coolness" does take getting used to. They and the British are the cold fish of the Universe in some ways.... of course once you delve into English culture, you figure it out (not that way a'tall). German is the same I think. I just don't know the language. And they ARE a bit snooty, it comes down through my family. Reserved. Not soulless.... weird tho.

I had to go back and review the topic. How interesting, that Dr. Freud and Jung of course started with dream therapy, and of course both German. I wish I had time to study German formally. So much interesting literature in German. Maybe one day I'll get to Vienna.

Well........... speaking of dreams, back to my wine making.......... talk about a MESS. Germans brewed their share of wine, but the French and Italians get all the credit....

I dunno............... it's true that the Germans are usually more on task when it comes to the STEM thang (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, it's a new buzz word) but it's a fallacy to attach it to any one culture. Mayans invented the zero, did you know that? Our number system comes from the world of Islam. People in American have just gotten butt lazy about teaching STEM in the lower grades, thus the dearth of American scientists. What can I say? (shrug) I could tell horror stories about math in the school room and shall refrain as I haven't had breakfast yet. ALL kids all nationalities/race are capable of learning good science, math etc. A large percentage just don't care. Sad.

Teachers are hired on their ability to make friends, not on their STEM ability or knowledge. THAT is a fact. You should see the cr** I have to fill out and references I have to track down to even turn in a job application.

In the behavioral sciences, we look for patterns. A good psychologist or therapist rarely attaches a "clockwork" label to any disorder, unless their paycheck is riding on it, because we too dislike pigeon-holes when it comes to people. We have things called IEP (Individual education program) in schools which lays out how a child needs to be dealt with when they run screaming down the hall, wander around aimlessly, or do something else which impedes the learning process. This is required by law more or less. Sometimes it involves giving them a gummy bear for good behavior all day. Sometimes it calls for restraining said child when they decided to kick a classmate. We try to keep it positive, but always safe,

Mostly when behavior is deemed to be a medical issue, and it's dangerous to leave unchecked, or medical insurance will pay the bill for the hour you spent listening to someone's sexual issues (which you secretly don't care about), you need to find a code in the DSM-V (or whatever edition they are on right now).

I don't counsel for a reason. Too much resistance. What you resist persists.

Oh, yes. I did a couple reports on the Maya. I was very much intrigued by ancient American civilizations. I would have been more so had they not grossed me out with their human sacrifices. Anyway, Mum had a book on the Maya with its cool number system. People think the zero looked like a spaceship, but I thought it looked more like a SuperDome. Today, I had this great epiphany that it is probably just the inverse color scheme for a Mayan nine.

As for teaching math, I think I told you about when I worked at the local community college. It was a great place to work, until they started trying to get accredited. Every day, the mail boxes would be stuffed with garbage on diversity and stuff. I finally filled out this stupid questionnaire with shocking language for the day. I taught physics. I did not teach white, black, and yellow physics. I did not teach boy math and girl physics. I encouraged kids to ask questions until they understood stuff. I was capable of explaining things multiple ways, as back then we were not strangled by programming. Anyway, I answered questions like "How shall we increase our diversity?" with "Send recruiters to gay bars." I marched my attitude about PC down to the dean's office, and despite the rules that it be anonymous, demanded he read it. He protested, reiterating the instructions. I repeated my request. As I walked down the hall, I heard this roaring noise from his office. We were math and science geeks. We were the ones who sat in the back row for touch-feely teacher development meetings putting rubber bands on our noses and razzing the TV screen.

Mach is another of my favorite physicists, much misunderstood like the others. His principle, as I understand it, but not as it is delivered in undergraduate presentations, is fundamental for understanding fundamentals. Yay, Mach. He's up there with Galileo, Newton, Tesla, Goddard, and Hayward.

The point the guy was making, is that the organic basis for "psychopathy" is in many of us, but that doesn't make us a psychopath. It's the decisions we make that do IMHO. (got that from Harry Potter)

Here's an interesting story. Wasn't sure where to put it, but it's of professional interest to me.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com.....one-video/

Ok after you watch this, think for a while. 1) the teacher had no idea what was in the bag, it could have been parsley, and the kid was baiting him. They are very good at that, some of them (the little brats) 2) you never restrain a kid or try to unless they are an immediate threat to someone else. See #1 we still aren't sure it's really weed. 3) the teacher endangered everyone in the room, and I'm so glad the other kids whipped out their cameras 4) emotionally I'm with the teacher too, but he needs to get a serious talking to about classroom management 5) the kid who pulled the stunt ought to be kicked out of school so hard he bounces. Education is a privilege, paid for by the citizens of our country. Not to be squandered or taken lightly.

It was science class as you might expect. Science teachers are so so abused... .kids don't take it seriously. Wasn't I just posting about science in the classroom? Absolutely no respect for the subject. Very sad, it will become a bit political mess, rather than people maybe getting better classroom management skills. I've had students pull stunts like this (worst one was a gun threat), if I think it's bad enough I just write them up, name witnesses, and move onward. Not my place to wrestle with them.

I don't know why they keep hiring people who are coaches, and who probably have minimal training in science, to teach science. Speaks for itself. Sports physiology maybe.

It's like this. I was blessed with about 80 classes of children with whom I could relate, and I was able to share a lot of fun knowledge with them through the years. Now, I'm stuck with one dog that won't do a thing I ask, and who only learns more mean tricks as time goes on. That makes me a drip under pressure in education, and a moron in dog training. Had I been paired with a dog that likes me better, I would be full of myself and writing documentaries on how to get dogs to obey. As you and Harry Potter insinuate, the next kid I try to teach could pull a gun on his classmates.

Oh, and I was surprised to see Jimmy Fallon was an expert. Nod, nod, wink, wink. Why can't I be funny like him?

I once agreed to teach an eighth-grade class because the normal teacher feared a particular cohort. It was a lot of fun getting up early and making special things to keep them entertained; and they were not all that bad after all - until the other teacher's iguana escaped and took up residence in the walls.