Yeah, okay, it seems very much like playing around, but I do take my art seriously. And I'm proud of it. In other news, maybe it is just me, but the high school students I see, no matter what district it happens to be, seem--GASP--SERIOUS! More of them are treating their studies as though they matter. As though, perhaps, they can't continue along the same path that their parents trod. As though that path simply doesn't exist anymore. As though the world that's waiting for them is going to require every last ounce of their creativity and intelligence. Well, I'm happy to see it in the situations where I do, which is, admittedly, not every single one. As far as the ones who haven't gotten the memo yet, in the words of Peter Lorre's Senor Ugarte, "Poor devils." And curiously, I was working in an art class yesterday, and when I mentioned Fred Flintstone, these third-graders KNEW about him, and could describe his appearance; when I mentioned The Powerpuff girls, these same students looked at me as though I had two heads. Score one for the cartoon classics. Beyond that...typical Michigan winter, a*s-deep in snow, meaning I gotta get up ASAP, get the snowblower out, and go at it.

And I saw this one on, of all places, my sub agency website, contributed by the sub manager in one of the districts; Little Johnny came back from Christmas break, and his teacher asked him what he had done. He said, "oh, we went to see my grandma in Punxsutawney." The teacher said, "Oh, that sounds like a wonderful vocabulary word. Johnny, spell Punxsutawney for the class." Johnny replied, "Come to think of it, she lives in Ohio."

And although I made mention of it on my now-defunct Facebook page, I will once again share the news about the latest thing in theme parks, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This wonder claims to have the world's fastest roller coaster, with a top speed of 124mph, and a flume ride which transports its riders through the internals of a Ferrari 599 engine. It's all indoors, and located within a stone's throw of a Formula 1 racing circuit, for the comfort and enjoyment of its patrons. Yee-ha. Although, come to think of it, one of my Dearborn students, at some point, will probably have experienced this thrilling edifice in the course of seeing their relatives. I have a few students in Dearborn who remember me, maybe I'll get lucky, and one of them'll bring me back a souvenir. Yeah, I know; I can dream, can't I? Don't I always, yeah, I know.