Nation’s Capital Has First ‘Green’ Stadium

I’m so happy to see that Nationals Park, the new stadium for the Washington Nationals baseball team, is the first “green” stadium in the country.

I did hear from someone who attended the Opening Night game that they were serving cotton candy in plastic buckets instead of paper cones. Not so green, that.

On a happier note, the Nats started the season with a win, by a ninth inning home run with two outs! Go Nats!

270 Countries, Five Minutes

Test your geographic knowledge and typing skills. The game is “How Many Countries Can You Name in Five Minutes?” Spelling counts, so speed and accuracy in typing helps. The clock starts the moment you download the page, so–think fast!

Dystonia Success Stories

Dystonia is such a frustrating condition, but it’s good to know that people can succeed despite it. I’ve blogged on both of these musicians before–guitarist Billy McLaughlin and pianist Leon Fleisher–and I continue to be amazed and inspired by their stories.

Like me, Fleisher and McLaughlin suffer from focal dystonia in one of their hands. Fleisher has found relief with Botox–a treatment that hasn’t worked all that well for me, unfortunately. McLaughlin, however, has taught himself to play with his unaffected hand. He says the experience has been “a challenge to my frustration level.” I would think it would be a challenge and then some.

I’ve had days when I want to just pack it in, quit writing, quit trying to publish novels . . . just quit. The fact that both of these musicians are continuing to do what they love, regardless of how they’re doing it, convinces me more than ever that I can’t do that. It’s hard living with dystonia, but it’s amazing what people can do to overcome the obstacles it presents. Every time I want to give up, I’ll think of these guys.

John Hughes or Howard Hughes?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a big fan of those 1980s John Hughes films. “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”–love them all. (Although I’ve only seen bits and pieces of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and what I saw hasn’t prompted me to watch the rest.) So I was intrigued to see that Hughes has become something of a recluse. But he’s had a huge influence on other filmmakers.

Dynamic Duo

Kids, don’t try this at home.

Don’t Just Test–Make a Judgment

Just as standardized tests aren’t a complete guide to student performance, neither are they the perfect means for judging teachers, or so argues Pamela Felcher.

Felcher, who chairs the English department at a Los Angeles high school, asks only “that teachers be evaluated thoughtfully and that those who say they value education figure out a way to provide opportunities to do this right.”

She goes on to write: “Teachers should be asked to consider how they value goals and how they would evaluate themselves using key criteria: Are they knowledgeable and current in their fields of expertise? Do they have high expectations of their students? Does the teacher build a classroom community and foster student dignity in the classroom? Is the teacher flexible and willing to reflect and make changes where necessary? There should be deep conversations about these goals and others, and teachers should be supported in their efforts to find balance in the chaos that is public school.”

Hmm . . . Goals? Flexibility? Fostering student community and dignity? You mean, it’s important to actually judge these things, instead of merely relying upon a standardized set of questions?

What a concept.

Dollars for Decongestion

Just-appointed New York Gov. David A. Patterson has wasted no time stirring the pot on at least one environmental initiative. He’s supporting a plan to charge an eight dollar fee to drivers with EZ-Pass going into parts of Manhattan during peak hours.

“Congestion pricing addresses two urgent concerns of the residents of New York City and its suburbs: the need to reduce congestion on our streets and roads, and thereby reduce pollution and global warming; and the need to raise significant revenue for mass transit improvements,” Paterson said in a written statement.

Queens City councilman David Weprin charges that this would unfairly affect poorer people working in Manhattan and living elsewhere.

“Basically, you’re taxing people … that rely on the free bridges as a way to subsidize the MTA capital plan, which is not a fair way to do it,” Weprin said.

I see Weprin’s point. But if this is really a way to raise revenue to improve mass transit, it should not only deter people from driving into the city, but encourage them to take mass transit. However, that’s assuming it costs less to take mass transit than it does to pay the eight dollars plus the cost of gas, car maintenance, etc. Of course, then fewer people will drive into the city, revenues will drop . . . so . . . okay, now I’ve got a headache.

I’m Not Dead . . . I’m Getting Better . . . I Feel Fine

Remember those lines from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”? Well, sometimes life imitates art.

More Botox Bad News?

Oooh . . . I hate reading stuff like this. If I had a million dollars, I give it all toward finding a cure that would make these treatments unnecessary.

Starbucks Caught Raiding the Tip Jar

A California state court has ordered Starbucks to pay more than $100 million in backtips to baristas participating in a statewide class action suit against the company.

Shift supervisors had been sharing the wealth with baristas and the court ruled that this practice violated a state law forbidding managers and supervisors from sharing employee tips.

In a statement, Starbucks Corp. expressed outraged and vowed to appeal, saying the decision “is not only contrary to law, it is fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason.”

California baristas, meanwhile, are raising lattes in celebration.