November 2015 – Page 3 – My Geek Odyssey

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0123

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Bruce

The year I was born, there was no such thing as Sesame Street, none of the icons we have grown to love existed. When I was four, Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Kermit, Cookie Monster, and Oscar (who was originally orange) came into my living room and taught me about letters, sounds, numbers, and being kind to others. That last part didn’t stick as well as the numbers and letters, but it shows up every once in a while. Sesame Street and Jim Henson’s muppets have always been a part of my life, from that moment on. Every once in while I’ll catch an episode in passing- OK, Mr. Hooper isn’t around, Mr. Snuffleupagus isn’t imaginary anymore, and Cookie Monster? Let’s not even go there, but it’s still some great stuff for kids to learn the basics at a really young age. Oh and if you are counting, this is the 313th MINIon this year. Let’s count them shall we? One, one MINIon. Two, two MINIons. Three, three Minions Ha, ha, ha… Four, four glorious MINIons! Five…

Also today is my mom’s birthday so if you see her around wish a happy birthday- How old is she? Let’s just say older than me, and I’m older than dirt. You See Sesame Street taught me to be polite and not ask questions like that.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1547

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Bruce

As I keep getting older there are some times I feel as if I’m fighting windmills, or maybe they are giants and I’m just looking athem from a slightly different point of view. If I were to attempt to put this into a MINIon badge I’d have to redraw it (every time you redraw something it gets better) the lance/spear and the shield are too wide for the space… I guess I should be glad the old scanner isn’t working- although I have ordered a new on(smaller 🙁 but it should work. You can see in this drawing how much like non-photo blue pencils. I had started drawing one MINIon, didn’t like the way it was going so I drew this one instead. donquixote

I was fortunate enough when I first visited Europe (in my late 30’s) to wander through Strasbourg and into the art museum. It was there I saw a drawing that impressed me, and made me laugh. The illustration was for a French edition of Don Quixote in the mid-1800’s, It was by Gustave Doré a local boy who went off into the big city to find fame & fortune, or something like that. the print made such an impression on me, that I hunt it down on the Interwebs every once in a while… Did you know Don Quixote was supposedly 50 when he started on his great quest. More on that in the weeks to come.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1895

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Bruce

X-Rays won’t give you super powers, that would be gamma rays (according to Marvel Comics), know the difference. Just remember this simple formula- Accident + Radiation = Super Powers. My lawyer has asked me to include “My Geek Odyssey does not recommend exposing yourself to any form of radiation, as it may be harmful to your health”

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0440

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Bruce

I have discovered there are now two kinds of animated films in the world. Those with fart jokes, and those without. You probably could also say that there are those where the studios that hire big name stars and promote the film as “with the voice of… insert bazillion dollar actor’s name here” and those where the voice actors names aren’t more important the story. I bet you can guess which ones I prefer.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon # 1814

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Bruce

When I was in fourth grade I had a great teacher (actually looking back, most of my teachers were pretty good except… that doesn’t matter). In fourth grade I had Mr. Kermit Welch. Mr. Welch did a lot of weird and strange things as we look at the test heavy, no creativity, schools of today – he’d be be listed as “not effective” even though he was. You see Mr. Welch was at school early and encouraged his students to arrive early for coin club, or ukulele practice. We had a “Nature Garden” (a small section in a corner between classrooms and the playground) being in California it was basically desert flora & fauna, a small pond, and a concrete bench. The bench was put in when i was in his class and we all scribbled our names in the wet cement. The last time I visited the school it was still there. When I taught fourth grade I’d find myself asking “What would Mr. Welch do?”
So what does this have to do with MINIon #1814? Each Year Mr. Welch put on a play, a musical. It was what we worked on it seemed all the time. I know I learned a lot, but all the learning was wrapped around this final project – “The Woolybooger Play.” Costumes were made out cardboard boxes, backdrops built, songs memorized, and ukuleles tuned. During the performance there was Mr. Welch, leading the choir, and the flocks of ukuleles, bouncing between various saxophones to add a little kick to the score. I don’t know where Mr. Welch is now, but he was one of THOSE teachers for me, the kind I hope I am to at least a few of my students each year.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1605

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Bruce

So much to say… I guess I should just go with…
“Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!”

Then again maybe that film based on that comic book (all good films are based on a comic book at some time during production). Don’t ask me for a political comment on this… I’m a realist- so it wouldn’t be pretty. 🙂

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1040

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Bruce

Ever feel stressed? Everyone does, at some point in their lives they get stressed and overwhelmed. For teachers it’s a daily occurrence. I’ve always wanted to see if a long term study has been done on the negative health effects of teaching, I know I would find it interesting. Not to stress you out, or make your incredibly stressful job seem insignificant, but the next time you just take a moment to gather your thoughts at work, or breathe… remember that a teacher doesn’t have that luxury. If I take time to think- chaos is the result. Don’t get me started on using the restroom. I do love my job, but I don’t know what I’m going to do when I finally decide to retire (years from now) and no longer need to be “on” 24 hours a day- because when you are a teacher, trust me, some kid or parent is going to amazingly appear when you are at the liquor store, airport, grocery, mental hospital, etc. and want to have a conference with you. Worse yet, some adult is going to come up and say “Remember me? I was in your first grade class!” Fortunately today I can be aware of my stress, can’t do much about it but I am aware of it.