Friday, February 5, 2010

Improper Fractions

In fourth grade our math teacher had a very specific way of teaching. She used a goofy, self deprecating humor that was probably over our heads, but thinking back to it 18 years after the fact, I found myself chuckling.


Mrs. Rollo wrote two fractions on the blackboard. This was back when teachers still used chalk and there were no dry erase markers unless it was to be used with an overhead projector.

On the right, she pointed out, that there were two kinds of fractions. She went on to explain the difference between the two. On the left, there was what she called a Dolly Parton fraction, because the top is bigger than the bottom, just like Dolly Parton. On the right, there was a Mrs. Rollo fraction, because no matter what, there was always going to be a bigger bottom half.



It is a pretty amusing analogy. I can’t remember if Mrs. Rollo had a large bottom half and it’s probably also unlikely that many of the kids in the class knew who Dolly Parton was. In the end she told us the correct terminology, but I wonder how many of us went home and explained to our parents that we learned about Dolly Parton’s big upper half.

Friday, January 15, 2010

That's an Elephant Joke...


"Teamwork" or "What has four legs and is always ready to travel?"
Summer 2009, Acrylic


Die Hard with a Vengeance, the third in the series, is one of the most viewed movies among my sister Amy and I. I would never sell short the first Die Hard, with its classic unwilling and unlikely hero story that develops in that a perfect blend of action, humor and tension. It’s got tremendous rewatchability, with a wide variety of lines that can be repeated – almost everyone I know has a different favorite. I am always torn between Hans Gruber’s reading of the special message on Tony’s sweat shirt (Now I have a machine gun, Ho Ho Ho) and Ellis’ horrible attempt to negotiate with the terrorists. (Sprechen ze talk? Hans, bubie, I’m your white knight).

I don’t know why we gravitated so heavily to the third movie. Maybe it was Samuel L. Jackson’s involvement or the great cat and mouse game that keeps the movies middle section moving at such a rapid pace. It’s been rerun on various networks more and more over the years, and every time it is on, Amy and I are on the phone reciting our favorite lines before they happen.

This brings me to the scene in question – the riddle involving a three gallon jug, a five gallon jug and trying to fit exactly four gallons into one of them. It’s a great riddle and every time this scene comes on I like to remind myself how to solve it before it occurs. This happened one time in college where we documented the step by step details by drawing the steps on a piece of poster board. After years of going back and forth with my sister about this movie, it seemed like an obvious painting choice for her birthday present.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Anecdotal Sophomore Year

That year went by very fast.

Last January I changed my blog format with the goal of putting up a new story every week. Now that it’s 2010, I can look back and say that this experiment was a success, aside from one entry that was forced to be removed by an attorney and one missed due to Thanksgiving travel and work schedule.

So, what’s on tap for this year?

I guess I want to broaden the style of the site so it’s not confined to the same format every week. Sometimes I like writing what’s on my mind that specific moment. I’m getting married in eight months, so I think that will prove to be a big theme this year. I want to get back into writing some movie or television reviews as well. Maybe I’ll even write some actual articles where I push myself to do some research.

Don’t get me wrong, there will still be stories. I certainly have enough anecdotes to continue on this format that I’ve started. Once the brainstorming sessions started the stories just came to me – from the well talked about to the ones that were so obscure that even immediate family members did not know what I was talking about.

We’ll see what happens. The main goal is the same - to put something out every week.

Thanks for sticking with me.