Does this bear look deadly?

Mark and I love to watch the Colbert Report. According to Stephen Colbert, bears are the #1 threat to America. Here is further proof that bears are the #1 threat to America. I found this in my NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) weekly newsletter.

Teacher OK after crashing into bear on a bicycle

Wed Sep 10, 11:17 PM ET

MISSOULA, Mont. - A middle school teacher suffered some bruising and a big scratch on his back after he struck a bear while riding his bicycle to school.

Jim Litz said he was traveling about 25 mph Monday morning when he came upon a rise and spotted a black bear about 10 feet in front of him. He didn't have time to stop and T-boned the bruin.
He tumbled over the handlebars, his helmet hit the bear's back and the two went cartwheeling down the road.
The bear rolled over Litz's head, cracking his helmet, and scratched his back before scampering up a hill above the road.
Litz's wife drove by shortly after the crash and took her husband to the hospital. He hoped to be able to return to teaching science at Target Range Middle School on Friday.
___
Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com

BYU vs. UCLA

Before the game started, Mark and I went to the "tailgate" party.  It wasn't a traditional tailgate.  One of Mark's friend's sister's apartment is right across the street from the stadium, so we all gather there and do our "tailgate."  We had some really good pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw on it. WOW! my taste buds were singing with every bite.  There was a salad I made, chips, banana cream pie, chocolate cream pie, and other really good food.

The BYU game was awesome!  Our seats were perfect.  We sit in the South end zone off to the side of the uprights.  Most of the amazing action took place down on our side of the field.  Seeing them block a field goal was awesome.  It got really loud.  Everyone was yelling and cheering, stomping and jumping.  Can you imagine all of the touchdown tortillas flying in the air?  It was a constant rain of corn tortillas at the game.  The orange shirt guy was going crazy because people were throwing things and couldn't catch the culprit!  It was great.  We ran out of tortillas half way through the 2nd quarter. 

I was really worried about BYU going undefeated this year, mainly because of this game.  But after seeing this, I really hope they continue to play like this for the remainder of the season.  Mark says the team to be a little worried about is TCU and Utah.  I disagree.  After seeing Utah and TCU play, I think BYU only has to worry about the Utah game in November. 

And  naturally when you want to take awesome pictures, you forget to bring the camera!  But here are some great pictures of the game taken by professional photographers.  I found these at desnews.com.

 UCLA player after yet another BYU Touchdown

Andrew George hurdling a UCLA player.  Look at the heighth!!

 

We are just warming up!

 

Run! Run! Run!...Block! Block! Block!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of College Mascots

The Sept. 2, 2008 "Daily List" on SI.com ranked the top 5 college mascots:

1. University of Georgia--UGA VII
2. University of Colorado--Ralphie
3. St. Joseph's University--the Hawks
4. Stanford--Tree's
5. Florida State--Chief Osceola

(http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/daily_list/2008/09/top-five-college-mascots.html)

Um...yea. I don't agree with this list. Here is my list of the 5 best and 5 worst mascots in college in no particular order.

5 Best College Mascots:

1. LSU--Tiger: I was a tiger. I used to live in Slidell, Louisiana. The school I went to was also the tigers, and their school colors were green and white. They picked their colors from Tulane and their mascot from LSU.

2. University of Alambama--Crimson Tide: Did you know that a Crimson Tide is a particular type of algal bloom found in the Gulf of Mexico? Good name for a school that is on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The only thing that doesn't make sense is how do you associate algal bloom with an elephant? It is the coolest mascot and the only school the have an elephant!




3. Youngstown State University--Penguins: Penguins are synonymous with love; however, their mascot doesn't look very loving. He looks very menacing, but warm at the same time. His eyes say, "Don't you dare cross me!" Yet, his cute scarf and fins are begging for a hug. Currently in the Missouri Valley Conference, Youngstown (0-2) is last. Maybe because they are synonymous with love, they can't win a game?? Keep a look out for them on Oct. 4 when they play Southern Utah.




4. BYU--Cougar: What kind of cougar fan would I be if I didn't include BYU in my top 5? Look at the cougar on the prowl. The cougar fits well in with the Rocky Mountains.






5. Xaviar University--Blue Blob: Foster's Home of Imaginary Friends is one of my favorite shows. When I saw that their mascot looked like Bloo, I had to include Xaviar in my top 5 mascots. Look at the resemblance!!

5 Worst College Mascots:

1. George Mason--Gunston: Apparently George Mason just gave their mascot a name. They never classified what it actually is. It looks like a cross between a bear and a dog. As you all know bears are the number one threat to America; therefore, Gunston is a threat to America. He may look cute and cuddly, but on the inside he is a human killing machine--very deceptive.



2. Wichita State Univeristy--WuShock: What is this guy? He looks like Frankenstein gone wrong. This is scary. Maybe this was the first Frankenstein, but the yellow just looked wrong and not scary enough so the scientist decided to change him to green??





3. University of California-Santa Cruz--Banana Slug: So apparently banana slugs are real. I don't know if I would want to be a slug. They are slimy, gross bug-things. Can the UCSC students not eat salt for fear they will shrivel and die? Maybe this college has the lowest intake of salt in the nation.




4. Trinity Christian College--Trolls: When I saw this, I thought it was a Disney or some other cartoon character. Maybe the girls basketball team rubs his tummy for good luck? Imagine if your mascot looked like this troll?





5. North Carolina School of the Arts--The Fighting Pickle: This school and any other school who has food as their mascot needs to be shot! So is it illegal to eat pickles here? Mark had me google this and get multiple verification that this is legitimate. Yes, it is. I found it on multiple websites. No wonder this school has no athletic teams. Nobody would take you seriously if you were a fighting pickle.

A typical day

Recently I have come to realize that my life is pretty boring. Here is a typical day for me:

6:00 am--Push the snooze
6:05 am--Push the snooze again
6:10 am--Finally get up and get ready for work
6:50 am--Out the door and on my way to work
7:20 am--Arrive at Willowcreek Middle School
8:15-11:19 am--Teach
11:19-11:49 am--Lunch
11:49-3:30 pm--Teach some more
3:30 pm--On most days I go home. Sometimes if I have a lot to do I stay later
4:00-10:00 pm--Arrive home and begin my evening of making dinner, watching tv, etc. Sometimes I will work out
10:00 pm--Go to bed and start the process over again the next day.

Not much excitement goes on.

The Big Podcast is here!

For the last year, Mark has been doing a blog called "The Big Podcast." It is dedicated to all sports, college and professional, in Utah. Last weekend Mark and his friend Jake finaly got the first podcast made! Yea! It is really good. I am so proud of him. He has spent so much time putting the blog together, I am glad to see this happen. I hope something good comes out of it.

Click here to listen to the first Big Podcast! Let them know what you think!

BYU v. Northern Iowa

This was a fun game. Mark and I were sitting in the south end zone, row 27ish, section 44. We were jus off centered. It was really hot during the first half. I went and bought two water bottles and a snow cone! I love snow cones! It's like your eating a slurpee! Around half-time, the clouds came in and cooled things off.


This year in college football there was a change in the rules for the clock. "There are two primary changes. First, the ready to play signal and 25 second play clock have been eliminated in favor of a running 40 second clock which will begin as soon as each play is whistled dead. Second, when players go out-of-bounds the clock will start on the referees signal as opposed to starting on the snap of the ball. Except for in the final two minutes of each half when the clock will stop until the snap of the next ball. Both of these rules are modeled on the NFL timing rules." (Source: http://deadspin.com/5041480/explaining-the-new-college-football-clock-rules)

Even with this change, the game went on forever! It was just as long as they were last year with the old clock rules.

Best reverse composition picture thus far in the reverse composition era! It is perfectly centered! I should become a professional reverse composition picture taker.

First Two Weeks

So school has been in session for two weeks. Class changes ended yesterday and my biggest class has 35 students and my smallest class has 28! I can't believe it! It is so nice. I can see a big difference from 40 to 35 even 35 to 28 students.

Although I have noticed the students behavior is a bit more rambunxious than usual. Normally the students are pretty well behaved until Halloween. Well this year, it is a bit different. It is only the second week and already the students are behaving like it is right before Christmas.

Ashley's Mind Set (according to Beloit College)

1. A Southerner has always been President of the United States.
2. Richard Burton, Ricky Nelson and Truman Capote have always been dead.
3. South Africa's official policy of apartheid has not existed during their lifetime.
4. Cars have always had eye-level rear stop lights, CD players, and air bags.
5. We have always been able to choose our long distance carriers.
6. Weather reports have always been available 24-hours a day on television.
7. The "evil empire" has moved from Moscow to a setting in some distant galaxy.
8. Big Brother is merely a television show.
9. Cyberspace has always existed.
10. Bruce Springsteen's new hit, Born in the USA, could have been played to celebrate their birth.
11. Barbie has always had a job.
12. Telephone bills have always been totally incomprehensible.
13. Prom dresses have always come in basic black.
14. A "Hair Band" is some sort of fashion accessory.
15. George Foreman has always been a barbecue grill salesman.
16. Afghanistan has always been a front page story.
17. There has always been an heir to the heir to the British throne.
18. They have no recollection of Connie Chung or Geraldo Rivera as serious journalists.
19. Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw have always anchored the evening news.
20. China has always been a market-based reforming regime.
21. The United States has always been trying to put nuclear waste in Nevada.
22. The U.S. and the Soviets have always been partners in space.
23. Mrs. Fields' cookies and Swatch watches have always been favorites.
24. Nicolas Cage, Daryll Hannah, Eddie Murphy, and John Malkovich made their first major film impressions the year they were born.
25. The GM Saturn has always been on the road.
26. The "Fab Four" are not a male rock group, but four women enjoying Sex and the City.
27. Fox has always been a television network choice.
28. Males do not carry a handkerchief in a back pocket.
29. This generation has never wanted to "be a Pepper too."
30. Ozzy's lifestyle has nothing to do with the Nelson family.
31. Women have always had tattoos.
32. Vanessa Williams and Madonna are aging singers.
33. Perrier has always come in flavors.
34. Cherry Coke has always come in cans.
35. A "hotline" is a consumer service rather than a phone used to avoid accidental nuclear war.
36. The drug "ecstasy" has always been around.
37. Genetic testing and DNA screening have always been available.
38. Electronic filing of federal income taxes has always been an option.
39. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has always been available to doctors.
40. Trivial Pursuit may have been played by their parents the night before they were born.
41. The U.S. has always maintained that it has a "clear right to use force against terrorism."
42. The drinking age has always been 21 throughout the country.
43. Women have always been members of the Jaycees.
44. The center of chic has shifted from Studio 54 to Liza's living room, live!
45. Julian Lennon had his only hit the year they were born.
46. Sylvan Learning Centers have always been an after-school option.
47. . Hip-hop and rap have always been popular musical forms.
48. They grew up in minivans.
49. Scientists have always recognized the impact of acid rain.
50. The Coen Brothers have always been making films.

And in 1984, perhaps it was "Too Soon to Tell"...

• Technology analysts questioned the need for briefcase-sized computers.
• The National Children and Youth Fitness Study announced that children were overweight and underactive.
• A CPA organization heralded that computerized audit systems were being used to avoid errors and they were doing much better at spotting mistakes and providing internal audit controls.
• Film critics declared that George Lucas was looking for new directions because Star Wars interest was waning.
• Videotape technology was said to be killing the film industry and slowing cable network development.
• Analysts stated there was no market for Direct Broadcast Satellite systems.
• The U.S. Supreme Court declared sleeping to be a form of free speech.

(source: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2006.php)

Mark's Mind Set (according to Beloit College)

1. Most students entering college this fall in the class of 2004, were born in 1982.
2. Grace Kelly, Elvis Presley, Karen Carpenter, and the E.R.A. have always been dead.
3. Kurt Cobain's death was the "day the music died."
4. Somebody named George Bush has been on every national ticket, except one, since they were born.
5. The Kennedy tragedy was a plane crash, not an assassination.
6. Huckleberry Finn has always been a "banned book."
7. A "45" is a gun, not a record with a large hole in the center.
8. They have no clue what the Beach Boys were talking about when they sang about a 409, and the Little Deuce Coupe.
9. They have probably never lost anything in shag carpeting.
10. MASH and The Muppet Show have always been in re-runs.
11. Punk Rock is an activist movement, not a musical form.
12. They have always bought telephones, rather than rent them from AT&T.
13. The year they were born, AIDS was found to have killed 164 people; finding a cure for the new disease was designated a "top priority" for government-sponsored research.
14. We have always been able to reproduce DNA in the laboratory.
15. Wars begin and end quickly; peace-keeping missions go on forever.
16. There have always been ATM machines.
17. The President has always addressed the nation on the radio on Saturday.
18. We have always been able to receive television signals by direct broadcast satellite.
19. Cities have always been trying to ban the possession and sale of handguns.
20. Watergate is as relevant to their lives as the Teapot Dome scandal.
21. They have no idea that a "presidential scandal" once meant nothing more than Ronald Reagan taking President Carter's briefing book in "Debategate."
22. They have never referred to Russia and China as "the Reds."
23. Toyotas and Hondas have always been made in the United States.
24. There has always been a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
25. Three Mile Island is ancient history, and nuclear accidents happen in other countries.
26. Around-the-clock coverage of congress, public affairs, weather reports, and rock videos has always been available on cable.
27. Senator Phil Gramm has always been a Republican.
28. Women sailors have always been stationed on U.S. Navy ships.
29. The year they were born, the New York Times announced that the "boom in video games," a fad, had come to an end.
30. Congress has been questioning computer intrusion into individuals' personal lives since they were born.
31. Bear Bryant has never coached at Alabama.
32. They have always been able to afford Calvin Klein.
33. Coors Beer has always been sold east of the Mississippi, eliminating the need for Burt Reynolds to outrun the authorities in the Smokey and the Bandit films.
34. They were born the same year that Ebony and Ivory lived in perfect harmony.
35. The year they were born, Dustin Hoffman wore a dress and Julie Andrews wore a tuxedo.
36. Elton John has only been heard on easy listening stations.
37. Woodstock is a bird or a reunion, not a cultural touchstone.
38. They have never heard a phone "ring."
39. They never dressed up for a plane flight.
40. Hurricanes have always had men's and women's names.
41. Lawn darts have always been illegal.
42. "Coming out" parties celebrate more than debutantes.
43. They only know Madonna singing American Pie.
44. They neither know who Billy Joe was, nor wondered what he was doing on the Talahatchee Bridge.
45. They never thought of Jane Fonda as "Hanoi Jane," nor associated her with any revolution other than the "Fitness Revolution" videotape they may have found in the attic.
46. The Osmonds are talk show hosts.
47. They have never used a bottle of "White Out."
48. If they vaguely remember the night the Berlin Wall fell, they are probably not sure why it was up in the first place.
49. "Spam" and "cookies" are not necessarily foods.
50. They feel more danger from having sex and being in school, than from possible nuclear war.

(source: http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2004.php)

Birthdays

Over the next couple of weeks, Mark and I will be celebrating our birthdays. Mark's is on Tuesday the 19th and mine is Sunday the 31st. So to begin the festivities, I thought I would start with the blog background. It is really nice having our birthdays really close, because we can just buy one big gift for the both of us.