Political house of cards

My husband and I have been watching a new TV series called “House of Cards”. It’s starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, and we are hooked. 

First of all, I love Kevin Spacey. He has played so many different parts over the years and has a “Kevin Bacon like” nature to him. If asked what his real personality resembles, I would be unable to respond with any intelligent guesses. All the parts he has played have convinced me, and they have all been drastically different.  Robin Wright, on the other hand, totally surprised me. In the past, I have always seen her play the roles of women that were very soft, very feminine. Very not aggressive. Her current role in “House of Cards” is quite different. She is a hard, conniving, brilliant and ruthless partner to her manipulative and power hungry husband. 

I don’t know how accurate the show is, and how much of it is hyped up truth. I know that when I watch TV shoes related to teaching, I always want to roll my eyes. Sure, there is truth at the core of the situation, but the level of drama is totally out of control. Not representative of the reality. Same goes for the shows based on legal or medical, I have no doubt. 

With the recent political environment, however, I find myself curious. I would be intrigued by an honest conversation with someone who is an active member of high level politics. If they could say what they really see happening, what would they say? How would they explain the inability of our current politicians to properly maintain our federal budget? To have functional relationships with their opponents despite, in theory, all wanting the best for our country. 

One of the characters on the show, a congressman, really has me thinking. He’s a good man, with a substance abuse problem. Every time he gets himself together, something truly stressful happens and he falls off the wagon.  In one of the episodes we just watched, one of his “friends” just organized his downfall, swooping in last minute to pick up the pieces of a ruined man. He was manipulated into supporting conflicting causes (I.e. looking soft and indecisisive) and then lured into drinking by the planting of a beautiful woman. 

 Another “friend” took over to stage his suicide so he couldn’t talk when he proved unreliable. 

Another political candidate is ruined when his competition drudge up the college newspaper he edited over 25 years prior, focusing on a single article that disagreed with his current political platform. The fact that he didn’t even write the article was irrelevant. Even if he had, it was 25 years ago. Maybe he changed his mind as he grew up? Hmmm… 

And no, I don’t think our congressmen are actually knocking each other off, committing murder. That, I believe, is the TV drama entering the picture. The backstabbing and manipulation, however, is likely to be accurate. During the most recent election, both Obama and Romney were accused of flip flopping on the causes they supported in the past. I don’t do my research well enough to know which accusations were documented and which ones were taken out of context and used as distraction, but if you want to know the truth… here it is. 

I feel sorry for our politicians. Sure, some of them honestly started out power hungry and mean. But then, really… don’t you find people like that in every part of life? Friends of ours have a son who is struggling with a boss like that in a local retail store, far from the political arena. 

Most politicians, I’d like to believe, started out wanting to effect change in the world around them. They saw a problem and wanted to be part of the solution. So they joined politics. They figured having power would enable their ability to influence greater change. And then they became part of the game. I wonder if they even realize how much their circumstances have changed or do they really still believe they are doing what is “best” for those they represent? 

Perhaps both sides of the floor should address this question, ponder their methods. Their ultimate goals. Perhaps our government, and many others, would be in better shape.

Learning to read... alongside my kids.

My kids are 4, so letters (and pre reading) are high on their list of interests. I love this about my children, for the record. I love reading time, beyond words. I revel in the fact that my kids now ignore the phone when it rings during our reading/cuddle time. They used to look up, but they quickly learned that mommy doesn’t interrupt that precious time unless there is an urgent call expected. That’s why we have an answering machine. They even took to saying “Don’t worry. Mommy will call them later” when the ringing began.

Sometimes my kids will bring me book after book, and demand that I read it to them. I could not ask for a more wonderful chore.  They, being so active these days, don’t let me cuddle them nearly often enough for my tastes. When we read, however, they never complain. (Insert happy sigh here)

Those of you that follow my blog will know that I have been studying Korean. I’m a language geek, so taking up a new language is completely consistent with who I am. The fact that I have, for the most part, studied romance languages in the past didn’t put me off. Neither did the fact that Korean requires mastery of a different alphabet. I figured, hey… what the hell? It’s an adventure. Right?

Wow. It’s not easy. Like, really not easy.  I’m not complaining. I’m just saying. My brain is getting a workout. 

So, last week… picture the scene. 

I’m sitting at my kitchen table, studying. My Korean books are spread out in front of me. My kids, no longer taking consistent naps, have been thwarting my study time. Humph.  Sitting across the table from me, they are busy with their coloring books. They are happily devouring page after page with the help of a little crayola magic. It’s learning time for everyone. 

So, there I am, practicing reading, when I realize my kids are repeating what I’m saying. And they’re not bad. My daughter, curious, leans over to see my book. 

Her: “Mommy, what are you reading?

Me: “I’m reading my school book.”

Her: (with a quizzical expression). “Mommy, what are those letters?”

Me: (amused) “They are Korean letters”.

Him (my son): “Korean letters?”

Me: “yes, Korean letters. The letters for people who speak Korean”

Her: (pointing to the word search page in her activity coloring book)”What kind of letters are my letters?”

Me: (impressed)” They are English letters”

Her:  “oh”

Her: (after another moment of thought) “mommy, who speaks Korean?”
Me:  “There is a place called Korea, far away. People there speak Korean. “

I also commented on the Korean friends we have, explaining that their families used to live there, so they still speak like the people who still live there.

Her and him: “oh, ok”. 

She then proceeded to ask me what every letter was, alternating between my book and hers. My son, less inclined to question, listened and watched intently and repeated everything I said gleefully. I thought the whole event was pretty darn cool and I was very glad that it happened. For two very different reasons.

First, I love that both my kids are interested in books and learning. I am thrilled that they see the world around them, are invested in understanding it, and see books as a connection to that learning process. It’s awesome. While a more peaceful study session might have been nice, on one level, do I really want them to not care? Of course not. I may even raise linguists. 

Second, and equally importantly, is that I really GET what it’s like for them to learn to read. Letters, and the sounds they make, are totally arbitrary. The fact that I, an English speaker, see the A and hear “aaaaaahhhhh” is due to the fact that the culture I live in told me so. In Korean, the shape that resembles the capital letter E actually sounds like “T”. And why shouldn’t it? Is there anything about that combination and shape of lines that sounds like E? Nope, not really. Totally random, except for the fact that a bunch of us, in one place, agree on using it that way. 

I must remember this as my kids approach the reading phase, as they struggle to sound out words. I must remind myself to be patient, to not hurry them. To allow them to the processing time they need to say the words that are encoded on the paper before them. 

And I can’t wait for them to love reading on their own as they get older.  

The irony of the 80's in 3D viewing

Last night was awesome. 

Why? I’m so glad you asked. 

My husband and I went to see “Top Gun” in 3D. It’s showing for one week in our area and when I heard about it, I actually giggled out loud. We ordered our tickets online, just in case they sold out. Yeah, it’s fair to say that I was pretty darn excited. 

I adore the movie “Top Gun”. It’s a classic, in the 80’s sense of the word. It has big hair, funny fitting clothing and an admirable dose of cheesy. Great music and way too much blue eye shadow. Oh, and Tom Cruise before he was too insane, or at least not famous enough to let anyone see it.  

I didn’t mind the beach volleyball scene one bit either. I love a man with a six pack. 

Can you beat it? Memory lane…

My first observation, upon entering the movie theatre, was the age of the movie viewers already seated. Yup… all old like us. No kids. No teens. Just a group of (almost) middle aged folk out for the evening, looking to relive their youth. I should have been surprised, I suppose, but it still cracked me up. 

When the movie started, and the music began, a chitter went through the audience. A small, simultaneous chuckle. I’m sure I contributed, but not consciously. When the faster music started, heads in front of me started bobbing moments before the fast beat took off. Yup, we all knew it was coming. We had heard it a million times before. It was ingrained in our memories. 

The true irony of seeing an “oldie” in 3D didn’t entirely hit, however, until the first scene that included computers. Small screens, mostly black, with green, shapeless images. There’s one scene, a classroom scene, where they are discussing fight tactics and I was taken back in time by the little green airplanes meant to simulate the air fight. Did we ever really think that was impressive? Sitting in a stadium seating theatre, wearing 3D glasses, looking at old school computers. Hmmm… bizarre. 

The air fights scenes were cool, though. I don’t know if they touched them up or not, but they didn’t make any drastic changes. The “oldie but goodie” factor was ever present, and I was grateful for that. It would have taken something away from the experience if they had performed too many alterations. Sort of like the sound of the scratches in the music from the 50’s and 60’s. Not that the newer and cleaner sound on CD isn’t nice, but it’s just not quite the same without its authentic sound. 

Now I have to dig up my CD of the soundtrack. I’m sure I have it somewhere and I have been singing the “Top Gun” music in my head all day. 

Maybe I’ll even dance around a little bit while I’m at it.