So, my niece, who is also enrolled at Midland College, and I attended this afternoon's showing of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini, 1775) at the Century Theater in Odessa. There is a reason why we made the drive over there when Midland has better movie houses and one of them was also showing the well-known opera, but that's another topic for another post. My niece is taking Music Appreciation at MC, and this opera was a requirement for her, and since I love the Opera, I was the lucky one to get to go with her. It was a nice invitation and a nice event. We both love all genres of music, might I add.
We both loved the screening of the opera, which was broadcast live from the one and only THE MET (NYC) via satellite to several theaters around the world (made possible thanks to a generous grant from its founding sponsor, The Neubauer Family Foundation, with additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts).
We both also discussed going to NYC to see an opera live at the awesome Metropolitan Theater (lovingly dubbed "The Met"). Anyway, getting back to Il Barbiere di Siviglia, it certainly did not disappoint. We highly recommend it to anyone interested in the arts. If you have the grand opportunity to see it (or any opera) in NYC, do it. If you are like us, and do not have the luxury because of lack of time (etc.), then, please do yourself a favor and look up the schedule and see when an opera will be shown live at a theater near you via satellite as we did today. It was breathtaking, marvelous, and beautiful. Oh, no, The Barber of Seville did not disappoint. It was everything I had always read and anticipated and more. Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy gets girl, but alas, maybe the union is not as solid...we have to now watch Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) to see how the marriage between the protagonist (Almaviva) and his lovely wife (Rosina) endures love's always changing ways.
My niece and I laughed because we each grew up watching Looney Tunes, and we both agreed that our first introduction to this awesome opera by Rossini was when Looney Tunes mimicked it with their version of The Rabbit of Seville (watch via MetaCafe) starring Bugs himself. I guess today, we both grew up as did our taste in music. LOL. It's all good.
✔©✔
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Dora's Corner: Undocumented Immigrants: They Should Do What?!!
Okay, it is time for me to get on my almighty soapbox, but believe me, this rant is well worth my time in writing it, and hopefully the time of whatever audience this blog generates.
While waiting for a meeting with a professor, I overheard the prof talking to a student, actually, the prof was tutoring (or trying to tutor) the student. The topic that they were reviewing from the student's essay involved undocumented immigrants. The student kept referring to them as "illegals" while the prof kept trying to get the student to change the wording. Regardless of the student's lack of empathy for the negative and difficult position which undocumented works find themselves, she should have at least refrained from using such derogatory language for the academic audience for which essays are written...
The student argued with the prof on several stances. The prof was getting agitated, but I have to give the prof high praises for keeping her cool and still getting her point across. The prof was merely trying to explain the rhetorical method and proper writer's craft to the student, but the student was too hell bent on insisting that: "those illegals need to go back to Mexico"..."they are mooching off the government"..."they are taking all the welfare benefits from Americans that need them" (BTW, dear student, people from Mexico are Americans)...and lastly, the most typical, over-used, and incorrectly used assumption: "those illegals are taking jobs from us in the United States."
The student is suffering from a naivete that I won't even try to justify with a reply or a debate. The student needs to read about the causal effects and why she needs to avoid the rhetorical fallacy, hasty generalization, personal attack/loss of audience, questionable authority, false analogy, either or fallacy, red herring, slippery slope, stereotyping...all the wrong things that one should avoid while writing in the cause and effect mode, well, this student managed to incorrectly include many of the "don't(s)" in her essay. No wonder the prof seemed a bit perturbed when she tried to explain what the student was doing wrong (the student hardly did anything correct, it seems), and how to fix it for an academic audience, but the student was not listening.
It took a lot for me to keep quiet. I wanted to lash out at the student for incorrectly stereo-typing the undocumented immigrants because there is more behind why people from Mexico are in the United States. The area is vastly gray; however, the student just saw black and white (another incorrect process in an essay). The other thing that upset me was how the student kind of disrespected the professor. I like this professor; she has taught me a lot, and I have enjoyed our conversations in and outside of class. I respect the professor because she has gone to college and put in her time towards becoming an educator; she has earned the right to be respected and treated well. The prof is younger than I am, but that does not matter to me...she should be respected. She never disrespects others - even when other people act like asses. Another reason I stayed quiet was the obvious, the conversation was between a professor and a student, and did not include me. I mainly stayed silent in respect for the professor - not the lame student, with the one-sided point of view that had no rhyme or logic to whatever rhetorical mode she was incorrectly trying to argue. Give me a fucking break, ignorant student.
BTW, I can use the personal attack...it's my blog, and I'll attack if I want to. #ROTFLMAO!
While waiting for a meeting with a professor, I overheard the prof talking to a student, actually, the prof was tutoring (or trying to tutor) the student. The topic that they were reviewing from the student's essay involved undocumented immigrants. The student kept referring to them as "illegals" while the prof kept trying to get the student to change the wording. Regardless of the student's lack of empathy for the negative and difficult position which undocumented works find themselves, she should have at least refrained from using such derogatory language for the academic audience for which essays are written...
The student argued with the prof on several stances. The prof was getting agitated, but I have to give the prof high praises for keeping her cool and still getting her point across. The prof was merely trying to explain the rhetorical method and proper writer's craft to the student, but the student was too hell bent on insisting that: "those illegals need to go back to Mexico"..."they are mooching off the government"..."they are taking all the welfare benefits from Americans that need them" (BTW, dear student, people from Mexico are Americans)...and lastly, the most typical, over-used, and incorrectly used assumption: "those illegals are taking jobs from us in the United States."
The student is suffering from a naivete that I won't even try to justify with a reply or a debate. The student needs to read about the causal effects and why she needs to avoid the rhetorical fallacy, hasty generalization, personal attack/loss of audience, questionable authority, false analogy, either or fallacy, red herring, slippery slope, stereotyping...all the wrong things that one should avoid while writing in the cause and effect mode, well, this student managed to incorrectly include many of the "don't(s)" in her essay. No wonder the prof seemed a bit perturbed when she tried to explain what the student was doing wrong (the student hardly did anything correct, it seems), and how to fix it for an academic audience, but the student was not listening.
It took a lot for me to keep quiet. I wanted to lash out at the student for incorrectly stereo-typing the undocumented immigrants because there is more behind why people from Mexico are in the United States. The area is vastly gray; however, the student just saw black and white (another incorrect process in an essay). The other thing that upset me was how the student kind of disrespected the professor. I like this professor; she has taught me a lot, and I have enjoyed our conversations in and outside of class. I respect the professor because she has gone to college and put in her time towards becoming an educator; she has earned the right to be respected and treated well. The prof is younger than I am, but that does not matter to me...she should be respected. She never disrespects others - even when other people act like asses. Another reason I stayed quiet was the obvious, the conversation was between a professor and a student, and did not include me. I mainly stayed silent in respect for the professor - not the lame student, with the one-sided point of view that had no rhyme or logic to whatever rhetorical mode she was incorrectly trying to argue. Give me a fucking break, ignorant student.
BTW, I can use the personal attack...it's my blog, and I'll attack if I want to. #ROTFLMAO!
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Dora's Corner: Youth Is Wasted on the Young: Wishing I Knew Then What I Know Now!
Lately, I have come to question many decisions I made in my life beginning from when I was in my 20s. I made some terrible decisions, but still, the good ones outweighed the bad ones. The biggest regret was not finishing college at Texas Tech. Those were wonderful times, yet, they were often muddled with clouds of uncertainty and fear. Those, my friends, were my obstacles, if you will. I have had some really terrific jobs/careers which afforded me the ability to travel the U.S. and Canada. It also afforded me the ability to see the country sometimes with loved ones in tow, who in turn, also got the opportunity to see several parts of our beautiful country. The pay was always substantial (in abounds at times) and that is all I need to say about that. My regret has little to nothing with how much money I have made; monetary issues are obsolete in this point I am trying to make; however, I do regret that I did not take up other opportunities that I had along the way through to the maturity level of today. That sounded weird, but I am going with it.
If the youth of today (20s) had the ability to travel forward into time, the ability that unfortunately none of us has, then they would see how taking things for granted and not pouncing on certain opportunities would be something they would well regret. Had I had a time machine (oh, Jules Verne: Où étiez-vous avec vos idées de science-fiction! and Isaac Asimov, the same question: Where were you with your sci-fi ideas?).
Sure, I am back on track after several years to complete a certain educational journey which long eluded me or rather I eluded it. I am back in college for the umpteenth time, but this time things are extremely different, and with God's help (I'm really not that religious, but I acknowledge His existence), I will succeed this time around.
One piece of advice to the younger crowd at MC, stay in college, get a degree and definitely allow the world to be your oyster. Do NOT be stupidly stupid, arrogantly arrogant, and for certain, do NOT believe that you know more than anyone else. I can assure you that you are not intelligent the minute you close yourself off to the idea of learning from others.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Dora's Corner: Paranoia Will Destroy 'Ya! Guns in the Home!
Hell, YES, I am political as well!
Anyway, during my usual viewing of tele in the morning before my day explodes into a hellish start, I like to watch certain shows (news, sports, political, financial - never reality shows, but that is a topic for another post). I should explain first that, on Sundays, I like to start my day off being productive in order to enjoy the afternoons with family and friends doing whatever is on the agenda, but mostly I like to have my evenings free to catch episodes of two of my favorite tele shows Madam Secretary (CBS) and The Newsroom (HBO).
Well, this a.m., I started off by watching an episode of Take Part which is an informative show that discusses politics, culture, finance, social issues, and other topics in a nutshell. It was recently added to our cable subscription line-up, and I have personally enjoyed it. One of the topics for this morning's episode (not sure if it was live or a rerun) touched upon the ever-weaving, ever-controversial, gun-control issues. I am a proponent of allowing people to carry guns, but I am by no means a card-carrying member of the much- too-radical NRA. I believe in the Second Amendment, but to a point. The main exclusionary proposals/rules/regulations which place a limit or much-needed block on this beautifully-crafted amendment are too complex for me to list here.
Getting back to the topic regarding today's episode, Study Finds More Americans Believe Having Guns at Home Keeps Them Safe, it was revealed that an alarming amount of Americans find that having guns in the home make them feel more safe and better protected. 63% of Americans subscribe to that theory...that's 6 out of 10 households! WOW and SMH!
I do not believe 100% in gun-toting, but I neither knock down others who exercise the right...as long as they do not stockpile, sell or buy illegally, break any laws with firearms, or break any laws in the 2nd amendment that state more clearly and effectively the provisions and exclusions.
I might/might not have a weapon, but it might/might not be situated in a place that no one can get to it besides the people who live in our home. Too many young ones (family/friends) come over at any given moment, so we must be careful in this household; I would hate the idea of one of our younger family members or friends to get injured because of an unproperly stored weapon in our home.
Before I end today's post, I must add that I subscribe to the other theory that most people who carry weapons are more likely to get killed by them. Just sayin'!
Democrats remained steadily in favor at 41%
Republicans jumped 28 points to a not-so-surprising 81%
Independents increased 14 points to 64%
Anyway, during my usual viewing of tele in the morning before my day explodes into a hellish start, I like to watch certain shows (news, sports, political, financial - never reality shows, but that is a topic for another post). I should explain first that, on Sundays, I like to start my day off being productive in order to enjoy the afternoons with family and friends doing whatever is on the agenda, but mostly I like to have my evenings free to catch episodes of two of my favorite tele shows Madam Secretary (CBS) and The Newsroom (HBO).
Well, this a.m., I started off by watching an episode of Take Part which is an informative show that discusses politics, culture, finance, social issues, and other topics in a nutshell. It was recently added to our cable subscription line-up, and I have personally enjoyed it. One of the topics for this morning's episode (not sure if it was live or a rerun) touched upon the ever-weaving, ever-controversial, gun-control issues. I am a proponent of allowing people to carry guns, but I am by no means a card-carrying member of the much- too-radical NRA. I believe in the Second Amendment, but to a point. The main exclusionary proposals/rules/regulations which place a limit or much-needed block on this beautifully-crafted amendment are too complex for me to list here.
Getting back to the topic regarding today's episode, Study Finds More Americans Believe Having Guns at Home Keeps Them Safe, it was revealed that an alarming amount of Americans find that having guns in the home make them feel more safe and better protected. 63% of Americans subscribe to that theory...that's 6 out of 10 households! WOW and SMH!
I do not believe 100% in gun-toting, but I neither knock down others who exercise the right...as long as they do not stockpile, sell or buy illegally, break any laws with firearms, or break any laws in the 2nd amendment that state more clearly and effectively the provisions and exclusions.
I might/might not have a weapon, but it might/might not be situated in a place that no one can get to it besides the people who live in our home. Too many young ones (family/friends) come over at any given moment, so we must be careful in this household; I would hate the idea of one of our younger family members or friends to get injured because of an unproperly stored weapon in our home.
Before I end today's post, I must add that I subscribe to the other theory that most people who carry weapons are more likely to get killed by them. Just sayin'!
*************************************************************************
Here are the figures that show who favors guns in the home (according to political affiliation) more details available via Gallup Poll:Democrats remained steadily in favor at 41%
Republicans jumped 28 points to a not-so-surprising 81%
Independents increased 14 points to 64%
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