Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2007

Education hotties--I've been disqualified

"Hot for education " contest. Looking at Alexander Russo's photo, I am a bit surprised that he would have anything to do with any kind of beauty or handsome competition! As Russo writes: "One of the most popular -- and embarrassing -- posts that's ever run on this site has been Hot For Education , a highly arbitrary and much-commented on listing of some of the folks who might qualify as 'hot...for education.'" I hope I don't come off as bitter as I am. Even though the competition has just started I've already been excluded ! Damn! And right in the middle of black history month! As Alexander writes: " Casey Lartigue is also excluded, for ballot stuffing ." Oh, right. I was inviting people to vote for me. And I think I also voted for myself a few times. Yes, I'm from Texas... As I recall, I'm the one who pointed out that there were no racial minorities in the competition. Pedro Noguera then narrowly beat me out f

Does a flower turn to the sun?

I tend not to address points raised by people commenting on posts. In the back-and-forth of such discussions, people sometimes say things they don't mean or take extreme positions. In other cases they are just trying to be provocative, especially when they can remain anonymous. But a discussion on Greg Mankiw's blog caught my attention. That's because a couple of the folks suggested that parents don't really have the knowledge to make decisions about the quality of schools. Between 2002-2004 I was actively involved in the fight to get school vouchers for families in DC. I often heard the argument that parents don't know how to choose between good and bad schools and that, anyway, parents had enough choices with the school system's "out-of-boundary" options and charters (that had also been opposed). Without getting too deep into the out-of-boundary program, I'll point out that Woodrow Wilson HS, considered one of the best schools in the city, recei

Michael Jackson & Prince

Michael Jackson, born August 29, 1958 Prince (Rogers Nelson), born June 7, 1958 Note: Originally posted 1/31/05; reposted in honor of Prince performing at the Super Bowl this weekend... Once upon a time, I wanted to be Mike. Michael Jackson was the lovable lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s and 1970s. His family had been poor, so it is no surprise that they were releasing at least one album a year. Michael was the family's lottery ticket. I was a big-time fan. I was a member of the Jackson 5 fan club. My brothers and I tried to be just like Mike. I'm the tallest of the three. Check me out, I was so C-O-O-L ! Look at that 'Fro. Could there have been a cooler Bible-carrying kid? I could have hid entire African villages under that cap. And the African villages that could not have fit in that Afro could have squeezed into my bell bottoms. You'd have to pay me money to wear those beads today, but I was stylin' then. But it was clear that I was destined to beco