Ah, don’t cha love Netflix?

I do, and one reason I love it so much is that I can revisit past favorites. Lately, I have been watching Linda Hamilton’s Beauty opposite the impeccable Ron Perlman’s Beast. While the short-lived television series made each of them famous, Perlman’s career has been more varied and probably more lucrative. In a recent interview, he stated he had been in 15 films this year. Of course, Hamilton repeated her Sarah Conner role in Terminator 2—Judgment Day, as well as successful films such as Dante’s Peak.

The pilot for this modern treatment of the fairy tale sets up the story, as lovely lawyer Catherine Chandler is the victim of a savage attack. Vincent, the Beast who lurks in darkness, saves the the damsel in distress, and introduces her to a labyrinth of tunnels below New York City, and to the people who dwell there. Although I knew the series was set in New York City, but I did not realize how much New York is not just the setting, but a via shining cityscapes and location shots, it is really a co-star. When Vincent needs to rescue Catherine, a frequent occurrence, he rides atop subway trains and traverses tunnels beneath the city. As an assistant district attorney, Catherine alternately assists the downtrodden and fights to rid the streets of criminals; indeed, some of the plots are drawn from issues facing NYC in the late 80s, such as corporate harassment of tenants in rent controlled apartment buildings.

The scripts for Beauty and the Beast are by George R. R. Martin, a well-known scifi/fantasy writer, and fantasy elements abound. From the first episode, Vincent feels a “bond” for Catherine, and he knows when she is in danger, a necessary aspect to keep him in the above ground action. When I originally saw the series, the cinematography was impressive for television. While it has not aged well, there are still some impressive shots, painting the setting with light. Catherine’s extensive wardrobe and make-up help create her “Beauty” persona. Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner character in the Terminator films was not nearly so glamorous. Perlman no doubt spent many hours in the make-up chair to portray Vincent, but the results are still impressive. When he roars at attackers, his leonine look and rugged wardrobe are quite beastly, but his soft voice and precise diction when he reads poetry are enough to melt my crotchety old English teacher’s heart.

Online, there are numerous sites for fans to visit, and I was especially impressed with the artistic renderings of Vincent and Catherine posted to various sites, but those are generally not for reposting. There is also fan fiction, and a few conventions have been held, too. Obviously, I am not the only one who enjoys this modern fantasy.

Once, at a family gathering, my nephew the IT dude told me that he would not hire me, because I am not technologically proficient. He is a Microsoft guy, and I am a Mac user. Thankful that I wasn’t looking for a job, I just smiled and changed the subject.

Steve Jobs, co-founder and visionary at Apple, has been behind so many technical devices and concepts that I and countless others use every day. My nephew was right— I live and work in a technologically sophisticated world, with little understanding of exactly how all of this stuff functions. Mr. Jobs and company created the devices, the software, and the slick interfaces that have made it just as easy to operate computers, music players, smart phones, and other items without being able to crawl under the hood and fix them. Just as I drive my Honda, without knowing its valve clearances and final drive ratio, I can create a web page, edit a movie, or share music without understanding the inner workings of my iPad, Mac, or Airport Express. The beauty of all things Apple is that they operate intuitively, with no need to read the manual or hire a member of the Geek Squad.

During his career, Steve Jobs has repeatedly been able to see what people wanted, then create devices that did those things. Moreover, his company went beyond that, and created hardware and apps which I didn’t even know I wanted— until I saw them in action.

I am saddened that his family lost him at such an early age, 56, and I am also sorry that his passionate vision has been cut short. Just today, Apple announced the introduction of software that lets customers verbally interface with the newest iPhone, a technology that promises to change everything, one more time. And in Apple stores across the globe, customers are seeing this new feature, and thinking, what will they think of next?

Ironically, a more important question might be who will think of these new things, now that the “insanely great” Steve Jobs is no longer with us?

Most sources of information are having some sort of commemoration of the ten-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. And, like many people, I have thought about where I was as I heard the news. I’d been at a Bible study, and had no idea that there had been an attack until I heard my sister’s voice on my answering machine, telling me to turn on my television.

 

Last week, I needed to recycle a television. Our local government sponsors recycling, and they’ll take old paint and motor oil, but they won’t take a television. Knowing that e-waste is a huge problem for our planet, I got hubby and son to put the malfunctioning behemoth in my van, to the only local spot for television recycling— Best Buy. It took talking to five different people to get the television out of my van and into the store, because each person I spoke with told me to see someone else.

After I finally got my ten dollar “gift card” which is what I got when I paid ten dollars in federal reserve notes for them to take the television, I looked for something to buy with it, because I didn’t know anyone that I dislike enough to give them a gift card from BB. Finding anything to buy was really difficult, it seems that Best Buy really doesn’t have many good buys. I asked yet another of the blue clad employees, if there might be a cheaper case for an iPad than the thirty dollar one I finally found. The response was, “You just said Apple and ‘cheap’ in the same sentence. Hah!” I guess they don’t like Apple products. Or price conscious customers. So, I took the case to check-out. After all, it was only twelve dollars more than at Amazon, so it was one of the better buys in the store. It snapped on as it should, and since it has no electronic parts, it should serve its purpose.

Actually, I am just glad that I didn’t need a repair. Over the years, I have been fortunate that my Apple products don’t need much repair, and when they do, the Geek squad doesn’t work on Apple computers. Thank goodness.

Any of you seen this one yet?

Computer Repair expose

Or this one?

Computer Repair expose

Or this one?

The last space shuttle launch occurred last week. Although NASA claims to be working on a new vehicle, it is years (or decades) away from launching, if it does launch at all.

Having grown up during the space program’s heyday, I see this as just another symptom of America’s declining health. A Democrat president declared that America would not be left behind in the conquest of space, and through administrations led by both parties, NASA put men and satellites into orbit, then sent men and machines to the moon.

As a percent of total federal dollars spent, the space program peaked in 1966, at 5.5% of all U.S. spending. Three years later, I, along with most other Americans, sat spellbound as the first men stepped onto the surface of the moon. Critics of the space program would probably say we got some pictures and a few rocks out of the deal (and we did) but myriad technologies were first used in the space program, including the foundations of modern computers and software. Each year, NASA publishes a list of “spinoff” technologies, by-products of space related tech. If there had been no space program these technologies would either not exist, or would have developed later:

• cordless tools
• memory foam
• gps navigation
• medical implants, including some artificial joints and cochlear implants
• polymers used in firefighting gear
• advanced firefighting oxygen delivery systems
• lithium batteries (yes, like the ones in your phone and in your computer)
• LEDs and LCDs
• industrial robots

There are many more, some of which my spotty understanding of science does not let me fully understand, but suffice it to say that even social program loving critics of NASA probably enjoy talking on cellular phones, watching satellite television on LCD screens, and finding their way with gps navigation.

If this program has been so valuable to our nation, why is it in decline? Perhaps, because the government caters to the selfish. Critics of NASA tend to say something like, “Let’s solve our problems here, before we go into space.” So, the United States government has put more and more dollars into the hands of the so-called poor, the educators, and buying medical care for an aging population.

Despite being the source of new technologies and national price, NASA seems to be in a death spiral. From that high point of 5.5% of federal revenues, NASA was down to .58% in 2007. Current spending on our space program is roughly equal to what was spent in 1960. To put that in perspective, the cost of social security was 30 times greater than NASA’s costs in 2007.

Social programs, although well-meaning, have ruined certain segments of American society, and turned the greatest generation into the “gimme” generation. No outlay of funds is sufficient to provide the poor with what they want. Only work can do that; but with a sputtering economy and a no confidence vote from business, there are fewer and fewer jobs. Elected officials tend to vote to please the electorate which put them into office, and government paychecks trump rockets.

With the space shuttles decorating museums, what will happen to the satellites that provide us with spying capabilities, gps navigation, and Entertainment Tonight? As long as the satellites remain functional, we won’t know the difference. But, with no means of launching new satellites, we will be like Cuba. In Castro’s country, streets are dotted with fifty year old America autos, because there are no new ones coming into the country. After NASA, our satellites will be just like those ancient autos.

Maybe my children will see the first Martian colonists. Or maybe, they won’t see anything, because the satellites will have fallen from the sky.

This is a tough review to write, but it needs to be told. A decade ago, I was serving as a parent representative on a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools committee to evaluate the local elementary school. I was a “plant” because I had been a classroom teacher for some twenty years, as well as being the mother of two students in the school. Despite what I knew about education, I learned a great deal from the experience. The other parent rep made an astute observation, which I will no doubt misquote due to the years which have passed, but he said, “I see a lot of boys in the community and none of them are interested in school. Something needs to be done.” And a light went on in my brain. Okay, as an English teacher, I knew that many of the males in my classes had not had much fun, but that is because boys like math and science better, right?

Wrong. Boys, or at least a majority of them, don’t like anything in school. Or they only like one or two classes, such as physical education, shop, or ROTC. That means many, many hours of misery. Worse, it means that boys either drop out of school or graduate with such poor skills that they don’t make it through college. Nowadays, colleges are 65/35 female. The never quite ending recession has shown how vulnerable marginally educated men are to long term unemployment. Years ago, boys had a better chance in school than their female counterparts, but those days are long gone. Now, it is boys who suffer. But why?

Since I first was made aware of the depth of this problem, by that fellow parent, I have read some articles and a few books about the gender gap in education. Although it is now considered flawed, I view many of the points raised by Christa Hoff Sommers in her book, The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming Our Boys, as factors. Or, as my favorite talk radio personality puts it, “the wussification of America.” When having a tool such as a penknife results in permanent expulsion from school, boys are clearly being emasculated by the system. But, the gains by girls are taking place in other countries, where boys can still be boys, so the feminization of education is clearly not the only issue.

A newer take on the problem is Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind by Richard Whitmire. Instead of putting the blame on the rise of female leadership in education, reporter Whitmire suggests that the push toward early literacy leaves boys behind the more verbal girls, and those boys are turned off to education before they become ready to read. This book is quite readable; instead of being written for a scholarly audience, feature reporter Whitmire uses real people to illustrate the statistics which are troubling to anyone who cares about the male half of the population.

Lest any readers of Pam’s Pages think, who cares? I will offer some reasons to care. The days when a man could work with his hands and not be especially literate are waning. If our daughters are to have a mate worth marrying, in terms of intellect and in terms of earning power, then we need educated males. Of course, that argument won’t work for some, so consider this: When males can’t earn a living, they may turn to crime. The number of males in prison seems to reflect that, doesn’t it? Most of us would not be in favor of an education system which produces criminals. If you think that is overstating the matter, just do a web search for the phrase “school to prison pipeline.”

How can we address this problem? As Whitmire goes to some length to explain, the education system needs to acknowledge that there is a problem. By and large it does not. Thus, I propose a simple first step to do that. In my state, all sorts of test stats are reported in the newspaper. By law, these figures must be printed in local newspapers, but there is no breakdown by gender. So, I am going to write to my local representatives and ask that this small change be made to our state’s laws. The best way to solve a problem is to get started, and this problem must be put before the public. Reporting the scores of boys and girls side-by-side should show the general public that there is a real problem to be addressed.

The more I read, and the longer I serve in education, the more I realize that society may think that boys are being bad, instead of recognizing that they are being short-changed by the megalithic education system. ’Tis sad.