A Black Hole of Happiness

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Gattigap
BTW, how strong is the correlation between home schooling and nutjob these days?

As a kid, I always thought the correlation approached 100%. Even as an adult, I rarely encountered folks who actually did this. But now the Gaplet is getting involved with the theater crowd, and while we're trying to make these fucking school/worlk/rehearsal/other crap schedules work, I notice that there's a higher percentage of people who reply, "Oh, Biff? Yes, well, we homeschool him."

Strikes me as weird, but I can't decide if this is just (a) you know, hey, LA, man, (b) the weird theater subculture, or (c) some really poor decisions on our part about who we're interacting with these days.

Gattigap

When I meet someone who tells me they homeschool their kids, I immediately assume they are a whack job.

This is based on my experiences with my former neighbor who homeschooled her kids and was a whack job and my interaction with my father's pilot's wife, who homeschools their kids and is a whack job.

Furthermore, kids who are homeschooled seem to have a little problem with the sharing, as based on my experience yesterday at the Boynton Beach Schoolhouse Museum, where I met a wonderful whack job with a child attached to her in a Baby Bjorn and 3 other perfect aryan looking children who, well, did not play nicely with others.

I feel like, in the spirit of Atticus, I should add YMMV.

[dtb]

Originally posted by Fugee
I've only mentioned it a zillion times but that is my favorite TV miniseries ever. I'm reading a mystery based on the P&P characters ("Pride & Prescience") and I envision all the characters in the book looking and sounding like those on the A&E/BBC version.

ETA: Hank, I love the new avatar.

I thought you'd get a kick out of that story. Glad you were around to read it.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Oliver_Wendell_Ramone
Prince and you've got a deal. Are there decent strip clubs in Detroit, or will Z-bo need to go into Windsor? I'm not sure how the Canadians feel about drag racing with a gun in the car, so Detroit might need to expand its adult entertainment options.

this reads like a zen koan, but written by someone who never achieved godhead- like your parents raised you Buddhist so you go through the motions, but you really don't get it.

[handsome boy model]

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
When I meet someone who tells me they homeschool their kids, I immediately assume they are a whack job.

This is based on my experiences with my former neighbor who homeschooled her kids and was a whack job and my interaction with my father's pilot's wife, who homeschools their kids and is a whack job.

Furthermore, kids who are homeschooled seem to have a little problem with the sharing, as based on my experience yesterday at the Boynton Beach Schoolhouse Museum, where I met a wonderful whack job with a child attached to her in a Baby Bjorn and 3 other perfect aryan looking children who, well, did not play nicely with others.

I feel like, in the spirit of Atticus, I should add YMMV.

An old college friend of mine is home schooling his spawn. He is an opus dei catholic, whatever that it is, although I get the sense it is sort of extreme of some sort or other. I guess that might make him appear to be a whackjob to some. For me, I think his habit during college of sneaking into other people's dorm rooms and crapping in their bathtubs or showers (and not flushing) is what made me suspicious.

sincerely,

hbm

[Fugee]

Originally posted by handsome boy model
He is an opus dei catholic, whatever that it is, although I get the sense it is sort of extreme of some sort or other.

Isn't that what Mel Gibson is or am I confusing it with the plot of Da Vinci Code?

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Fugee
Isn't that what Mel Gibson is or am I confusing it with the plot of Da Vinci Code?

No. Mel Gibson is a whack job. he must home school.

[dtb]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
No. Mel Gibson is a whack job. he must home school.

I want to say that Gatti is right to say that the correlation reaches about 100%. However, this woman seems really normal; she challenged my preconceived notion that all home schoolers were nutjobs. And that's even before I knew she was ELIZABETH BENNET!!!!

Someone suggested that "home schooling" for someone like her meant that she hires a tutor. Which is possible, but I got the impression that she spends an awful lot of time with him (her child). So I think it's she who does it. I asked her if her child had siblings, because I thought that would be even more of a challenge, but he doesn't have siblings. I think I will ask her tomorrow what made her decide to home school. If my youngest has too many more "exuberance" issues, it may be the only alternative left for me!

She really doesn't seem like a nutjob. Then again, I've had a total of 60 minutes of conversation with her, so what do I know?

[dtb]

Maybe this belongs on the parents board, but what do y'all think of this...

We have decamped to a leafy glen for the summer, and before we left the hustle and bustle of TCOTU, I told my eldest boy that he had to pack and bring whatever gameboy etc. crap he wanted -- that it was his responsibility, and I reminded him what that meant -- i.e, the chargers, the games, whatever accoutrements go with the outrage that is electronic gaming.

So, upon reaching the leafy glade we call home for the summer, we learn that he's got the games and the little machines, but he's forgotten the chargers. Needless to day, a few days in, and no more electronic games.

There is an alternative -- his father can round up and bring the chargers, etc. on his next visit -- but should he???

Should I make him suffer the consequences of his inattention to detail? (FD: I hate those damned things -- I'd like him never to play them again, but he really does like that stuff, and it's a real ice-breaker with other 9-year-olds.) Or do I allow his dad to bring them up, to be put behind glass with a little hammer that says "Break only in case of emergency" (and forget to mention to the boy that emergency provisions are at hand)?

What say you, o wise chatboard readers?

[handsome boy model]

Originally posted by dtb

She really doesn't seem like a nutjob. Then again, I've had a total of 60 minutes of conversation with her, so what do I know?

You indicated that she was sans the pubic hair, seems like an intimate knowledge to me.

yt,

hbm

[dtb]

Originally posted by handsome boy model
You indicated that she was sans the pubic hair, seems like an intimate knowledge to me.

yt,

hbm

I did not indicate that. I indicated that it would be fruitless for me to hazard a guess as to her true hair color based on p.h. color, as there is nary one p.h. to be found in the tri-state area.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by dtb
Maybe this belongs on the parents board, but what do y'all think of this...

We have decamped to a leafy glen for the summer, and before we left the hustle and bustle of TCOTU, I told my eldest boy that he had to pack and bring whatever gameboy etc. crap he wanted -- that it was his responsibility, and I reminded him what that meant -- i.e, the chargers, the games, whatever accoutrements go with the outrage that is electronic gaming.

So, upon reaching the leafy glade we call home for the summer, we learn that he's got the games and the little machines, but he's forgotten the chargers. Needless to day, a few days in, and no more electronic games.

There is an alternative -- his father can round up and bring the chargers, etc. on his next visit -- but should he???

Should I make him suffer the consequences of his inattention to detail? (FD: I hate those damned things -- I'd like him never to play them again, but he really does like that stuff, and it's a real ice-breaker with other 9-year-olds.) Or do I allow his dad to bring them up, to be put behind glass with a little hammer that says "Break only in case of emergency" (and forget to mention to the boy that emergency provisions are at hand)?

What say you, o wise chatboard readers?

A few days is enough consequences for a nine-year-old. The whole summer would be punitive. Speaking as a parent who hates those games.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by dtb
I want to say that Gatti is right to say that the correlation reaches about 100%. However, this woman seems really normal; she challenged my preconceived notion that all home schoolers were nutjobs. And that's even before I knew she was ELIZABETH BENNET!!!!

Someone suggested that "home schooling" for someone like her meant that she hires a tutor. Which is possible, but I got the impression that she spends an awful lot of time with him (her child). So I think it's she who does it. I asked her if her child had siblings, because I thought that would be even more of a challenge, but he doesn't have siblings. I think I will ask her tomorrow what made her decide to home school. If my youngest has too many more "exuberance" issues, it may be the only alternative left for me!

She really doesn't seem like a nutjob. Then again, I've had a total of 60 minutes of conversation with her, so what do I know?

There was a USA Today graph on this a while back. Homeschoolers break down pretty much like this:

Right wing Christian nutjobs: 50%
Paranoid nutjobs: 25%
"Stage Mom" nutjobs: 20%
Druggie nutjobs: 20%
Hyper-Athletic nutjobs: 15%
Gun nut-jobs: 15%
Nazi nut-jobs: 15%
Athiest nut-jobs: 15%
Left wing Christian nutjobs: 15%
Wacko apolitical religious nutjobs 15%
Quirky academic nutjobs: 15%
Spelling bee kids: 10%
Buddhist, New Age and assorted other
lefty non-Christian religious nutjobs: 10%
Communist nut-jobs 10%
Assorted other nutjobs: 97%
Totally normal: *


As you can see, there is an asterisk for the totally normals, which there are, proportionately, about as many normal homeschoolers as there are Ron Paul supporters. However, on the average, every home school kid and parent is approximately 3.5 kinds of nutjob.

[LessinSF]

Originally posted by dtb
blah, blah, blah

On the drive home, it finally dawns on me!! She's ELIZABETH BENNET FROM THE A&E VERSION OF PRIDE & PREJUDICE!!!! OK, she's been in other stuff too, but PRIDE & PREJUDICE!!! She's Mr. Darcy's former girlfriend!!!

Jennifer Ehle? Never heard or seen her - http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DG

[dtb]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
A few days is enough consequences for a nine-year-old. The whole summer would be punitive. Speaking as a parent who hates those games.

I think that's right. I was leaning that way, but thought maybe I was being a wuss.

Thanks, man.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by dtb
Maybe this belongs on the parents board, but what do y'all think of this...

We have decamped to a leafy glen for the summer, and before we left the hustle and bustle of TCOTU, I told my eldest boy that he had to pack and bring whatever gameboy etc. crap he wanted -- that it was his responsibility, and I reminded him what that meant -- i.e, the chargers, the games, whatever accoutrements go with the outrage that is electronic gaming.

So, upon reaching the leafy glade we call home for the summer, we learn that he's got the games and the little machines, but he's forgotten the chargers. Needless to day, a few days in, and no more electronic games.

There is an alternative -- his father can round up and bring the chargers, etc. on his next visit -- but should he???

Should I make him suffer the consequences of his inattention to detail? (FD: I hate those damned things -- I'd like him never to play them again, but he really does like that stuff, and it's a real ice-breaker with other 9-year-olds.) Or do I allow his dad to bring them up, to be put behind glass with a little hammer that says "Break only in case of emergency" (and forget to mention to the boy that emergency provisions are at hand)?

What say you, o wise chatboard readers?

Dad should bring the chargers, and they should appear one by one at random times over the summer. Each appearance will be like a getting a new toy.