Obama in 30 Seconds

One of the many things I love about Moveon.org is how it is people powered. No wonder they are backing Obama for President. But, they have been doing a great contest called "Obama in 30 Seconds." They have the finalists up for people to vote for now: Obama in 30 Seconds

Here are my three favorites:

There are a lot of "typical" Hope ads. I want something different that explains what he is going to do. Not just the hope thing. For the general election we need more. I love the hand reaching down at the end of the ad. It just makes me feel great and that is what this election should be about - giving our kids the chance at a brighter future.


The first time I viewed this ad I said, "That is what is needed!" We do need people to forget their old ideas of party-line politics. Instead look at what this country needs. It was awesome when I was at the caucus in Kingwood, TX (a very strong GOP community) to see so many republicans voting for Obama.


This one is really good. Simple, but you can't wait to see what he is going to draw. And I love how he has Obama turn the page at the end. Straight forward message and there is no doubt that this has to be a message of the campaign.

If I was Obama, I would buy each of these finalist ads and run them through the summer for himself. They are all effective in their own ways.

Texans get help on the line

Duane Brown is a former tight end and has played right and then left tackle. He is the fastest tackle in the draft and many on his college team thought he was the best 'athlete' on the team. He even blocked a field goal during his career.

The Texans run the old Broncos and Falcons running game that was engineered by Alex Gibbs. He is now the Texans offensive co-ordinator and assistant head coach. He likes mean, fast and agile linemen. He likes his linemen to cut block and treat defenders like they are pieces of meat. According to the Texans coaches Brown is one tough dude.

The Texans did trade down to get him which netted them another 3rd and a 6th round pick. So that is nice. They got the player that they say they wanted. And a couple of extra picks. There is no doubting we need additional help on the line. And I was either hoping for a tackle or a corner. Maybe we get a corner tomorrow in round 3?

Go Green

This week we purchased re-useable bags and have begun to use them each week when we shop.

Reasons to reuse:

1 Every year Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags. These bags can clog drains, crowd landfills, and leave an unsightly blot on the landscape.
2 Plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down.
3 Each reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.
4 The production of plastic bags requires large amounts of crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives.
5 The production of paper bags requires large amounts of wood, petroleum, and coal.

So why don't more people do this? (I have never seen someone in the Houston area reusing their own bags) Well, it could be that they don't know about it. So that's why I am blogging about it. Or it could be that people are inherently stupid and lazy. I am hoping for the first choice - it's a matter of education. I sleep better at night thinking that way.

Get a free Kroger reusable shopping bag loaded to your Shopper's Card when you submit a design. You could win $500 from Kroger—and see your bag in stores!
Find out more about designing your own bag at: Design A Green Bag.com

I also sleep well knowing that the power company that we use is - Green Mountain.

The company is designed to get the most out of marketing and supplying energy from geothermal, wind and solar.

Happy Earthday 2008

Miguel Tejada sports his "Go Green" hat for Earth Day 2008 at Minute Maid Park tonight. The Astros are looking for the sweep of the Pads.

At least some good news tonight. The Astros are up 9-7 in the bottom of the 8th.

Obama loses to Hillary tonight in PA, but his close finish might help push Hill over the hill. She is running out of money. Will she run dry on fundraising?

Well, I am going to go listen to Barack and then head to bed. He's about to speak from Indiana... I guess it's on to the Hoosier state. Great.

A message for Aidan

I thought about what the purpose of my blog was this morning. Really it has boiled down to a record of what is happening in our lives for Aidan to one day read. Then I thought, I really want him to hear what I said last night during the National Charity League dinner. It is my hope that one day he can be as big an influence on his school, community and country as the 10 ladies are that we celebrated last night. I can't wait to see the pictures that were taken.

Good Evening.

I am very proud to be with you tonight. This is a special honor for me and I am thankful for the opportunity to introduce you to these wonderful young ladies.

As an educator, a goal of mine is to help foster leadership and service. That is one reason I appreciate the National Charity League. They have the same goals. The ten young ladies I am about to introduce to you are leaders in many ways. Their work with NCL is important and appreciated by those they can serve. There is no doubt that they have inspired others with their work and their acts of service will multiply in the future through this organization and many others.

As I read through their bios and remembered my own experiences with these young ladies, I was reminded of a quote by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who said,
“It is far better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

As many of you know, these ladies are candle lighters.

So, Aidan... be a good boy! And good things will happen for you in life. You might even be lucky enough to have a girl friend in the National Charity League. :)

National Charity League MC

Tonight I had the honor to be the Master of Ceremonies for the National Charity League Lake Houston chapter. They graduated 10 senior girls and 9 of them I knew well from teaching. It was a wonderful event.

I read each young lady's bio as they walked in with their fathers. Then there was a very nice dinner and the young ladies gave speeches of appreciation to their moms. Then they showed a wonderful slide show with each girl's picture from when they were very little throughout their 18 years. It ended with pictures of the 10 girls during their service time in NCL from 7th grade to 12th.

It was very special for me because the girls asked me to do it. I had most of them in my World History Pre-AP class at Humble High three years ago. They are a part of the first graduating class of AHS. It is going to be another special day when they graduate from our school.

Before I left to go this afternoon, I decided to get some pictures taken with Aidan. I don't really have very many pictures that are just me and him. I think it is because I am usually using the camera and taking the pictures myself. So it was neat to pose with him some. I really have missed him this weekend. I spent all day Saturday at school in meetings about our new grading system and breaking down the conference we went to in Hawaii. Today was the NCL dinner and I did not get home until close to 8pm.

It was a special day though. I will always have a fond place in my heart for these girls. When they delivered their speeches to their moms, I could not help but shed tears. It is difficult to watch some of the most confident and articulate young ladies get so emotional when trying to say thank you to their mothers. But, they did a fantastic job.

An Emotional Week

This past week was quite emotional in my classroom at school. My students presented their digital projects. They were better than ever!

I have uploaded the 12 best videos (ones that I was capable of uploading, a few were awesome but they were turned in on dvds that only play in the player and could not be loaded to a website).

Please check them out here:
Digital Projects in World History

The project information can be found on my classroom website: Click here and then on PROJECTS. Look for the 5th Six Weeks Project links. There were three main areas the students could choose from: Environment, Africa and Modern World topics.

They did some amazing work. A couple make me tear up every time I watch them.

I was peeing my pants...

I don't know why... but this made me laugh so hard!

Enough Is Enough

The debate last night was grizzly. Not what America is looking for or what we need.

I am very encouraged by the polls in PA and the fact that voters seem to be turned off by this negative posturing by Clinton and the media. I just hope PA voters choose Obama and we can get on to having a real discussion about our differences with Republicans. That is what is important right now.

This primary has run it's course already. Enough is enough. Enough from the media and enough negativity. I hope PA does the right thing and moves this along. People are getting fatigued by it.

World History - Digital Projects

I am really proud of the work that my kids have done on their digital projects. They have three broad areas to choose from:
1. The Environment
2. Africa
3. Modern World

The kids have had 4 chances to go to the computer lab during the period and work on research. But the majority of the work on a digital project like this is done at home. They also have to write a research paper and present the material to the class.

Two of the projects have really stood out so far. Both have been videos. The kids in the class were pretty silent after clapping at the end. It really made an impact. I wanted to share them both here on this blog. It is a wonderful feeling to see your students learn about a topic, feel deeply about it, and then pass that knowledge on to the class. But, it is also great to then be able to share it with the rest of the world.


starvation in the african horn from christian deluxe on Vimeo.

Uganda Today by Zac S from fordee on Vimeo.

He is no longer a baby

Today I had a realization. My little baby is no longer a little baby. We bought a bike for Aidan. As if the bike wasn't enough, he is wearing a helmet that is for a 5+ year-old. The 3 year-old ones did not fit. Amazing.

What happened to my little baby?


He is now a very big boy! He can't wait until tomorrow to go bike riding again.

Baseball Time