If you're going to sin . . . sin boldly

Have I confessed yet what kind of a thrill I get from reading Radio Free Babylon's Coffee with Jesus?

That's not the reason for this post's title. The post's title has everything to do with Star Trek: Into Darkness. One could easily paint me the hypocrite for liking that film (went to see it with Sherry last night). After all, I'm the father who insisted my kids watch IV, V, and VI before the prequels. Am I not supposed to be the purist? The historian? The preserver of all things past.

If a movie adheres to orthodoxy and is boring in the process, why should it be made? Star Trek has captivated my imagination for years, though I must admit that at times it became bureaucratic and institutional. When Deep Space Nine was at its best, it was pushing limits. But it was also prone to predictability, too.

Star Trek: Into Darkness doesn't just sin, it sins boldly. It resurrects and rearranges the story line of one the more compelling TOS episodes as well as the consensus pick for best of the original cast movies. It drops the ball at a few points (Jim Kirk apologizing to his crew?) and gets a bit predictable (Oh, so Jim loses command of the ship again (and we're only two movies into Abrams' reboot of the series)). But when it blasphemes, it does so with provocation and edge. Splendidly fun. 

More from Guelzo

I'm 10% of the way through Guelzo's book! I guess e- readers give us a more useful but less romantic way of sharing progress in a book.

I've read of the long campaign by Confederates to invade Pennsylvania. They operated without difficulty west of Gettysburg, almost being welcomed in Carlisle.

Guelzo often reminds us of the understaffed nature of the armies. He paints a picture of armies hampered by a to small corps of general staffs and cavalry that are ineffective compared to European allies of that era.

I enjoy reading of the Rebel armies spread in an arc radiating from Gettysburg. While living there I often thought the nature of roads' radiation from the town unique. In fact, I wonder why the town has remained as small as it has give how the roads connect it to so many points around it.

News Blackout Continues

The Week did not arrive today. Nor did The Economist. Splendid! The news blackout continues.

My wife is so thoughtful. She purchased a game for me for Father's Day, 1989: The Dawn of Freedom. Think of it as a sequel to Twilight Struggle. She even offered to play it with me. Now that is devotion.

I'm drawn to games like 1989. The idea behind it is to have two players re-create a historical era or event. In this case, it's a re-enactment of the year in which the Iron Curtain fell. One player tries to hasten its fall and the other tries to maintain Soviet control over the six countries of the East. I look forward to playing it.

Game makers  have tried this type of game with other eras in history. I know of one that tries to recreate the Reformation (Here I Stand). Another does the Civil War. Labyrinth tries to replicate the War on Terror (which is too raw for my taste).

The Cold War might just have ended up being the best subject matter for the game. Perhaps that is because one can play it knowing that the dreadful nuclear climax never took place. Perhaps that is because we know the good guys won. Perhaps it taps into nostalgia about a time when a monolithic enemy had a distinctive style and way of life that seemed so different but which, paradoxically, existed alongside. I'm itching to play it again.

I'm itching, period. Mosquitos are nasty tonight on this longest night of the year. I tried to stay out through to dusk but I think I have to give in. Time to retreat.

Oh, the Battle of Gettysburg book remains good but I'm not as far with it as expected at the end of news blackout week.

Good Day

It took until 10:30 to draw this conclusion but it was a good day. Here's the list:

• Two laptop carts that would've gotten me fired if lost were found.
• I've lost enough weight to get colleagues to begin teasing me about it.
• Someone who I thought was upset probably isn't.
• I solved a problem my wife was struggling with.
• Two expensive things I thought were lost were found.
• Something dumb that I thought was lost was found.

Another Year Ends

School years end in melodrama. There is fatigue which leads to some giddiness and some rushes to judgment. But I take delight in seeing seniors exude the confidence that they have accomplished something. I'm gratified at the nice things kids say to show you that you've done the right thing by becoming a teacher.

News blackout, Day 1

I was good today. I didn't even check my Twitter feed. Okay, so I launched Twitter on my phone, but quickly pressed the back button before it opened.

A colleague of mine was a bit perplexed today when I told him of my annual news blackout. He insisted I should know about Ben Bernacke's impending announcement Wednesday about the Fed's practice of buying $85 billion per month in bonds. He's right. It's ridiculously relevant to an AP Macroeconomics teacher. Too bad this event is happening in the midst of news blackout week.

A Father's Day surprise: Sherry got what is perhaps the geekiest board game imaginable: 1989: Dawn of Freedom. Words cannot describe how eager I am to find time to play it with someone. It is a sequel to the best board game I've ever played, Twilight Struggle. I'm grateful that a few friends of mine share my joy in re-living famous epochs from the 20th century.

And now I look forward to ending my day reading about the Battle of Gettysburg. A good thing about leaving AP U.S. History is that it'll re-kindle my enthusiasm for using recreational time to do history.

News Blackout is Beginning Soon

I like to inaugurate my summers my taking a one week vacation from the news. The courses I teach requires me to stay on top of what's happening in politics, the economy, and global relations. By this point of the year, I'm no longer enjoying the news, but I'm reading it anyway, going through the motions with news stories and topics that aggravate me rather than intrigue me. The NSA big data scandal, for instance, should inspire me to take a clear stand one way or the other on this important issue of national security and civil liberties. Instead, I vacillate between ambivalence and irritation.

My last day with students is Wednesday. My last day of work is the 24th or 25th. But I'm starting the news vacation now. The toughest part of this will be turning away from the Twitter feed for a week. Oh well, that's an itch I'll just have to not scratch.

As an added twist this year, I'll dedicate time that would have gone to news digestion to instead read a book. I started Allan Guelzo's new account of the Battle of Gettysburg today. So far, it's been quite enjoyable. One interesting observation comes from Guelzo's quotes about officers at that time: contemporaries in the mid 19th century were so much more inclined to make allusions to animals when describing others. I found the anecdotes likening General Longstreet to a pig (his eyes) or General Ewell to a pigeon particularly fun.

More substantively, Guelzo makes a fascinating point about how utterly unprepared the nation was for war. We relied on "volunteers" rather than standing armies or conscripts (at least to begin the war). Our officer corps was woefully under-trained and under-manned relative to European armies of the time. Two chapters in, and Guelzo has left me with a powerful impression as to why the war stalemated and lasted four long, very bloody years.