More on Baseball

I'm in a baseball state of mind today, mostly because I watched/listened to my first game of the spring yesterday. It was Red Sox vs. Twins and Brad Penny was pitching for the Sox. He looks like he could be a great pick-up if he can maintain shoulder strength and recapture the mojo he had when he was with the Dodgers. The Red Sox made a bunch of similar what-if/if everything goes according to plan type deals this winter and as such here are the 5 most pressing questions I think the Sox have or need to answer in the early months of this season.

5. The Battle at Shortstop. We haven't gotten stellar production out of this position since Nomar was healthy so my expectations are fairly low. I like Lowry because he's homegrown and looks to be a bright kid with a some growing room left so I hope he ends up with the job but I can certainly undertstand the Sox need to get their money's worth when it comes to the stupid contract they have with Julio Lugo. I'd be happy if we got someone in there that ends up with less than 15 errors and an avg of .280.

4. Jacoby Ellsbury. For someone who practically tore the cover off the ball in the 2007 playoffs Ellsbury had a pretty mediocre year last year. Didn't show much patience at the plate and his stats were way down from the way he looked the year before. Hopefully he can put it all together this year and contribute offensively as well as his regularly solid defense efforts.

3. Catchers. This is Varitek's last year in the uniform, I guarantee it! As it is we might as well be playing in the National league because he is practically an automatic out. This is a question I think that will ultimately go unresolved because there is not solution to this till the Sox are willing to empty the coffers next off season. That being said I can see Varitek as a member of the staff, maybe working with catchers and pitchers or something like that. He's a knowledgeable, classy guy and I'd hate to see him flat out leave the organization.

2. Pitchers: Good Rotation or Great Rotation? The Red Sox are blessed with 2, sometimes 3 aces at the front of their rotation. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are numero unos on any team and Dice-K is pretty much an ace when he's consist ant so we are set with them. The Sox have announced that Wakefield will be the fourth starter which is always good to see because he is a long time innings eater. They won't need a 5 starter for a month or so because of scheduled days off so they have 2 options for who to put in the five slot since they have sent Buchholz down the the minors to start the season. Penny and Smoltz are their options for the fifth slot, which is ridiculous is they are healthy. Penny had some great numbers with the Dodgers and Smotlz is a lock for the Hall of Fame so I guess this isn't so much of a question or a point, merely something to brag about. (IF THEY ARE HEALTHY)

1. David Ortiz. Without Manny in the line up we have a semi large power vacuum currently occupied by Ortiz and Bay. Unless Ortiz can return to form of 2007 we are in big trouble on the offensive side of the ball. Without someone protecting Bay pitchers can basically pitch around him. Here's hoping that we can get at least 30 home runs out of both of them. Ortiz has had a fairly good spring so hopefully that's an indication that his injury problems are over.

Do you think these are valid? Did I miss something? Let me know!

1 week till opening day!

When I was little my grandfather used to take me to Red Sox games once or twice a summer. I'm sure to him, it was probably the best thing ever but to a impatient, hyperactive 10 to 15 year old Islander it was a miserable hot afternoon of stepping on empty peanut shells and the smell of stale beer. Looking back, I wish I had appreciated those times more but at least I experienced it and I have the memory of it to think about. In many ways I think its that feeling of nostalgia that attracts Americans to baseball. There are other reasons; I love the numbers, the building of tension, the timeless feeling of the 9 innings, whatever it may be, but I always go back to memories of my grandfather and of playing T-ball or farm league. I think a lot of people feel like this too, partially because people write books and movies about it often enough; that by being at a game or watching one it makes them that much closer to something they treasure. The scent of a worn leather glove, fresh cut grass, and dust kicked into a cloud all remind me of steamy summer days playing baseball when I was little. These days are long gone but watching and rooting for the Red Sox or whomever help me remember those days and what about them that's still with me. I'd love to hear about some of your great summer past-time memories about baseball.

The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Teach

For the past 6 or 7 months or so I've been in the process of qualifying for a licence to teach music in Massachusetts public schools. This has proven to be a challenging, rewarding, and very long process, and while the job market is shaky I hope this work pays off down the line as we approach the end of the school year.

Educational and testing standards vary from state to state. Some states require testing, some do not (the later are generally states with lower educational performance). Living in a state with very high standards and requirements has, personally, proven to be a barrier to learning to teach in the past but as I get older the desire and calling to do what I love becomes less resistible; after all, you can only tread water for so long in life. I have never taught music in a classroom setting, except for holding chorus rehearsals in public school classrooms. I have never even substituted for a math or social studies class but I can tell you I am excited about the prospect of teaching. I like working with young adults and I figured, for the most part, that kids who are taking music in high school want to be there so I think high school is the place for me. This also opens opportunities to run after-school activities and work on musicals and what not which would generate some extra cash. In order to get my foot in the door Massachusetts requires a couple tests, lots of studying, and a pile of cash. Here are the details:

To teach in middle school and high school all teachers must pass two of the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTELs). Everyone must pass the Communication and Literacy Test which is basically a test which ensures that you have adequate reading comprehension, decent ability to write, and can identify and correct syntax and stylistic errors in other's writing. The test takes about four hours and is divided into two sections. Section one is primarily multiple choice while section two is mostly longer writing assignments. I took this test a few weeks ago and found it somewhat easy though I'll feel foolish if I get my results back and haven't passed the test.

The other test required is a test on the subject matter you wish to be licensed to teach; obviously for me this is music. I took, and passed, the music test two months ago. Prior to the test, I studied for about a month before hand. I went to school for music (for undergrad and grad) and consider myself an accomplished artist but, I often lack the technical knowledge that this test asked for so I had a lot of work ahead of me. I generally studied for a hour or two every night for the two weeks prior to taking the test and before that I studied sporadically. The biggest barrier to passing was becoming accustomed to the terminology which the test used. They were using phrases that were completely foreign to me for ideas with which I was familiar. Despite the challenges in this test I passed on the first try so then I moved on to working towards the C&L test which I previously mentioned. I'm really excited to design some plans and projects to teach kids, now all I need to do is find an actual position!

In addition to the intellectual demands this process requires of you, it can actually end up being pretty expensive. Each test costs about 100 dollars and actually applying to get your license costs around that amount as well. By the end of the process of taking the tests, applying to a licence, and applying to jobs could end up costing me around 400 to 450 dollars. This is a small price to pay for sometime I feel this passionately about in my mind. Some of the most influential people in my formative years were my teachers and I look forward to providing that sort of guidance to kids who are going through the same things I went through when I was their age.

Chat with Battlestar Galactica writer Jane Espenson at 1 p.m. today - Viewer Discretion - The Boston Globe

Chat with Battlestar Galactica writer Jane Espenson at 1 p.m. today - Viewer Discretion - The Boston Globe

Very interesting chat with BSG writer Jane Epenson, particularly in relation to my previous comments about fans and their relationship to shows. Check is out!

In which the Islander is brought before the chief of the savages!

I'm not normally one for reality TV, in fact in the past I have been known to, oh I don't know, despise it. That being said, I am fascinated (in a morbid sense) by the TLC show "17 and Counting" (or "18 and Counting," who knows how many it is now). The Duggars are just your average American family; a God fearing pair of people, half-way in love with one another, decide to start a family. Normally, families tend to begin and end construction within a few years, sometimes 10 years at the most, if you have an "oops baby." But not them cute, adorable Duggars, they decided to go for the gold. They now have 18 children (yes that is the same womb, no replacements or test tube babies) and ACTUALLY WANT to have more!!! THEY WANT MORE. Wrap your head around that for a moment.... let it sink in... maybe swirl it around a bit and get a whif... ok, now resist the urge to cut your eyes out because that won't get rid of the horrifying mental image that's been burned into your brain. With 18, one of those kids is going to slip through the cracks and do something crazy later in life, like go to college or something like that. A particular episode I saw recently involved the announcement that their oldest son has gotten engaged to a charming little lady whom he has never even kissed! Now that's devotion to an idea which part of me really envies. To be so committed to something like that either bespeaks of incredible discipline or horrifying zealotry (guess which one I think it is.) Now don't think they aren't getting their jollys because they aren't kissing or making full body contact, they have what the Islandette and myself call hand-sex. It is hand holding and rubbing so constant and intense that your almost embarrassed to be watching it... like old people grinding. Now the question I want answered is this: Do people watch this show because they are stupefied by these crazy people or are people watching this because they admire the Duggars? My initial thought/hope is that it's mostly the first with a smattering of the later. Call me an optimist but I'd like to think that most of this country is honestly horrified that two people think that they can give 18 children the tools they need to succeed in this world. I may be off on this but I think the bar has probably been set rather low.

In which the Islander discovers savage natives!

I've been wanting to share this like crazy people want to share animal crackers. 

In which the Islander is Islanded....

Well, welcome and thanks for stopping by for this very special, super swell first post by me, your humble islander.





The final episode of Battlestar Galactica aired this past Friday so I thought I would begin this blog with the end of that show. It's hard to find a place to start with a show that has garnered much critical praise, revolutionized how people watch TV and all the while had a very small audience. On a network and probably on other cable networks BSG would have been quickly canned. Off the top of my head I think viewership topped out around 6 million but this typically didn't reflect the actual viewership due to the popularity of streaming the episodes off scifi.com and their appearance on ITunes. It's a total shame that the show didn't garner a wider audience because people missed one of the best shows of the decade and EASILY (yes I am a fan of hyperbole and generalization) the greatest science fiction show of all time. Great science fiction is really about us, its allegory. In this case BSG used post-9/11 anxiety to tell the story about the remnants of polytheistic humanity which is chased by their monotheistic creations, the Cyclons. They went through a bunch of different ideas. In season 2 there was a whole story arc about occupation that ran right through the occupation of Iraq and this ending certainly seemed to coincide with the rise of, or hope for, optimism (is that optismic optimsim?) with the recent election and hope for economic recovery.

I am incredibly surprised with the negative reaction the finale has garnered online. I thought it was many different things but all of those things were good. The first half involves the crew rescuing Hera from uber-nihilistic Caville and showes some of the best action scenes and CGI on TV in a long time. The second half, to me, felt a lot like Return of the King in that it was a long beautiful goodbye. I won't say anymore for those who haven't seen it. But if you haven't seen the show at all I would HIGHLY recommend picking up the DVD's or renting them, it is a superbly written, acted, and executed drama. There are few things now airing that can compare with it.

People are certainly entitled to their opinions and are most definitely allowed to to hate something that I liked but I have to say that there is a certain sense of entitlement to some of the complaints people have about the finale. I don't get why people think that they are entitled to know EXACTLY what the deal with Starbuck was, EXACTLY why Hera was the future of the human race, WHY we didn't find out everything about the seventh Cylon. A show like this is like a painting. Why judge it on what it doesn't contain? Judge it on what it is. You wouldn't listen to a Beethoven Symphony and say "hmmm, ya know, I just didn't like it because it didn't have a laser show and guitar solos", or be looking at the Last Supper and despise it because Brent Spiner's head isn't floating about Jesus. Just use your own judgement and imagination to decide that which is undecided. Don't just be satisfied with being spoon fed, use your brain, put the pieces together for yourself and think about it. What to do you believe? Feel free to post on it.