From the Desk of El Mister

The following is a post from the blog I have set up for my classes, where I post announcements, dates of tests, and the occasional surprise extra credit assignment. We are studying expansion to the West in my U.S. History classes, and I could think of nothing more fitting than this. Maybe you'll get some joy out of it too, though I can't promise any extra credit in this economy.

Oregon Trail--8th & 11th Grades

So, when I was in 7th grade, I couldn't wait for Thursdays, because that was the day we went to the computer lab. Of course, the computer lab was not anything like it would be today: we didn't even have internet. But, we did get to do things like type our names, make banners with our names on them, or turn the computer on and off and on again.

Not only did we get to type seven letters at a time and get to push "the" button, we also got to play awesome games. No, not games like GTA 4, Tiger Woods 2009, or Shadow of the Colossus. These were good games. Classic games. Games with horrible graphics, and an educational theme. Games like MathBlaster, WordBlaster, DinoPark Tycoon, and I believe a universal favorite: Oregon Trail.

Oregon Trail is awesome, simple, and very educational. Believe it or not, everyone my age used to love playing Oregon Trail. For this reason, I'm going to make you play Oregon Trail. For extra points.

Here are the rules: follow the link at the bottom of this post to play the game. You can't use a mouse, because we didn't have those back then, so you control everything by typing stuff in. Play the game, see how far you can get without everyone dying, then leave a comment on this post with your Name, Grade, Section, and your high score and final position in the game.

Here's a hint: hunt a lot, fjord the rivers, and start out with more than 50 pounds of food.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE BEST COMPUTER GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!

The Dancing Gene

I had some heartfelt conversations with my California Grandpa at Christmastime. Michael Jackson was on repeat in my car that month. Once, when it was just me and Grandpa on the road, we discussed our shared love of the King of Pop, and our shared love of dance. Grandpa was surprised (and proud) to hear that in certain parts of the world, I have something of a reputation when it comes to dancing. He told me a story about back in the day when his students were having a dance party at school and he joined in. He said the Compton high schoolers were impressed with his moves.

"I don't think there's anything to it," he said. "You just get out there and start moving to the music."

It's all in the family.

The way he moves, Ely Kim could be part of my family. (Seriously, Ely Kim. Let's get married.) He danced to 100 different songs for 100 days, and you can watch him shake it down here. Day 49 is one of my faves; bonus points if you know why.

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

Everybody dance now.

Wacky Warehouse: Everything Must Go

Good (but urgent) news for packrats: If you spent years collecting Kool-Aid Kool Points as a kid, saving up for one of the big ticket items, you might still be able to cash in. The Kool-Aid points program we grew up with will end on June 30, 2010, so you've got 15 months to redeem your stash.

I know we still have a giant Ziploc packed with points. I should have mailed them all in before the turn of the century, because even if I still desperately wanted a child size bike with radio handlebars (I kind of do still desperately want a child size bike with radio handlebars) or another Barbie doll, gone are the days when such treasures were available from the Kool-Aid Wacky Warehouse. You have your choice of a T-shirt, pitcher, towel or—and this last one is a doozey—a Kool-Aid packet holder (limit 20 per household). No walkie-talkies? No Big Wheels? No bikes of any kind? Sigh.

The Kool-Aid site is all hip and happening, made to look kind of like a MySpace page for the Kool-Aid Man, with music and videos and prizes—at least for the next year and three months. Act now, but make sure there will be some packet holders left for the rest of us.

Antique Edifices

Buildings, like most nice things, only get better with age. Take the Parthenon. Wait, no, I take that back. That's a terrible example.

The buildings I'm talking about are those that we grew up around, not those that grew up around us. Those that, though we've never seen them before, seem to be lined along the Main Streets of our minds.

Small Town New York

These were just my feelings when I snapped this picture from the railcar window of the fabled Adirondack train late last summer. On my way from Montreal to Albany, I saw many beautiful things: lakes, lush forests, mountains. But my favorite part of the six hour ride was when the train went through the old towns of northern New York.

An Aunt Story

Recently my Aunt Lou Ann was telling me about this article she read about bee mites in her local newspaper.

"Bee mites?"
"Yeah, you know. They're just these tiny mites on bees," she said. "It was the best article. You wouldn't think bee mites would be that interesting, but I could not put it down."

Here's where she was wrong: I would think bee mites sound mighty interesting, because bugs are crazy! Look at this video about ants that I have been making everybody watch lately.