expelled...or not.

Today my quandry is how to deal with my atheistic friends. We're trying to go as a group to see Expelled, the new film by Ben Stein. I thought it would be a good field trip since it deals with freedom of speech, ID, evolution, and the like.

When I mentioned this on Tuesday night's meeting (Occam's Coffeehouse meets at the Atlanta Bread company in Germantown at 6 pm), I was met with a most surprising reaction. A few said they'd go but pay for another movie and sneak in, and a few said they don't need to go at all. My wife had been to a discussion of Lucy with our wife's founder Janet and we've had numerous other examples of listening to an Atheist's point of view about relative topics so I was surprised. The movie was immediately termed "propaganda" and a negative disussion ensued. I actually got pretty worked up at the hypocrisy being sent out by the "atheist" side and had to leave the meeting. I apologized later in person and via email.

I also tried to make my point of how we've been to lectures by evolution-leaning scientists, watched Richard Dawkins videos, read God is not Great as a book choice, and basically been open to trying to listen at least to a point of view that was contradictory to my own.

I was surprised as to the negative emails I got and arguments that came from this. I thought we could go to this movie and enjoy it and go somewhere afterwards and discuss-maybe even argue about it.

I guess not...

More later...

Monday

Well, here I am in a Science and Creative Writing class wondering what's happening to our youth. I won't elaborate on that here for fear of retribution, but I will say on a positive note that there's actually been some of these students who want to do something. I guess, in their defense, that most subs don't to do much more than babysit.

I want to do more. I'm paying a dollar to the first kid who finds the word of the day and uses it in a sentence. If it takes a bribe so be it.

Let me digress away from subbing for a moment. I've been told via email that our beloved MVAE is cancelling its final concert due to financial straits. One can only hope that we'll be able to regroup for the fall. Memphis Vocal Arts Ensemble is a great group of great singers who just can't seem to advertise.

One can hope that we can find some advertising and get people to know about us. If you've never been to a Vocal Arts concert, you'll be pleasantly surprised if you venture forth and try us.

Gotta go back and try to inspire some fourteen year olds to write.

I've just had the wonderful pleasure of having a great singer come to my fifth grade class and sing for them. Ruth Stevenson has been singing off and on with me in the Memphis Vocal Arts Ensemble for four years now, and she truly is one of the great singers of this city. Jazz or Broadway, she's got it. Today she delighted my fifth graders with Popular and For Good from Wicked along with The Lonely Goatherd from Sound of Music. Then I joined her for Anything You Can Do from Annie Get Your Gun। The kids really seemed to like it, and it's always a joy to hear her. Lisa Goble accompanied, and she always right there when you need her. I only hope my request to get them paid comes through.:)