Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Dear grahamb,
Never saw the 2nd ( or 1st ) Bill and Ted ( Excellent Adventure, isn't it ? ) but that's a great line. One of my favorites came my way when Maggie and I were stopped at a red light in Albuquerque NM one summer. I glanced out the window and saw a big USMC poster of the bus that was next to us. It showed a poor recruit in the agony of doing pull-ups. And the caption is classic Marine philosophy:

" Pain is just weakness leaving the body. "

After I stopped laughing, I pointed it out to Maggie - who then got me a T-shirt with that written on it. I often wear it to the gym. And - my favorite Marine Corps joke:

Q: What's the difference between the Marine Corps and the Boy Scouts?
A: The Boy Scouts have adult leadership.

Regards,
John

[Gray000]

Chinese students in many places celebrated 9/11. ALso, many of them consider OBL a hero.

[johnslat]

Dear Irish,
Well, masochism is not required for one's first entry to the Kingdom. Then simple ignorance is sufficient. However, it - or desperation - is a requirement for those who return. But, as usual, one can view this from various angles - as with calling someone who's careful with his/her money either cheap or thrifty. Some may regard what's required to return/stay here as masochism, but others might see it as, in the words of W.B Yeats: " the fascination of what's difficult ". This is, I think, the same attraction that motivates marathon runners, mountain climbers and channel swimmers - i.e. idiots. No, really - there is an urge, in many of us, anyway, I think, to push yourself to the limit and then a little further, to " break through the wall " as the long-distance runners put it. Maybe this mentality requires seeing life as a kind of " testing-place " where you get the chance to be and do your best under the worst conditions. Anyway, that's what drives me a lot of the time. Now 100 push-ups a day is good, very good indeed, Irish. But isn't it time to " raise the bar " a little? How about 110 tomorrow? Before you know it, you, too, will be up to 1000 a day - or more ( but I'd advise stopping at 1000; I mean, you don't want to go overboard on this ).
Regards,
John

[johnslat]

Dear Gray000,
Now that's such a useful word, schadenfreude - describing how we can take some pleasure from seeing another's misfortune. I suppose we've all been guilty of it, to some extent, at one time or another. It requires, I think, first, an antipathy/dislike for the person suffering the pain. And, given the position of the USA in the world today and much of it's foreign policy, it's not too surprising that such dislike exists. Plus, this dislike is also often fostered and encouraged by other governments, who regard the USA as a threat, present or potential. But the second thing such an emotion requires is ignorance - since to feel this way, one must be unaware of how we are all a part of each other, and that suffering is never isolate. In the USA - thanks to our condition - we usually don't envy the citizens of other countries because - hey, we know we're the best ( hope the irony doesn't go unnoticed here ), so we don't have much occasion to feel schadenfreude - instead, we are usually indifferent. The news reports that 100,000 southeast Asians have died in a typhoon and we just shrug - after all,

"For Hecuba/What's Hecuba to him or him to Hecuba?".

So, while in our case, the glee is usually missing, the ignorance is just as present.
Regards,
John

[Irish]

Well, John, maybe I should try working up to 1000 per day but the more time I spend stretching my arms at home, the less time I'll have to practice how not to fall off a surfboard. "The sport of kings" may not rank with climbing mountains, running marathons, or working in the KSA, but it's fascinatingly difficult for me. And, since it involves regular public humiliation, I suppose it qualifies me for the society for masochists/idiots (junior member). I'd better leave the hardocre calisthenics to you tough-guy ex-Marines.

[johnslat]

Dear Irish,
To choose ESL/EFL - or, for that matter, any teaching - as a career, you have already pre-qualified for the SoM ( Society of Masochists ). But keep up that surfboarding - public humiliation is also great training for the classroom and, bedsides, helps slim down the ego. Tough guy? Moi? Nay, you misjudge me, Irish - I'm just an old softie. Liberals HAVE TO be, you know - bleeding hearts, etc. The tough guys are all working in the present administration in Washington, D.C.
Regards,
John

[Wolf]

5000 push - ups a week ... and my students complain about their own PE classes. They all have to run 800 meters (girls) or 1000 meters (boys) as the main part of their semesterly PE class. And they all think it's SO HARD! These kids are young enough to be jonslat's grandkids! Go easy on them, sarge!

And they all thought I was quite the tough nut to crack cuz I run 2 miles (3.2k) every morning...

This is as off topic as you'll ever get (is ther a prize?) but I once had a student who thought the Marine motto was "simplify" rather than "semper fi."

Lingua Latina non intelligent (I think? Been so long....)

[johnslat]

Dear Wolf,
" Simplify ", huh? I like that. Lord knows most of us were pretty simple back then ( as in Simple Simon ). Actually, " Semper Fi " developed an alternate meaning in Viet Nam - not surprisingly, an ironic, cynical one. It was used to indicate someone's good fortune, as in: " I've got mine, Bud; good luck getting yours. ". An interesting paper could be written on how this transformatin happened, but the essence of it, I think, was the 12 month rotation system there. It takes a while to develop espirit de corps and establish the trust and friendship necessary for " mutual support ". With the " vets " constantly getting sent back home and " newbies " ( who, due to their ignorance of the situation, could easily get you killed ), joining your unit in trickles, the number of people you could count on was constantly changing. So, the " you take care of me and I'll take care of you " pool was always in flux and narrowed down.
Regards,
John

[moonpie]

deleted

[khmerhit]

Why not a thread entitled Christianity's Role in Terrorism?>>
Northern Ireland
Cyprus
Bosnia
Colombia (paramils)
Algeria

[grahamb]

Following on from Khmerhit, let's add the atrocities of the Stern Gang to that list (yes, that's you, Mr Begin), along with the 1982 Falangist massacres of Palestinian civilians in Lebanese refugee camps. Not forgetting the thousands of "witches" and "heretics" tortured and burned by our Christian forebears.
Islam's got a helluva lot of catching up to do.
Here's to atheism.

[moonpie]

deleted

[grahamb]

Duuuh... I thought most people knew that the Falangists were Arabs, albeit Christian ones. I was obviously mistaken.
Alas, I have neither "lebanese freinds" nor Lebanese friends. Come to think of it, I don't have any "Palastinian" or Palestinian pals either.

[Steiner]

[Brooks]

Algeria has had Muslim on Muslim violence. I wouldn`t blame Christianity, Khmerhit