Greetings everyone! This is my first blog message, and I intend to make it meaningful. First off, those in OMJP know me as Mark. Feel free to address me as Mark or by my user name on OlyBlog! Now to the politics: it's come to my attention that there's a House Joint Resolution that pushes for withdrawal from Iraq. It's technically known as H.J. Res. 55, or the Homeward Bound Act.

To read it, go to the Library of Congress (http://thomas.loc.gov/) and search for H.J. Res. 55 (search for it by bill number to go directly to it).

I thought it was defeated twice in the House, but apparently it's still being reviewed. Supporting the passage of this bill would be a good move by the anti-war/peace movement in my honest opinion. However, the Homeward Bound Act naturally won't be enough to put a halt to the War on Terror, the Bush Administration, or the larger conservative movement.

As for Olympia's less fortunate, it's all too obvious to me as well that there needs to be major grassroots change to help fix this problem. I'd like to see greater coordination between OMJP, IWW, and Bread and Roses. I know that this coordination and cooperation already exists, but I'm wondering if it could be more intensive?

FREE for Evergreen students/staff/faculty and folks under 18 $3 for everyone else

A ceili (pron. Kay-LEE) is a large, high-energy, Irish social dance with a live band and a caller to teach and lead dances. No prior experience is necessary, as Patti will teach the basic steps before the dancing starts and go through each dance before it begins. We've been holding these dances quarterly for many years now, and a great time is always had by all. Come participate in Evergreen's best-kept secret: the magic that happens when you throw together a sizzling-hot trad band, an experienced dance caller, a nice hard floor, and a bunch of people looking to have fun. You won’t regret it!

From the Tacoma News Tribune:

Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail: Located halfway between Olympia and Shelton, it is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends through Thanksgiving weekend. Kennedy Creek is a rearing stream for chum salmon. Volunteer trail guides will be available to answer questions. For information, call 360-754-6464 or go to www.spsseg.org. The trail is located off U.S. Highway 101. Turn west on Old Olympic Highway, and look for a gravel road signed “Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail.

The evaluation process was one of those experiments, where we had self-evaluations in essay form. When I went to grad school at the UW they didn't know what to make of them, so from the standpoint of throwing a monkey wrench into other institutions, I rather enjoyed that. We also had to write evaluations about our faculty members. On one occasion after my evaluation conference with a faculty member who is still at TESC today, I remembered I had to add my signature or something like that to the document. When I returned to her office to get it back, she sheepishly reached into the trash can to retrieve it. I think even at the moment it happened, I laughed.

I had another teacher, long since gone from this world, who was a brilliant and entertaining lecturer, but when it came to evaluation time, all of us in his class got the very same eval, except for the first word, where our name had been added. But like all experiments, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. If you think about it, it is better preparation for the real-world workplace. Most of us have to deal with essay type evaluations in our jobs. We don't give grades.