Summer Camps and Homesickness
Alright, I'm going to take a break from my usual commentary on Minnesota sports (though, believe me, I want to write about the Twins and their recent ridiculous success, but just don't have enough time right now, unfortunately) to talk about my job. Summer camps. For those of you who don't know, I'm currently on the campus of St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, working at something called Exploration Summer Programs as a Resident Adviser for a group of 7th grade boys and teaching two classes. It's a great gig - the camp is wonderful, both as a place for adults to work, but also for the students who pay to attend.
Now, it's interesting, because today an issue came up where a father only gave the camp office an hour or so to say that he was coming to take his kid out to dinner, and some of the staff talked a little bit about this. And then, just a few minutes ago, I saw that the same issue appeared in the Cheers and Jeers section of the Pioneer editorial, and so I decided that that coincidence deserved a little bit of commentary.
The Editorial stated - jeered, rather - that "parents who have the wherewithal to give their children the opportunity
to participate in away-from-home camp should enjoy the child-free week
or weeks and quit obsessing about the youngsters who are having good
times and expanding their networks and world views." Here at Explo, I've definitely seen such a style of parenting. Students are here at camp for three weeks. For the first week, they get mail, but they're not allowed to call home. On the Monday of the second week, though, students are allowed to call home for five minutes at a time (though, on a sidenote, I want to say that when I attended camp - way back when - both at El Lago del Bosque at the Concordia Language Villages and Camp RYLA in Crookston - I don't recall ever calling home, but I could be wrong about that). This generally leads to homesickness and other such issues (I escaped without many problems, but many of my co-workers had to deal with children crying through the night), especially as kids now can start calling every other day for five minutes at a time.
So, as I see it, one advantage of waiting until the second week to have the kids start calling
is that by the time they're allowed to call at all, there's less than two weeks left, and usually the counselors are trained to get the kids through those two weeks going day by day. However, as we all know, parents can worry and be overprotective at times (gasp, I know). So, if a child tells a parent that they miss them and want to come home, the parent might believe that the kid is having absolutely no fun and needs to come home immediately. True, the kid already made it through the first week, but hey, if they want to come home, then by all means, send the kid home, right? So much for that camp experience.
And then there are the parents who decide that it's okay to take their kids out for dinner. Hey, who wants to talk to their kids on the phone for 5 minutes when they can swing in and take the kid away from their friends and activities, right?
And then there are the parents who decide that it's okay to take their kids out for dinner not once, not twice, maybe more than three times in the final two weeks of camp. Again, see above.
So, what? It's almost like some parents these days don't quite understand the concept of Summer camps. And it's not like a 3 week camp is that long, especially with the kids getting to call home. But when the parents really jump into the kids life, whether it's through letters, e-mails, phone calls, or visits, then you really have to believe that the camp experience suffers. The Pioneer was exactly right - kids are at camp to meet new people and try new things, and to get used to the idea of being away from home. Parents shouldn't try to be only an arm length apart, ready to spring at the first sign of homesickness. They should sit back, sipping that cold beer or glass of lemonade, sitting on their hammock or watching baseball, enjoying a few days without their kids while people like me spend time with them and introduce them to new things. At least, that's the way it's supposed to work.
Posted by: sbenshoof on 7/15/2008 at 9:34 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
On the Wolves trade
Okay. I had to take a day to think about it. I felt so strongly about it at first, but I wanted to take a few minutes to breath and calm down. I wanted to make sure that I was thinking about it rationally, and wasn't letting my feelings get to me.
So, here we go. The Timberwolves trade. I'll start at the beginning: I wanted OJ Mayo. I'll admit that. I really don't think that that kind of talent comes around very often, especially presented to the Wolves in a nice, neat package where all they had to do was reach out and grab it. And I'm going to be checking the box score next year to see Mayo's stats, and every night there'll be that sinking feeling that pretty soon this guy'll start to churn out the kind of numbers that'll be the makings of a superstar.
And so, for a few brief hours last night during the NBA draft last night, the Wolves had him. They took him at number three, which I hoped that they were going to do, and, for a few brief hours, I was happy with Kevin McHale. That was the right pick, I said, because that guy just had too much talent to pass up. He didn't fit in well with the shape of the team (the Wolves had a glut at that position, with Jaric, McCants, Foye, Telfair, etc), but this was an Adrian Peterson style pick - the Vikings already had Chester Taylor, but they picked Peterson anyway because he had a heckuvalotta talent.
But, as you were watching, you knew that it wasn't that easy, didn't you? Way back there in the back of your mind, you knew that it wasn't going to be that simple. You had seen it written earlier in the week that Kevin Love, the center from UCLA, reminded Kevin McHale of himself. And given the way Kevin McHale operates, that kind of statement just wrenched your guts, because you knew what was coming. Even though they might have drafted Mayo, you just knew that wasn't the end of it.
And so later that night, we saw the headline: Wolves swap Mayo for Love. Your jaw clenched, and that little man in the back of your head said, "I told you so!" And you started to pronounce your hatred of Kevin McHale.
But, like I said, after a while, you gave yourself time to breath and started to think rationally about the trade. You looked at the subtext: it wasn't merely a Mayo-Love swap. The Wolves dumped Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner (somehow!), all of whom had large contracts, and either never played or never fit in with the team, received a couple of other players who largely don't matter, but, most importantly, received Mike Miller. I had to stop for a second when I saw that. Wait - we got Mike Miller? Mike - South Dakota sharpshooter - Miller? The Wolves have someone who can consistently hit a three pointer?
Interesting, you said. And that thought, way back there, started to surface in your mind. It whispered: the Wolves improved their team. Kevin McHale made a smart trade. You tried to shake it off, but there it was. And then you saw it on ESPN and the Star-Tribune, and you started to wonder if maybe the impossible had come true. And then you looked up in the sky and saw a pig fly, and knew that Hell had frozen over.
So let me say this, then: I hate, hate, hate it that the Wolves had Mayo, and then traded him. The kid has talent. He will be a great player, mark my words. And every year, as he gets better and better, we'll look back and say, "We had him. Along with Brandon Roy. And Ray Allen. We had him, and we gave him away." I hate it.
But, that being said, I do believe that the trade improved the team. It gives the Wolves a center - albeit not a big one, because Love is only 6'9' - and it gives them the kind of three-point threat that they really lacked in clutch situations last year (I think I may have mentioned something like that in one of my previous blogs). This all depends, of course, on how Love performs. They say that apparently size is overrated. I guess we'll find out. But, the truth is that I've always been a fan of Mike Miller. I'm excited to have his three-point ability. What does this mean for the Wolves, then? This doesn't automatically make them a contender. It makes them better. I think 35 wins might be reasonable, and that's an improvement over last year. They still have a ways to go, but they're young, and they're talented, and they're going to keep improving. But, gosh, I just wish we could do that with OJ Mayo.
As a postscript, I just want to let you know that I'm currently out on the East Coast working at something called Exploration Summer Programs where they're keeping me very busy, and so my blogs might not come as often for the next six weeks. But I'll do my best!
Posted by: sbenshoof on 6/27/2008 at 9:56 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
KG gets his ring, the draft's up next
Well, congrats to Kevin Garnett. He got the ring he wanted so badly, as his Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Actually, it was a Los Angeles Lakers Division II team - how else can you explain how the 131-92 beating the Celtics put down? For the Lakers, that's embarrassing. That's shameful. In an NBA Championship game, where the Lakers still have some hope at winning, to give up 131 points? Yuck, is all I can say. I can't say this was one of the more memorable NBA Championships I've seen in a while, either - sure, it was great to have two large-market teams playing, but the games weren't really that close, and save for the Lakers big comeback in game 2 followed by their colossal choke in game 4, there weren't that many dramatic moments.
And while KG should celebrate (this is what he wanted, this is what he left 'sota for), I can't exactly say that he certified himself as one of the greatest players in NBA History (in the postgame interview after game 6, KG yelled, 'I'm certified! I'm certified!' though he probably wasn't referring to that). Sure, he's one of the greatest leaders the NBA has seen in some time, but in terms of clutch ability, KG just doesn't have it. Case in point: game 5, in the final minutes of the 4th quarter, Celtics down by 2, KG at the line. This is what the man wanted! This was his time to shine, to show that the Celtics were justified in giving up 5 players for him. And....he misses both. On top of that, KG missed a series of tip ins both before and after his free throws. Just like when he was with the Timberwolves, KG just couldn't deliver in the 4th.
But, regardless, it's all done. And the NBA draft is next, which I'm looking forward to a whole lot more than this mediocre series. Why? Because it's a deep draft with loads of talent, and the Timberwolves have the third overall pick. The question of who the Wolves are going to take probably won't be answered until shortly before the draft, if not during the draft itself. The Wolves had the bad luck to end up 3rd in the draft (though it wasn't really bad luck, it was more like...indifferent luck? The Wolves had the 3rd worst record in the league, and they didn't end up with anything worse than that, so that's not...bad. However, they got to watch the Chicago Bulls, with a 1.7 percent chance of getting the #1 pick, get the #1 pick. What was so frustrating was that the Bulls didn't even need the pick - they have a lot of talented, albeit underachieving, players, and the Wolves needed the pick a lot more.)
But, I say that the Wolves had the bad luck to end up 3rd because this is a draft of two amazing players, and then a handful of really good players. It's been known that Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley were going to go any combination of 1-2 since March, or earlier. And, of course the Wolves wouldn't end up with the possibility of getting either one of those two.
Instead, barring any trades (and I'll get back to that in a second), the Wolves top three choices are probably Kevin Love of UCLA, Brook Lopez of Stanford, or O.J. Mayo of USC. Each have their upsides, and each have their downsides. Love is a big, talented center, but he isn't necessarily that athletic. Lopez is also a big center, but he probably isn't as strong as Love. Mayo, meanwhile, has loads of talent, but you're just not sure if there are issues there - the NCAA is investigating whether or not he took gifts during his time at USC. To Mayo's credit, though, he fired his agent, and tried to put as much distance between that crowd as possible. That looks like a good sign to me.
But like I said, never count out trades, or the unexpected. If Chicago takes Rose, for instance, some things that I've read have said that Miami, with #2, might not necessarily want to take Beasley, and might take Mayo instead. In this case, I would be more than happy for the Wolves to take Beasley - imagine a frontcourt of Jefferson and Beasley. There'd be a heckuva lot of talent between those two.
But, let's just say that Chicago and Miami both pick up Rose and Beasley and 1 and 2. If that goes as expected, and the Wolves have to pick among the best of the remaining players, my predication is that they take Mayo. The kid just has too much talent to ignore, and if you put him alongside Foye, there's a lot of quickness and a lot of athleticism between those two that makes the Wolves a better team pretty quickly.
Of course, I'd prefer Rose AND Mayo, or Beasley AND Mayo, but if the NBA has taught us anything lately, There Can Only Be One (get it?).
Posted by: sbenshoof on 6/11/2008 at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Politics, politics
To be honest, I was going to start this blog entry by writing about the Events Center, and how the South Shore Project just barely scraped through the City Council meeting on Monday evening. Yes, it went through by one vote, and I was going to write about how I thought that Bemidji wanted this thing, was united behind this thing, through the idea that it's going to help Bemidji by creating jobs in a time when we're maybe, possibly in a recession (though don't tell anybody, that's still a secret). And then, I said to myself, why continue to write about this? This is what people would want to read about, but the whole thing has just been politics, an on-again, off-again, maybe, maybe not, large amounts of money for the past year, and more! This is just another chapter, and I'm kind of bored of it, because despite all this drama, despite all that's already been said, and then said again differently, it'll move forward. It'd be hard to believe that it wouldn't.
So, I decided not to write about it.
Instead, I wanted to take a look at two politically themed stories: Al Franken's endorsement by the Minnesota DFL on the first ticket, and Barack Obama's clinching of the Democratic Presidential Candidate (I know, I know, you're probably saying that this is old news, but in the past week I've been pretty well occupied with finishing up with classes and finals - you're probably saying "Finals? In June?" and your shock is justified. Carleton is probably one of the latest schools in the nation to finish classes without actually being called summer school. Everyone else finishes around early May, but not us. Just for your information, in case you were curious. - as well as packing and saying goodbyes. But, all excuses aside, I got back to Bemidji on Monday evening, and here we are.)
So let's start with Franken. I'll be honest, I was a bit surprised by his endorsement so quickly. I figured that he was going to get the endorsement anyway, although I had heard that Nelson-Pallmeyer had been making inroads in the past month. But Franken hasn't exactly had the easiest road of it - I actually thought that his Playboy fiasco was going to do him in, but to his credit he was able to shake that off. He did the right thing in apologizing for what he wrote, and he came across as classy while doing it. Despite that, though, I still would not have thought that that would have been enough for him to sweep through to the endorsement, but I guess he had done well enough in his campaign that the DFL believes that Franken has a better chance at beating Norm Coleman that Nelson-Pallmeyer would have. And maybe he does - maybe his name recognition was that deciding factor. Maybe an "ordinary" guy like Nelson-Pallmeyer would not have been able to do it, but they needed someone special, someone who has name a made for himself. Now, true, some of those things that Franken wrote were just wrong and offensive, but, I think that Franken, unlike most other writers, can really say that the jokes that he was writing don't necessarily reflect his values. His job was to be funny, and he wrote what he thought he had to to do that. I think that Franken is going to show Minnesota that as a political candidate he is thoughtful, intelligent, and that he's passionate about the issues that he stands for. I've seen him talk twice since he announced that he was running for the Senate, and it's that passion, more than anything, that's stood out to me.
Now, Barack Obama. I also can't say that I was surprised that he finally won the nomination - I knew, everyone knew (except Hillary Clinton) that he was going to be the one. He slowed down a little bit in recent primaries, but you knew that he was too far out ahead to not come away with the nomination. So it was only a matter of time. And then, in St. Paul, he clinched it, and gave one of the best political speeches that in my recent memory. In case you've forgotten the speech, or haven't seen it, I want to give you a small excerpt from it so I can show you just how amazing it is:
So it was for that band of patriots who declared in a Philadelphia hall the formation of a more perfect union, and for all those who gave on the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam their last full measure of devotion to save that same union.
So it was for the greatest generation that conquered fear itself, and liberated a continent from tyranny, and made this country home to untold opportunity and prosperity.
So it was for the workers who stood out on the picket lines, the women who shattered glass ceilings, the children who braved a Selma bridge for freedom's cause.
So it has been for every generation that faced down the greatest challenges and the most improbable odds to leave their children a world that's better and kinder and more just.
And so it must be for us.
The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge -- I face this challenge with profound humility and knowledge of my own limitations, but I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people.
So, I think that the next few months will be difficult, for both McCain and Obama. But regardless of your political orientation, you can't say that Obama's speech was not something special, and that you're not at least interested to see what the next few months will bring. I am. It should be exciting.
Posted by: sbenshoof on 6/11/2008 at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Indiana Jones and the Bummer of a Movie
I feel like I'm apologizing to you with every blog entry. What with papers, my birthday, and other activities, I've been keeping myself pretttty busy. And plus, there aren't really any new developments with the Events Center, so there goes a lot of fodder for my writing. Oh well, I guess I can write about other things, though it's certainly not as interesting.
I went and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Wednesday night at midnight. And I had a whole lot to do on Thursday. It isn't every day that I'm out that late - I tend to go to bed a little bit early. But for Indiana Jones, I was willing to make an exception. I was willing to get home at 3:00 a.m. to see a movie that's been, more or less, 19 years in the making. After all, not every movie teams up George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. I mean, my expectations were HIGH for this movie. Real, real high. I mean, let me explain a little bit: there are some summer blockbusters (on a sidenote, I hate how some movies are called summer blockbusters even though I'm still in school. It's summer for every single person in the United States except for everyone who studies and works at Carleton College) that are geared towards a real specific audience. Iron Man had a huge early-teenage audience - that targeted superhero crowd was a little bit younger. With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, though, it was really a larger audience. Not only college kids like me, or even high schoolers, to an extent, who have only watched the movies on DVD, but also older people, who saw the Indiana Jones movies in the movie theatre. At the midnight showing I went to, it was not solely college students like my friends or me. There were a lot of middle-aged folks there too.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that, because of all this, it was going to be easier for me to be let down if the movie was anything less than spectacular.
And, well, the movie just never really got going. Sure, some parts were good and entertaining and perhaps worthy of the other movies, but the majority of the movie was a huge disappointment. The sets looked fake (actually, they were fake; insultingly so, infact). And the plot. Okay. The plot. Where do I start.
With the previous movies, it was at least somewhat believable. Or if not believable, it was at least possible. Temples and Holy Grails - what's wrong with that? But the plot of this movie - well. If you haven't heard anything, let me at least give you a few details. I'll give you a spoiler warning right here - if you haven't seen the movie yet, you probably shouldn't be reading any more past this point. You should see the movie, though - it's become a big part of American culture that you'd almost be missing out if you don't see the next installment in this saga, even if it as bad as I've been saying it is.
So here it is: Aliens. The best description I've heard is that this movie feels like a bad Sci-Fi movie. The plot is bad, the writing is bad, and the computer generated graphics are just as bad. I couldn't really tell you how upset and disappointed I felt during the last scene; this was not Indiana Jones as we knew it. Something went wrong. Maybe it was that our expectations were too high. Maybe it was that during the 19 year hiatus, we looked at Indiana Jones as the perfect example of the thrilling movies that National Treasure, Sahara, and all those other knockoffs wanted to be, and in that way we raised the Indiana Jones franchise to a higher level. Had this movie come out 17 years ago, maybe we'd have better things to say about it, and maybe it wouldn't be such a disappointment. But, unfortunately, it didn't. It came out last weekend, and is probably worse off because of it.
Posted by: sbenshoof on 5/26/2008 at 9:29 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink