Anyone remember the Ska fad?

If so, did you ever listen to the Five Iron Frenzy "Quantity is Job 1" album? It was amusing to me because, despite the title, there were only about six songs listed on the back cover. Inside, something like nine tracks were listed. But the album actually has 17 tracks.

Goofy humor. Good stuff.

But not all goofy things make for good stuff.

Jerri-Ann just started a series on recess. I'm interested in where she's taking it--and getting her perspective--but if her source is right and tag is being outlawed during recess, we've really hit a recession there too ...a slowly waning opportunity of physical activity and exercise.

It seems that we're moving more and more toward a "legislation must care for me" type mindset. Gone are the days of personal responsibility and learning to act appropriately. "Socialization" no longer means "to learn how to act appropriately in society," but rather "to conform to society's dictates." These are the days of confining rules that bind us to a system.

And I know there are some good reasons for it. For example, I don't really let the 4th and 5h graders I teach for Sunday School go play outside. There have been too many fights that have started and, even if they are minor scuffles, I can't have that happening when I also have to watch 20 other kids. So I have sympathy for the system.

...on the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if the system itself is largely to blame. As a teacher, I don't have any course of action to take when a child acts up. Not that we should go back to the days of smacking children with rulers... but my hands are completely tied when it comes to punishing bad behavior--especially things like violent outbursts against other students.

Thus, my observations are as follows:

1. Children need to be allowed to "get their wiggles out"
   ...for boys, especially, this means some moderately dangerous options
2. Bad behavior must be dealt with
   ...especially when it is against other children
3. Homeschooling provides the best opportunities for both of these conditions to be met

Homeschooling allows children to develop holistically and wholesomely, even when safety is job 1. What's more, real socialization can truly take place.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

My wife is with her family this week for her grandmother's memorial service. That leaves me and my best friend from college to "bach' it" this week.

So far so good. We haven't starved as of yet, and the house is still in order. ...of course, we're computer types so it's not like we're prone to make a huge mess anyway... unless it's spilled popcorn while watching TV episodes online.

Even though we're still in the first days of being without Brittany, I have already gained a new respect and growing empathy for you single mothers, wives of service men, and those of you with husbands who travel a lot. Granted, your experience is naturally different from mine, but I'm starting to get a glimpse of it.

The one part of this that I'm missing is my kids. I know it's hard to care for them by yourself, but there's something lonely about coming home without your family there (even if your best friend is basically family... it's still not quite the same).

So, for you mothers--and fathers--out there who have to carry on without your significant other, this post is for you.

I wish I had some insight or encouragement for you, but I don't know enough. Just know that I'm experiencing a tiny fraction of your life. I'd be happy to pray for you this week. Feel free to comment or shoot me an email.

For the rest of you, be blessed this week as you spend time with your family!

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. I ran across the following code on Sonlight's site today:

<a href="/guarantee.html" title="faq return instructions">Return Policy</a>

Thought it was funny. Anyone else find it as funny as I do? Or am I too web nerdy?

Okay, the title is a little misleading.

I really like a couple ads. For example, the one for Honda or Emerald Nuts.

Those are funny. And, honestly, I don't care what they're trying to sell me... because that's not the point. The point is to be enjoyable and re-watchable.

I went to a Social Media Seminar today, and one of the points was that a lot of people don't find businesses via the Yellowpages or on TV anymore. In fact, I've heard that more and more people are abandoning television in favor of the internet and things like Facebook.

And that got me thinking: This move to the internet and social media is changing how we do marketing. But I bet that the invention of the remote control was the first event to really shift how we make ads.

My guess--and it's just a guess--is that before the remote commercials were all about the product: Informative, persuasive, and working hard at a sell. Once the remote was invented and it was extremely easy to switch away, commercials became mini-movies, telling us a story that we wanted to watch over and over again. And those are the kinds of ads I like, and even link to on my blog <smile>.

Just a small thought I had today.

Oh, and tomorrow, I will release an enhanced still from the video I liked to a few days ago.

Un-enhanced Image

I'm going to give my computer at least 16 more hours and try to get an even better image, and then I'll post the results.

...stay tuned...

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

There are always things that need attention in this life: bills, plumbing problems, the yard/garden, meals, skinned knees, phone calls, school plans, extracurricular activities, etc. And you have to figure out how to juggle and take care of them.

But every once in a while something comes up that you just don't want to--or can't--deal with at the moment. And so it goes into a pile. And if you're anything like me, you may have lost the form to renew the registration for your car.

...every year for as long as you can remember.

What I realized today is that with some problems it's better to just go with the duct tape fix. We simply can't do everything, fix everything, or make everything perfect.

We must pick our battles.

And some of them are better left un-fought.

I'm not saying that we should become lazy. But I am saying that there are times when it simply isn't worth it to keep thinking about dealing with something.

Which brings us to the quote: Don't put off until tomorrow what you can put off indefinitely. If you can delete that email, toss that scrap of paper, give up on that project for a while... do it. Eliminate the clutter.

Eliminate Clutter

This can easily apply to your homeschool studies. Sonlight has always given you permission to not do everything. If, at a later time, you feel like you can give it another "go," fine. But for now, just let it go ...or find something that will help do the work for you, like the Discover & Do DVDs I helped make <smile>.

So what are you going to let go today?

I'll go first: I left an image on the site with just a note, rather than set up, shoot, photoshop, and upload a new one.

I also deleted a bunch of emails.

Your turn.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

The title sounds almost like Milk Toast... which I've never had. How is it? (Please comment if you have an opinion on the subject <smile>)

The title could also refer to a couple hot topics these days, such as homosexuality in the media or public breastfeeding. As much as those are very important topics, to be sure, today's post is about something else entirely: The government and public education.

I read a rather interesting offhand comment today: "The school requires you buy tickets for milk."

Huh?

I think I've heard of this kind of thing before, but it just struck me as odd today. Perhaps it's not as indicative of a "the government will save you" mentality as it seems, but it sure feels that way right now. Almost as if someone, somewhere said, "Milk is good for kids. We can't force them to drink it at home, but we can make them buy it and drink it here in school. Let's pass some legislation for that."

It's just weird to me.

I also read a repost of a story Spunky wrote about the beauty of having choices. It's a fun little tale that is thought provoking. On the other hand, it's an analogy and so isn't perfect. But her point remains....

I am very thankful for the freedom we still have to homeschool our children and choose whether to buy milk for them or not. And I am not against public education, but if you haven't considered homeschooling yet I think you should.

I don't really have anything else to say about this at the moment; just these few loosely related thoughts.

By the by, there are many, many Other Posts of Note today... if you're looking for more content.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Every day at 8:30am MST, we here at Sonlight have the opportunity to get together in small groups and pray. It isn't mandatory, but it is encouraged.

We pray for each other--like the headache I had this morning which seems to have finally decided to move on.

We pray for families who submit prayer requests or I notice out on the blogosphere.

And we pray for various people groups around the world. We use the Global Prayer Digest as a tool to help us learn about and pray for others. You can download the .pdfs for free if you want to try it out with your family.

Praying for others is a great way to help yourself grow. Even if you aren't religious at all, gaining a broader world perspective through prayer digests is a great thing. It helps us think beyond ourselves and consider the issues plaguing our earth. Sonlight carries a nice "coffee table" type book--though it's not hardbound--that offers an introduction to many unevangelized countries and peoples of the world. It's another tool you could use to help gain a more global perspective.

What fascinates me--but I'm rather odd--is that some people are disgusted by the idea of praying for unreached people groups. I can understand that praying for another's salvation can seem horribly self-righteous if you do not see a need for man's redemption. If you fit into this category, please take the positives from this post: Learn about others and think about what you can do to make the world a better place.

But what if you go beyond merely feeling insulted for these people, and, instead, you think I'm rather a fool for praying? What if you've come to the conclusion that God is imaginary? There's a site dedicated to this very idea. I encourage everyone--especially you praying Christians out there--to at least give this guy two minutes and twenty seconds of your time and consider the first of his 10 questions for Christians.

I find it interesting, and I hope you do as well. ...but I've already admitted to being a little strange in this regard <smile>.

How would you respond?

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. If you have a few seconds to see something cool, check out the newly redesigned MathTacular.com. It's sweet!

Sonlight's website has a bunch of pages. There's just a lot you can learn about Sonlight. But sometimes this huge amount of content makes it hard for us to catch all the problems.

Take today, for instance: Are the Sonlight IGs Instructor Guides, Instructors Guides, Instructor's Guides, or Instructors' Guides?

After talking it over with Laura Lee, one of the writers here at Sonlight, I learned that currently the official phrase is "Sonlight^® Instructor's Guides."

Oh.

<cough>

The IG page has now been updated from "Sonlight's Instructor Guides" to reflect this change in possessive case.

...but that sentence is passive voice. And that's not good writing. ...but "writing" is a gerund, which should also be avoided, thus requiring a rewrite:

I have updated the IG page. No other corrections in what I have written are required.

There is still much work for me to do. Today, while looking into building an Affiliate link, I ran across the Affiliate Links Guidelines page. As I looked at the sample HTML, I realized that some of it is wrong.

So, I added that to my list of things to improve.

The good news is that this is life: A constant opportunity to improve. Sometimes it's little things, like broken web links; other times it's big things, like character issues.

May you see real growth in your life--and in the lives of those closest to you--today.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father