Here it is the time of year when Minnesotans are reviewing the state science standards, and I’m off in California, shirking. At least Greg Laden is on top of things, and while there are some things that need to be fixed, it’s mostly good news: no creationists are making a fuss this time around. Last time, I attended a couple of Cheri Yecke’s dog-and-pony-shows, and there were creationists on stage, on the committees, in the administration, and in the audience. This time, only pro-science people are there, arguing over significant issues and not whether giants were in the earth in those days and how many ID buzzwords they could sneak in.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
That’s good news, and with the announcement of a planetarium for Minneapolis, science stands in good stead and let’s hope some relgious slime does not intrude crap into the pot.
Ah, good old Minnesota. PZ, have you seen the film ‘Fargo’? If so, is its portrayal of Minnesotans accurate? You’ve talked about the small, lazy towns before.
Shouldn’t that be “dog-and-one-trick-pony show”?
Good to hear that Pawlenty’s “teach both” nonsense isn’t intruding.
I’d guess he’s pretty much saving that talk for the rubes.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
OT but: Your comment “not whether giants were in the earth in those days…” reminds me of O.E. Rolvaag’s novel “Giants in the Earth” which was required reading at one time in Minnneapolis high schools. (This was the 1960s when I attended Minneapolis Edison.) The novel was about the struggles of a Norwegian farmer on the Dakota prairie.
More OT:
Matt7895: So, you saw the movie Fargo, then? So, did you like Marge, the main character? Yaaaa, she was a hoot, then. You becha’.
I think Gene Siskel said “Fargo” was one of the best foreign films when he reviewed it.
A good portion of Fargo was shot in the NE area of Minneapolis (or Nordeast as us locals call it). The exterior of the opening scene in the King of Clubs Bar was located on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. Alas, it was torn down. *sob*
More to the topic: PZ, I heard on the radio (AM 950) that Minnesota high schools may require students to take one of three science classes. The choices were biology, chemistry, or (I think) physics. The idea is to get high school students interested in science.
I bought the DVD, as it was only £3, and I heard it was praised highly by the majority of critics (it has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). I watched it last night, I think its one of those films you need to watch a few times before truly getting it.
At first I thought it was meant to be a proper thriller and not a dark comedy… so I got irritated by all the ‘Yah’s and the peculiar mannerisms. I’m sure I’ll like them when I watch the film again with a real understanding of what its meant to be.
That would imply the pony has, in fact, a trick.
After the week I’ve had, it’s good to read some good news. Is it too much to hope for that human beings might be coming to their senses? Without their self-imposed burdens to carry around?
//Gotta see this Fargo film. Thanks for the tip Qwerty
Huzzas for Minnesota (stole that word from the story of how Old Ironsides got her name), but a horrid thought just struck me. If we ever DO get rid of the creationists and their ilk (I can dream, can’t I?) what will we do for comic relief?
Hmm, I should probably review the Tennessee state science standards. I’d consider running for school board, but as an atheist, I’m banned from holding any public office in this state.
As a guy who grew up in Minnesota, Fargo is a lot of Minnesota (not surprising since the writer and director are from there), naturally it’s Minnesota like so many Woody Allen movies were NYC (as a guy who also lived near there and spent a lot of time there). And Corner Gas — if you watch WGN in the states and get this Canadian show — is a lot of Canada. But they’re all exaggerations, distilling certain aspects, like any movie.
Marge Olmstead-Gunderson is the best of Minnesotans, in a way.
PZ wrote: “This time, only pro-science people are there, arguing over significant issues and not whether giants were in the earth in those days…”
When I hear that latter phrase, I always think of this…
(The relevant quote is in the last minute.)
gg (#12):
Thank the FSM I’m not alone!!
Matt7895, go to Amazon.com and look for the book “How to Speak Minnesotan.” The author, Howard Mohr, was used as a consultant for the movie. Sounds odd, but we do have a bit of a weird accent. I looked at the book once and thought, “OMG, this is how I talk.” Howard even put out a cassette tape for new residents. You know, so they can fit in. Yah, you becha.
So, you paid three pounds for Fargo, then? Foreigner?
Back to topic: Read Greg Laden’s blog and it looks like science may be safe for another year in the state.
I loved the accents in Fargo, and was mystified to hear that some people thought it made the characters, and by extension Minnesotans, sound stupid. I thought exactly the opposite.
I’d much rather have that accent than some southern drawl.
Maybe I’m missing something here but I was under the impression that Fargo is in North Dakota. Now Morehead which is just across the line is in Minnesota.
So, I looked up the state science standards for Tennessee. Not too bad I guess. The word “evolution” isn’t metioned in the standards until high school for Biology I. Prior to high school, it is just referred to as “Biological Change”.
Biology I
Standard Number 6.0: Biological Change
Standard:
The student will investigate the forces of natural selection on the development of organisms and examine the evidence that supports biological evolution.
Learning Expectations:
The student will
6.1 interpret and evaluate the evidence for biological evolution in the fossil record.
6.2 investigate how mutation, natural selection, and adaptation impact the emergence of new species.
6.3 recognize the contributions of scientists, including Darwin, that led to the concept of evolution.
6.4 apply current knowledge of DNA and comparative anatomy to provide evidence for biological evolution.
http://www.state.tn.us/education/ci/sci/
QWERTY – I’m British :) Hence my confusion at the peculiar Minnesotan dialect. To be honest with you, I thought the police chief was rather simple. Until she solved the case, that is. I hadn’t heard the Minnesotan way of speaking before, and I didn’t know the film was meant to be a quaint, dark comedy.
SLC – The name of the film is ‘Fargo’, but most of it actually takes place in Brainerd. They just called it Fargo because it sounds better as the title of a film than Brainerd.
SLC, you’re right, Fargo is in ND, but the movie “Fargo” was shot in Minnesota and only the beginning took place in Fargo. Other than the opening scene, the movie took place in Minnesooota, don’cha know.
Denis, not all southern accents were created equal. Shelby Foote was an amazing orator- especially within the context of his expertise.
Correction: The book is “How to Talk Minnesotan.”
Here’s a link to it:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=how+to+talk+minnesotan&x=19&y=15
And just for the record (because many genuinely wouldn’t know), the city just across the border from Fargo is “Moorhead,” not “Morehead.”
You know that when you grew up within a hundred miles of it.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Well, it does. And it’s good for the roses and veggies.
Speaking of Canada, the ironic thing about Fargo is that everyone in it sounds like what a lot of Americans think Canadians sound like. As usual, however, those people are full of shit.
And Corner Gas … is a lot of Canada.
Mh, yeah, only if you consider “a lot of Canada” to be places where the population is so sparse there are more grain elevators than people. The prairie provinces just have this massive inferiority complex. Alberta may have almost all the oil money (I refer you to a map to find Oil City and Petrolia, Ontario), but Saskatchehoovia and Manitoba got nuthin’, so they’re all just jealous of Ontario and Quebec because that’s where all the people are. That’s mostly because the climate of the prairies sucks diseased ass and nobody in their right mind would want to live there unless they were making insane amounts of (soon-to-be-gone) money anyway…
Off-topic breaking news:
Christian evangelist Tony Alamo faces child sex charges.
Maybe I was wiser than I realized when I hypothesized many years ago that men go into the church _because_ they have trouble with normal sex, not in spite of it.
Off-off topic: My reversible squid hoodie has just arrived! And I’ve finished my contract to help write a wiki for the Toronto Star, which is why I’m posting comments in mid-afternoon, so I’m looking for another contract.
Does Sarah Palin speak Minnesotan? I ask that as a Northern Californian. To my untrained ear, Sarah sounds like a dead-ringer for Marge Gunderson to me.
So much so, I was hoping to put a “Gunderson ’08” bumper-sticker on my car to see if anyone got it.
She’s from Sandpoint, ID. As far as I know, she pretty much went from there up to Alaska, no detours to the central part of the continent.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Is MN really having these problems? The twin cities are two of the most enlightened municipalities in the country. I’d hope that would spread to the rest of the state.
I went to primary school in Wisconsin, right next door to MN, and never even heard of the creation/evolution faux debate until I moved to Georgia.
I refuse to believe that we’re doomed.
“… Minnesota high schools may require students to take one of three science classes. The choices were biology, chemistry, or (I think) physics. The idea is to get high school students interested in science.”
QWERTY @ #5 – The new graduation requirements will be three science classes: Biology (required for everyone and is the tested science at HS level), Chemistry or Physics (you choose which), and a third one of completely their choice.
OTP, but again from Fargo, ND we have
a bald eagle shooter
I was wondering the same thing. She’s from Idaho which may be part of it but when I lived in WY I don’t remember the Idahoans sounding like that either.
Monado – I saw that news flash about that horrid old bible thumping creep. He’s 76 years old and believes in preying on girls when they reach puberty. Sick jerk!
Whoever posted this track had a couple of things wrong.. Not Cape Breton, and not talking about a boat. Comedy/Traditional music Trio from Newfoundland doing one of their bits. I can distinguish three different accents and dialects of “Newfanese”, and just talking about nothing in particular.
Some of you might enjoy a different accent, don’tcha know, ya?
Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers
My Texas friends love it.
“More to the topic: PZ, I heard on the radio (AM 950) that Minnesota high schools may require students to take one of three science classes. ”
Just one? Do they not have to take ANY science now? I had to take at least 4 credits of it in high school. I had to take a history class or two as well even though I thought history was bunk back then too. What the hell DO these kids take in school now? Call Center 101?
Consumer 101? Do Menial Work And Don’t Ask Too Many Questions 101?
Do Menial Work And Don’t Ask Too Many Questions 101?
Our school system doesn’t offer that shame… it’d be nice to get a correct order at the drive-thru.
That’s true, but I don’t know that I’d call it a trick per se. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to pay to see it. Hell, I can do it.
as someone who has worked at drive-thru’s (starbucks) for too long, I’ll explain this one: after a full day of people ordering drinks that don’t exist or drinks from other companies, wanting the drink they had last time but not knowing what it was, and mixing up drink names and types, you stop listening to what the customer is saying, and start making it up as you go :-p
Hey, me too Jadehawk (but years ago), except we didn’t have a drive-thru. There are few things more frustrating than making a cappuccino for an insistent and snotty 12-year old when you know, without a doubt, that what he actually wanted was either a vanilla cappuccino or a frappuccino (read: lots of sugar) instead. And you know that he’ll bring it back in about 45 seconds to complain that what he got isn’t what he wanted.
I never realized a job like that would make me loathe tour buses filled with middle school students with such intensity.
hehe, yes… every order of “cappuccino” was a surefire way to get yelled at for doing it wrong. I can’t count the times I got yelled at because there’s foam and it’s bitter! (as opposed to gas-station “cappuccino” which is coffee, milk and vanilla) at some point we all started asking if people ever had a starbucks-cappuccino before. which resulted in the new problem of people getting insulted because we doubted that they knew what they were talking about.
not a job that’s conductive to liking people in general, methinks
“Christian evangelist Tony Alamo faces child sex charges.”
“There’s nothing about that sentence I don’t like!”
Dr. Zoidberg
Especially not when it’s a Starbucks located inside a Barnes and Noble, located inside Colonial Williamsburg. Something about that combination creates sort of a nexus of misanthropy and general customer stupidity. Particularly when tour buses are involved.
While the state of Minnesota may be getting a repreive, it looks like that Brunswick county isn’t so fortunate.
Interrobang, you’re just jealous that the Greatest Canadian came from Saskatchewan. And speaking of Tommy Douglas, here’s his grandson and (offscreen) daughter doing a cameo on Corner Gas.
Gosh, I’ve forgotten what a Starbucks cappuccino tastes like. It’s been at least three years since I’ve tried one.
In fact, it’s been that long since I’ve seen a Starbucks. Something about living in Italy, I suppose. Here in Naples, if you ask for a coffee they just assume you mean “espresso.”
To be honest with you, I thought the police chief was rather simple. Until she solved the case, that is.
This made me think of the Roger Ebert show where he and Martin Scorsese listed their top ten movies for that year, and Fargo was one. Scorsese pointed out something I hadn’t really registered, about the scenes where Marge met her old schoolchum and then later talked on the phone to another old school friend and found that the guy had lied about everything. It was after that that she went back and reinterviewed William Macy’s character.
As Wayne said in Wayne’s World, “Seemed extraneous at the time”.