Construction [Wednesday]

[just-add-starch.livejournal.com]

With the return of Mr. Harris, Fraser had taken yesterday to do several loads of laundry and to sleep. He'd worry about how familiar and comfortable he was getting in this place later. For now, he was back at the construction site, smiling broadly.

"Good morning," he greeted. "I'm sure we were all glad to see Mr. Harris return safely from his trip and you no longer had to endure my safety signs." Fraser was amused to see the signs were still around though. "I won't speak long today. Be safe, be diligent and let's get to work."

Announcements [Wednesday Mid Morning]

[umbitch.livejournal.com]

The intercom clicked on and then there was the harmonious tones of one Headmaster Dolores Umbridge wafting through the speakers.

"Good morning, students," she said. Most would just hear pleasantness but anyone who listened closely might hear the undertones of malevolent giddiness. "I do hope you all are awake and alert. The best student is an alert student, after all."

She paused to giggle loudly into the intercom. "Now, then. I've just a few items of business to handle. Sometime soon, would Mr. Dick Casablancas and Mr. Peter Pevensie please report to my office? I would like to have a kindly word with the both of you."

Another giggle, this one growing in creepiness. "And finally, an announcement. All students who are currently residing in co-ed rooms, please start packing your belongings at once. New rooms will be assigned to you as soon as possible. I will be meeting with you all in my office at my convenience."

She paused. "Oh, and if you are considering coming to my office unclothed, do ask Jack Harkness how that particular situation will turn out. Thank you and have a pleasant day."

[OOC: Feel free to react! The people who get called to Umbridge's office can feel free to come and see her at their convenience. Slow play is absolutely fine. The room splitting will start tomorrow and, again, slow play will be fine!]

Spying: Week 4, Period 1

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly was relaxed and amused as the class congregated by the campfire.  "Hey guys," she said with a grin for the group of them.  "Hope you all had a good week.  Maybe even some of you thought of ways that disguises could be integrated into everyday life at Fandom right now.  Sometimes it's better to not make your identity obvious at first or second glance."  She wasn't going to go into any more detail at that, but she was confident some of the students, at least, would get the reference.

"Today we're going to talk about lying.  Very few people like to lie, but especially as a spy, it's a necessary skill - both to lie well yourself and to be able to tell when other people are lying. 

"As probably all of you know, there are plenty of tools - drugs, magic, technology, mental tricks to detect lies or conceal them, but for today, we're going to focus on simpler methods.  Observation, body language, the logic of how lies are constructed.  You're not always going to have an arsenal of fancy tricks at your disposal, and, going back to earlier classes, you need to be able to trust your instincts."

"So a few of the ways to tell when someone is lying without a fancy trick is to look at their body language.  Someone telling a lie usually tends to have limited physical expression, they keep their gestures and movement restrained in an unconscious attempt to be overlooked.  He or she will avoid eye contact with the person questioning them.  He might also try to place objects - like a book or a coffee cup between him and the person he's lying to.

"Another way to tell is simply by looking at the disconnect between a statement of emotion and the gesture that goes with it.  For instance if I say I love you, then smile a beat later, there's a disconnect there that can give you a clue.  Someone telling the truth - or an accomplished liar would smile saying 'I love you.'"

She grinned.  "All of which is well and good, and excellent to know.  So how do you avoid getting caught when you have a need to lie?  Pay attention to your body language.  Avoid the pitfalls we discussed here and that are on the papers I'm handing out.  The absolute best way is to construct a Liar's Palace in your mind that you can escape into when being questioned.  Which is sadly something that could be a course all of its own so I'm not going into it more here."

"Today, I have an interesting test for all of you to try on the laptop over there, and then I'd like everyone to pair up and lie to each other.  Try to use the techniques to tell if the other person is lying, try to be aware of your body language and make your lie undetectable.  And hey, it's a class on deception so change it up a bit.  See if you can trick your partner into thinking you're lying when you're telling the truth."  She grinned.  "If you want to try it with me, feel free."

[OOC: I am so, so sorry for the lateness of this class!  I had errand s to run and didn't get it done last night and it was just a comedy of errors.  So my abject apologies to all of you.  OCD is coming up]

Lunch - Wednesday 8/1

[http://users.livejournal.com/swedish_chef_/]

Guud murneeng stoodents! I epulugeeze-a fur my leteness. I cooght zee hut dugs oon fure-a.

Tudey's Menoo:

-Hut Dugs

-Mecurunee Seled

-Ceeser Seled

-Duooghnoots

Patriotism Yay!: Period 2, Week 4

[screwyoumarvel]

"Congratulations," Steve said, "You're now past the halfway point of this class. I won't say I hope you've learned something, but merely that I hope you've questioned at least a little bit what you thought you already know, and also that I hope I haven't managed to mortally offend anyone. I think I owe a few of you an apology for last week, since I said a few things that weren't necessarily complimentary about systems of government other than republics, partly in quoting Mark Twain. I do believe the republic is the best system of government, but then, I am American. It's natural that I would think that. Those of you from monarchies probably believe the monarchy is the best system of government.

"With that in mind," he continued, "we're going to do something a little different this week. I'll be passing out worksheets for each of you, which I want you to take and fill in. If you don't know all the information, we have an excellent library and internet access. I'm told the internet is full of information. Next week, I want each of you to give a short presentation on your nation of origin using the information from your worksheet, because it's important for a patriot to be informed about their nation. Once you get your worksheet, you can either start filling it in or go do research."

((Sorry this is so late, I had to take my cat to the vet this morning and then LJ decided to hate me. It's like a conspiracy.))

Flight and Flying [Thursday, August 2, 3rd period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was leaning against the reconfigured flight simulator when the flight students arrived, absolutely no trace of an smile--or any emotion at all, really--on his face.

"In every major event, there's always a beginning," he said, walking over to the television from his room and pushing a few buttons. A three-dimension projection of a world rotated in front of them. "The first battle in a conflict that eventually tore my galaxy apart took place on a world called Naboo." He glanced over at Qui-Gon assuming he was there and his voice got even harder. The Jedi should've seen this coming, dammit. "Millions of beings put at risk because of politics," he spat. "They were being used as pawns in a larger game we didn't know we were playing for more than a decade. Today we'll complete an entire military mission: the one that saved the planet from death by starvation by a blockade of petty criminals and their droids."

Anakin gestured to the projection. "Working in pairs, you'll take off from the planet's surface, fight past the enemy's droid fighters and destroy the control ship." On the projection, the target glowed red. "The only way to destroy the ship is to blow it from the inside: its shields are too powerful for the starfighter's torpedoes to take out from space." He put his hands behind his back and paced. "You're up against a deadline as well. On the surface there's a battle taking place: your people--including the fourteen-year-old queen of the planet--against a droid army that doesn't get tired." His expression turned haunted as a holograph of the leader in question came up on the projector. "Taking out the control ship also powers down those droids. Take too long to blow it up and there's no point going back to the planet: the enemy will have won through battle what they'd been trying to achieve through blockade."

He pointed at the simulator. "You'll be flying the Naboo N-1 Starfighter," he said. "They're a little more sensitive than the F-16 from last week and more elegant than the X-Wing, but without the engine power. And remember: once you break atmosphere, you won't be fighting gravity any longer so don't yank on the controls. Spinning out and crashing back into the planet is a really stupid way to die. The droid starfighters are faster than you are--and there are a lot of them--but they're als stupid. Watch for them and the laser cannons on the control ship--and watch for each other--and you'll do fine.

"This battle was real. This exercise can be accomplished. I don't accept failure--or excuses--from any of you on this." He tossed two deeply silly-looking helmets into the flight simulator. "These helmets are equipped with comm units that will allow you to talk to each other."

He waved them towards the simulator, ignoring any looks they or the TA might be giving him. "Begin."