The Library; Monday [ 11/03 ]

[not-a-mused.livejournal.com]

If Cal looked a little rough when he came in to open the library that morning, it was a pretty good reflection of his mood. He clutched to his coffee, hating the taste as usual but sucking it down, anyway, because his fingers were itching. He'd had his first cigarette in well over a month yesterday, and once he started that one, he practically went through the remains of the long untouched pack fairly quickly. The familiar scent of nicotine on his fingertips stuck with him whenever he reached for a book, leafed through it to check it back in, and he tried to focus on the Dewey Decimal numbers while simultaneously trying to wonder how Ino's trip was going without having to think about who she was on that trip with.

Achievements in Engineering Class #9, Period 2 Monday

[mike-cannon.livejournal.com]

Once more, class was held in the Danger Shop, with different areas set up as a kitchen, laundry room and living room of a house. "I know you guys from the future can take care of household chores with the push of a button," began Mike. "Actually, you wouldn't consider things like microwaves, vacuums, washing machines and dryers to be feats of engineering. Believe me, you're wrong. Let's see how much you appreciate modern household appliances after a day of good old-fashioned housework."

Physics, Monday, Class #9, Period 4

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"Hello, everyone," Sam greeted the class, who would find handouts already at their desks. "As promised, today we're going to discuss the many theories of how light works. First, there's the Indian theories, which is really the first place where we begin to see light itself made up by atoms. The Greeks had a rather unique theory, at least by our standards, that humans are able to see because of rays of light that emit from our eyes. Which, intriguing, but a bit too sci fi and comic book for me, personally."

"As if that wasn't enough, there is also optical theory, which we covered a little bit last week, particle theory, wave theory, electromagnetic theory, and quantum theory."

She went on to explain the ins and outs of each theory in extreme detail. Probably extremely extreme detail.

"Today's experiment involves light, but somewhat indirectly. I've set up a series of cameras and film for you--none of which are digital, since I want you to have fun manipulating light to create different images on the film. Develop your pictures, see what you get, and come back and report your results, okay? If you want to bring the pictures, feel free."

The Art of War, Week #9 [Period 3, Monday]

[atreideslioness]

When the students came in this week, there was a passage from the eighth p'ien written on the chalk board.

There are roads which must not be followed,
armies which must be not attacked, towns which must
be besieged, positions which must not be contested,
commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

"Sometimes, we must allow the distasteful thing to happen to make way for a greater victory." Ghanima was leaning against the wall, watching them from behind her glowing eyes. "Sacrifices must be made. This is most easily seen in war; sacking an innocent town for supplies, or killing civilians to prevent your position from being discovered."

"However, it doesn't just apply to physical combat." She pushed off the wall to pace between the rows of desks, looking at each of them. "What do you do when your boss, or 'sovereign' tells you to lie about something that happened at work? Or if reporting a crime implicates someone dear to you? Today, we discuss those choices, and how we know which battles must be fought, and which ones we must let pass us by. Sometimes it is a matter of personal conscience, while other times it is the good of one against well-being of the many."


[OOC: You know the drill, wait for the OCD if you please is ready. Go debate!]

Hands-On Art, Class #7, Period 1

[slapbetcommish.livejournal.com]

"Hi, there, class," Lily greeted everyone as she closed the door behind the last person. "Hope you all had fun last week, and really, I think you all get extra credit in not giving me anything I'd potentially have to explain to my boss.

"Today we're going to be working on people. And people are so hard to draw sometimes, they really are. When I first started it was always hard to get the necks right. Everyone looked vaguely descended from giraffes for a while there. Everyone's going to have their own way to draw a person. They might look realistic, or they might look cartoony, or it might be something that would make Picasso go 'What the hell'. One way to do it is to look at people as a series of shapes. You know, like the head's an oval, the neck is a square, the body is a rectangle," she said, demonstrating on the board as she spoke, "and just whittling things down from there. So if you're not sure what you're doing, try that out a bit. Whoever's next to you? Draw them, on two conditions: no stick figures, and this is not nude art, you're teenagers, I know that thought popped into at least one of your brains there. Now have fun."

Ethics [Tuesday, November 4, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin stalked into the room and shut the door firmly behind him.

"Today we talk about wrath," he said. "There's something very human about giving in to our temper," he said. "It's freeing, uncomplicated."

He paused. "At least at that moment. The repercussions are always waiting."

He waved a hand and the holoprojector flipped to life. Frozen in time was a young Jedi with two lightsabers at the neck of an older, clearly defeated enemy. The students might remember the scenario from two weeks ago.

"This was me," he said, pointing at the young man. "And that older man was evil and threatened my family. It didn't make the choice I made--to kill him while he knelt there--any less wrong."

He looked around the classroom making eye contact with every student before continuing. "Wrath is very, very tempting. It urges you to listen to that dark little voice inside of you--to cut loose, live without consequences."

He pointed at the holo again. "There are always consequences. This moment has stayed with me, made me the person I am. It wasn't a positive influence."

Anakin stopped pacing. "What would it take for you to get to that hazy edge? And more importantly, how do you stop yourself from giving in?"