Classic American Film, Thursday, Period 4

[eager-platypus.livejournal.com]

"Good afternoon," Ziva said, greeting everyone once they'd settled down. "Last week, we watched a movie that many would consider a 'chick flick.'" So, for this week, I picked something that I believe is a little more male-oriented. The Grandfather is considered by many people to be one of the best films ever made. While that is debatable, I suppose, it is one of very few movies to have a sequel that was as successful as the original, which I believe says something about the quality of the story in general. Still, it will be up to you to decide if you agree with the critics or not."

Library [9-16]

[wesleynotponcy.livejournal.com]

Wesley was in the library, trying to teach himself Swedish by reading a Swedish book of short stories. Either the story was about a talking fish or he wasn't very good at it yet.

Tracking: Urban v. Wilderness; Thursday, Period Three [ 09/16 ].

[colourfulscents.livejournal.com]

The class would be meeting in the Danger Shop today, where Angua stood waiting for them to gather at the divide between two different settings: to one side, a lush rocky forest. On the other, an old sprawling city, not too dissimilar from Anhk-Morpork.

"Welcome back," she started. "Sorry about last week. Yes, I'm fine. No, I don't want to talk about it. Today, we're going to start by talking about last week. Clearly, none of you had any problems finding the trail mix, which is a good sign. Those of you with more honed senses could tell it was under there, while those of you without had the good sense to observe your surroundings, learn from them, and act accordingly. That sort of attention to detail is invaluable; in fact, it puts you at an advantage over those who may depend on their senses for tracking. Sometimes, they get so caught up in what they sense that they can't notice what else might be going on, which could lead to missing obvious things or could even be deadly.

"So, to prove this point..."

( Olly Olly Oxen Free! )

"Any questions? And, before you ask, yes, the peppermint oil will wash off without a problem. Most peppermint oil won't, but that's why we love this Danger Shop, right?"


[[ slow OCD is on the way ready for you to find it! ]]

[[ Previous Classes ]]

Famous Shipwrecks of the Deep, [Thursday, Period One, 9/16]

[shes-got-legs.livejournal.com]

By now, Ariel had managed to finally figure out that the bird she'd found in Ms. Pitt's office was not just some random bird, but Ms. Pitt herself. That...was a little embarrassing to discover, especially when one considered how much time she'd spent babbling to that bird of the last week, and Ms. Pitt probably now knew far more about Ariel than she ever wanted to know, but now it was time to step up to the plate and serve her duties as TA in the most important way.

( Wherein which there is singing. Of course. )

As if she hadn't at all just broken out into a song in front of the whole class, Ariel giggled, waving a hand, and started to swim forward. "Well, come on, guys! Let's go! And don't wake the whale!"


[[ slow OCD is on the way did not wake the whale! ]]

[[ Class Syllabus and Roster ]]

Ethics [Thursday, September 16, 2nd period]

[sith_happened]

"'Do unto others as you would have done unto you,'" Anakin quoted as the students found their seats. "On this planet, that phrase is known as the Golden Rule. It sounds quite altruistic, which might be why they are more than a few more cynical versions of it around: 'do unto others before they can do unto you,' and the like. The rule also seems to be assuming that everyone wants the same things done to them. But what if you don't mind getting poked in the stomach? Does it follow that you could aimlessly poke people? What if you don't see anything wrong with stealing, or killing, or hating entire groups of people?"

He shrugged. "I suppose the Golden Rule could be simplified as 'be nice to people, so they'll be nice to you' but out here in the real world, we all know it doesn't exactly work like that, and the concept could also be reinterpreted as 'it doesn't bother me, so why does it bother you?' Is this a case of aiming for an ideal and hoping that it will cause a ripple effect of positive things, or something overly simplistic that taken to its logical extreme renders itself useless?"

He smiled. "I like to ask nice, easy questions."

The Science of Deduction, Friday - 9/17

[3patchproblem.livejournal.com]

Class was once again held in the danger shop today, but it was a different scene. Gone was the woman in pink and the worn down room from last week.

Instead, there was an unmoving man sitting at the table. It was as if the scene was paused for closer examination.

"Last week you looked at the crime, today you look at the criminal behind it," Sherlock said, taking a seat across from the frozen man.

Ah, yes. Because John really needed to relive this one. (Part of him did. It had been exhilarating. Still...) He darted a quick smile at the audience from where he was still standing, upright. "And thank you for introducing me, Sherlock."

Sherlock sighed, settling back in his seat again. "My colleague, John Watson, class. I assume many of you have already found his blog."

"Yes." John flashed what he hoped was a second, warmer smile at everyone watching; it came off slightly awkward. Then he turned his attention back to Sherlock. "So the cabbie."

The class better enjoy it. John was the friendly, personable one of the pair. "Yes, the cab driver. He used his profession to hunt lure victims into his cab in order to take them to a private location in order to force them to murder themselves. Rather ingenious, I must admit."

"And terrifying for the victims," John filled in, because he knew Sherlock wouldn't. He was a little crap at being the 'kind, personable one', but he was as close as they were going to get around Sherlock. Alas. "The same murderer almost got to Sherlock," he said, glancing at the man. "He put forward two pills, one deadly, one not. The victim had to choose which is which."

Sherlock smiled in a way that was hardly kind or personable. "I played his game and now it's your turn. Discuss which pill you would take and why."

John didn't add anything to that, though any would-be deducers might be able to glean something out of the way he was rubbing his temple.

Or not. Still, it seemed hardly sporting to offer them 'or wait until your friend shoots the killer' as an option.