Library, Wednesday [9/28]

[ancientbschamp.livejournal.com]

With Parents' Weekend coming up, Gabrielle was more than a little eager at the prospect of having Xena here again, although she was resigned to the prospect of Xena possibly intimidating her friends and teachers. (It was Xena. That much was more or less inevitable.) She still wasn't quite back to her old levels of cheerfulness, but today, as she went about her tasks, she was pretty close.

And humming -- which was a good sign, unless you were looking for her to be in tune.

The Art(s) of War and Peace; Wednesday, Second Period [ 09/28 ].

[atreideslioness]

"Good morning. Today, we work with chapter four, often known as 'Tactical Dispositions'," Ghanima said, smiling at them as she hopped off her desk and walked over to the chalkboard. Shunsui, for what it was worth, was behind the desk as usual, though this time with a little bonsai tree. "Sun Tzu said: 'The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.'"

She picked the chalk up and began to write. The cantor of her writing seemed to provide the harmony to the melody of Shunsui's trimming shears. "First, he claimed that 'to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.' This is excellent advice, as it reminds us that the enemy is never perfect, and that everyone, ourselves included, has a weakness. 'Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.'"

"'Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive,'" she recited, writing quickly. "'Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.'"

"Naturally," Shunsui finally offered, "such a belief can extend beyond the art of war ♥. For example, one may seem to merely be partaking in the relaxing activity of keeping a bonsai while the more quick-minded instructor does all the hard work, only to then choose the right moment to chime in with a pointed comment about when to step on up ♥."

"So, how do we reconcile these differences?" she asked, looking at them. "One could even say that bonsai keeping is a constant war of knowing when - and how - to cut back. How can you create a plan of attack for anything, not just combat, using Tzu's ideas? Wooing a romantic partner by using almost defensive-only tactics seems doomed to failure, as does using that mindset during a business transaction. We know from our earlier lesson that a prologued engagement benefits no one in the long run, why do you then think Tzu advocates waiting here?" Ghanima set down her chalk and turned around to face them fully. "I'd like you to get in small groups of two or three and discuss this, and try to come up with a non-combat situation where this would be a viable, and indeed desirable, strategy."

"And I brought bonsais for everyone, should you like to partake yourself while you discuss ♥."

Tricks, Cons and Bamboozles | Wednesday | Period 1

[charming_thief]

Today, the Danger Shop was set up somewhat oddly. With a TV in the front and a few couches facing it, it might at first glance look like one of the school common rooms. But if someone perceptive happened to notice the picture frames on the wall, assorted paintings and way-too-nice furniture, that might be a hint that it wasn't a common room at all, but a standard household living room. 

"So a bunch of you probably have guests coming this weekend," Neal ventured. "Some of you might not, which is pretty lucky for you guys -- " He only wished he could be so lucky -- "but I thought we'd work on an important skill in case you guys need it."

( Lying To Your Parents )

Strange Creatures of the Deep, Wednesday, Period 3

[takesaftermom.livejournal.com]

Summer had let her students know that they'd be meeting in their regular classroom for today's lesson.

She had the DVD player set up in the back of the room and a slide was in the front, by the board. Summer waited until her students settled in, to begin.

"Over the weekend, I found this documentary film on the ocean that I thought would be perfect for our class. The locations they shot it vary from Baja, North Carolina to the Caribbean. Feel free to take notes, if you want. We'll study some of the creatures found in this film next class."

[OCD coming up!]