The Elements of Friendship, Thursday, Period 3

[locointhecoco]

Pinkie's shoulder was still itching. She still wasn't sure what that could possibly mean, and as such was on something of a hair trigger today in class, wearing her very best umbrella hat and saddlebags full of cupcakes emergency supplies.

Whatever this was, it was going to be a doozy. One of the dooziest doozies to ever dooz. Though not quite the doozy that was Twilight Sparkle giving in and believing in her Pinkie sense. Nothing would ever be that doozyish.

Anyway.

The Danger Shop today looked like a glorious cliffside palace, resplendent in white and gold and filled with posh looking ponies sauntering back and forth like they controlled the world.

A pony in a top hat with a handlebar mustache and a monocle paused to look the students over, then whisper something to his companion, a tall, svelte unicorn pony with a cardigan thrown over her shoulders. They both laughed and trotted on.

"Welcome, class!" Pinkie said. "This is Canterlot, capital city of Equestria and home to Princess Celestia, who controls the sun! Today we're going to -- EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Pinkie shrieked for a full thirty seconds, then let out a goat noise and fainted.

If the students turned to look, they'd see several wide-eyed foot-tall dolls, looking askance.

If they looked back, they'd see their teacher running in circles. "That's the doozy!" she shouted. "That's the doozy, run for your lives!"

The dolls did not look impressed. Or move. While you were looking, anyway.

[ooc: OCD is up! This is what happens when I blank on a class idea on a random event day.]

Ethics [Thursday, February 2]

[sith_happened]

Anakin had seen many horrible things over the course of his life: torture of indivduals, deaths of planets, Palpatine with his hood down...but he had not been expecting a creepy doll waiting for him in his office crying for its Mama as it hovered. And before coffee, of all things. So if he was here looking slightly more...awake...than usual, blame that.

"Morning, class," Anakin said leaning against his desk at the front and keeping his eyes peeled for other dolls. "Today we learn about Immanuel Kant," he began, gesturing to the TAs to hand out information on the man. "He was an influential German philosopher on this planet several hundred years ago who thought every action should have pure intention behind it; otherwise it was meaningless. He did not necessarily believe that the final result was the most important aspect of an action, but that how the person felt while carrying out the action was the time at which value was set to the result."

In his mind, Anakin could hear Obi-Wan nattering on about how many of the truths people cling to depending upon their point of view. He shook his head to clear it and continued. "In other words, it's not the results that make something moral but why you made that decision, and Kant believed that only decisions made purely out of duty have moral worth. For instance, Kant spoke of a shopkeeper who passed up the chance to shortchange a customer only because his business might suffer if other customers found out.  According to Kant, the shopkeeper’s action had no moral worth because he did the right thing for the wrong reason."

He paced the room. "What do you think of Kant's conclusion? Is he being too hard on that shopkeeper? What of people who are in the habit of being good without thinking? Is that being moral, or just being conditioned to interact correctly with society?"

He glanced around the room. "And if you see any, um, creepy dolls, raise your hand or shriek or something, all right?"

Life of the Sea, Thursday, Period 2

[takesaftermom.livejournal.com]

"Plant life is widespread and very diverse under the ocean," Summer began, once her students arrived and took a seat. "Seaweed is one type and they come in all shapes and sizes. They convert sunlight energy into chemical energy, which can be a very useful source of food. They also produce oxygen and a source of shelter for many organisms."

She paused to pull up a picture. "Seaweeds lack true roots, leaves and stems of plants and can reproduce sexually or asexually." That was something she'd found quite interesting the first time she learned that fact.

"Another type of marine plant is a flowering plant, that lives in the sea. Flowering plants are like the plants that live on land because they have specialized tissue and true leaves, roots and stems," she explained. "They are bottom dwelling organisms."

She switched the slide to bring up a picture of mangroves. " Seagrasses, mangroves and salt-marsh grasses are examples of marine flowering plants. Microscopic algae, another type of seaweed, provide important habitats for life, sometimes acting as hiding and foraging places for larval forms of larger fish and invertebrates, like mangroves."

"Seaweeds live in constant contact with potentially dangerous microbes, and they have apparently evolved a chemical defense to help resist disease. That is one reason why coastal people, particularly in East Asia, consumes seaweed. They also harvest and cultivate seaweed for the extraction of alginate, agar and carrageenan, gelatinous substances collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance as food additives. The food industry exploits their gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties. Agar is used in foods such as confectionery, meat and poultry products, desserts and beverages and moulded foods. Carrageenan is used in salad dressings and sauces, dietetic foods, and as a preservative in meat and fish products, dairy items and baked goods. Quite a number of uses for seaweed, huh?"

Summer smiled and pulled out a tray of seaweed from her bag. "If you're feeling adventurous, I thought I might pass some seaweed around for you to try. Purely optional, of course. Next week, we'll discuss different fish of the sea and their habitats and feeding habitats."

[OCD up.]

Library, Thursday [02/02]

[selfhelphero]

Billy had planned on spending his library shift going over the Petey Sci-Fi script one more time, but that had been before he'd gotten ambushed by a creepy looking doll on the way to the library. His leg still hurt from where he'd been bitten, and he was sitting on top of the desk now instead of behind it, so he had a better view of the place. Anything that tried to approach him was getting zapped, no question.

Superheroing 101, Thursday, Period 4

[electrocynic]

Electroclash was tapping one of her go-go boots impatiently against the floor as the students filed in. "So, as you may have noticed, something fucking freaky is going on today," she started, once whoever was going to show up had shown up. "The dolls. I woke up with one of the creepy fuckers staring at me."

And it had been much scarier a wakeup than she was letting on, yup. Dolls like that were frightening, okay.

"So, anyone who wants to run along back to the dorms to keep their shit doll-free can do so," she continued. Then she gestured at the TV set at the front of the class. "Or you can stay here, avoid reality, and watch a movie. Your choice."

She didn't care. She was going to flop down into her chair and watch the movie and then go see whether any more dolls had been vandalizing her apartment.