I misspoke and said the subject of the most recent chapter in the National Geographic special on our brains would be, "the subconscious mind," but it is not. It's "the unconscious mind," and so I haven't read it yet. The subconscious interests me much more than the unconscious. We all know that we can breathe and digest food without thinking about it. Let us take a moment to be extremely grateful for that fact.
A while ago, a Pinterest board called "infectious" invited me to pin to it due to my "Apocalypse" board. You can check out "infectious" here if you are on pinterest and into The Walking Dead and all that good stuff. There are some nice Zombie Valentine jokes and such.
Speaking of zombies.
Today in hour 6, I noticed an off-task student with a graphic novel in hand. He's an "A" student, and the graphic novel was Max Brooks's Recorded Attacks. Needless to say, I immediately swiped the book under the guise of confiscation to check it out and blog it in lieu of the brain special. In this way, the student was able to actually label about five of Europe's 49 or 50 countries. (When he fell to being a "D" student is difficult to say...)
Recorded Attacks maps and gives a graphic (by which I mean cartoon, not bloody) history of zombie infestation from the beginning of human time. The graphic depiction includes delicious MAPS and tidbits of actual history like Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, etc. After flipping through it, I approached my student and said to him, "Now explain to me how you are able to differentiate reality from fiction in your brain." There is only one word to describe his response. He stammered. "Uhhh...mmm...uhmm..."
From one row over and three seats behind him, one of the other two "A" students in the class piped up, "Hey! That's *my* book!" So I snatched it from D and waggled it in front of A (yes, he had >30 countries labeled at that point) and asked him the same question. He answered easily, "There's no such thing as zombies." I pointed out to A all of the savory geography/history bits in the book and then asked him a follow up question: "How can you be sure when you hand this book to a classmate that the classmate is able to keep reality separated from fiction in their head?" He answered easily, "I can't."
I informed him that if anyone included zombies in their upcoming narratives of the Roman Empire, I would seek him out and make him accountable for the error. He agreed and was happy to have the novel back. This may not be the most appropriate use of my class time, but it's kind of how I get things done.
And now the answer to the burning question that's on everyone's mind:
What happens when you pour vinegar into your ears?
Well, at first it's unpleasant. Then dizzying. Then, there is little to no effect. I am in fact supposed to be at a middle school basketball game right now, but I felt the need to pour more vinegar into my ears and relax in front of my replacement show for The Walking Dead season 2, which turns out to be Supernatural season 8.
Onward to the tea tree oil. I will avoid antibiotics yet!
The Unconscious Brain is coming soon, or perhaps a little story about How to Discipline a Gum-Chewer, My Version.
In the meantime, if you are still preparing for disaster, you're supposed to buy another can of meat/veggie soup, and some sunscreen.
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