Today would have been June's 55th birthday.

June was my best friend in the whole world. We had known each other for 31 years when she died of lung cancer in November 2007. It wasn't until days before she died that her family found out that she smoked. Her sister thought she had quit for good, years before. I think June only smoked about five cigarettes a day. She never smoked around other people, never in her car or even in her own home. I was the only person in the world who knew she smoked.

June had been feeling bad for about a year before she was diagnosed but none of her doctors could find anything wrong. That is until that fateful scan in the summer of 2007. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in July of 2007 and she was gone by November 2007.

At times the grief was unbearable.We shared everything. Her passing was like losing a limb. You learn to live without it and I moved on but my life will never be the same without her.

Happy Birthday June. I love you!

That Walmart Effect

I am ashamed to admit that I shop at Walmart. I just completed their customer survey and this page caught my eye. The second to last reason. "Pleasure shopping" AT WALMART!? If you're looking for some interesting reading check out The Walmart Effect.

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Stupidest Pet Products Ever

You have to see "Stupidest Pet Products Ever". Says something about society. Poop Freeze! From the Huffington Post.

Education in Louisiana, "Land of a Thousand Oil Leaks"

My letter to the editor of "The Advocate", Baton Rouge's local paper, finally appeared. I was responding to a letter from Brian Haymon who is the chairman of the LSU Honors College Advisory Board. This is his letter:

The Advocate’s editorial, “Funding LSU for winners,” on Monday, April 19, hit the nail on the head with its recognition of LSU students who have recently won national honors. We, the people of Louisiana, need to support our top students, whether as taxpayers or as private sector donors.

LSU’s best and brightest are almost all students in the Honors College. The Honors College is housed in the French House, an historic structure on Highland Road across from the student union. Rather than stand as a proud testament to Louisiana’s commitment to higher education, the French House is a leaky, smelly and functionally unworkable structure when it comes to educating today’s best and brightest. By contrast, LSU’s rival universities in Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi. Florida and Texas (to name a few) have all built modern facilities to lure top students.

Ten years ago when LSU set out to field a championship-caliber football team, tens of millions were spent for facilities to help recruit top football talent. We all know the result. It seems to me our commitment to our best students — the future leaders of Louisiana — ought to be no less.

Three years ago, plans were developed to renovate the French House, an essential university facility that serves many functions beyond the Honors College. The estimated cost is $6.5 million. Except for a small amount allocated last year for roof repairs, which have yet to occur, no funding has been found: An upgraded Honors College facility seems like a reasonable investment to help keep our best students home. I hope the Legislature will agree.

This was my response:

I’d like to respond to Brian Haymon’s letter of May 4 about keeping talented students at LSU.

Clearly Louisiana does not value education.

I’ve taught in Baton Rouge public schools for the past 20 years. Except for brief stays out of state, I have lived my life in Louisiana, and I graduated from LSU. For the past 20 years I have been associated with LSU in some capacity, so I think I can speak with some limited authority on the subject.

Having been lucky enough to teach in magnet schools in Baton Rouge, I’ve taught some of the best and brightest students. I have never seen LSU actively recruit our top graduating seniors. All I’ve heard from these same students is that LSU never bothered to call back, ignored letters or couldn’t find the time to meet with them.

Now, of course, none of our students, coming from magnet programs, learn to throw a football, so it is understandable that they may be of limited value to LSU, which places a premium on athletics.

Haymon makes an excellent point when he says that when we want a top football team we pull out all of the stops to build state-of-the-art training facilities in order to attract highly paid talent. And then we pay coaches extravagantly.

Now, I can hear the naysayers and defenders as I write this: “But the athletic department is self-funded.” “The money comes from a separate fund.” “It helps the state.” And on and on.

The point is, and it’s not a really subtle one, that money is money, whether it be public or private, and that the same powers that be who ensure that we hire one of the highest-paid football coaches in the nation should also push for a premier academic institution.

Anyone who believes that LSU is really a top-notch institution apparently has not traveled much, does not read much or is otherwise very gullible.

Except for the few bright spots, my alma mater is a joke academically. Calling it a “flagship” university all day doesn’t make it a Harvard.

You would think we could come up with $6.5 million to repair the French House.

No disease was ever cured in Tiger Stadium, and no alternative fuel will ever be discovered in Alex Box Stadium, and no microprocessor was ever designed in the Maravich Center. These are places where, in spite of all the hype, we merely play games.

So if we want to be regarded as a state that enjoys nothing but having a good time and partying and eating, then I suggest we stay the course.

How to Repair Your PC

I found this: "How to Repair Your PC" back in 2005 and it's still up. I thought it was funny then and I still think it's funny even if it's a little dated by the look of the computers in the pictures. I've always had a love-hate relationship with computers. I think Microsoft is Satan. More about that in a later blog.

And on a lighter note, you have to visit Amazing Moments.

Poor Louisiana

Poor Louisiana, and I'm not talking about the oil spill.

Our local paper, The Advocate, ran two articles recently. The first on the 29th of April about a bill currently before our legislature which would allow concealed weapons in churches, apparently in response to recent shootings in churches in the area. In the meantime, the murder rate in the United States is 6 times the murder rate in Germany. You can look it up for yourself here. Maybe it's just me but do we really need to be carrying guns in churches? Although I am not currently a church-goer I was raised as one and I always considered them to be peaceful and loving places. Obviously more weapons will make us a safer country.

And then, the very next day, The Advocate carried a story concerning a pagan festival to be held in a neighboring parish. For those of you not familiar with Louisiana oddities, our local governments are called parishes instead of counties presumably a carryover from our Roman Catholic heritage. According to Perry Rushing, chief of operations for the sheriff's office, the festival is "under scrutiny" from the sheriff's office because "we vehemently oppose this type of activity in Livingston Parish." The pagan festival is scheduled to be held at Gryphon's Nest Campground. And then the kicker comes when you read the rules for the campground. I quote rule number 6 in part: "Absolutely no firearms!"

I think it's really strange that pagans feel compelled to meet without the need for bringing firearms, but the christians do. Sorry, I'm assuming the bill's sponsor, Henry Burns, is christian. And then of course, we can expect the sheriff's office to keep all chritian gatherings under close scrutiny. I wonder how many boys and girls are going to get raped at the pagan festival? Oh that's right, no Roman Catholic priests there.

Freedom of Speech

If you believe in freedom of speech join 1,000,000 in Support of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Quit being so serious about your religion. And that applies to everybody. Radical muslims are threatening the creators of South Park because of their portrayal of the prophet Mohammad.

Growing Up Bin Laden

I'm currently reading Growing Up Bin Laden. It's fascinating reading. Omar bin Laden, Osama's fourth child, reveals that his father was always very serious in his demeanor and demanded it of his sons as they were growing up. The senior bin Laden discouraged the drinking of water in an effort to make his sons tough and shunned all modern conveniences, except for cars, especially fast ones. The book is coauthored by Osama's first wife and by Jean Sasson.

Baton Rouge Magnet High: A Trip Down Memory Lane

BRMHS is about undergo renovation and in the process of packing up we are discovering many old treasures and artifacts. This is a page from the 1947 yearbook, The Fricassee. The girl in the upper left hand corner is Pat Boyet, student body president. As near as I can make out, since the photos were not labeled, and going clockwise,  are the photos of Tommy Benton, student VP, Harold Voss and Dick Millican.

My Flickr Page

Check out my Flickr page: Mark Barry' Flickr Page