A Class Divided

We don't post a lot of "heavy" stuff on our blog usually, but MeLissa contributed this comment to a discussion on MC Hammer's Blog. She really wanted to put it here as well since it is just a great program and she really feels that it deserves a wider audience. We hope you'll go check out some of the materials available (including the video program) at the site linked to the post title or at the bottom of the post.

I'll apologize up front because this is gonna be a long one...

Has anyone seen the PBS documentary called "A Class Divided" or read the book?

I was introduced to this program in a diversity workshop I attended for my company. Until I saw this short film and then read the related text, I had always sort of had a thought in the back of my head that African-Americans, Hispanics, and others who were discriminated against acted in certain ways that "brought on" discrimination. Sounds, strange, right? Why would anyone act in such a way as to encourage others to discriminate against them? And, yet it is a view I've heard from others as well.

I have to say this short documentary and book really gave me a new perspective. It's not as simple as I once thought. This documentary followed an experiment done by Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small all-white Iowa town in 1968 (interesting that it coincides with Mr. Hammer's date, hmmm? It is because she implemented this lesson the day after MLK, Jr. was assassinated. She wanted to help her children understand what it was he died for). Ms. Elliott divided her class into two groups based soley upon an arbitrary trait: eye color - the blue-eyed people and the brown-eyed people.

She had the brown-eyed people put on collars so they could be easily identified. Then, she proceed to tell them that for the first day, the blue-eyed (I think) people were better than the brown-eyed people. They were cleaner, smarter, more respectful, etc. Basically, if there was a positive trait...it was attached to the blue-eyed children. During that day, anything that a blue-eyed child did that was even remotely good was lauded and applauded. Everything remotely "bad" that a brown-eyed child did was scoffed at and made fun of. You would be shocked to see what happened. I really think everyone should check this out if you can find it (and I'll provide a link to a site at the end of my commentary).

Essentially, the end result was this - a class full of happy, kind, caring and well-bonded children turned into two opposing groups. The blue-eyed children tormented the brown-eyed children, acted as though they were superior and actually did better than ever at their studies - and this occured even between classmates who were easily categorized as inseparable best friends just the day before. On the other side, the brown-eyed children who also were usually happy, joyful souls became sullen and withdrawn and actually exhibited less academic prowess than they had the day before.

On the second day, the roles were switched. And, despite Ms. Elliott's believing that the same thing couldn't happen two days in a row since they had already done the experiment, it did. The only difference? The brown-eyed children who had been given a pretty nasty taste of how it felt to be discriminated against were a little less harsh than their blue-eyed classmates had been before. Still, though, the brown-eyed children excelled while the blue-eyed children's academic skill dropped below even pre-experiment levels.

For me, this was a real eye-opener. I can now see that certain minority groups act in ways that are less than becoming and perpetuate the belief that they are inferior, but I also understand that their experiences in life which have conciously or subconciously suggested this to their psyche plays a part. It is really a nasty vicious circle that could potentially never be resolved unless we're all willing to look beyond skin color, eye-color or any other arbitrary trait and see the person and the *soul* that is inside and value that.

I personally believe we have a long row to hoe here since our society is so focused on exteriors anyhow...but with materials and excercises like these, I think we can at least begin to see put ourselves in another's shoes and see things from a different perspective...which ultimately is what it's all about in every conflict known to man.

Thanks for "listening." Have a look at the site below (or click the post title above) for more information on this insightful program.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/

Here's MC Hammer's comment in response:

MC Hammer said...
Fanatastic! Mark and Melissa,
this is the type of feed back and input I'm looking for.

11:52 PM

USS Ronald Reagan

We figured we'd keep tabs on what Christopher's old shipmates have been up to since he jumped ship for the recruiting stint (which seems to be going well so far, we've heard). It looks like they've been very busy!

There are some great photos (including the one you see here) of the crew available on the Reagan's website. Click on the post title above to go there.

We also really enjoyed looking at the ship's newsletter - especially the caption contest winners in the February 24 issue (see page 4). The winning caption is a hoot!

They Grow Up So Fast

We figured since we don't have any terribly exciting news to share, we'd show what our little darling Pixie looked like when she came to live with us. Wasn't she just a doll? Thankfully, she's calmed down quite a bit...she was quite the little bundle of energy!!!

Sending happy thoughts to all far and near!

Food Fiasco...

So, we had more excitement in our household this morning. Nothing too critical - no wedding rings down the sink. *phew!* But, it is rather entertaining (to us if no one else!).

It all started last night. MeLissa arrived home from quilting class and proceeded to tell Mark that Chicken Marsala was just not happening. Cooking at 9 o'clock at night - not MeLissa's idea of a good time. Anyhow, she set Mark up with lasagna leftovers and decided she would make herself a very healthy dinner of bacon and toast. Too bad she can't eat eggs - they would have been a nice addition...as would have hashed browns!

While she was cooking "supper," Mark grilled up a chicken breast for her lunch - what a sweet guy, huh? MeLissa also prepped breakfast - rice pudding made with coconut milk (yeah, yeah...it's a strange breakfast, but when you have to rotate foods and you have a lot of allergies and you have used the last of the bacon for your supper, you get creative folks!) and put it in the oven. Once we were finished eating, we cleaned up and went to bed. In that order.

So, we got up this morning to a wonderful scent wafting through the house. Yep, the lovely scent of rice pudding greeted us....which, although it was pleasant, was not a good thing. No breakfast...oops. So, we invoked the "Let her eat toast" rule and breakfast happened as usual.

Nothing too exciting, but definitely amusing...especially since we left the lunch chicken breast out, too. :)

It's Hammer Time

Oh my goodness do we have a treat for you today! MC Hammer's back baby!!!

Thanks to the folks at Blogger who put The Hammer's blog on the front page for MeLissa to find! Yeah, folks, MC Hammer is bloggin' and though we've not had a chance to read everything he's said to date (he just recently started blogging folks so you can get in early!), it looks like it will be an interesting site to keep tabs on. :)

Just wanted to give you the heads up since we know you're in your office today just looking for something other than work to do!!

To visit MC Hammer's blog, click the post title above...

Update from MeLissa specifically: Oh my goodnesss! I am so flattered at this very moment. I left a little comment for MC Hammer on his blog and he replied with a thank you and that our wedding picture that we use for our profile (look right) was a nice picture. Wow. I'm hooked. :)

See:

Mark and MeLissa said...
Wow. MC Hammer. Blogging. Very cool. I'm glad that I came across your site and look forward to hearing what you have to say. My little brothers and I really enjoyed your music when we were growing up (and still even do that Hammer walk every-so-often!)Glad to see they still "Can't Touch This!" :) (sorry, I'm corny...can't help myself sometimes!)MeLissa of "MeLissa and Mark"
10:27 AM

MC Hammer said...
Thanks and great photo.
10:33 AM

The Dragon in Our Sink

He's saved us all! Prince Mark saved us all! Long live Prince Mark! He has conquered the sink dragon!!

What? Your sink doesn't have a dragon that tries to hoard your most precious possessions? Lucky you! We in magical Roccoland are not so fortunate.

Seriously, though, we had some excitement in the Rocco household this morning. And, for those of you who know us well, if we *mention* that there was excitement, that means there was *bad* excitement (there's always excitment afterall!)...like, perhaps, a certain person's wedding ring flying off her hand and into the sink as she prepared for the shower! "Princess" MeLissa, to say the least, was a bit upset.

Now, thankfully (?), Princess MeLissa has had this happen before - in college her favorite snoopy pendant went for a swim and was, happily, recovered. So, she knew what had to be done and under most circumstances, she would have had it taken care of before Prince Mark even exited the shower, but this morning's "dragon" was much too strong for her so she called on her handsome prince to rescue the precious crown jewel!

With the help of a pipe wrench from Home Depot (who knew they'd be open at 6 AM?), our handsome prince rescued the crown jewel and returned it to the princess who promptly soaked it in peroxide and then cleaned it.

And so they lived happily ever after, finished getting ready and ventured to chiropractic school and the office to conquer poor posture, subluxations and to keep the IRS at bay...

Picture: Saint George slays the dragon.

Worthy of a Double Post

Believe it or not, we try not to post more than once per day, but sometimes, we just get so excited or are so moved, that we can't help ourselves. This is definitely one of the most moving things we've ever heard and seen and we want to share it with everyone. It's absolutely beautiful. Click the link in the post title or continue on to find the link.

Here's the story behind it:

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood! Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach , Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event. He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you." Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says


Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web http://www.beforeyougo.us/ , the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.

"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss "the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in
America gets a chance to hear it.

God bless the veterans of World War II and Korea. As Douglas MacArthur said, "Old soldiers never die. They just fade away." They'll be with us always in spirit.


CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:

Surgery...

Looks like Mark will be having another one next Wednesday. The purpose is to see what exactly is going on with his retina. There is some fibrous material that is obstructing the retinal doctor's view. So, he'll go in and see if the retina is okay. If so, he'll patch Mark back up and we'll be on our way. If not, he'll fix the retina and Mark will have to endure another bout of face down time.

MeLissa's doing a little internal surgery as well. She's had a couple of interactions with her bio-family over the past week and she's currently working on disconnecting. Although we're not going to go into detail (there's some in existence if you're willing to dig in the right places), this is a pretty significant thing in our lives and we believe it is due to Dr. Laura's indirect guidance that MeLissa is ready to take this step. It has been a long road, but MeLissa is really making progress toward letting the past stay in the past rather than letting it influence her life.

Keep us both in your prayers while we tackle these issues.

Also, many thanks to a blog friend of ours for posting the following very timely inspiration:

'Choose now'

Just because you experienced anxiety a moment ago does not mean that you must continue to hold on to it.

Choose now to let it go.

You may have recently been angry about one thing or another, yet that destructive anger does not have to continue.

Choose now to transform the energy of that anger into positive, healing, productive thoughts and actions.

Whatever the past may have held, this moment can be filled with what you choose right now.

Peace, acceptance, joy, forgiveness, and positive purpose are all as close as your decision to choose them.

Think of the most joyful and fulfilling times you've ever known. Allow yourself to feel the way it feels when you're at your very best.

The world is as it is, the people around you are as they are, and this moment is here.

You can choose now to face it all with the best you have to give.

Life is ever filled with all kinds of possibilities, and this moment is no exception.

Choose now to make the most positive of those possibilities a part of who you are.
-- Ralph Marston--

One Crazy Cat

This particular cat from MeLissa's page-a-day Bad Cat calendar (generously given by Diane for her birthday!) has continued to bemuse and intrigue her. She figured it was time to share it with the world. The expression on this cat's face is just plain bizarre...and pretty much fits perfectly with the caption they gave it.

We'll share other "bad cats" if they fascinate us as time goes on, but it's going to be pretty hard to top Mr. Chicken (for that is what Monsieur Poussin translates to folks). How a cat makes such a face is well beyond our understanding.

Woodstock Alert!!

Well, this is just awesome news! MeLissa was having a little look around the Peanuts Collector's Club site and found out that Santa Rosa (home of the Charles Schulz Museum) plans to have The Summer of Woodstock! The city is hoping to have 70 Woodstocks (Snoopy's best friend!) gracing its streets beginning at the end of May and continuing through September 24, 2006. MeLissa and Mark will definitely be visiting Santa Rosa this summer! For more information on this exciting development, check out the link to the Collector's Club or visit Peanuts on Parade.

As if that weren't enough to make any Peanuts lover go absolutely bonkers, there is also word that Beaglefest IV (who knew there was a Beaglefest and didn't tell MeLissa?!?) will take place from June 1 to June 4! To attend, you have to be a member of The Peanuts Collectors Club. We're guessing MeLissa will be signing up!

The Official Last Valentine's Day Post

It's official - Valentine's Day is over! We finally received MeLissa's last "package" last night. Boy oh boy did Mark do a great job!!! But then, Mark is rarely a blockhead. :)

Some of the movies are brand new while others are to replace VHS copies so that we don't have to worry about them wearing out over time. MeLissa was very surprised and very pleased with Mark's thoughtful gifts! We enjoyed each other's company while watching the Valentine's Day special - it seemed appropriate!

In addition, MeLissa *finally* received her books for her Event Planning course so she'll be doing a bit of studying this weekend (which will be good since it will keep her out of Mark's hair!) in addition to watching all her new Snoopy movies!

Finally, we have one more picture for your enjoyment. As promised, here is a picture of the Cake that Couldn't. Perhaps MeLissa will try cupcakes next time...maybe even this weekend.

In other "baked good" news, MeLissa has agreed to enter a bake-off at Mark's school. She's going to see if she can make a cake to wow them...and she's using eggs and normal flour so it should go well. We'll let you know when the judges have had their say!

Computer Amusements for Friday

Just something MeLissa has come across the past few days that she thought you might find amusing! (Which should tell you that we don't have a whole heck of a lot going on here in the Rocco household at the moment. MeLissa did go in and act as a "model" for Mark's Activator II class last night, but beyond that it's been pretty quiet - which is probably a good thing!)

The "site of the day" is Dogpile. MeLissa has been doing a few of her searches on this site which claims to (and seems to) pull its results from all of the top search engines, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Could it be that she likes this site so much because when she typed in "Mark and MeLissa Rocco" our blog and our recipe site were listed in the results? Maybe. :) She also likes the cute Doggie icon, though. Check it out.

More Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Laelle!!! We hope you have a fun-filled night to celebrate your entry into a new decade! Congratulations!

Not a lot else to write about today here. We're just plugging along with school and work. MeLissa is excited that she'll soon be able to get back into her Event Planning studies, though! She *finally* received notification last night that her books have been shipped. She was going a bit nuts waiting!

And, tonight, she'll be skipping quilting class (she hasn't quilted anything for a little over a week anyhow - just not in the mood lately) to go to Mark's Activator II class at school so that Mark's instructor can show him what to do with her adjustment wise. We're hoping that this combined with Mark's recent tissue work on MeLissa will eventually lead to a pain-free life. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Valentine's Day Wrap Up (Sort of!)

First off today is a very special day! We're sending birthday wishes out to Rob! And, a Happy Anniversary wish out to Brad and Sarah as well! We hope the next year will be full of happy memories for all of you!

We also want to give a "shout out" to MeLissa's mom whom we're very proud of. She has embarked on another segment of her journey to health and fitness! Today was her first day of water aerobics with the folks at Physcial Therapy Plus in Lamar, Colorado. Way to go Mom!

Valentine's Day is not yet over at our house (as the song says, each day is Valentine's Day for us!) - we're still waiting for one more giftie for MeLissa to arrive. She can't wait to see what it will be!

Mark did give her something to tide her over, though - a sweet little pink locket style picture frame and a lovely card. Now she just has to decide what picture of Mark gets the special honors!

Mark received a pretty nice selection of gifts as well. MeLissa was able to procure a copy of a software program Mark's been wanting and also treated him to a pair of Valentine Snoopy Boxers (there's always going to be something about Snoopy it seems when we talk gifts around here!), a pair of silk boxers with hearts and martini glasses and a cute (yet masculine!) pair of lounging pants with candy hearts on them. MeLissa has to admit that she may be "borrowing" the candy heart pants some time. :)

Mark's favorite gift from MeLissa, though, was his annual hand made card. It's become a well-loved tradition for MeLissa to make a little hand-made Valentine for Mark! This year's valentine was pretty fun to make and included a poem which MeLissa wrote for Mark. We may post it (as well as previous valentines!) at some point, but for right now, you'll just have to be happy with front and back views of this year's special valentine!

In other news, we tried spelt pasta last night and it was great! We definitely think we'll be eating that again soon. It basically was just like "normal" spaghetti only it doesn't have wheat so MeLissa's not allergic to it! It was a nice change from corn and quinoa pasta which we've been using for a while and which we've found to be slightly annoying because it isn't as "stable" when cooked as typical pasta. It also tends to absorb sauces which can be rather frustrating at times. At any rate, we're pretty pleased to have found an alternative which will allow us to have pasta a little more often!

Wishing you a....

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

Thanks to Lisa for sending me this lovely valentine so I can share it with the world!!

V-Day Surprises

Here's a peak at what a few (very few, unfortunately) lucky close friends and our immediate family members should have found in their mailboxes by now!:

Innocent little wrappings









with Bears and Flowers on the back...









Soon they'll find...









A soothing treat inside the flap!









It's not much, but we did want to send out a little something this Valentine's Day...not saying we'll do it every year, but we know how much we enjoy getting a little surprise in the mail so we figured we would pass that joy onto others even though it isn't Christmas!!

Believe it or not, though, during her college years, despite a rather heavy work load, MeLissa did send out greeting cards for most major "Hallmark" holidays...and even some not-so-Hallmark ones. Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving - they were all an excuse to tell friends and family how much she adored them. It's kind of fun to do it again!

The Cake that Couldn't

MeLissa tried to conquer new territory this weekend in the world of allergy-free baking. Let's just say, she's going to have to make a few more attempts. She tried to make a chocolate cake without eggs and without "normal" flour - a daunting task to be sure!

Despite our past successes in the realm of brownies and cookies, we have been a little skittish about trying a cake. Cakes are a little more "touchy," shall we say, than cookies and brownies. There are lots of little chemistry-like things that have to happen for that favorite birthday confection to turn out in edible form. MeLissa knew this going into her experiement and was not terribly surprised (though, admittedly, she was disappointed) to learn that her fears were well placed.

We took a picture of the "carnage" before we threw it out which we'll share (as usual) later! MeLissa thinks one thing she'll have to modify is the baking time next time around - it looked like it could use another hour or two!

At any rate, it looks like our newest nemesis (since the triangles seem to be, if not vanquished, at least under control), is "The Cake." We'll keep you posted as the story unfolds...

The Recipe Exchange Olympics

Okay so one of MeLissa's favorite bloggers is participating in The Knitting Olympics and that gave her the idea that we should do something for the recipe exchange. So, she devised the following events not only to increase our membership, but to get all of our members to participate! Here's a list of the events our members will be participating in over the next two weeks:

Event 1 - Recipe Groups Aren't Built in a Day - In this event, every member who gets another person to join the group gets a point. The person who gets the most points wins!

Event 2 - Snow Bunny Beverages - In this event, group members will be submitting their all-time favorite hot beverage recipe for Mark and MeLissa to judge.

Event 3 - Olympic Fare - In this event, group members will compete to earn the most points by posting unique recipes. Additional points will be awarded for posting recipes which exclude all of MeLissa's allergy foods (no small feat!).

All of our contests have officially begun and will run through 11:59p.m. Pacific Time on Feburary 26, 2006. If you're one of our friends (blogging buddies count!) and you'd like to get in on the action, click on the purple box on the left and sign up for the group!

Oh, by the way, we should mention that MeLissa plans to devise some sort of award for our Olympic Champions - she just doensn't know what yet so you'll have trust that you efforts will be worthwhile. :) Also, MeLissa is not participating in any of the events to keep things fair so the playing field is level! We hope you'll join us! Once the games are over, we'll post the winners here and in the recipe group!

A Thing of Beauty...

This is a picture of a beautiful, though small, bloom on our hibiscus plant. It has been contemplating whether it would open for a few weeks now and finally decided to share its beauty with the world. A hard decision even for a flower...

We come across so many people who are scared to share their true selves with the world - how unfortunate. This flower looks like no other bloom we've seen from this plant and that makes it all the more beautiful. It is the same with human beings.

There are so many who aspire to be like Britney, Jessica, Ashley...or another superstar athlete, vocalist, etc. Role models are great (though some of the aforementioned celebrities are probably not ideal), but we should approach modeling ourselves after them or anyone else with caution. Can you imagine a world made up entirely of Paris Hiltons? Kind of scary... Thus endeth the philosophical ponderings for today.

V-Day on Tap...

Interesting that a post about Valentine's Day comes after a post about the Death Calculator, don't you think? For our single readers who are gnashing their teeth that V-Day (short for "I think I'm gonna vomit day" in MeLissa's single days) is fast approaching and for those married husbands and wives who are perplexed as to whether they should just go with "tradition" and bring home a dozen roses, a box of chocolates and a cheesy Hallmark card (and we all know that Hallmark is one of the biggest beneficiaries when it comes to this holiday, don't we?), we've found a couple of articles to make February 14 a bit more palatable and to help you get out of the gift giving rut...or at least provide comfort that you're not alone in your sentiments.

The first - "Why I Hate Valentine's Day" pretty much hits the bulls-eye as far as the single (and even some couple) sentiments regarding good ol' Heart Day. There's definitely a few stories that will make staying at home with a pint of Ben and Jerry's sound like the best time in the world! Our favorite part? The one where the girlie says that impromptu surprises are worth way more than roses and chocolates. There's something magical about a sweet little gift for no particular reason.

The second - "The 10 Worst V-Day Gifts" provides some great pointers regarding what not to give. Good information for singles and marrieds alike. MeLissa would just like to add for all the guys out there that Number 3 is definitely something to be followed at all times not just Valentine's Day if you're in a committed relationship but not married! The reaction that a beautiful necklace or pair of earrings should bring will be muted by the disappointment that the hopeful girlie will be feeling if she thought you were about to make a bigger statement!

One thing we think they forgot to mention, though, is giving hand made gifts such as cookies and cards. These are always a big hit with the guys, and show that you like 'em so much you're willing to make time to make something special just for them. That can definitely make a big hit without you having to drop anything more than a lot of cookie dough. Get creative! If you need a little inspiration, have a look at Martha Stewart's site - she has several innovative ideas to wow your sweetie! Finally, remember - there's no rule, guys and gals, that says you can't be your own valentine - make or buy yourself something if you're single. The ultimate payoff? You know whatever you choose, your recipient will love it!

Wishing you all a pleasant Valentine's Day regardless of your relationship status!