<p>alamemom?
? where you from? new in artforum with 3000 plus posts?
How did you know I badmouthed about him?
are you on Wheaty watch?
This is how it works, folks, people are ALWAYS watching.
no worry, there are many Wheaty fans here, so is Raining guru, taxguy, worried_
I am sure he can fends himself.</p>
<p>Hello!</p>
<p>I knew nothing about any badmouthing (and still don’t because I choose to only see sunshine and butterflies wherever I look 
), I came across Wheaty’s name whilst I was looking for something else and popped in to see to what he was up. We miss him desperately over on the USC forum (well, I miss him desperately… the new applicants have not yet mentioned anything…) - he and his mailman made the waiting bearable for the 2010 applicants, and I very much hope he will return to entertain the 2011 bunch.</p>
<p>3000 plus posts? Me? All nonsense, I am sure. I had no idea I had accumulated so many… I should probably step outside and face the real world on occasion!</p>
<p>Hopefully all are welcome on the art forum :)</p>
<p>^wait, so you set your CC thing to whenever someone said “Wheaty” you know about it in any forums any threads?
It is getting weird and weirder…
Hello back!
Totally you are welcome! got art kid, godkid, nephew, niece, neighbor, this is the place!!</p>
<p>hmmm
butterflies and sunshine… got to be CA thing… wait, SF is in CA
say, SoCAL thing? I know of fab CC SoCAL boy I dubbed as a sunflower.
thou he is at Columbia now, that makes me worry…
NYC will get to anyone, it only matter of time…</p>
<p>
Nope, not at all. If I have a “CC thing” to set I am sadly unaware of how I would go about setting it. I did a simple search on an entirely unrelated matter and happened to see Wheaty’s name and remembered how much fun his posts were on the USC forum, so I popped in.
I am from neither. There is a great expanse of California between the two and that is where I am from. There is LOTS of fog here in the winter, so I have to work very hard to see my sunshine and butterflies at times.</p>
<p>My oldest child, however, is a junior at USC and so we do have a Southern California connection, and she is minoring in Cinema/Television. To connect to the subject of this thread (it brings back so many memories of that wonderful/horrible day when we dropped her off so far from home), she was home for a quick visit this summer from her internship and was talking to a friend on the phone. I overheard her say, “I’ll be heading home day after tomorrow…” and it was just the most jarring feeling to realize that *our home *wasn’t *her home *any more - she was talking about Los Angeles. :(</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome!</p>
<p>you should stick around then, there are often USC questions and Wheaty and this funny kid/adult are the only ones about answering them.
matter of fact, my kid’s kindergarten sweetheart will be starting spring admit (why? don’t know) her mom was happy that I knew how big-o-deal their cinema is, which we (doodler, not film nor TV people) don’t know often in the East and if it wasn’t Wheaty ridiculing me of confusing USC with UCs and Calstates, I would have had no idea.
I thank him for that.</p>
<p>Funny that you mention the UC/USC confusion, because that was the unrelated search that brought be accidentally to this fun launch thread! Every year there are a few applicants who, having just spent a month perfecting their applications, show up on the USC forum on November 30th asking how they select “USC” on the “UC” application. I have not found a sufficiently gentle way to tell them they have ONE day to complete an entire application and that the essay prompts are entirely different…</p>
<p>So I try to pop in to threads where the kids ask for “chances” on the UCs and list USC among them to say, “You probably already know this, but USC is not a UC, it is a private university not associated with the UC system…” They almost always get MAD at me for my gentle correction and then ask, “Um, where can I get the USC application…?” I am fine with being the object of their anger if it means they get their applications in on time .</p>
<p>The film kids do not tend to make that error - the portfolios they must submit require so much preparation they are generally VERY well informed by December, but I have managed to gather a great deal of information about financial aid at USC and would be happy to pass what I know on to anyone with questions.</p>
<p>Alamemom, as a former denizen of the big valley, I can well relate to the days upon days of tule fog. Coldest day I almost ever knew was one november day when the chill from the fog sank right through your bones and we had to stand outside to wait for something… ugh. I can weather zero degree temps in NY much better than that fog.</p>
<p>Welcome too! I’m a UC Irvine grad myself, so I remember the confusion with USC vs. the UC schools.</p>
<p>Back to Thanksgiving… It is a big deal for us, since we are foodies in many different ways. D1 loves it all, and insists on the traditional food. D2 is a vegetarian but also loves most of it. I have found that to keep sane, I have everyone make their favorite dish. So, D1 is in charge of mashed potatoes (which I don’t like), D2 is in charge of yams (which I hate), H makes the turkey (hickory smoked - yum), I make regular and vegan stuffing, D3 makes the crescent rolls, and we all make many pies and a few other side dishes. It’s mostly about the pies, it seems!</p>
<p>D1 has a whole week off, D2 is only getting Thursday and Friday from MICA. I have a feeling that she’ll be swamped with work (an almost perpetual state) and will want to go back on Friday. As long as we don’t have to travel, it’s fine with me. We went to Grandma’s one year and D1 nearly burst into tears when there was no mashed potatoes, the turkey was dry, and there was lasagna and thinly sliced zucchini!</p>
<p>On the other hand, one year we traveled to Williamsburg and ate at one of the historic taverns. You have to reserve a month or two in advance and it’s worth it! Great food, and interesting stuff like hot toddies. The weather is usually gorgeous and you can walk around outside with many other people and watch the troops mustering or other Williamsburg-like experiences. No leftovers, though, that is the main drawback.</p>
<p>Fammom - your S’s gruesome little dough people sound hilarious! Halloween is such a great, and funny holiday. I wonder what the Europeans and others think of us and the Mexicans celebrating death in such a way. And eating it, in some sugary form! I live in a neighborhood with lots of immigrants, and some of the kids look completely stunned when you toss a handful of candy in their basket.</p>
<p>Arrggghhh, I miss a few days in CC-land and I’m mentioned but MIA!!! Yikes!</p>
<p>@ Alamemom,
Yep I try to answer USC-Roski questions whenever they pop up. LOVE that school and I recommend it when I can. USC is a quality art education but many East Coasters are unaware of the school’s importance.</p>
<p>USC rolled out the carpet for my oldest daughter, art schollie, a spot in the TMB, athletic tutor package, etc. and I’ll write more about that tomorrow (out of time).
The bottom line is that we both LOVE USC!</p>
<p>@ Bears
Hey, you’re back! Cool! Believe it or not I missed having you here! No, really!
Hope all is well and hope your future posts reflect your true thoughts on art schools.</p>
<p>ahhhhh
tsunami of honey… I am drowning…
see, folks, what did I tell you about sunny california…</p>
<p>they think it is butterflies and sunshine, but it is actually Jerry Brown’s ghost…oh no…still alive! wow talk about blast from the past. Certainly if he can save the public education system he will try. …gosh things are grim in DC…it is cloudy and grey literally…not just in the eyes of Democrats. Welcome back BandD and I am enjoying the cultural clash between NYC and SoCal</p>
<p>fammom said public education? DC?
seen “waiting for superman”?
NJ got the gal, so I hear, should have kept her.
nice to see you
oxoxox</p>
<p>If it’s grey in DC should be blame Vincent Grey, or will he bring back the blue skies?</p>
<p>Rhee decided to leave after Grey won the primary. She was a package deal with the old mayor, Adrian Fenty. I haven’t seen the movie yet, and I’d like to see that one and also “Race to Nowhere” to see the other side of the problem (overstressed overachievers).</p>
<p>I’m just glad that Bob Ehrlich wasn’t the winner in MD’s governor’s race. Ugh.</p>
<p>G
I know there is a thread about the film with giant posts count but I’d learned the lesson to stay away.
I read few pages and I said out loud
“what a f or h***do you know?”
there were same moms from that “denial” thread now acting "supermom"s. grrrrr</p>
<p>sorry off topic</p>
<p>There was a screening of Race to Nowhere at our school a couple of weeks ago. Our school is alternative: go easy on the kids in the early years (doesn’t push early reading, lots of play time) and builds in an age appropriate way (I think) to more homework by high school. </p>
<p>I think the faculty showed the movie to say “look we are the antidote to the rat race”, but it backfired. Afterwards, parents were complaining that even at our school there is too much homework. The teachers ended up having to defend themselves and didn’t come off too well because they were not prepared for the backlash. </p>
<p>I took two things from it:</p>
<p>It never pays to make yourself look good by comparing yourself to how badly others are doing it. If you believe in what you are doing then just do it, don’t defend it.</p>
<p>The movie was fear mongering. It was dedicated to a girl who had committed suicide stemming form academic pressures. It had too much of an agenda to bring blame down which detracted from some of the very good points it was making.</p>
<p>drae - good points! I’m seeing the film next month, at kid’s school, and it will be interesting if it backfires there too.</p>
<p>I had a terrible impression of Rhee from the way she dealt with the union and the press but I have two friends who are a teacher and an administrator in DC. They thought that she accomplished a tremendous amount in a short time and that she doesn’t get enough credit. As a suburbanite who commutes into DC, I guilty seeing how crappy the services are in DC compared to the near suburbs. However, I was over at the Oyster school (bilingual like my kids’ school)–very impressive. </p>
<p>I want to see both of the movies but I suspect that they are too focused on extremes to be particularly useful examples. I do see the pressure at our school to be perfect and do perfectly to go to the perfect college. Obviously, S did not buy into that but I remember he became somewhat tense during early admissions application season when all of his friends were applying to HPYS and he obviously felt a little alarmed t hat maybe he had missed o ut on something…it was a bit contagious…</p>
<p>D has bought into the whole pressure to be perfect thing and it is a constant battle to actually tell her to relax, get a B and you will see the world won’t end. Funny…she is sure she wants to do something more lucrative and secure than art, and has her heart set on Stanford, being a Tri-Delt, followed by Yale Law, yet she is a very good photographer and is the featured artist of the quarter at school!</p>
<p>I, bears and dogs confess here, I am so very biased.
everything about your Penelope Cruz excite me and never bug me no matter how (sort of) braggy it sounds coming out of your mouth.
because you are consistent, rich but cheap, fight for the weak when it wasn’t their fault, get all my jokes, know when I am serious, willing to wade thru murky art world swamp with famkid and I can totally see in my brain famkid’s sis (penelope… lithe gazelle with braces) saw famkid starring video with the nose so I know what he’s like (super cute)
sorry trin, life is not fair, I am so not fair.</p>
<p>fammom on second thought
something tells me you were not in the rat race=just in case haven’t read this
[Amazon.com:</a> The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids: Alexandra Robbins: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Overachievers-Secret-Lives-Driven-Kids/dp/B001Q9E9I8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289132599&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Overachievers-Secret-Lives-Driven-Kids/dp/B001Q9E9I8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289132599&sr=1-1)
it is quick read and any library would have it. better not to show it to kids, thou I got recommended from CC kid (of course)
the “superstar” Julie might be your princess.
I was totally in love with “AP Frank” and his awful mom.
It is based on true story in some DC area high school where the author herself attended.</p>
<p>I think it’s Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. I can’t read things like this too much. I want to act like Cher in Moonstruck – “snap out of it! (smack), snap out of it! (smack again)”. Then again, I feel like that a lot!</p>
<p>There’s also a Bethesda magazine that published an article and cover story about “Top Teens”. You can imagine the attributes and accomplishments… Then a couple of months later one of them was involved in some sort of scandal (something to do with sexting???) and had to drop out of sight completely. He was pretty recognizable since he was the only Top Teen who hadn’t been a senior. Poor kid, no college acceptance in hand yet, and his (first?) scandal. What an accomplishment.</p>