ktd_73

I tried this question before and got so many useless answers I withdrew it after a day or two. Let's try again.

First, after having taught freshman level composition for many years, I know what my audience is. Yes, I fully understand that these students should know all of this stuff before they are allowed to graduate from high school. However, that doesn't address my problem. I have to accept them where they are and go from here.

Also, I don't have many second language students, so I don't need a book that emphasizes dealing with those problems.

My dream book would be fairly short and simple. It would start by defining the parts of speech, then move to basic sentence structure, and then go on to more detailed discussions of grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. In case anyone is familiar with it, for many years I used a book entitled *A Brief Handbook of English* by Hulon Willis (and in later editions, Enno Klammer). It was a 300 page paperback that went for $15-$20.

My problem is that today's texts seem to fall into one of two categories. The first is the incredibly comprehensive hardback that is often 600-700 pages long and often costs more than $50 even in used condition. These books simultaneously overwhelm students with too much information about minutiae they don't need to be concerned with (including lots of ESL info they don't need) while at the same time overlooking obvious information that is desperately needed. For instance, if students look up "subject-verb agreement," they are told "Always make sure that your verbs agree in number with their subjects." A few examples are given, and that's it. If that were all the students needed, they wouldn't have to consult a handbook. They need an explanation as to why you should write "Not only Harry but also his sisters SING in the choir," but "Not only his sisters but also Harry SINGS in the choir." They need to know that indefinite pronouns are singular (and they need to know where else in the book they can find out what an indefinite pronoun is and read a list of at least the most commonly used ones.)

The other kind of textbook that is readily available seems to be a reaction to the first kind. They fit the need of being relatively short and affordable. But most often they take an informal attitude (including way too much lame humor) that seems to encourage the students to not take their study seriously. (I'm not much of a fan of textbooks that include "idiots," "morons," or "dummies" in their titles.) In an attempt to be brief and "user-friendly," the explanations are often incomplete, confusing, and sometimes just plain wrong. Several times I have tried a textbook that I ended up having to have the students correct in class.

With all this in mind, I'm open to suggestions.

Please note carefully what I am asking about. There are at least three new versions of the documentary of Woodstock out this summer. They all begin with the title "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music Director's Cut." Two of them go on to include the word "Ultimate" in a further description. Depending on which "ultimate" version you buy, you get at least three discs (Amazon apparently throws in a fourth), you get extra paraphernalia, such as a copy of the Life Magazine article from the time, copies of tickets, notes supposedly written by concert goers, etc., and it all comes in a fringe leather covering. Most of this I consider garbage I don't need. I'm interested in the documentary, and especially the musical performances. These "ultimate" sets have some extra music, but I'm not sure there's enough to warrant tripling the price.

My problems is as follows. I have the original VHS version, and I have a great VHS player. When the film first came out on DVD (maybe ten years ago?), most reviewers said "don't waste your money." The consensus was that the VHS version was superior in a variety of ways, even though the DVD then was also supposedly a "director's cut."

Now the movies is out in a two disc DVD which is one-third the price of the "ultimate" sets. The problem is that when you go to Amazon (or wherever) to read the reviews, even when you specifically look up the two disc version, almost all the reviews are for the three or four disc "ultimate" versions.

What I want to know is what someone thinks of the TWO DISC set. When it says "newly remastered," does that mean remastered since that last attempt to put it on DVD? (The information on the back indicates that there is some new material copyrighted 2009.) And how does this compare to the VHS version? Is it possible (as I know is the case in some places) that the VHS version is still the best?

PLEASE REMEMBER: I'm interested in a review of the new two-disc version, not any of the more elaborate versions. (I can read all of those I want elsewhere.) I don't mean to seem cheap, but I don't want to waste my money either. Thanks for any informed, thoughtful reviews that include specific comparisons. If you yourself don't have any thoughts on this, are there good sites on the web you would recommend to help with a question like this?

He is holding a little boy with really curly hair through much of it, and the song seems to be aimed at him--at least indirectly. I always thought it was possible that the boy was actually Stewart's son. Secondarily, do you know where I can see this video on the web? Youtube?

Granted, what Imus said was stupid and racist, and he should be penalized for that. But just to take an example from the other side of the political spectrum, every time Ann Coulter gets on television, she spews venom that has no purpose but to inflict pain on those she attacks. Remember her comments on the 9-11 widows and how they are enjoying their celebrity and money? At the end of Hannity and Colmes, Colmes asked her if she really thought that given a choice of having their husbands back or keeping their celebrity and money, did she really think they would really prefer their money and celebrity. "I do," she replied. In her book, she refers to them as harpies who should volunteer to pose for Playboy quickly before their fame runs out. And she openly speculates about how many of them were about to be divorced by their husbands before they were killed. The "liberal" press so many complain about asked her a few questions, but nothing like this Imus explosion.

Forget for a moment whether the issue of whether she was covert or not at the time of the outing. Just focus on the revealing of her identity. And the fact that she was a Republican. And her husband had just written a damaging op-ed piece that had driven Al Gore into a rage.

In other words, put the shoe on the other foot. Be honest. How would the Republicans in Congress have reacted? Would they have said, "No big deal. She wasn't that important. She wasn't covert. Besides, remember freedom of speech. A liberal newspaper columnist has the right to print anything he wants."

Try hard to be serious.

Almost everyone agrees that Warner made a mistake by issuing the first season of Kung Fu in "widescreen." Since it was originally shot as a full screen television show, this effect was accomplished by cutting off the top and the bottom of the picture. This was incredibly absurd, especially since it reinforced the fears of all those who always thought this was happening whenever you bought something in widescreen. In addition, some purchasers complained that a minute or two was missing from most episodes, apparently to accomodate commercials when it was syndicated.

The first problem was so bad that the second and third season box sets prominently say that what you are purchasing is the original, full screen show. What I'm wondering is if anyone has heard whether Warner plans to reissue Season One in a corrected form.

Many people are saying the results of this year's bowl games point more strongly than ever to the need for a playoff system. But almost no one has actually suggested such a system. Some are just saying that BSU ought to get a shot at Florida. But as a BSU fan, I have to admit that I think USC's credentials are stronger, even with two losses. (One of those losses came after they beat three ranked teams in three consecutive weeks. BSU only played one ranked team in the regular season. And I think USC's bowl victory was much more convincing, if not more exciting and unexpected, than BSU's.)

Specifically, how many teams would be in the playoff? How would they be picked? When would the games be played? What would happen to the current bowl games?

For reference, here is a website with the last polls before this year's bowl games started. It's the BCS standings, but it also shows the Harris and USA Today polls.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/polls?poll...

In 1972, Franco Zefirelli, of Romeo and Juliet fame from four year previously, directed a film about the life of Francis of Assissi entitled Brother Sun, Sister Moon. The pop star Donovan wrote and sang a number of songs for that film that I have never heard elsewhere. As far as I know, a soundtrack was never released. I'm curious if anyone knows if they ever turned up on one of his albums. One I distinctly remember includes the words, "Do few things, but do them well. Take your time, go slowly." I'd appreciate any info. Thanks.

I haven't found much on the internet. The best I've done elsewhere is a chapter in Peter Guralnick's book Feel Like Going Home. I'm interested in articles, books, parts of books, websites, whatever. Thanks.

I own the entire DVD collection, but I have limited time to watch it this weekend. I remember some years ago, a cable channel ran a scariest X-Files marathon based on view on-line voting. I would like to recreate that here to help me decide what to watch first.

Please submit the title of the episode if at all possible. Failing that, the season number and/or enough details to be able to figure out which episode it might be. (Try to avoid spoilers that give away the total plot, however.)

Then explain as well as you can why that episode is so frightening. One episode is excluded: "Home." That's my personal favorite so far. It's so creepy that I still get chills every time I hear Johnny Mathis sing "Wonderful" on the radio.

I hope to get a lot of different nominations with good explanations so that lots of people can use these results. And I'll let readers vote for the best answer so I can get even more information.