No Torture for Vietnam POWs Claims Former Jailer

(Left: Former Hoa Lo Prison jailor Tran Trong Duyet is seen in his garden in Hai Phong,Vietnam, Friday, June 27, 2008. Duyet was a jailor when John McCain was held in Hoa Lo Prison as a prisoner during the Vietnamese war.) 

After seeing Kaylee K.'s video Return with Honor in U.S. History last  year, anyone would be disturbed and moved by the descriptions of torture carried out on American prisoners of war.  Yet, one of John McCain's Vietnamese jailers claims no torture took place.  He says he considers John McCain a friend and would vote for him.  I wonder what McCain would say.  Click here to read the article.

John McCain's Thoughts on a Military Draft

One question I get each school year is, "Do you think we'll ever have a draft again?" Republican presidential nominee John McCain has given his opinion in this article.

Guest Blogger

...coming soon!

A Running History

I've updated the look and feel of my running blog. Check it out when you get a chance!

Book Review Brief: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

So I'm flying through my books this summer. I was just telling my wife yesterday that I love that I'm able to read large chunks right now. During the school year, there's so much going on that I read four pages one night and 6 pages two weeks later--not a great way to read a book. You'll notice that the posting right before this is dated yesterday. In other words, I shot through The Road by Cormac McCarthy in about a day and a half. After the debacle of The Emperor's Children, it was nice to read a gripping novel like The Road which was also a relatively short book (230-ish).

Wow, this book was really engaging and takes you on this journey that feels more than the length of its pages. It's basically about a father and son who are on this journey to the sea through a land that has been ravaged by, perhaps, nuclear war or something apocalyptic. All they have is each other, literally. The ending is so very touching. As you know, I am working as one of the summer school librarians this summer (GREAT gig, btw) so I finished it while I was in the library this morning. I had to suck back the tears a few times during the final few pages.

This book happens to be an Oprah's Book Club selection. Interesting note here: the image I pasted above is of the version of the cover before it was named an Oprah Book Club selection. Note that the gold seal says "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize" (2007) which amounts to basically the highest award in the literary world. More recent editions of the cover have replaced the Pulitzer Prize seal with a seal that says "Oprah's Book Club". Crazy, isn't it? I guess Oprah has more influence than the Pulitzer Prize board.
Anyway...I don't know about you, but after I watch a DVD, I love to then watch the special features to see the "making-of" stuff and the back-story for the film. One advantage of being an Oprah selection is that there is a ton of extra stuff that one can take a look at after reading one of her selections (you have to open an account with the Oprah website, but there's no fee). As a result, there's an interview with the author, his first ever television interview. There are also discussion questions and articles about the book's themes.

I really enjoyed the book though it was at times a bit gruesome (though not very detailed in those portions). In the end, it's a book about faithfulness, love, and courage--things that our world could use a bit more of.

Book Review Brief: The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

Just finished this 430-page puppy last night. In a word, it was LAME. I bought it because it was a New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year. I don't think I'll ever trust that list again. The only part I liked was the fact that it had some terrific diction. Not only did I not know what some words meant, I had never even seen some of those words in my life! Amanuensis? Suppurative? There were probably at least 25 words that were completely foreign to me.

HOWEVER, the author was so incredibly long-winded when giving her descriptions of things. I appreciate an intricately described scene or person or thing, but come on. There were some sentences that were the length of entire paragraphs. And the story...THE STORY! Terribly unsatisfying. At the end of 430 pages (small type, tightly spaced, btw) I would hope that the ending would provide some sort of payoff. This wasn't even close.

I'm glad I got through it, but bummed that it really wasn't a great book. This review by a reader at Amazon.com sums up some of the things I too disliked about the book.

I'm on to Cormac McCarthy's The Road now. It's already more engaging than The Emperor's Children. It happens to be an Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection, but that's not why I chose it. I chose it because it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007. Here's a list of other prize-winning books (Pulitzer and otherwise) if you're interested.

Book Review Brief: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

(Above: Randy Pausch with his three children.)

I finished The Last Lecture a couple of weeks ago and I was really moved by it. As a father of four children, I appreciated his thoughtful reflections on life that he lays out for his children to appreciate. It definitely made me think about how I want my own kids to think of me. What kind of person do they think I am? If I died today, what would they remember of their old man? It pushes me on to be a better person.

Another aspect that I liked was that he gives some pretty common sense advice that has been lost, particularly on many from your generation (high schoolers). I see some kids that come through my classes that are respectful, thankful, kind. I see others who think the sun rises and sets at their command. Some students are irresponsible, unthankful, dishonest and their parents support and enable those disgusting attitudes. I experienced this first-hand recently when meeting with a parent and student. Pausch reminds us that being kind and compassionate, thankful and responsible will make life more enjoyable, more meaningful, and make our relationships more stable and powerful.

He talks about how he has worked to fulfill his dreams in some form or another. He also talks about helping other fulfill their dreams and how satisfying that is. That's something I'd love my students to grasp as well: when you've been blessed, don't just hold on to that, pass on your blessing to someone else.

The book was an easy read. I got through the entire thing in about 3 hours or so. It reads like a conversation and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. Inspiring.

Book Club Update

See comments HERE for an update of the book club. Review of The Last Lecture will be upcoming on this blog.

1st Summer Reading Club Session

Ok, so after much shifting, we're going to go for Friday, June 13 (Friday the 13th!) at 7:00pm at Starbucks on Shaw and Armstrong.  Again, we're going to be covering the first 100 pages, so it would be great if you could get that far ahead of time.  Even if  you haven't gotten to 100, come on out and join us.  Not sure what the seating situation will be like so we'll just have to see how many people show.  Also, we'll end no later than 8:00.  Hope to see you there.

If you have a question, comment on this posting and it will be sent to my email, then I'll respond in a comment.

Summer Reading Time TBA

Bumped this posting to the top--very important if you plan to join the reading club this week!  Please read this post!  Also, we'll meet at the Starbucks at Shaw and Armstrong (Save Mart shopping center).  

Ok everyone, still not sure of the time for our first summer reading club get-together. Turns out that my wife has a baby shower for a friend on Thursday night (the 12th) so we might have to move the time around a bit. Keep tuned to the blog for more info or you can email me at cameronfong@cusd.com. I know that several of you have gotten the book already and have started in and some have mentioned to me that it is already really powerful. 

By the way, let's plan to be through page 100 by the first meeting so that we have a good chunk to discuss. 100 might sound like a lot, but the book is small if you've seen it (so the pages aren't long) and it is a "quick read" meaning that he writes in a very conversational style that is easy to get through--no technical stuff that you have to slow down to understand.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the time.

History: D-Day Remembered

Today is the 64th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. It's appropriate that it comes on the heels of Memorial Day as so many American soldiers paid the last full measure of devotion that day by giving their lives. A great article here published today from the Associated Press about the anniversary. Here's to those who sacrificed for the United States.

Great Year

Just wanted to say thanks to you, my students, for a great year. I really enjoyed the vast majority of my students. Many of you worked really hard and can be proud of your efforts. Each class had its own personality and many of them were a joy to teach. Special props go out to my period 3 class who was a lot of fun for me to be around each day. There were some really personable, responsible students in there that were refreshing.

I wish all of my students the best this summer and in life. Like I said in class, I didn't get into the teaching profession to teach a class for a year and never see you again. Please come back and visit next year, keep me updated, and keep in touch. For you sophomores out there, I do have one period of U.S. History next year so the nightmare with Mr. Fong may continue!

Summer Reading Club Time TBA

Ok everyone, still not sure of the time for our first summer reading club get-together. Turns out that my wife has a baby shower for a friend on Thursday night (the 12th) so we might have to move the time around a bit. Keep tuned to the blog for more info or you can email me at cameronfong@cusd.com. I know that several of you have gotten the book already and have started in and some have mentioned to me that it is already really powerful.

By the way, let's plan to be through page 100 by the first meeting so that we have a good chunk to discuss. 100 might sound like a lot, but the book is small if you've seen it (so the pages aren't long) and it is a "quick read" meaning that he writes in a very conversational style that is easy to get through--no technical stuff that you have to slow down to understand.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the time.

Apologies to 4th & 6th

I hate being absent from class, but I especially hate missing final exams. I had flu symptoms yesterday and was miserable during 3rd and 5th finals so I stayed home today and had to miss 4th and 6th. I hope you guys did a great job without me. Sorry I had to miss the last day. Have a terrific summer and be sure to visit in the fall; you know where to find me.

And don't forget, our summer reading club begins on THURSDAY, JUNE 12 @ 7:00pm.

Our First Summer Reading Get-Together!

The Last Lecture has shipped! I ordered it from Amazon.com on Saturday and I received an email today saying the shipment has left Sparks, Nevada and is on its way. Along with it are The Stories of John Cheever and my wife's summer reading book, Respectable Sins which she's going to be reading with some girlfriends. From one of Amazon's vendors, I've also ordered The Emperor's Children which I stumbled across and has gotten great reviews. It'll hopefully be one of my mindless reading books.

By the way, this is an example of some of the great bargains that are available on Amazon. I ordered the hardcover (almost 500 pages), which retails for $25. One of Amazon's vendors though was selling it, brand new, for $0.98! Shipping was $3.99 but all told, it was less than 5 bucks. Reading doesn't have to be an expensive hobby.

I've nailed down the date of our first summer reading get-together and it's going to be on Thursday, June 12th at 1:30 pm. I'm trying to find the best location for everyone so I'll talk to you about it in class. Looking forward to it!
TIME CHANGE: 7:00pm on Thursday June 12th!