no, i haven't been drinking. but i wonder if my day was as the title suggests. i've been trying to be conscious of taking a sabbath every week - one day when i set aside any responsibilities and rest. so though i have a ton of grading to do, i decided to not do any of it. i wonder if that's more attributable to my laziness or my wanting to follow God's commands. perhaps a bit of both. it wasn't a completely wasted day - i spent a good deal of time getting my computer in shape, including finally deleting all the mp3s off my hard drive that are now on my portable drive. did a disk cleanup and a defrag. went out tonight, grabbed some dinner, picked up my redken water wax and looked for a car mount for my ipod. no such luck. the only one i found included a car charger, which, while nice, is not something i think i will need, especially at $53 dollars. so i'll wait. i also watched beauty and the beast tonight, something i probably should have done before rehearsals started. it's my favorite of the modern disney movies, with good reason.
and now i need to be heading to bed. gathering in the morning. meeting afterwards. rehearsal in the afternoon. and then time to grade. i don't think it will be too bad, but i have been wrong before. i'm sure my students are going crazy waiting for their grades. ok, so maybe only a couple. i just want to get it done so i can stop worrying about it.
i always think i'll have more to share when i come here, some deep thoughts of some sort or some clever observations on the world we live in and life in general. but then i get here and it turns out to be just the highlights of a mediocre day. of course, when you do little to nothing, it shouldn't be surprising that your writing isn't so exciting.
i need to take another class so i can write some more poetry. sad that it takes a deadline for the poetry inside me to come out.
off to bed.
Æ
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Now playing: Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth
via FoxyTunes
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
it's the thought that counts
tonight one of the drama students, robyn, was presenting her capstone final - a production she directed starring some other students i have had. though it meant another 50-60 minutes in the car, i figured it would be a good way to show support and a good way to spend the evening. so i left around six, drove up to moe's, enjoyed dinner and then headed to the play - only to discover the show started at 7:00, not 7:30 like i thought. so it was over and done by the time i walked in late. felt bad i had missed it. but hey, at least i didn't spend friday night alone in my house, right?
first day of classes went well, even with the abbreviated prep time. not a lot of returning students this trimester. huge classes again, which always seems to happen third tri. so glad there are no major papers this tri - grading 120 papers is a bit overwhelming. speaking of which, guess what i'm doing this weekend. that's right, yet another pile of essays and research papers. i have until wednesday to post grades, but need to get these done so those students who failed can start saving up money for summer school. joy.
not sure if anyone out there is a connoisseur of frozen pizza, but if you've never tried jack's frozen pizzas, do not, under any circumstances. sauce is too sweet, not enough veggies on the supreme and like television during the summertime, it just kept on repeating. bleah. little sleep yet once more. had to break my lenten promise of no carbonated beverages to try and settle my stomach. that and sucking on a peppermint eventually helped, but miserable until then. as if i needed more proof that i'm getting old.
finally got online and figured out where i am registered to vote so i can do so on tuesday. not sure why it always comes down to ohio, but i guess it's better than feeling your vote is meaningless. would love to believe it will all come to an end tuesday, but somehow i see this stretching out for months more, even if obama wins texas or ohio. i wish i could believe hillary would step aside gracefully, but i don't think it's part of her personality.
started reading laughing gas by p.g. wodehouse, a book sarah loaned me last year at her wedding. enjoying it immensely. not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to it. when douglas adams declares someone the funniest writer, i should have listened. clever and vedy vedy british. not sure i'd say he's funnier than mr. adams, but definitely an enjoyable read.
ok, time to try and sleep again. feel like it might actually happen this weekend, unlike last friday when i was up until 5am. someday i'll fall into a normal sleep pattern. i hope.
Æ
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Now playing: Rufus Wainwright - Across The Universe
via FoxyTunes
first day of classes went well, even with the abbreviated prep time. not a lot of returning students this trimester. huge classes again, which always seems to happen third tri. so glad there are no major papers this tri - grading 120 papers is a bit overwhelming. speaking of which, guess what i'm doing this weekend. that's right, yet another pile of essays and research papers. i have until wednesday to post grades, but need to get these done so those students who failed can start saving up money for summer school. joy.
not sure if anyone out there is a connoisseur of frozen pizza, but if you've never tried jack's frozen pizzas, do not, under any circumstances. sauce is too sweet, not enough veggies on the supreme and like television during the summertime, it just kept on repeating. bleah. little sleep yet once more. had to break my lenten promise of no carbonated beverages to try and settle my stomach. that and sucking on a peppermint eventually helped, but miserable until then. as if i needed more proof that i'm getting old.
finally got online and figured out where i am registered to vote so i can do so on tuesday. not sure why it always comes down to ohio, but i guess it's better than feeling your vote is meaningless. would love to believe it will all come to an end tuesday, but somehow i see this stretching out for months more, even if obama wins texas or ohio. i wish i could believe hillary would step aside gracefully, but i don't think it's part of her personality.
started reading laughing gas by p.g. wodehouse, a book sarah loaned me last year at her wedding. enjoying it immensely. not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to it. when douglas adams declares someone the funniest writer, i should have listened. clever and vedy vedy british. not sure i'd say he's funnier than mr. adams, but definitely an enjoyable read.
ok, time to try and sleep again. feel like it might actually happen this weekend, unlike last friday when i was up until 5am. someday i'll fall into a normal sleep pattern. i hope.
Æ
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Now playing: Rufus Wainwright - Across The Universe
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, February 28, 2008
one thing without stain unspotted from the world
i believe we do not so much choose our passions as they choose us. something about them strikes a chord in our being, ringing through the years, until we cannot tell their booming tone from our own heartbeat. for some it's a hobby. for some it's a sports team. for some it's a religion.
for me, it's cyrano de bergerac.
where i first read the story is lost in the peeling facade of my history. i assume it came through an english class but what year i could not say. junior high? high school? all i know is at some point i was introduced to this tragic hero, cyrano-savinien-hercule de bergerac and ever since i've found myself shaped by this piece of beautiful fiction, so much more true than reality at times.
tonight i watched the jose ferrer version for the first time on the big screen. strangely enough, it was part of showcase cinema's "heartthrob thursdays." it certainly is a romantic story, but not like most of the other choices, like charade or when harry met sally. which probably explains why i was was one of two people in the entire theater. should have known when the theater didn't even know what movie i was talking about that it wouldn't be well attended.
as i sat there in the dark, watching these lines that have been woven into the very fibre of my being come to life, i realized how often some of these lines come up in my thoughts.
the strangest moment of the night came after the movie had ended and the lights came up. as i turned around to put my coat on, i glanced up and looked for the first time at the other member in the audience. there, four rows from the top, was an older gentleman, looking very much the literature professor type. and before he slipped his coat on, i noticed something: we were wearing similar shirts. and i had a strange, sci-fi moment, where i wondered if perhaps i was looking at myself from the future, doing much of what i do now - sneaking off to catch my favorite movie alone. a little eerie. a little scary. a little thought-provoking.
Æ
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Now playing: U2 - I Fall Down
via FoxyTunes
for me, it's cyrano de bergerac.
where i first read the story is lost in the peeling facade of my history. i assume it came through an english class but what year i could not say. junior high? high school? all i know is at some point i was introduced to this tragic hero, cyrano-savinien-hercule de bergerac and ever since i've found myself shaped by this piece of beautiful fiction, so much more true than reality at times.
tonight i watched the jose ferrer version for the first time on the big screen. strangely enough, it was part of showcase cinema's "heartthrob thursdays." it certainly is a romantic story, but not like most of the other choices, like charade or when harry met sally. which probably explains why i was was one of two people in the entire theater. should have known when the theater didn't even know what movie i was talking about that it wouldn't be well attended.
as i sat there in the dark, watching these lines that have been woven into the very fibre of my being come to life, i realized how often some of these lines come up in my thoughts.
"i carry my adornments on my soul"and so many more. i cannot tell if i love this play because of who i am or if what i am is because i love this play. i wonder if i had read the play at a different time in my life - perhaps after i had become a little more cynical - if it would still hold the same resonance it does. there are perfect moments when you are exactly who you need to be to connect with something. that definitely happened with me and rostand's play.
"what a fool - but what a gesture"
"to make myself in all things admirable"
"i seemed to see over some flower a great snail crawling"
"my old friend - look at me and tell me how much hopes remains for me"
"she might laugh at me; and that is the one thing in this world i fear"
"BRING ME GIANTS"
"oh...i have done better since"
"to sing, to laugh, to dream"
"never to make a line i have not heard in my own heart"
"those pretty nothings that are everything"
"lady, o read my letter with your lips"
"night making all things dimly beautiful"
"what am i, what is any man, that he dare ask for you?"
"there comes one moment, once"
"love, i love beyond breath, beyond reason, beyond love's own power of loving"
"a secret whispered to listening lips apart"
"a moment made immortal"
"somehow that news fails to disquiet me"
"it is a little thing to die, but - not to see her, that is terrible"
" i did not wait for you to say i might"
"i have missed everything, even my death"
"i have had one friend not quite all a friend"
"ah you too vanity! i knew you would overthrow me in the end"
and of course...
"my white plume"
the strangest moment of the night came after the movie had ended and the lights came up. as i turned around to put my coat on, i glanced up and looked for the first time at the other member in the audience. there, four rows from the top, was an older gentleman, looking very much the literature professor type. and before he slipped his coat on, i noticed something: we were wearing similar shirts. and i had a strange, sci-fi moment, where i wondered if perhaps i was looking at myself from the future, doing much of what i do now - sneaking off to catch my favorite movie alone. a little eerie. a little scary. a little thought-provoking.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: U2 - I Fall Down
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
unexpected package
when i returned home from school yesterday, i found a door hanger saying that i had missed a package from fed ex. this struck me as odd since i hadn't ordered anything. so i got online and looked up the door hanger code, which told me the package originated in memphis. this only deepened the mystery as i know no one in memphis and had no idea what it could be. i toyed with driving to the warehouse to pick it up but figured since i didn't know what it was i could wait one more day. so i signed the form and left it on the door so they would leave it for me this time.
when i got home today, i found a medium-sized box on my porch. i shook it and could hear something moving around inside. intrigued i ran my key along the seal and opened it up. inside was...a phone. from verizon. one of those fancy ones with a camera on one side and then a screen that opens up to a mini-keyboard. only, there was no battery with it. nothing i could actually use. not that i would have any way since, well, it's obviously not mine. looks like i'll be making a call to verizon to figure out what i should do with it. i'm guessing someone somewhere in cincinnati is not happy right now.
another long day. early rise to make sure my exams were ready for today. finally knocked out the persuasive essays. talked with christina about the start of the trimester friday. went to an inane meeting about proctoring the ogt where we were reminded once again that we could lose our job and/or our license if we screw it up. no pressure. then off to the academic team coaches' meeting. ray missed getting on first team all-conference by one point. but both he and ahmed made second team, so i guess that's something. mark and i had hoped we would resolve the challenging questions issue, but basically everyone decided to go by "home court advantage," meaning, each school could choose to do what they want. we're going to always go by the book as i think the majority of schools will. but i'm not convinced that will be true everywhere. as the sycamore coach pointed out, once you open it up to questioning, then you're going to have to be googling everything. not a good idea. anyway, i finally made it home around 5:15 - just enough time to watch the daily show before i headed out to grab a bite to eat on my way to another dance rehearsal. turned out the director didn't care for the choreography we worked three hours on monday night, so we had to mix it up a bit. wasn't too bad, except he came back in and wasn't completely happy with the changes. ah well. at least we're having a good time doing it.
today in my continuing quest to avoid being productive, i stopped by andy' s room and talk turned to politics. he said he could never vote for a democrat because of their stand on abortion and gay marriage. he then asked how i as a christian could justify voting for a democrat knowing their stand on these issues. i tried to articulate what i was thinking, but i don't think i did a good job. and i'm still not sure i could articulate it (which is one of the reasons i hate discussing politics - i always end up feeling like an idiot). when it comes to the presidency, i don't see them having much say in issues like that. not like anything changed under clinton in those areas. but then i look at the precedent set by the current administration and i fear the executive branch can now pretty much do whatever it wants, congress and judiciary be damned. so maybe those are valid concerns - if you think those are important issues in our society. me, i guess i have different priorities.
ok, it's almost midnight and i have to be sure to get up on time tomorrow so i can drive rachel to work - her car's been on the fritz all week. will probably try to at least get my classes loaded into my gradebook before sleep - one less thing i have to finish before friday that way. here's hoping sleep comes soon, though it doesn't feel like it right now...
Æ
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Now playing: Billy Squier - All Night Long
via FoxyTunes
when i got home today, i found a medium-sized box on my porch. i shook it and could hear something moving around inside. intrigued i ran my key along the seal and opened it up. inside was...a phone. from verizon. one of those fancy ones with a camera on one side and then a screen that opens up to a mini-keyboard. only, there was no battery with it. nothing i could actually use. not that i would have any way since, well, it's obviously not mine. looks like i'll be making a call to verizon to figure out what i should do with it. i'm guessing someone somewhere in cincinnati is not happy right now.
another long day. early rise to make sure my exams were ready for today. finally knocked out the persuasive essays. talked with christina about the start of the trimester friday. went to an inane meeting about proctoring the ogt where we were reminded once again that we could lose our job and/or our license if we screw it up. no pressure. then off to the academic team coaches' meeting. ray missed getting on first team all-conference by one point. but both he and ahmed made second team, so i guess that's something. mark and i had hoped we would resolve the challenging questions issue, but basically everyone decided to go by "home court advantage," meaning, each school could choose to do what they want. we're going to always go by the book as i think the majority of schools will. but i'm not convinced that will be true everywhere. as the sycamore coach pointed out, once you open it up to questioning, then you're going to have to be googling everything. not a good idea. anyway, i finally made it home around 5:15 - just enough time to watch the daily show before i headed out to grab a bite to eat on my way to another dance rehearsal. turned out the director didn't care for the choreography we worked three hours on monday night, so we had to mix it up a bit. wasn't too bad, except he came back in and wasn't completely happy with the changes. ah well. at least we're having a good time doing it.
today in my continuing quest to avoid being productive, i stopped by andy' s room and talk turned to politics. he said he could never vote for a democrat because of their stand on abortion and gay marriage. he then asked how i as a christian could justify voting for a democrat knowing their stand on these issues. i tried to articulate what i was thinking, but i don't think i did a good job. and i'm still not sure i could articulate it (which is one of the reasons i hate discussing politics - i always end up feeling like an idiot). when it comes to the presidency, i don't see them having much say in issues like that. not like anything changed under clinton in those areas. but then i look at the precedent set by the current administration and i fear the executive branch can now pretty much do whatever it wants, congress and judiciary be damned. so maybe those are valid concerns - if you think those are important issues in our society. me, i guess i have different priorities.
ok, it's almost midnight and i have to be sure to get up on time tomorrow so i can drive rachel to work - her car's been on the fritz all week. will probably try to at least get my classes loaded into my gradebook before sleep - one less thing i have to finish before friday that way. here's hoping sleep comes soon, though it doesn't feel like it right now...
Æ
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Now playing: Billy Squier - All Night Long
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
i'm the baker
found out tonight. at least that's what i am in the opening "bonjour" number. others will be coming, i think. who knows. i get to be uninterested in belle's reading. fun.
been a bit absent this week. final week of the tri - two days of classes, two days of exams and then we start the new trimester on friday. usually we get a teacher work day, but no such luck this time because of the ohio student government convention being held at mason in april. we exchanged the day for one in april. when we don't need it. ah well. all that to say, my time has been severely crunched. between school and rehearsal, haven't had much time for sitting in front of the computer typing my thoughts out. and i'm afraid it's only going to get worse.
cannot stay long, but wanted to let you, my faithful readers, know that i haven't forgotten my lenten promise to write here. will share my initial thoughts on being in BatB soon. suffice it to say, i am enjoying myself immensely. lots of singing, lots of dancing, lots of new people to get to know.
must sleep so i can be awake enough to grade tomorrow morning first thing. so much to do, so little, little time.
Æ
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Now playing: Phil Collins - Take Me Home
via FoxyTunes
been a bit absent this week. final week of the tri - two days of classes, two days of exams and then we start the new trimester on friday. usually we get a teacher work day, but no such luck this time because of the ohio student government convention being held at mason in april. we exchanged the day for one in april. when we don't need it. ah well. all that to say, my time has been severely crunched. between school and rehearsal, haven't had much time for sitting in front of the computer typing my thoughts out. and i'm afraid it's only going to get worse.
cannot stay long, but wanted to let you, my faithful readers, know that i haven't forgotten my lenten promise to write here. will share my initial thoughts on being in BatB soon. suffice it to say, i am enjoying myself immensely. lots of singing, lots of dancing, lots of new people to get to know.
must sleep so i can be awake enough to grade tomorrow morning first thing. so much to do, so little, little time.
Æ
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Now playing: Phil Collins - Take Me Home
via FoxyTunes
Monday, February 25, 2008
oscar recap
so since i cannot seem to fall asleep again, i figured i'd jot down some initial impressions of tonight's oscars. i watched them at gina's. this, her 38th annual oscar party, was probably the most laid back, mostly because a month ago no one knew if they were happening or not. spent the evening with her and the havens and angela. good times.
thoughts....
this morning ended my run with the house of blue leaves. going to miss being with those people. such a great group to work with. strike was a bit sparse, which is why i prefer to do it right after the show - you don't lose nearly as many people. no time for post-production blues, though - beauty and the beast rehearsals started this afternoon. in fact, i drove right from strike to rehearsal. fun. found out they've already sold 60% of the run already. before we started rehearsals. wow. i'll post ticket info here soon as well as a way to avoid the nearly $5 in service charges. cast looks to be fun - i look forward to getting to know them over the coming weeks. dance rehearsal starts tomorrow. here's hoping i don't pull something. still no idea what "role" i'll be playing other than ensemble. hopefully that will become clear soon.
enough lollygagging here. pray sleep comes to me soon.
Æ
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Now playing: Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
via FoxyTunes
thoughts....
- jon stewart rocked again as the host. i hope people are kinder to him this time than they were last time. my favorite moment: after the orchestra ushered off marketa before she could give her speech, jon brought her back out and let her speak. class.
- so glad "falling slowly" won. amazing. i wasn't impressed with the full orchestra version they did at the show - if that's your only exposure to the song, get thee to your favorite video store and rent once. the version in the movie beats the oscar version (and the soundtrack version) hands down. so happy for both of them.
- impressed by the number of non-american winners. at least it seemed that way. loved javier's words to his mother. great moment.
- the bit on failed montages was hysterious! seriously brilliant.
- made it to see there will be blood saturday afternoon. and i decided why i was so disappointed with the best picture nominees this year: lack of hope. other than juno, all of the best pictures were hopeless films. i suppose if movies are a reflection of our culture, then our culture is feeling rather hopeless right now. given the state of everything, it's not surprising. but i get enough hopeless with every day life - i don't need movies to remind me of it. i want them to give me something more. it's why once was my favorite film of the year and why i cannot rejoice of no country winning.
this morning ended my run with the house of blue leaves. going to miss being with those people. such a great group to work with. strike was a bit sparse, which is why i prefer to do it right after the show - you don't lose nearly as many people. no time for post-production blues, though - beauty and the beast rehearsals started this afternoon. in fact, i drove right from strike to rehearsal. fun. found out they've already sold 60% of the run already. before we started rehearsals. wow. i'll post ticket info here soon as well as a way to avoid the nearly $5 in service charges. cast looks to be fun - i look forward to getting to know them over the coming weeks. dance rehearsal starts tomorrow. here's hoping i don't pull something. still no idea what "role" i'll be playing other than ensemble. hopefully that will become clear soon.
enough lollygagging here. pray sleep comes to me soon.
Æ
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Now playing: Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
via FoxyTunes
Saturday, February 23, 2008
is this why i'm still awake?
so i just realized i didn't write on friday, but since i still haven't gone to bed yet, i think i should be allowed to count it. i have no idea why i am still up. i'm just not tired. at all. decided i should try to go to bed, but then realized i'll probably just lie there, unable to fall asleep. and i hate that.
the penultimate show went well tonight. only one more to go. hard to believe it's almost over. of course, when you put together a show in five weeks, i suppose it will seem to fly by. going to miss seeing everyone. the show was a lot more fun than i thought it might be. wish i had invited more people to see it. i know a couple of people came, but no one stayed around after it was over. hmmm. wonder if that should tell me something about the play...or my performance...
the sophomore research papers are graded. of course the seniors won't turn theirs in until monday with all the snow days - and i'm sure a few of them will think they're not due until tuesday because of the snow. i wish i had told them monday was the final deadline no matter what the weather held. ah well. will give them the option of comments or just a grade. worked remarkably well last trimester.
of course, i left all the persuasive essays at school, which means i have to drive all the way to mason to pick them up so i can get them into the gradebook on sunday. must have reminded myself over a dozen times to pick them up thursday. that sound you hear is me thwacking myself in the head. am thinking i might stop by the mason showcase to see there will be blood. seems only fair to see all the best picture nominees before making my choice.
still no idea why i'm still awake. and not feeling any closer to nodding off. maybe i'll go watch the house episode that taped tonight. better than lying in the dark praying for sleep.
ok, better go give this sleep thing a shot. night.
Æ
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Now playing: Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen
via FoxyTunes
the penultimate show went well tonight. only one more to go. hard to believe it's almost over. of course, when you put together a show in five weeks, i suppose it will seem to fly by. going to miss seeing everyone. the show was a lot more fun than i thought it might be. wish i had invited more people to see it. i know a couple of people came, but no one stayed around after it was over. hmmm. wonder if that should tell me something about the play...or my performance...
the sophomore research papers are graded. of course the seniors won't turn theirs in until monday with all the snow days - and i'm sure a few of them will think they're not due until tuesday because of the snow. i wish i had told them monday was the final deadline no matter what the weather held. ah well. will give them the option of comments or just a grade. worked remarkably well last trimester.
of course, i left all the persuasive essays at school, which means i have to drive all the way to mason to pick them up so i can get them into the gradebook on sunday. must have reminded myself over a dozen times to pick them up thursday. that sound you hear is me thwacking myself in the head. am thinking i might stop by the mason showcase to see there will be blood. seems only fair to see all the best picture nominees before making my choice.
still no idea why i'm still awake. and not feeling any closer to nodding off. maybe i'll go watch the house episode that taped tonight. better than lying in the dark praying for sleep.
ok, better go give this sleep thing a shot. night.
Æ
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Now playing: Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, February 21, 2008
the agony and ecstasy of living in cincy
two hours. it took me two hours to drive from mason to home. i left at 4:30 after i allowed film club to talk me into staying after school, even though every other activity had been canceled; even the media center closed early. things were fine until i hit just north of fields ertel, when everything came to a stop. literally. for the next hour and a half, we didn't break the 10 mph mark. miserable. the combination of weather with everyone letting their workers out early caused the slowest traffic i've been in for quite a while. i despise cincinnati drivers on good days. on days like today, i downright loathe them. i was so done by the time i pulled into wendy's for some supper. and then they were out of the beverage i wanted (i gave up carbonated beverages as part of my lenten fast). grrrrrrr. but i eventually made it home and got to relax a bit since our line rehearsal was canceled because of the weather.
and then, just before i was heading to prayers, i got the call - no school tomorrow. nothing better than knowing the night before that you don't have to get up early in the morning. completely screws my end of the trimester plans, but hey, i think i can live with it.
everyone see the eclipse last night? quite fun to walk the neighborhood and see groups of people staring at the sky. so strange to think about what it must have been like for people before we knew what it was. the moon slowly disappears, then turns red. no wonder they told tales of monsters.
had a great conversation tonight with my friend candice. she never fails to lift my spirits and help me be more aware of God. He truly is around us all the time, if only we would open our eyes to see.
deeper thoughts will have to wait until later. right now i need to take advantage of my ability to sleep past 7 tomorrow. nothing like a two day work week, though there will be plenty of school stuff to keep me busy tomorrow. but i'll be sure to sneak in here some time.
Æ
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Now playing: Drive-By Truckers - Let There Be Rock
via FoxyTunes
and then, just before i was heading to prayers, i got the call - no school tomorrow. nothing better than knowing the night before that you don't have to get up early in the morning. completely screws my end of the trimester plans, but hey, i think i can live with it.
everyone see the eclipse last night? quite fun to walk the neighborhood and see groups of people staring at the sky. so strange to think about what it must have been like for people before we knew what it was. the moon slowly disappears, then turns red. no wonder they told tales of monsters.
had a great conversation tonight with my friend candice. she never fails to lift my spirits and help me be more aware of God. He truly is around us all the time, if only we would open our eyes to see.
deeper thoughts will have to wait until later. right now i need to take advantage of my ability to sleep past 7 tomorrow. nothing like a two day work week, though there will be plenty of school stuff to keep me busy tomorrow. but i'll be sure to sneak in here some time.
Æ
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Now playing: Drive-By Truckers - Let There Be Rock
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
God smiled on me
i was up late last night, finishing off the OGT literary term activity i wanted to do - it always takes me longer than i anticipate, mostly because i enjoy putting stuff like this together. it's a sickness, i know. anyway, when the alarm went off four hours after i went to bed, i could not find the energy to pull myself out of bed. so i let the snooze go off. and off. and off. then, three minutes before the last snooze would ring, my phone rang. snow day said the screen on my phone. two hour delay. sweet. so i reset my alarm for 6:45 and went to get more sleep (which unfortunately didn't come easily, but lying in bed was enough).
when the alarm rang again, i jumped up, grabbed my shower and waited for 7:20 to roll around so i could get in my car and drive to morning prayers. i pulled on my coat, grabbed my bookbags and headed to the car. as i opened the garage door, my phone rang. snow day calling. we were canceled. i laughed all the way up the stairs and out the door to walk to prayers. so much for the weather reports that said little accumulation. the second call actually said the roads were getting worse in mason. glad i don't have to go anywhere. of course, it will throw my lesson plans out of whack, but i already have ideas on how to adapt them to work. will make my seniors happy since their research papers will now be due on monday instead of friday.
i wish i didn't have to wait for snow days to start my day with communal morning prayer. really starts the day well.
of course, being home will make fasting a little trickier. as i found out this weekend, grading is not enough to keep my mind off my hunger. but perhaps it will give me impetus to finish. that's the hope, anyway.
more later, perhaps. need to go do my snow day dance of celebration.
Æ
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Now playing: U2 - What's Going On
via FoxyTunes
when the alarm rang again, i jumped up, grabbed my shower and waited for 7:20 to roll around so i could get in my car and drive to morning prayers. i pulled on my coat, grabbed my bookbags and headed to the car. as i opened the garage door, my phone rang. snow day calling. we were canceled. i laughed all the way up the stairs and out the door to walk to prayers. so much for the weather reports that said little accumulation. the second call actually said the roads were getting worse in mason. glad i don't have to go anywhere. of course, it will throw my lesson plans out of whack, but i already have ideas on how to adapt them to work. will make my seniors happy since their research papers will now be due on monday instead of friday.
i wish i didn't have to wait for snow days to start my day with communal morning prayer. really starts the day well.
of course, being home will make fasting a little trickier. as i found out this weekend, grading is not enough to keep my mind off my hunger. but perhaps it will give me impetus to finish. that's the hope, anyway.
more later, perhaps. need to go do my snow day dance of celebration.
Æ
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Now playing: U2 - What's Going On
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
i think i've caught it
obamania
noun
The national obsession with presidential hopeful Barack Obama
caught the tail end of his speech tonight where he talked about his use of the word hope. and i know he's been attacked for being all rhetoric and no action and being full of ideas but not full of solutions, but after hearing him speak, i find myself wanting to believe what he says, that the time of politics as usual has passed and it is time to build a new future together.
and he's better than the other alternatives. mccain will give us the same old failed ideas and policies of the current administration. and clinton will give us, well, politics, politics, politics. i was wary of her before the primary season; i despise her now. she represents what i hate about politics. and i know obama is at heart a politician, but at least there's hope that things could be different. i still don't trust him to be able to implement all of his ideas. but at least he's willing to try.
i don't often talk about politics because, well, i despise them. and i can never adequately articulate my feelings or argue coherently. like stephen colbert, i go with my gut. and my gut says of the choices out there, obama is my man this time. maybe eventually i'll figure out why.
Æ
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Now playing: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - Over The Rainbow
via FoxyTunes
noun
The national obsession with presidential hopeful Barack Obama
caught the tail end of his speech tonight where he talked about his use of the word hope. and i know he's been attacked for being all rhetoric and no action and being full of ideas but not full of solutions, but after hearing him speak, i find myself wanting to believe what he says, that the time of politics as usual has passed and it is time to build a new future together.
and he's better than the other alternatives. mccain will give us the same old failed ideas and policies of the current administration. and clinton will give us, well, politics, politics, politics. i was wary of her before the primary season; i despise her now. she represents what i hate about politics. and i know obama is at heart a politician, but at least there's hope that things could be different. i still don't trust him to be able to implement all of his ideas. but at least he's willing to try.
i don't often talk about politics because, well, i despise them. and i can never adequately articulate my feelings or argue coherently. like stephen colbert, i go with my gut. and my gut says of the choices out there, obama is my man this time. maybe eventually i'll figure out why.
Æ
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Now playing: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - Over The Rainbow
via FoxyTunes
Monday, February 18, 2008
better do this now
need to head back down for the final push on today's grading - nine more inp book reviews to grade. been a relatively productive day. at least i didn't sleep it away, though it was terribly tempting. was cold all day long and just couldn't seem to warm up. but i got a chunk of the grading done and all my laundry done, so i declare it a success.
talked to the 'rents today - turns out they know of my blog and have now shared the link with their sunday school class. seems my discussion of the great spaghetti monster raised some curiosity. now not only do i have to concern myself with my students, but with my mom and dad's sunday school. actually, i'll probably forget and type something terribly offensive. sorry in advance mom and dad. just tell them you did the best you could raising me. blame it on the rock and roll. and television. and the internet.
good to go to prayers this morning. wish i could do it every day. i'm somewhat surprised it wasn't better attended - just angela and me, much like it is for evening prayers. but then i suppose not everyone gets the day off.
i have so little to share. at least nothing of interest. kurt loaned me the first season of arrested development. i can see why people like it, but am not quite getting the passion for the show. kurt said it was the best tv sitcom ever. high praise, but not sure it's deserved yet. we'll see how i feel when (if?) i finish the first season. certainly is better than most of the "popular" shows out now. so of course it got canceled.
i enjoyed watching the snow drift down this afternoon. peaceful. comforting. then the winds came and forced it to swirl a little more violently. still beautiful, but with an edge. just enough of a dusting to cover the brown grass and make everything a little brighter. i've missed winter this year - too much rain, too many drastic temperature changes for my taste. but glad i could enjoy today's moment.
ok, time to grade again. this will be a common theme for a while. six days of classes left in the trimester plus two days of exams. and them boom!, we're in the last trimester. scary.
Æ
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Now playing: The Beastie Boys - Three MCs And One DJ
via FoxyTunes
talked to the 'rents today - turns out they know of my blog and have now shared the link with their sunday school class. seems my discussion of the great spaghetti monster raised some curiosity. now not only do i have to concern myself with my students, but with my mom and dad's sunday school. actually, i'll probably forget and type something terribly offensive. sorry in advance mom and dad. just tell them you did the best you could raising me. blame it on the rock and roll. and television. and the internet.
good to go to prayers this morning. wish i could do it every day. i'm somewhat surprised it wasn't better attended - just angela and me, much like it is for evening prayers. but then i suppose not everyone gets the day off.
i have so little to share. at least nothing of interest. kurt loaned me the first season of arrested development. i can see why people like it, but am not quite getting the passion for the show. kurt said it was the best tv sitcom ever. high praise, but not sure it's deserved yet. we'll see how i feel when (if?) i finish the first season. certainly is better than most of the "popular" shows out now. so of course it got canceled.
i enjoyed watching the snow drift down this afternoon. peaceful. comforting. then the winds came and forced it to swirl a little more violently. still beautiful, but with an edge. just enough of a dusting to cover the brown grass and make everything a little brighter. i've missed winter this year - too much rain, too many drastic temperature changes for my taste. but glad i could enjoy today's moment.
ok, time to grade again. this will be a common theme for a while. six days of classes left in the trimester plus two days of exams. and them boom!, we're in the last trimester. scary.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: The Beastie Boys - Three MCs And One DJ
via FoxyTunes
Sunday, February 17, 2008
just under the wire
spent the better part of the last two hours trying to get together stuff for tuesday's class. i had hoped it wouldn't take as long as it has, but alas, it's taken far longer than it should. didn't help that i've been trying to multitask and get some of my emusic downloads onto cd. got eleven done, but still have a lot of work to do to organize my itunes folder. bleah. not a fan of itunes. maybe it's better on a mac, but it's so annoying on my pc.
church this morning was excellent. my "sister" judy and her husband robin were there. surprised to see them, though i shouldn't have been, since they know the mcneely's who have been coming. steven hamilton spoke. he was here to talk about human trafficking. he started by saying how hard it was to work for justice, which echoed some of what i wrote about yesterday. he spoke about agape love being a reorienting of ourselves, which makes sense, though it's odd to think of God "changing" to reorient himself. it struck me how easy it is to let things like human trafficking to go unchallenged. reminds me of the "what i have left undone" part of our confession.
got to spend time with the havens tonight again. really need to do that more often. they're getting ready to transition from kenny staying at home and marisa working to marisa staying at home and kenny working. i pray the transition isn't too tricky for either of them.
ok, i should get some sleep if i hope to make any headway against the mountain of grading waiting for me. discipline - i must have discipline tomorrow. Father, help me in my weakness!
Æ
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Now playing: Morphine - The Saddest Song
via FoxyTunes
church this morning was excellent. my "sister" judy and her husband robin were there. surprised to see them, though i shouldn't have been, since they know the mcneely's who have been coming. steven hamilton spoke. he was here to talk about human trafficking. he started by saying how hard it was to work for justice, which echoed some of what i wrote about yesterday. he spoke about agape love being a reorienting of ourselves, which makes sense, though it's odd to think of God "changing" to reorient himself. it struck me how easy it is to let things like human trafficking to go unchallenged. reminds me of the "what i have left undone" part of our confession.
got to spend time with the havens tonight again. really need to do that more often. they're getting ready to transition from kenny staying at home and marisa working to marisa staying at home and kenny working. i pray the transition isn't too tricky for either of them.
ok, i should get some sleep if i hope to make any headway against the mountain of grading waiting for me. discipline - i must have discipline tomorrow. Father, help me in my weakness!
Æ
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Now playing: Morphine - The Saddest Song
via FoxyTunes
Saturday, February 16, 2008
dilemmas
i'm not in my normal hallway fortress of solitude - instead i'm sitting in the dressing room with everyone else. which i supposed is a bit of bad form, writing while people are being social.
i spent a lot of money today - more than i like to. yesterday, one of the guys working on my neighbors roof stopped me as i got my mail and said while they were up on their ladders, they noticed my gutters were clogged with leaves. he offered to clear them out for $60. since i own no ladder and i hate cleaning them, i said sure. so they came over this morning. sometimes you spend money to save yourself time and frustration. then i mailed a package, which set me back another $10. dinner, $10. gas, $35. post-show revelry, $15. spending money like you have it - priceless.
saw atonement this afternoon. three down, two to go. it was good, but like most of the oscar films i've seen, it left me wanting a bit. pacing was a bit slow, especially the war section. loved the long tracking shot on the beach and thought the music was fantastic. i liked the incorporation of the typewriter as a rhythmic element. it's my pick for best picture of the three i've seen. it won't win. no country has that wrapped up. but i personally liked atonement better. still want to see michael clayton. i think it hits dvd this week, so maybe i'll try it that way. and the cast tells me i should see see there will be blood. so maybe i will. only one week left. better get a move on.
am trying to decide if i can take a second sabbath tomorrow and just spend monday working. we'll see. maybe i can pull together my OGT stuff tomorrow and grade all day monday. so much for a three day weekend.
things that thrill my soul: found out there's a moe's at the levee. much closer than mason. went there tonight before ths how, which may turn out to be a bad idea. feeling a bit bloated at the moment.
i thought about going to the human trafficking gathering - how to stop it, not how to participate in in it. but decided, selfishly probably, that i didn't want to spend my saturday that way. and i wonder if i should care more than i do. and i despair of what i could do to help, which i know is no way to view a problem, turning a blind eye. which obviously i'm beating myself up over, yet i don't know why other than my penchant for guilt and martyrdom.
i think the abyss from yesterday still lingers.
time to get my habit on. i might have people in the audience tonight - be the first ones. guess i'll stayin in costume tonight instead of changing immediately, in case there are pictures to be taken. mustn't keep my public waiting...Æ
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Now playing: The Urban Hillbilly Quartet - Nightmares
via FoxyTunes
i spent a lot of money today - more than i like to. yesterday, one of the guys working on my neighbors roof stopped me as i got my mail and said while they were up on their ladders, they noticed my gutters were clogged with leaves. he offered to clear them out for $60. since i own no ladder and i hate cleaning them, i said sure. so they came over this morning. sometimes you spend money to save yourself time and frustration. then i mailed a package, which set me back another $10. dinner, $10. gas, $35. post-show revelry, $15. spending money like you have it - priceless.
saw atonement this afternoon. three down, two to go. it was good, but like most of the oscar films i've seen, it left me wanting a bit. pacing was a bit slow, especially the war section. loved the long tracking shot on the beach and thought the music was fantastic. i liked the incorporation of the typewriter as a rhythmic element. it's my pick for best picture of the three i've seen. it won't win. no country has that wrapped up. but i personally liked atonement better. still want to see michael clayton. i think it hits dvd this week, so maybe i'll try it that way. and the cast tells me i should see see there will be blood. so maybe i will. only one week left. better get a move on.
am trying to decide if i can take a second sabbath tomorrow and just spend monday working. we'll see. maybe i can pull together my OGT stuff tomorrow and grade all day monday. so much for a three day weekend.
things that thrill my soul: found out there's a moe's at the levee. much closer than mason. went there tonight before ths how, which may turn out to be a bad idea. feeling a bit bloated at the moment.
i thought about going to the human trafficking gathering - how to stop it, not how to participate in in it. but decided, selfishly probably, that i didn't want to spend my saturday that way. and i wonder if i should care more than i do. and i despair of what i could do to help, which i know is no way to view a problem, turning a blind eye. which obviously i'm beating myself up over, yet i don't know why other than my penchant for guilt and martyrdom.
i think the abyss from yesterday still lingers.
time to get my habit on. i might have people in the audience tonight - be the first ones. guess i'll stayin in costume tonight instead of changing immediately, in case there are pictures to be taken. mustn't keep my public waiting...Æ
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Now playing: The Urban Hillbilly Quartet - Nightmares
via FoxyTunes
Friday, February 15, 2008
the scottish play
so right before the show our illustrious director and billy in the show spoke the most terrifying word an actor can hear backstage. yep, he referenced the scottish play. i know many of you are unbelievers, mockers even of such a superstition. but let me demonstrate why it is verboten anywhere near a stage.
time for curtain call. more later, perhaps, after the revelry.
(later) or not.
Æ
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Now playing: Jake Speed - Ben Franklin Screwed Me Over Again
via FoxyTunes
- bunny's earring broke and fell off - no problems previously
- lines were dropped that had never been dropped before
- music fell off the piano and scattered about
- our bananas got confused, thought we were at the end of the scene instead of in the middle and completely missed an entrance
- bunny forgot to bring her purse and keys onto the stage ,which made it very difficult for her to give the little nun her keys
- worst of all, we had the deadest. audience. ever. so quiet you could hear the flopsweat dripping from our brows
time for curtain call. more later, perhaps, after the revelry.
(later) or not.
Æ
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Now playing: Jake Speed - Ben Franklin Screwed Me Over Again
via FoxyTunes
Thursday, February 14, 2008
cheating
i have no thoughts of mine own for today. so i share this that i found.
Æ
Now playing: Old 97's - Valentine
via FoxyTunes
Æ
----------------A Prayer For Valentine's Day
from Out of the Ordinary by Joyce RuppPraise to the One whose love stirs the ancient embers
sparks the breath of prayerPraise to the One whose love entices the wandering
beckons the confusedPraise to the One whose love grows wings on the weary
dreams hope in the discouragedPraise to the One whose love soothes with the ointment of mercy
transforms with the touch of compassionPraise to the One whose love threads the energy of friendship
stitches the strength of fidelityPraise to the One whose love tickles the soul with laughter
urges the heart toward joyPraise to the one whose love embraces the untamed
dances with the passionateAll praise to this Gracious One
All gratitude to this Beloved
All love to this Mentor of Friendship
All devotion to this Shaper of Hearts.
Now playing: Old 97's - Valentine
via FoxyTunes
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
lost, now found
so i found this a while ago, but hadn't updated my blog. so for those who didn't know, my good friend brian has a great blog that was stolen from him. he has found a way back.
http://therealbigrockcandymountain.blogspot.com/
it's over there on the right for future reference. glad to have him back.
saturday night after the play, the cast went out to the york street cafe for some post-show revelry. while there, discussions turned to religion, specifically the craziness of the creation museum and the small-mindedness of those who believe the Bible to be true. i listened to their conversation, hearing their arguments and realizing the church has done a horrible job of presenting itself to many people. they brought up the great spaghetti monster, declaring it a brilliant argument against religion in general. now i have to admit, i find the great spaghetti monster amusing and it does point to some of the ridiculousness preached in the name of God. but it also points to a deeper question, one i ran across again last night in my nightly buechner reading: "what's so good about religion anyway?" buechner talks about the question this way:
Father, help those of us playing to be better at presenting the joy and hope you offer. help us to experience that joy and hope ourselves.
Æ
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Now playing: Bruce Cockburn - The Whole Night Sky
via FoxyTunes
http://therealbigrockcandymountain.blogspot.com/
it's over there on the right for future reference. glad to have him back.
saturday night after the play, the cast went out to the york street cafe for some post-show revelry. while there, discussions turned to religion, specifically the craziness of the creation museum and the small-mindedness of those who believe the Bible to be true. i listened to their conversation, hearing their arguments and realizing the church has done a horrible job of presenting itself to many people. they brought up the great spaghetti monster, declaring it a brilliant argument against religion in general. now i have to admit, i find the great spaghetti monster amusing and it does point to some of the ridiculousness preached in the name of God. but it also points to a deeper question, one i ran across again last night in my nightly buechner reading: "what's so good about religion anyway?" buechner talks about the question this way:
...I found myself speechless. I felt surely there must be something good about it. Why else was I there? But for the moment I couldn't for the life of me think what it was. Maybe the truth of it is that religion the way he means it - a system of belief, a technique of worship, an institution - doesn't really have all that much about it that is good when you come right down to it, and perhaps my speechlessness in a way acknowledged as much.i think sometimes it's hard to talk about faith with my friends who don't believe because they have valid points. religion does sometimes seem to cause more harm than good. wars, division, intolerance, self-righteousness, small-mindedness. hard to argue against those things that are often done in the name of religion. but they miss out on the joy that can be there when you find yourself "playing," pretending you are something that you wish you were and then eventually, hopefully, discovering you've become just that.
Unless you become like a child, Jesus said, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and maybe part of what that means is that in the long run what is good about religion is playing the way a child plays at being grown up until h finds that being grown up is just another way of playing and thereby starts to grow up himself. Maybe what is good about religion is playing that the Kingdom will come, until - in the joy of your playing, the hope and rhythm and comradeship and poignance and mystery of it - you start to see that the playing is itself the first-fruits of the Kingdom's coming and of God's presence within us and among us.
Father, help those of us playing to be better at presenting the joy and hope you offer. help us to experience that joy and hope ourselves.
Æ
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Now playing: Bruce Cockburn - The Whole Night Sky
via FoxyTunes
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
the final hour
fasting from sunrise to sunset is most difficult when you don't have anything to do, when you don't fill your time with enough activity to keep your mind off the fact that you haven't eaten in 22 hours.
that's where i am right now.
God smiled on us today and brought just enough nasty weather mason's way to keep us from school. i knew last night going to bed that i had a two hour delay, so i got to sleep in until 6:30 and just as i was pulling on my clothes, the phone rang and the news that they had canceled school rang loud and clear. so i through on some jeans and a sweatshirt and headed to morning prayers. spent the day catching up on stuff i've been putting off. relaxed a little. but as great as it was to be off school, it was a tough one fasting-wise. very aware of my desire for food. found myself several times today praying, which is the point, of course.
everyone in house church is sick, so we'll not be meeting tonight. been struggling lately with my role as leader - truth is, i feel i mostly suck. and i wonder if we wouldn't be better off without me leading. if one of my roles is to help set the vision for the church, i'm not sure i've done much to help with that. the vision i had has not come to fruition. and i know there's been a lot going on in our lives and i realize ultimately it is God's hands, but i can't help but feel like i'm hindering - not so much because of what i'm doing, but more what i'm not doing. and i'm not sure if the rest of the group is feeling that or not. probably something we should talk about.
my head is all wonky from lack of food. not a good idea to blog right now.
these lyrics just ran through my itunes:
always have loved that song.
40 more minutes. think i'm going to find something other than this to occupy my time. might blog later. who knows. not me.
Æ
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Now playing: Sixpence None The Richer - Tension Is A Passing Note
via FoxyTunes
that's where i am right now.
God smiled on us today and brought just enough nasty weather mason's way to keep us from school. i knew last night going to bed that i had a two hour delay, so i got to sleep in until 6:30 and just as i was pulling on my clothes, the phone rang and the news that they had canceled school rang loud and clear. so i through on some jeans and a sweatshirt and headed to morning prayers. spent the day catching up on stuff i've been putting off. relaxed a little. but as great as it was to be off school, it was a tough one fasting-wise. very aware of my desire for food. found myself several times today praying, which is the point, of course.
everyone in house church is sick, so we'll not be meeting tonight. been struggling lately with my role as leader - truth is, i feel i mostly suck. and i wonder if we wouldn't be better off without me leading. if one of my roles is to help set the vision for the church, i'm not sure i've done much to help with that. the vision i had has not come to fruition. and i know there's been a lot going on in our lives and i realize ultimately it is God's hands, but i can't help but feel like i'm hindering - not so much because of what i'm doing, but more what i'm not doing. and i'm not sure if the rest of the group is feeling that or not. probably something we should talk about.
my head is all wonky from lack of food. not a good idea to blog right now.
these lyrics just ran through my itunes:
tension is to be loved
when it is like a passing note
to a beautiful, beautiful chord
when it is like a passing note
to a beautiful, beautiful chord
always have loved that song.
40 more minutes. think i'm going to find something other than this to occupy my time. might blog later. who knows. not me.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: Sixpence None The Richer - Tension Is A Passing Note
via FoxyTunes
Monday, February 11, 2008
at last
went this afternoon over to cinema de lux (after calling first to make sure their imax projector wasn't broken again) to finally catch U23D. it was me, sam from school and a couple of ladies who were there to avoid the winter storm that is supposed to be moving into the area (can't say i'm terribly confident it will actually make it here). the small crowd didn't matter - i wasn't there for the crowd. the film was what i knew it would be - U2 writ large. the 3D effects were cool, but not overused and really did give the sense of being right there at times. for me, though, the best part was the sound. this is how i wish i could listen to U2 all the time - crystal clear, loud but not overbearing. reminded me of the sheer power of their music, the sonic wall they are able to create with their four members (and a little boost from technology). my biggest complaint was it was too short - so many songs i would have loved to have heard in that format. but i was happy with what they gave us. having the vertigo dvd, i can't say it's my favorite way tour - too much preaching for my tastes. but this distilled U2 to the moment and it captured them well. i'll probably see it at least one more time, if only to see how it plays in a pure digital environment.
did a little filming today - students asked me to be part of their film submission for the mason film festival. their film is about what super heroes do after they're done being heroes. i played thor, of course, which would have been much more impressive if i still had my beard. still, i think it went well. we'll see how the whole thing turns out in two and a half weeks. should be fun.
at the same time conrad, one of the film club leaders, came in and was putting together a video about the american dream and interviewed me - in my thor costume. very strange to be in costume answering the questions. my answers came off the top of my head and i kind of wish i'd had time to prepare. the more i think about it, the more i believe the american dream, at least how it is presented, is more nightmare than dream. it's all about the individual and the attainment of things, something i think is a dangerous idea to chase. not sure my answers came off that way, though. guess we'll see when he cuts it all together. funny moment: they asked if i thought the sixties changed the american dream, with me sitting there in a long, hippie wig. i twirled my fake hair before giving an answer. i hope it makes it into the final cut.
so turns out the other tournament academic team could enter coincides with an SAT test date - and our best player ray is taking the test that day. so we're left trying to decide whether we should try it. the thought is the competition won't be too bad since the really good teams have already qualified. was going to talk to mark about it today, but i got caught up in the filming stuff and we didn't get to sit down. at the very least we need to sit down and figure out what we want to do for the end of the year banquet. i think we should take part in the blazing challenge at bw3s, but we'll see what everyone else thinks.
*phone*
it's an hour later - my friend candice called and since we hadn't talked in three weeks, we had a lot to catch up on. need to be heading to bed. g'night.
Æ
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Now playing: The Pogues - A Pair Of Brown Eyes
via FoxyTunes
did a little filming today - students asked me to be part of their film submission for the mason film festival. their film is about what super heroes do after they're done being heroes. i played thor, of course, which would have been much more impressive if i still had my beard. still, i think it went well. we'll see how the whole thing turns out in two and a half weeks. should be fun.
at the same time conrad, one of the film club leaders, came in and was putting together a video about the american dream and interviewed me - in my thor costume. very strange to be in costume answering the questions. my answers came off the top of my head and i kind of wish i'd had time to prepare. the more i think about it, the more i believe the american dream, at least how it is presented, is more nightmare than dream. it's all about the individual and the attainment of things, something i think is a dangerous idea to chase. not sure my answers came off that way, though. guess we'll see when he cuts it all together. funny moment: they asked if i thought the sixties changed the american dream, with me sitting there in a long, hippie wig. i twirled my fake hair before giving an answer. i hope it makes it into the final cut.
so turns out the other tournament academic team could enter coincides with an SAT test date - and our best player ray is taking the test that day. so we're left trying to decide whether we should try it. the thought is the competition won't be too bad since the really good teams have already qualified. was going to talk to mark about it today, but i got caught up in the filming stuff and we didn't get to sit down. at the very least we need to sit down and figure out what we want to do for the end of the year banquet. i think we should take part in the blazing challenge at bw3s, but we'll see what everyone else thinks.
*phone*
it's an hour later - my friend candice called and since we hadn't talked in three weeks, we had a lot to catch up on. need to be heading to bed. g'night.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: The Pogues - A Pair Of Brown Eyes
via FoxyTunes
Sunday, February 10, 2008
meet gilbert
seems when i was in kc last month for a visit, i left behind a friend of mine. and now he is writing a blog of his own:
http://www.theadventuresofhat.blogspot.com/
looks like after a rough start, he's getting along well out there. and already his blog is more interesting than mine - it's even got pictures!
enjoy his story.
just finished watching network - tmc is running oscar-winning films during february, so i've been filling some of the holes in my movie history. i really enjoyed network and am again flabbergasted that it lost out to rocky. this 32-year-old film seems like it could have been written yesterday. if anything, television is worse now than it was then, which is a frightening thought. great performances all around, exquisite direction, thought provoking, self-aware...everything a great film should be. made me want to throw open my window and shout "i'm as mad as hell and i'm not going to take it any more!"
but that would just be silly.
to bed must i be. morning will come far too early as always. another day spent in the lab. my poor students. and yet so many will still say they didn't have enough time to finish their paper. at least i know that going in...
Æ
----------------
Now playing: Cake - Mahna, Mahna
via FoxyTunes
http://www.theadventuresofhat.blogspot.com/
looks like after a rough start, he's getting along well out there. and already his blog is more interesting than mine - it's even got pictures!
enjoy his story.
just finished watching network - tmc is running oscar-winning films during february, so i've been filling some of the holes in my movie history. i really enjoyed network and am again flabbergasted that it lost out to rocky. this 32-year-old film seems like it could have been written yesterday. if anything, television is worse now than it was then, which is a frightening thought. great performances all around, exquisite direction, thought provoking, self-aware...everything a great film should be. made me want to throw open my window and shout "i'm as mad as hell and i'm not going to take it any more!"
but that would just be silly.
to bed must i be. morning will come far too early as always. another day spent in the lab. my poor students. and yet so many will still say they didn't have enough time to finish their paper. at least i know that going in...
Æ
----------------
Now playing: Cake - Mahna, Mahna
via FoxyTunes
Saturday, February 09, 2008
the tournament
You know, when I thought about the Academic Team GMC Tournament, I pictured groups of trivia nerds huddled in classrooms for four hours until one group was finally declared the winner. Definitely not the most exciting of ways to spend an afternoon.
Boy, was I wrong.
It started with barely enough students showing up for the bus. We told them to meet at 11:15, expecting to leave at 11:30. But 11:30 rolled around and we had the bare minimum - four. And our best player, Ray, was a no show. So we sent out reconnaissance to find the Science Olympiad competing in the building and they returned with Ray in tow. So at least we had a team, with one substitute even.
When we arrived at Hamilton, we figured out the tournament seeding. Based on the regular season total points, we finished in third place behind Lakota West, who we beat, and ahead of Lakota East, who destroyed us. But the good news was we ended up in the pool opposite from the 18-0 Sycamore team. Our pool included West, Princeton, Fairfield and Colerain. I liked our chances.
I spent the afternoon keeping time for the other pool so I didn't get to watch the matches. But I checked in during the breaks. Going into the final round, we needed a win by Fairfield to put us in a three-way tie with Fairfield and Colerain. We beat West (who dropped every match - so much for 2nd seed) and Fairfield won, so now we had to decide who would battle Sycamore in the Championship Round. We beat Fairfield, who beat Colerain, who beat us. So we went to the second tie break, which was point differential. Fairfield was at -5, Mason was at +3 and Colerain at +2. So going by the book we should have been in the the Championship Round and on our way to a second straight state tournament. But there was one tiny problem: seems during the Mason/Colerain match, Colerain had challenged one of the answers. They claimed the Catholic Reformation should have been accepted along with the answer in the book, Counter Reformation. The moderator didn't give them the points, so instead of winning by 5, they won by 2, meaning that question changed the point differential.
Still with me?
So we called a coaches meeting to figure out what to do. Technically, we should have won. When this had happened in the past, the book answer stood, which makes sense because otherwise you could end up having to google every question. But wanting to be fair (well, fair to Colerain anyway), we decided, since Sycamore was already going to state, to do a playoff, Colerain vs Mason, the winner going to state and taking on Sycamore in the final round.
The round was tense, Colerain feeling they'd been cheated by a bad question, Mason believing we had won according to the rules. But at least this way there would be no lingering questions. The set used was a nine, the hardest of the questions. At the end of the category round it was all tied, 24-24. I realized time was slipping away, so I stepped outside to let the bus driver know the situation and came back after the alphabet round was over and the lightning round had started. I looked at the score - Mason was behind by three points. The questions went back and forth. We'd get a question, they'd get a couple questions, we'd come back. When the dust cleared and all was finished, we tied the lightning round but found ourselves three points down. Three points away from state. But we had lost and so we loaded our bus, buoyed by our showing, but disappointed to have come so close to continuing our season.
The irony of it all is that in the category round, we technically got a question right, which would have given us three points, which would have made us tied at the end of the match. Unfortunately, by the time we figured out we should challenge, it was too late. But like Mark pointed out, we lost twice to the same team and if we were meant to go on, we would have beat them. Still disappointing and while I tried to put on a good face, it was hard. I felt the worst for our seniors, who were so instrumental in making this team what it was this year.
There's still a slim possibility we could make state by attending another tournament, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. I will definitely be looking into it on Monday though, because after the excitement of today, another day spent at a tournament sounds like the best way to spend an afternoon.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: Wally Pleasant - She's In Love With A Geek
via FoxyTunes
Boy, was I wrong.
It started with barely enough students showing up for the bus. We told them to meet at 11:15, expecting to leave at 11:30. But 11:30 rolled around and we had the bare minimum - four. And our best player, Ray, was a no show. So we sent out reconnaissance to find the Science Olympiad competing in the building and they returned with Ray in tow. So at least we had a team, with one substitute even.
When we arrived at Hamilton, we figured out the tournament seeding. Based on the regular season total points, we finished in third place behind Lakota West, who we beat, and ahead of Lakota East, who destroyed us. But the good news was we ended up in the pool opposite from the 18-0 Sycamore team. Our pool included West, Princeton, Fairfield and Colerain. I liked our chances.
I spent the afternoon keeping time for the other pool so I didn't get to watch the matches. But I checked in during the breaks. Going into the final round, we needed a win by Fairfield to put us in a three-way tie with Fairfield and Colerain. We beat West (who dropped every match - so much for 2nd seed) and Fairfield won, so now we had to decide who would battle Sycamore in the Championship Round. We beat Fairfield, who beat Colerain, who beat us. So we went to the second tie break, which was point differential. Fairfield was at -5, Mason was at +3 and Colerain at +2. So going by the book we should have been in the the Championship Round and on our way to a second straight state tournament. But there was one tiny problem: seems during the Mason/Colerain match, Colerain had challenged one of the answers. They claimed the Catholic Reformation should have been accepted along with the answer in the book, Counter Reformation. The moderator didn't give them the points, so instead of winning by 5, they won by 2, meaning that question changed the point differential.
Still with me?
So we called a coaches meeting to figure out what to do. Technically, we should have won. When this had happened in the past, the book answer stood, which makes sense because otherwise you could end up having to google every question. But wanting to be fair (well, fair to Colerain anyway), we decided, since Sycamore was already going to state, to do a playoff, Colerain vs Mason, the winner going to state and taking on Sycamore in the final round.
The round was tense, Colerain feeling they'd been cheated by a bad question, Mason believing we had won according to the rules. But at least this way there would be no lingering questions. The set used was a nine, the hardest of the questions. At the end of the category round it was all tied, 24-24. I realized time was slipping away, so I stepped outside to let the bus driver know the situation and came back after the alphabet round was over and the lightning round had started. I looked at the score - Mason was behind by three points. The questions went back and forth. We'd get a question, they'd get a couple questions, we'd come back. When the dust cleared and all was finished, we tied the lightning round but found ourselves three points down. Three points away from state. But we had lost and so we loaded our bus, buoyed by our showing, but disappointed to have come so close to continuing our season.
The irony of it all is that in the category round, we technically got a question right, which would have given us three points, which would have made us tied at the end of the match. Unfortunately, by the time we figured out we should challenge, it was too late. But like Mark pointed out, we lost twice to the same team and if we were meant to go on, we would have beat them. Still disappointing and while I tried to put on a good face, it was hard. I felt the worst for our seniors, who were so instrumental in making this team what it was this year.
There's still a slim possibility we could make state by attending another tournament, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. I will definitely be looking into it on Monday though, because after the excitement of today, another day spent at a tournament sounds like the best way to spend an afternoon.
Æ
----------------
Now playing: Wally Pleasant - She's In Love With A Geek
via FoxyTunes
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