Glazing

So I haven't been posting much this month. I guess I had so much bottled up in me a few weeks ago and when I got that out, I didn't have much more to say. These weeks have been. Simply that.

I went back to pottery class this last Monday, and I have to say that got me through the week. I still have a couple of pieces that I'm not sure what to do with as far as glazing goes. Especially a piece that I threw on the wheel that was off centered but I think its imperfection is interesting if not beautiful. Its form is so rough that I don't know whether I want to glaze it at all, or just keep it terra cotta. The mask I did is like that, too - I'm afraid that if I glaze the face it will look strangely garish like a Greek marble with paint still on it. (Not to compare my efforts with anything from ancient Greece!) So there are some decisions to be made, and I don't want to inexpertly ruin what at this stage looks pretty good. At any rate, one or two things are done, so hopefully they will be fired soon and I can post pictures.

(There is one piece - a box - that is just ugly. I don't know what I will do with it when it's finished, as it's not anything to which I feel attachment.... live and learn, I guess.)

Here's a pretty good song I heard this morning.

Radical Face - Glory

Dear Monday,

I HATE you. Will you just...not?

To the Detractors

Dear talking heads and political posturers,

I have had it with your assault on teachers and public schools. I want you to know that I am thankful for my public school teachers who instructed and inspired me, and that I go to work every day with the goal of instructing and inspiring my students.

I am tired of being slandered and maligned. I am not a thug out to game the system. I have a master's degree, and I got straight A's in grad school. My workday stretches far beyond my contracted hours. I prepare lessons for six different classes at the high school where I teach. I have built a website of study tools for my students because I don't teach commonly taught subjects and appropriate quality tools can be hard to find.

Your laws mandating testing have glorified mediocrity, encouraged cheating, and moved money from the classrooms to the companies that make the tests. Your push to pay teachers based on their students' performance (à la Race to the Top) will only drive the best teachers out of the low-income areas (like the district where I work) where they are desperately needed.

I love teaching, but the stress from the politicking is a nightmare. I have news for you: I am not just a babysitter; I didn't get into teaching for the cushy pay; I take work home every night and weekend, and I teach at a local university year round (read: I WORK SUMMERS). It started off as something to do purely for enjoyment, but with a freeze in pay for four years, it has also become a way to make ends meet.

I want you to know the truth: I work with many great teachers, including a number who have been mentors, heroes, and sounding boards for me as I have learned my craft. We don't deserve to be painted with broad strokes as the foundational problem with society or with the economy. We rightfully take pride in the successes we achieve. Many of these successes are difficult to quantify and difficult to attribute to one pinpointed cause. But aren't we all made up of layers of experience? Shouldn't we work to educate the whole child: not just to improve skills in mathematics and reading, but also to encourage ingenuity, ethical behavior, civic involvement, cross-cultural understanding, and curiosity?

And please, don't call me a snively whiner for standing up for myself and my profession. I do a good job, and I'm not going to pretend that I don't. Don't tell me that I should shut up and be thankful for my job. I am thankful for my job. I feel incredibly blessed to have such rewarding work. I also worked very hard to qualify to be where I am. And one of the greatest difficulties in my job, especially in light of the push toward mediocrity brought on by misguided reforms like No Child Left Behind, is teaching my students that such hard work really is irreplaceable in the end. So I'm not going to shut up and let you make my job even harder.

Tomorrow I will go to work and I will teach, not to impress you, but because I know my students are deserving of my best efforts on their behalf. If you're at all interested in improving the future, you'll stand behind us. If not, you'd better get out of our way.

Wow. I fell asleep.

So much for Oscars 2011 - I was happy to get a couple of phone calls and to watch on mute for a while, and when my dad called and woke me after The King's Speech won top honors, I just turned it off before the 5th graders could get started.

At least Anne Hathaway wore her best dress at the beginning so I didn't miss that. Here are the best pictures I have been able to scrounge off the Internet. Because she's busy hosting and the pictures aren't taken from the TV camera's angle (WHY NOT?), there really isn't a picture where she does justice to the glamor of the dress, but it really was beautiful.

By the way, it's Givenchy, as is the Cate Blanchett one I posted previously.

Top Three Dresses from the Red Carpet

Pictures stolen from NYTimes.

#1 - Nicole Kidman

#2 - Amy Adams - the picture doesn't do the beautiful sapphire color justice.

#3 - Cate Blanchett

And as I have been posting this, Anne Hathaway has come out to present in the most beautiful beaded gown - I'll post a picture when I find one.

Princess dreams are still alive!

Hanging In There...

I was just rewarded for continuing to watch the show. Just as the cut to commercial became imminent, we got a glimpse of Nicole Kidman and her dress - jaw-dropping Dior. She is always among the best dressed, but this has some sparkle that is just incredible.

(BTW, the beadwork on Cate Blanchett's dress earlier was also gorgeous.)

Oscars 2011 - Red Carpet Now Underway

The pre-game show (red carpet) has been on for just over half an hour and I am considering turning off the TV.

You see, when the Academy Awards are on, I want the best of Hollywood glamor and glitz. I want to gape at America's de facto royalty. Movie stars. Maybe a couple of rock stars. And I do not care about:

• Facebook-submitted questions from other schmucks like me who are not Hollywood types;
• Seeing the green room;
• Interviews with nominees' mothers;

and Most Of All:

• A hoard of 5th graders in brightly colored T-shirts.

Yeah. I said it. When it comes to turning the Academy Awards into the People's Choice Awards, I'm not amused. We'll see if I have the stomach to see it through, but right now, it's a big thumbs down.

(P.S., though - Marky Mark was just on the red carpet and he is such a class act. Compliments unbounded to him.)

Why I'd Rather Be in Italy

Here is the winner of this year's Sanremo song competition:

Roberto Vecchioni - Chiamami Ancora Amore

See, English can't do this. American culture can't do this. We are too fragmented. We look for 20-something idols, not for the paced wisdom and beauty of a poet-professor in his sixties. I know that Italy is not perfect, and that this song is based in many of today's urgent problems there - but hey. Let me wrap myself up in a culture that can produce such passion without withering, without looking behind its shoulder at those who would ridicule such a sentiment - let me wear my heart on my sleeve and face the winds that will come.

Enjoying a Day at Home

No, I haven't really accomplished anything today. I figured out the next month's round of bills. I did a little bit of junk room clean-out. And that's it. You just need do-nothing Saturday at home every once in a while to drop the stress levels and give your head a break from the game.

I was listening to Columbus radio - CD101 - today and this song came on. I can't believe all of the good music that you can't find on radio around here because we just don't have a good alternative station. Anyway. The song is from 2005, but it's new to me. Enjoy.

She Wants Revenge - Out of Control

A Little Traveling

Louis Armstrong - Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans

I just got back from a weekend in New Orleans. What a fantastic place. My last visit there was pre-Katrina, and I've never been there in the winter before, but the city just wraps me up and makes me love it. I was there for work, so my adventuring happened before and after meetings.

My flight there was cancelled Thursday so I got in later than I would have liked. I was traveling with another teacher, and we went for some seafood that night, which was delectable. Then I went to bed pretty early since I had to register for my sessions first thing Friday morning. Meetings all day, then homework to prep for the Saturday sessions - I finally got out at about 7:30pm Friday night. Since lunch had been pretty heavy, I wound my way down to Café du Monde and got some beignets. They are really tasty. I remembered that they were tasty, but really, it was that first bite that reminded me of just how good New Orleans really is. It was also curious to note that I had ordered hot chocolate instead of milk - it was actually chilly - something I had definitely never experienced before there. Anyway, I had broken out something to read and I just relaxed over my tasty little dinner, then I went and wandered around the quarter for a moment. I must be older now, because I definitely preferred Rue Royale to Bourbon Street - art shops over bawdiness. Right behind the cathedral was the most awesome busker - this petite girl with the scratchy voice of a catfight and an accordion. I would have loved to have just hung out listening, but since I was on my own I judged it better to keep moving, although I did circle around several times to see what she was playing. I also enjoyed looking into the lit shops, especially the windows of glass. I found this jellyfish lamp:

kind of fun.

Saturday morning I got up early and went back to Café du Monde, then took my breakfast up to the promenade along the river and watched the water in the morning. There was actually frost on the wooden railroad ties I crossed! Anyway, I missed sunrise, but the morning was clear and lovely. On my way back to the hotel, I stopped in St. Louis Cathedral, listened to a few minutes of mass, and took in the inside of the cathedral from the back pew.

Saturday afternoon was a real treat. Thomas's mom came over from Mississippi with a friend who had grown up in New Orleans, so I got the chance to experience the city beyond the French Quarter and its immediate surroundings. We went to Metairie Cemetery to see some of the monuments, to the sculpture garden at City Park, drove around to see houses in the Garden district, and ate the most incredible dinner at a restaurant called Mandina's on Canal Street. If you are reading this, you have GOT to go to New Orleans and eat at Mandina's. The wait was at least 45 minutes, but the food was to die for - Italian influenced New Orleans. We ordered a bunch of food and shared it all - fried shrimp and Italian sausage for the appetizer, a cup of oyster and artichoke soup (killer amazing!), a roast beef sandwich, and their Saturday special Creole Eggplant - baked eggplant, shrimp, crabmeat, and ham - that was so out of this world.

Anyway, here is a cool sculpture from City Park:

Leandro Erlich, Window and Ladder - Too Late for Help, 2008. It had originally been installed in the Lower Ninth Ward. There were no strings attached - it leans like this anchored underground. Pretty cool.

It was late and the ladies had to get back home, so they dropped me at the hotel. My intention was to go wandering again, but stepping up onto the curb, my foot hit a slick spot of something and I went down into some kind of a painful splits-like fall. There were some very nice people who helped me up in spite of the fact that when someone falls in New Orleans the basic assumption is a diagnosis of over-imbibing. It's been two days and my leg is still in constant pain. I wobbled around to get souvenirs for the nephew and niece, then went back to the hotel and straight to bed. My attempt to get up the next morning and repeat the trip to Café du Monde was met with frustration - I was hobbling around like my leg was broken - and I admitted defeat within two blocks. I settled for breakfast at the convention center, which at least featured slices of King Cake. And that was it - one more session, and a flight home.

So hooray New Orleans. I'm ready for my next trip back.

Trouble, Set Me Free

So I was in the mood for this song:

Cat Stevens - Trouble

and I opened up my music program and searched the title and you wouldn't believe how many trouble songs there are! About 500 million or so.

Tonight was the Super Bowl and I am sending out many thanks to Great Britain for sending the Beatles and Doctor Who across the pond so I didn't even have to realize the Super Bowl was happening, aside from some status updates on Facebook. Which is a nice way for it to be. Next Big Event: the Oscars, which are much more fun.

Jedi Knight, Thank You Very Much

Via: Online Schools

For everything else, there's...

Just a little something that cracked me up - and then makes me cry because it's so true. Clever, clever Mike Luckovich.

A quiet day

I love these days. Mildly productive, yet still restful, and with the world a little better arranged than it was when I woke up.

I need more days like this.

When I woke up this morning, my brain was still buzzing from the Golden Globe awards last night, and in my mind I was composing a post mourning the end of Ricky Gervais's status as a funny comedian. I'll just say that he was terrible and that it was disappointing because I had been looking forward to seeing him host the show.

As far as fashion goes, I will also note that the scallop-shell-top dress that Jennifer Love Hewitt wore had even me wanting to peek over the edge and see to what extent she was really covered inside.

Anyway, even though the Golden Globes are generally fun, they really are, to me, just a get-ready-for-the-Oscars event. Though I'm not happy about this year's hosts for the Academy Awards - James Franco and Anne Hathaway - but they may surprise me pleasantly since Ricky Gervias was such an utter letdown.

Anyway. I thought I was in a peaceful zone where I was done thinking about that. Guess not.

So here is a beautiful song for today. With some noise in the middle. And a peaceful finish.

Shearwater - On the Death of the Waters

Hope.

Here we go.

Although I try not to make it the point of my blog, I am a person with very strong opinions politically. And the shootings in Arizona, with the senseless massacring of bystanders and the audacity to target the type of politician who doesn't pull bull-headedly to one extreme or the other, who seems to take public life responsibly and reasonably - well, it sends me to despair.

Thank heavens for the positive signs in the recoveries of so many of the victims, including Representantive Gabrielle Giffords. And to me, the best sign is the one in the Steve Benson editorial cartoon above: her ability to give a thumbs up.

During my last year of my undergrad work, my dad had to undergo brain surgery. Yes, his was more medical - probably due to a fall on ice - he was not shot. I can't imagine the horror. But I do remember these little things: after waiting by the bedside for hours, having the little hand signals. The news today reported that Ms. Giffords had tried to pull her breathing tube out. I remember my dad doing the same thing. He hated it. The worst thing for him was when they had to bind his hands so he couldn't pull it out.

So news reports about Ms. Giffords's condition leave me in tears because they bring back these memories of such a scary time. I was blessed to see my dad make a great recovery. I truly hope our her family will be blessed to see Ms. Giffords recover as well. I hope she will be fully able to return to her public life and that she would make that choice: we need her voice of balance now more than ever.

Dear January,

I remember that for a couple of years when I first moved here, I used you to clean up the house. That habit has obviously gotten away from me.

Two days ago, my calendar for the month looked pretty empty. Then pop,pop,pop... here's a girls' night out, there's a make-up class to glaze pottery, and I see that this will NOT be a January in which I make any progress on cleaning the house.

Things could be worse.

A Happy New Year to you.

Best,

m

Tori Amos - Winter's Carol (no embedding - you'll have to click.)

New Temptation

So Amazon now has an Amazon.it.

I must remember that $1 ≠ €1. And that shipping is still prohibitive. How long until Italian Kindle books become available in the US?

I could spend so much money there. Ack! I need to get off the computer and go read some of my stacks of Italian books that I have collected but not yet read - or there will be no justification for further shopping.

Happiness calls for The National. If this one doesn't bring a tear to your eye, you may be a cyborg.

The National - England

A Few Words on Ohio

I came to Columbus for Thanksgiving.

I am knocking on Winter's door. The snows seem not too far off. It is definitely long-sleeved t-shirt weather and although yesterday the skies were blue, today they are a smear of grey. My brother and I took advantage of the blue-sky day yesterday and drove to Kirtland: my first ever travels to an Eastern U.S. Mormon history site. I was surprised at how hilly the area around Kirtland was. The temple there is a beautiful building, and we had a very good tour guide. Afterward, we went to the Johnson home where Joseph Smith lived for about a year.

Well. Columbus has a great Italian food scene. Last night we got takeout from Carfagna's Kitchen. Homemade pastas, great sauces. I got the Carfagna's combination - lasagne, gnocchi, a meat raviolo and a cheese canolo. I was in heaven. I got their creamy pomodoro sauce instead of the regular marinara, and I could not believe how wonderful it was. So today we went to the original Carfagna's, an Italian grocery. It was so much fun. They had so much wonderful stuff - if I lived in Columbus, it would not be hard to live una bella vita all'italiana, except for the whole not-sure-I-could-find-a-job-teaching-Italian-here thing. I came out with snacks for my brother's afternoon watching football (Brigham Young v. Utah State) - a box of breadsticks and some prosciutto di San Daniele, some Genoa salame, and some cheese: principe, a pecorino from Sardegna, and smoked scamorza, which was my favorite cheese when I lived in Italy. (My all-time favorite cheese now is vento d'estate, which is cured in hay and tastes like the summer wind it is named for.) I also picked up some gelato from a company in Cincinnati: burnt sugar and star anise. Wow.

Columbus also has a pretty good radio station: CD101 which used to be on 101.1 but now is on 102.5, just because. So I have heard some good music here. Most notably, Mumford & Sons. I'll post some below. Mumford & Sons wowed me with the inclusion of a banjo in the lineup.

Mumford & Sons - The Cave

Mumford & Sons - White Blank Page

My brother is down in the basement watching the game. In spite of the fact that I am listening to music on my headphones, I can tell how the game is going from his shouting and screaming at the TV. I just don't get football. Anyway, after the football game, it's to Target to replace the MP3 player that has died (I'll need it for the return trip) and then Harry Potter. Funny to think that 10 years ago, I was at the midnight showing of the first movie, and now here I am lollygagging more than a week after the release of the latest show in going to see it.

Well, here is a big thumbs up to Columbus. I must admit that despite having never wanted to visit the Midwest when I was growing up, I have been most impressed with my travels in Ohio and Indiana. It is a lovely stretch of the country, homey and cosmopolitan all mixed together. Very nice, indeed.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain

Yeah, not exactly. You see, mine is more of a destino meraviglioso or something like that. Even though I have no idea yet what the destino is. But life the past little while has had a decidedly wonderful cast to it and the world, though not supersaturated in color, has been beautiful. They predicted that because of drought conditions over the summer the fall would not be as colorful as usual, but let me say the trees have not disappointed, nor have the skies ceased to be varicolored, nor have long-sleeved T-shirts been any less cozy to wear.

Tonight I went to a program of American opera arias and scenes. Almost all of the program was music I hadn't heard before. One was strikingly beautiful - here it is on YouTube, although the woman playing Marianne (the crying one) is very hard to understand as recorded here. (I must say, too, that I think the singing, acting, and staging were better in the production I saw tonight- especially the girl who sang Dorine - the maid - who was the outstanding performer of the evening).

No More, Pale Moon - from Tartuffe, by Kirke Mechem

Also very powerful this evening was a scene from The Consul. Here is what I can find of what they performed tonight, pieced together.

The thing is that these are just the first half of Act 1 scene 2. The second half was incredible. So you know I am on the verge of buying a DVD of this opera so I can see the entire performance.

Anyway. So that's how it goes. Who knew American opera had such possibility?

One more as a send off. "What a movie!" from Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti.

A link worth posting

Dear friends, click on this link and see a 3-year-old reciting poetry. Sadly, it won't let me embed it.

***LINK to see a 3-year-old reciting poetry***

Yeah. That was good.