Tomorrow is another now
Waiting to happen...
- GLS
Apple Reports Second Quarter Results
8 years ago
Aug 28, 2009
Aug 25, 2009
The Mountain Goats - International Small Arms Traffic Blues
I recently saw a friend tweet (I'm assuming you're aware of Twitter.com) about a band called The Mountain Goats, and I became curious. To be honest, I'm not above being interested in a band because their name conjures up cool images. But beyond that embarrassing aspect, I remembered quickly reading something about them being folk-y and minimalist - two scenes that will always earn a listen from me. Thanks to the casually illegal nature of internet music trading, I was able to grab one of their albums not 5 minutes later. It's folk-y and minimalist and everything I dig about the far flung progeny of Elliot Smith. Moreover it has one of the coolest allegorical songs I've ever heard. Here's a snippet...
Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania
Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania
Trucks loaded down with weapons
Crossing over every night
Moon yellow and bright
There is a shortage in the blood supply
But there is no shortage of blood
The way I feel about you baby can't explain it
You got the best of my love
check out the full tune in all its glory at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_0nROFZDvQ&feature=related
Lion's Final Roar
Today America has lost one of its last true statesman. Ted Kennedy is no longer, but I hope that he may rest with the knowledge that so many of his dreams - racial equality, health care reform, a spirit of compromise - are perhaps more alive now than ever. His achievements will be studied for years to come, and I have no doubt that my children, though totally unaware of him, will live in a world that he bettered for them.
Aug 4, 2009
Booty anda Best
For each week of the camp we all must monitor a group project. The first week had us charting dance moves and drilling lyrics for a 'song contest' held last Sunday for parents and various Korea suits. This week we are supposed to conduct some sort of role play, which has manifested itself as the kids recreating scenes from various Disney classics.
My group stumbled upon Beauty and the Beast. It's probably no better or worse than anything else they could have been assigned. I work with the lowest level students, so their comprehension of these stories is essentially nil. That said, the show must go on, and so they are still forced to script read and drill scenes. Last night my Korean co teacher sequestered the girls in a sort of tryout for the Belle character, and I was left to run a 4-page section with the boys. What ensued in this dudes' session was easily the most hilarious thing I've been a part of at camp.
Now, don't take this as me knocking these kids because they couldn't comprehend the scene. That's hardly the case. Most of them actually did grasp the arc of things. What got me going was how they suddenly broke out of their shell and gave Beauty everything they had. The narrarrator adopted a faux deep voice, the Prince/Beast was rife with passion, Belle (as played by an 11 year old boy) exhibited moments of real anguish. As funny as this whole thing was, I'd say it was equally fascinating. I was witnessing boys teetering on the precipice of all-consuming self-consciousness (teenagerdom). The equation was simply perfect. Any older and they would not have attacked such an effeminate piece with such gusto, for fear of seeming uncool. I don't know. Maybe it's not worth all this thought.
As frustrating as this camp can be/is, moments like that remind me that I'm right where I need to be.
My group stumbled upon Beauty and the Beast. It's probably no better or worse than anything else they could have been assigned. I work with the lowest level students, so their comprehension of these stories is essentially nil. That said, the show must go on, and so they are still forced to script read and drill scenes. Last night my Korean co teacher sequestered the girls in a sort of tryout for the Belle character, and I was left to run a 4-page section with the boys. What ensued in this dudes' session was easily the most hilarious thing I've been a part of at camp.
Now, don't take this as me knocking these kids because they couldn't comprehend the scene. That's hardly the case. Most of them actually did grasp the arc of things. What got me going was how they suddenly broke out of their shell and gave Beauty everything they had. The narrarrator adopted a faux deep voice, the Prince/Beast was rife with passion, Belle (as played by an 11 year old boy) exhibited moments of real anguish. As funny as this whole thing was, I'd say it was equally fascinating. I was witnessing boys teetering on the precipice of all-consuming self-consciousness (teenagerdom). The equation was simply perfect. Any older and they would not have attacked such an effeminate piece with such gusto, for fear of seeming uncool. I don't know. Maybe it's not worth all this thought.
As frustrating as this camp can be/is, moments like that remind me that I'm right where I need to be.
Aug 3, 2009
Aug 2, 2009
Camp Rundown
I'm halfway done with this monster! Here's a list of some highlights and pitfalls...
- (during a "If you're happy and you know it..." activity) "If you're tired and you know it crazy..."
- Being told 5 minutes prior that we had to teach until 9pm when we had been told all day that we would only teach from 7:30 - 8. Why? Because the visiting parents were angry their kids would only be in class for 30 minutes that day - the one day when they weren't in class for 10 solid hours.
- Seeing the sun come up from the roof of our dorm complex (shhh...)
- Completely lucking into a single room.
- Being told by an 11 year old girl that she likes beer (pitfall)...
- Being told I look bad/tired after a marvelous 8 hours of sleep (pitfall)...
- (Upon entering a freshly smoked-in room) "Teacher, this is [like] my house!"
- Playing duck, duck, goose and watching a girl idly stand there smiling once picked. At first you think she doesn't know how to play, though there's no way she couldn't, and it soon becomes clear that she simply doesn't want to. Only, instead of complaining, she just stands there smiling as if she just pulled a prank on you. (Maybe you had to be there...)
- (the captions of a student drawing depicting the final scene of The Three Pigs) "Hahaha. Silly wolf!"
- For whatever reason, when I turn on my ipod, the only thing that seems to make sense is Van Halen's "Dance the Night Away".
- As much as my arm hair had baffled students before, nothing has reached the hysteria it has caused out here. There's not a single class period that goes by without a solid shucking of my arm.
- Drinking beers in our temporary dorm homes has caused collegiate nostalgia like never before.
- Playing a spirited rendition of Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down the Schoolyard" for 250+ captive Korean parents.
- Staring in awe as one of my Korean co-teachers, who insisted he was not very good at guitar, casually ripped through 30 minutes of flawless 4-finger picked classical pieces.
- (during a "If you're happy and you know it..." activity) "If you're tired and you know it crazy..."
- Being told 5 minutes prior that we had to teach until 9pm when we had been told all day that we would only teach from 7:30 - 8. Why? Because the visiting parents were angry their kids would only be in class for 30 minutes that day - the one day when they weren't in class for 10 solid hours.
- Seeing the sun come up from the roof of our dorm complex (shhh...)
- Completely lucking into a single room.
- Being told by an 11 year old girl that she likes beer (pitfall)...
- Being told I look bad/tired after a marvelous 8 hours of sleep (pitfall)...
- (Upon entering a freshly smoked-in room) "Teacher, this is [like] my house!"
- Playing duck, duck, goose and watching a girl idly stand there smiling once picked. At first you think she doesn't know how to play, though there's no way she couldn't, and it soon becomes clear that she simply doesn't want to. Only, instead of complaining, she just stands there smiling as if she just pulled a prank on you. (Maybe you had to be there...)
- (the captions of a student drawing depicting the final scene of The Three Pigs) "Hahaha. Silly wolf!"
- For whatever reason, when I turn on my ipod, the only thing that seems to make sense is Van Halen's "Dance the Night Away".
- As much as my arm hair had baffled students before, nothing has reached the hysteria it has caused out here. There's not a single class period that goes by without a solid shucking of my arm.
- Drinking beers in our temporary dorm homes has caused collegiate nostalgia like never before.
- Playing a spirited rendition of Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down the Schoolyard" for 250+ captive Korean parents.
- Staring in awe as one of my Korean co-teachers, who insisted he was not very good at guitar, casually ripped through 30 minutes of flawless 4-finger picked classical pieces.
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