Celebrate!

 Me celebrating the end of the AP Exams. 

The Decemberists in Dallas!

Last night's Decemberists show was fantastic. The weather and traffic to the venue was perfect. The Majestic Theater is a great classic venue. The crowd was our age and mostly well behaved. The opening act, Ratboy, was pretty good despite their band name. Everything got off on time. A well run show.

I had bought this hat two months ago with this occasion in mind! 

The Decemberists started off with an acoustic set which set a cool mysterious vibe. Then they moved into their upbeat stuff. They presented a nice mix of classic fan favorites with new songs from the upcoming album set to be released this June.

All members of the band are fantastic musicians. Colin Meloy is a great front man and really knows how to work a crowd. He's an amazing vocalist and guitarist. They had a very good trumpet player. The whole was fantastic. We had seats six rows from the stage. The view was excellent. The sound mix perfect. It was a brilliant show.

The Setlist...

Morning Mood, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
(Edvard Grieg song)

All I Want Is You
Shankill Butchers
The Bachelor and the Bride
The Infanta
Burial Ground
(Colin invited people to fill the empty seats at the front)
Down by the Water
Make You Better
The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid
Oh No!
The Sporting Life
(with snippet of The Smiths' "This Charming Man")
Severed
16 Military Wives
I Was Meant for the Stage
(dedicated to the former employees of Toys "R" Us)

Encore:
Joan in the Garden
 

School of Athens

Last week my senior AP European History celebrated their last day of school by recreating Raphael's The School of Athens.

 

Dylan

One of my former students was raising funds for a competition and was making boards of famous musicians. I asked if she could make a Dylan and this was the result. Pretty cool. 

Mothers Day Breakfast at Nina’s

 

Sing the Truth

 

Teacher Appreciation Week

A brief rant...

A locally owned coffee shop this week decided to show their appreciation for teachers this week by offering a free cup of coffee to teachers with a teacher ID. 

Within in one day they had to regretfully end the promotion.

This is a new business that just opened a few months ago. Teachers make up a large part of the customer base. For them to offer this promotion meant they were losing a substantial amount of revenue each day. They would barely break even while the promotion lasted.

That's not why they ended the promotion early.

Apparently they were flooded by people claiming to be teachers in order to get a free cup of coffee.

"I'm a home school teacher."

 "I teach martial arts."

"I teach people how to ride horses." 

"I teach Sunday School."

and so on and so forth. 

All honorable pursuits but obviously not honoring the clearly expressed intent of the coffee shop to show appreciation to teachers in public education.

Plus, despite their ads being very clear, many actual teachers got upset when they were asked to show their teacher ID. Many didn't have their IDs and griped when they couldn't get their free drink. 

The negativity became so great that this coffee shop had to end the promotion early. They didn't want to subject their employees (often students) to any more verbal harassment.

A few observations...

1.) This is just another example (out of a billion) of the lack of respect teachers have in our society. Very few people in their right mind would try to claim to be a firefighter, policeman, soldier, doctor or whatever if a similar promotion were given for those professions. But of course anyone thinks they can be a teacher. Sorry (not sorry), you want to be considered a teacher?...get your state certification. I worked hard for that thing and you dishonor our efforts when you try to shortcut your way into the line by creatively using the term "teacher." No one in their right mind claims to be a lawyer unless they've passed the bar exam (except Leonardo DiCaprio in that one movie.). 

2.) Many of these complainers were church going so-called Christians. Another reminder to me that my worst and rudest customers when I was working at the Mardel Christian Bookstore back in college were "church people." You hear that same thing from waiters, hotel employees etc. Hypocrites. What kind of "witness" is that? This is a small business that this community is lucky to have. It's tough to open a new business, especially a restaurant or coffee shop. And that's how you welcome them? That's a great look for your religion. Fellow Christians...we must do better.

3.) Lastly, to those teachers who got mad when the coffee shop asked to see teacher ID. You claim to have high standards for your students yet you often behave in ways you would find unacceptable in your own classroom. If teachers want more respect then many teachers need to end their hypocritical behavior in these instances. Local business are trying to show appreciation and that's how you treat them? Then you want these same employees to vote for a school bond? You complain when your students don't follow simple directions and yet you can't follow the simple directions of having a Teacher ID to show to get your free coffee? C'mon fellow teachers...we can do better! We want respect? We must earn it.

Sorry, rant over. 

Another example why our society can't have nice things.

The Essays

Just completed my latest long-term read. The Essays by Montaigne. Started in late December so it took me a little over four months as I read a little each day during breakfast. I was up and down on these essays. Sometimes I was fascinated. Other times I found them a tedious bore. But I was surprised how much of Montaigne’s thought seemed very contemporary, as if written yesterday and not in the 16th century. Worth it over all. A much better long term read than some others I’ve tackled. 

Elevator to the Gallows

Last Friday I finally got around to watching 1958's Ascenseur pour l'echafuad (Elevator to the Gallows). I first heard of the movie thirty years ago through the film score by Miles Davis. I had purchased the soundtrack on CD in a bargain bin in 1991 not even knowing the music was recorded for a movie. 

Louis Malle's film is rightfully considered a classic. Beautifully filmed, evocative and troubling. The Miles Davis score is inspired. Jeanne Moreau's dazed walk through the nighttime Paris streets is iconic. 

*** spoilers follow ***

Some critics didn't like the central conceit of Maurice Ronet being trapped in an elevator. It seems like an absurd scenario but I think that's the point. The machinations of illicit love affairs can lead to absurdity. All the misunderstandings and tragedies in the film come about because of a stupid and trivial every day accident. This is true of much of life. 

How did Moreau not get hit by a car in her famous wandering scene? How did they film that? Much more impressive than CGI. The danger and desperation felt real as a result.

Fascinating and powerful choice to never have the lovers of the movie in a scene together. You see them talking passionately on the phone at the very beginning of the film. Then they have no contact for the duration. You never see them together until the dark room processing of the damning photos that sentence them both to prison. Not only does this build tension throughout the movie but it adds a jarring poignancy to see them happy together in a time now long gone...and in still shots. The superficiality of still photos still resonate when we see that falsity in our social media profiles. Those smiles captured in an instant hide the great turmoil that can actually be swirling in one's life.

It's also refreshing, if that's the correct word, to see that there are dumb young people in every society. We tend to think of Parisians as sophisticated and refined. Intellectual teens debating Sartre and Marx in sidewalk cafes. But there are also dumb teens in Paris who act on nothing but sheer impulse. The young shop girl and greaser hood then over dramatize their plight, as the young tend to do, by unsuccessfully taking their lives to a record playing on the turntable as if they are some kind of modern Romeo and Juliet. In reality they are just poor dumb kids doing stupid things that have no point. 

Any movie that still has me thinking about it days later is worth another look. Most movies pass in and out of the transom of my mind these days. Elevator to the Gallows (and last week La Dolce Vita) have really got me thinking. And that's a good thing. 

 

Native Coffee Company

On Saturday my wife and I had about an hour to kill before our son's concert/recital at Brookhaven College. So we drove over a couple of blocks to Native Coffee Company. Her coffee was very good and my green tea was one of the best I've ever had. Plus a pastry and a snickerdoodle cookie. All was very good. Highly recommend Native Coffee in Dallas...not too far from the Galleria.

The Stadium

Earlier this week my daughter went on a field trip to see the Dallas Cowboy's stadium. Just in case she forgot to take photos (which she didn't) I wanted some pics of her there.

 

Dressed Like Me

Yesterday was Dress Like a Teacher Day. I was surprised by several of my students attempting to dress like me. Two saw a photo of me as a prom sponsor several years ago and dress like me as prom sponsor.

Yeah I do wear button down plaids a lot.

And rock band or history t-shirts with long sleeves.

And my classroom gets cold so I have my trusty black jacket around at all times.

And Star Wars of course. 

I was deeply honored!
 

Signs of Rain

A few years ago, Kim Stanley Robinson combined his Science in the Capital trilogy into a single massive volume he called Green Earth. He trimmed material that took away from the plot and adjusted the science to match up with the newest findings. I put off reading this trilogy because I was afraid it might be dry (no pun intended) boring cli-fi. My plan was to read each book (now labeled as parts) one at a time then take a break and read something else, then come back and continue with the second part and so on and so forth.

But I have enjoyed Forty Signs of Rain immensely. So much so that even though I finished part one, I am going to immediately continue on to Fifty Degrees Below (or part two). I shouldn't have had any doubts about the mastery of Robinson. His works never cease to amaze me. Gripping plots, interesting characters, deep philosophy and modern science...Stan never disappoints. This is great stuff. Thought provoking yet a real page turner.

After last week's 100 year floods in Texas reading this was even more meaningful. It was scary to compare this plot to the real life happening right in front of us. Sobering.

Last Day of April

Is it really the last day of April? Tomorrow is May? Thank goodness. I don't usually count down the days this early. But I am this year. Mainly counting down the days my daughter has to spend in junior high. I mean, who likes junior high? I know I didn't.

Old Awards

Was in my son’s band hall Saturday for registration. I had to remind him that I won both these awards. He sighed and nodded his head. He’s heard the story before. 

The Sweet Life

Last night I watched La Dolce Vita for the first time in nearly thirty years. Such a devastating movie. The Steiner plot line crushed me. I’m still thinking about it 24 hours later. The dissolution of Marcello (played by Marcello Mastroianni), pictured above, is obviously the main story. He is such a tragic figure, losing his grip on any sort of meaning in life as he wanders the streets of Rome. Fellini is a fantastic director. This 1960 film feels as current as anything made today. I found a free version on YouTube, fully restored with good subtitling. A startling movie 64 years ago, still startling today. 

Floods!

We had a big storm roll in yesterday afternoon. Half the town flooded! Epic rains. We made it out safely. 

Final 20

Twenty school days left. 

I am beat. 

This has been the longest week in a long time.

I unironically say TGIF.

Confirmation

 

The Third Man

Watched The Third Man again last weekend. Such a great film. One of my favorites. Orson Welles’ big reveal is iconic. Carol Reed makes post-war Vienna look like a house of horrors. The sequence with the little kid following and pointing at Joseph Cotton as the killer is still creepy today. A true film noir classic. 

New Car

Got a new car this weekend. The family’s car. But if the boy chooses a college within reasonable driving distance it will be his  

 

4/19

 I will always remember Oklahoma City on this day. God Bless OKC.

The Nutmeg of Consolation

Just finished the 14th (out of 20) volume of the epic Aubrey-Maturin Series, The Nutmeg of Consolation. I have found so much joy in reading this series. I have enjoyed the series more and more as the years have gone on. I started in 2003 with intermittent gaps. So it's taken me twenty-one years to get through fourteen volumes and I'm not sure why I have taken so long. The books go quickly when I start. But there have been lapses of a couple of years before I acquired the next volume. Now days I try to search for the next couple of volumes at Half Price Books before I'm ready to start them.

But that's okay. Stretches it out longer. The series is one long continuous narrative and one novel leads right into the next. Such genius writing and planning. And who knows, when I get through them I'll probably be ready to retire, and I'll start the whole series again!

Peace!

 

Top Off

Took me five years but I finally got the top off the Jeep. I had to wait until my son was old enough to help me. 

Max Plays Bird

 

 

Discovered this album this week simply because it was playing on Sirius XM's Real Jazz channel. We were rolling to school when the music sounded nice and I made note of the album. The next day I had the chance to give it a listen and was impressed. 

It's an interesting album. No piano and two horn players, base and drums. First of all, any of the greats playing Bird is bound to be great. Secondly, Max Roach always had an eye for talent and was a great band leader. I've always dug Hank Mobley on tenor. In college I discovered Kenny Dorham and he became one of my understated favorites. His tone sounds very much like a flugel player on trumpet. A fantastic bopper. 

This is a very nice album.

Eclipse Day Playlist

 

Eclipse Music

 

I had created an Eclipse Playlist for the two hours or so we would be outside during the eclipse. But it was this song that was playing when the skies went dark and we witnessed totality. Seemed very appropriate and added to the moment. Moon River as sung by Morrissey.

More Eclipse Shots

Such a spectacular moment deserves another post! Some more shots of yesterdays total eclipse  

 

Eclipse Day!

Well, that was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. Total eclipse. We were lucky to be in the path of totality. When it got completely dark the world grew silent for three or four minutes. It was a mystical and spiritual experience.