School Note

 I tried to use this note with my principal a few days ago. He laughed. But no, he didn't buy it.

The Parade

 

Yeah I may have had the parade on during lunch and 5th period history class. Admittedly I don’t enjoy the Chief’s victory celebrations as much as the Royals’ parade in 2015. Mahomes staggering around with a Coors Light in his hand is not a good look in my opinion. It does look like more people came out this year than in 2020. I think the weather was a little less frigid this year. Maybe it will become a regular thing. I'll be hanging out there in June for the AP reading.

Free Jazz

Found this on the floor of my classroom yesterday. It’s a study guide for another class. But the student’s answer at the top of the page made me very proud. Also, props to the chemistry teacher for asking the question! I asked the student later about it and he said “oh yeah, The Shape of Jazz to Come is a masterpiece. Coleman is a giant.” I almost cried. There is hope for our future yet.

WWTAWWTAG

 

Rob Bell's works never cease to provide me with hope and encouragement but not in a cheesy saccharine way. I saw him a year ago this month in person and he's just a beacon of positive energy. This work again demonstrates his thesis that everything is connected and mysticism and rationality don't have to be in opposition.

War and Peace Redux

UPDATE: I’m going to have start War and Peace over. 

I had made it to page 175 when I came across an internet article discussing  the different versions of War and Peace. The article weighed the pros and cons of each of the major translations. I found the article interesting but realized that the translation I was reading was not discussed. I also saw a substantial page length difference between my version and those listed in the article. 

So I looked closer in the inside cover of my book and to my horror saw that the Barnes and Noble edition I have is an abridged edition. Abridged! I was reading a well known abridgment by Alexandria Kropotkin that cuts over 300 pages from the original work. My stomach sank. 

So an internal debate swirled. I’m 175 pages in, do I really want to start over especially since it has not been a super exciting experience so far? There were many articles online that debated the abridged edition and whether or not it counted if you read it. 

I have a free version on my Kindle, the Maude translation actually authorized by Tolstoy himself. I began to compare this edition with the abridged edition and noticed immediate and vast differences. 

So I sighed and realized that I would never be satisfied with my long term read of War and Peace if it was an abridged one. Silly I know. But whatever. I’ve decided to read the free unabridged Kindle version, the Maude translation. 

The Maude translation does have its shortcomings. Apparently it Anglicizes many of the characters names and is a bit dry. Alymer and Louise Maude were friends of Tolstoy and knew his work well. He approved of their work and many say it’s the most faithful translation. More importantly to me is that it’s free and I already have it. Although I prefer to read actual books to my Kindle, at least I won’t have to lug that heavy thing around anymore! 

Alright. Back to it. 

Chiefs

 Chiefs 

The Yosemite

Just finished The Yosemite by John Muir as my breakfast reading. I didn't enjoy this as much as the two previous Muir works I've read in the past couple of months. Too much landscape description that after two Muir books became a bit redundant. Maybe if I had spread the works out. This work has less of a narrative plot as well. Just a lot of scenery. There's some really nice bits. But this is more for a naturalist or biologist I think. Again, there are some really great parts in here. But overall, just a little much on the description for my personal tastes.

Redman

 

Now that I’ve worked my way through the Wynton Marsalis discography I’ve moved on to Joshua Redman. Joshua Redman burst onto the jazz scene in my early college years. His first album, self-titled, was a revelation. I borrowed it from a friend and was blown away by Redman’s mastery of the tenor sax. The first album I bought of his was 1995’s MoodSwing. I’ve seen him live and he is one of the all time greats. I’m excited to delve in to his music for awhile. 

Stalled

 

Well, I have to admit I've kind of stalled out on the Wynton Marsalis Discography project. The reason is that it seems Marsalis hasn't recorded a small group album in quite awhile. I could be wrong but it looks like it has been over a decade, maybe longer, since he's put out an album with the Septet, Quintet or any other of his small ensembles. All his recent releases have been with The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra or larger groups.

Don't get me wrong, JLCO is an amazing group of musicians and they can really swing. But it's just not my cup of tea. I'm also not as keen on the composed works. I prefer the traditional small group improvisation. Too me, JLCO is almost a different entity from Wynton Marsalis. I know that logic is probably ridiculous. 

Either way, I may be done plowing through the rest of his releases for awhile. I still consider my project a success because it did introduce me to a lot of his albums that I have missed. And it was good to revisit some of my favorite jazz albums. It was a most excellent way to start out the year musically. Marsalis is and will always be one of my favorite jazz musicians.

Now I have to find someone else's catalog to dive into.

Fearless

This is a photo of my Grandfather. I always find it inspiring. He passed away three years ago this week at age 94. After he took early retirement he jumped into several hobbies that he had never tried before, one of them being snow skiing. He started skiing at age 54 and took his last ski run when he was 77. He really got all into it. I was fortunate to ski with him at Keystone on his last run before he finally had to hang it up due to hurting knees and back. This is him on a NASTAR run in Steamboat where you can measure your speed on a real course. I hope I can be this active at his age. He was fearless.
 

He Lives On…

 

I wrote this quote of my son's on my board in my classroom over four years ago. Can’t believe it’s still up there. Makes me happy every time I see it. 

Gotcha Day!

 

Ava's Gotcha Day today! Four years ago she "officially" joined our family and has been a light in our lives ever since!

In a Pond

Saunders basically replicates one of his courses at the University of Syracuse in this nice book. It's a fascinating look at how fiction works and how it moves us. He uses the short stories of Tolstoy, Chekov, Gogol and Turgenev to illuminate the power of story. I found it inspiring and enlightening. 

Bandwagon

A week before the game and the bandwagon game is strong in Texas. I tell ya, the first twenty years I lived here I never saw a car sporting Chiefs gear, or kids wearing KC shirts. Now, commonplace. Bandwagons! 

Dior by Halleluwah

 

I'm declaring this an early song of the year candidate for me. I heard it from an unlikely source. My wife was watching Ginny and Georgia on Netflix and they played this song on the soundtrack for one of the episodes. I heard it from the other room and immediately shazaamed it. Never heard of this group, they are from Iceland apparently. Great atmospheric song. I'm a sucker for Icelandic dream pop I guess. 

W & P Update

 

After the debacle of finding I had been reading an abridged edition and starting over with an actual translation, I can happily say I’ve finished Book One. Still a long way to go. I’m only 10% through according to my Kindle. But, I’m enjoying the book much more. This translation is so much clearer to understand. I estimate that 10% means I’ve only read about 100 pages in. But at this rate I’m moving much quicker than with the abridgment. The Maude translation is a vast improvement over the Kroprotkin. By far. 

Yep

 

Tradition

 

Brrrrr

 

Been cold outside! 

First Color Guard

 

This past weekend, my daughter performed in her first color guard competition. She was nervous but did great!