sorry, but since i'm back, i'm going to go on a little rant...
i'm really not sure when it began - if it's due to spellcheck or not (and i doubt it, since most people are too damn lazy to even take the 20 seconds it takes to run spellcheck), but it's disgusting just how horrendously pathetic the average person's ability to spell has become (and when i say average, i really mean everybody's)
people - you don't loose your keys when you can't find them, you lose them... right now there truly must be some kind of secret society that's out there teaching people that this is how you spell lose because i can't even begin to tell you how many times i've seen this lately...
and, while i'm at it... led is the past tense form of to lead, NOT lead...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
the book thief...
it's been quite some time since i've posted... and it's been a little bit since i finished reading the book thief by markus zusak, but it's about time to get this down somewhere...
first, the backstory - i had a student a couple years ago who carried this book around like it was a piece of gold - anytime there was any downtime in yearbook whatsoever, she was devouring this book - i quietly observed her poring over this book - she'd cry and try to cover it up so that nobody could see her... for christmas, she presented me with a copy of my own... politely, and appreciatively, i accepted it, but quickly placed it on a bookshelf at home - where it sat for about two years... so fast forward to a couple months ago - we're looking to update our curricula and zusak's book came up as a possibility... finally, the push i needed to check it out...
quite simply, i was hooked from the start - a holocaust story from a german perspective? death as a narrator? you've got my attention now...actually, i should expand on that - an extremely sarcastic death as a narrator? you've truly got my FULL attention now... i was intrigued with liesel from the start as well - she found herself in a situation and did her best to adapt - she didn't know what was happening around her, yet did her best to get through it - i truly believe that zusak crafted a beautiful, moving look at a young girl who gradually learns who both she and her foster parents are...and they aren't who they appear to be at times...
at the heart of the matter, truly, you fall in love - with the narrator - the characters - with zusak's writing - with the idea of somebody creating a book that moves you to tears...
i don't really want to give more away than what i have - but i want you to read this and let me know what you think...i've recommended it to so many people - those who've read it have loved it - and so will you...
first, the backstory - i had a student a couple years ago who carried this book around like it was a piece of gold - anytime there was any downtime in yearbook whatsoever, she was devouring this book - i quietly observed her poring over this book - she'd cry and try to cover it up so that nobody could see her... for christmas, she presented me with a copy of my own... politely, and appreciatively, i accepted it, but quickly placed it on a bookshelf at home - where it sat for about two years... so fast forward to a couple months ago - we're looking to update our curricula and zusak's book came up as a possibility... finally, the push i needed to check it out...
quite simply, i was hooked from the start - a holocaust story from a german perspective? death as a narrator? you've got my attention now...actually, i should expand on that - an extremely sarcastic death as a narrator? you've truly got my FULL attention now... i was intrigued with liesel from the start as well - she found herself in a situation and did her best to adapt - she didn't know what was happening around her, yet did her best to get through it - i truly believe that zusak crafted a beautiful, moving look at a young girl who gradually learns who both she and her foster parents are...and they aren't who they appear to be at times...
at the heart of the matter, truly, you fall in love - with the narrator - the characters - with zusak's writing - with the idea of somebody creating a book that moves you to tears...
i don't really want to give more away than what i have - but i want you to read this and let me know what you think...i've recommended it to so many people - those who've read it have loved it - and so will you...
Monday, November 2, 2009
vol. 58
car thief...
i read this article in yesterday's NY Times Magazine about a woman's fight with her father to get him to stop driving as he continued to age -- pretty much to no avail... it got me to thinking about my papap's driving and how he just didn't want to give it up (until he went in to the home and had to...) now, i'm the first to moan and groan about old people driving and the need to have a re-test for drivers over, let's say 65 -- and while this article certainly softened my stance on it some, i still feel this testing is necessary... there's not a doubt in my mind that i'm filled with road rage, and it never fails that these senior citizens are on the roads ready to cash their government checks or to their 4 pm dinner at Hoss's at the same time i'm trying to get... anywhere - but it definitely makes you think...
as did hearing about Lydia Kepple, the grandmother of some students i've had in class or coached - she passed away last week at 109 -- let that sink in -- 109 -- she was born in 1900 -- just think of all the things she experienced in her lifetime -- cars, radio, tv, airplanes, kennedy being shot (she was in her 60s when that happened...), computers, cell phones, etc. -- she lived through WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, Persian Gulf Wars I and II -- the Great Depression... it's just unfathomable to think of all the things she saw in her life, and from what the kids have said, she was very active until about a year ago, when she moved in to Redstone Highlands -- she had 13 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren -- amazing -- she was 92 years old when mike, the oldest of the kids i've coached, was born...
so if i make it to 109, it will be 2080 -- scary to think of all the things that could happen in between now and then...
i read this article in yesterday's NY Times Magazine about a woman's fight with her father to get him to stop driving as he continued to age -- pretty much to no avail... it got me to thinking about my papap's driving and how he just didn't want to give it up (until he went in to the home and had to...) now, i'm the first to moan and groan about old people driving and the need to have a re-test for drivers over, let's say 65 -- and while this article certainly softened my stance on it some, i still feel this testing is necessary... there's not a doubt in my mind that i'm filled with road rage, and it never fails that these senior citizens are on the roads ready to cash their government checks or to their 4 pm dinner at Hoss's at the same time i'm trying to get... anywhere - but it definitely makes you think...
as did hearing about Lydia Kepple, the grandmother of some students i've had in class or coached - she passed away last week at 109 -- let that sink in -- 109 -- she was born in 1900 -- just think of all the things she experienced in her lifetime -- cars, radio, tv, airplanes, kennedy being shot (she was in her 60s when that happened...), computers, cell phones, etc. -- she lived through WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, Persian Gulf Wars I and II -- the Great Depression... it's just unfathomable to think of all the things she saw in her life, and from what the kids have said, she was very active until about a year ago, when she moved in to Redstone Highlands -- she had 13 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren -- amazing -- she was 92 years old when mike, the oldest of the kids i've coached, was born...
so if i make it to 109, it will be 2080 -- scary to think of all the things that could happen in between now and then...
Friday, October 30, 2009
vol. 57
the day after...
if you've ever coached anything, this post might make more sense to you... if not, well...
so our cross country season ended last night - nobody qualified for the state meet from our team - we thought we had one who could make (in fact, he probably should have made it, but it just didn't happen) but the season's over now and a lull sets in for me - there's a part of me that says, probably more than a few times during a season, that i can't wait for it to be over - honestly, i don't know that this has ever been completely true - i hate that it's over - i hate that i don't have something definitive to do after school for the next couple weeks until the next season starts - i hate that kids didn't reach their goals and that i may have failed them (this year more than others due to an issue that was beyond my control) - we've worked with these kids since mid June - and, for the most part, they've done a ton of work to get better - until you've coached a kid for six years, i don't know that you can understand what it's like to see that career end and wish that it could just keep going on... that she could have chapel hill to run this week...
i don't want to go home after school today - i want my cross country season to continue...
if you've ever coached anything, this post might make more sense to you... if not, well...
so our cross country season ended last night - nobody qualified for the state meet from our team - we thought we had one who could make (in fact, he probably should have made it, but it just didn't happen) but the season's over now and a lull sets in for me - there's a part of me that says, probably more than a few times during a season, that i can't wait for it to be over - honestly, i don't know that this has ever been completely true - i hate that it's over - i hate that i don't have something definitive to do after school for the next couple weeks until the next season starts - i hate that kids didn't reach their goals and that i may have failed them (this year more than others due to an issue that was beyond my control) - we've worked with these kids since mid June - and, for the most part, they've done a ton of work to get better - until you've coached a kid for six years, i don't know that you can understand what it's like to see that career end and wish that it could just keep going on... that she could have chapel hill to run this week...
i don't want to go home after school today - i want my cross country season to continue...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
vol 56...
remembering...
i think it's unbelievably interesting how we remember things -- what we remember from an event as well as how two people may remember how things happened in a completely different way -- i'm not talking about when a person is under stress, such as when witnessing a crime -- i'm talking about something completely different, i think...
my 20th high school reunion was a couple weeks ago and that in itself is a truly surreal experience - but i had the opportunity to visit with some great friends i haven't seen for quite some time - or for at least the 5 years since our last reunion... it's amazing the things we remember from such a long time ago -- the big things, the little things -- everything... when you're at a reunion, conversation can't help but be steered toward things that happened when we were much younger, and in many cases very different (i know that i was a very different person then than i am now...) but it's amazing how many times i was speaking with somebody and we just remembered things completely differently...
i had the chance to speak with an old friend about going to an rem concert - i certainly always remember having gone to this show -- it was a great one -- 10,000 maniacs opened, we went with sue diebold and maria frendy (two girls who were definitely out of my league) and i had to go through this unbelievable process in order to even get to the show, as i wasn't allowed to go...lies about where i was were told and i made it back just before curfew...it was an awesome show -- but this is where it got interesting...
joe small and i were talking about it after the reunion and i had completely forgotten about the fact that we had actually snuck down on to the floor before rem started their set -- as soon as joe reminded me of this, i remembered it clearly -- but what is so weird to me is that until we started talking about this, i had completely forgotten this aspect -- when i thought about the show i remembered all that other stuff i mentioned, but just thought we sat in our cheap seats up high (from where we watched 10,000 maniacs) -- and i had completely forgotten about the jerk who threw the bottle that went flying right past michael stipe's head...
so i think about seeing ray lamontagne at the meyerhoff symphony with my brother tony and beck -- i think about how we moved up and got great terrace seats -- and i think about how i again saw him absolutely kill henry nearly killed me -- and i wonder if this is what tony and beck are going to remember about this show in 20 years... or if they're going to forget that we moved down to these seats... i guess i just wonder what it is that they're going to remember when we sit down 20 years from now and think back...
i think it's unbelievably interesting how we remember things -- what we remember from an event as well as how two people may remember how things happened in a completely different way -- i'm not talking about when a person is under stress, such as when witnessing a crime -- i'm talking about something completely different, i think...
my 20th high school reunion was a couple weeks ago and that in itself is a truly surreal experience - but i had the opportunity to visit with some great friends i haven't seen for quite some time - or for at least the 5 years since our last reunion... it's amazing the things we remember from such a long time ago -- the big things, the little things -- everything... when you're at a reunion, conversation can't help but be steered toward things that happened when we were much younger, and in many cases very different (i know that i was a very different person then than i am now...) but it's amazing how many times i was speaking with somebody and we just remembered things completely differently...
i had the chance to speak with an old friend about going to an rem concert - i certainly always remember having gone to this show -- it was a great one -- 10,000 maniacs opened, we went with sue diebold and maria frendy (two girls who were definitely out of my league) and i had to go through this unbelievable process in order to even get to the show, as i wasn't allowed to go...lies about where i was were told and i made it back just before curfew...it was an awesome show -- but this is where it got interesting...
joe small and i were talking about it after the reunion and i had completely forgotten about the fact that we had actually snuck down on to the floor before rem started their set -- as soon as joe reminded me of this, i remembered it clearly -- but what is so weird to me is that until we started talking about this, i had completely forgotten this aspect -- when i thought about the show i remembered all that other stuff i mentioned, but just thought we sat in our cheap seats up high (from where we watched 10,000 maniacs) -- and i had completely forgotten about the jerk who threw the bottle that went flying right past michael stipe's head...
so i think about seeing ray lamontagne at the meyerhoff symphony with my brother tony and beck -- i think about how we moved up and got great terrace seats -- and i think about how i again saw him absolutely kill henry nearly killed me -- and i wonder if this is what tony and beck are going to remember about this show in 20 years... or if they're going to forget that we moved down to these seats... i guess i just wonder what it is that they're going to remember when we sit down 20 years from now and think back...
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
vol. 55
can't even begin to explain the gamut of emotions that i've been through today...
rough morning only exacerbated by running late - yes, i just used exacerbated...
got two emails from former students/athletes thanking me for helping them get through the start of their collegiate careers (it doesn't get any better than that)
dealt with more and more idiotic parents/students as we try to get all the senior pics in - without a doubt this is my least favorite week of the year, simply because of the ineptitude (yes, ineptitude) of others who simply refuse to follow instructions or think the rules don't apply to them -- i'd love to punch whoever is in charge of the photo studio at jcpenney, especially...
got a lot of papers graded while listening to chris brown's forever on repeat - yeah, go ahead and get your chuckles - and i know i'm way late to this song's "game," but i just can't get it out of my head...it's a very good song on many, many levels...and i just noticed that that video has been viewed over 53 million times - wow - my guess is that the ad space being placed on that is at a premium
got more work done while watching the west wing -- i've gone on and on about just how good that show was -- and i got the chance to catch up on 3 tremendous episodes -- the last one had me in tears, however -- toby's brother passed away and his life is just falling apart -- aaron sorkin knows how to tell a tale like few others...
as i've said many times, i'm fascinated by how we interpret the things we see/hear, etc. - and this listing for the episode of which i speak, entitled drought conditions, barely even addresses what the entire episode was really about in my eyes... only furthers my ideas concerning just how different perspectives and different moods can alter how we see/hear what we see/hear...
rough morning only exacerbated by running late - yes, i just used exacerbated...
got two emails from former students/athletes thanking me for helping them get through the start of their collegiate careers (it doesn't get any better than that)
dealt with more and more idiotic parents/students as we try to get all the senior pics in - without a doubt this is my least favorite week of the year, simply because of the ineptitude (yes, ineptitude) of others who simply refuse to follow instructions or think the rules don't apply to them -- i'd love to punch whoever is in charge of the photo studio at jcpenney, especially...
got a lot of papers graded while listening to chris brown's forever on repeat - yeah, go ahead and get your chuckles - and i know i'm way late to this song's "game," but i just can't get it out of my head...it's a very good song on many, many levels...and i just noticed that that video has been viewed over 53 million times - wow - my guess is that the ad space being placed on that is at a premium
got more work done while watching the west wing -- i've gone on and on about just how good that show was -- and i got the chance to catch up on 3 tremendous episodes -- the last one had me in tears, however -- toby's brother passed away and his life is just falling apart -- aaron sorkin knows how to tell a tale like few others...
as i've said many times, i'm fascinated by how we interpret the things we see/hear, etc. - and this listing for the episode of which i speak, entitled drought conditions, barely even addresses what the entire episode was really about in my eyes... only furthers my ideas concerning just how different perspectives and different moods can alter how we see/hear what we see/hear...
vol. 54
randoms...
yes, i know, it's been way too long...and i'd like to tell you i have a legitimate excuse for this, but that wouldn't be completely true... i do know this, though - i could go for some of that pizza pictured to the side right now...
time...
i know that i've addressed this before, but i have a serious problem with my internal clock - i ALWAYS feel like i'm in a hurry - this morning i just couldn't get out of bed - woke up at 5 (normal time) and did my typical routine (read the paper online, caught up on news and emails, etc.) but i just didn't want to get out of bed - now, keep in mind, when all was said and done, i was about 10 minutes behind where i normally would be - yet felt like i was unbelievably late - people at starbucks annoyed me because they were taking too much time, making me even later - some idiot driver on north greengate road stalled me out even more - and then, as i pulled in to school, expecting that all of the parking spots would be taken, i saw that i was still unbelievably early compared to everyone else - as in nobody else was even here yet early... yet i still felt panicked and behind... i've tried very hard over the last year to slow things down, to take my time, but i still have difficulty with these inner feelings of always being behind...
lamontagne (take two)...
i wrote about ray lamontagne's performance at the palace theatre in greensburg on an earlier post - and i've gone on and on about how much i've connected to his music -- to the point that crider pretty much wants to kill me -- but you'll have this -- i had the opportunity to see lamontagne this past friday in baltimore at the meyerhoff symphony hall with the baltimore symphony backing him up -- as much as i enjoyed the show at the palace, it was nothing compared to this - first off, the sound quality was just incredible (i know, fancy that in a symphony hall) -- secondly, we ended up with great seats due to being sly and beck figuring out a way to get us into terraced seats on the side (see pic) -- this only added to the experience -- by no means was i expecting it, but i got another set list (2 for 2) as for the music itself, he opened with be here now and this showed right off the bat just how great the show with the symphony would be -- i've been really hooked on let it be me lately, and, while he played it, i didn't really like his vocal arrangement on it that much (it was the only thing i was a little disappointed with out of the whole experience) i would say the highlight, again, was his version of henry nearly killed me -- you just have to see it...
some links from friday's show:
let it be me
henry nearly killed me (wish that you could see the drummer more in this)
be here now (this is what he led the show with, it's from the night before and not a great video but the sound is good)
empty
yes, i know, it's been way too long...and i'd like to tell you i have a legitimate excuse for this, but that wouldn't be completely true... i do know this, though - i could go for some of that pizza pictured to the side right now...
time...
i know that i've addressed this before, but i have a serious problem with my internal clock - i ALWAYS feel like i'm in a hurry - this morning i just couldn't get out of bed - woke up at 5 (normal time) and did my typical routine (read the paper online, caught up on news and emails, etc.) but i just didn't want to get out of bed - now, keep in mind, when all was said and done, i was about 10 minutes behind where i normally would be - yet felt like i was unbelievably late - people at starbucks annoyed me because they were taking too much time, making me even later - some idiot driver on north greengate road stalled me out even more - and then, as i pulled in to school, expecting that all of the parking spots would be taken, i saw that i was still unbelievably early compared to everyone else - as in nobody else was even here yet early... yet i still felt panicked and behind... i've tried very hard over the last year to slow things down, to take my time, but i still have difficulty with these inner feelings of always being behind...
lamontagne (take two)...
i wrote about ray lamontagne's performance at the palace theatre in greensburg on an earlier post - and i've gone on and on about how much i've connected to his music -- to the point that crider pretty much wants to kill me -- but you'll have this -- i had the opportunity to see lamontagne this past friday in baltimore at the meyerhoff symphony hall with the baltimore symphony backing him up -- as much as i enjoyed the show at the palace, it was nothing compared to this - first off, the sound quality was just incredible (i know, fancy that in a symphony hall) -- secondly, we ended up with great seats due to being sly and beck figuring out a way to get us into terraced seats on the side (see pic) -- this only added to the experience -- by no means was i expecting it, but i got another set list (2 for 2) as for the music itself, he opened with be here now and this showed right off the bat just how great the show with the symphony would be -- i've been really hooked on let it be me lately, and, while he played it, i didn't really like his vocal arrangement on it that much (it was the only thing i was a little disappointed with out of the whole experience) i would say the highlight, again, was his version of henry nearly killed me -- you just have to see it...
some links from friday's show:
let it be me
henry nearly killed me (wish that you could see the drummer more in this)
be here now (this is what he led the show with, it's from the night before and not a great video but the sound is good)
empty
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