"Is everybody happy? Is everybody clear? We could drive out to the dunes tonight, 'cause summer's almost here." ~counting crows

I want to start off with a quote from AD about Counting Crows' Paris 1994 concert. It's legendary among fans. Here's AD:

"That concert was a fantastic concert. It saved the band. It's the reason we're still here. If you listen carefully, on "Anna Begins" I sound dead. But by the time we hit "Round Here," you start to feel that this is actually going to save my life. After that, everything galvanizes and the show becomes something different. The last song is 15 minutes and I don't want to stop. The concert includes this clip from the U2 song "Red Hill Mining Town," the lyrics "I'm hanging on/You're all that's left to hold on to," and I'm howling it over and over. This band, that music, that night, that was all I had left. I was going crazy, but all that was still there and I realized it that night. We had to take some time off afterwards because I was a wackjob, but it saved the band."

I love that. I love the idea that a concert can save someone's life. It really can. I can't tell you how much I wish I could have been at that concert.

Last week was a long week. I forget what I've already written about here and I'm too lazy to go back and check.

On Wednesday I went to an advance screening of Hamlet 2, which provided a wonderful reprise from school. It was very funny. It's about a high school drama teacher who has to save his school's drama program, so he writes a sequel to Hamlet and produces it with his drama class. I still have the song "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" in my head. Yes, his production not only features the characters from Hamlet, it also features Jesus, Hillary Clinton, Dick Cheney, and other important people.

Last night I went to my aunt and uncle's apartment for dinner. My mom came into the city and joined us as well. My cousin D.J.'s prom was the night before, so he told us all about it. He goes to a private school on the UES, and everything did sound slightly Gossip Girl-ish.

Besides dinner last night (and doing laundry and going to Target yesterday morning), I have spent this entire weekend typing my students' papers that I need to hang up in my classroom on Monday. It has not been fun. But the process is not without entertainment. Some excerpts:

"I was never related to this story because my parents never died and I never got poisoned....In conclusion I recommend this book to kids that don't have parents and who got poisoned before."

"Once he got in the room he said that he is not going to get along with him. He got mad. He didn't get along with anybody. It's just like me, I don't get along with everybody when I meet them." (You probably have to know the kid to fully appreciate this one.)

"I recommend this book to the people."

Another one used the word "delicious" four times in one paragraph (spelled differently each time).

And a non-funny one that made me happy (again, more meaningful if you know the kid): "When I was reading this book I thought it was interesting because it makes you think what's going to happen next and then you want to keep reading and that's good because you become a better reader and that's what I liked about the book because I am not a good reader and I need to become a good reader. I also like that it has a little boy who is trying to solve the mystery. To me it shows that kids could do anything."

I'll leave you with the Hamlet 2 trailer: