"Somewhere in the Empire City, someone takes a curtain call. I'm so broke at the end of the evening that you'll find me hopeless in the back of the hall." ~bishop allen
Oh, what a great governor we have. The "steamroller" who was supposed to clean up New York gets busted for his involvement in a prostitution ring. The irony is just ridiculous. I never liked the hypocrite. But I feel awful for his family. I can't believe he hasn't resigned yet, but it seems like he will very soon (or else he'll face impeachment). The sooner he's out of office, the better.
I have tickets to The Daily Show tomorrow. I was considering not going, but I feel like I need a break from work so I probably will. I went a couple of months ago and it was fun. The worst part is waiting to get in, but I'll bring work to do in line (although I probably won't get any of it done because I'll be talking to my mom, aunt, and uncle who are coming). I wish I could have gone Monday or today instead to watch Jon Stewart roast Spitzer (he might tomorrow as well, though). At any rate, it will be nice to see some of my family.
My mom's at August: Osage County right now; she just called me during the first intermission (there are two). The tickets were her birthday gift from me. She's enjoying the show, so I'm happy about that. I absolutely loved it and I figured she would as well (I can't imagine who wouldn't, although my dad opted out and told her to take a friend because he was sure he wouldn't like it).
My kids took the state math test yesterday and today, so they're even more crazy than usual (testing is pretty stressful for them). Hopefully they'll settle down soon. Although I've heard the rest of the year will be very tough, because now that their two major tests (ELA and math) are over, they feel like they don't have to learn anymore.
I'm going to a Counting Crows concert on Sunday; I'm excited. This will be CC concert #5 for me.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Sunday, March 09, 2008
"I was spending my days with my demons, yeah, they had taken up inside of my heart. They were trying to keep me entertained, they were tearing me apart.
Well, my memory, she was packing, yeah, and I knew that she would never come back. She handed me a letter and then she vanished in the black. And the letter said:
'Things are what you make of them, things are what you make of them, baby. And you know what I mean, yeah, you know what I mean.'
Well, I met up with my common sense, and I knew her by the rose in her hair. She said: 'Son, if you don't make a noise, God will never know you're there.'
So I purchased me a ticket, yeah, for a meeting with Jesus Christ. He shook my hand and offered me just this thimble of advice. He was telling me: 'Things are what you make of them . . .'" ~bishop allen
I'm in love with Bishop Allen right now, and I couldn't choose just one part of that song.
Dead Man's Cell Phone was interesting. Mary-Louise Parker was wonderfully quirky; I loved seeing her live and in such a small, intimate theater. The play itself wasn't exactly my cup of tea; it wasn't bad at all, it was just a little too bizarre for me. But I was glad I got to see it. And ushering was definitely the way to go, because I got to see it for free (and I got a very good seat; actually, all of the seats in that theater are good because it's so small).
In the Heights opened today to mostly positive reviews. Here's the review that matters the most, the New York Times. Isherwood has some complaints with the show but basically writes a love letter to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is absolutely deserving of all the praise he's receiving. Go see this show if you can. Trust me, you'll love it.
Well, my memory, she was packing, yeah, and I knew that she would never come back. She handed me a letter and then she vanished in the black. And the letter said:
'Things are what you make of them, things are what you make of them, baby. And you know what I mean, yeah, you know what I mean.'
Well, I met up with my common sense, and I knew her by the rose in her hair. She said: 'Son, if you don't make a noise, God will never know you're there.'
So I purchased me a ticket, yeah, for a meeting with Jesus Christ. He shook my hand and offered me just this thimble of advice. He was telling me: 'Things are what you make of them . . .'" ~bishop allen
I'm in love with Bishop Allen right now, and I couldn't choose just one part of that song.
Dead Man's Cell Phone was interesting. Mary-Louise Parker was wonderfully quirky; I loved seeing her live and in such a small, intimate theater. The play itself wasn't exactly my cup of tea; it wasn't bad at all, it was just a little too bizarre for me. But I was glad I got to see it. And ushering was definitely the way to go, because I got to see it for free (and I got a very good seat; actually, all of the seats in that theater are good because it's so small).
In the Heights opened today to mostly positive reviews. Here's the review that matters the most, the New York Times. Isherwood has some complaints with the show but basically writes a love letter to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is absolutely deserving of all the praise he's receiving. Go see this show if you can. Trust me, you'll love it.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
"I used to think we lived at the top of the world. When the world was just a subway map, and the 1-slash-9 climbed a dotted line to my place." ~in the heights
Last night I saw the Broadway production of In the Heights. It was fabulous; I absolutely loved it. It's about Washington Heights, which is the neighborhood in which I teach. I would have loved the show even if I weren't familiar with the neighborhood, but having Washington Heights as such as an important part of my life right now made the musical especially meaningful to me. Today someone asked me if it was realistic. Well, I don't usually see people singing and dancing as I walk down the street. I suppose I'd say it's a slightly romanticized look at the neighborhood. The guy who conceived, composed, and stars in it is from the area, and while you're watching it you can definitely sense that the musical is rooted in a familiarity with and a love for Washington Heights. It's fun and entertaining with great music and dancing, but it has depth because it addresses immigration and the concept of home and other issues that are really prevalent to WH's inhabitants. So I loved it. I just wish it were more accessible to people who actually live in Washington Heights. I don't think many of them make it down to Broadway very often.
Here's me and Karen Olivo, one of the stars, a few years ago (after a performance of Brooklyn):
Tonight I'm meeting my parents for dinner and then I'm ushering at Dead Man's Cell Phone, starring the always amazing Mary-Louise Parker (I love her). I'm excited!
Last night I saw the Broadway production of In the Heights. It was fabulous; I absolutely loved it. It's about Washington Heights, which is the neighborhood in which I teach. I would have loved the show even if I weren't familiar with the neighborhood, but having Washington Heights as such as an important part of my life right now made the musical especially meaningful to me. Today someone asked me if it was realistic. Well, I don't usually see people singing and dancing as I walk down the street. I suppose I'd say it's a slightly romanticized look at the neighborhood. The guy who conceived, composed, and stars in it is from the area, and while you're watching it you can definitely sense that the musical is rooted in a familiarity with and a love for Washington Heights. It's fun and entertaining with great music and dancing, but it has depth because it addresses immigration and the concept of home and other issues that are really prevalent to WH's inhabitants. So I loved it. I just wish it were more accessible to people who actually live in Washington Heights. I don't think many of them make it down to Broadway very often.
Here's me and Karen Olivo, one of the stars, a few years ago (after a performance of Brooklyn):
Tonight I'm meeting my parents for dinner and then I'm ushering at Dead Man's Cell Phone, starring the always amazing Mary-Louise Parker (I love her). I'm excited!
Monday, March 03, 2008
"I must be me, I'm in my head, black birds are circling my bed. I must be me, I must be me, black feathers are falling on my feet." ~the national
My tattoo is inspired by Counting Crows, particularly by the phrase "I am feathered," which is from the song "A Murder of One" and which they insert into lots of other songs and is absolutely gorgeous. I love listening to live versions of different songs in which they insert that lyric. They did it during "A Long December" at the Bowery Ballroom concert I went to last month; it was the perfect ending to an awesome performance of that song. The opening quote of this post is from The National's song "Karen," and it also fits my tattoo perfectly. I love that song as well.
I've been feeling uninspired lately. It's hard for me to sit down and write creative lesson plans that will engage the kids. I get distracted easily. And it shouldn't be so hard for me right now, because I'm doing a unit on Katherine Paterson and I love Katherine Paterson. Maybe it's the winter. It makes everything seem so "blah."
My kids are doing okay for the most part (of course, now that I've said that they'll come in tomorrow and act completely insane). There's this one boy, D, who's a real handful. He actually has gotten really into our current read-aloud book, though, which is a Katherine Paterson book called Park's Quest. I was sitting with the kids during science today and I had the book with me. We had just read about a mysterious new character, and D kept trying to convince me to tell him who she is. When I wouldn't tell him, he grabbed the book from me and skimmed through it for an entire period (while he was supposed to be doing science), trying to figure out who the girl is. He refused to give the book back to me, and he was so invested in his search. I was particularly frustrated when he flipped to the last page and started to read it, because I didn't want him to spoil it for himself. I was frustrated with him for not giving me the book back, for not doing his science work, and for yelling out things that happen in the parts we haven't read yet. At the same time, though, I was glad that he was actually interested in a book. That's unusual for him. It's those little things that keep me going.
My tattoo is inspired by Counting Crows, particularly by the phrase "I am feathered," which is from the song "A Murder of One" and which they insert into lots of other songs and is absolutely gorgeous. I love listening to live versions of different songs in which they insert that lyric. They did it during "A Long December" at the Bowery Ballroom concert I went to last month; it was the perfect ending to an awesome performance of that song. The opening quote of this post is from The National's song "Karen," and it also fits my tattoo perfectly. I love that song as well.
I've been feeling uninspired lately. It's hard for me to sit down and write creative lesson plans that will engage the kids. I get distracted easily. And it shouldn't be so hard for me right now, because I'm doing a unit on Katherine Paterson and I love Katherine Paterson. Maybe it's the winter. It makes everything seem so "blah."
My kids are doing okay for the most part (of course, now that I've said that they'll come in tomorrow and act completely insane). There's this one boy, D, who's a real handful. He actually has gotten really into our current read-aloud book, though, which is a Katherine Paterson book called Park's Quest. I was sitting with the kids during science today and I had the book with me. We had just read about a mysterious new character, and D kept trying to convince me to tell him who she is. When I wouldn't tell him, he grabbed the book from me and skimmed through it for an entire period (while he was supposed to be doing science), trying to figure out who the girl is. He refused to give the book back to me, and he was so invested in his search. I was particularly frustrated when he flipped to the last page and started to read it, because I didn't want him to spoil it for himself. I was frustrated with him for not giving me the book back, for not doing his science work, and for yelling out things that happen in the parts we haven't read yet. At the same time, though, I was glad that he was actually interested in a book. That's unusual for him. It's those little things that keep me going.
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