"Unstop the day, you’ll rise again. Don’t count the newsman to signal the end, ‘cause you can trust your farthest friends. Across the world, we’ll take the car. You’re in the room but your head's in the stars. Now, you can run but you can’t hide who you are." ~stellastarr*

Today was a good day at school. Because we have block scheduling, I only teach one class on Wednesdays and Fridays, and it's probably my favorite class. The kids are working on their research papers in the library, so I mostly just have to monitor them as they work. They got off-task today and I let them slide; none of us felt like being cooped up in the library on a Friday afternoon. A bunch of them spent most of the period trying to guess my first name, which I wouldn't tell them. I told them the first letter, so they went on a website and listed off every name that started with the letter C. There were some funny ones. At the very end of the period while they were waiting for the bell to ring, they asked the librarian my name, who told them. Now they're going to search for my MySpace page (which they'll find). They think it's hilarious that I have a MySpace page. I don't mind them seeing it; there's not much on it, anyway. During the period they also joked about tracking me down on campus as well as hiding in my car and then surprising me as I'm driving. We laughed a lot. I loved laughing with them. Maybe they're now a little behind on their research, but sometimes it's good to slack off a little.

One more week until spring break! I can't wait.

"I have dreamed of a black car that shimmers and drives down the length of the evening, to the carnival side. In a house where regret is a carousel ride, we are spinning and spinning and spinning and now...there's a hole in the ceiling, down through which I fell. There's a girl in a basement coming out of her shell. And there are people who will say that they knew me so well, I may not go to heaven, I hope you go to hell. And the comet is coming between me and the girl who could make it all clean. Out there in the shadow of the modern machine, walks St. Robinson in his Cadillac dream." ~counting crows

I named my car after that song. Seriously. My car is named St. Arthur Robinson (Robbie for short, because St. Arthur Robinson is an awfully long name for what seems like the smallest car ever created). That was the first song I played in my car (I purposely chose it). I am a music freak, I know. I can't help it. Anyway, a few elements of that song (the band, the car, the girl's name) come into today's game, which is:

LIVEJOURNAL SCATTEGORIES

Taken from the lovely Gen. Play along.

Use the 1st letter of your name (real name or journal name) to answer each of the following. They MUST be real places, names, things -- NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Your Name: Claire
Famous Music Artist/Group: Counting Crows
3 letter word: Cow
Colour: Cerulean
Gifts/Presents: CDs
Vehicle: Cadillac
TV Show: Cheers
Boy Name: Chris
Girl Name: Carrie
Alcoholic Drink: Cosmopolitan
Occupation: Counselor
Flower: Chrysanthemum
Celebrity: Claire Danes
Food: Chocolate
Something found in a kitchen: Countertops
Reason for Being Late: Crappy alarm clock
Something You Shout: Crivens!!! (shout-out to the wee free men!)

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes (Live)

"Is that all right, yeah, to give my gun away when it's loaded?" ~damien rice

Damien and Lisa singing "9 Crimes" together. Which won't happen again.

"Leave me out with the waste, this is not what I do. It's the wrong kind of place to be cheating on you. It's the wrong time, but she's pulling me through. It's a small crime, and I've got no excuse..." ~damien rice

I'm pissed at Damien Rice. He issued this statement:

After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are - Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander & Vyvienne Long.

He fired Lisa. Who, to me, is an integral part of the band. And that statement is so cold and harsh. It doesn't acknowledge her contribution to the band at all. She's been there from the beginning. The songs Volcano, I Remember, 9 Crimes, The Professor, Coconut Skins, Cold Water, Be My Husband, Sleep Don't Weep, and many more won't be the same without her. And the changes will most definitely detract from the songs. Damien is really making it hard to be a loyal fan of his right now. I wish Lisa the best of luck in her solo career; I have no doubt that she'll be successful. I'm still really sad, though.

"But I can't help the feeling I could blow through the ceiling if I just turn and run, and it wears me out, it wears me out, it wears me out, it wears me out. And if I could be who you wanted, if I could be who you wanted, all the time, all the time, ohhh...ohh..." ~radiohead

I went to go hear Joyce Carol Oates speak last night and she was freakin' fantastic. She's so funny, and her sense of humor comes across much more strongly when you're listening to her speak rather than simply reading her writing. I got her to sign another book for me, too.

One of my students wrote this. He's failing English class, yet he has this incredibly long, dense philosophical piece published online. Read it. I don't agree with everything he says, but I seriously can't believe he's such a talented writer and is failing English. The kid is brilliant.