Small Birthday Poem for My Daughter

The Dance

The day is a ribbon 
curling from the sky for you
Unimposed upon,
you will spend it twirling
round it, twisting upward
bright and blue 
into its blue

you step blithely
and spin, unfurling
your little spirit
upon the world.


(evolving draft, revised 2/3)

Testing out Grooveshark.

I've been frustrated recently because Playlist.com has become completely lame.  I don't listen to a lot of online music besides Pandora, but Playlist was a great tool because students could use it to create a soundtrack for a work of literature or for personal writing, and then embed it within our wiki sites to publish for each other.

Well, Playlist got rid of the embedding feature.  But my mom (of all people) showed me Grooveshark, and so far it looks COMPLETELY superior to playlist.  For one thing, I see a lot more song variety, and, so far, the sound quality is much higher.  I'm not an expert on how these sites are built, but I suspect that Grooveshark must have a lot more backing by the music industry and have a much more profitable model based on the use of mobile devices, etc.  The user interface is also much more pleasing and professional-feeling than Playlist

At any rate, it appears that on the free account available with Grooveshark I can create and EMBED playlists... so let's see here...



Somewhat of a random playlist for starters... what do you think?

I'm always looking for more webtools, especially those that are free and useful in the classroom.

Music to Work By

[peeve-- apparently you can't link to pandora stations?  wth?]

Usually I don't work well to music with lyrics, but my Pandora station based on Pink Martini, Norah Jones and a buttload of thumbs-upped other similar singers is very soothing...

Especially for someone (me) who just planned out her next two months of work on the ol' National Board portfolio and has an awful lot of analysis writing ahead of her.  I'm in the thick of it now... the slogging through meaty mud parts where I actually have to give evidence that my purposeful teaching produced learning. 

Wait... there are a few more cover sheets and forms I can fill out before I dive into the sloggy parts. 

I am hoping to finish one of my entries this weekend to the point where I can edit.  And to draft another entry, very roughly. 

Ooh, here's another station that is working out quite nicely, based on Rodrigo Y Gabriela, spanish guitar.  Beautiful!

Nutcracker

Due to my years of playing violin, combined with having multiple little brothers, I have realized I have highly conflicting connotations connected with the term "nutcracker."  That is all.

Pink Martini at Starr Pass amid Documented Accomplishments

Shuffling Pink Martini on my iPod.

Documenting my teaching accomplishments.

Curled up on a couch in a boulevard-sized passageway outside the ballrooms with massive glassed views of saguaro, ocotillo, a golf course, and, farther down the vale, the city stretching across the floor of the valley.  The crispness of the day refreshes me.

Enjoying the last couple hours of solitude among colleagues and music, writing and thinking.

Bisbee 1000

My internal monologue and I drove to Bisbee today and walked the Bisbee 1000. My internal monologue and I really should have trained for this, because we took 30 minutes longer than last year, but that was fine. 2 hours of uninterrupted walking, stair-climbing and thought. Nice.

I love Bisbee. The architecture, the smell of fennel and concrete steps through rocky hillside lots remind me of my childhood San Francisco. The blooming galardia, poppies and other scraggly wildflowers remind me we are in Southern Arizona. Walked right past my old house from when I taught in Douglas. It is now a bright pastel grass-green. All throughout, folks came out to their porches and encouraged us.

Didn't wear headphones most of the time due to regulations, but also because they had live music at each staircase. However, here is part of my playlist for the walk and the drive home. I can't get enough Red Hot Chili Peppers, but can't play them when the kids are in the car (due to f-word), so... makes me wish I had learned to play bass better. Enjoy.