Month: May 2010


  •  
    The Daily News
    1   Happy Frideeeeeeeeeee!

    2   Well, we made it through this sorta strange week, but we all came through with flying colors.

    3   I knew it was going to be a good day when the first thing I heard yesterday morning was this: "Mr. H, can we listen to Scarborough Fair?"

    4   Bring it.

    5   Moving on, Part the First: As I write this, Jimmy Fallon has Keith Richards coming up live shortly. I'll be asleep, and I'm not gonna record it, but I'm hoping that somehow, I'll see it through the magical touch of insomnia.  If not, I'll pray for You Tube.

    6    Meanwhile, I'll tack this stuff out so that I will still be ready to rock this wonderful Friday.

    7    Moving on, Part the Second: Thanks to all of you for the fun emails I receive on some of this folderol. I have a confession, however.

    8    I don't write any of this stuff. I just sit at the puter, and my mind sort of streams this. Every now and again, something shows up on the computer screen, and I look, laugh, and then realize that somehow I wrote it.

    9    I don't believe that for a second.

    10  Many times, like many of you, I just look up when a cool sentence comes down the pike, and have NO idea that it came out of my imbecilic mind. I tell my students about this too. When we read poetry, for example, I always tell them to find the one line that the poet or writer must have loved, to the point of popping the pencil back with a severe suddenness, and goofing on how good the line is. Zap madness in an instant. Paul Simon's brilliant, albeit overplayed line "When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night, and touched the Sound Of Silence..." is a case in point. That's the official sheet music print, by the way.

    11   I try to have them choose which line the probably stopped the poet, causing him or her to stare in astonishment, and then causing them to rest for a sec while the awesomeness of the line occurred to him or her. Him or her. English. Yeesh.

    12   Amazing, writing.

    13   I also advise them that they should always write as though the love of their lives were to read it.

    14    In some sorta strange way, that advice always seems to work. Gangsta.

    15    I mean, who wants to look stupid in front of the love of their life?

    16    Ah, it's late. I had an amazing night last night, so right now, I'm not thinking of the love of my life, nor of being particularly witty, nor of thinking of anything except finishing this up so that I could get a little shut-eye. Only I'm not even thinking. Just streaming. I hope the love of my life doesn't read this folderol.

    17   Moving on, Part the Next: Have you seen those political commercials about how Poizner is a political liberal? They are presented as though being a "liberal" is the equivalent of being a murderer of American values. And Steve "Send-em-all Back" Poisoner? Screw him.

    18   Then we have white Cali being led through the garden of wildflowers by some lady named Whiteman, I think.

    19   If you support diversity and people of color, vote Brown. Easy to remember. Poisoner. Whiteman. Brown. I'm pretty tired of the rampant racism that seems to be making even the most intelligent of people forget that we are a melting pot, and that we offer opportunities for EVERYBODY. Or at least we did 'til this year.

    20   Yeesh.

    21   Remember that I am exposing morons this week. I hope I pissed a few people off in the process. Every now and again I like to remind America of it's potential once we wipe out racism and idiocy. The American dream is there. But we are a nation of nations now. Live with it. There's way more good than bad in diversity.

    22   Moving on, Part the Thoid: Have I told you lately that I LOVE my job?

    23   Earlier, as I was tacking away at all this boushit, a commercial came on for some mainstream new movie, and I've already forgotten which, but it mentioned the "love of your life."

    24   It didn't occur to me that I had just finished writing item 13, above. Coincidence?

    25   There is no such thing as a coincidence.

    26   Last night I heard a Strauss waltz. I couldn't remember which composer it was an hour later. My parents used to play Strauss waltzes every Sunday after church, and the music would swirl around my house as Dad fired up Italian sausages, eggs, toast, and steamy coffee. I hadn't heard Strauss in years, and yet driving home,  I couldn't remember which composer I had listened to earlier in the evening.

    27   This morning when I awakened, some teevee had Strauss' Blue Danube playing in the background of some sit-com. It danced through the house unnoticed by all but me. I smiled. There simply aren't any coincidences. Period.

    28   Well, I think it's Frideeeee and time for this Old Brown Shoe to sign off, but with nothing but positive thoughts.

    29   Find it in your heart to make someone's day the best day of the year today.

    30   That's your homework.

    31    You all rock.

    32    Have the best weekend ever, willya? Go Sharks!

    33    Peace.




    ~H~

     

    www.xanga.com/bharrington













  •  

    The Daily News

    1   I missed the Doors' documentary last night on PBS. I fell asleep early, as has been my recent wont, and missed it by an hour-twenty. It was an American Masters doc called simply When You're Strange, narrated by Johnny Depp. I'll see it soon enough, but what an interesting topic for a documentary. Director Tom DiCillo both wrote and directed the piece, which aired last night at 10 p.m. Incredible idea for a documentary. Wish I had seen it. Watch for it when it comes out on video; I've heard good things.

    2   I'd like publicly to thank me old friend and confidant Brian Daley for giving me a head's up on that one. I will watch it the second there is a chance. I conked out early and woke up only to catch the last five minutes of the piece.

    3    Ah, so it goes, so it goes.

    4    Moving on, Part the First: Speaking of classic rockumentaries, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City brought in a premiere of the new Rolling Stones' newest documentary called Stones in Exile the other night. Attending the affair were Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts. This documentary precedes the re-release of their 1972 album Exile on Main Street, an eclectic album that brought in myriad genres of music including blues, gospel, rock, and country at a time when the Stones themselves had been exiled to France for tax evasion. This film is directed by Stephen Kijack, who called the album a "masterpiece" because they had to record it in the basement of the French Nelco    tte mansion, a mansion on the waterfront of Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera. The talk is that the Nelcotte purportedly served as a gestapo headquarters for the Nazis during World War II. Stones in Exile will make its world premiere May 18 at the Cannes Film Festival.

    5   Jimmy Fallon has declared this week Rolling Stones week. Pretty fun. Stones' keyboardist Chuck Leavell was on the show last night, as well as a satellite hook-up interview between Fallon and Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts. Sheryll Crow, who has always been in touch with the boys, covered the classic All Down the Line with Fallon's awesome show band, The Roots. Great tune, almost unknown by the mainstream.



    6   Moving on, Part the Second: I've been a sort of fly on the drape in my eyeballing the resurgence of the great Betty White lately. I've been a big fan for years, and it's good to see that a younger generation is lucky enough to enjoy her quick wit and risque delivery of hilarity. Always charming, and always irreverent, she has kept many of us on our toes throughout the years. I can't believe she went through the rigors of rehearsing sketches with Saturday Night Live, which has notoriously hectic rehearsals, and an unbelievable pace for all involved. Just awesome. Betty, you're a cutie, and you give all of us inspiration.



    7   Moving on, Part the Third: I'm a little nervous because this past week I've stepped up my work schedule, working into the early evening each day in order to keep up with papers and planning. I've also  been conking out early, a lot of times resulting in a resurgence in insomnia, only a much healthier sort than I had been going through earlier in the year.

    8   In some ways, it works, because I wind up getting up to seven or eight hours of sleep each night, where I used to get four or five. When I awaken in the middle of the night, I've usually already hit five or six hours. Being a Giants' fan lately really helps me get to sleep earlier, since they can't buy a win against the San Diego Padres.

    9   What helps a lot is when the Giants' bats decide not to work during games. As much as I LOVE my team, when they fall behind and can't hit, six innings could put a starving gorilla to sleep.

    10   Oh, the image.

    11    Moving on, Part the Fourth: My. It seems that nearly everybody I know is going through tons of work and boushit lately. College students can't even see straight. My colleagues are staying well past eight at night. Maybe it's just May. Last May I also juggled an intense college class that demanded hours of research, reading, writing, and citations.

    12    So last night I was out at around eight, and awakened at 11. I got a chance to watch an extended appearance by Betty White on Jay Leno. Leno had her holding Bengal tigars, being shot at with paint balls, and being charged by by midgets, the latter two behind a clear barrier. It was Betty White night on Leno, but a part of it looked pretty bandwagon to me. Congrats, young lady. You've twice landed in today's DN!

    13   Still, I guess it was a bit like old times, listening to Leno in the background while writing up the DN. It's sort of hip nowadays to hate Leno because of what he "did" to Conan. I'm sorry about what happened to Conan, truly. But I was never really a fan of his. I thought his "humor" was pretty forced, and unfunny, but that's just me. Pretty unhip of me, but I don't always subscribe to the brainwashing that seems so rampant these days.

    14   Is Betty White a brainwashing thing? Nah. But it is amazing to me how everybody all at once decides to like something, or to hate something else. Open your eyes. People soar all over Facebook/Twitter/Friendster/Twitter, or whatevuhy else to see what everybody is suddenly into.

    15   I won't go there. If you try to show people, they simply don't see what I've seen for years. We don't need no education. We don't need no thought control.

    16   Anyway, don't believe most of what you read, including this folderol. It always has been the rantings of a madman, lol!

    17    lol.

    18    woot.

    19    fml.

    20    Well, I think I'd better bounce.

    21    You all have a grand Thursday.

    22    Peace.

    ~H~



    www.xanga.com/bharrington










  • The Daily News
    1  So, as the perfect week continues, I ask my students if they have ANY idea what the word "dude" means.

    2   My best class, mind you.

    3   One student raised her hand, said she had looked it up I THINK on Urban Dictionary, but I could be wrong and I'm WAY too lazy to look it up at this grand hour, but the definition was consistent with other students all day.

    4    SO.

    5    For your reading pleasure, I bring you this definition for the word "DUDE":

    Dude noun, verb

    1. an Eastern person who dresses beautifully and goes to a Western ranch, usu. to be ridiculed by the cowboys.

    2.  an elephant that has an ingrown hair on its ass.



    6    Huh?

    7    I swear to you. I'm deliberately NOT going to look that one up, because I rather like it.

    8    So let me get this straight. If you say, "Dude, can I have some of your peanuts? You are ACTUALLY saying, "Hey, elephant with an ingrown hair on its ass, can I have some of your peanuts?"

    9    Things haven't changed much since yesterday.

    10   Ah, vell.

    11   After a fashion, I've come to accept it all.

    12   And I do mean all.

    13   Moving on, Part the First:   Went out with my teacher buds, Cris and Gemma yesterday. Nice to have massively awesome and intelligent friends to share all this boushit with. We later went shopping at Eastridge, a mall devoted to bad clothing, and makeup counters. I did love shopping with them for makeup for Senior Ball, but really? I think false eyebrows for Senior Ball won't work with my manly ruggedness. I lay off the stuff, and just maintain my boozy Rat Pack look.

    14  Dudes.

    15  I just got done calling two colleagues "ingrown hairs on an elephant's ass."

    14  I actually brought that up to them in the court known to us simply as the MacGrill.

    15  Distorted reference to the Macaroni Grill.

    16  I KNOW, I KNOW. But it's a place we can ride a slide to, and then enjoy the beauty of a day in school, and listen to velvety standards.

    17   Hey, teachers have lives too, dude.

    18   Whoops. <he looks around furtively.> Anyone lookin'?

    19   No offense delivered, hopefully, no offense taken.

    20   Yeesh.

    21   Moving on, Part the Second: I keep glancing over at the teevee, and it is playing Glee, a show that works wonderfully as a lava lamp. Earlier, the kid with the really high, falsetto voice sang John Cougar's Little Pink Houses, and did a wonderful job. I KNOW, I KNOW, I should throw the actor's name out there.

    22   Sorry, but I'm not yet hip enough to give you the names of the tremendous cast. I'm usually on this stuff, but this grading period has left the teevee a lava lamp with many wonderful moments.

    23   Right now the cast is doing U2's One, one of the most amazing songs ever written.

    24    I stayed focused on the DN, but DAYUM! I LOVE that song. The whole house cheered.

    25   Moving on, Part the Second: Okay, okay, so I'm a bit awed by the Hawks. My feeling is, they are absolute chum for our AWESOME Sharks, but classic Sharks' fans might not agree. Dude. <oops, sorry! There he goes again with the elephant reference.>.

    26   Enough already. <slap.slap.>

    27    Dayum.

    28    One.

    29    Who hasn't been touched by that tune?

    30    I LOVE U2.

    31    I'll bet someone has that as a license plate. It is a beautiful way to give a shout out to the band.

    32    Or to someone you love. Or to someone who just flipped you off.

    33    Something like that.

    34    And the world continues to spin. Hang on, it's goin' faster than you think!

    35     AnywayZ...

    36     Moving on, Part the Third: It's Wednesday. Every Wednesday we have minimum days, followed by some sort of interesting meeting.

    37    Back in the Day, Ponch, Me, Neveras, Rocha, Russell, and a number of others used to play a goodly hand of Hangman at faculty meetings.

    38    We meant no disrespect, but rather enjoyed goofing off on rare occasions when things would drift to the somewhat dull. I have a Ponch story to beat the band, but you'll never see it here. At least without his permission.

    39    Moving on, Part the Fourth: The theme of this week is how stupid everybody has become.

    40    I can't for the life of me understand all the controversy about those idiot students who wore American flag shirts on Cinco de Mayo.

    41    Here's the deal: in terms of human rights and freedom of speech, they were well within their rights. In terms of being STUPID, they took the gold. That was an obvious slap-in-the-face to Mexican Americans, and it was clearly deliberate. Their parents should be taken to the woodshed for a whoopin', but they had a perfect right to express themselves, if you believe in America at all.

    42   THAT'S why our nation is great; we allow everybody, no matter how stupid, to have their say, and to be heard.

    43   Common sense would tell white parents to tell their kids that wearing American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo is probably not the best choice of wardrobes, and is disrespectful.

    44   On the other hand, we do have a first amendment to the Constitution that says this: "Congress shall make no laws telling white kids that they can't wear American flag T-Shirts on Cinco de Mayo".

    45   Sorry folks, but truly? If you believe in America, you allow freedom of speech, even if it offends ridiculously your own beliefs and ethics.

    46    Personally? I believe those students were wrong, in every sense of the word. But as Voltaire put it, and I will paraphrase, "I disagree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

    47    Interesting issue, but really? A non-issue if you still believe in that shot-up piece of swiss-cheese that used to be our constitution.

    48     Ah, forget all that. Nobody wants to think anymore anyway. Theme of the week. Lose weight. Get fake. Talk like everyone else. Think like everyone else. We've lost our senses, truly.

    49     Here's my poem "Morons". I told you bout it yesterday, ingrown hairs on elephants' asses <hey, it's a term of endearment yo!>:

    morons

    morons just seem to be everywhere,

    don’t you think?

     

    it doesn’t seem to matter where I go

    they pack their kids in cars and seem to follow

    me places

     

    or, perhaps, they are even there when I arrive.

     

    and when I drive down the highway

    they seem to travel right alongside me,

    with all their stuff on the roof of their automobiles.

     

    sometimes I roll my eyes in disbelief

    that there are simply so many of them

    who invented them?

     

    dunderheads galore, no shortage

    if you’ve ever worked a moment with the Public you know exactly what it its I am

    talking about

     

    they wear it in their clothing styles, rich and poor

    the more I move about, the more they seem to be,

     

    not a trendsetter among them

    and yet if a television set had a show with people who rolled their socks down

    and wore one shoe, you can bet that half the world would begin walking around

     

    and with one shoe on and one shoe off

     

    they would still manage to find me

    and follow me around like some bad version of Jesus.


         


                                                                                                    4/12/05



    50  That's about all the grousing I could do in one day.

    52   Take all of this with tongue planted firmly in cheek, dude.


    53    Have a great day, truly.

    54     Peace.


     

     

    ~H~

    www.xanga.com/bharrington



  • The Daily News

    1   At what point do we stop worrying about America becoming hip?
     
    2   Ah, nuthin'.
     
    3   I'm just sayin'.
     
    4   Sorta nice to have the entire nation controlled.
     
    5   Who wants to think, or really, even think twice about stuff?
     
    6   <putting on conspiritorarial face> (aside.) "We got them right where we want them!"
     
    7    Who said that?
     
    8    Ah, who cares?
     
    9    It's fun being one in a nation of sheep. I claim it's a controlled burn. I claim it's a mixed metaphor. I claim I shoulda been asleep an hour ago. And this was written yesterday afternoon.
     
    10  Someone wants us asleep by 3 p.m. Being cool is the tool to making that happen. Being cool. Staying up late. Being hip. Saying, "Dude" all the time. Read on.
     
    11   Moving on, Part the First: Maybe it's the God of Sleep.
     
    12   OKAY, OKAY!!! I GET it. THAT'S not "Moving on!"
     
    13   Screw the system.
     
    14   My concern, of course, is this: Now that they have us ALL right where the want us...uh...dude. What's the plan?
     
    15   God we have become retarded, with all due respect. I mean to use the word in a respectful fashion. Sometimes I look at this amazing country and think about what we could possibly become, and shake my head at how idiotic and mundane most things have become. I'm thoroughly convinced it's because I have watched a little too much teevee the past few days. Since I don't watch anything carefully, I glance over and see how there's this huge thing about everybody being "cool".
     
    16   I guess it's all good.
     
    17   But yeesh.
     
    18  Difficult to put in words, but it seems that the media puts a HUGE emphasis on drinking, partying, losing weight, looking superficially happy, and all sorts of other things, just to push products. Our language has shrunk to words like "sucks" and "beotch". It's deathly out of control, and I think last night I just got fed up with it.

    19  Sorry. In many ways, I'm a part of it. We fall into stupidity so blindly that we hardly notice.

    20  Just grousin', beotches.

    21   Every now and again it drives me crazuh. They even have this commercial about how wasted everybody is by three in the afternoon, and how coffee won't help. They have some magic product that will make you zing back to life if you down their hyper chemicals.

    22   I don't know about you, but at 3 p.m. I'm done for most of the day. What is strange is that I find myself going to bed earlier and earlier, and that it isn't helping much. I also look at how much more college students have to work and produce than when I was younger. I mean we had to study, don't get me wrong, but I'm in touch with a LOT of college students these days, and most of them don't have time to scratch their asses.

    23   I look at my own workload and can't believe how much time I spend each day just keeping up with everything. When I DO watch teevee, it is through glances and through a pair of glasses, darkly.

    24   Yesterday I worked the good part of eleven hours, and was still hugely behind.

    25   I don't know what the answer is, but blasting oneself with some odd chemicals at 3 p.m. is scary. Scarier still is how everyone seems to want to get "wasted" or "faded" later on, in order to be cool. But only after working out so they could say they deserve it.

    26   Don't get me wrong. There are lots of people doing goodly things out there as well, working on causes and giving to charities, and all of that. But somewhere in all of this, we've lost our sense of class, and of becoming a more intelligent nation.

    27   Instead, we seem to have become a nation of troglodytes.

    28   Ah, look it up, beotch.

    29   Just sayin'.

    30   We think, but often in what Vonnegut calls "short bursts".

    31   Ah, vell. I once wrote a poem called "Morons".

    32    I'll share it with you sometime. It's about how everyone seems to be sheep.

    33    But not today.

    34    Too tired.

    35    It's Tuesday, dude.




    36    Moving on, Part the Second: Dude.

    37    Most of my students have no idea of the original meaning of the word. They simply drop it anywhere in a sentence, dude.

    38   Sort of funny. It used to be an Eastern guy who dressed nicely who would arrive at a ranch, either to vacation or to become a cowboy. A dude was often the butt of jokes to the cowboys.


    Was Gene Autry a classic "dude"?
    39   Here is the Dictionary.com definition:

    dude

    noun, verb, dud·ed, dud·ing.

    –noun
    1. a man excessively concerned with his clothes, grooming, and manners.

    2. Slang . fellow; chap.

    3.     a person reared in a large city.

    4.     Western U.S. an urban Easterner who vacations on a ranch.


    —Verb     phrase


    5.      dude up, Informal . to dress in one's fanciest, best, or most stylish clothes; dress up: He got all duded up to go to the dance.


    40   I sort of love the last one. "Dude up". I also like the slang "fellow" and "chap".

    41   Nowhere, however, does it say, "A salutation": "Dude! What it do!"



    42   If I ask my students what a dude is; they have no idea.

    43   I think it was last year that I realized that. So like (don't get me goin' on "like") billions upon billions of young people say the word "dude" a thousand times a day, and yet nobody knows what it means.

    44   Hilarious, dude. It's like, so gay...

    45    Dude, like, that is so NOT gay, dude. Whaddupp, beotches?

    46    I give up.

    47    See you on the flip side.

    48    I gotta bounce.

    49    Peace, beotches.

    ~H~


    www.xanga.com/bharrington



  • Lena Horne, 1917-2010
    Headline in Indypost online,I kid you not:

    Oakland Raiders Pitcher Dallas Braden Throws Perfect Game

    Posted by James Johnson on May 9, 2010
    Dallas Braden
    Dallas Braden, pitching for the Oakland Athletics, threw the teams first perfect game today in 42 years and the 19th in major league history.
    Braden threw the perfect game against the leagues best team the Tampa Bay Rays, given the Athletics a 4-0 victory.
    Braden destroyed the Rays batting order, with the only possibility at a man on base coming off the first hit of the game, a line drive by Jason Bartlett to third base.
    During the fifth inning Evan Longoria was booed for attempting to bunt, an unsuccessful attempt that helped ensure the first perfect game since the White Sox’s Mark Buehrle did so against the Rays on July 23rd 2009.
    The perfect game comes just weeks after Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on April 17th.
    The perfect game was also only the second pitched by an Athletics player, the first was accomplished by Hall of Famer Jim “Catfish Hunter on May 8th 1968.
     
    1   Ya gotta love it. Now that's a cut 'n' paste. Brilliant.
     
    2    I knew the second it happened that Braden's perfect game HAD to be the headline, even over the Sharks' awesome job of sending the Redwings back to Detroit on Saturday night.
     
    3   I was at my Dad's last night and saw the news streaming on my nephew Michael's phone. We tried desperately to get it on teevee, but didn't even know about it 'til the eighth inning. In all my years working in baseball, I can't recall ever having seen a perfect game. For the layperson, a perfect game is when the pitcher gets every single batter out, with none reaching base at all, for an entire game: 27 batters up, 27 batters down. It is one of the most difficult things to do in sports.
     
    4   And I thought of A's fans who have gone pretty much ignored this season, even though the A's have been holding their own across the Bay.
     
    5   But what a weekend! First the Sharks take care of BIZNISS, and then the Giants start okay, screw up, come back and win. And it was Mothers' Day, so we had a houseload holed up at my Dad's, so after the Giants' game we just left it on that channel as we talked, ate, and reminisced. It was an orange-and-black lava lamp. We chatted with it on in the background.
     
    6   Meanwhile, somewhere Braden was painting his masterpiece.
     
    7   We wound up just having Michael stream it, but I was going crazy for the guy, because I really wanted him to get it, and was into yet another high-five thing.
     
    8   So...awesome job, Mr. Braden. Lovely story too. In high school, his mom passed away, and his grandma took over raising him. Peggy Lindsey, Braden's grandmother, was on hand when he won the game, but was stopped by security from going down on the field. No matter. After all the hoots and hollers with his teammates, he made a bee-line for her.
     
    9   The fun thing is that prior to this game, the main thing Braden was famous for was having words with Alex Rodriguez when A-Rod stepped toward the pitcher's mound in a game on April 22. According to Merc News reporter Carl Steward, he said to her, "I really don't care."  Her reply? "I'm thinking, 'Let's forget it. And stick it, A-Rod.' "
     
    10  Ya gotta love that one. Thanks Carl, for sharing that story with all of us.
     
    11   And to Mr. James Johnson, a bit of advise: don't be THAT anxious to scoop everyone, or you might wind up with an idiotic headline. Know the difference between football and baseball, because the Oakland Raiders, I assure you, have no pitchers on their team.
     
    12  They had a moron named JaMarcus Russell , but he certainly couldn't pitch. He couldn't QB either. He couldn't think either. He was shown the door last week.
     
    13   Moving on, Part the First: So...Lena Horne walks into a bar...
     
    14   So many awesome songs, sultry, steamy, and sexy; so many lovely Muppets' appearances, sweet, fun and playful.
     
    15   Stormy Weather, indeed.
     
    16  Moving on, Part the Second:  So I feel like I personally swept a series of four straight awesome days. Last Thursday I brought the Songs of Paul Simon to my students, and even though I didn't sing well, they LOVED the songs themselves.
     
    17   Friday completely rocked, from morning to evening. I had Starbucks' lamps, Caffé Verona coffee, tons of fruits, including apples, strawberries, bananas, and oranges, as well as coffee cakes, marble cakes, banana cakes, water, icy cold orange juice, and milk. When the students entered, I played Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes, and the day became a magical day of great food, great laughs, wonderful poetry, and . beautiful thoughts.
     
    19   That night was just a lot of fun, coming off all of that and relaxing with still more Jack Johnson.
     
    20    Saturday found me walking all around the Berryessa Wine and Art Festival, and enjoying it with family and cousins' kids. GORGEOUS day, leading into the Sharks' stunning victory over Detroit.
     
    21    Tumbled into yesterday and not only the Mothers' Day celebration for my Mom, and for all Moms, but the Giants' ultimate victory and the perfect game. Just an amazing streak of great days, the like of which I haven't seen in quite some time.
     
    22    It has been an extremely rough go of it ever since my Mom first showed signs of "losing it" last Mothers' Day. I had called her in the morning and she couldn't answer her phone, something that a week earlier, on her birthday, she was quite capable of doing, along with nearly all other functions except walking.
    23   When I did see her, she LOOKED fine, but when the phone rang, she couldn't answer it, even though it was right next to her bed. When she tried answering the remote for the teevee, we all became really worried.
     
    24  That was the day that Lincecum pitched wearing a pink necklace, probably for Mothers' Day. It was that day that I looked up at my Mom and said, "What does Lincecum have around his neck?" And my Mom's instant reply: "Probably a picture of you!" She still had it.
     
    25   Last Mothers' Day was the last time I ever saw my Mom lucid and bright. Her demise ran rather quickly; within a week she couldn't talk, and on May 17 of last year, she passed quietly in her sleep. My last words to her were just the day before. They were these: "I love you Mom."
     
    26   So yesterday was pretty special. My sister played a DVD she had put together a few years ago and that had a musical background with a beautiful slide show celebrating my parents' years of marriage. My Dad would never admit it, but he teared up, as we all did inside. Old, beautiful pictures, old beautiful songs.
     
    27   It was a moment, a day, a weekend, a great four-day stretch.
     
    28   It culminated in the perfect game by Dallas Braden, followed by his hugging his grandma.
     
    29   So I LOVED it, and just had to share, because things have been pretty rough this past year, and this month was sure to bring a lot of it all back.
     
    30   So far, it's been a lovely celebration of love and rememberance.
     
    31   If you've lost a parent, a sibling, or even a pet, then you probably get it.
     
    32   We all held together as a family, and I think somewhere my Mom smiled.
     
    33   That's about it for this Monday. There are probably thousands of similar stories, but to my family, it was an important day. It was a perfect day, and a perfect four days!
     
    34    I hope for many more.
     
    35    That's it.
    36    Peace.
    ~H~
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

  •  When you choke... = ) 
    a a open mic
    Performing Live: 
    A pie in the face comes with the job.
    The Daily News

    1    So...this is a continuum of yesterday's DN.

    2    The lessons went great, except for when I stepped up to the mic and had to sing...

    3    =/

    4    I had forgotten how frightening it is to sing and play guitar in front of people.

    5    Add to that I woke up at 4 a.m. yesterday, in keeping with my new early-to-bed philosophy.

    6    For around three weeks now I've been going to bed really early, like 9 p.m. and have managed either to sleep right through to six, or perhaps to awaken at somewhere near 4 a.m., since good ol' 4:20 USUALLY wakes me then anyway.

    7   Well, I conked at around 9, straight up, and awoke at some hour close to 4 a.m.

    8    I took the DN I had thrown together the previous night and as always, I tried to goose it so that it would sound somewhat intelligent.

    9   Well, I do believe I did that, and that I achieved all that needed to be written, so I tried like heck to sink back and go to sleep.

    10   I wound up going against my own advice, which really is this: you can't solve anything in the middle of the night.

    a a open mic eyes 2


    11   Instead, I found myself worrying about virtually EVERYTHING that I had needed to take care of. When you can't get back to sleep, you always think of things like that, right?

    12   Earlier this week I told everyone: "Can't be done. You will NEVER solve challenges by lying awake worrying."

    13   I suggested that you get yourself into a meditative state by repeating a "mantra".

    14   In my case it was the word, "sleeeeeep".

    15   It has ALWAYS worked. I accept that I have a million worries, like everyone. I also accept that in the middle of the night, I will seldom be able to solve things.

    16   The challenge comes with getting a good night's sleep. By 4 a.m., I had already logged in seven hours of sleep, so my mind told me I was plenty rested.

    17   I tried the mantra, but to no avail. This seldom fails. In fact, this NEVER fails.

    18   'Cept yesterday.

    19    Eventually, six a.m. came around, and my entire being was a bit out of sorts.

    20    Part of it was that I had to get down and bring my amp, my Ovation, Cheyenne <a wonderful gift from the Class of '05, love youse!> and some other things to help create a nice coffee house atmosphere.

    21    On the way to school, I hit a huge traffic jam on Capitol Expressway. I reversed field, turned around, and got back on 280, and headed south, past Tully and on to Yerba Buena Road turnoff.

    22   Everywhere I looked there were crazies and zanies on the road, not signaling, tailgating, and weaving in and out of lanes. It stopped, then went, just that sort of traffic day. I feared for my life, because I'm really superstitious about being forced to drive a route I hadn't  planned. Call it a destiny thing, but I truly feared for my life.

    23   Anyway, by the time I got there I was rushed to get the floor lamps and my amp out of the truck and to set up the classroom.

    24   I don't know about anyone else, but I like being all set up and having a little chill time before I go into the madness that is each day. Well, I got the room ready, but had absolutely no time to breathe. The bell rang and I hit the ground running.

    25   The lesson went beautifully. On the board, I had written "Mr. H presents The Songs of Paul Simon". It was organized, and the first song they listened to was the immortal The Sound of Silence. The majority of students had never heard these songs before, and even the most hardcore and facetious gave a listen.

    26   I went through the others, telling stories of two boys from New York who traveled through life together, fighting, not talking, getting back as friends, and who to this day  remain old friends.

    27   The students listened, and then responded on paper to the poetry. I gave a brief history about the beats, the coffee houses, and the Greenwich Village scene back in the sixties. Very hip lesson, done over a mic, adding a nice tonal quality to the history.

    28    They discovered, all in one day the following songs: The Sound of Silence, Scarborough Fair, Cloudy, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy), and America, which at this point in my life I could play in my sleep.

    29    I had practiced the song over and over for around an hour after school the day before, setting the amp to my liking, tuning my beautiful guitar Annabel so that it sang, so I wasn't too worried about performing it. The first four songs were iPod versions by the artists, but when it came time for America, I again moved to the mic.

    30    What I had forgotten to do was to warm up my voice. The awakening at 4 a.m. had a distinct physical impact, and it was immediately apparent as soon as I started singing. My voice shook, my body shook, and it sounded quaveringly "pitchy". I became nervous, but kept a look as though it wasn't happening.

    31    At one point, I felt like I was going to faint, honestly. I stayed with it, and got a huge ovation. The students didn't notice that it wasn't as good as the day before, but I sure as heck did.

    32   By my second class, I had warmed up, adjusted my capo down one fret so I wouldn't need to reach for notes, and it worked better, but I forgot lyrics TWICE! I've played that song in my sleep, practiced it all week, and that happened! They didn't mind, of course, but by break I was a wreck. I realized I had used the wrong amp, so it wasn't set well, all treble. I quickly adjusted that and practiced all through break.

    33   The next period is arguably my best, so I relaxed and did a much better job, but someone was filming me. All I thought was that if I choked on a note, it would be all over You Tube, and people who comment on You Tube are ruthless! I made it to the end of the song, pitched a little, but it sounded much better with the newer amp.

    34   They liked it so much they asked for another. I accommodated with Scarborough Fair, which I also know pretty well, and which I had actually done better when I had practiced the day before. I had nailed the finger-picking and did fine on the vocals, surprisingly better than I had America, which is a much easier song. It surprised me because it is a tune that demands using head voice, which is a sort of falsetto that needs to be crafty to pull off. I did great, except midway through my fingers stopped doing the finger pick!

    35   To a layperson it goes something like this: fingerpicking is similar to typing. Your fingers have practiced enough that they know right where to go. But for whatever reason, one of my fingers kept NOT plucking, right in the middle of the song! It just physically wouldn't do what my mind had commanded. I kept going, but that had interrupted my breathing concentration, so again, I went pitchy, but this time I was able to sustain notes better.

    36   After the bell had rung, I had to go shop for the fruits, juices, water, and goodies for today, so no real time to practice. My next class was my best behaved and arguably my most supportive. I did great except again I TWICE forgot chords. I'm certain it had to do with the 4 a.m. thing, because I NEVER forget chords in that song. The nightmare continued.

    37   Finally my last class came in, and were uncustomarily quiet and focused. I felt like a baseball player who had gone 0-for-4. I stepped up, and this time delivered a much stronger performance.

    38   In the end, the students all gave huge ovations and compliments. I was glad to have at least gotten it right for one class, but at my age, you can't be "pitchy" when you sing. After school, when it got quiet, I moved the capo back up two frets, relaxed, and totally nailed the song. I haven't sung and played for a group in a while, so I think it was just remembering warming up, staying relaxed, breathing,not tensing, and all of that performing jazz. I do think that if I hadn't been awake since 4 that I would have gotten it down better.

    39   Anyway, we all have days that don't always work. This was just disappointing, because I had been thinking about it all year, practicing, and nailing it.

    40   I know that almost all readers of the DN have performed live at some point, so this wasn't so much about me as it was about what I used to tell Robert Morse, and which he would always tell me back: a pie in the face comes with the job.

    41    Well, yes, and perhaps it's a humble pie.

    42    Not worried. After school I focused on setting the room up for coffee, food, lava lamps, and poetry today. I'll play some Charlie Parker, or some Dizzie, Etta and Miles, and stay away from the mic!  Last year the poetry reading went wonderfully; the students come in with amazing stuff, so it'll all work in the end. That's what's important.

    43    And MANY will leave this year with a love for both Shakespeare AND for poetry.

    44    Oh, AND for Simon and Garfunkel. One kid said, "Hey Mr. H, I really like this Paul guy."

    45     It was all I needed to hear. The week was well organized, and to me it worked.

    46    A pie in the face? It washes off with water.

    47    And then you have a clean face.

    48    Hope you enjoyed this one. It's perhaps about humility. Perhaps it's about practicing. Perhaps it's about not worrying about the small stuff.

    49    In a sense, it's about losing a battle but winning a war.

    50    Have a lovely weekend. I'm goin' poetry today.

    51    Go Sharks.

    52     Peace.

    a a open mic 2



    ~H~
    www.xanga.com/bharrington















  •   
       The Daily News

    1    And now, the News.

    2    I LOVED Cinco de Mayo yesterday. Went to Lucky, and gathered about a hundred-thousand dollars to create a purely perfect Mexican dinner, featuring carne'
    asada, black beans, rice, and all assorted vegetables, all healthy.

    3    Just great fun.

    4     Underrated fiesta.

    5     Ah, vell.
     
    6     Today is a total poetry day, as is tomorrow. I'm LOVIN' it.

    7     I stayed after school yesterday to clean up the room, and to start converting it into the Cafe' Verona.

    8     Sheer poetry.

    9     While I'm off the subject, I would like to send out a huge shout to everyone who emailed me and sent all those magic thoughts yesterday.

    10   And to my FB peeps, keep it rollin', and keep it real. You guys rock. Enjoying the banter, and the re-connections.

    11   Moving on, Part the First:  Okay, so yesterday's lesson was somewhat of a buffer. You know, buffers? For whatever reason, every now and again I get this deal on YouTube that always says, "buffering". This little spinner thing spins around and gets the giggles annoying me. It just wants to pass the time so it doesn't have to do anything.

    12   To me, that's the online equivalent of "goofing off".

    13   It wasn't REALLY goofing off, because technically I taught a standard. It's just that the periods were WAY short so it wasn't high quality.

    14   AnywayZ...

    15   So yesterday's lesson was a buffer.

    16   I openly admit this.

    17   My students certainly got it. I was buying time for today and tomorrow, which should totally rock.

    18   Still...

    19   Today will rock.

    20   I'm going to INTRODUCE the students to the songs and poetry of Paul Simon.

    21  They will be introduced to the poet/merrymaker through five songs, including Cloudy, The Sound of Silence, Scarborough Fair, America, and the 59th Street Bride Song (Feelin' Groovy).

    22  The room is already semi-dressed: My guitar is on a stand next to an open mic and amp. A chair has a picture of the the Caf    é     Verona. An ancient "book" leans against the chair. It's actually a box that holds papers, but it looks almost like something out of Harry Potter. I didn't take a picture, but I do have this:



    23    It's actually a reflection from a picture I found online, printed, and framed for my classroom. Here's the actual picture:



    24   I was leaving for the day last week and saw the reflection and stuff. I put this in a nice frame and it is in my classroom. I have it in a chair angled just so. Sort of gives the feel for the next two days.

    25   On Friday I'll have Starbuck's lamps, fresh fruit, ice cold milk, orange juice, and Starbuck's Caff    é Verona perking when the students come in wearing sunglasses. I'll have Dizzie Gillespie or Miles Davis going also. The students will share their poems, and then we have a reading. Finger snaps, beat stuff.

    26   So it was okay to buffer yesterday.

    27   They will listen to the songs today, and I will sing play guitar and sing America at the end of each period. I may be talked into playing Scarborough Fair, because yesterday afternoon I totally nailed it. Tough song to sing; you have to know right when to breathe or you might run out of air.

    28    Remember me to one who lives there.

    29   Wish me luck.

    30    Have an awesome day. Go Sharks.

    31    Peace.

    ~H~



    www.xanga.com/bharrington


        
















     

  • ¡FIESTA!

    ¡¡¡Happy Cinco de
    Mayo
    Everyone!!!

     
    The Daily News

    1   How do I say ANYTHING but ¡¡¡LOS TIBUR

    ÓNES!!!!
    2   Yeesh.

    3   Who knew?

    4   Mi Madre sure did.

    5   The Sharks, Giants AND A's won yesterday!

    6   Someone pinch me.

    7   Nice pinch. I secretly like pinches.

    8   Oh, puh-LEEEEEZ!

    9    It was just a joke, a joke.

    10  Haha!

    11  Do you love it?

    12   I sure do. Happy Cinco de Mayo. Celebrate, willya? I even tried putting inverted exclamation points into this, for emphasis. It might not translate, so if all of a sudden it has a bunch of html boushit happenin', blame Facebook. Cinco de Mayo, boy.This morning, KGO's Lloyd Lindsay Young said that the weather was going to be "MUY CALLY-ENTY". Haha, what a greeeeeeeengo. I personally just hope the weather is bueno. I don't really enjoy muy calleyenty. Anywho, I LOVE Cinco de Mayo. I'm going to fiesta esta noche'.

    13   Moving on, Part the First: Yesterday was my Mom's birthday.

    14   After writing the DN, and after listening to For Good, from Wicked, I decided that dude, you can't hurt steel.

    15   That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

    16   I had some...tears.

    17   A year ago, we all celbrated my Mom's birthday, and all was well.

    18   She was SO pretty that I understood why my Dad married her.

    19   My DAD was so amazing, that I realized why he was lucky enough to chase her down and offer himself to her.

    20   He even wrote a POEM about her last year. It was awesome.

    21   It worked.

    22   Clearly.

    23   So thanks Mom, for allowing all of us to celebrate your birthday yesterday. Awesome day, awesome day!

    24   Moving on, Part the First: I went over to YB for a few secs yesterday to pick up a screen I had loaned to Paz. It was GREAT seeing him, and the screen happened to be in the Theatre.

    25   We walked in, and there were dancers everywhere; there was a SET on the stage. I understand they're doing Blythe Spirit, a grand old play!!! So it's still going. I'm not sure, but it looked like the mirror ball was spinning around too. It dazzled!!!

    26   The memories flew at me so fast it was almost like your life being played out just before you die, and I don't mean that in a morbid sense. It was just wonderful!

    27   Later in the day I got over to Indy to visit with Ponch. He was leading a jazz band and I don't think he noticed me sneak in.

    28   As always, he stopped everything and brought me down to introduce me to his stuedents. We chatted and had a great visit, albeit short.

    29   Lotta good things yesterday. I told his jazz band it was my Mom's birthday. A student lit up and blurted, "Yesterday was MY mom's!"

    30   I smiled. Sweet.

    31   Yesterday was a good day.

    32    Find it in your heart...

    33    Make today shine. It's Cinco de Mayo, after all.

    34    Live life.

    35    Love life. Y fiesta.  Love ya YB.

    36    Peace.

    ~H~



    www.xanga.com/bharrington


  • "Because I knew you..."
    Happy Birthday Mom!!!


    The Daily News

     
    1  So...Lynne Redgrave walks into a bar...

    2   Amazing actress.

    3   So it goes once again, so it goes...

    4   Farewell, Georgy Girl.

    5   So sad, too young, as is anyone who passes away.

    6   Moving on, Part the First: On a good note, today is my Mom's birthday.

    7   My sister Gayle is taking my Dad, and his two remaining sisters, Aunt Tag and Aunt Lorraine out for lunch. Amazing, and I wish I didn't have to work today, but such is life.

    8   They all three had one more brother.

    9   His name was George Francis Harrington.

    10  His nickname was, "Bud".

    11  Trip.

    12  But really? My uncle Bud was missing in action in some war or other, and went down in a plane.

    13  Years later, my Aunt Tag, and her daughter, my cousin Nancy, went to Ireland to investigate the fate of my beautiful Uncle Bud.

    14   He was taken down in the Irish Sea, and they found documents corroborating that.

    15   We all held a service a few years ago, and out of utmost respect I attended.

    16   It was solemn, and beautiful. My Uncle Bud was an amazingly wonderful man, and it came out from family members who knew. I never knew him.

    17   I remember distinctly standing at the celebration of his life, which took place at Golden Gate Cemetery in San Bruno, and listening to all their words.

    18   I also remember looking up at the gravestone and seeing my own name.

    19   Was it an eerie moment?

    20   No. It was an eternal moment. We have those. There was an American flag blowing behind the monument, some trees, clouds, and blue sky. Typical San Bruno weather.

    21   AnywayZ, the remaining three siblings are going out today to celebrate the life of my Mom, and for that I salute them.

    22   My Mom was the best Mom ever. I miss her beyond tears, and beyond life. She is responsible for teaching me everything about life, (with a LOT of interruptions by my Dad, btw!) and always to respect everybody, and to live life, and to love life to the fullest.

    23  Even in college I remember coming home on weekends and Mom would always be up, watching the Tonight Show, but really, just waiting for me to come home so we could share our days, our thoughts, our philosophies.

    24  We used to chill and talk endlessly into the night about everything and nothing.

    25   I'm not worthy of talking about her because I don't have the writing skills nor the poetry to describe how much I still love her.

    26   Maybe just listen to the song "For Good" from Wicked, and it will say anything I could put here ten times over.

    27   As I write this a tear is finding a way down my cheek. I have no intention of stopping it. These things happen, and are natural.

    28   Moving on, Part the Second:  Yesterday I went into my rolling backpack to check on some papers I just assigned and needed to grade.

    29   I had been REALLY proud of how well I've been watching my diet and eating right.

    30   I stopped having 7-11 hot dogs for lunch, for example, and switched them out for bananas and oranges.

    31   Well...yesterday, just before I departed for home, I opened my rolling back pack only to find a rather pleasant odor, like something exotic and from the islands.

    32    Turns out that I had put a banana into the rolling back pack last THURSDAY, and it was now swirling around my rolling back pack, contaminating everything within reach, INCLUDING my students' papers!

    33    I dug in there with my fingers, trying to rescue whatever was in there, which to ME coulda been a Gila Monster.

    34    I was darned close.

    35   Turns out it was this soggy shrunken head that was clearly impersonating a banana.

    36    Dude.

    37    It was NASTY.

    38    AnywayZ...

    39    I picked that stuff up with my open hand, and allowed it to sog through my wastepaper basket.

    40    Time flies like an arrow.

    41     Fruit flies like a banana.

    42     Mom would be proud.

    43     I love you all, everything.

    44     Live life.

    45     Love life.

    46     Peace.

    ~H~



    www.xanga.com/bharrington

    Here are the lyrics to For Good:


    "For Good" from Wicked

    [ELPHABA:]
    I'm limited.
    Just look at me.
    I'm limited.
    And just look at you.
    You can do all I never could.
    Glinda...
    So now it's up to you,
    For both of us.
    Now it's up to you.

    [GLINDA:]
    I've heard it said,
    That people come into our lives,
    For a reason.
    Bringing something we must learn.
    And we are lead to those,
    Who help us most to grow if we let them.
    And we help them in return.
    Well I don't know if I believe that's true.
    But I know I'm who I am today,
    Because I knew you.
    Like a comet pulled from orbit,
    As it passes a sun.
    Like a stream that meets a boulder,
    Halfway through the wood.
    Who can say if I've been changed for the better,
    But because I knew you,
    I have been changed for good.

    [ELPHABA:]
    It well maybe,
    That we will never meet again,
    In this lifetime.
    So let me say before we part,
    So much of me,
    Is made of what I learned from you.
    You'll be with me,
    Like a handprint on my heart.
    And now whatever way our stories end,
    I know you'll have rewritten mine,
    By being my friend.
    Like a ship blown from it's mooring,
    By a wind off the sea.
    Like a sea dropped by a sky bird,
    In a distant wood.
    Who can say if I've been changed for the better,
    But because I knew you...

    [GLINDA:]
    Because I knew you...

    [BOTH:]
    I have been changed for good.

    [ELPHABA:]
    And just to clear the air,
    I ask forgiveness,
    For the things I've done,
    You blamed me for.

    [GLINDA:]
    But then,
    I guess,
    We know there's blame to share.

    [BOTH:]
    And none of it seems to matter,
    Anymore.
    Like a comet pulled from orbit
    (Like a ship blown from it's mooring,)
    As it passes a sun.
    (By a wind off the sea.)
    Like a stream that meets a boulder,
    (Like a sea dropped by bird,)
    Halfway through the wood.
    (In the wood.)
    Who can say if I've been changed for the better.
    I do believe I have been changed for the better.

    [GLINDA:]
    And because I knew you...

    [ELPHABA:]
    Because I knew you...

    [BOTH:]
    Because I knew you,
    I have been changed...
    For good.


    Happy Birthday, Mommy.

    Happy Birthday Nonie.

    We still do.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5WNeBZ4rBU&feature=related




















  • The Daily News

    1   Sharks!

    2    How fun IS this anyway?

    3    Well, I LOVED last night's game.

    4    Something's happenin'...

    5    Let's let it marinate. It's all so hard to believe. Believe it.

    6    Moving on, Part the First:  Went to my Dad's and enjoyed the Giants' game, even though they didn't quite do it. Didn't matter. I was with the best man ever. My Dad is a gentleman and a scholar, and continues to make me love life, and to laugh.

    7   Too bad the Giants lost, but it didn't really matter. I was with my best friend ever, my Dad. When I was young, he used to call me "Pal".

    8   All he said when I had to go home was this:  "Well, Buddy, thanks for the chit-chat!"

    9   Haha!

    10  Good times, good times.

    11  It was important, because Tuesday is my Mom's birthday, and Sunday is Mothers' Day. Last year, my Mom passed away on May 17. Pretty emotional times, and yet I had SUCH a beautiful day with my Dad!  There's this beautiful picture of my Mom on his fridge,and it was JUST like she was there with us, laughing and trying to enjoy the baseball game.

    12  Somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, a hummingbird appeared outside the window. My Mom was an artist, and every now and again sketched away. In her later days, she was paralyzed, and many of her sketches were of hummingbirds, because there was a feeder right outside her window. They would come by and say "Hi!" all the time. They would bring the sunshine and the niceties of the world.

    13  So the hummingbird came to the window during the game and said "Hi!" to me and my Dad. It didn't really help, because despite my Mom's incredible influence on Heaven, the Giants still managed not to hit!

    14  But she had her pink rally cap on, I'm quite certain. And I'm also pretty sure she was right there with us, rooting our team on.

    15  Moving on, Part the Second:  Today I get to teach my students all about poetry. It's always a fun day, because I love my lesson. I've got this new thing where I want to turn teaching into an art, and to work doubly hard as ever I did to create lessons that are completely designed, each day, from top to bottom.

    16  Well, like all of us, I realize that it will take time, patience, and care to make it real, but my lessons for years just sort of repeated. What I began last year was a series of lessons that were designed, so this week I hope to improve on that.

    17   Friday, for example, is a day when I convert my class into the Cafe Verona, complete with Starbucks-type lamps, lava lamps, jazz music, mandatory sunglasses, fruits and donuts, and Starbuck's Cafe Verona coffee, which I will for a nickel. Donations will go to Haiti relief.

    18  Last year, it ROCKED. I also bought my classes kids' sunglasses so they could do an open mic poetry reading and snap fingers for the true poets. That didn't work so well, because they didn't fit the kids, but they still laughed and had them hanging off the edge of their noses and stuff.

    19   So I am looking WAY forward to today!

    20   I began at YB teaching what we now call Honors English classes, but a shift took place that had me teaching Comp/Lit in my later days. I always loved the Comp/Lit students, because I always thought that many of them were bright beyond words. But I also had a lot more discipline issues, which could wear a person down after fifteen years. At EV, almost all my classes are Honors, so the discipline is different. There is a margin of respect that is a huge step up, and quite nice. They still goof around, but a raised eyebrow can get instant respect. A raised eyebrow at YB would be met with, "Hey H, what's wrong with your eye?" Ya gotta love it.

    21  In many ironic ways, the "gifted" students are always a little slower in the creative areas. They tend to like structure and specifics, and if I ever say something like, "Just let your mind be free!" they get a little scared. "What do I have to do to get an A+?" is the mentality, and they need it spelled out. But last year, my poetry assignment worked, and it was magic! But I had a rubric to beat the band.

    22  Nothing could ever replace the kids who "got" the JFK sessions. But this is a different school, with a different approach. One thing I've learned as a teacher is that EVERY single student is a gifted student. My Comp/Lit students always enjoyed my JFK lessons. At EV, I don't do that unit, even though I teach Julius Caesar. They simply wouldn't get the connection, and might ask, "Why are we learning this?" That's a shame, because the Comp/Lit students ALWAYS got the connection.

    23  So I am convinced that every single student is "gifted" in different ways.

    24  Every single student.

    25   Bold?

    26   Nope.

    27   They are all miracles to me.

    28   Looking forward to the week.

    29   Looking forward especially to Friday, and amazing people and things.

    30   Every single person you meet is amazing, if you just give them audience.

    31   There's hope, man.

    32   You just have to get out of your own ego and appreciate that.

    33   Tell a kid you believe in them today. You could change a world.

    34    My parents believed in me. Hummingbirds appear. Miracles happen.

    35    You may just be creating an amazing world for tomorrow. Help a kid.

    36    Happy Monday.

    37    Peace.



    ~H~



    www.xanga.com/bharrington








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