The Daily News

1   Yesterday the cast practiced Shakin' at the High School Hop while I sat at an English meeting.

2   Meetings always dazzle me. I watch younger teachers re-inventing some things that we did years ago. I don't say much anymore. I just sort of roll my eyes and smile, and then agree to whatever decisions are made.

3   They have this thing at meetings that resembles somewhat Poe's The Pit and the Pendelum.

4   You've probably seen it. Your company comes up with some grand idea five years ago, and then some yahoo comes in and tells everyone that "...we used to do blah blah blah, but NOW the pendulum is swinging in another direction..."

5   This goes on every few years to the point that you wind up knowing more than the pendulum seems to think.

6    We had one of those yesterday. Our meeting was had good intentions, but it also threw insta-work at us, with yet more things that will pull me away from my lessons.

7    I just don't talk anymore. I roll my eyes and smile.

8    I am not a fan of meetings. They are usually dookie rolling downhill. They are decisions that people far removed from the classroom send to people who are in the trenches every day. I trust it is the same in many companies.

9   Anyway, I absolutely couldn't wait to remove myself from that and scoot down to the Theater to our Grease rehearsal. I wasn't really scheduled to be there, but I have enjoyed watching every moment of this show, beginning with auditions.

10   It was a study in contrasts.

11   When I walked in from stage left, I heard music, stomping, thumping, and laughter.

12   The timing was perfect. I walked out to the audience where David sat. He was in the middle of the Theater, chilling in a seat, and gave this command: "Okay, so you guys almost have it! What I want you to do is to perform the number for Mr. Harrington!"

13   Their eyes widened. I loved it. I smiled and sat down next to David.

14   I remember doing the same thing when someone would walk into the Theater and I knew we had just finished working hard on a performance number.

15   I got to live the fantasy.

15   I got to become Steven Tyler.

16   I also knew that the students now had a supporting audience in order to test the tune Shakin at the High School hop. I saw them peacock. I knew.

17   The CD we had of the song was okay, but that tune always seemed to me like it was trying to catch the brash 50's sound, but that it lagged a little, like a little kid trying to do Elvis.

18    They always sang it pretty well, but it still felt a bit contrived. I assumed it was somewhere in the composition, but sat back right next to David.

19   The first thing I noticed was that he and I had the exact same pair of shoes. Our feet were up, and it was hilarious. Payless free-forms. Lotta room, and comfy.

20   Same EXACT shoes! I just laughed, because he and I are so much alike it is almost uncanny.

21   Someone somewhere slipped a CD of the piano version, played by one of our accompanists.They weren't performing to a piece with vocals. They had to sing and dance.

22   I looked down at the stage.The entire cast and ensemble stood perfectly spaced. They hid smiles.They knew something I didn't, but that I could sense.

23   The second the music started I saw the first miracle of the show.Tamara Chavez had done her homework.These guys soared, sang, and brought it. It was one of those rehearsal moments that simply blew the house away.The choreography completely caught 50's rock, and I'm happy to report, not 70's disco. Almost forty artists flew at us, shaking their hands, twisting, turning, and SINGING at the same time, on key and with harmonies.

24   They KNEW they were nailing it while it was happening. It was like they had almost gotten it down and just needed an audience.They were out of their skulls in character, and brought it. I thought I was watching an old Sandra Dee movie!

25   After the song they high-fived, jumped up, hooted, and knew they had gone to the next level. I gave a Steven Tyler standing-ovation. I was even wearing a cool hat.

26    The previous day David had asked me if I would like to direct a scene or two, and I told him that it was cool, that it was his show, and I wouldn't want to cut in on his direction. But I did give him a few notes that day, and he responded positively, just little things he might not have noticed. I've been extremely careful not to bully in on his show.

27   But yesterday it was obvious that the cast wanted my input, so I asked David if I could give a response. He said, "Of course!"

28   I said in my Am Idol best, "What you guys just did was this: you not only sang perfectly and danced beyond your choreography, but you have all worked as a team up to this moment. What you did that went beyond all your direction was you looked like you were having absolute fun up there! And that transcends everything! You absolutly captured the era perfectly, and you brought rock 'n' roll into this show. You electrified, and you should give Tamara a huge hand." Hoots and whistles, and Tamara clapped and loved it.

29   I had looked down during the performance and saw that she KNEW that they landed it. While they performed, we all rocked. Electrifying. So good I can't put it into words.

30  I continued, "I do have one criticism. At the end of the song, when you move downstage and sing the words, 'Shake, rock and roll' you need to get twice as loud. This is what brings the song home, as well as what brings the exact era you are presenting. Just blow the audience out of their seats with your youth and vitality. Awesome job."

31   They jumped and hooted. The entire place had caught fire in one of those rare moments at rehearsal where the show has automatically moved to the next level.

32   Afterwards, they moved into the back to clean up some vocals, and went through a few painful moments, but overall, they knew that this show was going to be something special.

33  No wonder I spent so many years avoiding English meetings.

34   The contrast was striking. I went from a course in How to Teach Students to Hate Shakespeare to raw rock, and true learning, sans meetings, sans theories, sans tests.

35   I was proud to have been a part of a breakthrough afternoon on a show I have had the pleasure of being a part of from the very beginning.

36   Walking out of the rehearsal was awesome. These guys were walking out in small groups singing different songs from the show, harmonizing, and well on their way.

37   It should be an epic show. I knew in 2007 that no matter when we did the first musical at EV, it was going to rock for the ages. I also swore that I would be a part of it.

38   These guys are there. David warned them about getting too cocky over one number, and that there was a lot more work left to do, but as the sky darkened, harmonies soared into the early evening sky, they wanted to sing forever.

39   That's a whole bunch of doing a show. You have those treasured moments that will last forever.

40   We still have so much more work and stress yet to do, but we also know that we are all now a part of something quite special.

41   David gave me a T-shirt last night, one that had EV Drama Department on it. It felt grand. I felt honored. This show is really special, much like some of our best at YB. Don't get me wrong; they were all fun. But every now and again a group knows they have it happening early, and it is a good feeling.

42   It should be. They have immense talent and huge heart.

43   I always used to say to Ponch, "Mr. Ponticelli, we are in the business of creating memories!"

44   I thought of Ponch and Shawna and all the fun we used to have. I thought of the memories we all created on such blockbusters as Godspell and the Midsummers.

45   It is nice to be back, and even nicer not to be the director. I graded papers much of the afternoon, probably twice as many than if I hadn't joined this show. I increased my fun and decreased my workload. We Go Together danced in my head all the way home.

46   GREAT rehearsal, and a wonderfully amazing afternoon of song and dance.

47   I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

48   Good times, good times.

49   Have a great Thursday everyone! I'll keep you posed as to when we open. Great day.

50   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1   No News: Last night's meeting at the District office seemed fine. Our union had some incredible speeches by some quite eloquent speakers, including our own site president Marla Bressani and my Activities' Director successor and close friend Victoria Duran.

2   Both delivered wonderful speeches, bringing a humanity to the entire evening. I stood proud, not only of them, but of our school's presence at the meeting. For a dark, rainy night, we brought a lot of people.

3   I thank everyone who attended. Our message was delivered loud and clear: don't touch our benefits.

4   It was also fun to see some familiar faces out there: Nancy Galindo, Leslie Conrotto, Dave Fredericks, Gary Berg, Hector Campos, and a few others. I realized that all those people have history with me, and with working hard for the students.

5   I don't know which teacher it was who said this, but one teacher said that we aren't members from some other community who come in and teach and then live miles away; we all are and have been active members of the San Jose community, and not only have all lived here for years, but who are also taxpayers.

6   We all know this community backwards and forwards; we all live within ten miles of one another, and have for many, many years.

7   We know all of the issues unique to the District.

8    And we all, to a person, are passionate about teaching.

9    The class size issue also kept coming up in speeches last night. We already bended on the increase in class sizes a few years ago. Someone brought up the increase of three students per class, and the impact that fifteen extra students has had on our personal lives.

10   One teacher said that she has such an immense increase in paperwork that she grades papers at stoplights. I'm serious.

11   Readers of the DN have heard me grousing all year about being constantly inundated by paperwork to the point of not being able to see family or friends on weekends.

12   Class size increases also cause havoc in the classroom. Classes are ten per cent noiser. Many rooms don't have enough desks to accomodate the larger sizes. The noise level can get astonishing. And class size isn't the only thing we have caved to as teachers.

13   We haven't had a raise since 2001. This is another concession we have made to the crisis in California school funding. No raise in eleven years.

14   I don't know that we ever again will.

15   Teaching is really mirroring everything that is going on in every company in America; it's just that we are trying to fight back for not only ourselves, but for our students, our families, and our community.

16   I'll try to keep you posted. It is an issue that should touch everybody, because all of this affects our children, and their children, and on and on.

17   Thanks to everybody who wrote me emails and letters of encouragement. I return the support by hoping and praying that our economy might right itself, and that many of you going through the same sort of thing get jobs back, or maybe even better jobs. Thanks to some remarkable speakers, our message about benefits was loud and clear. Enough. You have taken enough. We will not let you touch our benefits.

18   There's a moment in the film JFK, the now classic 1993 film by Oliver Stone, in which Kevin Costner, playing the part of Jim Garrison, says in a choking voice, "We want our country back!"

19   I taught all about the Kennedy assassination for years, always warning my students about what happened, and what was happening today as a result of that great tragedy in 1963. I remember being labeled a "conspiracy theorist", which is almost instantly a death warrant to anybody who has spent countless hours researching the real history of the past fifty years.

20   I used JFK to teach fiction versus non-fiction, research, and how to trust different media sources. It is also an amazing story, one of the most incredible non-fiction stories I've ever experienced. And it twists and turns and distorts to this very minute.

21   Well, nearly everything that I ever researched has come to pass. It is now staring at all of us, entering all of our lives, and a LOT of people are getting a sense that there is something WAY out of whack in America in 2012.

22  And I like that people are beginning to find out. I'm glad that people are standing up for the future of our children. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of people discovering that there are people up there who need to be voted out, or maybe even arrested.

23   The outrage is out there. People are looking back historically. They are beginning to sense the lies and the extent to which the very rich will go to stay rich.

24   Whether it is left or right, it all ends up in the same place.

25   I'm not happy that things I've reported over the years are just now being accepted as almost mainstream. I wish it had been mainstream from the start. But with the advent of the internet, and with insta-communications with our incredible technology, people can in a millisecond land at the doorstep of moguls like Rupert Murdoch and get in his face.

26   I still believe in America.

27   I still believe that we can stand up and call these heinous people on their lives of crime. I still believe in the goodness of most people, and in the power of the people to intelligently investigate and to prosecute.

28   Our stories are becoming to much alike for us not to.

29   It doesn't always go down that it is democrats versus republicans. If you go to the extreme in either of the parties, you will probably be led to the same story. It might not be a story we want to hear, but it is closer to the truth than all these politicians will let you believe.

30   I didn't really want to go off on a diatribe this morning; I just wanted to share something that is happening not only to teaching, but to every profession and every family in America, and in fact, in very much of the world.

31   And I still see hope. I saw eloquence coming out of voices last night as young as twelve, and as old as sixty-five. 

32   Those voices told the story of America in 2012.

33   So I'll leave this DN a little early, I trust.

34   Thank you for listening about this stuff the past two days. Many of you have followed the DN this year because it has been almost a diary of the life of a normal (ah, okay, go ahead, go ahead!) teacher going through a normal teaching year.

35    Standing in the parking lot last night, Gary Berg, one of my dearest friends, asked me how old I was. Without blinking, I said, "Thirty!" Some guy walking by said, "Yeah, thirty years in the District!"

36  We both broke into laughter.

37   I told Gary that earlier this year I told my class about my Dad, and about his health struggles. One student asked, in all sincerity, "Mr. Harrington, how old is your Dad?" Without blinking I said, "Sixty-two!"

38   I appreciated the silence following my answer. It made me feel that I still have years and years left to enjoy going into the classroom every day.

39   It is indeed a passion, as well as a calling.

40   Last night I spent the evening with others who feel the same exact way.

41   And every one of us could see that same exact passion in the eyes of younger teachers. They look to us for hope. We look to them for hope.

42    Because they are teachers, and we who have been there recognize the ones who have that passion. It jumps at you. It is alive, and burning. It's on their faces. It's in their eyes. It's in their souls..

43   It's still out there, like you will never believe.

44   Teachers aren't different ages. We are all kindred spirits with hope of lighting the way for students, and for experiencing what my own daughter Nicole calls the "click": the moment when the light turns on in a student.

45   There are no bubble tests, assessments, data, or anything else that can describe that; passionate teachers know instinctively when that takes place.

46   Nicole is every bit a veteran teacher now.

47   Next year is her third consecutive year teaching in a bona-fide district. And I have seen her mature and thrive as a passionate young teacher.

48   There is an entire army of younger teachers out there. The strongest and best will survive.

49   And there is a younger generation out there that is full of fighters, and full of young people filled with hope.

50    It's good to see.

51    I stand proud of that generation, and I am about to step aside and let them take the torch. They are worthy of that trust.

52   I gottago. You keep fighting too. We all simply must. Gottago now.

53   Thanks for listening.

54    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1   Today is a no news is good news day. At least according to the East Side Union High School District. More about that later.

2    Those of you who don't think the news is controlled should look at the difference of thickness of newspapers from Sunday to Monday.

3     It must be a coincidence that the majority of news seems to happen on Wednesdays and Saturdays, because the Thursday papers always seem fairly fat, as well as the Sunday papers.

4    Or are those just advertisements?

5    Monday papers are almost too light for the delivery people to toss.

6    In many ways, it's a bit reassuring. If they have to make-up stories to keep us interested in reading, then I guess there are worse things.

7    I especially laugh at the repeat "stories" that we often get online: anything Bachelor or Karashian. Who cares? Or some huge star is caught with an ugly look on their face. Like we've never taken a bad picture. Or the slick, revealing dress that some actress wore at some award ceremony.

8    Major stories man.

9    The other side of it is that they are telling me that nothing has happened. We are inventing this to entertain you. We ALMOST got hit by something jumping off the sun last week. I ducked.

10   Are they trying to control the way we think?

11   I'd say I think so, but they haven't officially told me that yet.

12   They've hinted at it.

13    But until it is confirmed, I can't share that news with you.

14    Moving on, Part the First: No place really to move on, since nothing really happened.

15    Oh, it is said that at the District Board meeting tonight, they are going to offer a "Sunshine" proposal of what they wish to offer us as far as a contract.

16    Will they offer a raise? Nope. Will they offer lower class sizes? Nope. Will they offer the return to a Cost of Living Allowance? Not likely. Will they offer fewer furlough days? Nope. Will they go aggressively after our benefits?

17     Word on the street is that they want to attack that one full force. It's no mystery on either side. We have been giving in on all those other issues in good faith for years, and now they want to devour our benefits. At least that's the word on the street.

18    It is an enormous issue, and it goes down tonight at the District Office. If young teachers with babies suddenly find their benefits cut, they will be paying exhorbitant sums for care. If an elderly teacher gets a major illness, they are going to be in a financial crisis.

19    To me, this is an issue. We have worked ridiculously hard, have offered hours of free time to help keep schools running, have gone the extra mile for parents, students, and community for years. We have bargained in good faith, giving up many things in the process.

20   When we gave three them more students per class on the class size issue, my paperload increased substantially. That's a half a class a day of more paperwork. Adds up after three assignments.

21   They have cut our counseling staff down to two, for almost 2,600 students.

22   Many excellent staff members have been laid off, people I absolutely respect as professionals of the highest order. Our MST counselors have disappeared. I spent out-of-pocket money to provide books for my students, because the bookroom hours became absurd.

23   The schools are running on empty, and still we have devoted staff trying to take care of millions of things, still trying to make it happen despite the exhaustion.

24   It's not just schools; it's all businesses. I understand this.

25   Hard to get sympathy on this, but benefits affect people's families, and they affect them seriously. It isn't song-and-dance stuff; it's life-and-death stuff.

26   I am asking any teacher in the East Side Union High School District to think twice about not showing up tonight in ESTA shirts and being heard. We aren't asking for some condo on the Riviera. We are asking for something we have already agreed to that they want to take away.

27    Today.

28    The Board meeting begins at 4 p.m. in the Board Room 830 N. Capitol Ave in San Jose.

29    Is this critical meeting considered news to the ESUHSD?

30    Nope.

31    They would rather nobody attend, at least by the looks of their website. The meeting is in the upper-right corner of the site, on a rolling calendar with a font size of perhaps eight. And it rolls pretty quickly. I copied it and pasted it on today's DN. It laid itself over my picture of the ESTA logo. I tried to copy and delete and it wouldn't delete. It behaved like a virus. I tried copying just the text of this DN to a new entry, and it clung to my text. Well, the idea is that you are seeing their advertising, which is directly from their webpage.

32    Yet it isn't in any of their headlines on that page.

33    And a mouse in the District told me that benefits will be the last item on the menu tonight, after everyone else moves out of the meeting to get home to their families.

34    That's the way these guys roll. They'll drink water and walk in late, glad-hand each other, drink more water, and stall things.

35   But it's a rattlesnake ready to walk right into all our lives and steal our health benefits. Make no mistake. Fortunately our people will stay and negotiate hard to protect those benefits. It won't be pretty.

36   We need a show of solidarity, especially between 4 and 7, when the media is likely to drop in.

37   It is time for parents, teachers, and community members to march in support of teachers and classified staff. I have worked at least ten to fifteen hours each weekend this year voluntarily. It was for survival. Many of us have devoted years of volunteer work for the District, and even agreed to the cuts of COLA, of class sizes, of MST counselors, of librarians, of the need for furloughs. We've given everything we can, and now they are going to try to take many of our benefits away.

38   Protect our benefits.

39   There is news. It's that we need parents, teachers, staff, community members, and anyone they can drag with them to show up en masse this afternoon in a show of solidarity.

40   The only way we can protect education is to begin fighting back tonight.

41   Wear black. ESTA members wear ESTA shirts.

42   Bring children; they are affected as well.

43   I know you're exhausted, but tonight's meeting is critical.

44   I support many causes.

45   Please come out, even if it is for only an hour. It's still a voice.

46   Thanks.

47   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

Date Event Location Details March 13, 2012 Regular Board Meeting ESUHSD - Board Room 830 N. Capitol Avenue 4

The Daily News

1   I found over the weekend a brief irritation with rudeness. Because the weather was nice, I thought it might be an awesome time to get a jump on the yard.

2   Helene was driving. We were going to go grocery shopping and found ourselves over by Mi Pueblo on Capitol. I was grabbing some cash from the Wells Fargo, and thought perhaps we should stop in at Mi Pueblo and grab some food before hitting a supermarket.

3   Rational idea on an early Saturday morning. If you shop after eating, they say, you spend less money. Logic dictates. We tried easing up to the front of the store when we hit an aisle in the parking lot that suddenly stopped dead. We assumed the guy was waiting for a parking spot.

4    We waited.

5    And waited.

6    After about two minutes of waiting, I looked up to see that there was nobody in the car the guy was waiting for. In fact, there was no evidence of waiting. No taillight cues, no sense of movement, nothing. The guy in front of us was polite, and not honking, but the guy in front of him simply wasn't moving.

7    We finally were forced to back out, and skip the entire thing.

8    We shot across the street to the new Grocery Outlet, where we found easy parking. The second I got in, a rather plumpish lady almost knocked me down. Another guy gave me a surly look, and then decided to follow me down every aisle and get irritated with me. It was almost like the guy wanted to get irritated with me.

9    I wrote a lot of it off as people on a Saturday who hated Monday-thru-Friday, which is a whole lot of people.

10   Yesterday I was the person driving. We were at in a right-turn lane, and the light turned red. The lady in front of us just sat there, even though it would have been swell of her to turn right. No traffic. She just sat there. I gave a little nudge on the horn after about a minute. She still didn't move. When the light turned green, she still didn't move. She eventually drove about three feet into the lane and stopped.

11   I moved around her, trying not to turn into Mr. Wheeler, the character who changes from being the nice, polite Mr. Walker in the classic Goofy cartoon Motor Mania. I mentioned Motor Mania last week, but lived it this weekend.

12   I must admit that when I moved to her left, I thumped the throttle just a little; not so much out of any form of rage, but more from a sense of liberation from stupidity.

13   It's a thin line.

14   Did you ever do that, insist it wasn't a mild form of road rage, and still look in the rear view to see how they were doing?

15   I did.

16   I saw that she was still moving at a snail's pace, finally turning down an adjacent street to pull over and eventually park.

17   I moved on. At one point, I had to stop at some store or other for envelopes. This attractive gal who was about six-foot seventeen was two people in front of me. I stood in line for a while, and the line refused to move. I looked ahead and she had about ten thousand coupons, and was quietly arguing in chess-like silence with the clerk about which coupons were good and which were bad.

18   Directly in front of me was a classic angry white dude who was irritated with the entire world. He had a Merc News. That was his purchase. A dollar-eight. He was seething. He was mouthing the "F" word and muttering all sorts of stuff. His face turned red, and for a second I thought the guy was going to go over.

19   Fortunately, an alert clerk said, "I'll take whoever is next on four!" My eyes shot to check stand four. I then looked at the guy who was now focused on getting irritated with me, so I said, "You can go ahead, man." He walked over. I thought I'd stay right behind Coupon Girl, but when she looked back in her purse and pulled out another handful, I thought better of it. It looked like a game of intrigue. Rita Hayworth.

20   I'm glad I've lived a little, because when I was younger, I would have been Mr. Wheeler on each one of those deals. It was a banner weekend for that sort of thing.

21   We went into a busy restaurant on Saturday, and I ordered a burger and onion rings, which is a fairly unusual order for me. I have held back on calories for around two weeks, so it was time to have a little fun with a bacon/cheese, rings, and a chocolate shake, the kind where they scoop real ice cream and give you the leftovers in a metal shaker. I was starved, because the night before I had behaved and eaten a salad and a little soup for dinner.

22   The food arrived hot and steamy and I tried to be tame. When I'm starved, I don't want anyone watching me eat, because I worry that I might be going a bit to rapidly. I have always been a fast eater anyway, since I always want to get to my deadlines and stuff. Stems from the old theater days, when eating was just fuel, and had to be done quickly so we could get back to building sets under heroic deadlines.

23   So the food came, and I dove in. The burger was huge, complete with onions, lettuce, cheese, and all the rest. The onion rings were a bit crispy, but I don't mind that. I'd rather they be crispy than greasy, so I thought it all perfect. They were gigantic. The shake had whipped cream and a cherry on top. All was bliss.

24   Until a manager came over. "I don't like the looks of those rings," she said, "so I've ordered you some more. They'll be up in a few minutes."

25    I slud down in my seat and said, "Uh...it's okay, it's fine."

26    "I already ordered them. I don't like the looks of those things. You can eat 'em if you want, but I got you some more just in case." A little kid sitting next to me looked up amazed.

27    "No, I'm...really I'm fine." I thought that while waiting for a second order, my burger was going to get cold. I also felt a little weird that the lady was watching me eat, and now both she AND the kid were watching me. I just wanted to eat my lunch in peace.

28    If she had said, "Are you sure?" and then left with a "Well, okay, just thought I'd offer; enjoy your food," it would have been much easier. By insisting, she brought the attention of free food to the kid. Earlier, another waiter came by with some wheat toast, told us the customer didn't want it, and offered it to us for free. We actually took it, figuring the price was right and most restaurants give free bread with meals anyway AND we felt starved. I didn't mind that. Fast drop-off. No focus. No sense of stalking.

30   But that, coupled with the sudden attention of a little kid watching people getting free food right and left sort of felt like the entire world was watching me eat my lunch.

31    On the way out, the guy in front of me at the checkout handed the restaurant a card, which evidently was good only in Philly. The clerk said, "I'll go call our main store to see if we can honor it!" And he took off. I just wanted to pay and leave. It was a much briefer delay than the mysterious tall femme fatale with the coupons, but it was another delay. The clerk never acknowledged me, nor did he announce an apology for a slight delay. He didn't say, "Excuse me folks, but we'll be right with you." Just took off.

The very lovely Rita.Hayworth, femme fatale classique.

32   Fortunately, they brought in another clerk to move the line, which now had around four or five other people waiting.

33   On the way home, I saw tons of other people drifting into lanes, texting, and driving with their heads up their collective asses. It must have been Be-Rude-To-a Dude Day.

34   Moving on, Part the First: Bag One: Is anybody else feeling the frustration of forgetting to bring bags into stores? I'm still not quite used to it. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for it; it's just that I keep going into stores and finding myself forgetting, and then buying more bags. I have around six zillion re-usable bags already.

35   It's just that I again found myself in a store, was in bit of a hurry, and had around six small items I had forgotten to get at the other three stores (Seriously! Banner weekend for shopping!) and had enough items for the clerk to ask, "Would you like to buy a bag for fifty cents?" Nope. My own fault, I trust. I should have been environmental long ago.

36   Moving on, Part Two: Don't get me wrong. I don't shop incessantly for two straight days. In fact, I usually like to hit maybe one store on the way home from work to get things that I forgot, and once home, I usually don't wish to go out again.

37    I'm also quite tolerant of human nature. If a guy driving in front of me hesitates at a street corner, I figure he is probably looking for a street sign. If someone makes a mistake in a store, I'm usually pretty cool about it. Yesterday, for example, Starbuck's forgot my order. After watching a couple of people who were behind me get their things before me, I politely said, "Excuse me, but I think you guys might have forgotten my order." Within seconds, they made my Caramel Mach, the guy put whipped cream with lovely crisscross caramal on top, gave me a free drink coupon, and thanked me for my patience.

38  The mystery woman with the coupons certainly could have looked at the line and said, "I'm terribly sorry; I didn't expect this." Or that clerk should have said, "Folks, we'll open another line in a second." Neither did, and I still wasn't that impatient with it. After all, it was Rita Hayworth. I'm quite convinced something more adventurous was going on.

39   The guy in front of me, on the other hand, was turning beet red, cursing under his breath, and was ready to blast me if I ran over to check stand four.

40   So as previously stated, it was a banner weekend for shopping and watching.

41   I'm not sure what the line is on rudeness. I caught myself being somewhat rude when I turned into a mild form of Mr. Wheeler with the lady who just sat there even when the light turned green. I am also guilty of  having thumped the accelerator just slightly, and then of peering into the rear view to have a peek at her stupidity.

42   But I think I remained reasonably polite through it all.

43  And I was rewarded with two pieces of toast, a full-sized order of some dandily devine onion rings, and a free Starbuck's.

44   I'm somewhat glad that I kept my Mr. Walker demeanor on while keeping Mr. Wheeler in check.

45   I went home feeling better about all of it.

46   That's about it. I guess this was a Jeckyll/Hyde tale incognito. One told by an idiot.

47    It's the way Rita Hayworth would have wanted it I trust.

48    Have a good one.

49    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1 That Thing You Do, Part 1: A Trip to the Islands: We rehearsed all the songs in the show yesterday, just to get an idea of where we are. Report card from Rachel was a C+, which I think was fairly accurate.

2   I went to the rehearsal utterly unprepared and exhausted, and knew my song fairly well, but was still reeling from exhausting meetings, long days, and short nights.

3   The entire ensemble sounds awesome on many songs, the strongest of which is We Go Together. A lot of the soloists seemed about as nervous as I, which was a good thing.

4   For a school's first musical, I thought a C+ was right about where we should be at this time. When they were good, they were awesome. There were many moments of hoots and hollers. But when they were not good (honestly, I really didn't do well yesterday at the rehearsal, but fixed it up after the rehearsal), it was exquisitly bad.

5   Fortunately, Rachel is an amazing voice coach. She has complete confidence that everyone will reach higher, and listen to CD's in order to remember some of the complex harmonies.

6   What was fun was that while working on one number, the entire ensemble moved next door and practiced We Go Together on their own. When they came back into David's room, where we were doing the tunes, they were pretty tight on that song.

7   Freddy My Love had mixed reviews. I thought they sounded wonderful, but Rachel gave that one a C+ as well. I loved it, but I did see that it had a few moments that didn't sound the way it was supposed to.

8   On my own tune, Beauty School Dropout, I realized that I had never practiced the reprise. I also had forgotten the very opening lines, so I panicked a little. Fortunately, I knew the opening quite well, but at one point, I forgot a line, and it threw off everything: pitch, breathing, lyrics. I eventually caught back up, but was pretty disappointed in myself that I had let pressures at school prevent tighter concentration.

9   I also knew that I wasn't going to leave that building until ten p.m. because I was scheduled to work lights for our music concert last night. It was to culminate in the triumphant return from Carnegie Hall of our Wind Ensemble. I wasn't about to miss that one, but still. Exhausting afternoon and evening.

10   Show biz, folks.

11   Moving on, Part the Second: Anyway, because of the professinalism of both Rachel and David, the rehearsal worked. It was a clear wake-up call that we need an A+, not a C+, and getting an A+ with a script as cheesy as Grease is a huge calling.

12   The rehearsal ended at six, so I had approximately a half hour before I needed to get up to the booth for the concert.

13   I ran into my good friend and confidant Matt Hall, a young guitar teacher from Scott's Valley. His room is right next door to David's. He has a room with around thirty guitars hanging on dandy hooks on his wall. He has Starbuck's lights, and at around six p.m. it was the perfect place to hang out. He was rocking on his drum kit when I walked in.

14   He hopped off the drums and said, "All right! Another Teen Angel!" We laughed, and then he admitted that he was lousy at getting lyrics down, and that Beauty School was somewhat of a lyrical bear. I agreed, so we both decided to figure it out.

15   He yanked out the score, and we sat down, but kept singing it in different keys. I said, "Dude, it's pretty much in A." So we kept trying it, but I decided it might be a good idea to pull a guitar off he wall. It was a Yamaha, which is my primary guitar choice. We immediately got into a mild jam, and hammered out some of the chords.

16   Within minutes, we both were spot on with voices. It was a minor miracle, because a half hour earlier I was publicly cracking on a lot of the high notes. Suddenly, both of us discussed our character, as well as when to breathe and when to do some high do-wops.

17   By six thirty, we had it going. It had a total 50's feel, which I think is important to Grease. One of my criticisms I have maintained of the film is that it is a 70's disco movie disguising itself as a 50's movie. The Broadway score says otherwise. It has wonderful moments, and Beauty School Dropout is potentially one of them. We both dedicated ourselves to keeping the purity of the 50's in the show. I personally want a sax, whether the score calls for it or not.

18   But what an afternoon! Two Teen Angels hammering it out on acoustic guitars, and nailing the high-pitched rock. Matt is a young, enthusiastic teacher, and really an inspiration. We had a blast jamming in his classroom.

19   But we had other corn to plow last night. He and I usually share the tech booth anytime Maestro Steve Barnhill brings in his troops.

20   We were both excited to see the audience respond to the Kids from Carnegie.

21   But first we got to watch and listen to a series of other outstanding musicians. Our Concert Band, made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, was amazing. This was followed by our Orchestra, a handsome, incredible bunch. Under the subtle lighting that Kyle and I did, they looked and sounded astounding. There is something dynamically alluring about a bunch of stringed instruments bathing in subtle lighting. AND they delivered the goods. They went from around fourteen or fifteen students when I arrived at EV six years ago, and had grown to over forty.

22   After a brief intermission, our Symphonic Band came to the stage and blew all of us out of the water. They did one song that was a tribute to Aaron Copland, including a small interlude of Appalacian Spring, and then they took us to Hawaii, all through music. I wish I had my program with me; I left it in the truck, and it's too late into the five a.m. to run out and give all the artists and titles.

23   Mr. Barnhill knew what he had last night. I don't recall him ever conducting better. He gave a workout, with true passion and power. It was almost scary, and he worked for all of his students.

24   After a knockout performance by the Symphonic Band, the Wind Ensemble entered to polite applause. They entered almost too slowly. I felt that a swifter entrance might have elicited the applause that they so clearly deserve.

25   Didn't matter. They played a slight fanfare to introduce themselves as one of the best high school Wind Ensembles in the world. We all took notice. Barnhill continued to work it.

26   Every number had magical music coming from out of nowhere. The sound came from all areas of the stage, synchopating, moving, dancing, and gaping.

27   They brought Amazing Grace, but a version that had tied in to St. Paul's Church in New York, which was right behind where the World Trade Center once stood. The version sang to our hearts, and the melody disappeared for a brief time, and then was brought back. They did this for the people of New York. It worked for the home crowd as well. Absolute exquisite pain.

28   The piece they brought home was this piece called Spitfire! Steve met and talked with the composer prior to going on. He told us what it was like sitting on the stage at Carnegie, and of telling the kids to enjoy the massive intensity of the lighting, of the curtains, of the backstage, and of New York.

29   And then the Maestro told us that he was bringing Carnegie Hall to the people who supported them. That was us, the audience, and the people who support the arts.

30   That song almost couldn't be classified a song. It was sounds flying from virtually nowhere and everywhere. His percussion, which is an earmark of his style, brought so much synchopation and intensity that the room fell silent, save for the miracle happening to all of us.

31   When they abruptly finished, there was a brief second of absolute silence, followed by an immediate standing ovation. I brought the house up so that the students could see the full house standing and applauding for all the hard work, as well as for the emotional experience of throwing it all at New York.

32   Flowers. A autographed picture of the Wind Ensemble in front of Carnegie presented to the Maestro. A moment I knew was worth my exhaustion. We all were in the presence of greatness.

33   It was a moment for the ages. Our school's music program is now nationally known, and our second trip to Carnegie was historically amazing.

34   I got home late, and hit the hay late. I still managed to get six hours sleep, and what a sleep!

35   I couldn't wait to hop on the DN and share this moment of history, and this celebration of music.

36   Incredible day.

37   Hope you enjoyed this. Wish I had pics.

38    It is well into the 5 a.m. so I think I'll try to gather in at least one more hour of sleep now that I can put this amazing day to bed.

39   Have a delightful weekend. Get out and see Charlie Brown over at Indy, and Legally Blonde at the SJCMT. There is still incredible stuff going on out there in this crazy world. Embrace all of it.

40    I'm going to sleep.

41    Live life.

42    Love life.

43    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1  Every now and again, this happens.

2   I got home last night exhausted from the demands of the week, made a little dinner, and then hit the hay rather early.

3   I awakened at around 11:30, and thought to myself, "Write today's DN now, so that you can get a good-night's sleep."

4    I began tacking away on the keyboard, and somewhere at around 12:45 I had finished this diatribe about teaching, and about elephants in the room, and of sealing wax, as well as other fancy things.

5   I pushed "Save" and the entire internet shut down. I had fifty items written, with all sorts of controversial things. I was a bit worried, because I was calling education out on its foolishness. It all disappeared in a wink. Darkness.

6   Frankly, I was almost afraid to publish it.

7   Turns out I had no say in the matter. I usually save as I go, but last night I was on a rant about a lot of stuff.

8   By the time I pushed "Save" everything blacked out.

9    For the record, I've had an almost eerie year of things electrical not working. If I listed them, you would be astounded. My classes have witnessed it, as have my vacay Tahoe peeps last summer when every electronic thing I had went kaput: my laptop, my camera, my frying pan, my car battery, my iPod dock, and on and on. That was all within two or three days.

10   In my classroom this year, it happened so many times that I can't even list it, but here are a couple of things: two printers, a television set, my electronic curtains, a CD player (Just two days ago! The thing wouldn't eject at a Grease rehearsal!), a DVD/VCR when I was being observed by district people two days ago as well, my car battery (again!) and I could go on and on, but I think you get the pic.

11  This was especially true during my annual ghost stories this year: everything went out in a ridiculously short period of time.

12   This year it was massively public, and quite eerie.

13   I realize that it is all coincidence, and that things electrical do go kaput every now and again, but the amount of things that have gone electrically haywire seem to have gone off the charts this year.

14   I KNOW, I KNOW.

15   Coincidence.

16    I guess.

17    I'm now in my third hour trying to get this folderol out. It is now well into the one a.m. I consider that early.

18     I must confess that I was a bit critical about the absurdity of things going on in education, and how we have gone from a teacher/student/parent focus to a demands-from-the top focus, much of which has a clear history of failure.

19   I also pointed out that awesome teachers bring awesome lessons, and often produce good students, resulting in a goodly amount of success.

20   I'll leave it at that, because negative data-oriented people will never buy that.

21   I will always buy that a teacher who cares, who smiles, who makes things comfortable for every student, and who reaches out to the ones who are struggling is probably doing a great job, despite "data" that really doesn't come close to accurately diagnosing the reason that some kids don't succeed.

22   I will steer away from a lot of what I said in my earlier piece that mysterously disappeared last night. I'm sort of glad that I didn't publish it, because I called out the absurdities, and refused to hold back. Instead, let's try this:

23   I will emphasize the elements of a good teacher, sans data.

24   A good teacher goes in prepared, but open to change each and every day. A good teacher knows every student as well as is possible. A good teacher knows the hobbies, interests, family and friends of the students. A good teacher listens. A good teacher cares so much that each day they go home and think of ways to improve. A good teacher stays in touch with former students. A good teacher welcomes parents' input, and understands their concerns. A good teacher falls down eight times and gets up nine.

25   A good teacher knows when to relax the shoulders and laugh.

26   A good teacher remains young at heart.

27   A good teacher cares about every single student, and knows that they all have good hearts.

28   It is not easy to be a good teacher. I still don't think I've reached that peak. It is Everest, without as much danger. It seems attainable, but often it is not.

29   Someday I would like to be regarded as a good teacher. I fight for my students every day, and still get lost in a blizzard of papers, of demands, of meetings, of emails, and of exhaustion. I guess we all do, every profession.

30   I guess I just go in and do my job the best I can, just like the next guy.

31   We are on the front lines in education. We are in the trenches, every single day.

32   People removed from us sometimes make absurd demands. We roll with it.

33   Anyway, I'm pretty glad in many ways that the internet flushed my first DN last night. It was a brutal diatribe about all of the absurdity and ridiculousness that gets thrown our way.

34   Pretty pointless.

35   I just wanted to make a plea to younger teachers to put as much love into their work as possible. Don't teach data, teach children. Stay young and full of hope. I still have hope, and I'm just an Old Brown Shoe.

36   But I still have a bit of polish. I see a few student teachers at our school who are smiling and on it every single day. I hope they stay that way. It is enchanting.

37   Welp, I'd love to stay and chat, but this is my second go-round on all of this. This one is a lot more positive, and for that, I thank the electrical/electronic angels who have taunted me all year.

38   Hope you guys had fun.

39   You probably kept me out of a ton of trouble.

40   So we'll see you again.

41   Have a grand Thursday.

42   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

The Daily News

1   One thing is certain: any time the WPC shows up at school, you can be sure that electronic or electrical crap will go wrong.

2   Who, you may ask, is the WPC?

3   In education, they are always important people coming in to observe your lessons.

4   They aren't unique to education; they are in every single job that's out there.

5   I always alert my students as to when the WPC are coming. This time, it was sort of an ambush.

6   We were told on Monday that they were coming to observe us in our habitats from nine a.m. to noon yesterday.

7   Pretty short notice.

8   In teaching, at least, you have to come up with some sort of dog-and-pony show any time you get observed, especially by the WPC.

9   So knowing they were visiting on short notice, I had to alter my lesson plan just a bit.

10  My plan was to have my students spend the entire period working on their upcoming skits, which are due on Thursday and Friday. I was going to catch up with all paperwork and grading while they worked. I knew they wouldn't stay completely on task, but I also knew that they had that deadline. All was perfect until we were notified mid-Monday that the WPC was going to visit yesterday.

11   I decided to add two elements to my lesson: one was a brief lecture on the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the second was to show my class a VHS (I know!) of our 1994 version of the Midsummer crossovers that opened the show.

12  I told them that it was made around the same time Shakespeare wrote  it.

13  Anyone out there feeling a bit...er...old?

14  Anyway, it made for almost an extra half hour of lessons, just in case the WPC showed up.

15   What, you may ask is the WPC?

16   My classes each period asked the same question, to a man.

17   Each period I would hesitate before telling them.

18   And the question would again come up: "Mr. H, who is the WPC?" My answer:

19   "White People with Clipboards."

20   Always a crowd pleaser.

21   My third period class is this angelic class of seniors who are a lot of students I taught four years ago. There's this special bond that happens with them each day,and it is awesome. We've all been through it, so we all get along wonderfully.

22   Yesterday, after the lecture and the VHS, one of my best groups asked if they could rehearse in the hallway. These are some of the most mature and best students ever, so I naturally said yes.

23   This did two things for me: one, it put the best and brightest practicing skits right outside my door, and it also shrunk my class size by six, a significant number. Everybody was working, and it looked good.

24   My lessons didn't change too much. It was my original plan, before I ever heard of the visiting committee.

25   I walked around the room helping different groups, and then went in to the hallway to see how my ace group was doing.

26   The second I opened the door, one girl drew her hand across her throat several times and pointed to her right, indicating that the committee was right there.

27   I looked over and saw three white ladies, our principal, and our former principal from YB, Juan Cruz.

28   I did a double take to the students, who were all smiles, ears and braces.

29   The WPC walked right past them, with one lady saying, "Oh, practicing some skits, huh?" I just smiled and said, "Yeah." Aw shucks ma'am.

30   They ignored my room and went on down the hall. The second they disappeared, my honors group broke into enormous smiles.

31   Together we had all survived a WPC ambush.

32    I knew I wasn't out of the woods quite yet. I anticipated a subsequent visit within the next two hours, so I re-loaded the VHS player, and located my handouts on Midsummer.

33   After break, my fourth period class came into the room. I told them of the possible ambush by the WPC. They also laughed, and then I started my lesson. After explaining about Shakespeare, and how the modern trend is to have some sort of gimmick ( making Shakespearean shows pirates, boom-boxes, hip-hop, jazz settings, etc.) I went to the VHS player. Just then, the door to my classroom swung open like a western saloon. In walked three white ladies, and our principal, AND Juan Cruz.

34   It was right out of a movie.

35   I got immediately swaggish, because I had cocked and loaded the famous crossovers of Midsummer, complete with a Mendelssohn intro, and music from the Beatles' Yellow Submarine album, produced by the immortal George Martin. I had it hooked up to my Altecs. All was perfect. I also had one of the best shows ever ready to rock.

36   I then pushed play.

37   Nothing.

38    Nada. I could hear the pencil screechings of the WPC behind me. I could feel the triumph of Juan Cruz, who to this day I think doesn't like me very much.

39   I pushed play again. Nothing. I ad-libbed, "Okay, so we are experiencing technical difficulties. This happens every time I'm being watched!" Mild laughter. Even the WPC laughed.

40   My technical mind said, "Re-boot, even though it is a VHS!" I pushed "eject". The VHS slowly moved out. I pushed it back in, and immediately heard the four opening notes to Mendelssohn's amazing piece, the theme of the four lovers. The forest appeared, complete with the trees, the glitter, and the fifty-thousand leaves.

41   Side B of Yellow Submarine blasted through the room, and the past came in to rescue the entire day. There was Oscar, and Eric, and Sharise, and Chris, and Fina, and everyone else, taking it home. I narrated the crossover, asking my students who was who. The WPC had surrounded the room, and had no answer.

42   Midsummer to the rescue!

43   My students LOVED it. They loved that each tree had a name. They loved the story of Puck coming in on a horse on closing night. They loved the lush forest. They loved that the moon was a hand-made gobo cut from a Coke can. They loved that we not only built a riveside out of burlap and phony flowers, but that we had a swimming pool with a mirror in it and a fan so that we could give the impression of running reflected water anytime people would walk downstage. And they loved the fifty-thousand leaves that billowed through the entire production.

44   Incredible stuff. I even told them that we had thrown glitter on all the trees and throughout the Theatre so that it would be sensationally magical for the audience.

45  The WPC eventually left, but the students applauded at the end of the video. It still holds up, and it taught a new group of students that Shakespeare should NEVER be considered a subject in school, but should be for the ages.

46   Triumphant moment.

47   It was a simple case of my teaching/directing philosophy: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach direct. Those who can't direct, fake it successfully.

48   Fun story, and a hopeful story for others in companies and businesses where they get occasionally ambushed by their own versions of the WPC.

49   Let this throw some levity into the mix the next time you get bullied by accountability. They will never be as good as you. And you will never fear them again, from this day forth.

50   Never.

51   Have an awesome day.

52   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

  The Daily News

1  This just in:

Hi folks:

My daughters (Jaedynn and Jozlynn) are making their musical theater debut this weekend. They have been cast in my school's production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. They play the part of Woodstock and his little birdies. The show is this Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and also next Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm. If you would like tickets and directions please let me know and I'll get them to you. Tix are $8. Feel free to pass this info onto anyone.

 

Hope all is well. How many more days until Tahoe?

 

Ponch

 

2   I feel sorry for the rest of the cast. Those two have enormous charm. I'm Charlie Brown, and I have to curtain call after them? Might as well bring out a barn animal.

 

3   Ah, good hearing from me old friend and confidant Kenny the P of the Size Three Knee. We are due for some debauching like, well, yesterday.

 

4   The reference to Tahoe, by the way, is acutally a reference to Mars. Don't be fooled.

 

5    I've always loved You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Such an awesome show with such great music. Add in Jaedynn and Jozlynn and you have pure joy. Here is the press release from the Merc News:

 

> San Jose Music Events > Independence High School's Spring Musical (2012)

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Independence High School's Spring Musical (2012) Starring Jaedynn and Jozlynn Ponticelli as Woodstock and His Little Birdies.

Friday, Mar 9 7:30p

at Luis Valdez Center of the Performing Arts @ Independence High School,San Jose, CA

Price: in advanced: $8 at the door: $12

Phone: (408) 928-9652

Age Suitability: All Ages

Tags: musical, performing arts

Independence High School's Performing Arts Center is proud to present "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". The show opens on Friday, March 9th. Other show dates include: March 10th, 16th, and 17th. For more information, feel free to contact the email and phone number below, or follow us on twitter : @dramaIHS. THANKS!

 Event Website

Categories: Music, Theater

Creator:  ihsproductions

Other Future Dates & Times

Date	Time	Type	Tools
Sat, Mar 10	7:30p
Fri, Mar 16	7:30p
Sat, Mar 17	7:30p

Location & Nearby Info

Luis Valdez Center of the Performing Arts @ Independence High School 
Jackson Avenue and McKee Road
San Jose, CA 95133
(408) 928-9522

Map data ©2012 Google - Terms of Use

2 mi

2 km

Full map and directions 

Show nearby: RestaurantsBarsParksHotels

Round Table Pizza 0.3 mi

Wienerschnitzel 0.6 mi

Starbucks - Capital Square Mall 0.7 mi

Bayleaf Restaurant & Bar 1.5 mi

Round Table Pizza 1.5 mi

Mountain Mike's (Alum Rock) 1.5 mi

Plaza Garibaldi 1.7 mi

The San Jose Flea Market 1.8 mi

Mariscos El Rincon 2.0 mi

Wienerschnitzel 2.1 mi

 

 

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6   Wow. Some fun!

 

7   Suddenly, it is Spring.

 

8    We have a choir concert on Wednesday night, and a music concert on Thursday night, featuring our concert band, orchestra, symphonic band, and wind ensemble, who will be playing their set that they recently performed at Carnegie Hall. Both concerts are at 7 p.m.

 

9   Shows seem to be blooming everywhere I turn.

 

10  Probably a good idea to Yahoo Map the Indy address and make room on your calendar.

 

11   Moving on, Part One: The update on Grease is that we choreographed Summer Nights yesterday. I ran the sound, which kept screwing up and skipping at key moments.

 

12   It was fun watching the three-ring circus of choreography happen. You had the boys, the girls, and the ensemble all working at different times, but by around 5:30, they all nailed it. Good spirits everywhere.

 

13   Anytime choreography enters the picture, I take a back seat. I was good in a lot of things, but choreography was never one of them. I couldn't dance if Yosemite Sam shot at my feet.

 

14   Never could, even when I was young.

 

15   But it is fun watching students picking up terms like "step" "kick" "ball change" etc. Our boys did remarkably well for boys. Girls usually out-distance guys when it comes to choreography, but the boys did pretty well.

 

16   Quick studies. I even found myself tapping out the steps with my feet, but in a rather silent fashion. Nobody needs to see that.

 

17   Interestingly, during my seventh period class of seniors yesterday, one guy said that I made a hip-hop move during my lesson. I told him that you can take the East Side boy out of the East Side, but you can't take the East Side out of the boy. I'm an O.G. yo.

 

18   I then posed in my own badass style, which is embarrassment.

 

19   I threw bit of swag into the lesson. Not much, because just between you and me, I couldn't hip-hop if Lucifer poked me in the rear with a hot poker. That was an "eether", no and "eyether" by the way. I don't want to sound stuck-up.

 

20  Well, I went to sleep early and awakened in the four a.m. once more, so I may need to keep this one short as well.

 

21  I've been doing a bit too much multi-tasking lately, so the days get shorter and the time to get sleep quite slim. Last night went late, so I pretty much got home, had soup, and then hit the hay.

 

22  Sometimes I love not being young.

 

23  So I guess that's about it for this round. Go out and see a play or a concert this week. It will get your engines running a lot faster, and you will be supporting the arts.

 

24   Meanwhile, I have miles to go before I sleep, and I've no intention of running to do that.

 

25    Have a great Tuesday everyone.

 

26    See you again.

 

~H~

 

 

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily News

1   Who out there didn't enjoy this lovely weekend?

2   What a beaut!

3   First off, baseball's back, however minor.

4   I had a dream that Manny Ramirez turned into Godzilla, and started stomping on all the buildings in Oakland. The A's front office, in an attempt to calm public panic, moved the A's to San Jose, and jailed Manny.

5   Fortunately, I awakened swiftly enough to remember that my dream didn't happen, but that the Giants got twenty hits and left fifteen on base yesterday. Something like that. Didn't matter. The guys wearing Giants' uniforms won, 11-1, and I'm not sure if I could name any of the guys who got twenty hits.

6   Good ol' baseball.

7   As far as I know, they don't force season ticket holders to pay for pre-season tix, but I could be totally wrong. I'm relatively new to paying to watch sports.

8   Anyway, I got to spend the afternoon yesterday sitting in the sun with my Dad listening to a ballgame, and there are fewer things in life that are better. I even had ice cream.

9   GREAT weekend hanging out with him. We laughed and enjoyed doing pretty much nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is awesome.

10  It made for an extraordinarily fast weekend, not a bad thing at all.

11  I think he really enjoyed it too.

12   Good ol' baseball.

13   Moving on, Part the First: One of the nice things about going to Dad's is the complete lack of the internet.

14   He doesn't subscribe to the internet. To this day he uses a typewriter, like some of those old, tough journalists that you used to watch in old black-and-white movies. 

15   Spencer Tracy.

16   Whenever I visit my Dad, I walk back into that world. In fact, sometimes I come home and turn back into color.

17   And no internet! The internet has become a Linus' Blanket to American society, nevermind the world.

18   We have become SO idiotically addicted to it that it nests itself into our collective unconscience.

19   Someone wants us hooked.

20   Life was so easy this weekend not checking emails or Facebook,Twitter, Tumbler,  Stumbler, or whatevs.

21   I didn't care what happened to Kim Kardashian or Jennifer Aniston.

22   Couldn't care less.

23   They're both going to get old, ugly and die, if they have any luck.

24    Couldn't care less.

25    I got to sit in the sun with my Dad and listen to baseball.

26    It was epic.

27    I honestly don't know if I could name a Giant who played. Okay. Some guy whose parents named him Melky.

28    Another guy whose parents named him Angel.

29    Those guys had to be fighters on that alone.

30    I heard a rumor that Jonathan Sanchez got traded for Angel.

31    Probably a good move. I dunno.

32    Moving on, Part the Second: Yesterday's game got interrupted by a bee delay. Evidently, a swarm of bees hit the field at game time, causing a delay.

33    Right when they told us about the bee delay in Arizona, a bee flew to me and hovered around to the point that I had to sweep my baseball cap at her to keep her away.

34   She got the message.

35   I know it was a her because she was a honey.

36   <insert doubting dog>

37   Moving on, Part the Thoid: Morning Becomes Electric. I naturally hit the hay rather early last night, knowing that Monday was right around the corner. It's funny, because although there is a clock radio, I usually awaken just before the dog barks, and just before the coffee automatically begins to perk.

38   I will open my eyes in the four a.m. or the five a.m. in this case, and see led lights, hanging smocks, closing walls and ticking clocks.

39   In some ways, getting back home from a mini-vacay is almost like being on another vacay.

40   Visiting Dad is always like a trip to the mountains. It's a mini-long ride, requires a bit of packing, a modified use of kitchen, and a swell time.

41   Yeah, we have the dialysis thing, but in terms of time, that was relatively short. The rest of the time was a nice time.

42   We talked unions, baseball, good times, and all the rest. I got rid of all the spider webs that had accumulated in the rafters outside. I used a Super Mario broom. It was like trying to rid the world of the web.

43   Okay, okay, go easy. I'll work on it!

44   AnywayZ...

45   I just woke up in the five a.m. and it is now entering into the six a.m. I'm plenty rested, quite prepared, and ready to jump into this lovely Monday morning, if there is such a thing.

46    I gottago, truly. Time, it is said, flies like an arrow...

47   Fruit flies like a banana, and that has made all the difference.

48    I'll never say that again.

49    Promise.

50    I do gottago.

51    Have a grand ol' Monday. Fly low.

52    Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

 The Daily News

1   Theatre News: Thought I would point out a couple of awesome shows that are currently running in the San Jose Area. First, our own Angie Higgins has directed Northside Theater's current production of Art, running through March 4. Many of you know and have worked with Angie, as well as with cast members John Rutski, Tom Shamrell, and Evelyn's own Christian Pizzirani. This show won a Tony in 1998. I've heard some GREAT comments about this show, so if you are a drama person, give it a look, and "favorite" this DN so you won't have to hunt the info down! Also, I have included information about San Jose Children's Musical Theater's production of Legally Blonde, which opens tonight and runs through March 11. I posted both of their ads at the end of this DN, because trying to embed them caused all sorts of havoc with fonts and things. That's why today's DN seems more bold than usual. Ah, who cares? Here's a bit more about Legally Blonde at CMT:

2   Our incredible vocal director for Grease, Rachel Michaelberg has a daughter named Hannah who is in the production. Rachel talks pretty straight up about local productions and was WAY enthusiastic about the quality of this production. She said that it is EXACTLY like the movie, only "with AWESOME music!"

3  A whole bunch of DN readers are theater people, so it is the season for theater right now. These groups work hard, are tremendously professional, and reasonably priced.

4   Get off Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, Stumbler and everything else that stops you from living, and support incredible theater in our own community. Even if you have to travel, you might visit San Jose, stay in town and enjoy an awesome weekend of theater. Give it some thought.

5   Moving on, Part the First: On the home front, my first rehearsal as Teen Angel went quite well after hellishly long home rehearsals. Two days ago I must have practiced the song fifty times, and nailed it maybe twice! The night before last, I couldn't even get back to sleep after doing the DN I was so nervous, so I went into rehearsal feeling pretty raspy. I arrived to see an almost full cast gathered in the Theater! Teen Angel evidently is going to be performed with around fifteen "groupies" (Rachel's term, not mine!) doing a lot of sho-wops and do-wops in the background. David Chavez, our director, is bringing in four teachers to do the parts, so it was fun working with another teacher yesterday. David also sang, so the whole thing was absolutely amazing. Three teachers crooning Beauty School Dropout, and the kids swooning starry eyed! I felt so much less pressure knowing that other teachers were going to perform as well. We had a laugh, and absolutely loved working together. David told me originally that he wanted several teachers in the part, but nobody else showed up to rehearsals, so I was a nervous wreck. It is SO much more fun with revolving Teen Angels! I relaxed and had a ball.

6   Yesterday also marked our first rehearsal of the monumentally timeless tune We Go Together. Rachel took that cast from not knowing a thing to full memorization and harmonies within two hours! After that, we kept going! Rachel had us do Born to Hand Jive, which had everyone boogying and doin' the jive. And after THAT, David had the boys show the entire cast the choreography to Greased Lightnin'. It was incredible watching these guys develop and grow.

7   Tremendous fun. Everyone stayed until well past 6:30 last night, and many wanted to keep going! The exit to the parking lot was hilarious, with ramalamalama kadinga de ding dongs and boogety boogety boogeties dominating the joint. The ride home was a a-wop bop-a loo-mop, a-lop bam-boom!

8   Moving on, Part the Second: I'm going to keep it short today, because the first hour of writing today's DN was spent negotiating how to embed the theater ads into this folderol. Fonts kept changing, items kept disappearing, and I'm still not certain as to what is going to happen when I push "Save". I love Xanga to this day, but sometimes other things simply don't want to work with it.

9   I'll probably change some day, but I sometimes like familiarity and stability.

10  The DN has evolved over the years, but it still has its original flavor. I don't write it; some moron in my head tacks this stuff out in the middle of the night.

11   Time and again I have reported waking up and laughing at some of this crumbbum stuff, wondering who the heck wrote it.

12   AnywayZ...

13   It is again approaching the 4 a.m. so I think I'll get outta here. I'm afraid of pushing any "Save" buttons for fear that it might erase all eighteen items.

14   Feels as though I've written around sixty!

15   I'm outta town this weekend to visit my Dad, so if you throw an email my way and I don't answer, it's because I won't have internet access at my Dad's house.

16   So have a GREAT weekend.

17   Pencil these shows into your plans!

18   Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington

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GET CAUGHT IN THE ACT!

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2011 - 2012 33rd Anniversary Season            Next on stage:        a comedy by Yasmina Reza Featuring Marc: John Rutski Serge: Tom Shamrell Yvan: Christian Pizzirani Directed by Angie Higgins One of Marc's best friends, Serge, has just bought a very expensive painting. It's about five feet by four, all white with white diagonal lines. To Marc, the painting is a joke, but Serge insists Marc doesn't have the proper standard to judge the work. Another friend, Ivan, allows himself to be pulled into this disagreement. Eager to please, Ivan tells Serge he likes the painting. Lines are drawn and these old friends square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become more personal, they border on destroying their friendships. At the breaking point, Serge hands Marc a felt tip pen and dares him: "Go on." This is where the friendship is finally tested, and the aftermath of action, and its reaction, affirms the power of those bonds.  Winner of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play.  Winner of the 1996 Olivier Award for Best Comedy.  "…wildly funny, naughtily provocative…" —NY Post. " Performances Feb 9th - March 4th, 2012 THURS FRI SAT SUN   9 8 PM 10 8 PM 11 8 PM 12 3 PM 16 8 PM 17 8 PM 18 8 PM 19 3 PM 23 8 PM 24 8 PM 25  8 PM 26 3 PM   1 8 PM   2 8 PM   3 8 PM   4 3 PM Ticket Prices $20 General Admission $15 Disc (Seniors 62+, those under the age of 18) Group rates available 10+ Box Office: 408 288 7820   Tuesday-Friday 12-5 pm Remember, if online tickets are sold out this does not mean that all tickets for that performance have been sold. Call our Box Office before you change to another date.   Olinder Theatre, 848 East William Street, San Jose CA 95116  (408) 288-7820    northside8@hotmail.com