One last NEMLA session...

26 March 2017: "[These films] demand that the dispossessed deserve a hearing." --a speaker on the last panel I attended at NEMLA, this one on horror films. This speaker looked at movies like Sinister, Amityville Horror, and The Haunting in Connecticut 2 and argued that they demonstrate guilt over landownership and possession, both of which are based on dispossession of someone else. Terrific paper. Terrific panel.

Hamilton at NEMLA

25 March 2017: "['My Shot'] is coded as both opportunity and violence." --a presenter discussing Hamilton at a session all about the musical that I attended at the NEMLA Convention in Baltimore today. I am probably not getting the quotation right, but this particular presentation, about hip-hop and history in the play was amazing. I could have talked with the presenter for hours.

The things you learn...

24 March 2017: "It felt very sneaky...I have fond memories of hiding things from my grandparents." --a student in my ENGL 307 class today, discussing how, when she was little, her family hid the fact that the kids went trick-or-treating from her grandparents. (They disapproved for religious reasons.)

This made me laugh--and it did have some context, as we discussed Brown Girl Dreaming and the little girl's Jehovah's Witness upbringing. It's always neat to see the ways students connect with material.

"TV Typos: Part Tw"

23 March 2017:

Clue: "Well kids, I reckon it was like this: before your Aunt Robin came along, your mom and I were in the Donner Party and one thing led to another..."

Answer: "How I Et Your Mother???" --Game Time on this week's Extra Hot Great.

Man, the Game Time on this week's Extra Hot Great was terrific. Made me laugh my head off. This week's game involved guessing a TV show title from a description of what that show would be if one letter in the title was changed.

"Mural"

22 March 2017:
"I like cartoons, southern cities with large moons
Faith healers, ex-female drug dealers and art booms
Apologize for my weird mix
What taste like hot dogs and tear drips
And looks like pantomime and clear bricks." --Lupe Fiasco, "Mural"

Look, I never heard of Lupe Fiasco before today, but a student I am really fond of mentioned him today (he's crazy about the guy) and I told him I would check out this song. It's not my usual taste, of course, but this is a heck of a song with some really impressive lyrics. Yeah, I am old and it's not written for me, but I am glad to have listened to it.

"All I Ever Wanted"

21 March 2017:

"In the middle of my life
it was right to say my desires
but they went away. I couldn’t even make them out,
not even as dots
now in the distance.
                                         Yet I see the small lights
of winter campfires in the hills—
teenagers in love often go there
for their first nights—and each yellow-white glow
tells me what I can know and admit to knowing,
that all I ever wanted
was to sit by a fire with someone
who wanted me in measure the same to my wanting.
To want to make a fire with someone,
with you,
was all." --Katie Ford, "All I Ever Wanted"

Love this so much it almost hurts. Listen to/read the whole thing here.

Proud sister...

20 March 2017: "What do we do and where do we go from here?" --my sister Erin, during her presentation at Shepherd today. Her question is an important one: in light of recent Supreme Court decisions on juvenile sentences, how do we move forward as a society?

And what a joy it was to see my sister shine in this venue. I mean, I knew she was smart and decent and kind, but to see her "do her thing" just made me so happy--even regarding such a vexed topic. She's amazing and I am lucky to call her my sister.

"I'll Be Seeing You"

19 March 2017:

"I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you" --Billie Holiday, "I'll Be Seeing You"

Another day, another entry about a bittersweet love song. Maybe a bit of rut at this point, but it is what it is.

"Mr. Jones"

18 March 2017:

“Mr. Jones and me stumbling through the Barrio
Yeah, we stare at the beautiful women
She's perfect for you
Man, there's got to be somebody for me
I wanna be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody love you
Ah son, that's just about as funky as you can be…” –Counting Crows, “Mr. Jones”

I have always loved this song. It came on today while I was riding with my friend and, man, it just made me happy, even though the song itself is based just as much in sadness as in joy. But something about that was perfect for the moment, so I sang along and just felt the moment. And that was enough.

Fifteen!

Bing is 15 today. Hard to believe. This little dude and I have been through a lot together and he makes my life better every day. And he still insists on jumping in a box or tote bag or whatever is available every time I clean the closet in my office. Every darn time.

Irish Pride...

17 March 2017: "And four decades before Lady Liberty lifted her lamp, we were the wretched refuse on the teeming shore. We believed in the shelter of America, in the compassion of America, in the opportunity of America. We came and we became Americans. We lived the words of John F. Kennedy long before he uttered them: We asked not what America can do for us, but what we could do for America. And we still do." --Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, doing some lovely explaining with Trump standing feet away. Watch the whole thing here.

"I'm On Fire"

16 March 2017:

"At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the
Middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
I'm on fire..." --Bruce Springsteen, "I'm On Fire"

I've always loved this song and then just tonight I heard this dreamy cover. Swoon.

(Yes, another romantic song, I know...)

"Fidelity"

15 March 2017:

"I never loved nobody fully
Always one foot on the ground
And by protecting my heart truly
I got lost in the sounds
I hear in my mind
All these voices
I hear in my mind
All of these words
I hear in mind
All this music
And it breaks my heart" --Regina Spektor, "Fidelity"

I've been on a song kick with these posts, I know. Blame the relative isolation that Spring Break and snow brings. I am spending lots of time in my own head...never a completely good thing. But, to put it simply, I am not talking with that many people these days. And yes, the posts have also pulled towards the romantic and wistful, but I am who I am and my mind has been preoccupied with such matters lately (for better or worse).

Incidentally, this song will always have a soft place in my heart for a bunch of reasons (including playing in a sweet romantic scene from Veronica Mars). My favorite reason, though, is that I had treated myself to Begin to Hope, the album it appears on, right in the midst of the job search craziness of 2006/2007. And I loved this song. It was in heavy rotation. I remember getting back in my car at the Clarion Hotel in Shepherdstown, heading back down to Richmond after completing my interview at Shepherd. This song came on and I just sang along and smiled. I had a good feeling about that interview. And I was right.

Thoreau and the tiny house movement...

I've been trying to make this point to my students for the past few years: that some of the tiny house movement's ideas can find their roots in Thoreau. But Rick Diguette, writing in the Washington Post, puts it more elegantly than I could:

"What Thoreau and the tiny-house movement can help us see is how we can simplify our needs and in the process reap benefits that enhance our quality of life. Reducing the size and number of monthly bills will obviously grow your bank account balance, but it can also help you recalibrate the way you perceive necessity. Thoreau didn’t argue that everyone should live in a small cabin, and (most) tiny housers aren’t guilty of that, either. The point is to use what you need rather than consume what you can afford. Scale down rather than add on. Simplify rather than complicate. The soul needs a resting place, but it should be a cozy nook, not a bigger house in a better Zip code."

"Here Comes the Rain Again"

14 March 2017:

"Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you?"

Yes, a weird song to use for the daily entry on a snow day, but it came on the radio today and well, I had forgotten how good it is. Plus, the rain is mostly a metaphor, right?