Thursday, December 19, 2013
Old Poetry I - The Inspiration of Love
Monday, March 21, 2011
A Pleasant Disruption
Mahalo kiddo, for making this serendipitous venture to Lake Charles, Louisiana another cool event.
Remember when I said, "...that I sit in this particular spot on the planet, and all the cool people and happenings come here"... and... as usual, I past up a great opportunity at that moment to thank and flatter the one that brought me to this 'SyFy' dance.
This project landed in little ol' LC without any help from me. Another-one of 'great moments' we now get to add to the Great Moments Book: "Our little Life in Lake Charles". To cross paths with you guys ... WoW. I'm calling it . . . The syfy EXPERIENCE! ...you and your confident, with efficiency and humor, problem-solving nature, oddly teaming up with a 'to say the least''
an 'Eclectic' crew of humans the lead of 'life in motion'.
Anyway, what I was originally getting to was, . . . thank you, miss Marny, (Virgo) of course, for the Pleasant Disruption.
My diet went out the window, I' didn't drink enough water or get enough sleep. My Cats quickly fell back into their predatory instincts. I forget the front porch light is on...all day...but since we come home late, or at different hours, 'it's been nice actually. It was a delightful weekend, and I'm really glad "Jack' whom I've never met, couldn't take the pressure of 'enjoying the ride'.
. . . And, my dear, since you are the 'master communicator, - that goes a long way in my book- if you feel so moved, please pass on this link to the crew.
It was a Pleasant Disruption.
~Dln/Care
CDProductions
. . . calling on Fat Tuesday . . .
what's up with that?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Sub Survival
What is so scary about taking on a class full of kids introduced their hot-off-the-griddle hormones? Not a thing with the right attitude. The first misunderstanding is the whole ‘Take-On’ position. If you have the audacity to posture as “The Adult in Charge” with the odds at approximately 25 to 1, count your minutes because you’re on borrowed time.
Every classroom is a separate social group, which shares a common identity. Within them are characteristics as well as characters. To survive in this jungle of juniors is tricky and delicate, yet possible with the right tools and tricks. A little knowledge can go a long way. To make a nice day stay that way until 3:15pm, a few things must first be identified.
Culture in the Classroom
Evaluate the type of group, behavior (on task or not on task), Special Ed, development and maturity, language or terminology, history, and of course their willingness to accept change.
K-12 as they airily call it is actually 3 completely different worlds.
Group A: The little ones are the neediest. They’ll cry and tug for attention, they’ll look up with big eyes from their two foot height and have the most adorable expressions, and they will love you, and, throw tantrums within minutes of each other. They will spit up their milk at lunch and horse play till someone gets hurt. In six long hours you’ll proclaim it is simply not worth the money their paying, not even double. And, maybe not, you might quite enjoy being the ‘Mama Duck’ and caring for all the little ducklings, it might just be your cup of jello.
Group B: Junior high as it was called back in the day (Middle School) today, are the Hormone Horror years. Dealing with the short focus is the biggest test you will take today. If there is a leader, helpers, a clown in the group, identify them ASAP. Letting them work in groups may be certain death and is not recommended straight out of the shoot. There’s a saying in the sailing world: “It’s easier to shake out a reef than to put one in.” Stormy seas are not the time to work against the wind. Captains, start with a tight ship. The good news about subbing middle school and beyond is that no matter how bad it gets, it only has to be held together for 50 minutes …and you have five more chances to hone your survivor skills.
Group C: High school. These guys are all together from a different planet. Hatched from eggs, each one the center of the universe, shortsighted, and mistrustful of anyone over 25 (it used to be 30.) Keep you humor handy. Understanding wit is a sign of intelligence, they get instinctively that you’re smart, and, ludicrous discussions will positively make a long period more enjoyable. This age group is more goal-oriented for obvious reasons; they can finally see the light at the end of the school-tunnel, brighter days are ahead. They see college in their near future, roommates, choices, new horizons, and independence! But they also have shallow esteem-pools and fragile egos, so go easy. They are like new spring leaves about to experience their first hard weather storm. And they are a favorite among substitutes. By now they are thinkers.
To understand kids is to remember.
This is opinion not fact.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Balance Is Our Only Hope
Monta Lea
~Vince responds to Ken:
My compliments to you, Ken, and to the hangin' judge.
Amen.
It hasn't been a great year, but it has been a memorable year. I keep trying to figure out what gets us where we are, and why, but I can never get my arms fully around the losses and gains and figure out how they work. This may sound crazy, but I've read the Unabomber "Manifesto" 3 times (and may read it again) and, without the bombings, agree with almost everything in it.
I feel like we are a generation of tech-heads with no purpose for our use of technology.
I, personally, make a living by making bad stuff louder, so it can be heard by people who don't care.
Sometimes I help people record things that make no sense, that will be viewed by people who try to understand a concept that is designed by a clueless hierarchy that has no respect for their audience.
My favorite projects are musical productions that are so self-absorbed that no one can relate to them in any way other than to buy a copy so as to not hurt the feelings of the "artist".
I help people build home studios so that they can record awful sounding CDs with good equipment, therefore making them "audio engineers and producers". ~I actually heard a reporter remark about a dangerous situation that she was covering, "It was like being in a reality TV show." So, now reality is officially like TV.
Are you as proud as I am?
Okay, the year isn't over yet. Maybe all of this can be reversed before Dick Clark (who is made of space age polymers) drops his ball in Times Square, which I have done before Rudy turned the whole square into Disney North-East.
I miss Larry Moskal, Wayne, Gerry Bush, Kurt Vonnegut, my Aunt Betty, the real Dennis Hopper, Lou Gehrig, my dad, Benizir Bhutto, Rin-Tin-Tin, Thomas Jefferson, John Lennon, the Charmin toilet paper guy, some of whom left us in past years but continue to tacitly impact our lives on a daily basis.
I am, however, happy to have all of you to communicate with.
I still have my kids, as the hillbillies say, "I wouldn't trade them for a million bucks, but I wouldn't pay a nickel for another one just like them."
"There is no solace in fatalism. A believer is robbed even of the pleasure of shouting, 'Fuck you, I quit,' because he knows he was a born quitter and it would be only a matter of time before he threw in the towel, surprising no one, not even himself."
Hunter S. Thompson, Songs Of The Doomed
I wish you all a peaceful year, but don't stop thinking.
Vince
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken
Sent: Mon, 31 Dec 2007
4:57 pmSubject: 2008
Ken's year end message:
To many of us, perhaps all of us, 2007 was a desperately bad year. We've lost some very dear friends and relations that leave huge hole in our hearts. People we have know and loved whose passing was as untimely as it was unjust. It would be easy to dwell on these and, certainly, we all are. But those who have gone before us would surely rather have us celebrate their lives: the laughter, the tears, the insights, the foolishness.
Words are never enough to convey our losses. Our best hope is to continue those good works and lives that these folks have embodied. And, ultimately, to look to the future and carry on that lifestyle that so inspired us. To quote Judge Roy Bean,
"Time will pass and seasons will come and go. Spring with its waving green grass and heaps of sweet-smelling flowers on every hill and in every dale. Then sultry Summer, with her shimmering heat-waves on the baked horizon. And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growing brown and golden under a sinking sun. And finally Winter, with its biting, whining wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow."
So, to that, I have only one wish for all of you who are on this mailing list:
Peace.
Ken
~*~*~*~*~*~
The author writes to conclude:
Isn't it good to have literary friends!?
I feel honored to have known and learned from, so many good, smart, creative and inspired people. Lucky if they thought the same about me. These 2008 thoughts are passed -from Ken and Vince- on to you and yours. It's just my way of keeping us 'edge-dwellers' in the loop of 'good-guy' friends we might have known. Where-ever all of us are, blown from one end of the global map to the other, I also send best wishes and many serendipitous moments for the New Year – and beyond.
peace
&
aloha
Dln
~*~*~*~*~*~*~

