You are currently browsing the archives for April 2012.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 entries.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner and Bedtime for Bonzo

  • Posted on April 28, 2012 at 11:00 pm

What do Greta Van Susteren, Lindsay Lohan, Arianna Huffington, Kim Khardashian, and President Barack Obama all have in common?  Well, tonight they are all at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.  It is the place to be if you are the rich, the famous, or the connected!  Don’t worry you and I, the “normal” American people, weren’t invited!  We can only watch through a CSPAN camera lens.

This event always irks me because I see the coziness between the White House and the press that is supposed to be covering it for the American people.  It doesn’t matter if the president is a Democrat or a Republican.  These dinners go on and they are all the same.  The president is expected to be funny and self deprecating.  A good laugh is supposed to be had by all and everyone can let their guard down a bit from the stress of everyday life in Washington D.C.  That, to me, is a fantasy because truthfully these people don’t know what stress really is.  They live in a world unlike what most Americans live in.  They are the one percent.  They are the movers and shakers in the country, if not the world.

The rest of us are truly the glue that holds this country together.  We are the ones that take care of their children, educate the masses, watch over their homes, and give dignity to those that are dying in a hospital or on the battle field.  We are the ones that give our bodies to build this country, our heart to fight for it, and our soul to continue to believe in what matters in this world is our humanity!  We are not the one percent.  We are not Hollywood, and we are not politicians.  We are the American people that can see through a fake dinner and are probably the servers at the dinner.  We are the 99%.  We are your sisters, brothers, cousins, and friends.  We hold no title but we serve our country in a manner that the one percent could never understand.  While they are busy patting themselves on the back for doing their jobs and telling the rest of us what they had to give up in the private sector to be a politician, super star, or whatever, we are out doing our jobs every day like we always do.  We don’t complain.  We just want a fair break.  We aren’t stars although we tend to watch the stars.  We are normal folk that just want our country to do the right thing.  This dinner is meaningless to me but it always shines a light on what is happening in our country.  While we are living our simple lives the politicians, Hollywood, and the press are busy figuring out how to manipulate us into the next big thing, whatever it may be.  If we’re supposed to get ready for another big war, don’t worry folks, Hollywood will put out just the right kind of movies to get us in the proper “mood”, you know those movies that make us feel patriotic and want our young ones to do something for their country.  We have all watched them and they do tug at our heart strings in ways we can’t quite understand.

The press already has done their job for this election.  This past year it was obvious that the press wanted Mitt Romney to be the nominee.  Why do you suppose this is? From my point of view, it seems as though there won’t be much difference between the two parties for voting.  We have a choice between Barack Obama who continued the Bush policies, even those tax cuts for the wealthy or we have Mitt Romney, who will continue the Bush policies like extending, once again, the tax cuts for the wealthy.

The reason I’m upset about this dinner is because we, the American people, will get the shaft.  We do all the heavy lifting and while we are doing it these people are really setting the agenda for the coming year.  Does it make any sense that former Senator Chris Dodd went from being a senator to being the president of the Motion Picture Association of America?   He is working right now on legislation that could have a major impact on us “little” people.  This dinner makes a lot of sense to me and it makes it easy to understand how Dodd ended up with the job he did.  These shakers and movers are not really concerned about the American people.  They are concerned about their own situation and their next jobs.  Everything is a set up.  Do you remember last year’s dinner?  The next day was the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound.  Following that was “breaking news” about Osama Bin Laden.  Even the death of Osama Bin Laden was so strange to me.  They dumped the body at sea.  I really don’t know what that was about but it sure did feel like we should have learned a lot more than we did!  I just feel the timing for all of this was pretty staged.  It was presented as “all in a day’s work” of the office of the presidency but to me there was much more to it.  It just makes me wonder if there will be any surprises this week.

The one thing I’ve noticed in the past several years is how easily politicians move into the press.  The relationship must be too cozy if these politicians can get their next jobs as pundits on some show.  How else could people like George Stephanopoulos and Joe Scarborough so easily switch into the roles of correspondents or press?  Sarah Palin and Governor Huckabee are both on Fox.  Go figure.  Don’t get me started on Hollywood or I’ll have to be wondering how a guy that was an actor in a movie, “Bedtime for Bonzo”, could ever get the job as president of the United States of America!

Continue reading White House Correspondents’ Dinner and Bedtime for Bonzo »

1 comment »

Thank You Rachel Maddow and What’s Happening with Michigan?

  • Posted on April 22, 2012 at 3:21 pm

The Alien Take Over by Dana (Just click on this to see it larger.)

A lot can happen while you’re sleeping and going through the routine of everyday life so to speak.  If you haven’t been paying attention here in Michigan, much has been going on with politics and governing.  While the national focus was busy on Wisconsin, here in Michigan all manner of craziness has been taking place through the passing of legislation stealthily under an emergency provision.  The only national figure that has made much of a fuss about what is happening in Michigan seems to be Rachel Maddow.  For this I thank you Rachel.  I didn’t know about the over five hundred bills that have been passed with this emergency situation.  I knew about the emergency manager law that installs a little “dictator” in the place of people that have been voted into their positions, essentially denying voters their voted choice.  I did not know the manner in which the bulk of legislation has been passed this past year, through an emergency bill that doesn’t even take a roll call vote.  How 73 votes can be counted in a few seconds by a human being is beyond me.  Rachel has a video here that shows how this is being done.  I haven’t read about this in any local Michigan paper and I have been wondering why the Democrats have been so weak.  Well, now I know!  Please watch this video all the way through.  It is radical what is happening in my beloved state.  This is not democracy!

As a teacher here in Michigan, I feel like I have a target on my back.  It is all related to the fact that I am part of a teachers’ union more than anything else.  The Snyder government is swiftly doing whatever it can do to destroy any teacher union in Michigan by passing legislation that essentially disrupts the bargaining process.  The Republicans will say it is about money but it really is about the politics of it all.  They recently passed legislation that will not allow schools to deduct my union dues from my pay.  Now I have direct deposit and money is taken out for a lot of different things including United Way and the Sturgis Foundation.  It just doesn’t make any sense that my union dues couldn’t work the same way as the United Way.  This is just a way to make it more difficult for me as a teacher.  I will protest this and it may be through things like the United Way.  This legislation needs to be stopped.  As a teacher I haven’t been a part of a team that is just concerned about money and insurance.  Class size is an important issue.  It’s difficult to get around to students if you have a large class.  Our advanced math class has 37 students in it.  That is just too many students for one teacher to really get around to every student, no matter how great a teacher he/she is.  The issue of class size is basically a dead issue.  Nothing is going to happen to improve this situation with the current legislative body in Lansing.  I encourage everyone to please get involved and find out about these issues.

The pressure for teachers is very great right now.  They have to produce some kind of result based on a test students take.  If you think this is not going to have any kind of affect on your child, you must be kidding yourself.  Emotionally, your child might be feeling beat up by a system that tells him/her that they just aren’t good enough.  In other ways your child might be denied exploratory classes that might help him/her develop special talents.  This is a frustrating time for educators, but I think it is apt to be even more frustrating to the child that can’t seem to fit into the square peg when they might be more like a circle.  Just as we, as adults, aren’t all the same, children learn and develop at different rates as well.  In my seventh grade art class, I recently had a child create a comic strip called “The Alien Take Over”.  Just so you know, MEAP stands for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program….you know, THE TEST!  Now for the child that is brilliant, this may not have a big effect on him/her.  However, if your child gets stressed out easily, lacks self esteem, needs more time, or is a perfectionist, he/she just might get even more stressed out with what’s happening in education today when they just don’t quite “measure” up!  In the comic strip the student is abducted and taken to the MEAP.  I really wouldn’t want my child’s memories of school to be about some big test.  I remember one big test when I was in school and that was the SAT.  I certainly wouldn’t want that test to be the only thing I remembered in my K-12 experience.  I remember good and bad teachers the most.  I remember the kindness of my second grade teacher, Mrs. Smith, when she gave me a brief case to hold my books because we were moving.  Above all else that stands out in my mind.  I hope you can remember some teacher that made you feel special, not one that made you feel stupid because you failed to pass the MEAP.

By the way, Rachel Maddow, keep it up!  I appreciate all that you do to shine a light on what is happening in Michigan and for that, I thank you!

Continue reading Thank You Rachel Maddow and What’s Happening with Michigan? »

Care to leave a comment? »

Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN”

  • Posted on April 20, 2012 at 9:58 pm

My son bought me a Kindle for my birthday last May.  I was really busy taking some online courses so I just didn’t get into it until after the summer.  Then I purchased an Ipad.  I have really enjoyed reading this year and I love the fact that I can virtually have any book I want within a matter of moments.

In school we are focused on improving reading scores for our students.  There are many students who just don’t like to read.  It doesn’t matter how many times I tell them, “The more you read, the more you know.”  Some just don’t care or read at such a low level that they are frustrated.  If you or your child is a frustrated reader, my advice is to work harder at finding something that is interesting for you or him/her to read.  If you are reading for information, find things that you want to know.  If you are reading for leisure, find a book that helps you create the “movie in your mind” of that book because then you can compare your version with the soon to come real version in the theaters!

I have made many comparisons this year and I have discovered that movies just cannot possibly beat reading the book!  This year I read many series of books from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series to “The Hunger Games”, and even the Harry Potter series.  Yes, I had never read the Harry Potter books!  My sister Colleen, who passed away six years ago, loved Harry Potter.  She even took her grandson to one of the midnight book extravaganzas when she was alive.  Sadly, she didn’t live long enough to read the entire series.  She had given me one of the books years ago and I had never read it because I knew I needed to read the first ones to understand it.  I had only seen the original movie, so I didn’t have any real preconceived ideas about the books.  I decided, as a tribute to my sister, I was going to read that series this year.  I ended up buying a set of the movies and as I read the books, I eventually watched the movies.  I discovered that most movies leave out a lot of details.  If you are waiting for the movie to come out for any book, read the book first.  If you only watch the movie you are getting one interpretation for the book and you are allowing yourself to be manipulated in your thought process.  Movies can be, and are in fact, altered.  In Harry Potter I was surprised when the loyal elf, Dobby, had some prime activities that he had done to help Harry usurped by Neville Longbottom.  Maybe Neville’s agent wanted to give him a bigger part.  I don’t know why movies veer off from the original book, but I prefer the book as it is what the author created when he/she wrote it.

In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series I was able to watch the Swedish version of the books on Netflix.  All three movies are there and like the American version there are some changes.  The movie that I find most frustrating however was “The Hunger Games.”  In the movie version I detested the crazy, shaky camera that ran over all the violent scenes of the movie and swiftly panned the opening scene of District 12 in such a way that anyone who didn’t read the book would never realize how desperate things were in all of the districts let alone District 12.   In the book there is a real sense of how manipulated the people are by a government gone amok with controlling the masses through these “Hunger” games.  The kids in the games were really reduced to animals, set on each other, and this was truly shown towards the end when Katniss saw Rue’s eyes in the genetic makeup of the wolf like dogs that attacked her and Peeta.  This didn’t even come up in the movie and the Hollywood “interpretation” of the book missed a lot about what the Hunger Games really was about.  It’s more like what’s happening today with the 99% and the 1% than some kind of clever reality game that people “want” to participate in so they can be set for life!  NO one wants to be picked because the reality is your chances of living are slim and none.  It’s like sending lambs to slaughter!  Did I really get all of that from the movie….not a bit!  The violence was smoothed over so Hollywood could make more money by not getting that dubious “R” rating.  Shame on them!

A teacher friend suggested I read “The Help”.  When I first started it I found the narrative to be quite demeaning to the black women in the book but I kept with it.  I felt like it was a white woman writing how she thought a black woman would think and write.  That was why I was turned off.  In the end, I did enjoy the book but once again the movie is not quite the book!  Surprise, surprise!  After reading the book and watching the movie I knew that the author, Kathryn Stockett, was influenced or inspired by “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Harper Lee.  This may seem strange, but I had never read the book, so I decided to get it on my Ipad and read it.  Many years ago I watched the movie but I didn’t remember all of it as I was young.

To Kill a Mockingbird is by far one of the best, if not the best, book I have ever read.  Reading the book through the eyes of Scout I was taken back to when I was a kid living in Kingston, Michigan.  I remember running by spooky houses and stories about strange people that lived in the community.  There were two old sisters that ran a candy store/restaurant.  I was scared to death of them!  I could imagine my brothers daring each other to run up to some old house and touch the door because some spooky person lived inside.  Harper Lee captured all of those feelings and thoughts from a kid’s point of view in such a magical way that the true innocence and horror of prejudice can be seen in a light that is clear to all that read it.  Even though there were changes to the movie, I believe the movie did capture the basic essence of the book.  The book is better but Gregory Peck was stellar in his portrayal of Atticus Finch.  In fact all of the actors were wonderful in the movie and I appreciate the black and white of the movie because that aspect really brings home for me the black and white issue of prejudice whether it be about skin color or idiosyncrasies that individuals have that make people pre-judge them.  Many quotes from the book are in the movie so the movie was able to capture Scout and her viewpoint in a positive way.

I know I’ve rambled on a bit but I hope I have convinced anyone that bothers to make it to the end of my thought process to pick up a book and read.  If you start with “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Continue reading Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN” »

2 comments on Reading is Fundamental with an Emphasis on the “FUN” »

The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister

  • Posted on April 6, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day, the 5th of April, my sister’s birthday, had she survived the deadly cancer that raged through her body.  I’m currently on spring break.  While many have found ways to escape the stresses of daily life, I have found myself reliving a spring break six years ago when I went to visit my cancer stricken sister.  We celebrated her birthday on Thursday and she died by the end of the week.  My father followed her in death shortly after.  Thankfully, I decided to do something that would delight my senses rather than dwell on what could have been.  However, I am mixed with emotions of loss, love, and a sense that our country truly has turned into the two Americas that John Edwards always talked about.  There are the privileged and everyone else.  There are those like Dick Cheney, who have wonderful health care, and those like my sister, that didn’t and don’t.

There is an “America” in Toledo, Ohio where everyone can participate because it is free.  I drove to Toledo to visit the Toledo Museum of Art.  I had only been there once before and it was back in my twenties.  I can’t understand why I haven’t sought this gem out in the past thirty years.  I just have to say that if you are from Toledo, or the surrounding area, you are a fool if you are not visiting this museum.  I didn’t have time to make it over to the glass museum, so I’ll be going back this summer and devote more quality time to both.  The museum has many galleries loaded with unusual pieces of art and there is absolutely no cost to attend.  Imagine a quality museum with wonderful art and it only cost me $5.00 for parking.  That, in itself, is amazing!  When I went to Chicago and parked underground it was nearly $30 so I was thrilled to think that anyone can attend this museum, any day, for free!  I’m just going to touch on a few artworks that really stood out for me.  Art inspires me and this seemed like the best of days to get inspired!

Morrison Triptych

I was drawn to the Morrison Triptych because of its beauty and clarity.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/96/30/invno-asc?t:state:flow=65b98ef0-38ed-4165-9fe8-8abf0503ce71

The artist is unknown.  Morrison was the person that owned it last.  In the painting one can see great effort at every little detail from the feet, to the rug, and even the background that gives a feeling that it could go on forever.  When I was looking at all of the Christian art in the museum, I had a sense of how inspiring it must have been for people to see this artwork at the time it was created.  I could see how spending time where the art was at, say in a church, could be the most beautiful part of your day.  I’m sure the art was used to control people in some form or another through story telling with strong moral meaning.  Whatever the case, it is easy to see how people would be drawn to places of worship just for the inspiration that would be provided.  Today, religion needs more than a beautiful picture to inspire people to want to participate in daily devotion!

Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal

Another piece that I was drawn to was an artwork by Paul Signac, Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice, 1905.  I have never paid much attention to the artwork of Seurat or Signac as tiny little dots just doesn’t really appeal to me.  They almost seem too painstaking for me to find them interesting.  I can appreciate them but I have always liked art that is faster and more expressionistic with quick brush strokes.  However, my perception has been changed by this delightfully colorful piece by Signac.  It is made up of rectangular brushstrokes of wonderful bits of color.  From a distance it reminded me of some of Monet’s work but up close it is much more colorful and less subdued.  My pictures were taken on my cell phone so they lack quality.  My battery had died in my little camera and I didn’t check it before I left home so I snapped some shots off my phone.  Here is a link on Flickr to a better shot so you can see the wonderful color and brushstrokes that I am writing about.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/noctilux-mingqi/4658392020/lightbox/

Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I

Another piece that I found inspirational for its composition is a piece made out of wood by Louise Nevelson, Sky Presence I.  I loved the fact that she took scrap wood and made something so magically beautiful from it.  Each box alone is a wonderful composition but seeing them altogether is like different chapters to a book.  They each tell a little story.  It really made me wonder where she found all of the different shapes.  The way she composed each piece is interesting as she put curvy lines next to straight lines and they work harmoniously together on the whole when you see them as this huge piece of art.  It’s quite dramatic due to the black color and the size of the piece.

Juan Schnabel, Portrait of a Freedom Fighter

I also really enjoyed “Portrait of a Freedom Fighter” by Juan Schnabel.  It is an artwork created from broken ceramic plates and oil paint.  I was drawn to the three dimensional aspect of the piece and the broken fragments that up close just looked like a mess, but when I stepped back came into focus.  It served to remind me that things are not always what they seem to be whether it is with art or in life.  Some things need a closer inspection to fully understand.

The artwork, “The Salutation of Beatrice” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, was just beautiful in a romantic way.  It seems the artist was named after the poet, Dante.  This was a tribute to Dante and his unrequited love for Beatrice.  A portion of Dante’s poem is inscribed in both English and Italian on the frame.  It goes like this:

My lady looks so gentle and so pure / When yielding salutation by the way / That the tongue trembles and has naught to say / And the eyes, which fain would see, may not endure.

You can see the piece up close here.  http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/121/34/invno-asc?t:state:flow=adf30bba-874e-4a61-a6d3-f4c986b75cd8

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Salutation of Beatrice

The piece is beautiful but it is the look of longing in her eyes that really drew me into it.  I loved the softness of her pale skin and the way the fabric drapes around her almost as though she was an “angel”.  She just needs the wings and a halo.

An artwork by Paul Gauguin made me forgive him for leaving his family.  He really didn’t belong in the business world.  He had a gift for color and I am so pleased to have come across this image of a road that reminded me of the road he took which was so different from the road he was originally on!  The piece is called, “Street in Tahiti”.  It is full of color and a sense of a different world where people are at peace.  I loved the brushstrokes of the palm tree.  At the museum I could get right up to almost every painting.  There were no barrier lines around most of them.  You could breathe on them.  That was amazing for seeing the brushstrokes so closely.

Paul Gauguin, Street in Tahiti

Another artwork, or should I say artworks, that stood out for me was “The Party” by Marisol.  Here is a link to a Sotheby auction that says a bit about it. http://www.thecityreview.com/s05scon1.html

This piece made me smile.  There was an artist statement about feeling alone even at a party.  What I could see was the many looks of party goers.  Some are looks of boredom, some of thoughtful reflection, like how can I escape?  Some looks seemed to mock the haughty “elite”.  I found this piece to be sophisticated and humorous and I loved the fact that Marisol said they scared her when she was working on them.  I kept picturing waking up in the night to these crazy life size pieces!  This is one reason I love art.  I can be inspired, laugh, and take from it what I want.  Art allows me to make my own interpretations.  They may be what the artist was thinking but often art just makes me think!  If you have the opportunity to visit an art museum in the near future, it just might make you think as well!

I will close with pictures from other artworks that I enjoyed on this fine day in April when I was thinking about my beautiful sister and missing her deeply.

Continue reading The Toledo Museum of Art and Thoughts of My Sister »

Care to leave a comment? »