Announcements

Alistair Bomfray and Jesse Scaccia have formed Teacher Revised, a new blog focused on the experience of teaching from teachers’ perspectives.  The site includes personal reflections from current teachers as well as essay on education news and politics.  

The Jewels of New York have begun shipment of Easter cookies.  Pastel paradise with sparkling dragées.  Please note that dragees are for decorative use only and should be removed before eating.

While some 3,000 miles away, Rockridge Market Hall is gearing up for Passover–all the Matzoh you can eat, “Scott’s Famous Chopped Liver,” and Flourless Chocolate Mousse Squares.  

I didn’t know until this morning that there was a U.C. Merced, but they’ve won over Michelle Obama for this year’s commencement.  I wonder what she’ll wear?

I’m not sure which side of this issue I’m on.  Does that mean I’m getting old?

Good Food

I recently discovered Orangette, a food blog by Molly Wizenberg.  Wizenberg melds food writing, journaling, and memoir, the way so many great food writers do, and posts beautifully composed photographs to boot.  Someone got wise to her skills before me, because she got a book deal out of it.  A Homemade Life, Wizenberg’s food memoir, will be released on March 3, 2009 (by Simon & Schuster, natch).

In addition to being a fun blog, Orangette has an amazing recipe index and the most thorough and thoughtful “About/FAQ” section I’ve ever come across (including Wizenberg’s musing on photography, the practice of blogging, and an eater’s guide to Seattle).

In addition, Wizenberg writes a monthly food column for Bon Appétit magazine called “Cooking Life.”  

Enjoy.

Meta-Blahghe

I just discovered the Ideas blog on the NY Times website while procrastinating the inevitable: completion of “Element K” a series of technology tutorials and assessments all teachers must complete for a teaching credential.  It’s estimated the tutorials and assessments amount to approximately 14 hours of un-fun screen time.   

I love the randomness of “Ideas.”  The first post I found, called “The Doctorate is Out” [lol], contains a link to an article reporting the horrendous state of the job market for humanities PhD’s.   So far there’s one comment from reader Phed up with higher learning.  

With that I suppose I should begin my tutorials on MS Office keeping in mind that my teaching credential actually qualifies me for a job (albeit low paying) with health and retirement benefits, unlike my PhD counterparts.  

waa waa waa…

Ride the Rimpletide

I am loathe to offer description here.  If you would like to read some good writing, please allow me to draw your attention to the following links.

“The Moire Effect”

“Personal ontology of rimple?!?!?

G to the B

I have to write this post in spite of the ubiquity of GB on bloggery because I just love it so much.  I’m often reminded of the love when driving to school listening still to Yellow House several years later.  So the artists of the day are Edward Droste, Chris Bear, Chris Taylor and Daniel Rossen.  They are all amazing on their own and as a unit.  When I imagined writing this post in my car listening to “Lullaby” I wrote it much better than I am right now.  But I have to make it to school early today, and maybe I’ll revise later.  It would turn into a good twelve inches pretty quickly.  I’ll leave you with two favorites.  Thanks GB.  

Lullabye

Colorado

Ps: dear GB, I would like to post a photo of you here, but I am not completely soothed by your new press photos.  I also think female fans the world over would be into a photo gallery section on your website separate from the blog because the blog is largely dominated by pictures of skinny hipsters with moustaches getting crunk that may or may not also be other indie artists.  not soothing.  I’m also happy that none of you have moustaches.  There is only one person in my life who is allowed to have a moustache and it is not I., as in I. and I.  dig? xx

She Knows Not What She Does

Xanga is for AZNs. Blogger is for generic people who post 3 times and then quit. WordPress is for douchebaggy blogs about politics/parenting. Tumblr is for alts/high end design meme consumers. Livejournal is from people who are stuck in the year 2000. Twitter is ass holes. Typepad is for old people. Geocities are for authentic alts?

Discovering the truth at http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/. Kind of funny, though I would call hipsterrunoff pretty douchebaggy, not to mention I can smell their hair from here.  And the pictures are gross.  I. has Tumblr. http://territimely.tumblr.com/

I Can’t Live, If Living is Without Scent

Laura Mercier Bath Products.

Holy F-ing S.

It’s not about the fact that they are by Laura Mercier, it’s just that they smell so good, and they do it in this way that literally wipes the cares of the world away.  I’m not sure I would’ve made if through my first year teaching had it not been for the Almond Coconut Milk Scrub, WHICH incidentally I thought I didn’t like on first whiff.  I thought initially it was too cloying and sweet.  Maybe it is when you smell it out of the jar, but get in a hot shower and it’s a whole new world.  It’s got the power to soothe you to the point that you can say: “this feels so good, spoils me so well, and soothes me so hard, I feel like I can go back to that inner city school and be called a c-bag by a 13-year-old again tomorrow!” WITHOUT sarcasm or irony.  

Now the bad news: I took a fabulous bath the other night with the Clementine Honey Bath.  Gorgeous scent, soft citrus balanced by a creaminess, but not exactly vanilla (I get so tired of those predictable vanilla/citrus scents).  I used way too much, because I didn’t have very much left, and it was just that bad of a day.  Amazing bubbles.  Here sits my empty jar, beside me:

and the realization as I write this post that LM must have DISCONTINUED our gorgeous Clementine Honey Bath!!!  It’s not in the honey bath section of the website, nor does a search return any results for the word “clementine.” EEK!

Well, discontinuation is a bitch, but everything LM has is so amazing I’m sure we’ll get by with one of the other honey bath options.  

…

This post, like many of my others, has a tongue-in-cheek bourgeouis subject and tone.  But the inherent contradictions of Saddleshoos, an inner-city teacher who loves Laura Mercier bath products, has more to offer than where to buy.  

For some hippie s.: let’s get in touch with our senses and smell for a change.  The dominance of language ties us up in eyes and ears.  I just wrote a paragraph on my response to scent.  Can you? 

More on Identity

Re: Meta-Blahghe

Another definition:

By identity I mean an evolving nexus where all the forces that constitute my life converge in the mystery of self: my genetic makeup, the nature of the man and woman who gave me life, the culture in which I was raise, people who have sustained me and people who have done me harm, the good and ill I have done to others and to myself, the experience of love and suffering–and much, much more.  In the midst of that complex field, identity is a moving intersection of the inner and outer forces that make me who I am, converging in the irreducible mystery of being human.

From “The Courage to Teach” by Parker J. Palmer

Doing Battle

I battled the arrangement gods in such an intense way tonight.  I should’ve known it wouldn’t work when I couldn’t find the right container (the right container is essential).  It was all downhill from there.  It was supposed to be perfect. I had beautiful elements: psychedelic hydrangea, love in the mist, snowberries, and fever few.  I had wanted to title this post “Love is in the Mist.”  Instead, battle it was. 

Let’s be honest, it just doesn’t work.  Chock it up to arranging when with the flu. It’s not despicable, but definitely a work in progress.  I need some light pink highlights in a smooth texture to uplift the entire thing.  Ah well, it was fun.

Meta-Blahghe

Contrary to popular misinterpretations of identity development theory, identity is not the culmination of a key event or series of events, although key events can play an important role in the larger process.  In fact, it is not the culmination of anything.  It is, rather, the lived experience of an ongoing process–the process of integrating successes, failures, routines, habits, rituals, novelties, thrills, threats, violations, gratifications, and frustrations not a coherent and evolving interpretation of who we are.

Michael Nakkula from Adolescents at School