our borrower cat is named lucy. lucy in actuality belongs to my roomate's friend mariaelena but she is staying with us for the week because mariaelena's apartment complex doesn't allow pets. they never allow pets but this is the only week they ever check so lucy gets to travel abroad to visit with us. lucy is a fat cat. in mariaelena's email she called lucy 'my gordita.' owing to this i often think of her somewhat absurdly in my head as lucy the gordita. lucy is the queen of our tiny apartment. she is declawed and very tame and quite sweet. her belly is white and the rest of her is grey. she likes to have her tummy rubbed and purrs loudly. sometimes she puts her mouth very gently on your hand when you pet her. she doesn't really play because i think she is really old.
tonight when i came home from school i rubbed her belly in the hall awhile. she 'hung out' while i checked my email. there was lots of purring. then i went to the bathroom and she went back out into the hall. while brushing my teeth i heard a strange noise so i peeked into the hallway to see what it was. lucy was sitting by herself crunching on some cat kibbles. all i could see was her fat backside and chubby haunches in the orange streetlight pouring through the front window. it made me really really sad because i wanted her to come hang out with me some more and we could both enjoy it. instead she sat there fat and alone eating food by herself in the middle of the night by moonlight. is it because she wasn't comfortable with me? why didn't she want to continue to hang out with me? is it because i shouldn't have shunned petting her in order to attend to my own business? will i ever find a living being that i can sync needs with? what is my own business? why can't cats-wanting-to-be-petted and people-wanting-to-pet-cats ever find each other on the same point in the space-time continuum?
10.27.2009
5.28.2009
singin' in the rain
i just thought of this invention, and i can't believe it doesn't yet exist!!! why hasn't anyone created umbrellas that have solar panels on them? in many places around the world, people use umbrellas as a portable shade. take japan, for instance. wouldn't it be COOL to shade yourself and at the same time, charge your phone or ipod? solar power is cheap and clean, and the technology to convert it is getting smaller and smaller. seems like the right time to grab the sun energy and make it useful and portable for our daily lives!
4.21.2009
oh, i got it!
here is how we solve all the problems!
1. require every child that is able to bike to school. this will go a long way towards combatting childhood obesity. it will also make motorists more aware of and proactive of bicycle safety. i mean, you wouldn't want to cut it too close if you were passing a bunch of munchkins who were bicycling to school, would you? this mandate, the every-child-bikes-to-school-act, will of course effect some changes in the real estate world.
2. real estate prices, specifically residential prices, for properties nearest to schools are going to increase. this is because children who have to bike farther to school will infer that their parents do not love them as much as the parents of more centrally-located children. this is okay and good. a little competition for the same properties will create a district where everybody wants to be, similar to the traditional "market" of traditional downtowns.
3. prior to this point, local planning departments need to wield the power of zoning. this power is oft abused nowadays to create places that are shitty. but, in this specific instance, the power of zoning can be used for good and not for evil! in areas around schools, overlay zones for denser development will need to be created. these overlay zones will require housing that is reserved for families of all income levels, and it will carry a requirement for public parks and street-level retail. this will ensure that the development focus around schools will be directed in a manner that is healthful to the communities.
4. more progressive communities will, i'm sure, want to implement the incredible ideas of henry george, whose 'single tax' on land allows communities to claim the monetary gains of socially-accrued real estate values. economic rent should, of course, be shared by society; and these new school-driven districts are a great chance to start implementing this idea.
i think that covers the problems inherent in sprawl, childhood obesity, improper motorist treatment of bicyclists, AND real estate inequality.
1. require every child that is able to bike to school. this will go a long way towards combatting childhood obesity. it will also make motorists more aware of and proactive of bicycle safety. i mean, you wouldn't want to cut it too close if you were passing a bunch of munchkins who were bicycling to school, would you? this mandate, the every-child-bikes-to-school-act, will of course effect some changes in the real estate world.
2. real estate prices, specifically residential prices, for properties nearest to schools are going to increase. this is because children who have to bike farther to school will infer that their parents do not love them as much as the parents of more centrally-located children. this is okay and good. a little competition for the same properties will create a district where everybody wants to be, similar to the traditional "market" of traditional downtowns.
3. prior to this point, local planning departments need to wield the power of zoning. this power is oft abused nowadays to create places that are shitty. but, in this specific instance, the power of zoning can be used for good and not for evil! in areas around schools, overlay zones for denser development will need to be created. these overlay zones will require housing that is reserved for families of all income levels, and it will carry a requirement for public parks and street-level retail. this will ensure that the development focus around schools will be directed in a manner that is healthful to the communities.
4. more progressive communities will, i'm sure, want to implement the incredible ideas of henry george, whose 'single tax' on land allows communities to claim the monetary gains of socially-accrued real estate values. economic rent should, of course, be shared by society; and these new school-driven districts are a great chance to start implementing this idea.
i think that covers the problems inherent in sprawl, childhood obesity, improper motorist treatment of bicyclists, AND real estate inequality.
2.15.2009
reviews for wxdu-- 2009 asobi seksu, clem snide, and m. ward
a s o b i s e k s u | h u s h | polyvinyl, 2009
Pronounced (ah-so-bee sek-su).
Asobi Seksu is comprised of Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna, who met while studying at the Manhattan School of Music. This album follows up the band's EP Citrus (2006). You can read on the CD case about their hardships and challenges since then that have delayed production of this 2009 release.
Their sound has cooled off a little; this album channels a sweet, blissed-out dream pop, and lacks the more intense shoegazing of their previous albums. The songs on 'Hush' are melodically refined with guitar lines that stand apart from the fuzzy background, tight drums underneath and ethereal female vocals swishing around the stratosphere. New for this album is a detailed approach to instrumentation. Listen for the more distinct keyboards, bells, and even organ. The beats are formed by a sweet dreamy regularity similar to the rhythm of icing a cake and the hazy shimmer of tinsel.
If you like the crescendi of sweet and fuzzy, be sure to catch Asobi Seksu at Local 506 on March 26,2009 as they head north after SXSW.
Best: 5, 1 ,11
Indecent: none that i could discern
**Note that there is some dead air around 2:30 on Track 12.
c l e m s n i d e | h u n g r y b i r d | 429 records, 2009
Clem Snide emerged in the 1990s to pioneer exactly what the name suggests: artsy country coupled with sneering spoken lyrics. This subgenre of indie music has now become a standard offering, and Clem Snide is still slipping bittersweet metaphors atop guitars that twang more often than not.
The words are my favorite element of earlier Clem Snide work. Ironic, cutting non-sequiturs slowly strung together to make long-running metaphorical lines; all delivered in a restrained and vulnerable voice. This is still present, but becoming more orchestrated, more elaborate, less bare. The music follows suit; building on the sweet and melancholy with a greater sense of sophistication and a fuller sound. Bolstered by more guitars, unexpected distortion, piano even doubling of the vocals (!). You may enjoy the horns and kazoo on Track 3. You may not enjoy the cheesy piano and drum kit combination akin to light rock radio on Track 2.
Literary Fun Facts: Track 5 features spoken-word composition and performance by Franz Wright, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.
"Clem Snide" was the name of a character in several William S. Burroughs novels.
Best: 1, 6 (excellent rock-out starting around 1:30), 9
Indecent: 0
You can catch Clem Snide at Local 506 on March 12, 2009.
m. w a r d | h o l d t i m e | merge, 2009
M. Ward's voice is heavenly and his guitar is impeccable. This new release, Hold Time, finds him collaborating with some unusual and welcome guest stars: Lucinda Williams on Track 10 (the sad Oh Lonesome Me), Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, as well as She & Him co-collaborator, Zooey Deschanel.
Ward's flair for the vintage and taste for unexpectedly appropriate orchestration have crafted an album that is a comforting as it is moving. His voice is smoky, far away, whisper-close and incredibly sexy. His guitar lines borrow rhythm from classic vintage strummers. The lyrics deal with old-timey subject matter (think early Americana) but somehow convince you of its relevancy to the current American milieu. He borrows classic folk elements and metaphors-- the call and response on Track 2 for example-- and tinkers with the production until the resulting sound is warm and introspective. Overall excellent.
Best: 4, 5, 10, 11
Indecent: n/a
Pronounced (ah-so-bee sek-su).
Asobi Seksu is comprised of Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna, who met while studying at the Manhattan School of Music. This album follows up the band's EP Citrus (2006). You can read on the CD case about their hardships and challenges since then that have delayed production of this 2009 release.
Their sound has cooled off a little; this album channels a sweet, blissed-out dream pop, and lacks the more intense shoegazing of their previous albums. The songs on 'Hush' are melodically refined with guitar lines that stand apart from the fuzzy background, tight drums underneath and ethereal female vocals swishing around the stratosphere. New for this album is a detailed approach to instrumentation. Listen for the more distinct keyboards, bells, and even organ. The beats are formed by a sweet dreamy regularity similar to the rhythm of icing a cake and the hazy shimmer of tinsel.
If you like the crescendi of sweet and fuzzy, be sure to catch Asobi Seksu at Local 506 on March 26,2009 as they head north after SXSW.
Best: 5, 1 ,11
Indecent: none that i could discern
**Note that there is some dead air around 2:30 on Track 12.
c l e m s n i d e | h u n g r y b i r d | 429 records, 2009
Clem Snide emerged in the 1990s to pioneer exactly what the name suggests: artsy country coupled with sneering spoken lyrics. This subgenre of indie music has now become a standard offering, and Clem Snide is still slipping bittersweet metaphors atop guitars that twang more often than not.
The words are my favorite element of earlier Clem Snide work. Ironic, cutting non-sequiturs slowly strung together to make long-running metaphorical lines; all delivered in a restrained and vulnerable voice. This is still present, but becoming more orchestrated, more elaborate, less bare. The music follows suit; building on the sweet and melancholy with a greater sense of sophistication and a fuller sound. Bolstered by more guitars, unexpected distortion, piano even doubling of the vocals (!). You may enjoy the horns and kazoo on Track 3. You may not enjoy the cheesy piano and drum kit combination akin to light rock radio on Track 2.
Literary Fun Facts: Track 5 features spoken-word composition and performance by Franz Wright, awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.
"Clem Snide" was the name of a character in several William S. Burroughs novels.
Best: 1, 6 (excellent rock-out starting around 1:30), 9
Indecent: 0
You can catch Clem Snide at Local 506 on March 12, 2009.
m. w a r d | h o l d t i m e | merge, 2009
M. Ward's voice is heavenly and his guitar is impeccable. This new release, Hold Time, finds him collaborating with some unusual and welcome guest stars: Lucinda Williams on Track 10 (the sad Oh Lonesome Me), Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, as well as She & Him co-collaborator, Zooey Deschanel.
Ward's flair for the vintage and taste for unexpectedly appropriate orchestration have crafted an album that is a comforting as it is moving. His voice is smoky, far away, whisper-close and incredibly sexy. His guitar lines borrow rhythm from classic vintage strummers. The lyrics deal with old-timey subject matter (think early Americana) but somehow convince you of its relevancy to the current American milieu. He borrows classic folk elements and metaphors-- the call and response on Track 2 for example-- and tinkers with the production until the resulting sound is warm and introspective. Overall excellent.
Best: 4, 5, 10, 11
Indecent: n/a
2.11.2009
Open Letter to Stafford County School Board
Stafford County Public Schools
Members of the Stafford County School Board and Superintendent
Dear David Sawyer Ed.D.,
My name is Caroline Emerson and I graduated from the Commonwealth Governor’s School (and Brooke Point High School) in 2002. After CGS, I graduated with honors from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture in 2006. I can not state to you in words the value of my Commonwealth Governor’s School education. Because I was a member of the first class to graduate after all four years at CGS, I think that my observations are important. CGS then was not the formidable institution that it is now, and there were serious problems with the technology, the curriculum, and the transportation coordination. Despite these setbacks, the time I spent at CGS was a completely unique leaning opportunity. I know this because while at UVa, I compared high school experiences with a variety of friends, several of whom attended Governors’ Schools in Virginia and other states. Other programs provide in-depth educational opportunities, but none provided the developing opportunity of being part of a regional community of learners. While at UVa, my friends were the smartest and brightest students in my classes, many of whom attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax. It is my connections with UVa and intelligent people that have allowed me to thrive in a difficult economy. It was my CGS experience that allowed me to matriculate into the University of Virginia, and helped me to be successful there.
In addition to CGS, I invested myself heavily in extracurricular activities at Brooke Point. I lettered in Marching Band and Winter Track. I played soccer three years and performed a starring role in the school play, “Royal Gambit” my senior year. I was elected President of the French Club, and Vice-President of the National Honor Society. I routinely tutored children at Stafford Middle and Elementary Schools. I worked weekends in Fredericksburg at a frame shop, and during my senior year, Summit Presbyterian Church employed me as their interim pianist. I regularly played the piano at my own church, Regester Chapel United Methodist Church, and lead the youth group. During my high school career, I was awarded a countless number of awards for scholarship, integrity, academics, athletics, honor, ethics, outstanding contributions, dedication, etc. I would never have achieved so much without CGS to encourage me and push me along. The friends I made at CGS helped me to challenge myself, and the dedication of my teachers set a daily example of what one can achieve through hard work.
At Brooke Point, I was treated as an outcast. In a memorable example, a fellow runner on the winter track team wrote an accusative and downright false editorial in the Brooke Point newspaper. A member of my 4x4 relay team, she insisted that CGS students were not really Brooke Point students and should not be treated as such. Her jealous jabs over GPA totals and her failure to get facts about time investments were difficult to handle for my fellow students and myself. She represented the voice of the student body, a group that misunderstood and was unwilling to accept the opportunities inherent in a CGS education. It is my hope that now, seven years later, students and their parents, and most of all the School Board, would be able to have a broader understanding of the depth and value of the Commonwealth Governor’s School and Stafford County’s participation therein.
You were not involved with the Stafford County School Board in 1998-2002, my tenure at CGS, and therefore you are not apprised of the challenges we faced as a fledgling community of learners. Please believe me when I tell you that those years at CGS were more academically rigorous than any of my four years at the University of Virginia (which was rated the number two public university in America, 2009 US N&WR.) Why do you think we so assiduously weathered the challenges of the early CGS years? Mr. Sawyer, I did it because I wanted to help Stafford County grow into a more sophisticated learning environment for my younger brother and sister. And now my siblings; set to graduate CGS in 2009 and 2011; are enjoying the benefits of our hard work, an established, grounded intellectual community. I am so pleased and proud of my siblings and the education they are able to get from Stafford County Public Schools.
When I read your letter of February 9, 2009, I was shocked for many reasons. First, you underestimate the importance of CGS; I can only hope that my letter and other letters from my classmates will help you to understand our CGS experience. Second, I was upset at your vague strategies for budget solutions. As an architect, Mr. Sawyer, I am fully aware of the challenges of scope and budget, but I also realize how important it is to understand the overall design before endeavoring to reach a budget consensus via saving dollars. Your letter did not put forth a satisfactory explanation of the details of your specific plan. You have upset countless number of current and former Governor’s School students, and you provide no decisive plan of action for how you will alter Stafford’s financial participation in the Governor’s School without sacrificing the students. This is quite dismaying, and you owe an explanation to the students and families of the greater Stafford region. Your words undercut the value of education of high school students not just in Stafford County, but on a regional level. This is disappointing to those of us who worked so hard, and want to see Stafford County continue to be a place of higher academic potential.
Sincerely,
Caroline C. Emerson
caroline.emerson@gmail.com
Members of the Stafford County School Board and Superintendent
Dear David Sawyer Ed.D.,
My name is Caroline Emerson and I graduated from the Commonwealth Governor’s School (and Brooke Point High School) in 2002. After CGS, I graduated with honors from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture in 2006. I can not state to you in words the value of my Commonwealth Governor’s School education. Because I was a member of the first class to graduate after all four years at CGS, I think that my observations are important. CGS then was not the formidable institution that it is now, and there were serious problems with the technology, the curriculum, and the transportation coordination. Despite these setbacks, the time I spent at CGS was a completely unique leaning opportunity. I know this because while at UVa, I compared high school experiences with a variety of friends, several of whom attended Governors’ Schools in Virginia and other states. Other programs provide in-depth educational opportunities, but none provided the developing opportunity of being part of a regional community of learners. While at UVa, my friends were the smartest and brightest students in my classes, many of whom attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax. It is my connections with UVa and intelligent people that have allowed me to thrive in a difficult economy. It was my CGS experience that allowed me to matriculate into the University of Virginia, and helped me to be successful there.
In addition to CGS, I invested myself heavily in extracurricular activities at Brooke Point. I lettered in Marching Band and Winter Track. I played soccer three years and performed a starring role in the school play, “Royal Gambit” my senior year. I was elected President of the French Club, and Vice-President of the National Honor Society. I routinely tutored children at Stafford Middle and Elementary Schools. I worked weekends in Fredericksburg at a frame shop, and during my senior year, Summit Presbyterian Church employed me as their interim pianist. I regularly played the piano at my own church, Regester Chapel United Methodist Church, and lead the youth group. During my high school career, I was awarded a countless number of awards for scholarship, integrity, academics, athletics, honor, ethics, outstanding contributions, dedication, etc. I would never have achieved so much without CGS to encourage me and push me along. The friends I made at CGS helped me to challenge myself, and the dedication of my teachers set a daily example of what one can achieve through hard work.
At Brooke Point, I was treated as an outcast. In a memorable example, a fellow runner on the winter track team wrote an accusative and downright false editorial in the Brooke Point newspaper. A member of my 4x4 relay team, she insisted that CGS students were not really Brooke Point students and should not be treated as such. Her jealous jabs over GPA totals and her failure to get facts about time investments were difficult to handle for my fellow students and myself. She represented the voice of the student body, a group that misunderstood and was unwilling to accept the opportunities inherent in a CGS education. It is my hope that now, seven years later, students and their parents, and most of all the School Board, would be able to have a broader understanding of the depth and value of the Commonwealth Governor’s School and Stafford County’s participation therein.
You were not involved with the Stafford County School Board in 1998-2002, my tenure at CGS, and therefore you are not apprised of the challenges we faced as a fledgling community of learners. Please believe me when I tell you that those years at CGS were more academically rigorous than any of my four years at the University of Virginia (which was rated the number two public university in America, 2009 US N&WR.) Why do you think we so assiduously weathered the challenges of the early CGS years? Mr. Sawyer, I did it because I wanted to help Stafford County grow into a more sophisticated learning environment for my younger brother and sister. And now my siblings; set to graduate CGS in 2009 and 2011; are enjoying the benefits of our hard work, an established, grounded intellectual community. I am so pleased and proud of my siblings and the education they are able to get from Stafford County Public Schools.
When I read your letter of February 9, 2009, I was shocked for many reasons. First, you underestimate the importance of CGS; I can only hope that my letter and other letters from my classmates will help you to understand our CGS experience. Second, I was upset at your vague strategies for budget solutions. As an architect, Mr. Sawyer, I am fully aware of the challenges of scope and budget, but I also realize how important it is to understand the overall design before endeavoring to reach a budget consensus via saving dollars. Your letter did not put forth a satisfactory explanation of the details of your specific plan. You have upset countless number of current and former Governor’s School students, and you provide no decisive plan of action for how you will alter Stafford’s financial participation in the Governor’s School without sacrificing the students. This is quite dismaying, and you owe an explanation to the students and families of the greater Stafford region. Your words undercut the value of education of high school students not just in Stafford County, but on a regional level. This is disappointing to those of us who worked so hard, and want to see Stafford County continue to be a place of higher academic potential.
Sincerely,
Caroline C. Emerson
caroline.emerson@gmail.com
10.21.2008
creating colloquial expressionisms
i just wanted to point out that the nation's paper of record has a blog dedicated to exposing their own grammatical insurrections. as a linguaphile of sorts, i find this a neverending meta-amusement. i often tend to think back over my own words --spoken, written, or typed-- musing over the alternate meanings that could be deduced or which word trends are getting stale. voila! in this week's nyt-grammar-blog post, the "cliché watch", phillip corbett draws attention to phrases that have been recently overused in the times.
what shakes out? most notably are clichés that seek out a friendlier face to our current financial predicament. seeking to communicate the economy as a game-- fishing, gambling:
-the colloquial expression “on the hook,” comparing sordid economic futures to being as stuck as a worm used for fishing
-blackjack terminology. in one stretch of business coverage last month, the phrase “double down” was used three times in four days
i think this is a little bit frightening. why are is this huge crisis being façaded as a light-hearted game? and whose game is it? i don't think we readers are being taken in, necessarily; i'm not insinuating that the media is PULLING THE WOOL OVER THE IDEAS OF JOE AMERICAN. but it does seem vexing that the metaphors are all so casual, that the only way to handle a crisis of this magnitude is with non-ironic entertainment comparisons.
what shakes out? most notably are clichés that seek out a friendlier face to our current financial predicament. seeking to communicate the economy as a game-- fishing, gambling:
-the colloquial expression “on the hook,” comparing sordid economic futures to being as stuck as a worm used for fishing
-blackjack terminology. in one stretch of business coverage last month, the phrase “double down” was used three times in four days
i think this is a little bit frightening. why are is this huge crisis being façaded as a light-hearted game? and whose game is it? i don't think we readers are being taken in, necessarily; i'm not insinuating that the media is PULLING THE WOOL OVER THE IDEAS OF JOE AMERICAN. but it does seem vexing that the metaphors are all so casual, that the only way to handle a crisis of this magnitude is with non-ironic entertainment comparisons.
10.03.2008
durham, partyham
attractive local designers flywheel are throwing the cutest party with free pbrs on thursday night!
truly demonstrable of their goodheartedness is that they've posted their gorgeously created wallpaper so you don't have to pull posters off streetlights in order to snag one.
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