A couple of years back there was a huge controversy regarding the movie "the DiVinci Code." Many devout church goes felt it was sacrilegious. The older folks were most concerned that movies would think that the story was real. There is no chance that this story is real.
In the sequel.. well sort of.. to "the DiVinci Code" Tom Hanks plays a professor that has tried to get the Vatican to open their archives. The Vatican is reluctant to do that. A series of serious events in the middle of a pope succession brings Hank's character back into the picture trying to rescue the lives of potential popes from the hands of a terrorist group of people who have infiltrated the Vatican governance.
The acting is above average for this kind of movie. The scriptwriting is spot on. The editing is traditional.. which I like. There are no hand held camera chase scenes to build intimacy or sense of urgency.
Its a huge budget "who done it". In many ways it could be compared in tone and plot development to the Mission Impossible movies.
Viewers need to be cautioned that there is some gore and a pretty disgusting scene with some small furry animals. These were not long but had a distinctive CSI feel to them.
The critics have pretty well panned it. I think it was a pretty good movie. It will take some head scratching in the end to figure out that there were actually two groups that were villians.
The cinematography is wonderful. Rome is Rome and it will bring back memories with its sequences.
Overall its a movie that should be seen this summer. It will definitely play better on the big screen than in netflicks. So.. go see in the theater!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Social Networking and the World of Gurus
I often will check out the blog that is published next to mine.
It is strictly a random blog and often it is something in a foreign language that I don't know. The photos are cool.. so it keeps me looking.
The blog next to mine one day brought an interesting subject to light.
Fayza.me - Fayza Elmostehi
Fayza
This blogger works as part of the Schipul web marketing company in Houston TX. They have a whole section on their website that focuses on consulting companies with websites to include social networking into the design. Fayza does this as part of her job.
One of her entities was the Houston Zoo. The usual corporate website was one of her responsibilities as well as as developing connections on social networking sites. She found that there were Flickr groups of photos of the Houston zoo that could be linked on a frequent basis and tied to the Houston Zoo website. She even developed a "Photo Day" where patrons of the zoo could upload on their site, the photos that were taken during a particular period of time. There were also many people that gave good advice to others going to the zoo that could be referenced in a live section in the website. We are all reporters, we are all photographers, we are all critics.
It is interesting that the new social networking tools are being used to fulfill a vital need for the gen x and millennial generations. If you have a particular need from a company the old email piece is often ignored while the customers that help other customers in social networking contexts is alike and well. What does that mean? Its pretty strange that the best corporate advertising in this era occurs from customer to customer with some interaction from the company. The movement away from top down interaction is huge.
What are the vehicles of this movement? Web pages with their structure tend to be the static source of information in this world. Little details may be targeted in branching so that the particular audience for subsets of information may be sourced. My friend Ron had trouble with his new washing machine. It was throwing up an error code. He went on the web and found his model but was unsuccessful in finding his error code translation. Doing a google search for a more general information about the washer, he was able to go out in specificity and found a pdf for his model along with many other models in a very as he would describe it "nasty looking website."
He downloaded the pdf file and was able to determine from the pdf file that the error code was coming from the drain filter. Using his trusty ohm meter he realized that the washer was still running the drain sequence when the drain was full. The little pump had burned out. From this pdf, he was able to figure out the number of the part he needed. The local appliance part supplier was pretty amazed that he had a part number for them. They did not have that part in stock (no surprise there) but he was able to order it on line.
It is this kind of focus in, focus out, focus in, we really need to be teaching our students in this new era. Many are doing this all the time. The old term paper pales in comparison.
It would not surprise me that there are people in my facebook group that could help in such a quest. The average facebook group is just over 150 people strong. Do you think that any of them have done some of this kind of search on the web?
Corporate America is monitoring what is said about them in these social venues as well. There are social network readers that may be set up to monitor mentions of a particular product or service. These specialized virtual robots, when connected to actual people in the offices are the most valuable asset to clear up tangential miscues.
I think the most interesting series of events occured with Linzi and her Ipod earlier this year. She sent in a Ipod for repair to a company that promised swift turnaround. That didn't happen. Her plight was revealed to many people also contemplating such a repair. A corporate black eye was sent out via other blogs and social networks and soon the company made many offers to correct the situation.
This kind of thing really rocks my generation. It hard to believe that we are so close to someone that can get soemething done!
I guess that is why they took the unincripted Blackberry away from Obama!
: ) Pat
It is strictly a random blog and often it is something in a foreign language that I don't know. The photos are cool.. so it keeps me looking.
The blog next to mine one day brought an interesting subject to light.
Fayza.me - Fayza Elmostehi
Fayza
This blogger works as part of the Schipul web marketing company in Houston TX. They have a whole section on their website that focuses on consulting companies with websites to include social networking into the design. Fayza does this as part of her job.
One of her entities was the Houston Zoo. The usual corporate website was one of her responsibilities as well as as developing connections on social networking sites. She found that there were Flickr groups of photos of the Houston zoo that could be linked on a frequent basis and tied to the Houston Zoo website. She even developed a "Photo Day" where patrons of the zoo could upload on their site, the photos that were taken during a particular period of time. There were also many people that gave good advice to others going to the zoo that could be referenced in a live section in the website. We are all reporters, we are all photographers, we are all critics.
It is interesting that the new social networking tools are being used to fulfill a vital need for the gen x and millennial generations. If you have a particular need from a company the old email piece is often ignored while the customers that help other customers in social networking contexts is alike and well. What does that mean? Its pretty strange that the best corporate advertising in this era occurs from customer to customer with some interaction from the company. The movement away from top down interaction is huge.
What are the vehicles of this movement? Web pages with their structure tend to be the static source of information in this world. Little details may be targeted in branching so that the particular audience for subsets of information may be sourced. My friend Ron had trouble with his new washing machine. It was throwing up an error code. He went on the web and found his model but was unsuccessful in finding his error code translation. Doing a google search for a more general information about the washer, he was able to go out in specificity and found a pdf for his model along with many other models in a very as he would describe it "nasty looking website."
He downloaded the pdf file and was able to determine from the pdf file that the error code was coming from the drain filter. Using his trusty ohm meter he realized that the washer was still running the drain sequence when the drain was full. The little pump had burned out. From this pdf, he was able to figure out the number of the part he needed. The local appliance part supplier was pretty amazed that he had a part number for them. They did not have that part in stock (no surprise there) but he was able to order it on line.
It is this kind of focus in, focus out, focus in, we really need to be teaching our students in this new era. Many are doing this all the time. The old term paper pales in comparison.
It would not surprise me that there are people in my facebook group that could help in such a quest. The average facebook group is just over 150 people strong. Do you think that any of them have done some of this kind of search on the web?
Corporate America is monitoring what is said about them in these social venues as well. There are social network readers that may be set up to monitor mentions of a particular product or service. These specialized virtual robots, when connected to actual people in the offices are the most valuable asset to clear up tangential miscues.
I think the most interesting series of events occured with Linzi and her Ipod earlier this year. She sent in a Ipod for repair to a company that promised swift turnaround. That didn't happen. Her plight was revealed to many people also contemplating such a repair. A corporate black eye was sent out via other blogs and social networks and soon the company made many offers to correct the situation.
This kind of thing really rocks my generation. It hard to believe that we are so close to someone that can get soemething done!
I guess that is why they took the unincripted Blackberry away from Obama!
: ) Pat
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Gold Country Memorial Day
Sue has always wanted to ride the train.
The Jamestown State Railroad Park has a train that departs their station every hour until 3 pm. It climbs over several gold rush claims and finally reaches a quarry 20 minutes later.
It used to be steam. The steam boiler for the train is broken and in the process of being repaired in Seattle. The desiel works to pull the restored cars along the route. We opted for the first class car. Its a 16 dollar ticket. This beauty used to ply the railroads between San Francisco and Santa Cruz near the turn of the century. It was part of the "Sunshine Special" that brought people to the beach. It also served north of San Francisco and was used in a Sausalito to the redwoods run. The beautiful restored pullman car has been lovingly brought back to life over the years. It has stained glass windows and inlaid wooden panels. We sat in the part of the car near the barber shop. The parlor section of the car had comfortable winged chairs and a couple of ladies dressed in the fashion of that era.
The train conductor told stories of the train line and filled us in on the history of the first class car. We had a great time. Sue made it up and into the car without a wheel chair. She also did that coming off. The steps were pretty steep but she was able to do it.
We had a hot dog special in the little cafe. They had some very cool potato salad that was definitely home made. Not mayo centered, it must have had some mustard seeds in it. A Hebrew National hot dog, a cup of potato salad and a can of soda for 5 dollars. I had mine with sauerkraut, onions and jalapenos. Yum Yum.
An older man in a powerchair came wheeling into the cafe. He ordered up a gatoraide. When the clerk delivered it, he offer up his credit card. "Nope, we don't take cards." the clerk said.
It was hot, so Sue and I bought him his gatoraide and delivered it too him. His face lit up to discover that someone had figured out his plight and provided for his needs.
Have a good One
Pat
The Jamestown State Railroad Park has a train that departs their station every hour until 3 pm. It climbs over several gold rush claims and finally reaches a quarry 20 minutes later.
It used to be steam. The steam boiler for the train is broken and in the process of being repaired in Seattle. The desiel works to pull the restored cars along the route. We opted for the first class car. Its a 16 dollar ticket. This beauty used to ply the railroads between San Francisco and Santa Cruz near the turn of the century. It was part of the "Sunshine Special" that brought people to the beach. It also served north of San Francisco and was used in a Sausalito to the redwoods run. The beautiful restored pullman car has been lovingly brought back to life over the years. It has stained glass windows and inlaid wooden panels. We sat in the part of the car near the barber shop. The parlor section of the car had comfortable winged chairs and a couple of ladies dressed in the fashion of that era.
The train conductor told stories of the train line and filled us in on the history of the first class car. We had a great time. Sue made it up and into the car without a wheel chair. She also did that coming off. The steps were pretty steep but she was able to do it.
We had a hot dog special in the little cafe. They had some very cool potato salad that was definitely home made. Not mayo centered, it must have had some mustard seeds in it. A Hebrew National hot dog, a cup of potato salad and a can of soda for 5 dollars. I had mine with sauerkraut, onions and jalapenos. Yum Yum.
An older man in a powerchair came wheeling into the cafe. He ordered up a gatoraide. When the clerk delivered it, he offer up his credit card. "Nope, we don't take cards." the clerk said.
It was hot, so Sue and I bought him his gatoraide and delivered it too him. His face lit up to discover that someone had figured out his plight and provided for his needs.
Have a good One
Pat
Monday, May 25, 2009
New student Movie
I have just finished one movie with the new ILife 09. This is program that can take you places. using just the movie feature on my Canon powershot 790 IS, I was able to take and compile the "Tell me a little about yourself" project for my students.
At first I was put off by the stripped down look of IMovie 09. Many of the old features of the software metaphor of two versions back seemed to be missing. The last version, Movie 08 or whatever it was,had Apple changing the editing metaphor significantly. Just jumping in, the only way that was comfortable with the old one was to to bring in all the clips and let the program make the transitions. All sound had to come out of garage band. It didn't seem to have acceptable clip editing tools and the list goes on. Overall, the approach was a combination of of Final Cut Express and magic movies.. the quickest way to get video from camera to DVD. This was not acceptable.
The new version, ILife 09, seems to have addressed many of these concerns. I really like the way the transitions are provided. They come in as drag and drop items. They may be edited in length by their band over the movie sections. Trim to clip is easily accessible. Track sound is still a bit of a mystery for me on this one.
Overall this program saved me a considerable amount of time over the last one I did that was very similar. The documentation is very slow in coming. The first books out on ILife 09 are just starting to show up. There are always some basic things that need to be done with video editing. These are not so evident when the metaphor is switched.
Have a great memorial day. Think of our fallen military people sometime today. As Grandma Nelly would say.. because it is decoration day.
: ) Pat
At first I was put off by the stripped down look of IMovie 09. Many of the old features of the software metaphor of two versions back seemed to be missing. The last version, Movie 08 or whatever it was,had Apple changing the editing metaphor significantly. Just jumping in, the only way that was comfortable with the old one was to to bring in all the clips and let the program make the transitions. All sound had to come out of garage band. It didn't seem to have acceptable clip editing tools and the list goes on. Overall, the approach was a combination of of Final Cut Express and magic movies.. the quickest way to get video from camera to DVD. This was not acceptable.
The new version, ILife 09, seems to have addressed many of these concerns. I really like the way the transitions are provided. They come in as drag and drop items. They may be edited in length by their band over the movie sections. Trim to clip is easily accessible. Track sound is still a bit of a mystery for me on this one.
Overall this program saved me a considerable amount of time over the last one I did that was very similar. The documentation is very slow in coming. The first books out on ILife 09 are just starting to show up. There are always some basic things that need to be done with video editing. These are not so evident when the metaphor is switched.
Have a great memorial day. Think of our fallen military people sometime today. As Grandma Nelly would say.. because it is decoration day.
: ) Pat
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Before there was Nascar there was Indy
Today the Indy 500 is being run.
Its a little different than it used to be.
In the 60's it was a "pay for view event" even before cable.
People bought tickets at the Circle Star Theater or the Cow Palace to see the broadcast. Today it is run with side by side advertisements on ABC one of the big three TV networks. In that era that was about what you got on TV except for a few high Frequency channels that mostly carried PBS programming.
There were no women drivers. Today there are two.. Can you name them? Danica Patrick, the original Go Daddy Girl, and Sarah Evans, the woman with the most starts at Indy.
There are many safety features built into the track that were not there. Many zero impact barriers. Collapsible axles and impact resistant drivers cockpits. There is some amazing crash technology on display. In the first half of the race, there were 6 very nasty crashes with the wall. All drivers got out alive and were talking to the interviewers within minutes. Most of the reason for the crashes were driver's errors. There is a very sophisticated set of rules about passing and opening lanes for drivers to follow.
The cars are running at top end about 215 miles an hour. This is pretty amazing because I remember when no car could go that fast. Now they all go that fast on corn juice ethanol.
The drafting and the dirty air (air turbulence) that occurs in this race makes it harder to drive from the back of the field to the front.
What can really make a difference it basically three things.
1. A driver that can drive at those speeds and doesn't get too emotionally involved with the other drivers. The driver must hit the mark at 60 mph when coming into the pit.
2. A pit crew that can send the car back earlier than the others during the race. Leads can easily change over this.
3. A cew of spotters and tech people that can determine how much fuel is being burned, who much tire tread is left, and who is passing who as they track the car whizzing around the oval.
The TV folks have great stories to tell about the crews and progress of who is in which team and what they have developed in practice.. but it is pretty lame considering you get to see a 200mph race in high def, in the middle of a beautiful day in Indiana.
: ) Pat
Its a little different than it used to be.
In the 60's it was a "pay for view event" even before cable.
People bought tickets at the Circle Star Theater or the Cow Palace to see the broadcast. Today it is run with side by side advertisements on ABC one of the big three TV networks. In that era that was about what you got on TV except for a few high Frequency channels that mostly carried PBS programming.
There were no women drivers. Today there are two.. Can you name them? Danica Patrick, the original Go Daddy Girl, and Sarah Evans, the woman with the most starts at Indy.
There are many safety features built into the track that were not there. Many zero impact barriers. Collapsible axles and impact resistant drivers cockpits. There is some amazing crash technology on display. In the first half of the race, there were 6 very nasty crashes with the wall. All drivers got out alive and were talking to the interviewers within minutes. Most of the reason for the crashes were driver's errors. There is a very sophisticated set of rules about passing and opening lanes for drivers to follow.
The cars are running at top end about 215 miles an hour. This is pretty amazing because I remember when no car could go that fast. Now they all go that fast on corn juice ethanol.
The drafting and the dirty air (air turbulence) that occurs in this race makes it harder to drive from the back of the field to the front.
What can really make a difference it basically three things.
1. A driver that can drive at those speeds and doesn't get too emotionally involved with the other drivers. The driver must hit the mark at 60 mph when coming into the pit.
2. A pit crew that can send the car back earlier than the others during the race. Leads can easily change over this.
3. A cew of spotters and tech people that can determine how much fuel is being burned, who much tire tread is left, and who is passing who as they track the car whizzing around the oval.
The TV folks have great stories to tell about the crews and progress of who is in which team and what they have developed in practice.. but it is pretty lame considering you get to see a 200mph race in high def, in the middle of a beautiful day in Indiana.
: ) Pat
Friday, May 22, 2009
Lucky LInzi
Linzi is headed for big D this weekend.
She is introducing a Disneyland newbee to the joys of Disneyland. We have had such a good time as a family there. She is looking forward to it. Its cool to see it from a newbie's perpective.
I watched the basketball playoffs tonight. Le Bron James was something else with a clutch 3 pointer at the buzzer. The Clevland Cavs seem to run away with the game early in the first half. Tonight they were ahead by early. By the end it took a miraculous shot to beat the Orlando Magic. Both teams have very different approaches to winning.
We are into some warm nights recently. That means that it never gets cooler than 65 degrees at night. The peaches and the apricots are really coming along. This weekend is usually the first weekend that we can get local boysenberries. Some years Linzi and I go picking them and make great batches of jam and pie filling. This year I have to get the weeds done first.. at least so that I can find the canning stove. There is some serious school work that needs to be done too.
So much for the Friday slump.
Have a good one.
Pat
She is introducing a Disneyland newbee to the joys of Disneyland. We have had such a good time as a family there. She is looking forward to it. Its cool to see it from a newbie's perpective.
I watched the basketball playoffs tonight. Le Bron James was something else with a clutch 3 pointer at the buzzer. The Clevland Cavs seem to run away with the game early in the first half. Tonight they were ahead by early. By the end it took a miraculous shot to beat the Orlando Magic. Both teams have very different approaches to winning.
We are into some warm nights recently. That means that it never gets cooler than 65 degrees at night. The peaches and the apricots are really coming along. This weekend is usually the first weekend that we can get local boysenberries. Some years Linzi and I go picking them and make great batches of jam and pie filling. This year I have to get the weeds done first.. at least so that I can find the canning stove. There is some serious school work that needs to be done too.
So much for the Friday slump.
Have a good one.
Pat
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Fried Eggplant
One of my adult discoveries.
I love fried eggplant. This Italian restaurant in Atwater makes yummy fried eggplant. It comes deep fat fried with red sauce and grated romano cheese on top. I never thought that I would like such a thing. I think that growing up as a baby I had some. As best as I can remember it, the ladies at the school cafeteria in Grand Junction had a wonderful recipe for eggplant casserole. I was under 5 but it seems like a memory. Mom made it because no meat was required. It must have been there that I tasted this memory that comes back to haunt me as an adult.
I remember doing the same thing to our kids.. via Gerber. We would feed our kids from little jars food that we would not consider eating ourselves just so that they would not grow up prejudice against a certain food. Its no wonder that the girls like lamb and sweet potatoes. (Sue's most hated and my most hated). It must have worked.
Also on our agenda tonight was a trip to get mom a giant tea cup to plant an indoor plant. She was hoping to get one on Mothers day.. luckily for me they were still there. The giant tea cup/ coffee cup will hold a big pathos plant that we picked up at Loews. We had to get a bag of indoor soil too.It will be a highlight of the plant collection on the island. I hope it all works out.
At school I finished taking as many students as I could their little tell me a little about yourself. I had to jump in as ask some questions this time. A couple of students could not be persuaded to complete the group. I will hook these latest wonders to the ones taken in February and see if there is a difference. It ought to be cool.
We are slowly getting used to our 90 degree weather. It always reaches it high temperature late in the afternoon. This leaves many of the students with a dilemma. Should they dress for the morning, which is still pretty cool.. 60's and where the air conditioners prime the classes for the afternoon heat, or should they chill out for the morning and feel more comfortable in the afternoon?
Seniors are in serious countdown. They got their yearbooks yesterday and today they cannot keep their eyes off of them.
What do you think a new year book costs these days? 80$.
That is just the beginning. Caps and gowns and tassels and invitations and key rings and all sorts of Grad 2009 memorabilia is pitched and bought. It all arrived yesterday!
Graduation is June 4th.
: ) Pat
I love fried eggplant. This Italian restaurant in Atwater makes yummy fried eggplant. It comes deep fat fried with red sauce and grated romano cheese on top. I never thought that I would like such a thing. I think that growing up as a baby I had some. As best as I can remember it, the ladies at the school cafeteria in Grand Junction had a wonderful recipe for eggplant casserole. I was under 5 but it seems like a memory. Mom made it because no meat was required. It must have been there that I tasted this memory that comes back to haunt me as an adult.
I remember doing the same thing to our kids.. via Gerber. We would feed our kids from little jars food that we would not consider eating ourselves just so that they would not grow up prejudice against a certain food. Its no wonder that the girls like lamb and sweet potatoes. (Sue's most hated and my most hated). It must have worked.
Also on our agenda tonight was a trip to get mom a giant tea cup to plant an indoor plant. She was hoping to get one on Mothers day.. luckily for me they were still there. The giant tea cup/ coffee cup will hold a big pathos plant that we picked up at Loews. We had to get a bag of indoor soil too.It will be a highlight of the plant collection on the island. I hope it all works out.
At school I finished taking as many students as I could their little tell me a little about yourself. I had to jump in as ask some questions this time. A couple of students could not be persuaded to complete the group. I will hook these latest wonders to the ones taken in February and see if there is a difference. It ought to be cool.
We are slowly getting used to our 90 degree weather. It always reaches it high temperature late in the afternoon. This leaves many of the students with a dilemma. Should they dress for the morning, which is still pretty cool.. 60's and where the air conditioners prime the classes for the afternoon heat, or should they chill out for the morning and feel more comfortable in the afternoon?
Seniors are in serious countdown. They got their yearbooks yesterday and today they cannot keep their eyes off of them.
What do you think a new year book costs these days? 80$.
That is just the beginning. Caps and gowns and tassels and invitations and key rings and all sorts of Grad 2009 memorabilia is pitched and bought. It all arrived yesterday!
Graduation is June 4th.
: ) Pat
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Lightening In the Night
The radio broke in with the National Weather Center in Hanford. That serious sound that makes you think the world is about to come apart.
Thunderstorms and high winds were predicted for an area south of the Yosemite Park Southern Entrance, through the park and up the other side. The alert expired at 4:30 pm. It was hot. It was muggy.. so what do you expect? I wasn't going to effect us... or was it?
We got what we seldom expect, a thunderstorm and lightening show for a couple of hours last night. This doesn't happen much in Merced or the Central Valley for that matter. But there it was. The front page of the Sun Star today has a photo of the night time energy.
The biggest thunderstorm I remember witnessing occurred as we were waiting in Fort Collins for my sister and her husband to arrive from South Dakota. It was so bad it slowed them down that night. They camped in the Hodgdon's front driveway as it was so loud and so noisy that no one could hear the doorbell ringing.
Thunder and lightening storms are not all bad. They energize the air with a unique since of energy. These very hot ones that don't bring much cool to them are pretty unusual.
Today is cooler. We are in the high 80's today and with the breeze we are much more comfortable. I need to get and hand water the fragiles on the patio. They are not quite ready for the intense summer heat we have here.
Thunderstorms and high winds were predicted for an area south of the Yosemite Park Southern Entrance, through the park and up the other side. The alert expired at 4:30 pm. It was hot. It was muggy.. so what do you expect? I wasn't going to effect us... or was it?
We got what we seldom expect, a thunderstorm and lightening show for a couple of hours last night. This doesn't happen much in Merced or the Central Valley for that matter. But there it was. The front page of the Sun Star today has a photo of the night time energy.
The biggest thunderstorm I remember witnessing occurred as we were waiting in Fort Collins for my sister and her husband to arrive from South Dakota. It was so bad it slowed them down that night. They camped in the Hodgdon's front driveway as it was so loud and so noisy that no one could hear the doorbell ringing.
Thunder and lightening storms are not all bad. They energize the air with a unique since of energy. These very hot ones that don't bring much cool to them are pretty unusual.
Today is cooler. We are in the high 80's today and with the breeze we are much more comfortable. I need to get and hand water the fragiles on the patio. They are not quite ready for the intense summer heat we have here.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Michelle O from the Modesto Bee's Writer
Elated UC Merced crowd welcomes first lady
Obama acknowledged that many people wondered why she chose UC Merced to give her first commencement address as first lady and her only one this season.
"The answer is simple: You inspired me, you touched me," she said to the overjoyed crowd referring to a letter-writing campaign requesting her attendance at graduation. "You know, there are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true."
In her 20-minute speech, Obama touched on the students' pioneering spirit, commending them for helping transform the former golf course northeast of Merced into a growing place for learning and research.
"It is this kind of commitment that we're going to need in this nation to put this country back on a path where every child expects to succeed and where every child has the tools that they need to achieve their dreams. That's what we're aiming for," she said. "And we're going to need all of you graduates, this generation, we need you to lead the way."
Obama noted the obstacles graduates face in today's faltering economy, encouraged the soon-to-be alumni to inspire others to chase after their college dream and talked about giving back to the community, something dear to her and President Barack Obama.
"When times get tough and fear sets in, think of those people who paved the way for you and those who are counting on you to pave the way for them. Never let setbacks or fear dictate the course of your life," Obama said.
"Hold on to the possibility
and push beyond the fear. Hold on to the hope that brought you here today, the hope of laborers and immigrants, settlers and slaves, whose blood and sweat built this community and made it possible for you to sit in these seats."
The crowd of 12,000 watched Obama's address with the aid of four Jumbotron screens. A slight breeze carried the smell of sunscreen across the Bowl, a sunken area west of the quad bordered by the campus's canal and lake. About 40 VIPs joined Obama on stage, overlooking golden and brown hills with grazing cows just south of campus.
During Obama's speech, there were no bouncing beach balls among graduates or side conversations among friends and family in the audience. But many fanned themselves or made hats for shade out of cardboard boxes, brown paper bags and commencement programs.
Nearly 90 people were treated by medical personnel because of the heat; eight were taken to Mercy Merced Medical Center.
'Best' of the UC system
Also at the ceremony, student speaker Jason Castillo reminded the crowd of UC Merced's early days taking a bus to labs in Atwater. He commended students and staff for their part in becoming a major piece of the university's foundation.
"While we do not have an ocean view like many of our sister campuses, this area does have a strong sense of family, community, character, ethnic diversity and support. UC Merced represents the best of what the UC system has to offer," said Castillo, a biological sciences graduate, who won auditions to speak Saturday.
Chancellor Steve Kang quoted Mahatma Gandhi, adding his take to the Indian spiritual leader's proverbs.
"Gandhi admonished against science without humanity; to which I would add, may humanity's well- being be the ultimate goal of your scientific discovery," Kang said.
When Obama arrived on campus at about 12:45 p.m., she met with the two dozen graduates responsible for bringing her to campus with hundreds of handwritten letters and Valentine's Day cards.
Erika Amesi and Jessica Julian were in that small group that took a picture with and received hugs from Obama.
"I'm still numb. Today's my birthday and it's the most amazing birthday ever. It was so emotional -- I started getting teary eyed," said Julian, who helped stamp and address the Valentine's Day cards.
Both graduates said Obama's speech exceeded their expectations.
"After, I was ready to go into the world and I'm ready to do this," Julian said. "I can't believe it happened."
A crowning achievement
Hosting a high-profile speaker in Obama was the crowning achievement for graduates, Kang said, but it required special arrangements, including metal detectors for Saturday's guests and moving the ceremony from the evening to the afternoon. Those who attended the event said the sacrifices were worth it to get to hear Obama speak.
"It was completely and utterly miserable. It was the hottest two or three hours of my life," said Diana Kniazewycz, 17. "It was worth melting in the sun. I liked how (Obama) talked about Merced as a whole and its community."
After Obama finished speaking, many community members who had only come to hear her cleared out of the Bowl. Others sought shade outside the Bowl, not straying so far away that they couldn't hear graduates' names being called.
Marc and Carolyn Boler traveled three hours from Dixon to see Obama's speech and see their employee's daughter graduate. Before the event started, Carolyn Boler purchased a T-shirt with Obama's image on it.
She said she thinks Obama chose to address UC Merced's graduation because she relates to the university's students.
"I think she's coming because of the students and who they are and what they represent. It's what she stands for. It's a good match," she said.
Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield
Obama acknowledged that many people wondered why she chose UC Merced to give her first commencement address as first lady and her only one this season.
"The answer is simple: You inspired me, you touched me," she said to the overjoyed crowd referring to a letter-writing campaign requesting her attendance at graduation. "You know, there are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true."
In her 20-minute speech, Obama touched on the students' pioneering spirit, commending them for helping transform the former golf course northeast of Merced into a growing place for learning and research.
"It is this kind of commitment that we're going to need in this nation to put this country back on a path where every child expects to succeed and where every child has the tools that they need to achieve their dreams. That's what we're aiming for," she said. "And we're going to need all of you graduates, this generation, we need you to lead the way."
Obama noted the obstacles graduates face in today's faltering economy, encouraged the soon-to-be alumni to inspire others to chase after their college dream and talked about giving back to the community, something dear to her and President Barack Obama.
"When times get tough and fear sets in, think of those people who paved the way for you and those who are counting on you to pave the way for them. Never let setbacks or fear dictate the course of your life," Obama said.
"Hold on to the possibility
and push beyond the fear. Hold on to the hope that brought you here today, the hope of laborers and immigrants, settlers and slaves, whose blood and sweat built this community and made it possible for you to sit in these seats."
The crowd of 12,000 watched Obama's address with the aid of four Jumbotron screens. A slight breeze carried the smell of sunscreen across the Bowl, a sunken area west of the quad bordered by the campus's canal and lake. About 40 VIPs joined Obama on stage, overlooking golden and brown hills with grazing cows just south of campus.
During Obama's speech, there were no bouncing beach balls among graduates or side conversations among friends and family in the audience. But many fanned themselves or made hats for shade out of cardboard boxes, brown paper bags and commencement programs.
Nearly 90 people were treated by medical personnel because of the heat; eight were taken to Mercy Merced Medical Center.
'Best' of the UC system
Also at the ceremony, student speaker Jason Castillo reminded the crowd of UC Merced's early days taking a bus to labs in Atwater. He commended students and staff for their part in becoming a major piece of the university's foundation.
"While we do not have an ocean view like many of our sister campuses, this area does have a strong sense of family, community, character, ethnic diversity and support. UC Merced represents the best of what the UC system has to offer," said Castillo, a biological sciences graduate, who won auditions to speak Saturday.
Chancellor Steve Kang quoted Mahatma Gandhi, adding his take to the Indian spiritual leader's proverbs.
"Gandhi admonished against science without humanity; to which I would add, may humanity's well- being be the ultimate goal of your scientific discovery," Kang said.
When Obama arrived on campus at about 12:45 p.m., she met with the two dozen graduates responsible for bringing her to campus with hundreds of handwritten letters and Valentine's Day cards.
Erika Amesi and Jessica Julian were in that small group that took a picture with and received hugs from Obama.
"I'm still numb. Today's my birthday and it's the most amazing birthday ever. It was so emotional -- I started getting teary eyed," said Julian, who helped stamp and address the Valentine's Day cards.
Both graduates said Obama's speech exceeded their expectations.
"After, I was ready to go into the world and I'm ready to do this," Julian said. "I can't believe it happened."
A crowning achievement
Hosting a high-profile speaker in Obama was the crowning achievement for graduates, Kang said, but it required special arrangements, including metal detectors for Saturday's guests and moving the ceremony from the evening to the afternoon. Those who attended the event said the sacrifices were worth it to get to hear Obama speak.
"It was completely and utterly miserable. It was the hottest two or three hours of my life," said Diana Kniazewycz, 17. "It was worth melting in the sun. I liked how (Obama) talked about Merced as a whole and its community."
After Obama finished speaking, many community members who had only come to hear her cleared out of the Bowl. Others sought shade outside the Bowl, not straying so far away that they couldn't hear graduates' names being called.
Marc and Carolyn Boler traveled three hours from Dixon to see Obama's speech and see their employee's daughter graduate. Before the event started, Carolyn Boler purchased a T-shirt with Obama's image on it.
She said she thinks Obama chose to address UC Merced's graduation because she relates to the university's students.
"I think she's coming because of the students and who they are and what they represent. It's what she stands for. It's a good match," she said.
Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield
Hot Time in Sacto
We met in Sacramento Saturday for a Mother's day celebration.
Linzi bought a very nice Brinkman 5 burner gas barbeque from Home Depot and Sean put it together. I cooked a very nice Morton marinated tri tip on it and we had a wonderful bash. Linzi cut up some zukes and mushrooms that I grilled in the grill basket. There was even some fresh white corn along side.
Before the dinner, we stopped by the nursery and picked out some plants and some drip irrigation for the new garden areas in her backyard. Sean put that together.. successfully while I grilled.
I got Sue a couple pots of Mexican Evening primrose. Some of the neighbors have them in the front yard and they are wonderful "splash" flowers in this heat. I figure that we have less than an month left for genuine petunias. These are not related although the look is similar. They like full sun and well drained soil. They are native in Mexico.and Southern United States. The variety is siskiyou pink. This variety is known for it large blooms. It says it will bloom throughout the summer months.
We are expecting temperatures above 100 today. at 1:49 the temp is 97. This kind of heat totally levels Heather. Linzi has as the best solution. Eliminate hard work during this heat of the day. Take it easy if you can. Drink plenty of liquid.
Speaking of liquid, I think that the girls have developed the perfect margarita recipe. The mix.. 1800, the tequila 1800, a couple of limes, some triple sec, and amazing is what you get.. bravo.
The Michelle Obama thing in Merced from all accounts was a wonderful success. Current estimates peg the increase in business to be 1.1 million dollars for just a couple of days. What a stimulus package!
Stay cool
Pat
Linzi bought a very nice Brinkman 5 burner gas barbeque from Home Depot and Sean put it together. I cooked a very nice Morton marinated tri tip on it and we had a wonderful bash. Linzi cut up some zukes and mushrooms that I grilled in the grill basket. There was even some fresh white corn along side.
Before the dinner, we stopped by the nursery and picked out some plants and some drip irrigation for the new garden areas in her backyard. Sean put that together.. successfully while I grilled.
I got Sue a couple pots of Mexican Evening primrose. Some of the neighbors have them in the front yard and they are wonderful "splash" flowers in this heat. I figure that we have less than an month left for genuine petunias. These are not related although the look is similar. They like full sun and well drained soil. They are native in Mexico.and Southern United States. The variety is siskiyou pink. This variety is known for it large blooms. It says it will bloom throughout the summer months.
We are expecting temperatures above 100 today. at 1:49 the temp is 97. This kind of heat totally levels Heather. Linzi has as the best solution. Eliminate hard work during this heat of the day. Take it easy if you can. Drink plenty of liquid.
Speaking of liquid, I think that the girls have developed the perfect margarita recipe. The mix.. 1800, the tequila 1800, a couple of limes, some triple sec, and amazing is what you get.. bravo.
The Michelle Obama thing in Merced from all accounts was a wonderful success. Current estimates peg the increase in business to be 1.1 million dollars for just a couple of days. What a stimulus package!
Stay cool
Pat
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Big Day in Merced
The First Lady, Michelle Obama is speaking at the first 4 year commencement at UC Merced.
First off. Its their graduation. The 500 odd souls who have braved the four years at UC Merced are graduating today. They have endured much to get their degree and deserve the recognition. A campus under construction with cows in the fields around the campus were considerable mind adjustments for the urban students that arrived to learn on a "UC campus." Already this campus has published some pretty remarkable research in the area of eco biology. A new sunblock is going to be born out of the research done on hippos and their bio that keeps them from getting sunburned. Its too bad it isn't out yet for the audience that will brave our hottest day of the year. Expectations are that the temp will be 103 in the shade. There is no shade up there this year.
It is expected that 250,000 people may be there. This town has a population of 80,000.
This morning on my walk, the motorcycle police officers were posted at the signals.Four or five lots have been designated for visitors. At 7:15 this morning every bus from the school systems was pressed into action. They were rolling in unison passed the community college and headed up to the commencement site.
My local starbucks was full of out of towners this morning. Some people were already dressed in their summer dresses and were getting ready to attend.
The former mayor was there, the one that lost the last election because he was a real estate banker and that profession did not meet the approval of the general population that votes. He did not have tickets.. but low and behold, a friend arrived in a suit and offered him up tickets and he took them. He said,"Walk me out to my car and I will get you some parking."
As always, in most events, parking is the most treasured of all elenents of the event. Tickets are easy to come by for the 49ers or the Oakland Raiders, but parking... you better get some and use it early.. or its gone and more expensive.. So parking was a real treasure.
All cars going up the road to the UC campus are requiring occupants to show ID.
A jumbotron is installed downtown for those that can't get tickets.
Cost.. estimated at 700,000 dollars. Pretty outrageous for this economic time. Do the math and its 3 bucks apiece. Will the average out of town visitor drop enough money to cover this cost? Sponsorship has been pretty had to get in this town. Granted, they were late in asking for sponsors... but.
We are getting out of here today. We are headed to Sacramento to enjoy our daughters for a belated Mother's Day event.
Hope you have a good one.
Pat
First off. Its their graduation. The 500 odd souls who have braved the four years at UC Merced are graduating today. They have endured much to get their degree and deserve the recognition. A campus under construction with cows in the fields around the campus were considerable mind adjustments for the urban students that arrived to learn on a "UC campus." Already this campus has published some pretty remarkable research in the area of eco biology. A new sunblock is going to be born out of the research done on hippos and their bio that keeps them from getting sunburned. Its too bad it isn't out yet for the audience that will brave our hottest day of the year. Expectations are that the temp will be 103 in the shade. There is no shade up there this year.
It is expected that 250,000 people may be there. This town has a population of 80,000.
This morning on my walk, the motorcycle police officers were posted at the signals.Four or five lots have been designated for visitors. At 7:15 this morning every bus from the school systems was pressed into action. They were rolling in unison passed the community college and headed up to the commencement site.
My local starbucks was full of out of towners this morning. Some people were already dressed in their summer dresses and were getting ready to attend.
The former mayor was there, the one that lost the last election because he was a real estate banker and that profession did not meet the approval of the general population that votes. He did not have tickets.. but low and behold, a friend arrived in a suit and offered him up tickets and he took them. He said,"Walk me out to my car and I will get you some parking."
As always, in most events, parking is the most treasured of all elenents of the event. Tickets are easy to come by for the 49ers or the Oakland Raiders, but parking... you better get some and use it early.. or its gone and more expensive.. So parking was a real treasure.
All cars going up the road to the UC campus are requiring occupants to show ID.
A jumbotron is installed downtown for those that can't get tickets.
Cost.. estimated at 700,000 dollars. Pretty outrageous for this economic time. Do the math and its 3 bucks apiece. Will the average out of town visitor drop enough money to cover this cost? Sponsorship has been pretty had to get in this town. Granted, they were late in asking for sponsors... but.
We are getting out of here today. We are headed to Sacramento to enjoy our daughters for a belated Mother's Day event.
Hope you have a good one.
Pat
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
TJB on Emusic
When I was growing up I learned to play the trumpet.
It was a good time to learn the trumpet. Every other song was an instrumental on the radio. Leading the instrumentals on the top hits play list was the group started by Herb Alpert, the Tijuana Brass.
Started as a trumpet stylist that over dubbed himself with a group of nameless studio musicians, his music soared in popularity in the 60's. We dreamed of being that solo trumpet player that carried the tunes.
Later he found musicians that would travel around the world and play the live performances needed to make the band a reality. One of my memories around seeing live groups at the Circle Star theatre in Belmont was going to see TJB in concert with Dad. We stopped at Perry Boys smorggy for dinner out before the concert.
Herb Alpert continued to produce and perform. Later he started his own label.. A&M records. It was very successful. He got many other groups and stars to perform for his company.
Tonight I noticed that most of his recordings are on emusic. So I spent many of my 100 monthly downloads to load up on the nostalgia. They all play nicely without the scratches that I remember navigating through with the records.
It was a good time to learn the trumpet. Every other song was an instrumental on the radio. Leading the instrumentals on the top hits play list was the group started by Herb Alpert, the Tijuana Brass.
Started as a trumpet stylist that over dubbed himself with a group of nameless studio musicians, his music soared in popularity in the 60's. We dreamed of being that solo trumpet player that carried the tunes.
Later he found musicians that would travel around the world and play the live performances needed to make the band a reality. One of my memories around seeing live groups at the Circle Star theatre in Belmont was going to see TJB in concert with Dad. We stopped at Perry Boys smorggy for dinner out before the concert.
Herb Alpert continued to produce and perform. Later he started his own label.. A&M records. It was very successful. He got many other groups and stars to perform for his company.
Tonight I noticed that most of his recordings are on emusic. So I spent many of my 100 monthly downloads to load up on the nostalgia. They all play nicely without the scratches that I remember navigating through with the records.
The talk on Health Care Costs
Yes I am a bit jaded.
I spent an hour and half in the waiting room of my general physician to get in and find out that they did not have the results of my blood test.
Some of what I was getting was the usual.. when something goes wrong in corporate.. well.. who did you talk to kind of stuff.. Not appropriate for my health.
So yes I was able to tie my interaction with a blood draw that one of the assistants remembered.(This is my brother in law's old trick.. leave the clerk memorable about you) and then the Dr.. but the lab had closed so.. some good it did. Call back tomorrow afternoon and we will find it and let you know..
Yes health care needs reform.
And maybe just maybe it needs to get a little more accountable for the cash it takes away. I would have been happy with an email of the results. No appreciable overhead needed for that. No paying the secretary to make me wait.. no over crowded waiting room.. yep once again no place to sit and wait for my appointment.
The dr. could have looked at a half a dozen blood results in the half an hour that I waited once I got in. He did the cursory check of the lungs and the heart. He complained that his profit went down from 260 K a year to 26k a year due to the fact that Medicare was paying him far less for what he did than they used to.. Its no wonder that now that Drs. are finally on the side of doing something that is bound to eat the very soul of our economic system. And all this time we thought it was just the banks.
I was reading in the economist the banks are following the same pathway as the telecom business. Only banks are worth 3 times as much. Discovery, subsidy, bankruptcy support and clean up. The car companies are headed in that direction too. So far my Fords still look good.. but for how long?
The health care industy has offered the Obama team 2 Trillion in savings. So why wasn't this happening before.. greed.. and also preparation for the inevetable.. Public health care. 2 T amounts to 2500 dollar savings on each and every health user in private health care programs.. Thata about as much as it went up in the last Bush administration.. at least for us.
After my last experience with the Dr. I think that I could show how health care could save.
Private companies rebating to save from government incursion. Things have changed.. no one wants to be a Republican leader.
: ) Pat
I spent an hour and half in the waiting room of my general physician to get in and find out that they did not have the results of my blood test.
Some of what I was getting was the usual.. when something goes wrong in corporate.. well.. who did you talk to kind of stuff.. Not appropriate for my health.
So yes I was able to tie my interaction with a blood draw that one of the assistants remembered.(This is my brother in law's old trick.. leave the clerk memorable about you) and then the Dr.. but the lab had closed so.. some good it did. Call back tomorrow afternoon and we will find it and let you know..
Yes health care needs reform.
And maybe just maybe it needs to get a little more accountable for the cash it takes away. I would have been happy with an email of the results. No appreciable overhead needed for that. No paying the secretary to make me wait.. no over crowded waiting room.. yep once again no place to sit and wait for my appointment.
The dr. could have looked at a half a dozen blood results in the half an hour that I waited once I got in. He did the cursory check of the lungs and the heart. He complained that his profit went down from 260 K a year to 26k a year due to the fact that Medicare was paying him far less for what he did than they used to.. Its no wonder that now that Drs. are finally on the side of doing something that is bound to eat the very soul of our economic system. And all this time we thought it was just the banks.
I was reading in the economist the banks are following the same pathway as the telecom business. Only banks are worth 3 times as much. Discovery, subsidy, bankruptcy support and clean up. The car companies are headed in that direction too. So far my Fords still look good.. but for how long?
The health care industy has offered the Obama team 2 Trillion in savings. So why wasn't this happening before.. greed.. and also preparation for the inevetable.. Public health care. 2 T amounts to 2500 dollar savings on each and every health user in private health care programs.. Thata about as much as it went up in the last Bush administration.. at least for us.
After my last experience with the Dr. I think that I could show how health care could save.
Private companies rebating to save from government incursion. Things have changed.. no one wants to be a Republican leader.
: ) Pat
Friday, May 8, 2009
Scenes from a Dr. Office
Sue went in for her colonoscopy today. Everything was okay.. so no worries.
I took the day off to make sure that she got home okay etc.
The scene in one of these offices is pretty wierd. Everyone needs a driver afterwards. So the driver interested party that supports generally waits for the procedure to be completed in a waiting room. It takes at least an hour and a half to get the procedure done so there are also timing.. waiting your turn. Getting the anesthesia, getting out of the anesthesia.. so in at 9:30 out at 12:00 noon. In the mean time, luckily I had my ipod along to keep me company and I caught up on the latest This American Life and The book review podcast on NPR. Pretty nice to be able to do that. My Ipod is a video one so that I could also enterain myself with a TV show or a movie on the the little screen.
What was interesting was the scene that unfolded in front of me. A couple used the wait time to take a little nap. I made sure that my flash was off and I pretended to fumble around with my camera. I got an American gothic type photo of them snoozing along waiting for their turn. There was also a lady that was intent on reading her magazine. So the grouping worked. The problem is how to protray them so that the audience gets the point.. sleeping at the Dr. Office.. without really revealing the couple's identity.
Photoshop filters come in to place. Kelly would be happy to know that the "stamp" filter seemed to fit my needs. Check out the scene in the Flickr gallery at the left hand side of this blog.
: ) Pat
I took the day off to make sure that she got home okay etc.
The scene in one of these offices is pretty wierd. Everyone needs a driver afterwards. So the driver interested party that supports generally waits for the procedure to be completed in a waiting room. It takes at least an hour and a half to get the procedure done so there are also timing.. waiting your turn. Getting the anesthesia, getting out of the anesthesia.. so in at 9:30 out at 12:00 noon. In the mean time, luckily I had my ipod along to keep me company and I caught up on the latest This American Life and The book review podcast on NPR. Pretty nice to be able to do that. My Ipod is a video one so that I could also enterain myself with a TV show or a movie on the the little screen.
What was interesting was the scene that unfolded in front of me. A couple used the wait time to take a little nap. I made sure that my flash was off and I pretended to fumble around with my camera. I got an American gothic type photo of them snoozing along waiting for their turn. There was also a lady that was intent on reading her magazine. So the grouping worked. The problem is how to protray them so that the audience gets the point.. sleeping at the Dr. Office.. without really revealing the couple's identity.
Photoshop filters come in to place. Kelly would be happy to know that the "stamp" filter seemed to fit my needs. Check out the scene in the Flickr gallery at the left hand side of this blog.
: ) Pat
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The blusty month of May and the Progression of the Audiofile
In the musical a song in the musical but not in the movie version sings of the blusty lusty month of may. The weather outside today with its 78 degree temperature and 15 mile an hour wind is certainly blustery.
Camelot was one of the first really good records to darken our house in the 60's. We did not grow up with great sound systems. Stereo was considered very pricey at the time. We bought "Hi Fi". Those records were a dollar cheaper than stereo. A few, very few records were purchased to listen.
A new teacher friend of my dad's invited us over for dinner one night. My dad knew him well. He was a relatively new teacher with no children of his own, but with a new wife. He was most proud of his new "stereo" component system.
"Can't you just hear all of the quality of the sound?" he said to my dad and myself. We nodded to ourselves but had to admit to each other later that we really couldn't hear the difference between a cheap set up and an expensive one. To maintain harmony we both agreed that it was the best sound that we had ever heard, and well worth the expense.
It may have been with a sense of rebellion that our generation bought a stereo system before they bought a nice couch when they were setting up housekeeping. We grew up as independent listeners. Our parents were more likely radio listeners.
A big Christmas gift for me one year was a reel to reel tape recorder. It was a beauty. A General Electric model was wrapped under the christmas tree. I was sure that it was a stereo radio. That was something that I simply lusted over. But no it was reel to reel tape recorder in a lovely walnut box. Our family friend (another one) worked for General Electric and got us this great deal along with a wonderful toater overn and 3 cases of pop tarts (another story). The family also got a General Electric record changer turntable from our General Electric friend.
There didn't seem to be a provision to tape from a record player. I went into the city with my friend Earl and and we bought some reel to reel tapes of recorded music. Some of it was the TJB (Tijuana Brass), Sergio Mendez and the Brazil 66, and a couple of others. They were available at the same price as records at Tower Records at their North Beach store. Price.. 2.50 each. They were selling all of their records for that single price as well.
One of the family records was the musical Camelot... yes I am sure that you knew that I would eventually get back to the lusty may part of the beginning of this post. In the livingroom we played that poor record until there was nothing left of it.I knew every word in every song and could sing it with its accompanied nuiances. We even went to see the musical when the original came to the city. We had upper balcony seats at the opera house and part of the scenary was not visiable from our seats.. but.. Camelot has always been a favorite musical of our family.
West Side Story was another family favorite. It had a bit of a raunchy reputation.
Enjoy your "lusty month of May"
Pat
Camelot was one of the first really good records to darken our house in the 60's. We did not grow up with great sound systems. Stereo was considered very pricey at the time. We bought "Hi Fi". Those records were a dollar cheaper than stereo. A few, very few records were purchased to listen.
A new teacher friend of my dad's invited us over for dinner one night. My dad knew him well. He was a relatively new teacher with no children of his own, but with a new wife. He was most proud of his new "stereo" component system.
"Can't you just hear all of the quality of the sound?" he said to my dad and myself. We nodded to ourselves but had to admit to each other later that we really couldn't hear the difference between a cheap set up and an expensive one. To maintain harmony we both agreed that it was the best sound that we had ever heard, and well worth the expense.
It may have been with a sense of rebellion that our generation bought a stereo system before they bought a nice couch when they were setting up housekeeping. We grew up as independent listeners. Our parents were more likely radio listeners.
A big Christmas gift for me one year was a reel to reel tape recorder. It was a beauty. A General Electric model was wrapped under the christmas tree. I was sure that it was a stereo radio. That was something that I simply lusted over. But no it was reel to reel tape recorder in a lovely walnut box. Our family friend (another one) worked for General Electric and got us this great deal along with a wonderful toater overn and 3 cases of pop tarts (another story). The family also got a General Electric record changer turntable from our General Electric friend.
There didn't seem to be a provision to tape from a record player. I went into the city with my friend Earl and and we bought some reel to reel tapes of recorded music. Some of it was the TJB (Tijuana Brass), Sergio Mendez and the Brazil 66, and a couple of others. They were available at the same price as records at Tower Records at their North Beach store. Price.. 2.50 each. They were selling all of their records for that single price as well.
One of the family records was the musical Camelot... yes I am sure that you knew that I would eventually get back to the lusty may part of the beginning of this post. In the livingroom we played that poor record until there was nothing left of it.I knew every word in every song and could sing it with its accompanied nuiances. We even went to see the musical when the original came to the city. We had upper balcony seats at the opera house and part of the scenary was not visiable from our seats.. but.. Camelot has always been a favorite musical of our family.
West Side Story was another family favorite. It had a bit of a raunchy reputation.
Enjoy your "lusty month of May"
Pat
Its Spring and the Students are Counting the Days
It goes much slower if you count the days.
I admonish my students and they ignore it.
Our last school day is less than a month away. All that means to a teacher is that so much has to be done before the year is put away.
I have been testing up a storm. Now I need to write reports like a storm to get them into the IEP paperwork before the end of the school year.
Overall there have been some decent gains this year in the kidderos. Its hard to really gauge. The testing is so discrete in its focus its difficult to hang your whole success on any test. The students seem to be communicating better.
Sue is starts the countdown for the colonoscopy today.. no food just clear weird colored jello. We celebrated the last day of food until Friday pm with a Mexican dinner out. Viva la Cinco de Mayo.
I am getting help writing this today by Georgie who has pushed all the papers on the floor beside my keyboard so that he can clean himself as I type. I have to correct a couple of keyboard strokes that he makes occasionally.
oh well
Pat
I admonish my students and they ignore it.
Our last school day is less than a month away. All that means to a teacher is that so much has to be done before the year is put away.
I have been testing up a storm. Now I need to write reports like a storm to get them into the IEP paperwork before the end of the school year.
Overall there have been some decent gains this year in the kidderos. Its hard to really gauge. The testing is so discrete in its focus its difficult to hang your whole success on any test. The students seem to be communicating better.
Sue is starts the countdown for the colonoscopy today.. no food just clear weird colored jello. We celebrated the last day of food until Friday pm with a Mexican dinner out. Viva la Cinco de Mayo.
I am getting help writing this today by Georgie who has pushed all the papers on the floor beside my keyboard so that he can clean himself as I type. I have to correct a couple of keyboard strokes that he makes occasionally.
oh well
Pat
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Cooking with Dad
No one thinks that Dad can cook.
He loves to be the asst. cook however. He just needs to know what he can do. Like many people that learn to cook he will not naturally take the initiatve. If you ask him to do things to help alongside of you he is more than willing.
Yesterday we were over at Morgan Hill. Bob and Mikie were at a class to learn "Flash". We came over to cook lunch and provide a little TLC and distraction while Mom's toe healed. It was much bigger of a thing that she had imagined. She is wearing a boot and is expected to be "off" it most of the day.
When she heard we were coming she ordered up chicken and polenta. I gathered up the polenta making materials and Sue and I headed over the hill.
We stopped at the Gilroy Costco and picked up the chicken there.. 99 cents a pound if you buy two.. We bought two so we had plenty of chicken to make.
We brought over the olives and the butter and the dried cheese. I thought that since we were going to be in the kitchen I might as well make another dish at the same time. We broughr over some huge potatoes and aome cheese and some left over ham. Dad opened cans for the chicken morengo.(4) and peeled the potatoes (3) and cut up the ham into bite one inch cubes. As I was making the poleta (he also stirred that) I used the food processor to slice that potatoes into even slices. He spread them out on the baking dish (we needed 2) and turned over the whole works with his hands so that it was ready to go into the oven. A mixture of corn starch and milk was poured on to the the potato mix first.
As we ate the polenta and chicken, the scalloped potatoes were baking along. We all had plenty to eat and I boxed up the left overs for lunches for the rest of the week.. Kelly would have been proud... (the exec chef who is down in Phoenix working on her disertation).
Mikie and Bob came back from the triumphant class and had a sample of the fruits of our labor. Dad seemed to like working with the project. I think that he experienced a couple of new skills in the process.
He loves to be the asst. cook however. He just needs to know what he can do. Like many people that learn to cook he will not naturally take the initiatve. If you ask him to do things to help alongside of you he is more than willing.
Yesterday we were over at Morgan Hill. Bob and Mikie were at a class to learn "Flash". We came over to cook lunch and provide a little TLC and distraction while Mom's toe healed. It was much bigger of a thing that she had imagined. She is wearing a boot and is expected to be "off" it most of the day.
When she heard we were coming she ordered up chicken and polenta. I gathered up the polenta making materials and Sue and I headed over the hill.
We stopped at the Gilroy Costco and picked up the chicken there.. 99 cents a pound if you buy two.. We bought two so we had plenty of chicken to make.
We brought over the olives and the butter and the dried cheese. I thought that since we were going to be in the kitchen I might as well make another dish at the same time. We broughr over some huge potatoes and aome cheese and some left over ham. Dad opened cans for the chicken morengo.(4) and peeled the potatoes (3) and cut up the ham into bite one inch cubes. As I was making the poleta (he also stirred that) I used the food processor to slice that potatoes into even slices. He spread them out on the baking dish (we needed 2) and turned over the whole works with his hands so that it was ready to go into the oven. A mixture of corn starch and milk was poured on to the the potato mix first.
As we ate the polenta and chicken, the scalloped potatoes were baking along. We all had plenty to eat and I boxed up the left overs for lunches for the rest of the week.. Kelly would have been proud... (the exec chef who is down in Phoenix working on her disertation).
Mikie and Bob came back from the triumphant class and had a sample of the fruits of our labor. Dad seemed to like working with the project. I think that he experienced a couple of new skills in the process.
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