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MLK Jr. Day

As MLK day approaches I've been listening to the "I Have a Dream" speech which I'd heard bits of before, but somehow had never read or listened to in its entirety. It is incredibly inspiring and in many ways as poignant today as it was then. It occured to me that all my life I've treated this holiday in much the same way that atheists treat the deeper (true) meaning of Christmas...this may or may not apply to you. But, I basically was like, "Cool...day off of school. Thanks, Dr. King."

I've never personally honored his memory on that day or used that time to specifically ponder oppression and racism and search my life for signs that I'm complicit in those things in some way. Now, after listening to and watching this speech, I find myself asking, "Would I have marched with them?" and also "Who should we be marching with?"

So, in a sort of different take on the whole, "He's the reason for the season" slogan, this MP3 has found itself in heavy rotation on the ol' bri-pod.

If you're interested:

mp3 : http://www.hylandmadrid.com/libros/en/Dream/dream.mp3

video : http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Year in Review : MUSIC

I was scrolling through my iPod to get a list of bands for this post and by the time I was down to the H’s and still hadn’t stumbled upon anything that was both new and a favorite, I was a little surprised. “I gotta listen to more music!” And that’s when it hit me that the time I used to spend finding and listening to new bands is now spent finding and listening to lectures, sermons and podcasts. So, admittedly, my music list is weak. Keep an eye on Shaun, Richard, Russ and Lucas for more robust listening recommendations. * Favorite Music of 2006

- Laura's Picks

Between the Dreaming and the Coming Through Bebo Norman. Bebo is my favorite songwriter and his music takes me in to worship quicker than anything else. His lyrics touch my soul and edify my being. Even though it's not his best album you just can't go wrong with Bebo Norman. >> LISTEN TO A CLIP OF I WILL LIFT MY EYES - Brian's Picks Till the Sun Burns Black Ray LaMontagne. When I first heard Russ talking about this album, he called it timeless. That’s a great description. >> LISTEN TO A CLIP OF LESSON LEARNED 10,000 days tool. The only really heavy band I still listen to and “Wings for Marie” parts 1 & 2 are a good example of why. They’re a band of geniuses who insist upon and reward your patience, and conceptually they’re in a class by themselves. >> LISTEN TO A CLIP OF WINGS PT. 2 The Avalanche Sufjan Stevens. These are the songs that were supposed to have been included on last year’s “Illinois” when it was going to be a double album. When that idea was scrapped and “Illinois” was released as a regular LP, these songs (some unfinished) were placed on the shelf. But neighborly Sufjan, he is a good man so he polished them up and released them this year as a sort of unfootnote. >> LISTEN TO A CLIP OF THE AVALANCHE Return of the Frog Queen Jeremy Enigk. This CD was originally released when I was sixteen years old but I heard it for the first time this year and it’s a gem. Somehow, I missed the Sunny Day Real Estate bus in high school and as a result I’ve squandered ten solid years of enjoying Enigk’s music. But I’m in now and here to stay. >> LISTEN TO A CLIP OF EXPLAIN

Year in Review : BOOKS

Time for the obligatory “Best of 2006” lists to flood the market (although VH1 seems be making a living of doing this sort of thing year-round). At first I thought, “Isn’t another ‘Best of…’ the last thing we need?” I was tempted to answer to myself, “Yes”. But the truth is that in wondering about this, it has caused me to be more intentionally reflective on the year, and that is never, ever a bad thing. So, if nothing else, these lists will be an exercise in reflection and I would encourage you to join me and add your list in the comments. Oh, and Happy New Year! Books Over the past four or five years I’ve really made a sharp turn towards non-fiction. In fact, 2005 was very nearly an exclusively non-fiction year of reading. It began in September of 2001 when I was taking the Harry Potter novels out for a spin. I was just getting in to them and then the 11th…and then I just couldn’t care about Hogwarts even if I tried. It was pretty much just news and social commentary from that point on. But, this year I enjoyed some great fiction whose stories were driven by the themes that I’m most interested in (government, sustainability, culture), the message is just delivered in a different vehicle. Even still, most of my favorite books this year were non-fiction and there were plenty of good ones to choose from. These aren’t necessarily books that were published this year, just the highlights of those I finally got around to reading. * Favorite Books of 2006 All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. This is Richard’s favorite book (or at least favorite author…isn’t it your all-time favorite book, Richard?) and since Shaun and I had never read it, it was an enjoyable way to honor our friendship. The story itself and the characters are wonderful, but the actual language - the richness of Warren’s words - is what sets this book apart from the others I’ve read.

"Sugar-Boy was driving the Cadillac, and it was a pleasure to watch him. Or it would have been if you could detach your imagination from the picture of what near a couple of tons of expensive mechanism looks like after it's turned turtle three times at eighty and could give your undivided attention to the exhibition of muscular co-ordination, satanic humor, and split-second timing which was Sugar-Boy's when he whipped around a hay wagon in the face of an oncoming gasoline truck and went through the rapidly diminishing aperture close enough to give the truck driver heart failure with one rear fender and wipe the snot off a mule's nose with the other."

Nathan Coulter and Remembering by Wendell Berry. Over the past year-and-a-half Wendell Berry has become my all-time favorite writer. Hands down. It’s not even close to number two (George Orwell). I’d read many of his essays, a couple of collections and his poetry; but these two were the first of his fictional novels I’d read and they’re both (at the risk of sounding sentimental) touching. They’re simply warm and I can’t wait to read more. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell said some things that I’ve been thinking but was afraid to say, as well as some things I’d never thought of but am glad to have heard. Walden by Henry David Thoreau. How have I gone through twenty-something literate years without ever reading “Walden”? Being a slacker in high school (re: two art classes senior year) probably has something to do with it! Thankfully, a Waldenless Brian Rhea no longer exists and I am glad for that. RP Warren is to Richard as Thoreau is to Shaun; another reason I am glad to have read this book this year.

"John Farmer sat at his door one September evening, after a hard day's work, his mind still running on his labor more or less. Having bathed, he sat down to re-create his intellectual man. It was a rather cool evening, and some of his neighbors were apprehending a frost. He had not attended to the train of his thoughts long when he heard some one playing on a flute, and that sound harmonized with his mood…the notes of the flute came home to his ears out of a different sphere from that he worked in, and suggested work for certain faculties which slumbered in him. They gently did away with the street, and the village, and the state in which he lived. A voice said to him, -- Why do you stay here and live this mean moiling life, when a glorious existence is possible for you? Those same stars twinkle over other fields than these. -- But how to come out of this condition and actually migrate thither? All that he could think of was to practise some new austerity, to let his mind descend into his body and redeem it, and treat himself with ever increasing respect."

* The Cream of the Crop The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne was my favorite book of the year and is second only to the Sermon on the Mount as the most challenging text I have ever read. Challenging in the sense of speaking to the better part of your being that knows that to live selflessly, to prefer others’ needs over your own and to be gentle in spirit is simply…right. When I read Jesus’ words (the Sermon specifically, but any of them, really) I know that what he is saying is true. I don’t have to consider the historical reliability of the text or be assured of the Bible’s inerrancy by some seminarian in order for me to believe what he said. It rings in your heart and you know that he’s right. The best thing I can say about Shane’s book is that it does the very same thing and makes me, in the words of Melvin Udall, “want to be a better man.” * Honorable Mentions The Way of Ignorance by Wendell Berry Life is a Miracle by Wendell Berry How (Not) to Speak of God by Peter Rollins The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren

Christmas Giving

How great is this? For how many years has the materialization of Christmas been lamented? It's probably equal to the number of years that have been considerably "worse" than the year previous. Maybe it's too late in your shopping season to consider using the World Vision Gift Catalog instead of the mall, but take a look and see if you're inspired. For $75 we can either gift someone The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition) or provide a goat to a family in Kenya. A goat nourishes a family with fresh milk, cheese, and yogurt, and can offer a much-needed income boost by providing offspring and extra dairy products for sale at the market. For $20 we can either gift someone Grey's Anatomy - Season One or buy a share of a treadle pump for a family in Africa. This foot-powered water pump delivers the miracle of on-demand irrigation to farming families in countries like Malawi and Burundi, where many farmers carry buckets back and forth to water their crops. I think you get the idea and I hope that we're all able to work this approach to gifting in to this season and those to come.

Coming Soon...to an iPod Near You! *UPDATE*

So, I've been neglecting the blog the past few weeks. The reason is that I've been pouring my energy in to creating a podcast called, "Middle School Art Teacher." The name pretty well says it all. I toyed around with creative twists on my name but ended up deciding that the simple, descriptive title will do just fine. I'm still working on finishing it up. Each episode will consist of lesson sharing, a funny, embarrassing or inspiring story from class, a problems/solutions segment and a blurb about news from the art world. I'm intending it as a "by an art teacher for art teachers" podcast, but some of you may be interested in it all the same. You don't need an iPod to subscribe to podcasts and I'll make the MP3s available for download so if you're interested, you can listen. Ok, have a great Thanksgiving everyone! *UPDATE* Ok, the first episode is now online. I'm still working on getting it added to the iTunes Podcast Directory. But for now, you have two options: if you want to simply download it as an audio file and listen on your computer, right-click and save this file to your computer; to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, go to Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast and type this address in the dialog box that pops up - http://feeds.feedburner.com/MiddleSchoolArtTeacherPodcast Click OK and that should allow you to download the first episode and you'll automatically receive future episodes. I'm kind of shooting for once a week, we'll see how that goes. The blog companion for the podcast is at MiddleSchoolArtTeacher.blogspot.com

Happy 100 posts!

Well, I had been planning on announcing our 100th post with the actual 100th post. But, Laura snuck that Nerd Day photo in there on me! Then I had to get one last Barbara Ann Radnofsky post in before Election Day. So, here we are on post #102 saying, "Yipee! One-hundred (and two) posts!" Here's to 100 more.