Updates

Hello! Setting yet another record, I have yet to update in the past month. Lots of things have been going on to which I'll kindly and quickly mull over in random bullet point style for anyone who actually still takes a look at this site for something other than finding David Gray/Blue Merle mp3s (yes, my site is oddly getting a lot of traffic still due to the world's need for music from these... artists... of which one is , sadly, no longer with us [blue merle disbanded recently - fucking lead songwriter thought he could do better without the constraints of the band, but what does he know - story for another time])

Also thought that I should also say that I am proudly writing this entry on a macbook! Yes, after all these years I've finally given it a shot - Went to the dark side (or light side, however you look at it) and picked up a sleek mac - well, actually both "sides" are dark, so no matter - I never knew or believed how intuitive the mac OS is, and though I installed Windows via Bootcamp, I find myself drawn into and heavily utilizing the Mac.

Anyway - What's been up...

-I'm an employed third grade teacher! I work here.
-The last weeks student teaching were memorable - For once I was the talk of the town, how? By kicking some sixth grade behind in the annual sixth grade versus staff softball game! It was a great feeling to see my kids look up to me as if I were Jordan for a day. We also went on a field trip to the historical museum - The kids wrote a book for me each detailing something they fondly remembered about me which was just amazing. I'm so glad that I stayed until the end of the year!
-I turned a year older.
-I led sixty sixth graders, of whom were as tall or taller than me, on a campus tour of San Jose State University - It was awesome and amazing to see the looks on kids' faces who are underprivileged and are so amused at the littlest of things such as fountains! I think the exposure really opened their eyes to what could be their future and hopefully it is something I can work out with the school each year to bring the college bound culture to these kids.
-Plenty of concerts were enjoyed. Glen Phillips rolled into town with Jonathan Kingham playing backing - BFD showed me that Franz Ferdinand can put out the kind of energy onstage that they do in the studio. The Strokes, on the other hand, ... not really. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a band to definitely watch as a headliner and the Sounds, albeit not very deep and dense sonically, are joyful to watch. Neko Case & Damien Rice were a pair of concerts that showcased oddities in a concert that I hadn't seen before - The former performing at a converted movie theater (the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz) and actually verbally describing to us, the crowd, that , yes, indeed, they were to play an encore, and that , yes, they will be performing more songs and that, yes, they needed to tune in front of us first! Odd... The latter, Rice, performed at the Mountain Winery, a notable luxurious venue in the Saratoga Mountains where due to restrictions and curfews set by rich old people, concerts end at 10:30pm. So... Rice being drunk and all (he shot back 3 straight glasses of wine in a row during 'cheers darlin') he kept jamming during their last track only to have the power cut off the instruments at 10:32pm! That was it!
-Thoroughly enjoying Nick Hornby novels - 'A Long Way Down' is a hilarious take on suicide (not exactly an easy thing to do) that stresses on the theme of support. I'm currently reading High Fidelity, you know, the famous film that John Cusack was in with Jack Black. Except that it's americanized.

That is the gist and short version of a month. Lots more involved that I don't have the patience for memory to recall for.

Well, hope this isn't my last post for awhile - I do think about topics to write about often that typically are beautifully expressed in my head but when it comes to writing it down on paper (or in this case typing it), I lose all ability to self express. I should just mike myself up when I'm running.

Day one of being a bum and so far I'm not taking being a bum seriously! I need to seriously take a trip. Instead, I decided to take an interview that was probably as crazy as first interviews in a profession will go!

The Lowdown? It started off really pleasant, a member of the student council took me around the school (which was, in short, amazing!) and I got to ask her a lot of questions. It's a dual-immersion school that really believes in collaboration and community. Really. I'll explain in a second. BUT - The first neat thing was that the classrooms are not self-contained, there is an open wall between two classrooms! Neat in that you can pop into your partner's class and ask her a question without really "stepping out of the room". But, a little scary in that you have a sense of what's going on in the other class at all times... And there are times where you really just need to have a talk with your class

Anyway, fun part was over, serious business came next - First, a "conversation" that ended up being a thirty minute casual interview with three teachers, answering questions and scenarios. Done and done. Off to the next group. A "formal" interview with four more teachers who ask more questions. Not too bad. THEN... A "fishbowl" style collaboration where I and three other interview candidates had to work together on a scenario concerning multicultural curriculum and role play as if we were going to work and perform a presentation to a school district... all of this planning took place in forty five minutes in front of the entire faculty! the goal? to see how well we collaborate with others. intense! three others I'd never met before and had no idea how to monitor! the principal asking us to speak louder so the faculty could hear us collaborating just added to the pressure! It was an odd experience of trying to make sense of the individual trying to show off everything he knew that yet did not relate to what we needed to get done, trying to wrestle with who's idea to use, and trying to not go in circles with the same ideas over and over and over and over again. Writing this, I feel sorry for the faculty to have to hear our mumble jumble! And it was hard not to entirely step in and say, HEY, you're wrong, we're totally off task! ... when I knew the qualities of being a team player had to be displayed by me!

Regardless of the end result, it was a neat (although i won't admit it yet!) learning experience that'll give me more confidence in future interviews - after all, they can't get as intense as that, right?

Six years of college and it's finally done. What'd I get? Bachelor's, Credentials, and half a masters.

Now I can be a bum.



Hopefully not for too long

Currently Listening
Silent Alarm
By Bloc Party
see related
YES! I passed the RICA

Five thousand tests down, 0 left to go It is preposterous how many exams one must go through in order to teach in California. Fortunately, I've finally gone through all of them (without repeat!) and can focus my attention on getting a job instead of worrying about not getting my credential. Speaking of which - I have an interview set up for a Kinder position. It's definitely not my ideal grade level, but, I think I will do it for experience, the interview that is - Some day I feel I can teach Kinder, but at this point I feel like I will just be cheating the educational experiences of the future. It is amazing the amount of socialization that occurs just based on week one of Kinder, am I ready to make such an impact?

Speaking of which, throw me a few grades higher - I subbed in fourth today and, aside from not being able to count all thirty two students (it is insane!), I had a pretty good time.

Summer's coming (as goes the Sean Watkins tune) and I'll write much more in a short time.

Next post should include pictures of last week's Kaboom! show with KT Tunstall.

So long since I've posted.  Sooo busy.  Sending out applications to every district in my county, waiting for one of the hundreds of schools to call me back.  Finishing up a crazy six months with third graders I love but drive me insane.  Coping with lack of sleep.  All that crazy stuff. 

In the meantime -

Glen's new album, Mr. Lemons, is out.  Get it. Enjoy it.  It's a mixed bag is how I feel, as hard as I have to admit.  A number of amazing songs that rival his best work, such as Waiting, Thank You, and Blindsight, but some underperforming studio versions of Last Sunset and I Still Love You make it hard to entirely love. 

The latest Calexico is great, so is the latest from the Streets.  Give Snow Patrol's latest a listen, it's not as great as the last but a good listen. 

Caught Hem at the Great American Music Hall last night, Sally's vocals are amazing, but it was a little underwhelming with only half (four/eight) of the full band together.  We sat assembly style!  Imagine a dance floor but with everyone sitting on their bottoms with legs crossed.  Can't say I've ever done that before. 

More when it is all over. 

-j

glen stuff for ya

Waiting (one of my favs on the new album)

Marigolds Live/acoustic video

just an update on josh ritter

you can listen to his entire album here , track by track

http://www.flashenhanced.com/joshritter/

josh ritter

My new favorite album of 2006 thus far!

..... The Animal Years by Josh Ritter!

A complete surprise, I hate typecasting but to pigeonhole him in any kind of genre, I'd suggest that he sounds very Americana, with a delicate sense of songwriting. Some of his sound is reminiscent of Ryan Adams but then a little Springsteen. But all in all, very, very well done. Check out his Paste Magazine double podcast interview/live performance here to decide for yourself:

http://pastecultureclub.com/2006-02-25.htm

http://pastecultureclub.com/2006-02-27.htm

news you could use

Love Monkey, the Tom Cavanagh comedy-drama that was canceled after only three episodes, will get a second life on music channel VH1. The network, which already ran the three previously aired episodes, announced it will air the remaining five unaired episodes beginning Tuesday, April 18.

Monkey told the story of a record-industry A&R man, played by Cavanagh, who longed for love in the Big Apple. The show was generally well reviewed, but CBS canceled it due to poor ratings.

One of the main features of the show was music, and the theme song "Someone Who's Cool" was performed by the defunct band Odds. The show featured many musicians in cameos, including Ben Folds, LeeAnn Rimes, and James Blunt. Eric Bogosian also played a supporting role.

Unaired upcoming episodes include appearances by Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer and rockers Aimee Mann and John Mellencamp.

Concert List

Lots of shows in the Bay Area released today - The annual KFOG Kaboom! occurs on May 13, and features a free show with Jackie Greene, KT Tunstall, and Los Lonely Boys, but of course headlined by a huge fireworks show.

The Mountain Winery list is up!! Highlighted shows include (but are not limited to):
T-Bone Burnett & Jakob Dylan - 6/9
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - 6/25
Damien Rice - 6/26
Fiona Apple w/ David Garza - 6/27, 6/30
Nickel Creek - 7/1
Indigo Girls - 7/5
Chris Issak - 7/17 - 7/19
Shawn Colvin - 8/4
Toad the Wet Sprocket - 8/16-8/17