What I'm Watching #193

dakan, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Dakan is a movie out of Africa, Guinea, to be specific. It's the story of two young men who are in love with each other and all the shit that they must endure before finally affirming their love. It's a movie that helps you see just how difference West Africa is from the United States on a myriad of levels...many without any direct connection to being Gay.

Brave in its context, mundane and enigmatic outside....I doubt you can easily get your hands on it.

Cold March Morning

coldmorning, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Ice Fountain Sculpture!

Miniture Iris

miniiris, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Not long after I purchased my home with my ex- back in 1994, he planted a set of miniture Irises in our gardens. Over the years they have continued to appear from time to time. Their arrival is always early in the season and often as only spiky leaves without blooms. And most of them have died off.

At some point I unearthed the bulbes of one of these spring denizens and replanted it in the front yard off of the driveway. And this spring that little flower has been utterly prolific! Nothing short of 4 blooms, lasting days on end. Here's a photo taken on Sunday afternoon of one of the blossoms.

Etymology #1

flamingo, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

I love words, and I learned the origin of one today that I found fascinating. It seems that in the 15th century the Spanish and Portuguese speaking inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula took to associating with their European neighbors of Flanders the characteristic of a rudy complexion. The word for the Flemish in both languages was Flamingo, and when they encountered these glowing pink birds during their exploration of the America's and Africa, they mockingly refered to them as "flamingos" after the red cheeked citizens of Brugge and Antwerpen, and it stuck. Pretty cool, eh?

What I'm Watching #192

boystown, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Chuecatown (a.k.a. Boystown) is a spanish film set in the gay neighborhood of Madrid (not Chicago). The plot has a drop dead gorgeous and ruthless real estate developer murdering off the intransigent old ladies in the neighborhood when they refuse to sell him their condos. Enter a feckless gay couple with an obnoxious chain-smoking mother-in-law, a detective with more phobias than Monk and a closeted gay son in tow, and, well, you have the makings of an hilarious comedy!--or so says the DVD box. In reality, it's a cute little movie. Nothing to die laughing over, but it's sweet and funny in a Mediterranean sort of way.

Insomnia

ben'schillibowl, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Couldn't sleep last night and so decided to drive around D.C. It's a very well lit city at night. Here's Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street @ 3:30 am--SRO! U street was hopping, and by comparison M Street in Georgetown, Pennsylvania Avenue SE around Capitol Hill, and Georgia Avenue, NW from Howard University to Pentworth were dead...WELL lit, but not much action. Well, there was the all night laundromat at Georgia and Park, NW....

Good news, got home around 5 AM and slept until 11:30!

March Madness 09.2

b-ballimage02, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

Picking the #10 seats was at least a first round strategy that has paid off. With U. S. C.'s win, I'm rooting for teams with a 75% up-set rate.

Go you Trojans, Spartans, & Terps!

What I'm Listening To #51

thisdelicatething, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

"This Delicate Thing We've Made" by Darren Hayes is totally that and more. Darren has a wonderful voice and he knows how to use it to express both ideas of celebrations and longing.

Spring Arrives and Speaks....

spring, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

March Madness 09.1

ncaa2009-01, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

I am not very inclined to madness involving basketball. But given my history, I've staked my claim upon the #10 seats.

Maryland
Michigan
U. S. C.
Minnesota

And so far two of the four are advancing, only Minnesota has been eliminated. U.S.C. has yet to complete its first round match. May Spartans, Terps, and Trojans rejoice this evening, while Gophers go home with grace and good-will ready to play for glory again in a new season.

Kick Ass Video

From a Mom I love to you; apologies to Tchaikovsky....


Mom Song - The best home videos are here

Random Quote #103

georgecarlin, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

"I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed."

~ George Carlin, 1937 - 2008

Open Letter #1 ~ Re: A.I.G.

obamaimage, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20050


Dear President Obama,

I am writing to you this evening after learning that the international insurance giant A.I.G. has decided to use some of it's bail-out funds to pay its executives $100,000,000.00 in bonuses. This raises for me a couple of questions:

1) Bonuses for what? I'm a teacher. Will I get a bonus under your proposal for merit pay for teachers if I send all of my students to the poorhouse and prison? If so, then, hey - I'm ALL FOR MERIT PAY!

2) Bailouts without strings? Haven't we been down this road before under George-the-Lesser and his corporate loving regime? (Just this very morning I got yet another phone call from the DNC asking me for money. MY MONEY. Why would I ever give you or the Democratic Party another penny of MY money when it just goes into the pockets of multi-millionaires who are incompetent in their professional contractual expectations while I struggle to meet my meager fiduciary obligations?)

I hope that you will act in extraordinary ways to protect my tax dollars from such arbitrary and capricious abuses. When the head of A.I.G., Edward M. Liddy, justified this outrageous action, he stated that:

1) He was afraid of being sued. I would counter that such a threat is the new cost of doing business with MY money. Those who sue only diminish their desirability as future employees at A.I.G. or anywhere else. (When have you ever heard a company demure from seeking court approval for reneging on retiree pensions or health care benefits because they are afraid of being sued for breech of contract? And these people have actually WORKED! It's absurd on its face.)

2) Further, he contended that these employees were the “best and the brightest” and not paying out bonuses could jeopardize their retention with the company. Am I living on “backwards planet”? These experts are the greedy foolish curs that landed A.I.G. in its present crisis. If I were such an “expert” as a teacher, I would be gone in a heartbeat.

Will you remind dear Mr. Liddy that he was appointed by you, and that his #1 obligation is to ME (the tax payer); and NOT to the people who's “expertise” caused this crisis? Is this too much to expect? I sincerely HOPE not.

I so want you to succeed. I write you in both the spirit of outrage and trust. I love my country, and it hurts me to the core to watch the privileged few rape U.S. for their own selfish pleasures, and all the more in time a crisis when average folk are making patriotic sacrifices.

Humbly Yours,

randuwa

Today's Sermon #13

daffodilsinsun, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in a never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay;
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company;
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought;

For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

~ William Wordsworth, 1770 - 1850

For The Birds

dove, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

One of the most clear and delightful harbingers of Spring are the birds.

Last weekend I happened to awake well into the night and while working on my computer heard the first strands of song from birds newly returned to the neighborhood.

This morning I awoke late, but still had the privilege of watching Robins, Wrens, and Sparrows flit around my backyard. In the front yard, Mockingbirds and Blue Jays were competing for a place at my fountain.

Later in the afternoon I caught this Morning Dove at the bath in the backyard.

What I'm Listening To #50

daftpunk, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

"daft punk" in the creative coalition of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. It's like electronica-lite. Easy on the ears and the heart. Cool, at times jazzy, even tempered music with a beat that floats as much as it hits. Ideal background music for any event.

What I'm Watching #191

letsgotoprison, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

"Let's Go To Prison" is a light-hearted little comedy that makes a cloudy rainy afternoon just slide by. It's mostly predictable, but caught my funny bone a couple of times. Nice movie.

Today's Sermon #13

Today's sermon is not a poem. It's a Television commercial for a Bank! What did Christ say? Give unto Caesar.... not that that axiom applies here.

This is more like "do unto others." And it took a bank from Argentina to remind us of this!

She's Back!

deerinmybackyard, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

After a grateful hiatus, my deer is back.... Alas!

I first contemplated this possibility after pulling into my driveway on Thursday evening and discovering that all of the crocus blossoms were mysteriously gone! Gone, indeed. More like lunch....

And what's to be done? No one in any official capacity will assist me. Do I curse the fact that I live in such a woodsy urban setting?

Yet, how do I stop feeding the damn deer with every flower, bush, tree, bulb I plant!?

Am I suddenly left with the maxim: "Love the animal, hate their animal instincs?" How crazy ironic is that!?

Suggestions......

Tales Out Of School

fishtrivet, originally uploaded by Randuwa.

For a short week, it was a week full of flurry and melt. There are so many reasons why my job is the BEST job on the planet, but none tops the people with whom I work. The 5 to 12 year-old set is as compelling and endearing as any age group out there.

TALE ONE

One of the ways I make myself useful is to greet and welcome new students and often assist our Instructional Data Assistant in administering their mathematics placement test. A. enrolled on Tuesday from Bangladesh. She had been screened by the school district's "International Office" and was passed on to us as being sufficiently English proficient to enroll directly into school. The principal assured us that he and A. had had a "conversation," and the assistant principal talked about how well A. understood her during a tour of the school.

Within seconds it was painful apparent that A. would smile and nod at me no matter what I said, as long as my tone was friendly, and I was smiling at her. As someone who has lived in both China and Central America, I often found this technique very helpful in maintaining a general sense of order among those around me, while remaining completely oblivious to what was actually "happening" around me.

A visit with our own ESOL teacher quickly pegged A. as without a bare minimal of English Language skills. Her dynamite smile remains intact and active.

TALE TWO

Today, we received two more students from overseas. This time they were brothers from the Cameroon. I helped with I.'s placement test. In no time it was apparent that he had learned (and learned well with mechanical strategies) certain basic skills/concepts (computation, fractions) while others fundamental to our curriculum were complete strangers to him (geometry, number theory). At one point he looked at the compass and protractor and began to cry.

TALE THREE

Visiting a first grade teacher in the afternoon, I was asked to check up on a new student in her class, M., who was in the nurse's office because she said she'd fallen and hit her head while visiting the bathroom. The teacher indicated that she was concerned about M.'s odd behavior and lack of most basic understanding of school and the expectations of being a first grader -- both separate from this particular incident.

I arrived at the Nurse's Office to find her sitting with an ice pack held to the crown of her noggin. She wore a forlorn expression on her face. I asked the nurse if M. was able to return to class, and she assured me that M. was.

M. tossed the ice pack into the wastebasket and replaced her frown with a big smile. As we stepped into the hallway, M. eagerly placed her hand into mine. We made small talk as we walked down the hall together.

Passing a water fountain, she asked me for permission to get a drink before entering her classroom. I said that would be fine.

She suddenly turned back toward me just before getting the drink to ask, "Are you the uncle?"