Musings on the Music of Steampunk

Funny how a subculture can be all around you for decades and then, suddenly, it explodes all over all the subcultures.....

Steampunk has done that, lately.

I first became aware of Steampunk about 20 years, when I started playing Space:1889 while I lived in Cary, NC.  Space:  1889, for those of you who don't know, is a RPG (the paper and pencil kind), set in the mid-to-late Victorian Era, with adventures that can take place on Earth, Mars or Venus.  It draws heavily on the stories of Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H. G. Wells.  (Want to read more about Space:  1889?  Read the founder's blog:  http://space1889.blogspot.com )

When I moved away from NC, most of my Space:  1889 playing opportunities dwindled, and I regretfully put my Player's Manual away on the shelf.

But lately, Steampunk has, well, gathered steam, and now it seems to be everywhere I look.  At the Maryland Renaissance Festival, there were all sorts of Steampunk cosplayers--a few very clever ones had Renaissance Steampunk costumes.  Over the summer, I got involved in a Kickstarter for a new anthology press, Zombies Needs Brains, which will be publishing a Steampunk anthology (due out in May, 2014), entitled CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE:  STEAMPUNK VS ALIENS. (The Publishers are Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray--check out their books, available in eformat.) I actually paid to be "tuckerized"in a story by Gini Koch (I LOVE her Alien Collective stories--and this short story will combine Steampunk and the Alien Collective, so I'm Especially Excited!!)  (Do yourself a favor and read the Alien Collective--really, they're funny, sexy romps with lots of mayhem and chaos.  These characters feel like some of my best friends.  In that weird, "yes-I-know-they're-fictional-but-I-wish-they-were-real-so-I-could-be-friends-with-them" way.)  

Anyway, Gini and I have been "talking" through the comments on some of her blogs posted over on Goodreads since mid-July, and I started wondering about what kind of music would we be listening to, if Steampunk had been a true reality?  I started thinking about what Steampunk represents, at least to me.  Now, I haven't really looked into Steampunk culture, and I'm sure there are Steampunkers out there who will disagree with me, but this is what I came up with:

1.  Using old things in new ways.  The Victorian Era, was also an Age of Imperialism.  In the Steampunk Era of Invention, I would expect musicians to become excited about traditional Indian, Chinese (and other Asian countries), Arabic, Australian Aboriginal, Venusian and Martian instruments and incorporating them into their Classical and Romantic symphonies, concertos, as well as the more popular pieces of music;

2.  A strong sense of the Traditional, even as it's being used in new ways.  One thing most people think of with the Victorian Era is Tradition--even if those traditions were brand new, like decorating a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts at Christmas, and Valentines.  So, musically, I would expect a strong "folk" or "Celtic" feel to music.

So, looking at the musical landscape today, what do I think would fit into Steampunk?  I'm only going to mention groups that I'm aware of, from the 60's through today.  I'm going to assume that most of the "classical" compositions would stay the same, although orchestras might have added "foreign" instruments.  Feel free to disagree with me (I'm going to put my justifications, so you see where I'm coming from), but if you comment, please keep the language clean.

The Beatles--George Harrison used the sitar a lot in their later music. Also Led Zepplin--just for the name alone! (A couple of years ago, a duo called "E Musiki" played at the Md. Renaissance Festival and did a really cool cover of "Kashmir" with violins and balalaikas.)

Most of the Folk Rock groups, like Simon and Garfunkel (see reason #2 above), as well as new groups like Mumford and Sons and the Lumineers.

Gaelic Storm, the Rogues and most of the Celtic Folk Groups like The Chieftans, the Irish Rovers.  Additionally, even though they aren't "traditional" Celtic groups, I think groups like U2 and the Cranberries and Thin Lizzy would still be popular.

Duran Duran and the other "New Romantics" of the Second British Invasion of the early 80s.  Besides writing music that was strong on imagery, some of these groups paved the way for Electronica, with their emphasis on synthetics and drum machines.

Alternative music, because of their experimental sounds (I keep thinking of Art of Noise's song "Close to the Edit").  I also think of Imagine Dragons and Vampire Weekend--again, if nothing else, then because of their names!

 Punk, Rap and Hip Hop would be around, but they may not be as mainstream as they are today.  The Victorian Middle and Upper Classes would not want to acknowledge the realities that Rap and Hip Hop represent.

Musings on Concerts, Rain and New York City

The other day, my Jen and I drove up to Holmdel, NJ to see Gavin DeGraw, The Script and Train.  We left Baltimore around 12 and stopped at the Maryland/Delaware Welcome Center.  It had just started to rain when we went in;  by the time we left, it was a deluge--what my Florida native father calls a "frog strangler."  My rain jacket was soaked through in seconds, and the Jen, using an umbrella, didn't fair much better.

Beachgoers in front of some of the houses
of Ocean Grove, NJ

Needless to say, being a semi-native Floridian (it was my State of Residency, even if I never lived there until 9th grade!), I decided to push on.  While the driving conditions were less than ideal, we were able to cautiously drive forward.  By the time we reached the NJ Turnpike, the rain had cleared up, and we decided to continue on to Ocean Grove, NJ.

While definitely a Northern beach town (as opposed to the Outer Banks, or Myrtle Beach, or Hilton Head, or any of the Florida Atlantic Beach towns), Ocean Grove was utterly charming.  From Baltimore, it doesn't any (or at least much) longer to get to Ocean Grove than it does to get to Ocean City.  I can't say how crowded it gets typically, since we got there about 4:30 on a Sunday, but it wasn't very busy then.  (You do need a "pass" to go on the beach, which to me seems a little odd, but every place has it own little quirks.  We didn't need a pass since we got there after 4:30.)  After walking along the beach for a little while, it was time to find the NJ Garden State Parkway and get to Holmdel!

Great Concert at the PNC Bank Center!  It's a very nice venue, with two or three terraces with food, alcohol (remember, NEVER drink and drive.  Very uncool), and stands for tour merchandise.  The only quibble I have with the venue is that not all the seats are covered by the pavilion; which means that if it rains, you'll get wet.  Guess which seats we had?  Guess what happened as Gavin DeGraw took the stage.  Right on both counts!  It didn't rain very hard during Gavin's set, but just before The Script to the stage, we noticed that there were a few seats a little more covered that were empty, so we scooted over.

Jen and I really like Gavin, and in the past year, we've gone to see him 3 times.  Most of those times, the concerts were in the Baltimore/Washington area, so you can guess how much we like Gavin DeGraw!  

We weren't as familiar with The Script, but we enjoyed their set and I'll probably be going to iTunes and getting more of their music.

Train, of course, was very good, as well.  Jen and I had seen them before at Merriweather Post Pavillon, with Maroon 5, and, oh yeah, Gavin DeGraw.

After the concert (and oh, yeah, it was still raining!), we drove into Brooklyn to Jen's aunt's house.  Her aunt was out of town and graciously let us stay the night there.  The only problem, we had to play "Hunt the Key" at 1 am.  Luckily, we were able to find the key fairly easily--and the fact that it had  finallystopped raining helped a lot!

The next morning, Jen and I got up to start our New York City Adventure.  I got a little bit of a surprise, too.  I was speaking with a pronounced Southern Accent.  Here's the thing:  even though I was raised, more or less, in the South (I did spend a little time in the Midwest, and three years in Germany), my mother is from the Midwest.  I don't normally speak in a pronounce Southern Accent.  I do say "y'all" and "all y'all" and drink "Co-Cola" and I do like a good glass of Sweet Tea, and I will debate the merits of Carolina Bar-be-que vs Memphis Bar-be-que vs Texas Bar-be-que.  I understand the importance of a front porch, and the importance of gracious entertaining,  BUT, I do not normally speak with a Southern Accent.  I reckon it was the stress of being in NYC and the thought of driving (even a short distance) in the Big Bad City--and even worse--having to park!  (How pronounced was my accent?  Well, Jen and I ran into a pair of Jehovah's Witnesses, and the lady of the pair asked where I was from.  Turns out she was from Rocky Mount, NC and I "took her back home."  Jen laughed at me most of the day whenever I opened my mouth.)

Cinnamon Raisin, with butter and cream cheese

Our first order of Business was to get a real NYC bagel.  We went to this nice little neighborhood bagel place--Bergen Bagels (I was going to post a link, but it doesn't seem to be working).  Oh my!  I may never be able to eat another bagel, due to the superiority of this one.  Chewy, yet crispy, this is my new standard for Bagel Goodness.  I weep because I may never have another "real" bagel.  Truly, this is a tragedy worthy of a Shakespearean drama.

After breakfast came the real test of the day:  driving from Brooklyn to Greenwich Village and finding parking.

Getting to the Village at 10 something in the morning wasn't too bad.  I caused no accidents, which, as far as I'm concerned, is a Victory.  Score:  Missy 1, NYC 0!  Parking, on the other hand, was non-existent.  Score:  Missy 1, NYC 1.  I couldn't find a spot, and after eyeing how close the parallel parking was done, decided that I wanted nothing to do with it.  I found a traffic cop, and he directed me to a parking garage.  I pulled in to the first one, handed the keys to the valet, accepted my ticket and off we went.  (Score, Missy 2, NYC 2).

We walked down towards the High Line (after stopping by Starbuck's--I felt a little bit New Yorker-y with my Starbuck's cup, but still very Southern--yep, still had the accent going on--'cause instead of coffee, I had a sweet tea/lemonade). The High Line, if you're too lazy to click on the link, is an old elevated train line that's been converted into a pedestrian walkway/garden.  You can get glimpses of the river and some nice views of the city--I took lots of pictures, and I would post them here, but then this post will be about 3 times as long. (Really, click on the link if you want to see what it looks like.)

When we got to the end of the 'Line, we had to get back to street level and walked up towards Times Square.  It's big.  It's busy.  It's loud.  It's full of people.  Lots of stores.  The giant electronic billboards. Do I need to say more?

From Times Square, we headed towards the Main Reason Why I Let Jen Talk Me Into a Day in NYC: The New York Public Library.

Me, reading on my Nook by one of the NYPL Lions

 (I don't know why you're so surprised.  My Whole Life revolves around READING.  Where else would I want to go?)  We didn't take a tour--and I missed my chance to see the rare Honus Wagner baseball card-- but we did go to the GIFT SHOP!  I am now the proud owner of NYPL Lion bookends, as well as many other fine things.  All to support the Library.  (I don't use libraries very often, as what I really like to read is not what small, local libraries usually carry, but I am a firm supporter of libraries.  If you don't support your local library, go!  They are so much more than just books anymore!)  If I ever go back to NYC, it will be for the NYPL--and Bergen Bagels!

At this point, it was getting about 2 pm.  Jen pointed out that by the time we got to the car, Rush Hour(s) would be starting, and we'd end up sitting in traffic for hours, so we decided to head over to Rockefeller Center.  We did get a little confused about what direction we were going in, but the Power of the Southern Accent and Friendly Smile was still going strong, so I managed to get a New Yorker (he was wearing a dress shirt, so I figured he couldn't be a tourist) to help me.  He was trying not to get stopped by me--he was staring straight ahead, and tried to keep walking, but there are very few forces equal to the Power of the Southern Accent, and he quickly conceded defeat and helped us out.  He even gave me a smile back, so yes, Mom, the $2000 you spent on my braces all those many years ago was worth it!  (Missy 3, NYC 2)

Rockefeller Center is very nice.  Again, full of people, but very nice looking.  In the non-winter months, the Plaza is full of umbrellas for an outdoor café(s), at which we didn't stop, but we did go into the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gift Shop.  If we had gone to the MoMA, I might've spent some money--I was tempted by a book about The Cloisters--but, I decided that might have to wait for another trip.

Our feet were quickly getting very tired (I think my blisters have blisters!), so we decided this was a good time to head back down towards Chelsea Market and the car.  Thank goodness the High Line has so many benches!  Jen and I took many breaks to rest our feet, and we had a quick dinner of soft tacos from the Taco Wagon (really good tacos.  If you find yourself on the High Line, treat yourself to them. You won't regret it.  Plus, they have Mexican Coca-Cola.  If they had "jugo de sandia" (watermelon juice), I would've felt like I was just back in Taxco.)

We did go into Chelsea Market, which is very cool.  Lots of neat little eateries, and, most importantly to me, a bookstall.  I found a copy of William Shakespeare's 'Star Wars:  Verily, a New Hope'  (As much as I enjoy Shakespeare, AND Star Wars, why didn't it occur to me to write this?!?!?!)

By this time, it was nearly 7 pm, which meant that Rush Hour(s) would be pretty much over, and less stressful for me to drive us home.  We got to the Icon Garage (it's a chain, at least in the City), and I paid about $40 for 8 hours--considering I had a minivan, I didn't feel this was unreasonable.

We got out and headed for the Holland Tunnel.  A couple of blocks away, I got to experience NYC Gridlock!  Yes!  I didn't cause it, but traffic moved oh-so-slowly, horns were honking (not too much, and not primarily at me!), so I feel like I got the experience the REAL New York, and it only cost me about a half hour of time.  (Missy 4, NYC 2)

One thing about the NJ Turnpike--I don't know if this is true all over the state, but you are not allowed to pump your own gas at the service area.  Considering how footsore I was, this was a reason to celebrate!  AND the gas was cheaper than in the Baltimore area!  Double SCORE!

So, will I go back to NYC?  I don't know.  Yes, there are things I'd like to see, but I don't know that I'd feel that my Life was Incomplete if I don't see them.  BUT--I had fun.  Jen and I laughed a lot and even she was glad she'd gone to the NYPL.  All in all, it was a good trip.

Musings on Isaac Marion's 'Warm Bodies'

The elementary school I sub at has an annual "Literature Night."  It's really cool--about 15 groups of people get together, and based on the theme, turn classrooms into little oases of books:  there have been rooms based on Pippi Longstockings, Narnia, Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and The Magic Tree House, for example.  The kids can go in and do a couple of craft-y activities based on the book, maybe learn a skill, and listen to stories.  

I remember one year, one of the rooms had a "Mysteries" theme, and they had fingerprinting station.  The kids could learn how to dust for and read fingerprints.  Pretty cool, huh?

Okay, I can hear you saying, "That's great, Missy, but what does this have to do with Warm Bodies?  Well, since I didn't have to take pictures this year, my friend Jen and I decided to go to the movies.  We thought of going to see Safe Haven, but ended up seeing Warm Bodies instead.  (We enjoyed the movie--some great soundtrack/visuals moments, so I would recommend going to see it if it's still playing in your area.  Or, just wait for the DVD or for it to be on Netflix.)  Imagine my happiness when I found out that it was originally a book.  Happy, happy, joy, joy!  (Ren and Stimpy live on)

Some of you may be thinking, "But, Missy, if there's a movie, why should I read the book?"  Hello!  The book is almost always better (I'm sure there a few instances in which the movie is better, but they are rare and far between).  If you can a find the book, always read the book.  Even if it's adapted from the screenplay, read the book.  Sometimes, the script the writer is working from has scenes that were eventually edited out of the movie.  Bonus time, baby!

If the movie is adapted from the book, always read the book.  Sometimes, you find that the only thing the movie and the book has in common is the title and the names of the characters. That can be really irritating, but books can afford to appeal to a smaller audience than movies.  It can cost so much to make a movie that they need to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.  That means that characters have be made older (sometimes younger), more attractive, etc, etc, etc.

This is one time when the changes were not too great.  A very minor character was eliminated; one character was made maybe younger (you'll have to read the book to find out which) and some details were changed or shuffled around, but overall, reading the book was like seeing the movie all over again.

There is one way that makes the movie radically different from the book:  that would be R's inner dialogue.  Inner dialogue can be hard for movies.  You can have the character narrate, but you have to careful with that, otherwise you get a movie that's all talk with no action.  In this case, a lot of the inner dialogue was actually between R and Perry and was philosophical.  Trying to show/narrate this could have been really hard, so I don't blame the director for downplaying it.

And now we get to why I love to read science fiction, fantasy and urban fantasy.  A lot of these books are pure escapism, with no loftier goal than to give me an adventure that may or may not take place on good ol' Earth, but a lot of these stories have a deeper philosophical meaning:  what if we blur the line between human and god?  If we can do x, does that mean we should? How can we understand the motivations of aliens if we can barely understand our own?

Warm Bodies explores what it means to be Alive.  While it's written within the Zombie Apocalypse framework, with Zombies (Boneys and Fleshies) vs Living, it could have easily been written without this frame.  It wouldn't be as much fun, though.  I really have a lot more that I want to say about this book, but with the movie still out, I'm afraid I might spoil it for you.

Suffice it to say, I enjoyed the movie and I loved the book.  So go....go see the movie.  Enjoy the chemistry between Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer.  Giggle at the musical/visual jokes (I wish the soundtrack had the rock and Sinatra songs. *sigh*)  Then, go read the book and wrestle with the Big Questions.  Decide for yourself what it means to be Alive.  Do you agree with Isaac Marion?  Would this book be as good if it wasn't set against the Zombie Apocalypse?  Most importantly, how would you keep yourself from being turned into a Zombie?  And if you became a Zombie, how long would it take you to become a Boney?

Musings on 200 Years of Pride and Prejudice

Monday (January 28) was the 200th Anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice.  Interestingly, an author I follow on FaceBook mentioned that she had never read anything by Jane Austen and was wondering which one she should try.  (She wasn't sure she'd like any because she thought the language was a bit flowery.)  Others in the posting were saying that they had read Jane Austen in school and just didn't care for her.

I have a confession to make:  I never read Jane Austen for a class.  Not in high school; not in college; not in graduate school. Nope, I had to find Jane on my own.  Alright, not totally on my own;  my mother is a retired AP English teacher and she told me to read Jane Austen.  I think I was out of college, but hadn't decided if I wanted to go to grad school or not--or even what I would study in grad school!

So, before I rhapsodize all things Pride and Prejudice, I want to back up a little and share my secret belief on why more people don't read the classics (but why they'll read books that are supposedly modern retellings).

It's an assigned book.  There.  That's the problem.  When I was in high school, I ignored the assigned pages.  I read the book as if I was reading a book for fun.  It usually took me a day or two to read the whole book, and then I'd go back and review the assigned pages so I could remember specifically what happened in a particular chapter so I could get a good grade on the inevitable quiz.   And there had to be a quiz, because if there wasn't a quiz, very few people would read the book.  (I had to take an American Lit class in graduate school because, even though I had taken several English classes, and was very well read, I had nothing on my undergrad transcripts that said "American Lit," and, to become a teacher in Maryland, I had to have an American Lit class.  One of the books we read was Moby Dick.  The professor actually stated that we would be having daily quizzes to make sure students were reading the book.)  There are only two books I have ever read for classes that I only read the assigned pages:  the aforementioned Moby Dick, and The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.  I didn't enjoy either one.  I still won't read anything by Thomas Hardy, despite my mother's assurances that Hardy really is an enjoyable author.  Just Can't Do It.

Plus, there's that whole "I have to do this."  I don't know about you, but I hate having do things just because someone tells me I have to do it.  Or being told I have to do a really big job in a short amount of time.  I drag my feet having to do it.  I'll invent a million things I'd also need to do.  Anything, but do the thing "I have to do."

I'll bet, if teachers could trust students to read an assigned book, there would be fewer quizzes (oh, there'd have to be a few quizzes, because teachers need to have grades because Society insists on it), but the quizzes could be on other things than "In Chapter 6, Elizabeth tells Jane what?".  But, students being students, teachers can't count on them all to read an assigned book within a few days so the Discussions can begin.  

And, the Discussions can be where a lot of the fun of an assigned book is.  Why did Jane Austen title her book Pride and Prejudice? (Most people will tell you that Mr. Darcy is "too proud" and Elizabeth Bennet is "prejudiced against Mr. Darcy because of his pride," but I believe that both of them are proud and full of prejudice.)  Discuss the Aspects of Love (Mr. Darcy) and Lust (Mr. Wickham).  You have to understand a little bit of history (Why was it so scandalous for Lydia and Wickham to elope to Gretna Green?  Why did people run off to Gretna Green anyway?  Heck, where is Gretna Green?)  What would be an equivalent scandal if this book were written today?  (Oh, I don't know....maybe the fact that Lydia was 16 and Wickham was in his mid-to-upper 20s?)  How do you know that Mr. Darcy is falling in love with Elizabeth?  When does Elizabeth start to fall in love with Mr. Darcy.  Do you think Charlotte Lucas ever regretted marrying Mr. Collins?  Was she wrong to marry Mr. Collins for the reasons she did?

Heck, let's face it, Book Clubs are just English classes without the Daily Quizzes.  After all, this is why people form book clubs:  so they can discuss the books that they've read--even if they didn't like the book.

So, why do I like Pride and Prejudice so much?  I think it's the characters.  We still see them in books everyday.  Mr. Darcy is the smart, rich guy.  He's not always nice--but he'll give a lot of money to charity and thinks this makes him nice. To his friends, he'll do anything he can to help them--even if it is a bit interfering.  To the people he considers his inferiors (and I think this means his intellectual inferiors, not so much his socio-economic inferiors), he has little patience.  He will make snap judgements, and sometimes won't re-examine his judgements.  Elizabeth Bennet is our feisty girl, in someways very democratic (she sees no social difference between herself, the daughter of a gentleman who probably has an income of about £1,000 per annum, and a gentleman who has an income of £10,000 per annum--and, to be honest, the difference isn't so much economically as it is about class.  Mr. Bennett is not a peer, and, if he has relative who are peers, they are probably only Barons--the lowest peer rank, and still considered "gentry";  whereas Mr. Darcy is the grandson of a peer (his mother was Lady Anne, which implies that his maternal grandfather was probably at least a Viscount).   She's also very loyal to her friends, but Stupid People irritate her, although she's maybe a little more tolerant of them than Mr. Darcy is.  Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley are the cute, sweet couple that everybody loves (but I think are a little too apt to give up when the going gets a little tough).  Lydia Bennet is the classic Self-Absorbed Mean Girl.  Mr. Bingley's sisters are the Rich Mean Girls.  Mr. Wickham is the Ne'er-Do-Well (I'd call him a Rake, but in Romance Novels, the Rake is almost always redeemable, and I'm not sure Mr. Wickham is).

I read a blog (but I can't remember where I found it!) about the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice (the one starring Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfayden), specifically about Matthew Macfayden's portrayal of Mr. Darcy.  She said that it wasn't so much that Mr. Darcy was proud, as he was socially awkward.  She said that the reason why Mr. Darcy didn't want to dance with Elizabeth was more that he wasn't a good dancer, and then tried to cover it up by stating that there was no one there who could "tempt" him to dance.  His first proposal to Elizabeth was awkward because he doesn't know how to talk to women.  As I re-read Pride and Prejudice on Monday, I kept that in mind.  Yes, Mr. Darcy does acknowledge that he doesn't make friends easily, especially when compared to Mr. Wickham, but I don't think it's because he's socially awkward, but because he really doesn't care if he makes friends or not.  He's rich, he's socially connected and people are going to listen to him because he's rich and socially connected, so he doesn't have to care about what you think of him.  But then, he realizes that the woman he thought was quite pretty enough, who's family is an embarrassment, is everything he really wants in a woman.  Oohh...but he's already insulted her--how to overcome this?  And his first proposal to her shows that hasn't quite figured out that Elizabeth isn't overawed by his social position and money like everybody else is.  Then Elizabeth, after insulting Mr. Darcy's proposal, finds out how her prejudice is going to stand in the way of her happiness.  By the end of the book, both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have unbent their pride, let go of some of their prejudices and find their Happily Ever After.

So, if you haven't read it before, or even if you have, go and celebrate 200 years of Pride and Prejudice.    Read.  Watch the movie(I prefer the A&E/BBC 1995 miniseries--there are some alterations from the book, but, on the whole, a very faithful adaptation).  Enjoy the Romance.

Musings on Vacation and the Auto Train

Did ya miss me?


Sorry I've been away for so long.... work has been a little hectic, and then I went on vacation.  And where does a Muse vacation?  Well, I suppose most would go to Greece, but this one goes to LegoLand and Disney World in Florida.

We took the Auto Train this time, instead of me driving down to Florida.  I still didn’t get much sleep (we were right in front of the Lounge Car, so anytime anyone went into it, the noise tended to wake me up.  On our way back, I think I’ll make sure I take a sleep aid and see if that makes a difference--yes it did!), but I also didn’t have to worry about crazy drivers.

It’s about a 16 ½ hour trip from Lorton, VA (where we could load our minivan onto the AutoTrain) to Sanford, Fl (about 15-20 minutes outside of Orlando).  They make a short stop in Florence, SC to refuel and change crew.  (When we drive, Florence is our traditional stopping point to have dinner and spend the night.)

The Lorton, Va station

On the train to Sanford, Fl., there were about 490 persons on our train, with 250 vehicles.  We had 42 cars total (16 passenger and 26 car carriers).  On our way back to Lorton, there were 212 passengers, with 107 vehicles.  We had 44 cars total (15 passengers and 28 car carriers).

The Sanford, Fl. station

We passed through Richmond and Petersburg, VA, but not Colonial Heights. 

The James River

Sadly, the AutoTrain serves Pepsi, not Coke.  Note to self:  buy a six pack of Coke to have on the way back!

Missy’s Top 10 Reasons Why the Auto Train is Better Than the Airlines….

Auto Carrier

1. I only have to be there an hour ahead of departure time (unless your car is oversized, in which case, it’s still the two hours ahead).
2. Free wifi in the stations.  And it was easy to get to sign on.  I’ve been to a few airports that promised “free wifi,” but getting to the “acceptance” page was hard.  No wifi  on the trains, but that’s okay.
3.   NO TSA.  No patdowns, no metal detectors, no taking off your shoes.
4.  Legroom!  With my derriere all the way back against the seat, I could barely put my feet on the foot rest--and I’m 5’7”.  Even if the person in front of me reclines their seat as far back as it will go, there’s still plenty of room for me.

Look at all the legroom my husband has!

     5.  You don’t have to unplug your electronic devices during departure.  No sensitive electronics to potentially mess up.

     6.   You can move around the whole time and there are no seat belts.

    7.  Free coffee, tea and water.

    8.  Dining cars.  You have a choice of meals (Salisbury Steak, Savory Chicken or Vegetable Lasagna), free table wine (with refills), and a choice of dessert.  The food was pretty good, with a decent portion size.

    9.  Power outlets.  We had two by our seats.  I didn’t have to worry about my electronic device running out of juice.

    10.  Sleeper cars.  We didn’t take advantage of this (I think it costs $50/person extra), but I love that they’re available.  Husband of one my fellow passengers had one (he has a bad back) and said it was pretty comfortable.

Our trip back wasn't as smooth as our trip down.  There was an electrical problem (I think it was just a faulty sensor), but it took a while to figure out what exactly the problem was.  Then, on the overnight portion, there were a couple of trains ahead of us that had mechanical problems.  Instead of getting into Lorton around 9 am, it was about 12:15 pm.  Then it was almost an hour to get our car off the carrier.  Even with these problems, I still would rather take the train than fly.

Well, I have to finish my musings on all the aMusements I had last week....tomorrow:  LegoLand Florida!

Musings on Not Feeling Well

I haven't been feeling very well lately.... more than a simple cold, less than the flu.

I don't like not feeling well.  Last week it was all elevated temperatures, chills, aches and pains, the dry tickle and cough, and, of course, the never-goes-away headache.  This week,  it's the frog-in-the-throat cough (please, don't make me laugh, because that'll bring on the cough) and feeling run down, with the headaches tossed in because the coughs make my brain rattle around.

I'm not a good patient.  That is to say, I don't rest and take it easy like I should.  Mostly, that's my personality--De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt, hon, but it's also because I'm a sub.  Yes, if I were truly sick (meaning that I really couldn't get out of bed without falling down), I would cancel my job and ask for a sub--but that sounds a little silly, to me.

I also tend to be melodramatic.  Not to the point of "O Woe Is Me.  I Have A Hangnail and Now I Will Die!" drama, but not too far off.  I think it's because I don't want to slow down, but I want you to understand that I'm only able to function through Sheer Will Power and Stubbornness.  I am a convoluted person.

When I was in grad school, I somehow contracted mono.  When the doctor told me what I had and that I needed to slow down, I remember looking at him and saying, "But I can't miss school and I'm doing an internship.  There is no slow down."  He looked back at me and said, "You better find a slow down, or you won't be able to do anything."  We agreed that I could go to class and do my internship (luckily, it was just one day a week), as long as I rested the rest of the time.  Of course, we never defined "rest," so I was able to make it up as I went along.

Luckily, I don't get sick very often.  Even when I do get sick, it doesn't seem to affect me as much as others.  When we were kids, my brother complained of the sore throat and ear ache.  Mom took us down to the Dispensary (military walk-in clinic).  They tested my brother for strep and it came back positive, so they needed to test me.  Turns out I had a worse case of it, but I felt fine.  Go figure.  Boy, was I mad at my brother for making me sick!

Anyway, I hope I get over this whatever-it-is.  I've got new aMusements to enjoy.

Musings on History and Current Events

I'm 46 years old, by the calendar, but inside, I feel more like a 20-something.  Sometimes, it's hard to remember that I'm older than a lot of my friends (thanks to the fact that I had children a little later than most people), since a lot of the people I hang out with are the parents of my children's schoolmates.  It's pretty funny sometimes, because I'll mention something that happened when I was in high school or college and they'll look at me funny and say something like, "Oh, I was 10 when that happened."

Being a Social Scientist by degree, with a strong interest in History, I'm aware of the Speed of Time.  As Einstein noted, Time is Relative.  What is Current History for me (i.e., the Cuban Missile Crisis--happened a few years before I was born, but close enough to my lifetime that it's still a Current Event), will appear like Ancient History to my boys.

So, here are a few more Current Events (for me) that will be Old News to them:

The Cold War (roughly 1946- 1991)
  Okay, a lot of things happened here long before I was born, but, let's face it,  the Cold War shaped a lot of the influences in my life:  The Apollo Program, the Vietnam War, my living in Germany (heck, my parents even meeting was influenced by the Cold War--my Mom was a teacher from Nebraska teaching at the DODSEUR (I think it stand for Dept of Defense Schools-Europe) in Baumholder and my Dad was an Army Officer from Florida and was stationed there.)  The Cold War was why I got to live in West Germany for three years.  I even wrote a paper for a job application predicting the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Apollo Space Program (1961-1975)
  Started before my time, but the manned flights started when I was about 2 or 3 (depends on if you count the launch rehearsal fire that killed Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee as being a manned "flight" or not.)  We used to watch all the television coverage.  I can remember chanting along with the television during the Countdown to Ignition and Liftoff.

The Vietnam War (November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975)
  The War was half over by the time I was born, but combat units weren't truly deployed until 1965.  Obviously, as an Army Brat, I was very aware of the War, but as a kid, I wasn't really sure what was happening, just that my Daddy wasn't home.  I'm not sure I really knew where my dad was the first time he was deployed to Vietnam, but I remember waving to every plane I saw flying overhead.

Watergate and Nixon Resigns (June 17, 1972 and August 9, 1974)
  I remember Nixon's Resignation a little better than the actual scandal, because my mom called me and my friends in from playing so we could watch Nixon leaving the White House for the last time.

The Assassination of Aldo Moro (May 9, 1978)
  Okay, not an assassination that means a lot to most Americans, but I remember it because I went to Italy a few weeks after this happened.  My friend Amy and I practiced our "commando" moves just in case the Red Brigade decided to take over our tour bus.  Not likely to happen, but with American military personnel and their families on the tour, not entirely out of the realm of likeliness.  Aldo Moro was the Italian Premiere who was kidnapped by the Red Brigade (an Italian terrorist group) and killed.

The Space Shuttle Program (1981-2011)
  I'm using the dates that NASA sent the Space Shuttles into orbit.  The Enterprise was a test shuttle (a fact that I suspect most Trekkies are a little bitter about--I mean, really.  Name the Shuttle after a TV space ship but never use it in a mission?  C'mon!)  The Columbia first went into orbit on April 12, 1981.
   The Challenger Disaster, on January 28, 1986, I remember very well.  I was at FSU, walking between classes, when I heard a loud explosion.  I looked up and could see the aftereffects of the explosion.  I dashed into Suwannee Arcade (where the Administrative Offices were) and asked one of the secretaries if they knew what that explosion was.  She turned to me and said, "The Shuttle just blew up."  I was shocked.  It was also my friend Sheridan's birthday.  He was in French class at the time, but about to get out, so I ran over to tell him what had happened.  Not a happy birthday for him.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989)
  The late 1980's saw the beginning of the End of the Cold War.  The people of many Eastern Bloc countries, such as Hungary, and Poland, were demanding more freedoms and economic opportunities.  In October, 1989, I was applying for a job with a government agency and had to write a paper analyzing a current event and make a prediction, based on reports, of what would be happening in the near future.  East Germany had just opened the border between it and West Germany.  As I read reports of how many East Germans were crossing over into West Germany, I wrote in my paper that I thought East and West Germany would have to reunite.  A few weeks later, the Berlin Wall fell.

The Columbine Massacre (April 20, 1999)
  I was teaching 7th grade at this point.  Mostly, I remember teachers and administrators wondering how we A) talk about this with our students, and B) how we make sure this couldn't happen at our school.  I remember my students being worried about it happening at our school.

9/11 (Ummm...yeah, 9/11/01)
  I was at home with my Older (at the time Only) Son.  I was just getting us ready to go to the store  when the channel was accidentally changed from PBS to ABC.  At the time, the first plane had just hit the first of the Twin Towers.  I thought (as many probably did at first) that this was a tragic accident, that somehow the plane had malfunctioned and the pilot flew into the Tower.  Then, it happened again.  When the plane hit the Pentagon, I was in such shock.  I called my mom, hoping that we didn't know anyone stationed at the Pentagon. (We didn't.)

The Iraq/Afghanistan War (March 19, 2003 to Present Day)
So many things.  So many conflicting emotions.  I think I'm going to have to let this one sit for awhile and let History sort it out.

The Election of Barack Obama (November, 2008)
  No matter how History treats the Presidency of Mr. Obama, I just remember how proud I was that an African-American could be elected president based on his Ideals.  I really thought I'd be so much older (or even dead) before this would happen.

Well, all this heavy thinking has given me a headache (okay, I already had a headache, but still....).  Time to go aMuse myself.

Musings on The Maryland Renaissance Festival

And so the Wheel of Time has slowly moved forward, with Summer sliding into Fall.

Baseball is giving way to Football (and Hockey and Basketball).  School has started in earnest, and the days are getting shorter and cooler.  The Hummingbirds have left me (gotta remember to take down the feeder!) for their Winter Home in Mexico or Panama (maybe I should practice my Spanish on them, huh?)

The best thing about Fall is the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

I've been coming to the RenFest since 1988 (more or less).  At least once a year, and more recently, at least twice a year.  I've been going in costume for the last 5 or 6 years.  I'm the tavern wench in the dark blue outfit.  It also doubles as my Halloween costume (the under blouse goes down to there for the RenFest, but up to here for Halloween--gotta keep it G-rated around the kiddies, ya know!)

The RenFest has been happening since 1977 and now has a permanent site in Crownsville, Md (just up the road from Annapolis, off of I-97).  It cycles through the 6 wives of Henry VIII, with each wife getting a year.  It keeps it different and a little fresh for everyone.  You can follow the Royal Court around and watch the story unfold, or you can catch one of the many great shows.  There are musical guests (the Pirates Royale are pretty good) as well as stage shows (like "O" A Fool or Shakespeare's Skum).  In the past, the Rogues (one of my favorites) have played (alas, not this year.  *sigh*) and Hack and Slash (swashbuckling heroes) have performed at the Festival.

I go with my usual (or maybe that should be unusual) crowd:  Kim, Charlie, Emma, Stephanie, Matt, Zach, and Ken.  My Wild Boys are not into the RenFest (I have no idea how that could happen), so they stay at home with my in-laws.  Lately, though, it's been hard getting us all together, and this year  Cait's away, but she'll be coming down for a visit and wants to go.

The Unusual Suspects

Lately, I've been taking a lot of pictures at the RenFest, mostly of the little details that are easy to overlook. Sometimes, it's a little garden that's been planted near one of the shops, other times it's something... different.. on top of one of the buildings.  Someday, if I get myself organized enough, I think it'd be fun to do a kinda scavenger hunt, where you have to find where the pictures come from.

Do you know where this garden is?

Or this face?

King Henry VIII and Katherine Parr

If you're in the neighborhood, you should drop by.  You don't have to wear a costume (Charlie and Ken never do) to have a Good Time and aMuse yourself.  The Maryland Renaissance Festival runs through October 23, 2011.

Musings on The Hunger Games

My friend Kris just finished reading The Hunger Games  trilogy by Suzanne Collins and asked me what I thought about it.

I've read all three books about three times each.  It was another of those Lay's Potato Chips things.  Once I read the first book, I had to read the next two... and then I had to go back and re-read them.

For those of you who haven't read the books, it's set in a near future, post-apocaplytic US.  What disaster befell the US is never explained (Collapse of Wall Street?  Class Warfare?  Lack of Clean Laundry?), but the country has been divided into 13 Districts and the Capitol Territory, which seems to be centered in Colorado.  The country is renamed "Panem" (because we are No Longer United States).  The division of the Districts isn't really made clear, but District 12 seems to be one dirt poor mining town in the Appalachians.  The rest of the Districts are kept poorer than the Capitol, but depending on what is produced in the District, some seem to be relatively well off.

At some point, the Districts rose up against the Capitol in rebellion, but were defeated by the Capitol.   As a punishment,  each District must put up two "Tributes" (one boy and one girl) to participate in the Hunger Games--think Survivor meets The Lord of the Flies.  These Tributes are chosen by lottery, from the available children ages 12 - 18.  The older you are, the more times your name is entered into the lottery.  Additionally, you can put your name in more times in order to get a larger tesserae (an allotment of cooking oil and grain).  Call it High Risk Welfare.   Only 24 tributes are selected because District 13 was bombed and no one lives there any more... but among the oppressed is the rumor that a rebellion is forming in District 13, which might not have been as devastated as previously reported.  The chosen Tributes are then whisked away to the Capitol, and get about a week's worth of training.  The Tributes are Mentored by their Districts previous winners.  For District 12, this is a drunk named Haymitch.  Then the Tributes are taken before a panel of Gamemakers (more or less the Producers of the televised event) to demonstrate their "talent"--camouflage, traps, shooting a bow, throwing knives, etc.  The Gamemakers then put up the odds on each Tribute's chances of "winning" the Hunger Games by ranking them between 1 and 12.  The night before the Hunger Games begin, there's an "Up Close and Personal" show with each of the Tributes together on stage.  The next morning, the televised Hunger Games are broadcast.  There can only be One Winner.

The Trilogy follows the Tributes from District 12, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, and, to a lesser extent, their Mentor, Haymitch, and their assigned teams of Stylists.

And that's as much synopsis as I'm going to give--in the words of one of my favorite Dr. Who characters, "Spoilers, darling!"

But, could the World of The Hunger Games happen?  In my most optimistic times, I think that there's no way Society could devolve into such savagery.  But then, I hear that at political debates people cheer about the number of Death Row Inmates candidates have allowed to be killed, and that other people say that those without health care should be allowed to die if they have a disease like cancer and can't afford treatments.  I see the number of violent video games that are produced.  I remember movies like Death Race 2000 ("Twenty points if you hit the pedestrian!")  The number of competition shows on tv are growing (most of them are benign, but what happens when the Producers need to add controversy to their show to increase the ratings?  Sure, this year it's Chaz Bono, but....) and I have to wonder.

So, if it's this grim, why do I love these books?  For one, I enjoy post-apocaplyptic stories.  Alas, Babylon read it about 14 times until my mother made me stop (I kept wanting to dig a bomb shelter in the backyard.),  The Stand-- the only Stephen King novel that doesn't cause me to have nightmares.  Maybe it's the Army Brat in me, I dunno.  The other reason why I love these books is because they are, at heart, Books of Rebellion.  One Girl Against the Evil Empire (even though she does it most unwittingly).  It's Star Wars (IV-VI).  It's Firefly.  It's the American Revolution.  It's the feeling that One Person Can Make a Difference.

But read the books.  They're pretty well written and you get caught up in the Drama of It All.  And there is Hope....as well as tragedy.  Plus, they're making a movie of it.  We'll meet later and discuss Why The Book Was Better (because the book almost always is....)

Almost time to aMuse myself with more College Football....Go 'Noles!

Musings on Domesticity....

As most of my friends can attest, I am not very domesticated.

My mom tried.  Really.  She initiated  me in the Rites of the Washer and Dryer (and told me to take things out promptly so I wouldn't have to iron my clothes), she showed me the Secrets of the Stove and the Oven.  We explored the Mysteries of the Vacuum and the Duster.    The Fine Art of Dishwasher Loading was covered.  All to no avail.  My house will never be on the cover of House Beautiful.  Alas, Martha Stewart will never come to call and invite me on her show to demonstrate my ways of Artful Napkin Folding.  My friends joke that I'm more likely to be invited on Hoarders than Sensible Chic.....

It's true.  I'd rather read a book than clean the house.  Lately though, I'm beginning to feel like my house is too small.  It's not a large house, but it's no smaller than most of the quarters I grew up in.  I think the big difference is that I'm not moving every year.  When you move frequently, it forces you to go through your things and get rid of the things that you've outgrown (physically and emotionally).

So, Operation:  De-Clutter is underway.  The first step is to go through all the boys' clothes and get rid of the things that are too small.  To this end, I have already done 6 loads of laundry.  Current clothes have been sorted, folded and put away.  I have a small mountain of clothes that are too small in a laundry basket.  They will be sorted through and some of the clothes will be donated to our school nurse (for when the littles have an accident) and some will be donated to whichever of the 5 or 6 charities that regularly call us calls first.

Next up, will be the toys.  I haven't really gotten rid of most of the boys' old toys.  I still have toys from when they were babies.  I think it's time to get rid of those now.  The odds of me willingly agreeing to having another child are slim to none.

Then the books.  Yes, I love books, but I have more books than I have shelves for.  It's time to get rid of a few.  Either there will be a book sale at my house, or I'll find a charity for all my discards (or maybe a combo).  Heck, I could probably start my own used book store with the books I currently own.

It won't be easy.  It certainly won't be pretty.  But it will be worth it if I can steam-vac the carpet again.

Besides, Book Club is supposed to meet at my house in December.

Musings on Short Story Collections

Funny how a novel will keep me up all night, eager to get  to the end, but I can linger over a collection of short stories for a week....

I'm reading Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow right now.  20 urban fantasy stories by some really terrific writers that I really like to read, like Jim Butcher (though I've only read his short stories, oddly enough), Patricia Briggs (who was not writing about werewolves) and Peter S. Beagle, as well as some I haven't read at all (or very little).  The first half of novelists are definitely fantasy stories, with either fantastical creatures (trolls, pookas, the fae, even the Green Man) but the last ones are a lot darker, edging more into horror than fantasy (although there are fantastical elements).

I like short story collections.  There's something nice about reading a story and being able to put the "book" down and doing something else and then coming back to it.  With a novel, I feel such a compulsion to finish the story that I view the rest of my life as a bothersome interruption until I can get back to the book.  (Even Florida State Football cannot distract me from finishing a novel-well, unless it's the Gator Game, or the Miami Game.  I'll have the game on, but most of my attention is on the book.)  I think it's because I get that sense of "done," that, even if it's bedtime and I've just started the collection, I can put it aside and read the next story tomorrow....even if the next story is by one of my favorite authors.

I have all sorts of short story anthologies.  I have different Bedford Readers, anthologies from Southern Writers, Stories of the South, Mystery anthologies, Fairy Tales anthologies (I love collecting fairy tales from different countries), the Year's Best ______ Stories (usually SF or Fantasy), Star Trek anthologies (you have to admire a fan base that keeps putting out stories about characters that haven't been portrayed in almost 20-40 years--and they're good stories).  Oddly, I haven't really seen any Star Wars short story collections--either the epic-ness of the movies and subsequent novels make it too hard to visualize a story in anything shorter than 200 pages, or Lucas hasn't authorized any short stories (and I know that they're being written) or I haven't been in the bookstores the month they came out.

Short stories can be tricky.  By definition, the reader has to make assumptions in the story--the author can't take too long to establish setting, or characters.  Sometimes, the short story feels more like "Chapter 1" of a longer story, which leaves me vaguely dissatisfied.  Yes, the story has an ending, but not a real resolution.  Then you have to decide if you liked the characters and setting enough to see if maybe it really was a proto-chapter to a book.  Sometimes you get lucky and you get a proto-chapter as a short story, but the story is complete enough that it doesn't matter if a book was written or not. Then you get to read more.  Now that's magic.

One of my favorite short story collections are by George Alec Effinger.  He wrote a series of stories about Maureen "Muffy" Birnbaum that started out as a parody of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars stories.  Sadly, the collection Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordperson is out of print, and isn't even an ebook (but if you go to Barnes and Nobles' website, and I'm sure Amazon.com, you can click to let the publisher know that you want to read this), so you'll have to hopefully stumble upon it in a used book store.

Another one I really like is Neil Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors.  Neil Gaiman is a phenomenal writer and his stories always blow me away.  I bought this collection because he wrote a version of "Snow White" called "Snow, Glass, Apples."

I don't like Arty short stories.  I never feel like I know what's really going on, and I suspect that either: a) the author doesn't really know what's going on or b) the author secretly despises readers and doesn't want them to know what's really going on.  Too much like real life, if you ask me.

Well, I have one last story to aMuse me before I have to find another story to read.

Musings on Being a Substitute Teacher

I love my job.  Really, I do.

Oh, yeah, sometimes I complain about it, but name me one person who always is perfectly happy about their job and loves everyone they work with, and I'll name one person who's living a delusional life.

But, being a substitute teacher is great.   Especially an Elementary School Substitute Teacher.  My days are varied.  One day, I'm teaching 4th grade.  The next, it's 1st grade.  The next, 3rd grade.  Sometimes, I'm the Technology Teacher.  Or the PE Teacher.  Everyday, it's a new adventure.

Yes, sometimes the kids will act up and try to see where your limits are.  The key is to set the rules and follow through on the consequences...just like being a parent.  Try to make the punishment realistic, and something you don't mind following through with.  Don't tell the kids they'll have to eat lunch with you if you really don't want to have lunch with them.  (And some kids don't see that as a punishment at all!)

The nice thing about being a sub, at least to me, is that I sub in a school where I'm appreciated.  The teachers treat me as a colleague, not as a warm body.  They know that I'm willing to sub any grade, any subject.  I don't mind getting the last minute jobs (like I was really going to tidy up the house anyway?).  I appreciate advanced notice, but sometimes they (or their kids) get sick--it's not like you can schedule these things.

And I think the teachers know that I'm going to do the best job that I can.  I'm going to bring a positive attitude to their students.  I don't always need the detailed lesson plan (although, again, it's appreciated--less thinking on my part), as long as I know when I need to move to the next part of the lesson, or when the kids need to go to their "Special"... and when to pick them up.  I have enough life experience that I can stretch a lesson out if I need to, or I can have the class talk about something related to the lesson.

Don't think that being a sub is an easy job anymore.  Rarely do I show movies to the kids all day long.  No, I teach math, reading, science, social studies--everything their teacher would normally do.  With all the Standardized Testing done in our schools anymore, teachers rarely have the luxury of having a sub show filmstrips and videos all day long.  Sometimes, I have to--the teacher needs to see how the students handle the next lesson, or they're going to start a new unit, but those days are rare.  And, unlike a teacher, I have about 5 minutes to look at the lesson and figure out how to present it to the class.  Makes for some interesting lessons, sometimes!

Even though the pay is a lot less than what I could make as a full time teacher, there are some sweet benefits for being a substitute teacher.  I don't have to prepare the lesson plan, I don't have to grade the papers (although, sometimes I will mark right and wrong answers--but I won't put a grade on the paper, especially on a spelling test.  Things I would count wrong, a teacher might give the student at least partial credit for.), I don't have to get grades in at the end of the quarter, and I don't have to go to faculty meetings.  (Although certain teachers think that I'm at the school often enough that I ought to go to the faculty meetings!)

But the best part of being a substitute teacher is getting to know the kids and to know that they see me as a friendly adult and that I'm there to help them.  There's nothing better than having the students say, "Hi, Mrs. Katano!" or give me a hug as they walk down the hall.  Or if I see them outside of school and they get so excited to see me. (And then the next day, they come up and tell me, "I saw you yesterday at such-and-such place!")

One year, I subbed in the kindergarten so much, that every time I walked into the cafeteria at their lunch time, I'd be mobbed like a rock star.  Now, that's a great feeling.

Not as great as having your kids tell you how much they love you, but almost.

The kids sure do keep me aMused....

Musings on Nature's Fury

Okay, just to recap, since August 23rd, 2011, we've had in the Baltimore area:
        1 Earthquake
        1 Hurricane (Irene)
        3 days of heavy rain (thank you, Tropical Storm Lee), which lead to lots of flooding and sump pumps failing everywhere.

If I were a superstitious person, I'd say Someone was trying to tell me Something.  Luckily, I'm not superstitious, so I can just ignore the Signs of the Impending Apocalypse.

Back to School Nights are not cancelled due to heavy rains.  Attendance was down, but if I had to deal with a flooding basement, I'd have stayed home, too.  In a way, though, it was nice going when there weren't as many parents there.  I felt like I got to see the teacher, although there still wasn't enough time to personally chat with any of them.  (Remember, the first rule of Back to School Night:  It's about hearing about the curriculum and class procedures, not about connecting with the teacher.  Email is your best friend.  Really.)  Because of the Back to School Nights, my sleep habits were messed with and I got maybe 8 hours of sleep in a 48 hour period.  Cranky and exhausted described my mood by Friday evening.  Thank God for the weekend.

We had anywhere from 5 to 14 inches of rain in the Baltimore/DC area, according to meteorologist Doug Hill (WTOP radio).  I read somewhere that if it had been snow instead of rain, it would've been something insane like 70" of snow.  I can handle rain much better than snow.  Main Street, in Old Ellicott City (just down the road from me--about 3 miles) had some bad street flooding when Tiber river overflowed it's banks.  Here are a couple of videos I found (I was teaching 2nd grade on this day.  Somehow, we didn't close schools--maybe the Powers That Be thought we were safer in school.  I think we were.)

This video was taken just over the Patapsco River bridge in Old Ellicott City (OEC).  Most of the river you'll be seeing is actually the Tiber, not the Patapsco.

And from further up the road, by the Ellicott Mills Brewing Company restaurant:

I have a couple of pictures of the Patapsco River the day after the flooding:

Patapsco River at the Baltimore/Howard County line

Patapsco River at the Bridge (going towards OEC)

And a few of the Patapsco from further down (Washington Blvd) by the Avalon area of the State Park (which was closed...)

Patapsco River at Rt 1 (I-895 off ramp in background)

Detritus collected by pylons
Patapsco River at Rt 1

But, the sun is shining.  My older son (with supervision from his grandfather), has mowed the lawn.  There's still a chance of rain in the forecast for the next few days, but nothing like what we've had.  (Honestly, we had thunder and lightning that made me think of when I was in Taxco, Mexico.  Loud and rolling on forever.....)

Oh, and as if there isn't enough to worry about, my friend Liz says her old sump pump caught fire during all this rain, so I guess we'll have to add "sump pump inspections" to our List of Things to Do before the next weather event.....(everything is fine at her house...her husband got it mostly under control, but the Fire Department came and made sure it was all safe.  Yay for the Firemen!)

Dry out and stay aMused....

Musings on Back to School Nights

Yay me!  I get to go to not one, but two back to school nights!

We got a robo-call from the principal of the elementary school that my younger son attends reminding us about Back to School night.  My husband asked me, as this is our seventh Back to School night at the elementary school, if we really needed to go.  Oh, I was tempted to say "No," but really, we do need to go.

Here's the thing about Back to School Nights:  it's a chance to hear about the curriculum your teacher will teach your child this year.  It's also a chance for you to show your child's teacher that you plan on being an involved partner in your child's education.

Now, let's define what I mean by being involved.  To be involved means to make sure that homework is done.  Ask your child how they did the homework.  Ask questions about what they are learning.  Find out what books are being read in their reading class.  If you're familiar with the book, talk about it.  Discuss concepts learned in science.  Have your child teach you how to do math (the ways math is taught does change.  How my sons have learned math is different from how I learned--yeah, way back in the Dark Ages).  My best semester in college was the semester I hung out with people in my classes.  I didn't study any harder, but I had a better grasp on the concepts taught--why?  Because I discussed them with my peers.  Plus, your child will get a kick out of "teaching" you, and you'll be able to strengthen bonds with your child.

However, being involved does not mean second guessing your child's teacher.  If you do have questions about how something is being taught (or why or anything else), ask nicely for an appointment.  Do not tell a teacher that you will see them tomorrow at 10 am.  It may not be their planning time.  Your child's teacher has a 50 minute planning time.  In that time they may need to meet with other teachers about activities happening in the school, grade papers and get set up for the rest of the day.  They have an half-hour for lunch, and then they have to supervise recess.  The rest of the time, they are involved in teaching your child.  Even if there is seat work being done, your child's teacher is probably helping students with questions.  They are not sitting around reading romance novels and eating bonbons.

As your child gets older, it's still important to go to Back to School Nights.  You will have less time to interact with the teachers (and really, Back to School Night is not the best time to have "face time" with teachers.  Sadly, you are 1 in 150.  Teachers are allotted about 10 minutes to do a presentation before you have to go to the next "class"), but by being there and listening (and not talking to the parent next to you), you are sending out the message that education is important.  More importantly, you are sending this message to your child:  What you do is important to me.  I want to make sure that you are getting the best education that we can get.

Besides, the teachers have to be there.  You don't.  Your showing up tells the teacher that you appreciate them doing their best job with your child.

Besides, there could be something aMusing at the PTA meeting.