Fifty years ago, back when teachers were allowed to actually teach and be creative as they did so, my Hawai'ian-born third-grade teacher had us put on a traditional Hawai'ian May Day pageant for our parents. She taught us songs, which she accompanied on her ukelele. All the kids learned the hula moves that went with the songs and we performed them ( Read more... )

I am showing signs of future shock and so have made the decision to join no new social media (no Twitter, Dreamwidth, or Tumblr, for example). The changes in technology and the added layers of things I have to learn are wearing on me. I still can't download pictures from my camera to my computer and then load them to a data stick to go get prints ( Read more... )

Karl keeps buying upright vacuum cleaners of dubious heritage even though they do a lousy job at the edges of things, need a lot of fussing around to use attachments, and break with great regularity even though we have maid service every two weeks. The Hoover canister vacuum, shaped like a flying saucer that floats on its own exhaust, is still ( Read more... )

I finally got around to reading today's Style section around 9:30, wherein I discovered that THERE'S A NEW PAUL SIMON ALBUM OUT! Headless-chickenlike, I ran upstairs to order it from Amazon. I couldn't wait even the short time it would take to finish reading the paper. It had to be ordered and it had to be ordered NOW! Delivery is promised in two ( Read more... )

Tonight is the night when dead leaves fly ( Read more... )

One December day many years ago I drove myself to work at Peterson's College Guides, as usual. Listening to the radio, I noticed that the whole way there the station played nothing but John Lennon music. John alone, not with the Beatles. When I got to work, I remarked on this odd playlist to my proofreading partner. She looked at me strangely, then ( Read more... )

There is a movement afoot to give the Nobel Peace Prize to Pete Seeger. If you don't know what he's done for peace in the world in our time, please go to the web site below. And please sign the online petition; it may not help much, but it's something. And Pete isn't getting any younger. Last I heard he was 90 and still in good health, but the ( Read more... )