Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
I know I'm slow to arrive to the nice, grown-up restaurant party, but listen here: I have a good one to share.
I went to Sycamore tonight for the first time ever and it was delicious! I recommend it. Not only is the food good (although at first I wasn't sure, but by the end of my meal, I was more than convinced that the chef clearly knew what he was doing). Also, far be it from me to criticize the workings of a culinary master when I mostly survive on instant oatmeal and peanut butter sandwiches. But I had the gnocchi+squash as my entree and then I got some chocolate cake for dessert. Mmmm. And the atmosphere at the place was really cool. It also seemed to attract a much cooler crowd than I'm used to seeing at my regular eating establishments...which would be Wendy's, Steak N Shake, Subway, and my kitchen... You're thinking, 'No way. A cooler crowd than those four hoppin', trendy locales?' I know. It's pretty incredible, but true.
I'm shopping around for post-graduation celebratory eating places for the family. Another restaurant was actually on the bill for this evening, but plans change and I am flexible about that. All this rambling is to say that Sycamore on Broadway in Columbia is a must-try kind of place. Not for the quicky meal, mind you. But for the 'I'm going to enjoy this food and this atmosphere with my friends/family/significant other' kind of meal. It seemed pretty popular (good food tends to do that to a place). By the time my friend and I had left, the place was getting packed, but not uncomfortably so. If you've not been there before: do try!
http://sycamorerestaurant.com/
And if you happen to have a favorite sit-down kind of nice restaurant in Columbia that is your go-to place and you'd like to share, puh-lease leave a comment. I've coerced a co-worker or two into trying some places with me after work sometimes, and we have a list of places to try, but there's room for more!
I'm shopping around for post-graduation celebratory eating places for the family. Another restaurant was actually on the bill for this evening, but plans change and I am flexible about that. All this rambling is to say that Sycamore on Broadway in Columbia is a must-try kind of place. Not for the quicky meal, mind you. But for the 'I'm going to enjoy this food and this atmosphere with my friends/family/significant other' kind of meal. It seemed pretty popular (good food tends to do that to a place). By the time my friend and I had left, the place was getting packed, but not uncomfortably so. If you've not been there before: do try!
http://sycamorerestaurant.com/
And if you happen to have a favorite sit-down kind of nice restaurant in Columbia that is your go-to place and you'd like to share, puh-lease leave a comment. I've coerced a co-worker or two into trying some places with me after work sometimes, and we have a list of places to try, but there's room for more!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
E.M. Forster
[I make these little quote boxes now. And I will sporadically share them with you. They're quotes from books or authors or about books and authors and reading and all things awesome.]
Also, it is late and I am sleepy.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
I accepted a real grown-up job this morning!
It's still at the same place that I do my civil war grant work, but I'll be finishing that grant and the full-time job is on a national newspaper digitization grant with the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities will go for another two years. So, it's another two years in Central Missouri, another two years in my house (which is what I needed to do to not have to pay back my city 5 thousand dollars), and learning new skills + more money, vacation time, and benefits than I ever got working for the state. And also, my co-workers are awesome. All in all, this is good. I was looking forward to moving away and starting over someplace else, but not sure about the house situation and everything. Now I can take my time and hopefully, by 2014, the housing issues will be in a better place and so will jobs! So, it's allll good. Central Missouri, you just love me too much to lose me, I guess. But, I will be taking my beach vacations...
Here's my new project: http://www.loc.gov/ndnp/
Sunday, November 6, 2011
That's where we're all the same.
Daylight Saving Time, you are a cruel master. I prefer the 'fall back' to the 'spring forward', but here it is only 6:30 pm and I'm in my jammies and pretty much ready for sleep. I've got a book to read for class this week and it's interesting, but I tend to do my best reading in bed before sleep, I'm also kind of just putting off doing my readings. It's a mind conundrum. Like, if I get into the book and start reading it now, I might actually finish it pre-bedtime and then what? I don't have a back-up book. Or, well, I do have plenty of books but none for class and I've tried reading multiple books at once and that's just a complete mess when it comes time to try to book talk in class. It becomes sort of a ramble of things like:
"The main character was put in a tower in rural China because she refused to marry the guy her dad wanted her to marry, and then a Renaissance painter showed up from a far-off kingdom and said he wanted to paint the whole family and he fell in love with the girl's servant who was also in the tower, and then there was a guy that turned into a werewolf and killed everyone in the village, but the servant escaped and wandered around for a while. Oh, and also, there was a land of wild things that was ruled by a little boy named Max then Max got bored and decided to sail back home and as he was sailing back, Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt flew over during a night flight. And Max got home and his mom had dinner waiting for him. And Eleanor and Amelia were good friends with matching fancy scarves. And the wandering servant eventually found another village, stood up to the werewolf, saved the village and married a prince."
And then my teacher often looks at me like this:
True story.
Hmm.
Youtube swoops in for the save.
First for the pretty-song:
For the more dancy out there, this song never gets old for me. It always reminds me of a club called The Rock Castle in Perugia and it was a night club inside the wall of the city. And my roommates and I would go there and they played this song and everyone in the place would go crazy singing and dancing and generally manic-dancing like crazy people. So, get up and shake it, but don't break it, 'cause it took your mama nine months to make it:
"The main character was put in a tower in rural China because she refused to marry the guy her dad wanted her to marry, and then a Renaissance painter showed up from a far-off kingdom and said he wanted to paint the whole family and he fell in love with the girl's servant who was also in the tower, and then there was a guy that turned into a werewolf and killed everyone in the village, but the servant escaped and wandered around for a while. Oh, and also, there was a land of wild things that was ruled by a little boy named Max then Max got bored and decided to sail back home and as he was sailing back, Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt flew over during a night flight. And Max got home and his mom had dinner waiting for him. And Eleanor and Amelia were good friends with matching fancy scarves. And the wandering servant eventually found another village, stood up to the werewolf, saved the village and married a prince."
And then my teacher often looks at me like this:
True story.
Hmm.
Youtube swoops in for the save.
First for the pretty-song:
For the more dancy out there, this song never gets old for me. It always reminds me of a club called The Rock Castle in Perugia and it was a night club inside the wall of the city. And my roommates and I would go there and they played this song and everyone in the place would go crazy singing and dancing and generally manic-dancing like crazy people. So, get up and shake it, but don't break it, 'cause it took your mama nine months to make it:
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
History education in schools? Begin rant (er, newest rant).
I got all worked up in class tonight (again). In schools of education all across the US, multiculturalism is being talked about. The need to reach more students based on their cultural background and the desire to gear lessons toward those cultures. I understand that those who support this sort of educational framework are trying to progress toward a better understanding of each other. I admire that thought process, but I disagree that public school history classes is the forum for this. Have multicultural festivals in you community, have as many get-togethers as you want. I love those sorts of events! But, the history classes of American students is not the place for this. And sometimes the proponents of this curriculum make illogical arguments. They want less talk about the founding fathers, more talk about civil rights leaders, more talk about inventors who come from non-european backgrounds, etc. I get it and I don't disagree with that. Not entirely, at least. Where I disagree is the assumption that all those who live in a certain community and who share a similar skin color also share a similar culture and a similar heritage. I feel that designing a history or library lesson for students that is trying to 'teach them about their culture' based on a half-assed attempt to guess what their ethnicity is based on skin color is ridiculous, offensive, and big move in the wrong direction. You are not helping anybody by doing this. There are a number of reasons why this has about a 0% chance to succeed.
1) Skin color does not equal ethnicity. It equals skin color. That's it. Nothing more. There are now 7 billion people on Earth and there are probably nearly that many skin tones. We are a mobile species and skin color has nothing to do with the language we speak, the religion we practice, or the traditions that we accept.
2) Nobody's cultural identity is the same and nobody can teach a culture effectively to all students without stereotyping a culture. And if all you're going to do is pass along stereotypes, there is no reason to even begin down this road.
3) Where you have a school, you have certain commonalities among students, chief among them is geographic location. When you are teaching history, teach the history of that place. No matter what the students look like or where they were born or what country their parents came from, they are all currently living in this place. They have this in common, so you teach to the commonality. If my parents had moved to Portugal when I was little and I was enrolled in a primary school in Lisbon, it's ridiculous to believe that my teacher should teach me about American history because my parents are Americans. My parents will pass on the American traditions to me and we will celebrate and share our traditions with friends that we make in Lisbon. But my primary school teacher will teach me Portuguese history because that is the commonality among his/her students, including me. I live in Lisbon, therefore I am in Portugal, therefore I will learn Portuguese history. It is not the teacher's responsibility to design an educational lesson specifically geared toward me because my ethnicity or racial makeup is different from a fellow student's. Don't put pressure on history teachers to teach the history of every nation or every culture on earth because they can't do it and it's ridiculous to expect it. Teach the history of where you are. Local history is the commonality. If a parent wants their child to learn about where their ancestors came from, it's on the parents to teach it. Asking a teacher or librarian to teach 'what it's like to be a Mexican-American' is only asking for trouble because no family's story is the same and no teacher or librarian can do that responsibility any justice.
4) Along with #3 but U.S. specific: any person born here or who immigrates here and becomes a citizen shares a common national history. It doesn't matter if you're teaching in an urban area or a rural area, it doesn't matter if your class is filled with students from the same race or if every student is a different race. We are all Americans, and as such we all share a past that includes Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, George Washington, Sitting Bull, etc. Should the history curriculum be expanded to cover more than the 'always covered U.S. history themes'? Yes. Absolutely! But don't decide not to teach colonial history because your students don't have a similar skin color to George Washington. Don't decide Sitting Bull and the Lakotas aren't relevant because you have no students of Lakota descent in your classroom. Teach them about the Harlem Renaissance. Teach them about Henrietta Lacks and Alice Paul and Georgia O'Keefe. Teach them that women have accomplished more than just the right to vote. Don't hide the sadness in our history, but don't only focus on slavery and the Civil War. Tell them the truth about WWII concentration camps, the Trail of Tears, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Matthew Shepherd. Teach them about those who built the railroad across the West as well as those who have flown in space. Teach them about politicians and philosophers and athletes who made a difference on a global scale. Teach them about inventors other than Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, but don't exclude those historical figures because they're of Northern-European descent and therefore not seen as 'multicultural'. Teach them everything that you can about the country that they belong to because this is our common history. We are all the same in this regard and we all share this past. These people are our people. There is no color line, there is only a national story. Maybe the customs that we each take part in are different and, by all means, share customs and family traditions with each other, but don't ever begin to cut out parts of a shared history because you don't think a student can relate to that historical event or figure due to an assumption you make based on skin color, religion, or ethnic background. That's demeaning to a student's intelligence as well as to the history of a country.
And as a future librarian and past history major: I won't teach children a history lesson nor will I recommend historical fiction based on what figures most closely resemble the child's skin color, so don't even ask me to, because that conversation will not end well.
/end rant.
1) Skin color does not equal ethnicity. It equals skin color. That's it. Nothing more. There are now 7 billion people on Earth and there are probably nearly that many skin tones. We are a mobile species and skin color has nothing to do with the language we speak, the religion we practice, or the traditions that we accept.
2) Nobody's cultural identity is the same and nobody can teach a culture effectively to all students without stereotyping a culture. And if all you're going to do is pass along stereotypes, there is no reason to even begin down this road.
3) Where you have a school, you have certain commonalities among students, chief among them is geographic location. When you are teaching history, teach the history of that place. No matter what the students look like or where they were born or what country their parents came from, they are all currently living in this place. They have this in common, so you teach to the commonality. If my parents had moved to Portugal when I was little and I was enrolled in a primary school in Lisbon, it's ridiculous to believe that my teacher should teach me about American history because my parents are Americans. My parents will pass on the American traditions to me and we will celebrate and share our traditions with friends that we make in Lisbon. But my primary school teacher will teach me Portuguese history because that is the commonality among his/her students, including me. I live in Lisbon, therefore I am in Portugal, therefore I will learn Portuguese history. It is not the teacher's responsibility to design an educational lesson specifically geared toward me because my ethnicity or racial makeup is different from a fellow student's. Don't put pressure on history teachers to teach the history of every nation or every culture on earth because they can't do it and it's ridiculous to expect it. Teach the history of where you are. Local history is the commonality. If a parent wants their child to learn about where their ancestors came from, it's on the parents to teach it. Asking a teacher or librarian to teach 'what it's like to be a Mexican-American' is only asking for trouble because no family's story is the same and no teacher or librarian can do that responsibility any justice.
4) Along with #3 but U.S. specific: any person born here or who immigrates here and becomes a citizen shares a common national history. It doesn't matter if you're teaching in an urban area or a rural area, it doesn't matter if your class is filled with students from the same race or if every student is a different race. We are all Americans, and as such we all share a past that includes Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman, George Washington, Sitting Bull, etc. Should the history curriculum be expanded to cover more than the 'always covered U.S. history themes'? Yes. Absolutely! But don't decide not to teach colonial history because your students don't have a similar skin color to George Washington. Don't decide Sitting Bull and the Lakotas aren't relevant because you have no students of Lakota descent in your classroom. Teach them about the Harlem Renaissance. Teach them about Henrietta Lacks and Alice Paul and Georgia O'Keefe. Teach them that women have accomplished more than just the right to vote. Don't hide the sadness in our history, but don't only focus on slavery and the Civil War. Tell them the truth about WWII concentration camps, the Trail of Tears, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Matthew Shepherd. Teach them about those who built the railroad across the West as well as those who have flown in space. Teach them about politicians and philosophers and athletes who made a difference on a global scale. Teach them about inventors other than Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, but don't exclude those historical figures because they're of Northern-European descent and therefore not seen as 'multicultural'. Teach them everything that you can about the country that they belong to because this is our common history. We are all the same in this regard and we all share this past. These people are our people. There is no color line, there is only a national story. Maybe the customs that we each take part in are different and, by all means, share customs and family traditions with each other, but don't ever begin to cut out parts of a shared history because you don't think a student can relate to that historical event or figure due to an assumption you make based on skin color, religion, or ethnic background. That's demeaning to a student's intelligence as well as to the history of a country.
And as a future librarian and past history major: I won't teach children a history lesson nor will I recommend historical fiction based on what figures most closely resemble the child's skin color, so don't even ask me to, because that conversation will not end well.
/end rant.
Hello world!
For the first time in months, I've actually come out of the tunnel vision I've had regarding life and graduation. Comps last week the beginning of the end (hopefully) and as soon as I had submitted them I wandered around my house for the first time and actually saw what a mess things were in. I knew life had gotten out of hand because of the overdue notices in my email, etc. But, for instance, I don't know how long cat vomit had been on the floor of the dining room, but it was like trying to remove cement. My laundry pile is so expansive that I had to kneel and shove it away from the furnace vent so I could at least get a little warmth on the night that it got below freezing. I still have no time for actually doing the laundry despite the fact that I have no pairs of socks left. I'm wearing mis-matched single socks that are leftover when the dryer eats one, you know? Yeah. They're still socks and with boots nobody else knows...until I publish it on the internet, that is. So yes. If you see me, I am wearing mis-matched novelty socks. It adds to the novelty?
I find out whether I passed comps on Friday afternoon. If I passed, I really will be able to feel a weight off my shoulders and can focus on trying to get my life back together outside of school and work. (Is there life outside, still?)
Last night I decided to indulge the trick-or-treating thing. I wasn't sure whether I would or not, but I did. And I had only 3 trick-or-treaters. All little ones, which is what I like. As I've mentioned previously: I don't like giving candy to teenagers who don't try to dress up. I got a little boy in the Scream killer mask (I'm surprised they still have those), a little clown with a red runny nose, and a little princess. I didn't give them as much candy as I would have had I know that there was just going to be three all night. I ventured out around 7:30 to look around and saw that I was the only one on the block with the porch light on, so I just turned mine off and watched the Halloween version of Dancing With the Stars. It was kind of a let down except for the team dance... Even those who are really good weren't fantastic this week. Anyway, I have a lot of Reese's peanut butter cups left. Yum.
Also, if you hadn't heard:
THE CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!
I was amazed. (I still am.) It was unbelievable. I don't think I'll ever be able to see another World Series and not compare it to this 2011 World Series...and probably find future ones lacking. The only d'oh! I had was that I went to sleep after the 8th inning of game six, also known as the most amazing comeback victory ever?The cards won the game after scoring on their last out of the game. Twice. In 11 innings. I went to sleep, not wanting to hear them lose to the Rangers. I do have to say that the Texas Rangers made a fan out of me during this series. I never paid much attention to them, but watching their team and their manager over the course of the 7 games made me respect them a lot. Their manager seems awesome and totally behind his players 100%. They are a fantastic team and the level of competition between the Cards and the Rangers are what made the series so memorable and exciting to watch. Each game was intense and you never really knew who was going to win. That's what really made the series so fantastic, aside from the run the Cards went on. The Rangers players and manager seem like very kind and respectable guys who are fantastic baseball players. It was sad to see them lose when they were so close to winning their first ever series. (And to feel sadness in the middle of celebrating that kind of a win for my team says something about the way I had come to like the Rangers.) If the Rangers end up in the World Series again next year (against any team but the Cards), I will cheer for them. Nolan Ryan was my favorite baseball player as a kid and I would like to see him celebrate a world series win as an owner of the Rangers. Still, for the Cardinals: this was beyond anything I ever imagined this team would accomplish this year. So proud! Go Redbirds! Now La Russa is retiring and probably other members of his staff will leave, too. But, what better way to leave? It really doesn't get any better than this. And now maybe they can use some of the money they would have paid the staff to keep Pujols on the team? Yes? Maybe? I hope so. Anyway, it's still nice to bask in the glory of this World Series win.
*bask*
I find out whether I passed comps on Friday afternoon. If I passed, I really will be able to feel a weight off my shoulders and can focus on trying to get my life back together outside of school and work. (Is there life outside, still?)
Last night I decided to indulge the trick-or-treating thing. I wasn't sure whether I would or not, but I did. And I had only 3 trick-or-treaters. All little ones, which is what I like. As I've mentioned previously: I don't like giving candy to teenagers who don't try to dress up. I got a little boy in the Scream killer mask (I'm surprised they still have those), a little clown with a red runny nose, and a little princess. I didn't give them as much candy as I would have had I know that there was just going to be three all night. I ventured out around 7:30 to look around and saw that I was the only one on the block with the porch light on, so I just turned mine off and watched the Halloween version of Dancing With the Stars. It was kind of a let down except for the team dance... Even those who are really good weren't fantastic this week. Anyway, I have a lot of Reese's peanut butter cups left. Yum.
Also, if you hadn't heard:
THE CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!
I was amazed. (I still am.) It was unbelievable. I don't think I'll ever be able to see another World Series and not compare it to this 2011 World Series...and probably find future ones lacking. The only d'oh! I had was that I went to sleep after the 8th inning of game six, also known as the most amazing comeback victory ever?The cards won the game after scoring on their last out of the game. Twice. In 11 innings. I went to sleep, not wanting to hear them lose to the Rangers. I do have to say that the Texas Rangers made a fan out of me during this series. I never paid much attention to them, but watching their team and their manager over the course of the 7 games made me respect them a lot. Their manager seems awesome and totally behind his players 100%. They are a fantastic team and the level of competition between the Cards and the Rangers are what made the series so memorable and exciting to watch. Each game was intense and you never really knew who was going to win. That's what really made the series so fantastic, aside from the run the Cards went on. The Rangers players and manager seem like very kind and respectable guys who are fantastic baseball players. It was sad to see them lose when they were so close to winning their first ever series. (And to feel sadness in the middle of celebrating that kind of a win for my team says something about the way I had come to like the Rangers.) If the Rangers end up in the World Series again next year (against any team but the Cards), I will cheer for them. Nolan Ryan was my favorite baseball player as a kid and I would like to see him celebrate a world series win as an owner of the Rangers. Still, for the Cardinals: this was beyond anything I ever imagined this team would accomplish this year. So proud! Go Redbirds! Now La Russa is retiring and probably other members of his staff will leave, too. But, what better way to leave? It really doesn't get any better than this. And now maybe they can use some of the money they would have paid the staff to keep Pujols on the team? Yes? Maybe? I hope so. Anyway, it's still nice to bask in the glory of this World Series win.
*bask*
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