Today is my older sister Ali's 40th birthday! It's so funny growing up with five siblings because we're all so spread out in age that we end up having different memories of things, and something that the oldest remembers, the youngest wasn't around for and vice versa.
But we *all* have fond memories of Ali leading us in rousing renditions of Minnie the Moocher. Ali was always full of theatrics, purposely tripping herself to make me laugh, getting us all to dance and sing while doing chores around the house. I remember getting to read lines with her while she was practicing for her school plays (I felt *so* cool!), and watching her put makeup on before a performance (singing "I feel pretty, oh so pretty..." or "I feel sh**ty, oh so sh**ty" depending on how shocking she felt like being!)
Ali's version of Minnie the Moocher, with her gravelly Cab Calloway impression used to make us all laugh until we were out of breath and could hardly keep up with our "Hi di hi di hi di hi" parts. It still does. :)
Songwriting for Kids summer workshops start today! Since I'm rushing around trying to get everything ready, I thought I'd just give you a quick glimpse of one of the goofier books we'll be using during Seal Pup Time (reading and listening time):
This week, Kevin and I watched two great episodes of 30 Days that had to do with being on the job.
Working in a Coal Mine is an up-close look at the day-to-day life of a coal miner. I don't think it's possible to watch this episode and not think a little harder about energy consumption.
Outsourcing follows an American data programmer whose job has been outsourced to India. He hops on a plane and for 30 days, works at a call center in India. Absolutely fascinating.
I know I've said it before, but this show is brilliant. Could someone please tell me why there isn't going to be a season four?
Last week, in my Feist/Wilco duet post, I linked to Feist's 2007 video of 1-2-3-4. In doing so, I came across this little gem. I love the adaptation of the lyrics "1-2-3-4, I really like to count to four." And the chickens coming from the shore? Hee!
Maybe it's because I'm gearing up for Songwriting for Kids workshops next week, but this really tickled my fancy:
Ah, summertime! When we were kids, while my brother and sisters were off water skiing, swimming, riding bikes in the driveway, I could always be found in the hammock or under a tree or (gasp!) inside the house with a book. Summer to them meant go-karts and sunburns and outdoor voices. Summer to me meant uninterrupted, uninhibited hour after hour of reading. We all agreed: summer was heaven!
So I'm putting together a small box of summer reading for two of my nieces. I hope they run around and get some sunshine and fresh air in their bones this summer, but I also hope they find some time to get swept up in a good story, just for fun. Here are some of the chapter books I'm sending over.
If they were *your* nieces, what would you include?
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel: because my niece love-love-LOVES cats. And because it's hilarious. I love the note left in the bathroom: "Dear Family, I am going to give Kitty a bath. Do not cry for me. I have lived a long, happy life. Instead, remember me for my bravery and courage..."
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell: Magical rodents, a nanny mystery, and a potion that makes you fart when you lie? What's not to like?
Savvy by Ingrid Law: There's a reason this book got a Newbery Honor. It's stunning. My husband walked into the room when I was only about ten pages in and I shushed him. Seriously. It's that good.
Rules by Cynthia Lord: A funny, poignant, honest story from the point of view of a girl with an autistic younger brother. A must read. (My 2007 review)
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban: Still one of my favorite middle grade novels of the past few years. 10-year old Zoe would give anything to play piano in an elegant, glamorous recital hall. Instead, she gets lessons on a "wood-grained, vinyl-seated, wheeze-bag organ." Hilarious and sweet.
Amy Schimler, intrepid illustrator and designer of all things whimsical and fun, is giving away a free copy of her new book. But she's announcing the winner TOMORROW (Tuesday), so you've got to head over there fast to get in on the action.
What Do You See? is part of a new series of books by Little Green Books that intends to "get little ones excited about going green." The aim of this particular book is to get kids interested in and aware of endangered animals. Amy Schimler's illustrations along with Stephen Krensky's text give you just enough hints to guess which animal might be hiding in the scene before you lift the flap for the satisfying reveal of a smiling rhino or intricate Monarch butterfly.
I bought the book a couple weeks ago, and put it in a stack in my living room where parents often read to younger siblings while waiting for my students to finish their lessons. I've enjoyed opening the music room door to hear cries of "It's a panda!"
All the books in the Little Green series are made from 100% recycled material and you can visit SimonLittleGreen.com for eco-friendly tips, games, and activities. You can enter the contest to win What Do You See? over at Amy Schimler's blog.
I've heard/read a lot of chatter over the last couple days about how Michael Jackson's dancing (back in the day, before all the dazzle burned him out) was influenced by Fred Astaire, admired by Fred Astaire, as good as Fred Astaire. Apparently, after Jackson performed the moonwalk for the first time, Fred Astaire called him up to tell him how fabulous it was.
I've been listening to Chopin's Nocturnes in the morning recently (yes, I know, nocturnes in the morning...). Which means that I have the theme from Op. 9 No. 2 in my head a lot these days.
The melody of this piece is so pretty and melancholy, it soothes and breaks the heart at the same time. I came across this video of Yundi Li performing the piece, and was struck by how gently and effortlessly his fingers appear to be playing it, and yet how wrapped up and fully into the music he is. Watch him at the end...he's completely shaken by the music. It's a beautiful thing.
I also came across this quote at Chopin Music--George Sand about Chopin's writing process (Chopin and Sand had a 10-year relationship that came to a rather unpleasant end):
"His creative work was spontaneous, miraculous. It came to him without effort or warning... But then began the most heartrending labour I have ever witnessed. It was a series of attempts, of fits of irresolution and impatience to recover certain details. He would shut himself in his room for days, pacing up and down, breaking his pens, repeating and modifying one bar a hundred times."
It's amazing to me how a composer will put immense effort and work like this into one bar of music, and it can come out sounding as effortless and simple as if he just plucked it out of the sky. Which is, of course, the goal.
According to Chopin Music, Chopin once wrote:
"Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art."
Another dreary day here in Maine (summer will come soon, I swear it will), and I'm at my kitchen table with a cup of tea and some Yeats. I'm in the mood for something classic today.
"The Lake Isle of Innisfree" was written in 1893, a meditation on the lake isle where Yeats used to vacation as a boy. When you think of your childhood, do you have a place of rest like this? Someplace you can go to in your mind when the rush and tumble of adulthood is too much?
For me, there was a little path through the woods I used to walk almost every day in the summer. The beginning of the path was small and close, lined with dark pine trees (I could have sworn faeries lived in there), but after a while, it opened up to light and birches. You'd pass a small open field, with a tree stump perfect for sitting, and if you turned to the right, you would come to the tiniest little opening at the lake--which I liked to call the "Wild Beach." When I was in college, the path was bulldozed and widened to allow forestry trucks to get through, and while it's still a lovely walk, the magic evaporated. But I still go there in my mind whenever I need a little peace that can't quite be found any other way.
"Innisfree" is one of the most lovely, lyrical, nostalgic pieces, and I love how the rhythm of the words flow like the lapping of the water--mesmerizing, infused with a deep, calm longing. It's almost a lullaby.
Below the poem, I've posted a neat homemade video of someone reading the poem while filming a spot on the actual Isle of Innisfree. Very cool.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear the water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray, I hear it in the deep heart's core.
It's June, and that means I'm officially wrapped up in one of my favorite guilty pleasures: Season 5 of So You Think You Can Dance! One of the things I love the most about this show is how often I am surprised by a style, dancer, or choreographer that I thought I'd already made my mind up about.
For instance, this couple was easily at the bottom of my list until this week when they hooked up with choreographer Stacy Tookey. Her choreography paired with the gorgeous song "Falling Slowly" brought out something in these dancers I hadn't seen before. As if the movement and music unlocked a little door and let the light shine through.
Apologies for missing my Monday post...our router fried out at home, so we haven't had internet for a few days. Crazy how much can come to a standstill because of one little piece of plastic!
Recently, Taylor Swift's Love Story megahit has come up in more conversations than I can count. Since it came out, it's always been in the air, of course, but in the last month, my music students have requested it, I've seen girls at two separate elementary school variety shows sing it with awkward, heart-rending, 10 year old passion, and last night before bed, my 8 year old niece sang it to me over the phone, word for word, without missing a beat.
So what is it about Love Story that makes every young girl swoon? A catchy melody, yes. A pretty girl, of course. But really, I think it's the power of proper story construction. The song is written like a little movie. There's a cute meet, they fall in love, there are obstacles, she feels misunderstood, and just at the last moment when she thinks all is lost, he comes back, the obstacles are cleared, and all is well. And it's all set in a flashback, so that the line "We were both young when I first saw you," repeated at the beginning and end leads us to believe they are still together and really did live happily ever after.
I actually really like the video. It's sweet and romantic without one single kiss. When they sneak off for their illicit rendezvous in the woods, they mainly talk and walk, hold hands, and hang out with a horse. And what girl wouldn't want that horse?
Love Story by Taylor Swift
We were both young when I first saw you. I close my eyes and the flashback starts: I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air.
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns. See you make your way through the crowd and say hello;
Little did I know That you were Romeo; you were throwing pebbles, And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet." And I was crying on the staircase, begging you, 'Please, don't go.'"
And I said, "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'"
So I sneak out to the garden to see you. We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew. So close your eyes; escape this town for a little while. 'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter, And my daddy said "Stay away from Juliet," But you were everything to me; I was begging you, 'Please, don't go,'"
And I said, "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone. I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run. You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'
Romeo save me - they're tryin' to tell me how to feel; This love is difficult, but it's real. Don't be afraid; we'll make it out of this mess. It's a love story - baby just say "Yes.'"
I got tired of waiting, Wondering if you were ever comin' around. My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town,
And I said, "Romeo save me - I've been feeling so alone. I keep waiting for you but you never come. Is this in thy head? I don't know what to think-"
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said, "Marry me, Juliet - you'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad - go pick out a white dress; It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'"
There are some things in the world that are better than others. Chocolate cake. Kites. Movies that make you laugh out loud. Songs that make you cry. Books that transport you to another world. I'll try to share some of the things that daily renew my "sense of wonder," and I hope you'll share some with me, too.
Please, come flying. You can see what I'm up to and listen to my music at www.josephinecameron.com and on MySpace
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