I have been tweaking the Pensieve, my Harry Potter blog, today. Here’s a list of what’s new:
Check it out, if you are so inclined.
I wrote a short story, something I’m considering submitting to the school’s faculty edition of the literary magazine. It is based on the plotline of a dream I had last night. This is just the first draft. Tell me what you think, but be sort of gentle about it.
Continue reading “Oh, That Smile”
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was breaking my usual tradition and making a New Year’s resolution: to do whatever I can to touch base with old friends. For various reasons, as I said then, I have let my life concerns get in the way of being a proper friend. Then I looked around and wondered where everyone was. It isn’t all my fault. While I haven’t exactly been the best correspondent, the fact that my parents moved us around quite a bit as kids had something to do with the difficulty of maintaining close friendships, too.
But you always think there will be time. Some time, later on, you can look those people up, and they’ll still be there, somewhere. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. I regret it took the death of a friend — and not exactly a close friend, but a friend nonetheless — to teach me that life is too short to wait, and those friends might not be there. I didn’t want to wait and find only regrets instead of old friends.
So I set out to find as many of my old, close friends as I could and resolved to be a better correspondent to those that responded and, in the case of my friend Jenni, to those with which I had always remained in touch. The results have been far more rewarding than I could have imagined, and I am so happy I made the effort.
So far, I have renewed my friendship with my oldest friend, Darcy. We have been e-mailing regularly for the last couple of weeks. It feels so good to have her back in my life again. I also heard from my college roommate Kari. She’s doing very well, and it was nice to hear from her. I’m glad she decided to be a teacher.
Today, I heard from another old elementary school friend, Ha. She moved in the house across the street from my grandmother when we were in 3rd grade. We became fast friends, having a shared passion for Barbie dolls. My grandmother has remained friends with Ha’s mother, and mentioned in their last phone conversation that I would be going to Boston on a school trip, but of course my grandmother didn’t know exactly when. Ha lives near Boston, in Concord. My grandmother tried to get in touch with Ha’s mother and finally succeeded after a couple of days. So I got Ha’s e-mail address and wrote her last night. It’s hard to begin a letter like that. Hi, I haven’t seen you in 20 years, but I’m going to be in Boston in two weeks, and would you like to have a cup of coffee? On the one hand, I was half-scared Ha wouldn’t remember me, which is stupid, because I spent the night at her house tons of times and we were really good friends. This next part is really goofy, too, but I was intimidated too by the fact that Ha is a Harvard graduate. As if that somehow makes her too good to talk to me! Honestly, I’m such a dork. But I received a warm response, and I got to see pictures of her beautiful baby girl.
I have to say that the last few weeks, hearing from old friends, has been, in a word, amazing. So I guess my advice to you all, is to value your friends and stay in touch. If you aren’t in touch, get in touch. Even if it means your first letter needs to be an apology. It’s worth it. My life has become so much richer in the last few weeks, and who knows where it will all lead?
Ralph Waldo Emerson advised “keep your friendships in repair.” It’s a simple statement, but how many of us really register what it means enough to do it? No wonder they called him the Sage of Concord.
The answer to last week’s trivia question:
How much did Thoreau spend when he built his cabin near Walden Pond?
$28.12 1/2. What ever happened to the half-penny anyway?
No one gets credit, because I stumped you even though the answer would be really easy to find on Google should one be so inclined. You people are lazy. However, I send Jennifer credit for at least being interested in the answer.
So, this week’s question:
Which real-life writer was the inspiration for Alice Walker’s character Shug Avery in The Color Purple?
Answer: Zora Neale Hurston. Credit goes to Ms. Boombastic.
Several years ago at an NCTE convention in Nashville, a group of English teachers from Florida (I think) presented their instructional idea — combine the study of a great work of literature with modern music. Students were asked to find songs that evoked the theme of the novels they read. I thought it appropriate for instance, that one student chose Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” to demonstrate one of the themes in The Great Gatsby. What really struck me, however, was the song chosen to thematically represent Heart of Darkness: “Head Like a Hole” by NIN. Here are the lyrics in case you need a refresher. If you need to go read them, do so, then hurry back.
The last line of that song is left off the lyric transcription: You know what you are. I really think that line matches Kurtz’s famous last words: “The horror! The horror!” The horror, to me, is the mirror held up to one’s face — knowing the evil that is in man, and knowing you are part of that evil, if not all of it. You know what you are.
There is a steady ostinato of dread that underlies the short novel. It is a primal drumbeat. As Marlow travels down the Congo toward Kurtz, you begin to feel this pulse — this heartbeat. It is the heart of darkness.
This heartbeat is also a thread of suspense. As Steve mentioned just now as we discussed the novel, it is similar to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” that way. The heart of darkness is the very center of Africa, but it is also the very center of a black soul. I think you can read “The Tell-Tale Heart” that way, too. Heart of Darkness might be the best example of the use of foreshadowing I’ve seen.
I first read this short novel in my freshman year of college. Actually I think I skipped around a bit. I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand it, then. I don’t think I was ready. I am so glad Randal let me borrow a copy. His students are either reading it now or just finished, and maybe I can discuss it with some of them. So, yes, 14 years later, I picked up this book again, and I was ready for it. I wish I could write like Conrad. Really.
The book is rich in vivid details. I could clearly see the characters and scenes. Marlow sounded an awful lot like Alan Rickman, sitting in darkness on the Nellie. As I pictured it, I could see only his hand, rested on his bent knee, and his leg extending into his worn black boot, all barely discernible in a shaft of weak light. Occasionally as he told his story, his head would turn to the side, and I saw the outline of his face. That is how Conrad so clearly painted the setting for me.
“Head Like a Hole” is a perfect illustration of this ostinato of dread I mentioned — the repetitive lyrics, the madness in Trent Reznor’s voice. The kid that made that connection was brilliant.
All that said, this book is difficult. I can’t recommend it for those who are not ready, for they wouldn’t appreciate it. And I can’t define “ready” for you either. Like Marlow, I am left, in the end, to ponder, to question, to wonder. That ostinato is never resolved. It only gradually fades to silence, but I can still feel it — I don’t know how. Maybe because it is my own heartbeat.
We have two visiting students from the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem who are doing (I think) their practicum with us. They seem quite nice. Both British gents. They are absolutely aghast that America does not have a national curriculum.
We had a lively discussion about America’s lack of a national curriculum at lunch today, and I think they remain unconvinced of the benefits of state and/or local curricula. Sparker and I also discussed the issue briefly after school. Her thoughts were that we don’t really remember content we learn in high school, we remember the critical thinking and writing skills, the analysis skills, the skills we later apply to success in life. I said something about teaching students and not subjects, and she agreed. I love the content I teach, but frankly, I know that most of my students are not as crazy about what I do as I am.
Oddly enough, the matter came up with yet another person, this time a student — an upperclassman (can’t recall if she’s in the 11th or 12th grade). She said she studied hardly any Southern literature when she took American Lit. with a different teacher (who is, by the way, from New York). I tend to focus on Southern lit. when I teach American Lit. Frankly, I would hate it if someone gave me an absolute list of works to teach and didn’t allow me any autonomy to choose.
I think I do a pretty good job of selecting literature selections that represent the concepts I am teaching. I teach a lot of the canon, too.
The Pardes interns had the point that teachers might really focus on what they love at the expense of something else students really need to know. I wonder if that’s true?
I used to be a proponent of a national curriculum. In fact, I did a presentation on this topic in my Foundations of Education class. I moved around a lot as a kid, and I felt like I missed out on whole chunks of stuff. But Sparker made a great point when she said, “Well, you’re okay now, aren’t you?” She’s right. I missed out on lots of grammar, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and too much other stuff that I personally consider vital to a proper English education. But now I teach English.
So does content matter that much? Or does it matter more to teach what you love, being sure to be representative and comprehensive, knowing you might inspire the kids to learn the other real skills that underlie what you’re teaching?
What are your thoughts on a national curriculum?
In his relatively short and very readable How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster seeks to teach readers how to “unlock” literature. I think I would have benefitted a great deal from a professor like Foster. I have learned how to read deeply with years of practice, which is what he says one needs, but the journey might have been easier if I’d had this book along.
Foster’s writing style is witty and engaging. The title of this book might scream dry, boring, and difficult, but it’s exactly the opposite. In fact, it is one of the more accessible books about reading literature that I’ve read. It may be the only accessible book about reading literature that I’ve read, for that matter.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor comes complete with a list of recommended reading in the appendix. In fact, I plan to read as many of his recommendations as possible, since his use of these works as examples has me itching to try out my new skills. It is constructed in such a way that the reader can dash off a chapter here and there without much of a time commitment. Most of all, there is confirmation that I’m doing something right in the classroom, and I plan to use some of his arguments when my own students insist I am manufacturing symbols where they don’t exist. I recommend this book highly if you are looking to expand your enjoyment of literature or if you just want to learn a little bit about more about great works of literature.
I just finished watching the classic film Romeo and Juliet directed by Franco Zeffirelli in 1968 with one of my classes. Such a gorgeous film. And populated with unfamiliar faces, too. I wondered why that was, and I set out on a quest to find out what happened to the stars of that film.
Leonard Whiting (Romeo)
Oh Romeo, Romeo… where the hell are you, Romeo? Isn’t he the one we all wonder most about? After all, he’s quite pretty to look at in the film.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in 1968. Frankly, after that, he virtually disappeared, appearing in a handful of films that did not garner near the attention or success of Romeo and Juliet. According to a People magazine article published in 1992, Leonard became a writer after retiring from films in the mid-1970s, though he is as yet unpublished. He felt he had been typecast and could not overcome it. He is married to his (former?) manager Lynn Presser and has two grown daughters by a previous marriage. Here is the most recent picture of him that I could find:
Of course, he’s 54 now, which puts him right around the same age as my dad — and if you look at it like that, I have to say he’s held up pretty well in comparison. Click to view a popup scan of the People article from 1992.
Olivia Hussey (Juliet)
What a beautiful young thing.
Certainly, her film career has been more lasting than Whiting’s, but to be fair, he probably has a point about being typecast. It would not appear that Hussey has had the same problem. She recently played Mother Teresa in a made-for-TV movie, she has two movies in post production and an official website. I last saw her in the made-for-TV production of Stephen King’s IT. However, one wouldn’t exactly call her a star. I’d like to know why. She has hardly aged a day, and she’s still gorgeous.
She is currently 53.
Michael York (Tybalt)
Michael York is, in my opinion, the one star of this production with the most lucrative and vibrant acting career.
Perhaps most well known recently as Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers series, and known to sci-fi fans as Logan 5 in Logan’s Run, he is an Officer of the British Empire. He’s, of course, still acting. Here is what he looks like today:
Bruce Robinson (Benvolio)
I suppose one could argue that Benvolio was the only prominent role played by Bruce Robinson, who grew disenchanted with acting (waiting for the phone to ring and doing commercials) and became a screenwriter. In fact, he wrote the screenplay for the phenomenal movie The Killing Fields. Many biographies cite also a semi-autobiographical movie Withnail and I, which Robinson directed. I haven’t seen that, so I can’t tell you much about it. It is supposed to be a cult classic. Here is what he looks like now:
John McEnery (Mercutio)
Who could forget John McEnery’s turn as Mercutio? He was, in a word, brilliant. He is a well-known British stage actor, but his movie roles have not exactly been few and far between.
Here he is now in a recent production of Taking Sides:
Incidentally, as I researched information for this post, I found out that Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting apparently dated and were quite serious about each other. In fact, in a 1995 interview with a Russian journalist, Whiting said,
It is very strange, because we have never spoken to western journalists about the truth. We madly liked one another, or, at least, I was madly in love with her. But our paths in life have not coincided, unfortunately. No one understands it, but it was the truth. I liked her very much.
The two remain friends. Here’s a recent picture of them together:
Update, 5/16/07: I appreciate the interest this post continues to receive. I love this film, and I am so pleased that Shakespeare fans everywhere continue to derive enjoyment from it. I am, however, going to close the comments for this post. Unfortunately, the caliber of comments has gradually devolved into fangirly squeeing, coupled the the random complaint about Leonard Whiting’s age. In the interests of maintaining a higher level of discourse, comments will no longer be accepted for this particular post. I ask that you use my contact form if you have questions about this post.
I can’t remember if I mentioned here that I am accompanying the 10th graders on their class trip to Boston next month. I’m really looking forward to it, especially since I found out that Evan, the Experiential Educator in charge of class trips like this and Judaics instructor extraordinaire, arranged for us to visit Walden.
I am not sure when I first read Walden, but I know that it has been profoundly influential over my outlook in life. I can’t claim to have simplified much of anything, but I have lain in the grass and watched the ants — and I wrote a poem about it that I’ve lost over the years. I’ve found perfect oneness with God by the side of a small lake in the woods and in the music of a babbling creek on a mountaintop. I relate to Thoreau, and sometimes I’ve wished I could be a bit more like him.
I wonder what it will be like to actually walk in his footsteps.
Then again, it sounds like the highlight of the trip, at least for one of my students, will be seeing the Blue Man Group. Maybe, though… maybe they’ll get it. Maybe they’ll breathe it in the air and feel it through the soles of their feet.
I learned this, at least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.–from the “Conclusion” to Walden
Trivia #6: How much did Thoreau spend when he built his cabin near Walden Pond?
Answer: $28.12 1/2
I think Microsoft has something to worry about. Firefox usage is on the rise.
I just checked my statistics, and 64% of visitors to my site use Firefox. Of course, that includes my own visits: checking my entries for errors, accessing my blogroll. IE users have dropped to 31%, with Mozilla and Netscape at 3% and 2% respectively. A few months ago when I first downloaded Firefox, I noticed only a few visitors to my site used it — in fact, the Firefox users were basically limited to Crankydragon and me. I don’t know what kind of numbers Firefox is looking at in the grand scheme of things, but this article cites a study that found that Firefox gained a 4.6% share in the two months since Version 1.0 was released.
Of course I have gone on at length about my feelings about the browser. If you use it, what do you think? If you haven’t tried it yet, why not?
Bad Behavior has blocked 1031 access attempts in the last 7 days.
