Loreena McKennitt Sampler

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I haven’t written in something like a week. I need to make more time for getting my thoughts down.

I have changed the radio blog. Unfortunately, until the end of the month when I hope to buy more server space, I only had room for these four songs. I like to have at least five.

Loreena McKennitt is an artist I associate with Renaissance Faires, new age Celtic music, nature religions, and fantasy literature. She was a strong influence on my own book.

The first track, “Mystic’s Dream,” comes from McKennitt’s 1994 album The Mask and Mirror. It also appeared on the soundtrack to the TNT production of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon.

“The Mummer’s Dance” is from 1997’s The Book of Secrets.

The traditional song “Greensleeves” and “All Soul’s Night” are from 1992’s The Visit.

I hope you enjoy them.

Oh, and those of you visiting me from my Upsaid diary need to change your bookmarks/blogrolls soon. On May 28, my Upsaid premium membership will expire, and I plan to update only my planethuff.com blog from that point on.

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New School Stuff

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I found out this morning I can’t go to some textbook training being offered by my new school system. It conflicts with post-planning in my current system. That bites. But I am familiar with the textbooks we’re using, having used them before in other places.

It looks like I will be teaching British Literature (yay! for the first time), World Literature (which is cool as well, because even if I’m not familiar with most of the selections, I get to teach part of The Niebelungenlied, Chrétien de Troyes, and Marie de France. I had no hope of ever touching that stuff unless I taught college, but my school is offering World Literature to non-collegebound seniors, so lucky me! In the British Lit., it looks like I get to cover Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Macbeth, a Victorian novel (I assume there are several selections there), and James Joyce. The World Lit. includes selections like the ones I mentioned, plus A Doll’s House, The Metamorphosis, and Othello. I’ve got some reading to do this summer. Aside from those two courses, I will be teaching 9th grade, which is familiar turf, as I taught 9th grade every year I taught high school. I will be teaching Romeo and Juliet and The Odyssey (for those of you who don’t remember 9th grade), among some other things. I’m not sure what novel selections are available for ninth graders.

I’ve been spending some time downloading lesson ideas. The Folger Shakespeare Library has a ton of good stuff. I added their Shakespeare Set Free series to my Amazon Wish List. I used to own the two that had Romeo and Juliet/A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Othello in them. I loaned them both to other teachers and never got them back. Sigh.

I also found out (in an oblique fashion) that I will have a laptop provided for my use. My department head said I wouldn’t be able to check it out until pre-planning, which would mean I’d have had to spend the textbook training sessions peeking over someone else’s shoulder. W00t! (As the classy ladies say.) You know how much easier that’s going to make my job? And just so we’re all clear on this — it’s my work computer, so no one’s using it but me.

I finally found the high school. I couldn’t see it very well, because it’s still under construction, so the entrance was gated, but it looked HUGE. And it’s right next to a Kids R Kids, which is the day care chain that Dylan and Maggie already go to. Serendipity! The elementary school Sarah would go to is right down the same road, and so is the middle school. She was very excited about that. She was telling Steve all about it. She said the school was really nice (which it is), and she was very animated as she described the close proximity of all the schools and the day care center.

Colonial House premieres on Monday, May 17 here in Georgia. Find out when you can see it where you live. If it’s anything as good as Frontier House, you don’t want to miss it. In this day when Reality TV is all the rage, why not watch some Reality TV that will teach you something? Living history is incredible. There was a program that did an Anglo-Saxon village, but I don’t know what it was called. I liked it. I’d like to see them do Medieval House; however, despite my interest in the Middle Ages, I would not be volunteering to participate (much as I’d be tempted). I’m too soft to live the way those hardy folks had to live.

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I Got It!

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I have officially been offered the job I really wanted at the brand new high school opening this fall. I talked to the principal — who has a Master’s from Harvard and a doctorate from Nova — just a little while ago. I spoke with the lady who will be my department head last night. Earlier in the day, I had sent her an e-mail just touching base (and hinting that I might have other offers). She tried very hard to reach me, ultimately telling me I could call her as late as midnight. It very nearly was before I reached her! She told me I had great recommendations from my references. I was so pleased. I am just so excited I can hardly stand it. I couldn’t fall asleep despite being exhausted last night.

Before I found out I had it, I went to a church, knelt on the steps in front of the large wooden double doors, and prayed. I can’t recall ever doing that before.

I am still finishing up Holy Blood, Holy Grail. I can’t figure out why the authors felt they needed to deny Jesus died during His crucifixion in order to prove their thesis that Mary Magdalene was the Holy Grail. They can deny His divinity without having to deny the crucifixion killed Him. I just felt that argument was wildly stupid. And they show themselves to be no biblical scholars, that’s for sure. By the way, I figured out another thing Dan Brown did. The character Leigh Teabing’s name is derived from one of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Richard Leigh. That’s pretty straightforward and obvious. But I looked again at the last name, Teabing. It’s not a name I’ve ever heard, and I was sure it was made up. It was. It’s an anagram of “Baigent” — as in Michael Baigent, another of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

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Et In Arcadia Ego

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It’s true I’ve been reading Holy Blood, Holy Grail, cited in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code by character Leigh Teabing (a lifelong student of Grail legends) as a book whose authors “made some dubious leaps of faith in their analysis, but their fundamental premise is sound, and to their credit, they finally brought the idea of Christ’s bloodline into the mainstream” (254).

It’s interesting. Fascinating even. But it’s been bugging me for several reasons. First of all, Leigh Teabing insists in The Da Vinci Code that Grail scholars have either a) come to believe the Grail represents a woman or b) ignore this fact because it shakes the foundations of history and faith. What? Listen, I consider myself a fairly well-versed Arthurian scholar, and I never heard that. That was the first thing that made me pause. If anything, I think it’s more accurate to say that Christianity was grafted on to Grail legends, because similar objects appear in ancient Celtic stories collected in such works as The Mabinogion. After all I’ve read, all of sudden here’s something I’ve never heard? Well, of course, I am not an expert, so I determined to read Holy Blood, Holy Grail to find out what this theory is all about.

The second thing that bothered me about the book was the list of eminent men involved in the Priory of Sion. How oddly coincidental would it be if all those great names, however interested in esoterica some of them might have been, had all been members of a secret society that managed to stay hidden until uncovered by researchers in the 20th century?
Continue reading “Et In Arcadia Ego” →

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Guess What Happened to Me

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Someone stole the number for my debit card and has been trying to make charges. Unfortunately, the hapless thief didn’t know he was dealing with my bank account, which was in the hole. Still, there were these little charges — $.50, $.47, $1.08 that my bank was paying, but hitting me with overdraft fees for. The jerk successfully charged about $50 on the card, which was paid by my bank. That was my first clue that something was wrong — I got these overdraft notices in the mail for two charges, but I knew I hadn’t made them (knowing my bank account was in the red). The person in question has just made a charge for about $109 that hasn’t gone through yet. I tried to contact the company whom he charged whatever web services he was buying to, but they are closed on weekends. I hope that will be the end of it. I called the bank, and they shut down that card, so if the pecker tries to charge anything else, it won’t work out. Anyway, it turned out those little charges were for foreign currency conversion. I wish I’d been overseas. I could use a nice vacation like that. Still, it made me think. Why didn’t Bank of America think that was weird and contact me? I know of other banks that will do that. My mother’s does. I am thinking about closing my account with them and setting up shop elsewhere. Not that anyone wouldn’t love to guard over the average $20 I seem to have most of the time, you know.

I still haven’t heard from the people I interviewed with on Tuesday. I sent a follow-up e-mail both to the department head and the principal. The principal didn’t write back, but the dept. head did:

Thanks for the information [my cell phone number]. I hope to be able to get back to you sometime this week. Sometimes it takes way too long to get the information we need from downtown – but I assure you that I’m anxious to follow up! Thanks, again, for your effort to meet so late on a school night – I hope you weren’t too tired this morning.

I am still very nervous. I really want that job. I do have an interview with another school on Wednesday, but it’s too far away, and I don’t really want it. Still, if they offer me a contract, and I haven’t heard from my first choice, I could use it as leverage to get them to make an offer.

Sarah spent a long weekend with her dad in Panama City, Fl. I know she enjoyed herself. I am anxious to see her later today so she can tell me all about it.

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Who Was the Man in the Iron Mask?

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So I had the big job interview last night. I think it went well, but now I sit in for the wait. I hate the wait. I did lay it on the line about the problems I’ve had teaching where I am now. I hope it all works out, because working there would be incredible. It will make me feel better to know I have something in place for next year.

Dylan hasn’t been feeling well. I think he’s teething. He’s usually so easy-going and cheerful. Lately, he’s been grumpy.

A mention of the legend of the Man in the Iron Mask in the book I’m currently reading reminded me how very fascinating I’ve always found that particular story. Who did Louis XIV hate so much that he ordered that horrific punishment on him? Check out Louis XIV and the Man in the Iron Mask. By the way… my book seems to subscribe to the theory that he was Nicholas Fouquet.

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If They’re Using Double Negatives, They Must Need Education

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I have a job interview Tuesday. It’s the teaching job I really, really want. It would be at a brand new high school opening this fall. Can you imagine having the opportunity to inaugurate a school? I really got along well with the English Department Head when I met her at a job fair almost two months ago. She e-mailed me Thursday night from home to ask me if I’d be available to interview. Then, she e-mailed me twice Friday morning (after I’d replied). First, she wanted a number where she could reach me that morning. Then she sent another e-mail with her cell number, which she was keeping on during the school day (though she said her students were going to be in the media center, so it wouldn’t be the same as interrupting direct instruction). I thought that gesture sounded promising. So I called. My interview is late in the evening on Tuesday. I really need a job for next year, and this one is my first choice. If you have a moment, and you do that sort of thing, I would appreciate your prayer. If not, I’d at least appreciate crossed fingers, well-wishes, etc.

I had to make a late-night run to Wal-Mart and CVS. Maggie has a persistent case of head lice. I have tried RID and its Wal-Mart clone with no success. I tried a home remedy with mayonnaise and vinegar. I’m about to go nuts with this. I got the CVS brand that has the same medicine as Nix, which the Internet sites I researched said is better than RID. I want to know who that little kid who brought lice into her classroom is. Little butthead.

While I was driving back from Wal-Mart, I did something I rarely do anymore at the ripe old age of 32. Led Zeppelin’s cover of Robert Johnson’s “Travelling Riverside Blues” came on the radio, and I turned it up and completely rocked out. And then they played Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” It was totally tubular, man.

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More Pictures

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I’ve uploaded what Mom tells me is the last of the pictures. These are of Dylan’s birthday. He smeared cupcake all over himself. His present was a truck. All you need to do is look at the Spring Photos album.

My students (and Sarah) are taking the CRCT for the rest of this week and part of next week. It makes for quiet days that seem to pass more quickly. That’s good. But I really hate this climate of testing in our society right now. I know it is designed to hold schools accountable, but it stresses the kids out, stresses the teachers out, and interrupts learning. That’s right, it does. I wish there was some other way we could accomplish the same goals.

I received an e-mail from a parent about her son yesterday. She is also a teacher. I think she teaches music at a nearby elementary school. She said “his self” twice in the e-mail. She’s a teacher. Grrrr. She had to take English in college. I’d wager money it wasn’t her best subject.

Papers don’t grade themselves, so I had better go. If I invented self-grading pens for teachers, I’d make a mint.

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Norah Jones Sampler

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I bring you this week’s music from Grammy-winner Norah Jones. I think she’s got a great voice. I don’t know why, but listening to her makes me think of my childhood a bit. And also living in Athens when I was in college.

The first song on the playlist is “Turn Me On,” from Come Away With Me. It’s a song written by Nashville legend J. D. Loudermilk.

The next track is “One Flight Down,” also from Come Away With Me. This one really sticks in my head when I hear it. I like the old-time gospel/blues/country blend in the song.

The third song is “Humble Me” from Jones’s second album, Feels Like Home. I thought the lyrics were sad.

The fourth song is “Don’t Know Why,” which was a big hit from her first album. I like the guitar. In fact, I find that I often like the guitar in her music. She’s got a good band.

The last song is “Carnival Town” from Feels Like Home. I like the way it reminds me of being a child, riding the amusement park rides. But there’s this sadness of being unfulfilled, of being stuck going nowhere.

I really like the spare quality in her music. I know some people think it’s boring, but I think it’s beautiful in its simplicity.

The music reflects my mood. I’m feeling down about work. I dread going to my job every day. I still don’t have a job for next year, and I grow more nervous about it every day. I feel stuck, like I’m spinning my wheels. I wish something would happen. What I mean, is I wish I would get a job. The prospect of being out of work again scares me.

In my heart, given the situation I’m working in, I know I’m doing the best I can do. Discipline at my school is insane. It’s almost at the point where the inmates are running the asylum. Almost. It’s spring, and the kids are getting crazier and crazier. I have to get back into high school. This is making me nuts. So given that I know I’m doing the best I can, I’m still feeling like an utter failure at work. Sigh.

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The Da Vinci Code

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Wow. Phenomenal read. I could scarcely put this down. I won’t say the characters were especially well-drawn or memorable, with the exception of Sir Leigh Teabing. What I mean by that, is any characters might have been chucked into this story, and it would have moved as well. Maybe that device allows the reader to feel like a character? It was much more plot-driven. And what a plot. I had heard all this before, but to see it put together the way Dan Brown has done… it really made me think. I’m still thinking.

SPOILER! Read no further if you have plans to read the book…
Continue reading “The Da Vinci Code” →

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