Friday, June 28, 2013

Tears of a Clown*

There's nothing good about being bipolar, I'll tell you that right now.  I go from feeling great and impervious to whatever the world dishes out to not being able to handle the slightest provocation without cursing like a sailor and having total writer's block.  I yelled and cursed and screamed when things weren't going my way, and the worst part is, it doesn't change anything other than the depths of my misery. And yes, I'm on my meds. 

Nowhere to go but up: Onward and upward.

*--Henry Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder, for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Make It Happen, 1967.


Tuesday, June 25, 2013

It's a Small World*

The following countries are now represented in the Prisms Hall of Fame (okay, so it just means that someone from that country has looked at posts on this blog):

United States of America
Algeria (11/6/16)
Argentina
Australia (2/13/16)
Bangladesh (6/7/17)
Belgium (10/7/16)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2/21/17)
Brazil
Bulgaria (9/27/13)
Cambodia (8/1/2017)
Canada
Chile (11/15/16)
China (7/25/13)
Columbia (5/6/16)
Croatia (8/20/16)
Cuba
Denmark
Dominican Republic (2/6/16)
Ecuador (12/3/17)
Estonia (3/27/17)
Egypt (7/2/13)
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong (6/30/16)
India (4/5/16)
Indonesia
Iraq (2/24/2017)
Ireland (3/29/2017)
Israel (6/22/16)
Italy (1/31/17)
Japan (7/16/2015)
Kenya (7/17/2016)
Latvia (2/20/17)
Lithuania (6/22/14)
Malaysia
Maldives (9/15/19)
Mauritius (7/13/2016)
Mexico
Moldova (6/27/2013)
Morocco (11/28/2016)
Netherlands
New Zealand (1/23/2016)
Norway (7/15/2013)
Oman (6/7/2016)
Peru (10/26/16)
Philippines
Poland
Portugal (8/3/15)
Romania (09/19/14, and not just one, but nineteen hits in one day.  Strange)
Russia
St. Lucia (9/11/2015)
Saudi Arabia (8/21/16)
Serbia (7/18/2013)
Singapore (4/10/2016)
South Africa (12/7/2013--and the first responder I've had in quite some time--in Afrikaans, no less!)
South Korea (7/19/2016)
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland (3/11/16)
Taiwan (3/6/16)
Thailand (8/17/16)
Turkey (10/10/16)
Turkmenistan (9/7/2017)
Turks and Caicos Islands (5/15/16)
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates (6/20/2017)
United Kingdom
"Unknown Region" (8/30/18)
Uruguay (1/19/17)
Vietnam
Sixty-eight countries now--added Brazil, Cuba and Moldova this afternoon!(June 27 2013) and Poland (6/28/13). I only wish that I could visit them before it's too late.  Of the countries that are listed above, what are some must-see sites?  They can be natural, cultural, political, historical in nature, famous or not.  I'll even take suggestions for the USA. Taking any and all suggestions.

I'd love to visit Santa Fe for the Opera Festival; Tanglewood; Chicago for the Symphony; Hollywood just to say I'd been there, although truth be told I probably wouldn't recognize too many current stars.

In Canada, the Calgary Stampede and the Banff Music Festival--I've been thru eastern and central Canada but never the Pacific coast, and I hear it's beautiful.

What are YOUR suggestions?  Make them memorable!

*--Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, 1964 (for the World's Fair).  Yeah, yeah, I know.

Monday, June 24, 2013

What's New?*

Hi all--nothing profound on this post.  Just a quick note to let you know that I'm working hard on my classes, getting my son to finish his Eagle requirements before he ages out on July 12 (AGGGGHHH), and generally trying to keep the house fixed up. Smoked two chickens this morning, used the meat for tacos at lunch. Numms.

It's 1220 am Monday, and I really need to get to bed--and I really need to make progress on my papers. I have one due on Friday, two on Sunday, so I'm concentrating on writing the first and laying the groundwork for the other two. Add two quizzes, doctor's appointments, and everything else that goes with being a semi-retired dad and it's a wonder I don't go cuckoo. Praise God!
Cheers.
*--Johnny Burke and Bob Haggart, 1939. Recorded by many devotees of the Great American Songbook.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Secret Agent Man*

First and foremost, allow me to welcome my new reader from The Netherlands! Welkom vrienden! Please make yourself comfortable, and make yourself known by responding to one of the blog posts.

Leadership and the teaching thereof has always been an elusive subject for me.  Who knows what it is? What constitutes effective leadership? Who needs to know how to lead? Where does leadership ability fall on the Nature/Nurture sliding scale? If you have any ideas on this, let's have a conversation. Cheers.

PS: Welcome to my new reader from Malaysia! Greetings! Feel free to send a comment, a question, or a greeting!

*--Johnny Rivers, 1964. Written and used for the Secret Agent television program (Originally entitled Danger Man for the BBC).

Friday, June 7, 2013

All Summer Long*

Just a quick note on this rainy Friday to let you know I'll be starting an internship on Monday!  The Montgomery County (PA) Historical Society has offered me the opportunity to be their intern in Digital Archives this summer (and beyond, if I so choose).  This will be in addition to my duties at Spring City Library. 

This is kind of a weird twist to the career path but not unwelcome.  I used to say that as a musician, I went where the work was.  No different here, I guess.  Even though it's unpaid, it'll give me a chance to try out my newly-learned knowledge from Dr. Clark's Digital Libraries class,  Wish me luck!
Cheers!

*--Kid Rock, Rock and Roll Jesus, 2007 (Atlantic/Warner Bros.)

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

In The Stone*

This morning is a bit of a cause for celebration on several fronts.

1) I was privileged to participate in one of the most extraordinary conversations of my lifetime last night, and I'm proud to say I initiated it.  If you've been following this blog for any length of time you know I've been openly critical of the Boy Scouts of America for their handling of the current membership/leadership requirements issue--that is, should boys and men who have a homosexual orientation be allowed membership in Scouting as Scouts and adult leaders?  Although many parents--not to mention the scoutmaster and two assistants--begged off the monthly committee meeting, the five parents and leaders who attended spoke at length with The Reverend Dwayne Mosier, pastor of our chartering organization, Reformed Church of the Ascension UCC, about the United Church of Christ's stand on the Boy Scout's new membership policy and our present and future relationship with the charter organization. Pastor Mosier's comments lent clarity to some rather cloudy internal issues, and the tone of the conversation, while lively at times, was always civil and never mean-spirited. 

Out of this landmark meeting came several ideas:

First, that we as an organization are in dire need of training about what to do if a boy (or leader) "comes out" to us, or is actively questioning his orientation.  For most of us that will be a new experience, truly one for which we as members of this organization are unprepared.

Second, that safeguards are in place to help protect the boys (and leaders) from any troubling behavior that may occur.  I suspect that while some will want heightened scrutiny as an edict from National, individual troops and their councils will engage in greater vigilance using existing rules and procedures, individually and in cooperation with each other.  I just hope it doesn't turn into a witch hunt.

Third, upon reflection, it is clear that implementation of the new rules will not be as simple as an edict or series of edicts from National; Individual Scouts, Parents of Scouts, Scouters, Troops, and Councils will have a LOT to say in the months leading up to 2014.  National, are you listening?

Finally, Assistant Scoutmaster Paul Errington brought up the crucial point of how to address bullying.  While we have guidelines in place as a national organization,  It would be a valuable exercise to revisit those guidelines in the fall in the interest of educating and  protecting the boys.

2) I was shown a small but significant kindness by a professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. recently.  Thank you, Dr. Ha! Took a significant load off of my mind.

3) The back of the house is done (for now) and it looks great.  Thanks, Ernest!

Classes begin again Monday the 10th.  Bibliography of the Humanities and Integrating Technologies in Libraries.  It'll be an intense four weeks, but after that it's the home stretch into the fall and graduation in December--almost "written in the stone"! Cheers.

*-- David Foster, Maurice White, Allee Willis, I am, 1979 (Columbia)