Welcome back from Spring Break, everyone! I had to take an extra day because I was doing spring cleaning and I guess I overdid it a bit and threw out my back. I hope I'll be "back" at it tomorrow. (The pain medicine appears to make me prone to bad jokes.)
As I told you all before spring break, I had to have your interim reports ready for today and I have submitted them to the office. I wrote a report for everyone who is missing more than one journal (that's a lot of you!) and I also wrote a report if you have a tendency to come late (you know who you are) or have missed a number of classes (either with an explanation or not -- you know half the battle is just showing up). One of the reasons we send interim reports is to let you know that you might not be on the right path and give you suggestions as to how you might do better, so that's what I've done. It's not too late to pull up your socks!
Grade 8's -- don't forget you will be doing your "show and tell" speeches next week. Make sure you practice at home before you present.
I hope to see you all tomorrow. Please cooperate with the substitute!
Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Saturday, 26 March 2016
Back from the Big Smoke
The boys and I were off in Ontario for a week visiting my sister in Toronto. Toronto has a lot going for it -- we were wildly busy and hugely entertained the whole time and really enjoyed our visit. We went to the zoo (and saw the baby panda and the baby rhino and the baby polar bear -- I admit I am conflicted about the zoo and zoos in general, because I don't believe in keeping animals in captivity and know they are better off in their own wild state, but the wilderness is under such an unrelenting assault that you have to wonder if these animals can eke out a life in their natural places. Obviously, that's where we need to focus our efforts -- preserving and expanding the natural wild environments -- but until we are able to do that, perhaps for some of these animals, they can survive in these unnatural places and be missionaries for their species when we humans get our act together. It is upsetting to think that in the wilderness, a tiger uses about 20 to 100 square kilometres, and of course, the tigers in the zoo don't even get a kilometre to range in.) It makes me think of that great Jorge Luis Borges story which I will quote here:
Inferno 1, 32
From each day's dawn to dusk each night a leopard, during the final years of the twelfth century, beheld a few boards, some vertical iron bars, shifting men and women, a thick wall, and perhaps a stone gutter stopped with dry leaves. He did not know, he could not know, that what he longed for was love and cruelty and the hot pleasure of tearing things apart and the wind carrying the scent of a deer. But something in him was smothering and rebelling, and God spoke to him in a dream: "You live and will die in this cage so that a man known to me may look at you a predetermined number of times, and may not forget you, and may put your shape and your symbol in a poem which has its necessary place in the scheme of the universe. You suffer captivity, but you will have given a word to the poem." God, in the dream, illumined the animal's brutishness and he understood the reasons, and accepted his destiny; but when he awoke there was only a dark resignation in him, a valiant ignorance, for the machinery of the world is far too complex for the simplicity of a wild beast.
Years later Dante lay dying in Ravenna, as unjustified and as alone as any other man. In a dream God declared to him the secret purpose of his life and his work; Dante, filled with wonder, knew at last who he was and what he was, and he blessed his bitter sufferings. Tradition has it that, on waking, he felt he had been given -- and then had lost -- something infinite, something he would not be able to recover, or even to glimpse, for the machinery of the world is far too complex for the simplicity of men.
I cannot read that vignette without becoming emotional. The world is much too complex for us to understand and there are so many mysteries beyond our comprehension. We hope our suffering has a purpose. Perhaps one word in "The Divine Comedy" is worth the suffering of the leopard.
I wanted to email a number of you with whom I have discussed the concept of determinism and point you to an excellent program on "The Nature of Things" from last week. It was called "My Brain Made Me Do It" and was about the powerful influence of brain chemistry on our behaviour. Scientists had developed a medicine to treat the severe symptoms of Parkinson's disease and the medicine was very effective in eliminating the crippling tics experienced by sufferers of the disease. But the medicine also altered the activity in the brains of a number of the patients and turned them into problem gamblers! Now, most of us think that people can decide whether or not to gamble and people who get into trouble with gambling should "just stop", but it was determined that the medicine for Parkinson's had affected these patients' ability to control their behaviour. Scientists and researchers said that a number of things can alter our brain chemistry -- injuries as children, experiences we have, foods we eat -- and sometimes, these alterations make us unable to control our behaviours. It was a fascinating program and certainly bolstered my belief in determinism. Instead of punishing people who are suffering through addictions, maybe we should try to find out why some of us do not become addicted to drugs or alcohol and some of us do. The same could follow for criminal activity in general. Watch the program (I imagine it's available on You-tube, or through the CBC.)
The last thing I wanted to mention was that we went to a show at The Second City while we were in Toronto. The Second City is one of the original homes of what has become a hugely successful improv comedy breeding ground. Here's a list of some names that have come from the stages of Second City: Paul Sills, Jerry Stiller, Alan Arkin, Peter Boyle, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Catherine O'Hara, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jane Lynch, Mike Myers, Steve Carrell, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Eugene Levy and Colin Mochrie. Wow! from pre-1970 to now, quite a cast of great actors, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The show we saw -- "The Hotline Always Blings Twice" -- was a collection of topical sketches and was terrific. There were lots of great moments but one that stood out for me was an elementary show and tell -- it started with a little boy showing his iPad and then a man came out. He said that he realized he didn't really fit in but that he was a Syrian refugee and since there was no room in adult ESL classes, he was told to enrol in this class. He spoke about the differences he was noticing between Canadians and himself (like, for him, it was a big problem when he looked over his shoulder and found that his house had been blown up and for Canadians, we are bummed out by it being Monday). It was really funny but it also was uncomfortable and poignant and that's what great comedy should do -- it has to make you laugh, of course, but it should also make you think and if it's really great, it should shake you up a bit. The program mentioned that the training at Second City focuses on helping actors play fully developed characters -- that's where the humour comes from, not from "trying to be funny". Isn't that what I always say? (As my sister and I have always said to each other, "she's right, she's right, she's always right!")
Inferno 1, 32
From each day's dawn to dusk each night a leopard, during the final years of the twelfth century, beheld a few boards, some vertical iron bars, shifting men and women, a thick wall, and perhaps a stone gutter stopped with dry leaves. He did not know, he could not know, that what he longed for was love and cruelty and the hot pleasure of tearing things apart and the wind carrying the scent of a deer. But something in him was smothering and rebelling, and God spoke to him in a dream: "You live and will die in this cage so that a man known to me may look at you a predetermined number of times, and may not forget you, and may put your shape and your symbol in a poem which has its necessary place in the scheme of the universe. You suffer captivity, but you will have given a word to the poem." God, in the dream, illumined the animal's brutishness and he understood the reasons, and accepted his destiny; but when he awoke there was only a dark resignation in him, a valiant ignorance, for the machinery of the world is far too complex for the simplicity of a wild beast.
Years later Dante lay dying in Ravenna, as unjustified and as alone as any other man. In a dream God declared to him the secret purpose of his life and his work; Dante, filled with wonder, knew at last who he was and what he was, and he blessed his bitter sufferings. Tradition has it that, on waking, he felt he had been given -- and then had lost -- something infinite, something he would not be able to recover, or even to glimpse, for the machinery of the world is far too complex for the simplicity of men.
I cannot read that vignette without becoming emotional. The world is much too complex for us to understand and there are so many mysteries beyond our comprehension. We hope our suffering has a purpose. Perhaps one word in "The Divine Comedy" is worth the suffering of the leopard.
I wanted to email a number of you with whom I have discussed the concept of determinism and point you to an excellent program on "The Nature of Things" from last week. It was called "My Brain Made Me Do It" and was about the powerful influence of brain chemistry on our behaviour. Scientists had developed a medicine to treat the severe symptoms of Parkinson's disease and the medicine was very effective in eliminating the crippling tics experienced by sufferers of the disease. But the medicine also altered the activity in the brains of a number of the patients and turned them into problem gamblers! Now, most of us think that people can decide whether or not to gamble and people who get into trouble with gambling should "just stop", but it was determined that the medicine for Parkinson's had affected these patients' ability to control their behaviour. Scientists and researchers said that a number of things can alter our brain chemistry -- injuries as children, experiences we have, foods we eat -- and sometimes, these alterations make us unable to control our behaviours. It was a fascinating program and certainly bolstered my belief in determinism. Instead of punishing people who are suffering through addictions, maybe we should try to find out why some of us do not become addicted to drugs or alcohol and some of us do. The same could follow for criminal activity in general. Watch the program (I imagine it's available on You-tube, or through the CBC.)
The last thing I wanted to mention was that we went to a show at The Second City while we were in Toronto. The Second City is one of the original homes of what has become a hugely successful improv comedy breeding ground. Here's a list of some names that have come from the stages of Second City: Paul Sills, Jerry Stiller, Alan Arkin, Peter Boyle, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Catherine O'Hara, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jane Lynch, Mike Myers, Steve Carrell, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Eugene Levy and Colin Mochrie. Wow! from pre-1970 to now, quite a cast of great actors, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The show we saw -- "The Hotline Always Blings Twice" -- was a collection of topical sketches and was terrific. There were lots of great moments but one that stood out for me was an elementary show and tell -- it started with a little boy showing his iPad and then a man came out. He said that he realized he didn't really fit in but that he was a Syrian refugee and since there was no room in adult ESL classes, he was told to enrol in this class. He spoke about the differences he was noticing between Canadians and himself (like, for him, it was a big problem when he looked over his shoulder and found that his house had been blown up and for Canadians, we are bummed out by it being Monday). It was really funny but it also was uncomfortable and poignant and that's what great comedy should do -- it has to make you laugh, of course, but it should also make you think and if it's really great, it should shake you up a bit. The program mentioned that the training at Second City focuses on helping actors play fully developed characters -- that's where the humour comes from, not from "trying to be funny". Isn't that what I always say? (As my sister and I have always said to each other, "she's right, she's right, she's always right!")
Thursday, 17 March 2016
Love is a mystery
I had to share this story I read this morning in the news.
In 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza, a retired Brazilian bricklayer, who lives in a fishing village just off the coast at Rio de Janeiro, spotted a little Magellanic penguin soaked in oil on the beach. The little bird was emaciated and in a lot of trouble. The man fed the penguin daily and looked out for him until he seemed to be better and then he expected that the bird would leave. But Dindim (the name he gave the penguin) didn't. He stayed for 11 months -- even after Joao took him out to sea in a boat, hoping that would help him figure out where he should be. After Dindim moulted and grew a new set of feathers, he did leave, but apparently he returns every four months or so, and each time, shows more affection for Joao. He said, "I love the penguin like it's my own child, and I believe he loves me."
Of course, scientific folks say that Dindim has "imprinted" on Joao. Well, call it what you like, it sounds like love to me. When Dindim sees Joao, he wags his tail and "honks with delight". He won't let any other human get near him.
Once again, it seems as if we have no idea what goes on in an animal's mind. We use words like "imprint" to denigrate their emotional lives, because that is more comfortable to us, since we hurt them and kill them and exploit them, but I think in our hearts, we know that there is more to it than that. I guess we could say that when we fall in love, we're imprinted on someone, too.
We saw an episode of "Life on Earth" about insects the other day and it was fascinating. One part showed grass-cutter ants -- they are specialized for their jobs -- some of them have huge heads with enormous cutting jaws and they climb the grass and cut off pieces and then the porters (who look like normal ants) carry the pieces of grass back to the anthill. The ants don't eat the grass. They are farmers and they feed the grass to a fungus that grows in their hill and they do eat the fungus. "How do they know that? " Anthony asked. Well, I guess they don't "know" it. They can't explain it in a way that we would understand. But they do it and they invest all the energy and determination that they have in it. It's not just love that is a mystery, but life itself.
In 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza, a retired Brazilian bricklayer, who lives in a fishing village just off the coast at Rio de Janeiro, spotted a little Magellanic penguin soaked in oil on the beach. The little bird was emaciated and in a lot of trouble. The man fed the penguin daily and looked out for him until he seemed to be better and then he expected that the bird would leave. But Dindim (the name he gave the penguin) didn't. He stayed for 11 months -- even after Joao took him out to sea in a boat, hoping that would help him figure out where he should be. After Dindim moulted and grew a new set of feathers, he did leave, but apparently he returns every four months or so, and each time, shows more affection for Joao. He said, "I love the penguin like it's my own child, and I believe he loves me."
Of course, scientific folks say that Dindim has "imprinted" on Joao. Well, call it what you like, it sounds like love to me. When Dindim sees Joao, he wags his tail and "honks with delight". He won't let any other human get near him.
Once again, it seems as if we have no idea what goes on in an animal's mind. We use words like "imprint" to denigrate their emotional lives, because that is more comfortable to us, since we hurt them and kill them and exploit them, but I think in our hearts, we know that there is more to it than that. I guess we could say that when we fall in love, we're imprinted on someone, too.
We saw an episode of "Life on Earth" about insects the other day and it was fascinating. One part showed grass-cutter ants -- they are specialized for their jobs -- some of them have huge heads with enormous cutting jaws and they climb the grass and cut off pieces and then the porters (who look like normal ants) carry the pieces of grass back to the anthill. The ants don't eat the grass. They are farmers and they feed the grass to a fungus that grows in their hill and they do eat the fungus. "How do they know that? " Anthony asked. Well, I guess they don't "know" it. They can't explain it in a way that we would understand. But they do it and they invest all the energy and determination that they have in it. It's not just love that is a mystery, but life itself.
Sunday, 13 March 2016
This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
George Bernard Shaw said that. He also said, "Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week." He was a very smart guy (as is evidenced by the amount of thinking he did) and although he had lots of problems (read his biography) as we all do, he had a good sense of humour and wrote a number of really good plays. "Arms and the Man" is a particular favourite of mine.
I have been reading a book called The Year of Lear about the year in which Shakespeare wrote "King Lear" (and also "Macbeth" and "Antony and Cleopatra"!!) It was a very interesting book, with lots of insight into the court of King James (of the Bible fame) and the Gunpowder Plot (the reason British people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on November 5) and what might have been going on in Shakespeare's head while he was writing three of the greatest plays in the English language. The author, James Shapiro, does not subscribe to the idiotic theory that Shakespeare didn't actually write Shakespeare's plays. I do not see how anyone (and lots of otherwise intelligent people think this) can actually believe that anyone else was responsible for Shakespeare's work. No one doubted it while he was alive -- there is lots of evidence that it was accepted that he was writing them. People like Ben Jonson knew him and didn't think he was too stupid to write them. I think it's people who don't understand the imagination (even though people like Mark Twain should understand it) who are some of the deniers.
I went to the Senior Boys' Basketball game last night. Yes, me, the enemy of basketball! (I am just joking when I say that. I am sometimes frustrated because it gets in the way of rehearsal time, but I understand that it's a great game, very fast and exciting, and that some people love it, which is fine with me. I'm sure basketball is relieved to hear that!) It was a very exciting game and the boys were terrific and it is just bad luck that they lost and the other team won. The boys have had a great season and I hope that, in time, they will realize that. Having never played any sports with any skill at all, I can only imagine how devastating it must be to lose such a hard fought game, especially when you are as determined and skillful as our boys demonstrated themselves to be, but being second in the entire province is an outstanding achievement and I was very proud of how the boys strived to the end and never stopped thinking and trying to do their best. Congratulations to them for their amazing season and a great showing in this tournament. They should be very proud of themselves.
I have been reading a book called The Year of Lear about the year in which Shakespeare wrote "King Lear" (and also "Macbeth" and "Antony and Cleopatra"!!) It was a very interesting book, with lots of insight into the court of King James (of the Bible fame) and the Gunpowder Plot (the reason British people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on November 5) and what might have been going on in Shakespeare's head while he was writing three of the greatest plays in the English language. The author, James Shapiro, does not subscribe to the idiotic theory that Shakespeare didn't actually write Shakespeare's plays. I do not see how anyone (and lots of otherwise intelligent people think this) can actually believe that anyone else was responsible for Shakespeare's work. No one doubted it while he was alive -- there is lots of evidence that it was accepted that he was writing them. People like Ben Jonson knew him and didn't think he was too stupid to write them. I think it's people who don't understand the imagination (even though people like Mark Twain should understand it) who are some of the deniers.
I went to the Senior Boys' Basketball game last night. Yes, me, the enemy of basketball! (I am just joking when I say that. I am sometimes frustrated because it gets in the way of rehearsal time, but I understand that it's a great game, very fast and exciting, and that some people love it, which is fine with me. I'm sure basketball is relieved to hear that!) It was a very exciting game and the boys were terrific and it is just bad luck that they lost and the other team won. The boys have had a great season and I hope that, in time, they will realize that. Having never played any sports with any skill at all, I can only imagine how devastating it must be to lose such a hard fought game, especially when you are as determined and skillful as our boys demonstrated themselves to be, but being second in the entire province is an outstanding achievement and I was very proud of how the boys strived to the end and never stopped thinking and trying to do their best. Congratulations to them for their amazing season and a great showing in this tournament. They should be very proud of themselves.
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Music sweet as love
It appears I have chosen Sunday as my day to blog, because Monday is such a frantic day -- the new week, school, often meetings of some sort, certainly rehearsals as well. This Sunday morning, I woke up to sun streaming in my window and a bright red mark on the side of my knee to show that I had slept so soundly that I hadn't moved!
It felt like spring and Daisy and I got up eagerly and went out for our walk. The boys and I have decided to take part in the Daffodil 5 K Run in April (to raise money to care for people living with cancer, which is, of course, very close to our hearts) and so I am trying to train a bit and run/walk and go further than we do on weekdays. As always, we saw lots of waterbirds on the inlet and this morning the water was as smooth and silky as a lovely piece of dark blue satin. We made our way through the park to the marsh and were treated with the song of an unseen song sparrow (they are such dull-looking birds, but such great singers -- like Susan Boyle, or someone like that). It made me think of poetry about bird song, like Shelley's "Ode to a Skylark" from which the above quote comes. Percy Bysshe Shelley was a pre-eminent poet and progressive thinker, far ahead of his time (which was Victorian). "Ozymandias" is a terrific sonnet of his that is one of my favourite poems.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."[4]
Can't you just picture the scene?
It felt like spring and Daisy and I got up eagerly and went out for our walk. The boys and I have decided to take part in the Daffodil 5 K Run in April (to raise money to care for people living with cancer, which is, of course, very close to our hearts) and so I am trying to train a bit and run/walk and go further than we do on weekdays. As always, we saw lots of waterbirds on the inlet and this morning the water was as smooth and silky as a lovely piece of dark blue satin. We made our way through the park to the marsh and were treated with the song of an unseen song sparrow (they are such dull-looking birds, but such great singers -- like Susan Boyle, or someone like that). It made me think of poetry about bird song, like Shelley's "Ode to a Skylark" from which the above quote comes. Percy Bysshe Shelley was a pre-eminent poet and progressive thinker, far ahead of his time (which was Victorian). "Ozymandias" is a terrific sonnet of his that is one of my favourite poems.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."[4]
Can't you just picture the scene?
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Winners and Losers Redux
Journal for Acting 11/12 (early for those of you who are on the phabulous phield trip to Phictoria!)
We've been working on knockoffs of the play "Winners and Losers". Can all things be reduced to a winner or a loser? (Give your opinion.) Think of something (not the thing you're debating) that you think is a winner and something that you think is a loser. Explain why you think the way you do.
Drama 9/10: We will recite "Speak the speech" on Monday and Tuesday! Be ready to go.
Journal: What advice would you give to actors? ("Speak the speech" as you remember, I'm sure, is Hamlet's advice to the players.)
Theatre Production 11/12: The Drama Club is working on "Ten Years Later" which explores a high school drama club's tenth reunion. It takes place at the Overhook Hotel. At one point in the play, the alumni are locked in to the ballroom where the reunion takes place. Design a logo for the Overhook -- it will appear on the set and on the program and poster for the play. Think about metaphors!
Directors/Scriptwriters: Try to have a draft of your adaptation ready for Monday. Focus on plot!
Drama 8: Is the myth "Creation of the World" a good story to act out? Explain why or why not. Describe what issues you've dealt with in planning your play. Has anyone in the group really helped you make progress and figure out what to do? Has anyone hindered your progress? How would you assess your own contribution?
We've been working on knockoffs of the play "Winners and Losers". Can all things be reduced to a winner or a loser? (Give your opinion.) Think of something (not the thing you're debating) that you think is a winner and something that you think is a loser. Explain why you think the way you do.
Drama 9/10: We will recite "Speak the speech" on Monday and Tuesday! Be ready to go.
Journal: What advice would you give to actors? ("Speak the speech" as you remember, I'm sure, is Hamlet's advice to the players.)
Theatre Production 11/12: The Drama Club is working on "Ten Years Later" which explores a high school drama club's tenth reunion. It takes place at the Overhook Hotel. At one point in the play, the alumni are locked in to the ballroom where the reunion takes place. Design a logo for the Overhook -- it will appear on the set and on the program and poster for the play. Think about metaphors!
Directors/Scriptwriters: Try to have a draft of your adaptation ready for Monday. Focus on plot!
Drama 8: Is the myth "Creation of the World" a good story to act out? Explain why or why not. Describe what issues you've dealt with in planning your play. Has anyone in the group really helped you make progress and figure out what to do? Has anyone hindered your progress? How would you assess your own contribution?
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