my thoughts
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OMG!!!
I don't usually go in for these kinds of survey things but then, when I started reading this list it was like Oh My God! Wow! I've done ALL of these things (sort of)!!!1. Started your own blog *
2. Slept under the stars *
3. Played in a band *
4. Had to look at lots of photos taken by people who have visited Hawaii *
5. Watched a meteor shower *
6. Given more than you can afford to charity *
7. Worked at Disneyland long enough to get the 30% discount on merchandise*
8. Climb every mountain, followed every stream *
9. Held a praying mantis *
10. Sang a solo *
11. Bungee jumped and then woke up in a cold sweat, shaking uncontrollably *
12. Visited Paris, Las Vegas *
13. Watched a lightning storm in Kansas while driving a bus full of sleeping performers *
14. Taught yourself to scratch *
15. Adopted a childlike attitude *
16. Had food poisoning *
17. Rode to the very top of Coit Tower, SF *
18. Grown your own vegetable*
19. Seen Mona Lishman in Fremont *
20. Slept on an overnight train *
21. Had a pillow fight *
22. Hitchhiked *
23. Taken a sick day from elementary school when not ill *
24. Built a snow fortune and then snorted it all away *
25. Held a lamb chop *
26. Gone skinny dipping *
27. Ran a 10K and got passed by a fat Gary Busey *
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice, Las Vegas *
29. Seen a total eclipse *
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset *
31. Hit a home run *
32. Cruised Van Nuys *
33. Seen Yosemite Falls in person *
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors *
35. Seen a calm-ish community *
36. Taught yourself a new language (bwlapt!) *
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied for a minute *
38. Seen Round Table Pizza in person *
39. Climbed over a rock *
40. Seen Michelangelo's David at a cemetery in Glendale *
41. Sung karaoke *
42. Seen Old Faithful (the geyser) erupt *
43. Bought a strange meal at a restaurant *
44. Rode on the Jungle Cruise twice in a row *
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight *
46. Been transported in an ambulance *
47. Had your portrait painted *
48. Gone deep sea fishing *
49. Seen pictures of the Sistine Chapel in person *
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Las Vegas *
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling or swimming *
52. Kissed in the rain *
53. Played in the mud *
54. Gone to a drive-in theater *
55. Been in movies *
56. Visited a great wall at a Chinese Restaurant *
57. Started in show business *
58. Taken a martial arts or jazz 1 class *
59. Visited Russian People *
60. Served soup *
61. Bought Girl Scout Cookies *
62. Gone whale watching (or saw Crosby, Still and Nash in person) *
63. Gave flowers for no reason *
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma for no reason *
65. Gone sky diving and then woke up...etc. *
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp *
67. Bounced a check *
68. Flown in a helicopter *
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy *
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial *
71. Eaten Caviar *
72. Slept under a quilt *
73. Stood and sang in Times Square *
74. Walked among the Evergreens *
75. Been fired from a job (or at the least not rehired) *
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London*
77. Broken a bone *
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle *
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person from the air *
80. Published a book or produced four plays *
81. Been inside a Catholic Church more than once *
82. Bought a brand new car or a really used one *
83. Walked on Fairfax Blvd in Los Angeles *
84. Had your picture in the newspaper *
85. Read the entire Bible *
86. Visited the White House lawn *
87. Prepared food for an animal to eat *
88. Had chickenpox *
89. Someone saved my life (thanks William) *
90. Sat looking at a jury*
91. Met someone famous *
92. Joined a book club *
93. Lost loved ones *
94. Had a baby tantrum*
95. Remembered the Alamo *
96. Saw the Great Salt Lake from the air in person *
97. Been involved in a law suit *
98. Owned a cell phone *
99. Been stung by a bee *
100. Read an entire book in one day *
birthday of a friend 9/18/8
It was his birthday yesterday so I called him on his cell:him - WHAT IS DIS TING RINGIN IN MY POCKET?!
me - I VAS GOING TO CALL YOU AT 3:33 BUT I FORGOT VHY!
him - VHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?!
me - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
him - VHAT?!
We went on like that for a while like the two old jews that we are, making ourselves giggle as we always have. I teased him a bit about his Denny's discount but not too much; the way time has been moving lately I'll be as old as him in about a minute. We asked casual questions like how's life and made casual promises to eat together the next time there isn't a large western state between us. Soon he had to go and I had to go too. I hung up, and the whole of our last 38 years came back to me. The shows, the tours, the street theatre, the faires. Ahh, the faires. Cock and Feathers really was a lot of fun. And I guess the good wizard might have had a little something to do with that. Thank you Mr. Barrett.
Happy birthday my friend.
okay, okay (02/15/08)
Some of my favorite quotes from my favorite movies:1. I always think there’s a band, kid.
2. As you wish.
3. I’d call you a sadistic, sodomistic necrophiliac, but that’s just beating a dead horse.
4. Max, he’s wearing a dress.
5. I make more money than Herbert Hoover… put together!
6. “You can see now?” “Yes, I can see.”
7. If I should begin to die you will have the decency to remove this from my head.
8. What good is having a troll if he won’t do chores?
9. I don’t deserve to be this happy!
10. Dreyfus once wrote that on Devil's Island he would see the most glorious birds. Many
years later in Britanny he realized they had only been sea gulls. (beat) To me they will always be glorious birds.
(sorry, can't stop)
11. He - was - my - boyfwend! (tied with "Put - the - candle - back!!!")
12. We are the music makers - we are the dreamers of dreams.
13. But maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be!!!
14. "Plumpick." "Nickle."
15. Where de white women at?
16. Yeah! Your butt and my face! But wait a minute... it's not a light, it's a match.. and it's not your butt it's my butt! Come back here!
17. What a smell of sulfur.
18. King of jesters and jester to the king!
19. Remember my child, that all the good things fell ta you when you were on Earth, and all the bad things fell to Lois.
20. Te adoro Antonio...
four calling birds (01/12/08)
(Any chance I can to mention Harold and Maude)four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Member of the "Coolest Disneyland Intergalactic Space Band Ever" (Transtar)
2. Giant Beaver on a Children’s TV show
3. Puppeteer for Chucky and The Crypt keeper
4. Instructor and Councilor at Children’s Performing Camp
four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Harold and Maude
2. The King of Hearts
3. Hans Christian Anderson
4. The Music Man
four places I have lived:
1. Los Angeles, California
2. Dayton, Ohio
3. East Haddam, Connecticut
4. Atlanta, Georgia
four TV shows that I watched:
1. The Dick Van Dyke Show
2. 30 something
3. Alias
4. Cops
four places I have been:
1. The Blarney Castle
2. The Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich
3. Stonehenge
4. Under Disneyland
four people who e-mail me:
1. Katie
2. The Lion
3. Eric
4. Battalion Chief Scotty
four people I wish would email me:
1. My Dad but that would be really creepy because he's dead.
2. Q but that would be even creepier because he's dead and didn't like to write much even when he was alive.
3. My Mom but that would be really really creepy because not only is she also dead but when she was alive she couldn't turn on a television with a remote, let alone write and send something on a computer.
4. My agents but that would be the most creepy of all because they obviously think I'M dead.
four of my favorite foods:
1. Thai Food
2. Beef Ribs
3. Sushi
4. Room Service
four places I would rather be right now:
1. The Blarney Castle
2. The Dolder Grand Hotel, Zurich
3. Stonehenge
4. Under Disneyland
four things I am looking forward to in the next year:
1. Making a baby with Katie (daily)
2. Performing in our new theatre company
3. Being able to visit my family in Southern California
4. Enjoying holidays with my stepdaughter
four people who I think should take this survey:
1. Archie
2. Betty
3. Veronica
4. Reggie
class (01/01/08)
If your new years resolution list looks like this:1. Lose weight
2. Find something fun to do on Saturdays
3. Improve stage presence skills
4. Spend a lot more time with Sandey Grinn
...then I can help (with three at least) for starting on Saturday, January 19th I will be teaching an afternoon class at Suhaila's School of Dance in El Cerrito called "Stage Presence: Commitment, Focus and Energy" and I promise it'll be a lot more fun than that sounds!
Here's what it says about the class at Suhaila's site:
"Through improv, exercises and interactive games Sandey Grinn creates a fun and friendly environment (see?) teaching his students focus, concentration, energy and all the other essential elements of real stage presence. Whether you are interested in improving your performance as a dancer or actor, or if you simply seek a greater awareness of your own body language and communication skills, this class is for you."
Stage Presence: Commitment, Focus and Energy
10 Class Series - Jan 19, 26, Feb 2, 9, 16, 23, Mar 1, 8, 22, 29
Saturday afternoons, 1:30pm - 3:00pm
instructor: Sandey Grinn
$175 ($150 for members of Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance)
register here:
therealsuhaila.com/xcart/product.php
members register here:
therealsuhaila.com/xcart/product.php
For more information about Suhaila and directions to the studio, please visit:
www.therealsuhaila.com/
Hope to see you there!
my very first christmas (12/25/07)
By the sound of the title, one might expect me now to share a story of when I was young.Nope.
It happened this morning; surrounded by family and made even better shared with a loving and excited six year old; my first bonifide, let's see what Santa brought, gather around the tree, buried in wrapping paper Christmas.
It really is a wonderful life.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Cut-and-Paste Is a Skill, Too 12/22/07
I have a confession to make: Today I plagiarized multiple documents at work. I took the writing of others and presented it to my supervisor as if it were my own. It was an open secret that my entire report, written "by Jason Johnson," had been composed by others and that I had been merely an editor. Instead of a reprimand, I was rewarded with a post-briefing latte.
But on some level, it still felt wrong. Before coming to work at my current company, I spent most of the past 15 years as an educator, advising students from second-graders to college seniors that taking the work of others and presenting it as your own is morally wrong and intellectually dishonest. I've fretted over proper citations and labored with students over the highly subjective art of paraphrasing.
Now I watch my former teaching colleagues grade papers not simply by marking a dangling participle here or an incomplete thought there, but by Googling phrases from their students' work, searching for the suspected source of yet another cut-and-paste job. I wonder if that's really what teachers should be doing. As kids today plagiarize more and more from the Internet, the old-fashioned term paper -- composed by sweating students on a typewriter as they sat elbow-deep in reference books -- has no useful heir in the digital age. It's time for schools and educators to recognize the truth: The term paper is dead.
Internet plagiarism is growing at a rapid pace, according to recent studies and the anecdotal evidence I hear from my former colleagues in education -- and there's no end in sight.
Young people today are simply too far ahead of anything schools might do to curb their recycling efforts. Beyond simply selling used term papers online, Web sites such as StudentofFortune.com allow students to post specific questions and pay for answers.
The proliferation of sites like these leaves teachers with an even more vexing problem: how to test what students really know. The time-honored paper now teaches students a very different skill set, one that appears to be unintentional and largely unrecognized -- but one that's much closer to what I do at work these days.
The most obvious choice for teachers and schools is to simply change the way they assess students. Schools could turn to in-class assignments as a more reliable way of evaluating what students know and how well they can express it. The problem with this is that it takes up valuable teaching time, and in-school resources for such assignments, from libraries to technology, vary greatly.
I envision a time when TurnItIn.com's database contains millions of essays on Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre." At that point educators may finally understand that no high school student will be able to write another original word on the subject.
So let's declare "The paper is dead" before the database makes the declaration for us. And let's recognize what the paper has become, so that we can declare, "Long live the paper!"
- Jason Johnson, former technology director at Washington's Lowell School, is an information technology consultant at Ingenium Corp.
a white christmas (12/19/07)
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
- Voltaire
1694 – 1778
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