Chirp

3 things:

There's a cricket in my home. It actually took me almost 2 1/2 hours to realize it. At first I thought the chirping was part of the music. And then, after awhile I wondered why so many of Brahms' sonatas had crickets in them. Who, incidentally, I have never really listened to. I really enjoy Beethoven; and actually some of Bach's sonatas with piano/cello are on my list of favorite songs. But, until today I haven't listened to Brahms. All that comes to mind is Brahms' Lullaby; did he actually write the lyrics to it?
Wiki has all my answers.
Some facts: Brahms was a perfectionist; a brilliant pianist himself and originally performed his own works; worked with contemporaries such as Schumann; composed for chamber ensembles, piano, orchestras, and voice; and was a master of counterpoint - the style in which Bach also played. No wonder I like him. I should take a class on classical music history.

Which leads me to thing #2 (ha.)

I'm currently watching all ten episodes of Ken Burn's Jazz. It's a wonderful series, each episode about 2 hours long, that tells the entire history of jazz music; beginning in the 1800s. I will always love early jazz music - based on rhythm, blues, and rag time piano playing. And, something this series has reminded me of, or made me appreciate even more, I am so enamored of the way jazz had (has?) the ability to bring together people of completely different races, colors, backgrounds, beliefs. In the early 1900s, the famous big bands were able to unite the entire country in excitement. I'm not sure that characteristic has persevered.

I won't lie though, I have never been very fond of where jazz went during the late 70s and 80s. It sort of lost me. Maybe this film will help me to appreciate it by helping me to understand it better. Tonight I'm watching episode 3 and 4; in the early to mid 1900s.

And, last, but certainly NOT least - thing #3.
I now have a portable "Add to Wish List" button. Do you know what this means? Divine happiness! That's what this means!

In case anyone didn't know, I definitely love shopping. In fact, it could be said that I tend to spend my money irresponsibly. At least some people are of that opinion. And, actually it's not even the shopping as much as the excitement of new things. New books, new clothes, new furniture, new vehicles, new bike accessories, new CDs, new instruments... I could go on. And, I don't even need or want a LOT of stuff; in fact my favorite part of getting new things is getting rid of the old. So I am addicted to Craigslist - buying new toys and selling things that I don't use anymore (or things I can convince myself that I don't use so that I can spend the money to buy new things.) Especially awesome is the 'Barter' section of Craigslist.

However, I have recently found the cure for my spending habits, as a result of which I am now, also, addicted to Amazon.com. I now have a private account with wish lists and private wish lists and shopping lists and and and... now I have a button that I can use on any web site, get that ANY SITE(!), to add a product to my Amazon wish list. This is AMAZING. Or maybe it's AMAZONING! Shopping without spending money! WOW!

Senator Edward Kennedy

An HRC article on Senator Kennedy: A Record of Leadership on LGBT and HIV Issues

A late addition - my Mom reminded me this morning of this. 'When you get together with your rowing girls you should all have a moment of silence for Sen. Kennedy' she says. Why? 'He was a big supporter of Title IX.'

long walks cont.

(That was the title of the previous post... the one that's now in Hindi I believe. I guess I at least learned something about a new language through this endeavor.)

The best part of the adventure happened on the way back. I'd already discovered this morning, on my ride from work, that Zilker is back open. Hooray!! I had seen a group of kids, a high school sports team I think, jogging barefoot in the perfectly cut grass. It's amazing that that huge, beautiful expanse of green was fenced in until yesterday. Thank goodness it's open; I really missed the park this summer.

So, to celebrate, I took a zigzag path through the field. Who needs pavement or straight lines, anyway? I even braved a cloud of zipping dragonflies. You know, the kind that always forms over freshly cut grass? Why do they do that? Of course, this was also the puppy's favorite part of the walk. When you walk through soft grass, she darts back and forth in front of you, leaping every few steps to try and catch her leash in her mouth. When she was really little, we couldn't even get her to stay on her feet next to grass. She would see it, or smell it maybe, and throw her body, kamikaze style, against the pull of her leash until she made it face first into the grass. If we tried to pull her to her feet and keep walking then she would let her body be dragged through it on her stomach, arms and legs splayed out like superman.

I had planned on doing some dog training in the next couple weeks. Specifically, I'd like her to actually come to me when I call her instead of just glancing slyly and taking off to great someone else. Now we can use Zilker for the training.

लॉन्ग वाल्क्स

my blog is changing my titles into some asian character language. i say that so ignorantly because i am, well, ignorant of all asian languages and what they look like. i wonder if this whole post will be in a different language?

Well Haley is officially on vacay. I received a text this morning at 2:16 AM that says "I'm in Athens!!" Guess her plane didn't crash (her constantly voiced fear); and I guess she figured out how to use my iPhone (the one I let her have for the trip while I'm stuck with this ten dollar brick from the 90s. O.K., a little exaggerated.) Anyway, I'm filled to the brim with excitement for her, and only a little less full of jealousy.

So, while she's strolling the streets of Athena, Ellas, Roswell (the pup) and I went on our own adventure. We hiked all the way through Zilker on the Green Belt (over a mile I believe) and to Austin Java (where I am currently surfing the net.) Here I enjoyed a blueberry smoothie and treated my sweet lil' pup to a side of baked ham. Fancy. Honestly, my sole reason for coming this morning was to update all my podcasts. I'm way obsessed. But that's for another post.

I really love walking the Green Belt in the morning. It's cool and damp and so empty on weekdays especially. I have my Keens and my new North Face light weight back pack. And Roswell is getting to be quite the rock climber. Supposedly, adult Boston Terrier's need an hour long walk a day. If Ros only gets one hour a day, she spends the rest of the evening "bulleting" (we coined the term because of the shape of her head when she pulls her ears straight back; to be more aerodynamic of course) around our 750 sq. ft. apartment. So, I decided rather then use more gas and ruin more earth, I would combine exercise, puppy-cise, and the need to update my podcasts. Plus, it's too quiet at home without H. I already have plans for many more adventures like these for the two weeks she's gone.

O.K. Time for the walk back before the weather changes back to Texas in August.

glasses

New nerd glasses

my podcasts won't download

Because my podcasts are too large to download without WiFi, I am now exploring different options for information and entertainment at this hour. Including more blog posting.

Here's something that makes me mad. Among other issues with the 'health care debate' -
Pregnancy is a "pre-existing condition"

A good (I thought) opinion article on Caster Semenya and 'gender testing'

And now, a story.

I work with foster kids at a treatment center in Austin. Specifically, I work the 3rd shift (that's overnight - 10pm till 7am) with the younger boys group. This morning was the first day of AISD school (perhaps the first day of public school all through the state actually) and my boys all very excitedly agreed to wear the nice shorts and polo shirts that I chose for their first day of school outfits. It made my heart happy to see them all so handsome. While combing hair and applying deodorant (we start young with the healthy habits) two boys started comparing their 'cool guy' pose. The morning staff and I looked on and laughed as the two boys took turns popping their collars, leaning back and spouting phrases like 'Duuude' and 'Down with the diggity dig.'

CATCH! drive....

I rowed today. For the first time in over six months, at least, I was back in an eight. And even before then it wasn't hard rowing. As a volunteer coach I tend to sub in whenever is necessary, but never to get a true workout on the water. Anyway, for the past month now I've been working out about twice a week. The exact amount to never improve or get used to it. What it means is that I'm slow and grumbly during the workout, then sort by the end of that day, unable to move the following day, and by the time I recover two days late I decided I really should go get a run in, or bike around town that day, play a soccer game, or, I guess, row.

I cannot understand how I possibly competed in that sport. My back was pinched, my butt was sore, and my calves felt as if they were ripping off as I attempted to hold back my slide. Plus, we were nowhere close to hard pressure. Even taking into consideration that I was in a boat with four brand new rowers, I felt horrible.

My rowing body may be long gone, but the spirit remains. The feeling I had today was a determination to insure that working with the novice team this year be my continual reminder and motivator. I'd really like to take advantage of coaching practices by joining in on as many workouts as possible.

My statement of affirmation -
I will be fit!

Semenya

My initial feeling on this issue is sadness. I feel sad that she has to deal with this, instead of celebrating her amazing win.

My initial thought is of Bolt. No one is questioning his 'maleness' when he breaks his own world records. Or Lance Armstrong. No one says, 'Test his gender. Test his hormone levels, or chemical make-up, or genetics.' What does this mean exactly? What level are women held to? Or, not held to?

I feel proud to identify with her as a woman.

A quote from Feministing.com

Alice Dreger, a professor of medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University, appropriately, has the last word in the NYT article, and I'll give it to her here as well: "At the end of the day, they are going to have to make a social decision on what counts as male and female, and they will wrap it up as if it is simply a scientific decision. And the science actually tells us sex is messy. Or as I like to say, 'Humans like categories neat, but nature is a slob.' "

On another note about my pride for my gender -

Thanks for taking us seriously! (see also 'dripping with satire')

Left, Right & Center - KCRW

Left, Right & Center - KCRW

Shared via AddThis

Did anyone hear 'This American Life' last Sunday?

I love this program!

Harlem Children's Zone

The organization has been around since the 70s, and the current was program started in Harlem by a man named Geoffrey Canada who was social worker in the area for decades. He got tired of the cycle. This constant influx of children coming into his program - he worked with teens, helping increase high school graduation rates - and the whole time he could help one at a time, start with one kid and go from there. We all know what that feels like. You form this amazing relationship; you bond with these kids; you teach them, help them, learn from them; and then they move on. And another child comes in... someone is so eerily similar to so many you've seen before. So the way the NPR interview took it, Canada was sick of this and thought

'What is the tipping point?'

How many children in this neighborhood, how many people, will we have to affect and change before reading, school, healthy activities, a healthy family becomes the norm. And so he went big. Forget one at a time. Let's help thousands. No. Let's help tens of thousands.

The program that I love so much is all about schooling. There is a 'Baby college' that parents can enter with their newborns to learn the basics of parenting. Things like bathing them regularly, feeding them the right things, that time outs are better than corporal punishment, kids need to hear language from day one, that even babies should be read to daily. These are things that middle class families know. They know them either because their parents did these things, or they see a show about doing these things, they read books or magazines about these things. But this culture is lost to families who are surrounded by poverty. Then from there, HCZ has opened charter schools that run all the way through high school. The statistics are amazing. Over 95% of the first group, of 3rd graders, tested at or above grade level, and a huge majority tested above average on state tests.

Apparently it is relatively well-known, although the first time I heard of it was the other day on the podcast. I guess I should have listened more to Obama's campaign promises.

That's right, for everyone who just took time to read the web site and fall in love with it as much as I did, Obama noted this program in early campaign speeches and promised to expand and fund it in 20 major cities around the country. I haven't been able to find exact info on when, how, where but apparently there is a bill heading to Congress this fall.
Here's some info to start - Obameter at Politifact.com


I think I just may work for one of these programs one day.

i have a blog?

I really have no answer for the above question. As in - WHY do I have a blog? HOW will I maintain this blog? WHAT is this blog for?

But, I thought about it and thought about it and then I did it. That process is sort of the norm for me. Doing things after just a couple of thoughts about it.

The title comes from my (perhaps) biggest pet peeve. If dishwashers are loaded incorrectly then they absolutely can't clean the dishes and their entire purpose is obsolete. Anyway, in order to not mislead you, my first post will be about just that. After extensive and thorough research, I will attempt to give concise and easy instructions on

... how to load the dishwasher:

Step 1: The pre-rinse
This step may vary depending on the type of food, the way it was cooked, and the type of dishwasher. Baked on foods may require soaking for a few hours in some dishwashers, while others will remove all types of food residue (those with the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval".) The least amount of work this should require is scraping off all hard, solid foods with a fork into the trash or disposal. The less water used in this step the better!

Step 2: Where does it all go?
Plates - in the horizontal slots on the bottom rack; always face the dirty side inwards. If they do slant, plates should lean in and down.
Bowls - stacked horizontally on the top rack at an incline - to insure the inside surface is accessible to water jets and they can all drain.
Cups - behind the vertical slots, not over them. This ensures they too sit at a slant, this time leaning backwards, for better cleaning.
Utensils - place handle down, so the dirty part is better accessible, except for sharp knives (for safety sake.) Never place good knives, and none with wooden handles, in the dishwasher as it can dull them. Try to have them equally spread out and a random mix of each type placed together so they do not nest and prevent cleaning.
Large utensils - lay across the rows in the top rack, large spoons always facing down.
Tuperware - on the top rack, because most heating elements are on the bottoms of dishwashers. This prevents possible melting
Pots/Pans - place these face down on the bottom rack.
Cutting boards - along the back and bottom, behind the plates if they do not fit in the same slots.

Step 3: what did I forget?
A few notes - these may differ depending on dishwashers -
- you may not always need to fill both soap containers; save the soap if just one works well
- if your dishwasher provides a jet dry or vinegar holder, fill and check this about once a month to prevent spotting
- run your disposal and some hot water before starting the dishwasher - they often drain into the same place, and the dishwasher works best with water about 120 degrees F
- use the lowest setting possible - the heavy duty or pot scrubber settings use more water and more energy
- always run a full, but not over full, load


On a final note, I promise to never again have an entire post about cleaning dishes. Scouts honor.