PAPA'S PHOTOS Part 3


Me and my Dad!

RECOMENDED
Part 4 in a continuing series St. Martin's Table is spiffy little restaurant by the U.

If you live in the Twin Cities area and like little, independent, socially conscious establishments with little bookstores - check it out! (You know who you are!)

No beer (and I'm unsure about the wifi status) but I think you'll like it anyway. (Unless you already knew about it, in which case I'm disappointed that you never told me!)

I don't think I ever actually said music was blasphemous.
Singer Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) has had a rough year. "In September last year he was escorted off a flight from London to Washington and grilled by the FBI, which then deported him as a security threat. Since then, he has been wrongly accused of supporting terrorist groups by the Sunday Times and the Sun, who were last month forced to pay damages. "Ever since I became a Muslim, I've had to deal with attempts to damage my reputation and countless insinuations seeking to cast doubt on my character and trying to connect me to causes which I do not subscribe to," he grumbled after the out-of-court settlement."

Full Article via ArtsJournal

SONG OF THE MOMENT
It's such a good feeling
to know you're alive.
It's such a happy feeling
You're growing inside.
And when you wake up ready to say,
I think I'll make a snappy new day. [snap snap]
It's such a good feeling,
a very good feeling,
The feeling you know that I'll be back
When the day is new
I'll have more ideas for you
And you'll have things you'll want to talk about
I will too!


Listen to Mr. Rogers sing this song right here!

There is more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson


Real Live Preacher writes, "My daughter doesn't believe in God . . . Why do I feel so happy?"
It is an absolutely beautiful post.

ANYONE WANNA GO FOR A WALK WITH ME?
How far would you walk to see a concert? Probably not as far as Hilde Binford, a music history professor at a Pennsylvania college, who just completed a 33-mile trek with several of her students, ending at New York's Lincoln Center, just in time for a performance of the Philharmonic. Why they did such a thing is a complicated question: suffice to say that it has to do with J.S. Bach's own 250-mile pilgrimage to hear an organ recital, but also a lot to do with simple intellectual curiosity and the love of a challenge
Full Article
Via ArtsJournal

YES, I am an INTP . . . how ever did you know?
Objects which lie unmoved for more than about 48 hours usually become invisible to the INTP, until such time as she has a use for them again. Corners of rooms, table tops and cupboards may become cluttered with objects, but while they don't move they remain effectively invisible and are unimportant. The one thing that will force an INTP to tidy her home radically, even when alone, is when the clutter eventually gets in the way and hinders some activity. Often, however, the offending objects will merely be moved into another corner where they can spend some more weeks being invisible.


Because the present is inextricably linked to a sense of the past, INTPs tend to hoard items which help solidify the connection to the past. They find it very difficult to let go of anything they have collected (or indeed created) and which may have a nostalgic meaning. They assume that any object which is of interest now is bound to remain of interest for the rest of their lives.

Yes, my place is a mess (but that's OK because it's getting in my way, so I'm going to clean, or at least move stuff somewhere else!)
Taken from here

STEPH QUESTIONS part one

Steph asked, “Who is your favorite Traveling Wilbury?”
Michael SchaddeeVanDooren introduced me to the Traveling Wilburys.
Michael was one of my Australian pen pals.
He also introduced me to Midnight Oil and Cold Chissel
Michael had good taste in music.
He played guitar and bass, and we tried to do a duet by mail (via tape recordings) but that never worked out right.

My favorite Traveling Wilbury tune is Wilbury Twist (with Cool Dry Place coming in as a close second).

But Steph asked about my favorite Traveling Wilbury, which of course is Bob Dylan. (A fabulous history proff, Dr. McMillian, introduced me to the wonders of Bob Dylan - but that's another story for another time).

Why? Because Bob Dylan is amazing at almost everything he does. (I know you like love George, but Bob is really really cool -- besides I'm a Minnesoooootian now, and Bob is kind of the hometown rock star).

And now, you've inspired me to go find my old T.W. tapes.
Thanks for the suggestion!!

Steph asked, “Do you find Rod Stewert sexy?”
Nah – he’s not my type

Steph asked, Do you consider the cello part of Pachelbel's Canon in D a fate worse than death?

Yes, unless I'm allowed to arpegiate, or play the transpose the violin part

BEER, CHEERIOS, OR BOTH?
One knows that one has arrived at a good place in life when one's former student takes the time to email viola jokes.

One knows that one has suffiently courupted young minds when said former student thinks that seeing Yo-yo Ma is "really the coolest thing ever"

One can smile with the joy usually reserved for parents and grandparents when this cute little 4th grader that struggled to play the "4th finger" Ode to Joy can now play the Bruch Concerto.

Ms. Ryan, I am so very proud of you, and just wanted to make sure you knew!

That, and I was thinking about you this morning when I read this tidbit about the "evil that lurks in the heart of an oboist".
Enjoy your spring break dear!

UPDATE
I know you've all been on the edge of your seat, wondering how Wednesday went . . . and the answer is pretty gosh darn good!

Elizabeth liked my paper! Of course there are places where she wants more analysis and some things I need to define and clarify - but she said it was a "strong draft" (which I'm thinking means better than 50%, which means I'm gonna pass this class and GRADUATE!)
The presentation and discussion is scheduled for April 16, and graduation is scheduled for the afternoon of June 5!
AND THEN, you will all be able to call me "Master Julie" (won't that be fun?!)

QUESTIONS
The lovely Steph wants to ask me questions.
Not just any old questions
But Special Blog Questions

She is on spring break
And feeling bored
(I wish I had a spring break)
All I have is a spring cold
And a paper to revise
Poor me
[insert massive amounts of sympathy here]

She wants me to write something here
And then she asks questions in the comments
Which I'm supposed to answer in a regular blog post

So here 'ya go my dear
Ask away
But make sure they are really good questions
Something that will lead to a fascinating, inspiring, or intersting post from me
No pressure
But make it good!

And if anyone else wants to ask a question (or two or threee)
Go ahead
Answers are not guarenteed
But it is highly probable that I'll answer everything!

FROM THE ARCHIVES
Two years ago today it was nice enough to wear a t-shirt, open the windows all night long, and give the dog a bath!

I'm almost jealous of my "two-years-ago" self
Today it's almost warm enough to go outside minus a hat
(But only if you're in the sunshine - otherwise your ears will get cold after a few minutes!)
Spring - where are you???

1. I had a fabulous weekend

2. I just found out that I'm going to a conference on Thursday and Friday YIPEE!
2a. One of the conference goals is to "create safe space"
2b. The word "safe space" kind scares me (we wouldn't need to create a "safe space" if the activity weren't somehow dangerous!)

3. My weekend was quite nice

4. I meet with my advisor on Wednesday to talk about revisions to THE PAPER.
4a. She wants me to come in with a list of strengths/ weaknesses.
4b. One must exercise extreme caution in such situations, because a sneaky Socratic-like-instructor might trick ME into suggesting massive rewrites!

5. Have I mentioned the lovely weekend yet?

6. I have a sore throat
6a. Sore throats are the worst kind of sick
6b. It's not sore enough to subject myself to any of the vile sore throat remedies (Echnicia taste like hot pickle juice, and zinc logenges are even worse!) But it is sore enough to bug me.
6c.Annoying as it is, sore throats are a sign of spring on Planet Julie. (It's like a rite of passage)
6d. Warm weather must be on the way! YIPEE!

7. The only thing worse than a sore throat, is being yelled at
7a. My morning started off with TWO people yelling at me on the phone
7b. The only thing worse than being yelled at, is being yelled at for things you have no control over.
7c. They both yelled because of things that are out of my relm of influence.

8. But I have peanut butter cookies for lunch, so I'll be ok.
8a Peanut butter cookies can fix almost anything!

EMAIL FORWARD
A wealthy old lady decided to go on a photo safari in Africa. She took her faithful pet poodle along for company.

One day, the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long the poodle discovers that he is lost.So, wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in hisdirection with the obvious intention of having lunch. The poodle thinks, "OK, I'm in deep trouble now! Then he noticed some bones on the ground close by, and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the leopard is about to leap,the poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here." Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid-stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees. "Whew," says the leopard. "That was close. That poodle nearly had me."

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes.

But the poodle saw him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figured that something was up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The leopard is furious at being made a fool of by that conniving canine. The poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back, and thinks, "What am I going to do now?"

But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet...and just when they get close enough to hear the poodle says...

"Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Moral is: "SOMETIMES BULLSHIT AND BRILLIANCE ARE THE SAME"

MY SONG OF THE MOMENT
Is featured on this website

I've mentioned Ann Reed's Heroes before.
Do yourself a favor and listen.
(For extra credit, list a hereo or two in the comments)

THANK YOU
I've been trying for two days to leave a comment at you site to say "Thanks, it was a good day!" , but silly Blogger Comments continutes to insist that ou don't exist.

So instead I'll just say a great big public THANK YOU right here.

We need to get together sometime.
I'm itching for a road trip (maybe this summer).
Have a lovely weekend my dear!

GRANDMA VW 


I've written about my grandma VW a few times
This is a pix that Papa VW took of her when they were dating
Isn't she beautiful?!?!?
Isn't it cool that Papa VW was taking color photographs in the '40s?!?!

LIFE IS GOOD
I leave home in the morning . . . and it's already light out
I come home at night . . . and it's still light out
I eat dinner . . . and t's STILL light out!

Amazing stuff!

BIRTHDAY FUN

1. Write number of the month in which you were born.

2. Multiply it by 4.

3. Add 13.

4. Multiply by 100.

5. Divide by 4.

6. Subtract 200.

7. Add the day of the month you were born.

8. Multiply by 2.

9. Subtract 40.

10. Multiply by 50.

11. Take the last two digits of the year you were born and add it to the total so far.

12. Subtract 10,500.

Your result should be a number telling (from left to right) the month, day of the month, and year you were born.

FROM THE WRITERS ALMANAC:

It's the birthday of essayist and children's author Kenneth Grahame, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, known today for his book The Wind in the Willows, which began as a series of stories he told to his young son.

When he wrote The Wind in the Willows, many publishers turned it down because the idea of talking animals was too fantastic. At the time, Victorian educators believed that children should be discouraged as soon as possible from pretending and daydreaming, that letting children believe in fairy tales and myths was detrimental to their development. Grahame believed the opposite.

It was finally Teddy Roosevelt, a huge fan of Grahame's early work, who convinced a publisher to take on The Wind in the Willows. It became such a success that Grahame was able to retire from the Bank of England and move to the country. He lived for another 25 years, but he never wrote another book.

The Wind in the Willows still sells about 80,000 copies a year.

P.S. It's my birthday too! (-:

COMMENT GAME

How to play:

Leave a comment here that says hello.
Then, go visit the page of the person who commented above you and say "Hello, Julie VW sent me!"
Feel free to play more than once (or twice, or thrice)

Note to the first person commenting: simply say hello to me.

If the person before you does not have a blog simply visit the person before them.


DISCLAIMER: This comment game was blatantly stolen from Michel via Lynn.

One of the most difficult words in the English language is "No!"
As in "I'd love to help you out, but no, I'm already overwhelmed"

Another difficult word is "Help!"
As in "Can you help me?"

It's amazing that one syllable words can get stuck.
I should have said both of those words this week.
But I didn't.

QUESTIONS GALLORE!
An unanswered question is better than an unquestioned answer.
Gadzillion Things To Think About

GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

Today I applied for a job with . . . THEM.
Not "them" exactly, but with people who are friends with "them"
Such good friends that they might as well be "them"
And we know "THEY" can never be friends with us
I'm too embarassed to even give you details
You might freak out on me
It's THAT bad!
(Almost immoral)

But it'd be an ok job
(Maybe even a nice job).
And "THEY" are probably nice people
And rent needs to be paid, and food needs to be bought
So, if I happen to sell out and accecpt it - please don't hate me
OK?
Thanks

FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle . . .  


Papa VW has been scanning his old slides into digital files.
This means you poor people are going to be subjected to whatever family photos I'm feeling inclined to share!
There are a skillion million stories that go with this picture, but for now you'll just have to enjoy the picture.
I love this photo!

FOR MY FAVORITE HIPPIE STUDENT
It has nothing to do with George Harrison, but this story made me think Steph anyway.
username: jvwspam
pass: 123456


Osmo Vänskä, artistic director of the Minnesota Orchestra, will conduct his musicians playing his own arrangements of music by the 1970s Swedish pop supergroup ABBA as part of the 2005-06 season.