rainy days and mondays...

12th week meetings at the school...looking forward to getting to the clips everyone has turned in for ARTimation...i have seen some good looking stuff so far, so that makes me optimistic for the rest....the theme is a little shaky at this point but the intro looks like it is coming along....heading to Sarasota this weekend, the sunshine will do me well, methinks...new mix cd forthcoming of a ton of new musics that i have really been digging...think that I'm going to release the link through this blog site next time to alleviate everyone getting so many emails through Facebook...speaking of the Facebook, the new design is taking some time to get used to, but the new Timeline is pretty sweet...i think it will be awesome once everyone fills it up with their content...also enough of "the Facebook is going to be charging" spam....c'mon people...anyways..kipsta out, be back soon, schweeties

a hooray day

yesterday, i was more than pleased to hear that three gentlemen from Arkansas were to be released from prison. these three were featured on one of my t-shirts entitled "free the west Memphis three". every time someone would ask about the shirt at school, i would always explain their plight/situation. no matter how little time i had, i felt that it was more than important to do so, because i can't imagine a.) being falsely accused of murder and b.) being sentenced to life imprisonment/death row with no physical evidence proffered in my conviction...this,  i am sad to say, was a case of media gone wild on three juvenile kids that looked the part and got corralled in with the usual suspects...i have always felt a closeness to this case, mostly because i as a youth, could have been one of these kids....growing up in a rural town and misunderstood by virtually everyone for the music that i liked and the way that i dressed....18 years later, they are almost vindicated...i feel an astonishing amount of sorrow that to do so, that they had to plead guilty formally although allowed to maintain their innocence publicly. it was really the only way out for the state to walk away with any amount of self-respect....i still feel for those three, tho...so much of their lives have been snatched away from them and for absolutely nothing...on the headline at MSNBC, it read, "Convicted Child Murderers To Be Freed"...c'mon.....can't we just say the truth anymore......? ....be well boys, i used to think of you looking at my students knowing that easily any one of them could've swapped spots with you...enjoy what is left of your lives..

an awesome surprise today

what an awesome surprise today.....easily one of my closest, nearest, and dearest of friends sent me a book today that was autographed by the author to me...the author is a poet named Taylor Mali and the inscription is wonderful...if you are unfamiliar with his work (as was I, the book I received, "the Last Time as We Are" is rather amazing), he is famous for writing the poem "What Teachers Make". This is allegedly the most forwarded poem in the world. I only say allegedly as no one has ever forwarded it to me, but what do i know?...so, in the spirit of awesome gift giving (thank u, dear Kendra), I'm passing along in this blog, the most forwarded poem in the world (that I had never read until tonight, but wholeheartedly love and appreciate)...and encourage everyone to both check out Taylor Mali and his work..and to also encourage you to do something really nice soon for someone dear to you for no other reason than you care...

What Teachers Make, or
Objection Overruled, or
If things don't work out, you can always go to law school

By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com

He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"
He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about
teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says.
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won't I let you get a drink of water?
Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.
Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely
beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a goddamn difference! What about you?

namaste....

long day of playing connect-this-person-with-this-person-so-they-can-do-this-which-will-ultimately-be-good-for-all-concerned karma dance..doo wah diddy diddy....hung with my tennis buddies tonight and they thoroughly handed my ass to me..i literally can't imagine how sore I'm going to be tomorrow....came home from this karma-infused day and found that I have to pump out some of my Dunkin Donuts animation goodness out to the Cleveland Indians before Opening Day (read:11 days from now)...i love surprise gigs and esp dig when they need stuff in Apple codecs I don't have readily available....but back to the title of this post....Nameste... a greeting in India...something your hippy friend says to u while being ultra-kewl...also a new summer brew by Dogfish Head...adore these guys beers...you may have seen them on a tv show called BrewMasters or something like that..anyways good people with a new killer brew... its called Nameste, a beer brewed with coriander, orange and fresh lemongrass...delicious, yes? oh delicious yes!...anyways, on the bottle its defines the name as "the spirit in me recognizes and celebrates the spirit in you"....i like that more than the beer, which is tasty...i later found out that a Belgian brewery had a huge loss of 1/3 their yearly product due to a heating malfunction and that Dogfish Head is taking the profits of Nameste and turning it over to that brewery....very Nameste indeed....very good karma day..moustaches abound...tonight, my spirit recognizes and celebrates the spirit of all my friends and loved ones...Nameste!...kipsta out..

almost impossible

to have a bad day when Soph left the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the tv this am when she left for school...those songs are pretty damned joyful

never traveled far without a little Big Star

One of my musical heroes, Alex Chilton, passed away one year ago today and the musical world is still a little less brighter. Alex was the leader of Big Star, one of the most influential pop/rock groups to enjoy practically no commercial success during their existence. Once ignored by everyone but critics, several songs from 1972′s #1 Record and 1974′s Radio City have become belated classics, including my favorites "September Gurls", "Holocaust" and "The Ballad of El Goodo." My favorite all-time band, the Replacements, immortalized the man by writing and recording their ode to him "Alex Chilton" on the Pleased to Meet Me album, yet another amazing song. So here's to you Alex, on this St. Paddy's Day..."children by the million scream for Alex Chilton when he comes on...."

Alex Chilton (1950-2010)

and of course, Paul Westerberg of the Replacements playing their ode to the man...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biz8kE-3Leg&feature=related

IPO of the Future

a bit too often i ask myself, why didn't i think of that silly lil idea that no one else thought of? tonight, by Jove, i think we got it...had a blast tonight, Aaron!

Japanese Devestation, in pespective

Here is a diagram to put the Japan Tsunami in perspective. If Chicago had a Tsunami that reached 6mi inland, the red area would be destroyed. The Blue area is the footprint of the Great Chicago Fire.

advantage McEnroe

...totally found some people to play tennis with tonight...this is a great thing because since switching gyms (mainly because Centegra, the new gym has indoor tennis courts), i have been playing the ball machine a lot and she's an unrelenting bitch....and she gets a little boring, i must say.....you see, probably not surprising to you, dear reader, but i like to play really late, I'm usually there from 9-11pm and its hard to find folks who feel like exercise at that time......so i joined three guys for a doubles set....realized I'm not the worst tennis player in the world but there is a huge gap between me and anyone awesome at it...at the very least, i had fun and got a good work out...playing again next week...awesome! i have tennis buddies!

the fermentation begins!!!

Product of yesterday's Brew Day....the carboy on the left is an English Pale Ale and the one on the right is the Bourbon Barrel Porter that I'll be babysitting for a while...bothare kicking in with very strong fermentation starts... 

spreading lies and starting controversy

ok...1st stupid post aside...i have a few things to get off of le chest...ill start small and work my way up....because i'm not one to outright hurt others personally, I have been mildly reticent to write this elsewhere, but this is my soapbox. right?....ok the trend of 40-ish dudes wearing the goatees has got to fucking stop....where did this come from?...does it make your filling out face more resemble the one of your youth?...does it make the wife think you look more like Johnny Depp or perhaps Tim McGraw?...all I know is that every time i've had enough and speak out about this, I look around and there are like 4 of these dudes within earshot...what gives?...ladies, if i'm wrong and you like this, let me know...i just don't get it, its like a facial uniform that everyone is wearing like that stupid Jennifer Aniston hair do...dudes, if this is you that i speak of, I mean no direct ill will, just a few seconds of contemplation directed towards your chin...maybe today is the day to get rid of the 'stache gone awry and you start looking more like the individual in the crowd...as always, just sayin'

why a blog?

on the day after I was contemplating starting a blog, my guardo camino David Via (whose exploits and retorts most likely will be seen here) posted a Facebook message about doing the same...kismet?...i dunno..i think his reasoning is the same as mine...ultimately, i think the thoughts in my brain need to be emptied and oftentimes, they are longer than Facebook and Twitter allow...i agree with him that the last thing that the virtual universe needs is another voice out there shouting to be heard in the ether....that said, mine is now added...if u follow this, i can't promise frequency or sane reason...remember this is inside of my brain...but i do hope this will become a dumping ground for thoughts that i just need to get out so i can move to other things...maybe updates on what i'm doing (pretending that anyone would care about that), pictures, whatnot like that...anyways, 1st post in and i'm boring myself...the groundwork is laid...stick around or not.. but as they say whoops! there it tis...
-k