2001-10-17
Jill Sobule concert, posted at 1:10 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com The public schools here just switched Internet servers, and there was a lapse of service over the last couple of days. With no Internet to occupy me, I got a whole lot more stuff done this morning and yesterday afternoon than usual. Now that I'm back on-line, it's back to turning to my computer screen whenever I get a free moment instead of grading papers.Last night's Jill Sobule concert was really good. She was funny and clever, sang beautifully, and was politically irreverent in a time when few are brave enough to be. She asked us if we minded if she sang a mean song about George Bush, whether or not it would be unpatriotic to do so. We all cheered in approval, and she sang a brilliant song about George's history of drug use, in which she described doing lines in the bathroom with rich frat boys while another George, this one African-American, got thirty years in prison for doing the same thing. The song was called "Youthful Indiscretion," and was hilarious. While I think Bush is doing a good job so far in dealing with the conflict, I still think it's possible to criticize the way he got into office (re: farce) without being labelled unpatriotic. Sobule then talked a bit about the catastrophe on 9/11, about how she lives right nearby the WTC towers. While she didn't lose anyone in the blast, her two best friends escaped the building before it collapsed. In their honor, she sang a cover of the Destiny's Child song "Survivor" that was absolutely hilarious - and very moving. She had to ask an audience volunteer to hold up the lyrics sheet for her, and it was a bit odd to hear the song performed with just an acoustic guitar, but she made it work... did she ever!
The concert was at Towson University, and I did end up finding where it was. It was at a college-student-run campus coffeehouse, and I was in my element again. In fact, it was so similar to the Common Grounds, which I did in college, that I got chills. They obviously had better funding (or at least they had funding, which we didn't have at all most of the time), but they got similar artists and it was a similar sort of place. There were about 50 people there, and we arrived about 15 minutes before show time and got a front row table. I spoke at length with the head of the organization, and really felt at home. Jason joked about how similar it was to the CGC - the nervous volunteer going up there to announce the next show, the quiet listen-at-your-seat-politely atmosphere, etc. This group was better organized and funded than ours (it reminded me of the Campus Center a bit, only with good taste in music), and made me very nostalgic.
I am in the process of giving an in-class 60-minute essay. I love days like this. My freshmen bitches are on their way, though, and I'm sure they'll be a treat today on this de-facto Friday (inservice the next two days here, so no kids). One girl yesterday said, "I hate that man so much" under her breath when I made her move to her assigned seat. The little bitch. She's intelligent and all, but how rude. Almost all my kids like me a lot, so it bugs me when one doesn't. And it makes me know that she is the one in the wrong, not me.
Oh well. I won't hold it against her.
I'm now down to 212! I can't believe. I've lost over 20 since I got here, and have no idea why. Maybe it's my runs with Holden, or the fact that I changed my workout when I moved. I dunno. But it's awesome. It's funny, but 190 is my goal to get down to, and it's Jason's goal to get up to.