Culture – Page 18 – Silence and Voice

American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge Reception and Tree Lighting Celebration

Michael Storrings and Diana Williams will be hosting the American Cancer Society’s The Hope Lodge Reception and Tree Lighting Celebration at a benefit for the non-profit cancer patient residence on December 4 in New York City. More information, an invitation to the event, and opportunities to donate can be found on Hope Lodge’s website.

With so many people facing cancer, it is wonderful to see that the American Cancer Society provides free temporary housing for 22,000 people a year in New York City who are receiving cancer treatments.

La Damnation de Faust

I saw the new production premiere of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust at the Metropolitan Opera last week, and finally got around to reading the review in the New York Times: Music Review – La Damnation de Faust – At the Metropolitan Opera, a World Morphs on Video – NYTimes.com.

Their take was a bit different than mine. I found the high amount of video and technology interesting and avant-garde, though still in need of more rehearsal while it was even a bit gratuitous at times. The horse riders had distracting lighting that did not appear to really ride on the virtual steeds, the walking and falling up and down the beams to the top of the stage and then lowered again on wires was distracting, and one of the moving curtains was distractingly stuck mid-open at the end.

I am glad to see the MET pushing the boundaries of classic opera, as I think this will make a traditional art form more accessible and allow audiences to see it in a new way. I think anything that helps make art and culture more approachable is beneficial, especially when trying to reach a new audiences.

What Educators Can Learn from Barack Obama

So, Barack Obama won the presidential election. While we will undoubtedly speak about him in many ways in the times ahead, I am focusing on what we can learn from him right now.

So, what can we (or at least I) learn from Barack?

The mantra “Yes We Can” is positive reinforcement. Decide something, and then keep plugging away at it until it is accomplished. Students are unsure of their abilities? Anxiety over a new teaching responsibility? Lessons challenged by people with different worldviews? Teach we shall – Yes We Can!
Don’t let people tell you what you can do. If you believe you can be president, then work to make it real. Color or race are no longer barriers. There is nothing that cannot be done if you work hard enough. Yes, this is lofty and a stretch goal, but what worth accomplishing is not?
The slogan “Change We Can Believe In” may be scary at times if there is a politics of fear, but it is also common sense. If what we are doing now does not work as we want it, then change. Not getting the grades? Do not understand something? Disagree with some framework? Change happens by changing methods and approaches—only we can fully change our own perspectives. And, this is not easy and it may leave us alone at times, but change is the only thing that helps us move forward.

I expect to think about this more in the weeks ahead, and am interested in what learning others may have around this . . .

Vote Attempt #1

I tried to vote this morning, but the line stretched for blocks and was hours long. I have never seen anything like it . . .

I would have stayed nevertheless, but I am responsible for setting up for a 9:00 meeting, so will go vote this afternoon. I am not voting from a sense of civic duty, but rather a frustration for how distraught we as a nation have become.

Stepping Back in Time at the Cloisters

I visited the Cloisters Museum this past weekend. This is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and holds a large portion of the Medieval collection. Set in the middle of a picturesque park at the top of Manhattan, I find myself spirited away when I visit there going back in time to an idealized society and way of life that is often more romantic than reality-based.

Between druidic instincts in the surrounding park and a religious sensibility that somehow transcends its own historical rigidity, I feel the familiarity and comfort there more that comes with time and peace.

This trip, I brought my camera and intended to take photos of things I have never seen there before. Having been in every room more times than I can count, I often notice when works of art are moved, and where they previously were located. Yet, I saw some things that were still new for me. I uploaded my pictures to The Cloisters set in Flickr, and these are a few of my favorites:

I love Medieval art and culture, yet am very happy I did not live in that time; it was much harsher than it appears in our museums!

Now that I have created a new tagline for my blog, what did I learn (or rather, what meaning did I make from this trip)? Well, many of the items in this museum were used and functional items (though primarily for the wealthy and religious of the day). How those items then entered into our visage as something to be revered and learned form makes me wonder what in our current day will last, of anything? This discussion is even being discussed, in a related way, in the current SCoPE workshop Building a Virtual Museum on the History of Educational Technology.