in the presence of royalty

I have no idea how I got Prince's 1999 cassette, but I do know that it immediately became my favorite album. Favorite very secret album, playing directly only into my ears through the headphones of my knock-off Walkman whenever I strolled to the beach, mowed the lawn, or tried desperately to get a tan lying in my backyard. 

I felt subversive listening to it; for 1983 small town me the songs were unbelievably naughty. But for all its overt sexiness, Prince never made me feel uncomfortable [except when I thought about my parents hearing the lyrics]. So I knew then for sure that sex was supposed to be a good, fun thing [that I would never ever discuss with my parents]. A couple years later I spent my babysitting money on the Purple Rain LP and fell in love.

Riding the bus home Valentine's Day in 1985, I heard on the radio that they had added another Prince concert for the next night at the Tacoma Dome, and there were still tickets available. I bolted from my bus stop to the kitchen phone, frantically found the number for our local ticket shop/t-shirt printer and called. They said one of their employees might have a couple of tickets to sell, check back in 15 minutes. My heart was pounding - the possibility of seeing Prince was 15 minutes away. Fifteen minutes plus whatever the cost was, a desperate phone call to my mom asking not only for permission but for her to drive me and my best friend 2 1/2 hours each way on a school night, and my best friend's ability to come with me away. I don't think I have ever been so blindly optimistic again in my life.

The tickets were $25 each. They were front row. My parents said okay. My best friend's parents said okay. It was a miracle.

Regardless of our love for Prince, my bff and I were hardcore stereotypical teacher's pet-type girls. So naturally we wore our purple sweatshirts. Over purple polo shirts. With our Normandy Rose jeans and loafers. I am not making this up; I feel slightly embarrassed and very sweaty just remembering our outfits.

It didn't matter how out of place we looked (seriously, no one else was wearing a sweatshirt. Of course.) - WE WERE GOING TO SEE PRINCE FROM THE FRONT ROW. Sheila E opened like a goddess, tied an audience member to a chair and danced & drummed around him in her sheer bodysuit, then it was time. Purple smoke covered the stage and filled my unsuspecting, willing lungs. I have a memory of Prince crawling across the stage at some point but I'm not sure when that happened. He changed clothes a few times, and I'm pretty sure he was shirtless at one point. My stomach felt wiggly, my breathing shallow, and not just because I was on the verge of heat stroke. We were pushed against the barrier fencing for two hours and I thought many times I would lose one of my shoes (honestly, what was I thinking? Loafers.) but didn't really care. It was the best night of my 16-year old life.

For the past 31 years, I have felt like I actually know Prince because of that concert. I believe he made everyone in that arena feel like they knew him. Each time I saw Prince in an interview, on an awards show, with The Muppets, I believed we had a connection. 

Because he was miraculous. 

vision check

I guess I am lamely late to this controversial party and I anticipate some backlash against my perspective yet here I go...

This article about the Robin Thicke song/video "Blurred Lines" has a few valid points : it is absolutely not ever okay to assume consent from anyone for anything, Mr. Thicke could cool it on some language & imagery and do a better job of obviously mocking misogynistic attitudes, and no one would be paying all that much attention if YouTube hadn't banned the video [for a minute].

However - here is where I might go sideways with some very sensitive, intelligent, well-respected women I know and I hope they will still like me - I think this song & video are essentially supposed to be about how sex should be fun for everyone, and naked lady bodies are a joy to behold. Clearly it has an embarrassingly hetero-centric viewpoint, which I think makes it an easier target for those (rightfully) concerned about the objectification of woman. And I certainly do not condone treating a woman (or any partner) as a thing or property, without rights, incapable of thinking, or disallowed choices. 

But in this song & video? It seems to me Robin, T.I., and Pharrell are being silly boys getting all jazzy about pretty girls. That happens, it's natural (with variations for different orientations), and frankly, it's a compliment [ALTHOUGH I do not want to be called a 'bitch' EVER; that is indeed a grave lyrical error on their part]. But if we're looking to engage in conversation & change perspectives in any way, we have to address the reality of physical attraction and base sexual desires.

I don't think I can say anymore at this point that could smartly compare to these women's creatively astute responses:

A strongly-homosexual take that is brilliant though quite naughty in some places so NSFW or around children who haven't yet seen some South Park, Arrested Development, or any Kevin Smith movies: "Ask First" by J. Mary Burnet & Kaleigh Trace.

And the Mod Carousel gender-swap version helps make even more clear the point of sex=yummy & saucy & empowering. Some of the half-naked boys are wearing makeup, and ALL of them are freaking adorable + having fun. Also NSFW but less terrifying for your pre-teens in terms of references to activities that make 40something high school teachers blush [see above].
 

Overall, what I talk about with my teenage boy & girl when examining popular music/movies/books/TV/websites, is that no one looks menacing or acts demeaning at a partner or, conversely, no one seems scared or dominated (without delighting in the domination, which is possible amongst consenting partners). While the song played on the radio seems more catchy & teasing than awful, the video is admittedly obnoxious and potentially confusing. The lyrics and the behaviors displayed definitely need discussion with young folk who are trying to figure out how this whole relationship stuff works - when we like + trust each other, we say sassy things and think we're cute (or we tell each other when we're uncomfortable and respect each other's lines, which should not be blurred because we're being honest). If we don't know each other, we are not allowed to make any such comments without fear that - as the straightforward ladies say in "Ask First" - someone will "break your f*cking knees."

Hey hey hey?

 

once more with feeling

A music-themed list submitted for your approval
~ click the links for fun ~

1. I love to boogie.

2. With a wink and a smile.

3. It's how you look at things ~ always on the bright side.

4. Girl don't tell me!

5. Well, would you still love me?

6. Bring on the spring peepers.




7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to exhaling after a whirlwind week of responsibility, tomorrow my plans include chaperoning [and possibly embarrassing students with my dancing] at our school's prom, and Sunday I want to sleep most of the day!

Bring on the Friday Fill-Ins

stuff & nonsense

Because I'm pretending I have nothing else to do that matters, I have been surfing YouTube and Wikipedia for 80s music trivia. I have found some relatively fascinating items that I am willing to share with you, so you may actually be available for your family & friends instead of glued to a computer screen for two hours.

First, I finally looked up Aztec Camera after years of wondering why Fountains of Wayne seemed so enamored by them. Now I AM IN LOVE with a cute boy from 25 years ago (which is not at all unexpected, really). Must see:

That little nugget led me to look up sweet Roddy Frame to see what he's up to now (in case he's living in my neighborhood, volunteering at our PTA) and found out he performed with Mick Jones of The Clash. Then I found this treasure:

I will now be keeping my eyes & ears open for a repeat of that kind of event when we head to London this summer; I promise not to be the YEAH MAN! fan in the crowd.

Perusing Mick Jones's bio, I noticed he was briefly with the band General Public; I have always confused General Public with English Beat and wondered why as their names are clearly quite different. But guess what I found out in only 80 minutes of mindless web surfing?? The main singers are the same people! How did I miss this great big DUH? Seriously, I've heard & adored their songs since I was in junior high and just now made this discovery. It's like only recently realizing that the hottie cop in 21 Jump Street is the same guy who plays Captain Jack Sparrow! OMG!

Here, marvel over my dumbfounding inability to put these two together - the song Tenderness (which won't embed for some reason, sorry) and Save It For Later:

I am, however, relieved to know that no one from Modern English is associated with English Beat (because I would mix them up, too). Nor do they have anything to do with Fountains of Wayne, Aztec Camera, or Mick Jones, though the lead singer does look a little like a Clash wannabe.

Time for me to stop the world and melt.

make mine moody

I am, unfortunately, serious when I say that my premenopausal? Sorry, Jenn! mood swings are intensifying. The end of the school year often does this to me - summer so close yet so far, stir crazy underclassmen, seniors who no longer feel the need to learn things and/or follow rules - and I am also in the midst of recertification, which requires a head-pounding amount of organization & paperwork. And I wish the rain would stop finally, for the love of God; even a native Pacific Northwesterner like me is done with the gray for awhile.

So I have joyously discovered a new plaything [a sure sign that I have a million more important things to do, of course]:

At STEREOmood you can pick an emotion or activity and they will generate a playlist of appropriate songs. I love the variety and, unlike some other random music websites, it displays what songs are coming next and you can create your own playlists from what they've chosen. I am suddenly far hipper after just 30 minutes of listening to homework.

Rock on.

P.S. I have not been compensated in any way for this endorsement. I'm just a satisfied listener.

very very extraordinary

Inspired by my good friend at So Not Zen, I am sharing a list of the stuff I love. Mine is also not in any particular order other than my own wacky stream of consciousness.

This song:

Girlfriends

Raspberries

Knee high socks

Stu

My darling dramatic children

SpongeBob and Patrick

Reading

Movies

Black tea from Raffles Hotel

Fancy underwear

Fountains of Wayne

iPhone

Cheese

Bread

London

Paris

Cheese & bread in London & Paris

Trains

Facebook

Chanterelles

Wine

the Oscars

Garage sales

Antique stores

My job

My classroom

Dark chocolate

Dallas Cowboys

Cherry Pepsi

Gerber daisies

Watches

My rings

Airports

Massages

Manicures & pedicures

Glee

Blogging

And this song, too (but not the overalls. Or the hair.):

Have a de-lovely, loverly Valentine's Day.

silly (and delusional) haiku

Rockin' clothes & hair.

"I'm with the band," I announced.

And then I woke up.

my stately pleasure dome is a roller disco, too

In my excitement about driving today, I forgot to mention in my weekend plans that we're going to see the Broadway version of Xanadu tonight. So my day will be about alternating laundry & napping with a few errands thrown in - maybe shopping for some sparkly blue eyeshadow? I wonder if I can get my hair to feather...

13 things to love lately

1. My boy & his dad sharing hot chocolate and manly man time at the Boy Scout tree lot.
2. My girl watching Landon Pigg's darling Falling In Love At A Coffeeshop video and swooning with me. Twice.
   
   
   


3. My best friends scrambling to adjust their schedules so they could come with me to my follow-up exam this week.
4. Stumptown coffee & pastries with my best friends after the All Clear appointment.
5. Students who say things like "You're really funny, Mrs. S" and "I LOVE having these discussions in class, thank you!" I'm serious - teenagers occasionally say this kind of stuff. And mean it.
6. Um. Landon Pigg again. He's just so precious. (And we've spoken! Real sentences! In person, with each other! I was not arrested right after, either)
   


7. Terminator Salvation - surly but sexy Christian Bale, Sam Worthington as a smoldering hot redeemed convict, cute little Anton Yelchin, and a PG-13 rating so I can show it in my Sci Fi class.
   
8. My man ordering yet more of my favorite black tea for home & classroom. Honestly, I should never be tired.
   
9. Knee-high socks! Truly. I wear them everyday.
   
10. Immaculate Baking's cranberry-orange scones ON SALE! They are like warm heaven in my mouth.
    
11. Christmas cards & pictures arriving.
    
12. Surprise treats in my mailbox from the Very Crafty, Very Generous Very Mary and the so lovely & thoughtful & together Texan Mama. (Thank you again, ladies!)
    
13. My Lovey Dovey iPod playlist. Which includes, of course, you know who.

It's beginning to look a lot like
Thursday (13)

wired (and not bitter)

Yes, more terminal nerdom for me
You know you want to visit & go there.

This adorable & talented G. Xavier Robillard taught my Writing Workshop
for Teachers this morning; I'm smitten


LiveWire! darlings, Tyler and my secret boyfriend Sean


Another sexy shot just for Holly and me




British hottie who speaks & sings like a dream
...a naughty, naughty dream




Pretty sure he was saying something just to me
in secret code



Stabbing a cabbage; it's what edgy Portlanders do
(this was not about me at all)
The plaid cutie is genius poet, Derrick Brown

(He signed my poster! I love him 2nd best)

______________________________________

There was no Audience Haiku for me to lose tonight. I did, however, lose the Character Creation contest, to which I say F*CK.

Here is my submission so you may praise my effort and appreciate the immense thought I put into it:

Frances Theodora Dalloway, who is a florist / mental health counselor

I thought I was pretty effing brilliant in giving her the initials FTD (HA) and the last name Dalloway, which was a Virginia Woolf character who kept mentioning she had to pick up flowers for her party (thus florist) and as Ms. Woolf was mentally unstable, the character's secondary job is also supposed to be drolly amusing.

Clearly I am far too cerebral for this crowd. Whatever. I will not stoop to pandering. Until my secret boyfriend invites me out for drinks after the show.

food of love

Music in Jardin du Luxembourg

photo by moi, 2008

Worldly Wordlessness

Hear it everywhere.

Singing laughter, first love songs

Music of our lives.

little bit crazy, little bit rock & roll

13 ways I am simultaneously unbalanced yet endearing.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all 6 minutes and 45 seconds of this video.
2. I remember desperately loving the disco dancing Donny when I was in 4th grade.
3. This morning I shamelessly took the Inappropriate Crush Quiz (even though it's from 2007 - Daniel Radcliffe is actually turning 20 today).
4. I feel a little bummed that I only scored 5 points.
5. I clicked over and read the entire five page article in Details (and watched the video interview).
6. I am inordinately delighted that Daniel also loves John Keats.
7. I'm pretty sure this piece of trivia will escape my mouth more than once in the coming year.
8. I also watched the video interview with Bradley Cooper.
9. I took notes on all of his outfits and am seriously contemplating a massive shopping spree at Banana Republic for my husband.
10. I tremendously & truly love my husband as he is but cannot help trying to make him wear whatever Bradley Cooper wears.
11. I scandalized the poor Nordstrom guy by asking him if the button-down shirts they were selling for $89 [on sale] would make my husband look like Bradley Cooper.
12. I tried on the same velvet jacket twice in 20 minutes at the Nordstrom sale, after touching & holding it for 10 minutes; I did not buy it.
13. I will be returning the lip gloss I was talked into buying because I realized it has petrolatum in it, plus I envision myself (and everyone else) being distracted by My Lips and Their Glossiness every minute of my teaching day if I tried wearing it to school.

More crazy and/or rock & roll at Thursday 13.

fireworks

Celebrating life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.

Happy Birthday, USA

FOUND heroes

I mentioned before that the FOUND guys were coming to my school and today they really & truly showed up! (Despite my perpetually upbeat perky attitude [shut up], I can be a closet pessimist and when I didn't hear back from them about publicity a couple of weeks ago and didn't see them anywhere near our parking lot an hour before today's scheduled show, I got a little sweaty).

me with Peter & Davy Rothbart after the show
(Davy is totally not touching me inappropriately, swear)

Why I think Peter & Davy are heroic:

• They turned this peculiar hobby of collecting 'found' items into a creative & genuinely entertaining venture
• They drive (yes, drive) around the country visiting towns large & small, venues major & minor (like us!)
• They perform at schools for free
• They're super cute & talented [fine public speakers plus Peter writes songs, sings, & plays guitar gloriously] AND extraordinarily polite to teenagers & grown-ups alike

I think of them as grown-up versions of some of our more quirky/brilliant students who are at our school because they don't fit particular checklists of What To Become. It warmed my heart to see so many of our kids enjoying the performance and believing that it's really & truly okay to follow a different path.

If you are near any of their upcoming stops, you MUST go see them. This is a Bad Mom mandate; tell them I sent you.

And none of this praise is due to the fact that Davy pretended to be singing & blowing kisses to me during "The Booty Don't Stop" song. Though it definitely made my middle-aged day and makes me want to link their site one more time...

rock & roll all night, and part of every day

How can anyone not completely love this guy?

His comedy - wacky & irreverent but always relatable - is flawlessly delivered, and he is the most perfect combination of adorable and hot one might ever know. So say I, the slightly hormonally imbalanced counting-down-to-summerspring-break teacher of occasionally ungrateful yet needy & desperately lovable teenagers, married to a thankfully re-employed goofy & charming engineer; all of these things apropos of nothing other than - stressed much?

Sometimes I just want eye candy that stimulates my brain a tad, too. Thank you, Paul.

P.S. The post title is a reference to a flawlessly, hilariously delivered line from Role Models, a must-see for your continued well-being, especially if you have any appreciaton for KISS. Which leads me to tell this very long & rambling compelling story from my past:

I never really thought much about KISS until I met Jim Durham in 5th grade. He was a quiet kid who somehow always managed to get in trouble in class; I think it had to do with him not finishing his assignments but I believe my interest in his plight was the beginning of my work with at-risk youth. Jim was always scrawling "KISS" across his Pee-Chees in that cool writing with the "SS" looking like lightning bolts, and he frequently wore a t-shirt with a picture of the [very scary, to me] band in all their made-up glory. I realize now that KISS kind of scared me because they were so blatantly sexual in nature - that was something so taboo in my family, I might have believed my sister & I were of immaculate conception if I hadn't actually been kept awake by strange primal noises coming from my parents' room now & then.

Anyway, I inexplicably struck up a pseudo-friendship with Jim and was eventually persuaded to buy the 45 of "Beth," which I ended up playing so frequently I could [and can still] sing it with perfect emotional inflection that moved me to tears. I secretly enjoyed the B-side of "Detroit Rock City" and eventually [secretly] lusted after Peter Criss, the original Catman; I was [secretly] devastated when Gene Simmons fired him from the band.

All of this leads to my utter [not-so-secret] delight at Role Models' homage to KISS, making me want to find Jim Durham and thank him for opening my eyes (not to mention other body parts) to the magic of naughty rock & roll.

The end.

preparing for something smart. really.

I have a sure-to-be-genius post trying to formulate in my head about women and marriage and feminism and Revolutionary Road and motherhood and sisterhood and Rachel Getting Married, but I think it might have to wait until spring break (14 school days but who's counting?) even though it would have been perfect for International Women's Day.

So here is Sunday's offering, because "Love Bites" came on the radio this afternoon and I wistfully remembered watching Def Leppard on American Bandstand when I was in 9th grade then calling my friend Patti to emote over these guys. I had to go find this on YouTube, and watching it still makes me seriously wiggly; I specifically remember sitting two feet from the TV screen and swooning over the slender young Joe. Yes it's 9 minutes long - there are two songs and the Dick Clark interviewing those adorable youthful British accents. It was like a tiny time machine back to my giddy girlish junior high days. I hope you enjoy. [Feminism what?]

(Hey, did you catch that one of the labels for this post is "hysteria"?
Get it?? I'm fricking hilarious)

nothing like a cleansing sob to lighten the heart

Gearing up for a lover's weekend? Or just in need of a tear duct purge? Check out my favorite sappy songs at A-Lister [another blast from the recent past; last Valentine's Day to be precise].

And don't miss Janet's amazing heart pics at Fond of Snape. They'll bring you back from the brink that my musical choices will pull you toward...

lovely letter L

The likable Kari at Alas 3 Lads recently became one of my loyals and was playing a letter game that seemed like a lark. She assigned me the letter "L" and now I have to tell 10 things I like about it. Look & learn [sick of L words yet?]:

1. Its angular shape is strong & practical. (Now I will mention stuff that starts with the letter).
2. Life
3. Lists
4. London
5. Ludacris
6. Lazy Sundays
7. Lounging in pajamas
8. Lemons in ice water
9. Listening to Fountains of Wayne [this is the concert I just saw!]
10. L-O-V-E

suburban mom fantasies

Got it goin' on.

Me & the man who indulges my delusional pseudo-groupie behavior

Good girlfriends who lovingly go along with my fanaticism


Mmmm, cocktail & calamari


Emptied pockets & purse
(Thanks again to Sam for pilfering the poster!)

I know I'm a complete lame ass for not taking photos at the actual concert; Stu tried with his cell phone but they turned out looking like bad UFO sightings. I really wish I could have captured the slightly disdainful, contemptuous (but ohmyGod still hot in a bad bad boy way) looks from Jody or the sweet, geekish enrapt faces of Chris & Adam but alas. [Brian on drums is usually cute *see striped shirt guy in poster* but resembled Grizzly Adams last night so I'm leaving him off my list of must-have-gotten shots; no offense to very hairy bearded individuals, it's just not my thing].

The concert was slightly longer than last time and they did play most of the songs I missed then (I take this as a sign that they read my numerous pleading e-mails blog and only want to please me), plus it was 21+ which is good for not having teenagers squealing near me [I just want to be away from teenagers on my days off, please God] and for being able to drink my vanilla Cosmo outside of a roped area. But that distinction really seemed to mean "AARP discounts this way!" The volume of near-geriatric, sitting-the-entire-time (!!!) fans was kind of weird, though it certainly helped make me feel young & hot.

In the end, a pleasant time. Though I'm still hoping for a return e-mail or post-concert party invitation someday; for now I'll settle for Facebook friendship. Oh yes I did.

the uplifting quality of death

We just started renting Dexter now that I am out of the grips of Tony Soprano; apparently I have an affinity for murderous stories - who knew? Okay, maybe the clerks at the store where I always sat on the magazine rack when I was a kid reading "True Crime" while my mom was in line. Or all the theater attendants who lifted eyebrows when my dad took me to see Phantasm and The Exorcist and Halloween. And now the workers at Blockbuster who've watched me peruse the shelves in the TV section, stopping to pick up Six Feet Under before settling on the show about a serial killer. After finishing a series about a ruthless mob family.

Huh.

Besides being attracted to the gruesome tales (and the accompanying grim, grainy black & white police shots) at the check-out stand or my willingness to risk weeks of nightmares for a couple hours of horror movie thrills, I've also always been intrigued by forensic science & the psychological profiles of deviants. I can't figure out if this speaks to a latent dark side or is simply an indication of how very calm, clean, and trouble-free my childhood was; my psyche can afford to dabble in the shadowy underbelly of society for entertainment.

To top off all my gleeful gloom, I got in the car after school just in time for this song:

This is the life.