one more reason to love Miranda July

Being a teacher, I love giving assignments. Your assignment is to check out these assignments!
learning to love you more

everyone and no one

I love Miranda July. It really is that simple.

a movie:
Me and You and Everyone We Know


a book:
No One Belongs Here More Than You

summer, not winter, but all the same...

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the weight
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings, are.

None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair,
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.

-Emily Dickinson

from one to another

Belt Promotion Ceremony at The Defense Institute. The best part was watching the expressions on the faces of Grant and Bennett as they watched the older kids with a mixture of awe, fear, and fascination. Hell, I was watching them with awe, fear, and fascination as well!

breaking boards:


stripes:


Sensei Eric:

women in art

First thought: beautiful!
Second thought: they all look so sad.
Third thought: who's missing?

where are we?

water someday
but for now
just a river walk
and the sky
we love to love

bishop's castle

I was here seven years ago for a wedding. Grant was riding in a backpack as we were climbing over, around, and above. At one point, he pushed up on the back bar with his little naked feet and almost toppled us both over the edge! We will go back this summer, and I will let them climb and try not to worry. Jim Bishop deserves this 7:00 of your time.



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my grad

Bennett graduated from kindergarten today, amidst sweet songs and sunshine. I wonder what he will remember from this moment. What do you remember from the end of your glory days? I remember matching mother and daughter knitted ponchos, hobby horses in a circle, a cold tile floor, and graham crackers. And already the antagonism of wills and the burden of proof upon my 6-year-old soul for something I knew had little to do with me.
I hope he will remember:

his brother

his first love

his buddies

his mama

congratulations, my little friend!

holy shit

these are some of my new friends:

our grads

futures unknown
this moment
more of the same, perhaps
but with bigger eyes, we hope
and more thirst

if there were....

a wizard who could grant me a brain, a heart, courage, and the way home...... it would be Damien Rice. I hope he plays this song tonight at the Paramount.

oh my!

Post-reporting on the Out Loud concert.....
Jene and I found seats next to some gentlemen from the Denver Gay Men's Chorus; there were at least 20 or so in attendance. The love was palpable. We entertained ourselves before the show began by searching for dirty lyrics in the hymnal (not hard to do when you alter how you see). The first set was moving, relaxing, voices blending and washing over the audience like some sort of baptism by aural beauty. You don't have to be religious to appreciate a heart-on-your-sleeve Hallelujah. There was also a lively operatic duet from "La Traviata" (the only opera I have ever seen, incidentally) with a female guest which received a standing ovation. After the intermission came Dorothy and the green-faced Wicked Witch, singing, most metaphorically, "It's Not Easy Being Green". The crowd was energized by ABBA at the end, but not nearly as much as I had expected. I was one of the few dancing in the aisles. If you saw this show, and did not leave smiling, then you are truly not human at all.

springs culture cast #10 (pt.2)

In Part 2 this week, Springs Culture Cast reporter Sue Spengler drops in on a lively rehearsal at First Congregational Church, where Out Loud: The Colorado Springs Men's Chorus prepares for their upcoming show: OPERA, ABBA, & OZ, OH MY!
These guys are amazing; I'll be there Friday night-hope to see some of you there! I have it from the source that they will be ending with "Dancing Queen".... how could you possibly miss it?!



For more info, please visit Springs Culture Cast

springs culture cast #10 (pt.1)

Edition 10!... a bit of a milestone for us at Springs Culture Cast. In Part 1 this week, executive producer Klayton Elliot Kendall visits the Fine Arts Center and interviews some of the talented people behind Colorado Springs Dance Theatre's Success of the Springs. The last dance is soooo beautiful.

the missing teeth

They may be 20 months apart, but Grant is merely one inch, a few pounds, and one tooth ahead of his brother, Bennett. It will be interesting to see at what point the younger surpasses the older to become the bigger.

imitation is the highest form of flattery

The lyrebird lives in Australia and can mimic the sounds of the world around it. In this video (sorry, embedding was disabled), David Attenborough reveals the versatility and stunning repertoire of this amazing avian. With a lyrebird around, it would be very difficult, indeed, to have any secrets at all!

war and peace

We went to a peace rally and a fight broke out between my two sons....
Later we stopped at this cannon and they flashed spontaneous peace signs, unaware of the irony.
Our troops will now be sentenced to 15-month tours of Hades .
How does a boy grow into a man?

red rock canyon

Sometimes friends know what we need without us even having to tell them.
One of mine invited me for a walk in Red Rock Canyon this morning.
We inadvertently invented a new yoga pose: the slippery rock.
Draw your own conclusions.
Make your own inferences.
Read between the spines.
All that matters is what each of us brings to the texture of our lives.

woman with red banana tree

I can't remember the last time I purchased something that made me so happy. Don't get me wrong; I know money can't buy happiness and all that crap. But THIS, my friends, is a painting entitled "Woman with Red Banana Tree, Part 2" by Cuban painter Johan Garcia. (Part 1 is with some doctor on the east coast). And it is now hanging in my living room!

I have had my eye on this painting for at least four weeks. Every time I stopped in for a coffee in the afternoon, I would ask Guillermo if he had sold "my" painting yet. Finally, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I walked up the street, into the gallery, and bought it. Just like that. After weeks of staring, dreaming, passing by.

I don't know much about Mr. Garcia, only what Guillermo Alvarado of Cucuru Gallery and Cafe told me: that he is an up-and-coming Cuban artist. Even an internet search revealed nothing substantial. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that this painting is my upsilamba.


Someday, I shall live where grow banana trees.

Springs Culture Cast, Edition 7

This week Springs Culture Cast producer Craig Richardson visits New Life Church and interviews principal actors in The Thorn. Also, reporter Sue Spengler covers the Antiques & Collectibles Evaluation Fair, a part of the Trianon Centenary Celebration at the Colorado Springs School.