Journeys

Priceless

2012-01-21T21:51:00.004-05:00

Social Niceties

Social niceties are things we say and do in our culture because it is considered the polite thing to do. Your words may or may not be heartfelt.

For example, someone you know has lost a loved one. Your response is, “I’m sorry.” You are truly sorry but somehow it doesn’t seem enough and there are no other words you can conjure up that express your feeling. When you stepped up to the casket at the funeral home, did you say, “Oh, he looks so good.” What? Of course he doesn’t look good, he’s dead! Why do we say, "He looks so good, just like himself?"

From a young age, I was taught the proper polite greetings and responses. When my parents’ friends greeted me, they usually said, “How are you?” I was expected to say, “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” The response was, “I’m fine too, thank you.”

The Truth?

I doubt anyone wants the real answer. They want to hear the empty rote words and then continue on their way. Here’s the real answer:

“Not good. I woke up late this morning to find my cat had opened the birdcage and left a cluster of floating yellow feathers. Then tripped on the edge of the rug and hit my head on the doorway. See the bruise here? I fixed my usual morning coffee and spilled some on my sweater. On my way to the door, I detoured to the bathroom because morning sickness had reared its ugly head again. As I hurried to catch my bus, it began to rain. When I finally reached the office, my client was already there and waiting for me. I apologized and, to my horror, realized I was wearing a red shoe on my right foot and a black shoe on my left foot…each with a different heel height. So, you asked how I am. I am not well!”

Casual Encounters

I’ve noticed lately that more and more strangers are asking me, “How are you?” People who don't know me call on the phone wanting me to do a survey or buy new siding. My answer is usually a rude one to someone who has intruded on my privacy at home.

Sales people in stores greet me like this too. In these cases, I do the polite thing, “I’m fine, thanks, and how are you?” They usually recite the universally acceptable answer. “I’m fine, thank you.”

Nothing of real value is exchanged in these situations…unless someone breaks the pattern.

Barbara, employee at the Glen Burnie Dollar Tree.

Priceless

Recently I was browsing the Dollar Tree in Glen Burnie. I waited in line to buy a few items and when it was my turn, the clerk said the usual words, “How are you?” I responded, “Fine and how are you?”

Then came the surprise. She responded, “Blessed.”

I remarked to her how delighted I was to hear her unusual answer. She's an African American working as a cashier at the Dollar Tree, probably working for minimum wage. But she wore a smile and said, “I am blessed. You woke up this morning, didn’t you? Well you are blessed too.”

I got more than a bargain at the Dollar Tree. I got a priceless reminder to appreciate what I have and count my blessings.

Thank you, Barbara! You are priceless.

I don't know who to give credit to for this poster but it fits with this blog. If you are the creator, let me know so I can add your name.

Finding Love on Facebook

2011-11-16T17:55:00.000-05:00

Stephanie donated a kidney to her father.

Say what you will about Facebook, but today I just experienced some exceptional humanity through this networking tool.

Stephanie Wills, a young woman in her early 30’s, donated one of her kidneys to her father who is coming home soon from the hospital.

Ben Morris, a young man I taught in middle school and who I was often at odds with, cried at the birth of his new daughter.

Jiho, originally from Korea, wrote a wonderful tribute to his mother who just passed away.

Facebook does more than let me see who’s drinking what coffee and where. If you look, it exposes us all as a community to our shared humanity. Anyone who thinks the younger generation is a lost one, full of self, has not looked beneath the surface. Of course, there’s the partying, profanity and general foolishness, but that’s all part of life and our common experiences.

Look further and you’ll see compassion, caring and real feelings. As my 90-year-old father just told me today, “LOVE (his capitals) is the real purpose to life.”

Linking Teacher Pay to Student Performance

2011-07-08T21:37:00.011-04:00

A retired teacher's perspective on recent trends

American students are falling behind students in the rest of the world. It must be because their teachers aren’t teaching them, therefore we need to pay teachers based on their students’ performances on standardized tests. This will motivate teachers to do a better job and improve the education of their students. Then our students will be better prepared to compete globally.

Wrong!

Teaching is a demanding and sometimes overwhelming job. (c) Bonnie Schupp

What we need are policy makers who excel in lateral thinking. Things will never change as long as our policy makers continue to think inside the box and dictate overly simplistic solutions. They are running our nation’s schools like a business. Education is not a business that can be measured with quality control like items on an assembly line. (* See footnote) We are looking at children, complex human beings, who are part of a huge multi-layered problem. Until all the layers are examined and addressed, education problems will not be solved.

Connecting teacher pay to student performance will not work because the solutions offered are shallow and a large part of the problem lies outside the teacher’s influence. From all my years of teaching, I’ve never known teachers to be focused on pay as much as on doing the right thing and the best job for their students. If we begin to focus on test scores with rewards for teachers, we open up a can of worms. We will begin to acquire teachers who have priorities which may not be best for their students. As we have already seen, a number of our nation’s school systems have encountered problems with cheating as teachers panic and try to influence test results.

Yes, there are variances in the quality of teachers, as in any profession, but the current trend of pay for student performance is troubling. What if dentists were paid based on the number of new cavities their patients had with each dental visit? Can they control how much sugar their patients eat or how well they brush their teeth? Certainly dentists educate their patients about dental hygiene but they have no control over how their patients use this knowledge.

The Problem

Although good teachers certainly try to influence students in all ways that will help them succeed, they have no direct control over some elements that influence how students perform on tests:

1.    Attendance. Some students attend school regularly but others miss school for illness, family vacations, suspensions and other reasons, legitimate or not. Much of what is taught during a school year is sequential with new skills often based on previously taught skills. Teachers offer time after school for students who have missed classroom time but often students do not show up.

2.    Lack of prior student skills needed for success in a particular grade. Education policy as I experienced it allowed students to continue to the next grade, even when they had failed a subject. So then students are passed to the next grade without the tools for success.

3.    Home environment. Those students who come from functioning, supportive families have an advantage over those who do not. I’ve seen in my past teaching experience families fighting over child custody, parents who do not encourage and oversee homework completion, parents who don’t understand the commitment needed to the education process and parents who have little control over their 12-year-old middle school child.

I am a product of the Baltimore City school system and always did well but much of that can be attributed to my parents. They monitored my homework, bought whatever supplies I needed, went to every PTA meeting and taught me to respect my teachers. They made it clear to me that if I misbehaved and got detention or if they received a negative phone call from a teacher, I would be punished at home too.

In my teaching experience, I gave up on detention to help with behavior problems because ultimately detention added to my problems and time which I didn’t have enough of. Parents told me their children could not serve detention for any number of reasons. It was not unusual to hear a parent say, “I told Ryan that he doesn’t have to serve detention because he says he doesn’t deserve it.”

4.    Student attitudes and accountability. Students of any age can be apathetic for any number of reasons. Good teachers are often able to get beyond this and motivate these students but it is not always possible. Many middle school students are more concerned with who is “going out” with whom than they are about test scores. It is a time in their lives where they are dealing with huge physical and emotional changes. Because of this, school can take a back seat and their reasoning is often illogical. Sometimes their logic is right on though; I’ve heard students speak aloud about how they don’t care about how they do on standardized tests. After all, they will still pass regardless of their scores. (They are concerned about staying in the same grade as their friends.) They know about cause and effect. With the current teacher-pay-score system, there are also some devious students who hold grudges against particular teachers who will undoubtedly intentionally do poorly on tests with the hope of hurting those teachers they dislike. If you think this is unlikely, then you’ve never taught school, particularly middle school.

5.    Class size. I always tried to be the kind of teacher I would want my own children to have. That was my yardstick. I went beyond what I needed to do in the classroom and spent my own money and time putting together a website (called Reaching Minds) that parents and students could go to to see what was accomplished each day in class. I included links to all work papers that were distributed in class so that even when a student missed class, the work was there. Just about all families had home computers and those who had a technology problem could always come into my classroom and print out assignments on my classroom computers. Parents and students had access to my e-mail and my home phone number was listed in the phone directory.

I tried to deal with class size in these ways so students could independently help themselves. But there are logistics of class size that continued to frustrate me. We had 50-minute class periods. Most classes had 30 students or close to it. I could teach to the entire class but when it came to time for individual students needing help, the math says that I had less than two minutes to give to each child in my room. So many students needed much more.

The solution

So what is the solution? These are the layers that must be attacked all at once:

Add 33 students to these 33 crowded desks.

1. First class size. Give teachers the tools they need to work with. To me, class size was always more important than textbooks and, yes, even pay. Students cannot learn if teachers don’t have enough time to teach them.

2. Next educate not only the child, but the family. Many parents need help. They came from dysfunctional families and have no role model, no idea of how to raise a child who can succeed. They need help as parents so they can understand how important it is to be good role models for their own children and to be guides who set limits and encourage positive actions. Parent education works best when started early. I saw way too often parents of middle schoolers who had lost all control of their children by the time they were 12. Kids cannot learn if they and their families are out of control.

Minutes to eat lunch and no recess.

3.    Look at the whole child and not just the child who sits in the classroom. The breakfast and lunch programs already in place are an example of this. Guidance counselors are important. They cannot deal with issues that need attention (bullying, abuse, drugs and alcohol) because their case loads are too large. Hire more guidance counselors who do not have to deal with standardized tests but who will have time to deal with those issues important to children. And give children enough time to eat their lunch and release some energy. In my middle school, students had 25 minutes to go to their locker, go to the bathroom, go to the lunchroom, stand in the lunch line, eat lunch, and then clean up. And during this time, there was always an adult blaring directions over the microphone in a cafeteria din unconducive to relaxation, conversation and digestion. The way some students are forced to eat lunch is inhuman. Wherever did recess go? Kids cannot learn if they are hungry or fearful and their human needs are not met.

4.    Examine neighborhoods and what the school and greater community can do to create more stable neighborhoods with positive offerings. Some people think that middle school children are old enough to take care of themselves but it is often that this age group needs more after school supervision than younger ones. Provide free after school programs where parents can send their children. Lack of supervision affects students' ability to learn.

5.    Give teachers time to help and learn from their peers through classroom observations and collaboration. They have so much to learn from one another. In fact, just give teachers time to do their jobs well. Harried teachers affect the quality of education.

6.    Empower teachers. In my district, the school board consists of business professionals and one student representative. No teachers. These business people set policy for educational professionals who know best what their students need and how to teach them. Something is wrong with this picture.

Of course this will take money but how important is education? All teachers might not agree with me, but I would have taken a pay cut if my working conditions, such as class size, had been improved. I agree that teacher tenure should be dropped. It won’t matter to good teachers because they continue to do a good job regardless. Those few poor teachers should be replaced. I do not agree with teacher pay related to student test scores because it will fail.

We need to forget about the business of education and worry more about the humanization of education by looking at the whole child. Any lateral thinkers out there?

Bonnie Schupp taught middle school and junior high school English/Language Arts in Maryland before retiring in 2003 to complete graduate studies at the University of Baltimore. She graduated in 2005 with a Doctor of Communications Design. Baltimore City 1967 - 1975; Annapolis 1988 - 1990, Pasadena 1991 - 2003

Giving Teachers Bonuses for Student Achievement Undermines Student Learning

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2011) — Recent efforts to improve teacher performance by linking pay to student achievement have failed because such programs often rely on metrics that were never intended to help determine teacher pay, contends Derek Neal, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110404173245.htm

Schools cannot be run like a business:

A Businessman Learns a Lesson
by Jamie Robert Vollmer

"If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!" I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute.. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in-service. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.

I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle 1980s when People Magazine chose our blueberry as the "Best Ice Cream in America." I was convinced of two things.

First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the industrial age and out of step with the needs of our emerging "knowledge society."

Second, educators were a major part of the problem: they resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly.

They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! TQM! Continuous improvement! In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced equal parts ignorance and arrogance.

As soon as I finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared polite, pleasant - she was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran, high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload. She began quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream."

I smugly replied, "Best ice cream in America, Ma'am."

"How nice," she said. "Is it rich and smooth?"

"Sixteen percent butterfat," I crowed.

"Premium ingredients?" she inquired.

"Super-premium! Nothing but triple A." I was on a roll.

I never saw the next line coming. "Mr. Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?"

In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie. "I send them back."

"That's right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them all: GT, ADHD, ADD, SLD, EI, MMR, OHI, TBI, DD, Autistic, junior rheumatoid arthritis, English as their second language, etc. We take them all! Everyone!
And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not a business. It's a school!"

In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"

And so began my long transformation.

Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.

None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when and how we teach to give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a post-industrial society
but educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission and active support of the surrounding community. For the most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America.

Praying for Rain

2011-04-14T17:29:00.005-04:00

These days I pray for rain. Not because of drought but because of sound. It’s true that I love the light swishing rhythms of rain drumming on the roof but my desire for rain is driven by noise…the flip side of sound.

When sound becomes noise

Sound and noise are not the same thing. “Sound”connotes positivity while “noise” suggests something undesirable. For example, the sound of children playing is pleasant but it turns into noise when it progresses to arguments and fighting—conflict.

Sound is measured in decibels. According to experts, 130 decibels is the pain level in the human ear. A few common sounds have these ratings: snowmobile = 120, chain saw = 110, amplified music = 110, lawn mower = 90, normal conversation = 60 and leaves rustling = 10 (one of my favorite sounds). ATV vehicles average 91 – 100 decibels.

I’m sensitive to sound, as well as its absence and I’m probably not alone. When I awake slowly to the chirping of birds in our yard, the day seems to unfold gracefully with a smile. For the few rock concerts I have attended, I wore earplugs. After 9/11, I noticed an eerie silence in the sky when flights at BWI Airport were canceled. Nightly cricket symphonies, a soothing sound I usually love, became frenzied, almost as if the crickets were compensating for the absence of airport flights overhead.

Looking forward to rainy days

The need for rain these days is closely connected with a recent noise presence in my neighborhood. Some middle-school boys have acquired dirt bikes and they are obviously engrossed in their new toys. I understand their excitement. In fact, I love riding motorcycles and have a motorcycle license. I’ve owned several Hondas and when I taught in Baltimore City, my students called me Motorcycle Mama.

Weekends I used to ride with friends just for the joy of the experience. During leisurely rides in the country, I relished the sweet smell of honeysuckle and anticipated the chill air in the dips and the contrasting hot currents as the road climbed. I would still have a bike now except it be unwise to risk my new knee after I went through the ordeal of knee replacement surgery.

A few weeks ago, as I was working at my computer, uploading images to my iStockphoto portfolio for sales, I began to be aware of a growing tenseness. A constant background noise, along with vibrations under my feet, had affected my focus. The neighbor boys were riding their new motorbikes up and down, up and down, up and down my dead-end street. Every time they passed my window, the floor noticeably rumbled under my feet.

It would not have gained my attention if a bike were started in a nearby driveway and then the rider was off and riding somewhere. Instead, it was the constant repetition that caused the disruption. When someone is mowing a lawn or trimming hedges with electric clippers, it is a temporary noise. When little boys ride up and down your street, with no end in sight (except on rainy days), it becomes an endless annoyance.

No end in sight

I thought the boys would grow tired of their monotonous journey, hours riding back and forth on a short dead-end street. I was wrong. Every day after school and on weekends, the noisy pattern continued with constant zoom-zoom-zooming back and forth, increased speed matching increased exhilaration of the riders. Sometimes there was a single rider. Sometimes two bikes. Sometimes two on one bike. Sometimes with and sometimes without a helmet. Besides the noise, we were also concerned about safety.

I talked with one of the boys about his speed on the street but it didn’t change. My husband, David, and I both talked with one boy, who quickly summoned his nearby forces of other neighborhood boys to surround him and give him support. We told him that it was annoying and most likely illegal and they should stop or we’d contact the police.

It didn’t stop. David talked with the parents of two boys who told him that because of the engine displacement size of the dirt bike, it was legal for their middle-school sons to ride on the street.

We were resigned to grinding our teeth or moving. Then, during a particularly active day, we heard a brief police siren and noticed one of the boys walking his bike back home. He did not look happy.

We had not called the police. It isn’t our style. That’s why we talked with the boys and their parents directly. But we were glad for the tranquility in the neighborhood for a few days…

…until just now… I feel my feet vibrating and hear the familiar zoom and rumble. Sigh…

(Turn on your speakers and check out this video. Keep in mind that it was filmed from inside my house.)

Photographer: Evolution From Technician to Artist

2011-03-02T22:54:00.009-05:00


Showing through May 15, 2011 at the Baltimore Museum of Art (Photo by Bonnie J. Schupp)

Baltimore used to have an annual art show around either Montebello Lake or Druid Hill Lake. My memory is a little fuzzy but I do remember when I was rejected sometime in the 1960’s. To participate in this unjuried art show, one merely had to sign a form. I wish I could find my rejection letter but it essentially said I couldn’t show because photography was not art. I believe this line of thinking had something to do with how photos were made…with a mechanical device.

We’ve come a long way since then.

People used to say that “the camera never lies.” Not anymore. Now we recognize that the photographer can bend the light waves of truth around her own perception, leading to a new interpretation of “reality.” (And, of course, there’s always Photoshop.) Choices of camera angle, cropping, timing, color, format and presentation are determined by the artist’s personal vision and interpretation.

In 2008 the Baltimore Museum of Art presented Through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960 featuring works by Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks and Harry Callahan. Along with this exhibit, some contemporary artists such as MICA’s Connie Imboden were invited to interpret the exhibition’s ideas with their own work. In addition to this, the community was invited to create digital images inspired by this show. One of my pieces was chosen for the digital gallery.

At the BMA (Photo by Bonnie J. Schupp)

Now in 2011, the BMA is showing Seeing Now: Photography Since 1960, a collection of more than 200 images featuring works of 60 modern photographers. Artists include Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand and Robert Frank, among others. The exhibit is clustered in five groups: Seeing Pictures, Seeing People, Seeing Places, Seeing Performance, and Seeing Photography.

You can read an excellent review by Cara Ober of the Urbanite here.

Instead of duplicating what others have already done well, I’ll add a few personal observations.

Humanity dominates the art in this exhibit. Even in those images that have no humans within the frame, they draw the viewer in and the viewer becomes the missing person connected with the photograph.

There were some things that I “didn’t get,” such as the videos with the artists continually saying, “Good morning” and “Good night.” However, exposure to art which stretches how you see both art and reality leads us to a more multi-layered life. After all, the mission of art is to push us toward seeing things in new ways, to demand that we think about things even when we want to ignore them, to help us connect the past and present and move toward the future, and to question where we are in time.

In the past, photography exhibits always had a simple black frame around a matted photograph. In this exhibit format is more varied. There are numerous white frames and even one where a decorative frame seems to be part of the art.

This was the first exhibit I have seen which uses smartphone technology. If your cell phone has the proper app downloaded, you can scan the bar code below some of the photos. Just as the museum reached out to the broader community with Through the Lens, once again a broader community has been invited to participate. This time, the bar code scan will call up a link about that image that points you to some of Nate Larson’s MICA students who have responded to these works.

Finally, there are several pieces where words and images are equally part of the art. I predict we will see this marriage of words and images more frequently in the future. *

During the past few years, I’ve worked on connections between words and images. In Defining Ourselves, the words were those of my subjects and the photos were collaborative between subject and photographer. Presently I’m working on another long-term project, Together 40+, where my subjects must respond verbally before they sit in front of the camera. And another daily word/image project I’m working on for 2011 is Dog Tag Poetry. This blending of words and images adds a new layer—and challenge—to my photography vision.

Don't miss Seeing Now: Photography Since 1960 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. It will force you to question and change your perception of reality.

Check out these links.....................................................

“Defining Ourselves” has shown in Annapolis, Fairfax, Rockville and Baltimore. I was also interviewed on WYPR’s The Signal.

Gallery talk: http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2009/04/defining-ourselves_07.html

Slide show: http://bonnieschupp.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=6069575&AlbumKey=gri8J

Collaboration (Photo of Connie Imboden): http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2009/04/defining-ourselves_07.html

WYPR: The Signal (I am the second of three interviews.) http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-880252.mp3

Although there’s much of 2011 yet to go, you can get a taste of my Dog Tag Poetry here:

http://bonnieschupp.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=15698379&AlbumKey=nSDDj

Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) – Step out of your comfort zone

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2010/12/right-brainleft-brain.html

If you’re unfamiliar with the International Visual Literacy Association, you can find out more here:

http://www.ivla.org/

Geography Anyone?

2011-02-22T16:52:00.004-05:00

Want to test your knowledge of middle eastern geography? Teachers can use this interactive tool in their classrooms. I won't say how many I got right but you can be sure that I'll be going back to this site and using it as a personal learning tool.

Screen capture

Direct link to the geography game is here: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html
Click and drag country names to map outlines. Good luck!

Who's Gonna Be My Valentine?

2011-02-13T23:52:00.002-05:00

A Valentine gift for you. Share with those you love.

© Song and lyrics by Georgie Jessup. Video by Bonnie Schupp with contributions from:
Eileen Browning, Lee Rowley, iStockphoto, Dorrett Oosterhoff, Marilyn Johnston, Valerie Aldridge, Farzad Khosrownia

Learn more about Georgie Jessup.

Lyrics:
♥ [chorus]
Who's gonna be my Valentine? Who's gonna watch my beauty shine?
I'll shine right through your walls of steel.
I'll shine until I make you feel a little more than a moment in time.
Who's gonna be my Valentine?

♥ [verse]
Who's gonna get me through this night?
Who's gonna kiss and hold me tight?
Young lovers are watching the same moon as I.
As stars will fall my wishes rise!

♥ [verse]
Someone is smiling as I sing this song.
Are they wishing and hoping and singing along?
Are they walking a tightrope up on a high wire?
Are they looking like me and stoking the fire?

♥ [repeat chorus]

♥ [verse]
Is there anybody out there? Pick up the phone.
Call on my neighbor. Tell them I'm home.
Tell them I love them and I wish them kind.
I'm searching the cosmos for my Valentine!

Congratulations to the Egyptian People

2011-02-12T10:40:00.001-05:00

(English translation)

Sound of Freedom

i went to the streets and said i will not come back

and with my blood i wrote in every street

we made those who did not hear us listen

and all barriers were broken

our weapon was our dreams

and tomorrow is clear ahead of us

we've been waiting a long time

searching but not finding our place

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

we put our heads to the sky

and our hunger no longer mattered

most important is our right

and we write our history with our blood

if you were one of us

stop talking and telling us

to walk away and abandon our dream

stop saying "i"

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

my life in Egypt is dark and within it ... it is spread through change, it breaks the frames, the salt of its beautiful youth turned its autumn spring, they accomplished a miracle, the brought the dead from death, kill me, my food will not will not bring your country again, with my blood i write another life for my country, my blood gave spring its green color, i smile from happiness ...

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

in every street in my country

the voice of freedom is calling

Toxic Rhetoric

2011-01-10T19:25:00.007-05:00

Our Word Arsenal

Image from

http://www.examiner.com

Jared Lee Loughner is crazy. He’s the one who pulled the trigger in the Arizona shooting that killed six people and shot Senator Gabrielle Giffords. Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and right wing bullies didn’t pull the trigger.

However, we must remember that bullets don’t come from guns alone. Words and images also hold a certain firing power, especially for those vulnerable and volatile individuals who are mentally ill.

Words do make a difference. As a former middle school teacher, I know that the language I used as a teacher and the way I delivered this language made a difference in how my students responded. The words and delivery that parents say to their children make a difference too.

Think about it. Here are possible parent-to-child words...two different approaches:

(a) "Again! What makes you do such stupid things all the time?"

(b) "I feel bad when you act without thinking about how it will affect the rest of the family. "

How many parents have ever, in frustration, said to their child, “I’m so angry I could kill you!” Most children understand the context of that phrase and know it is not to be interpreted literally, but maybe we should re-think the violence in our off-hand language.

Words and pictures may not kill but they can put ideas into minds of the vulnerable. Bill O’Reilly verbally attacked George Tiller (“Tiller the Killer”), a doctor who was gunned down because he performed abortions. Unstable individuals sometimes act from words they have read and, in acting on them, believe they have the backing of important people who have uttered those words.

Sarah Palin is not directly responsible for Senator Giffords fight for life in the hospital now. But she is responsible for using language and images irresponsibly. Crosshairs targeting “Gabby” Giffords did not pull the trigger literally, but it has the potential of pulling the mind trigger in the mentally ill.

An argument might be made that we can’t base all our speech on the potential for how it might trigger others. I say, we can be more aware and moderate with what we say and how we say it. As a middle school teacher, I did this all the time because it made a difference.

Language can pull the symbolic trigger under certain circumstances. Maybe we should do more thinking before we speak.

Prohibition

2010-12-29T14:09:00.004-05:00

Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland

U.S. Government Poisons Citizens

It was in the mid-1920’s during Prohibition. The government was frustrated because people were breaking the law and, in fact, drinking more than ever. Prohibition wasn’t working. The illegal alcohol trade was thriving and growing. This story and more is told in Deborah Blum’s fascinating book: Poisoner’s Handbook, murder and the birth of forensic medicine in jazz age New York.

To discourage this alarming trend, in 1906 the U.S. government began requiring alcohol manufacturers to denature industrial alcohol. The easiest way to do this was to add extra methyl, or wood, alcohol into the mixture which made it more lethal. In response, bootlegger chemists found a way to filter out much of the methyl alcohol. The spirits were still more poisonous than traditional grain alcohol but not as much as it might have been.

Congress then took tougher measures so that alcohol would be so deadly that chemists would be unable to do anything with it. On December 28, 1926, Dr. Charles Norris, chief medical examiner in New York City, stated publically:

“The government knows it is not stopping drinking by putting poison in alcohol. It knows what the bootleggers are doing with it and yet it continues its poisoning processes, heedless of the fact that people determined to drink are daily absorbing that poison. Knowing this to be true, the United States Government must be charged with the moral responsibility for the deaths that poisoned liquor causes, although it cannot be held legally responsible.”

Not victims but law-breakers

Wayne Wheeler, general counsel of the Anti-Saloon League of America, responded that these “so-called victims” had broken the law and deserved no sympathy for their behavior. The next day, the Treasury Department announced the new requirement that denatured alcohol be even more poisonous. Methyl alcohol amounts would be at least doubled.

Chemists and pathologists in New York City’s medical examiner’s office were outraged that their government would adopt a policy known to kill large numbers of people. And most of the victims were the poor. The wealthy could afford higher-quality alcohol and often partied with their bootleggers. But the poor could only afford cheaper stuff and straight wood alcohol.

Staggering statistics

The statistics for 1926 are rather staggering: 1200 in New York City had been sickened or blinded or both because they had imbibed some form of industrial alcohol. In addition, 400 had died, most from New York’s lower east side. Who knew how many others were suffering from the effects of poison on their nervous systems.

When comparisons were made between the before- and after-Prohibition statistics, it was obvious things weren’t working:

Before Prohibition, at Bellevue Hospital alone, each year there were about a dozen cases of moonshine and wood alcohol poisoning with about a quarter of them being fatal. During Prohibition, during a single year in 1926, the same hospital treated 716 people for alcoholic hallucinations, blindness and paralysis because of poisoned alcohol. Some 61 of these had died.

Charles Norris’s office analyzed bottles from several sources. Every drink contained methyl alcohol but they also found gasoline, benzene, cadmium, iodine, zinc, mercury salts, nicotine, ether, formaldehyde, chloroform, camphor, carbolic acid, quinine and acetone!

Norris said, “My opinion, based on actual experience of the medical examiner’s staff and myself, is that there is actually no Prohibition. All the people who drank before Prohibition are drinking now—provided they are still alive.”

Journalists criticize government

Columnist Heywood Broun wrote in the New York World, “The Eighteenth is the only amendment which carries the death penalty.” The Evening World claimed the federal government to be a mass poisoner and added that no administration had been more successful in “undermining the health of its own people.”

The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Normally, no American government would engage in such business. It would not and does not set a trap gun loaded with nails to catch a counterfeiter. It would not put ‘Rough on Rats’ [a rat poisoning used at that time] on a cheese sandwich even to catch a mail robber. It would not poison postage stamps to get a citizen known to be misusing the mails. It is only in the curious fanaticism of Prohibition that any means, however barbarous, are considered justified.”

Writer Deborah Blum has done a good job of presenting facts in a most readable way. We learn about poisoners who caused grueling deaths for their victims but who got off because forensic science was just beginning and not yet trusted. And we learn about our own government’s role in the death of its citizens. I am only halfway through this book but am sure there will be much more of interest in the next chapters.

What if?

Consider the anti-smoking campaign. Suppose our government were to mandate that nicotine be increased in all cigarettes sold? Nicotine seems to help calm some people and might be purported to help people lose weight but it is also addictive and long-time cigarette smoking is responsible for some diseases. If Congress were to pass a law saying that more “poison” had to be in each cigarette, would this result in less smoking? Probably not. It didn’t work with the Prohibition.

On the other hand, think about what might result if pot were de-criminalized. But that’s a topic for another blog. Here's more information on marijuana law reform efforts here.

Reflection on Imperfection

2010-12-26T20:35:00.006-05:00

Refection on Imperfection

_{a spoken word poem}

‘Tis the season for unreason

when green spills from wallets

of those believing in traditional pleasing.

‘Tis the season when people pine for a fine Christmas tree—

white pine, balsam fir, white spruce, Fraser fir, Douglas fir, scotch pine, whatever...

but it must be a wintergreen, evergreen, ever-perfect, perfectly-shaped Barbie doll bush.

In the nippy air, hundreds of Barbies form green lines

with straight spines, very vertical trunks, ample branches

each with a single perfectly-pointed top

waiting for its traditional spot up the

angel’s ...tush.

Partly hidden ornaments adorn lush limbs,

shiny balls peer from green mazes

and candy canes lavish properly perky

branch tips.

But Barbie’s bushy branches

leave little room for ornaments

lest adornments detract from her own

flawless beauty.

* * *

I wander far and wide, bucking the tide

wondering why I must settle for popular perception.

I search for Barbie’s ugly cousin,

a form, a shape that doesn’t fit the mold,

flat-chested for small house

spaces.

It’s the wind-blown hair, the hole in the sock, the scrape on the knee, the spaghetti stain on the shirt, the pimple on the nose that tell a story

of living.

I like a crooked smile, spaces between teeth, scraggly hair, spindly legs

and skinny arms that reach out

open to discovery.

I want a tree that doesn’t hide,

that opens wide to embrace pride

held in accessories’ histories, their stories and the

love they imply.

I seek a spindly tree, the ugly factor with character,

one willing to show open spaces,

places for treasured ornaments grown dear over the years...

those that have lost their shine, are ragged from playful cats, have missing parts, the hippo of bedtime stories, an apple from a student, a violin recalling cacophonous practice, clothes-pin soldiers formed by tiny hands, hummingbirds like ones covering a morning field years ago in the Grand Canyon, a plastic dog a reminder of a lost pet, baby’s first Christmas 25-years ago, grandmother’s crocheted hobbyhorse and mouse, eloquent velvet-covered and pearl-studded balls made by a nearly blind friend

long gone.

And then I see it—the orphan cousin in a heap

apart from the collection,

far from customers’ inspection.

I reflect on its simple beauty.

Missing branches leave

room for us.

I like my new bare and slightly crooked tree,

I like the way you hang your hand-painted sand dollar next to my beaded bird.

It is in the spaces where

we hang our love.

Size Matters

2010-12-18T03:13:00.002-05:00

Bill Gates from Wikipedia

Size matters— but Bill Gates seems to think it doesn’t.

I’m talking about education and class size. Recent reports show U.S. students to be average compared to world education rankings. According to Yahoo News, Bill Gates suggests that bigger classes and fewer teachers who are paid more will help solve our educational problems.

Really?

Gates spoke to the Council of Chief State School Officers on November 19, 2010. (Read his speech here.) He says more teachers and smaller class sizes have not led to increased student achievement. “One of the most expensive assumptions embedded in school budgets is the belief that reducing class sizes improves student achievement...What if we identified the most effective teachers and offered them extra pay for taking on more students, or teaching kids who are behind, or teaching in the toughest schools?”

The thinking of this supposedly smart man has taken on a simplistic tone that is unrealistic to anyone who has been "in the trenches." That kind of thinking is not what I would have expected of Bill Gates. He is only a little right and very wrong. When he says great teachers are vital to student achievement, he’s correct. Teacher proficiency does make a difference. However, even the best teachers will not succeed under certain conditions.

I’m afraid Gates is looking at education in business terms. It bothered me several years ago when Baltimore City began turning over some schools to businesses. The theory was that you could run schools like a successful business to produce successful students. “Produce” is a key word here. We are not running a production line. We are dealing with human beings in a complex environment.

Math facts for Bill Gates

However, if Gates, the business man, wants to look at education in terms of numbers, I can throw out a little math:

A middle school teacher—say a language arts teacher—has 5 classes a day. Each class has 30 students. Each class period is 50 minutes. Teacher load = 150 students a day. Let’s look at how this computes:

30 students for 50 minutes = 1 2/3 minutes of individual attention per student per class period

And then there’s grading. A language arts teacher is supposed to teach writing. If this teacher gives a writing assignment, s/he will have 150 assignments to grade. If s/he gives just one minute attention to each assignment, that equals 2 ½ hours just to minimally assess one assignment.

I don’t want to get too complicated here but where is this 2 ½ hours going to come from? (Don’t get me started on team meetings, parent conferences, phone messages to return and logistics for teachers who have no secretary and who get one 50-minute planning period per day and a 25-minute lunch period—maybe.) And when is this teacher going to plan for tomorrow’s lesson? Don’t forget that this teacher probably has a family and children and s/he is expected to take graduate classes which require the teacher to do assignments for the night class.

Reality

I’m merely bringing up the math of class size. I haven’t even started on the human element. A middle school teacher might deal with 150 students a day. On any given day, any one student might act like an 8-year-old or a 16-year-old. And on any given day, students within that 30-student class might range in age behavior from age 8 to 16. Remember, we’re dealing with raging hormones here.

Every middle school student knows that the larger the class, the more s/he can “get away” with. The teacher is less likely to catch shenanigans and bullying because there are just too many children to deal with at once.

And don’t forget the problems students bring to school from dysfunctional family situations and their own volatile emotions.

Bill, before you claim to have the solution to the education problems in our country, why don’t you teach in a middle school for a year? You’ll have a better grasp of classroom math and you might begin to realize that schools cannot be run like a business.

Bill, after you've experienced reality, you will know positively that size does matter.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

More...

Absolutely the best dentist:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2002/02/httpwww.html

Encouraging mediocrity:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2002/01/2902-pupil-who-is-never-required-to-do.html

Teacher pay:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/06/teachers-pay-i-for-one-am-sick-and.html

What students remember:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/06/what-students-remember-now-that-pace.html

MSPAP and student attitude

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/06/mspap-theres-lot-to-be-said-against.html

A look at math in Language Arts:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/look-at-math-in-language-arts-lets-say_3538.html

Stop blaming teachers:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/stop-blaming-teachers-teachers-are-not.html

Teach? I’d love to:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/may-14-teach-id-love-to-teach-subject.html

Danger:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/danger-unseen-dangers-lurk_6671.html

Blood:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/blood-tuesday_803.html

Teaching about gun safety (on top of everything else):

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/05/legislation-about-teaching-gun-safety.html

TGIF:

http://bloomingjourney.blogspot.com/2001/04/tgif-end-of-week-why-do-teachers-live_7645.html

Alternet article:

http://www.alternet.org/story/149232/

Right Brain/Left Brain

2010-12-16T18:48:00.007-05:00

When Artists and Engineers Join Hands

“That was fun! It gave me a chance to play in the sandbox with others.” Gary Mauler was speaking metaphorically about his experience mentoring MICA and Hopkins students in a unique class, Collaborative Smart Textiles Research Lab.

It was a coming together of the Maryland Institute College of Art Fiber Department and the Johns Hopkins University Digital Media Center. The class was held at MICA. I was invited by Gary to attend student presentations on December 15. Curious about the collaboration between engineers and artists, I went to learn about new ideas and new ways of doing things.

This presentation was an interesting event on several levels. First, original ideas always fascinate me. Second, I’m drawn to art in its many forms. But it was most intriguing because I saw demonstrations that merged unlikely partners, suggesting new ways of collaborating in the future.

Right or left?

It was an example of how diverse thinkers, such as artists and engineers, can successfully work together. Artists process information in an intuitive and layered way. They see the whole picture, pull their creativity from the visual right brain. Later in the process, they grapple with the details. Engineers are more sequential and use the left brain which processes information more analytically and sequentially, examining the parts and then putting them together to realize the whole.

This might be the place to give a little background information about how Gary, the left-brained engineer who works at Northrup Grumman, became involved with right-brained artists. Ten years ago I met Gary shopping in a store when he asked my advice about paint color. (I've learned over the years how good Gary is about making connections wherever he goes.) This led to an invitation to the haunted trail that his Boy Scout troop was working on. One thing led to another and we remained friends.

Gary Mauler, Photo by Bonnie Schupp

I could see right away that Gary was 99.9% engineer. When I tried to discuss art with him, it fell flat. As a right brain person, I was amazed at what he was missing. Of course, as a left brain person, I’m sure he was amazed at my lack of understanding in his field.

I began to tease him about how he needed to connect more with the art world and told him it would open a new world to him. Apparently he was listening because he reached out to MICA students and invited them to participate in his annual Robot Fest. (He had moved from haunted trails to robots by then.)

His involvement with the MICA art community continued. This past semester, once a week for 15 weeks, Gary drove from his Anne Arundel County home in Severn to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore City to help students problem solve as they worked on their semester projects. His role was as a volunteer for the joy of it, although he later mentioned that it was a learning experience for him as well.

Show and tell

For the Wash & Wear Electronics student presentations, twelve students showed and talked about ten projects. You can read an excellent article about it in What Weekly. Annet Couwenberg, Fiber Faculty at MICA, and James Roubelle, Chair of Interaction Design and Art, worked with Joan Freedman, Direction of JHU Digital Media Center to make this class happen.

My two favorite projects were Emily Cudworth’s LED Gallop Boots and Peter Ebeid-Atalla’s Midi Puppet.

LED Gallop Boots, Photo by Bonnie J. Schupp

Emily designed horse boots with LEDs that light up when the hoof strikes the ground and shuts off when it lifts. This project shows both artistic and practical elements. Light drawings of the horse’s movements can be purely serendipitous artistic joy. At the same time, this might have some practical applications in studying equestrian movement related to health problems or it might be applied to safely issues. It is most interesting that Emily studied the past and then carried knowledge toward new ideas. Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic work focused on study of motion of both humans and animals. And in the 1990’s, children delighted in light-up sneakers which became a rage.

Midi Puppet, Photo by Bonnie Schupp

I was also interested in Peter Ebeid-Atalla’s Midi Puppet. He demonstrated how he could control sound with a “performance-aware midi glove.” Most interesting were his comments during the question and answer session. He eloquently related how exciting it was to share an idea and have his idea validated by people who said it might be possible. He spoke about the excitement of ideas that could be brought to fruition. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm and possibilities.

Step out of your comfort zone

There are lessons to be learned here. When diverse thinkers work together, it’s a win-win situation. This doesn’t mean only right-brain/left-brain thinkers. It also has implications for collaborations that are cross-age, cross-gender, cross-generation and cross-culture. We need to stop working with only people who think like ourselves and reach out to those who think unlike us.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Thinking on the Edge About Privacy

2010-12-14T15:56:00.007-05:00

Danny Hillis (photo from Wikipedia)

Just thinking...

Want some thought-provoking reading? Try Edge (http://www.edge.org.) You’ll find lots of questions and many different takes on possible answers. The latest group of essays deal with the issue of privacy, a current topic of interest in light of Wikileaks.

First a little background:The Edge Organization is a science and technology think tank of intellectuals...some of the most interesting minds in the world. According to its Web site, its purpose is “to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society." It was established as a nonprofit foundation in 1988.

A part of this foundation is “The Third Culture” which consists of thinkers who address the meaning of life and how we define ourselves.

Among the brilliant minds in this group is Danny Hillis, born in Baltimore, who used to work in imagineering at Disney. He also founded the Long Now Foundation which proposes a project to build a clock designed to function for millennia.

Danny Hillis has recently asked a question that many of us have been thinking about lately:..the issue of privacy. “The question of secrecy in the information age is clearly a deep social (and mathematical) problem, and well worth paying attention to. When does my right to privacy trump your need for security? Should a democratic government be allowed to practice secret diplomacy? Would we rather live in a world with guaranteed privacy or a world in which there are no secrets? If the answer is somewhere in between, how do we draw the line?”

Go here to read responses from some interesting thinkers: http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/hillis10.1/hillis10.1_index.html

You might also try answering this question for yourself. Maybe you'd also like to think about some of the annual questions that have been asked in the past.

2005 "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?”

2006 "What is your dangerous idea"?
2007 "What are you optimistic about? Why?"
2008 "What have you changed your mind about?"
2009 "What will change everything? What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?"
2010 "How has the Internet changed the way you think?"

Just thinking...
.
.
.
.
.
.

Margaret Chase Smith - A Woman of Firsts

2010-12-14T12:45:00.004-05:00

Margaret Chase Smith photo from Wikipedia

Today is the birth date of Margaret Chase Smith

December 14, 1897 - May 29, 1995

So little recognized for these things, Margaret Chase Smith was a woman of firsts:

* first woman in history to have her name placed in nomination for the U.S. Presidency

* first woman to be elected to both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate

* first woman from Maine to serve in Congress

She was also one of the earliest opponents of Senator Joseph McCarthy and many remember her “Declaration of Conscience” speech in 1950 directed at fellow Republicans (she was a staunch Republican).

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/margaretchasesmithconscience.html

Some parts of her famous speech are quoted below:

“I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech, but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation.”

“Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism: The right to criticize. The right to hold unpopular beliefs. The right to protest. The right of independent thought.”

“Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes.”

“But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny-fear, ignorance, bigotry and smear.”

In 1964 Smith's name was placed in nomination for the U.S. Presidency. She lost out at the Republican Convention to Barry Goldwater.

One final Margaret Chase Smith quote:

“I believe that in our constant search for security we can never gain any peace of mind until we are secure in our own soul.”

Let's remember this remarkable woman on this day.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

A Daughter's Tribute to Her Mother Elizabeth Edwards

2010-12-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

You can feel the love expressed so eloquently...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Letter From the Anne Arundel County Muslim Council

2010-12-10T23:54:00.009-05:00

(Pause for thought: I've bought my last two computers from Rudy who owns a computer store near me, Odyssey Computers. I've had excellent service from him and am always treated as a friend. He is a Muslim and a U.S. citizen and has shared this letter with me.)

Anne Arunde County Muslim Council

Letter from the Anne Arundel County Muslim Council

The Anne Arundel County Muslim Council (AACMC) condemns any terrorist attack or attempt to harm or threaten any of our American citizens’ lives and for that matter any human life. The Islam calls for preserving all human lives regardless of their belief. We at the AACMC work very hard to network with the community at large to prevent any misguided Muslims from committing any crime against our beloved United States of America or any human in the World.

However the AACMC is very disappointed in the pattern of entrapment that is used by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to deceive and lure misguided Muslims into schemes that result in their arrests. While it is understood that safety and security of citizens is important, the use of entrapment specifically and exclusively with Muslim individuals is deplorable. This type of treatment is not applied to other ethnic groups suggesting that only Muslims are involved in the criminal activity worthy of this type of attention. This profiling feeds the Islamophobic retaliatory behaviors and emotion that has been stirred up lately.

These types of sting operations, and the reports of arrests, stimulate unjustified attacks on Muslims and their community centers or houses of worship. We sincerely hope that the Muslims in Maryland do not suffer the same repercussions that occurred in Oregon after the report of a bombing attempt by a young Muslim there.

In addition, AACMC calls all Muslims to take seriously comments that include threats of violence and report the people making these statements to the appropriate authorities: the local police or directly to the FBI.

Sincerely,

Col. Rudwan Abu-rumman , Ret.

President – Anne Arundel County Muslim Council
Commissioner
Governer's Commission on Middle East American Affairs

ww.aacmc.org

Down With George Fox, Up With Walter Mills

2010-12-03T00:28:00.002-05:00

Walter Mills, Courtesy Photo appearing in Afro

http://www.afro.com

“The worst white teacher is better than the best black teacher.”

This outrageous statement was made by George Fox, former Anne Arundel County Public Schools superintendent. He spoke during a trial where Walter Mills, a principal at Parole Elementary School in Annapolis, had filed a lawsuit against the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. Thurgood Marshall was Mills's attorney.

The year? 1939. The issue? Black teachers were paid less than white teachers. Marshall won the suit.

End of the story? No. It bothers me that the school where I taught, George Fox Middle in Pasadena, Maryland, is named after this superintendent. How can we ask middle school students to be proud of their school when it’s named after a bigot?

A much better name would be Walter Mills Middle School, a name worth living up to. Walter Mills fought for what was right and made a difference.

Maybe Walter Mills had no direct connection to George Fox Middle School, but then again, neither did Fox. Wouldn't it be poetic justice if the name George Fox were replaced by Walter Mills ?

Note: Obviously the story is not so brief. It is a fascinating one. There’s no need for me to rehash all the facts when you can read more about these two men (see below). You read and decide if my suggestion is a good one.

The Baltimore Sun: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-11-21/news/bs-ar-mills-exhibit-20101121_1_walter-s-mills-black-teachers-african-american-teachers

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1994-07-29/news/1994210123_1_walter-mills-parole-elementary-wonderful-man

Maryland Gazette - http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/maryland-gazette/mi_8145/is_20051015/legacy-george-fox-grandfather-school/ai_n51384329/

Afro - http://www.afro.com/sections/local/baltimore_community/story.htm?storyid=2970

You can also visit the Banneker-Douglas Museum in Annapolis which has an exhibit on Walter Mills through April 2: http://bdmuseum.com/

Loring Cornish - Visionary Artist

2010-11-16T20:39:00.001-05:00


Loring Cornish's mosaic glass house on Parkwood Avenue in Baltimore. Photo © by Bonnie Schupp

Artist Loring Cornish standing on glass floor in a room inside his house. Photo © by Bonnie Schupp.

When you see Loring Cornish’s art, you can’t help but become a part of it. Stand outside his glass house studios on Parkwood Avenueand and you’ll understand why. Yes, it’s a glass house but you don’t see through. Both you and your surroundings will be reflected in hundreds of mirrored mosaic pieces. His work captures both imagination and reflection of a different sort.

My husband and I first met Loring when he exhibited at the AVAM, the American Visionary Art Museum. He is not a trained artist but a visionary. He says in his artist statement: “I’m not a trained artist; they call me a visionary, an ‘outsider’ artist. My work comes out of my relationship with God. While I worship, I create, and while I create, I worship God.”


Cornish's fabulous glass bathroom (but with a glassless toilet seat). Photo © by Bonnie Schupp.

An out-of-this-world bathroom blew me away. I noticed the toilet seat was not made of glass...and that’s probably a good thing too.

Besides the sparkling mosaics, I was especially intrigued by a large piece that will be part of a one-man future exhibit at the Jewish Museum.

Justice, Respect, Liberty, Equality - Art by Loring Cornish. Photo © by Bonnie Schupp

I’m somewhat at a loss to describe the reflection that Loring Cornish’s work instills in me because I feel it won’t do his work justice. You can read more and see photos at the following sites but the best thing is to see his work in person.

Loring Cornish Web Site

http://loringcornish.com

Baltimore Brew

http://www.baltimorebrew.com/2010/11/10/loring-cornish/

Urbanite Magazine

www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?issueID=54&sectionID=4&articleID=796

Baltimore Magazine

www.baltimoremagazine.net/article.asp?t=1&m=1&c=32&s=684&ai=78574

Friday and Heaven's Pearly Gates

2010-11-12T11:19:00.003-05:00

Heaven ©Bonnie J. Schupp

Today? How can it be Friday already? I blinked and another week passed!

I’m in the third quarter of my life, or the fourth quarter, depending on how long I might live. Days no longer stretch out like forever long strings of taffy as they did when I was a young child. Now the days remind me of my 5-year-old self who would begin running downhill and eventually the run grew out of control and my legs couldn’t move as fast as the hill was descending. Of course, I’d eventually fall. It was inevitable.

Eventually my taffy strings will break, my “legs” won’t be able to keep up with my subjective time and I’ll fall.

At age 65, with a time perspective different from that of my childhood, and as I experience the death of family members and friends, I sometimes think about my own departure from the life I know now. As a child, I learned that we live a good life today and then in the next life there will be a good life in heaven—forever.

That was comforting but very distant. Today I realize that nobody knows the “beyond” answers. And, really, I don’t care if there is a heaven or not. I live the best life I’m capable of living—now. Afterward, as the old song says, “que sera, sera.”

I don’t dwell on the beyond but today I read two thought-provoking discussions of heaven and death (unusual day to begin my day, right?):

One makes the case that even if there is a heaven, it might not be so great.

http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/pearlygates.html

The other talks about how atheists might find it easier to cope with death than those who believe in an afterlife.

http://www.alternet.org/story/148825/why_atheists_are_better_prepared_for_death_than_believers?page=1

Interesting...but now it’s Friday and I have a lot to do...

Professional Mohel

2010-11-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

Created by Bonnie Schupp

My husband David found an interesting business card while taking care of his mother's things after she died. It was a card from the mohel who presided at his bris.

Always one to find a humorous side of things, David posed as a rabbi from your worst nightmare. You can see that he really got into his role.

We then brainstormed with ideas for captions. The list below is what we came up with. Maybe you can add some of your own.

Sharp-witted mohel, circumspect to the point.
Mohel with sharp knife for hire.
David cut short his job training.
David's new job was cutting edge.
David's new career required circumspect and forethought.
David cut up before every bris.
The bris took an unexpected turn.
Overly endowed baby met his match.
With sharply honed skills, David began.
David scorned new cutting edge technology.
David always sliced through bureaucratic details.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Perception and Reality

2010-11-08T20:29:00.001-05:00

(Photo: Bonnie Schupp) “Your assumptions are your windows on the world.

Scrub them off every once in a while or the light won’t come in.”
Isaac Asimov

A couple days ago, I heard Bill O’Reilly comment, “Perception is reality.” It made me think about an elephant—not a red one but one from India. His statement, although a cliché now, deserves some ontological consideration.

American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) wrote a poem based on an old Indian fable about six blind men who meet an elephant. Each one feels a different part of the elephant and defines the elephant in a different way.

The first touched the side and claimed that elephants were like a wall. The second felt the tusk and thought elephants were like spears. A third grabbed the trunk and believed that elephants were like snakes. Feeling the knee, a fourth one said that elephants were like trees. The fifth reached an ear and stated that elephants were like fans. Seizing the tail, the sixth blind man thought elephants were like a rope.

Each man was partly right but all were also wrong. They each understood one aspect of elephants but none really understood what the entire elephant looked like.

Like the blind men, O’Reilly is both right and wrong.

The Subjective Eye

Magicians, illusionists, depend on our perceptions leading us to wrong conclusions. This is their livelihood. Even when we know that a magician cannot pull a pot of flowers out of thin air, we are prone to believe it because that’s what we have seen. Because of the perception of Fox News, it is successful. Masters of illusion use the idea that perception is reality.

O’Reilly is right if we look at individuals. Our perceptions are our personal realities. My reality might not be your reality but yours is real for you. Your reality is shaped by your sensory perceptions, past experiences, beliefs and attitudes. We are limited in our ability to perceive and can only perceive a part of any situation. We see what we expect to see. Then we fill in the blanks with assumptions and this leads to us believing that our limited perception and our assumptions are the whole truth.

Consider eye witnesses to crimes. The same event might be seen by three different people and each one will give different details about what they saw. The reality of what happened changes depending on the subjectivity of the observer.

I once staged an argument with a fellow teacher in front of a class. Then I had my students write a report of what they saw. Stories varied depending on how students felt about the other teacher or me.

Even the same event might be experienced differently, depending on what a participant brings to the event and what he is expecting. Think about the difference between parents and children and how a particular road trip might be seen as fun by one and boring or tedious by another.

Much of our reality has to do with our attitude and expectations. Look at placebos, for example. Why do some people get better taking fake pills? Because they believe in them.

In the Classroom

Teachers who expect the best from their students often create a reality that conforms to that expectation. We shape our reality through our attitude and what we expect from ourselves and others. As an enrichment teacher for three years, I worked with gifted and talented students but I always kept an open mind to possibilities of special education students who had learning difficulties. I remember at the end of one year, a special ed student came into my room and said, “Thank you, Ms. Schupp.” I asked him what he was thanking me for.

“I didn’t know I could do all those things. You helped me see that I could,” he responded. Insightful comments by someone who supposedly had learning difficulties.

One (among many) student in one of my classes had emotional problems. He was a challenge to work with. I eventually found a solution for those times when he was so disruptive that I couldn’t continue. I told him to step right outside my door and when he thought he could control himself, then he should come back in. He never abused this trust. Later in the year, before he was sent to a special school for students with behavioral problems, he sent me an e-mail thanking me for respecting him. Once while in the middle of teaching 9^th-graders, I gave a student the keys to my car so he could retrieve a folder I’d left there. He had a history of car theft but returned to me with the car keys and the folder.

I’ll admit that regardless of expectations, things still happen. My first year teaching, while I was preparing my room the day before students started, two boys who would be in my 9^th grade class showed up asking if they could help. I thought, “What nice kids to want to spend their day off helping a teacher.” Of course they were just checking me out. They assembled a bulletin board for me and when they left, my bag lunch had disappeared from my desk. Robert Anton Wilson understood these students, “Reality is what you can get away with.” Two months into the school year, one had been arrested for torturing and murdering his sister. But these are the exceptions.

A Positive Reality--Attitude

A friend just lost his leg. His everyday reality has changed but not as much as one might expect. “I’m lucky,” he said. “I have my brains. I don’t need two legs to write at a computer.” Besides his positive attitude, he’s also working hard at therapy to help himself as much as possible to adjust to the logistics of his new reality.

I see peace as a reality only when individuals feel peace within. This may never happen universally because of the human tendency to grab only one part of the elephant. However, I choose to bring peace and connections to my personal reality as much as possible. I choose to expect the best from people I meet. And I expect that others have something to offer me to enrich my life.

I’m a Servas member and a Couch Surfer. My husband, David, and I open our home to strangers from all over the world. We have also stayed as strangers in people’s homes in many countries.

Many people do not see why we do this. Since 1979, we’ve invited strangers into our home. Every experience has been positive, some more positive than others. These connections with people I originally perceived to be different from me have changed my personal reality. I’ve discovered they are more like me than they are different. They leave our home no longer strangers but friends. These experiences have changed the way I even perceive a map. Now many place names are no longer just names of places but places where friends live. Life is how one perceives reality. My life is rich in connections and possibilities.

Old Question

So the proverbial question: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall? It depends on your definition of reality. If your definition of reality is that someone must perceive the action through the senses, then it didn’t happen. My answer is yes. It did happen. Just because I didn’t hear or see it, doesn’t deny the reality.

When I die, will life in the the world continue? Of course! I hope so. I may not perceive what is happening but other realities will go on.

Seeing the glass as half full

A glass filled halfway with water can elicit two different responses...two opposing realities. My glass is half full. and it has made all the difference. This is the reality I perceive.

.....................................................................

Notes:

Servas International

http://joomla.servas.org

U.S. Servas

http://usservas.org

CourchSurfing

http://www.couchsurfing.org

The Blind Men and the Elephant poem:

http://www.noogenesis.com/pineapple/blind_men_elephant.html

Kabbalah, Science and the Perception of Reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMQnuXdfR04

Eyewitnesses

Stanford University

http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%20One/fisher&tversky.htm

Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-the-eyes-have-it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMQnuXdfR04

Medical Attention ...

2010-11-04T22:47:00.007-04:00

...might be based on who people think you are.

Me and my father in a moment captured on a cheap cell phone.

This week, within a two-day period, I visited three hospitals. For once, I didn't need medical care but my father and two of my friends did. I've discovered that there can be a difference in the attention patients receive.

My Father's Experience

Tuesday my father received the last of his radiation treatments. Various family members took turns taking him to the oncology department at GBMC and I wound up taking him for his last visit. The staff there--all of them--were always warm, friendly and encouraging.

When we walked in for the last visit, the woman at the desk recognized my father immediately, greeted us pleasantly and told us to go right back. The cancer patients in the waiting room were all talkative and friendly among themselves. I'm sure that the atmosphere that had been set by the staff had something to do with their ease too. After a short wait, a nurse came out and greeted my father with more than the normal friendly greeting.

With a huge smile and excitement in her voice, she said, "Mr. Schupp, congratulations. You've made it through your last treatment. Good for you!" Then she took him in the back for the treatment.

After no more than 10 minutes, he returned in his wheelchair and was holding something in his hand...a "diploma" with a congratulation ribbon wrapped around it.

Returning to the front to get on the elevator, we were again greeted with enthusiasm. The woman at the front desk stepped around the desk and hugged both of us. She said we both deserved hugs, my father for going through everything and me for being supportive. Then she wished us well and said she would see us in February for a check-up.

For my father, and I'm sure for the other patients too, this type of care made a huge difference.

[Note: My father is a gentle and kind Caucasian man.]

One Friend's Experience

A friend took a cab to the emergency room of another hospital. He was having severe abdominal pain. In the emergency room, he had to wait for close to six hours for attention to what turned out to be a ruptured appendix. He had emergency surgery but had to remain in the hospital for six days because the ruptured appendix had caused an infection. My friend says he received good care once he was in his hospital room. (The medical staff realized by then how serious his condition was.) The ER was another story. The staff had been standing around, socializing and laughing, while my friend was waiting--in excrutiating pain--for treatment. It's hard to understand how the ER staff could have taken hours on a week night to treat someone in pain. A ruptured appendix can be fatal. Why was he treated so casually?

[Note: My friend is a friendly middle eastern man with no family nearby. He's a naturalized American.]

Another Friend's Experience

Another friend, as a result of a series of recent medical problems was admitted to the emergency room at yet another hospital. His treatment resulted in amputation of one leg above the knee. This medical emergency happened at a very bad time for him. He was packing up one apartment in one state and in the middle of moving to another place in a different state. The emergency happened while visiting a friend in Maryland.

With a positive attitude--"You'll never meet a happier one-legged man"--the entire time, he asked to see the hospital social worker so he could make plans to go to a rebabilitation center and eventually return to work. The social worker never showed up in spite of several requests. Finally he sent a nurse to find out what was going on. It turned out that the social worker said he couldn't go to rehab because he was homeless and indigent! He has no health insurance and no home because he was in the middle of moving. The hospital was planning to release him--with no rehabilitation.

Never mind that his situation happened during a move and he does pay his bills, including those incurred from a cardiac bypass several years ago when his then medical insurance company refused to pay because they claimed it had been a "pre-existing condition." The hospital now understands that he is not really a homeless bum. Things are all straightened out and he is in a rehab center working toward controling his new body.

I wonder how anyone can deal with sudden loss of a limb, much less no support to return to a normal life.

[Note: This friend is not quite old enough for Medicare and is a cheerful Caucasian man with a beard.]

So the question is, why should there be a difference in care because of who you are? It shouldn't happen. Regardless of who you are and how much money you may or may not have, we all feel pain and have the same needs. Afterall, we're all part of the same human family.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.

How We Perceive

2010-11-03T17:17:00.011-04:00

I have Muslim friends and acquaintances. Their religion, their belief, has never been a factor in our connections. But I suspect it does affect some encounters they might have from day to day because of Islamophobia, because of illogical and false association. We all feel deeply 9/11 and, because we are human, our fears make bad assumptions, faulty connections. Let's not keep fear alive. We're all on the same team.

Examples

Here's the kind of logic that leads to this type of thinking:

(1) Jack is mugged by a man covered with tattoos. Since then, he wants nothing to do with anyone wearing body art.

(2) Alice had a teacher with a Polish last name. Her parents thought this teacher was unfair to their daughter. The next year she was assigned to another class with a teacher whose name ended in "ski." The parents had her transferred from this new teacher's class.

(3) The first two examples show a transference of feelings from a person who was "bad" to someone who might not be "bad," merely because of a physical characteristic or type of name. The third example shows a false assumption about an entire group of people, a gender. It really happened.

I used to own a camera shop and, until I was able to hire some part-time employees, I was the only staff in the store. One day a woman walked in with a camera in her hand. I stood at the counter, ready to wait on her. She stood on the other side, ignoring me and looking toward the back of the store. I finally asked her, "May I help you?" She replied that she was hoping "the man" was in. It seems she had a problem with her camera and had assumed that only a man could help her. (By the way, I wound up fixing her camera which required a simple adjustment.)

(4) I'm going to do a Juan Williams now. One day, while driving my car in Baltimore and waiting at a red light, I found myself automatically checking the locks on the door when a black man crossed the street in front of me. Although it was an automatic action, I was horrified at myself. In spite of the diversity of my friends, was it possible that I was prejudiced in ways I hadn't realized? I felt terrible. Not long after that, I found myself doing the same thing automatically again. Then I looked closer and actually breathed a sigh of relief. It was not a black man crossing the street in front of my car. It was a man...white. I reacted automatically with paranoia to a man because I must have felt vulnerable as a lone female! Was I doing the same thing the woman had done to me in my camera shop?

Rally to Restore Sanity

Last weekend at the Rally to Restore Sanity, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert presented a short skit showing how our fear causes us to make illogical assumptions. I've embedded the video and have the transcript below it. (The particular section on Islamophobia is near the end of the video.)

Transcript From Video

Colbert: What about Muslims?

Stewart: What? What about them?

Colbert: They attacked us.

Stewart: Stephen they did not. Some people who happen to be of Muslim faith attacked us. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. Most of them (throws hands up)..

Colbert: Did not? Is that what you are saying?

Stewart: That is correct.

Colbert: Oh Jon, oh . So you’re saying, you’re saying that there is no reason at all to be afraid of Osama Bin Laden?

Stewart: No. Osama Bin Laden is a specific person...a bad...

Colbert: ...a specific bad Muslim person...

Stewart: Yeah but that’s no..but there are plenty of Muslim people who are not bad and that you would like...

Colbert: Oh really? Who? Who would I like?

Stewart: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

Colbert: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

Stewart: Yes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. That is someone that you would...

[Kareem comes onto stage.]

Colbert: Watch your head! Kareem, my man!

[high 5’s]

Stewart: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Muslim.

Colbert: Well, that’s...that’s not fair, Jon. That’s not a fair example. Kareem is cool. We’re friends.

Kareem: Well...uh...we’re acquaintances. You know a real friend understands that no matter what religious position one plays, we’re all on the same team.

(Next post will continue with a look at how perceptions of people affect how they are treated.)

Segway to New Experiences

2010-10-31T20:01:00.003-04:00

David and Bonnie pause on Annapolis SegZone tour. Photo by owner and tour leader, Debbie Wilson.

Bonnie practices before the tour. Photo by David. Ettlin

David feeling confident of his new Segway skills. Photo by Bonnie Schupp

Bonnie, feeling confident, picks up speed. Photo by David. Ettlin

I've been wanting to try riding a Segway for a while now but the expense slowed me down. Then a Groupon offer came through and David and I jumped on it for $25 instead of the normal $49 hour tour including a 30 minute training session. It was offered by SegZone in Annapolis.

The eight people in our group first had to sign waivers. Then we were given earphones which would be connected to transmissions from the leader's microphone. And we put on helmets. Steve Wilson gave initial demonstration and instruction while his sister, Debbie Wilson, would lead us around Annapolis.

When Steve asked for a volunteer to go first, I spoke up. Afterall, I was excited by this chance to try new technology...and I also thought it would give me extra practice time while the others were getting their initial instruction.

Steve steadied the Segway while I stepped on as instructed and just as he predicted, when he let go, I wobbled back and forth. I practiced getting on and off until I felt more steady and then Debbie supervised while I practiced going up and down the street outside their business at 131 Prince George Street. Wow! I could turn on a dime!

Soon David came outside astride his Segway and then the others one by one. Soon we were off for an hour to explore old Annapolis houses, including 5-part mansions, and to listen to interesting stories about people from the past who lived in them.

We rode over the bumpy brick Annapolis sidewalks and ducked low hanging branches. Afterall, we were about a foot taller than we would have been walking. There is no throttle. Nor is there a brake. The Segway becomes an extension of your body as you lean forward to go and backward to stop. Right and left movement is controlled by the handlebar.

Segways have the same rights as pedestrians. Anywhere a wheelchair is allowed, so is a Segway. Although its maximum speed at 12 mph doesn't sound fast, you feel like you're moving right along.

If you'd like to have a fun experience and also learn some interesting Annapolis history, I highly recommend this. Just call SegZone to arrange it. 410.280.1577 or 302.242.6615.

Read more about Segways here. See a video explaining how it works.

Rally to Restore Sanity

2010-10-31T00:23:00.002-04:00


Squirrel at the rally advised, "Don't be nuts."

For more details of our rally experience, see David's blog here.

American Visionary Art Museum's Educational Goals

2010-10-14T17:20:00.000-04:00

Funny thing...no mention of standardized testing or standardized learning.

Expand the definition of a worthwhile life.
Engender respect for and delight in the gifts of others.
Increase awareness of the wide variety of choices available in life for all ... particularly students
Encourage each individual to build upon his or her own special knowledge and inner strengths
Promote the use of innate intelligence, intuition, self-exploration, and creative self-reliance.
Confirm the great hunger for finding out just what each of us can do best, in our own voice, at any age.
Empower the individual to choose to do that something really, really well.

Read more about the AVAM's education goals here.

And don't forget to visit one of my favorite places in Baltimore. The Visionary's new exhibit, "What Makes Us Smile," is bound to make you learn something while smiling.

http://www.avam.org

10/10/10

2010-10-10T13:38:00.002-04:00

Today is October 10, 2010, or in another format... 10/10/10.

What were you doing at 10 seconds after 10 a.m. this morning? What will you be doing at 10 seconds after 10 p.m. tonight?

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/31496/today-is-101010-the-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything

Fear and Learning

2010-10-04T19:00:00.001-04:00

March/April 2010, Neurology Now

Why can’t Johnny learn? Often in looking for the answer to this question, the focus is on teachers and their teaching skills. However, even the best teachers cannot help their students learn if they are fearful. It’s impossible for the brain to learn when it is afraid and stressed.

The March/April 2010 issues of Neurology Now has an interesting article that talks about the science behind fear and learning. Higher learning occurs in the prefrontal cortex but fear leads to the amygdala’s fight or flight responses.

Goldie Hawn is working with neurologist Judy Willis in this area with an unusual but educationally valid approach to helping students learn.

Metacognition.

Hawn’s MindUp! program teaches children how their brains work and why the right frame of mind is so important to their learning. Then students are trained to become more aware so their can identify their emotions and use the coping exercises they have learned.

It sounds like a reasonable approach for kids who are afraid and stressed because of tests or being afraid to speak up in class but it may not work if a student is being abused at home or bullied in school.

Educators want to see their students learn and test scores rise. This article in Neurology Now points out that learning will not occur in a climate of fear. Schools must work hard to make sure students do not spend their time in a fearful climate. That means making sure that bullies do not highjack learning.

My doctoral work focused on schools, bullying and empathy. A summary presentation and accompanying notes can be found here.

Bullying Presentation

http://bonnieschupp.com/Bullying.pps

Presentation Notes

http://bonnieschupp.com/bullyingnotes.doc

Beware the Fox

2010-09-24T10:45:00.011-04:00

I am angry, dismayed, disappointed and worried.

I am also amazed there are so many, mostly older white people, who believe the twisted information that Fox calls news.

Yesterday I got yet another e-mail forward about Obama. This one was a copy of an editorial column from “Obama’s College Classmate” who claims that our President is purposely “overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos” to eventually destroy capitalism and become a socialist ruler. (I’ll bet those who shout about the evils of socialism do not return their monthly social security checks.)

Then, in an attempt to give these outrageous claims credibility, this e-mail added, “True per snopes!” and “vetted by Snopes.” I am sure many people will not check the Snopes site that tries to set misinformation right and dispel gossip. For those who checked, they would have seen that Snopes does not claim that the writer’s words are correct but that it is “correctly attributed” to Wayne Allyn Root.

Fact Check

In the past, Fox news has claimed they could not find any classmates who remembered Obama. The innuendo is that he lied to the public and didn’t really attend Columbia University. Of course, it’s easy to find out the truth by quickly going to Fact Check.

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/

Fact Check, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.”

I am a former teacher who tried to teach my students how to think, how to analyze and separate truth from fiction. Have we teachers failed or is the American public just plain stupid?

Driven by Fear?

I am afraid that much of the split in our country could be the result of underlying racial prejudice. It saddens me so say this but just look at the sea of white faces in the Republican Party. There might also be a deep-seated white fear. The demographic snapshot of this country has changed and I believe many whites are fearful they will become the minority and lose power.

According to the European Union Times, within the next 40 years, the color of our country will have changed dramatically.

http://www.eutimes.net/2009/05/americas-quick-changing-demographics/

It reports statistics in 2005:

- 60% White
- 16% Hispanic
- 13% Black
- 5% Asian
- 2% Native
- 4% Other/Mixed

Projections for 2050 show whites as a minority:

- 33% Hispanic.
- 21% White.
- 20% Asian.
- 11% Black.
- 1% Native.
- 14% Other/Mixed.

Instead of clinging to the divisiveness that Fox encourages, we should be celebrating diversity.

Manipulating the Masses

I am angry at the divisiveness nourished by the Republican party. I am dismayed at the condition George W. Bush left our country in, a condition that not even a smart President such as our current one can fix in eight years, if given a chance. I am disappointed in the gullibility (read that “stupidity”) of a seemingly large segment of the American public. And I am worried for the future of our country.

It is incredible that people accept what Fox tosses out as real news. If people are so willing to believe Glenn Beck and his cronies, then who else might they be willing to believe?

Hitler writes in Mein Kempf, “The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and hence to the heart of the broad masses... The broad mass of a nation does not consist of diplomats, or even professors of political law, or even individuals capable of forming a rational opinion...”

In Hitler’s Germany, people were easily led by his lies, innuendo and propaganda. Hitler seduced the masses. In the United States, how can so many people be seduced by Fox?

Yes, I am worried.

I’ll be at Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity in D.C. on October 30. A large crowd at this event would be a good sign that there is some hope for our country.

http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/

Flash Rosenberg, Conversation Portrait Artist

2010-09-01T17:56:00.001-04:00

Today online, I stumbled on a conversation portrait artist.

No, that’s not a typo. Flash Rosenberg is an artist-in-Residence at the New York Public Library who draws in real time and shapes conversations and interviews into a visual connection.

She says that she gives “visual, unifying fluency to conversations that are otherwise too complex and fragmented in today’s digital world to be universally understood.” She’s all about communication but in a creative way. Her drawings are filmed with voices of the conversations or interviews in the background.

“Our conversations in society are changing so much, too, because of email and Twitter and the Internet. When we talk and when we don’t talk, when we understand what somebody else is saying and when we don’t —these kinds of disconnects are all so common now,” she says.

Rosenberg’s art results in a unique and delightful connection. See for yourself her production, “Who is Mark Twain?” And after that, click on the link to her “Tribute to George Carlin.” You’ll love it!

http://vimeo.com/14021084

Conversation Portrait: A Tribute to George Carlin

See this blog for more information:

http://legacy.poptech.org/blog/index.php/archives/3364

Baltimore, Thugs But No Bugs

2010-08-26T18:44:00.008-04:00

I guess you can’t have it all!

As a child, after bedtime prayers, my parents used to tuck me in with, “Good night. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” My mother was meticulous in cleanliness and I never felt threatened because she said bedbugs lived only in dirty beds.

Image from Wikipedia

Recently we been learning that bedbugs don’t care whether or not a bed is clean or dirty, just as long as they have humans to feast on. Although not as meticulous as my mother, even though I sleep in a clean bed, I may not be safe from these pests.

This is especially true because often during the year I do not sleep in my bed. My husband, David, and I travel. We sleep in motels, which are not immune, B&B’s and Servas and Couch Surfing homes.

Nobody is safe as these little critters begin to build their armies to feast on us at our most vulnerable moments when we are sleeping. However, if you come to Baltimore or any place in Maryland, it’s not among the top 15 places crawling with bedbugs.

According to the Baltimore Sun, these are the top ten cities for bedbugs and Baltimore is not on the list:

1. New York City, NY
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. Detroit, MI
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. Chicago, IL
6. Denver, CO
7. Columbus, OH
8. Dayton, OH
9. Washington, DC
10. Lose Angeles, CA
11. Boston, MA
12. Indianapolis, IN
13. Louisville, KY
14. Cleveland, OH

This is a bright spot among Baltimore statistics, but all news is not good. According to an August article in the Baltimore Business Journal, the FBI reported that Baltimore’s murder rate is the 5^th highest in the country.

I think I’d rather have bedbugs biting me than thugs bugging me.

However...a comment on fear...I wouldn’t not visit one of the top bedbug cities and I love Baltimore and go there several times a week.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

We the People

2010-08-20T17:31:00.006-04:00

What is all the fuss about President Obama's religion? I find it hard to believe that 20% of the population believes Obama is a Muslim. Haven't they read the facts...those not presented by Limbaugh and Fox? Besides, what difference does it make what religion he is...Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist?

If he had no religious affiliations, then there would be no debate--at least about what religion he is. Of course, it will be a long time before Americans are ready to accept an agnostic or atheist.

Although the First Amendment of the US Constitution does not specifically spell out the separation of church and state, it is implied:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

I'm not worried about the government meshing religion and government. What really concerns me, however, is the push of the right wing (mostly well-to-do Caucasian Republicans) to tie together our government and religious beliefs.

I believe much of the ranting about Obama's religion has nothing at all to do with religion but, rather is a deep-seated, invisible fear and hatred. For some people, it boils down to them versus us. Those who protest that he is a Muslim see anyone different as a threat.

Consider the Latino immigrants. There is fear among some people that not only will they take away jobs (the ones no one else wants) but that the demographics of our population will eventually change so that Caucasians will be in the minority. That probably will happen.

But so what? So what if I'm in the minority?

We're all Americans who have hopes and dreams for ourselves, our families and our country. This group is a "we," not an "us" and "them." We are the people...together.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

You might want to check out the following links:

Roger Ebert's Journal in the Chicago Sun-Times
Ten things I know about the mosque
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/08/ten_things_i_know_about_the_mo.html

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/people_who_hate_obama_think_he.html

Bruce Feiler's commentary on Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/20/bruce-feiler-obama-muslim-ground-zero-mosque-lincoln-catholic-fdr-jew/

Snopes

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

Government Archives

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html

KERQ and Kevin Robinson

2010-07-14T16:06:00.009-04:00

Life isn't always linear. Of course we have to put one step in front of the other on a timeline as we make a living and cope with everyday realities. But the memorable times are those that transport us within the layers of life's fabric. This is what Kevin Robinson's music does to me.

It transports me to layers that invite emotional connections. I can forget about the academic realm that has pulled so much of my attention over the years. Instead, I can let go, forget the thinking...and feel.

And it is good, for life is all about the spirit. You will definitely find spirit listening to Kevin.

Here's a sample of Kevin Robinson and KERQ at SOWEBO a couple weeks ago in Baltimore. My little pocket Sony hardly does it justice but you'll get the idea.

Hearing Kevin in person is much better than this sample. You've got to hear his group in person. In fact, there are lots of opportunities to hear Kevin with KERQ, LA and the Unusual Suspects or filling in with another group. Check out the calendar below:

October 10

Private wedding

Saturday

October 9

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

Saturday

September 25

Lexington Market

Noon

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Saturday

September 18

Kerq

Sowebo Recovery Expo

12 noon-5 pm

Poppleton & Hollins Sts.

Baltimore

Thursday

September 2nd/9th/16th/23rd

7:30-10:30 pm

Black Fox Lounge

1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday

September 11

2pm-2:50pm

Greenbelt Blues Festival

Roosevelt Center

Friday

August 27

Bobby's Jazz Club
1140 South Paca St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

Thursday

August 26

Black Fox Lounge

KERQ
7:30-10:30 p.m.

1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday

August 21

Private wedding

Gettysburg Pavillion

Saturday

August 21

LA & the Usual Suspects

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Thursday

August 19

Black Fox Lounge

KERQ
1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday

July 31

KERQ

8 PM-11

New Deal Cafe

113 Centerway
Roosevelt Center
Greenbelt , MD 20770
(301) 474-5642

http://www.newdealcafe.com/

Saturday
August 14
Adams County Winery
Concert in the Gardens
Wedding

Saturday

August 21

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Thursday

September 2nd/9th/16th/23rd

7:30-10:30 pm

Black Fox Lounge

Wash,DC 20009

Friday

September 10

Kerq

9:30-12am

Bobby's Jazz Club

1140 S. Paca St

Balto 21230

Saturday

September11

Kerq

2pm-2:50pm

Greenbelt Blues Festval

Roosevelt Center

113 Centerway

20770

Saturday

Sept 11

9pm-1am

w/Whiskerfish

Belisimo's

Rte 140

Finksburg,Md

Friday

September 17

Kerq

Bobby's Jazz Club

9:30pm-12am

1140 S. Paca St.

21230

Saturday

September 18

Kerq

Sowebo Recovery Expo

12 noon-5 pm

Poppleton & Hollins Sts.

Baltimore

Saturday

September 18

Private Party

Friday

September 24

Kerq

9:30-12am

Bobby's Jazz Club

1140 S. Paca St

Saturday

September 25

LA&US

Lexington Market

Noon

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Saturday

September 25

Private Party

Randallstown Md

21133

Thursday

September 30th

7:30-10:30pm

Black Fox Lounge

Wash, DC

Saturday

October 9

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

October 10

Private wedding

For a special treat, click here to watch a slide show and listen to Kevin's original Shalom.

Evolution of Art

2010-07-13T23:59:00.006-04:00

My friend, Petronio, just completed a collaboration that shows how art is evolving. A blending of art, performing art and technology adds yet another layer to possibilities!

Petrônio Bendito, Visual Design, Digital Graffiti, SoftwareDidier Guigue, Music
Solange Caldeira, Choreographer, Experiment Advisor

This work is an improvisational dance experiment with the software Kinetic Traces conducted at the Federal University of Viçosa (Summer 2010), Curso de Dança.

Dancers: Karinne Goulart, Rafaela Oliveira, Jessila Gomes, Jônatas Raine, Clara de Oliveira, Pedro Ferreira, Solange Caldeira, Marcella Alves, Daniele Duran, Cynthia Colombo, Andréa Bergallo, Alex Neural, Brenda Vilatoro, Maristela Lima.

Fine Art Photography

2010-07-10T17:04:00.004-04:00

My still life, Home is Where You Hang Your Hat, has been accepted on this fine art photography site.

http://qwertypics.com/home-is-where-you-hang-your-hat-by-bonnie-schupp/

Lake Montebello

2010-06-13T00:32:00.017-04:00

Maybe it's time to bring back the Lake Montebello Art Festival.

Recently as I was driving through the city and passed Lake Montebello, I realized that it had been many years since I'd driven, or walked, around it.

When I was a teenager, riding the bus from Erdman Avenue to Eastern High School, I used to pass Montebello every day.

The area was always alive with people and activities. I remember the days when teenagers parked around the lake to watch the submarine races. Needless to say there were no submarines and there were no races except to get to first base. Teens parked around the lake were oblivious to what might be going on outside their car.

Montebello was good for fireworks and art too. I remember watching fireworks shooting up from Memorial Stadium along with a long line of cars parked around the lake. And every year, sometime in the spring, my family used to go to the art festival that stretched around the water.

Then over time somehow Lake Montebello...the community...died.

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised on my drive around Montebello at the sense of community that had returned. Individuals and families walked, jogged or biked in the special lanes made just for them. And in case walking or jogging isn't enough, special exercise equipment dots the perimeter.

Many years ago, I applied to be an art vendor at the Montebello Art Show but was turned down. The letter I received said that photography was not art and therefore I couldn't exhibit.

Now Eastern is no longer a school, photography is considered art and Lake Montebello has made a comeback. It's time to bring back the art show around the lake.
.
.
.
.
.

New Beginnings...and More

2010-06-09T22:07:00.011-04:00

Monday I spent two hours at New Beginnings, a barber shop, with my husband and neither of us got a haircut or a shave. We didn't need one at the time but, although New Beginnings provides haircuts and shaves, it's much more than just a barber shop. It's an experience.

When you walk in to New Beginnings, located at 1047 Hollins St. in Baltimore, you might mistake it at first for an art gallery. Then you notice the barber chairs. This barber shop appears to be the most unique in Baltimore—and maybe in the country.

Its windows are filled with three-dimentional art, walls are covered with paintings and photographs, good music plays in the background, Wi-Fi is available and books line a reading area below a spiral staircase. Oh, and did I say it offers haircuts? Even more than all these things, New Beginnings offers community.

In a time of Twitter, Facebook and hyper-connectivity, New Beginnings lets people find new connections in real time. The time and space is relaxed and friendly.

And you might even learn something too. For instance, customer William Gunn, who is usually called Skip, gave advice on cooking beets. “You wrap them individually in aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. Then soak them in vinegar and sugar.” He adds that beets from the local farmer’s market will beat what you find in a can.

Troy Staton, one of the owners and an art lover, has several goals in showing art in his barber shop. Besides adding class to the ambiance, he says, “I hope it will be a gateway [to art experience].” He mentions a client who was motivated to go to the National Gallery and take his son because of the art he liked on the barber shop walls.

Troy claims that New Beginnings should not be unique. “We’re doing what barber shops have always done in the past but today the standard has been lowered.”

Besides providing an environment for interesting conversation, Troy and his partners are committed to community. As I sit and soak up the ambiance, Troy is constantly waving back to people in the community who pass by his window. Many of the clients have returned to this barber shop for 20 years, despite changes in location.

“It’s an everyday man’s social club,” Troy says. Add an occasional woman or two also.

“It’s fun to come here. If I didn’t, I’d miss talk about sports and women,” Skip adds.

The commitment of this neighborhood barber shop goes beyond a friendly environment. Last year, they collected and donated more than 1100 pounds of food for the Food Bank. Troy talks about customer appreciation day during the holidays with free food and raffle prizes which include a free haircut, movie tickets and dinner for two at a good Baltimore restaurant.

Community participation also extends to the Baltimore Youth Work program by providing summer jobs for teens six hours a day.

Although decor and ambiance of New Beginnings provide a feel good setting, Skip reminds us that it "would be nothing without the people.” I think he's right.

For more information, see the New Beginnings Web site.

.
.
.

.....................................................................................

Baltimore, the City That Creates and Loves

2010-05-27T22:59:00.013-04:00

As the day ended in Baltimore on May 22, 2010,

Innovate Love was just beginning.

A guest at Innovate Love this past Saturday night studies "The Romancing of Malcolm Chang's Love (by handsome fox hunter)"
by Iowa artist Van Holmgren.

What is Innovate Love? Curious? Read Ibrahim Dabo's blog.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Anne Boleyn

2010-05-19T12:36:00.008-04:00

Hold on to your...head! On this date in 1536, Anne Boleyn was beheaded for adultery by her husband, King Henry VIII. Historians believe that the real reason might have been that Anne didn't produce a son for her husband. However, her daughter Elizabeth grew up to become one of the most influential queens in history.

Read more here at The Writer's Almanac.

(Image from The Historical Association.)
.
.
..
.
.
.

Innovate Love

2010-05-15T21:39:00.010-04:00

If you are a lover... especially an art lover... you might want to check out the first annual Innovate Love art auction to benefit Innovate Baltimore and the Baltimore Love Project.

It will be held May 22 in the penthouse of Silo Point 7 - 11 p.m. Experience original art from the U.S. and beyond, music by DJ Terry Thompson, appetizers from Chef Frederick "Mookie" Hicks, entertainment by Super Art Fight and more.

Find out more details here:
http://www.innovate-love.com/about

Hope to see you there!

Dogtooth

2010-05-09T11:25:00.007-04:00

Often when the name of a movie is brought up in conversation, I have to ask my husband if I’ve seen it. There are two movies, however, that I won’t forget—Bergman’s Cries and Whispers and the more recent Greek film, Dogtooth, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Both are bizarre...surreal.

I don’t think they are the best films I’ve ever seen but rather they provoke thought and nudge me to look for answers to the questions they raise. I saw Cries and Whispers years ago and Dogtooth just a couple days ago at the Maryland Film Festival.

Briefly, Dogtooth is the story of a dysfunctional family with a father who puts his family into a gated property, far from the influences of the rest of the world. Both parents (the mother goes along with her husband), through a series of lies, warp reality for their three children who are in their late teens or early twenties but have the innocence of much younger children.

They teach their children that the world outside their gate is unsafe until their dogtooth, their canine incisor, falls out. And the children believe this, along with corrupted definitions of words. Sea is something you sit in and little yellow flowers are zombies. Their parents tell them that the airplanes which fly over their house are as small as the toy airplanes they play with.

This film is an allegory with a hint of classic Greek drama. It communicates how fear, as a way of life, warps truth and pushes reality out of reach.

Isolation and lack of normal human identity prevails. We hear no sound track or specific names of people and places, with the exception of Christina who is from the outside world. The characters conjure up visions of robots with their sometimes unnatural movement and speech and their restrained emotions. Even when the father beats his daughter with a video cartridge or when he brutally kills his son’s prostitute, Christina, with a video player, it is anger with robotic control.

Some movie elements suggest symbolic intent rather than literal. The children are referred to not by their names but by their positions within the family, such as “eldest.” Throughout the movie, planes periodically fly overhead with their chorus drone reminding us of the juxtaposition between the outside world and the inside, the truth and the lies.

The children are raised on fear...fear of the outside and fear of their parents. The film shows us what happens when people live in a fear-mongering environment where the truth is twisted. It demonstrates what happens when people are isolated from reality.

The family story is one fabricated by the father of them against us. With the introduction of Christina, a woman from the outside, to sexually pleasure their son, and who, unknown to the parents, also pleasures the eldest daughter, the children begin to gain knowledge that goes beyond the one book they have been allowed to read.

The movie raises questions. What are the dangers of isolation? Twisted trust and ignorance result, along with incestuous and unhealthy connections. What happens when we begin to know “them,” those who are different from us? We become less afraid and then begin to adjust our own definitions of who we are. The eldest daughter begins to form her own identity and call herself Bruce.

Dogtooth reminds us of some parallels in politics with attempts by our leaders to control through fear-mongering. How many people voted for George W. Bush because of the fear he and the Republican party instilled? How about the infractions on our civil liberties, all in the name of fear of outside forces? And how about the way political spindoctors twist definitions? Think about Glenn Beck’s followers who are eager to accept his strange version of truth and who accept the fear he instills about socialism in the U.S.

I doubt that Dogtooth will ever hit the mainstream theaters where movie-goers would most likely dwell on the sex and violence rather than its message. But to some of us who saw it at the Maryland Film Festival this weekend, we will remember this unsettling eccentric film and will continue to connect the dots for years to come.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

2010-05-03T12:02:00.003-04:00

I just listened to a 2005 Stanford University commencement speech by Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and Pixar. It is a 15-minute thought-provoking message worth listening to. If you do, you will understand the title of this blog.

You can hear more fascinating speeches on Ted.

Spreading Love in Baltimore

2010-04-28T21:48:00.019-04:00

Artist Michael Owen with friends Scott Burkholder and Jae Jin are spreading love--literally with paint--on walls in Baltimore.

Can love murals in an urban environment make a difference? They say that what we eat is what we are. Does what we see also affect who we are?

There is evidence that what our eyes take in does affect us. Cognitive and affective studies demonstrate how colors affect us. Green is supposed to be calming. There are court cases that have addressed the influence of video games on the human psyche. Advertisers seem to believe/hope that what we see will influence our actions and we'll buy their product. The movie rating system seems to back this up too when children are banned from R and X-rated films.

I know from personal experience that looking at the work of other photographers affects how I see things. Have you ever seen Edward Weston's still life of a pepper? After seeing this photograph, I never saw a pepper--or food for that matter-- in the same way again. I'm always aware of the role light and shadow play in our perception and sometimes, thanks to Weston, I see body parts in fruit and vegetables.

The Family of Man photography exhibit, curated by Edward Steichen, also changed the way I see. At one time I thought of people in other countries as exotic and different from me. After seeing this collection, I began to realize that we are more alike than different.

So, the question is... will Michael Owens's love paintings make a difference in Baltimore? I don't think it will change crime and drug statistics. However, it will probably change the way people see a particular space. Or the way people see possibilities such as how we can make love with our hands. (Oops! That didn't come out right but you get the idea.)

Hands and how we use them are important. Gandhi reminded us that you can't shake hands with a clenched fist.

I'm a believer in the bottom-up approach. For instance, we're far from attaining world peace. Our leaders have failed miserably. Why? Because in order to make change on a grand scale, it must first begin in a small way. "Let peace begin and let it begin with me."

Servas, an international peace organization understands the potential of building peace from the bottom-up. As Servas hosts, my husband David and I open our home to visitors from around the world. And as Servas travelers, we stay in other hosts' homes. We begin as strangers and, after two days, say goodbye to new friends. The Servas site reminds us of how small things build: "With every true friendship, we build the basis for world peace."

Back to the Baltimore question and love murals...

In the past, Baltimore has tried slogan campaigns that didn't work. Remember "Believe" and "Baltimore, the city that reads"? These were top-down projects. The Baltimore Love Project is different. It is from the bottom-up, beginning with one artist's vision.

The cynics are right though. These love walls won't change the statistics that adults love to quote. The Little Prince understood the problem with statistics:

"Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: 'What does his voice sound like? What games does he like best? Does he collect butterflies?' They ask: 'How old is he? How many brothers does he have? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?' Only then do they think they know him."

Although the murals may not change numbers, the love walls might remind us that we can use our hands to spell love instead of throwing rocks or giving Rockefellers. They might make us see a space in a new way so we understand that an ordinary space can become something special. We might want to take our pictures in front of a love wall and share that picture with others, spreading the love even more.

Maybe we will begin to think about a word that has been missing in our conversations, actions and hearts lately.

If the love walls change what we see or feel, even for just a few seconds, then it's worth it because big things always start out small. Maybe it's time we feast our eyes on something positive. Afterall, we are what we eat.

Read more:

Baltimore Sun article

Baltimore Sun photos

Michael Owen's Website

Baltimore Love Project

Facebook

My earlier posts on this project:

December 18, 2009

April 21, 2010

More Love

2010-04-21T10:19:00.007-04:00

They've done it again! Artist Michael Owen with friends Scott Burkholder and Jae Jin have spread a little more love around Baltimore. Read about the Baltimore Love Project in my earlier blog post.

Immediately after the mural was completed last night, a Kurdish family from Iraq posed in front of the love wall.

This newest mural can be seen at 3429 Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown on a wall of Mirza Yalcin's property. A generous donation from Highlandtown visionary and developer Joseph Schultz of Schultz Development provided the funding.

Optimism and idealism are not dead. More love is coming.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Collaboration

2010-03-17T17:51:00.019-04:00

Portrait of Connie Imboden

The third showing of my Defining Ourselves photography exhibit closed at the Light Gallery in Baltimore. This exhibit has grown into something larger than I had foreseen and it has evolved in a way I hadn’t anticipated. Yes, I am the photographer but it is not just my exhibit. The words of the participants are as important as the portraits I took of them. In fact, the portraits, in most cases, are collaborative.

I met with the subjects and we worked together to come up with a portrait that illustrated their self-definitions. It was difficult for me because I’m used to photographing to please myself and now there were two of us to consider.

For these portraits, I had to think of the words and get feedback from the people I photographed. Obviously, some people had more input than others. Some people said, “Tell me how you want me to pose.” Others said, “Let’s try something like this.” In one case, the subject said, “This is the way I want to illustrate my definition.” For the portrait above, I used Connie Imboden's studio and method to photograph her. Not so easy to step into somebody else's vision!

If you’d like to see a slideshow of just the portraits, without the definitions, check it out here. (Turn on your speaker to hear music by Kevin Robinson.) Next showing of Defining Ourselves will be this summer in Alexandria, Virginia.

◊ ◊ ◊

Today, I just read a blog that David Byrne wrote about his musical collaboration. He talks about the benefits of collaboration and makes some thoughtful points. I’m including part of his writing below. If you want to read more, click here.

"Why collaborate at all? One could conceivably make more money not sharing the profits — if there are any — so why collaborate if one doesn’t have to? If one can write alone, why reach out? (Some of the most financially successful songs I’ve ever written were not collaborations, for example.) And besides, isn’t it risky? Suppose you don’t get along? Suppose the other person decides to take the thing in some ugly direction?

"Well, as I said earlier, one big reason is to restrict one’s own freedom in the writing process. There’s a joy and relief in being limited, restrained. For starters, to let someone else make half the decisions, or some big part of them, absolves one of the need to explore endless musical possibilities. The result is fewer agonizing decisions in the writing process, and sometimes, faster results.

"Another reason to risk it is that others often have ideas outside and beyond what one would come up with oneself. To have one’s work responded to by another mind, or to have to stretch one’s own creative muscles to accommodate someone else’s muse, is a satisfying exercise. It gets us outside of our self-created boxes. When it works, the surprising result produces some kind of endorphin equivalent that is a kind of creative high. Collaborators sometimes rein in one’s more obnoxious tendencies too, which is yet another plus........

....... "But one might also ask: Is writing ever NOT collaboration? Doesn’t one collaborate with oneself, in a sense? Don’t we access different aspects of ourselves, different characters and attitudes and then, when they’ve had their say, switch hats and take a more distanced and critical view — editing and structuring our other half’s outpourings? Isn’t the end product sort of the result of two sides collaborating? Surely I’m not the only one who does this?"

http://journal.davidbyrne.com

Winter 2010

2010-02-10T22:17:00.001-05:00

Bonnie's Knee

2010-02-10T12:58:00.016-05:00

January 21, 2010, I got a new right knee.

I'm home from the hospital now. My blog postings have slowed down and my photos have been a little out of focus. (No wonder!) However, David managed to get a few photos in the hospital.

If you're not grossed out by it, you might be interested in this video:

http://www.orlive.com/unitedhospital/videos/total-knee-replacement-surgery

Meanwhile, here in Pasadena, Maryland, we are snowed in with about 30" of snow and in the middle of our second blizzard. I hear more snow is predicted for this Saturday but not as much.

Today is our anniversary. David and I have been married for 30 years.

Defining Ourselves

2010-01-16T19:31:00.006-05:00

Have a heartThe opening reception of my Defining Ourselves exhibit, the third showing, took place Friday, January 15, 2010, at the Light Gallery, 1015 North Charles St. in Baltimore. It was phenomenal! The exhibit seemed to have sparked intriguing conversation during those two hours. Kevin Robinson provided some live music and those who attended offered energy to the occasion.

David told everyone that, if they had to make a choice, they should donate toward relief efforts in Haiti rather than buying my art. I agree with him. Although making money is a positive thing, helping others is much more important.

Check out David's latest blog.

Defining Ourselves

2010-01-14T22:40:00.014-05:00

Photography exhibit opens in Baltimore, a two-year international and multi-generational photo and word project examining who we are

Opening reception Friday, January 15, 7-9 p.m. at the Light Gallery, 1015 North Charles St., Baltimore.

For two years, I challenged people to answer the question, "How do you define yourself?" The answer had to be just one sentence beginning with the words, "I am..." Answers were followed by defining portrait photos. She received nearly 100 responses from people ages 4 to 100, representing 14 countries.

See a preview of the portraits without the words here:

Defining Who We Are

2010-01-08T16:43:00.006-05:00

A unique exhibit where words are as important as photos

My Defining Ourselves exhibit will soon be in its third showing but this time in Baltimore.

For two years, I challenged people to answer the question, "How do you define yourself?’" The answer had to be just one sentence beginning with the words, ‘I am.’” Answers were followed by defining portrait photos. I received nearly 100 responses from people ages 4 to 100, representing more than a dozen countries.

Selected photos from this project will be shown at the Light Gallery located at 1015 N. Charles St. from January 15 – March 12

Opening Reception: January 15th from 7-9 pm with jazz musician Kevin Robinson

Closing Reception: March 12th from 7-9 pm featuring an artist talk by Bonnie Schupp and live music

See this video for a preview without the words. Turn on your sound. Put your cursor over the picture and then to the right below the picture, and click on HQ for High Quality (high resolution) to see it at its best:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below are some quotations on the theme of knowing who we are that you might find thought provoking:

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~ Dr. Seuss

Find out who you are, and do it on purpose. (?)

Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have. ~ Doris
Martman

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. ~ Epictetus, Roman (Greek-born) slave & Stoic philosopher (55 AD - 135 AD)

Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are. ~ Julius Charles Hare

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." ~ Thomas Jefferson ?

You were born an original. Don't die a copy. ~ John Mason

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. ~Kurt Vonnegut

We don't know who we are until we see what we can do. ~ Martha Grimes

When you know who you truly are, there is an abiding alive sense of peace. You could call it joy because that's what joy is: vibrantly alive peace. (?)

It is the joy of knowing yourself as the very life essence before life takes on form. That is the joy of Being - of being who you truly are. ~ Stillness Speaks, Eckhart Tolle

All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: that I am nobody but myself. ~ Battle Royal, Ralph Ellison

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

I am told to just be myself, but as much as I have practiced the impression, I am still no good at it. ~Robert Brault

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~ e.e. cummings

I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part. ~ Shirley MacLaine

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Confucius

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you? ~ Fanny Brice

Every time you don't follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness. ~ Shakti Gawain

Originality is... a by-product of sincerity. ~ Marianne Moore

All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own. ~ Johann von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther, 1774

2010

2009-12-24T16:09:00.002-05:00

The Baltimore Love Project

2009-12-18T20:57:00.032-05:00

Can love change the world? Most people might say yes. But can art change the world? And can a graphic painting with a love message on walls change the world? Michael Owen and Scott Burkholder believe it can...at least in a small way.

It’s a simple concept.

Artist Michael Owen has designed a graphic of hands spelling out the word “love.” The plan is to paint this on walls in communities around Baltimore City and to connect people through these love-themed murals.

It’s called the Baltimore Love Project.

The design is already in two places: Mount Washington Arboretum and Carroll Park/ Gwynns Falls Trail. The project needs funding for 18 more love murals in Baltimore that will be identical but range in size depending on the space.

I originally met Scott Burkholder at Watermark Gallery and learned that he is working with Michael on networking and fund raising for the Baltimore Love Project. In an age of youthful cynicism, I was fascinated by their idealism.

The two men originally connected through painting of a different kind. After graduating from MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), Michael worked for Scott in his interior painting business. Besides making money painting walls of houses, schools and businesses—in solid colors—Michael hoped he would gain some mural clients. However, it proved useful in another way. “My biggest gain was learning how to most efficiently cover a large wall. It was like my Jedi training,” says Owen. You can see some of Michael’s murals at his web site.

The friends kept in touch and later, when Michael told Scott about his vision of the Baltimore Love Project, Scott became involved from a business angle.

Scott says, “The Baltimore Love Project was the perfect opportunity for us to unite, Michael in a creative role and me in a business role. Our skill sets and personalities match well. Because we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we are able to execute quite proficiently.”

It’s not making them money so why are they doing it?

For Scott, it’s about relationships. “I am involved with this project because relationships are something that I value highly, and love is critical to successfully experience relationships. I am involved because we don’t necessary want to change the world, only to inspire it in small ways.

It’s also about using his business skills. “The project brings me joy as it fulfills my desire to use my skills in a significant and meaningful way. Over time I have realized that I enjoy entrepreneurship and business. I like analysis, I like strategic development, I like to build relationships and I like innovation. This project allows me to do all that, and all for a good cause—promoting love through art.”

Michael admits that he had “no divine moment I recall where the image from The Baltimore Love Project came to me.” He wanted to incorporate his more personal studio themes into public murals. “Then I began to see the possible repercussions this project might have on others. What if some guy saw a love wall on the way home from work? What if he smiled a bit and decided to pick up some flowers for his girlfriend? What if a mom saw one when pushing her kid home in a stroller? What if she didn't hit the child for that one night? These are small acts of love that can be inspired by these murals. Last week the project flashed through my mind when arguing with my own wife. I can't say it resolved the issue, but I did feel more compassion for her. To me, these incidents of love mark the success of the Baltimore Love Project.”

You can watch an interview with Michael Owen here:

Neither of the friends is native to Baltimore, but they both want to create something positive in the city that they’ve grown to like. Scott came to Baltimore as an engineering student at the Johns Hopkins University in 1998 and when he graduated, he remained in Baltimore as a lab technician at Hopkins. Recognizing the lack of relationships in science, he started a painting business as a transition to whatever lies in his future role of promoting art. He likes the people and diversity in Baltimore and sees it as a place to discover and get to know many more people. “I have only begun my Baltimore adventure,” he says.

Michael, too, came to Baltimore as a student-- at MICA in 2000. At first he didn’t like the area and felt disconnected but an assignment in one of his classes drew him out to other areas and he began to see the city in a new way. Michael explains, “Marcel Proust said that ‘the real voyage of discovery is not in seeing new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes’. Baltimore is not palm trees and dolphins kissing as they jump toward the sunset, [Michael is from Orlando] but I latched onto a brokenness in the city that resounded in myself and from there into my art. Peel back the makeup and ego, it is in us all.”

These two young men with a vision, one an artist and the other a businessman, might just be able to pull this off because there is power in art. I know this personally from an Edward Weston photograph I saw years ago. It was a black and white close-up of a green pepper. He photographed it in such a sensuous way that I was never able to look at a green pepper in the same way ever again.
© Edward Weston estate, 1930

Edward Steichen's curated exhibit and book, The Family of Man, made me change forever how I looked at our world and the people in it.

Simon Schama, author and speaker, says, “The power of the greatest art is the power to shake us into revelation and rip us from our default mode of seeing. After an encounter with that force, we don't look at a face, a color, a sky, a body, in quite the same way again. We get fitted with new sight: in-sight. Visions of beauty or a rush of intense pleasure are part of that process, but so too may be shock, pain, desire, pity, even revulsion. That kind of art seems to have rewired our senses. We apprehend the world differently.”

You can see a a BBC broadcast below:

Remember the iconic newspaper photograph that Nick Ut (AP) took in 1972 of Phan Thị Kim Phúc at age nine running naked through the streets after being severely burned by a napalm attack? Or the photo taken by Eddie Adams (AP) in 1968 of General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executing a Viet Cong soldier? These two photos would become become two of the most famous images in journalism that would change the American public's views on the Vietnam War. Images can change the world.

There are other projects going on that seek to connect people through public art. One is the Dialogue Project which brings to cities installations consisting of ten, 7x8-foot free-standing screens covered with thousands of inspiring and insightful quotations from people throughout history.

Again, the question, can art change the world or change a community? Does public art have power? Can two young men with a vision make a difference? If you believe in possibilities and would like to help, you can purchase a T-shirt with the love logo. Proceeds will go to help the project.

The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. John Berger, author/art critic

Smile !

2009-12-13T13:24:00.018-05:00

Yesterday, a few photographers, including me, from Creative Exposure Baltimore volunteered at Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital where we took free portraits of patients and their families. Marc Siegel is shown here taking a picture of a tiny subject. Today's Sun has an excellent article by Susan Reimer. (Sun photo Kim Hairston)

Read the story online here:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.photographers13dec13,0,6722878.story

This is part of a global project called Help Portrait.

I'm not very good cooking in soup kitchens...or at home. This is one way I felt I could give to the community and was happy to do so. From the Help Portrait web site, it seems to have been a global success. It certainly was from our experience at Mount Washington.

Photo above shows photographers Marc, myself and Art. Other members of Creative Exposure Baltimore will participate in future portrait sessions.

................................................................................
.........................
...............
...............
................
..

........