Memorial Day

Pigeons Cooing -- in Southlake

We spent Memorial Day in moving stages ... We drove past the exit for the National Cemetary for DFW soldiers. I wonder whether some of my students lie there. The WOLF pulled out many OSE country songs dealing with the sacrifices sometimes required to preserve our freedom ... and my students are so la-di-da about it. I'm not sure that we were quite so blase. After all the late 60s and early 7os marked the beginnings of the Viet Name protests.

Of course, they played "Have You Forgotten?" by Alan Jackson; it reminds people of why the US went after Osama bin Ladin ... Another song took the POV of a fallen soldier -- you don't realize that he's observing his own grave until he describes how he saw his grandfather's grave when he was 8 years old ... and now his grandfather greeted him when he enters the cemetary. We shall see how July 4 goes -- Neither family decided to decorate the graves (and Dad's a WWII vet) or to get together today ... Jon's family took Mom and us out to lunch since Adrianne's uncle & aunt came up to celebrate her graduation next week. (4 down and 1 to go!)

The apt is a tad smaller than the house ... but there's not so much stuff around, so we have more room to walk -- when the two black labs don't decide to get underfoot. Bird cages stand along each wall of the bedroom and living room ... and Cheri's 5 cats live in the other bedroom. I shall be traveling light in the pet dpt: a friend will shelter Lola and Skittles -- and maybe the kitten Zasu. The 3 "biguns" have to go to one of the shelters in the area ... There's enough open country around the house that coyotes could sneak up and snatch one of them off the porch or out of the back yard. Joy heard an owl last night ... she swears it was checking out the new white birds on the dining table.

This week begins the final week of the 2010-11 school year. I have so much to pack and move -- and we have luncheons two out of four days! To make matters worse, these are the kind of mandatory meals that you don't want to miss if you want to keep the powers-that-be happy. At least teaching doesn't require this kind of social activity very often ... Business people (and college professors) seem blessed with these events much more than teachers. Are we having fun yet?

Pomp & Circumstance 2011

Sunset released new members to the adult herd yesterday afternoon. I recognized many faces; I had taught many of them in 10th grade. Ironically, though not surprisingly, I didn't see the faces of the students who had caused chaos in 10th grade ... One dropped out after summer school; another couldn't pass the math TAKS; a third played the "numbers game" and didn't get all of his credits ... still, SHS had the largest graduating class from a comprehensive high school this year in DISD. Family and friends filled the upper decks while graduates and teachers filled the floor.

Graduation is a ceremony that marks the official end of adolescence; although many students need more time to mature, graduation acknowledges that they've reached a new stage in life. I fear some will meet some nasty surprises since the state (and school and teachers) no longer extends the protection of "They're just kids" and "It's the ---'s fault if they didn't learn the concept (or chose to skip class). For many, the safety nets are gone -- if indeed the nets were there at all. I have one student who's pregnant and whose foster mother tossed her out of the house the minute she turned 18. The girl is a pain sometimes, but turning kids onto the streets is not a Christian act ... but that foster family has had issues ever since I first met them 2-3 years ago. It turns out that her mother was my student over at my old school ... and when her mentor asked for money so the student would look good for graduation, I forked over $5. I suspect that other teachers contributed to the gown fund.

We arrived at Moody Collisseum around 2:30 -- the ceremony began at 5:30, but we wanted everyone in place by 5, so we sent out the word ... I hoped to sit out the ceremony; instead, I was tagged as a line leader. The line-up was much simpler this year: alphabetical order down one side then the other. The old-fashioned criss-cross is out since it requires a longer rehearsal. Quite frankly, its success also depends on knowing who's graduating more than 48 hours in advance. With all the grade changes and credit checks, the line-up can change after the class practices ... so why take any chances?

The ceremony hasn't changed much since your high school graduation, although I don't recall the school board representative speaking to our class. It definitely hasn't changed since I began working graduations in 2001 ... The posting of the colors, the song dedicated to the seniors, the interminable calling of names (I almost always drift off during this part.), the certification of the graduates ... and the processional and recessional to Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance." At Roosevelt, we used "March of the War Priests" from Verdi's Aida. Still, we had the same order of ceremony -- and pretty much the same layout for our program. I'll bet its a DISD thing.

I'll finish with a wish for good luck and Godspeed to the Class of 2011. They have many challenges waiting for them, as well as surprises both good and bad. Sunset HS had a hand in forming them ... Here's hoping that they prepared for the real world beyond the red brick and white granite walls.

Dancing Fools

Can-Can Dancers Ready to Shake the Skirts

When Dallas Arts Festival canceled all outdoor music, no one knew whether we'd have a show. Hope turned to St. Bernard's Church, where she teaches pre-ballet to grades K-4, and got permission to have a show ... which sounds a lot like a few Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland movies from the 40s. We held dress rehearsal last Saturday, not knowing whether we'd have a space to dance, but Hope got permission from the principal -- and word went out to come and see what the company and classes had done this spring.

I got indirect permission to leave early since I'm working graduation on Saturday afternoon. We don't get paid any more, and we can't check out early -- thanks to Chancery & computers -- so I don't feel guilty. When I got to the studio, Hope had everything packed, but we did a final check just in case -- I haven't forgotten the time we left the Faust scarves at the studio, and I had to drive cross-town to get them. We packed the car (Yes, women in performing arts must be strong like bull!); we had help at the church getting the huge costume buckets inside, then started setting up the dressing room ... and the first moms & girls showed up early! As the company and class girls filtered in, we had more and more to do -- the music had to be cued (on an I-pod, no less!); girls' hair & make-up needed doing. (Several moms watched because they want to do their daughters' hair next year.) Hope's costume needed longer elastic straps ... just the fiddly bits to bring a show together ... Steph was able to step in and build costumes since I got laid low this spring. Otherwise, to quote Hope, "We would've had a bunch of nekkid dancers on stage!"

To my surprise, my mom showed up during set barre. Years ago, when Madame toured with the Ballet Russe, the company developed a quick method of warming up the muscles ... and all of us afterwards learned the movements as "set barre." The music never changes; I did the same steps to the same music when I was a little dancer in elementary school ... I noticed that the "littles" from St. Bernard's wanted to follow Hope, but they couldn't see her -- and Hope was concentrating (as she should) on warming up for a performance. So, I kicked off my ballet flats and started doing plies where the girls could see me. I had to check Hope every so often to remember the sequence ... and I know I didn't do it perfectly. Well, the girls responded with more enthusiasm than accuracy. Who cares? They were dancers, like the company girls on the front stage. Briana, our wanna be diva, asked, "What made you an expert?" I leaned down and said, "I started dancing ballet when I was 3 years old." I didn't add that I had quit dancing for over 25 years.

The performance itself went smoothly, once we got the music squared away ... Never work with unfamiliar technology during a performance! Luckily, Steph had a back-up file that didn't shuffle or shift among the files; the tech wanted to find a hole and hide ... If Hope & the dancers weren't upset, then she needs to calm down ... The "littles" had to wait for applause -- I'm not sure whether their music was messed up or not ... But, oh, being the "gatekeeper" for those girls was not fun! They wanted to peek at the audience and whisper (and 8 girls in a small corridor get loud) ... but for most of them it was their first performance. I noticed that some parents brought flowers for their little dancers. Hope's brother Jesse came through with an adapted hornpipe/ step dance to "If I Only Had a Brain." We finished with "Can-Can" ... I started the clapping (and whooping). At dress rehearsal, the littles and their moms had seen how loud we could get in order to encourage the dancers to high kick, do splits, and shake those skirts. It was a raucous, fun finish to the show.

After the show, I saw 2 Russian Orthodox priests in the audience ... or maybe 1 R.O. and 1 R.C. I suspect that the pastor came around to see what his church was hosting. They seemed pleased with the results ... and we got donations for the company AND the church. Hope got to advertise for the studio's classes -- and the classes at St. Bernard's for 2011-2. So, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, we created a work of art from a potential disappointment.

Next Show -- A-Kon at the Dallas Sheraton Hotel

Ballet on the Run

Friday night, the ballet company has its spring recital -- we have the "baby" duo; the 8-10 littles from St. Bernard's Church; two beginner students from the studio; and the company ... It'll display a wide range of ballet styles, from contemporary ballet of "Equinox" to the vivacious "Can-Can" and the more traditional "Summer Garden." Luckily, we have permission to leave a bit early after finals on Friday, so I can zoom to the church and help set up the audience/ performance area. Hmmmm ... pack boxes today and put them in the car on Friday ... That might be a plan. We shall see.

Last Saturday we held the dress rehearsal at the studio ... Everyone got to watch the dances as we ran them, one after the other. Steph and I did hair and make-up for the littles, who were thrilled to get to wear "ballerina" make-up. Ah, the wonders of Aquanet, extra-hold. We had many a helmet-head, but the girls looked good. Of course, a bunch of little girls get bored during a dress rehearsal, so I invoked the memory of Madame; I began the story of how ballerinas must learn to dance from other ballerinas who came before ... and Hope came to recall Madame and explain who was the smiling old lady in the portrait. I got down the picture of Madame dancing ... the mothers seemed more fascinated by the stories than the kids. Well, we ARE the "Heritage School of Classical Ballet." They need to know their heritage, right? Hopefully, we shall do the old lady proud.

Mother Nature did the watusi on Tuesday night; we were in Oak Cliff for the club meeting ... while the speaker was talking, I heard the sirens go off. No one else heard. I went outside and stared at the sky. Yes, I stood there -- hand on a parking sign -- and watched the clouds slowly rotate while lightning flashed in the sky. The southern skies looked clear, but north was dark and lowering. Later, we hid in the corridor near the restrooms when Bill's son (in New York!) called him about a super cell thunderstorm heading our way ... No downed power lines and fewer tree branches -- we had worse troubles back in April when lightning split a tree next to our house.

5 days left of school -- 1 full day and 4 exam days -- and I get to pack and move the classroom contents over the next week. Oy!! It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate over the course of 4 years. I may need to sort and eliminate items ... though what to do with my bookcases and manga!

Touched by an Alien

Doctor 10 & Donna Nobles

I've been gone over a week -- the right kidney decided that it was time to pass a stone. Obviously not drinking water this spring caught up with me ... You'd have thought I would've learned that lesson Summer 2010 since the same thing put me in the hospital. But no ... it seems that I, like my students, am a slow learner. Let's not make it three times! Since I knew what was happening, I didn't go to the doctor this time -- but, to add insult to injury, some nasty bronchial bug laid me low. For about 60 hours, I lay comatose in the bed while my body healed. I only got up long enough to watch "The Doctor's Wife" on Saturday night. Nail Gaiman wrote a wonderfully witty script with a good mix of chills and thrills. The interplay between the anthromorphized TARDIS ("Sexy") and her thief showed why this show tends to have writing that is head and shoulders above most American scripts. Favorite lines: "You're always bringing in strays!" (Now we know what the TARDIS thinks of the companions!) When the Doctor says, "You're unreliable. You never take me where I want to go," the TARDIS replies, "No, I take you where you need to go." It's a show to introduce a first-time viewer to the WHOniverse, but fans will enjoy the acting and story.





Gina Koch has her own version of aliens with two hearts (like the Doctor) in her ALIEN series. I picked up the most recent, Alien in the Family, which was the third book centered around a wedding ... there was so much comedy & conflict in the blurb on the back of the book that I was intrigued -- but I decided that I'd better put the 2011 novel down and locate the first in the series, Touched by an Alien.


Katherine "Kitty" Katt must have reconciled herself to the absurb name her parents gave her. She's an ordinary woman in heels ... who springs to the rescue when a man morphs into a winged monster and goes on a killing rampage. The clean-up crew in sunglasses and black Armani suits may look human -- though impressively on the GQ model side of human -- but they are really alien males from Alpha Centauri. Jeff Martini is their local squad leader, and he and Kitty hit it off immediately. Pheremones fly as she comes to grip with how hot the men are ... and how immensely dangerous the situation has become.


Good thing Kitty's an only child with few close friends, except for her conspiracy nut friend Chuck who is mentioned but never seen, and no pets ... The nastiest terrorist on the planet (no, it's not a real terrorist) has combined with the nastiest monster parasite in the known universe; both want to either kill or convert Kitty to the cause. She's not buying it ... besides, she wants to get her hands on Jeff's hot bod and discover the joys of alien sex.


Koch has a deft touch for comedy, and the sexual high jinks shouldn't turn off most readers. I checked her bio: yes, she's a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America), a bonus from a marketing point of view. Although I found the novel in the SF section, I would not be surprised if some intrepid soul moves it over to Romance. By the rules of romane writing, technically this novel is NOT a romance ... The defeat of the main villain happens after the couple resolve their differences; also, defeating the villain might be a hair more important than "the relationship." Both items break the rules of romance writing, which reverses the importance of those events. Still, the book was a fun read -- if a covert one at school -- and I bought the second in the series yesterday at Borders.


Check out Touched by an Alien for a fun summer read. See ya under the cabana ... and ignore the screams from the room next door. It's just Jeff teaching Kitty new ways to be touched by an alien.

Mark of the Cat

'Ware of the Cat

Since the school year is drawing to a close, I decided to include reviews of favorite books -- in keeping with the theme of this blog, most of them will have a feline twist. The first is an old favorite that I uncovered while packing my library for storage.

Many fans grew up reading Andre Norton; now most of her books are out-of-print, and younger readers must find her in local libraries stacks -- if the older books haven't been culled to make space for newer authors. It's a shame, since many current SF favorites based their writing styles and plots on Andre's tried and true hero journeys. In other words, if you like Mercedes Lackey (and almost any other female SF/ fantasy writers), you should check out Andre Norton, the grandmistress of them all.

Mark of the Cat uses notes from a fantasy artist, Karen Kukendall, who created a world of 5 queendoms under an emperor. This book traces Hynkkel's journey from outcast to emperor -- and Anne McCaffery used the same tropes in her dragon books. Lissa goes from the scullery maid to the Queen's Rider ... and rejuvenates the Weyrs of Pern. Along the way, Hynkkel makes the great sand cats his allies, one becoming his blood brother ... Norton wrote her books with male protagonists (since those sell more books), but she didn't leave out the females of the species. When he reaches the capital city, Hynkkel has three important females supporting his imperial claims: his sister, a master craftswoman in jewels; Ravinga, a dollmaker who is more than she seems; and Allita, her apprentice who also has a secret in her past.

Norton weaves all the storylines together to show how the people who are least appreciated by a society as a whole can become more powerful when they work together and have the strength and courage to follow their destinies. Allita and Hynkkel don't want to walk the paths of power; however, Ravinga forces them to understand that they must, if they don't want the Queendoms to fall to the rats & their hidden master. Yes, if good has a human actor in Ravinga, evil has its herald in the rat-lord ... who makes his appearance in the sequel, Year of the Rat. The sequeal may not have as compelling a storyline as Mark of the Cat, but most readers will want to know how Hynkkel and Allita will escape the webs woven by their enemies, the Queen of Valapa, her war leader Shank-ji, and the Rat Lord.

As a teen reader, I would've read these novels for the characters; however, as an adult, I'm more impressed by the 6 lands that Norton created from Kukendall's notes. From the harsh desert of Kahuwela (where Hynkkel grew up) to the lush garden city of Valapa (where Allita lived), each land has its own people and customs. We meet them in the first book when Hynkkel goes on his quest to prove he's worthy of the last trial to be Emperor; we encounter them a second time on Hynkkel's royal progress.

Most critics would dismiss Norton's works since they tend to end happily for the main characters -- good or evil, characters get their just desserts. Call me old-fashioned, but it beats the downer "realistic" endings of many modern authors. So, the next time that you go to the library or a used-book store, check out Andre Norton's novels. They're good reads.

On a totally different note: GO MAVS!! They have beaten the LA Lakers 3-0 in the semi-final NBA series ... True, I'm not that into professional sports. (I didn't watch the games, after all.) Still, I am a Dallas girl, so -- win or lose -- all the teams get my support. Joy doesn't understand it; I don't get it either. It's just a fact of life down here in Texas where football is king.

Joy & I have started building the yahoo news group for "Four Winds Blow." The newsletter was rather popular while the faire ran. I hope to continue the bi-monthly editions. Right now, I don't want to invite other people until there's more than a calendar of events. Sigh! Another job to do -- still, as Bruce says, faire is like an 8-week family reunion. Therefore, someone gets to do the fairemily newsletter during the off-season.

Ballet Basix

Worship Me, lowly two-legger!

Tonight I'm playing hooky from ballet class ... my left leg is unhappy since I ignored the ache & walked up and down the stairs a few more times than usual. It's an awkware hop-step, but I can get up and down without waiting an eternity for the elevator. I hope it doesn't make the strain worse -- but, after almost 2 months (or is it 3?), I have to take a calculated chance.
Bast -- pictured above -- has welcomed most of a feral litter of kittens that nested near our house. Their mother moved them just before the deluge struck last week; I had thought they had perished in the storms, trapped by the water; however, Joy noticed that none had a mark on them -- which we thought might mean that Skippyjon, the Siamese tom, had hurt them. Then, we heard crying one night near the porch ... it was the little red. We placed him/her in the carrier, but it died during the night. I suspect it's the "failure to thrive" syndrome, because they looked fat and healthy when their mother moved them ... Shoot, Margot's kittens seemed all right, but 3 of 4 perished. Zasu Pfittz, the grey-striped girl, is the sole survivor of the litter born on the coldest days of this school year. She plays by herself or with the older cats -- and we're trying to convince her that she should play with humans and not just fluffballs.



We observed Cinco de Mayo today at SHS -- and I played hooky from the community celebration after school ... I came home and ate supper before heading for the computer ... I'm sure that Mrs. Garcia brought together many elements from our local community, but I didn't have the money for food or drink -- and I had errands to run. Speaking of which, I need to call my mom once more ... it's a daughterly duty thing, y'know? I skipped out of some of the assembly today ... they tagged me to do backpack searches in the morning, so I felt that I deserved a little time to myself. I hadn't done backpack duty or metal detector screening in 4 years -- with the budget cuts, I suppose all of us will learn the knack once more. Rumor has it that we may lose all of our hall monitors ... Hall duty, ah, I remember it well. I still haven't forgotten the time that I sat metal detector duty; a mom of a student set off the alarm. I asked to look in her purse -- and she calmly pulled out a folding knife and handed it to me. Holy crap! How do you play off that one?

Mother's Day is this Sunday, so I'm co-ordinating the family cook-out thing at Mom's house. Right now, we're not quite sure who might or might not be there -- my brother's mother-in-law has an aggressive cancer, so they'll head over there first. No surprise -- intimations of mortality have cropped up all over the place, like weeds after the first spring rains, during 2011. Occasionally my mom's given us a scare or two, but this seems to be a good week for her -- though I'd prefer it if she'd answer the phone. I get paranoid when she doesn't answer, and I don't know her schedule since (generally) she stays at home most evenings ... Who knows? She may surprise us all and adopt a dog for a mother's day gift. Still ... no answer ... now I'm wishing that I had driven north to check on her and stay for dinner.

For a complete change of subject -- this week I launch "Four Winds Blow -- on line." Joy will set up the Yahoo group, and I will direct folks from Facebook to the newsgroup. I hope they enjoy this bimonthly edition, though I suspect that the news may be sparse unless people send me items. I know where a few of our compatriots will perform and/ or compete -- and I took copious notes on the last days of Faire. This weekend is Pirate Weekend at Hillsboro ... I need to get cracking, if I'm going to get everything in place.

But first, I have to check on Mom ...

May Day, May Daze

Crystal wrap by Joy @ Intergem

Tis the season for bonfires, if you go in for some really old time religion. Considering how cold it turned today, we may use the bonfires more for warmth than for celebration. Still, somewhere, someone is jumping through the flames to rekindle the physical fires of love ... or so they say.

Also, it's disconcerting when two halves of your life meet -- the mundane and fannish, or in this case, the rennie. During the months of March & April, we're "local" rennies, which means that we live (more or less) near the faire and travel home after the faire closes on Sunday. (Plus, right now this is the only faire we do.) We're dealers at a local anime convention -- who knows? we might try some art shows around town eventually. But this weekend, we were members of a local rock club at Intergem. (International Gem & Jewelry Exhibition -- Dallas is the only location that still allows the local clubs to display their skills and products.) To say that the members are mundane is the understatement of this century and the last ... They're nice people, but most do not "get" rennie humor. Worse, rennie humor that mocks their beliefs ... The two occurrences were imminently cringe-worthy. Sad to say, we gave the tickets to the couple who decided that it would be fun to play with the mundanes.

The man drew one lady (not a club member, but the sister to one) into a religious debate that ranged all over the Bible. OMG -- I had to leave during that one because it gave all organized Christianity a bad name. Plus, I'm not quite certain that she was paying attention to Dr. Cowan's lectures -- or else she has always had a terribly blinkered view of the universe. The man eventually grew tired of the baiting game and moved on ... while his female companion departed with a snide comment that one must watch out for Joy and the dolls -- she leaves them sitting around naked, you know ... well, yes, at the shop of the dressmaker!! What a parting line, and we get to deal with the reactions. I guess some people must create drama when they're bored just to stir up the pot (to quote Carol).

Skulls ... skulls in wire whimsys ... skulls and chain maille ... you now know what we bought with what little money we made in sales. There are less than 4 working weekends before A-Kon, so we have our work cut out for us ... I just hope that Mar is ready to teach me how to make chain maille earrings ... and maybe a belt, though that might use up too many skulls. Besides, think of how bumpy they'd be to sit on! No doubt that's one reason why so many belly dancers (and patrons) bought the scarves with flat sequins as the end dangles ... that and the cost of a belt in chain maille with beads.

Monday it's back to Shakespeare & Caesar ... you just can't keep those two dead & buried!