October

Ah, tennis in the middle of the day . . . must be October.  One of my very favorite months whether back in NJ or out in AZ.  Happiness to all who stop by here.

Just Beautiful

I love this time of year.  It's time to come up with reasons to walk from building to building because the day is so beautiful; the sky is bright blue, it's not cool or crisp yet, but you can tell it's coming.

Beautiful days are not meant to be taken for granted -
they want and deserve to be appreciated.

Good Promo Vid

Check out this new promo video for Page, AZ -

short, accurate and well produced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tedj40Mb2HQ&feature=player_embedded

CAKE on Music Ed

Here's an article written by the trumpet player from the band CAKE on the value of music education:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/31/music.education.cake.difiore/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

Also - Band Directors: the band wrote a march that you can get for free

Wind

Another blustery Memorial Day weekend in Northern Arizona.  I always feel bad for the boaters who come to Lake Powell this weekend, because it always blows.

Note to self - don't have company on Memorial Day weekend: too windy for boating or barbecuing or anything outdoors.

Beautiful Day to Graduate

It's a beautiful day (cue U2 song) to graduate in Page, America.  No wind, warmed back up, but not too much.  I'm not too keyed in to the senior class anymore since I'm out of the classroom, band room and not teaching leadership, but I hope for those gracing the stage tonight that they are pleased with their accomplishments and if they know they've got  better, that they go DO better!

Congratulations PHS Class of 2011!

. . . and to those who graduated yesterday from Tse Yaato HS, I was especially proud of those of you who struggled in the halls of PHS, but stuck with it and finished what you started.  43 graduates form TY is a new record I believe and it was great to see 14 of you from the PHS Alt Ed program with caps and gowns and smiles - best of everything to you as well.

Tonic

The current view is
2 parts stunning,
2 parts Spring,
4 parts troubling and
2 parts quiet plans.

Whoa, It's March!

Well it looks like I took the month of February off, but actually I have been spending most all my time outside of work on a nonprofit performance group called Dark Sky Percussion.  DSP has 31 members from 17-22 and is based out of Scottsdale, Arizona.  We teach percussion and leadership skills.

Dark Sky is right smack in the middle of our competitive season and are having a great year four.  Our show is called Forever visually and musically portraying the emotions of memories that can live on and on.  You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Sky-Percussion/201873599828115

Website and donations:

www.darkskypercussion.org

Cold Weather Indoors and Out

Can the view be cold?  There is a certain look to the winter sky, but I'm not sure I can see cold.  What I saw today were the storm clouds sitting over Kaibeto and Inscription House (to our southeast) and the word came in that it was snowing heavily out there.

Indoors, there is a chill as well.  You can't always see it, but you can feel it: teachers growing weary, fed up and tired.  When it gets like this, it creates a chill all over the school and students beware: conditions are hazardous, don't drive too fast and tap your breaks often.

Some may be fed up with the cold weather, but the indoor climate of Fed Up is icy cold and just as dangerous.

Winter Sunset

A beautiful view to end my work day.  I took this on my way home -

, 

"Undimmed by Cynicism"

Tucson is on the other end of the state of Arizona, but the collective pain is palpable nonetheless.  My heart goes out to all who are suffering from this tragedy.

An excerpt from President Obama's remarks at the Tucson memorial service tonight:

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

President Obama - January 12, 2011

Views of Navajo Mountain

Took a New Years drive and although the sky was a bit cloudy, I got a variety of views Navajo Mt:

 Out in the desert on the AZ-Utah border, with Navajo Mt in background:

 Navajo Mt, Tower Butte and Lake Powell:

and a view of "this mesa" from the northwest looking back towards the southeast.  Page sits on and around this mesa, Lake Powell is in the lower left corner:

Pictures taken with a Sony Cybershot.