The Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Everything You Need to Know

Kim and I are doing well and getting tantalizingly close to the end of our respective semesters. That, combined with the fact we both got a lot of good work done on our papers today, has us in pretty good spirits. Consequently, I'm happy to share with you two useful pieces of information I found on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's website. First, here's an update to "Sweet Lily," who I mentioned in my last blog: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=31&id=20116. She continues to be doing well and made it to another Poly Prep girls' lacrosse game today. Lily got to dress herself and showed up in a white, zip-up, hooded sweatshirt and a purple dress. For footwear, Lily wore a shiny silver "magic shoe" on her left foot and a "Sleeping Beauty" slipper on her right foot. I guess having greater concerns than fashion allows one more flexibility than is otherwise conventionally exercised.

In other news from the paper, I found out where not-to-stay when visiting Bay Ridge: The Gregory Hotel. Here's a link to their article on the establishment, explaining that they just found their third dead body within the last six months: http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=7&id=20178. Regrettably, I recommended this site to the Figuereido's when they came to visit in March. I'll be sure not to make that mistake again and plan on using this as good reason to continue encouraging visitors to stay with Kim and I, rather than spending their money and "taking their chances" elsewhere.

In the meantime, best regards to all and a big congratulations to Adam and Rita who finally found out Rita's been accepted to Boston University's School of Social Work for the upcoming Fall. Yeah!!!

The Sweet Stench of Rejection

I am no good.
I am a dog.
I am...a reject.

But I couldn't be happier.

Let me explain.





Monday, April 21st, the Head Girls Lacrosse Coach at Poly Prep announced the team was going to be the first high school in the country to take part in the "Friends of Jaclyn" organization (www.friendsofjaclyn.org). This group pairs children with brain cancer with girls lacrosse teams that "adopt" the child. Here, "adoption" means the host team serves as "big sisters" to the afflicted child. On Monday, Poly Prep welcomed Lily and her amazing parents (Olivia and Dennis) to our community.
They spoke, along with the founder of Friends of Jaclyn (another Dennis-this one not Lily's father), about Lily's experience with cancer. It was a polite, general conversation that didn't make anyone feel uncomfortable or sad.
It would have been quite impossible to feel sad, though, because of Lily's ebullience. She was a manifestation of the sun: bright, cheerful, radiant, and good for you. She made it clear to all that she loves Snow White, counts pizza as one of her favorite foods, and was excited to be at Poly. Because Lily's only 4 yrs. old, she doesn't understand that her experiences are exceptional, in that they are exceptions to what most people experience most of the time. Therefore, she didn't seem to feel strange or self-conscious about being celebrated by the Poly community. She might even think that everyone has had such an experience.
I won't get into the details much beyond that and, frankly, Olivia, Dennis, Lily, and Dennis don't bother much with them, either; though they're well aware of Lily's circumstance, it doesn't fit Lily's vivaciousness to pay too much attention to medical charts, drug trials, or approaching MRIs when there's a perfectly good playground nearby and lots of new friends to meet.
Hopefully, you now understand why, when I got home Monday night and found my rejection letter from the James Madison Foundation, I wasn't terribly disappointed. I might have been, however, if I hadn't been able to make it to yesterday's lacrosse game (a 15-6 Poly victory) where I took the following pictures:

The Knicks Appreciate Their Fans?

Kim and I went to Madison Square Garden last night to watch the Celtics take on, and beat, the Knicks. I can only begin to tell you what an unbelievable night this was. Please understand that this entire experience is simply inexplicable, but I will try to do my best.

Kim and I started the night by getting a quick bite and having a couple drinks before heading over to MSG. When we arrived and made our way over to the escalators, someone who appeared to work at MSG said to us, "Hey, grab a soda on your way. They're free." Kim and I, feeling somewhat suspicious, grabbed a free 20 oz. bottle of soda apiece after someone who was taking sodas out of the cases they were delivered in restated the earlier gentleman's offer.

Kim and I continued up, up, and away to the top of the Garden. When we got there, another vendor promptly offered us popcorn, Cracker Jacks, Twizzlers, etc., saying again the concessions were free. Kim and I passed and went to our seats.

Only when we entered the arena's interior did we hear something we could not believe. Yesterday night, the final Knicks' home game of the season, was "Fan Appreciation Night." All concessions were free, all night! We could get pizza, hot dogs, pretzels, nachos, candy, soda, water, ice cream bars, etc., all for free, all night long. It was a complete surprise to us and I struggled to comprehend this apparent reality for much of the night. I don't think it helped that, by the end of the game, vendors were trying to get rid of their merchandise by walking through the crowd and throwing free ice cream bars, boxes of popcorn, and other items to whomever wanted the items. It was really something.

As for the game, that was really..."something,"...too. The night started with "Uncle Junior" of the HBO-hit Sopranos singing the National Anthem:

After that, New York Knicks' star David Lee addressed the entire MSG audience to thank them for their support over the season. I wish I had been filming it because it turned out to be more of an apology speech; he said something about, "Sorry the season hasn't been more like what we'd hoped for, but I promise we'll continue working hard so that we might improve our situation in the future." I couldn't believe I was there to witness such a public apology.

But that was not all, folks. The Celtics were introduced to a fairly warm reception (due to the large presence of Celts fans), Isaiah Thomas was more enthusiastically boohed, and then the Knicks were introduced. I have to tell I was very surprised by what I saw next. The Knicks, following their individual introductions, literally took their outermost shirts off and, as the public announcer said, gave the shirts off their back to families that were selected to receive them at halfcourt:

I'm not sure what that was supposed to accomplish, of course, but they did it. I don't know, but Kim and I thought it was so weird.

Anyways, it all continued along. There was the opening tip, the "Juggling Pianist," the "Knicks' City Dancers," and the game. "The Boston Three Party" did not play, but it was still a fun atmosphere, a Celtics' win, and a fun place to spend a Monday night. Overall, the game was outdone by all the strange events, sights, and sounds, but I'd go back again to see whatever it was I saw last night. I don't know what to say about it,...but I doubt I'll soon forget it. Oh, speaking of forgetting, I nearly failed to mention that during a TV-timeout, the Knicks honored a NYC school teacher who found and resuscitated a student in the public school where the teacher worked. Sounds like a feel good story, right? The student was near-death because he'd been stabbed repeatedly by another student with a pair of scissors. Now you understand why I think it's so weird they publicly recognized this at half-court of a Knicks game. The guy deserves the applause, to be sure, but is that the time or place to remind 20,000 sports-enthusiasts of what's wrong with NYC's public schools?

Kris and Kirstin: thanks for the tickets. You guys should have seen it. Unbelievable.

Here are some more highlights:

Sign, Part IV: I just don't have the words

In honor of this fan's devotion, here's a musical tribute to Sox fans. I apologize in advance for this fan's failure to take his ADHD meds. on this day, but enjoy.

Current State of the (Livingstone) Union

Things are going well for Kim and I now that we're through the toughest parts of our respective semesters. Kim has only a few more classes left and, I believe, just one paper and one presentation remaining. Not only does she finish up soon, but she also plans on being able to take the summer off from school. Good for her. She is excited about these items, but also plans on taking a trip to Maine during one of the approaching weekends to help overcome the homesickness, exhaustion, and other stressors she's recently faced.
I, meanwhile, am comforted by the fact that whatever I have left to do, there is at least some finite end in sight. In mid-March, I was busy turning in papers and preparing for my major professional responsibility at Poly Prep: the Ancient Civilizations Festival. I just turned in two lengthy assignments for my graduate class (a 20 pg. assessment of one of my lesson plans and a 27 pg. assessment of one of my evaluations). And presently, I find myself faced with having three more assignments due during these last five weeks of the course. I'm writing this "post" as a break from a 4-6 pg. "critical reflection" of a classroom observation I recently did, will have to turn in one more such paper between now and May 7th, and then have only one other assignment to complete. This last assignment is the major one for the term: an Annotated Course Map. It should include a brief daily lesson plan, weekly syllabi, and a curriculum "map" for a course of my choosing. It can be for either a year-long or semester-long course. That will be an incredible challenge and, I expect, an amazing amount of work.
As I said, though the workload doesn't seem to be getting much easier, I can at least find solace in the fact that I'm done with this grad. class on May 7th and Poly ends on June 13th. As much as I'd like to look to the summer for some rest, I won't know my plans until I hear back about my fellowship application. That won't be until the end of April.
In the meantime, wish Kim and I luck and please understand if I'm hard to reach.

Sign of Eden or Apocalypse? Part III

When I started this segment, "Sign of Eden or Apocalypse," I never would have guessed it would become a running series. But here, faithful Reader, we are. Today there were a confluence of events that aligned themselves at the great conduit: Fenway Park. The three anomalies were, in order: Bill Buckner's heroic return to Fenway, the Detroit Tigers sporting an 0-6 record, and Manny Ramirez nearly scoring an inside-the-park homerun (he scored on a throwing error after hitting a deep triple).

What should we dare expect next?
Here's a link to more info on Buckner's return:http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080408&content_id=2504342&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos&partnered=rss_bos and please note the image (attached to the start of this entry) contains the play-by-play text explaining Manny's way around the bases (in the bottom right corner of the image). Another article, even more poignant and thoughtful, on Buckner's rebirth as a hero is available from ESPN at the following address: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3335928

The Sox went on to win today, beating the Tigers 5-0, but that can in no way compare to warmth of the moment shown in this clip: Bill Buckner's emotional return to Boston (finally).

3 Sox Blast Solo Shots, Beckett's Back (All for Not)

The Sox made a surprise national television appearance today, finishing the series with Toronto on TBS.

The Sox started out strong from the word go. Beckett was nasty through the first three innings, hitting 98 mph with his fastball, and Jacoby Elsbury went ya'd in the 3rd. Things got tough in the bottom of the fourth, however, as Beckett's pitch count went from 45(ish) at the start of the inning to 70 by the end of it. He also gave up a two-run shot to Wells. Luckily, Manny showed a real flash of leather in the bottom of the 4th and 'Tek put one out to straight away centerfield at the top of the 5th to tie things at 2-2.

Unfortunately, the same fatigue the forced two Sox errors early in the game (and Lugo to have four in the game), forced Beckett out after he loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning (see image). On the next pitch, Manny Delcarmen offered Frank Thomas a pinata and Thomas broke the game open, recording his 11th career grand slam.

JD Drew's 7th inning solo shot, his second of the series, was of little consolation at the time, but is hopefully a sign of good things to come as Drew tries to rebound from his first year in Boston.

Today's game brings the Sox's 15,840 mile road trip to an end and will start them on an "off day" that precedes TWENTY consecutive games starting Tuesday. Fortunately, 13 of them will be at home.

Week in Review

Celtics get the nod on this week in review. They quietly claimed the top seed in the East, set the NBA record for biggest turnaround in one season, and are in position to sit the "Big Three" (Garnett, Allen, and Pierce). Well done, boys.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have dropped two in a row to the Blue Jays and sit at 3-3, overall. At least Beckett comes back today. Hopefully, we can take one from the Jays before finally making our way back home (after visiting California, Japan, California, and Canada).

As for me, it was my first week back to school after two weeks off and what a week it was; parents complained about grades (some about failing grades and others about why their child only got an A-); I completed a 20+ page paper for graduate school; Kim had two people die from her work place (in separate incidents); and there are nine (?) more weeks left to the school year. Thank goodness I can somehow measure the time remaining in this hectic part of my life.

There is a lot of good news, though. First, Kim and I have the six year anniversary of our first date coming up (4.9.08). The Red Sox next nationally televised game is coming up on the 12th (Sox at Fenway against the Yanks). Kim and I are going to see the Celtics take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on April 14th. It looks like next year I'll be teaching both middle school and upper school (which will be great for my resume). Kim's nearly done with her classes for this semester and she's strongly considering taking the summer off. And finally, I just found out this week that I've received an academic scholarship from my grad school. It's only a partial scholarship, but I'm still thrilled to know it'll be that much less I need to borrow and I'm also flattered to be recognized by such an august, erudite institution.

I guess that's all for now, but I hope everyone's well. Look for more pics soon, particulary as Kim and I head out to MSG on the 14th.

Sign of Eden or Apocalypse? Part II

This is almost too spooky to be true. This image, of a hawk attacking a visitor to Fenway Park, happened to a young girl who is eerily similar to a particularly loathed member of the New York Yankees.
ALEXa RODRIGUEZ, whose age is the same as A-ROD's jersey number (13), was attacked during a school field trip to Fenway Park. Alexa, a student at a Connecticut middle school, is reportedly fine, but was rushed to a hospital by ambulance.
Can you believe this?
Consult the following link for more info: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7986154?MSNHPHMA