brownie

For every teacher dedicated to their profession and proficient in their teaching field, there were two who were skating by.

How dare you.  Really.  How dare you.

I have been teaching high school science for 10 years.  Before that, I spent nearly 20 years in industry, as an actual practicing scientist.

I have never worked as hard in my life as I have as a teacher.   But that amount of work is not sustainable.  I think people who think teachers are "skating by" don't want teachers, they want robots.

Seriously though,  Tanqueray is for gin & tonics. Treat yourself to a bottle of Bombay Sapphire for a great martini.

I will do so!  Thanks.

Yup, bad assumption!  I'm in NJ.  But no harm done, and I will look out for those wines at my local places.  Thanks for the recommendations.  

Also, there are some great wineries in Washington that are a lot better than Chateau Ste. Michelle, if you're interested (recently went on a mini wine tour in Woodinville and Chateau Ste. Michelle was easily the worst of what we tasted). Brian Carter Cellars, Januik, Novelty Hill, and Matthews just to name a few. Also, the Walla Walla wineries are excellent.

Well, one's taste in wine is such an individual thing.  I remember taking a wine course many years ago, and the gist of the course was to taste a lot of different wines to find out what you like.

I love chardonnays that are buttery.  Chateau Ste. Michelle's chardonnay fits that bill perfectly.  Hence, I would naturally love it.  

This is a weird thread.  Weird in that it is centered around beer. I hate beer. I had enough teenage run-ins with beer that I can't even stomach the stuff any more. 

I have been drinking, and enjoying, a chardonnay from Chateau Ste Michelle in Washington state, USA.  I also love a good gin martini, usually with Tanqueray.

Beer?  Ick.  I don't get it.

It should be noted that her original back-up band morphed into the dreaded Eagles.  

Why are the Eagles dreaded?  I'm sincerely curious.  Despite all the indie bands that I've loved over the last 25 years, I could never figure out why I'm supposed to hate the Eagles.  They have many songs that I love to this day, particularly those sung by Don Henley.  He has a fabulous voice, and I've always loved his drumming, particularly on the One of These Nights album. 

I can't say I've loved everything the Eagles have done, but I honestly don't see why they are so often put down.

Go on, tell me.  I can take it.  *laughs*

The song that has really jumped out at me is Calling Cards.  It jumped out at me on my third listen through the album, and now I've repeated it five times in a row.  Love the subtle trumpet bits, and the drumming.  That has to be Jacob Valenzuela and John Convertino on that track.

Trailer for the upcoming Big Star Story Nothing can hurt me:

 

Big Star Story Trailer

This film has finally been released.  I watched it twice in two days (cable TV On Demand).  Has anyone else seen it?

Thoughts:

I loved it, although I'm not exactly sure why.  *laughs*  It is very much a documentary without a lot of source material for its subject.  It is mostly interviews with people "around" the band, and musicians who are fans.  There is very little film of the band. Mostly still photos, etc, but it is very creatively done.  I did not learn much that I did not already know.  However, the enthusiasm of those who were interviewed, from musicians (e.g. Chris Stamey, Mitch Easter), and also rock journalists who talk about how hearing the music was "life-changing",  echoed my own feelings about Big Star.  Interviews with Chris Bell's brother and sister were especially poignant.  

I would hate to see remphish leave.

I also do not think the posts he(?) is offended by warrant such an extreme reaction (i.e. leaving the forum).  

Remphish, most of those posts were just questioning you, not dissing you!  (spoken by someone who has literally thrown up from what people have posted about what she said...and I'm still posting on the internet!    )

Great shows I remember at Maxwells:

Multiple Feelies shows a million years ago...

Alex Chilton, several times.... sigh.... RIP beloved Alex...

NRBQ, several times....

Nick Lowe....

Most recently, the great Joseph Arthur....

I even remember the very first time I went to Maxwells...it wasn't even for a show, but I ran into members of REM there.  

Those were the days...

Husker Du..  the only show I ever *left* at Maxwells because it was too loud!  LOL

...discovering Yo La Tengo as everyone's opening act.

Many other very personal memories...I practically lived at that place every weekend for several years in the late 80's...

Maxwells, you will be missed more than you will ever know....

Yes, I just saw that.  I nearly cried.  There will never be any place like Maxwells. I think the first show I saw there was in 1985.  (Holy cow, nearly 30 years ago!)

It seems like all good music in the NY/NJ area has moved to Brooklyn...and that is just too far and too much hassle of a trek for me to make.  Ah well...I'll always have memories of Maxwells.  

Nice...how did Peter Sound singing live? I couldn't make this show but was excited to hear a review!

To be honest, Peter's set wasn't really my cup of tea.  He was having a grand old time, but it was a bit too loud and garagy for me.  I couldn't really hear his singing voice that well, whether this was due to a poor sound mix or me being too close to the guitar amps and that drowning him out.  But what I did hear sounded more like a gutteral growl than a singing voice.  

Robyn Hitchcock's set though - wow, I was blown away.  One of the best shows i've seen in a long long time.  Peter was born to play guitar on Airscape!  My head completely exploded during that one.

I saw a 2/3 of R.E.M. mini-reuinion last night.  Peter Buck and his band were opening for Robyn Hitchcock in NYC, and Mike Mills came out and they all played Near Wild Heaven.  It was wonderful!   

1)  My birthday is also in January.  

2)  The days are getting longer now!

 Indifferent to Bruce (lost my connection to his songs years ago) 

I have lived in NJ my entire life, and I have always been indifferent to Bruce.

However, since every establishment I have ever patronized at the Jersey shore (in various shore towns) has been completely obliterated by Hurricane Sandy, I found myself enjoying Bruce's performance last night more than I ever have, and more than I ever expected I would.  His "Jersey Shore" shtick, which I have always sort of poo-pooed, seemed incredibly poignant to me last night.  Truly, you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

Who broadcast this thing?

They said early on it was going out over 37 (?) different networks.  I channel surfed a bit and found it was on at least 5 different networks that I get.  I know it was on Ion, WE, NJTV (PBS), and AMC.  I'm pretty sure I caught it on one of the major networks (ABC?) at least for a short time. 

I watched the first couple of hours of this and really enjoyed it.  But the one thought that kept coming to mind as the show progressed was these were, for the most part, old men.  Will anyone be able to stage a big show like this in, say, 10 years, when I would guess most of these guys will have been forced to retire due to just not being able to do this any more?  Who would play?

As I said, I really enjoyed it, but the average age of the participants was striking to me.

I'm just jumping into this conversation, but from what I understand, Romney's assertion that 200-250K is middle income stands at a household level, not individual.

And even that is absurd. I can think of one household in my friends/family circle that hits this mark. Everyone else does not (including me), and I live in a very high cost of living area. Frankly, most of my friends are one-adult households. Some are still trying to support children, some are not. As for my family, most are two-income households, but none come near this level...maybe half, at best.

to think even 100K for two individuals shows a lack of awareness that is striking, but it's important to note.

Exactly.

Yo La Tengo, 1984/1985 at Maxwells in Hoboken NJ...opening for everyone!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that 28 years (!!!) later, I'd be reading a book about them.

Also, Emily Wells opening for Joseph Arthur at City Winery in NYC a couple of years ago. I have not been able to see her since, but she certainly caught my ear!

Nope, I am done. I just spoke to my striking wife. The two issues are recall for laid off teachers and evalluations and there is a possibility it may end soon.

Louie,

Tell your wife I totally stand behind these two issues from over here in NJ, where we are not legally allowed to strike. (so we suffer, mostly in silence)

I am a teacher, but not in Chicago.

What do I think? I think that salary is the least of the problems here. Teachers are now expected to be miracle workers, and to be accountable for things they have no control over. I have been teaching for 10 years. I am hardworking, dedicated, and love my students. But can I be all things to all kids, and still have any semblance of a life? No. I do not expect to be teaching after another year or two. It wouldn't matter if they doubled my salary. I can't make every kid successful, without some sort of accountability on the part of the kids....and there is none.

So I am going to vote, and for the first time in my adult life I am contributing to a campaign in both money and volunteer hours. I am doing something, more than just complaining away on the internet.

Been there, tried to do that. I once donated a substantial amount of money to a candidate I really believed in. Then I tried to volunteer my time (back when I had time to volunteer). The candidate's organization didn't want my time, they wanted more money. (Which I did not have.) So no volunteer hours for me because they didn't want me. However, I received beautiful engraved invitations to $5000/plate dinners for years. (Not that I could afford that kind of money, ever!) That sort of soured me on the whole "contribute and volunteer" thing.

I do wish you better luck than I had.

Is Obama really that evil?

 

LouieB

Maybe evil is too strong a word. But he hasn't lived up to expectations (although perhaps no one could have) and he is certainly hurting my profession.

I already said I was going to vote for him again...what more do you want?

There is no better candidate who can beat Romney......do you want Romney?

No! Like I said, I am planning to vote for Obama, but at this point, it's not because I truly believe in him (as I did 4 years ago), now he's simply the lesser of two evils.

So the current meme of the GOP going into the DNC is, "Are you better off than 4 years ago?" And so truthfully ask yourself that question.

I am better off than I was 4 years ago.

And then ask yourself this question, are you better off than you where 12 years ago?

I am definitely worse off than I was 12 years ago.

I don't know what the answer is. I enthusiastically voted for Obama in 2008. I am thinking I will vote for him again in 2012, but only because he "isn't Romney."

I even went so far as to google "alternative party candidates 2012", and don't find anyone better than Obama. If I'm missing something, please let me know.