Muse of Fire

Yan Lianke (trans. Cindy Carter), _Dream of Ding Village_

2011-07-20T09:35:00.001-10:00

Yan Lianke's harrowing, often macabre novel, based on a true incident, is a searing indictment of personal and governmental corruption and materialism. Attempting to alleviate poverty, the villagers of Ding Village, in rural Henan Province, China, begin selling their blood plasma, creating a rampant HIV epidemic. A tragic chain of events ensues, dissolving the bonds of family and community life.

For those interested in finding out more about the events that inspired Dream of Ding Village, Caijing Magazine provides a synopsis of the Chinese plasmapheresis industry.

Ekphractic Visual Response Poem

2011-01-05T14:52:00.002-10:00

My colleague Joe seeded the idea for this ekphractic poem assignment, which I modified for my freshman classes.

ek·phra·sis

noun \ˈek-frə-səs\

plural ek·phra·ses also ec·phra·ses \-ˌsēz\

Origin of EKPHRASIS

Greek ekphrasis, literally, description, from ekphrazein to recount, describe, from ex- out + phrazein to point out, explain

First Known Use: 1715

Definition of EKPHRASIS: a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art

Definition courtesy of http://www.merriam-webster.com/browse/dictionary/ekphrasis

EKPHRACTIC POETRY ASSIGNMENT: Visual Response Poem.

· Include a copy of your image, the title and artist if known, along w/ your poem itself.

- Write about the scene depicted in the artwork (5Ws).

- Relate the artwork to something else it reminds you of (similes, metaphors, memories, history, other works of art).

- Write about the experience of looking at the artwork (physical, emotional, psychological, etc).

- Describe how the things in the artwork are organized or presented: its colors, textures, lines, perspective, angle, dimension, etc.

- Speculate about why the artist created this work (occasion, inspiration).

- Imagine a story behind what you see presented in the work of art.

- What happened just before? What will happen?

- Speak to the artist or the subject(s) of the painting.

- Write in the voice of the artist.

- Write in the voice of a person or object depicted in the artwork.

- What is happening in the wider world beyond the frame?

- What more can you "see"?

- What music can you "hear"?

Tried out the assignment myself. Here's my experimental poem:

Tanzaku

Ohara Koson, Japanese, 1878–1945

Image: 40.5 x 16.7 cm (15 15/16 x 6 9/16 in.)

Tanzaku; ink and light color on silk

On the blackened branches of an ancient plum

Simians hang suspended, precariously perched,

The cautious one atop welds life to limb,

Embracing its mate, pressing belly to branch,

Whose tail's clutched by the solemn third, posting a lookout:

Impassive, vigilant, and watchful.

Below, a living chandelier:

The flanks: a pointer, dizzy with vertigo,

The other, cowering behind, peeking and fearful,

While the muscular third grabs the haunch of another,

Inverted and weightless,

Whose long arms reach down,

Hands rooted in a braided lover's knot,

With the courageous soul

Dangling in the void,

One-handed and reckless,

Admiring the view.

Benjamin Cayetano: _Ben: A Memoir, from Street Kid to Governor_

2010-09-24T13:53:00.001-10:00

Benjamin Cayetano's autobiography provides a surprisingly engaging, personal, and compelling read from an intensely private, seemingly aloof public figure. Born into a broken home in working-class Kalihi, Cayetano documents the evolution of his intellect and social conscience amidst struggle and hardship. While the bittersweet, poignant reflections on childhood and family will speak to a broad audience, political junkies will delight in the latter sections that offer insider perspective on Hawaii politics and the dirty dealings and scandals that're the underbelly of government.

M.T. Anderson, _The Feed_

2010-09-22T13:48:00.002-10:00

In M.T. Anderson's dystopic young adult novel, everyone has a feed, a digital implant that streams media 24/7 to users, rendering critical thinking and articulateness obsolete. Titus, the novel's protagonist, has spent his entire life dependent on the feed, but when he and his friends take a lunar trip for spring break, he meets a subversive, Violet, who makes him question the status quo for the first time. Wickedly satirical, Anderson extrapolates on current 21st century realities, including environmental degradation, digital dumbing-down, targeted marketing, and materialistic, self-indulgent teen lemmings who mindlessly adopt the latest fashion trends, no matter how fatuous (hey, check out my cool lesions!). He does a particularly masterful job skewering linguistic deterioration: adolescents utilize a superficial, minimalist, neo-California style sociolect, chock full of fillers, profanity, and hedges, and devoid of any lexical richness or edge, e.g. "Unit! She's meg-youch!", while government officials spout political doublespeak to obfuscate cruel truths and conceal lies. Naturally, the novel's lone radical stubbornly resists the societal language trend, protesting the debasing of English by speaking "entirely in weird words and irony, so no one can simplify anything he says" (137). Provocative and relentless.

Bryce Courtenay, _The Power of One_

2010-09-22T11:25:00.002-10:00

Buster, one of my freshman English Award winners and an astute, avid reader, gifted me with this novel, his "favorite book", before school let out for summer. Indeed, a terrific, affirming page-turner on every account. Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One is a classic bildungsroman, chronicling the life of Peekay (short for "Pisskopf", the derogatory moniker conferred by school bullies), a precocious white English intellectual growing up in Boer-dominated, apartheid South Africa. A classic "underdog defies odds" novel, the story celebrates Peekay's resistance against the forces that break the human spirit and his efforts to forge his identity as a pugilist, free-thinking intellectual, and activist for social justice.

Greg Mortensen, _Three Cups of Tea_ and _Stones Into Schools_

2010-05-17T12:56:00.001-10:00

In these two non-fiction accounts, Greg Mortensen, head of the Central Asia Institute, documents how a failed mountaineering expedition serendipitously led to his life-changing grassroots mission to educate the impoverished girls of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in doing so, promoting peace and stability in the region. Although the pace of both books occasionally bogs down in blow-by-blow details and you'll undoubtedly find yourself reaching for a map to track the peripatetic wanderings of Mortensen and his energetic staff, the narratives are full of wonderful cross-cultural moments, at turns poignant, dramatic, and humorous. Most importantly, Mortensen's work kindles the hope that idealistic individuals can indeed change the world for the better and go where governments and armies fail to tread, one relationship at a time.

Neal Shusterman, _Unwind_

2010-05-17T12:25:00.005-10:00

The setting: the United States, in a future not so distant from now. After the violent Second Civil War, pro-life and pro-choice sides have reached a compromise. From 0-13, life is sacred. From 13-18, however, parents may retroactively abort or "unwind" undesirable minors. And why not transform societal dross into the good and useful, especially because medical science can use 100% of their bodies for organ transplants? Connor is a rebellious teen whose parents have decided, once and for all, to erase his existence. Risa, a ward of the state and once promising piano prodigy, has fallen short in her musical studies, and due to budget cuts, has been slated for termination. And Lev's devoutly religious family has groomed their youngest son his entire life as a human sacrifice for God and the greater good. Together, the three fight for survival in Neal Shusterman's dark, Swiftian dystopia. A fast-paced, discussion-provoking read, sure to engage even reluctant readers.

Alice Hoffman, _Incantation_

2010-04-01T09:25:00.001-10:00

Alice Hoffman weaves an elegant, poetic tale of love, betrayal, and secret identity, set during the Spanish Inquisition. Sixteen year old Estrella deMadrigal believes the bond between herself and best friend, Catalina, can never be severed--that is, until she kisses Andres, Catalina's betrothed, and falls in love. Their covert romance ignites a series of harrowing events which unearth the shadowy history of Estrella's family. A novella--only 166 pages long--this is a captivating story, one well-suited for teens: simple and a quick read, yet alluring: rich in passion, emotional intensity, and authorial craft.

H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights

2010-03-18T13:20:00.001-10:00

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, by H.G. Bissinger, is a title often mentioned by students when lauding must-read books. Not being much of a football fan--horrors! that's a heretical confession for a teacher at a college-prep school famous for its academics, but also for its pin-up status in the pages of Sports Illustrated--I never did get around to reading it. But, I finally did, and thus far, my students, as usual, are batting a thousand when it comes to good recommendations.

Mixed sports metaphors aside, Bissinger offers up a reflective, documentary journalism-style examination of one fateful season in the history of the Permian Panthers, a small-town Texan high-school football team. Bissinger lovingly documents the obsessiveness surrounding the sport and highlights the dramas on the athletic field and in the locker room. Yet Friday Night Lights is so much more than a non-fiction book about football and the adolescents who play it; rather, Bissinger reveals the integral role that the sport plays in the life of Odessa, Texas, and how it is inextricably interwoven with the town's socioeconomics, race relations, and educational context.

Libba Bray, _Going Bovine_

2010-03-08T13:05:00.003-10:00

What do you get when you cross Cervantes with The Catcher in the Rye, and toss in the deadly Creutzfeldt-Jakob pathogen, a pink-haired angel in combat boots, a talking yard gnome, physics, a time-traveling Inuit rock band, and kitschy snow globes? In her latest novel, Going Bovine, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature, Libba Bray delivers a hallucinogenic mix of social satire peppered with allusions from literature, mythology, and pop culture. This dark, brilliantly crafted page-turner is, by turns, laugh-out-loud hysterical, sublimely surreal, and poignantly philosophic.

The basic premise:
When alienated 16 year old slacker, Cameron Smith, is diagnosed with mad-cow disease, he and his "Sancho Panza", a hypochondriac, video-gaming dwarf, Gonzo, embark on a wild road trip to find a cure, with stops in Mardi Gras New Orleans, the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack-n-Bowl, the Ya! Party House in Daytona, and Disney World. Yet their long, strange journey is a metaphoric one, as well: one of self-examination, discovery, and love.

Don't hurt your happiness. Borrow this addictive book now.

Sue Monk Kidd, _The Secret Life of Bees_

2010-03-05T13:07:00.002-10:00

Several students of mine recommended Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, to me over the past few years, and as usual, I am glad I took them up on it, for it is truly a taste of honey: a compelling, lovely narrative which marries gorgeous, lyrical language, authorial crafting, symbolism, and substance. In fact, I liked this novel so well that I successfully convinced the Hogwarts English I subdepartment to adopt it as one of our required novels.

Without revealing any spoilers, here's the premise. It is the summer of 1964, South Carolina. Resilient 14 year old loner, Lily Melissa Owens, lives with her abusive father, T. Ray; she is haunted by a traumatic childhood incident which has left her motherless. Shortly after the Civil Rights Act is passed, Lily's nanny, Rosaleen, goes to town to register to vote, taking Lily with her. When Rosaleen spits snuff juice on the shoes of a notorious town racist, however, it sets in motion a dramatic chain of events, which get both in trouble with the law. The two fugitives seek refuge in Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily hopes to unlock her dead mother's mysterious past. A trio of African-American women take Lily and Rosaleen in, and as the novel unfolds, Lily confronts civil rights issues, discovers love, and comes to terms with her troubled past.

John Ratey, _Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain_

2010-01-12T11:05:00.007-10:00

As a student at Hogwarts Academy, I used to kvetch about mandatory K-12 PE and the way that undesirable sports activities inevitably eroded my hard-earned GPA. A klutz in comparison to my Varsity-letter decorated classmates, I was the girl who lobbed tennis balls over the court walls, not because I was deliberately evading P.E.--that would've entailed way too much hand-eye coordination on my part--but because of simple misfires. Yet, I grudgingly admit that over the years, I began loving physical exertion, especially when I was allowed to elect my own exercise regimen, whether it was cartwheeling across a balance beam, striking the "Warrior Dancer" asana in yoga, or mastering Shotokan karate kata. At Hogwarts, I also discovered early that I had a talent for long-distance running and relished the easy fluid meditation of running through the streets of Manoa and Makiki and St. Louis Heights in the early morning hours. Ironically, I, the high school klutz, discovered my inner athlete in college and graduate school. My earlier struggles with coordination, as if by magic, ceased, and I found that that a steady daily diet of running, swimming, dance, and yoga provided a welcome respite from daily stress and academic pressures; if anything, I felt more grounded and sharper, simply by making time to exercise. Turns out that my alma mater's staunch conviction, echoing the Greek classical principle of "sound mind, sound body," was absolutely founded in truth: research that's borne out by John Ratey's excellent book.

Ratey's Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, is the most fascinating and inspiring text I've perused in a long spell: a must-read for educators and anyone who's interested in optimizing their holistic health and cognitive resources, decreasing stress, and staving off mental, as well as overall physical degeneration (that's everyone, right?). An associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Ratey examines the myriad benefits that exercise has on cognition, summarized here. Exercise

1. Strengthens the cardiovascular system, creating less strain on the body's and brain's blood vessels. It helps neurogenesis, as well as counteracts vascular damage.
2. Regulates fuel. Insulin levels drop with aging, creating waste products in cells that damage blood vessels, which then increase stroke risk. Exercise helps the body's efficiency.
3. Reduces obesity.
4. Elevates stress threshold: while some cortisol, a neurotransmitter released during stress, is good, chronic overload is deleterious and triggers cell death.
5. Lifts mood. Neurotransmitters, neurotrophins, and connectivity shore up the hippocampus against atrophy associated with depression and anxiety. Elevated mood also reduces one's chances of developing dementia.
6. Boosts immune system by rallying immune systems antibodies and T cells. Lack of activity poses the greatest risk factor for cancer.
7. Fortifies bones, reducing osteoporosis risk.
8. Boosts motivation by counteracting the natural decline of dopamine.
9. Fosters neuroplasticity. Building a strong brain guards agains neurodegenerative disease. Moving the body also elevates the supply of neurotrophic factors necessary for neuroplasticity and neurogenesis, as well. Furthermore, aerobic exercise further strengthens connections between brain cells, creating more synapses, causing stem cell division, and forming more functional neurons in the hippocampus.
10. If combined with cognitive challenge, helps to build neural networks. In moderation, the stress created by aerobic physical exertion, followed by mental/intellectual stimulation, is beneficial. Hence, one could reasonably expect students' classroom performance and mental acuity to increase, if P.E. was a regular part of their daily school curriculum; it'd be particularly optimal if P.E. was scheduled first thing in the morning.

I strongly recommend Ratey's book. Provocative, it may well transform the way you teach, view exercise and overall health, and change your--and others'--lives.

Taylor Clark, _Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture_

2009-12-15T15:41:00.005-10:00

Long ago, in a verdant valley not so far away, dwelt a small coffeehouse located in a small suburban strip mall. Though its daily brew was admittedly acrid, Coffee Manoa nevertheless created a haven. Kathy, the owner/head barista, knew everyone by name, greeting customers with warm aloha, and the locale was perpetually blessed by double rainbows arcing above the tangle of aerial cables, the then-KC Drive Inn, and the slick, inky, oil-slicked concrete expanse of the Manoa Marketplace parking lot. There, eccentric poets, artists, professors, poor students, up-and-coming folk musicians, counter-culture holdovers, and caffeine junkies alike held court, recited Proust, debated philosophical issues, played endless games of chess, and lingered at the outdoor tables for hours, long after the last orts of scone had been fed to the ravenous doves and the espresso drained to the lees, without fear of expulsion from Eden. And then, one day, Starbucks moved in on the corner of East Manoa and Huapala, a site haunted by businesses past: Bank of America, and before that, Manoa Chop Suey. Coffee Manoa shuttered its windows, and the neighborhood was never quite the same after that...

Despite its decidedly mixed critical reviews, I found Taylor Clark's Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture an addictive, fun, and fast read. Clark chronicles the rise of legendary corporate giant Starbucks: how it built its expansive, international empire of clean, well-lighted coffeehouses and became those popular, yet simultaneously despised purveyors of tasteful music, pandering to high-maintenance no-dairy, double-venti caramel frappucino drinkers. He also documents the social history of coffee and America's consumption of the glorious bean, as well as ponders the ethical quagmire surrounding the economics of coffee (if you buy Fair Trade, can you drink your morning brew, sans guilt?) Clark also offers some provocative tidbits: contrary to popular conspiracy notions that Starbucks single-handedly deals death-blows to small, mom-and-pop cafes like Coffee Manoa, the caffeine mogul's ubiquitous presence actually increases sales at competitor coffeehouses, something you might've already surmised, taking a gander at the brisk action happening at the Manoa branch of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, just a stone's throw from the aforementioned Starbucks. So grab a cuppa joe, and start reading.

Push Yourself Up

2009-11-12T14:46:00.006-10:00

For the past 2 years, every semester the English Department has published an in-house chapbook called Banter. Since I'm a notoriously undisciplined writer when left to my own devices, I've found that the social pressure to submit pieces to said publication provides nice incentive to write.

This fall, Paul, our department head, provided 9 different college essay prompts to choose from, and asked us to write an essay of not more than 450 words. For the record, this is 448. I've been tossing this piece around in my mind for a while and suspect this incarnation could still use additional tweaking. But here goes...

If you were to look back on your high school years, what advice would you give to someone beginning their high school career? (Simmons College, Essay Prompt 2009)

PUSH YOURSELF UP

At first, she lies prostrate, face down, unmoving. Then she writhes and strains, grimacing in pain, an accusing eye searing into us: stone-hearted sadists, Stasi, tormentors. Pitiful mews crescendo to banshee wails, but she pleads in vain. We are impassive. Her leaden skull lifts fractionally for a split-second, then crashes, face first, to the ground. Torture? No: tummy time.

During tummy time, parents place infants on their stomachs, preventing them from staying in one position. The daily exercise promotes neck and shoulder development, priming the muscles that enable children to roll, sit, and eventually crawl. Constant repositioning, pediatricians opine, promotes infant development, preventing skull-flattening and muscle atrophy. But what doctors don’t divulge is that for many babies, ours included, tummy time is a daily dose of unadulterated hell—initially.

Then, in month 2, we have a breakthrough. One day, we deposit our resentful spitfire onto her quilt for her requisite 15 minutes of tummy torture, chanting, “Go, little girl! You can do it!” But our choleric daughter will have none of it. Her toes claw viciously at the unyielding floor, while her face, a hostile, wrinkled, red walnut, sounds the alarm: “WAAAAHHHHHH--” Suddenly, screeching ceases: arrested, mid-shriek, by silence. Mystified, she looks down to find she’s attained naga-asana, propped on her elbows, chest raised, head erect as a flag. She glances at us, face blossoming with laughter as she savors her newfound equilibrium. In the days that follow, our baby continues to push herself up. And we find her exploring new frontiers, raising a hand off the mat, then shifting to the other, or gleefully rolling, a miniature firkin, barreling from belly to back to belly again.

In yoga, it is said that the faithful practice of naga-asana, the cobra pose, awakens kundalini: a creative, spiritual energy, coiled at the base of the spine, that expands consciousness. In life too, we open new vistas and strengthen ourselves through motion--through struggle, not stasis. Yet we too often gravitate to security, retreating to the comfort of what is easy or familiar, even when it’s detrimental. Sometimes, when we seem to be making no headway, despite our best efforts, we’re tempted to quit or seek refuge in what we do well, imprisoning ourselves by distrusting our power within. Progress and personal growth, however, are never automatic, nor do they spring from luck or talent. Rather, they demand commitment and sustained effort through tribulation. So, when things are tough and obstacles insurmountable, dare. Persevere. Have faith. You’ll never know what you can truly accomplish until you test your boundaries. Brave those challenges, step by step, moment by moment, trial by trial. You were meant to do this. Push yourself up.

Stuart Brown, _Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul_

2009-10-15T12:39:00.006-10:00

(Caveat: a literary rant follows! But if you were contemplating reading this title, I'll give you the short executive summary, to spare you precious reading time.)

Alas, that this book in no way lives up to the promise of its title! I was hoping for some juicy neurological research examining the importance of play, in order to glean some teaching ideas, but no, no, no. Brown, a medical doctor, psychiatrist, clinical researcher, and founder of the National Institute for Play, treads the road oft taken. No scientific knowledge is needed to understand that humans, like animals, learn by playing, acquiring the skills for survival, successful social interaction, and conflict management, and that we gain resilience as a result. It also is a no-brainer that we are happier and more engaged, to paraphrase Robert Frost, when our avocation and vocation are united. What gives us pleasure and inspires passion ought to be merged with our work.

So, these are the three key points for teaching:
1. Novelty activates the brain.
2. Make things fun.
3. Risk, generally, is an important and positive element learned by playing--though Brown undercuts his own argument by noting that naturally, we want to strike a happy balance between allowing people to risk, and potentially fail, as long as the consequences don't severely compromise one's safety, and/or prove fatal. Duh.

Elizabeth Bunce, _A Curse Dark As Gold_

2009-10-08T10:56:00.006-10:00

Winner of the American Library Association's William C. Morris Debut Award, Elizabeth Bunce's A Curse Dark As Gold is a suspenseful retelling of the Rumplestiltskin fairy tale, set in the late 1700s at the dawning of the Industrial Revolution. The story opens with a funeral: plucky and headstrong Charlotte Miller, along with her younger sister Rosellen, have been orphaned. The two daughters are the lone survivors of the Miller clan, the family that runs "Stirwaters", the mill of Shearing Village. Their family enterprise is plagued by financial troubles, as well as an evil curse which has destroyed generations of male Miller heirs. In the face of calamity, however, Charlotte not only assumes the mantle of Stirwaters' miller but also the burden of breaking the black magic, once and for all. A heady brew of fantasy, historical fiction, romance, intrigue, and superstition, this novel delights.

Gene Luen Yang, _American Born Chinese_

2009-07-02T16:05:00.007-10:00

Although I'm not normally a big fan of graphic novels, I was enthralled with Gene Yang's amazing graphic novel, American Born Chinese, which I recently borrowed from my local library. The book, a finalist for the National Book Award-Young People's Literature category, and winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, encompasses three different narrative threads, all deftly woven together at the novel's conclusion: the story of the likeable Jin Wang, a Taiwanese immigrant struggling with issues of cultural identity, teenage angst, and girl problems; a mythic strand about the fabled Monkey King of Chinese legend, who, fueled by desire to earn the reverence due to a deity, seeks transcendence from his simian roots; and a surreal third strand about an all-American boy, Danny, who is haunted by a visiting relative, Cousin Chin-Kee, an Asian-stereotype incarnate. Suitable for young adults, this novel has style, substance, and heart, as well as an uplifting message about self-acceptance.

Cormac McCarthy, _The Road_

2009-02-23T09:59:00.001-10:00

Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winnning novel details the harrowing adventures of a son and his father, two survivors in a post-apocalyptic world, making their way to the coast. I'm not normally a fan of McCarthy, but the novel's spare, muscular prose, as well as the poignancy and suspensefulness of the situation, kept me turning pages. A difficult read--I felt emotionally drained upon the book's completion, as there are no fairy-tale endings for this family of two. Still, I'm praying that there's a glimmer of hope for the boy--that his resilience, fueled by the enduring love of his father, will be the sustaining fire that abides in him, despite the charred destruction without.

The Unbearable Lightness of Connection: Face to Face with Facebook

2008-11-14T15:16:00.008-10:00

In an effort to remind us that we are writers, as well as readers and teachers, my department head, Paul, asked English Department members to write something, no more than a page in length, that speaks to our role as teachers. Plagued for weeks by the paralysis of integrity--please God, let me write something halfway decent!--I finally came up with the essay below, slightly edited for public consumption. Reading over it, I'm reminded that I've never been particularly good at just answering the question directly.

A few weeks back, I joined Facebook, the ubiquitous social networking site, as an experiment. “So what’s the big deal?” I wondered. Why do students--and full-grown adults--spend hours tricking out spaces and festooning the Ether with their glamorous profiles? Why fritter away time “poking” people, playing Twirl, or taking quizzes to discover what kind of Asian you are or whether you’re smarter than Paris Hilton (and what does it say about you if you need to take a quiz to find out)? Why send virtual snowmen, ZipPacs, morel mushrooms, or good karma to 1,001 buddies? Why broadcast banal, quotidian details to the world? And with just a few extra mouse clicks, how ‘bout saving endangered animals, the rainforest, or greening your vino while you’re at it? Logging on, I am blizzarded by people’s photographic flurries of selves, kids, and significant others, baby announcements, romantic fallout, spontaneous declarations, sexual orientations, political affiliations, and house renovations. Thanks to Facebook, I know that Sheryl enjoys “So You Think You Can Dance” and Truffaut; that Candace kissed Barack Obama; that Liz is “astounded by this modern world of friendship; will she be able to get back to work?” (Liz: ain’t gonna happen, ‘cause Anita’s your guide into the abyss!), and that some Hogwarts ‘88ers still toast with “Oh, L’Amour” champagne flutes (as opposed to my own prom memorabilia, which’d been unceremoniously crated and deep-sixed at the Tank, après-graduation). Then there’s Wild West photo tagging--wasn’t there a “Do Not Resuscitate” sign on my bespectacled, gangly seventh grade self? Not to mention that rather torrid discussion on the ’88 class page about the “hotest” (ay, ay, ay: so much for a quality Hogwarts English education!) Hogwarts faculty member. Who could forget Mrs. Rouser, my freshman Algebra teacher and Fiero-speedster: she of the high-teased hair, black leather miniskirt, and electric blue mascara--gotta love the 80s!--and the day she staggered on her hot-pink, 4-inch stilettos while chalking variable equations and plummeted onto the tiled Bingham floor, like an ungainly exotic bird? Indeed, we are slaves to fashion, nostalgia, and our evolving public identities.

Early on in my experiment, my cousin Ralph commented, “If you haven't already gotten the intricacies of Facebook, you'll soon find you can learn a lot by not doing much at all.” He certainly got that right. And as my illustrious colleague, Jack, confided, there’s a certain voyeuristic pleasure in uncovering what students are really up to. Web 2.0 espionage, here we come! For many, Facebook also provides a notorious haven from homework, a den of scurrilous gossip, and a refuge from responsibility, though there’s genuine pleasure in reestablishing contact with long-lost amici. In my Inbox: messages from a ballet sister I’ve not laid eyes on for 20 years, a classmate turned high-profile lawyer/occasional Cambridge coffeehouse chanteuse, and an activist friend who’s officiating same-sex marriages with his recently-minted divinity degree. Friends: souvenirs of a life.

But arguably, the true attraction of Facebook is that you can literally construct and reconstruct your ideal self: the face you show the world. The site allows you to write your identity; weigh your worth, gauging popularity by friends and virtual tchotchkes acquired; and shamelessly brag in a socially-legitimate way-- like a post-modern holiday letter--and get comments besides! And by posting playlists, photo albums, booklists, causes, links, and sundry artifacts of your persona, you establish a fossil record that asserts your being. Yes, I exist. Yes, I matter. Yes, my thoughts have significance.

On a superficial level, Facebook provides community and connectedness—instantaneously, I’m apprised of my colleagues’, friends’, and students’ comings and goings. And sure, it’s beautiful to find unexpected well-wishes scrawled on my Wall and see loved ones waving at me from distant shores, from Escazu to Stockholm, Maine to Manhattan. That virtual sushi’s not half-bad, either. But ironically, Facebook leaves me hungry for the genuine, the real, the substantial: Eliza’s lush bouquet of spicy homegrown basil; a leisurely lunch with good company and conversation; the coos of Ligaya’s baby; the taste of Everett’s freshly-baked pumpkin bread, still warm from the oven; Charla’s daughter squishing strawberry guavas with Ella on Wa`ahila Ridge Trail: a second generation of friends; Richard and Martine arguing the merits of utilitarianism; Shyrl considering the art of absence, en français, no less; Kai’s illuminating smile; and the resonant strains of Dvorak as Hunter bends over his cello. Truly, it is not through digital means, but by living and savoring the here and now, and yes, by teaching and learning, that we affirm our irreplaceable, measureless, unseverable bond.

Obama Surfs Into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

2008-11-05T13:02:00.007-10:00

In a historic election yesterday, Barack Obama clinched the United States Presidential race, becoming the first African-American, Punahou graduate, Hawaii-born, not to mention hapa-haole, bodysurfing, slippah-wearing, plate-lunch devouring president-elect. His inspiring victory speech shows that Obama, like his 19th century predecessor from Illinois, is an astute student of rhetoric and literature. Rich with anaphora, alliteration epistrophe, and antithesis, Obama's words echo Walt Whitman's patriotic optimism and contain allusions to the Great Emancipator's Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King Jr's 8/23/63 Lincoln Memorial Speech (a.k.a. I Have A Dream) and April 3, 1968 "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speeches. There's something reminiscent of Shakespeare's Henry V's "St. Crispian's Day Speech" in it, as well, and as always, Obama's omnipresent tropes of the "American Dream" and Winthrop's "City on a Hill".

Below is a video of the speech, courtesy MSNBC.com followed by the prepared text of Barack Obama's victory speech, delivered in Chicago, on November 4, 2008. It comes courtesy of National Public Radio.
URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96624326

NPR.org, November 5, 2008 ·

In these prepared remarks provided by his campaign, President-Elect Barack Obama calls himself the unlikeliest presidential candidate. He thanks many members of his campaign, along with his enormous army of volunteers, and he warns supporters about what he calls the enormity of the tasks at hand that now face the U.S. He concludes by telling an anecdote about a 106-year-old African-American voter from Atlanta.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled — Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of red states and blue states; we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Sen. McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Gov. Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice-president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager, David Plouffe; my chief strategist, David Axelrod; and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics — you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to — it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election, and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year, or even one term, but America — I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you: We as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years — block by block, brick by brick, callused hand by callused hand.

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek — it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation — as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House — a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends... Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection." And, to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world — our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons — because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America — the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves: If our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Barbara Kingsolver, _Animal, Vegetable, Miracle_

2008-08-21T11:26:00.005-10:00

This book documents a grand, year-long experiment: novelist/essayist Kingsolver and her family endeavor to become as self-sustaining as possible, raising their own food and eating locally. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, however, on a deeper level, is no mere Slow Food treatise, but about the family's search to forge greater connection to the earth and discover a true sense of place. Kingsolver's style is by turns, chatty, impassioned, and humorous, although a fellow English Department colleague and I both felt the book was arguably marred by self-righteousness. While Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes an excellent companion volume to Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, it lacks Omnivore's narrative cohesion, due to its joint authorship. Kingsolver's husband, scientist and professor, Steven Hopp, contributes factual sidebar information detailing key issues in the text, e.g. CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), the merits of organic vs. industrial farming, and genetic diversity, while Kingsolver's daughter, Camille, provides a collegiate perspective on the family experiment, along with several recipes. While the multiple authorship sometimes results in a disjointed meshing of styles, it doesn't diminish the many wonderful moments in this book, including the family vainly trying to stem their summer zucchini infestation (chocolate chip zucchini cookies, anyone?); the younger daughter, Lily, becoming a proud organic chicken/egg entrepreneur; mother and daughter witnessing the miracle of birth, as the first of their turkey flock enters the world. All in all, a good read, and a definite recommendation for Kingsolver's fans.

Emancipate those books!

2008-08-13T16:11:00.007-10:00

Recently, our washing machine's motherboard conked out, so M. and I have been visiting the Manoa Laundry, something we've not done for the past four years. While we were dismayed to find the laundromat sadly decrepit and a shadow of its former clean, well-lighted self, its rolling carts grimy and stripped of their laundry hangers and several of the washers and dryers broken, I chanced upon a serendipitous discovery: a cache of books, Post-its waving like banners from the covers. Emblazoned on them was the following message: "I'm free! I'm not lost. Please pick me up, read me, and help me with my journey."

Inside, I found a bookmark that directed me to the Book Crossing website. Apparently, the site has existed since April 2001. It's an old-fashioned idea--recycling books that one no longer wants--with a digital age, social-networking twist. The wonderfully sustainable premise of Book Crossing: to spread and share literary "wealth" by releasing books for free into the wild. Book emancipators register books on the website, and each book receives a unique Book Crossing ID number. Once you find a book, you have the option of contributing to an on-line journal that tracks the journey of that book, and follow the progress of the text, post-release. Very cool.

To quote Sting, "Free, free, set them free..."

Michael Pollan, _The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals_

2008-08-13T16:08:00.001-10:00

After languishing three weeks on the Hawaii State Public Library request list, I finally obtained a copy of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals It was well worth the wait, as this is an excellent read: easily the most provocative, well-written book I've read in a long spell: informative, investigative journalism, written with panache and wit. The four meals referenced in the title represent four different pathways by which food reaches our tables: industrial-conventional, industrial organic, small-scale farming, and the old-fashioned hunter-gatherer foraging method. I savored every page, from Pollan's wry detailing of his family's McDonalds meal, consumed in typical American-millenial style--in the car, to his experience decapitating chickens, to his stalking of chanterelle mushrooms in the urban environs of Berkeley. Pollan helps us traverse the complex minefield of modern food by asking thoughtful, critical questions about what we choose to consume and the costs of those choices.

Those desiring to read even more of Michael Pollan's work can find a wonderful cache of on-line essays at http://www.michaelpollan.com/.

Sarah McFarland Taylor, _Green Sisters_

2008-06-05T14:33:00.004-10:00

Taylor, an assistant professor of religion at Northwestern University, writes an ethnography detailing the intersection of American Catholicism, eco-consciousness, and environmental activism.

Diana Abu-Jaber's _Crescent_

2008-06-03T13:12:00.005-10:00

Initially, I confess that after the first few chapters, I was ready to write Diana Abu-Jaber's 2003 novel, Crescent, off as pleasant, albeit gossamer-light, frothy "chick lit": a formulaic plotline, where an attractive, talented, but jaded and lovelorn chef finds amour at first sight with a dark, handsome, literary guy with a mysterious past, and they live happily ever after.

However, I'm happy to report that as it progressed, the novel grew on me and revealed a lot more complexity than was apparent at first inspection. A text rich with allusions, the title Crescent captures the three intersecting worlds of the book: the romantic, the political, and the culinary.

A crescent moon, literally, is a lunar phase: a new moon that is waxing. As a metaphor, it represents a fresh start in life, perhaps even a budding romance, as in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, where the Amazon queen Hippolyta affirms to her beloved, Theseus, that "the moon, like to a silver bow/New-bent in heaven, shall behold/The night of our solemnities." In Shakespeare, the moon bears witness to Hippolyta's and Theseus' wedding and heralds their deepening affection for each other. In this novel, Sirine, the 39-year-old protagonist, hovers on the cusp of middle age. Single and unattached, sought after by many of her cafe customers, yet curiously aloof, she finds love unexpectedly with Hanif Al Eyad,or "Han", Iraqi intellectual and newly-hired linguistics professor in the Near Eastern Studies department at UCLA.

The crescent also has political and religious implications. In conjunction with a star, it is a symbol associated with Islam and Arab countries, and discovering one's Arab identity is a recurring thread throughout the novel. Hanif also bears a crescent-shaped scar by his eye, a remnant of political persecution under the reign of Saddam Hussein. However, before its connection with Islam, the crescent moon was a symbol of Diana/Artemis, the goddess of chastity, and thus it also could connect to Sirine's solitude.

Finally, the crescent moon also has culinary connections, as it shares its shape with gh'rayba, shortbread cookies infused with orange-flower water. Apparently, Abu-Jaber also is a food writer; no surprise then, that the spicing and textures of food are sensuously and lavishly rendered. Food serves as a metaphor for Arab identity and culture, yet as with Proust, it also serves as a trigger for memory. Readers will undoubtedly also find linkages with the film Chocolat , with its pretty confectioner who infuses love into her candies, and Laura Esquivel's magical-realist Como Agua Para Chocolate , where food absorbs the emotions of its makers. In fact, not only does Crescent's format echo Esquivel's novel: both are narratives followed by a cookbook chaser, but Abu-Jaber also gives a sly nod to Esquivel, as Sirine receives an unnamed book as a bridesmaid's present, "about a woman who cried into her cooking and infected her guests with her emotions".

While reading, I also noted several similarities between
Crescent and Shakespeare's Othello . Both works explore themes of exile and straddling cultures, and without disclosing too many "spoilers" for the novel, Crescent, like Othello, also has jealousy, betrayal, a misplaced love token, and has a character, Nathan, who obsessively records every small detail of Hanif and Sirine's relationship, echoing the way that Iago enviously marks the love between Othello and Desdemona.

In regard the book's architectural structure, Abu-Jaber interweaves two narratives, one real, the other fantastical. The fantastical strand, reminiscent of the tales in Scherherazade and the 1001 Nights, features Abdelrahman Salahadin, an ancestor of Sirine's paternal uncle, a Near Eastern scholar, translator, and storyteller. The magical-realist episodes, which begin every chapter of Crescent, chart the adventures of the nomadic, wayward Salahadin, as he travels the world and eventually lands in Hollywood, assuming a new identity as Omar Sharif (yes, I'm serious; you'll have to read to find out how...) While the Salahadin stories seem a bit disconnected at first from the romantic narrative of Hanif and Sirine--there's arguable abruptness created in the narrative, due to the lack of transition between the fantastical and the real--astute readers will discover that the two strands not only parallel each other, but also echo Homer's The Odyssey . No accident that Sirine's uncle describes Hanif as "a hero. Like Ulysses" (18)? Sirine's name, too, sounds like the fabled "Sirens", the women that almost fatally lured Ulysses to his death; yet in this case, the parallel is purely a playful one on Abu-Jaber's part.

So, in sum: Crescent provides excellent summer reading: perfect beach fare with its sensuous lyricism and romance, yet just enough political and literary substance to assuage any guilty pangs.

Reflecting on Technology, Learning, and Education

2008-05-15T12:35:00.004-10:00

Yesterday, our English Department had a student guest presenter, a Hogwarts junior, who talked about her experience using various technology tools--blogs, Twitter, podcasting, videoSkyping--and how technology has transformed her learning.

While there were arguably rough moments in terms of her presentation, I admired the student's desire to share her experiences with us (a gutsy move!) and felt her genuine enthusiasm and passion for her projects. In addition, she underscored several important points re: the intersection of writing, learning, and technology, and to her credit, did so more articulately than a few paid adult educational technology consultants I've seen. The salient threads:

1. Writing becomes more meaningful when it is purpose-driven and
generated from one's passions: if teachers can discover and foster
those passions in their students, the caliber of work will increase.

2. It is vital for humans to build a sense of community and converse
with kindred spirits; technology helps to transcend the borders of
geographic distance and time and broadens one's audience.

3. Sometimes the best education comes from our self-directed projects;
it's important for us to find personal meaning, outside of extrinsic
motivators (the A, the accolades, etc) in what we do.

4. While we should uphold standards for student work, our teaching--and
our own learning/professional growth--is enhanced when we provide
flexibility and creativity in how students demonstrate their learning
and meet those standards. There's more than one way to exhibit
excellence. While technology opens rich possibilities for both
research and expression, strong foundational skills in reading,
writing, and speaking remain essential. In fact, they are crucial, now that communication venues and media have increased exponentially, making publishing instant and easily accessible.

As a speech teacher, I was also reminded of the continuing importance of
oral, versus. virtual, presentation and the discussion our department had when
we first considered the junior/senior Speech course some years back: that students
can be so amazingly articulate and cogent in print, yet oral persuasion--and sparring/fielding impromptu questions with intelligent adults!--presents a different set of challenges that often thwarts the best of us.

So here's to straddling both worlds, techie and oratorical, and to upholding the cause of joyful, real learning.

Wild About Worms

2008-05-07T12:15:00.004-10:00

In case you've been wondering why there's been such a paucity of posts on "Muse of Fire", it's because I've been shifting energies to "Earth Dragon", a blog documenting my Wodehouse Sustainability Grant from Hogwarts Academy. Check it out.

Baracking the Vote: The 2008 Hawaii Democratic Caucus

2008-02-20T15:57:00.000-10:00

On Tuesday, February 19, my toddler and I attended our first caucus. Although I've voted in every single election since I turned 18, bucking Hawaii's trend of low voter participation, I've never bothered attending a caucus. Perhaps it's because I shy away from pigeon-holing myself as a card-carrying anything, preferring the freedom of voting case-by case, rather than according to Party loyalty. However, my caucus apathy also stems from the fact that the presidential nominee already is a "done deal" before Hawaii even commits its delegates.

This year, Hawaii had a chance to shape political outcomes, as the Democratic presidential race between Barack Obama (Punahou '79) and Hillary Clinton (Wellesley '69) has been particularly competitive. The popular voice, for once, could sway the course of events, shifting much-needed delegates to either nominee: how could we pass up the opportunity to voice our opinion? As I told my toddler, "If you don't make your choices, someone else will make them for you."

And so we drove into Palolo Elementary School's driveway at the stroke of 6:30 p.m., when District 20's site opened up for registration. In our possession: a completed blue Democratic Party registration card. We arrived just in time to snag the last space in a schoolyard quadruple-parked with cars, end to end. The school swarmed with people, queuing for WikiWiki Voter Registration forms and blue Party cards. Squeezing our way through the teeming masses, we made our way to the registration table, where a volunteer received my registration card, checked my ID against a list of registered voters, and waved me to a table marked Precinct 1. For the second time that night, we slid into the last possible space.

Seconds later, the cafeteria became standing-room only. Energy electrified the room, cafeteria benches protesting the weight of adults squeezed side by side, excited conversation punctuated by panicked cries for more registration cards, forms, and voter sign-in sheets, and frantic queries to find one's precinct. In other words, absolute chaos.

About ten minutes after we'd sat down, our precinct official ushered the whole lot of us, three tables worth, into the schoolyard, as apparently the Party'd not anticipated the massive overflow of people, and needed to clear space at the front. No room at the inn! As we passed the monkey bars, the toddler queried, "Mama, why are they sending us to the playground? I thought we were going to the Democratic Caucus." Out of the mouths of babes!

Our official whisked us to the covered basketball court and informed us that we'd have to wait there until 7 p.m. "And we've run out of ballots", he said, "so you can just write the name of your preferred candidate on a sheet of paper, if you have one. I'll come back at 7, and then you can vote, and either leave or stick around for the Party meeting...Have you all signed in?" "Huh? What sign-in?", we collectively responded, and our Senator, Les Ihara, scuttled off in search of sign-in sheets...

So there we were, a motely, working-class mix: patrician, lavender-coiffed Japanese ladies in their eighties rubbing elbows with the Rasta dreadlock guy practicing skateboard tricks, 100th Battalion veterans, middle-aged men clad in well-worn zoris and their best shorts, and a posse of activists sporting Obama t-shirts. Students on laptops sprawled on the asphalt floor, while professionals checked email on their Blackberries, to the live slack-key strains of a guitarist playing "Island Style" in the corner. My toddler, the youngest one there, coolly absorbed the collective insanity. One man smiled at us, and tilted his chin in her direction: "Ey, anyone check this one's ID?" Everyone laughed. Then, in the absence of any organization, our neighborhood galvanized in fine grassroots style. "Anyone get peppah?" someone called out, and a lady riffled through her handbag, triumphantly brandishing a pad of paper pilfered from the Las Vegas Fremont Hotel: "Get! Ho, I was feeling so bad fo' taking this, but lucky, yeah? Comes in handy..." So we mingled, laughed, and conversed, ripping our papers to share with our neighbors, passing around pens, and generally had a great time. Neighbors took it upon themselves to make sure that everyone had signed in and that newcomers were apprised of the procedure. When our precinct official returned at 7 p.m., he was shocked to find us lined up and ready to cast our makeshift ballots into his ripped manila envelope. "Whoa! You guys are the best precinct ever!" he said, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

My toddler deposited my ballot in the envelope: a first exercise in democracy. Shades of elementary school elections!, I thought, pondering just how simple it'd be to rig the proceedings, slipping a few extra papers into the envelope. No need to sign one's ballot, not even an inked finger to prevent multiple voting, a la Third World elections-- just sheer integrity and trust metaphorically duct-taping the process together.

That was it. We beat our retreat out of Palolo Elementary at 7:03 p.m., inching our way through the driveway congested with prospective caucusers, onto double-parked 10th Avenue, and went home.

Aftermath:
A political whirlwind has preempted the toddler's usual school-teaching activities with her stuffed animals since the evening of February 19. She's held her own caucus, and Lianne, the teddy bear, is running for U.S. president: a female candidate and a true third party choice, giving McCain, Clinton, Obama, and the newly-entered but omnipresent dark horse candidate Ralph Nader (again?!) a run for their money. The tabby cat, Mr. Mao-Mao, would've run too, but I informed the toddler that he doesn't meet the age requirement, being only 2 years of age. So apparently, he's now working for the Obama campaign...

Chang-rae Lee visits!

2007-09-27T15:42:00.000-10:00

Noted novelist Chang-rae Lee, author of Native Speaker, A Gesture Life, and Aloft, visited two of my English I classes a few weeks ago. Students had read his essay "Coming Home Again" and we thought it'd be nice to get some authorial perspective on said work. Lee talked a little about the essay but branched into a conversation about writing,as my students were
writing autobiographical short stories based on a memorable moment from their lives.

Some of Lee's sage advice, taken from my penciled notes--I've tried to
capture the words as he said them, but much may be paraphrased. While the ideas expressed below are certainly not new--at least to teachers of writing--they nevertheless gold:

1. When you write, don't think about the themes, but the little things.
Think small and miniature. Start with something seemingly
insignificant, and use details to add weight. Describe someone in
little scenes, imagining someone else in your place.

2. Try writing about a situation that's more complicated at second
glance, rather than a perfectly happy moment. Look for something
troubling. In life, we're looking for happiness and harmony, but
rarely find it. That's the place of art and literature.

3. You don't have to pretend you're a writer. Draw a picture with
words: show me what to see.

4. If you forget the details of your story, put yourself back in that
time. Short of that, make it up, as long as the details feel true.

5. Write about what you care about.

6. Beginning writers write ideas, but don't create pictures. Read over
your work, sentence by sentence, and think: "Am I telling the reader
how to think or feel? If the answer's yes, something's wrong."

On a totally separate note, I'm currently reading Aloft: the blog review's forthcoming!

Enrique's Journey: A Millenial Odyssey

2007-09-13T13:50:00.000-10:00

The non-fiction book, Enrique's Journey, by Pulitzer Prize winner, Sonia Nazario, tells the riveting and often harrowing story of Enrique, a Honduran teenager, who risks his life in order to reunite with his mother, Lourdes, in the United States. This true story mirrors the experience of many illegal migrants, drawn to the United States by the prospect of the American Dream as well as the desire to reclaim the love of lost, idealized parents. Their odysseys north are marked by peril: rapists, the betrayals of "coyotes" and smugglers, drug trafficking, violent crime, bodily mutilation, and even death.

This story made me reflect on the heart-wrenching sacrifices and trade-offs that parents make in the name of the greater good, and the way that their economic choices--ensuring a higher standard of living for their children and relatives--also disintegrate family stability and further unravel the societal fabric of their home country. There's horrible irony in the fact that undocumented migrants, particularly women, represent a high percentage of American domestic help, serving as nannies to strangers' children, yet have abandoned their own sons and daughters. While Enrique's quest is successful, the ending's more bittersweet than fairy-tale. One senses that the long separation between mother and son has permanently fractured their relationship--perhaps irreparably so. In addition, although Enrique berates Lourdes for leaving him at such a young age, like his mother, he too leaves his young toddler to the foster care of relatives in Honduras, continuing the cycle of abandonment and orphaned children.

To find out more about the book, visit http://www.enriquesjourney.com/.

Barack Obama, _The Audacity of Hope_

2007-04-11T12:36:00.003-10:00

In his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Illinois senator and Constitutional law scholar Barack Obama shares his thoughts on values, the American Constitution, politics, opportunity, faith, race, the world beyond our borders, and family. With passion, clarity, and reason, he exhorts Americans to reject the bitter partisan politics that have fractured our nation and build a country that truly prizes and protects diversity of thought. Obama states,

"I think we make a mistake in assuming that democratic deliberation requires abandonment of our highest ideals, or of a commitment to the common good. After all, the Constitution ensures our free speech, not just so we can shout at one another as loud as we please, deaf to what others might have to say (although we have that right). It also offers us the possibility of a genuine marketplace of ideas, one in which "the jarring of parties" works on behalf of "deliberation and circumspection"; a marketplace in which, through debate and competition, we can expand our perspective, change our minds, and eventually arrive not merely at agreements but at sound and fair agreements." (94)

I appreciated Obama's refreshing idealism and recommend this book for all Americans interested in cultivating a politics of unity, where shared interests transcend what divides us.

Jacques Steinberg's _The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College_

2007-03-27T15:58:00.005-10:00

My friend, Dennis, a Wesleyan graduate, recommended this non-fiction book, published in 2002, to me. Steinberg, an education writer for The New York Times, tracks Ralph Figueroa, a Wesleyan University admissions officer, as he recruits college hopefuls. As a teacher who pens several college recommendations a year, many of which are addressed to the prestigious liberal-arts college under scrutiny in this book, I found this an absorbing and interesting read. While Steinberg doesn't offer any earth-shaking, surprising insights--suspect that college preparatory teachers are all too aware of the vagaries and quirky variables inherent in college admissions--I enjoyed the compelling case-study profiles of the applicants, representing diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities and think the book might provide instructive perspective for students and their parents as they go through the admissions process. Steinberg also does an excellent job in documenting the mullings and occasionally agonizing decisions made by Wesleyan's selection committee as they weigh the relative merits of test scores, recommendations, GPAs, and
co-curricular/extracurricular activities and construct the incoming freshman class of 2004. The bottom line? Admissions, though we'd desire to view it as logical and just, is a very human process.

Pachebel Rant

2007-03-14T15:18:00.001-10:00

My cousin Ada sent me this silly music clip, knowing my long-term distaste for Pachebel's Canon in D--a classical music piece that really ought to have a 100-year moratorium placed on it, given its repetitive, saccharine ubiquity in weddings, supermarket Muzak, and cell phone ring tones. But even if you dearly love the piece, this video's worth a listen.

Rob Paravonian, "Pachebel Rant"

Come Back to Afghanistan

2007-03-13T13:03:00.000-10:00

Come Back to Afghanistan: A California Teenager's Story, by Said Hyder Akbar and Susan Burton, is my recommended read for this month. Akbar, currently a senior at Yale and the child of Afghan immigrants, writes a thoughtful, compelling, humorous memoir of his time spent in post-Taliban Afghanistan. He has a particularly interesting vantage point, as his father was advisor to Afghan president, Harmid Karzai, and later became governor of Kunar, a volatile province. The political and the personal beautifully weave together in this riveting, highly readable tale of chaos and change.

For more on Said Hyder Akbar, please listen to the programs he recorded for National Public Radio's "This American Life". Links to both shows are listed to the right.

Dinner at the New Gene Cafe

2007-02-26T15:14:00.001-10:00

Just recently finished Dinner at the New Gene Cafe, an interesting non-fiction book about genetically-engineered crops, by Bill Lambrecht, a reporter for the St. Louis Dispatch. When I took horticulture in college, I remember how biotechnology was greeted with such reverence--how "golden rice", engineered to have more nutrients than standard white rice, could save the Third-World starving, how Bt-resistant crops could reduce pesticide use... And now, it's 2007, and even the The Honolulu Advertiser, which perpetually "breaks" stories years after they were hot-ticket news, just a few days ago featured two biotechnology stories that illustrate the schism that's arisen over biotechnology and genetic engineering. One story extolled the virtues of Bt-cotton and how it'd increased crop yields, due to the virtual elimination of the pink bollworm, a major pest. The other story reported Meadow Gold Dairy's announcement that it will not use products from cloned cows, even though the FDA has ruled that there seems to be no difference in the milk from cloned, versus regular bovines.

The pluses to biotechnology, as I see it--though they are fewer in number than the negatives, they are indeed major advantages.

1. Control over technology will allow humans to systematically and more quickly select the qualities we desire in our crops, e.g. lower fat, higher nutritive content, more attractive appearance, as opposed to use of conventional cross-breeding.
2. By engineering plants for resistance against pests, we create more favorable environmental conditions through reduction in pesticide use.
3. Greater production yield, which in the case of food crops, may translate into feeding more hungry people.

The negatives to biotechnology:
1. Internationally, the spectre of global takeover of local industries and businesses.
2. Loss of cultural practices and ways of life, e.g. the saving of seeds, vs. having to plant crops from seed every year, due to so-called "Terminator" functions encoded in the plants that render the seeds from these crops infertile, in order to preserve company profits and patents. Also, opponents to GMOs argue that greater acceptance of engineered-crops will eventually lead to agricultural monoculture practices: that is, over-reliance on a single crop, rather than diverse plantings.
3. Loss of control over the integrity of one's crops, and consequently, the loss of control over the quality and integrity of the food we consume: who's to say what happens, for example, if genetically-modified crops accidentally pollinate the organic, non-GMO crops down the road, or contaminate the soil for future plantings.
4. The loss of genetic diversity.
5. The unknown: Because biotechnology is relatively new, we do not know its long-term effects: if/how bioengineered organisms will affect the soil, our environment, or our health. European countries argue for protection clauses, arguing that governments ought to be able to exercise controls against possible, but as of yet, undiscovered, negative effects--though detractors might argue that such arguments, because they're not based on hard-core evidence, simply mask protectionist tendencies. Also, it's possible that if we rely too much on genetic engineering for pest-control, we'll end up creating a greater problem, by creating resistant "super-pests".

The topic's an intriguing one, deserving further investigation. As consumers, we ought to know the sources of our food--companies need to be responsible for clear labeling of products containing GMO-derived products, so the public can make educated choices. It also disturbs me that the biotech companies have shown historical resistance to disclose information about their products to the public--until this becomes common practice, buying local and organic products might prove a wise option.

Curriculum Day, 2/20/2007

2007-02-22T11:00:00.000-10:00

Marco Torres, an Apple Distinguished Educator, served as our school's Curriculum Day Keynote Speaker on 2/20/07. As a former public school teacher with ESL training, I could relate to the challenges Torres faces teaching a heterogenous, often transient student population for whom English is not the first language. I also appreciated his simple 3-point checklist for an effective curriculum: that it be relevant, meaningful, and applicable. Technology enables teachers to meet all three criteria, as it provides a conduit for students to communicate with an audience beyond the classroom and gives "wings" to their learning.

Thought Torres made an astute observation regarding the differences between adult and student relationships to technology--that adults view it as a productivity tool, whereas students view it as a vehicle to produce, share, and disseminate information.

I also appreciated the student success stories shared by Torres--the producers of "Power of One", a PSA on the power of voting, who now have jobs working for MTV's Rock the Vote, and his anecdote about David Pena, who arranged the "Star Wars" score mariachi-style and consequently received accolades (and funding, woo hoo!) from composer John Williams. Had these students not received opportunities to showcase and validate their strengths, arguably, they might've joined the thousands of disenfranchised, alienated students who don't see the long-term rewards of school. Teachers in both the public and private sectors have an obligation to help students discover significance in education; a personal, intrinsic stake in learning provides a metaphoric compass, giving direction and inspiring perseverance. By providing students with opportunities to demonstrate their learning in creative and diverse ways which showcase their strengths and talents, teachers make curriculum meaningful.

That being said, as noted educator Rafe Esquith states, "There are no shortcuts" to a strong educational foundation. Many of us in the break-out session following Torres' presentation voiced concerns about the need to balance style and substance when it comes to integrating technology and learning. In his speech, Torres intimated that the PSA provided a more valid assessment of student learning than a traditional 15 page research paper on the power of individual votes in the political process. To me, however, the measures aren't equivalent--in fact, they have completely different goals. The "Power of One" PSA was an effective, slick, propaganda piece, where students selected and deliberately constructed information in order to persuade. A research paper, in contrast, would present nuanced, sophisticated, scholarly analysis and contextualized, balanced examination of a topic. In a college-preparatory context like Punahou, while the PSA is an authentic and valid learning product, we'd require additional measures to fully assess the substance and depth of student learning.

Technology provides wonderful, unparalled outlets for expression. But as we at Punahou "lean forward", as Torres would say, more than ever, we must ensure that students possess the strong foundation that creates polished work worth sharing. I savor that constant cycle of innovation creating and recreating myself as a teacher--a phoenix, born again and again, arising from the ashes of carbonized educational theories past. Still, these three things abide the crucible of fire: being a wise and omnivorous reader, an incisive, expressive writer, and an eloquent speaker. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.

O, for a muse of fire!

2007-01-26T14:18:00.001-10:00

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention!

--Shakespeare, Henry V.I.i.1-2

This blog is a experimental zone--a place for me to voice my musings on literature, politics, the environment, teaching, and much more--and to test out blogging's possibilities for teaching. There's something presumptuous--and scary--in releasing my thoughts to the Internet universe--"public, like a frog", as Emily Dickinson'd say. Hopefully, more substance will appear on this page, as I grow more comfortable with the medium. So, into the breach, dear friends!