Protecting myself

Singing in the Women's Prison

My choir, Cantigas, sang on Thursday at the Edna McMahan Women’s Prison in Clinton, New Jersey. Thirty women took the day to participate. Security was tight. We had to fill out forms weeks before the event so we could be checked out, and lists could be given to the prison staff. Before getting on theContinue reading “Singing in the Women's Prison”

Banana Republicans

I’ve traveled a lot in Europe, where from time to time there has been griping and fury at the unions for halting commerce, or education, or transportation. I’ve never even heard of a country where it is the government that halts commerce in the country it is governing. Maybe my sense of history has holesContinue reading “Banana Republicans”

Tragedy all around

Yoga evens you out and strengthens you, but more importantly, meditation (which simply means sitting there and breathing) invites strength and balance to deal with tragedy and pessimism. So what is the pessimism of the day? Global warming, which threatens our very existence, the unexpected accidental death of an extraordinary person you know, the massContinue reading “Tragedy all around”

Digital Slaves – The Discipline of Money

I’m reading a book, Who Owns the Future?, by the “father of virtual reality,” Jeron Lanier. His starting point is stated in the “prelude.” “…digital networking ought to promote a two-way transaction, in which you benefit, concretely, with real money…. I want digital networking to cause more value from people to be on the books,Continue reading “Digital Slaves – The Discipline of Money”

The Real World of Guns in the Classroom

I’ve imagined a gun in my classroom. Maybe held by the depressed student, or by the belligerent one who thinks I have graded him unfairly. Because I teach freshman writing, and students write their own stories in my class, I know better than other professors just how unstable freshmen are. They’ve been thinking about collegeContinue reading “The Real World of Guns in the Classroom”