Well, it looks as though I'm heading out to the Bay Area in CA this summer. I've been accepted to another NEH program. This one is Movement, Mobilization, and Militarization: The Bay Area Home Front in WWII. I'll be there the last week of June. Can't wait...
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Applications went out today for my this summer. We'll see where I'll be studying under the NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) program. That is if I get accepted. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'd appreciate a little luck thrown my way. Check the link and see if you can figure out which of them I may have been interested in.
I'd like to start of by wishing my wife, Melissa, a Happy Birthday for tomorrow. We were able to get out for a date tonight thanks to my folks. They're in town visiting and offered to watch the kids. We don't get that chance very often. Babysitters are expensive and we don't have a lot of local family at the ready that we can depend on. Plus, with my son's health, it's hard to entrust that care to someone else. But I digress...
For date night we went to see the movie Monuments Men. I've been excited for this movie every since I heard they were adapting the book (by the same name). I first caught onto the topic a couple of years ago, when I went to the National Archives in DC to see a lecture given by the author. Robert Edsel gave perhaps the best lecture I've ever experience. He spoke for over two hours without notes. The only assistance he had was a PowerPoint presentation. And that only had audio and video clips of the folks he interviewed for the book. You had no choice but to be captivated by all of it. I was hooked from there. And when I found a year ago that it was going to be a movie as well, the anticipation was hard to keep down. I liked it. However, I think it could've been much, much better. It was a little too cheeky for me. It seemed as though they morphed Ocean's Eleven into a WWII flick. That treatment was not my cup of tea. The folks in the actual Monuments Men took this stuff very seriously. They thought art, architecture, the bare essence of culture was of the utmost importance. Those things (among others) represented culture, and this culture was representative of society. They wanted this culture to survive the war and to be shared with generations to come. I guess in the end, it would've been nicer if the subject of the Monuments Men was given the same HBO treatment, as in The Pacific or Band of Brothers. Regardless of my feelings, go see this movie. My wife was able to get me to see that the film would open up the topic; make it more accessible. That way more folks would learn about it. No matter what, you should definitely read the book, and it's follow-up, Saving Italy. I had a very humbling experience last night. I was asked to volunteer at a cold weather homeless shelter. It's held at the church that my wife and kids attend. They use part of the church complex as a cold weather shelter during the winter months. My wife and daughter have worked there a few times, but I always had to watch my son because he was just a little too young. Well he finally is now old enough to be able to hang out a bit at the shelter while the rest of us help out. We sat down to dinner with everyone in fellowship. And then after dinner, we all helped out. My son played with some of the younger boys. My daughter helped by teaching some of the girls how to make (and keep) those rubber band bracelets that are so popular now. My wife helped cleaning up after dinner and then the two of us tutored/taught some of the adults and kids.
It was a great experience. It's always nice to help out and serve others. It's very easy to get caught up in your own day to day issues, and sometimes it feels like things aren't going well at all. Well...there's always someone who wishes they could be in your shoes instead of their own. Remember that people... I guess I'm starting to feel like my father. It pains me to say that. You see, my dad gets upset when people he admired (or was a fan of) die. He goes through this ritual where he gets really, vocally, physically upset. Then he scours newspapers and the internet looking for the obituaries to read, and even print off to keep. Well, I've had some personal giants to me die recently, and they seem to be dropping like flies as of late. And two of them, I already know my Dad is reeling over.
The jazz guitarist Jim Hall died last week. Now up until two years ago, I didn't know much about him. However, when I start liking a musician, I start to try and unearth all of their recordings to collect and listen to. Jim Hall was one of those musicians. His guitar work is impeccable, and hard to be matched by anyone. Moreover, he was great person. You never read anything negative about him at all. If anything, every story talks of how endearing and personable he was. Luckily, I was able to see him live at Blues Alley in DC just last year. I went with my wife to see him play in a quartet known as Grand Slam. A grand slam it truly was, featuring Hall, Joe Lovano, George Mraz, and Lewis Nash. I took the one cd with me that they released. As Hall exited the stage, he was being escorted by someone helping him get along. He was up there in age, 82, and needed some assistance. He saw I had the cd on the table, and asked "Would you like me to sign that?" I replied "Of course!" He was so gracious and talked with us a bit, and I was able to get the rest of the band to sign it as well. It's a shame that he's gone, that I won't be able to see him play again. Also a shame that his death wasn't featured on the news and that many people don't know his music. Another jazz great died today as well, Horace Silver. I didn't know Silver until I viewed the documentary "A Great Day in Harlem" many years ago with my Dad. Even at that time, Silver was only one of a few folks left that were featured in that iconic jazz photo of 1958. He was a kind, gentle, intelligent man who had such respect for music in general, let alone jazz. He was always one I wanted to meet, or see live. Unfortunately that never happened. Yet, I can always listen to one of his great pieces, "Song for My Father." That way his legacy will stay around. Every time I listen to it I tear up a little as it reminds me of my Dad in many ways. A great piece of music! And as the same with Hall, a shame that his death wasn't featured on the news and that many people don't know his music. With plenty of questionable stuff out there like Miley Cyrus, Beiber and the like, expose children to positive role models that are serious musicians such as those mentioned above. It just might be a small step in making the world a better place. Another great night at Politics & Prose in DC. I flew out of school today at the end of Yearbook class to get there in time to get a bite to eat and a seat. The author Deborah Solomon was giving a talk and Q & A on her new book about Norman Rockwell, American Mirror. I'm a big fan of the author. I read the biography she did on Jackson Pollock when I was nearing the end of high school. It was one of many things that cemented my desire to become an art teacher. And then 15 years ago she did another biography, this time on the artist Joseph Cornell. Both of them were very good. Her biography of Pollock is overshadowed by the large bio that Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith compiled. That book was later turned into the movie on Pollock starring Ed Harris. The book (and the movie) received critical acclaim, including a Pulitzer for the authors. However, that bio is over 900 pages. If you're looking for something smaller, and not so overwhelming to pick up, the Solomon bio of Pollock is good. She will say though that it's not her best book. It was her first and she thinks Pollock was "too big" for her to tackle. The Cornell bio was really great. Such an interesting life, yet sad at the same time. Similar to Van Gogh in many ways. Although, that could take some time to fully explain that. Much like the Pollock, the Cornell bio is an easy read. Full of great information, and really delves into many facets of his life. Before reading that one, I liked and appreciated Cornell a lot. After reading, I appreciated him so much more, for so many more reasons that being an artist. The biography also deepened my interest in him, and coincidentally, this all occurred at the same time as a huge show of his work was on display at the SMAA in DC. Well, overall, Deborah Solomon was great tonight. She talked for almost an hour before opening it up to questions. She told some stories about Rockwell, and writing the book, dealing with his family, etc. She had some interesting stories behind some of his painting, even comparing him a bit to Pollock because they both attended the Art Students League in NYC. (Something I did not know about Rockwell at all.) She was very gracious as well. I didn't realize that I was still wearing my county ID and she asked what I taught. This led to a pretty good conversation, which resulted in her sharing her email addy. Wow! She signed all of my books, Cornell, Pollock, and two of the Rockwell (one for my Dad for Christmas). However, there was an even bigger highlight to the night. In the crowd at P & P was a preeminent collector of Joseph Cornell work. He was integral to the writing of the Cornell bio as well as to the Smithsonian. He lent a lot of his collection to that show at SMAA. He also wrote a book to accompany the exhibit. Upon meeting him later, he asked if I had it. I answered "of course." I asked if I could send it to him to sign. He answered, "Why send it? Just come on over." Whoa! What a night... WOW! What a great night last night in Atlantic City, at the House of Blues. I'm still coming down from all of the excitement and adrenaline. What started a few weeks ago as a casual conversation with my good friend Corey, quickly turned into reality. We traveled all the way to AC to see one of our favorite bands in concert. The band Live, started in the early to mid 1990's. They had a ton of hits through the 1990's, all the way through the early part of the 2000's. I loved them in college, after, and still do. They were truly a different sound after the coming of the "grunge" era. Well, a lost has happened over the years. Over the last few years, the original lead singer left. He tried some financial dealings behind closed doors that basically would've meant that he, and he alone, was the creative force behind the band. Nothing would've happened without him, and he wanted to be paid more than all of them together. Obviously, this left some bad blood. The remaining members went into a side project, known as the Gracious Few, with the lead singer and rhythm guitarist from Candlebox. From that, an awesome cd was born. And then, Live reformed with a new lead singer, Chris Shinn. As the newly reformed unit, they started touring again over the summer. It was a festival tour, reliving some of the old times. It worked out well, and then someone had this killer idea of a one-off show in AC, playing everything from Throwing Copper, perhaps their biggest release. I've seen Live several times in the past. However, there were at least a handful of songs from that album that I never heard before. Last nite was my opportunity to see the entire album performed, front to back. I knew I would never have the opportunity again. So we did it! It was an absolutely fantastic evening. Something I will never have the chance to do or see again. And to top it all off, we ended up scoring backstage passes. It's a long, long story. But just peep the pic above. Once you see my face, you'll know it was all worth it. Live it up while you're young boys and girls! I sure do! I had a wonderful time today at Politics & Prose bookstore in DC. I surprised my kids by taking them to see Tomie de Paola, the children's book author and illustrator. He was a pure joy and inspiration to listen to. He gave a 45 min. book talk. Well, it was supposed to be about his new book but ended up being about his life and career. This was just fine with me. He signed my book, as well as books for my wife and children. All of us left with smiles from ear to ear. What a great human being! Josh Burdette, the face of the 9:30 Club, has died
A little in mourning today. Not for a person who was a friend, or even family member. But for a person that I would see a few to several times a year. His name was Josh Burdette. I only knew him as "that guy" as a whole host of people knew him as well. Later after a few years, I finally learned his first name, as Josh. I didn't know his full name until today. Josh "that guy" Burdette was a fixture of the D.C. music scene. He started at the 9:30 Club in 1997, probably not long before I started attending shows there. He was what people tend to think music fans should look like (unless you're considering American Idol, The Voice, and the like). He was tattooed, pierced, ear lobes stretched, etc...a menacing looking individual. Heck, I even was bit scared of him at first. However, all you needed to do was talk to him for more than a minute to realize that he was just a huge teddy bear. Let alone he graduated from UMD with a degree in psychology. A reinforcement of the adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." He looked out for many people at the club, and really just wanted to make sure everyone had a good, safe time. One night he even helped my wife because she was not feeling well from her hypoglycemia. Another night, I watched him split a few people up who were "not being very nice to each other." This was incredibly helpful to my wife and me as we would have been effected if that situation would have gotten out of hand. Besides being a manager and head security person at the 9:30 Club, he worked elsewhere as well. He worked many shows at Merriweather after 9:30 staff took over. And he even served as tour manager after several bands met him at the club, and asked if he would mind handling that job. But everyone knew him for his position at the club. The world lost a great man, and music lost a great ambassador. He will truly be missed. Seeing shows at the club just lost a little luster. It will be a very different experience. Well...last full day here. I tried to fill it up as much as I could. I hit a few museums in the city today, so plenty of walking. First I visited the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA). I read a few things about it, and thought if I had the chance, that I'd take a look. It was a beautiful museum. It was set up like the Getty in a way. There were a few buildings that you would walk outside to enter each one. The major differences here were that the grounds weren't sculpted and lush and that the collection of the museum was much more rich, with work all the way up to the present. There was an unbelievable Tony Smith sculpture that I tried to draw for a while.
After LACMA, I walked around the La Brea Tar Pits. I had heard about them, read about them, etc. But you can't really understand what they are until you view them for yourself. I took a quick stroll through the Page Museum that is connected to the tar pits. However, you can walk through the whole park with the tar pits without paying for the museum. I figured the best place to get something for my kids would be there. I can't wait to show them their loot and explain to them what the tar pits are, etc. The end of my museum mile tour was the Petersen Automotive Museum. This was just a block away or so from the other two museums I went to, plus I had some time left before closing. Admission was a tad high, and the museum wasn't as big as I thought. However, they had some nice cars in the collection. They actually had a car that was in one of the Laurel & Hardy movies. As an art teacher, the two coolest things for me was that they had a gallery of cars from movies (and owned by actors/actresses) and one of the molds to every Hot Wheels car ever made. Our night was supposed to be full of merriment as well. Notice I said supposed to be. A friend I went to high school with lives in San Diego, and her friend (another friend from high school) was visiting her. They were to come to LA to visit for the evening, take the 10 cent tour of LA (provided by Brandy), dinner, and catching up. Well one of their children got sick and they had to cancel. Instead, Bran and I went to get barbecue for dinner, and then met back up with my friend Jolie for some laughs. I think I've made good use of my time in LA. Regardless of my friend Brandy having to work, I stayed pretty busy, seeing and doing lots of cool stuff. Thanks Bran for the hospitality, I truly appreciate it. On to San Diego tomorrow... |
B.D.SchmittHusband, Father, Archives
November 2015
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