Ramblin' with Roger

The Phone, the phone is ringing

One of the rules of the house is that we don’t answer the phone we’re eating dinner. My running joke: “That’s why God created the answering machine.” Even when we’re not eating, we screen our calls. We have Caller ID, and unless it’s a name or number I recognize, it goes to the machine; “Private Name, Private Number” always goes there, and sometimes it’s someone we know, so then we respond accordingly. I didn’t think I’d like it, but my favorite gizmo is the fact that I can tell who’s calling while the TV’s on so I can see if it’s worthwhile getting up.

At work, though, I don’t have that luxury. If the phone is ringing, I answer. I have access to four different lines. One is my direct line. One is the line for the library; we have a rotation, whereby I’m first on the phone on Tuesday and second on Thursday. However, if it gets to the third ring, regardless of the day, we each try to pick it up, for after it gets to the fourth ring, it goes to voice mail, and it’s a minor pain to retrieve.

The other two phones are the main office phones. Back in our old place, with our ancient, supposedly inferior system, if I heard the phone ringing at lunchtime or late in the day, I could hit *70 and pick it up. In our current location, though, only the secretary and office manager initially could answer the main phones, which wreaked to me of bad customer service. They are not glued to their desks and so they would often miss calls. Some of them were important government officials or even a delivery person in the lobby of our own building, who can’t get in without being buzzed in.

Things improved somewhat when a free-standing phone was installed near the copy machine. Not only did the secretary not have to run back to her desk, I could run over and pick it up if necessary. Eventually, I realized that the phone chord was long enough to reach my desk, so for the last hour of the day, after the front desk personnel left at 4 p.m., I’d haul it over to my desk for the last hour.

Finally, at my request, I was given a new phone with all four lines. This saved me an inordinate amount of time and effort during the day. Though I’ve discovered we do seem to be getting more prerecorded messages like this one: “This is your second call. This is your second opportunity to save money on your auto insurance…”

It’s the little things that make a job more or less tolerable. When I first started working at the SBDC 16 years ago, I shared a phone line with the fax line, and far too often, I’d pick up and get an earful of the whiny, high-pitched noise of a fax transmission. Getting my own line a few months letter made my life SO much easier.

But what prompted this post was a particular call I got a couple weeks ago to my direct line. “Hello,” the live voice said. “Is this Roger Green?” Yes. “This is Roger Green from Ramblin’ with Roger?” It is. “Hello, I’m XXX. You may be surprised to hear from me. But I need a trustworthy person to transfer some monies from my country into the United States. And we know that you are a reliable person.” He said a couple other things. It was the Nigerian scheme – live, on the phone! I quickly said “no, thank you”, mostly because I was awaiting a call from my wife about our daughter, but I would LOVE to have heard more about it. All I know is that he called from Rhode Island and that he had that typical British/African vocal pattern.

Twitter redux

Get your twitter mosaic here.

I had a very busy weekend, what with the child’s birthday party, church and a comic book show – so here’s some of my Twitter posts, annotated, for the last month. I haven’t noted retweets or where I’ve plugged my blog. The followers’ pic above was taken on April 5 at 8:45 p.m., EDT.

Went to daughter’s friend’s 5th bday. Princess theme saccharine as you might imagine. Misunderstandings w/ mgmt at end really soured me.5:08 PM Feb 28th from web
This had to do with the number of giveaways Lydia could take. I don’t think the organizer made it clear, and I ended up giving her $5, and appearing to her to be the indulgent parent, because I didn’t make Lydia return some of the items.

Mom in Charlotte, NC getting 3-6 inches of snow in this storm, same as or more than I am- Albany, NY. NOT why she moved south in 1974.5:33 PM Mar 1st from web
In fact, February and March were well below average in terms of snow, after a wet December and January.

Looking at the bus readout; it said 03/03/09. I said to friend Dionne, “Hey, an arithmetic sentence: 3X3=9.” She said, “You’re weird.”10:07 AM Mar 3rd from web
She doesn’t know about my algebraic calculations with license plates.

Citicard credit card bill arrived today, due in 13 days. Shouldn’t there rules vs that? Or are they hoping I’ll be late paying? Not me.12:01 AM Mar 4th from web
I thought that 2005 “personal responsibility” bill was a war against consumers; it seems, though , thaty it has backfired on the credit card companies.

Woke at 3 a.m.EDT to get pain reliever from upstairs med cabinet, find NO meds. Dental floss, cosmetics, rubbing alcohol, Vicks Vaporub.2:50 AM Mar 8th from web
A sign that my wife, not I order these things.

On the other hand, let child sleep in, took late bus to daycare, which had been w/out power until 5 min before we got there. Serendipity.11:06 AM Mar 9th from web
This was a complaint about Daylight Saving time and how difficult it is for children.

In the market for laptop. Not only does wife need it for school in summer, we have to fight re computer usage each a.m. I generally lose4:32 PM Mar 12th from web
So true.

Schmuck just threw 6 napkins, receipt out car window onto my street. As cars went by, litter spread 5 house lots before I could pick up.8:05 AM Mar 14th from web
Why 6 napkins for 1 Dunkin Donuts XL coffee bought 3/13 5:35 am, 457 Alb-Shaker Rd? And using a VISA (ends w 0507) for a $2.47 purchase?8:09 AM Mar 14th from web
Not only did I want to kvetch, i wanted to note how much info one can glean from a simple receipt.

Wife, daughter away. Go CRAZY! Clean house, get rid of old e-mails, write a couple blog posts, watch the Oscars – only 3 weeks late.10:54 PM Mar 14th from web
The rare times they’re both away, I have my own “to do” list which I can never nearly complete.

Bus stop guy:The bus is taking a long time. Me:It’s not so bad. Guy:It’s just the WAITING. Me:Yeah, the waiting IS the hardest part.8:21 AM Mar 17th from web
Apparently, when I’m tired in the morning and not feeling chatty, I speak in Tom Petty lyrics. I wonder if the guy knew.8:22 AM Mar 17th from web
Generally, I try to keep my tweets into one 140-character post; decided not to for this one.

Discovered leaving 1/2 hour early from work would only get me home 20 min earlier, because traffic is so much heavier at 5:10 than 5:40 pm.8:26 PM Mar 18th from web
Actually, rediscovered.

Town meeting last nt: how fed stimulus $$ will help NYS. Lots of info, LOT of agency reps who were to talk for 3 min ea; many didn’t.1:48 AM Mar 19th from web
Wrote about this here.

Wish I could pick Binghamton, sister’s alma mater,univ of my hometown, over Duke, just can’t. Am picking Siena-ALB Co- over Ohio St. in OH.2:01 AM Mar 19th from web
actually wrote more about March Madness men’s basketball…

Received Mar 23 Sports Illustrated today w March Madness preview, now that I don’t need it. Only a week late; Mar 30 TIME also arrived.2:26 PM Mar 21st from web
…about which i shan’t bore you further.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”-Lewis Carroll, copped by George Harrison, who changed get to take.11:39 AM Mar 24th from web
Listening to George.

ABC’s Life on Mars’ penultimate episode tonight. Reportedly will have decent conclusion, unlike The Nine, ABC show from couple yrs ago.7:43 PM Mar 25th from web
Finally watched the last episode. It was OK.

Kibosh on date w wife tonight; babysitter canceled last night -pneumonia. What a lame excuse!10:12 AM Mar 28th from web
Need either last min babysitter or someone to take our tickets to Albany Symphony or someone to go w Carol OR me to ASO. Quel bummer.10:14 AM Mar 28th from web
It’s not ASO, it’s Albany Pro Musica, St. John’s Passion by Bach.10:53 AM Mar 28th from web
I was really glad someone was able to use our tickets to Albany Pro Musica’s St. John’s Passion by Bach.12:05 AM Mar 29th from web
The woman who we gave our tickets to thanked us by buying us an ASO CD, left in our mailbox when we came back from church.

after several days of cod, cloudy weather, today’s 65, sunny was like a heat wave. too sunny; ended up w near sunburn, function of vitiligo7:55 PM Mar 28th from web
30 minutes of direct sunlight actually did me in for the remainder of the day. Oh, yeah, that was supposed to be cold, not cod.

Happy 50th wedding anniversary to my parents-in-law. They traveled 15 hours to celebrate my parents’ 50th anniversary back on 3/12/2000.12:08 AM Mar 29th from web
In-laws’ gathering inc presents exchange for Xmas, my birthday, Lydia’s bday, etc. Got my first Brad Paisley and Diamond Rio albums7:25 PM Mar 29th from web
And I’ve STILL not heard these albums.

If I were in NYC: promo for Diana Krall new CD Quiet Nights, FREE PERFORMANCE Tues Mar 31 1pm Winter Garden at World Financial Center12:14 AM Mar 29th from web
Lucky Tosy!

Some are very attentive re who follows,unfollows them. Not an issue for me. Just discovered someone following me, was following me before.7:38 PM Mar 29th from web
Obviously that person had unfollowed me, and I just didn’t notice. I can’t obsess about that stuff; it’d suck all the joy out of Tweeting.7:40 PM Mar 29th from web
This generated a bit of back-and-forth.

Sermon today noted compassion is rooted in Greek word splochna, meaning spleen. Compassion’s not just a surface thing, it’s a guts thing.7:21 PM Mar 29th from web
This was a sermon at my in-law’s church.

Dan Seals died. Very 1st concert I ever saw was Seals & Crofts, 11/12/71, NYC . Jim Seals was Dan’s brother8:07 PM Mar 29th from web
I remember the date of the S&C concert because it’s the birthday of one of the founders of the Baha’i faith, which S&C espouse.

5-yr-old daughter worried her sisters (dolls, plushes) might be afraid of thunderstorm; I put them all in guest bed to support ea other.8:22 PM Mar 29th from web
Gotta talk about the kid SOMETIME.

Procrastination: bought bus pass, filed last of medical reimbursement claims on deadline day.9:38 PM Mar 31st from web
I mailed one batch of forms, faxed another and by this date STILL didn’t know if they were all received. So I refaxed EVERYTHING on the final day.

ROG

Jesus Christ Superstar: An appreciation

My friend Ellen has one of those turntable thingies that transfers vinyl into digital recordings. She recently made a couple recordings for me, both of Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice collaborations that I’ve long had on LP, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. Dreamcoat, which was written first but recorded after Superstar, was OK, but Superstar had a profound affect on my way of thinking; perhaps it still does.

I originally got this album for Christmas in 1970 and played it so often, I can STILL tell you where all the skips are on my recording. I found it to be a great jumping off point for great theological discussions, rather than the anathema that some religious folks thought it was, especially with my friend Pat Wilson, a good Catholic woman who was the wife of my dentist. (For context, think of the controversies that Martin Scorsese’s 1988 film “Last temptation of Christ” or Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ” engendered in certain circles.)

Overture – Ensemble
It starts with that insistent theme that appears in the next song, hits the high point with the “Superstar melody, and ends with the mournful last piece.
“Heaven on Their Minds” – Judas
I happen to think even today that there are those who worry too much about heaven and not enough about treating God’s people on earth.
“What’s the Buzz/Strange Thing, Mystifying” – Jesus, Mary, Judas, Disciples
While Jesus is a tad snarky here, it is consistent with his frustration with his disciples that after three years, they still didn’t get it.
“Everything’s Alright” – Mary, Judas, Jesus, Disciples
The religious elite were often complaining about the lowlifes Jesus hung around with. But I DO think we have the resources to “save the poor from their lot”, if not the political will.
“This Jesus Must Die” – Caiaphas, Annas, Priests, Disciples
Always loved the deep voice of Caiaphas voice.
“Hosanna” – Caiaphas, Jesus, Disciples
It has always astounded me about the mood of the crowd from the cheers of Palm Sunday to the rejection on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
“Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem” – Simon, Jesus, Disciples, Roman Guards
Simon and others thought that Jesus was going to be the second coming of the warlike Maccabees, which was not the plan. “To conquer death, you only have to die” was not, in the Biblical context, a reference to physical death but rather death to a sinful life.
“Pilate’s Dream” – Pilate
This is the same tune as Poor Jerusalem. Initially, i thought this was a mistake, but it’s performed so differently that this has become one of my favorite songs.

“The Temple” – Jesus, Profiteers
There was a second century philosopher whose name escapes me who thought that Jesus was pure love. But this is an angry Jesus. This is the first time, save for the Overture, that the Gethsemane theme appears.
“Everything’s Alright” (reprise) – Mary, Jesus
“I Don’t Know How to Love Him” – Mary
Not the first and certainly not the last to suggest a sexual/romantic relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus – see, e.g., Dan Brown. I didn’t believe it, but this suggestion did not bother me.
“Damned for All Time/Blood Money” – Judas, Caiaphas, Annas, Priests, The Mob
Judas’ conflict, though not exactly as written, does speak to the greater truth about fulfillment of Scripture.
“The Last Supper” – Jesus, Judas and Apostles
That the disciples STILL didn’t entirely know who and what they were dealing with is evident.
“Gethsemane” – Jesus
Possibly the most controversial song. That Jesus was, in part, human made his resistance to dying much more real.

“The Arrest” – Jesus, Judas, Peter, Apostles, Caiaphas, Annas, The Mob, Roman Guards
If I were to play one of the roles, I’d like it to be Peter; NOW we’ll fight for you.
“Peter’s Denial” – Peter, Mary, Apostles, The Mob
I was once in a Bible study and one member said she’d NEVER have denied Jesus, that she’d gave gotten the message right away; I never believed that.
“Pilate and Christ” – Pilate, Jesus, Annas, Mary, Apostles, Roman Guards, The Mob
The singular funniest thing on the album is a fellow with a distinct British accent saying, “someone Christ, king of the Jews.” Featuring an ironic restatement of Hosanna.
“King Herod’s Song” – Herod and his Court
High camp.
[“Could We Start Again Please?” – Mary, Peter, Simon, Disciples, Roman Guards
NOT on my album; it was only from later versions.]
“Judas’ Death” – Judas, Caiaphas, Annas, The Mob
Reiteration of Damed for All Time. was Judas’ betrayal preordained? Yeasty stuff.
“Trial By Pilate” – Pilate, Caiaphas, Annas, Jesus, The Mob
Really gets to the core issue about predestination -“Everything is fixed and you can’t change it.” But if it’s all predetermined, what of free will, which allowed for the Fall from grace?
“Superstar” – Judas, Soul Girls, Angels, Paparazzi
Israel in 4 B.C. DIDN’T have mass communication. Why did Jesus come THEN? And if he came NOW, would he be on radio or TV? Would we believe in Him if he were? Bringing it to today, would he be our Facebook friend? Would we follow him on Twitter? What would He feature on His MySpace page or His YouTube videos?

“Crucifixion” – Jesus, Disciples
The seven last words.
“John 19:41” – Jesus, Disciples
The final controversy, on an instrumental track, no less. The citation is to the burial plot for Jesus. What, no Resurrection? Sacrilege! But I never thought it was Lloyd Webber and Rice’s job to complete the story the way orthodox Christianity does. It’s THEIR telling. And it means a great deal to me, just as it is.

The videos, BTW, were primarily from the not-well-received 2000 Broadway performance which my wife and I actually saw in previews. Not having seen a Broadway musical since Raisin nearly 30 years earlier, I enjoyed it at a certain level, though some of the videos now seem a tad overwrought.
***
Another appreciation of Superstar.

ROG

Remember the Date QUESTION

There are dates throughout the year that, without prompting from calendars or news stories, remind me of something that happened in the past, external to myself or my family. April 4, for instance, I always remember as the day in 1968 that Martin Luther King, Jr. got shot. Other days that seem to stick in my mind:

January 28, 1986 – the Challenger disaster. Oddly, the Columbia disaster of February 1, 2003 doesn’t though I do remember that it was around Groundhog’s Day as I was heading for a MidWinter’s party at the time.
May 4, 1970 – the Kent State disaster. It’s codified by that song. No, not Ohio by CSNY, but that annoying Mike Love rewrite of Leiber & Stoller’s Riot on Cell Block #9 called Student Demonstration Time, which appears on the otherwise excellent Beach Boys album Surf’s Up.
America was stunned on May 4, 1970
When rally turned to riot up at Kent State University
They said the students scared the Guard
Though the troops were battle dressed
Four martyrs earned a new degree
The Bachelor of Bullets
It also features the classic line: “The pen is mightier than the sword, but no match for a gun.”
May 8, 1972 – the mining of Haiphong harbor in North Vietnam, which many people feared represented an escalation of the war. Much student activism around the country followed, including at my campus.
June 5, 1968 -RFK’s assassination, which I’ve wrote about before.
July 7, 1940 – R8ingo Starr’s birthday. George’s birthday moved from February 25 to February 24, and Paul’s birthday I confuse with Brian Wilson’s in mid-June, but Ringo’s I remember. Maybe it’s because it seems lucky – 7/7- and I recall aan LP called The Beatles’ Story which indicated that Ringo was the final ingredient necessary to create the magic of Beatlemania. He’s also the question to this answer: JEOPARDY! Show #5647 – Tuesday, March 10, 2009 HE SAID, SHE SAID for $1200: “Sorry Beatles fans, he said he has “too much to do, so no more fan mail…& no objects to be signed”
I also am reminded of the 2005 London bombings on that date.
August 28, 1963 – march on Washington, “I Have a Dream” speech
September 11, 2001 – Moby’s 35th birthday; I remember this because I often play the music of a particular musician on his or her birthday, especially those birthdays divisible by five. I’ve since wondered how it would be to have a birthday so associated with tragedy such as 9/11. (The Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery took place on my 12th birthday, and I remember it quite well, but it didn’t have anywhere near the same scope.)
October 4, 1987 – a freak Albany snowstorm that knocked out power to some people for a couple weeks. I was out only four days.
October 9, 1940 – I do remember John Lennon’s birthday, and that of his son Sean 35 years later. But I was reminded by my one-time office mate that it’s also Jackson Browne’s birthday, but I couldn’t tell you what year without looking it up. (It’s 1948.)
November 22, 1963 – the JFK assassination. I had a girlfriend who, for every Thanksgiving blessing, would invoke the memory of JFK.
December 8, 1980 – John Lennon’s death.
December 24, 1990 – the death of Sandy Cohen, the tenor soloist of my church choir at the time. He had had two or three heart attacks before that, one of them during a church service, which he wouldn’t leave until he finished “the gig”, so it shouldn’t have surprised us, yet it did.

Given my personal history, it’s quite possible that I will add April 3, 2009 to the list.

How about you? What events always stick in your mind when the date rolls around? I’m looking for the births, deaths, anniversaries, but not of family members – which I’m SURE you all remember. I’m also ignoring holidays and quasi-holidays (January 1, February 2 & 14, March 17, April 1, June 14, July 4, November 11, December 25) as well, unless something else is triggered by it.
ROG

MOVIE REVIEW: The Class

A couple weekends ago, the wife and her husband went on a date to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany to see Entre les murs (The Class) , a film nominated as best foreign film at the recent Oscars ceremony. It is in French, with subtitles.

Here’s the description from Rotten Tomatoes: “Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, master French director Laurent Cantet’s THE CLASS is an absorbing journey into a multicultural high school in Paris over the course of a school year. François Begaudeau–an actual teacher and the author upon whose work the film was based–is utterly convincing as François, an openminded teacher in charge of a classroom of youngsters from a wide variety of backgrounds.”

The movie IS utterly convincing, so much so that the style of the film makes one think it’s a documentary. Evidently, the Parisian inner-city school system experiences the same difficulties as a multicultural school in the United States. There’s the well-intended, optimistic and creative teacher; there’s a fairly large classroom of kids with sometime competing needs; there are the teaching colleagues who try to be supportive if they’re not burned out themselves; and there’s the administration, looking for a balance between being firm and fair.

It doesn’t have a big plot or much histrionics, rather like life itself. That it is a well-done film really is not the issue; 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8 of 10 starts on IMDB. The question: is it enjoyable? The movie is SO realistic that it felt a bit claustrophobic. Particularly for my wife, who is a teacher in an urban setting, it felt much too much like the truth. But we’re still thinking about the film.

I’d be curious to hear from anyone else who has seen this film, especially if you’re a teacher or have taught in the past: Kelly, Greg, SamauraiFrog, this means you.

ROG