Loose Ends

Many, many threads. Lots of knots. Too many separate lines of inquiry. Not one single complete narrative. That's where things stand today at VG/TS.

I should note that the very first person who responded to my letter about school budget cuts was Council Member Jon Weinstein. (Also heard from the administrative assistant for the BoE, Allan Kittleman, and Calvin Ball.) I know everyone was swamped with letters on this particular issue, so all responses are much appreciated. I certainly hope that the County Executive and the County Council will do what the Board of Education did not, and restore funding for those much-needed positions. Again, a word of thanks to Board members Cindy Vaillancourt and Bess Altwerger for providing some refreshing sanity on this issue.

Updated Update: Due to inclement weather, the HCEA open community meeting on the local and state budgets is rescheduled for Tuesday, March 10^th, 5-6PM in the Homewood cafeteria. If you haven’t already done so, they ask you to RSVP here to give an idea of how much pizza they need.

I have a number of questions submitted by readers to send to Joel Gallihue of the Howard County Schools, pertaining to over-enrollment, new school building, redistricting, etc. So that is a post looming in the future.

Have you signed up to run for your village board or CA representative? Now is the season for picking up your packet and deciding to be a part of making Columbia better. You know what I think would make Columbia better? Online voting. Who is in charge of that?

I have discovered that I am not the only person appalled by the implementation of the HCPSS Dress Code. You'll definitely be hearing more about that in the near future.

And finally, a HoCoHoller to Eric Freed at Away from the Things of Man for his spicy and unique adventures at the Chili Cookoff put on by Grace Community Church. Mark your calendars for March 8th to attend the final Chili Cookoff at the Church of the Resurrection at 3175 Paulskirk Drive in Ellicott City, MD. From Eric's blog:

While there is no admission charge, you can vote for your favorite chili (or congregation) by "tipping" money towards your favorites. All proceeds from the chili cook-off directly benefit Bridges to Housing Stability, so you're encouraged to be generous with your tips. The "winner" gets the Golden Ladle. Please come out and support this wonderful charity. Bridges works to empower local families to maintain stability in their homes and through community partnerships to prevent homelessness in Howard County.

Now, if we can just get through the rest of this school week without any closings...

 

 

 

 

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More News about the Good News

This is not a review. We have plenty of good reviewers in the Baltimore/Washington area. For an extremely local one, you might want to look here. These are my musings upon seeing a favorite musical from my youth and reflecting on how it has changed.

*****

So the sweet and gentle Godspell of my youth was apparently transformed into something more akin to a rock opera in the Broadway revival of 2011. And this production is rooted in that one, so you'll find much more wailing and rocking out than in the original. This review touches on something that we noticed. In all of that rocking and wailing, some of the ensemble singing and tuning was lost. Diction as well. If you come to the show already knowing all of the songs, it won't be a problem for you. But for my daughter who was seeing it for the first time, it was a significant obstacle.

Overall, the energy, enthusiasm and boundless physicality of this production are breathtaking. And those remembering its irreverent topicality will not be disappointed. The story-telling quality of the parables, interpreted with a "let's act it out" style, allow the show to keep updating through the years. And that's good.

I wasn't sure, however, about the setting of Burning Man. My recollections are that the show doesn't really have any particular physical anchor--perhaps an empty playground?-- and that while the Burning Man reference is current, it doesn't add much to how the audience experiences the play. I was stunned by the violence of the crucifixion scene, which I remember as being much more symbolic in the original.

Helicopters, searchlights, megaphones, militarized police wearing helmets that obscure their identities. Jarring. And, I would guess, deliberately so. But for a show that is so deeply rooted in festival, fantasy, and allegory, it feels inappropriately specific to me.

The conversation on the way home focused on two aspects of the okay.

1. If you didn't know the biblical account, and only had this production to go on, why do you think Judas betrayed Jesus?

2. Did the "righteous anger" displayed by Jesus cross the line? Did it show a spark of mental illness? Did it lean less toward holy savior and more toward crazed cult leader?

So, not the typical, "what was your favorite musical number?" conversation. I still love the music, by the way. And this production includes a lovely song that was new to me, "Beautiful City" which was written for the movie. I think, as a teen, I was far more moved by the lyrical quality of "Day by Day" and "All Good Gifts". This time through I was struck by how perfectly crafted "All for the Best" is and how beautifully it illustrates the contrast between Judas and Jesus. Much credit should be given to these particular performers for pulling that off.

I encourage you to go see this production whether or not you have seen this show before. As I said yesterday, it has been extended until March 15th. It's not your mother's Godspell, but it doesn't have to be. It's musical, funny, dramatically challenging. And it will make you think.

 

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Not Your Mother's Godspell

I am so tired this morning. Maybe it's the coffee I had at the theatre that kept me awake most of the night. Maybe it's the intensity of the production we saw at the Olney Theatre Center. At any rate, I'm exhausted and I can barely keep my eyes open.

The show was Godspell. My daughters and I were treated to an evening of theatre by a good friend. The show was brand new when I was a teen, and I wanted to see how it held up after all these years. I braced myself. In some ways Godspell inspired an onslaught of truly dreadful church music which continues to this day. What was fresh and thought-provoking in church services in the 1970's is still limping along as "contemporary" today.

So I was more than a little worried.

Once the show began, I realized two things:

1. The music, though largely simple, does not disappoint.

2. This is not your mother's Godspell.

And that, my friends, is where I will leave you until tomorrow, or until such time as I get enough sleep to make sense of my impressions of this production.

*****

If you want to make plans to see this production, the good news (see what I did there?) is that performances have been extended through March 15th. As an added incentive, you can get $25.00 off of tickets for the final four performances by entering the code "GDS25" at checkout.

 

 

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I Just Don't Care

Is it possible that there are some things that this blogger doesn't care about? Yes, yes there are. And here's a current list, in no particular order:

 

• House of Cards
• Reality TV shows
• Awards Shows
• How the next Presidential race is shaping up
• What the new fashion colors are
• Charity social events*
• Getting more followers on Twitter
• Most (but not all) sports
• Having the best lawn in the neighborhood
• Television news

*Wait--although I find myself rather lethargic due to this never-ending winter, with no desire to find, let alone put on a suitable cocktail dress, I still strongly support tonight's Evening in the Stacks at the Miller Branch Library. You can buy a ticket up until five pm today. It's always a fun time and it supports our fabulous library system. My pick for this year's Celebrity Bartender? Bita Dayhoff, of course.

 

*****

Now, for something I do care about. I read this obituary last week and it stood out to me as a particularly significant lesson for Black History Month. Please take a moment to read about the life of William M. Hall. I promise you will learn things you didn't know. What a wonderful man he must have been.

 

 

 

 

 

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Girls

I was lucky enough to be able to spend yesterday with my daughters. If there's no school, I don't work. (I don't get paid, either, just so you know.) I picked up my older daughter, we went by Bon Fresco to get food, then back to our house to watch a movie and eat lunch.

We watched the orginal 1988 version of Hairspray. This is John Waters all the way, before it was prettied up into Broadway musical format. It was truly educational. The story is far more Baltimore, more raw, more weird than you think it is if you've only seen John Travolta put on a dress and fake a Balmer accent, hon'.

Afterwards we discussed the film while having dessert at the kitchen island. We talked about issues of race and how à propos this movie seems right now as we are mired again in issues of race, police brutality, and civil rights. We wondered whether John Waters had been subjected to the kind of quackish conversion therapy that he portrays in the film--only aimed instead at his homosexuality rather than race.

Somehow the conversation wandered to other topics. In the course of the afternoon we discussed:

• The implications of belief systems that focus on "waiting for marriage" to have sex.
• How different churches address teens and sexuality.
• School dress codes and what they say to teens.
• Bras: do they do any good? Is there any point to wearing them?

I must say it was a no-holds barred conversation, and one I am grateful to be having so easily with my kids. Well, I did draw the line at delving into the subject of STD's while we were still eating. But other than that, I found it amazing that we could have this conversation. The younger daughter was less forthcoming on some topics, but had plenty to say on others.

Her participation in the OWL Human Sexuality curriculum at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Columbia has given her a voice. She feels confident in examining issues of sexuality and talking about them. It is fascinating to see her compare what they are learning at OWL and what is presented at school. We are really shortchanging our kids at school, folks.

So we had a day off from school. No "academic work" was performed. But a whole lot of learning was achieved anyway.

 

 

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Gateway Musings

As the snow comes down this morning, it might be a good time to remind you:

Yes, it's Colonel Gateway again, photographed during last Saturday's snowstorm. I put out a message on Twitter inquiring as to his whereabouts, because I was worried about how he was weathering the storm. I must say he was quick to oblige with a photo and this tweet:

@ColGateway: I appreciate your concern @macsmom ! It takes more than a cold front to keep the Colonel down. #hocosnow

It's true that I am completely taken by this whimsical parody account. It's the kind of positive-minded silliness that Columbia needs more of. And I'm also fascinated by ADG Creative's "Love for the Gateway" music video. There's got to be more to all this. Where is it going? How will it unfold?

Yesterday I was driving my daughter to a doctor's appointment and I spied a sign low to the ground. I didn't have time to focus on it, but I thought it had a Canada goose on it. A clue? More information? I had to know.

Okay, here's what I think. It's time for ADG Creative to reach out to Jessie Newburn to arrange to host a local blog party. We've never had an event in the Gateway. What better way to show some love than to bring folks from all over Howard County to socialize in one of the Gateway's fine dining establishments? An event for bloggers will generate social media buzz and blog posts. And, if Colonel Gateway makes an appearance--I think the local press might be interested.

In the meantime, if you happen to be snowed in today, I offer for your contemplation Bill Woodcock's suggestion:

And incidentally, how about this one: create an 11th Columbia village in the Columbia Gateway area? Gateway is a great area for commercial development but perhaps an industrial park or two could become a couple of town home developments, condos and apartments? It might be a small village in terms of residents, but a big one in terms of commercial space and the availability of jobs. Residences there ought to be in high demand.

I'm all on board for this if it includes ample space for bouncy castles.

 

 

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A Red Flag

Yesterday, in a 5-2 vote, the Howard County Board of Education voted to accept the Superintentdent's Budget. Yes, the budget that makes cuts to paraeducators and media secretaries. Was this an issue you cared about? Did you write a letter expressing your opinion? Well, there's something you should know.

Board Member Sandra French, in talking about how people used to pack into the George Howard building and show support for the budget, said, "but that hasn't happened in a long time, people take our school system for granted and they are not satisfied, it's always me me me, more more more, I I I, and it has to stop. We have to talk about collective sacrifice, how can we work together to move forward our children who are the most needy and I think that's what the board did." (Paraphrased)

I applaud Board Members Cindy Vaillancourt and Bess Altwerger for casting the nay votes on this budget. I only wish that they had better company on the board--being arrogant and tone-deaf aren't the best qualifications.

It is my opinion that this kind of blatant disrespect for the community that Ms. French's comments represent should be grounds for censure. Something is very wrong in this county if parents and teachers are forming healthy partnerships for the good of children and BOE members are basically sneering at them.

On the other hand, apparently stakeholders have been issued an invitation to pack the George Howard Building. (More like waving a red flag, maybe?) Here is the information on the County Executive's hearing on the budget.

I received an email from newly-re-elected HCEA President Paul Lemle, extending the following invitation to the community:

Dear friends, colleagues, and community members,

The Board of Education voted today to adopt a $780M budget that cuts vital services in media and kindergarten even as enrollment increases by over 1600 students. The discussion now centers on the new Governor, County Executive, and County Council—and we need to keep advocating for our students.

Please join HCEA for an open community meeting on Tuesday, March 3^rd, 5PM in the Centennial HS cafeteria. We will clarify the impact of the cuts and develop strategy for the next part of the process. RSVP here to give us an idea of how much pizza we need!

If you care about the cuts being made in this budget, and you believe that stakeholder input should be respected and not sneered at, please mark you calendars for this meeting and share this information with others.

 

 

 

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