Day 127, July 21, 2020

One, two, three...

Today's Soundtrack: Grant Green Trio, Paris 1969

Some time has passed and I feel like there is a lot to share....

One.

This past weekend we went out to Cobleskill, NY, a cute little town in upstate New York. We were visiting relatives and that was wonderful to see them for the first time since the pandemic started. It was nice to be in a different location with the beautiful rolling hills in that part of the state. We went to Howl's Caverns, ate BBQ from a food truck, and I found an album of Korean "lyric songs" from 1971 at an estate sale. I'm hoping it is some form of pansori. 

Two.

A little movie theater (closed)
in Cobbleskill.

The bear returned. I was about to take Franklin out for his last walk of the evening, usually around 11:30 or midnight. I had just buckled his leash on and had my little AAA flash light in my hand. I heard the trash can tip over. The trashcan is maybe 20 feet from the door, right at the corner of the house. I thought to myself, it must be windy outside. 

It is oddly insular to be home with the air-conditioning on and all the windows closed. One can lose touch with one's surroundings and not know if it is a heatwave, or raining, or if there is a bear outside trying to get into the trashcan. 

So I stepped out the door as I simultaneously switched on the outside light and Franklin immediately started barking and the bear looked up at me in a mild and slow surprise. I got a good look at its face, entirely black, and our eyes met. I scooted Franklin back in the door and called out to Debbie. I also retrieved my brand new bear-inspired, 3D-cell Maglite. Because of the bear's nonchalance, I fully expected it to still be out there when I poked my head out again, but it was gone, disappeared as silently as a rabbit slipping into the woods. I had been reading about astronomers discovering a galactic wall and the things they can perceive solely from the way objects around a thing react. At the edge of the yard, impenetrable even to the mighty Maglite, is a galactic wall. I can hear sticks moving. Franklin can sense something out there too, but he just barks at any direction, at any shadow, it is all sensory overload now.

After Franklin did his business, I made sure to bring in the chicken feed.

Three.

I played music for the first time in over a week last night. A friend texted and asked if I would want to try an improvisational dance and music thing. It is something we've talked about for several years and never brought to fruition. But finally, in the midst of a pandemic, we made it happen. I brought my fretless bass, a couple of pedals, and a small amp and set up in her driveway. She danced in a little garden area. It was marvelous. It was decadent. It was just the kind of self indulgence that we both needed, she as a dancer, and I as someone starved for making music. 

I made loops out of bass lines and played melodies on top of the loops trying to match the feel of her movements. And then, as if out of a storybook, a little girl walked out of the woods and exclaimed, "That's where the music is coming from!" And she and her mother started dancing with my friend. A little later, a neighbor walking past heard the music, followed it up the driveway, and joined in the dancing as well. 

It is a wonderful thing to play music and have people dance to the music. In the usual situation, dancers are reacting to, or embodying the music and it is a mostly unidirectional transmission. But in an experiment like this, there is a two way conversation between the dancer and the musician. We are both improvising so there is a kind of communication that is not always present when playing a set composition to an audience.  It is a sometimes tentative and delicate communication, and sometimes I was watching the sky, the leaves moving in the evening breeze, sometimes the little girl, sometimes my friend. 

Music was provided a set structure to my days before the pandemic. Each week there was band practice, and if I was too busy with work, I always knew that I would at least have my Thursday evening with Vimana, and sometimes other nights with other groups. But without that structure, it is easy to accidentally let an entire week slip away without sequestering myself in the basement and spending an hour or two playing. Last night was a perfect antidote to that, and it was a perfect testament to the wonderful, magical place where we live, where people emerge out of the woods and street to dance in a garden. Marvelous.

Take care and stay safe,

Leo

Korean Lyric Songs from 1971.

From Our Friends:

From the Greenfield Recorder:

Let's Talk Race: GCC President Yves Salomon-Fernández on overcoming the '-isms' The Recorder ... Greenfield Community College President Yves Salomon-Fernández said ... and then to Franklin County two years ago when she got the job at GCC.

From Bob Pura via Inside Higher Ed:

Writing to belong may encourage retention 

"Among minority and first-generation students, in particular, though, participation in the exercise correlated with significantly increased continuous enrollment over the next two academic years. Participants also reported greater feelings of academic and social fit."

From the Northampton Jazz Workshop:

 On Friday, July 24th Kimaya Diggs performs via live streaming from 6-7:30 as part of the Northampton Arts Council Presents Summer Concert Series  http://www.northamptonartscouncil.org/2020/07/the-northampton-arts-council-presents.html

From Tara Murphy:

WEST AFRICAN DANCE onZOOM with Tara

 

 Dance your Love to the world!

 

MONDAYS at 6:00-7:15 pm (Class may go over)

 

Please email info@ammaya.org for Zoom info by 5 pmon Monday. Zoom info will change each week.

 

Tara Murphy is giving FREE beginning West African inspired dance classes on Mondays until August. Join us to raise our energy and spirits during this time! Donations are welcome if you wish to give. Payment information is listed below.

 

West African Dance Class: With great recorded African music, contemporary and traditional. BEGINNING/OPEN level. Let your spirit fly with this dance, which opens the heart while working every muscle in your body. Dancing brings you to a place of joy, health, connection and unity. Participants will learn the basic styles of West African dance as well as a traditional dance from Mali or Guinea, West Africa. 

 
Donations are welcome: Paypal: info@ammaya.org; 
Zelle: info@ammaya.org; Venmo: @Tara-Murphy-122

From the NYT:

Anti-Asian Harassment Is Surging. Can Ads and Hashtags Help?

A new public service announcement makes a point that federal leaders have largely overlooked: Asian-Americans are facing a surge of harassment linked to fears about the coronavirus pandemic.

The spot, which debuted on Tuesday, includes testimonials from a firefighter, a nurse, a driver, an artist, the celebrity chef Melissa King and others, who describe being told to “go back to China” or having people spit in their direction.

From Mass Poetry:

Evening of Inspired Leaders 2020

A Virtual Mass Poetry Event Thursday, September 24th, 2020 7-8:30pm  After we had to cancel Evening of Inspired Leaders in March 2020 due to COVID-19, we are so excited to bring back this beloved community event in virtual fashion on Thursday, September 24th, 2020, 7-8pm. RSVP via Eventbrite here! For sponsorship information, visit the Mass Poetry website here!

From Teaching Tolerance:

Teaching Tolerance’s new streaming classroom film, Bibi, premieres on July 27! The short film tells the story of a Latinx father and son who can talk about anything—but only in writing, in the letters they pass back and forth when conversation seems too much. And after Ben, affectionately called “Bibi” by his father, hands his father a letter that reads “I’m gay,” the two don’t talk at all.

From the NYT:

Milwaukee Said It First: Racism is a Public Health Crisis

From cradle to grave, Black Milwaukeeans were suffering. The infant mortality rate was nearly three times that of white people. The life expectancy was about 14 years shorter, on average. Life in between offered its own hardships — from gaping disparities in education to income — officials realized years ago, in what was among the most racially segregated and inequitable cities in America.

The county executive at the time, Chris Abele, knew there was something insidious at work, something hard to tame or fix. He placed blame on centuries of deeply-rooted anti-Black racism — and the crushing chronic stress it caused. The result was remarkably different life experiences and health consequences for Black and white residents.

So Milwaukee tried something bold to fight the statistics. They declared racism a public health crisis, and vowed to combat it with the same vigor they would a disease outbreak.

From UMass Amherst/Jazz in July:

You're invited to WATCH Jazz in July Guest Artist presentations next Friday, July 24!
Although we cannot be together physically this summer, our Jazz in July faculty look forward to working with dozens of students in the first online version of the program next week!  To end the week, we've invited three guest artists to present to our participants and these performances, interviews and presentations will also be shared LIVE to you via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/UMassFineArtsCenter/live.

From PaperClip Communications:

Bias Against Asian and Asian American Students

The current crises of COVID-19 and civil unrest have exacerbated pressures felt by Asians and Asian Americans. Over thirty percent of Americans have witnessed COVID-19 bias against Asians, according to a survey conducted by Center for Public Integrity.   Get actionable takeaways and join this critical conversation with your peers on September 2, 2020 when our expert presenter will share key issues, best practices and insights on establishing impactful campus initiatives, responses and actions to bias, and long-term programming for Asian and Asian-American populations.  You’ll be able to sensitively and inclusively understand and support this population on campus, as well as address unconscious bias and systemic racism against Asians within interpersonal interactions, departmental approaches, and institutional policies.  Learn more about this webinar

From ProPublica:

What Coronavirus Job Losses Reveal About Racism in America

The catastrophic loss of millions of U.S. jobs is another part of the coronavirus pandemic that is falling disproportionately onto the shoulders of Black Americans.

by Lena V. Groeger

From Interfolio:

Panel: Achieving a Diverse Faculty Workforce in the 2020’s

Register to receive the recording on June 24, 2020

Register for a recording of our keynote panel with speakers from University of California-Merced, George Mason University, and Florida A&M University discussing where academic leaders can focus their efforts to impact diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2020.

REGISTER

From Bank of I.D.E.A.S.:

The New Local - Building Resilient and Regenerative Places Michael Shuman and Gilbert Rochecouste, two of the world’s leading voices in creating stronger, more resilient places and communities, will share a new roadmap to restart, renew, and reboot your communities and local economies to put people, place and planet first. Join both for an exciting webinar series beginning July 22 (7 PM EDT, US) / July 23 (9 AM AEST, AUS) with an introductory free session. The first session will run for approximately 90 minutes. Download the event PDF invite here

Click here to Register

From Inside Higher Ed:

Putting Action Behind Words: How Some Universities Are Responding to BLM
Article | Inside Higher Ed

Here's how some college leaders are making good on commitments to address racial inequities at their institutions with more diverse staffing, socially relevant curricula, and targeted fundraising to help students of color. Read more.

A puffball in the driveway.

Today's Online Teaching Tips:

From the Online Learning Consortium:

OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM Virtual Event

Make plans to join the OLC/MERLOT freevirtual expo, showcasing a wide range of virtual and distance labs designed to support online STEM education, offered by both commercial and open educational resource (OER) providers. OLC Ideate Labs for Online STEM: Innovating STEM Education 2020 event on August 19-21, 2020. 

Registration opens later this week!  Save the dates for this free, virtual event! Learn more.

Pedagogical Considerations for Instructional Video Conferencing Sessions

Remote instruction via video conferencing offers an engaging, quick shift to virtual facilitation in today’s unprecedented circumstances," said Amanda E. Major, EdD, CPLP, PMP and Tommi Barrett-Greenly, EdD, in a recent blog post. "This is a time when we, as educators, can use a powerful learning tool like video conferencing to effectively reach and teach our students, while providing meaningful and effective instruction." Learn more.

From Academic Impressions:

Inclusive Pedagogy in Higher Education: A Mindset and Continual Practice

August 7, 2020 | Virtual Training
Learn how to shift your mindset and practices so that you don’t exclude your students and limit their learning.

 

Practicing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Higher Education
September 16 - 17, 2020 | Virtual Conference
Take action to examine your knowledge base, unpack biases, and make your classroom and materials more inclusive.

• Building Inclusive Pedagogy Online | Webcast Recording

• Responding to Microaggressions in Online Learning Environments During a Pandemic | Article