everything all at once...

robot-heart: furrowedbrow:somethingchanged

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:04:34 -0500

furrowedbrow:somethingchanged

popquizkid2006: tifmurphy: Jacques-Louis David - The Death of...

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:22:24 -0500

popquizkid2006:

tifmurphy:

Jacques-Louis David - The Death of Marat (1793)

I know more about this piece than anyone ever should. I heart you, art history.

This is one of my all-time favorite paintings! I heart you J.L. David!

lickystickypickyme: Babar. Love.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:35:49 -0500

lickystickypickyme:

Babar. Love.

Photo

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:54:14 -0500

—After dinner tonight we ventured to Sacre Coeur for about...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:52:33 -0500

—After dinner tonight we ventured to Sacre Coeur for about 2.5 seconds because it was so cold. Beautiful nonetheless.

Photo

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:26:43 -0500

Heartbreaker

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:39:37 -0500

capucha:

S. is the 5 years old son of friends of ours. Even though they don’t see each other very often, S. has always had a crush on Capucine. He calls her his “amoureuse”. Recently, his parents asked him if he didn’t have any “amoureuse” at school. S. answered that girls at school were “only friends”, because the only “amoureuse” he has is Capucine.

Here’s a conversation S. and Capucine had today, overheard by Capucine’s Dad.

S. : Capucine, do you have an “amoureux” ?

Capucine : Yes !

S. : Oh…

S. : What’s his name ?

Capucine : M. !

S. : Oh…

S. : Why is it not me ?

Capucine : Because ! We’re not “amoureux”, we’re super good friends !

S. : (…)

S. : Can we be… super super super good friends ?

Capucine : Ok !

popquizkid2006: tifmurphy: [She & Him - You Really Got a...

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:59:03 -0500

popquizkid2006:

tifmurphy:

[She & Him - You Really Got a Hold On Me]

I don’t like you
But I love you
Seems that I’m always
Thinking of you
Oh, you treat me badly
I love you madly

I just love her voice!

rough translation: Don’t know when you will read this, but...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:13:00 -0500

rough translation: Don’t know when you will read this, but be sure that I will never forget you.

Photo

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:10:30 -0500

Photo

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:04:44 -0500

Photo

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:59:33 -0500

I WORK HERE PEOPLE. And it snowed today. I was so excited about...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:57:06 -0500

I WORK HERE PEOPLE. And it snowed today. I was so excited about this!

dddanielle: “Winter Song” Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:43:16 -0500

dddanielle:

“Winter Song” Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson

robot-heart: (via Oakmoss)

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:14:36 -0500

robot-heart:

(via Oakmoss)

okay, I HATE HATE HATE that polar bears die in this… but...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:56:28 -0500

okay, I HATE HATE HATE that polar bears die in this…

but WHAT.DOES.THIS.MEAN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (LOST I love you and hate you simultaneously! AGH!)

"the thing about works like this is, you really have to be standing in front of them. in art school a..."

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:21:26 -0500

“the thing about works like this is, you really have to be standing in front of them.
in art school a lot of the theory classes spoke about the ‘death of painting’ and ‘art in the age of reproduction’… and while i grant that i am extremely interested in these topics, i have to say that nothing has ever hit me upside the head like standing in front of sweerts’s “head of an old woman”.
when i first saw it at the getty in LA, i stood literally transfixed for about 20 minutes. i couldn’t leave it. i wanted to see it in my mind always. i tried with all my might to etch every detail - from her soft diverted eyes to the latches on her jacket - into my brain so that i would always be able to recall it. a work unknown to me previously and yet one that shook me more than any other portrait before or since - i would have dismissed it in any art book, on any postcard and in any blog post.
go stand in front of art. there’s really nothing like it.”

- not-en*tire,ly tum+bling (via peterwknox)

(via scout)

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:43:19 -0500

(via scout)

Teaching is Hard.

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:06:13 -0500

There. I said it. Of course there are good days. Good days, like Tuesday of this week, when I played music for my kids and they loved it. Music is a good exercise in listening and oral comprehension. I played “If I Had a Million Dollars,” by the Barenaked Ladies. This particular song also works on the conditional (“If…then…”). They liked the song, and afterwards we played “music quiz” which they also enjoyed. So much so, that I literally had to kick them out of my class.

“You’re going to be late for your next class! You have to leave!”

“We don’t care! We want to stayyyyy!”

“Well, your next teacher will care! See ya!”

And then there are the bad days that no one warned me about. Not bad as in, my kids were bratty monsters, but bad because my kids just weren’t pickin’ up what I was puttin’ down. I joke, but seriously.

In case I haven’t told you, I spend a lot of my time preparing kids in their final year for the English portion of the Bac—the exam they have to pass at the end of the year. I show them an image (usually a political cartoon, or advertisement of some sort). They have to first, describe it, then analyze it, then give me their personal opinion of the image. So on Wednesday I have two courses with kids that just aren’t as strong in English as some of my others. After managing to construct a few simple sentences to describe the image, their voices trail off and the room becomes silent. This is my cue to help them; I prompt them with something so they can hopefully go, “Ah!” and it will magically click and they will give me a ten minute thesis on why an image showing a girl on a bike in the middle of traffic is bad. I know these kids are smart and full of opinions. And sometimes, that magic moment of clarity happens, but more often, it does not. They stare blankly back at me, my words meaningless noise. Some revert back to French as they try to explain. Embarrassed half-smiles spread across their face and they shrug, or continue staring at the page, or admit, “I don’t understand.”

My frustration grows as I try to find different ways to explain the image. Not frustration with them, frustration with myself. I want them to understand. I want them to know that I’m on their team, because I’ve been there. I know how hard it is to learn another language. Nothing questions your ability to teach like teaching itself. Especially when teaching a language. Let’s be honest, knowing a minimal amount of math, biology and other basic subjects are enough to get by, unless your work is specific to that field. But language? Language is communication. Language is teaching someone how to express themselves in an understandable, universal way.

Teaching can, and has been fun, as well as rewarding. But it is also hard. No one warns you that some days you might feel like a failure at your job. And you know what? That’s okay. Because it makes me want to be better. I have never been so humbled. True, some kids don’t care that they don’t get it. But some do. And for them, I’ll keep trying.

[Lady GaGa:Bad Romace] I also can’t tell you how much I...

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:06:46 -0500

[Lady GaGa:Bad Romace]

I also can’t tell you how much I want to drunkenly dance around with my friends from home to this song. (What? It’s true.)