I've decided to use song titles as the titles for my posts. Hokey? Maybe--but if you believe that "life is a song lyric", it makes writing to you a little easier. Today's title comes courtesy of one of my favorite groups, Take 6, who recorded this early on in their career and put it at the beginning of the album, also named So Much 2 Say. There's a running gag on Take 6 albums where you hear them chase the instrumentalists out of the recording studio (they're an a capella group, for the uninitiated) and this immediately follows. Enjoy!
As the dizzying pace of this semester continues, I get occasional speedbumps. I was informed last night that the concert for which I painstakingly sorted music last Sunday has been cancelled, and now it goes back to Montana. Oy! As if I didn't have enough to do.
Still pressing on; feelling a little better about the state of things academic, but keeping my game face is getting harder. Time to start the day at Spring City.
Cheers.
*--Take 6, So Much 2 Say, 1990
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain..*.
Today has been as gray and gloomy as a day can be. It started raining in earnest about 45 minutes ago after threatening to do so all day. It kept more than a few people from picking up their music for SPSO, except for Eric Wilson, our principal bassoon, who came for his during his lunch break. Eric played a concerto--Michael Daugherty's Dead Elvis--for us a couple seasons ago. Based on the melody Dies Irae, it's scored for the same instrumentation as Stravinsky's l'histoire du soldat and is, to put it mildly, a strange piece. It calls for the soloist to assume the persona of The King, right down to the muttonchop sideburns, dark glasses, and yes, white jumpsuit. The aforementioned Stravinsky piece was on the program as was Milhaud's la creation de monde (big trombone lick in the last movement!)
I still have piles of papers to go through from last night, review of Dewey Decimal Classification, a video to watch, and a chapter to read in Stueart (Management textbook). It won't take long, and I expect I'll get to bed at a decent hour.
Fish and sauteed vegetables for dinner. Simple and kinda healthy. Time for a break.
Cheers...
*--"Rhythm of the Rain", The Cascades, 1963
I still have piles of papers to go through from last night, review of Dewey Decimal Classification, a video to watch, and a chapter to read in Stueart (Management textbook). It won't take long, and I expect I'll get to bed at a decent hour.
Fish and sauteed vegetables for dinner. Simple and kinda healthy. Time for a break.
Cheers...
*--"Rhythm of the Rain", The Cascades, 1963
Monday, September 17, 2012
'round midnight...*
Another day into the books (and sheet music) (and housework). Let's go to the highlight film:
Completed revisions for LCSH the right way this time; waiting for response from professor on format question before I click "submit".
Found some temporarily mislaid sheet music (Yea!)
Read a chapter for Management class on "communication".
Double-checked wiki for same class to make certain that I'd reserved my selection for the book review assignment (I did).
Sorted SPSO folders for mailing, dropping off, and "porch sitting" (some folks are coming when I won't be here).
Listening to a webinar on communication (Management class).
Earned an 80% on my first Management assignment. It's early; I'll do better next time.
Second load of laundry in.
Still can't shake the bronchitis cough. Going to bed.
Cheers...
*--Thelonius Monk, 1944
Completed revisions for LCSH the right way this time; waiting for response from professor on format question before I click "submit".
Found some temporarily mislaid sheet music (Yea!)
Read a chapter for Management class on "communication".
Double-checked wiki for same class to make certain that I'd reserved my selection for the book review assignment (I did).
Sorted SPSO folders for mailing, dropping off, and "porch sitting" (some folks are coming when I won't be here).
Listening to a webinar on communication (Management class).
Earned an 80% on my first Management assignment. It's early; I'll do better next time.
Second load of laundry in.
Still can't shake the bronchitis cough. Going to bed.
Cheers...
*--Thelonius Monk, 1944
In the wee small hours of the morning...*
I'm about to go to bed after a long, active day.
Roasted a chicken for lunch;
Cantored Noon Mass;
Took Sarah to her Mandolin lesson;
Worked on SPSO library with Kathleen for about an hour;
Worked on it again (stuffing envelopes, creating a listserv to communicate with my fellow orchestra members, sent an initial email, recorded responses) for another hour at home. Discovered that I'd left MY part for the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at Kathleen's house (oops).
Made a mental list of mini-tasks and when I will be able to do them.
THEN I spent time on my homework. 502 (Cataloging)--arranged my work so I could complete revisions on Exercise E (LCSH) more efficiently; read discussions board posts. 534 (Management)--skimmed notes for the coming week. Need to read two chapters in textbook, and answer a series of questions on a discussion board.
Between home, school, work, and music, it's no wonder the day sails by.
I need some serious face time with the trombone. October 1 will come sooner than I'd like.
Cheers.
*==David Mann and Bob Hillard, 1955
Roasted a chicken for lunch;
Cantored Noon Mass;
Took Sarah to her Mandolin lesson;
Worked on SPSO library with Kathleen for about an hour;
Worked on it again (stuffing envelopes, creating a listserv to communicate with my fellow orchestra members, sent an initial email, recorded responses) for another hour at home. Discovered that I'd left MY part for the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at Kathleen's house (oops).
Made a mental list of mini-tasks and when I will be able to do them.
THEN I spent time on my homework. 502 (Cataloging)--arranged my work so I could complete revisions on Exercise E (LCSH) more efficiently; read discussions board posts. 534 (Management)--skimmed notes for the coming week. Need to read two chapters in textbook, and answer a series of questions on a discussion board.
Between home, school, work, and music, it's no wonder the day sails by.
I need some serious face time with the trombone. October 1 will come sooner than I'd like.
Cheers.
*==David Mann and Bob Hillard, 1955
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Easy, like Sunday morning*--NOT!
Hey all!
If you're involved in online education, as a teacher or a student, you're no doubt familiar with the anxiety one feels when materials that are supposed to be available, aren't. That's my situation this morning. My cataloguing professor was supposed to have our first assignment available for revisions yesterday after he completed grading. Well, 24 hours later (except for about 15 minutes last night) they're still not there.
Meanwhile, my classmates and I are waiting to see what will happen. Some of us (including me) have moved on to the next unit (Dewey Decimal Classification), a system with which most of us have much greater familiarity. We even have an OCLC resource called WebDewey, which, as the name implies, has the 4-volume Dewey instruction manual online, complete with subdivision tables. It's a wonderfully handy resource, and when it was available in print, it came in an abridged version.
Well, in the words of Dorothy Parker, "no good deed goes unpunished". According to Dr. Maccaferri, it turns out that the OCLC no longer provides the on-line abridged edition--SO--our professor changed the assignment to reflect (I hope) the new paradigm (the long version of WebDewey). The mind reels.
Cantoring at Noon Mass, taking daughter to mandolin lesson at 230, meeting with SPSO librarian at 4 to go over music, and THEN more progress on homework.No rest for the weary.
It's not all bad. My Library Management class is providing some "Harry Shearer's 'le show'"-worthy guffaws courtesy of our current class assignment--to read a number of job ads seeking library managers or directors, compile the data and report back (APA format, of course). I don't want to give anything away, but Dilbert is just around the corner (cubicle). Cheers.
*--Easy, Lionel Richie, 1977.
If you're involved in online education, as a teacher or a student, you're no doubt familiar with the anxiety one feels when materials that are supposed to be available, aren't. That's my situation this morning. My cataloguing professor was supposed to have our first assignment available for revisions yesterday after he completed grading. Well, 24 hours later (except for about 15 minutes last night) they're still not there.
Meanwhile, my classmates and I are waiting to see what will happen. Some of us (including me) have moved on to the next unit (Dewey Decimal Classification), a system with which most of us have much greater familiarity. We even have an OCLC resource called WebDewey, which, as the name implies, has the 4-volume Dewey instruction manual online, complete with subdivision tables. It's a wonderfully handy resource, and when it was available in print, it came in an abridged version.
Well, in the words of Dorothy Parker, "no good deed goes unpunished". According to Dr. Maccaferri, it turns out that the OCLC no longer provides the on-line abridged edition--SO--our professor changed the assignment to reflect (I hope) the new paradigm (the long version of WebDewey). The mind reels.
Cantoring at Noon Mass, taking daughter to mandolin lesson at 230, meeting with SPSO librarian at 4 to go over music, and THEN more progress on homework.No rest for the weary.
It's not all bad. My Library Management class is providing some "Harry Shearer's 'le show'"-worthy guffaws courtesy of our current class assignment--to read a number of job ads seeking library managers or directors, compile the data and report back (APA format, of course). I don't want to give anything away, but Dilbert is just around the corner (cubicle). Cheers.
*--Easy, Lionel Richie, 1977.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Online Course of Study
1:30 pm, Saturday
Just came chugging back up the hill from the Turkey Hill C-store and am going to try once again to start my revisions for Cataloging class. Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) got the better of me this week, and I've had to rethink how I study, not just for this class but for all my classes. The textbook for this class is, to put it mildly, densely written, but I'm reserving final judgement until I get a little further along.
I'm taking a 100% online Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS, sometimes called a MLIS, or Master of Information and Library Science) degree from Clarion University, a PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) college in north central Pennsylvania. In December, provided I survive Cataloging, I'll be halfway through the program.
My coursework has been mostly required classes up to this point (Information Sources and Services[working the reference desk], intro to research, collection development, Library management, Intro to information professions, and the aforementioned Cataloging and Classification class. Soon to come are bibliography classes for various fields of study (I'm taking Humanities and Sciences), three classes in the digital/electronic realm, and a class in teaching strategies for librarians. The last one is particularly important because information literacy skills are being taught at all levels, even college, and are becoming a significant part of the first-year experience (what they used to call freshman orientation). The thinking is (and I believe it is sound) that time, money, and energy are better spent on helping students build a solid foundation of study skills during the first year than spending three days during the summer after high school graduation babysitting them, hoping they don't get drunk or sick or arrested or worse.
What do I hope to get out of all this education? My goal is to work as a librarian at the college level, preferably as a Music Specialist in a conservatory setting. It has been pointed out that there ARE other options, and I'm certainly learning that, but even if I don't get a Music School job, I can STILL work in other areas of librarianship and be fulfilled.
Dewey Decimal System next week. More later.
Cheers...
Just came chugging back up the hill from the Turkey Hill C-store and am going to try once again to start my revisions for Cataloging class. Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) got the better of me this week, and I've had to rethink how I study, not just for this class but for all my classes. The textbook for this class is, to put it mildly, densely written, but I'm reserving final judgement until I get a little further along.
I'm taking a 100% online Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS, sometimes called a MLIS, or Master of Information and Library Science) degree from Clarion University, a PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education) college in north central Pennsylvania. In December, provided I survive Cataloging, I'll be halfway through the program.
My coursework has been mostly required classes up to this point (Information Sources and Services[working the reference desk], intro to research, collection development, Library management, Intro to information professions, and the aforementioned Cataloging and Classification class. Soon to come are bibliography classes for various fields of study (I'm taking Humanities and Sciences), three classes in the digital/electronic realm, and a class in teaching strategies for librarians. The last one is particularly important because information literacy skills are being taught at all levels, even college, and are becoming a significant part of the first-year experience (what they used to call freshman orientation). The thinking is (and I believe it is sound) that time, money, and energy are better spent on helping students build a solid foundation of study skills during the first year than spending three days during the summer after high school graduation babysitting them, hoping they don't get drunk or sick or arrested or worse.
What do I hope to get out of all this education? My goal is to work as a librarian at the college level, preferably as a Music Specialist in a conservatory setting. It has been pointed out that there ARE other options, and I'm certainly learning that, but even if I don't get a Music School job, I can STILL work in other areas of librarianship and be fulfilled.
Dewey Decimal System next week. More later.
Cheers...
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