Julie Pippert: Using My Words

(photo credit to Backflip ) In elementary school, we had music class every day. I looked forward to that period most of all. In music class it was okay to sing and hum---in fact it was encouraged!---and we got to stand. Plus sometimes the teacher organized little bands and somebody got to bang a tambourine or the sticks, and somebody may even have gotten to pipe on the recorder. We learned sad songs, slow songs, fast songs, and funny songs. My favorites were Waltzing Matilda and Senor Don Gato was a Cat . I sing these songs with my kids, now. We learned about rhyming and meter and prose---well before official language arts classes. We learned about fractions, timing, and scales---well before official math classes. In fourth grade, if you so chose, you could select an instrument. I did so choose and I selected the viola. I'd wanted the cello but arguments ensued and the viola was the compromise. I knew I wanted something with a rich and deep tonal potential, not a squeaky violin, a...

Blue Dog , by Patience , 2007 (Please do not reprint, use, or reproduce.) The other day we got a note home from school about the art program. We get notes from the school practically every day, promoting this or that cause, cajoling for volunteers, or asking for some sort of donation, but this one caught me. In our school district---which I consider to be a relatively wealthy district, with a high tax base and amazingly generous donations from individuals and the community---the school lacks (won't allocate?) the funds to provide the art teacher with the supplies she needs to teach our children about art. Art. A subject I consider essential. I come from a family of artists. I've created and sold art. For a while, it was my income. Luckily my husband provided one too or I might have starved, but that could also have been my lack of marketing ability (and motivation). Luckily my ancestors were craftier. When my great-grandmother became a single mother, she used her artistic talen...

Although it seems hard to believe, the earth is still spinning and regular life is still ongoing even though there is a hurricane out there. There are a lot of things in life I didn't get around to this week, and hopefully that's just a "yet" but I acknowledge some things will have to be dropped. Here are a few that won't: 1. A big heartfelt thanks to Chani for awarding me the Blogger Reflection award. This award should make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy... of knowing them and being blessed by them. Even with the blatant abuse of the word "impact" and the nebulous wording of "Godly example" I find this a lovely award. Even lovelier is what Chani wrote Julie and I have very different cultural perspectives. She is also far brighter than me. Just the same, I am...

On Thursday night, some girlfriends and I gathered to go see a chick flick at the local dine and view movie theater. We saw Stardust . I suppose it's a sort of AdSense SmartSense advertising but every single solitary trailer was for a Chronicles of Narnia knockoff: young, idealistic person is "key" to some major adventure that involves passing from "regular life" into something supernatural, usually to save the world (or some world). It's well-known in marketing that generics often do as well as if not better than originals. So when a formula for success is revealed, quickly rush to market with your version. It's trickier than that---sometimes you need to tinker with quality, dumb it down, make it cheaper, enliven it, take a fresh twist, etc. to better appeal to the masses---but that's the gist of it. This affects any area of the market with a product or idea, but it is especially grueling in the creative world where instead of quality product drivi...