Nerd Fest

This weekend is the Minnesota State High School Math Teachers' Conference and I'm goin'! I've decided to dub it "Nerd Fest." There will be math games, math books, math jewelry, and math clothing for sale. There will be people calculating things, discussing things way over other people's heads, and pretty much a bunch of teachers walking around thinking "Whew, this is a nice little break from the daily routine." There will be first grade teachers, special ed teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, college professors, college students who want to be math teachers, state math administrators and book vendors attending.

Try not to be envious. We can't all be math nerds.

(tee hee).

Movie of the Day: Juno. Jocks like nerds. You should too.

Gooseberry Falls (Two Weeks Ago)

There's a lotta water goin' on...

Oh, Georgia!

A few years ago, I went to Santa Fe and wandered the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. It's small, but nice. My favorite painting there was an abstract of the New York City sky. You couldn't really tell it was NYC or even really buildings. I loved that. Unfortunately, the gift shop did not have a print of the painting and while I searched nearby shops, I still couldn't find it. So, I gave up.

Then, this week, I had the chance to wander the Tweed Museum at UMD and started thinking about the ever elusive O'Keefe painting. My fear was that I had idealized it in my head after so many years that it would be a letdown if I ever found it.

I went home and googled away, finding her complete works on Wiki almost immediately. Not only was I right about the letdown, but I had a hard time even figuring out which painting I had loved! How awful!!!

It could have been this one, or this one, but I don't think it was this one.

My new favorites:

It Was Blue and Green 1960
Red Canna 1915
Maple and Cedar 1922
From the Lake no 1 1924

Movie of the Day: Carolina. She had a state name too.

Dreary

The weather is trying to dampen my Spring Break joy. The clouds engulf the city and sprinkle, then splatter it with their tears, or perhaps it's their snot. Either way, we are wet. Wet and cold. Blankets, candles, thoughts of beaches, and hugs can try to warm the chill that runs bone-deep, but the only thing that might save us is the thought that Spring must come. Eventually.

Very, Very Close

Can you sense the change in the air? Hear birds chirping and suddenly realize that the silence is over? Notice that the sun is setting and you ate dinner hours ago? Smell the air and realize it isn't stinging your nose? Look at your students and realize soon they won't be yours any more and feel sadness with a twinge of relief?

Movie of the Day: The Matrix. Talk about changing a perspective!