Wednesday, February 24, 2010

dire straits


do the weather reports drive you crazy? today i cancelled a car repair appointment because of the stories of dire wintry weather. today, after 7/8 of yesterday's snow melted away i realized i'd been had. again. is it news (NEWS!!!) if we have weather? is that it? at the end of work we were talking about scheduling and sure enough, more snow and freezing rain and high winds. i went home, and checked the reports. high winds gusting to 30 mph and temperatures in the 40s? does everyone exaggerate? why? 


at school i wonder often about the constant use of hyperbole. from staff and students. last year a student used to shout "i LOVE it", making love a three syllable word, something i would have thought impossible until i heard it. simplicity and clarity are things i strive for, and i wish i didn't feel like i was always swimming upstream. maybe that's why it was so refreshing to hear temple grandin on ted talks today (thanks aimee!).  

8 comments:

  1. Well... if the forecasters exaggerated about the storm to hit the northeast tomorrow... I will have canceled my flight to go to my mother-in-law's funeral for nothing! I already feel terrible for not being able to go... so if that storm isn't bad... what is it you said about always swimming upstream??

    ReplyDelete
  2. yay! you watched it. i'm glad you enjoyed it. i ask the same thing about the weather reports. i assume it's something to do w/"at least we didn't *under* report". but i also just assume they're always wrong, or a day (or more) off!

    ReplyDelete
  3. the temple grandin thing was interesting...i plan to share that with my autism teachers at my high school....i have had a dozen or so autistic children in my art classes and even a few in my shop classes.......i ask every year to have them give me a couple of autistic children along with an aide to teach separately from the other classes.........but they refuse me every time.....i even offer to put in the extra time it would take in preparation...they always say "no"......it gets frustrating

    ReplyDelete
  4. Velma, hello, thanks for posting the link to temple grandin's talk on ted. I have been following your blog for a little while, sometimes I feel so close even though we are worlds apart. I have worked as a storyteller and musician in a school for children with autism and psychosis gor five years, a very rich experience for me. thanks for your lovely blog

    ReplyDelete
  5. you mean not everyone thinks in pictures???????

    ReplyDelete
  6. isn't temple grandin amazing? read her books. i hope to see the video soon, i don't have tv.

    chuck--can you believe the apathy in public education???

    hann-another big fix today!

    manya, do you know the quote all the stories are true? i love the art piece you do--music and stories. i don't have the music gene, dammit.

    neki--wow. all i can say is isn't it a revelation?

    ReplyDelete
  7. of course stories are true, a storyteller never lies when telling a story...she wouldn't be a storyteller then, just a liar, no? I can gauge peoples storytelling potential by their reaction to this statement.
    about the music gene- you weave, don't you? you can't do that without music in you.
    :-)

    ReplyDelete

be in touch!

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *