Glen Campbell and Barbara Cook both died today. When I was in elementary and middle school, there was not the level of homework assigned then that there is now. My siblings and I had the opportunity to entertain ourselves in the hour or so after school before Mom got home. The two artists who…
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Three Plantations
We started the day at Whitney Plantation. This is the only one of the tours that we have been on that tells the story of antebellum Louisiana from the point of view of the slaves. Narratives here have been constructed from the stories that were collected by Alan Lomax and the Federal Writers Project. Because…
I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing
by Walt Whitman I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing, All alone stood it, and the moss hung down from the branches; Without any companion it grew there, uttering joyous leaves of dark green, And its look, rude, unbending, lusty, made me think of myself; But I wonder’d how it could utter joyous leaves, standing…
The Mansions of Natchez
Natchez. Pronounced like Matches. Compared to a city like Jackson, MS, it is a tiny little speck on the Mississippi. But that speck is OLD (one of the oldest settlements in the lower Mississippi), and because it was not held under siege for 47 days like Vicksburg, it survived mostly intact from the war….
Windsor Ruins
Evocative. Haunting. Unstable. Unlucky. Quiet. Windsor survived the Civil War only to burn to the ground, victim of a casual cigarette smoker. We were the only people there mid-morning. It was peaceful, lovely, and a bit sad. It’s a must visit.
Vicksburg Battlefield
I have never considered myself a Civil War geek, although my house was built in the 1860s, but I have always been interested in US History. When I was in four I created a pageant for my class of Lincoln’s last fateful trip to the Theater, and when I student-taught I had an American Studies…
Traveling down the river
A good friend of mine who teaches at a private school in NYC invited me to join her on her summer ramblings. She teaches Huck Finn, and she wanted to get closer to the River and to Twain’s Life on the Mississippi. She was starting in Cairo, IL and driving down to New Orleans….
CMK15: Day Three – inspiration and wisdom and changing course a bit
Day three at Constructing Modern Knowledge began with some project work. In the morning we were treated to a panel discussion between Edith Ackerman, another MIT Media Lab connection, Deborah Meier, and James Loader from Australia. I have always admired Meier, and it was a real pleasure to hear Ackerman talk so passionately about the…
CMK Day Two: Contradictions
Yesterday has me thinking about equity and access. I had two very different experiences while listening to the featured speakers. Dr. Leah Buechley was the keynote speaker yesterday. A former MIT professor and the inventor of the LilyPad Arduino tool kit, she speaks as an insider about those who are excluded from the maker movement. She…
Day one – CMK15: Learning
This year’s Constructing Modern Knowledge is big. There is so much energy and enthusiasm, and there are some growing pains as well. The use of space is transformative. I was not here last year, and as I understand it this was a move they made last year. Being able to use this huge area to…
Spring, Passover, Easter, and girl bunnies
This has been a hard winter. The coldest February on record for Chicago, late snow, and the usual stresses of growing up and growing older. My twins will be off to college next fall. They have wonderful choices but not maybe the choices that they anticipated. It will all be good. And today I planted…
The Wheel of the Year turns
Welcome, February 1! Today is the day that we reach the point halfway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Imbolc, or St. Brigid’s Day is the beginning of the Celtic spring and the time when we can sense that the days are getting longer. So although we have at least three feet of…
Living on the Lip of Insanity 