Dancing, Floating Rings, and Other Random Stuff

I went to turn off my computer for the night, but somehow wound up logging into blogger instead.  The kids and I just finished taking turns reading poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  I wanted to read one of my childhood favorites, "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out," but it's a pretty long one, and for some reason my voice presently sounds like a bull frog wheezing its way through an asthma attack.  So instead I read "Smart," which has got to be among my top five favorites.  I just love the last line of the poem, "....And [my dad] closed his eyes and shook his head--Too proud of me to speak!"  It just makes me giggle every time.

Today was a pleasant day at work.  The weather has been so gorgeous that I decided to have students work outside the last three days.  It sort of lifts my spirits spending a day out in the sunshine, rather than stuck in a classroom all day.  The students really love the change of atmosphere, too.  Tonight I went to La Casita with Matt and Alana.  Clint is still on swing shift for Wednesdays, so unfortunately he couldn't come with us.  After dinner, Matt and Alana came to my house for a few hours, and Alana and I played "Just Dance 2" on Wii.  It was fun and quite a workout!  I think we did eight or nine songs.  I was actually really relieved that they decided to come over.  I've been in a sort of unsettled mood for the last few days, and I really needed the distraction.  Plus I actually start to get an itch to see those two after awhile.

This video bears no resemblance to anything in my life right now, I just think it's a pretty song.  Plus I like it that he's looking at paintings.  Although personally, when I sing in the shower, I'm usually much happier.

Aren't music videos stange?  Sometimes I wonder what the heck the producers were thinking when they created that particular imagery to go with those particular lyrics.  A great example is the song "Just a Dream" by Nelly.  I love the song, but did they really have to include a giant floating ring in the video?  I get it that they were going for the symbolism, but symbols should be subtle--something you have to search for.  Not a Mount Everest-sized monstrosity right in your face.  It's almost an insult to the viewer, like you might not "get it" if they don't announce it with blaring trumpets.  Oh, and what's up with the floating car?  I guess it's only "just a dream," so I shouldn't be questioning it.  I had a dream the other night that I was painting a portrait of a woman using crunchy peanut butter, so I'm really one to talk.

Oh hell, now I have to include Nelly's video too, just because I spent so much time talking about it.  I really do think it's a sweet song.