Graduation Monkeyshines

Last Thursday, Zach "graduated" from preschool and the William O'Conner School had a ceremony to comemerate the occasion. We all showed up at St. Patrick's Auditorium in Bay Ridge at 10:30 and were treated to quite a show. There were about 200 people in attendance and another 150 students and staff, so it was quite a full house.

It was a very cute affair though somewhat quirky - let me elaborate: Many of the kids that go to this school are on the autism spectrum and have the corresponding issues. Thus, when they were marching the kids in and Pomp and Circumstance started blaring over the PA system, many of the kids started clutching there ears and looking about to find the source of the offending racket.

Getting a bunch of special needs kids to do a coordinated show is a lot like trying to herd cats - and I give the staff great credit for not only trying, but actually succeding in pulling it off. Zach's class did "The Stick Song" and each kid had two wooden sticks that they tapped and banged in accordance to the words in the song. Zachy did pretty well, but seemed to lose interest about half way through the song, at which time he put his sticks down and covered his ears. You could tell that it was well rehearsed, however, as he and the other kids knew the song and were able to anticipate the lines and manipulate the sticks accordingly.

Miranda came suitably attired and was a bouncy joy to sit with. She watched her Zachy do his song from Daddy's shoulders and clapped along with everyone else.

We were also treated to "The Potatoe Song," "The Monkey Song," and a host of other fine selections. The proceedings wound up with a long slide show of all of the kids in the school set to music, followed by cake and soda. After the show we were reunited with our Zachy who seemed quite happy to see us and equally ready to go.

Father's Day Monkeyshines

Well, if I don't get this done today, I'll have had another visit before telling you all ("y'all" to the Carolina contingent) about the previous one. So, in the interest of expediency, this ain't gonna be pretty but it'll have to do.

The first thing that I must mention are the beautiful Father's Day art projects that Zachy made for me at school (pictured above). I'm not quite sure what to call the popsicle stick and seashell creation (lots of glitter of course) but it's definitely a keeper!















The second thing that I must mention also concerns Zachy (Miss Miranda was charming, sweet, beautiful and funny as ever - don't worry pumpkin, your turn is coming). We went to the park by Zach's school Saturday morning because the kids got up very early and wanted to go out long before it was time to leave for the Sensory Gym. When we got there, Zach took off and went straight to the big kids' side of the playground and got on a big boy's swing. The last time he tried this without an adult, he fell off backwards and banged his head on the rubber mat. This time he got on by himself, held on to the chains the whole time and was able to actually swing by leaning into it. It was amazing! This time I got pictures to prove it (above).

We also were sporting a new set of wheels this weekend - a new double stroller, well actually it's sort of a single stroller with a rumble seat in the back where Zachy can either sit or stand. They both seem to like it very much and it certainly is an improvement over the side-by-side that was bio-degrading as we strolled - check it out! (above)

The rest of the weekend was really fun, but not that much different than many of our weekends - we spent a lot of time at various parks, ran through the sprinklers, went for a bunch of long walks, had our quiet time, our art time, our music time, watched a lot of Thomas the Train, played with our toys, and cuddled etc.

I won't bore you with all of the little things, but I will mention that Miss Miranda likes to pick the clovers that grow (in abundance) in the front lawn of my building and sometimes we sit outside and make clover jewelry. When I was sweeping up the apartment after dropping the kids back at Monkey Central this Sunday evening, I kept finding piles of partially dismembered clovers and realized that my little one has been smuggling them in and hiding them. I'm in the process of finding a suitable clover repository so that my little clover smuggler can go legit and keep her ill-gotten booty.





















Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Tune in again for more Monkeyshines.

Faith, not Religion

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
~ Steven Weinberg

Slow Progress

The whole idea of existence is that you're not a snowflake. You're simply another generic idiot in the long line of mutated monkeys, and if left up to you, you'd be flinging your shit around just like your ancestors. ~ Mad Magazine

I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there. ~ Richard Feynman

What ever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Busier Than My Bumblebee

I am in the midst of an exceptionally busy week - the kind I used to call a "week from Hell" - and it is only going to get busier. Strangely, I seem to find this comforting - at least I'm not at a loss for things to do.

I spent a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon over at Nathan, Stephanie, and EJ's house. We talked a bit while Nathan updated the operating system on my laptop (to Ubuntu's Fiesty Fawn release of Linux) and Stephanie worked on a book she is writing. EJ and I played some games with miscellaneous objects in the house and made up the rules as we went along, as the smell of Caribbean food wafted in through the window (everyone thought it smelled like ass, but I couldn't smell it). We ended up flopping on the futon and watching an Australian movie called "Candy" which was a story about a heroin addicted couple whose lives spiral into chaos. It was kind of disturbing, but made us all feel pretty good about our own lives. Besides, what could be better than lounging around on a Sunday with an incredibly cute two-year old curled up on your tummy?

I was in court all morning on Monday (I thought it went well) which was pretty fascinating and nothing like what you see on TV. The court rooms themselves were really small and not particularly well furnished and the people (lawyers and litigants alike) were kind of a trip to watch, both in appearance and behavior. There was a lot of sitting and waiting, but I brought a good book to read so the time passed rather quickly. As I watched the cases that went before us, it was fun to imagine what the lives of those involved were like and what their issues were. Anyway, it was all over by 11:15 and I went back to Bay Ridge to go about doing the things that I do to "stay on the beam."

Yesterday I had to get up and take a 2 and a half hour train ride to get to Bronx Community College (at 200 Zillionth Street) where I was putting on a mathematics workshop and attending a conference. After that I had to rush back to Harlem to teach my night classes. Today I am cleaning up the mess that results after two days out of the office and I have to leave early to scoop the kids by 6pm (I have them from 6 to 8). Tomorrow is another full day and night of teaching, then the week culminates in a conference at NYU on Friday, followed by a mad rush home to get ready for the having the kids this weekend. It is all good, but I am as busy as can be.

Heat Wave Monkeyshines

Well, another weekend has come and gone and it saw yet another great visit with our two favorite little people. Daddy stopped by Monkey Central Friday night at 7pm and picked up young Master Zechariah and younger Miss Miranda. We strolled up Ridge Blvd. to Daddy's house and let the good times roll. Friday night was pretty uneventful - just some playing with our toys, some story time and of course we watched some of our favorite videos. The little ones were pretty worked up, so bedtimes were a bit on the late side, but we were up and at 'em the next morning in plenty of time to make it to the Sensory Freeway for Zach's therapy session. Yours truly had one of those unique "Daddy moments" when we arrived at the gym and Miranda's mother informed me that the cute little dress I had picked out for her to wear was really her nightgown - Oops! But really, look at the pictures and see if you would have known. Miranda was happy with the choice so it really didn't matter, but I found it pretty amusing.

While Zach climbed and jumped and bounced on the trampoline (pictured above), Miranda and Daddy went to Daddy's cookie meeting. Miranda loves it when everybody claps (when the list of anniversaries are read, etc.) and enthusiastically claps right along. While at the meeting (we only stayed for a short bit) she enjoyed all of her favorites: bagel, doughnuts and cookies. Once we were properly fueled up, we made our next port-of-call: the pet store, where we said hello to all of our friends - the kitties, the puppies, the birds, the lizards, the mousies, the hermit crabs and the bunny. We also made a new friend which was a chinchilla, and found out just how soft her fur was. The animals all seemed happy to see Miranda and she was certainly happy to see them.


We left the pet store in time to go collect our Zachy and, because of our late breakfast, decided to go straight to the park in order to take advantage of the nice weather. Saturday was extremely hot (in the 90s) and was very humid. We decided that it would be coolest down by the water, so we went to the Shore Road Promenade Park at 79th Street. We made sure to slather on plenty of sunblock, then headed directly to the sprinklers to cool off. While the best sprinklers in Bay Ridge are at Owls Head Park, this is probably the second best place to cool off and even Daddy got into the act. From the sprinklers we went to the swings, with Zachy leading the way. All of the little swings were taken at first, so both children swung on the big kid swings. This was the first time I saw Zach do this - he actually held on and even seemed to enjoy it - unfortunately, I was surprised and didn't think to get a picture of it until it was too late, but I did get one of Miranda.

After quite some time at the park, we went home for some lunch, some story time, an art project and music time. Our art project consisted mostly of stickers from Miranda's big book of stickers (she was nice enough to share with Zach and Daddy) and our growing collection of felt tipped pens. Of course two beautiful masterpieces were created.

After all of that, we went out to take care of a couple of errands (like paying Daddy's rent). Miranda was so worn out that she fell asleep in the stroller ("scroller" as she pronounces it). This gave Daddy and Zach a chance for some special father-son time, which we spent at home playing with his cars and trains

Saturday evening we went to a carnival at Saint Anselm's at 4th Avenue and 82nd Street. It was really cool! We played some ski-ball and were persistent enough to win the blue dog - which Miranda promptly named "Bluedog." Zach went on the Pirate's Cove, which was a "ride" that involved traversing a maze, wading through a treacherous bog of colored balls, climbing a net to the second story of the ride, crossing the rickety bridge, sliding down the gangplank and finally knocking through the punching bags. Zach made it most of the way then decided to turn around and hang out for a while on the net. He ended up coming out the way he went in, but no one seemed to mind. All in all, it was a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday evening.


Sunday was not as nice, but also not as hot. We decided to go to the park early, in order to avoid the rain (which never really materialized). While we were there, we saw the Tour de Brooklyn Bicycle Classic going past - bikes kept going past for what seemed like days and days. There's not much else to report on this park experience - so I wont report it.


We left the park as we found it and walked around for a while. Daddy was trying to teach the little people the names of all the different trees and other plants we encountered and eventually we found our way home. We played in the front yard for a while with Neil and Lydia and some of our other friends, then went inside for lunch and some quiet time.












As the afternoon wore on, the moisture in the air became more and more rain-like, which kept us from going to the big 5th Avenue street fair, but one festival in a weekend is probably enough. We stopped for some balloons on the way back to Monkey Central as a consolation, and both little monkeys were delivered safely back to Mommy by 5pm. Do weekends really get much better? I should note here that I did see the kids last Wednesday (May 30th) for the every other week mid-week visit, but got so busy that I didn't get time to write about it - suffice it to say that it was jam-packed fun! Please check back in two weeks when the monkeys ride again!

A Poem as an Old Friend

OZYMANDIAS

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

I was working on sonnets with my class today and happened upon this old friend, so I thought I'd share some thoughts and reflections. I have loved this poem, ever since I first encountered it in some high school English class or another, mostly for the richly layered and often conflicting emotions I feel each time I read it. It is stark and lonely yet warm and dusty - it echoes and is muted all at the same time. It speaks volumes to me about human arrogance and pettiness, and volumes more about our place in the universe.
It was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and first published in 1818, and is probably Shelley's most famous short poem, though surprisingly critics regard it as on of Shelley's lesser works. In addition to the power of its themes and images, the poem is remarkable for its marvelous rhythm and unusual (for a sonnet) rhyme scheme (ABABACDCEDEFEF) which, along with the imagery, creates a sinuous and interwoven effect .
The name Ozymandias is generally believed to refer to Ramesses the Great (i.e., Ramesses II), Pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Ozymandias represents a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses's throne name. The sonnet paraphrases the inscription on the base of the statue, given by Diodorus Siculus as "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works." Shelley's poem was inspired by the arrival in London of a colossal statue of Ramesses II, acquired for the British Museum by the Italian adventurer Giovanni Belzoni in 1816.
In line 7, the word "survive" is a transitive verb, with "hand" and "heart" as its direct objects. Thus, the lines mean that those passions (arrogance and sneer) have survived (outlived) both the sculptor (whose hand mocked those passions by stamping them so well on the statue) and the pharaoh (whose heart fed those passions in the first place).
The verb "mock'd" originally meant "to create/fashion an imitation of reality" (as in "a mockup") before meaning "to ridicule" (especially by mimicking). In Shelley's day, the latter meaning was predominant (as seen in the works of William Shakespeare or the King James Version of the Bible), but in the specific context of "the hand that mock'd them", we can read both "the hand that crafted them" and "the hand that ridiculed them". Indeed throughout the poem, Shelley celebrates the anonymous artist and his achievement. The lone and level sands stretching far away suggest the desolation that results from the impulse to impose oneself on the landscape. When Shelley says "nothing beside remains," he suggests the nothingness of space around the ruins and of the ruins themselves, and he puns on the ruins as "remains." That there is nothing beside the ruins implies that it touches, or connects to, nothing.
This poem is often incorrectly quoted or reproduced. The most common misquotation — "Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair!" — replaces the correct "on" with "upon", thus turning the regular decasyllabic (iambic pentameter) verse into an 11-syllable verse, and we can't have that now can we!?

Seeking Truth

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. (Andre Gide) There's more to the truth than just the facts. (Author Unknown) So how do we go about seeking the Truth?
Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter.
"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop". (Lewis Carrol)
How will we know the truth when we find it? The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. (Edward R. Murrow) The observer, when he seems to himself to be observing a stone, is really, if physics is to be believed, observing the effects of the stone upon himself. (Bertrand Russell) Men are probably nearer the central truth in their superstitions than in their science. (Henry David Thoreau) The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. (Niels Bohr)
It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. (James Thurber) To learn something new, take the path that you took yesterday. (John Burroughs) We become aware of the void as we fill it. (Antonio Porchia) You can see a lot by just looking. (Yogi Berra)
The truth is that there is no one Truth; it is each individual's journey.

Fishing, Meaning and Zen

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. (Henry David Thoreau) The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him? (Chuang Tzu) I tell you everything that is really nothing, and nothing of what is everything, do not be fooled by what I am saying. Please listen carefully and try to hear what I am not saying. (Charles C. Finn) Only that in you which is me can hear what I'm saying. (Baba Ram Dass) You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. (Navajo Proverb) You can't reason someone out of a position they didn't reason themselves into. (Author Unknown) The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. (Robert M. Pirsig) Knock on the sky and listen to the sound. (Zen Proverb) The obstacle is the path. (Zen Proverb)