Thursday Interlude: And the Band Played On

Greetings from Hot (and a Little Less Sticky) Reston.

This has been a Topsy-turvey week. As SR noted yesterday, co-workers are scurrying about the building moving belongings here and there. I feel for them. In October I will have been here four years and I have moved but once, about a year and a half ago. It did give me a chance to throw out a bunch of stuff, which is kind of cleansing. I am staying put this time, though . I am now in an office at the back of the building that looks out on woods, which I really like. See below. As you can see, it is a bit hazy today.

In a few weeks I will show you what the fall foliage looks like. Reston is beautiful in the fall.

I am located in the production department because my job is bit of a hybrid. I write and edit but also lay out the news pages, so it has been helpful being located near the designer/Web gurus.

Home this week has been a bit out of synch, too. My son Matt is away at the beach this week with a friend and his family, so my husband and I are kind of wandering around the house, lost, not knowing what to do with ourselves in the evening. (I am just writing that in case Matt happens to read this. Miss you, darlin').

When he comes home on Saturday, the back to school stuff will start in earnest. He starts high school and is going out for the freshman football team. He has been doing conditioning since June and I am grateful that he has been so dedicated to it. He has been running and lifting weights all summer, rather than vegging out with video games. He has been reading at the beach, so hopefully he is finished or nearly so, with his summer reading assignment.

Matt starting football soon reminds me that many of you have probably started fall band drills. I believe I mentioned previously that I played clarinet in marching band and orchestra in high school (not well, mind you, but I was usually around second chair) and I loved marching band. More on that as we get into fall (right, I know you can't wait.)

With marching band season upon us, I wanted to share a couple of things I discovered this week. One story my husband Steve found in the satirical weekly newspaper The Onion.
The lead story in the August 1 issue is "Activision Reports Sluggish Sales for Sousaphone Hero"


The opening of the story states Despite a catchy 1890s soundtrack and realistic-feeling game play, Sousaphone Hero, the third installment of Activision's massively popular Guitar Hero video game franchise, sold a mere 52 copies in the United States in its opening week, the company reported Monday.

Matt owns the real Activision game Guitar Hero, which uses a guitar-shaped game controller to play rock songs like "Smoke on the Water." The Onion story features a mock game controller that wraps completely around the body the way a sousaphone really does.

With all respect to sousaphone players, I thought the satirical story was pretty funny. Let me know what you think.


The other marching band story I found this week was on one of my favorite Web sites, www.npr.org/music. The story about the Elkhark, Indiana, marching band centers on a new book American Band: Music, Dreams, and Coming of Age in the Heartland, which was written Kristen Laine. The book follows the state champion band through an entire year of rehearsals and performances, and makes that point that band members not only learn music and marching skills, but numerous life skills as well.

On Monday August 6 Laine appeared on the NPR show Talk of the Nation and during the broadcast several callers called the show to share their own positive band experiences. If you click on the Talk of the Nation link you can listen to the program. The program also has a blog where marching band supporter weighed in on their own programs. Visit the blog to read comments or comment yourself.

And with school staring up again, don't forget MENC's message boards, which allow you to share information with fellow music education. Find the band board here.

Well, I need to get back to October Teaching Music news. The issue will include a date book of music education events for the whole year, among other exciting things. You will see that issue in mid-September.

Hope August is treating you well.
Til next Thursday
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XXI: Dog Days Continued!

All I can say is, I'm thankful to be inside in this heat than out!

Was going to wax rhapsodic today about an internal MENC novelty, "The Red Book", but will leave that until my next entry....because.....everything has come to a stop for about 20 -25 MENC staff here (which is 1/3 the work force, so it's actually leaving larger ripples behind amongst the rest of the staff....) .....asked to pack up their offices by Friday....no, we're not being let go.....( thankfully!) - just being shifted around to new offices.

While this may not seem like such a seismic occurance, trust me, it becomes one as people who have grown fond of/attached to their cubicles, windows, offices or floor mates suddenly are faced with the reality of CHANGE!! New kitchens to get used to! New walking patterns to establish! New "figure out how it works up/down here" behaviors! Due to shifts in MENC's strategic priorities, personnel are being moved to better facilitate the work effort.

MENC goes through this kind of physical gymnastic every three or four years, it seems! Fellow Blogger, EWL, in her 16 years at MENC, has moved offices something like 7 times! No, Dr. M doesn't get a kick out of playing musical chairs with staff, and you can be SURE our IT department (phones, computers, desks, files, etc.) and mailroom guys aren't jumping for joy each time they are asked to help make these moves happen....no, internal moves are made with solid consideration and rationale, to reflect changing priorities in projects and work, and to prepare for the next stage of the organization's life.

I myself have moved offices three times in 8 years....was on the third floor, facing the front of the building where I felt like I was in a pink cloud each March/April when the cherry trees bloomed outside my window.....then, down to the basement, or first floor, where I was tucked into a hillside overlooking the greeny cool forest behind MENC, where deer and hawk and other creatures played.....finally, about three or four years back, moved up to the 2nd,or ground level main floor, right outside MB's busy Grand Central Station office. I'm grateful to have a view of the woods, although it's not the experience of being IN the woods as it was on the basement level....however, now I get some visitors of birds of all sorts, cardinals who sit on the windowsill, pecking at their reflection, flickers doing the same....spoiled, ain't I?

But, when I left the basement, I also left behind FILES!! Miles of files. MENC's repository of INFORMATION on all topics music ed related!!! The incredible folks who headed this department before my arrival in 1999 kept thorough and wonderful files of surveys, articles, publications on all nature of music ed topics. In my 8 years here, the files have grown, and now, I must cull them and put them out to pasture into the storeroom, or MENC archives, as where they lived is now being turned into someone else's "living" area (new cubicle for CA!).

Going through these files...oh, the memories!! The past projects worked on ! The past importance of that data or memo! Memories flood....some gems found, others trashed....and always, the consoling mantra "It's on the web now, let the paper copy go...it's on the web now...let the paper copy go!" .....but my pack rat mind and treasure hunter's mentality calls back, "But what if some grad student or professor, years from now, decides to do a history of the development of advocacy literature? or the earliest Brain research studies? or the SMPE, or Manhattan Curriculum project?" Hard to let these things go......luckily, MENC has an archive at the University of Maryland, Performing arts college,where I'm hoping a lot of these files will end up. CLICK HERE and then scroll down the page to see the link to the MENC repository.

I add a few articles for your reading pleasure, and recommend one website in particular, which I highlighted in my very first blog, I believe. Check this blog out for always interesting and stimulating conversation/discussion and helpful knowledge!

Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, some call him the most important fiddle player of the 19th century; Aug. 15 will mark the 100th anniversary of his death.

Art for arts sake, new book

NSO earbud experiment!

Rock n Roll at Reunion

WATER COOLER: We sure were thirsty this week!

See you next week! SR

Tuesday, Tuesday

I'm looking forward to lunch with a friend today even though it's about 100 degrees outside and nasty air quality. I've had four meetings already this morning -- the Weekly Web meeting, a meeting about Webinars, a meeting about advocacy initiatives, and a conference call about Web development. We are really busy! I'm still going to try to find a few minutes to look for Harley this afternoon.

Summer music continues tomorrow night, moving from last week's '60s-'70s HippieFest to the '80s with the B-52s! The outfits should be good!

Onward - EWL

Where Oh Where Can My Harley Be ......

Last night Harley decided to run away from the Dog Days of Summer in the DC area. Go figure. HE's A DOG, hello, Harley. But no matter how I pled with him - nope the doggy is like out of the bag and out of here in the flash of an eye (I told him he ain't no Underdog, this bruised his little ego along with his head as he flew into the closed front door). So I need your help to find him. He is already sending photos. Do you have any idea where my doggy may be? You know he is really in funk since ARN left - she really made over him! He claims he was going somewhere in the world where Tchaikovsky use to hang out when he was depressed. Silly dog, I miss you Harley.....

OK, enough of my sadness..... Here is a short history on MENC elections. Did you know that MENC holds elections every year? The first election was held in 1907 when Frances E. Clark was elected to the post of MENC President. There have been 60 national presidents (not in that count is one waiting in the wings as national president-elect). There are 12 past national presidents living (the immediate past president who sits on the NEB is not counted as "past" until he or she goes off the NEB). Ballots are sent out in January -- in the even year voting is done for: 1) a national MENC President-Elect and 2) three division presidents-elects (North Central, Southern, and Western). In the odd year voting is done for: 1) three divisions (Southwestern, Northwest, and Eastern). This year the MENC National Nominating Committee met on June 28 in Orlando, Florida and selected two candidates for the office of MENC President-Elect. These two great guys have been approved by the National Executive Board and you will be hearing more very shortly. They are Jim Rice (WA) and Scott Shuler (CT). The other candidates in the three division races are: Denese Odegaard (ND) and Douglas Orzolek (MN) for the North Central; Benny Ferguson (GA) and Philip Wyatt (WV) for the Southern; and Jeff Bush (AZ) and Wayne Erickson (UT). At a later date we will be posting their bios and statements on our web site along with an e-mail address in order for you to contact the candidates. In my years at MENC I have met 22 of the national presidents.

Another tidbit - - the National Executive Board does not condone campaigning. "The National Executive Board strongly opposes political action on behalf of National and Division candidates which involves political campaigning or requires campaign funding. . . .Activities prohibited by state officials (elected state officers, editors, managers, other paid officials) include the endorsement of a candidate through written, oral, e-mail, or any other form of public endorsement." So, last week I notified state managers, state editors, state presidents, state presidents-elect, and division officers of this policy.

So, I guess what I am trying to tell you is Harley is not available to campaign for candidates and therefore there will be no campaign buttons for him to don on his little person. (This also made him upset yesterday.) So send him home and I will be more than appreciative. Harley, Where Are YOU?

Bye Bye Bye (Evan!)

Hello music education world!! And happy Friday!

Several fun things to report from the Commonwealth this week:

First off... MENC got a resolution passed! WOOHOO!! (pills CBLW--remember to take your pills).

On Tuesday, the United States Senate passed S. Res. 236, a resolution recently introduced by Senator Evan Bayh (IN), "Supporting the goals and ideals of the National Anthem Project, which has worked to restore America's voice by re-teaching Americans to sing the national anthem."

The resolution does the following:

(1) supports the goals and ideals of the National Anthem Project

(2) commends the American citizens who have participated in this project; and
(3) encourages the people of the United States to learn the national anthem, 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and its proud history.

To view full text of the resolution, click here.

It's just so thrilling to know that Congress is recognizing the commitment and achievements of all of those involved in The National Anthem Project. Way to go elected officials!! Way to "represent!" hahaha (sorry, weak sauce, I know).

BUT SERIOUSLY.

TALK ABOUT THE COOLEST RESOLUTION EVER!!!

Now pass it in the House.

Please?

Secondly, this week marked the official beginning of "Super Fun Obscene Quantities Of Cake Ingested Birthday Month!" here in the Government Relations & Outreach Department! This month, HLS, SKJ and myself ALL have our birthdays (and trust me, having everyone in the department's birthdays fall during the same month is very helpful for me, because i tend to forget birthdays like they're goin' out of style). Oh! And as if that wasn't enough! The nearly and dearly departed ARN also has an August birthday! So prior to her departure, we were four for four as a department on August b-days! UNKNOWABLE UNIVERSE!!

***NOTE TO EEOC COUNSEL POTENTIALLY READING THIS BLOG AND INVESTIGATING MENC HIRING PRACTICES: ALL PROCEDURAL RULES AND GUIDELINES HAVE BEEN STRICTLY FOLLOWED AND ADHERED TO. THIS AUGUST BIRTHDAY NONSENSE IS MERELY A VERY AMUSING COINCIDENCE. VERY AMUSING. COINCIDENCE. THANK YOU.***

Ok, and last but not least... this week I did some running (seriously, it's like an episode of "The West Wing" every day up there) around Capitol Hill speaking with Congressional staffers about the importance of MENC's legislative agenda. As some of you may already know, in a previous life, I was a Congressional staffer myself, and so, from time to time when I head back to the Hill, I'm greeted with an overwhelmingly heavy blast of nostalgia.

Joey: "Wow, it's funny these halls look smaller then they used to."
Terry: "It's a different building."
(Guess the show!!)

Anyways, I thought that it would be fun to just take a moment to share a few of my most vividly weird memories from the Hill (all of which came rushing back to me earlier this week during my brief visit).

1. Everyone looks important. 2% of the people actually are. VERY frustrating.
2. Signs that read: "DO NOT DRINK FROM D.C. WATER FOUNTAINS." In the halls of CONGRESS?? Aren't these buildings intended to house the single most important people in the entire country?!?! (oh wait, those are music educators! ;-)) But Senators and Representatives can't drink water?? Really?? Wow.
3. Metal detectors that go off for crayons. Seriously.
4. REALLY GREAT CAFETERIA FOOD!!!

not.

Thaaaaaaaaaat's all until next week! Thanks for reading!

And now... here are the Friday...

"Government Relations & Outreach Department Album Picks of the Week!!!"

SKJ: Gotan Project - Lunatico
HLS: Amos Lee - Supply And Demand
CBLW: Fionn Regan - The End Of History

Thursday Interlude:Back to Work

Matt motors to first base at Sports at the Beach. Photo by Kristin Rice

Updated at 2:43 Eastern Time
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Wow. That went fast, my week off I mean. When you are on vacation, do you kind of take your job with you? Not in a bad way really. While I was in Delaware at my son's baseball tournament last week I didn't sit around and obsess about stories or wonder what was going on back here at 1806 Robert Fulton Drive in Reston. (But, I really, really, really missed you guys a lot, honest.)

Because I am an editor and writer, a lot of things I see give me ideas for stories or remind me in a nice way of my work. I've gotten some really good story ideas on vacation

For example, we have relatives in California (my husband's side of the family, love 'em), in Berkeley up north and in Orange County down south, so we have taken a lot of trips out West. My sister-in-law used to own a Berkeley restaurant and is a seriously good cook. And she has a lot of foodies for friends.

Anyway, one time when we were visiting in Berkeley, we ate our way through some great restaurants, the fabulous and the hole in the wall, with equal pleasure. We shopped in the gloriously-overflowing produce markets and spent downtime paging through the San Francisco Chronicle food section. At the time I worked at my previous job, a professional association for daily newspapers, when it suddenly occurred to me that I could write a feature on newspaper food sections, how they are used as marketing tools.

I had great fun talking to food editors all over the country about how they used their sections to draw in readers for a story that was interesting to write.

Sports at the Beach last week was kind of like that. My son Matt and his teammates the Renegades, played a pretty good tournament. They finished eighth in a field of 20 baseball teams. They beat some pretty good teams and lost a couple of games where errors and no hitting doomed the result.

The boys slept in dorms with the coaches next door and they met kids from Ill., Fla, NY, Mass, and of course Delaware.
They practiced, played two games a day, and still found time for things like the pool, ice cream and the beach, which in reality was a half hour drive away. Georgetown/Rehoboth itself is about a three hour drive from Reston, VA.

The family members had a good time, too, putting up tents to shield us from the sun (some of us are delicate, OK?), cheering on our kids, eating funnel cakes from the snack bar (not me, though I was tempted). It was a nice week and the weather wasn't too awfully bad: read, breezes were blowing.

Star Spangled Banner at sunset. My friend Kristin, one of two moms on our team who are ace photographers, took this beautiful photo the first night of the tournament. Photo by Kristin Rice

What, you may be wondering, does this have to do with my job? Well, a couple of days Matt's games were at 9 am and the early games started with the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The complex includes 15 or so baseball fields and when the national anthem played, kids, coaches and parents everywhere stopped what they were doing on each field and turned toward the closest American flag. The neat thing is that most people were singing, not just listening to the recording of .... "Who was that?"

As I stood there, while the music played and the flags flapped in the breeze, it reminded me of all the times in the past couple of years when I attended National Anthem Project events, including our finale event in Washington, D.C. in June. I realize the song will always sound different to me. Plus I find I sing it more often myself.

In a gift shop/welcome center a short time later, I asked someone at the desk if they knew whose recording of the song they used and he looked at me blankly. "Um, was it OK?" he said. "I really don't know." I said it was OK. I was just curious. Sounded like, I am pretty sure, Faith Hill. In 2000 she sang it at Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Nice performance. I am pretty sure it was Faith's voice floating over those baseball fields. Not the Super Bowl, but a nice memory nonetheless

A few minutes later in the gift shop, I examined a baseball on which the entire first verse of "The Star Spangled Banner" was written. How'd they do that?

National Anthem. Playing ball, any kind of ball, probably forever intertwined. I don't think that is bad really. And we will keep reminding people who taught us all to sing and play the song. Right?

And if you have a moment, share your favorite versions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at a sporting event by using the comment section.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and I will talk to you next Thursday.
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XX: Dog Days are Here!

It's the dog days of summer in DC, those perpetually hot, in the 90's, near 100 temps.....The leaves on bushes and trees have shriveled on all but the most hardy of vegetation, although unfortunately, some of the ornamental cherry and maple trees have lost a lot of their leaves! Like EWL said in her blog yesterday, we had some good rain recently, which helped rejuvenate some of the greenery......

Somehow, August also seems a time of transition and change...the summer grasses and fruits and crops are near to total ripeness, on the way to that overripe stage that comes in the Fall.....nature knows the jig is soon up. As for us humans, guess those old patterns of having a new start in September (school) have a hold on us even into adulthood......causing some of us to make some change in August (new school clothes, new look, new supplies, new jobs, new projects, new directions, new apartments) and be ready to start something fresh come September!

Along these lines, there are more comings and goings at MENC! Last week, MENC bloggers detailed the leaving of ARN, Director of Gov. Relations, and in-coming of CW, as well as the departure this week of CR, member services rep. Next week, the Director of Membership, AK, will be leaving MENC, a 10 year veteran who grew through the ranks and is an ace with the member database! Fortunately for MENC and MENC members, another long time MENC vet of member services, BC, will be stepping right up to the plate and taking over the Directorship (see Around the Water Cooler for an interesting take on this!). BC will more than ably lead MENC memberservices, I've no doubt!
(This week, MENC staff attended a brief "webinar" regarding the upgrade to the MENC membership database....an improved interface and functionality; hopefully, making membership reps' jobs easier when serving MENC members!)

Final tallies of the June/July Question of the Month on-line survey about the national standards showed 754 responses, a good response! Lots of opinions! Bottom line result: Do you believe that the national standards should be revised? 28% of respondents said yes; 37% said no; and 31% were not sure. (NOTE: This info is simply being collected for INFORMATIONAL purposes to EXPLORE if the national standards should be tweaked, if at all)

Check out August's Question, asking what you did this summer!

RESOURCES
Did you know you can order MENC books and resources on line? CLICK HERE!

ARTICLES of NOTE
STUDENT CONDUCTORS at Aspen Festival

Jazz and Classical, together

New England Luthier (violin maker)


AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Dr. M is very generous with treats to staff, and sometimes, I feel like I'm back in kindergarten! (this is a GOOD thing!). Well, we get ice cream sandwiches tomorrow on National Ice Cream Sandwich day......! It takes me back to those summer days when our kindergarten day camp would have outings to the ROTOLACTOR (automated milking farm) in rural NJ and we'd watch, fascinated yet awed, not quite understanding, the cows being milked on a circular rotating platform by some sort of machine..... Somehow, I never quite made the connection between the cows getting milked, and the ice cream sandwiches they gave us on the way out!

Best water cooler comment heard in a LONG time! (actually, heard in the MENC 2nd floor kitchen, as we only have ONE water bubbler, as mentioned in previous blog!) This comment was uttered with "EUREKA! I've figured it out!" intensity and matter of fact-ness, and served as piercing social commentary! The MENC staff responsible shall remain anonymous.......

"I know why BC took the darn membership director's job - no more darn kitchen duty!"

........ most MENC staff are assigned kitchen duty on a rotating basis (this is not mentioned in one's job description, or at the interview - once you're in, THEN the news is dropped like a bomb!). There are SIX kitchens at MENC headquarters! (we like to eat around here!). These kitchens are of varying size and appointment, some with only a sink and fridge and coffeemaker (I know, even THIS is a luxury to many music teachers/teachers/office workers!), some with dishwasher, stove and toaster and microwave, too! Most staff bring their lunch (and breakfast, and even dinner.....), and MENC has graciously outfitted these spaces so we can chow down right in house...cook up our meals, chill our drinks, brew coffee and tea, and even bake or cook from scratch (sometimes on cold mornings in winter, you can smell baking cinnamon buns from the refectory oven....at Halloween, that oven is kept going heating up potluck dishes brought in to feed the ghouls!)

As payback for the largess of MENC (and it's only right!) all staff (well, ALMOST all, hence the comment overheard!) must help with kitchen upkeep! An official "OH NO! It's Kitchen duty time!!" sign is passed around from week to week, and it's almost like a form of tag, "you're it! ha ha, it's YOUR turn!" when one person has finished their week's duty. Besides daily washing down the microwave, counters, and tables, the duty person is responsible for filling dishwasher, cleaning up coffee pots and restocking supplies. So.......one way of getting out of this duty is to graduate to heading a department.....hence the comment overheard in the kitchen.....


Finally, talk about a cool commute! Read how one DC worker gets to work!, via WATER!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! SR