Monthly Archives: January 2016

My mother calls to tell me I have cancer

Posted on January 31, 2016 by jyourist

My 88 year old mother called me about 10:00 yesterday morning, from the assisted living facility she is in. xxx“Did you go to the doctor?” she said. xxx“For what I answered. My cold is over. No more xxxcoughing.” xxx“You know … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, health, mother | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Once you land, there’s no turning back

Posted on January 30, 2016 by jyourist

Last night JB and I went to the World Premier of My Lai, a monodrama for tenor, string quartet, and Vietnamese instruments, composed by Jonathan Berger. The Kronos Quartet, Rinde Eckert (tenor), and Van-Anh Vanessa Vo (traditional Vietnamese musician) performed … Continue reading →

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Rob Cantor

Posted on January 29, 2016 by jyourist

Every Friday at school we have activity period, a time when students can sign up for a wide range of activities sponsored by faculty and staff at school. For years now I have sponsored Short Films where the students and … Continue reading →

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Foner or “ma hand”

Posted on January 28, 2016 by jyourist

Sometimes, for an 8th grader, late on a Thursday afternoon after a very long review of Reconstruction, drawing “ma hand” is a lot more compelling than reading Eric Foner.

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Always time for a little Mozart

Posted on January 27, 2016 by jyourist

I have always loved Mozart. His vitality, joy, cleverness, and unmitigated exuberance attract and hold me. In fact, I have found myself trying to impart this love for Mozart to my students who often raise their eyebrows and look blankly … Continue reading →

Posted in music, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rocky take-off. Rocky landing.

Posted on January 26, 2016 by jyourist

Today is the anniversary of my mother and father’s wedding in 1949. I’m not sure why I thought of it just now. I haven’t thought about it for a long time. My father died 45 years ago. My mother has … Continue reading →

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“Bad Reception” by Barry Blitt

Posted on January 25, 2016 by jyourist
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A short story vending machine!?!

Posted on January 24, 2016 by jyourist

A short story vending machine? A short story vending machine where the stories are free? Presently there are only eight of these “Distributeurs d’histoires courtes” (“Short-story distributors”) and they are all in Grenoble, France. Last fall prototypes were launched in … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, short story, story, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Lost Mariner

Posted on January 23, 2016 by jyourist
Posted in animation, psychology, short films, videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

City on Fire

Posted on January 22, 2016 by jyourist

I just finished this remarkable book, City on Fire, written by a new voice– Garth Risk Hallberg, in fact his first novel. It’s 900 pages long and normally I would not have tackled it during the school year –being a … Continue reading →

Posted in books, transformation, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment