It's interesting that Professor Knepper should suggest smells or olfactory memory as a writing prompt, because just this morning, this forty-some year old building full of college classrooms and offices is full of them. No doubt because it is about as old as some of the classrooms I was in at undergraduate school. The cinderblock walls, the now antequaited chalk boards, the industrial air conditioning and floor cleaners.
This past week I've been to so many places that have very powerful aromas that evoke memories, invoke attitudes, and provoke reactions.
This hanging smoke from fireworks on the Fourth of July brought back campfires and bonfires. The second-hand smoke of someone else who'd come to view the show returned me to childhood in the 70's when it seemed like every adult smoked. Especially in airports and restaraunts.
The walking trail at the Living History Farms in Des Moines reminded me of the marshy path behind my grandparent's farm in Michigan where we cousins used to ride Grandpa's motor bike.
My wife and I stopped by her school to pick up something from her classroom and of course it reeked of floor polish and, well, whatever 80 year old school buildings reek of. Brick, mildew, janitorial supplies?
I backed our van out of my father-in-law's garage, which we had loaned him for entertaining out of town guests last week and I was stopped in my tracks, because it smelled exactly like my grandfather's garage in Bellville Michigan, where he kept his restored Model A and Model T Fords. Maybe it was the time of year or the humidity, but I could smell that exact same combination of dust and axel grease or motor oil so clearly that I paused, waiting to be discovered by my Grandpa or my Dad- just an eight year old kid exploring the old barns as if they were midevil castles or ruinned cathedrals full of wonder and treasure, but one faced certain doom if discovered by the ancient sorcerer who's lair you were trespassing in.
As I decended into our basement for something from the freezer to make for supper, I could smell my grandmother's basement, or maybe it was her porch. Old wood, moldy, musky rafters. I looked around for her jars of pickles, beets, beans, or baloney.
Many's a time a girl walks by and whatever scent she's wearing wafts behind her and it brings to mind an old crush from high school, and old flame from college, or some date I'd had with my wife and I swoon. Not like an old lecher, leering with preditory aims after whichever young woman was wearing the perfume- but just cought up in the swirling jetty of memories. Dizzy from infatuations and flirtations from long ago.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Rapid Writing Exercises
This exercise reminded me of when I have drawing students do gesture sketching- very quick, with the clock running. These are based on prompts given us by Prof. Marty Knepper at Iowa Writing Project, day one:
Prompt- Interesting People
Artists and writers are interesting people.
In college, I had a roomate who had written everything that Steven King had eveer written. Me, I wasn't so into either the horror or suspense stories, but I loved to read the forwards and afterwards in which King talked about the writing process, where he drew his inspirations and shared memories from growing up.
Other Art teachers spend all their time teaching about the elements and principles of design or various techniques and styles. I find the biographies and interactions of artists most facinating. The rivalry between Matisse and Picasso, Picasso's bitterness toward his father and the suicide of his best friend after being turned down by a woman because she was in love with Picasso instead. Of course the tortured mental illness of Vincent VanGogh and his strained relationship with his father- and with fellow artist Paul Gauguin.
Prompt- Objects that mean something to you
As I've gotten older, objects have lost their hold on me. It is much easier to discard material things and realize how unnecissary they are- but when I was younger, I had many mojos- touchstones if you will. I comandeered my father's pipe in college, as I did his Marine fatigues when I was in high school. They somehow connected me to him and helped me identify with him more. I had a model car which my grandfather had built, which was a replica of the real 1930 Ford Coup which he had restored.
Prompt- Memorable events/times in your life
The summer before Senior year of HS when I attended the Journalism Workshop at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana.
Being woke up by the Northridge Earthquake at 4:31 AM, January 17, 1994. We lost our apartment and were homeless for several days. That morning seemed post-apocalyptic, sirens blared as emergency vehicles kept driving past- which meant that obviously there were more injuries and dammage everywhere else in the city, even though some of our building units had collapsed on their garages. We couls smell the natural gas from lines being sheared off- yet all kinds of people were smoking because they were so nervous, we were afraid that there would be explosions or fires in our complex as there were all over the surrounding hills.
Prompt- memorable movies/shows
My Brother and I went to see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' every night for a week at Midnight movies one summer. It was a double feature with 'Time Bandits.' When 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Chrystal Skull' came out, he and I took my nephew to see it together.
Both of us History teachers (my wife & I), asked the chairman of our department if he'd seen 'Shindler's List,' he smirked "I go to the movies to be entertained!"
Somehow, she let me take her to see 'saving Private Ryan' as a date movie on our anniversary!
We could watch 'While You Were Sleeping' and 'You've Got Mail' almost every weekend and never get tired of them. Guess she got me to like some chick-flicks.
She cried at the opening sequence of 'Up.'
I cry every time I see 'Field of Dreams,' and 'It's a Wonderful Life.'
Prompt- Interesting People
Artists and writers are interesting people.
In college, I had a roomate who had written everything that Steven King had eveer written. Me, I wasn't so into either the horror or suspense stories, but I loved to read the forwards and afterwards in which King talked about the writing process, where he drew his inspirations and shared memories from growing up.
Other Art teachers spend all their time teaching about the elements and principles of design or various techniques and styles. I find the biographies and interactions of artists most facinating. The rivalry between Matisse and Picasso, Picasso's bitterness toward his father and the suicide of his best friend after being turned down by a woman because she was in love with Picasso instead. Of course the tortured mental illness of Vincent VanGogh and his strained relationship with his father- and with fellow artist Paul Gauguin.
Prompt- Objects that mean something to you
As I've gotten older, objects have lost their hold on me. It is much easier to discard material things and realize how unnecissary they are- but when I was younger, I had many mojos- touchstones if you will. I comandeered my father's pipe in college, as I did his Marine fatigues when I was in high school. They somehow connected me to him and helped me identify with him more. I had a model car which my grandfather had built, which was a replica of the real 1930 Ford Coup which he had restored.
Prompt- Memorable events/times in your life
The summer before Senior year of HS when I attended the Journalism Workshop at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana.
Being woke up by the Northridge Earthquake at 4:31 AM, January 17, 1994. We lost our apartment and were homeless for several days. That morning seemed post-apocalyptic, sirens blared as emergency vehicles kept driving past- which meant that obviously there were more injuries and dammage everywhere else in the city, even though some of our building units had collapsed on their garages. We couls smell the natural gas from lines being sheared off- yet all kinds of people were smoking because they were so nervous, we were afraid that there would be explosions or fires in our complex as there were all over the surrounding hills.
Prompt- memorable movies/shows
My Brother and I went to see 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' every night for a week at Midnight movies one summer. It was a double feature with 'Time Bandits.' When 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Chrystal Skull' came out, he and I took my nephew to see it together.
Both of us History teachers (my wife & I), asked the chairman of our department if he'd seen 'Shindler's List,' he smirked "I go to the movies to be entertained!"
Somehow, she let me take her to see 'saving Private Ryan' as a date movie on our anniversary!
We could watch 'While You Were Sleeping' and 'You've Got Mail' almost every weekend and never get tired of them. Guess she got me to like some chick-flicks.
She cried at the opening sequence of 'Up.'
I cry every time I see 'Field of Dreams,' and 'It's a Wonderful Life.'
IWP, Prompt- Write about your name
Growing up in Phoenix, we had a neighbor accross the street who was from Alabama. She always reminded me of Polly Holliday's character, Flo Castleberry on the TV show 'Alice.' Whenever she'd see me, she'd call me "Theodore," but her thick accent made it sound to me like she was calling me "Theatre."
My parents insisted that my name was "Ted" on my birth certificate and that they made it that short because they never wanted anyone to shorten my name or give me nicknames. Which is ironic because classmates were always calling me Fred, or Ned, or wet-Head or "Farmer Ted."
When I was growing up, the only other Ted I knew of was Ted Night on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, who was a pompous ass.
In Spanish class, we were assigned translations of our given names, and while I personally liked "Teodoro," my class mates preferred "Tero-DORK-o." Leading me to adopt "Theo," the more urbane monicer of a character on the Cosby Show.
It means gift of God. In a way I passed it on to our first daughter by naming her "Grace."
My parents insisted that my name was "Ted" on my birth certificate and that they made it that short because they never wanted anyone to shorten my name or give me nicknames. Which is ironic because classmates were always calling me Fred, or Ned, or wet-Head or "Farmer Ted."
When I was growing up, the only other Ted I knew of was Ted Night on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, who was a pompous ass.
In Spanish class, we were assigned translations of our given names, and while I personally liked "Teodoro," my class mates preferred "Tero-DORK-o." Leading me to adopt "Theo," the more urbane monicer of a character on the Cosby Show.
It means gift of God. In a way I passed it on to our first daughter by naming her "Grace."
POEM: Feed Me
Gotta eat to live
Gotta read to write
How do people THINK without reading?
I feel like a baby bird
beak stretched open wide
waiting for a worm
Like a suckling newborn
seeking milk
wondering why it is now outside its mother
now taking as much of its mother into itself as it can
Like a ravenous dog
a lumbering, slobbering Mastiff or St. Bernard,
slopping up raw hamburger and eggs from its dish
on the floor in the corner of the family kitchen
licking and slurping and lapping
wanting more, always more
Some greasy Hemingway
Some grainy Steinbeck
Savory salad with lots of garlic,
that's Vonnegut
A pitcher of ice cold ppilsner,
that's Robert B. Parker
Some James Patterson French Fries
Fried Grisham and Crieghton
Cut into thick, medium rare Viktor Frankl
St. Paul and St. John are merlot and cabernet
George Orwell is a little like oysters on the half shell,
should I sprinkle them with Robert Bly's lemon pepper?
Or have it on a bed of Nikki Giovani's mustard greens?
Perhaps a dash of red hot Henry Miller?
Warm pots of William Carlos Williams and Carl Sandburg Garrison Keillor are brewing for later.
A slice of Jean Shepherd pie to go with that?
Or Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, and Mark Twain?
I can't decide between the Mike Royko or the Molly Ivins.
Maybe some H.L. Melkin on rye.
No! J.D. Salinger on rye and a side of Richard Kinsella.
Some Hunter S. Thompson, but put it on ice,
just a splash of Jimmy Buffet, now that would be nice.
Where did I put that Flannery O'Connor?
It must be on the shelf with the Fannie Flagg.
I think I spilled some Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee on the Harper Lee.
No thank you, I'll pass on the Jane Austin,
I'm still finishing my Richard Hooker
I don't think I could handle another bite of Bradbury, Asimov or Roddenberry
Oh but for some more Doctor King!
if only the whole world would consume more Doctor King
perhaps there'd be less indigestion.
Gotta read to think
Gotta eat to live
Call me a glutton,
I just can't get enough
Gotta read to write
How do people THINK without reading?
I feel like a baby bird
beak stretched open wide
waiting for a worm
Like a suckling newborn
seeking milk
wondering why it is now outside its mother
now taking as much of its mother into itself as it can
Like a ravenous dog
a lumbering, slobbering Mastiff or St. Bernard,
slopping up raw hamburger and eggs from its dish
on the floor in the corner of the family kitchen
licking and slurping and lapping
wanting more, always more
Some greasy Hemingway
Some grainy Steinbeck
Savory salad with lots of garlic,
that's Vonnegut
A pitcher of ice cold ppilsner,
that's Robert B. Parker
Some James Patterson French Fries
Fried Grisham and Crieghton
Cut into thick, medium rare Viktor Frankl
St. Paul and St. John are merlot and cabernet
George Orwell is a little like oysters on the half shell,
should I sprinkle them with Robert Bly's lemon pepper?
Or have it on a bed of Nikki Giovani's mustard greens?
Perhaps a dash of red hot Henry Miller?
Warm pots of William Carlos Williams and Carl Sandburg Garrison Keillor are brewing for later.
A slice of Jean Shepherd pie to go with that?
Or Bill Bryson, David Sedaris, and Mark Twain?
I can't decide between the Mike Royko or the Molly Ivins.
Maybe some H.L. Melkin on rye.
No! J.D. Salinger on rye and a side of Richard Kinsella.
Some Hunter S. Thompson, but put it on ice,
just a splash of Jimmy Buffet, now that would be nice.
Where did I put that Flannery O'Connor?
It must be on the shelf with the Fannie Flagg.
I think I spilled some Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee on the Harper Lee.
No thank you, I'll pass on the Jane Austin,
I'm still finishing my Richard Hooker
I don't think I could handle another bite of Bradbury, Asimov or Roddenberry
Oh but for some more Doctor King!
if only the whole world would consume more Doctor King
perhaps there'd be less indigestion.
Gotta read to think
Gotta eat to live
Call me a glutton,
I just can't get enough
Friday, June 25, 2010
Yet ANOTHER Summer Book Report
The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street by Rod SerlingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Our English teacher had us read this as a short story back in 7th grade. I've always felt that it had a powerful message about human nature and paranoia. I suspect since Rod Serling wrote it in 1959/60 it probably is a thinly veiled commentary on the "Red Scare" of cold war McArthyism not unlike the Arthur Miller's 1953 play "The Crucible" about the Salem witch trials of the 1600's. I'm convinced that 50's and 60's horror movies, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and the original zombie flick, Night of the Living Dead were too- conformity, political pressure, anxiety, mistrust- you name it. So... I feel like 'Monsters on Maple Street' is as meaningful for our times today, as it was 50 years ago (hyper-partisanship, terrorism, jingoism, xenophobia...)the more things change, the more they stay the same. At any rate, I thought it would be a good addition to my classroom library for Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time (Which I happen to have with 7th graders). And to my 7th and 8th Grade English Teachers, Mr. Hodgson and Mr. Harmon- Thanks for turning me on to the likes of Rod Serling, Gene Rodenberry, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury. What a legacy!
View all my reviews >>
Summer Book Report
Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by John WoodenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Just amazing. It's organized by themes, not chronologically- and it is not a memoir, yet when I got to the part when he told his team he had decided to retire, I cried. I've been using his Pyramid of Success for almost 10 years now as a coach, but I still found new insights and different ways of understanding what he teaches in it. Excellent book, up there with '7 Habits' by Covey, 'Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten' by Fulghum, and POSSIBLY even 'Man's Search for Meaning' by Frankl as one of the most inspiring reads outside of Scripture.
View all my reviews >>
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Summer Book Report
School Days by Robert B. ParkerMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A little slow starting, no Susan or Hawk this time- but as usual once he got going, Parker's Spenser is smart, sarcastic, and unstoppable. Once again he's the toughest tough guy with the big heart and tenacity second to none. Complete with "ripped from the headlines" issues, a loyal German short-haired Pointer names Pearl and a Steve McQueen-cool Mustang!
View all my reviews >>
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Watch This Space
I know, I know, it looks like I've pretty much abandoned blogging here, doesn't it? I guess I've gotten too used to sharing pictures on facebook, so I hardly use this as a photo-blog anymore. I haven't written my column for almost 2 years now. And when I do write, it ends up being in my religious blog, "Prophet, Priest, and Pirate."
But I think that the old flagship here may be seeing a lot more action later on this summer when I attend the Iowa Writing Project at Morningside University. It's 3 week course in July, partly to help teachers integrate writing across their curriculum, and partly to practice the lost art. For years I've done okay with opinion and humor essays, but I think I need to learn some more about fiction. We'll see how it goes. At any rate, I imagine that I will post some of what I work on here.
Meanwhile I have been working on getting all of my blogs to link to one another and compliment one another. I figured out a way to have the posts from most of them automatically show up on facebook, and after much consideration and some consternation, I'm even giving Twitter a try. Much of these developments are due to the conference my wife Bethany and I recently attended at Buena Vista University on technology integration and instruction for 21st century learners (TICL).
As usual, I also plan on cleaning, rearranging, streamlining and updating all of my blogs a little bit this summer. It seems to me that this one in particular could stand a little sprucing up.
Please feel free to explore them all and leave comments on any posts you like. Notice that they all have a similar navigation bar of buttons on the right side to help you explore.
If you'd like a brief explanation of each site, you could visit the "Internet Empire" links page on my new wiki, Mr. Mallory's Art Dog Wiki, which is still under construction, but promises to be a useful way to provide resources for and communicate with students.
If you're interested in reading any of my new writing next month- make sure you look for the link over on the right, toward the bottom that will let you become a "follower" of this blog. I promise that most posts will be a lot more entertaining than this one.
In the meantime, have a great summer and come back soon.
But I think that the old flagship here may be seeing a lot more action later on this summer when I attend the Iowa Writing Project at Morningside University. It's 3 week course in July, partly to help teachers integrate writing across their curriculum, and partly to practice the lost art. For years I've done okay with opinion and humor essays, but I think I need to learn some more about fiction. We'll see how it goes. At any rate, I imagine that I will post some of what I work on here.
Meanwhile I have been working on getting all of my blogs to link to one another and compliment one another. I figured out a way to have the posts from most of them automatically show up on facebook, and after much consideration and some consternation, I'm even giving Twitter a try. Much of these developments are due to the conference my wife Bethany and I recently attended at Buena Vista University on technology integration and instruction for 21st century learners (TICL).
As usual, I also plan on cleaning, rearranging, streamlining and updating all of my blogs a little bit this summer. It seems to me that this one in particular could stand a little sprucing up.
Please feel free to explore them all and leave comments on any posts you like. Notice that they all have a similar navigation bar of buttons on the right side to help you explore.
If you'd like a brief explanation of each site, you could visit the "Internet Empire" links page on my new wiki, Mr. Mallory's Art Dog Wiki, which is still under construction, but promises to be a useful way to provide resources for and communicate with students.
If you're interested in reading any of my new writing next month- make sure you look for the link over on the right, toward the bottom that will let you become a "follower" of this blog. I promise that most posts will be a lot more entertaining than this one.
In the meantime, have a great summer and come back soon.
New graphics for the new Web site
Here are the new graphics for my new wiki- http://dogart.wikispaces.com
In case you hadn't heard, I attended a tech conference for teachers this week.They recommend that teachers use wiki-pages for their classes. So, I thought I'd better at least try to learn how to do it, whether I end up using it for school or not. Please look around and be sure to come back again later, as it's obviously still under construction for now.
They also suggested Twitter. Now, I don't want to be a twit, and I'm still not sure how much I'll tweet, but if you want to follow me or want me to follow you, this is me there- "@tedmallory" or http://twitter.com/tedmallory, I'm still not really clear on how it works.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thank a Vet for their service
Here's my Dad, Sgt. M.C. Mallory, USMC working on his AD-W3 in 1953. He was a crew chief. I'm not sure if he's on the USS Bennington, a carrier in this picture, or at the US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The AD3W, made by Douglas (before it became McDonald-Douglas) toward the end of WWII and the first bit of Korea. Like a Corsair or a Hellcat, but it could carry as much weight as a B-17, and sat 3 (pilot, radio man, and mechanic- like Dad). Same engine as a B-29 (only just one, not four- obviously).
Air Reconnaissance squadron. VMC-2 was the original composite squadron in Marine Corps aviation. It was commissioned at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on September 15, 1952 evolving from the former Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Counter Measures section of the Wing Headquarters Squadron.
The AD3W, made by Douglas (before it became McDonald-Douglas) toward the end of WWII and the first bit of Korea. Like a Corsair or a Hellcat, but it could carry as much weight as a B-17, and sat 3 (pilot, radio man, and mechanic- like Dad). Same engine as a B-29 (only just one, not four- obviously).
Air Reconnaissance squadron. VMC-2 was the original composite squadron in Marine Corps aviation. It was commissioned at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on September 15, 1952 evolving from the former Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Counter Measures section of the Wing Headquarters Squadron.
VMC-2 was part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. VMC stands for "Visual Meteorological Conditions," but VMC-2 and VMJ-2 were known for electronic and photo reconnaissance missions. On the one hand, I figure my dad was fortunate to be an aviation mechanic in the Caribbean instead of an infantryman in Korea. On the other hand, he tells stories of surviving hurricanes that overturned planes and trucks and tossed around jeeps.
VMC-2 merged with VMJ-2 and became the VMCJ-2 in 1955. My Dad was still on reserve duty when VMCJ-2 documented the buildup of Soviet supplies in Cuba in 1960. He expected to get called up to active duty during the Cuban Missile crisis.
Turned out that dad had an allergy or bad skin reaction to something in jet fuel as opposed to whatever they used in these WWII era prop planes, so he didn't continue as a mechanic- but he did work for American Airlines for more than 40 years mostly in their air freight.
Monday, May 24, 2010
I beg you're pardon?
I drew this along with the assignment I gave to 7th graders. Students keep asking me "why does it look evil?" That's probably a good sign, the fact that they're asking must mean that I don't actually look this crabby all the time.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Jade Zen
One of the best things about being a high school Art teacher is that once in a blue moon, I actually get to paint. I know that English teachers force themselves to read, but I don't know how many find time to write. This acrylic on canvas has been very therapeutic and relaxing to work on- especially with all the grades and paperwork to get done since it's the last week for our Seniors.
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