One of My Studnets Thinks I'm a Ninja

I have this student who is a really super quirky kind of funny [if you've heard the Mr. Mop story...same girl].


Yesterday, she came right up to me and said, "Ms. Grandpoo, are you a ninja?" Without thinking, I very seriously replied, "I might have the heart of a ninja, but I don't have the skills." Quirky students and their quirky questions don't phase me...We're on the exact same wave length.


Today...she whispered, "I know you're a ninja." I just put my finger to my lips, winked, and said, "Shhhhh." She said, "Your secret is safe," and whispered, "Shhhh ninja" the rest of the day when nobody was looking.


Sometimes I wonder if I'm rubbing off on them or they're rubbing off on me.


xo,
The Secret Ninja

If I Were

So...I was looking around on Facebook, and I saw someone who I, for about a week and a half, devoted my complete obsession to and then never thought even once about after high school. It reminded me of this song by a Christian music artist that I would sit in my room with the lights off and listen to on my tape cassette walkman way back in 1995.

My teenage years were filled with nothing but contemporary Christian music, btw. I was totally hardcore. So, I thought I'd look this song up. It's by Pam Thum and was nowhere to be found on MySpace. I thought I'd search her on the playlist, and bam...it's the only song on there by Pam Thum...crazy!

Apparently, I'm obsessive. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that or not. Back when I obsessed over this song, it was definitely not the person I was obsessing over. I think I crushed on him because he was shy and mysterious and since I didn't know him, I could make him out to be whatever I wanted him to be. I was, however, sincerely crushing on this song, because for whatever reason, it pierced my soul.

I listened to it tonight for the first time since 1995, and it's on repeat. Feel free to push play and share in my ridiculously emo feeling of crazy romantic love [that doesn't yet exist].

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It Ain't Me, Babe

I basically hate shopping. I felt I needed to go this weekend, because I needed some things for the last day of school before Christmas break. I usually manage to buy myself some junk to reward me for going shopping [because I hate it...in case I forgot to mention that.]

At McKay's, I got myself a gaggle of records. ["Gaggle" meaning a group or cluster...in case you didn't know ;).] Some of them include, Joan Baez, John Denver, The Allman Brothers, Heart, Neil Diamond, and...wait for it...DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. There were other great ones, but I can't remember and I left them in the car. Now I'm going to have to remove my television from atop my LP player so that I can dust off all of my records. I think I'll make that a task for after Christmas.

Oh, I also bought myself a blue gnome that acts as a magic eight ball. You pretty much can't beat that. Suck on that Gina [who stole my magic eight ball last weekend at the party during the five dollar gift exchange game].

Lastly, I felt like a complete retard when I ran into this Joan Baez cover of "It Ain't Me, Babe," because I had always assumed it was an original Cash song. I definitely didn't know it was Bob Dylan. I have SO much to learn.

Knoxville

I just wanted to post some of the videos I've taken around my town: Knoxville. You can also watch them on my profile at DailyMotion. Also, did you know there was a knoxtube? It doesn't seem like there are a lot of contributors yet, but I made a profile there, too.

This video is my favorite video. I call it The Happy Dancer. The other night, I met the girl who got up there to dance with him and told her about the video, but I don't really know how to find her on MySpace or remember her name...so, if you know her or the happy dancer send them a link. [Oh, and I also can't tell you who this is singing, so if anyone knows...enlighten me.]

Happy Dancer
Uploaded by grandpoo

This video is equally awesome. I'm pretty sure I'm going to accrue a collection of drunk guys dancing. This was at Machelle Malone at Patrick Sullivan's. Michelle rocks btw, and you should totally check her out. I'm astonished that Knoxville doesn't support her like it should.

Drunk Guy @ Michelle Malone
Uploaded by grandpoo

And then there's this guy, who I don't think is drunk...just crazy. He was also "breakdancing" at pride, so I think he pretty much lives on the square. Here he's doing a dramatic interpretation of one of Hudson K's songs. You should also check out Hudson K...They're local, awesome, and on my friends list.

Dramatization to a Hudson K song
Uploaded by grandpoo

This is a video of the end of an Einstein Simplified show. They're Knoxville's best [and only] improv troup, and their shows are every Tuesday night upstairs at Patrick Sullivan's. If you'd like to go sometime, give me a holla. We don't go regularly, but I'm very willing to escort you to your first improv experience.

Einstein Simplified Ending
Uploaded by grandpoo

Here's another Einstein Simplified, but this time with a guest appearance from our friend Jo Dunkle, who moved to Chicago to study with Second City. We're kinda proud of her and kinda think she's awesome.

Einstein Simplified with Jo Dunkle
Uploaded by grandpoo

My friend Hallie took these two videos of Blue Mother Tupelo at Barley's. Blue Mother Tupelo rocks my world, and if you know me at all you've heard me gush over them for at least a year and a half. Not only do they rock out a joint, they are sweet as hell and spreaders of sunshine. They're very real and very talented.

Blue Mother Tupelo "Home"
Uploaded by grandpoo

With Ricky's dad:

Blue Mother Tupelo "Ride in My Wagon"
Uploaded by grandpoo

Here's Michelle Malone and two of Garrison Starr...both at Patrick Sullivan's and both awesome, awesome, awesome!

Michelle Malone
Uploaded by grandpoo

Garrison Starr
Uploaded by grandpoo

Garrison Starr
Uploaded by grandpoo

Here's Marc Broussard at Sundown on Market Square:

Marc broussard
Uploaded by grandpoo

And last but far from least...Here's my friend Samuel playing fiddle with his new band Smokin' Grass. I'm SO proud of him!

Smokin' Grass Singing "Wagon Wheel"
Uploaded by grandpoo

Smokin' Grass
Uploaded by grandpoo

Share Your Music With Me

So...two peeps of interest launched new cds yesterday: Martha and Alanis. Obviously, I'm way out of the loop, because I had no idea that Alanis was releasing a new cd, but I'm way happy that it's the result of a breakup because I really missed the scorned but vulnerable, transparent, and soulful Morrisette of old.

Anyway, because of Martha's release and the bulletin her MySpace manager posted, I learned about ilike.com. I was using Last.fm, but this place is even better because it lets you play full songs continuously, artists seem to be more interactive, it tells you the release dates of new cds and whether or not they're on tour, and like other places, gives you great recommendations.

I invite you to join and share what you're listening to with me. My profile is @ http://www.ilike.com/user/grandpooofaweso I just started yesterday, so there isn't a lot of info about what I've been listening to, but you should join because it's super cool. I have no friends yet and I'd like some that I really know. I want to stalk your music taste, so add me bitches.

Oh, and also, I love you.