kitchen table math, the sequel: back in business

Saturday, December 30, 2006

back in business

I've done it!

kitchen table math, the sequel

I'm thinking group blog this time around, so I'll start sending out invitations shortly.

In the meantime, since it's the week between Christmas and New Year's, a period for which I have declared, but failed to observe, a moratorium on "talking about education" as Christopher puts it, I'm drawing my inaugural post from a Times article on music & the brain ($):

Dr. Levitin dragged me over to a lab computer to show me what he was talking about. “Listen to this,” he said, and played an MP3. It was pretty awful: a poorly recorded, nasal-sounding British band performing, for some reason, a Spanish-themed ballad.

Dr. Levitin grinned. “That,” he said, “is the original demo tape of the Beatles. It was rejected by every record company. And you can see why. To you and me it sounds terrible. But George Martin heard this and thought, ‘Oh yeah, I can imagine a multibillion-dollar industry built on this.’

“Now that’s musical genius.”

Music of the Hemispheres
By CLIVE THOMPSON

Damn straight.

6 comments:

Jo Anne C said...

I'm so glad you are back on line.

I depend greatly on KTM to help me sucessfully navigate the education road blocks I continue to encounter.

Thanks so much Catherine and KTM contributors for devoting so much time to helping the rest of us figure it out.

Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year,

Jo Anne C.

Catherine Johnson said...

Hi Jo Anne!

What a lovely message - thank you!

Catherine Johnson said...

Not happy to hear about those roadblocks, though.

Anonymous said...

Marvelous!

Catherine Johnson said...

thanks, rightwingprof!

It's a little intimidating, signing up with Blogger.

My district has now sent me...3 "messages," I believe it is, about my use of "inflammatory language" on the web; plus the teacher's union, in a public meeting attended (iirc) by members of the school board, the administration, and the PTSA, has threatened to sue "a parent" for defamation of character.

I'm thinking, jeez.

If they didn't like inflammatory language on a website nobody could open, they're going to have a fit when they see me banging on about crystalinks here on Blogger.

oh well

see you & raise you

Catherine Johnson said...

My friend's husband, who manages musicians, says that's not the way it happened.

(the Beatles, I mean)