January 2007
Monthly Archive
Wed 31 Jan 2007
(Now this is dedication, people, posting a blog entry at one in the morning the day before a lab quiz, a book review–involving a book that I haven’t quite been able to finish yet–for the Seattle Weekly, and my first college application are due!)
Photo Credit: Alex Glass
This past Monday, a small group of students congregated in the student union building’s conference room (TUB 202) to cheer their classmates, friends, and spouses on while they presented their personal histories with our school’s Project Reach program. This endeavor aims at increasing accessibility of Service Learning for students with “disabilities” (or “different abilities”/”issues” as one of the students clarified). Not an inexpensive enterprise, Project Reach was funded through the American Association of Community College’s (AACC) focus grant, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. The occasion was a visit from Quintin Doromal, the AACC’s Manager of Health and Wellness. Quintin flew out from Washington D.C. just to hear these students speak and interact with them in their “native habitat” (which included, by his own admission, some bruising time on the court with our school’s wheelchair basketball team). They were all determined to show Quintin his (or rather his nonprofit’s) money’s worth.
After a brief introduction, the Edmonds CC Anthropology Chair Tom Murphy, who—along with Dee Olson, our school’s Director for Services for Students with Disabilities (try saying that ten times fast!)—is responsible for stewardship of the grant for our students, turned the discussion over to Jeremy Grisham, the panel’s first speaker. I was personally struck to see my friend from Anthropology class taking the mic to discuss his disability, as I was completely unaware until that time that he lived with any. Jeremy’s particular issue is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, due to his time served in Iraq as a Navy hospital foreman, so his isn’t immediately apparent. But as I began to look over my friends and acquaintances seated on the other side of the table, I realized that it had been months—almost since I was first introduced—that I had consciously registered any of their “disabilities”. Each bearing up under his or her own “issues” with far more grace, circumspection, and ease than I am likely to exhibit when faced with run-of-the-mill setbacks, I’d long since began to think of my friends on the panel as far more capable than I am on any given day.
Jeremy jerked more than a few drizzles of tears with his recount of showing up on campus half an hour early each day to patrol and make sure that it was a safe environment, of learning to trust and developing a sense of community with other students. Jenna Hoyt added a vital comic tone to the proceedings with vignettes about ousting the invasive species knotweed with kung fu style chops and kicks, even going so far as to demonstrate them for me after the discussion was over. Gerard Ah-Fook, always soft-spoken and dignified, sketched in his personal history and his work with his wife Mitzellah, AmeriCorps legend in these parts, to create the school’s wheelchair basketball team. Sue Z. Hart concluded the talk seated next to her mentor Dee Olson, relating her Pulitzer worthy odyssey from living as a single mother with adult ADD, as well as suffering mobility and financial setbacks from a car accident to becoming a board member of Snohomish County’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and the founder of the Edmonds CC Cornerstone project.
As someone who has spent entirely too much time lately trotting around to fringe theatre acts in downtown Seattle, to see some of the bizarrest fancies that the human mind can conceive of, I say with complete conviction that the untailored struggles and triumphs of our fellow human beings can be just as engaging and even more satisfying to behold than any contrived fantasy. Jeremy, Jenna, Gerard, and Sue are living, breathing examples of that enduring truth.
Sun 28 Jan 2007
This blog entry was written by someone who is quickly becoming a friend of mine: Ann Tarleton, she–and others–are probably going to wind up writing more blog entries with me until my college applications are all safely off. 
Thanks, Ann!
Stilly-Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force sponsored an event on Saturday, January 27 at Kamiak High School. Volunteers as young as two or three on up to at least my age (which is fairly old) showed up in droves to help put bare root plants into pots. The event was scheduled to take three hours, but so many volunteers showed up that it only took an hour. However, once we were done it looked like a dirt bomb exploded all over the shop room and it took all those who stayed another hour to clean up.
The goal of the event was to plant bare root trees and shrubs into pots so eventually they can be planted along our local stream banks to help improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. Speaking of pots…the most challenging experience was trying to pull them apart. It took two people pulling on opposite ends as hard as they could to loosen them. Perhaps I am just out of shape, but I ended up pulling a muscle in my back and have been on bed rest. Ouch!
In my opinion, this event was highly organized and successful. There was no slacking allowed. Even the toddler sitting next to me helped out. The best part was meeting one of my fellow online classmates. It felt like we had known each other a long time. One of the downfalls of online learning is missing out on interacting with other students. I hope to meet more of my fellow students as I participate in more service-learning opportunities offered through Edmonds.
Ok, so maybe a quote from my favorite television show is a bit of an exaggeration. But for me a world without salmon is not a place for me.
Thu 25 Jan 2007
Photos by Nazar Paslavsky of Edmonds CC College Relations.
In a marked change from the French Renaissance romp of Fall quarter, the Edmonds CC Theatre Department presents “Two Rooms”, by Lee Blessing, for the first half of the Winter term. Though giving a human face to the suffering involved in the Middle Eastern hostage crisis of the late ’80s, director Joanna Goff insisted that “this isn’t a play about Iraq!” With recollections of snatched contractors being beheaded on broadcast in our collective consciousness, though, it is difficult to dissociate “Two Rooms” from the present heartache.
Joanna explained that this is a play about a love between two people, one that transcends the barriers of geo-politics, space, and ultimately reality itself. She assured me that “a hundred years from now people will be able to relate to this story.”
After her husband, American History professor Michael Wells (Andrews Flores) is abducted in 1988, his scholarly wife Lainie Wells (Jessie Potter) retreats from Beirut to the U.S. under the cursory comfort of the State Department, personified by the rigid Ellen van Oss (Janna Shields). As despair overwhelms her former existence, Lainie becomes a recluse in a makeshift prison meant to mirror her husband’s captivity halfway around the world. Together, their longing for one another brings the two rooms together into one chamber where they can comfort one another.
The tangible world is unwilling to abandon Lainie, though. A lifeline arrives on her doorstep in the form of Walker (Justin Hylarides), a passionate reporter who opposes the repressive attitude of Lainie’s caseworker. He sows antiestablishmental seeds by insisting that, in terms of U.S. foreign policy, “Michael comes below oil.” The two vie for control of Lainie’s bereavement, causing her to wholly reject the world in retaliation.
Powerful monologues draw in rich landscapes against the blank walls of the interplaying rooms. Andrew Flores as Michael Wells is a study in acting brilliance, beautifully portraying the unadorned isolation, horror, and whimsy from behind a blindfold, chained and impotent on the floor. In his role as the sacrificial lamb, he quietly murmurs from the stage, “If Earth is our mother, our father is war.”
Jessie Potter’s raw defiance as his wronged and bewildered spouse complements Flores’ show of meekness. Justin Hylarides and Janna Shields bring their mutually antagonistic characters to life with clarion voices and commanding stage personalities, all underscored by unsettling political rhetoric. Their parts operate to prompt the most in-depth analysis in this sober play. When Ellen asked, “What does it mean to be American? For some, to be comfortable.” I–and I’m sure, others–began to wonder if we’d crossed the line from comfort to complacency.
Ironically, Blessing’s play, which Joanna maintained wasn’t commentary on the international drama being staged in the Middle East, is being presented by our theatre students amid echos of the decades old sectarian violence in Lebanon.
Wed 24 Jan 2007
When I first began writing the AfterWords blog, I sent out a request to our school’s Music department, searching for any student musicians who would trust me with their MP3 tracks. As you can see, I got a couple of nibbles to my request! Digital Music instructor Jay Kenney took the initiative to make sure that his students embraced this opportunity to present their music to the local community.
While listening to the music that trickled my way over the past month or so, I gained a genuine appreciation for the vibrancy and diversity of our musicians. Each of these young people clearly demonstrates how inventive and skilled s/he is at his craft! (Although, I will admit, I am particularly pleased that at least one female artist contributed, too.)
Even beyond relishing the opportunity to give our school’s talent exposure, I just liked the songs, all the different genres! Thank you Ahren, Matt, David, Julian, and Ross for sharing your music with me! I hope that everyone who views this blog entry takes a moment to post a comment and give kudos to these brave Edmonds Community College student composers and players. Not everyone has the courage to expose their art to public scrutiny.
Of course, I am still accepting tracks from anyone who cares to email me one, here: jenna.nand@edcc.edu. There is always more room on the EdCC playlist!
A special thank you is in order to Kevin Shanley and Jon Marr, without whom this music player wouldn’t sound half so nice.
 |
Ahren Scholtz grew up in Lake Stevens for most of his life. Shortly after high school, he and a few friends decided to form a band and Hummus was born. The band played around the Everett/Seattle area at places such as Jimmy Z’s and the Ballard Firehouse for 5 years before splitting up. Now Ahren, as a solo singer songwriter, plays open mics and an occasional gig.
|
Matt Ellingford is a mostly self-taught musician who is currently enrolled in the Edmonds Community College’s Digital Music program. He has been playing guitar for 13 years. His musical influences are Nine Inch Nails, Tool, The Talking Heads, The Pixies and of course The Clash. If you are interested in contacting Matt, please email him at itslikeahat@comcast.net
David Brown: Not knowing exactly what I wanted to do after graduating high school, I decided to enroll at Edmonds Community College to work on getting an Associates of Arts degree and see what Edmonds had to offer. Near the end of my first year at Edmonds, I found out about the digital music program and got involved with that, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
I’m currently taking the digital scoring class, which has been both extremely challenging and lots of fun. After spending 12+ hours composing 2 minutes of music for a scene from Braveheart, I realized that scoring films was not an easy task, and I now have a greater appreciation for film composers. The class has been great though and I’m looking forward to writing more music.
 |
Julian Estrada: I am an aspiring singer/songwriter/actor/playwright. I am a first-generation college student. I cannot get enough of the arts and I am passionate about them. I love performing and I love the stage. besides those things I enjoy movies, chess, graffiti art, salsa dancing, stand-up comedy, video games, and sports. While all my original song compositions are in Spanish I hope to have my plays produced for an English speaking audience.
|
If you have questions, comments or would like to collaborate, contact me at
allmafrens@yahoo.com.
Ross Leigh: “My name is Ross Leigh. I’m 18 years old, and I have been in the Digital Music program at EdCC for almost two years now. I am working on completing My AA w/digital music emphasis. I like making music a lot, and working in the studios is lots of fun. I am forming a digital music group with a couple of my friends, so that we can write songs together. At EdCC I am a member of the “EdCC Musicians Group” and I am looking forward to joining the audio engineering group as soon as that gets set up.”
Wed 24 Jan 2007
I feel a bit silly, I began writing about this event the night it occured, but I’ve since been waylaid by unexpected trips to the hospital (for a family member, not me!), scary Anthropology exams, dentist appointments (I went yesterday afternoon after class, returned home, began napping, and woke up, well, now), so I never was able to finish my entry about it. I felt awful, because all of the student performers and Kermet Apio were incredibly talented and amusing. They deserved a blog!
Luckily for them (and me), a classmate of mine, Ann Tarleton, was able to write up a piece for Comedy Night. I thought that her writing style was very distinct and entertaining. Please enjoy!
My husband and I attended the January 18th Comedy Club event at Edmonds Community College.
The opening act was the first-ever performance for the “Fourth Wall” Improv Team. We were pleasantly surprised with their quick-witted routines and interaction with the audience. We were also pleased with the level of the humor in that they did not resort to crude or vulgar content–their talent was too good for that! It is not easy getting up and performing in front of others, let alone doing it without a script. Kudos to all of them for their bravery and talent! I have a feeling we will be seeing more of them in the future. Who knows, some day when they are famous we can say we knew them when they were students at Edmonds.
The highlight of the evening was stand-up comic, Kermit Apio, who played on his Hawaiian heritage to keep us laughing for an hour. He has a talent for finding humor in sensitive subjects, including race, gender, sexual orientation, and age. His material was presented in a non-offensive context that allowed us to be comfortable laughing without reserve. We have never watched a live comedy performance and it was definitely a welcome relief from the stress of school. The best part for me was when he made a joke about getting extra credit for attending, which is exactly why I was there!
All kidding aside, this was also a first-ever for me as well. Although I have been a student at Edmonds for three years, I have never attended a college event. To all those like me who are attending, but not participating, you are really missing out. We have some talented, dedicated students who put a lot of time and effort into providing affordable entertainment. Great job to all! ~Ann Tarleton
— Next Page »
