missteacher - what_the_missteacher_reads_listens_to_and_watches

Ben Harper is a God

noreply@blogspirit.com (missteacher) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 15:59:17 +0200

If Ben Harper was a preacher, I would go to church every Sunday. A big church. More than 10,000 people were in Paris Bercy concert hall yesterday to listen to him. It began like I thought it would end: magnificently. Right from the start.
He succeeded in keeping up the level for nearly three hours. Because Ben Harper is a real showman (he can raise the crowd in a couple of seconds), adding to the fact that he's an extraordinary musician and singer (he can sing without a microphone and still be heard in a 10,000 seat stadium).
He's a magician.

A couple of great moments:
The song "There will be a light" sung by a full crowd, lighters everywhere. Shivering.
The French flag on the giant screen and Harper starting "Get up, Stand up"... Political message? Kind of 70's atmosphere... GREAT !

Last album released:
- Both sides of the gun. Buy it now ! ;-) His political songs are among the best. They are reminiscent of Dylan's or Joan Baez's commitment.

The wind that shakes the barley - a film by Ken Loach

noreply@blogspirit.com (missteacher) — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 12:30:00 +0200

The Wind that Shakes the Barley is a very moving film about the struggle against the British army in Ireland in 1920, followed by a Civil War in which brothers were torn apart.
The cast is excellent; the images honour the beauty of the Irish landscape; the music is deeply moving.
For those who spent some time studying Irish history, like I did, the film is of high interest. The references to socialism and Connolly are very interesting.

I still wish Connolly was pictured in a much deeper way in Irish (or anglo-saxon) cinema. James Connolly deserves to be known better. He's one of the best thinkers of Irish history. His speeches and writings had such a deep echo for socialists in the beginning of the 20th century.
The funny thing is that Connolly, although he was truly and deeply a socialist, lost his life in the Easter Rising, the symbol of the nationalist cause and struggle.
1900 - 1930 is one of the most fascinating periods of Irish history, one of struggles, hopes and defeats. Socialism never succeeded in becoming a political force, like Connolly had wanted. It died soon after being born. Nationalism remained the main issue for decades.
And the writings of Connolly were lost. His spirit was forgotten. May he be remembered one day.

James Connolly:

to learn more: http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/
http://irelandsown.net/jamesconnolly.htm

Life of Pi

noreply@blogspirit.com (missteacher) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 16:05:00 +0200

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is the kind of book you can’t talk about without revealing the whole plot or what the book is all about.

All I can say is that Life of Pi is a fascinating story. It is a classical survivor story (a teenage boy stuck on a lifeboat) but it has many intricacies and surprises.
I enjoyed it very much!

Now that I think about it, it is an interesting book to study with a Terminale (last year of Hig School), literature speciality. Because it is not too long, it is not too difficult (well maybe the vocabulary would be a bit challenging) and above all, it is very interesting to discuss the book with others! Because it raises many questions and doubts – above all towards the end. I am sure the students would enjoy it !

Life of Pi has received the Man Booker Prize 2002.

If you read the book, you’ll understand why I’ve put this image !

***************** SPOILER ****************

For those who’ve read the book and want to talk about it, I have to say that at first, like everybody I guess, I thought the story was true, as the author makes us believe. When I came towards the end, I really started to think that it was an extraordinary story. But I still didn’t question the reality of it. Yes, I am a bit naive !!!! The end left me puzzled. I started to doubt. After a quick search on the internet, my doubts were confirmed: it is indeed a work of fiction.

Wow. And shit. I wanted to believe it. But the trick is good.

For more reading:
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
How the author got inspired.

http://www.book-club.co.nz/books/13lifeofpi.htm
A good review.

Extracts from the review:
“Martel's talent combines both suspense and beauty, horror and philosophy, gritty reality and quirky allegory. It is imaginative, it is strange, it is profound. It surprises you and makes you wonder. Above all, its haunting questions linger with you. I highly recommend it. Martel is a master of creating a fiction."
Liz Fraser

"Should fiction be believable?"

Good question.
I've still not made my mind up about the questions the book raises concerning fiction and reality. I would be glad to share them with you in comments.

WHITE TEETH, by Zadie Smith

noreply@blogspirit.com (missteacher) — Thu, 25 May 2006 20:12:40 +0200

If you ever buy this book, I would advise you to jump directly to the second part (chapter 11, the miseducation of Irie Jones) where the story really starts. The first part tells us about the parents of the teenagers we’re concerned with in the seconde part. It is interesting but too slow (260 pages for nearly no event!). The interest therefore mainly lies in the next 250 pages, focused on Irie Jones and Millat Iqbal, two British teenagers from foreign descent, who fail to find their real place in the world.
White Teeth is about the disillusion of this generation, without any faith in anything except in pseudo extremist organizations in which they hope to find their real indentity, againt their parents’ own paths.
It is highly well written, full of wit and sarcasm.

Enough said, just read this:

“Because choices need time, the fullness of time, time being the horizontal axis of morality – you make a decision and then you wait and see, wait and see. And it’s a lovely fantasy, this fantasy of no time (...), the point at which consequences disappear and my action is allowable.”

“Joshua glared up and down Whitehall, at the happy people going about their dress rehearsal. They were all confident that it wouldn’t happen or certain they could deal with it if they did. But the world happens to you, thought Joshua, you don’t happen to the world. There’s nothing you can do. For the first time in his life, he believed that.”

It’s quite rare when you read a book to have the feeling that no other words could possibly express the deep interior of ourselves.
I had sometimes this feeling when reading White Teeth. It’s a pretty good sign.