a clearing in rain- writings, uncollected: 04 May 2008

6 May 2008

two words

lea salonga-

one of my favourite singers whose voice has graced the theme songs of major broadway musicals like les miserables & miss saigon...a touching and delightful clip of her wedding mass.

look what happened to the groom...and

look what she did...

when it was her turn to say her vows...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oMeYrmAem8

Two Words

In a while, in a word,
Every moment now returns.
For a while, seen or heard,
How each memory softly burns.
Facing you who brings me new tomorrows,
I thank God for yesterdays,
How they led me to this very hour,
How they led me to this place...

Every touch, every smile,
You have given me in care.
Keep in heart, always I'll,
Now be treasuring everywhere.
And if life should come to just one question,
Do I hold each moment true?
No trace of sadness,
Always with gladness...
'I DO...'

(instrumental)

Now a song that speaks of now and ever,
Beckons me to someone new,
Unexpected, unexplored, unseen,
Filled with promise coming through.
In a while, in a word,
You and I forever change,
Love so clear, never blurred,
Has me feeling wondrous, strange,
And if life should come to just one question,
Do I face each moment true?
No trace of sadness, always with gladness,
'I DO...'

Never with sadness...
Always with gladness...
'I...DO....'
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live, learn, dream...8 years in the making.

dedicated to pioneers of days past and present...
a draft of video clip prepared for college day may 2008

batches 2000-2007 ( i think...)...and going...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42mdBuprMg

many ought to recall some of your college mates in this moving clip...the lives led, the stories shared and a life in the making...

there is something about the vernacular & unassuming voice adopted by every speaker in this clip...i was drawn and eventually moved by the humility shown...as if they never expected to go that far on their own, and succeeded doing so...in spite of the branding and false consciousness that inflicts much of our educational psyche here especially among students in different jcs.

the diverse journeys they took underscored the worth and inherent dignity every school struggles to impart on the life of each student. the fact that some do succeed in life is worth celebrating...to recognise that success need not be solely defined by paper qualifications alone is another truth worth protecting...

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recognition

Carl Jung once said how much he admired Christians because they saw Christ in the poor, in those who are hungry, naked, in hospitals and in prisons, and in those who are strangers.

But what he could not understand was that they could not see Christ in their own poverty.

Jean Vanier

poem. one

News comes that a friend of far away
is dying now

I look up and see small flowers appearing

in spring grass outside the window

and can't remember their name

'james' by w.s. merwin

4 May 2008

animal anthropology

a delightful account that messes up (i always enjoy doing that in the gp classroom...) our perceived cognition / understanding about what constitutes animal 'instincts' toward predator-prey relationships as well as 'parenting' , 'foster-care' and 'motherhood' located within the animal kingdom

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In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born premature ly and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth. The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve. After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment.

Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops?