Four Things Overheard by a Teach for America First-Year: Anonymous

1. This first one actually made me crack up in front of the class:

We're practicing multiplication with flash cards, and the whole class comes to complete silence in anticipation of the next card when, from the back of the room Gerald proclaims, "I'm fittin' to eat some pancakes!"

2. The next day, we were talking about science and what we were gonna learn and some of the experiments we were going to do and Gerald raises his hand and patiently waits for me to call on him. Then he says, "Mr. --, L-- said he was going to make himself explode!"

3. Maybe the best though, is my principal, who uses phrases like "vanilla folders," dealing with the "pacifics" of our plan, and planning for "exscream situtations."

4. Today, I banned any New York Yankees-related paraphernalia. Taylor raised her hand and asked if that meant "Yankee Doodle Dandy" was banned, too.

1.2. The Mini (Or: "Does the Bear Have a Bomb?")

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The Day The Declaration Arrived (Question.)

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A (Very) Humble Suggestion for the Newspaper Industry.

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All Together Now We Twist and Shout.

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The Last.

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Four Things Overheard by a Teach For America First-Year: Anonymous.

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the ghost and the girl: underwater.

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Charlie Pieper: Claverings 2.

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Previous Issues: 1.1.

Photos via "TADA's Revolution."

Eli Badra is Following Phish Around and Writing About Them.

On August 15^th, 2004, on a muddy and overcrowded farm in Coventry, Vermont, Phish played what everyone thought would be their last notes together. The song was “The Curtain With,” and it ended on a prolonged ambient drone. The music died down tenuously, though it was strangely appropriate that they not go out with a bang, and the band seemed as reluctant as the audience to really truly let Phish be over with. In the years that followed, phans moved to other bands, be they the Disco Biscuits, String Cheese Incident, moe., and any number of other up-and-coming jambands. Meanwhile, a whole new drove of Phish fans began to form. Kids started going to college, getting stoned, and having their own moments with the quartet.

It’s not as though the world was without Phish-y music, though: all four members went on to enjoy their own solo work: Trey Anastasio, Page McConnell, and Mike Gordon have all put out solo albums at one time or another, and Jon Fishman played with a number of bands. In fact last year’s Rothbury festival just happened to feature three of them (Page was not in attendance), and so attendees were treated with a sort of mini reunion. But, of course, Phish is clearly the only thing that will do when one is looking for Phish. And so, it was no surprise that phantasytour.com, arguably the central hub for Phisheads (as well as several other jambands) to convene, completely crashed and burned under the extreme traffic that ensued as rumors of Phish’s reunion began to really pick up steam. And then in October, after having performed at their former tour manager’s wedding, the announcement came: Phish would be getting back together, starting with a three-night stint at the Hampton Coliseum, in Virginia, March 6, 7, and 8, 2009.

Now, the Hampton Coliseum is a bit of a storied venue for this band. They have performed there fifteen times, including Hampton Comes Alive in 1998, and their first return show after a hiatus in 2003. Phish always seems to bring their best game to the Mothership, so it’s no surprise that it would be the place for them to begin anew once again.

Tickets for Hampton sold out literally within seconds, much to the chagrin of yours truly, and many were unwilling to pay the five-hundred dollar price that scalpers were pushing for. That said, LivePhish.com was kind enough to provide the soundboards of each show for free within hours of the shows being done. In addition, fan sites set up live streams of fairly high-quality, so those who couldn’t be there could enjoy a “No Spoilers” stream of the concert live from their own computers. A number of Phish reunion parties undoubtedly took place.

Phish has since done an entire tour, which just finished this past Sunday, and musically they have far surpassed pretty much anything that took place in March, but in the interest of a full retrospective, let’s have a look at some of the highlights of what went down.

March 6, 2009

Set I
Fluffhead
The Divided Sky
Chalkdust Torture
Sample In A Jar
Stash
I Didn’t Know
Oh Kee Pa Ceremony >
Suzy Greenberg
Farmhouse
NICU
Horn
Rift
Train Song
Water In The Sky
The Squirming Coil
David Bowie

Set II
Backwards Down The Number Line
Tweezer
Taste
Possum
Theme From The Bottom
First Tube
Harry Hood
Waste
You Enjoy Myself

Encore
Grind
Bouncing Around The Room
Loving Cup

If this seems like a lengthy setlist, it’s because that’s exactly what it is. Rather than throwing down lengthy exploratory jams, Phish used Hampton as an opportunity to give the fans pretty much any song they would want to hear. And what song did phans want to hear the most? That would be “Fluffhead.” See, “Fluffhead” has been a favorite of Phisheads for the longest time, and yet the band went four years (nine including the hiatus years) not playing it, the last time being September 29, 2000, in spite of fans’ best attempts at getting them to play it. So when Trey started noodling the opening passage, the excitement in the Coliseum went even further through the roof. Even not having been there, yours truly couldn’t help but shiver joyously as the crowd erupted in ecstasy as they realized what they were hearing. It should be said that “Fluffhead” is a pretty difficult tune, too: Phish loves their prog, and this song has some pretty complex rhythmic work going on. Even in just one song of eighty-five or so (over three nights), people were able to tell what Phish’s intentions were. This wasn’t four has-beens just touring around for the money – they were ready to bring just as much musicality to 2009 as they did fifteen years ago.

Fluffhead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW3H5C_Xsjc

Fluffhead’s peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aIudX0RsCk&feature=related (this video explains why you should listen to Phish)

The rest of the evening was relatively innocuous, by Phish standards. We got some great tunes out of the evening, sure, but like I said, it wasn’t particularly adventurous or anything like that. The band did give a performance of “Backwards Down The Number Line,” a cut from their upcoming new album, which had previously never been heard, which was pretty cool, though to be fair the entire album has since been previewed throughout the summer – not to mention the band’s tendency to try out new songs in a live setting before putting them in the studio anyway – so I wouldn’t chalk that up as one of Phish’s greatest live moments. “Bouncing Around The Room” was a pretty perfect encore, a whimsical and relatively simple song, and also a very content one. Trey even cracked up a little at one point.

I’d like to say more about Hampton, but really, the rest of the tour has pretty much overshadowed the run by now. Suffice it to say, it was about as great as phans could have hoped for. Really, the “Fluffhead” alone was worth the price of admission. It was a pretty severe bummer to those who hadn’t managed to get in to see the shows, but we on the outside were at least partially contented to sit back knowing Phish was back, and would be in full-on touring mode soon enough.

Claverings 2: Charlie Pieper

the ghost and the girl: Underwater

underwater - the ghost and the girl

A NOTE:

The below was set to appear in the August issue, but due to growing chatter, it was published early.

All Together Now We Twist and Shout

The stadium-breaker. Throat-lozenges cowering at the door. End your analogies and dance. They are this, they are that, and who cares about the geysers of flim and volcanic ash of flam? Mates unto ourselves. I've never seen The Beatles play Twist and Shout, but if I did, I'm sure I would dance.

Note: this was a group-write, featuring two writers.

A (Very) Humble Suggestion for the Newspaper Industry.

Give yourself a tip jar. Internet widgets like this are easy to put together, and if the statistics from Clinton's Giving are to be believed (and we're no Dick Morris), then go ahead and do it. It's easy to assemble, easy for users to give as much (or as little) as they want, emphasizes the fact that the community paper adheres to the communal interests, would be not be obtrusive on the website, offers something to the four million online viewers who currently have an ostensible nothing, and whether or not it would bring you from the red back into the black, it's a productive step to take, it's something that can be done, and it does not involve a lot of hand-wringing, what-can-you-do? looks, David Simon's absurdly retroactive idea, and needless blame cast upon the internet.

The Day the Declaration Arrived (Question.)

There is already some account of how it came to Massachusetts, but what of other states and other nations?

The Last.

There are three veterans of the first World War left in the world. Of all the parts of the world that bubble on without you, of all the borders beyond the horizon, of all the paces, trajectories, characters, and stories colluding together in giant waves of 'now,' 'yet-to-come,' and then it boils down to three. It's not even the whole hand.

The rate, too, is surprising: eight years ago, there were 700 left alive.

Of those left, this: their names are Claude Choules, Jack Babcock, and Frank Buckles. Their countries of origin are the U.K., Canada, and the U.S.. Nearly 10,000,000 men were killed in the conflict, 65 million participated, and, now, we are left with three. When they were in the army and navy, they were led by men who were born in the 1850's.

Claude Choules: Born in Pershore, in March, 1901. Notables of Pershore: the Abbey, which heralds from the 11th century. Located on the River Avon. His specialty -- 'blowing things up.' Moved to Australia. Sent to clean up a part of the harbor in Western Australia and came back with "a gift of pink slippers he had found" for his daughter. A 41-year career that spanned both wars. Used to "see hospital ships coming across and soldiers being wheeled off them." Witnessed the surrender of the German Navy in 1918.

Jack Babcock: Enlisted in the army at 16 by lying about his age. Pilot's license at 65. Graduated from high school at 95. (In short: an early starter.) Received a birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II for his 109th birthday, remarking that she's "a pretty nice looking girl." When he got to Britain, he was deemed too young to "go over the top." Via the North Bay Nugget: "I feel guilty because I'm not a war hero. I didn't get to accomplish what I set out to do."

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Video:

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Frank Buckles: The only one with his own webpage. Ended up with the ambulance service. When he tried to sign up, he was too young -- 18 -- and the recruiter turned him away. A week later, he came back with his Grandmother. "Same recruiting station, same Sergeant ... but I had increased my age to 21. He was very ... gentlemanly and gave me the test." England, first. Winchester. Drove a motorcycle around base and as an escort. Later upgraded to a Ford. Transported prisoners back from Germany. During his only leave: stayed at the Hotel de Pay in the Bay of Carcachon, where -- because of the water covering the ground -- the postman would deliver the mail on stilts.

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Harry Patch recently passed. He was 111. Along with Claude Choules -- who is an Australian citizen -- he was Britain's last veteran. Radiohead wrote a song in memory of the man, and we'll have a link to that, too, below, but first, foremost, and most importantly: some notes on his life.

Born in June of 1898. He served between 1916 and 1918. Helped build the University of Bristol.

Video:

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Other notable items concerning the first World War: avalanches used as weapons.

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Radiohead - Harry Patch (In Memory Of):