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Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
In the pre-opera talk, it was mentioned that the Queen of the Night was definitely in the running for worst mother-in-law.— April 19, 2014 9:11 p.m.
Hey, Chula Vista Elementary School District, test this
There are many things wrong with Common Core. Some of them could potentially be fixable. But what is so very wrong is the gathering of information on these students from a young age. The "permanent record" used to be a joke at school--when teachers would say that something would end up on your permanent record, it was usually meant to get students to settle down and behave themselves. Now it is no longer a joke--it is looking like these students will have permanent records, and those records will be further mined for data, which will be sold to other corporations. Those corporations will in turn do their very best to sell products to school children, based upon all the data than has been gathered. This is turning children into commodities, as I have said before. Fodder for corporate exploitation. Preyed-upon and targeted while still in school, and vulnerable. If--and again I say, if--the Common Core curriculum had been developed by teachers in reasonable formats, rolled out with all the books, workbooks, etc. first; then taught; then some testing started after a couple of years of the materials being out there, I might be able to say it was a good idea. But none of that was done. The whole process was backwards and half-hearted and bizarre. And then the testing is made into the most important part of it. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I have never heard of such a debacle being presented as a requirement. Testing should have absolutely no connection to the selling of data and the further merchandising of our children. If donating blood would suddenly be a requirement, and then testing be done on the blood of our children, and then products sold to them based upon DNA, wouldn't that be seen as horrific? Well, this is using the products of their minds, only to be taken away and used against them.— April 19, 2014 8:21 p.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
"Massage the very rich, hold parties for them..." That is why people are thinking that the public should see the expense accounts for entertainment. It has been mentioned somewhere that there were substantial travel perks for the inner circle, or some people on the board.— April 19, 2014 12:38 p.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
Yes, laughing at my mistake, but pleased it provided fodder for further conversation. The thing about shape-shifters is that they appear here and there all over the world, in many cultural contexts/myths. One from South America is particularly appealing, the Encantanto, I think it is called. It loves music and lives around the water and is dangerous at night! But I had been thinking more along the lines of the good artistic director becoming a not-so-good general and artistic director...— April 19, 2014 12:33 p.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
Do you happen to know when it was that the former president was forced to resign? Perhaps she has been threatened with legal action if she were to speak publicly about this. Maybe a deposition is the only way to get the story. What continues to amaze me is that there were so very few members of the board who understood that the attempt to kill the opera in this way was reprehensible in the extreme.— April 19, 2014 9:57 a.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
To me, the saddest is that they DID conspire to deceive (allegedly) when they attempted to close down the opera with a vote of the board, when bylaws specified that it needed to be a vote of the members, i.e. the opera association. You can't tell me they didn't know what they were doing, as they claim to have had legal advice all along. So now what would the excuse be? "Our lawyers weren't familiar with procedures for non-profits"? Or, "We were trying to move so fast no one would know what hit them?"— April 19, 2014 9:46 a.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
Last night I attended the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway Center; they have put together a very unique production of "The Magic Flute", done in German Expressionist style with a touch of Edward Gorey and the flying monkeys from "The Wizard of Oz". Animation is projected onto the stage, with various doors opening at various levels and some action still taking place on the stage in front of the flat backdrop with doors. I was struck by several things. To begin, the audience was a much younger group than is seen in San Diego. Maybe that was because the production had the animation component which served to fill in some story elements so that the whole thing was a bit easier to follow. Still, I did hear one young man say when walking out, "I was lost...who is Isis?" And his companion started to explain Egyptian gods but not really getting to why they would figure in this plot. There was a pre-opera talk that was excellent: a lively speaker who was also fantastic on the piano, explaining some of what was behind the story and the music of "The Magic Flute". The back-up singer for Poppagano sang the 'suicide' song, just after we had heard how Mozart had amazingly been able to write this work while his life and health were in terrible shape. Of course I am only clumsily putting down what was expressed very well. It was a very lively night, the performances were strong, although the Queen of the Night had some problems in a few places. My opinion is that the lamenting of opera's decline needs to come to an end. We need more arts and music in schools, so all children can be exposed to what is out there. Opera shouldn't be merely or mostly for the evening gown and tux crowd. Everyone benefits from hearing these voices! Perhaps some of you haven't heard the story of Gustavo Romero, pianist. When he was in elementary school in Chula Vista, in maybe 2nd grade, he heard a piano being played in the room next to his. He was transfixed, needed to know more, asked and asked to get the chance to play, and the school figured out a way. He showed so much talent, that he and his family ended up getting sponsorship and moving (I think) to LaJolla, where he had the opportunity for first-rate training and development. He is now a concert pianist and professor of music at a school in Texas.— April 19, 2014 9:33 a.m.
Opera operative advised no discussion of fat checks
Must admit when first I glanced at this headline, I read it as "Opera operative advised no discussion of fat chicks"...thinking, well, Don is really going colloquial, and playing on the old "it ain't over..." saw. Well, it looks like it ain't over. And good for that. I do hope we find out exactly what has been behind all the shape-shifting.— April 18, 2014 2:22 p.m.
Might Chargers eye property occupied by opera studio?
Excellect news! So glad to hear that this less-than-honorable effort to shut down SD Opera has been challenged and stopped! I admit to be somewhat confused that there is a staff group that wants to form an entirely new organization. I hope that there will be no further splintering, and that this community can pull together. Thanks, Mr. Bauder, for indefatigably following this story. It is great to know that the real story is being told!— April 17, 2014 8:54 p.m.
Spanish shipwreck from 1600s in Imperial Valley?
Great story!— April 16, 2014 6:32 p.m.