music

How I Spent July 4 (or, How I Learned to Stop Trump Derangement Syndrome and Love the Semiquincentennial)

July 6, 2026

Happy Semiquincentennial, Everyone! First, I apologize for the long gap in posting. I was just teaching so much in April-June, plus lots of family and other things going on, that I just didn’t have the time or energy or mindset to post on the blog. I teach in a year-round school, so classes just ended … More How I Spent July 4 (or, How I Learned to Stop Trump Derangement Syndrome and Love the Semiquincentennial)

Meatless Monday: Harrison Edition

March 2, 2026

I haven’t been writing Meatless Mondays posts much anymore because since my son became a vegetarian, I’m cooking vegetarian meals all days of the week (although I still cook meat for myself and my husband sometimes). However, today it seemed appropriate. Last week I had a post about the 10 special holiday meals I had … More Meatless Monday: Harrison Edition

Motivational Music Monday: Forever No.1 Edition

July 14, 2025

Today’s song was inspired by my son, who this week was telling me how cool, underappreciated, and revolutionary he thought this song was…even though it came out 33 years before he was born. I agreed with him. And then I remembered that the composer and producer of the song died last month. So it seemed … More Motivational Music Monday: Forever No.1 Edition

Motivational Music Monday: May Day/Cinco de Mayo Edition

April 28, 2025

We have two holidays coming up this week: May Day and Cinco de Mayo. Now, ironically, Cinco de Mayo is not a big deal in much of Mexico. Like St. Patrick’s Day, which is a religious day in Ireland, not a party day, or at least it was… Most of Mexico doesn’t really celebrate Cinco … More Motivational Music Monday: May Day/Cinco de Mayo Edition

Let’s Celebrate William Shakespeare’s Birthday with a Game of Shakespeare vs. Taylor Swift

April 23, 2025

Today is the 461st anniversary of the birthday of William Shakespeare. As a literature teacher, I honor our English language bard, and have taught him frequently. However, almost every year I have taught a lesson around Taylor Swift’s lyrics, because I believe she has a lot of beautiful and powerful poetry, presented in the form … More Let’s Celebrate William Shakespeare’s Birthday with a Game of Shakespeare vs. Taylor Swift

Motivational Music Monday: Easter Edition

April 21, 2025

The past few weeks I’ve done Islamic and Jewish holidays, so it seems like I should do the Christian holiday of Easter as well. But to be honest, I’ve found it harder to find songs that were just celebratory and uplifting and not focused on Christianity beliefs than other religions. So this is not a … More Motivational Music Monday: Easter Edition

Motivational Music Monday, Passover Edition

April 14, 2025

I did a Motivational Music Monday post on the Islamic holiday of Eid a couple of weeks ago (click here to see it), so it only seem fair to do one for Passover this week. Passover celebrates one of the foundational stories of the Jewish faith–their liberation from slavery in Egypt. Even if we aren’t … More Motivational Music Monday, Passover Edition

Motivational Music Monday: April 5 Edition

April 7, 2025

I chose this song in honor of the estimated 5 million people who participated in over 1,200 Hands Off rallies in all 50 US states and multiple other countries. This is not your average “protest song.” Leonard Cohen songs often have many layers, and you never know when he is being ironic. But I hear … More Motivational Music Monday: April 5 Edition

Motivational Music Monday, Eid Edition

March 31, 2025

Today is the day that Muslims observe Eid al Fitr as a holiday, as the fasting of Ramadan ended last night at sunset. Last night’s dinner kicked off the celebration, but families and friends continue the festivities today as well. So let’s all enjoy this fun, uplifting song that invites all of us, Muslims and … More Motivational Music Monday, Eid Edition

Motivational Music Monday: Let’s All Jump on the Peace Train

March 24, 2025

It hasn’t been a great week or two for Peace. The ceasefire in Gaza has collapsed. If there ever was a ceasefire between Russia and the Ukraine, that also has ceased ceasing bombing each other. But we can only manifest what we believe is possible. So this week’s song invites us all to jump on … More Motivational Music Monday: Let’s All Jump on the Peace Train