STEAM over STEM

My school days ended decades ago, but it's still interesting to read now and then about what my local public school district offers students these days.  As I glanced over one recently mailed update, I did a double take.  At first, I thought the district was touting its STEM (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) offerings.  I looked again.  What was formerly STEM is now STEAM (i.e. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.)

Knowing that playing a musical instrument ranks with more technical fields in importance makes me think better of the district.  Hopefully, the district's increased prioritizing of the arts will resonate with other citizens and make them vote for school bond issues that accommodate student artists.

Context? CDXXV

Heard during a late '90s FM dial scan: "Hurry.  The 99-cent triple cheeseburger won't be around for long."

My response: "For those who crave triple cheeseburgers, that's a bargain.  That's way too much food, though, unless you've skipped at least one meal." 

Context? CDXXIV

Recently, a radio personality's closing pitch for using a particular heating and cooling company was, "All the technicians are happy to work there."

I asked the radio, "Did anyone survey them?"

Persistent earworm alert CDXXIII

Decades after graduating from college, the newspaper commercial jingle, "Wake up to The Missourian," still comes to mind at unexpectedly random times.  My frequent recall of it speaks to my desire to jump back into my past college life in Columbia, Missouri at times.  It also indicates my desire to go back to a time when more people read newspapers regularly to stay informed.

Sometimes, it's comforting to live in a world that feels less rushed--or to have the illusion, at least, that it's  relatively unhurried.

Persistent earworm alert CDXXII

Since hearing it on Community Radio St. Louis's "Move The Needle," I haven't been able to get Jesse Winchester's "Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding" out of my mind.  Somehow, this movingly written, sensitively sung track had eluded me until last Saturday.  If I'd never heard of the song or Winchester, I'd have guessed it was a Danny & The Juniors-style '50s dance tune.  Actually, it's a 2009 track with a convincing '50s doo-wop pastiche.  It's a fitting tune for Valentine's Day or any day you want to tell your beloved one how much she means to you.

The allure of shuffle mode XCII

iTunes shuffle mode cultivated a fun 1940s vibe yesterday during two back-to-back instrumentals.  "Twice Shy" by Hot Club Of St. Louis flowed into Jon Rauhouse's version of Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."  "Twice Shy" is from 2024, but the fiddling wouldn't have been out of place 80 years earlier.  Rauhouse then built on "Twice Shy"'s rhythm with a strong, uptempo guitar rendering of "Choo Choo..."

I wish WEW still played nostalgic music so I could segue both tunes on the air as a DJ--or request them as a listener.

The allure of shuffle mode XCI

One of iTunes shuffle mode's most valuable attributes is showing listeners how songs they've enjoyed separately can be paired in not immediately obvious segues.  That happened for me today when Natalie MacMaster's "Paddy LeBlanc's Set" ended up before "Afternoon In Paris" by Rebecca Coupe Franks.  I wouldn't have thought to pair Celtic fiddling with swingin' jazz trumpet, but to my ears, "Afternoon In Paris" builds on the energy of "Paddy LeBlanc's Set."