Controlled Chaos

My application now goes to host country. It’s a crapshoot as to whether they will opt to offer me this life-altering opportunity.

Dear Jonthon Coulson,

I am pleased to inform you that the National Screening Committee of the Institute of International Education (IIE) has recommended you for a grant under the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the academic year 2008-09. Your application has been forwarded to the supervising agency abroad for final review. In addition, your application will be forwarded to the program sponsor, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, for transmittal to the presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB). The FSB makes final decisions on Fulbright awards.

This letter is not notification of a grant since the number of recommended candidates exceeds the number of awards available. If you are selected for an award the supervising agency overseas will inform you of your status. If you are named an alternate or are not selected, you will be notified by IIE. For further information about the next stage in the selection process, go to the website:

https://us.fulbrightonline.org/documents/apply/FAQ_Final_Steps.pdf

Since selection is a lengthy process, the final decision may not be made before the end of June. In the meantime, it is important that you advise us immediately if there are factors that could preclude your accepting the grant.

Receipt of a grant is contingent upon: (a) approval by the FSB; (b) concurrence by the supervising agency abroad; (c) medical and research clearances; (d) security factors in the country of your application; and, (e) availability of funds. Congratulations on your success in the preliminary stages of the competition.

Sincerely yours,

Theresa Granza, Director, U.S. Student Programs

On the all, teaching means waking up early than I’d rather, working longer than I’d rather, and making more of a difference in life than I could just about anywhere else.

I intended to show Gattaca in my class tomorrow as of a week and a half ago. I went to Best Buy, and they told me it was currently rented, but would be in on Saturday. I bided my time, and much to my dismay yesterday the renter had not returned it. The same held true this morning, and I am still a little puzzled as to how NONE of the Blockbusters in Manhattan had a copy. I called other video rental outlets, but the same held true. I even called Best Buy and Barnes and Noble to see about buying it, but no luck.

Then I had an idea. I got on eBay, searched for Gattaca, and looked for sellers in New York. I quickly found one, and fortunately for me, the auction was buy it now. I emailed the seller to see about picking up the film, and he wrote back soon enough to say that’d be fine. Within two hours, I had finalized the auction, paid via paypal, headed up to Washington heights, and obtained my copy of Gattaca.

I’m unstoppable!

This morning, for the second Saturday in a row, I went up to the High School for Computers and Technology in the North Bronx to participate in a digital documentary workshop with 3 students from my class.  These are incredibly informative, and the students are learning a lot, quickly.  I’d love to try to incorporate videography and scriptwriting into my ELA classes…

After that, I met Syeda back at the Gun Hill 2 stop.  We went to Manhattan, saw my roommate as we exited the train, then saw the masjid and the Apollo, got lunch at Strictly Roots, and went ice skating at Lasker Rink in Central Park.  She was wobbly at first, but by the end she was doing something akin to skating.  I hadn’t skated in over two years, so I had lots of fun.

Then when I got home, I took a bubble bath and listened to Ravi Shankar.  I hadn’t experienced either in  while.  It was meditatively relaxing.

The Redneck Page

Bongo Rock

My mom got my “Yes Yes Y’all: An Oral History of Hip Hop” for Christmas.  It’s great.  While reading about Kool Herc, they song Apache was heralded as what started it all.  Here’s a version by Bongo Rock which is close enough to the original, although there are a slew of versions now and it’s still being sampled.