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Christmas Radio Stations (Pandora)

Christmas Stations

July is not over yet, so you can call it Christmas in July.  More Shared Stations.

Boogie Woogie Santa Claus Radio


Diana Krall (Holiday) Radio


# Harry Connick Jr. (Holiday) Radio

# Jazz Christmas

# Jingle Bells Radio

# Kirk Whalum (Holiday) Radio

# Peter White (Holiday) Radio

# Sleigh Ride Radio

# Smooth Jazz Christmas

# Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Holiday) Radio

# Vince Guaraldi Trio (Holiday)

# Winter Wonderland Radio

Christmas Radio

Donny Hathaway (Holiday) Radio

Swingin' Christmas Radio

Z Jazz Holidays Radio

Sharing Pandora Stations:




Click and listen, and when you try to customize with thumbs up or thumbs down, you get your own copy of the station.

Pop Cleaning Radio

Jazz for Studying Radio
Mediterraneo Radio
Bob Marley Radio
Harry Connick, Jr. Radio
https://www.pandora.com/station/play/4292664164119579358

Michael Bublé Radio

Jump In The Line Radio

Acoustic Alchemy Radio
Michael Bublé Radio
Spyro Gyra Radio
AA Smooth Jazz 2

The Rippingtons Radio

Rehab Radio

Amy Winehouse Radio
Grenade Radio

Ramsey Lewis Radio

Lee Ritenour Radio

Jazz from Rippingtons Radio

Indian Summer Radio
David Sanborn Radio
Boney James Radio
Autumn Jazz Radio
AA Smooth Jazz
Jackiem Joyner Radio
Grover Washington, Jr. Radio
Smooth Jazz
Peter White Radio
My Instrumental Jazz 
Soul Jazz Radio
Harry Belafonte Radio



Hugh Masekela Radio
Cantelope Island (live) Radio
Louis Prima Radio

Big Band Radio
Louis Jordan Radio
New Orleans Jazz Radio
Preservation Hall Jazz Band Radio
Jazz Founders Radio
The Hot 8 Brass Band Radio
Billie Holiday Radio
Fergalicious Radio
Aloe Blacc Radio
Happy Radio
Temperature Radio



Soul, Motown, Oldies
Classic Soul BBQ Radio
My Jazz
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) Radio
Pop Love Songs Radio
Black Eyed Peas Radio

Prince Radio
Shake, Rattle & Roll Radio
Pete Fountain Radio
Mellow, Modern
60s, 70s, and 80s Hits Radio
Summer Hits of the 80s Radio

Today's Hits Radio
90s, 2000s, Today's Hits Radio
Summer of Love 1967 Radio
Rock, Pop, Soul
Thrift Shop Radio
Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout Radio
Dire Straits Radio
70s Funk Radio
Sly & The Family Stone Radio
Love Songs Radio
It's Tricky Radio
Ray Of Light Radio
Instrumental Folk Radio
Bluegrass Radio
Delta Blues Radio
The Celtic Hammer Radio
Natalie MacMaster Radio
Mumford & Sons Radio

Scent marking in female dogs, and Meet the Dogs.

I have four poodles.  Three females, all intact, and one male, who is still a puppy at 10 months.  I have one Yorkie-Maltese mix female who is impossibly tiny.  My sister says she must have parts missing.  I have one little male cat, about 6 months. 

Lately, dogs peeing in the house has become disastrous.

I put a belly band on Oliver, and so he's not peeing anywhere but outside.  I put a diaper thingy on the tiny one, Lindy, and she can't go anywhere. This leaves girl poodles, ages 12, 11, and 2.  Today, I caught the 12-year-old hiking her leg and marking furniture that I moved out in the middle of the room to polish the floor!  Emma is what we call the "best" dog. She never gets in any trouble, and even sleeps with us, while the rest go to their beds. (The laundry room for two, an enclosed area that a stove used to occupy(in the old kitchen, long story) for the other two.  Everyone "goes to bed" to get bacon treats.  Even kitty shows up for Temptations ( or the Walmart kind) treats in the laundry room.  Emma, not having an assigned space, shows up for roll call and gets her bacon treat.  It's not real bacon, but they love it.

So, Emma is the culprit today.  I bet it will be someone else in a week.

L-R: Emma, age 12, Oliver, 10 months, Rosie, age 2.

Molly, the 11-year-old grouch. She's super cute, though.

Lindy Hop, nearly impossible to photograph.

Harry, short for Harry Connick, Jr., the kitty who lives with five dogs.

 So, meanwhile, I've been looking into why she might be doing this.

Why Does My Female Dog Mark?

Canine Scent Marking: Who's Peeing Where—and Why? - This one talks a little about over marking, where dogs pee over another dogs urine immediately---something all the female poodles have done for years, outside.

Stop Urine Marking in the House - This article is very informative.

Cat and Dog Water Fountains

OK, so why do our cats and dogs need a water fountain?  Because they exist, apparently.  The ad claims that it filters the water and keeps it fresher and encourages pets to drink.



I actually have this model, and its very quiet and easy to use.  The cat and dogs have found it interesting, so far.  I put it in place of their water bowls so they'll get the idea soon.   They have automatic waterers in the pens, but this is out in the house in the dining room.

I will update when there's more to tell.

New Beginnings

As I continue to pursue work in education, I have decided to expand upon other interests and write about them here. I am not entirely new to blogs, but I feel as though I am years behind when I view the beautiful and complex blogs that exist by the thousands on every conceivable topic. Before settling into one or two topics, I want to begin by sharing about anything that sparks interest or brings me joy, or perhaps even draws my ire.


Today, it's easy. A Pandora station.



https://www.pandora.com/station/play/3779655470570736431


Spyro Gyra, according to Wikipedia (where we all go to define things that we know very well, or don't know at all, to see how others put them in words.) is:

-------Spyro Gyra /ˌspaɪroʊˈdʒaɪrə/ is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from Spirogyra, a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenstein had learned about in college. The band has released over 30 albums and sold over 10 million copies.--------(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyro_Gyra)


I would almost define them as jazz for the masses. They aren't what my students wanted to call "elevator music". I always find this amusing when I think of how practically none of these kids have ever been in a building where the elevator had its own music playing. I pointed this out, and they told me the local hospital did. So, you learn every day. I found this band to be just the thing I wanted on my front porch this morning. 30 albums is some sticking power. Give them a try, you might convert to a little jazz in your life.

Update: out of business

Here is a link to No More Rack, which is a great shopping site.
http://vnlink.co/SL6U5Qe

Here are the bestselling running shoes for women, I own most of the them, I have to admit. I'm drooling for the ghost 6 and more Brooks. Just more and more Brooks. Runners will understand.

Halloween, 2011 (10/28/11) Ready for the dance.

life worksheets

 

Everything went fine today

I'm thinking of starting an actual blog named "Everything went fine today", which tends to be my closing line of the notes I leave for teachers in whose classes I have substituted. I don't suppose it would become a famous blog, but I think I might have enough stories to keep it interesting.

June 24, 2009, Rodney, Chris, Jackie, Kenneth,
South Padre Island, TX.

I seriously love giraffes. This one is at Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX, where I visited on June 19, 2009.

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World Animal Day

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/world_animal_day.html

USDOJ Comments - Thank you Mr. Attorney General

Link for the whole story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/09/22/genital.mutiliation.immigrant/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

ATTN: Please forward to Michael Mukasey

Mr. Mukasey,

On behalf of women everywhere, thank you for intervening on behalf of the woman bound for Mali. In the climate of immigration turmoil, it is important to remember what America stands for and why people want to come here. We are ALL immigrants. This woman faces torture in her native country. I was moved to hear that you are trying to stop one woman and her children from being treated like meat at the hands of butchers. I feel grateful to live in a country where I am free from this fear. Please keep looking out for the rights of people and remembering that America is the only beacon of hope for so many. Any country that would allow genital mutilation EVEN ONCE is capable of enacting untold horrors on all of its women at any time. Evil knows no bounds, and we have to take a stand against these murderers who maim and torture in the name of culture and religion.

Thank you very much,

Chris Lewis

Personal Motivation Factors

Module Six Assignment

Chris Lewis

EDU 523

April 16, 2008

There are many factors behind our motivations. I am intrinsically motivated to watch TV, eat chocolate, and play with my dogs (poodles, tons of them at the moment--puppies). I am also intrinsically motivated to browse the internet, learning all I can about and building computers, learning graphics and photography skills, and watching movies. These are genuine intrinsic motivations because I do not make a living at these things, and I actually take time away from extrinsically motivated activities to do these things. I enjoy learning about history and culture, and l love to travel to new places. I love to eat good food because it tastes good.

I want my floors to be pretty, so I am motivated to lay hardwood. I guess enjoying the hardwood might be an extrinsic factor, but I actually enjoy that kind of thing anyway, otherwise I would not have been sanding the floors at my sister's house. Perhaps motivation in a person's life would best be expressed in a Venn diagram, where there was a section in the middle for the things that have an external reward, but are largely promoted by internal desire.

I believe that if I were to list my activities into two columns, intrinsic and extrinsic, the pursuit of my masters' degree would fall into both columns. I need to make money as a teacher: therefore, extrinsic. I wish to become highly educated, it is my personal duty to develop my intellect as I feel it was a blessing to me, and I shouldn't squander it: therefore, intrinsic. I want to make money and have the summers off. This is a further extrinsic motivation for a master’s in education, and not just the pursuing of knowledge for knowledge's sake. Love and money are the strongest motivators we have (besides survival), and they are tied closely together. I have been a substitute teacher for eight years. I did not want a full time job because I wanted to be able to take my Dad to the doctor and his chemo. If being unemployed for the rest of my life meant my Dad was still with me, there would be no question as to my choice. However, he is not, so my motivations changed.

I believe in order to be truly successful in life, our motivations for what we do must fall into both categories. If we hate our work, then the rewards of money begin to fade over time. When I was in college, I experienced the sophomore slump, which is so easy to recognize after you have been through it (a lot like puberty, or motion sickness). I went to a college known for giving people a social conscience, and the desire to make the world better. I questioned my purpose for being there, for getting an education, was it just to make money? Because that sure sounded like a hollow existence. Had I made the right choice, or was I doomed to destruction, boredom and misery in this chosen field? I tried to talk to my Dad about this, and I don't know how much he understood me, but he did say something that helped keep me going. He said, "You have to make a living at something." My parents grew up in good old-fashioned Appalachian poverty, no electricity and running water, and built their lives from nothing. Money was not necessarily a hollow pursuit to him; it was just a means of survival. It made me feel okay with myself for wanting education for money's sake because I had to make a living at something. It might as well be a decent living, because work is work and you'd might as well get paid. It helped me to understand that becoming educated in order to secure a well-paying job was not an act of greed, but a means to a successful life. I have recently been discussing with my students the meaning of wealth. I explain to them that financial independence is a necessary step to wealth, and that physical appearances of wealth are not the same as true wealth. True wealth is the freedom to do what you want; go where you want when you want to, with whom you want. True wealth answers a lot of wants.

I believe there are many reasons why some activities are intrinsically enjoyable. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators work together. Some things answer to our basic human needs; quality food tastes good, air conditioning feels good, a roof is handy to have in winter... these basic needs help us to translate the extrinsic rewards of monetary wages to meet internal desires like comfort, not just survival. Work itself may not be intrinsically enjoyable, but if we find work that we are more easily intrinsically motivated towards, then we are like to reap inner enjoyment and outer rewards. Sports and hobby activities allow us to have creative expression and community with others. Human beings have forethought and the ability of long-range planning. We are likely to accept temporary discomforts that lead to long-term payoffs. I also believe we develop intrinsically motivated desires based on the things that have brought us pleasure and success in the past. This topic is discussed in the section on self-concept in Anita Woolfolk's Educational Psychology, in which she writes about how students choose elective courses in high school based on the ones they have been successful with in the past. These selections over time shape a person's career choices (2006, p. 86). Her example illustrates the importance of the self-concept on choice, and choice is often a result of motivation.

Reference:

Woolfolk, A. (2006). Educational Psychology (with MyLabSchool) (10th Edition) (MyLabSchool Series). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Philosophy, Ideology, and Theory in Education

Chris Lewis

EDU 570

January 20, 2008

Philosophy is one's own set of basic truths about life, the world, and one's place in it. Philosophy, as it relates to education, is described in terms of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, and logic. These four areas outline the philosophies and what they mean for education. "Metaphysics, the study of the nature of ultimate reality, involves speculation about the nature of existence" (Gutek, 1997, p. 2). In asking the questions about what is reality, educators develop the base from which their philosophy is derived. A teacher's beliefs about whether there is a spiritual realm to the universe, or whether there is a purpose and order to humanity will shape their overall philosophy. G. Gutek (1997) states that epistemology is the study of knowledge and knowing, and that it is very important to educators (p. 2). Epistemology asks the question, “How do we know what we know?”, and examines where we base our claims to that knowledge. Such claims could be based on physical evidence, experience, or even divine revelation (p. 2). A teacher's beliefs concerning the source of knowledge will impact the way a teacher approaches sharing that knowledge with students. Axiology, the study of values, has two divisions which are closely related--aesthetics, the study of beauty, and ethics, the study of moral values and conduct (p. 3). Axiology leads educators to make judgments about what students should and should not do or be taught to do. Combined, ethics and aesthetics make up the statements a teacher makes about what is beautiful and good. For example, if a person describes someone performing an act of kindness as beautiful, then there is a value statement made which includes both the aesthetic aspect of what is pleasing to the eye and an ethical statement about what is good conduct. Separated, one could describe aesthetic statements as ones that outline good taste in arts and music as they relate to a particular culture, and ethics statements describe what is considered right and wrong behavior in that culture. Axiology brings up larger questions like “Which morals should teachers try to instruct their students about? Is teaching moral behavior an imposition on the students that goes beyond a teacher's duties?” Teachers have to decide on a daily basis which morals and behaviors to emphasize while simply teaching the subject matter. Logic refers to the "rules or patterns of correct and valid thinking" (p. 4). It describes the thought processes that one goes through to arrive at a conclusion about a problem or understanding a concept. Logic is divided into two major categories, deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning begins with general statements, and moves to more specific explanations. Inductive reasoning begins with a specific fact and moves toward general statements that can be made based on that fact (Ornstein & Levine, 2008, p. 162).

A teacher combines their philosophy with the ideology of the society in which they live and/or the school system in which they work. Ideology refers to the desires and needs of a group. An ideology, like theories, can be derived from several philosophies. According to G. Gutek, ideology "is used to create a sense of shared ideas, goals and commitments (1997, p.150). He goes to say how ideology is reinforced primarily by two divisions in society, the informal and formal educational agencies. Informal agencies include the media, whereas formal agencies, schools and universities, build a "sense of group identification". Ideology goes beyond philosophy in that it puts philosophical beliefs into action. This shaping of the public mind through schools is further enacted by the use of theories. Gutek contrasts ideologies to philosophies by explaining that ideologies "are distinguished by their contextual and action-oriented nature" (p. 154).

Theory has several definitions. Visual Thesaurus defines theory as “a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of excepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena" (2005). As it relates to education, G. Gutek describes very as related clusters of educational ideas, and puts them into three categories, those "(1) that are derived or deduced from some other bodies of knowledge or thoughts such as philosophies or ideologies, (2) those that emerge as reactions against other bodies of thought, and (3) those that arise from practice (1997, p 259). Some theories are in more than one category.

Philosophy, ideology, and theory combine to play an important role in the classroom. Once teachers have adopted an ideology, they develop a theory which carries out the goals that have been outlined by that ideology. As teachers gain more experience, their personal theories change. Teachers revise their methods to accommodate changes in the students, and improve their teaching ability.

References

Gutek, G. (1997). Philosophical and Ideological Perspectives in Education (2^nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Ornstein, A. C. & Levine, D. U. (2008). Foundations of Education (10^th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Visual Thesaurus (version 3.0.2 Desktop Edition) [Computer Software]. (2005) New

York: Thinkmap, Inc.