What is the person in The Scream screaming about?

The Scream

by Edvard Munch

(in Norwegian, it's Skrik)

created 1893-1910

I know wikipedia is much decried for inaccuracies, but I used it for information and the article is here.

This painting has always given me a creepy feeling if I study it long enough. I think the screaming figure is especially weird because he's bald. No one in real life looks like this, so it's otherworldly. He looks afraid. There are two people coming toward him, but he's looking off to the right and something there is scaring him. The transliteration of the Norwegian word is "shriek," and that seems even more appropriate for the picture. A scream of surprise.

I often have dreams about the end of the world. I am trying to deal with people chasing me, dangerous terrain, aliens, natural catastrophes. My family is in danger and I'm trying to help get us all to safety. I guess watching shows like Falling Skies on TNT doesn't help me at night!

The scenery in The Scream is the kind of imaginary world I might see in my dreams of the end of the world. One of the theories about the red sky is that there was a volcano eruption that spewed a lot of ash into the sky and gave Edvard a red sky at sunset which inspired him to paint this painting. The sky seems almost to be moving around like the stream going under the bridge, or even as the body seems to be moving. I feel like the screamer is about to slip down to the ground, melting down with fright.

But the question today is, "What is he screaming about?" I think something is just off the other side of the bridge. Something is coming out of the water. Something so scary and threatening that it scared the hair off him! It's a man with a knife and a heavy brow, storming his way up the bank of the river, coming right at the screamer. The two people coming up behind him are going to catch him if he tries to run the other way. There is no escape . . .

What will you be like when you are a grandparent?

I hope that I will be much much older when I am a grandparent!! At least 12 or 16 years older. That's not too much. How can my grandparenting years be so close?? Woah! I have a lot to learn in 12 years. My kids have a long way to go in that short time.

I hope I'm a hands-on grandparent. I'd like to live close to my grandkids, but I know that life in the US has families moving around all the time. Who knows where we'll end up.

I want to be that grandparent who bakes cookies and teaches the kids crafts. I want to take my grandkids to the store and let them buy treats. I want to read to my grandkids, and rock them to sleep and let them sleep over. Maybe I'll get up early and make sausage gravy and biscuits for them. Maybe we'll write letters to each other---or e-mails.

The bad thing I'm realizing as I write this is that I'll probably not be retired before I have grandkids. But maybe I'll still be a teacher and have summers and holidays off similar to my grandkids. I will have to be a working grandparent---like my Mom is and my Dad was for a while. That does mean I won't be available as much as my grandparents were to me.

Jamie reminded me he's going to make his kids call me Moogi. That's Fernegi for Mom. (You know, Star Trek!) I don't know if we'll really go through with that. Since I have some Scottish ancestors, I could go with "Seanmhair." I don't even know how to say that. Or I do have one leg of the family that's French, so how about "Grand mere." Or we could do like I did with my parents---the first grandkid makes it up when they say whatever they say!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt 6-25-11

This week's photo hunt challenge is Card(s). I had to go back and really search for some cards! These are from my birthday back in 2007.

Looks like Bess made a card for me and Jamie went for the funny Peanuts card.

I had to go snap a new picture, too----cards of all kinds from my purse and wallet. I Have a lot of cards right now since I have been saving some of them to use in the summer! One of the special days we had at school during the Teacher Appreciation Week was a gift card day, and a few students brought those. A few of the cards there are kinda old and I should go check their balances to see if they're good. My first aid card is there. Jamie got CPR certified this spring at school. A couple of those cards are for discounts at those stores. That can save you some money. I love it when we get free food cards at sporting events or whatever.

I am not sure about next week's theme, but if you want to join in this week, go over to Photo Hunter's at TNChick's website.

If you were a magician, what would your signature act be?

Guess who's brain this question came from?

I would like to saw a person in half. Wouldn't that be a dramatic act!?! I think I would need to wear a red sequined dress and definitely have some spooky, suspense-building music.

Maybe I should make it a levitating act, though.

I laughed when I first heard this. I can't imagine me doing a magic show. :-) I do enjoy seeing a good one, though!

We did get a blog for Bess, although it was a lot of work! She's still trying to get it looking the way she wants, so no links to her yet. Coming Soon!

What would your ideal vacation be? Where would you go?

I have always wanted to go on a Mediterranean cruise. Think about all those wonderful countries around that Sea: Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, and now I'm even intrigued by Tunisia. Take a look at this:I didn't realize that Tunisia had Roman ruins. Now I say this is my ideal vacation----not necessarily the place I think I'd be comfortable visiting. It's a little too dangerous over there right now.

Ever since my high school art days I've wanted to go to Italy and see all those famous art places and walk in the steps of the great ones: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, you know those guys. After watching Under the Tuscan Sun and listening to Sting talk about it, I'd love to go to Tuscany. And Venice! I'd have to ride a gondola with Larry and kiss under every bridge.

Greece is a must see with all the Greek ruins. Living in such a young country, we never can see such old structures. I'd like to see all those white buildings they build to keep the rooms cool.

I'd like to visit all the cities that have a book of the New Testament named after it. Or the place where they were. I can't imagine those places very well from the Bible texts, and they would be different now, I know. But still would be a thrill to see all of those places.

I think cruising around on a ship would be the way to get around. I'd of course want to be in a big cabin with lots of room and good food. I would not be seasick in this ideal vacation, either. Would my whole family be there? Maybe, or maybe just Larry. Bess wants to come already, though.

Of course this would have to be a very long vacation! That seems ideal to me. :-) Leave a comment if you have another suggestion for me!

What is your dream job?

Bess and I are writing this summer---she asked to repeat my at-home work I was requiring last summer and some summers past. This is always something we start, but it kind of peters out as the summer wears on. But maybe not this summer!! I have great hope (as I always do). In the past, we were supposed to write a sentence for every year we'd been alive. I've already said I am not writing that many sentences anymore!! I have other things to do (like go check my Facebook or de-clutter). She could still write 12 this summer "or more," as she said. Oh, she is such an overachiever. Sound familiar?


The title is a question Bess wrote. She and I wrote questions yesterday and put them in a cute little bucket.

Actually, I think my dream job would be writing. I have this idea that I keep coming back to that I should write curriculum. I'd like to do this after the charm of being a classroom teacher has worn off, or when I am too worn out to do it!

Meanwhile, I am doing my research and getting ideas while I teach. I enjoy being in my own classroom, too! I've thought lately if I could just be a teacher right where I am--- in a small Christian school, small class size, pleasant co-workers, involved, caring parents---but have a permanent assistant (doing all the things that are tiresome or things I wish I could get done but can't alone) then I would do this forever. I'd do it for free if I didn't need the money.

The awesome thing is, I DO have a free assistant this fall! I will have a student teacher from the very first day of school, 5 days a week, all day until about Thanksgiving. She was my "senior methods student" in the spring, and I am so looking forward to working with her. God answers prayers, and even gives me the desires of my heart sometimes!

If I could use what I know and will learn, I would like to share ideas about Social Studies and special units that could be used in a Christian or any kind of school. I have realized I love Social Studies. I'm also still interested in language acquisition.

Oh----time to check on my Facebook account.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt 6-18-11

I'm getting back in the swing of things and posting a Saturday Scavenger Hunt Photo! I haven't been blogging---I think Facebook has taken the place of that.

This week's theme is Informative.

Last weekend the Texas Nonprofit Theaters had their youth conference in Bryan/College Station, and Jamie was a part of it. Here, his group is getting informed about their performance. Critiqued, as they say. Jamie got complimented on his "attitude" in one song. He wasn't the one in the forefront, but they he was singing the backup and looked good.

Informative---they got good information to improve the show. They are going to expand this production to show the rest of our community this musical, which the kids wrote. It was based on the TV show Glee, which the other conference attendees really liked. Their show was called "Gleeked!"

Next week's theme is Card(s). See you then!