The Sonikcycle Syndicate

My gonzo run to Albany was smooth and eventful. I spent a wonderful day hanging out with the Free School folks as part of their internship application process. Suffice it to say, I am inspired and excited at the prospect of working in a free and democratic learning environment – one of my many dreams come true!

Now, back to the diss… ;o)>>>

I’ve turned the corner on my paper and I’m headed for the home stretch… I’ll be back on the new tack in a few weeks! But wait….I’ll be heading up to the Harriet Tubman Free School in Albany, New York, for an interview — there’s bound to be some blog bop on that trek, you betchum ;o)>>>

BTW, this is my first post using Ecto – I’m diggin’ it!

Technorati Tags: harriet tubman free school, albany free school, unschooling, ecto, sonikcycle

It was a beautiful day in Billysburg, yesterday: sunny with temps in the low 70′s that held into the evening. Long about midnight, I stepped out for some fresh night air. As I stood jacket-less in bare feet on the deck, I was delighted by ethereal waves of large chimes carried on symphonic swells of big wind swooshing through the barren trees.

الحمد لله

I spent the day out on the Mattaponi Indian Reservation repairing rotted walls and floor joists in the house of Chief Webster “Little Eagle” Custalow who passed away in 2003 (I think). It was a good day’s work and we got a lot done, but the subject of this post is not community service, rather, a wonderful immersion in regional dialects.

I’ve traveled the U.S. extensively, and I’m quite familiar with the broad speech patterns found throughout the land. But American dialects are so very diverse and rich, one doesn’t have to go far off the beaten path to hear the unusual — the good stuff! I’ve long been fascinated by language and the way people speak, and whenever I have the privilege to hear very localized regional dialects, I get all giddy (inside) and I make mental field notes as though I were an anthropologist or linguist. Today was one of those days!

On the work site, I met Chief Carl “Lone Eagle” Custalow and his brother Leon. Being new to the area, I can only presume these gentlemen were speaking what is known generally as the Tidewater dialect, which is quite similar to the Virginia Piedmont dialect. However, there was something noticeably different… an unusual blend like I’ve never heard. Interestingly, there were two other fellows, both native to the Virginia Peninsula region, who sounded as different from one another as they did from the Custalow brothers. What’s more, none of them sounded like any of the 5 speakers from Virginia on the International Dialects of English Archive ‘Twas a linguistic field day, to be sure! I could’ve sat and listened to those guys, especially the Custalow brothers, all day long ;o)>>>

Oh yeah, I just remembered, everyone smiles in the same language…

Technorati Tags: mattaponi, virginia peninsula, tidewater, piedmont, dialect, linguistics, idea, sonikcycle

I just had a couple of those drop-everything-and-attend-to-a-forgotten-deadline days—the kind of days that drive the Type A, uber-organizers absolutely buggy, and makes those who sweat bureaucratic bullets most anxious like. The short end of a not-so-long story is that the day before my Application for Graduation was due, I noticed that I didn’t have enough dissertation credits to graduate! Last Spring, when I thought I had registered for 12 credit hours, I had in fact only signed up for 1. Since my Application packet included a transcript that shows I have fulfilled the coursework/credit requirements, something had to be done, namely drop everything, scurry about, fill out forms, track down professors, interrupt them for signatures, sign up for more credits, and then work the system and its caretakers.

I almost want to say that I live for such days, but I don’t, really. However, there is something about the thrill of making a “deadline” after successfully navigating unforeseen obstacles that suddenly emerge. It’s not like I set these situations up intentionally, but this happens frequently enough in my life that I’ve come to appreciate the game-like tenor of such activity. I think it might have something to do with the amount of focus required… There is something uniquely satisfying when everything but a single series of tasks falls away leaving nothing but a pure sense of primitive purpose.

I also think such activity somehow reaffirms my laid-back, loosey-goosey style—there’s a time and place for everything… if it needs to get done, then done it shall be!