(no subject)

[msmemory_archive]

I know we aren't supposed to use streaming feeds here at work (audio or video). But I am doggoned if I am going to sit in the break room and listen to my coworkers chatter during the inaugural address. Bad enough that they talked all through the invocation - I can't compel them to pay reverent silence to someone else's observance - but I will not miss this speech while they sit there and snipe at my President's middle name.

Comments

[mermaidlady]

My coworkers (the few that gathered to watch) chattered all through the musical piece. Barbarians.

[outlander.livejournal.com]

I was amazed--my students were absolutely silent & enthralled the entire time, except when they wanted to ask questions about what was going on.

At least one of them commented that the music was beautiful, about five of them said the Lord's prayer, and about 3/4 of them sang along with the national anthem. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.

[jducoeur]

They're not yet old enough to know that they're supposed to be cynical...

[outlander.livejournal.com]

This is true, but they are old enough to say loudly when they think something is boring, & I half expected them to at various points during the speech.

[lumineaux.livejournal.com]

One of the advantages of working from home today. I will also note that the 3 guys from my contractor (all manual laborers under the age of 30) were silent and reverent as they watched it with me.

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Oh, if someone complains, I know people who would defend you, I think.

[rosinavs.livejournal.com]

How many of them have an unpopular middle name because they were named after some relative?

De-Lurking...

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

...via siderea

I watched with the other librarians in my division--I'll confess there was some snarking at the poetry reading, but we maintained a respectful silence otherwise :-)

Re: De-Lurking...

[msmemory.livejournal.com]

She was no Robert Frost.

Re: De-Lurking...

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

Or Angelou.

We had about 8 people over for home-made pizza, brownies, and a new President.

::snerk::

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

She was no Robert Frost.

True. I think she was trying to be Walt Whitman :-)

It may well have been a good poem, but her delivery was so poor that I couldn't tell (Shakespeare would have sounded halt and lame intoned that way :-/).

Re: ::snerk::

[laurion]

As was mentioned elsewhere: she may be excellent at _writing_ poetry, but _reading_ it needs more work. Serious poets sometimes spend too much time on the academics of poetry, and not enough time in smoky clubs with a beret on the head....

Re: ::snerk::

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

she may be excellent at writing poetry, but reading it needs more work.

True--but it still boggles me that anyone could sound so wooden reading hir own words (not just poets; when Jane Smiley was on Prairie Home Companion, she read an excerpt of one of her novels, and her delivery was dreadful).

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

Everyone here watched quietly; in fact, during Obama's speech the room was so quiet that one person's laptop keying noise was loud enough to bother several people. No talking at all during the music or the speech.

[yakshaver.livejournal.com]

I was in a bar in Davis Square, chock full of people. Everyone listened quietly to the music, and cheered enthusiastically through the speech. Nobody commented on his middle name.

[iff]

Ditto. We have no TV on our end of the building so we started with listening over the radio and then one woman was brave enough to risk the Wrath of Infrastructure to stream it at her desk for us to all crowd around. Several times I wanted to gag everyone, but even that did not dampen the hope that came from watching. Just...wow. That's all I can say. Wow.