Sunshine.

I've been waking up to sunshine or at least leaving the house to fully lit, sunshiney world. I can't really express how very happy that makes me. It makes me want to wear open toed shoes and skirts. Today I didn't wear a jacket when I left my apartment. And the high today was 20 degrees. So, I'm a little insane but I do believe that a bit of sunshine can cure most any kind of woes.. except maybe sunstroke. I hear it's not terribly helpful with that.

Spelldown.

On Friday I watched the county spelling bee for the first time in ages. It was fun to see the kids... 5th grade through 8th grade... and to rememeber my own experience as a wee kid. I'm a much better speller in the written round than the oral. I know that. I guess that's true of most people. One sweet little fifth grade boy chatted with me while we waited for the written results. I asked him what he thought and he admitted, "It was hard." Bless his heart. I actually thought the words seemed very easy with only one that gave me trouble... "castanets." Of course I do have a masters degree and I've been around a lot longer. The oral round was much trickier with words that seem easy enough until you have to actually spell them right orally the first time around. I would have been knocked out with "malleable." Even though I knew it needed two "l's" I still managed to jot it down wrong in my haste. For you spelling junkies other words included:
stanchion
alluvium
aborigine
acquiescence
trousseau
jococity
paroxysmal
and the winning word, if I am remembering correctly, was "trilithon"

Melting the Subzero Weather with Music...

Superpowers Playlist

1. You Turn Me On I'm a Radio by Joni Mitchell
2. Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds
3. Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On) by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
4. Samson by Regina Spektor
5. Modern Girl by Sleater-Kinney
6. Ride a White Swan by T.Rex
7. Oh Very Young by Cat Stevens
8. Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder
9. Third Time Lucky by Foghat
10. MmmBop by Hanson
11. Your Daddy Don't Know by Toronto
12. Hold On, Hold On by Neko Case
13. Diamonds on the Inside by Ben Harper
14. Turn Me On by Nina Simone
15. Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
16. Take Me Home Tonight by Eddie Money
17. Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
18. Little Willy by Sweet
19. Knock Three Times by Tony Orlando and Dawn
20. Oxygen by Willy Mason
21. Peace Will Come (According to Plan) by Melanie
22. Love is All Around by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

I've been noodling this one over all month. Here it is. My first superpowers playlist. If anyone would like a copy of the CD just let me know and I'll send you one in the mail.

Mooning over the Night Sky.

I found this image and more here. On my Wednesday night I was at trivia at El Roco and I must admit it was sort of cool to see so many bar patrons periodically dashing outside to monitor the progress of the eclipse. It looked a lot like these pics of the moon in various stages even though this person recorded the times using the Eastern time zone. It's hard to explain to others the thrill I get from this sort of thing. I heart space and stars and Jupiter and even cold little former planets like Pluto.

Not so Black and White.

Things are precarious here in the land of Democrats. It may not seem that way, but as the Ohio and Texas primaries creep ever closer it's becoming obvious this could be the end for Hillary Clinton's campaign after losing the last ten states primaries to Obama. I am not staunchly for either candidate... let the record show that I preferred Kucinich or Biden's politics and that ultimately Clinton and Obama shared a lower status on my wish list for a presidential candidate. There's no doubt that with either of them in the White House it would be a moment for the history books. But is that enough of a reason to elect either of them in the eyes of the American public?

For me, it seemed fairly obvious for me that the Republicans had a bigger mess on their hands having NO DECENT candidates and yet it seems that a leader has emerged in their camp with John McCain. I actually find him to be less than threatening, less than electable... old and fairly ridiculous (even my Republican father can't stand him). Still I worry. A country that would reelect Bush for a second term in office cannot be trusted and I am suddenly fearful that Americans might actually opt for a president who is promising a never ending war with Iraq (or at least another 50-100 years of presence there).

I think that right now it's all roses and sunshine in the Obama camp and I worry that once he has the nomination we might still lose the general election come November. I'm not certain that Hillary would have a better shot but something about this whole situation just doesn't feel right. I guess I always thought it would be Hillary in 2008 even though she wasn't necessarily #1 on my list. I believe she could do the job. Run the country. Actually bring about the changes that Obama loves to talk about. Is it wrong that I'm not all that moved by his speeches? Do I have a heart of stone? I wonder if the Republicans will run right over him if he gets the nomination. We may embrace his idealism and spin it so he's "a fresh face not entrenched in Washington politics" but I fear that when the GOP gets a hold of him and the true fight is on, that it will be far less polite and fair than the one we've already watched between Obama and Clinton. I fear the least of his faults will be that he's "inexperienced" and as a country we'll be screwed. For more on the Obama "Delusion" check out this Newsweek Article.

I'm a bit skeptical and bitter. Sure. But I'm not totally without faith. I pray to the God of all that is just and good that the Presidency will be decided by the time we know the democratic nomination and that November will just be making it official.

I have a "beef" about school lunches.

No pun intended... we're all a bit frightened by the news... but apparently not enough to stop serving sloppy joes on Tuesdays.

I never remember the hot lunch program being so strict and highly monitored back in my own school days. I actually have somewhat FOND memories of school lunches at Kyle Elementary School. Beef stew day was a favorite because that also meant homemade bun day. At the end of the meal I recall lunch ladies bringing trays around with extras if everyone had been served and there was food left they brought it around for seconds. It was wonderful. Here every little thing costs extra. I wouldn't be surprised if I got dinged for taking three ketchup packets instead of two.

We used actual silverware and trays and glasses for milk. Sure someone had to wash them at the end of the meal, but think of all the waste that is produced daily by a school district like ours that uses disposable trays and cutlery. I'm amazed it's even permitted in an environmentally conscious society. Could it be that no one knows?

I recall my mother having the monthly school menu taped to the fridge and I would check it out each day in preparation. (Meals have ALWAYS been a big deal for me) there were very few repeats, which was a bummer for me on some of my favorite meals. However, the school where I work has the same thing each week. It's basically a five day repeating meal schedule. There is some variance so it's probably more like a 10 day meal plan but the choices are so similar it's hardly a variety at all. Year in and year out, I am officially unable to swallow another bite of turkey tidbits.

My current complaint is more in the realm of what counts as a vegetable in a standard lunch meal in our school district. Our lunch lady, who is truly a saint, insists that she has to count french fries as a vegetable or our mashed potatoes on turkey tidbit day as our vegetable. Where I come from potatoes don't count as veggies. They are starches. Or am I just making that up? In a recent wellness class I attended we learned about the USDA food pyramid changes and I asked about the french fries and they looked at me like I was from Mars and said NO, french fries do NOT count as a vegetable and I suggested they mention that to our district lunch coordinator. I'm not suggesting we NOT serve french fries or mashed potatoes, just that we not be so "cheap" as to suggest that if a student opts for potatoes on which to put their meatballs and gravy, they not be penalized and have to pay extra for green beans since they "already have a vegetable."

Perhaps this is all just pettiness and nothing to "get worked up over" but it's long been a source of irritation and what fun is having a blog if I can't bitch a little now and then. Perhaps this is a reason to send kids to school with lunchboxes lest they begin demaning a trip to McDonalds when you encourage them to "eat their veggies"

Blah. Blah. Blah.

I am feeling like I'm not living up to my bloggery-duties. I've not written anything much in months. Most of my posts are based on things spotted elsewhere on the net. One might think, as Emma suggested once on her blog, that I am too busy living life to blog, but that would not be the case. Instead I've spent far too much time in the past couple months with terrible head colds and too much blah going on to generate any kind of intelligent text worthy of posting. (Not sure this counts, either!)

On Friday I was hit, (just in time for the weekend) with a terrible cough that morphed into a fever on Saturday and then, on Sunday, with a bizarre reaction of sorts that had both my ears bright red, mildly itchy and generating enough heat to warm my apartment. Oh, and then I had some hives too. The medications keep increasing and the symptoms keep replacing themselves as if my darn body is determined to keep me down one way or another. Sunday night I woke with swollen glands and a sore throat and by Monday night the ear-syndrome and hives had mostly subsided to be replaced by the ever popular stuffy head, I can't bweathe or speak properly and to tilt my head downward is to feel like I'm drowning. Ugh. Now it's Tuesday and the cold meds aren't even making a dent. So, I'm afraid my zest for living is a bit dulled.

I promise as soon as I feel 100% again I'll get crazy and do a bunch of interesting things again.

I Love a Good Silhouette

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is My Porn.

I feel a little weak in the knees. They do something to me. These delicious looking recipes. I love The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the amazing step by step pictures. While I might not be rushing off to try every recipe she posts, I find that her recipes make me believe that I, too, can craft this tasty masterpiece, whatever that may be. She also describes her food in such a way that my mouth waters and I'm left drooling all over my computer. The chocolate pie is the recipe for today and the cinnamon rolls recipe can be found here. I'm dying to try it.

Reading Watching, Listening..... January in Review

What I Was Reading in January
Getting it Right: Fresh Approaches to Teaching Grammar, Usage, and Correctness by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Michael W. Smith
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie
Atonement by Ian McEwan

I have to admit that I didn't get far in The Ground Beneath Her Feet. It was just too long and I was too out of time by our book club date. After that I decided to scrap the book since no one at book club liked it. At least not very much. I read Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Rushdie and found that much more to my liking. It was a fantasy story that reminded me, at times, of a Roald Dahl short story "Great Automatic Grammatizater" and of the Thursday Next stories by Jasper Fforde. I am enjoying Atonement though I find myself wanting to throttle the main character in part one. The Wilhelm grammar book is interesting and I'm finding good ideas to try with my students.

What I was Watching in December

On TV
Project Runway season 4
The New Adventures of Old Christine
Lost

Project Runway is one of the few reality shows I can stand. I have no favorite so far. I just tend to like certain designs more than others each week. FINALLY, The New Adventures of Old Christine is back on and I'm loving it. I just find Christine to be so darn funny. Julia Louis-Drefus's comic timing is terrific. And Lost. Oh my. I am in love with this show.

TV on DVD
Weeds Seasons 1, 2, 3
Prison Break Season 1
30 Rock Season 1
Heroes season 1

With the writers' strike still on, I found myself turning more and more to TV on DVD. I loved Prison Break, Thanks for the tip Sarah. 30 Rock was hilarious and I can't believe I've been missing it. Tina Fey is awesome. I've only seen one episode of Heroes but for someone so devoted to the superhero cause I can't believe I've been missing this. Weeds takes the cake, though, for my favorite TV on DVD program. I already blogged about it. I am sad I've already run out of episodes to watch.

On DVD
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
The Kingdom
The Nanny Diaries
Breach
Eastern Promises
Factory Girl
After the Wedding
Cinema Paradiso
Transformers
The Namesake

3:10 to Yuma (2007) was a terrific film and I had no real expectations. I am not a big fan of the western but this one was so well done. I loved the casting and the ending and the whole spirit of the film--the psychological drama of it. It spurred me on to watch the 1957 version of it and I found that one to be terrific too, of course it ended differently and I discovered there were a number of additions made to the 2007 version. In the end, I really couldn't argue with any of them. Sure, it was a bit more violent, but it was well crafted. A must see.

One of the reasons I chose to see The Kingdom was because Jennifer Garner was in it and watching her in the preview reminded me of Alias. However, she wasn't Sydney Bristow in this film and instead I watched a military drama that didn't offer a lot of entertainment value. I would have dismissed it entirely but for the final moments of the film that left me with the director's chilling message. One that was not unfamiliar to me, but demonstrated in such a well crafted way that the entire film became worthwhile for me in that instant.

I read the book The Nanny Diaries ages ago and found it to be depressing and I'm not sure why I thought I'd like the film any more. Instead it almost reminded me of that Dakota Fanning film "Uptown Girls. The special features on the DVDE were sort of fun to see since I learned a bit more about the perspective of the authors of the book and their experience as nannies in New York. Just as this film left me a bit, blah... so did Breach. And that one was a true story, but for some reason it lacked punch and the suspense and tension I wanted it to have. Transformers was a fun film that reminded me of my youth and a childhood toy. Suddenly I was remembering Autobots and Decepticons and Optimus Prime. I thought it was well done.

Eastern Promises was nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globes which motivated me to see it. I didn't love the film but I did think that Viggo Mortenson does a great job. Certainly this was better for me than Viggo's other ultra-violent film "The History of Violence" and this one crosses the pond exploring the dark side of the Russian Mafia in London. That was new for me. I guess I do like mob films and this was no exception... I just felt that Viggo's acting was the thing that carried the film for me.

I never knew much about Edie Sedgwick, other than that she existed, until this film. I found it an intriguing and heartbreaking biopic about a girl who had her 15 minutes of fame and died tragically young. It portrayed Andy Warhol and possibly "Bob Dylan" as fairly callous men in her life who stood aside as this train wreck of a girl destroyed her life. I've been intrigued with Andy Warhol ever since I saw the PBS special on his life. This film was a bit of an extension of that for me. I thought Sienna Miller was great as Edie.

After the Wedding was an Oscar nominated foreign film from 2006 that I'd intended to see. I thought it was set in India and though it begins there, the majority of the action is set in Denmark. I found the film to be decent and interesting. It portrayed the tug of war between duty and desire for one man whose heart was with the orphaned children in India but was faced with a difficult decision that could keep him in Denmark through duty. This film was pretty good but nothing like Cinema Paradiso, which won the Academy Award for best foreign film in 1988. I loved Cinema Paradiso. I fell in love with Toto as he fell in love with films and I loved his relationship with Alfredo. In its directors' cut version it's a pretty long film, but I also thought it was a wonderful film.

The Namesake is based on a book by Jhumpa Lahiri. It reminded me of some of the tensions Amy Tan's characters face in her books. The film begins in India though most of the story takes place in New York. The film highlights tensions between old world and new world and that comes to a head when the Gangulis' son, Gogol grows up and changes his name. He is forced to come to terms with his reality of growing up American despite his parents whose lives are steeped in Indian tradition.

Holiday Films
Scrooged
White Christmas
It's a Wonderful Life
Family Man
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Of course Miracle on 34th Street and White Christmas were old favorites and I couldn't move past the holiday season without at least one viewing. Yet, this was my first encounter with It's a Wonderful Life. I liked it far better than I expected though I am not sure I agree with all the fuss and fanfare that film gets. I was trying to compare it with The Family Man starring Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. I could see some similarities but in the end I just felt a bit depressed at the concept of missed chances and the idea of how one false move can forever impact a life. I guess the message I should have gotten was how it's never too late to start over or to embrace the life you have. Scrooged was just plain hilarious. I'm not much of a fan for the whole Dickens Christmas Carol story and its varied remakes or versions but Bill Murray is always terrific.

In Theatre
Juno
PS I Love You
Sweeney Todd
27 Dresses

Of these films Juno remains my favorite. I wanted to see Sweeney Todd ever since I saw Jersey Girl with Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler and his little girl wants to put on the musical. I knew what I was getting myself into but I didn't expect to find myself covering my eyes and gagging over the blood (comic or not) and the concept of baking people into the meat pies. It was just too much. Even now, I can barely type the words. P.S. I Love You and 27 Dresses were about equal in my mind. Both sweet, love films that are your typical romantic comedy and I found things to love in each of them, but neither of them knocked my socks off. I guess I'd say they were renters. And Sweeney Todd was masterfully done, but not for the weak-stomached girl like me. Juno is a film I will buy.


What I Was Listening to in January

Once Soundtrack and the Juno Soundtrack on IMEEM.
I always love soundtracks and the Juno one is filled with goodies. Some strange stuff, sure, but I did find the film's music to be a real asset in creating the proper mood. I particularly liked the actor's version of the Moldy Peaches song, "Anyone Else But You."

Once was such a good movie and a movie about music, no less. It makes sense to love the soundtrack too. I need to buy this one, I think.

a random sampling from my MP3 player
here are my posted shuffles:


Jan. 1

Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
Take This Waltz by Leonard Cohen
Fox on the Run by Sweet
Who Says You Can't Go Home by Bon Jovi
Turn on Me by The Shins



Jan. 10
Twice as Hard by The Black Crowes
Judy's Turn to Cry by Lesley Gore
Righteously by Lucinda Williams
Want Ads by Honey Cone
Situations by Jack Johnson


Jan. 27

Half Acre by Hem
Your Daddy Don't Know by Toronto
Stars are Blind by Paris Hilton
Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen
My Dear Country by Norah Jones

How Editors Can be Soooooo Helpful.

Check out this BBC comic video ... a David Mitchell and Robert Webb sketch.

I wonder, at times, if THIS is what I do to kids when I am trying to "help them" explore their creativity with writing. Hmmmm...

I have a writing group session coming up with a group of peers.. must remember this scene and do this... or not. Yes, that's it.

Art. A Condition, A State?

That's right folks. California.

Here's an artist crafting art in the shapes of states. I love it.

Super Tuesday is HERE!

Can you feel the excitement?
Vote in your local primary today!

My Latest Addiction.

With the writers' strike on I've been ripping through TV on DVD seasons like crazy. I've enjoyed 30 Rock seasons 1 and 2, Prison Break Season 1 and I'm just starting Heroes Season 1. But my favorite... my most delicious hedonistic pleasure... Weeds.

I love Mary Louise Parker as Mrs. Botwin. I love Conrad, her partner in the biz. I have no real interest in drugs or doing them, never have, never will, but something about this show is sinfully delicious. I love the opening credits and Malvina Reynolds singing "Little Boxes" and the parade of musical talent singing the theme song in Seasons Two and Three. I'm only sad there are no more episodes for me to watch. That's what I get for my lack of self control that had me watching up to 6 episodes a night. Be careful. It's hard to stop once you start. You could become a Weeds junkie too.