Movies
Forever….Forever….FOREVER…
Jan 26th
Love that movie. That is also how long it’s been since I’ve written. 
So, with much urgings from my beloved ShellyJanuary, here goes:
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO: Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt…and, oh yeah, more Matt. http://www.mattnathanson.com I got a hold of some of his live shows, and they have rekindled my Matty Lovin’. How is it possible that I have never seen him live? Why, now that I could finally manage to afford it, is he not touring back in California in the forseeable future? How is the Universe that unfair? Wow…these questions are really deep. I should be a Zen master. Seriously.
BEST MOVIE I’VE SEEN RECENTLY: Lost in Translation. I saw it at the ArcLight in Hollywood. Only place I ever want to see a movie again ever, incidentally. Cool ass movie theater. ASSIGNED SEATING! Anyway…Lost in Translation kicks serious booty. I can’t believe that Scarlett Johansson (sp? I don’t know) was only 17 when it was filmed. Also, Giovanni Ribisi was so perfect…I can’t even explain it. The movie was just so subtle…so few films are really subtle, and this one mastered that perfectly. I loved it.
BEST COMIC IN THE (FUCKING) WORLD: Dane Cook. http://www.danecook.com Shawna and I listened to his CD on the way home from LA last weekend, and I seriously thought I was not going to be able to continue driving while listening to it, I was laughing so hard. He is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!! Did I mention that he’s also hott? Not just hot. Double ‘t’ hott. He is a hottie hott hott hottie. HOTT!!!!! As my other hottie crush, Matty N., would say: AAWWW…..SHIT!
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: OK, I’ve read a ton of crap since I’ve last posted, I’m not even gonna try to touch on it all. What I want to talk about is Backspin by Harlan Coben. It’s a Myron Bolitar mystery, one of the early ones. What made it special, though, was you get some insight into Win…his mother’s in the story, his uncle, cousins…and an incident from his childhood is revealed. It doesn’t *explain* him by any means, but it offers a glimpse. And since Win is far and away my favorite character in the series…possibly in recent literature LOL…I was lovin’ it.
WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON: Well, Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy. Damn them. Well, it’s FAO, Inc., technically. The parent company. No difference. My reaction is still: Bastards! I loved that job. Those girls were great. Oh, well, moving on with my life…
Scott Bairstow from Party of Five…you remember, Neve Campbell’s abusive boyfriend Ned? Turns out the motherfucker has been molesting/statutory raping a relative of his ex-wife’s since she was 12 years old and he was in his late twenties. I always thought that guy played a psycho pervert too well. Seriously. Shawna and I used to talk about how he gave us the creeps for real. Something about his eyes…like when Tim Conway and Harvey Korman used to laugh for real, and you could tell it was different than acting-laughing? Well, like that, but with “psycho” instead of “laughter.”
I’ve been subbing while I’ve been off track. It’s so much fun! New class every day, VERY little responsibility (compared to having my own room), I’m out when the kids are out, and although it doesn’t pay as well as teaching, it’s still pretty good pay. Damn. That’s my new career goal…subbing. LOL I would love it, actually, if I could afford to just sub instead of teach. The reason I got into teaching was to spark kids’ passion for learning, to share literature and learning that I’m passionate about with them as well…and I’m not allowed to do that anyway, so what’s the point?
Anyway, I am going to make a serious effort to post more often…even if I don’t make a big production of it every time, if I just post some thoughts. I really want to aim for once a week consistency. That would be perfect.
Check in with ya later!
All the Updates That Are Fit to Print…
Oct 7th
…and some that aren’t, really.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO: Ernie Halter. Someone posted about him on a message board I go to, and I checked out his website. He is soooo cool! I downloaded some of his stuff, and I just can’t stop listening. The CD I burned from the mp3′s on his site is what is currently keeping me pumped up during my workouts. http://www.erniehalter.com Check him out, why don’t ya?
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING: Manner of Death by Stephen White
COOL MOVIE I’VE SEEN LATELY: The Fighting Temptations. The gospel music in the movie was not quite as authentic as I’d hoped….or maybe I should say, it wasn’t the style I enjoy most. I like “choir” kinda gospel music, which I thought this would be. John P. Kee. Kirk Franklin. Fred Hammond. West Angeles COGIC. Basically any choir with the word “Mass” in it. You know what I’m talking about. This was more like hip hop, R&B-style gospel. For the young people. LOL. But still very cool…a sweet story. I liked the movie overall.
COOL WEBSITE I’VE RECENTLY DISCOVERED: www.mystupidmouth.com – John Mayer message board. It’s fun. It’s a good way to get rid of some of that pesky disposable time we all hate so much. Of course, if you’re not a Mayer fan, it probably would not appeal to you as much.
RANDOM RANT: Die, John Wells!!!!! Die, bastard!!!! You are not fit to derelict Aaron Sorkin’s balls. DDDIIIIIEEEE!!!! (for more info on the reasons why I feel this way, expressed in a way that is much more clever than I have the time to come up with, see: http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/story.cgi?show=4&story=5480&limit=&sort= )
WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON: Well, the big news is that I got a new car…finally!!! YES!!! It’s a 2003 Nissan Sentra, silver. Love it! Spending six weeks with no car was no fun. I spent an ungodly amount of time posting on various message boards and abandoning any pretense of leading a real, non-internet life.
I have rekindled my interest in exercising, however, and have been doing my Power 90 tapes and going to the gym very regularly. YAY…..endorphines! WooHoo!
Five O’Clock Shadow is breaking up!!! NNNOOOOO!!!!!!! Evie is friendly with one of the guys from the group and he told her. I don’t think it’s a secret, though, because someone alluded to it in their guestbook. I emailed them to ask if it’s true…just in case for some odd reason Oren was messing with Evie’s head or Evie was messing with mine. But I think both of those possibilities are slim like shady. I think they are history. 
David Ryan Harris is playing this Saturday night in Santa Monica…WWWWWAAAAA!!!! Dang it, every damn thing goes down in LA. I always get excited when I see concert announcements for California…but is it ever up here??? NNNOOOO!!!! This would be one major reason why I am getting my ass back to SoCal as soon as humanly possible.
I went out and voted in California’s own little Saturday Night Live skit….er….um….I mean….Recall Election. Not telling you how I voted. The point is that I *did* vote.
I replaced Eddie, who was broken. Those in the know, know. Those that don’t, don’t.
My website broke 3000 unique visitors this week! YAY!!!!!
I am currently subjecting my 2nd Graders to the non-abridged double CD version of The Phantom of the Opera while they do their seatwork under the pretense that it is appropriately creepy for the season…but really because I just want to listen to it. They are BEGGING me to bring Chuck Mangione back. Heeheehee! They love Joe Satriani, but it gets them too riled up. I can only put it on at the end of the day when I’m about to send them out the door anyway. LOL
I’m currently reading “In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson” aloud to them. I forgot how awesome that book is! LOVE it! Makes me cry, makes me laugh…makes the kids do those things, too, which is important. They are having a little trouble getting used to the Realistic Fiction genre after I’ve just finished spoiling them with “The Hoboken Chicken Emergency,” “Fat Men from Space,” and “Jennifer Murdley’s Toad.” Heh. But they’ll live. The only thing I regret about teaching second is that they are too young for me to share my favorite children’s lit book, “A Wrinkle in Time,” with. AWWW!
**Note – If any spies from my school are reading this, I only read novels aloud to them for ten minutes a day and I DON’T count it as part of my sacred Houghton Mifflin minutes! God forbid I take precious time away from curriculum adoption workbook pages to share some actual literature…wouldn’t dream of it, baby!
Have I mentioned on here how much I really hate the state of the educational system today????? Nothing personal against my particular school…it’s the same all over.
I’m just gonna go ahead and end on that downer note. I can’t think of anything else to say!
Stay strong, power people!
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