"Man of the Year"

Tuesday evening my "movie buddy" from work and I went to see the movie Man of the Year. I really enjoyed it.

I haven't always been a huge fan of Robin Williams. I mean - he's okay - but I'm not into over-the-top hard-to-keep-up-with silliness. Same reason I really dislike Jim Carrey's brand of humour.

Man of the Year showed me a side of Williams that I really enjoyed, though. He made Tom Dobbs into a really likable character who just happens to also be a really funny guy.

Tom Dobbs is one of those night-time comedians from which we are often told Americans choose to get their news. He's a fictional version of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, or Bill Maher. One evening an audience member suggests that Dobbs run for President, and the idea takes hold. The internet becomes abuzz with the idea. Dobbs decides to swim with the current and announces his candidacy.

The kicker is - he wins...sort of.

Laura Linney (I've never seen her in a movie I didn't like.) plays Eleanor Green, a woman who knows a secret and is trying desperately to do the right thing. Shades of gray exist, though, and she begins to doubt what exactly is the right thing.

One interesting observation I noticed about this movie is that the incumbent President is played by a Canadian actor. Is that even legal?
I recommend this movie. It has laughs, but it also provides a message that gives you pause for thought. And that can only be good.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful...

... for a working furnace.

... for the right to vote.

... that Red Convertible Guy didn't get elected.

... for the ladies who work at #3's daycare and the TLC they provide every day.

... for the sounds of happy children at a birthday party.
children + happy + celebration = affirmation of life

... for the ability to comfort a frightened child.

... for people like my sister-in-law who put a lot of thought into the gifts they give.

... for the excitement of Halloween.

... for teaching in the same school for 17 years, and for the relationships I've been able to build because of the stability.

... for the freedom that working in the library gives me to team-teach with others.

... for payday.

Election Day

Today is civic election day in our fair province. All across the province, people will be voting for their local representatives and for school board members.

It's been an interesting race in our community. A fellow from down the street is running for city councillor. Quite a few of our neighbours have signs up supporting him. We don't. Frankly, I've never met him. I don't know - if your neighbour was running in an election, wouldn't you expect him to knock on your door and introduce himself?

Our next door neighbour told us a funny story. He was out in his front yard one day a few weeks ago, when someone in a red convertible Mercedes scoots up and parks in front of his yard (on the wrong side of the street, incidentally). Turns out, it was Campaign Guy from down the street. Without getting out of his fancy schmancy car, he shouts out to our neighbour,"Hey, wanna put up a sign for me?" Like me, our neighbour had never met the guy, and it took a few moments to clue in to what he meant. Once he did clue in, though, he politely declined.

Two nights ago, one of the candidates (not my neighbour) rang my doorbell, shook my hand, and spoke to me. He is a retired teacher and administrator who has lived in our ward since he was a child. He told me how he has wanted to run for office for a long time, but did not feel he could do a good job while he was working full time and raising a family. Now that he is retired and his children are older, he feels that he can devote the required time and energy to his civic responsibilities. The man has my vote.

And yesterday, when I got home from work, I noticed that our next door neighbour had Mr. Doorknocker's sign on their lawn.

Whew - What a Weekend!

As I kissed the boys goodnight last night, I said to them, "I'll be glad to go back to work after this weekend so I can get a little rest."

Because Friday was the actual day of #3's birthday, we went out for supper to celebrate. He chose a fairly new place in town that is basically a huge indoor playground with a little cafe on the side. We all ate supper, but the highlight, especially for #1 and #2, was the structure/ballpit/2 or 3 storey slide.

Saturday morning it was up-and-at-'em to get ready for the BIG PARTY. There were tons of preparations left to complete. My most daunting task was to fashion 6 Christmas stockings, 6 broom handles, and a selection of foamie craft materials into 6 wild mustang horses. And you know, I think I did pretty well!

In the midst of all the preparations, I also had to get #1 to his first curling lesson and #2 to his guitar lesson. Oh - and remember to pick them up, as well.

Then, at 3:30, it was SHOWTIME! For more info on the event itself, see Main Man's version. It's pretty close to the real thing. (By the way, don't forget to notice the extra-cool horses the kids are riding.)

As we cleaned up and packed up to go home (we had held the party in our church hall), we were pretty tired, but we had to shake it off, because that evening, we had a friend's 40th birthday party to attend. That was lots of fun, but we had to make it a fairly early night, because of our big day.

Sunday morning, I taught Sunday School. Then, #2 was off to a friend's birthday party for most of the afternoon (the son of the fellow whose 40th we attended the night before) while the rest of us blitzed the house, because we were having #3's family birthday supper that evening. We were expecting Main Man's mother and his brother and sister-in-law to join us.

He had ordered lasagne, garlic toast and Caesar salad, so it was fairly easy to prepare, but the house really did need some attention, so it was another busy day.

Suffice it to say that I got NO homework done this weekend, so I'm starting the week off WAY behind, but it's not the first time, so I'm sure I'll cope.

Brace Yourself

#1 had an orthodontist appointment yesterday.

Braces are in his not-so-distant future.

He's being so positive about it; I'm so proud of him. He'll wear them for about two years, we've been told. Main Man, who took him to his appointment, said that the first words out of #1's mouth once he left the office were,"I'll have straight teeth for high school."

I think I'll have to take him to his next appointment; Main Man tells me that I will probably think that the orthodontist is some kind of Hunk Stunkleton. Young, handsome, good bedside manner - hmmmm.......

#1 related a funny story to me about the waiting room. As they were waiting, #1 was reading his "Series of Unfortunate Events" book (the last one - released last Friday). Main Man noticed there was an X-Box over in the corner of the room. He showed it to #1, who opted to continue reading.

When the receptionist came to get #1, she found him reading, and she asked, "Did your dad come?"

"Oh yeah - he's over in the corner, playing X-Box."

Now, which one is the twelve-year-old?

Birthday Money

I must preface this story with a brief bit of exposition. Main Man's father passed away about a year and a half ago. My dad is in his early 80s and lives a little over three hours away.

#3 received a birthday card from my father with a 20 dollar bill enclosed. He was very excited.

He met Main Man at the door as he arrived home from work. #3 was jumping up and down and he shouted out, "I got $100! I got $100!"

"Oh really?" Main Man queried. "Who from?"

"From Grandpa," was the excited reply. "But not the one who died."

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful....

.... that Grandparents' Day is over and done with. It went well, but those special days wear me out. Why can't we just teach?

... that #2 returned from Cub Camp in one piece and filled with wonderful boy-type stories of adventure.

... that #1 persists with volleyball even though the coach seldom plays him.

... for #3 who turns six years old tomorrow. I can hardly believe it!

... that Main Man lives for the boys' birthday parties. He has a huge production planned for #3, based on the Wild West. #1 and #2 are the outlaws who steal the birthday presents, and the little boys have to go to cowboy/sheriff school, where they will learn horsemanship, cattle roping, and marksmanship. I get to be Miz Suzy, the saloon girl. (?)

... for good friends. Saturday evening we will be attending the fortieth birthday of just such a friend. We've been enjoying helping "behind the scenes" so it could stay a surprise. (Oops - hope he doesn't read this!)

Hope everybody has a great week.

Our Respected Elders

This week is Grandparents' Week at our school.

Basically, it's a P.R. exercise. Our administration feels that the grandparents of the students we teach are influential people. If they spend an afternoon in a modern classroom with the kiddies, they will develop a good feeling about the education system. They will convey that opiniol to one and all, aiding public opinion regarding education.

This afternoon, our kindergarten class hosted their grandparents. The teacher had spent a substantial amount of her time planning four different activities for the students to do with their guests. The activities were arranged in stations around the room, and the plan was for the students and the grandparents to circulate throughout the activities, spending about 15 minutes at each one.

One of the activities - evidently the most popular - was to make a finger puppet. Mrs. N. had the instructions posted for six different puppets, but there were sufficient materials (and time) for each student to make only one puppet. Each student would have to choose which style to make with their guest.

Well, one grandpa in particular seemed to enjoy making finger puppets, for, as Mrs. N. circulated around the room, she spied him working on his third puppet. With what we in education circles call a "primary smile", she reminded everyone at the table, "Please remember, only one puppet each - or someone won't get a chance to make one."

Thinking she had done her job, she continued to circulate.

A short time later as she was again making the circuit, she returned to the puppet-making table just in time to see Grandpa start a fifth puppet. Evidently, he was hoping to have the whole set.

She began to gather up the materials and place them away from the man who was quickly becoming her "favourite" grandparent. She looked him in the eye and pointedly told him it was time for him and his grandson to try another activity.

As Grandpa returned her look and continued work on finger puppet #5, he replied, "I don't think so."

After the fact, Mrs. N. told me that she had absolutely no reply to that. In fact, after stewing about it for over an hour, she still hadn't formulated a response in her mind. This man was her elder, the kind of person, she told me, that her parents had brought her up to treat with respect. How do you reply to complete disrespect with respect?

And just what is this man teaching his grandson? That if you don't want to do what the teacher says, you just don't do it. In fact, you look her in the eye and tell her that you have no intention of doing it. So there.

By the way, once other grandparents noticed what this man was doing, they also began to make more than one puppet. And just a little later, Mrs. N. saw two grandmas put some of the craft supplies in their purse - for later.

I don't often use these letters because of what they symbolize, but tonight, regarding this situation, I've just got to write them: WTF?!

By the way - wish me luck.

Tomorrow is my class's Grandparents' Day.

Hurray, hurray!


(Wow - ending with rhyming couplets! I'm a poet and I didn't know it.)

Misleading Appearances

I won't call this a movie review, because that's too much pressure. It's just li'l ol' me writing about another movie I saw this weekend.

We rented The Family Stone Saturday night. I remember my father saw this movie a few months ago and he said he didn't really like it much. I figured it was because my dad isn't a fan of silly humour. He enjoys a good laugh, but slapstick and unnecessary swearing or bathroom humour has never really done it for him.

Although this movie has its share of those things , now that I've seen it, I don't think that's why my dad disliked it. I think that, like me, he was thrown by the total out-of-the-blue sledgehammer of sadness that is thrown at the audience.

From the trailers and commercials, I expected a fish-out-of-water, meet-the-new-inlaws ha-ha kind of experience, and that is sort of the way it begins. Sarah Jessica Parker makes her way to spend Christmas with her boyfriend's (Dermot Mulroney's) family. They've never met before, and are, for all intents and purposes, completely opposite. They are a large, demonstratively affectionate, open, fairly left-wing family. She is an uptight, stiff upper lip, rules-oriented kind of gal who has tendencies to be slightly bigoted and judgemental.

Tensions mount and she ends up inviting her sister (Claire Danes) for moral support. Turns out, the family likes the sister better than the girlfriend. Blah, blah, blah.

Then, little hints begin to be dropped about a family secret, and the movie causes your emotions to take a U-turn.

I'll stop there, but consider yourself warned.

The Family Stone would never have been a movie at which I would have grabbed extra napkins with my popcorn "just in case I end up spouting waterworks". Good thing I didn't see it in the theatre.

Too Many Movies, Too Little Time

Sometimes I worry about how much I love to read and go to movies.

I seem happy enough with my life; why do both of my favourite pastimes involve escaping into the lives of others?

Oh well, maybe a little too deep for a lazy Saturday morning.

..................................................................

I've seen two movies in the last week - both movies chosen to please others, but both movies that I enjoyed.

Tuesday evening (my regular "movie night" - Main Man and I alternate Tuesday evenings out to the show with friends. Tuesdays are written in stone - sacred.), my "movie buddy" from work and I went to Stormbreaker. My friend wanted to see it, and I felt I maybe should see it, as it it based on the popular young adult book by Anthony Horowitz, featuring reluctant teen spy Alex Rider. The kids - especially the boys - in my class are lapping up these books, and the timing of the movie couldn't be better.

Anyway, Stormbreaker was actually pretty good, and I'm glad I saw it. I know my boys will love it. Basically, Alex Rider is a fourteen-year-old James Bond, complete with gadgetry and even an ever-so-subtle Bond girl. Warning: as you might expect, there is a certain amount of violence, such as explosions, car crashes, martial arts sequences, and shootings.

Commercial break: We have discovered a great website that rates movies on sex/nudity, violence/gore, and profanity for kids. It breaks movies down to the bare bones in these categories and describes exactly what your kids will be watching in the movie. It also give a rating out of ten in each category. If you are a parent who has ever stood at the video store, wondering, wondering, wondering if a certain movie would be appropriate or not, you have to bookmark Kids in Mind. And now, back to our regular programming......

I read on IMDB that the role of Alex Rider in Stormbreaker was one of the most physically demanding roles ever created for a teenager, and I believe it. As I watched some of the fight scenes, I remember thinking, "Yeah, right, no fourteen-year-old kid would have muscles like that!" But it turns out, Alex Pettyfer (the actor) is sixteen years old, so I guess it's almost possible.

Last night, we rented Stick It, on the request of #1. I was wary, thinking he just wanted to see the girls in gymnastic leotards, but it turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.

It's the story of Haley Graham, a girl whose life seems to be falling apart: she's devastated by her parents' divorce, she's literally walked away from a promising gymnastics career, and she's having run-ins with the law.

She is "sentenced" to attend a gymnastics training school, and, of course, turns out to be the rebel without a cause. Eventually, though, she finds a cause, and I found the indictment of several aspects of high-level gymnastic competition enlightening.

Nothing seems sacred in this movie except the competitors. On the chopping block are over-ambitious coaches, meddling stage-mothers, and ridiculous judging rules.

Comedy breaks work well, too, as two of Haley's friends from her "wrong side of the law" days visit her at the gym school and inject their own interesting perspective.

Not half bad for a Friday night family video.

Thankful Thursday

Oops - almost forgot what today is!

This week, I am thankful...

... for winter coats and boots that keep us warm when the temperature drops 18 degrees overnight.

... that the winter coats and boots that I dug up from the basement (miraculously) still fit the boys.

... for #2's excitement and anticipation of this weekend's Cub Camp.

... for #1's excitement and anticipation of the release of the last Lemony Snicket book tomorrow.

... for #3's excitement for life in general.

... for the unbridled exuberance my class showed when they were asked to rake and bag leaves in the schoolyard. They were too cute!

... for fifth graders in general. They are independent without being attitudinal.

... that I got to watch #1 play volleyball yesterday. He was so nervous!

... for the wonderful time we had Saturday evening at our neighbours' house. They had invited #3 to their son's birthday party in the afternoon. Then, they spontaneously invited our whole family to supper with their extended family. It was an evening full of laughs and fun.

... for long weekends and short weeks.

... that Main Man is starting to feel better after a brutal cold.

... for Main Man's great debut on Contrast Podcast. It made me very happy, happy, filled with joy, joy.

There's always so much to be thankful for.

Have a great week, everybody!

The Network

I went to a teacher-librarian "networking" meeting yesterday afternoon.

You know, sometimes our school division takes us out of the classroom for the weirdest workshops on the strangest things, and I come away with nothing I could possibly use in my classroom or my library.

This was not one of those workshops.

I have to admit - the whole "networking" thing made me a little wary. It was a great afternoon, though.

First, one brave soul from our midst who had found a useful resource to help kids from kindergarten to grade twelve organize their research presented to all of us.

Then, we had an "expert" speak to us about copyright issues, and more specifically about the copyright license governing our school division.

Then, we had a small group time. We were grouped with other teacher-librarians from the division whose libraries were similar to our own - in size, clientele, things like that. We were told to choose a topic from a list we were given and share our ideas.

It was one of the most useful professional development afternoons I've ever had.

Why can't they all be like this?

Mom's Out of It.....Again

I forgot to tell a funny anecdote from the concert.

I phoned home to check on the boys about half way through the warm-up act.

While chatting with #1, he asked who the warm-up was.

I had never heard of the band before (Guess I'm out o' the loop.), so I wasn't even sure I had the name right. "Three Days Grace?"

"What?" #1 exclaimed. "Three Days Grace is playing Regina?" He couldn't contain his excitement.

The Rolling Stones meant nothing to him, but he would have loved to have seen the warm-up band.

BTW - our next door neighbour works security at the airport, and he came over yesterday with autographs of two of the members of Three Days Grace for #1. He'd passed the band through security on their way out of town.

The Stones didn't have to go through security.

The Concert

Thought I would ruminate on the whole concert thing for a day or so before I posted.

Well, actually, I was so busy running children to and fro from lessons, activities and birthday parties yesterday that I didn't have a chance to post.

Unfortunately, that gave Main Man a chance to butcher my ethereal, romantic thoughts about the concert itself, but that's okay. There was more to the evening than his pragmatic, cynical eye could capture.

There was something surreal about the experience, as if I were watching it on television instead of in person. Our seats weren't terrible, but it was a stadium filled with some 45,000+ people; without the Jumbotron, we wouldn't have seen a thing. Technically, I suppose I was watching it on television.

We were fairly close to the B-stage, and, a little more than half way into the concert, part of the main stage broke away and made its way on rails down closer to us. Main Man leaned over and said to me, "Now it's real," as we could almost start to make out those famous Micklips as he approached us. It still didn't seem quite real to me.

The music was great, of course: Jumpin' Jack Flash, Start Me Up, Brown Sugar, Honky Tonk Woman, Sympathy for the Devil, and many more. They missed my ultimate favourite - Paint it Black - but that's the way it goes. I was lucky enough to be able to experience one of my almost-favourites - Get Off of My Cloud - when they were close to us on the B-stage. That was cool.

The stage show, complete with everything you would expect - lights, cameras, action, fireworks, pyrotechnics, huge inflatable lips and tongue - was a once in a lifetime experience.

We had seen a Stones concert on IMAX about 15 years ago, and I remember then marvelling at Mick Jagger's energy. Then again, I rationalized, this is on film. I'm sure they cut out the parts where he snuck backstage and revitalized.

Well, Friday night was not on film, and he snuck backstage twice that I could see in the over-two hour concert, and only once was it for the full length of a song. The man ran a marathon that night - back and forth across the stage, upstairs to the second level of the stage, and, at one point near the end of the concert, he ran out to the B-stage. The security guys flanking him as he ran, easily half his age, were having a tough time keeping up. Mick is 63 years old. I want some of what he's havin'.

During one of these brief rest periods, Keith Richards took to the stage and treated us to couple of songs. This portion of the evening perhaps made the biggest impression on me. Over the years Richards has become a caricature, a parody, and I was ready to make a quick trip to the washroom as soon as he approached centre stage. I'm really glad I didn't, though. His guitar skills are phenomenal, and he actually doesn't have a half-bad singing voice. Whodathunkit?

Weirdly enough, two of the things that I will remember most about this decidedly preternatural evening are two things provided by nature herself. The temperature on this early October evening was 10 - 15 degrees higher than usual. The sky was cloudless. I had been concerned about sitting outside for hours in our unpredictable weather. I needn't have been.

Even more remarkable was the full moon. A huge orb of lunar perfection hung suspended over the stage throughout the concert. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was part of the light show. As the evening progressed, it shifted ever so slightly across the sky, as if the Man in the Moon wanted to have a better view of the stage.

I couldn't blame him if that were the case. It was quite a show!

Thankful Thursday

This week, I am thankful for...

... birthdays.

... being able to take a sick day when my annual fall cold hits.

... barbecue chicken piping hot from the grocery store on an evening when I have no idea what to serve for supper.

... kids who eat the barbecue chicken from the grocery store but tell me that it's not as good as my home-made roast chicken.

... Thanksgiving weekend in October. (American Thanksgiving still seems so far away!)

... the receptionist at my dentist's office, who is always cheerful and unflappable.

... the television in the ceiling at my dentist's office, where I can watch soap operas and game shows while I get my teeth cleaned.

... good check-ups.

... #2's Cub leaders and #3's Beaver leaders.

... #1's volleyball coach.

... Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronny Wood, and Charlie Watts, who arrived in our little city early this afternoon. (Rumour has it that they were hanging out in the pub Main Man and I go to almost every Friday night. Could be true - it's just down the street from their hotel.)

Have a great week, everybody!

New on the Idiot Box

I don't have a lot of extra time to watch TV, but when the new season starts, I like to try one or two of the promising new shows. I've found two this fall that I enjoy.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is Aaron Sorkin's newest offering. I used to love The West Wing when he wrote it. It started going downhill the millisecond he left. I don't think Studio is quite the calibre of The West Wing, but I'm still enjoying it.

The other show striking a chord with me is Brothers and Sisters. Any show gutsy enough to kill off one of the lead characters before the end of the pilot is okay with me. The only problem is that it's on Sunday evening, which is often the time of week my family keeps in touch. I missed half of the first episode because my sister phoned me, and I missed half the second episode because my brother called me. I kid you not; I missed Brothers and Sisters because of my sister and brother! Hah!

Any new shows out there look good to you?

Book Review: Money, Money, Money

The subtitle of this book could be "Everything Your Child Didn't Realize He Didn't Know about Money and Didn't Think to Ask".

Money, Money, Money by Eve Drobot is a veritable smorgasbord of information regarding our monetary system, how it came to be, and how it has evolved over the years.

Written in a nifty magazine style, with informative sidebars and eye-catching graphics, this book taught even me some things about currency, credit, and cold hard cash.

For younger readers, there is practical advice about things they may be just beginning to experience: do's and don'ts of ATM cards, how cheques actually work, and the differences between debit cards and credit cards.

Because of its magazine style, this book does not need to be read cover to cover (although I did). This feature may make it attractive to reluctant readers, as they can spin through the book, reading snippets of information here and there. Magazine style is never as daunting as page upon page of nothing but print.

This is a great book - and you can take that advice to the bank!