Funny Girl

I am always wary about giving/recommending this movie.


Not because it is a bad movie. In fact, it is a very good movie.



This movie deals with one of the profoundest subject matters of all time: a woman loving a man.



Barbra Streisand is genius. This role won her the Best Actress Oscar in 1968.



The movie is long, and it's a musical, meaning that it contains moments that are entirely fast-forwardable. I would, however, recommend not fast-forwarding the first time, you could miss something important.



Even though it's an insanely good movie, I am putting a "Not acceptable for some viewers" label on it.



I know. I know. You're sure that I'm not talking about you. You watch everything, you can handle it, right? Fine. Go against my advice and watch it.



If you can manage to not smile in the horribly chauvinistic "You are Woman, I am Man", and, if everything inside you doesn't feel broken at the end, then, you probably should have taken my advice and not watched this fantastic movie.

They're almost here!

One sweet, blessed month from now, they'll be here.

To celebrate this glorious time of our lives, all of the movie recommendations for the next month will have won one of the "Big 5" Oscars. (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, or Screenplay)
I say all of the move recommendations, but because of school you might actually only get one or two. For your sake, I hope there are more than that, but I am not promising. You should take this month and use it to catch up on all the great movies that you've been missing so you too can be there, February 22nd, at the Kodak Theatre, waiting for the awards to be announced.

And Hugh Jackman.

Mostly Hugh Jackman.

Two Open Letters

Everyone gets to write open letters this time of year, and I was feeling slightly jealous.


Dear President Bush,
I have never loved you. However, I think I should also note that I have never hated you. I do not totally blame you for this war, our gas crisis, our economic crisis, global warming, bad health care, and everything else that is wrong in this world.
You in no way deserve all of that blame.
I cannot lie. The whole Texas cowboy thing definitely annoyed me at times, but that has nothing to do with you. In fact, most of the South annoys me at times.
Yes, I would have wanted to change some of your decisions, but in perfect honesty eight years ago, I was 11. I would give a lot to be able to change some of my decisions from then until now. You and I are alike in that we both don't believe in constantly thinking about which of those decisions we would change. Frankly, it's a waste of time, and mental peace. I know that I chose some wrong truths to believe, did some very stupid things, and hurt some people that I love. (Just look at all we have in common) I would love to go back and be able to change those wrongs. Unfortunately, I am a (slightly) logical person, and knowing that I can't change them makes me not want to go back and pin down when each specific decision was made. Unfortunately, I am a (slightly) analytical person, which means I want to go back and pin down each decision so I know which decisions not to make in the future. Don't be bullheaded about defending your decisions, but don't constantly fret over every single one either. There is not enough Zoloft that will compensate if you do either of those things heavily.
Moving on will be weird, but you're going to do fine. You'll disappear from the public eye for awhile, and then reappear stronger than ever, with more wit and wisdom then we originally credited you for (like Bill Clinton). And no matter what anyone says, you held the world's hardest job for 8 years. Relax. In about 2 years, everyone will put your presidency into perspective and will realize that you were not the world's worst president; you were just in the running for awhile. Take a deep breath, it's all over now.

Dear President Obama,
I'm going to level with you, so listen carefully. I foresee us as having issues in the future. You are a fake intellectual, and that really annoys me (see "Pithy sayings vs. Fake intelligent remarks"). I listen to you when you talk, and I like the pretty words, I like the voice tone, I like the feeling I get, but unfortunately for our relationship, I know how easy and fleeting that like is. I grew up in a family of intellectuals, so I know that it's not what you say that matters, it's how you say it. You know that you can say whatever you want as long as you make it sound more intelligent then the other person. That wasn't exactly tough for you because you were arguing against John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin.
However, in the continued interest of leveling with you, I am interested to see what you're going to do. If anyone has an open road ahead of them, its you. You have the Senate, the House of Representatives (I could have just said Congress, but I'm listing for effect), and the White House. On top of that, the media is willing to lay down and die for you. Maureen Dowd will probably defend you until her dying day (you lucky dog, you), and the American People are pulling for you. You have it all. Now, we want it all. You have promised us Utopia, and we have given you the tools that you need to make us Utopia. We're going to expect a return on that payment pretty soon.
I feel sorry for you. You having it all. When you chose "change" as your word for you campaign, I thought that was your best campaign choice ever (seconded only by your campaign music). Everyone is unhappy with their life in some way, and when you promised a vague (and don't you ever argue that it's not vague. Ever.) change, everyone's mind immediately jumped to the things in their life that they want changed. You were promising that. You have promised change to people in ways that you have no intention of ever changing. That word was marketing genius. I don't want to be you when those people begin to realize what the difference between your change and their change is. No, I really don't envy you that.
But, I said I was going to level with you, and I am. Mr. President, I'm pulling for you. I don't know why, I know it won't make a difference, but I'm pulling for you. I'm not hoping for you to fail, I'm not hoping for you to give up, I'm not hoping for you to back track on your promises, I don't want any of that. I'm hoping for myself. I'm hoping that I am cynical, I'm hoping that I am jaded, I'm hoping that you prove me wrong. Please, prove me wrong.


The best of luck to both of you,
Joanna

She's Back...as liberal as ever

And the world breathes a sigh of relief.

Maureen Dowd has returned from her month+some long vacation.

I realize she has now been back for a little over a week, but now I am reassured that she is back, and not just hoping that I dreamed it.

Her 3 latest columns have not been spectacular, but they've been her, and that is all that matters.

I can't wait to see what she writes about the inauguration.

My Fieldwork

I spent my last week of Christmas vacation completing my Sophomore fieldwork hours.
I had the great privilege of observing a long-time friend, and a great teacher.
One of the requirements for completing fieldwork is that you write out a list of 20 things that you observed that are not found on your observation sheets. I wrote them a list, a very good list, but it was hardly what I wanted to say. Here is what I wanted to write.

My 20 Observations after Sophomore Fieldwork

1. A public high school is an interesting thing.

2. A public high school is nowhere near the den of iniquity that you might have been led to believe. Note: I do realize that I was observing in a small-town high school, but I was still impressed with how behaved the students were.

3. I had never heard of a "Block Day" format, but trust me, the entire world should switch.

4. High-schoolers look younger and younger every day.

5. Lunch is everyone's favorite period of every day.

6. Looking over papers from the 9th grade was the most groundbreaking experience of my life.

7. 11 prepositions and no subject and verb DOES NOT a sentence make.

8. I squared all the past tense verbs and circled all the present tense verbs in one paper. I did that as a way to show the student how much they switched between the two. When I talked to the student about it, I simply said "You switch a lot between your tenses, you need to choose one past or present and stick with it" He looked at me and said, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about" and he didn't.

9. Two teachers teaching the exact same class find very different ways of teaching it.

10. Apparently, I need to take a TRIBES class.

11. Who is your favorite fairy tale character and why? It's essential to understanding communication.

12. Plagiarism is incredibly commonplace in the public high school.

13. You cannot threaten not being able to get into college with these kids. Most of them don't care whether they go to college or not.

14. Grammar is hated everywhere, but equally necessary everywhere.

15. "Twilight" is big there. I tried to reason with them, but I could not.

16. Libraries remain the sweetest haven of rest. Anywhere.
(the librarian was incredibly awesome)

17. Senior exhibitions: an interesting premise. I would enjoy to see some higher quality ones someday.

18. Art teachers are on crack.

19. Huckleberry Finn is read everywhere. And equally hated everywhere. Funniest moment: the boy who believed that "The Walter Scott" was the name for every boat throughout the whole of Huckleberry Finn. Seriously.

20. No matter how the rest of my life turns out, I have no one to blame but myself. If I end up unmarried, I have no one to blame but myself. I was the one that turned down the marriage proposal from a cute boy. I have no one to blame but myself.


If you would like to hear the background behind any of those, let me know and I'll be glad to share. Admittedly #20 is the longest story, so you might ask, and I just might not share.

Oh Yeah!

It’s Oscar season. I can barely contain my excitement. While the rest of my friends are rushing out to see “Marley and Me”, “Yes Man” and “Twilight”, I am holding my breath, reading reviews, and dying to see the Oscar movies.
There is nothing like an Oscar movie. They are exciting, they are good, they are filled with real acting, they are full of themselves, and your average moviegoer can’t stand them. How can you go wrong?
The award season culminates in the glorious Oscars. But first we have SAG, Golden Globes, Tech Oscars, and even MTV awards. And then that beautiful night comes, the red carpet, the lame speaking, the boring guest announcers, the mind-blowing dresses, the really, really pretty suits. And the most important award an actor will ever receive. This year, however, the Oscars are going to be even better than normal. And why is that? Three words: Hugh Jackman hosting.

Never Trust Favre

The title I think is pretty clear. Never put your trust in or hope in Favre he will let you down. He proved that once again on Sunday. All he had to do was beat the dolphins. All he had to do was beat the quarterback that he kicked out of the Jets when he took over. That was it. I didn’t think we were asking for too much. Remind me to never, ever say anything nice about Favre again. I can’t stand him.
My heart is grieving with Belichick and Cassel. I know that the rumors are currently pretty strong about Brady needing surgery again, and therefore, being unable to return next season. I think both Cassel and Belichick have proved that the Patriots are not just Brady. And 11-5 is a strong way to end our season, seeing how it began. However, that does not mean that tears did not come to my eyes when I heard the results.

I did lose those tears pretty quickly after I found out how badly Dallas got beat, and watched the Broncos be utterly defeated. You have to find pleasure somewhere. I am desperately excited about the indy/chargers game. Definitely the best wild card game this weekend.

Christmas Eve Day

It was Christmas Eve day. I was at work. I worked from 5am-1pm. Our store manager, Deb, has a tradition. Every Christmas Eve day she cooks breakfast for all of the workers. Deb is an incredible cook, so naturally this is what we all had been talking about for several days. The breakfast tradition was so great that we had many people tell us that even though they had the day off, they were coming in for breakfast. My manager, and good friend, Becky, was one such person. Connie and I could handle everything without her, but she was going to come in to meet up with us during our lunch time, so we could all enjoy Christmas Eve day together. The time that was chosen was 9:30.
Around 8:45, we got a call from Becky saying she had errands she needed to run after we ate breakfast, so would we be able to eat at 9:00? Both Connie and I agreed, and we met Becky back there at 9:00.

The food was just as we had known it would be. There was tons of it laid out everywhere. There were 6 different kinds of eggs, there was sausage, bacon, cinnamon rolls, breads, multiple juices, and the hashbrowns, lots and lots and lots of hashbrowns. Deb knows that I like hash-browns, so as soon as she saw me, she waved me over and began heaping them on my plate. I didn’t say no. I had been waiting all morning for food, and they smelled incredible. I took some bacon, eggs, and joined Becky and Connie at the table. We were carrying on lively conversations with everyone who came in the break room. We were making jokes about how great it was that Shopko gave every single one of us tomorrow off. And when someone asked me how I was doing, I replied that I was great because it was Christmas eve day, and how could you be sad on Christmas eve day? I finished up my hash-browns to the great amusement of Deb, who told me to get my skinny self back in the adjoining room where the food was laid out, and get myself more hash-browns. I took orders for more drinks, and happily obliged.

I heard the page over the intercom. I hate that about myself now, I can’t help but listen to pages in any store. But the page was so normal “Deb call 451 please, Deb 451 thank you” We knew that 451 signaled an outside line, but no one thought anything of it. I was in the other room, and I could see from where I was pouring drinks Deb stand up and go to the phone that hung on the wall. My attention went back to the drinks. The next thing I knew she was yelling “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. No. No. No. No. It’s not true. Oh my God” She hit the wall near the phone, and yelled again. Both rooms became deathly silent. No one knew what to do. After the longest moments in my life, she hung up the phone, and turned to the people in the other room. She spoke, I could see her lips moving, but from where I was, I couldn’t hear what she said. And then suddenly, I heard shrieks from the other room. They were of differing pitches, sounds, words, but one thing was clear, everyone was hurting. I didn’t know what to do, should I walk back in the room with the drinks, or just stand awkwardly in the other room. I took the drinks and walked back in. If you could have seen these people’s faces when I left the room, and when I returned a few moments later, you would have been shocked. It was deathly silent in the room. But it wasn’t silent. People were moaning. One lady had her face on the table, and you could hear her sobs. Becky was sitting shaking her head back and forth, back and forth. Connie sat with a look of astonishment, no tears, no anger, just shock. Another lady sat and stared at the wall, silent tears streaming down her face. One of the men had pushed his food away, and sat staring at the table, no tears, but his hands were shaking. Deb was standing near the phone, her hands rubbing away the tears. But it was useless, her tears kept coming, I wondered why she even tried to wipe them away. I sat down, 3 drinks in my one hand, and a plate of hash-browns in the other. I sat in between Becky and Connie. No one said anything. I looked to Becky. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she met my eyes. I almost recoiled. The look of pure pain in her eyes was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I asked the only words that could form in my mouth, “What happened” She just looked at me, she brought her hand around to rest on my shoulder. That might have been the most frightening gesture I’ve ever received. She was comforting me before she told me what was wrong. She said, “Joanne’s daughter and grandbaby were instantly killed in a car accident this morning. Joanne is on her way to the hospital, but they already told her that they’re both dead.”

You don’t know Joanne. But I do. I know that Joanne has one daughter, Shannon. I know that Joanne was so proud of Shannon. I know that Joanne was so proud of the way that Shannon was working her way through night school. I know that that was the reason that Joanne encouraged me so many times to keep working through school, to never give up, to not quit, because she knew how hard it was for Shannon to go back. I know that after 7 years of marriage, of tests, of praying, of trying, Shannon and her husband Ed, happily announced that Shannon was pregnant. I know that Joanne announced excitedly over the intercom system that come June, she was going to be a Grandma. I know that Joanne would constantly ask me about the infant apparel clearance, she wanted the baby to have enough of everything. I know that Joanne went to Josh, her manager, and told him that he had to give her every Thursday off once the baby was born, that was her babysitting day. I know the day she got the call that the baby was coming, she could barely finish a sentence she was so excited. I know the day she came back to work after the baby was born, she brought her baby book that she was building for her granddaughter. I know the times she would bring in the baby on her day off so we could meet and play with her. And I know the day that Deb received that awful call. I know that in our local paper in their specialty “Baby’s 1st Christmas” they had a picture of Shannon and Ed’s little girl. I know that that same paper was the one that had pictures of the accident. I know all of those things, but you don’t.

I feel like I should have finishing thoughts. But I don’t. I’m not sure how I should finish this post.

I'm Back

I have been internet-less since Friday which is a lot harder than it sounds.
I wrote these all on different days and am just now getting a chance to post them.

The internet is a beautiful thing.

Happy New Year