My motivation for seeing this during our heat wave was the air conditioned theater, so my expectations were pretty low. Perhaps due to that, I was impressed by the Fey/Carell comedy duo, the various predicaments and overall, I quite enjoyed this. At the very end of the credits is one last funny outtake, so if you’ve made it to the credits, keep going.
I left these big so you can click and read them. Get Fuzzy Had a great World Cup week.
I confused this with Blazing Saddles in my mind and spent the first 30 minutes waiting for it to be funny. Once I figured out it was not supposed to be a funny movie, I quite enjoyed this. I’m not much of a fan of westerns, but this is packed full of a lot of good acting.
I’m jealous of Kristen Scott Thomas’ ability to make a French movie where she speaks French like a native–though they did have to throw in a line about her living in England for a long time. The tension in this movie comes from not knowing and the slow reveal keeps you hooked. This movie is also a nice tutorial on middle aged, middle class French fashion, which I found delightful.
By the way, this totally meets the Bechdel standard: Two women? Yes! Who talk to each other? Yes! About something besides a man? Yes!
Cole Porter’s story is ultimately a sad once, a fact which couldn’t be overcome by peppy musical numbers, pretty costumes or good acting. It was fun to hear so many Cole Porter songs, and the aging of the characters was well done. I didn’t love this movie.
I’m willing to bet that 87% of the vomit in public is the result of over consumption of alcohol. So most of you may be too drunk to make a better choice, but could you please pick a better place to throw up than exactly where I stand every morning to wait for the train? Two steps to your right or left would have had you puking either on the tracks, or over the railing.
So next time please aim for the tracks or the street. Thanks.
I know that snails are mostly a pest and they just chew through so many good garden things. But they are so darn pretty.
On this Thursday night traffic was not moving.
I don’t want a huge bridge to replace the current bridge, I think the people who choose to live in Vancouver and work in Portland have made their beds and need to lie in them. I would, however, be in favor of a bridge the same size with a rush hour tolling structure, and the extension of light rail across the Columbia into Vancouver. In the meantime, I’m glad I have no reason (nor car) to drive across the bridge during rush hour.The Women
TC Boyle
I liked the writing style of this book but I did not like this book. Frank Lloyd Wright: unlikeable. Mistress #1: not really likable. Mistress/Wife #2: extremely unlikable. Mistress/Wife #3: likable. The story of Wright’s women is told in reverse order, so once likable wife #3 exits the scene, the last half of the book is filled with women I wasn’t quite so fond of. Also, intrigued to see what Taliesin, his home in Wisconsin, looked like I looked it up on Wikipedia and discovered the great tragedy associated with Wright that I was not aware of. Had I not read about that, this book probably would have had more dramatic tension, as Boyle presents that part of the story last.
I did like the narrator as former Japanese apprentice. That worked for me. But ultimately, this was a big, thick book full of people I could not stand.
Motivating Students Who Don’t Care
Allen Mendler
Very short book(65 pgs) with five different approaches to get students to learn what you want to teach them. The approaches are:
There was a tip about calling home and leaving praise messages for students so they would be most likely to hear it when they get home after school, which I don’t think was such good advice, but other than that, a great quick read.
Change your brain, change your body
Daniel Amen
Interesting perspective on changing your body. Amen uses brain scans and identifies areas of the brain that are not functioning well. With treatment, patients see rapid improvement in a variety of areas. This is according to him. I, not being a medical professional, have no idea if this is true or not. It was interesting to see the brain scans of people with head trauma and hear about their impulse control issues.
Amen has clearly built a commercial empire, with brain scanning clinics across the country as well as a line of supplements and many, many other things you can buy to make yourself better. However, you could follow many of the action steps without all his merchandise and probably still see improvement.
Brooklyn
Not a very long book. The whole time I was reading it, I kept wondering why. The plot seemed to have no compelling reason for me to keep reading. I did get attached to the main character and her choices, but there wasn’t really an ending. I feel like this was a fleshed out outline for a much longer book.
Meet Me In the Middle: Becoming an Accomplished Middle School Teacher.
Rick Wormeli
A broad approach to middle school teaching. It being my vacation, the fiction books were calling and I set this aside. It would be good to read before an interview though.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
W.B. Yeates
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
I chose this poem because one of my visualizations for mediation is at a small cabin on a lake. I would like to eventually find a tiny cabin on a lake to visit each summer, but for now, my visualization and this poem will do.
