The Road Less Traveled

It occurred to me again that I haven’t been keeping my promises.  But I do have a lot to write about.

Once again, I get the chance to prove my courage by dancing on a stage in front of several hundred people, all for the sake of having fun.  This time… I get to do it Footloose style.

Okay, I see the guys raising their eyebrows, but admit it.  You know you spent a good chunk of your young life, watching Swayze in Dirty Dancing, Travolta in Grease, and, yes, Bacon in Footloose, wishing you could be just like them, because the ladies were loving every dance move.  That’s not why I’m doing it, of course… I’m just shooting down any possible ridicule.  Like last year, I will love every second of it.

That explains the newly purchased Chucks.  I’m not gonna lie.  When I purchased them, I spent a few minutes dancing through Shoe Carnival.  My favorite moves were the shimmy from the Breakfast Club and a few proud leaps that mimicked Kevin Bacon in Footloose.  Okay… so I looked more like Andy Samberg in Hot Rod (”I need to go to my quiet place!”).

In other news, Barry Lane sent me an invite to join his Ning, Discover Writing.  I’m actually friends with some writers and teachers who are legends in the field right now.  I know that’s no big deal to those of you who could care less about writing or teaching, but it is a big deal to me.

Okay, folks, it’s time to sign off.  Night school beckons.  I just hope the kids are a little more mellow than they were last week.  More on that later.

Everyone who knows me or reads my blog knows how much I love books and movies. When the two are combined, hey that’s just great. I just read on IMDB that a move based on the novel The Time Traveler’s Wife is coming out some time this year. It stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. I don’t want to give away too many details, but here is a basic plot summary for the novel from books.google.com:

“A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare’s passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger’s cinematic storytelling that makes the novel’s unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant. An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler’s Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.”

I’m really excited about this. If it is done right, this could be an Oscar contender. It is directed by Robert Schwentke, same guy who directed Flightplan. It will be interesting to see how he handles the scenes in which Henry passes through time. Parts of the book are also a little controversial and I’m curious to know if any of that will be included in the film.

Since we’re on the topic of movies, I have been obsessively browsing the web site Flixster, which is kind of like Facebook for movie-lovers. It’s funner that I thought it would be, reviewing movies, completing movie quizzes, and listing my favorite movies and actors/actresses.

I highly recommend this site to all movie lovers. It’s easy to navigate and has a lot of excellent features, including a movie theater with 100+ movies you can watch with limited commercial interruptions.

Here is a list of 140 of my favorite actors/actresses (not really in any order). Hopefully this works:

• 

  Cary Grant

• 

  Johnny Depp

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  George Cloo…

• 

  Ewan McGreg…

• 

  Katharine H…

• 

  Audrey Hepb…

• 

  Ingrid Berg…

• 

  James Cagne…

• 

  Humphrey Bo…

• 

  Gene Kelly

• 

  Spencer Tra…

• 

  Kevin Space…

• 

  Dustin Hoff…

• 

  Claude Rain…

• 

  Gregory Pec…

• 

  Marlon Bran…

• 

  Jack Nichol…

• 

  Cate Blanch…

• 

  Meryl Stree…

• 

  Heath Ledge…

• 

  Gary Cooper

• 

  Leonardo Di…

• 

  Robert Duva…

• 

  Tom Hanks

• 

  Robert De N…

• 

  Al Pacino

• 

  Hugh Jackma…

• 

  Russell Cro…

• 

  Bill Murray

• 

  Christian B…

• 

  Paul Newman

• 

  Ralph Fienn…

• 

  Morgan Free…

• 

  Liam Neeson

• 

  Ben Kingsle…

• 

  Joe Pesci

• 

  Albert Finn…

• 

  Daniel Day-…

• 

  Jude Law

• 

  Sean Penn

• 

  Gerard Butl…

• 

  Scarlett Jo…

• 

  Geoffrey Ru…

• 

  Samuel L. J…

• 

  Glenn Close

• 

  Kate Winsle…

• 

  Emma Thomps…

• 

  Harvey Keit…

• 

  Philip Seym…

• 

  Michael Mad…

• 

  Christina R…

• 

  Bruce Willi…

• 

  Robin Willi…

• 

  Tim Curry

• 

  Peter Kraus…

• 

  Tim Robbins

• 

  Sean Conner…

• 

  Denzel Wash…

• 

  Will Smith

• 

  Ashley Judd

• 

  Lauren Ambr…

• 

  John Travol…

• 

  Djimon Houn…

• 

  Nicolas Cag…

• 

  Tommy Lee J…

• 

  Joseph Fien…

• 

  Ron Perlman

• 

  Jonny Lee M…

• 

  Robert Carl…

• 

  Adam Sandle…

• 

  Harrison Fo…

• 

  Ian McKelle…

• 

  Brad Pitt

• 

  Edward Nort…

• 

  Bill Nighy

• 

  Owen Wilson

• 

  Adrien Brod…

• 

  Clive Owen

• 

  Carol Burne…

• 

  Richard Har…

• 

  Richard Dre…

• 

  Gwyneth Pal…

• 

  Michael Cai…

• 

  Gene Hackma…

• 

  Clint Eastw…

• 

  John Cusack

• 

  Christopher…

• 

  Jack Black

• 

  Val Kilmer

• 

  Drew Barrym…

• 

  Jeff Bridge…

• 

  Grace Kelly

• 

  Orson Welle…

• 

  James Stewa…

• 

  Patrick Ste…

• 

  Kate Hudson

• 

  Adam Brody

• 

  James Caan

• 

  Will Ferrel…

• 

  Kathy Bates

• 

  Wes Bentley

• 

  Benicio Del…

• 

  Josh Brolin

• 

  Ray Liotta

• 

  James Earl …

• 

  Julie Andre…

• 

  Winona Ryde…

• 

  Richard Ger…

• 

  Laurence Fi…

• 

  Kirk Dougla…

• 

  Charlton He…

• 

  Rex Harriso…

• 

  Lee Marvin

• 

  Ryan Goslin…

• 

  Joaquin Pho…

• 

  Helen Mirre…

• 

  Helen Hunt

• 

  Holly Hunte…

• 

  Javier Bard…

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  Matt Damon

• 

  Abigail Bre…

• 

  Steve Carel…

• 

  Alan Arkin

• 

  Judy Garlan…

• 

  Renée Zellw…

• 

  Ryan Philli…

• 

  Adrian Gren…

• 

  Jeremy Pive…

• 

  Stanley Tuc…

• 

  Michelle Pf…

• 

  Chow Yun Fa…

• 

  Kevin Conno…

• 

  Ziyi Zhang

• 

  David Carra…

• 

  Steve Busch…

• 

  John Goodma…

• 

  Sam Elliott

• 

  Judi Dench

• 

  Vince Vaugh…

• 

  Eric Bana

• .

Make Your Actor Wall

Flixster

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I’ve done it again.  This method may only work for people who love movies and who love to read.  That’s me.  WARNING:  This post might just be the result of desperation for something to write about.

I know how much some people love to watch political debates.  I personally hate them.  Too often, the conversation steers away from the topics and onto how much the candidates hate each other.  So, how to get my healthy dose of debating and arguing?  Movie reviews.

Think about it.  The reviews are almost always on topic and if you read enough reviews of the same movie, you get a nice argument between people who love the movie and people who hate it.

For example, I was browsing reviews for the movie Surf’s Up (It was on, I was bored).  A lot of the reviews complimented the movie’s script and its creative mockumentary style.  There were also some rave reviews from people who loved penguins, surfing, and John Heder.  However, I stumbled onto this hilarious little gem from flixster.com that just made my day:

“HORRIBLE. Lets put together two things I am sick of: Reality TV and Penguins…F. ME. CAn I give it 0 stars?”

Not that I agree with his review, but it was just really funny to me that it followed one that said, “The mockumentary stuff is really very well done,” and right above one that says, “incorporating the mockumentary film style with the animation genre was just brilliant.”

This just reminds me of going to see a movie with a big group of friends.  Inevitably, someone in your group is going to hate it when everyone else loves it, or vice versa.  The car trip home is unforgettable because no one stops talking (or arguing) about the movie.  That’s why I love movies so much.  I just don’t think I’m at that stage in my life where I can argue about politics without getting a headache and wanting to scream until my lungs explode.  But movies, I could go on and on.

Try it some time.  Go see a movie with some friends and argue about it as long as possible.  You’ll feel better and I’ll bet your appreciation of the movie will skyrocket.

Until later — “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

Another clever video.  This one is really similar to The Connected Classroom, with some slightly more catchy background music.

Download Video: Posted by bionicteaching at TeacherTube.com.

This is a very similar video to Did You Know 2.0 but is more focused for teachers.  Before watching this video, I had my room set up in rows because I was taught in college that it was the best set up for maintaining classroom management.  After, though, my desks are arranged in clusters of five.

Download Video: Posted by khokanson at TeacherTube.com.

I think I may start a series of videos on education and technology to post on this blog for anyone who has not seen them yet.  I’m not as frightened of the 21st century as many others are but I am also a fast learner when it comes to technology.  I think, though, one of the reasons so many people are worried is because now we have no choice but to learn and grow.

In The World is Flat:  A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Friedman interviewed Nandan Nilekani, CEO for Infosyst Technologies Limited.  Nadan said, “The playing field is being leveled” and that America is going to be challenged but “… the challenge would be good for America because we are always at our best when we are being challenged” (Friedman, 7).

I love a challenge.  I don’t always rise to the occasion, but I do believe that people are at their best when being challenged.  That is an important thing to understand as a teacher.  Increase expectations, challenge students, and you will see the best in them.  They may not all meet the expectations, but they will be amazed by how hard they worked to try.

Until later– “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

This is a great video.  I showed it to my students and they were amazed.  The end of the video is an special message for parents on how to prepare their child for the 21st century.  This video may change the way you view the future.

Download Video: Posted by mcleod at TeacherTube.com.

Let me know what you think, your reactions to the video.

I found this video on teachertube.com (a school accepted video site for teachers).  It is a brief history of the United States of America set to the tune of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Download Video: Posted by mrallsop at TeacherTube.com.

I love finding amazing things like this.  This is funny, informative, catchy.  I love the South Park inspired Civil Rights Movement animations at the beginning.

For my next post, I’ll put up a video that a lot of you may have already seen:  “Did You Know 2.0″  It is essential viewing for anyone who wants to know what is up with our world right now and what all the big fuss is about for 21st century learning.

Want to tap into some forgotten part of yourself? I’ve perfected this more than I should be proud of. I have even managed to break myself down into tears trying this out. Heed this warning, though: Trying any of the following might just put you on an emotional roller-coaster that is undeniably out of your control.

1. Listen to a song from your past: This is more successful if you choose a song from a very significant time in your life and if you haven’t heard the song for a long time. The other day, I heard “Freshman” by the Verve Pipe and I was transported to trying to scrunch into the back seat of a Chevy Cavalier with three friends on our way to the mall. Most of those faces are strangers to me now but hearing this song brought all of them flowing back. “For the life of me, I cannot remember what made us think that we were wise and we’d never compromise…We’ve tried to wash our hands of all of this. We never talk of our lack in relationships and how we’re guilt stricken sobbin’ with our heads on the floor. We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip…” Man, that was some good stuff.

2. Watch a movie: This is also more effective if you haven’t seen the film for a while and if you once watched it with someone close to you. I rummaged through my VHS tapes and found my copies of Casino and Goodfellas. Once again, memories of propping my feet up on the arm of my friend’s basement couch with the rest of the group sprawled out on the floor, in lounge chairs, staying up until 4 a.m. for our Mobster Movie Marathon. Other films of this famous insomnia inducer included Godfather I and II (we cursed III), Scarface, and Heat.

3. Read one of your favorite children’s books: This is a sad one. This summer, one of my fellow CWVWP participants taught a grammar lesson in which she passed out copies of Amelia Bedelia books to us. I spotted the one I wanted right away. Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping. Just seeing that book brought a wave of memories that nearly sent me out of the room in tears. And I had to fight them back again as I read the book aloud. My grandfather took me to the Cross Lanes library when I was about five or six and this was one of the books I chose. He read it to me in his gruff smoker’s voice, his country accent adding to the humor. Six years later, he died of a stroke on Christmas Eve. Seeing that book… man… it was like looking right into his face again. Moments like that can sweep you off of your feet before you know it.

So, that’s my adventure into the old vault. Heed my warning, though. Objects in the rear-view mirror are closer than they appear.

Until later– “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

I can’t stand not having Internet at home.  So much has happened since my last post and I’ve not been able to update because I’ve been out of school for a week.

I worked at the theater all week, including Thanksgiving.  It’s really not as bad as it sounds because we get paid time-and-a-half for working holidays.  I had thought the Thanksgiving crowd would be unbelievable, but it was the day after that poured in a little over 1100 customers to watch movies.  It is one of the perks of working at a theater next to a Wal-Mart.  I also predict we will be crowded after Christmas, as well, for shoppers who are returning and bargain shopping.

I stayed after work Wednesday to see The Mist.  It was one of the best horror movies I have ever seen, true to Stephen King’s vision for all of his stories.  The most frightening aspect of the story was not the creatures that live in the mist, but the behaviors of the people who are trapped together in the supermarket.  The same thing that disturbed me about Lord of the Flies, the steady breaking down of civilization when placed in a situation that is chaotic and in which rules are nonexistent or questioned.  Director Frank Darabont has always done a good job adapting King’s books to screenplay and this is no exception.  He does create his own ending, however, one that sent shivers down my spine and sent angry moviegoers out the door.

I also spent some time with my grandmother and ate oyster dressing for the first time.  It sounds icky, but it was oh-so-good.

We have much to be thankful for every day of our lives.  I made a promise to myself to thank God every day, as many times as I can.  I also made a promise to say “Thank you,” to others, especially those who least expect it.

I hope all of you had the opportunity to thank someone last week, and most of all the chance to do something for that person to show your gratitude.

Happy late Thanksgiving.

This is going to be a good day, although it will be hard to top yesterday.  It’s been a while since I put my feet in cool creek water.

Every day at the CWVWP Summer Institute, we have a scribe, someone who keeps note of the day’s festivities, writes an “article” about it, and posts in on the National Writing Project’s web site.  Today… that person… is me.

I’d like to think I’m pretty observant.  There is a quote from the movie “In the Land of Women” that makes me smile… because I can relate:

Carter Webb: I pride myself on being this great listener, but whenever I meet somebody new I find I’m doing all the talking.
Sarah Hardwicke: Maybe you’re not really such a great listener.
Carter Webb: Hmm?
Sarah Hardwicke: Maybe you’re not such a great listener.
Carter Webb: No that’s not it, I’m a great listener.

So, wish me luck today.  I’m hoping I can stay focused on what goes on and do the group justice by posting a good description of our day.

Oh, and I’m going to pick up my new glasses today.  I’ll get some of my writing from yesterday posted ASAP.