Eclipse babes

All dressed up in black and ready to head to the movie theater to see Eclipse... a little mom/teenage-daughter bonding time. Nevermind that I'm on Team Edward and she's on Team Jacob. We can have our differences and still live in the same house. Heck, we've been doing that for sixteen years now, dontcha know.

Actually, I continue to find Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Bella to be wooden and rather dull. But I enjoyed the books, so I will go to the movies when they come out, and I did enjoy it. I like the size of the wolves, and I like the Quileute characters. I love-love-love the Cullens. Jasper played more of a pivotal role in this one than in the others, and he stepped up and did a fantastic job of it.

Too many smoochy scenes and boring discussions, though, and although there were some decent fight scenes, they weren't nearly enough to rescue this snooze-fest.

Don't hate. It's just my opinion.

Since I'm on a My Fair Lady bent...

Here's a terrific quote from that terrific musical:

Mrs. Higgins: However did you learn good manners with my son around?

Eliza Doolittle: It was very difficult. I should never have known how ladies and gentlemen really behaved, if it hadn't been for Colonel Pickering. He always showed what he thought and felt about me as if I were something better than a common flower girl. You see, Mrs. Higgins, apart from the things one can pick up, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will.

Professor Henry Higgins: The question is not whether I've treated you rudely but whether you've ever heard me treat anyone else better.

Being Jane Lynch

Tomorrow's the Big Day... when I find out just exactly who's going to be on the Varsity and JV cheer squads next year. It's TRYOUTS DAY.

[dunh-dunh-DUUUUHNNNN!!!]

I've been mostly wrapped up with cheer stuff this week, in preparation for tomorrow, and also in preparation for Spring Break, which is NEXT WEEK.

Do you KNOW how badly I need this break? I'm currently nursing a nasty spring cold which is coinciding with hormonal issues to produce a particularly crabby demeanor. My patience, and my level of creativity, are at an ebb.

Since tomorrow's TRYOUT DAY, they've gotten a substitute teacher for my classes so I can be involved in all the festivities unhindered by actual class stuff. I usually just show a movie on days when there's a substitute, because it's really difficult for a sub in Art class to maintain equipment and know how things work. Tomorrow I think I'll do Roger Rabbit... it's fun and entertaining, but it's got a major artistry angle because of the skillful combination of animation with live action.

Or maybe I'll run another Miyazaki goodie. I just got Ponyo in the mail the other day. I'm kind-of loathe to run it when I'm not there, though. I want to watch it all day long with the kids! I love Hayao Miyazaki's movies. I think my favorite is probably Princess Mononoke, although Howl's Moving Castle is a close second and sometimes takes over first place when I'm in a certain kind of mood.

Ah-choo. [sniff]

I feel totally and completely crappy. Thank God it's Friday tomorrow and I can wear casual stuff, although this school year hasn't been as uptight with staff dress code as I've experienced in other years or in other places.

Ah-choo. [sniff]

And yet not one of them said "Ni!"

Nor did I find any adjacent shrubbery. This particular room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art was rather devoid of vegetation. Of course, if I'd been able to take these kuh-NIGGITS out back into Central Park, they might've just sprung to life and jousted a few joggers.

A lovely specimen Japanese maple tree (actually, this one could be a Korean maple; they always seem even more delicate than their Japanese siblings) in Central Park on my birthday, November 14, 2009.

UP!

This afternoon we went to see Up in 3D at the Cinemark in Denton. Are these not the coolest glasses EVAR?!?





What was even cooler was that the 3D effect really worked and it was amazingly awesome. I was substantially impressed. We're way beyond the red lens / blue lens thing. Whatever these things do, they do it WELL. You literally duck to get out of the way of stuff that's flying at you.

As for the movie, well, if you haven't already seen it but you're going to, promise me you'll bring tissues. I sobbed like a child at several parts of the movie. Thumbs up for Up, Pixar! It was quirky and unexpected and strange and wonderful.

Abrams knocks one outta the park

My mom took all of us out tonight to see the new Star Trek movie, and just WOW! I loved it! I wasn't sure I would, but I did. Chris Pine as Kirk was quite convincing (and not too hard on the eyes, either), but Zachary Quinto's Spock was simply remarkable. He just nailed it head-on. I definitely would like to see that one again. And again. What a terrific romp.

I can't remember... is this the ninth or tenth time?

Twilight's on again. Of course I bought it... what kind of silly question is that? Anyhoo... On the way home from school, Martha said, "Mom, can I watch Twilight again when we get home?"

"Sure," I sez.

Heck, don't tell her this, but we could watch it every day after school for the rest of the school year and I wouldn't have a problem with it.

Just keepin' it real. I'm pathetic like that.

Question of the Day

It appears that Wolverine would host the Oscars and do kewl song-and-dance numbers... and still remain the hottest dude in moviedom today.

Don't be hatin'. I'm quite satisfied that he's comfortable enough in his own skin to be able to do it. Sean Penn wishes he had a tenth of Hugh's talent.

Ratatouille - the recipe

Here's a super-cool blog that's all about the food that you see in movies:

Movie Food

And they even have the recipe for the exact dish that Remy served to Anton Ego in the Pixar movie Ratatouille:

Ratatouille - Confit Byaldi

It sounds really, really tasty. I may have to try this.

Musical interlude

"Decode"
Paramore

How can I decide what’s right,
when you’re clouding up my mind?
I can’t win your losing fight
all the time.

Not gonna ever own what’s mine,
when you’re always taking sides.
But you won’t take away my pride.
No, not this time.
Not this time.

How did we get here,
when I used to know you so well?
But, how did we get here?
Well, I think I know how.

The truth is hiding in your eyes,
and it’s hanging on your tongue.
Just boiling in my blood.
But you think that I can’t see
what kind of man that you are;
if you’re a man at all.
Well, I will figure this one out
on my own.
(I’m screaming, “I love you so.”)
On my own.
(My thoughts you can’t decode.)

How did we get here,
when I used to know you so well? (Yeah.)
How did we get here?
Well, I think I know how.

Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools
of ourselves.
Do you see what we’ve done?
We’ve gone and made such fools
of ourselves.

How did we get here,
when I used to know you so well? (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)
Well, How did we get here
when I used to know you so well.
I think I know...
I think I know...

There is something I see in you.
It might kill me.
I want it to be true.

Because we all need to laugh

I give you sons of window-dressers a little gratuitous laughter for your Sunday enjoyment:

Where I'm going to be on November 21, in case you missed the last post

Cedric Diggory's a VAMPIRE! A very HOT one, too, although technically I guess that isn't possible.

What a terrific choice to cast Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. [wiping the drool from my chin]

I can't believe I still have to wait three more weeks to see this.

Where I'm going to be on November 21

Okay, I confess. I've been reading the Twilight series.

One of my students lent them to me a few weeks ago. I didn't begin because I was already reading something else, and I frankly didn't think I could be that fascinated by a story about vampires (of all things).

Then last Friday I started the first one.

Today, Tuesday, I'm almost done with the fourth and last one.

Yeah, I'm pathetic.

I don't think they're quite as wonderful and well-crafted as the Potter books, but I'm hooked nonetheless. Hooked enough that I'll be going to the movies that night to see Cedric Diggory/Edward Cullen, anyway. YUM!

Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea

That's the title of the new Miyazaki animated film that just opened in Tokyo.

I'm a huge fan of Miyazaki. Every single film is not just a cool cartoon, it's a visually-stunning work of art. I've shown them in my art classes, and invariably, students are mesmerized by the movies. They're certainly very Eastern in flavor, which is why I believe that students become so enthralled by them -- they're unusual and not formulaic in a Western, Disney-ish way.

His Spirited Away actually won an Academy Award in 2003 -- for Best Animated Feature. It was well-deserved, too. Have you seen it? You should. It is fascinating.

I think that my favorite is his 2004 release, Howl's Moving Castle.

I am REALLY looking forward to Ponyo's release here in the US. IMDB doesn't list a date when that will be, however, so I guess I'm resigned to wait a while.

Texas Holiday!

I would SO ride one of these awesome Vespa scooters to school every morning... even if it DIDN'T have Gregory Peck in back. He's yummy, isn't he? Phew! I love that movie, by the way... Roman Holiday is one of my very favorite old movies. Can you imagine a paparazzi behaving that way today? Riiiight.

Gregory Peck... as Joe Bradley in Holiday... as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird... his wry savvy combined with consummate gentlemanliness AND devastating good looks is simply irresistible.

[sigh]

Any-hoo, I am also aware that scooters and golf-carts are going to be hot property right about now. New Vespas run somewhere between three and six thousand. If I had between three and six thousand dollars, you can bet your boots it'll be spent on a camera.

But it would be fun, wouldn't it?

I wonder how bad a helmet would mash my hairdo, and would it matter anyway?

Very brief movie review

The kids and I went to see Kung Fu Panda today and loved it! Great story, great message (being fat and flabby and lazy doesn't always mean you're incapable of some seriously cool Kung Fu).

I'm gonna need some oxygen

Fox has released a photo of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) from its new project, X-Men: Origins:



Rowr!

Atheist author backtracking?

LEFT: Golden Compass author Philip Pullman with lemur RIGHT: Movie poster

If you're like me, you've gotten the Golden Compass e-mail delineating the upcoming movie's solidly anti-Christian stance. I'm not particularly alarmed by this, since atheists come and go all the time and do their darnedest to somehow besmirch religion hard enough to break us all free of its surly bonds.

And, in true self-centered fashion, it appears that Philip Pullman (author of the books on which the movie is based) may be re-thinking his motive of "killing God." Not because of some new stab of conscience or even an awakening awareness of the presence of God in his life.

No, it's the money.

On the "Today" show on Friday, Pullman denied to Al Roker that his books are anti-religious. "As for the atheism," he adds, "it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort," he wrote in response to a question...

Hmmm... according to the above-linked NYMag article, Pullman himself declared four years ago that his books were much more subversive than Harry Potter, because his books were about "killing God."

Sounds to me like the guys at the movie studio called him up, having been made aware of these earlier statements, and read him the writing on the wall.

Maybe all of those guys are also getting the e-mail I got, and are now getting the runnies over the thought of the movie bombing out at the critical Christmastime crunch because all the right-wing loonies know what it's about and won't plunk down the $ to take their kids to it.

Whatever. It doesn't sound like a terribly original movie, and I wasn't that interested in seeing it or taking the kids to it anyway. This just guarantees we won't even be bothering to rent the DVD somewhere in the future. Blech.

Whaddya bet me this idiotic flick goes the way of The Last Temptation of Christ and becomes completely irrelevant, inane, and unwatched? I actually caught some of that movie on HBO once, years after it was released, and I thought it was bizarre and unwatchable. If you wanted to make money on a movie about Jesus, you'd market it to people who were actually interested in Jesus. That'd be Christians, and they're all going to be disgusted by that movie. The people who don't care about Jesus aren't going to be particularly enthralled about going to see a movie about him anyway.

Simpsonize Me!

I've been Simpsonized!!! hehe

Just for you ladies

I thought y'all might enjoy this fellow smiling at you from your computer monitor...



If you didn't see him portraying Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in Girl With A Pearl Earring (2003), you missed something quite wonderful. And did you know that you'll be able to admire him in the upcoming pre-Arthurian movie entitled The Last Legion?