Sheree's Top 10 Movies of 2007

Okay, folks, I've thought long and hard about which movies I've loved more than the others this year, and I've got a pretty good list. Mind you, I haven't see a few (Eastern Promises, Michael Clayton, Into the Wild, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) yet, but here is my top 10 movies of 2007. Enjoy (and feel free to disagree in the comments):

1: No Country for Old Men--This movie was amazing. Beautifully shot and acted and it made me gasp more than any other of the year. Anton Chigurh is unspeakably terrifying. I loved this movie.

2: Juno--This movie is an extremely close second for me. This one was funny and happy and very real. I loved Ellen Page, Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons in particular. Brilliant.

3: 3:10 to Yuma--Holy cow, a good western! Christian Bale was awesome, the action was intense, and the ending was gut-wrenching, yet appropriate.

4: Knocked Up and Superbad--I had to put these two together because I loved them both so much for different reasons. Knocked Up was so clever and suprisingly sweet, and Superbad is funnier every time I watch it. Favorite things: I loved seeing Bill Haverchuck looking like Matisyahu, Paul Rudd being sexy, and McLovin'. What can I say?

5: Waitress--This one I've got a love/hate relationship with. I love the movie, but the ending made me so sad, it almost didn't make my list. Nathan Fillion, why? But I've come to terms with it, and we are now friends. This movie is amazing. And has Nathan Fillion in it. Bonus!

6: Sweeney Todd--What an awesome movie! I loved the music, especially Johnny Depp's singing voice (sexy!). I've had the songs stuck in my head ever since. Plus, watching all the fakey blood and the grotesque meat pies while eating popcorn was an experience. Nice!

7: 300--This movie is not brilliant, but it was the most fun movie I saw in theaters this year. All those glistening Spartans kicking ass, what could be better? I loved Gerard Butler and Lena Headey particularly. Also, I love yelling "Madness? This... is... Sparta!" when someone disagrees with me. Then I kick something over near me, like a garbage can or a chair or a small person.

8: Hot Fuzz--Oh man, this movie is so freaking funny. If you love action movies, you'll love this one. I love the Point Break references particularly. Little hand says it's time to rock and roll!

9: Black Snake Moan--Now, I know a lot of people don't like this movie, but I really loved it. I loved the relationship between Christina Ricci and Samuel L. It was suprisingly sweet. Also, Samuel L. sings the blues. Awesome.

10: Ratatouille, Stardust, and Enchanted--This year was a good one for family-friendly cutesy movies like these three. I loved them all, despite their feel-good messages and cute characters. I loved everything about Ratatouille, the good-natured goofiness of Stardust, and Amy Adams and James Marsden in Enchanted. Will that guy ever get the girl in a movie? I mean think about it: lost the girl in X-Men, lost the girl in The Notebook, pretty much lost the girl in Superman Returns. Poor guy.

Honorable Mentions: Rescue Dawn, Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Grindhouse, Gone Baby Gone, Atonement.

So that's my rundown of 2007 (so far). Lemme know if I left your favorite movie off my list.

Samuri I Amuri

Hey! It's almost Christmas. Hooray! And its Friday, which means some movies came out. I can't find the paper under all the snow we got, so I'm not exactly sure which ones, but I know Sweeney Todd is in the mix. I should be hard at work, planning lessons for when I start student teaching and studying for the huge test I have to take at the beginning of January, but instead I've been watching movies and playing Rock Band. Ah, procrastination. But if you've played Rock Band, I bet you know exactly what I'm talking about. That game sucks you in for hours. Oh well.

So I just watched two awesome movies in recent days. First of all, Alex's brother got us free passes to see an advanced screening of Juno, which was awesome. I've been really looking forward to this one, and it did not let me down at all! Plus, they gave out free shirts. High five! Anyway, the movie was terrific. I especially liked J. Jonah Jameson in it. That guy's consistently awesome. Also, it was great to see two of my favorite Bluths together in one movie. Little George Michael was very adorable and wore tiny shorts. So the moral of this story is: Go see Juno when it comes out. You will not be disappointed. Unless you suck a lot.

The second awesome movie I saw was called The Specials. Alex bought this one online because we are both big geeks over a man named James Gunn. For those of you who are not familiar with him, he wrote and directed Slither, which is one of the greatest movies ever made. Yeah, I said it. He also wrote the new Dawn of the Dead, was involved in several Troma movies, was in a band called the Icons, and was married to Pam from The Office. He's pretty rad. So anyway, me and Alex have been wanting to watch this movie he wrote and co-starred in, but its impossible to find in stores. So Alex ordered it online and we finally got to bathe in its splendor.

Lemme just say, I have no idea why this movie is not more popular. Its got a great cast (Thomas Hayden Church, Judy Greer, Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy...okay he's not great but he's well known!) and it's super funny. Its about the seventh greatest group of superheroes in the world! The movie's really funny and silly; kinda like Mystery Men, but more satirical and not so... all over the place, if you follow me. Anyway, everyone should go out and purchase The Specials. Give it to yourself for Christmas!

"We don't exist for the beautiful people of the world, Ted! We're there for the oddball, the rebel, the outcast, the geek!" Here's the only clip from the movie I could find on YouTube. Enjoy!

Golden Geeks

So there's lots of awesome-looking movies coming out in the next two weeks, and I'm pretty excited about it. I just saw I Am Legend, which was pretty good, but not great. Honestly, if that movie just had cooler-looking monsters, it would have been a lot better. I mean, I loved the beginning, where we get to see how Will Smith spends his days in the ruins of New York, but then you see the monsters and they're just so lame! Anyway, I liked it, but I was a little disappointed because I wanted to love it.

One movie I'm really looking forward to : Sweeney Todd. That's gonna be one messed-up movie, I'd put money on it. This picture is from another classic Johnny Depp movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which Depp (aka Glen, if I remember right) wears a sexy cutoff football jersey and gets eaten by a bed. Awesome! I'm also really looking forward to Juno, whenever it finally gets here. The screenwriter for the movie, Diablo Cody, wrote a great article about Almost Famous here. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty geeky about the awesome Christmas break movies I will definitely be seeing within the next few weeks. Should be awesome! I'll keep you (when I say you, I'm pretty much just adressing my two loyal readers, who I would talk to about this anyway, but I digress) posted on which movies slapjacked my brisket, Philly-style, and which were just okay. Later.

Hobo-core!

Woo hoo! January 31! New Losts. And also, I just watched a pirated version of the Dark Knight trailer, and it was so damn good. So good! Today is a good day. I'm done with finals, I ate some chicken, saw the best trailer ever. I am content.

So I will leave you with the trailer for the new season of Lost. Seems pretty much awesome, if you ask me!


Also, because I'm feeling so good, here's one of my favorite episodes of Firefly. Pssst, there's a heist in it! Enjoy its shiny splendor!

Hail to the king, baby.

That's what I'm talking about.

Take my love, take my land...

So I am definitely a big geek. This made me so freaking happy. It's an essay on Firefly written by... Nathan Fillion. Now I know I have devoted a lot of blog space to Captain Tightpants, but what can I say? This article is awesome and makes me think that Nathan Fillion is probably a really cool guy in real life. And a babe to boot. I also know I've already linked to this, but I just love it so freaking much.

Also, I taught a few times yesterday and I was observed by my supervisor today as I taught a mini-lesson on "Hamlet." And let me just say, I rocked the hell out of that lesson. Take that, world!

Blade... Laser... Blazer

Oh man, I know I just put a video on my blog, but I had to have this one on here. If you know me well, you know that I inexplicably love American Gladiators. And not in an ironic way. I just love to watch it. So for all those other Gladitors fans out there, here's some trailer lovin'.

Everyday normal guy

So this video makes me laugh a lot. I'm not so fond of the large wife-beater guy about halfway through, but other than that, hi-larious! Oh man. You just have to watch it and find out. If you're sensitive to the swears, don't say I didn't warn you.

Also, I just watched Training Day and that cop with the taser video in the same day, and am now afraid of the police. Peaches!

New life goal: Open a roller disco with Tommy Lee Jones

So I recently watched Xanadu for the very first time. And let me say, Xanadu was a movie unlike any I had seen before. There was an animated sequence, an all-neon alternate universe, Swan from The Warriors in incredibly small shorts, and lots and lots of roller disco. All I can say is... Wow.

I also went to see No Country for Old Men, which was incredible. What an intense movie. Every muscle in my body was tense. After we got out of the theater, my stomach was in knots. I almost couldn't eat my Denny's. Almost. No, it was a friggin great movie. And I've decided that Tommy Lee Jones has a beautiful face. His wrinkles are so intricate and deep; he is so interesting to look at. And he's a good actor to boot.

So I am really really stressed out. I'm getting to the point in the semester when I want to light myself on fire. I've got a helluva lot to do and next to no motivation to do it. Also, I'm starting to panic about student teaching. It is going to suck, especially the two weeks I have to sit in my site teacher's classroom all day without taking over the class. I've got to be there teacher contract hours! Ug. I think observations are mostly just a waste of my time. I just hate this all so much, I almost can't begin to describe it. And PS, certain members of the blogging community, trite and semi-assish comments about it really do not help. This is a seriously scary thing and a big deal. So don't be a DB about it. And if you don't know what that means, ask Danny.

Anyway, I hope its all worth it. I'm at threat level midnight.

Foxy

I thought this was kinda awesome. Check it out. Its a cute little fox that represents my soul.

Done!

So I finished my test ! Yay! So now I'm going to play a game. I found this list on some web site. There were originally 100 questions, but I eliminated the ones for which I did not have the correct cultural capital. Enjoy, and feel free to play along, if you dare.

If you had to choose:

1. Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly? Gene Kelly, I reckon
2. The Great Gatsby or The Sun Also Rises? The Sun Also Rises, without a doubt. See my reasoning here.
3. Count Basie or Duke Ellington? Duke Ellington!
4. Cats or dogs? Cats, most definitely.
5. Matisse or Picasso? Picasso
6. Yeats or Eliot? Eliot! But of course.
7. Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin? Umm, I am not sure on this one.
8. The Who or the Stones? The Who! Without a doubt. The Stones are okay, but the Who are monumentally awesome. And if you disagree, I will fight you.
9. Trollope or Dickens? Dickens
10. Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald? Billie Holiday is incredible. I choose her.
11. Dostoyevsky or Tolstoy? I have yet to read books by either of these authors, but will leave it in in the hopes of getting Alex's answer.
12. Hot dogs or hamburgers? Hamburgers. Hog dogs are nasty unless completely hidden by chili and cheese.
13. Letterman or Leno? Letterman! Leno's a bastard. And Conan above all.
14. Wilco or Cat Power? I haven't listened to a lot of Wilco, but I know people crap their pants for them. I'll say Cat Power.
15. Grace Kelly or Marilyn Monroe? Marilyn Monroe, because I love Some Like it Hot and the Seven-Year Itch. A whole heap.
16. Bill Monroe or Johnny Cash? Please people, gimme Johnny Cash any day of the week.
17. Robert Mitchum or Marlon Brando? I haven't seen any of Robert Mitchum's movies. But I'm not the biggest Brando fan. I call this, a draw.
18. Vermeer or Rembrandt? Since I just watched Girl With a Pearl Earring, I'll say Vermeer.
19. Grosse Pointe Blank or High Fidelity? Oh man, Grosse Point Blank! High Fidelity is an awesome book that just didn't quite come together perfectly in movie form. Bur Grosse Point Blank is flat-out awesome.
20. Comedy or tragedy? Comedy. Especially when it comes to Shakespeare, for me.
21. Fall or spring? Fall. Halloween and Thanksgiving rock.
22. The Sopranos or The Simpsons? The Simpsons. I've never watched the Sopranos, but have heard how much certain people hated the ending.
23. Rodgers and Hart or Gershwin and Gershwin? Gershwin and Gershwin by a nose... Summertime, and the livin is easy...
24. Joseph Conrad or Henry James? Conrad! All the way. The horror!
25. Sunset or sunrise? Sunset. Who the hell likes mornings enough to say sunrise?
26. Johnny Mercer or Cole Porter? Johnny Mercer, for Moon River.
27. Mac or PC? I'm liking the Macs, to be honest. If I had the money, I'd get me one.
28. New York or Los Angeles? Hmmm, I dunno about this one. I've only been to New York once, so I'm probably not the best judge. I'll say Los Angeles, to represent on the West side.
29. Stax or Motown? Stax, for Booker T. and the MGs.
30. Van Gogh or Gauguin? I dunno Gauguin, but I am fond of Van Gogh.
31. Steely Dan or Elvis Costello? I have to say, I really like Steely Dan.
32. Reading a blog or reading a magazine? I love both and do them equally. But for the sake of choosing, reading a magazine.
33. Chinatown or Bonnie and Clyde? Bonnie and Clyde
34. Ghost World or Election? Ghost World is awesome! Election is hard to watch. Definitely Ghost World for me.
35. Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny? Daffy Duck.
36. Modernism or postmodernism? Postmodernism! Which is all I've thought about for the last two days. Pastiche and play for me, baby.
37. Batman or Spider-Man? Is this even a question in someone's mind. Spider-Man is a little bee-yotch. Batman!
38. Jane Austen or Virginia Woolf? Jane Austen, of course. I am female, after all.
39. The Honeymooners or The Dick Van Dyke Show? Dick Van Dyke. I've actually seen a surprising amount of episodes of this one.
40. Out of the Past or Double Indemnity? I dunno the first one, but Double Indemnity is really really awesome.
41. Blue or green? Blue, like Blue Velvet. Or Blue Eyes. Or Blue Bonnet, my favorite buttery spread.
42. A Midsummer Night’s Dream or As You Like It? Hmm, I liked both, but A Midsummer Night's Dream takes the cake on this one.
43. Ballet or opera? Neither. Because I'd rather go to the movies.
44. Film or live theater? Hmm, I really like seeing plays, but there's no place I'd rather be than the movies.
45. Acoustic or electric? Electric and kickass for me. Always.
46. The Music Man or Oklahoma? The Music Man. The Think System is so funny. And Oklahoma has that trippy dream in the middle.
47. Sushi, yes or no? Yes! But not the cheap stuff.
48. Tennessee Williams or Edward Albee? Tennessee Williams. I friggin love Streetcar Named Desire. Stella!
49. Frank Lloyd Wright or Mies van der Rohe? Lloyd Wright. Mies and Gropius and all them can go to hell. But not really.
50. Diana Krall or Norah Jones? Norah Jones.
51. Watercolor or pastel? Um, watercolor how bout.
52. Crunchy or smooth peanut butter? It depends on what I'm eating it on. But in general, I'd say smooth.
53. Willa Cather or Theodore Dreiser? Willa Cather. I'm reading My Antonia right now, and its pretty awesome.
54. The Fifties or the Twenties? Tough. I like both a great deal. Maybe the fifties.
55. Huckleberry Finn or Moby-Dick? Is there a soul on this earth that likes Moby-Dick? Huckleberry Finn all the way, because it is awesome.
56. Thomas Mann or James Joyce? Joyce.
57. Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman? Tough again. I'd say Whitman. I'll have to find this awesome quote I read by him. To be continued.
58. Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill? I dunno. Lincoln.
59. Italian or French cooking? Italian. Even when I was in Italy and France, Italian all the way!
60. Anchovies, yes or no? No, sorry. They're too salty for me.
61. Short novels or long ones? Long and intricate ones. The more story the better if its good writing.
62. Swing or bebop? Um, swing. Even though I've always wanted to call people boppers like in The Warriors.

The end! Someday I'd like to add on some of my own, but this has already taken too long. Maybe later, folks.

Too busy to blog

I've got a friggin huge take-home test due tomorrow. It is for my theory class and involves terms like dromology, chronopolitics, and phrenology. And it sucks a lot. I will return later...

Until then, here's a sweet picture to bolster morale:

3 Things I Like Today.

#1: Orgiastic french fry commercials. I've seen one for Arctic Circle and one for Training Table. You know, when the fries are all close-up and it looks like someone is tossing them together sexily? Nice!

#2: This picture, in all its cat-with-a-gun glory!


Wow! Someone I know posted a picture of a cat on my myspace that I think is supposed to be funny. I like this better.

#3: My gentleman lover. Today I got asked to see a picture of Alex and me together. And I totally didn't have any on my blog or anything. So here's a pretty awesome picture of me and Alex in Disneyland.

Happy Tuesday.

Top Five Movie Music Moments

So I am halfway finished with a paper, so I thought I would take a break in order to post an awe-inspiring list! I've been thinking about my favorite music moments in movies, and I've got an awesome list of my favorites. Now, as a rule, I eliminated songs from movie musicals (thus excluding Cannibal! The Musical, Team America, etc.). I also wanted songs that are in the movie proper, not credits songs (eliminating 8 Mile, The Breakfast Club, 9 to 5). Notable mentions go to Anchorman with "Afternoon Delight", Office Space with that "Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster" song, Breakfast at Tiffany's "Moon River", and many more. So without further ado, here's my top five movie music moments:

5: Shaun of the Dead, "Don't Stop Me Now"--Queen

This is probably the awesomest way to beat down a zombie ever. In time to an awesome Queen song. What a great movie, aye? And this scene is definitely my fave. Awesome song, awesome movie, awesome scene.

4: Reservoir Dogs, "Stuck in the Middle With You"--Stealer's Wheel

This is the scariest thing ever. The dance, the ear! If I'm ever with you and this song comes on the radio, ask me nicely to do my reinactment of this scene. I do a mighty fine Mr. Blonde.

3: Lost in Translation, "Just Like Honey"--The Jesus and Mary Chain

Now, I almost gave this spot to Bill Murray singing "More Than This," which is one of my favorite songs and is perfect in the context of the film, but the end shot, with the whisper in the ear and this song in the background, is just so incredible. Perfection.

2: Almost Famous, "Tiny Dancer"--Elton John

There's something about the group sing-along in the bus that kills me. I really love this song, especially after this movie. It makes me want to bond with musicians on a tour bus in a non-sexual way.

1: Fight Club, "Where is My Mind?"--The Pixies
Holy cow. What a friggin' perfect way to end this movie. And a perfect song to boot. It speaks to the film's major themes of the movie, which sets my little English-lovin' heart aflutter. Awesome!

Anyone else have a favorite movie music moment?

TV Time

So I just read that we can watch new "webisodes" of Lost starting Monday on abc.com. Which is awesome. I have to say, I'm still pretty bummed that BSG got the can until friggin' April, but Lost is (almost) as good. In other television news, I'm also pretty stoked about Project Runway finally starting up again soon. You can say it's lame or whatever, but that show is so addicting. And I started watching Gilmore Girls on DVD. Jury's still out on that one I really like the characters, but don't like the situations. Too cutesy for me. But their dialogue cracks me up.

Also, I'm pretty much lovin' this season of The Office. Some of my favorite moments thus far: Michael "declaring" bankruptcy, the whole time Jim and Pam went to Dwight's farm, Merideth getting hit by Michael, and Andy singing (with backup) to Angela "Take a Chance on Me." Awesome. I have to say, I miss the hour-long episodes. The thirty-minute ones seem really short now. Also, I miss getting the shows on itunes. I hate the nbc player; half of the time it refuses to work for me. And yes, it's personal. Just waiting for hulu, I'm really hoping it's going to be awesome.

And for those of you not yet excited for hulu, here's a sweet episode of The Office from their website. That's right, a full episode. On my blog! Its the advertisement one, which is pretty awesome. Enjoy!

Pork 'n' Beans...

So this is probably the scariest picture I've ever seen. I found it at this cool website that sells vintage art prints, and I kinda want to buy it to hang up in my house. I just don't think I'm that brave though.

Also, my last poll ended with tied results for Freddy and "Other." That poll sucked. I'm currently thinking of a new one to blow people's minds.

One last thing: I found this article that "debunks the rom-com happily-ever-after myth." The author writes realistic endings for some popular romantic comedies. And its pretty much awesome. Read it here, fools.

Do They Know it's Halloween?

So this video came out a few years ago, but I hadn't seen it until today. It is awesome. It's kind of a parody and its got a bunch of cool folks involved in it:

Arcade Fire's Win & Regine, Redd Kross' Steve McDonald, Beck, R.E.M.'s Joey, Waronker, Buck 65, Rilo Kiley's Jenny & Black, David Cross, Roky Erickson, Devendra Banhart , Sloan's Chris Murphy, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Smoosh's Asya & Chloe, Feist, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Gino Washington, Sparks' Russel Mael, Les Savy Fav's Syd Butler , Subtitle, Islands' J'aime, Sum 41's Stevo, Malcolm Mclaren, Tagaq, Peaches, That Dog's Anna Waronker, Postal Service's Jimmy Tamborello, Wolf Parade's Dan & Spencer, Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O.

Enjoy!

Another Saturday Night...

So here I am, desperately trying to write a paper but instead writing a post. Oh well. My paper is not going well. It is my second paper for my Propaganda class. I did very well on my first one, so I shouldn't get so worried about this one. But I can't help it. I wanted to get about half of it done today, but I hit a wall. I think I'll call it a night. I'm tired of working on stuff. The other day Shanna "tagged" me to write about my top ten most kissable literary characters. I'm still not sure I understand the intricasies of tagging, but I always like to talk about my creepy fantasies. So, here goes

1: Atticus Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird): The man is a complete and utter babe. The epitome of manhood. I would tap that anyday of the week.

2: Sirius Black (Harry Potter): I once saw a shirt that said "Fancy a smack, Sirius Black?" Hells yeah! What a babe. Almost number one on my list.

3: Edward Cullen (Twilight): Now, he almost missed my list because I didn't like the second and third books much at all. But I loved this character a great deal. And vampires are sexy hot.

4: Westley (The Princess Bride): Sorry, kind of a pat answer but he's just so sexy. And kind of a badass.

5: Aragorn (Lord of the Rings): Oh man. He's got a sword. My blood's racing just thinking about his sweet ass.

6: Jake Barnes (Sun Also Rises): Even though we couldn't go all the way, I'd love to make out with Jake for a while. Aficionados are babes!

7: Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice): I'm a girl. What do you want from me? He's an uber-babe.

8: Nat (The Witch of Blackbird Pond): In elementary school, I had a major crush on this character. It lingers.

9: Tyler Durden (Fight Club): Yeah, he's kinda evil. Also, spine-crushingly sexy. So sue me.

10: The entire gang of greasers in The Outsiders: Holy cow, that'd be one sexy time. I tell you what.

That's a pretty good list. I almost put Rob from High Fidelity because his useless knowledge is a real turn-on, but it didn't happen. Oh, one last thing to make your lives better:

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

So I went to see the play Sweeney Todd last night with my gentlemen lover. It was pretty much amazing. We had these great seats on the second row in the middle, so we could see all the grotesquities. For those of you not familiar with this play, here's the trailer for the Johnny Depp movie. Which is also awesome.



I also recently finished reading The Great Gatsby. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I decided that emotional people love The Great Gatsby, but cynical people love The Sun Also Rises, like me. I friggin' love the latter, but didn't really get the appeal of the former. Anyway, I'm going to go eat now. I think I will delve into politics for my next post... Stay tuned.

How very

So I just finished a great book, I Love You, Beth Cooper. It was very similar to some of my favorite teen comedies of the eighties and nineties, like Some Kind of Wonderful, Three 'O Clock High (which is an underrated classic and should be watched by all, by the way), and Dazed and Confused. Not the best quality writing I've ever experienced, but a fun, fast read nonetheless. And it would make a killer movie. Next I'm going to further ignore my college readings and begin King Dork. I'll let you know how it goes.

As for movies, Gone Baby Gone was really good. The ending got a little too twisty for its own good, but all in all, I enjoyed it a lot. And Casey Affleck is a babe. A major babe. I also rented Flashdance and Fahrenheit 9/11 the other day. Flashdance made me realize how goofy 80's dance movies are, and got that "What A Feeling" song stuck in my head for days. I haven't finished Fahrenheit 9/11, but Michael Moore bothers me just as much as GW, so watching his movies is frustrating. Morgan Spurlock was much more likable in Supersize Me. Anyway, I better get back to writing a lesson plan for class tomorrow.

Paradise City

It's friggin' frigid in my house and its making me angry. I'm in a bit of a bad mood today, even though I really have no reason to be. I saw a pretty good movie last night (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) and I've got passes to see Gone Baby Gone tonight, so the surplus of Casey Affleck in my life should at least make me a little cheery. So... in other news, I went to sunny California with my parents, my brother and sister, my cousin, and my Alex last week. It was pretty awesome, except that we all went down there in the same smelly minivan. Seven people, one minivan. It could be a horror movie tagline, for hell's sake. So that was awful. Me and Alex were planning on driving separately, but me ma borrowed my aunt's minivan at the last minute and insisted on extreme family togetherness. The drive down wasn't as bad as the drive back. My dad bought this rank black licorice, and my cousin and sister were eating copious amounts of Cooler Ranch Doritos and puffy Cheetos. And me and Alex were sitting in between these horrible smells. Oh, and did I mention that my dad scares the hell out of me when he drives? Its a miracle the man is still alive, the way he drives. But overall, the trip was good. I mean, who the hell is going to complain about Disneyland?

One bad thing about this trip, though, was that I'm pretty friggin' tired this week after getting back. And I missed a lot of possible haunted house time. I haven't been to a single haunted house this year yet. It's almost unbelievable, I know. Maybe tomorrow we'll hit one. I also haven't started on my costume, which probably means I won't do it. And considering I have no idea what I'm going to do on Halloween, I guess it doesn't matter. Except I'd make a pretty amazing Axl Rose. I mean, I've been working on my Axl impression for so long, it seems like a cryin' shame not to put it to good use at some point. And while we're on the subject, here's a link to just about my favorite magazine article of all time. Its about my favorite GNR song, "Sweet Child 'O Mine." Read it. It's awesome. I even included it in a lesson plan I wrote. Anyway, I better go and be productive. Later, folks.

Gotta Go

So I was supposed to leave half an hour ago, but I got sidetracked. Will blog about my trip to California later. Until then, enjoy Duck Hunt, people.

For champions only

Attention: I have an important announcement that everyone should know about....

American Gladiators is coming back to TV!

That's right, folks. You probably all know about my extreme (or perhaps, more appropriately, x-treme) love of AG. I'm super stoked about this new development. NBC just had tryouts in Las Vegas, so its definately underway!



That's what I'm talking about...

Whew...

Its been a long friggin week and I'm so glad its Friday, I could vomit all over this keyboard. I had a paper due today in my Propaganda class, so I've been working on that a lot. But I did manage to go to a sweet-ass LCD Soundsystem/Arcade Fire concert the other day. And that was great. Great! I loved both bands. The Arcade Fire is pretty freaking impressive to see, I've gotta say. I didn't like the songs that Bellatrix Lestrange sang as much as the dude, but all in all, awesome! In honor of this amazing concert, here's one of my favorite songs I heard from LCD soundsystem. And I realize I've put a lot of videos on my blog lately. What can I say? I like videos.



I had a lot I wanted to talk about, but I'm so freaking tired I can't even think. Yeah, that's right. Its Friday night and I'm not out partying, I'm in falling asleep while blogging. Shut up. Maybe I'll go watch Breakin'. Yeah, that's not any better. Oh well. Sheree needs a break. And some pie. I also need a new poll question, as my last poll has expired. Jason Bourne, people? Really? Whatever you say. More later, folks...

Awesome trailer

So I didn't plan on posting today, but I watched this trailer and I'm pretty excited for this movie, I've gotta tell ya. Its called Juno and its directed by the same guy who did the hi-larious Thank You For Smoking. Enjoy.

Every shade of wrong

So it is my day off, and I've been doing homework. Awesome. I kinda feel like I could vomit at any moment, so it might not be wise to leave the house. Question: If I was going to throw up in a public place, where would I choose? I'm thinking my local Hollywood Video because the manager harasses me a lot. Maybe someplace like the Baby Gap on principle. Or maybe a fast food place, just because it would be funny.

Hey, here's something that made me happy this week. Thanks James Gunn for this bit o' greatness.



Also, I think everyone (mainly just me) needs a little more Robert Downey Jr. in their lives. If you haven't seen Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, go rectify the situation. I'll wait. Now, let's watch this awesome Iron Man trailer, shall we?



Oh, while I'm here, 3:10 to Yuma is way awesome. And Shoot 'em Up was pretty sweet too. Happy Saturday, from me.

Spamalot and School

So the other day I went to see the musical Spamalot. We got half-price student rush tickets and the show was pretty good. Its very silly and fun. I took my dad, and I think he liked it more than the rest of us. He loves Monty Python and all that. We also went back to that burger place (awesome!) Man, this picture of Spam makes me kinda hungry. I really love Spam, especially when its fried. Yum...

You know, its about this time of the day where I get really really sleepy. I could probably take a nap on this keyboard right now. Its a good thing I'm listening to "Bust a Move" by Young MC or else I'd be in trouble! I am SO glad its Friday, I can hardly stand it. This school year has already felt long... I've been observing classes three mornings a week and lemme tell you, it has been so freaking boring. I mean, I understand why it is a part of the teaching program, but the majority of the classes I've observed have nearly put me to sleep (not entirely a hard task, see above). Today was better, though. I went into an ESL class that I've tutored in before, so I got to work with the students, which is a lot of fun. One teacher today was a complete bitch to me at the beginning of class, then was all friendly at the end. It was terrifying and strange. The teacher I observed with yesterday was about ten billion years old, wore a wig, and was shockingly bad at her job. I feel bad for students, I tell ya. Another thing, I'm so sick of snotty. stand-offish older, established teachers. Its like they treat me bad just because I'm young, new, and kickass. It freaking makes me so mad.

You know what else makes me mad? Male prospective math teachers (not always, but I've got two specifically in mind). I mean, do they all have to be variations of the ultimate jerk geek Kent from Real Genius? Maybe that's mean. It is mean. I apologize. But who doesn't love Kent? Here's my favorite Kent moment:
Kent: You're all a bunch of degenerates.
Chris Knight: *We* are? What about that time I found you naked with that bowl of Jell-O?
Kent: You did not.
Chris Knight: This is true.
Kent: Look, it was hot and I was hungry, okay?

Anyway. No more complaining for me today. Its Friday! I have one disc of Entourage and one disc of Big Love waiting for me at home! Life is good.

Utah, get me two!

So instead of going somewhere awesome for the long weekend, I plowed through Hustle and Flow, 8 Mile, Everything is Illuminated, and one and a half seasons of Entourage on DVD. And lemme tell ya, it was all really really good. If you haven't seen these movies, especially Everything is Illuminated, I highly recommend them. And Entourage is freaking hi-larous. Johnny Drama kills me every time. And I love any episode that has Gary Busey because the man is insane. Here's a funny video in honor of the Busey.

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Links for me...

Wow! I don't wanna lose these links and I don't want to write them down, so they're going in here and here and here.

Six-Dollar Milkshake

So me and Alex are at a restaurant, and I really want a milkshake. I mean, I've already eaten, so I've gotta get some dessert or something. Oh, by the way, the restaurant we're sitting in, The Acme Burger Company, made the best burger I have ever eaten. Hands down. I've thought about this burger ever since. Even now, while I'm typing this blog, I'm thinking about this juicy delicious burger. So anyway, I want a milkshake, so I check out the menu and the milkshakes are six dollars! Six! I definately still ordered it, and it was good. But the whole situation made me think of this scene from Pulp Fiction:

VINCENT: Did you just order a five-dollar shake?
MIA: Sure did.
VINCENT: A shake? Milk and ice cream?
MIA: Uh-huh.
VINCENT: It costs five dollars?
MIA: Yep.
VINCENT: You don't put bourbon in it or anything?
WAITOR: Nope.
VINCENT: Just checking.

Later...

VINCENT: Can I have a sip of that? I'd like to know what a five-dollar shake tastes like.
MIA: Be my guest. You can use my straw, I don't have cooties.
VINCENT: Yeah, but maybe I do.
MIA: Cooties I can handle.
VINCENT: G**damn! That's a pretty f***in' good milk shake.
MIA: Told ya.
VINCENT: I don't know if it's worth five dollars, but it's pretty f***in' good.

That's exactly how I felt about my six-dollar milkshake! But next time I go there, I'm ordering some bread puddin' along with my hot tasty burger. Doesn't bread pudding just warm the cockles of your heart? I know it warms the s**t out of my cockles. Peace!

So tired...

So I'm sitting at school, waiting for a friggin ride home, and I says to myself, I says, "Sheree, you will never survive this year. You are about to fall over right now due to exhaustion and pissed-offitude." So for everyone out there, including myself, who may have the blues today, here's an extremely guilty pleasure...



Don't you judge me! Its been a long day. I wanna go home. And sleep. And no amount of "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" (awesomely bad though it undoubtably is) will move me on this. And I still have an hour to go. I'm freaking pissed. And I haven't been to the movies for a while, so I've got no movies to blab about. Quick tip: Men, refer to your lady's hot legs as nice "gams" or "stems". Why did this slang leave us? Who knows. Oh, I went to a sweet Detroit Cobras concert the other night. They rock so much. Badass, all the way.

Which reminds me about what I wanted to post on... William Atherton! I was thinking about this; don't you think he's the nonstop ultimate when it comes to smarmy adult eighties villians? (James Spader cornered the teen market on smarm) Anyway, I think he's effing brilliant in Real Genius and Ghostbusters and Die Hard. So here's to you William Atherton. With love.

Rick Springfield is a babe.

There! I said it. So today is the 58th birthday of Rick Springfield! Celebrate by watching the music video of the best song of the 1980's.

Back to School...

So today was my second day back at the University. Sigh. And I might have made a fool of myself already in one or more of my classes. What can I say; that's how I roll. I have really been loving my break, but all good things must come to an end. At least I finished Lost before school started so I don't have to stay up late into the night, wondering about hatches and numbers and Others and such. Now I don't know what to watch. I would really like to watch Heroes when it comes out on DVD. I've heard good things about it.

Oh, and speaking of hearing good things about a moviefilm, Superbad got surprisingly good reviews! I really really liked it, but it didn't seem like the kind of movie to garner good vibes from the critics. But it was freaking hi-larious. Oh, I just read an article about how well the Freaks and Geeks cast is doing as of late, and it made me so happy. That show was brilliant and perfect and I miss it a lot. And its about school! Which is the theme of my blog today. And speaking of, anyone remember when Karen Filippelli from The Office was Karen Scarfolli on Freaks and Geeks?

And does anyone else think that the bullying Karen from Freaks could have grown up to become the slightly unpleasant Karen from The Office? Alex? Here she is, bullying Sam Weir. Its a good thing Jim is moving on to greener pastures in the next season. Definitely. As for me, I'm going to try not to feel like a freak or a geek in my upcoming semester. Although no matter how old I get, I think that I'll always feel like a bizarre mix of both Lindsay and Sam Weir on my first day of school. A freak and a geek forever. High five!

You! Me! Dancing!

So this is a pretty freaking awesome music video. I'm still on the fence about the song (its really long, its a little cutesy for me, and there's that weird talking thing at the end) but the video is something else. Check it out. High five for Los Campesinos!



Oh, also, I finished Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. I liked it... but it wasn't my favorite. Twilight was so good it made me want to do a jig, but the two sequels haven't inspired a single dance move. And this one kinda made me mad... Jacob Black is a bratty kid and I don't like him at all. Especially when compared to Edward Cullen... sigh! If I had an impossible crush deathmatch, I think that Captain Malcolm Reynolds would fight Edward Cullen to see who would ultimately win my affections. High five for sexy fictional characters!

Lost? Part Two

All right! I just finished the first season of Lost and I am very impressed. Its gotten really interesting and awesome. I thought this series would grow on me, and it has. The season finale was intense! I have the first disc of the second season, but I promised Alex that I would wait for him to watch it. I hope that Kate dies in this season. I friggin' hate her character. She's always standing around, looking pouty and worried. Lame! And her dumb flirtations with Sawyer... Don't get me started. Jack, there has to be a more interesting girl for you to dig on that freaking island! And if not, I'm pretty sure that Hurley would be down for a hook-up. Oh, speaking of dumb characters, I was pretty stoked that Boone was (spoiler warning) axed a couple of episodes ago. He was so useless! And was it just me, or did it look like he was wearing eyeliner at least fifty percent of the time? So I know I'm pretty late to the Lost party, but I've still got lots of theories as to what the hell is happening.

One other thing: Read this. It is about sharks, sex, and Salt-N-Pepa. Need I say more?

Lost?...

So I've just started watching Lost on DVD. I was hoping to love it completely and obsessively, but so far I'm just really liking it. I've seen about 6 episodes at this point, but I'm definately curious as to what is going on with that cr-azy island. As far as movies I've seen lately: The Simpsons Movie was funny, but not pant-peeing funny; Rescue Dawn was perfectly fine, and No Reservations (which I saw with my rom-com loving mother) was actually not horrible. That Aaron Eckhart... Sigh. So I also forgot to reserve myself a copy of Eclipse and its all sold out around here. For shame. But never you fear, I will keep looking. Peaches.

Banned Books and Batman

So I just saw the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight and even though there's not much action in it, I still got really excited after watching it. Woo-hoo!



Also, Alex got us tickets to see a show where they read banned books and performed banned music as a "celebration of the first amendment". It was really fantastic; I especially liked that they focused on young adult literature. The show gave me a whole list of books I want to read. And I always love to watch a middle-age band performing Donny Osmond's " Soldier of Love." You know, I always thought Donny was like a Streisand, but he's rocking the shit in this one. Anyway. Censorship is such a sticky topic in my mind. As is the coolness of buying a Donny Osmond song. Hmmm...

Cool stuffs

Check out this very cool Big Lebowski article. Also, here's an awesome music video for your viewing pleasure.

Stardust and Friday

I went to see an advanced screening of the movie Stardust a few days ago with my gentleman friend. And let me tell you, that is a good one. I left the theater feeling tremendously happy (and also very very hungry, which was not related to the film in any way). It had a little of that Princess Bride feel to it, with a better looking hero (wink!). Anyway, I dunno when this movie is actually going to be released, but I will definately go see it again. It also made me want to read the graphic novel, which is most likely even better than the movie. Note: If you like The Princess Bride, but you've never read the novel, you should remedy that situation. Its pretty awesome.

In other news, today is Friday, which means there are three new movies that I want to see. First up, The Simpsons Movie. Next, Rescue Dawn, which happens to feature two actors that I had crushes on before I really even knew what that meant. I loved Christian Bale in Little Women and Steven Zahn in That Thing You Do. And lastly, I'd like to see Sunshine. Freaking Danny Boyle AND Cillian Murphy? Its gotta be awesome. Also, there is a midnight showing of Super Troopers that I wouldn't mind catching. That movie is so freaking funny... Holy cow. Now the only question is, What do I see first?

Also, something I've been thinking about in the wake of the seventh Harry Potter: people who like spoilers. This is something I will never, ever understand. I loathe spoilers; I like to be surprised. Why else would you read interesting books or watch movies with twist endings? What is the appeal of spoilers, unless you're a great bullying jerk and like to ruin things for others? I dunno. However, I do know that the seventh book was beautiful and completely fantastic and a perfect ending to a phenomenal series. My favorite series.

Oh, I forgot. This is the first post I've made while sitting on the couch with my new laptop! Okay, so its not new, its a hand-me-down, but still. Its got wireless internet and a whole mess of awesomeness. High five!

Deathly Hallows

I am completely amazed at just how good the seventh book was. It was brilliant and beautiful and I loved every minute of it. It exceeded all my expectations, and I can't wait to start it again. (I finished it a few days ago; me ma borrowed my copy.) At this point, I can't help but feel a little bit of melancholy. I have lived with and loved this series, these characters for so long that it is hard to say goodbye. That completely wonderful ending helped a little, though. It must have been so hard for J.K. Rowling to write! Me and Alex were reminded of that part in Kill Bill: Vol. 2:

Budd: So, which "R" you filled with?
Elle Driver: What?
Budd: They say the number one killer of old people is retirement. People got 'em a job to do, they tend to live a little longer so they can do it. I've always figured warriors and their enemies share the same relationship. So, now you ain't gonna hafta face your enemy on the battlefield no more, which "R" are you filled with: Relief or Regret?
Elle Driver: A little bit of both.
Budd: Bullshit. I'm sure you do feel a little bit of both. But I know damn well you feel one more than you feel the other. The question was, which one?
Elle Driver: Regret.

So anyway. Deathly Hallows was incredible and I loved it entirely. I can't imagine a series coming out that I love this much, but I hope that maybe someday...

Tonight!

I'm so excited!

Is it just me...

Or does Bellatrix Lestrange look a lot like Amy Winehouse?



Hmmm...

There's no place I can be...

Only three days until Harry Potter comes to a close and I am so freaking excited... I'm getting a little nervous as well. I am a little sad to see my favorite series come to a close. Stephen King wrote this awesome little article on this feeling of melancholy that accompanies the conclusion of Harry Potter. I agree when he says, "When it comes to Harry, part of me — a fairly large part, actually — can hardly bear to say goodbye." Read the rest of the great article here. Sigh.

Also, two things I've been loving this week: Firefly and Hot Fuzz. First of all, Fox is a bastard station. They have cancelled so many incredibly awesome shows, the little jerks. I freaking love me some Firefly, and not just because I have the world's hugest crush on Nathan "Captain Tightpants" Fillion. Not that it hurts (wink!). I have even grown to love what is perhaps the worst television theme song ever spawned, the "Ballad of Serenity". Another sigh. As for Hot Fuzz, let me just say that if you haven't already seen it, go right now and remedy the situation, or shit's gonna get real. High five!

I Must Not Tell Lies

So I went to see Order of the Pheonix (Thou shalt spell the word “Phoenix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X, not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you) last night at midnight, naturally. As for now, I will say that I really liked it. Not that it was without flaws, but it had some brilliant bits in it. For example: Umbridge was perfect. Truly and evilly awesome. Luna was really good. Bellatrix was spot-on. I loved the parts with Sirius, who is perhaps my favorite character of the series. I also loved his velvet blazers. Nice! However, at this point I'm so freaking excited for the seventh book that my little heart doesn't have room for much more.

Stephen King (who I am convinced is one of my kindred spirits) wrote this awesome column on what he called "pop dope," which you can find here. This man is brilliant. He writes about such awesomeness as BSG, The Ruins, and, of course, Harry Potter, saying, "These are the Quarter Pounders of the soul we're talking about, Big Macs of the mind, cheese fries of the imagination." Now that's what I'm talking about...

sigh...

So my post the other day got me to thinking about how horrible it is at the end of Pretty in Pink when Andie hooks up with Blane (that's a major appliance, that's not a name!). Even though I think Andie pretty much sucks throughout the movie, I still get huffy every time I think about that damn test audience that liked the Blane ending more than the Duckie ending. So, in honor of this injustice, I've been thinking of my top five movie romance injustices (in no order).... Drumroll please... (and spoilers abound, so be prepared)....

1. Pretty in Pink: I've said enough about this. However, why have we not seen the Duckie ending be released on DVD? Why?! Also, John Hughes pretty much remade this movie when he did Some Kind of Wonderful a year later. And this time, he got the ending right.


2. Waitress: What in the hell happened to mess up the ending of this movie? I was lovin' this one, every minute of it, with all its pie and southern folk. Then, Keri Russell's character (I think her name's Jenna) dumps the perfect man (my dream man) Nathan "Bill Pardy" Fillion. She leaves my favorite character high and dry and we never hear from his buns again. It was supposed to be a touching ending, with her loving her daughter and all, but the whole time I was wondering when Nathan Fillion would be back and when they would hook up again. They didn't. Needless to say, I was pissed! I loved this movie... except for the ending. Come on!


3. Before Sunrise/ Before Sunset: Unlike the rest of these movies, this one does not make me mad. The first film is my favorite of all time, hands down. The great injustice in this one is that, at the end of Before Sunrise, the two characters agree to meet again in six months. They do not exchange any information about each other. So, you can fill in the story based on what kind of person you are (like Jesse says in Before Sunset). If you are a romantic (like myself), you prefer to think that the two hooked up in six months, got married, and were completely and incandescently happy for the rest of their days. If you are a realist, you probably think, no way they got together, it didn't happen. Then, along came Before Sunset, set nine years after the first one. And you find out they didn't meet in Vienna. They haven't seen each other since. Of course, it ends beautifully and I love it entirely, but that moment when you know they didn't meet, that Jesse showed up and Celine didn't... man! Also, as a quick note, I hear from a lot of places that they prefer the sequel to the original, where I definately prefer the first one. I think it has to do with age. I'm sure that when I am older, I'll like the second one more. And if you haven't seen these, WATCH THEM! They are fantastic.
4. Twin Peaks: Holy crap. I know this is a television show and should technically not count, but hey. This is my list, and this is the HUGEST injustice on this list. The first season of this fantastic show set up an adorable romance between Audrey Horne and everyone's favorite coffee-swilling FBI man, Special Agent Dale Cooper. However, I heard that Kyle MacLachlan was dating stupid Lara Flynn Boyle by the end of the first season, and she objected to the storyline involving Sherilyn Fenn and her man. And since the show had been taken over at that point by lesser minds than that of David Lynch, they introduced characters played by Heather Graham and Billy Zane to romance Cooper and Audrey, respectively. Which was completely sucky. I loved the bits between Cooper and Audrey, and I thought they were perfect together. It wasn't until the David Lynch-controlled series finale that this storyline was even hinted at again. This botched romance was yet another example of how much better this show was when under Lynch's thumb. And Cooper is a babe. Had to be said.

Five coming soon...

1408 and other suck fests

So I recently went to see 1408 with my main squeeze and I did not dig it. I wasn't planning on seeing this one, as it had a truly sucky trailer, but it got good reviews and a friend recommended it. It did inspire me to think of the most distracting movie hairstyles:

#1: Andrew McCarthy's wig at the end of Pretty in Pink-- As if I needed more excuses to hate his guts and to think that he was unworthy of Andie.

#2: John Cusack in High Fidelity--The hair was yet another frustrating aspect of a movie that could have been incredible, but simply ended up just being kinda good.

#3: Crappy sci-fi movies-- Think about a movie that wants to look futuristic, then think about the hairstyles. Yikes... Some that come to mind are The Fifth Element, Back to the Future: Part 2...

#4: Toby Maguire in Spider Man 3-- His emo hair (bangs down, covering his pouty, eyeliner-heavy stare) made me want to slap someone and go watch Evil Dead to feel better about Sam Raimi.

#5: John Cusack in 1408-- Why, John Cusack, why?

Anyway, I think the best way to describe 1408 is by saying it is tedious. It has some spooky moments, but the whole movie drags. And the false ending was super-sucky. However, I did like that Samuel L. got a chance to utter his favorite profanity in this otherwise-tame movie.

This weekend I also went to a murder mystery dinner and realized that at some point I have become pretty freaking anti-social. I lack the ability to make meaningless small talk. I'm gonna have to work on that. Anyway, I think I'm gonna go drink another Coke and burn my way through some more of the fifth Harry Potter number. Less than twenty days away! I'm so excited!

Yippee-ki-yay...

So I just went to see Live Free or Die Hard and let me tell you, it is pretty much kickass. I only recently saw the first and third Die Hard, but I definately loved them with intensity. This one had that awesome buddy-movie dynamic of the third one, replacing Samuel L. with that cute little Mac. I like this kid a lot, except for the train wreck that a movie studio called Jeepers Creepers. I also kinda dug that this one was PG-13, which only meant that my older brother was willing to come with me and witness the wonder that is John McClane. Its been almost 20 years since the first Die Hard, but Bruce Willis still knows how to take down terrorists, I tell you what.

And just as a note of ranting: If anyone else tries to tell me that this is a "guy movie" and that I cannot have enjoyed it as much as them because of that which I "lack", I will take a cue from the classic action heroes that I love so much and I will punch first, ask questions later. Little insecure jerks...

In other movie news, I also saw an advanced screening of Death at a Funeral, a funny little movie featuring a delectable Mr. Darcy and the always-hilarious Alan "Wash" Tudyk. It was pretty freaking funny, but what was even funnier was the portly gentlemen seated behind us. This guy (who was attending the movie alone) snored audibly through the beginning of the movie, but who woke up about a third of the way through and let the entire theater know how much he loved the movie. He yelled comments, laughed loudly, and clapped at his favorite moments. Normally, this kind of behavior would have annoyed the hell outta me, but this guy was so out there that I kinda liked him.

Read This Now!

So I just read an awesome book (that was in no way read for a college class-- hooray for reading for pleasure!) that I would recommend to anyone who might venture forth across my blog. Its called Blankets by Craig Thompson. If you've never read a graphic novel before, this is a great place to start. Its this great coming-of-age story about religion and family and first love and all those awkwardly painful parts of growing up. Its beautifully written and awesomely drawn. And if you're interested, don't be intimidated by the hugeness of the book. I read it in about two hours, maybe less. I was incredibly impressed by its quality and by how sucked in I was by the story. And so far, the only person who actually listens to my book recommendations, my gentlemen love, really liked it as well.

Class is Over!

Hooray! But I think I'm keeping this blog. I'll write about movies and the weather or something. So if anyone from class wants to continue reading my ramblings, they'll be here... with a vengeance.

PhotoStory Project

Here's my awesome PhotoStory that I showed for our presentation.

Grabe Article Post

#3 Take some time to explore the PBS site "Don't Buy It." (www.pbs.org/dontbuyit ). This site deals with Media Literacy - a form of information literacy. What do you think of the site? Do you think this is important, or not? Do you think this is effective, or not?

I think that media literacy is an extremely important topic. So important, in fact, that my group planned our TEAMS presentation around one facet of media literacy. I thought that this site had a lot of great information on it, but I think that the site should be geared to an older audience of students than this. It seemed a little childish to me for any junior high or high school class.

This topic is an essential one for teachers to implement in the classroom. In my research for our project, I have found some great websites for teachers to use as references in teaching their students media literacy.

My absolute favorite, and the jumping-off point for my interest in this topic, is found at PBS.org. It is a documentary, made in 2001, called "Merchants of Cool." It talks about the relationship between teens, the media, and identity creation. If you have not watched this documentary, I highly reccommend that you do so. It is fascinating. While you're there, PBS.org has a ton of information on this subject that you can browse.

I would also reccommend the New Mexico Media Literacy Project's page, found at nmmlp.org. It has a lot of great information, especially if you are more interested in deconstructing ads (which probably just means us English people).

However, I also found a site for you History folk, which has an overview of using advertising as historical evidence. Its a really good reference as well. Check it out here.

Lastly, there is a Canadian site called media-awareness.ca that is jam packed full of great resources to increase students' media literacy. There are lesson plans, articles, even online games for your pleasure.

Anyway, I have to go and write a task card and a final paper and die. Wait, scratch that last one. Instead, maybe I'll eat Pad Thai. That sounds much better.

Final Project

Hey group! This is a webquest using "Merchants of Cool". I don't really understand our project, but I wanted to save this link.

Check it out.

Here's a great cross-cultural idea page for media literacy.

Hooray!

I also like this lesson plan.

Kapow!

Hopefully we can talk some more about this project soon...

CPB Article

#2 How can teachers use video to promote student achievement?

I think that video can be a great way to promote student achievement when it is used correctly, which includes planning ahead and promoting active learning. The article went through each subject to highlight several ways in which video could be appropriately used. I enjoyed the bit about using video in a history class to make history come alive and to make it more accessible to students. In language arts, I liked the idea of treating a video like a text and using critical thinking skills to analyze it. They had a list of great ideas on how to use video in the classroom, including:

"• to provide alternative interpretations of
literary classics;
• as presentations of background information
and context;
• to foster reader-response approaches to
understanding literature, especially when
video and print-based texts are compared; and
• to develop communication skills as students
learn to interpret visual messages." Flood (1995)

The article mentioned several benefits from using video that I thought were interesting. Obviously, video is likely to engage students and increase their motivation. The one that suprised me was the information about how much is remembered when taught using various media. too. I wsas amazed by the statement that “…people will generally remember:
• 10% of what they read
• 20% of what they hear
• 30% of what they see
• 50% of what they see and hear.” Marshall (2001)

I think this is a great incentive for teachers to use video and television in the classroom. Since I am a big fan of both, I definitely plan on working them into my curriculum. High five!

My Podcast

Gabcast! TL 5141 #1



Wow! The Internet is great! Watch Kamini in all his glory. I Heart French Rap.

Harris Article

#3 Some critics believe there's no place for Internet projects in today's world of high stakes testing and emphasis on student achievement. What is Harris'(2000) answer to this criticism? What is your answer?

Harris believes that Internet projects should be included in instruction. She says that they enhance student achievement and that, if used correctly, they can be highly successful learning opportunities. The author also mentions the importance of good preparation and design in the success of these projects. On page 58, she states, "Internet tools and resources are not (or, shall I say: should not be) additions to our curricula; rather, they can be used as "instruments of construction."

I think this is a great way to look at it. If you are doing an internet project because you think it'll be cool and your students will like it, then yes, this project has no place in your "high-stakes" classroom. However, if the project is enhancing their knowledge of your content, providing skills from the curriculum, or engaging the students in content-based learning, then I think the project is money. The Internet has to be used as an "instrument of construction," not just as an add-on or as filler.