The Oscar Party!!!!

My friend throws an amazing Oscar party.  She spends all year preparing and collecting.  This year was the 20th anniversary of her first party.  I've only been going for about 15 years.  It's always one of my favorite days of the year.

The excitement started earlier this year with the pre-show starting at 4:30.  We also moved to a new venue - upstairs.  This year we all had soft seats, the TV had DVR capabilities, we had the whole dining room table for food, and drinks were no longer relegated to the treadmill.

Every year we:

• have boas to wear
• get gift bags like the stars with trinkets and bling
• pick boyfriends and collect kisses every time we see them or hear their name
• bring food to match our favorite movie of the year (This year's winner made a football field with veggies for Silver Lining Playbook.)
• play movie trivia games and match movies to bottles of wine
• collect many, many prizes for picking winners on our ballots (Prizes are also awarded for not picking any winners.)
• offer opinions on all dresses, hair styles, make-up, and acceptance speeches
• critique the host, presenters, and musical numbers
• catch-up on Hollywood gossip from one attendee who reads Star magazine weekly
• laugh - a lot!
• and then head home with a bag full of books, DVDs, movie tickets, marquee night lights, glittery feather pens, and every kind of movie candy you can imagine

It is an award winning party!
  

Farewell Olympics

I'm sad that the Olympics are over.  They probably last just the right amount of time, but I love watching the events and hearing the stories.  Here are some of my favorites from London:

• The Olympic rings on Tower Bridge
• David Beckham driving the speed boat up the Thames with the torch
• Mr. Bean playing Chariots of Fire with the orchestra
• Our own gold medal cyclist, Kristen Armstrong
• Missy Franklin's great smile, great swimming, and enthusiasm
• Michael Phelps!
• Pistorious running on the South Africa team with his blades
• Gabby Douglas and the fab five gymnists
• The US Women's Soccer team and their gold medal
• Anyone running the hurdles
• Usain Bolt - What a runner! - What a perfect name!
• Kirani James' 400 meter dash, the first gold medal for Grenada
• May and Walsh getting their 3rd gold medal in women's beach volleyball
• The royals showing up to events - Loved every outfit of Kate's

 What I didn't like:

•  Our basketball dream team and all the professional tennis players - That's not what the  Olympics is all about!

The Olympic rings make their way down the River Thames toward Tower Bridge.

A Silent Movie

I met my friend Lydia to see The Artist this afternoon.  I predict that it will win the Academy Award for best picture.  I don't know what will be nominated.  I've only seen one other movie this year, but I think this one should win.  I do not love this movie, and I was not emotionally pulled into the story, but you can't help but be enthralled with this movie.  You watch every second to see how they're going to do the next part, and they do everything in a beautiful, clever way.  This is a black and white, silent movie.  Three words are spoken.  It pays homage to old Hollywood.  How can the academy members not vote for it?  Besides, the dog in it is adorable, and I did fall in love with the leading lady, whose name I don't know, but I think she's French.  Her name in the movie was Peppy, and it fit.  Besides being more beautiful and more talented than a young Natalie Wood, she was adorable, charming, vivacious, and peppy.  I can't wait to see her in something else and hear her talk.

Peppy Miller - AKABerenice Bejo

BSU vs. UNLV

The game last night didn't start until after 8:00.  We were a little worried about being able to stay up until midnight, but Terry and I still have a bit of spunk in us.  We didn't even have to take a nap that afternoon.  The late start gave us a chance to go to The Green Chile and enjoy a meal with Rich and Karren beforehand.  We had a Groupon that expired that night.  Then we headed over to the big screen in the basement with our caramel corn and pumpkin fudge to watch our Broncos win.  Yeah!

OMSI

The Micron Foundation paid for all the 5th and 6th graders in Boise to attend an assembly put on by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  We joined all the schools from southeast Boise at Capital High to watch an amazing juggler explain laws of physics.  He was pretty funny.  I don't know if anyone learned anything, but some might remember the jokes, and some might try their hand at juggling.  It was an entertaining morning.  Once in while you need some serious entertainment at school.

Manhattan Short

Every year at the Academy Awards party when we have to vote on things like best short subject, everyone takes a stab in the dark.  Not this year.  Some of the party faithfuls attended the Manhattan Short Film Festival.  Ten short films (10-15 minutes) are chosen from hundreds that are sent in from all around the world.  These films are shown in cities in 200 cities, across 6 continents, on the same week.  One place showing them was The Flicks in Boise.  Everyone is given a ballot which is collected as you leave, and the theater sends their results to the people in Manhattan, and you can check the website for the winners at the end of the week.

The winner told the story of a man running from Nazi soldiers, who hides in a German Shepherd's dog house.  The the farmer who owns the dog discovers him and helps him escape.  At the war's end, the fugitive is able to help the farmer who is in the custody of the American or British army.  That's a lot of story to tell in just 12 minutes.  The dog was a good actor too.

I didn't vote for the winner, but I almost did.  The very last short was filmed during the uprising in Egypt this past spring.  I was swayed at the very end.  I also liked a Swedish film about two bystanders that watch bumbling bank robbers on a moped.  It was a recreation of a real event, and it was pretty funny. 

Season Opener

BSU went to Athens, Georgia to beat the Bulldogs, 35-21.  The game was never close enough to make you nervous.  The Broncos just made us proud.  Ty’s friend from Liberty Elementary made the cut as the 1st string kicker.  He couldn’t believe that “our boy Dan is on ESPN, kicking PATs, against Georgia”.  Crazy!  Fun!

It’s hard to imagine a better night, but the meatball sandwiches and banana bread did add to the overall excellence.

My class has started the Bronco bulletin board collage, and a photo album of Trail Wind Bronco fans in Bronco gear.  The last few years we adopted my nephew, Matt, as our personal player.  Since he’s not playing this year, I think we may have to adopt Dan Boy.  We make a great fan club. 

This is What Summer’s About

I’ve been wrapped up with family, cooking, and a little sewing this summer.  It’s been great, but we arrive at the middle of August, I realize I’ve been to lunch once with friends and once with my mom and sister.  That’s just not right!  Now in the four days before I report back to school I have to squeeze in what I’ve been missing. 

Monday I went to lunch at Willow Creek with old teacher friends.  We spent 2 1/2 hours on the patio.  Also on the patio were teacher groups from Liberty and Valley View, and a couple colleagues from the district office.  (Everyone must be thinking the same thing I am.)  I came home long enough to get something ready for the family dinner, then left for the movies.

It was perfect.  I love movies in the late afternoon.  I love the Flicks.  I love Woody Allen.  Mary and I went to Midnight in Paris.  I loved the movie - the shots of Paris, the clothes, the humor, the music, and Earnest Hemingway. 

This is what a school teacher’s summer day should be like.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Nan and I finally made good on our Fathers Day gift and took Dad out to Hawks Stadium.  We picked a night that wasn't too hot, had good seats on the third base line, and we all enjoyed a hotdog.  I looked around at the mostly season ticket holders in our section and was struck by the fact that they were all old.  They all had a decade or two on me.  Listening to them talk, they knew baseball.  It's the game of their generation.  I felt a little nostalgic sitting there with them. 

Nan and I didn't pay real close attention to the game.  We had a nice visit.  Dad watched the game and didn't visit because he didn't have his hearing aids in.  Some of the innings were slow.  (It is baseball.)  Other innings were full of hits and runs.  In the end the Hawks lost to Eugene, 8-6 and we were glad that it didn't go extra innings.  We enjoyed every minute, but didn't want to stay longer.  It was just a perfect summer night out at the ball park.

The View from the Window

My class was in the computer lab yesterday taking a language ISAT test.  Everyone was quiet, focused, and on their best behavior, even the two boys in the back that take their test in at another time.  They just had to sit at the back and read books.  All of a sudden the cloudy weather started getting loud.  Thunder.  One of the boys asked if he could sit by the door and look out the window.  Pretty soon the second boy was sitting by the door looking out the window.  There wasn't any lightning, just an empty blacktop, and gray clouds.  They sat for 15 minutes looking out the window like it was a movie screen.  It paid off.  Suddenly the skies exploded with a ferocious hail storm that was even more impressive in the portable with a metal roof.  Actually the whole room of test takers exploded.  Good thing hail storms don't last long.  After a joyous two minutes we got the test takers back on task, and the two boys spent another 20 minutes just looking out the window; empty blacktop, gray clouds.

Opera in Boise

One of the students in my class had a lead in Opera Idaho's Children production of Mikado.  It's a Gilbert and Sullivan opera that I would guess was  popular at the same time as the Hope and Crosby roadshows.  Terry went with me today to the matinee.  He was thinking at intermission that they probably should have paid us $10 dollars to sit through it, but there were some redeeming moments.  The Green Show featured a little kid chorus and they were pretty good.  It was held in the Egyptian and I love that place.  I also love kicking around downtown.  If only it was a little warmer.  My student did a nice job.  He's very dramatic, talented, and mature.  He wants to be a director someday.  I think he's going to make it.  I'll be able to say I knew him when.

Oh the Places You Can Go

Here are some of the places I love to go and waste time:

Zen Habits

Everything Everywhere 

More Words Work

I've been wasting time today.  Once again I'm avoiding report cards.  It happens four times a year.

Entertaining

I like American Idol this season.  I like the new judges, especially Steven Tyler.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get a picture from the website, but right now, Steven is wearing a purple, patterned, sequined jacket - not a man's blazer type jacket- a Joan Collins type jacket.  He also has four necklaces.  One is a dollar store St. Paddy's Day necklace, another has four big shark's teeth, one has a white skull, and the other has some sort of big gold ornament on it.  He's so entertaining.

An Episode of Lost

Attendees of the Town Hall Meeting

The morning after the Town Hall meeting craziness, Terry said he had been thinking about the meeting being an episode of Lost. What if we were stuck on an island with the people in the choir room?  It was hilarious.  We know that the 2 of the 3 standing in the middle would not be our chosen leaders.  We knew that the two women in front of me needed to be dragged away by the smoke.  I thought all day about which people who spoke might be good to align ourselves with.  When talking about raising revenue with cigarette taxes, one man asked how many packs a day we needed to start smoking to pay for education.  I think he might be the Hurley of the group.  The woman that lost to Julie Ellsworth by 6 votes was there.  She was smart and spoke calmly.  She reminded me of Sun.  Luna would definitely be Ben - one of the others -on the other side of the island.  His 3 education reform bills are the Dharma Initiative.  I've shared this with other teachers that were there and it's taken on a life of its own.  Now when we're at a rally or district meeting and recognize some of the meeting participants, we say, "There's Jack", or "I think that's one of the others".  In these grim political times, it makes us all happy.

Trio of Cowboys No More

It was a rough week for my cowboys.  John Wayne was eliminated from American Idol and didn't make the top 25.  I think that was a big mistake, and I don't even like country music.  My Amazing Race cowboys Jet and Cord were in big trouble down in Australia and would have been eliminated if it hadn't been a double episode.  They made up time in the second half.  Hopefully they're back in the saddle until the trail ends.