Back to school

4 kids, 3 different schools. This will be the same scenario next year, too. It's not too bad, really. The oldest gets home about 15 minutes after the two youngest (which are in elementary) so if I have to run out for any reason, she can watch them.

Demetrios (the one in middle school) is in band but is new to playing an instrument (not counting the "recorder") and wants to play the trumpet. He's in the 7th grade. In its infinite wisdom, the school stuck a beginner in intermediate band because their reasoning is that 6th graders go in beginning band, 7th graders in intermediate and the 8th grades are in advanced. We were told the Thursday before school started that this could be changed, only to find that by the next week of school he was stuck there. A week of being told it's being changed! So, he's making the best of it and we're doing a crash course in how to play the trumpet. The kid is a trouper.

One problem he's having is with the embrasure due to him having an old childhood problem called apraxia. I'm constantly having to remind him how to do it and I never played the trumpet in band. I was a percussionist. We have about 1 1/2 weeks before try outs. That's to determine what intrument the student seems best suited for. It would completely suck if he didn't get trumpet, since we just bought this one.

I bought him a book and video on how to play. I find that I'm learning along with him, but without the problem he's having with the embrasure. All those years in junior high and high school band, listening to the band director yell at the brass section about embrasure must have sunk into my subconscious.

I'll try to update more often, but not just about the kids.
caio for now!

Under the Radar

Whip It

For Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, she's not getting enough credit. Ellen Page is definitely one of her generation's best actors and I look forward to her next film. Whip It is the story of a young woman that feels confined by her mother's dreams and expectations for her. She wants out of the little town she's in, but this otherwise tired cliche has an added vibrancy not often seen these days. She sees a poster for roller derby that's held in another town and is immediately intrigued. Her mother wants her to get into the best schools and win beauty pagents. Marcia Gay Harden is perfectly cast as the mom. Heck, the casting is perfect all around. I was most impressed by Jimmy Fallon, as I really didn't see "him" for once!

I don't really know why this film has had such low Box Office returns, as it's a very good film. I think that when the DVD comes out, its sales will be quite respectable. I give it a solid 9/10 stars.

Letterman and the price of infidelity

Watching bits and pieces of David Letterman's on-air confessions has been interesting to say the least. If I was Rita, I would assuredly be putting my husband in the doghouse for acting like, well, a dog. Whether he and Rita can reconcile depends upon the number and degree of hurdles. I will not judge the man, as I feel this is a more of a personal matter between husband and wife. But, at the same time, he is a very public figure. Dave has been on TV for many years! People that don't even watch his show know of him. Most of us are familiar with his "top ten" lists for their humor and commentary. The way that Dave interviews his guests has these same people returning more than once, even the likes of Madonna.

Personally, I hope that he weathers this controversy. He's not a religious leader that is held to a higher standard of morality, so will probably get through this professionally. I have no magic eight ball to predict what happens between him and Rita.

The man that tried to blackmail Dave is the villain here. Besides, this would have come out about Dave's sexual escapades without the threat of blackmail. This ends up making David Letterman the victim instead of him looking like a cad, which admits to being anyway. What a guy!

I still like and admire him in spite of it all.

Searching for purpose

Sometimes it seems as if the direction my life is taking has gotten stuck in neutral. The engine is running, but I'm going nowhere fast. I'm a homemaker with a college degree. I applied for a job with a woman that offered me a position. It was not something that I was pursuing, but it had appeared that I had the job and that filling out an application was simply a formality. Why to people make promises like this? I could use a job, even a part-time one now that my kids are in school.

Some things people write are just funny.

From an "article" about sexy stars and their sexiest roles (a silly list, but this is why it's humorous to me)...
"Johnny Depp as Roux in Chocolat. He belongs to a band of traveling gypsies, who go from town to town seducing women with sweet guitar skills and putting on wonderous festivals. I imagine it's exactly what Johnny does when he's not acting."

LOL!

Inglourious Basterds review: Roger Moore's movie review of Inglourious Basterds -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Generally, I agree with Roger Moore's movie reviews. Not sure if that's going to be the case here with Inglourious Basterds. His review is scathing, a 1/5 stars. Since I haven't seen it yet, I am now debating whether to simply wait until this comes to DVD or HBO or see something else like the more positively reviewed District 9.

Inglourious Basterds review: Roger Moore's movie review of Inglourious Basterds -- OrlandoSentinel.com



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From the milk of human kindness "page" of life

I'm not a fan of his films. However, this is pretty darn nice of him. Read on:

Tyler Perry will try to make up for an alleged insult borne by a group of
children at a Philadelphia day camp. Perry said on his website on Sunday
that he
would send the Creative Steps campers on an all-expenses-paid trip
to Walt
Disney World in Florida.
"I want them to know that for every act
of evil that
a few people will throw at you, there are millions more who
will do something
kind for them," Perry wrote. Creative Steps, meanwhile, is
planning to file a
federal lawsuit against the Valley Swim Club in
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania,
alleging breaches of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The club allegedly barred
some 65 children from swimming in its pool after a
visit in June. The centre had
contracted the pool during summer, but it now
alleges the club cancelled and
returned its cheque for $1,950 - with no
explanation given.

Summer movies, part II

Now that the summer is 1/2 over, I'm looking back at what I've seen so far.

It all started with Star Trek which I enjoyed immensely. (see previous post) A second viewing didn't improve it, but I still found parts just as good as the first time. The next films I saw were UP, Terminator 4, Coraline, and Public Enemies. I missed (by choice) Night At the Museum , Ice Age III and Transformers II.

UP was a tear-jerker, but thoroughly entertaining and one of the best films of the summer and a sure Oscar contender. It's also full of wonderful humor and sight gags. Definitely recommend it for the entire family, from 5 to 85 years of age.

Can't really say much about T4 other than it reminded me of the Mad Max movies with Terminator robots added in. Bale was excellent as John Connor, but it wasn't enough to save the film . 7/10 (IMDb rating.)

Coraline wasn't for the little kids, though it was marketed as a kid's film. My older kids, the 10 and 14 year old enjoyed it. The younger 2, at 8 and 5, were scared by it just a bit too much! My daughter, the 14 year old, can't wait for me to buy the DVD. The animation is wonderful, just as vivid and imaginative as in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The voice acting is perfect, with people like John Hodgeman and Terri Hatcher playing the dual roles of the father/other father and mother/other mother. Dakota Fanning's casting as Coraline was the right choice, as she brought a perfect blend of emotions to the character's voice.

On to the film that was highest on my anticipation meter for an entire year, Public Enemies. I'll have to post more on it later, as I still want to see it a second time. I did enjoy the first viewing, though!

Summer movies

The list of summer movies is filled with a variety of choices. I've seen Star Trek twice and that's enough for me until the DVD comes out. But, if it has "legs" as I suspect it has, I might catch it once more before it leave the cinemas. It's first week Star Trek made an impressive 74 million or so, better than any TREK before it. In the second weekend, it came in a close 2nd to Angels and Demons, only dropping 42% from the previous week's take. That's very good for any film.

Star Trek stars previously "unknown" actors Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zackary Pinto as Spock, Zoe Salada as Uhura and several others that play Scotty, Chekov and Sulu and my favorite from the film, Dr. McCoy. As someone that was not pleased that the director of Cloverfield was at the helm of this film, JJ Abrams has done a fantastic job of making an entertaining film while still staying true to the foundations of Star Trek lore.

Pine is a wonderful Capt. Kirk and his banter with the new McCoy is spot-on. If you haven't seen this and are not a fan, you will be pleasantly surprised. Many non-fans have truly enjoyed this film. As a long time Trekkie or Trekker (I prefer Trekkie), I loved it.

One film that seems to be falling under the radar is State of Play, a thriller that stars Russell Crowe. He plays an investigative newsman that is looking into the murder of an aide to a senator. The senator is played by Ben Affleck and he does a very good job in that role. This film has received good reviews and is worth seeing. I saw it opening weekend and will definitely get the DVD.

Duplicity was okay. 'Nuf said.

Angels and Demons was very good and glad my friend Ronda wanted to see it with me. I don't know if I would have gone to see it, as I have never seen all of The DaVinci Code and wasn't particularly interested in A & D. Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Stallan Stasgaard (if you remember him from the 2nd and 3rd Pirates of the Caribbean, you'll not recognize him here) and the rest of the supporting cast make this film better than it's predecessor.

Follow up

Since changing the routine, Jason has been happier. He's almost done with his pre-school year and goes into Kindergarten (full day) this Fall.

I took him to the pool today at our subdivision. He's remembering some of his swimming lessons two years ago! With a Boogie board, he can swim around in the swallow end and is now tall enough to stand with his head above the water line. I think that with regular pool visits he'll be more adept in a few short weeks.