Pups and Popular culture

Well I made it back from NC, not thawed, but happy to have visited a lovely little blossoming family that I'm happy to be related to. Now that my computer and camera have gotten over whatever tiff they are having and start talking to each other again I can post some pictures of the cute couple and their dogs (one of which almost came home in my suitcase!).


Here's the cute couple on a not very warm beach. Wanna know something adorable? They always seem to be holding hands, especially in the car. Awwww, my little brother is in love :)

Here's the little guy I wanted to steal. His name is Deisel. He's part boxer. He's part pit bull. His feet are over sized. He's going to be enormous some day.


And here's the not so little guy, Torque, who is also lovable, but would probably eat me if I tried to take his Deisel away. As usual, he's making his "stupid face", lip over bottom teeth, tongue hanging out just a little bit.


They are really cute when they play together!


And now for something completely different....

Pop Culture Give-in #1
On the way back home from NC I gave in and bought a book (which I haven't done in a while, thanks to my obsession with Bookmooch.) That book was Twlight, by Stephanie Meyer.

I've heard a lot of women, young and old have fallen for this book and I just wasn't sure if I was going to be one of those people. Still, it was one of the cheaper books on the airport bookstore shelf and one of the only ones I had heard of, so I gave in. After the first chapter, I wasn't convinced. By the time I got halfway though, I had to finish it THAT DAY. It was good. A little romance doesn't hurt in a novel, but the way that the author captures the feeling of new romance was dead on. I remembered how I felt when Mike and I first started dating, when I felt like my nerve endings were on fire with the smallest brush of his hand. Sigh. When he picked me up at the airport, I gave him a great big kiss and it felt wonderful. I can't wait to read the next three!!

Pop Culture Give-in # 2


On Saturday, Mike and I decided to go see the movie Coraline in theaters. One of the major reasons I wanted to see it was because of all the hype that I had been hearing about its 3D that was supposed to be really good. When we went up to the counter to buy the tickets, but after Mike had forked over the money (thanks sugar daddy!), the cashier said "It's not in 3D, just so you know." Doh! Oh well, we went in and settled down just in time for the start of the movie. (Arriving 10 minutes late apparently means you're not subjected to advertisement-for future reference).

The movie itself was cute and creepy and similar in style to the Nightmare Before Christmas. There were some parts where Mike and I looked at eachother, laughing, thinking... did that just happen? I'd recommend it... but if you get a chance to watch in 3D, please let me know what you think. I might be a little jealous.

Nostalgia

I'm nostalgic for the 30s and 40s..... a romanticized version of course. Recently, I watched Kit Kitterage, an American girl movie with my mom and sister. I wasn't sure I would be interested at first, but it ended up being a really good movie. It takes place during the depression. There were many heart wrenching moments showing the struggles people had during the depression and I was moved by those, but I have to say I was most interested in the life style. Firstly, I love the clothing that was worn. Women's clothes were very femine and flowy, yet practical. Then men were tailored and classic. The young girls clothes were pretty, but could stand playing outside. There were even some very stylish clothes made from chicken feed bags! I could totaly see myself wearing alot of the clothing that was worn, and I see my wardrobe moving in that direction. Not to mention my new love of vintage jewelery!
Here are some examples:


From the movie, aren't these girls outfits adorable! I would even wear them.




This is Kit and her Mom. I love the dresses!

Aside from the clothing, there were lots of other great things from this time period that I would love to incorporate into my life in the future: having a kitchen garden, doing lots of cooking, and sewing and crafty things inexpensively, and having genuine connections with neighbors, community and family that can be drawn upon in times of need.
Now I understand that there were a lot of awful things that happened during this time period, and this Thanksgiving I intend to ask my grandmother, who lived during the depression, to tell me about what it was really like. At this time though, I think I can say that this is my favorite American time period. What's yours?

Condesending? Once

I have a big fear of being thought of as condescending. I think someone told me once that I was, and though I don't remember who it was, or when or what it was regarding, it is something that has been bothering me for quite sometime. Its something that I have been trying to consciously change, and there are times when I feel that I have been condescending that I just feel awful about. One of the ways this appears in my daily life, especially at school, is regarding knowledge. I really get excited about things I know and I want to share that knowledge with other people. I'm sure thats why I am going to be a teacher, and probably (hopefully) will make me be a good one. Here's the scenario that I really struggle with. In classes a professor will be lecturing and will either pause, waiting for someone to finish the sentence with information we're supposed to know, or asks a direct question. Sometimes the information is right there in my head and I want to fill in the blank or answer the question right away. And sometimes I do. After this happens several times in a class, I realize, guiltily that I have been answering most of the questions. So I have to make a conscious effort NOT to answer, even if I know it, and even if no one else is saying anything for a minute or so. This is a big effort for me. I know that other people in my class know the answer and its not fair for me to just jump in all the time. Wait time, its called. Its a skill that teachers have to practice when questioning students, so maybe its good that I'm having to practice it now. Other times, I want to offer constructive criticism, like on the structure of powerpoints presentations, my pet peeve thanks to a great professor at SUNY Geneseo. Today told one of the girls in my class that her power point was excellent, and had a lot of great information, but that many of the pages had too much text and it was a little overwhelming to a viewer. I worry now that I hurt her feelings, when I just meant to help. Also, I want to add my 2 cents to topics that I know about, because I want other people to know the cool things I've found out. Today, a professor was giving a presentation on something that I had just done extensive research on for a paper. I had to practically bite my lips in order not to add something. I wasn't always this way actually. I remember teachers in late middle school and early high school telling me that I couldn't get an A unless I raised my hand more in class. I had to make a big effort to do that then. I remember keeping a tally of how many times I raised my hand in French class to make sure I was participating enough. Then, I think, as I became more confident with myself, I was able to raise my hand more. Its funny now that the same thing is having the opposite effect on how I feel about myself. I guess I'll just keep trying though.
So I left school feeling pretty rotten, with all the stuff mentioned above, as well as the stress of the end of the semester work load and exhaustion from a long day. I turned on NPR as I pulled out of the parking lot, as usual. Fresh Air, which is a arts show was on. They were talking about an indie film called "Once" that had won some Grammies, but that I had never heard of. But when they played a song from the movie in the introduction, called "Falling Slowly", my attention was immediately caught! I had heard this song before, as well as several others they played later in the show. It turns out that film is directed by a former member of the Irish band, The Frames, and the main male character is a singer for the band as well. This is a band that I was introduced to during my time in Ireland, and who I really enjoy, but don't hear about much here at home. I'm really excited now about seeing this movie, and watching the clips from the movie make me want to watch it more. That picked my spirits up a bit, and I will listen to The Frames for the rest of the night whilst I try to wade my way through the last remaining projects of the semester.