Fall Premieres

The time has come, folks! Fall premiere time! I have a slew of new shows that I will be watching, unfortunately. One would think, at 26, I would have better things to do with my time. Sadly, the answer is that I do not.

Truly.

So anyway, here are my picks for fall TV (in premiere order).

Gossip Girl – I may or may not have watched this show, but the fact that the lovely Kristen Bell (formerly of Veronica Mars fame) does the voice-overs made it a must-see. The pilot was promising, but I have the feeling that, like all guilty pleasures, the novelty will fade and plotlines will stale. The same happened to me with Grey’s Anatomy and The O.C.

Heroes – If you haven’t heard of this show, crawl out from under your rock. There’s a reason everyone’s talking about it. Bring on season 2!

Chuck – I literally changed my mind about this show today, when I found out that one of the main writers from Veronica Mars, Phil Klemmer, is writing for this. It looks promising, but that was the final reason to switch over to Team Chuck.

Reaper – The commercials don’t look great, but everyone is saying this show is great. I’ll bite. They have me curious.

The Office – Season 3, whoo hoo!

Smallville – I am in the midst of the season 6 DVD, but I’ll tape the episodes (since my DVR will be very busy on Thursday!) and go back and watch season 7 once I’m caught up.

Ugly Betty – This is a great little gem of a show. I love that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. And congrats to America Ferrera for her Emmy!

My Name is Earl – The last of the Thursday conundrum, it just proves my love for Jason Lee every week.

Aliens in America – I’m not really a sitcom person, but I’ll give this one a shot.

Pushing Daisies – My number one pick of the new shows, I think it’ll be the new Heroes! Plus I love Lee Pace, Kristin Chenoweth, and Ellen Green!

Scrubs – I got me some Guy Love!


In case you haven’t noticed, the one show I will be missing terribly is Veronica Mars. Please, please, go watch it. Rent it, buy it, download it, whatever, just watch this wonderful show. Season 3 comes out October 23!

Success!

Today was the type of day that makes me love what I do.

I have one student, Rickie, who has a history of behavior problems. Pretty severe problems. He's broken people's bones, smashed TVs and computers, and wreaked all sorts of havoc. This was all years and years ago, but he still has his moments. I've had him in my classroom for over three years, and he is exiting my school this year.

One of the things I've been working on for the last three years is to deal with his frustration and difficulties in a healthier way, and I've been teaching him strategies to calm himself when he feels like he is out of control. I've been trying to get him to tell me when he is upset by using his words, and asking for a walk and a drink of water. Those are all things that really work, but we have always had to initiate them, he won't do it himself.

So this morning, he was asking to talk to me. I actually couldn't talk at that moment, so I brushed him off twice, but did finally come over to him. He looked at me so seriously and said, "Bella Mundi (he calls me by first and last name), I need to take a walk." I could tell right away that he was doing something extraordinary, so I let him go. When he got back, I took him aside and we had a chat. Turns out he was upset over something that happened on the bus, and he initiated a walk and a talk with me to calm himself down!! YES! Three years of work, and he FINALLY did it!

I felt like a million bucks, and told him how proud and happy I was. He grinned at me, his bad mood suddenly gone, and said, "Nini will be proud?"

"Yes, Nini will be so proud."

Nini is his dead grandmother. He still talks about her.

Of course I called his mother today, and left her a message about how proud I am of him and his progress.



But that wasn't the only good thing. My student Caleb has been having a very hard time participating in any group activities. He sits on the floor and won't budge. This has been going on since about April. My staff and I have been trying and trying to find ways to get him motivated. Finally, I think we hit on a series of things that are improving the participation trend.

And today, he did every single activity on the schedule! I can't even tell you the last time that happened! So his mother also got a phone call today, and she was thrilled.

We also completed a never-before done reading comprehension activity that they did very well on, tried to do some relaxation (also new), and had a very successful outing to the bowling alley. Every ball ended up in the lane, and the kids were moving faster than usual and recognizing when it was their turn.

All in all, a pretty damn good day.

Traveling

I posted last month about The List and how I added The Time Traveler's Wife to my list of movies.

Well after seeing that it was going to be made into a movie, I wanted to read it again. I read books over and over (and sometimes even over and over), but this was one I had only read once. It still made it to my list of favorite books, though.

So I reread the book in a weekend and was just as blown away as the very first time.

The story, by Audrey Niffenegger, revolves around Henry and Clare, a couple. Henry, for no explicable reason, travels through time. He could be sitting down, drinking a cup of coffee, crossing the street, working, and all the sudden disappears and wakes up in a new time, totally naked, with no idea where or when he is.

The only thing that remains constant in his crazy, mixed-up life, is his wife Clare. As he's married to her, her often time-travels into a younger Clare's backyard, and gets to know the girl he will eventually marry.

With a plot like that, you would think the story would be convoluted and confusing. It definitely gets intertwined, but is never confusing. It is clearly dated, and even tells the character's ages to help keep the facts straight. I laugh when I see headings such as, Henry is 33 and 7, because Henry also visits his younger self, acts as a mentor to the younger Henry, teaching him about how to survive in such a crazy life.

But the story, really belongs to Clare, the girl who can never follow. It's about waiting for him, worrying about him, making sense of their life together, and loving him.

The story is really well-written, with engaging characters and a plot that never grows dull. It moves between the two characters, and switches between the vantage points. It is interesting, because Niffenegger will write one scene twice - with Clare's perspective when she was a little girl, and again when Henry is older and time-travels to that moment.

I read this entire 500+ page book in one weekend. Of course, I was doing quite a bit of traveling myself then (the regular kind, fortunately) and had some free time, but it is still gripping.

Now, if only the movie will measure up. I'm withholding judgment until I learn more about it . . .

Truly a Mystery

It's such a cliche, but the lunches at my school are truly awful.

Truly.

It's gotten so that one of my students Rickie (who is very intuitive, surprisingly) recognizes that certain meals should not be served, and avoids them merely because we cringe each time they pop up on the menu. He even repeats some of our phrases, which is very amusing to me. He'll say things like, "looks like a cereal day" or my personal favorite, "nutrition no-no."

Some examples:
mozzarella sticks as a meal - not only that, but it's served for both breakfast and lunch - who does that?
"beef nuggets" - aka, leftover hamburgers punched into a new shape and re-served with dipping sauce
bacon, egg, and cheese pizza (what?!?!)
an "omelet" - microwaved egg with a slab of cheese thrown on top
bagel pizza - just cause it's on a bagel doesn't mean it's breakfast!
chicken rings - okay, chicken should not be in a ring - that is just plain unnatural
and many others that are really just too disturbing to think about prior to bed.

So the meal choices are a point of mocking with myself and my two paraprofessionals (teacher aides) and we go through the lunch menu at morning meeting to see what is being served. It is often accompanied by sarcastic remarks. Occasionally we have even decided to forgo lunch entirely and will order pizza instead of forcing our students to eat the truly horrendous things they serve at my school. And there's the very common, "I think today will be a cereal day" when presented with the breakfast menu, which is far worse then the lunch menu (see above).

But our sarcastic remarks often go above the head of my very literal autistic students, and are mostly for our own amusement. Of course, my very intuitive one, Rickie, picks up on this.

So last week, he was asking me what we were going to do in gym class. Since I don't teach gym (thankfully), I didn't know.

"I don't know, Rickie. It's a mystery."

He thought about this for a minute, and came back with, "just like lunch!"

Yes, just like it.

September Movies

So it's September 9 already, and I haven't posted my September movies. Shame on me!

So here are the movies I'm looking forward to in the month of September. The List continues!

September 21 - The Jane Austen Book Club - I'm not sure about this one, but I love me some Jane Austen! I may give it a try on Netflix.

September 28 - Across the Universe - This movie looks really amazing! I'm not gonna lie, it could go very wrong in their, there's a lot of potential for screw-up, but I still think it looks very interesting and innovative. I'm definitely going to check this one out in the theaters.

September 28 - Lust, Caution - This movie looks really cool. I love me some Ang Lee, so I'm excited for this one. Sense and Sensibility is one of my all-time favorites. I'm a little disturbed about the NC-17 rating, because I don't like blood and gore or senseless violence (unless it's part of some social commentary), but we'll see how it goes. Combine Ang Lee with Focus Features, and I really don't think it can miss.

That's about it for September, nothing too exciting. I guess it's good, my wallet will thank me this month.

Awakening

I am a musical theater junkie.

If I had my way, all my money would go to technology and theater. Who needs food? (OK, that's a lie, I love food!) I have an extensive collection of musical theater CDs, and an impressive array of playbills and stagebills. When I get the chance to go to New York City to see a show, I go. I don't care how expensive it is (it's now about $120 a pop!), I go because I love it.

Some time in the recent past, I had the opportunity to see Spring Awakening. I watched the performance at the Tony's (a sacred night, one of my favorite nights of the whole year!) and was totally blown away.

The show is unlike anything I have ever seen. It takes place in 1891 in a small town in Germany, and is about a bunch of repressed teenagers longing for some form of self-expression. It doesn't have much in the way of plot, but is more thematic in its ideas of rebellion and the torment and anguish of growing up.

So in this show, where the characters are in the 1800's, they express their feelings through inner monologues, when they whip out microphones and start singing in modern idioms and rock and roll music.

The energy and choreography is frenetic, and a lot it involved jumping up and down and leaping around. It's way better than it sounds, I promise!

So I bought the soundtrack over the weekend, and the show has been really in my head. My personal favorites are Mama Who Bore Me, The B***** of Living, The Word of Your Body, Totally F*****, and Those You've Known.

The show is poignant and beautifully directed, choreographed, and lit, with gorgeous melodies and driving rock beats. Some of the lyrics are a little hokey or downright odd, but somehow it works and the cast really sells it. It's truly one of the most unique things I've seen in a while. Definitely check it out, I'm sure it will be touring soon. The soundtrack is amazing as well.

I got a chance to meet the cast (yes, I am a stage-door stalker!) and they were so nice their fans. They are all very young, so I assume that the whole process is pretty new to them, but they all came out and signed playbills and talked to everyone. I was particularly impressed with Jonathan Groff, the show's lead Melchior. He was really nice and talked to me and made eye contact and shook everyone's hand. I'm not gonna lie, I was crushing a little bit!

Just a side note, the show is very mature and contains mature themes, swearing, and nudity. Be wary of who goes to see it.

Check out this clip from their performance at the Tony's. Then go see it if you can.





Oh yeah, I'm going to NYC again next week to see Grease! Yay for Max and Laura!

It is a kitten!

There are some things that you can't know about teaching before you begin. Especially special education.

For example, who would have ever thought that this

would be motivating?

But this picture, this scrap, this remnant, is the most motivational thing in my classroom right now.

Who knew?

This shell belongs to Mark, one of my students.

I try to describe him, but there are no words. He is 17, tiny (about 4'10), walks with a hunched back due to his Scoliosis, and has this indescribable voice. If anyone has ever read A Prayer for Owen Meany, they talk about his voice and how strange and unique it is. The author even puts everything Owen says in all caps to get the audience to understand his odd voice.

Well that is Mark. It is low and raspy, and he yells and grunts a lot. He is definitely the bright spot in the classroom, and I can usually count on him to make me laugh when I am having a hard day. Of course sometimes he is the cause of the hard day, but that's another story entirely.

But luckily, he is easily motivated. His most prized possession is a wooden nutcracker named Mrs. H.

Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.

Mrs. H used to accompany him everywhere, until his previous teacher finally wised up and banned Mrs. H from school. Turns out a large wooden nutcracker is excellent for hitting people with. Who knew?

So since Mrs. H herself couldn't come, he settled for a picture of her. This picture went everywhere with him. We laminated it, but it would inevitably fall to shreds, as Mark abuses his pictures horribly.

Trust me, you don't want to know.

We still have about 15 copies of the Mrs. H pictures laminated in a desk somewhere, because he keeps destroying them. It's nice to have a stockpile on hand.

Mrs. H worked for a long time, but then he became fascinated by another picture. I can't even remember what it was, but he stared at it and took it, and was obsessed with it, so we copied it and laminated it, and a new era was born, and his behavior improved remarkably. Since then we've gone through dozens of pictures: lawnmowers, radio station logos (honestly), book covers, microphones, pictures of staff or students, and possibly the strangest of all: the kitten picture.

The kitten picture (known in our room as The Kitten) is taken from a simple book using basic sight words that I print off the internet. I believe the sight word for that week was "it."

So the book is a boy asking what is in a present ("is it a ball?") and ends up with "it is a kitten!" When he first read this, Mark let out the loudest gasp of surprise and excitement that we all looked at him, even the students.

For the next two days, he returned to the book every chance he got and read the same page over and over again. "IT IS A KITTEN" he kept saying. So of course we laminated the picture and he carried it around.

Mark loves this kitten. If he is having a hard time, he knows he will temporarily lose possession of The Kitten. His response to this is to cry, yell, and carry on like we took away his best friend. He knows we'll give it back (we always do), but he cannot bear to be parted from this half-sheet of ripped, crumpled, and drawn on laminated page. But if ever we needed him to follow directions, we would merely say, "Mark, do I need to take The Kitten?"

"NO, DON'T TAKE THE KITTEN. NOOOOOOO!"

(He's very dramatic)

That was in July.

He came back from the three week hiatus with The Kitten still in his possession, albeit in a somewhat diminished form. He still loves it with all his heart though.

I think its time for a new Kitten.

Attend the Tale . . .

Certain items on The List are more highly anticipated than others.

Some movies receive all caps, possibly exclamation points. It's not that common. I'm picky, what can I say? (Even rarer still is caps and bolded. Currently, only the Veronica Mars season 3 DVD release gets that distinction)

Only two movies have all caps. One is Fanboys (a place for Star Wars and Veronica Mars nerds all in one movie!), and the other is Sweeney Todd.

I love musical theater, LOVE Stephen Sondheim (the composer), and love Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. So really, it basically can't lose.

Well, I don't know about that, (depends on the singing), but I am very curious to see the very first trailer. I did come across some really cool pictures though.

There was also an article stating that the studio is concerned about the amount of blood and gore. Umm . . . does anyone there know the plot? It's about a crazy man who slits peoples' throats to bake them into meat pies. What were they expecting?

Anyway, I'm still pretty psyched about the movie. I just hope they can pull off the singing, it's a very operatic score.

Check out the article and the pictures yourself! I can't wait to see the trailer, I'm hoping it'll make it's debut soon.

Welcome Back, Apple

I have two wonderful teaching assistants (or paraprofessionals, if you will) in my classroom. We make each other laugh, even when times are crazy and we all want to cry. We have a very popular expression, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Now, this is a very common saying. But it takes on a whole new meaning when you teach special ed.

So today was the students' first day back at school. I got there crazy early (like I always do, because that's what I am, crazy) with treats for my staff. I put my phone on vibrate, like I always do. At 7:50 my cell phone started to go off. I smiled, thinking that here it was was on the first day and one of my paraprofessionals was already calling in saying they were going to be late.

But no, my phone flashed a very different number. Umm . . . "hello?"
.
.
.
Yes, indeed, it was the mother of one of my students calling me.

Now, I have a very good relationship with all of my parents. I talk to them frequently, write notes about their day every day (yup, each one gets a note every day), call about both good and bad things, and talk to them probably more than most teachers do. When you have 6 students, it's not hard to develop a relationship with parents. Plus my sparking personality wins them over every time, and we get along great.

Nevertheless I was still surprised to see the mother of Cassie calling me. She's never called my cell phone during school(ish) hours. (one might be wondering why she has the number at all . . . that's another story!). Most school business is done on the school phone line. So she started with asking about my vacation, all those pleasantries. I was a little bewildered, but we made some chit chat, and then she told me why she called.

Cassie broke her arm.

Friday.

Still doesn't have a cast on it.

Really? No cast yet? So Cassie would not be in school, they don't know how it happened, and she was going to get a cast on that day.

But wait, it doesn't end there. Oh no! So I naturally called the house (from the school phone, where such conversations should take place!) after school and couldn't reach anyone.

And then at 7:45 pm, while I was eating dinner, my phone rang again. It was Cassie's mom. Again. Somehow, it was decided she would go to the doctors at 12 noon, without an appointment to get a cast on her arm that she broke 2 days ago (she has a splint on now, which she apparently removes). Naturally, the doctor could not fit her in, but she now has an appointment for 2:00 tomorrow.

When Cassie got on the phone to say hello, her voice had reached a pitch that was wholly inaudible to anyone except dogs (never a good sign).

So Cassie will be in school, with a broken arm in a splint that she takes off.

Fantastic.

Welcome back to school!

Techno Junkie

I have a confession to make . . .

I am a techno-junkie.

Not a crazy one (I can't afford it!), but definitely up there. I see some new-fangled technological device and I instantly want one. It doesn't even have to be new fangled. Once the idea gets in my head, I think about it constantly until I buy it. And then I love it forever.

Some of my technological devices that I own are iPods (yes, 2! a Shuffle for the gym, and 20 gig for everything else), Nintendo DS, portable DVD player, DVD-R player, flat screen tv, wifi, DVR (like generic TiVo), laptop, mini digital camera, cell phone (but who doesn't these days?), and I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now.

Today, I am the proud owner of my latest example of techo-whoredom: a GPS.

But not just any GPS: it's the Garmin Nuvi 360. Oh yeah, baby! It comes with all these cool features that I will never, ever use! It has restaurant reviews and foreign language translator. Maybe I'll use that feature when I bring it to Finland in a couple of years (2009 baby!) and navigate through the streets of Helsinki with my fancy Europe package.

Yeah, it works in Europe too.

I can also talk on the phone through it.

Now, I know some people will scoff at me for calling myself a techno-junkie because they've had all these devices for years, and better models too. But for what I make, I do buy an awful lot of stuff.

And it's not just that. It's the unreasonable amount of excitement I feel when I get these devices. And it doesn't fade! I still marvel at the cool click wheel of my (very outdated) iPod and feel cool walking around the streets of (insert name of city here) with my white headphones. I laugh at everyone rifling through dumb airplane magazines and craning their necks for a look at what's on my cool DVD player, or what level of Mario Cart I got to on my Nintendo. I love being able to go out whenever I want, and watch all my favorite shows commercial-free! (Seriously, DVR is the best invention ever!)

So yeah, technology rocks. Alright, gotta go play with my GPS!