Play Some Games

The holidays already bring a fresh supply of board games to our house, and I love to promote playing games. In fact, the country would be in much better shape if Americans regularly played games as a family, rather than scheduling the occasional "game night" when they turn off the computers, iPads, TVs, and electronic gaming systems. Some of our old stand-bys that we've been able to play since the kids were in pre-school are:

Uno

Cadoo

Mastermind

Apples to Apples

Sorry

Monopoly (with various incarnations and age levels)

Yahtzee

Boggle

Additionally, we have become big fans of games like:

Blokus

Spot-It

Trigger

Yamslam

Who Knew

And we recently added an old favorite with the return of Rummicube.

So get your game on in 2012.

Don't Know Much About ...

It never seems to amaze Americans that apparently none of them knows much about anything, and they are outraged as they point fingers ... or they just laughingly dismiss it because they don't really care. Whenever new polls reveal how little students are learning or how many college students need remediation or how few Americans are really informed on the pertinent issues in an election, there is brief coverage and even cries of doom and gloom. And then Americans go back to their daily lives because they know as much as they need to know to live the lives they are reasonably satisfied living.

However, we are a curious people. And we sometimes want to know what it is we need to know. And this phenomenon has been quite lucrative to some innovative writers and thinkers over the years. Most notable is a man named Kenneth C. Davis, who twenty years ago published a book called Don't Know Much about History which spent thirty-five weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list. Davis - a man who never graduated college - had a knack for distilling the complex details of the nation's history down into digestible tidbits written in a clever voice that gave people the basic knowledge they might want to know about the Boston Tea Party or the New Deal or Brown vs the Board of Education.

Of course, some will criticize Davis as being a hack who dummies down true liberal arts knowledge. And, in many ways, he may be the pioneer of the "For Dummies" books. Years ago, I got into a small spat with a fellow teacher after my freshman students were complaining about the notoriously heavy and convoluted American history text they had to lug around. I grabbed Davis' book off the shelf and recommended the school switch its required text because Davis' book had "all they were going to remember anyway." Probably an imprudent choice of words.

Anyway, these days, Davis has built himself a nice cottage industry of "Don't Know Much About ..." books. And I wonder how history should judge his contribution.

Disney's Prom a Pleasant Surprise

It's not often that I have kind words for the company of Disney, but with the release of this summer's teen film Prom, the company that generally rubs me the wrong way has put out a surprisingly enjoyable and sweet teen film about the most mythical night of high school - Prom.

Prom, a Disney original from a screenplay by Katie Wech, examines the final big night of high school in all its promise of drama and magic. Nova (interesting name) the senior class president of Brookside High has planned the perfect prom to finish off the perfect senior year. All is going well with the decorations and the theme, and the night will be perfect if only fellow student and committee member Brandon asks her to the dance they've been planning.

The movie is fleshed out in standard ensemble cast with various couples and their prom story lines filling out the opening scenes of the movie. A clever play - with music - of the tradition of asking a person to prom sets up the first act with all going according to plan. Standard stock characters like the perfect king/queen couple, the couple who've been "together forever," the lovable loser without a date, the underclassmen desperate to be a part of the magic, and, of course, the teen rebel with an air of mystery who is too cool for prom fill out the cast.

Certainly, the perfectly planned night will be anything but, and it only makes sense that the heroine Nova will be inadvertently thrown together with the anti-prom loner. Many obstacles will challenge Nova to carry out her mission of providing the perfect night for her classmates, even as she tries to ignore the personal conflict she has over who she's going to spend the evening with. Director Joe Nussbaum cleverly strings his scenes together building the drama over prom night in an engaging way. Additionally, there are enough nods to 1980s teen cinema that it's clear Nussbaum was paying homage to the Golden Age of teen film.

I was particularly pleased by how pleasant - and not over the top - this teen film was. It was engaging and funny and insightful, and also really sweet. Wech and Nussbaum manage to capture all the significant drama of the genre and the night without resorting to anything sordid or gratuitous. In fact, it was refreshing to be engaged in a teen film for 90 minutes with no scenes of teen drinking and literally no mention of teen sex. The drama was real and honest - but it very effectively focused on the simple emotions of adolescence, rather than the standard mediums of sex and alcohol. This film simply didn't need to go there.

Overall, Prom is an enjoyable film, and definitely worth the rental if you enjoy the genre. It's certainly not the best teen film in recent years - that honor goes to Easy A. However, it's a nice take on a traditional genre, and it gives me a little hope for the ability of Disney to provide quality and wholesome entertainment.

The Sandwich King Has Moved?

Looking for information on the Food Network's Jeff Mauro and his show The Sandwich King? Check out my first entry after he won the Next Food Network Star.

Disappointed by the Food Network, or maybe myself, this morning.

Having enjoyed The Sandwich King Jeff Mauro's first two shows, I sat down at 10:30 Mountain time to check out Jeff's third show. It was probably a great one - Cod Sliders with fennel slaw and sweet potato fries - and I will certainly check for the recipes. Alas, I tuned in to a repeat episode of Chopped because Jeff's time slot was apparently 9:30 Mountain, not 10:30. While I am certainly OK with the time, as I am more likely to be home, I am disappointed to have missed the show. So, for sandwich afficianodos - and fans of the Sandwich King - Jeff's show is now on Sunday mornings at 11:30 Eastern, 10:30 Central, and 9:30 Mountain.

Check it out for more great ideas on how to "turn any meal into a sandwich and make any sandwich a great meal."

UPDATE: At this point, it appears Jeff's show has gone into a bit of a hiatus. Not much news on the website. So, we'll have to assume he is simply on a break and not cancelled.

Back to School Movies

As school gears up and all the drama gets going, it's worth taking some time and checking out the best movies about high school. I recently received one list of the top back-to-school movies of all time. While the list isn't bad, I certainly would challenge the number one ranking of Rodney Dangerfield's Back To School, especially because it comes in ahead of The Breakfast Club. Alas, we all have our opinions, and there are many worthwhile teen flicks on the list.

It's, of course, no surprise that the bulk of the movies were released during the 1980s - the Golden Era of teen cinema. However, there have been some great teen movies lately, namely Easy A. And, in a great nod to the 1980s and teen cinema, I recently watched Topher Grace in the film Take Me Home Tonight, which isn't quite a teen film, but a pretty good movie that captures a lot of the 1980s and the teen angst that sometimes extends past adolescence and into the first few years out of college.

Sandwich King Spreads the Love

The Food Network's Newest Star Jeff Mauro "The Sandwich King" premiered his new show this morning at 11:30, and he left no doubts about the judges decision last week to award Jeff with his own show. Presenting an engaging personality and quality recipes, Jeff effectively introduced his show by revealing the secrets of the perfect Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich. Flipping back and forth between his time in the studio kitchen and a feature trip to the Italian beef restaurant of his youth, Jeff's show was a lot of fun. Shooting on location from Johnny's Italian Beef in Elmwood Park, Illinois, Jeff introduced the idea of the sandwich with stories of visiting the shop after a day at his Chicago Catholic school. He explained the way the sandwich is prepared, as well as the atmosphere of the scene, with most people eating the sandwich standing up. I could practically smell the "juice" as Jeff took a trip to Italian beef nostalgia.

In the kitchen Jeff walked through the steps of recreating this Chicago staple at home by starting with a pot roast, and then cooking up a nice pepper and onion relish to put on top. As most people don't have a meat slicer at home, Jeff recommended the roast which could simply be pulled apart for the sandwich. While the roast was cooking Jeff also presented a unique creation he calls a Focaccianini = a panini sandwich using a nice mortadella, cheese, and homemade fig spread. Because he doesn't have a panini press in the kitchen (who does?), Jeff pressed the sandwich on a griddle with a bacon press. Great tip and amusing idea. I loved Jeff's description of the mortadella - "the rich man's baloney" - and his comment that every house should have a pound of it on hand. When the beef sandwich was ready, Jeff walked us through creating the au jus, or as Chicagoans call it, "the juice." The sandwich looked - and practically smelled - heavenly.

The Food Network has come a long, long way from the early days of single camera cooking lessons with simply a chef, a studio kitchen, and a recipe. In fact, there's ample evidence to the argument that the Food Network is producing some of the best television on the air today. Jeff's show neatly juxtaposed his work in the kitchen with a little slice of life with the visit to Johnny's. Additionally, the multi-camera editing and split screens created an entertaining montage of shots of Jeff cutting up and preparing the onions and peppers. It was a refreshing change from the often laborious shots of cook's cutting veggies and trying to fill the time with banter - not that stand-up specialist Jeff is ever at a loss for words. But, overall, the producers made some nice editing decisions in giving America its first "taste" of The Sandwich King.

Nice show, Jeff.

Sit-com Community is a Great Find

Last spring two freshman boys in my Honors English 9 class recommended that I watch the new sitcom Community which recently finished its second season. As I don't generally watch much prime-time television - and I find most sitcoms these days mind-numbingly bland - I was unfamiliar with the show. However, the boys insisted that I would like it. Their argument centered around how much each episode derives from allusions to contemporary pop culture - especially from the 1980s. Because I was impressed with my students understanding of allusion - and awareness of it in this show - I recently rented the first season. And, I was not disappointed.

Community represents all that can be great about television and specifically about the sitcom. The premise of the show is a study group from an introductory Spanish class at a community college which seems to be somewhere in California. The group consists of six community college students - but the initial focus was on lead character Jeff Winger - who is a disbarred lawyer returning to college for a degree after his initial bachelor's was discovered to be falsified. Jeff - incredibly smart, witty, and superficially jaded but with a heart of gold - forms the study group in order to get in the pants of tough girl Britta Perry. The rest of the group coalesces out of random associations - and the dysfunction is hilarious. Without getting into story lines, suffice it to say, each episode brings a new challenge for the group that starts small but eventually envelops all characters and their unique situations.

It's been a while since I've seen a show this intelligent and wacky at the same time - reminds me of early Scrubs or early Spin City. And the allusions which were mentioned by my students are the key to the brilliance. This satire of contemporary American pop culture, viewed through the lens of the the industry that has grown out of higher education, is insightful social commentary - and it's probably one of the best shows on TV right now.

Check it out.

Artistic License and the Disappointing Harry Potter Conclusion

*SPOILER ALERT*

Movies are rarely - or so rarely to mean never - better than the books. The only two major films that I recall being better than the book from which they are derived are Dances With Wolves and The Godfather. Thus, I had no great hope for a truly masterful final movie in the Harry Potter saga - one which honored and satisfactorily concluded the story. None of the previous films impressed me much - and some, like Goblet of Fire with a strangely aggressive and menacing Dumbledore, really disappointed me. Yet, I went to see the final installment of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - and I felt somewhat flat afterward.

I just don't understand the artistic license that the screenwriter and directors of the Harry Potter films have taken with the story. Why do they change scenes for seemingly inexplicable reasons? Why do they think they can tell a better story? Why does Rowling agree to such changes. Why? Of course, I understand some of the justifications. Some scenes simply don't translate well onto the screen - some scenes are too expensive or not visual enough. Sometimes directors want just a little more action - and sometimes they just want to make the product their own (even though it isn't).

But what was up with that final battle? How disappointing. Why were Voldemort and Snape in the boathouse (?) instead of the Shrieking Shack? Why wasn't Nagini balled up and protected in the giant orb? What was up with Snape crying his memories into tears? These sort of minor changes just make no sense - and some come across as actually quite stupid.

Why was final battle during the day? And why were Harry and Voldemort fighting outside - and all around - Hogwarts? And what the heck was that flying dive off the tower? What did Harry say - something about "ending as it began?" Whatever. And when Harry and Voldemort both hit the ground, how does it make sense that they crawl and struggle for their wands. Accacio wand, anyone? Voldemort crawls for his wand? Really? What the ...? Ultimately, that final battle between Harry and Voldemort was epic in the book - and as bland as any Tom-Cruise-movie-fight in the film. Boring. Boring. Borrr .....

The final conversation between Harry and Dumbldore was so pivotal and emotional in the book - and it left me quite flat in the movie. Thus, I walked away from the saga feeling a bit let down. And, of course, I haven't watched most of the movies for all the same reason. Yet, I did have hope - and it wasn't terrible. Just not all that great.

I am, of course, a traditionalist and a purist, meaning I don't really like change that much. Especially change for change's sake. I guess it's the conservative in me.

Atlas Shrugged ... So do I

The rise of interest in Ayn Rand's monstrous and fantastical ode to the wealthy elite - Atlas Shrugged - has baffled me for a while. It seems that many don't actually read it - but rather check the Wikipedia entry - and if they do read it, they don't read it with any sense of reality. For the one thing everyone - including Rand - seems to miss is that no true capitalist would ever pursue the principled stand of John Galt. In fact, if Galt is as principled as he seems, he never would have become successful in the first place. The reality is that innovators and business leaders like Galt are driven by, for lack of a better word, greed. And they aren't going to walk away from making more just to prove a point to the government and all those needy, lazy workers who are sucking them dry.

It's just such a preposterous thesis - and a truly disconnected viewpoint from someone who claimed to preach the gospel of unfettered capitalism. The creative and economic elite wouldn't shut everything down - they'd do what they've always done - buy politicians. No one is going to stand on principle and stop making money, though they may grandstand about it. But if I know anything about business leaders it is this - they would pretend to join the crowd, all the time planning to back out and take over in the vacuum that would result from all the business leaders walking away. And, of course, many of the innovators are people like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who are calmly creating away in their garages and dorm rooms, and not worrying that someday the government will take away all their riches, so they just won't create in the first place. That'll show 'em!

What a bunch of hogwash.

Taylor Swift Gone Wild

Just out of curiosity - because my kids are such fans - I checked out the price and availability of concert tickets for Taylor Swift's show on September 27 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. I was initially surprised to see tickets were still available. And then I was shocked to see the cheapest - and worst - seat available .... at the back of the venue ... in the nosebleed seats .... on the venue's website .... not from scalpers ... were ... $125 each. Gasp!

That is, in my opinion, completely beyond the pale.

Taylor Swift is a phenomenally talented musician and a seemingly very genuine young woman. I am impressed with her songs and her public demeanor, and I don't question my children listening to her music. "But, Girl, you concert prices are out of control." Taylor is forgetting where she came from. And she is forgetting who her fans are. And she is neglecting to take an active interest in the business side of her career to ensure that regular folks have a reasonable shot at sharing in her live performance of the songs they made popular enough for her to charge whatever she wants.

Professional sports is no different. A lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, I was supremely disappointed in the stalemate between Albert Pujols and the team over his next - and final contract. Reports claim he expects to be the highest paid player in the league and that equates to a 10-year, $300 million contract. That is a bit ridiculous - especially because he will be in his forties at the end of the contract. This is as a member of the same team as Stan "The Man" Musial - a player who once signed his contract without looking at it, and when the press asked him if he wanted to review it first, he said, "I'm getting paid to play ball. I'm sure it's fine."

Let's hope the air someday goes out of the entertainment bubble, and prices return to a reasonable rate. But I'm not holding my breath.

Muppet Family Fun

My children - ages five and eight - have seen, at most, four or five movies in their lives. Watching movies has simply never been a part of our parenting - as we've always felt the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations on limiting TV/movie viewing makes a lot of sense. Thus, our kids were never parked in front of The Lion King or Finding Nemo when they were younger. The first movie they saw about two years ago was Mary Poppins. After that we added Charlotte's Web, and recently saw Angels in the Outfield and then, one of my favorites, Little Giants. My wife and I have always watched these movies with them, and sometimes we space the viewing out over two nights.

It was a big deal recently when we took our eight-year-old son to the theater for the first time to watch Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. He has read all the books - twice - and we had seen some scenes from the earlier movies when they were on regular television. Overall, though, movies aren't a significant part of our days. Thus, when we decided to have another movie night this last weekend, we searched for a while before finding a great, and classic, piece of family entertainment. Jim Henson's The Muppet Movie was a truly wonderful movie which is entirely appropriate for young audiences. It was a nice trip down Memory Lane for me and my wife, and it was refreshing to rediscover a movie that doesn't hide innuendo and adult themes in a child's movie just to entertain the adults. The story is simple, sweet, and quite inspiring, and it's quite a treat with all the cameos from famous actors and comedians.

It's definitely worth tuning in just to hear that pleasant and familiar sound of Kermit, plucking away at the banjo and singing:

Why are there so many songs about rainbows, And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it, I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it,
And look what it's done so far. What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing
And what do we think we might see? Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

... Have you been half asleep? And have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name.
... Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?The voice might be one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it, It's something that I'm s'posed to be...
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, The lovers, the dreamers, and me.

Jim Henson was a brilliant man, and The Muppet Movie is truly wholesome family entertainment. It's not a cliche to say "They don't make them like this anymore."

Going the Distance

Lately, I've been impressed by the quality of films put out in the Romantic-Comedy genre - as is evidence from recent posts. So, here's another. Drew Barrymore and Justin Long starred in a great film Going the Distance from director Nanette Burstein - documentary film director of American Teen, another recent posting. The long distance relationship story is a familiar, even cliched, one. But Barrymore, Long, and Burstein team for a refreshing look, driven by some great dialogue, surprising scenes, and some real honesty.

Overall, a well-written and occasionally surprising look at love. Take time to watch Going the Distance.

American Teen

Documentary film maker Nanatte Burstein has, in some ways, brought The Breakfast Club to life in her film American Teen. The film, which won the directors award at Sundance a couple years ago, follows five teens from a small Indiana town through their senior year. Burstein visited numerous high schools and interviewed thousands of teens in scouting out her decision for an average American high school on which to focus. She hits the standard archetypes of athlete, prom queen/honors student, misfit, and band geek - and she pretty much lets them tell their story.

Overall, this is a watch-able and reasonably thoughtful film about being a teenager in the twenty-first century. While it is obviously a bit contrived, my experience is that it offered a pretty accurate reflection of what is going on in the average suburban high school in this country. I was acutely aware of the naive lens through which so many teens perceive life and their future. For example, students believe everything will be fine if they can "just get into Notre Dame" or "just get a basketball scholarship" or "just get out of this town and move to California." And, it's poignant at times to see them struggle with the realities of their expectations.

Love, Actually, Is All Around

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around.

Each Christmas Eve, after we've put the kids to bed and finished wrapping presents, my wife and I sit down to watch the movie Love Actually. This monologue is from a voice over by Hugh Grant at the start of the film. It's a really great film to watch at the end of the year and get some perspective on the world.

Merry Christmas.

Charlie Brown Christmas

Tonight ABC will air the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas at 7 pm, and it is definitely worth an hour of time, regardless of your age or denomination. The cartoon has enjoyed popularity for nearly fifty years, and it has lived on despite the simplicity of the presentation and story. In an era of Disney/Pixar cartoon extravaganzas, the pure and profound creations of Charles M. Schultz stand out as simply classic. To put it all in perspective - and offer a bit of interesting history - Michael Cavna of the Washington Post recently published an insightful feature on the enduring quality of this holiday treat. It's worth reading before you watch the show.

BandAid for Christmas

It's Christmas-time. There's no need to be afraid.

At Christmas-time, we let in light, and we banish shade.

And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy.

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas-time.





I remember first hearing this in my homeroom class freshman year in 1984 ... and it still gives me chills every time. It was a time when I began to be filled with an infinite sense of hope - hope that we could, a small group of people could, change the world. From BandAid to the 9/11 benefit concerts to the relief efforts for the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, I still believe.

This Christmas, believe.

Throw your arms around the world this Christmas-time

Love Happens

While I don't have any recollection of it being in theaters, I recently rented the movie Love Happens, starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. The description on the RedBox from where I rented it described the movie as basic Romantic-Comedy, and I thought it was worth at least a buck and a half hour of my time. Yet, as the film developed, I realized this is more than the average Rom-Com - it's a truly meaningful movie that grows on you as it reels you in.

This apparent Romantic-Comedy that seemed to get little press turns out to be so much more, and it surprised me in a way movies don't often do anymore. If you're looking for an entertaining couple of hours, I highly recommend giving this flick a try.

Formosa Betrayed

Formosa Betrayed is an excellent political thriller about a country and an aspect of US foreign policy that Americans know far too little of. When I went to Taiwan to teach English in 1992, I knew almost nothing of the complicated politics surrounding this island nation of 23 million people - people who have never truly been free of control by greater political forces from the Dutch to the Japanese to the Chinese governments. Yet, amidst the turmoil, a thriving free market capitalist democratic republic has been carved out by the Taiwanese people under constant shadow of invasion by the communist government in the People's Republic of China. I really fell in love with this country and its people, and I hope someday Taiwan will be recognized by more than just 23 countries.

I highly recommend this film, and I applaud the performance of James Van der Beek. Who know "Dawson" had such range. I hope to see him in more films. Congratulations to Taiwanese-American producer Will Tiao for an excellent film and a story that deserved to be told.

Stranger Than Fiction - Reach Out

It's a Friday, and I'm feeling like I need an interesting pop culture moment. So, here is a fascinating mix of movie clips from Will Ferrell's movie Stranger Than Fiction mixed with the song Reach Out. If you haven't seen the movie, you are really missing out. This will give you a great taste of what is truly a pop culture, existential masterpiece in modern film. If you have seen the movie, you surely loved it, and this clip will make you want to watch it again. Enjoy.





I wish I were that effective at mixing music and film. Have a great Friday.

The Magic of Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift rocks. That girl can flat out sing, and she's one of the few pop stars I don't mind my five-year-old singing along to. With the release of her new album the magic is back, and her new single "Mine" reveals the secret to her success. Like all great country singers, Taylor is a great "storyteller." It's the narrative component of Taylor that, as an English teacher, I can really appreciate.

However, as an English teacher, I do have a few criticisms. In the song "Fifteen," does she really have to sing "say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while." Really? Try singing the song with the phrase you haven't - it doesn't mess with the cadence at all .... and it's grammatically correct. Is the use of the word "ain't" so important for realism? At my school it isn't. And of course, in the same song she sings "If someone tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them." It should be "he loves you ... believe him." And the idea of making the song appeal to both genders isn't relevant.

Regardless of these weak points, though, Taylor still rocks. Here's the latest:

Enjoy a great story - a love story.