"If I was a flower growing wild and free, all I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee. And if I was a tree growing tall and green, all I'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves." ~barry louis polisar

That song opens Juno, my favorite movie of the year (I've seen it in theaters three times already and it gets better each time). I love the music. Kimya Dawson does most of it.

So I made my list of the best movies of 2007 and the best albums of 2007, but I haven't posted a list of the best theatre shows of 2007. So here it is! Because 2007 was my first year as a Manhattan resident, and because my best friend works in the theatre industry and got lots of comp tickets, I was able to see more shows than ever before. Which was awesome. This list is made up of Broadway and Off-Broadway plays and musicals. 2007 was a crazy insane amazing year for new plays. I'm usually more of a musical person, but this year I was able to appreciate straight plays more than I ever have before. In fact, only one single musical made my list of the top 10. The plays were that good. Here's my list:

Best Theatre Shows of 2007:

1. August: Osage County
This is the front-runner for the Pulitzer Prize this year, as well as the Tony for best play. It is absolutely brilliant. If you are anywhere near New York, go see it now. It is a 3.5-hour marathon play that will knock your socks off. I cannot say enough positive things about it.
2. Rock 'N' Roll
A sweeping, epic, dense, intelligent play about the power of music.
3. Mauritius
Alison Pill and Bobby Canaavale give solid performances in this tense, exciting thriller about stamp collecting.
4. The Seafarer
Great writing (but of course you'd expect that from Conor McPherson), great ensemble acting, great production in general.
5. Pygmalion
I heart Claire Danes.
6. Speech and Debate
I'm so glad this Off-Broadway play is doing so well. It sold out its run and then extended, and it totally deserves all the success it's getting. A touching and hilarious look at three high school outcasts finding themselves through their unlikely friendship.
7. Is He Dead?
Norbert Leo Butz made Mark Twain's witty farce come alive.
8. 110 in the Shade
The only musical on my list! I am so thrilled that I was able to see Audra McDonald, a Broadway legend in the making, live on stage.
9. Cyrano De Bergerac
Kevin Kline was fabulous as Cyrano, and Jennifer Garner also shone in this production.
10. The Homecoming
I'm still trying to figure out Pinter's absurdist play. Ian McShane and Eve Best got it onto this list, though, because I loved them in it.

Happy New Year!

"Words are falling from your lips like Christmas, to my hips, so dangerous, the strangest feeling of being." ~leona naess

I discovered Leona Naess a long time ago through Counting Crows. Adam Duritz often raves about her. She sings background vocals on "Black and Blue." She has a beautiful voice. I really like her solo music.

Some Christmas photos:

My adventure into the Gulf of Mexico:







The fam:


Josie, in her Christmas antlers and with her new toy, Sandy (who also has antlers):


Josie and Sandy napping:

"It's almost everything I need." ~counting crows

There is a conversation I had with one of my college roommates, who is admittedly clueless about popular music (although she is a music expert in general), that I think of every time I listen to a few certain songs. One of those songs is a particular version of Counting Crows' "Sullivan Street." My roommate said that she doesn't like songs with electric guitars. Which I cannot fathom. Because the electric guitar that opens this version of "Sullivan Street" kills me. It makes me want to cry every time I hear it; it is so beautiful. Sometimes when I listen to it I'll keep playing the intro over and over before I listen to the whole song. The electric guitar creeps in and out of the song, but it's most prominent at the beginning (in the first minute and a half). I absolutely love it. Anyway, I'm continuing with my experimenting. Hopefully you'll be able to hear the song ("Sullivan Street"). And not some random song that started playing the first time I tested this post.

ETA: Crap. It's not working. I'll try to play around with it later.

I'm home from Texas. We were on Padre Island, just off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. I went swimming in the ocean twice. The water was pretty cold, and I was the only one brave enough to go in. I'm a swimmer, so I can't pass up an opportunity to be in the water. We had a good trip. It was nice to see my grandparents. I feel bad for them; they must get lonely. They don't really have much to do, and my grandpa can't move around much because he has a bad foot. They seemed to really appreciate having us there. Pictures to follow. Pretty soon my mom and I are heading out to see Juno. This will be the third time I see it in theaters. It just gets better every time.

"These lines of lightning mean we're never alone, never alone." ~counting crows

This will be my last post before December 27th. Tomorrow morning we're leaving for the coast of Texas, where my grandparents from Iowa are living for the winter (they don't have a computer, so I can't post from there). It should be warmer there than it is here, which will be nice. Today the four of us (my parents, my brother, and I) are celebrating Christmas on our own. This morning we did stockings (mine was full of lots of yummy chocolate, Sea Wolf's amazing CD Leaves in the River, and a Jamba Juice gift card) and tonight we're having a nice dinner and opening presents. Celebrating two Christmases isn't bad.

Last night I met my parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and cousins for dinner in the city; it was a lot of fun. I love my cousins. I came home to NJ with my parents last night. This morning I took my mom to see Sweeney Todd (finally). I loved it. Johnny Depp was fabulous. Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman were also very good. Tim Burton definitely deserved the Director of the Year award he got from the National Board of Review. It was a faithful adaptation of the stage show. I did miss the songs "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" ("Attend the Tale") and "Kiss Me," but I realize that a lot more of the music could have been cut. It was very bloody and gory, but I agree with Tim Burton that the blood and violence are necessary. I love the juxtaposition of the heartbreakingly beautiful music and the throat slashing, especially prominent during my favorite song, "Johanna." The movie wasn't as good as John Doyle's Broadway revival, but nothing can touch that production to me. Tim Burton did a pretty darn good job.

"You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan, and the next five years trying to be with your friends again." ~lcd soundsystem

There was an article on page 2 of the New York Post today that mentioned my school and principal.

I cannot express how ready I am for Christmas break to begin. Two more days. I really hope I can make it without throwing a kid out the window. Don't worry, I'm kidding. Sort of.
In the past two days I've had two interesting conversations with them that further demonstrate why my job is so difficult. We just have such different ideologies. Yesterday I had the following conversation with one particularly difficult student, who thinks she can talk (loudly) all the time, even when I'm talking (that's only one of the problems I have with her):
Student: It's a free country.
Me: That doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.
S: Yes it does!
M: No, it doesn't.
S: Well then what does it mean?
M: It means that people have certain rights. And that all people have the same rights.
S (talking over me): No, it means you can't tell me what to do.
M: There are laws that control how people can act, and a school is allowed to have its own rules.
S: No, sorry, it's a free country. You can't tell me what to do.
I didn't want to waste more time on that debate because she wasn't even listening to me, so I moved on and kept trying to teach my lesson (not very successfully).

Here's a conversation I had after school today with one of the boys whom I was keeping for detention. I was trying to explain why it's not okay to hurt someone or destroy their property, even if they do something wrong towards you:
Student: Ms. B., you don't understand. You were raised differently. Where were you raised? Were you raised in Orange County? (He was totally serious when he asked that, btw.)
Me: I was raised in N.J. But that's not what this is about.
S: No, you don't get it. You weren't raised like us. It's different here.
M: In the classroom, that kind of behavior is not allowed, no matter what. If you have a problem with someone, you come tell me and I'll deal with it. You'll just get yourself into trouble if you try to fight back.
S: But that's just the way we do things. You can't change that.
M: Well, I'm in charge of this classroom, so I make the rules here.
S: If someone slapped you, wouldn't you be upset?
M: Yes, but I wouldn't slap them back. That would just make the fight continue.
The conversation kept going, with neither side making any progress. And this student is very perceptive, because he's right. We were raised differently. They've grown up thinking that you have to be tough and defend yourself. And that way of thinking is not something I can change, because it's ingrained in them. It's part of who they are.

I really needed to unwind when I got home today, so I watched one of my favorite movies, Junebug. Amy Adams is the main reason it's such a good movie. She's absolutely charming and hilarious and just altogether awesome. I really wanted her to win the Oscar that year (she got beat by Rachel Weisz, whom I'll admit was very good in The Constant Gardener). I'm glad Ms. Adams is now becoming more well-known thanks to her performance in Enchanted. Ben McKenzie is also great in Junebug. The character he plays is pretty different from the role he's best known for (Ryan on The O.C.), and he demonstrates his versatility as an actor. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Junebug:

"God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way."

"Where would I be if I was a screwdriver?" (opens fridge)

"I was born in Japan."
"You were not!"

"I even bite my toenails."
"You do not!"

"It's better than Christmas!"

"I don't want your water breaking, I just had that upholstery cleaned."

"You wouldn't put a baby girl in a brown cradle. You just, you just wouldn't."

"Well, she's got...lovely hands. I'll give her that."

I'll leave you with a song I can't stop listening to right now, quoted at the beginning of this post. Except the version I'm posting is Franz Ferdinand's cover.

"Hold ourselves together with our arms around the stereo for hours, la la la la la la la. While it sings to itself or whatever it does, when it sings to itself of its long lost loves, I’m getting tied, I’m forgetting why." ~the national

I listed my top movies of 2007, so now it's time to list my top albums of 2007. This is a completely subjective list. And it was nearly impossible to narrow the field down to five. But I did my best.
For my list of the best films I couldn't place them in order. For some reason, that's easier for me to do with this list. I can easily say that Boxer is the best album of the year. No contest in my opinion. Here's my list:

The Best Albums of 2007
1. The National - Boxer
2. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
4. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
5. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank

The only band on that list I haven't seen live is The Shins, and hopefully I'll get to see them sometime soon.

I'll leave you with Boxer, which I believe is by far the best album of the year. Have a listen. Or a few listens. One thing I love about this album is that it gets better every time I hear it. There were a few songs that I wasn't crazy about the first time around ("Squalor Victoria" jumps to mind) but that I absolutely love now. That's the best kind of music, the kind whose brilliance slowly sinks in. "Apartment Story" is my favorite track, and I didn't think it was anything special at first, but now it blows me away (it provides this post's opening quote).

"Closing time, time for you to go out, go out into the world." ~semisonic

Because 2007 is drawing to a close, I feel it is time to assess the year in films. I have put together my list of the best films of the year. Obviously I can only include movies that I've seen, so I'm probably missing some worthy contenders that may cause me to change my list soon (Sweeney Todd, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, There Will be Blood, etc.). My top five are listed in alphabetical order, as are my five honorable mentions (it's too difficult to actually rank them).

Best Films of 2007:
Atonement
Juno
No Country for Old Men
Once
The Savages

Honorable Mention:
Charlie Wilson's War
Enchanted
Frost/Nixon
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton

Actually, I'm not sure if Frost/Nixon counts. It's not even up on rotten tomatoes yet and it doesn't open until next year. But I saw it this year, so I'm including it.
I've written about most of those films in this blog, but maybe I'll put together a compilation of mini-reviews. If I have time. Or feel like procrastinating.

Today was a busy (but good) day. This morning I went to see Atonement, which I loved. I thought it was a very good adaptation of the novel. I loved all the period details in the film. And even though I knew the outcome, I cried harder than I've cried during a movie since Million Dollar Baby.
This afternoon, Nic and I went to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She got comps. I haven't been since I was eight years old, and it was a fun experience. I wish I had the legs of a Rockette.
Tonight Christin and I went to a Christmas concert at a church; one of her friends was singing in the choir. The music was beautiful, and afterwards we went to a party at her friend's apartment. I met some new people and had a very good time. I got home after midnight, though, and now I'm starting to get tired. It's off to bed I go.

"My friend assures me its all or nothing, but I am not really worried, I am not overly concerned. You try to tell yourself the things you try tell yourself to make yourself forget, to make yourself forget, I am not worried..." ~counting crows

So. That Sweeney Todd screening? Most poorly organized screening ever. We waited in line outside the building (while it was snowing) for awhile, were sent inside, were sent back outside, were brought in again, waited in the lobby upstairs packed like sardines and blocking the escalator coming up, stampeded to get in line outside the theater in which the film was being shown, and basically dealt with complete chaos for a couple of hours. The order of the line became completely rearranged in all of that chaos, and I didn't get in. I was pissed. After wasting well over two hours (including travel time), I decided I might as well see another movie (not a free screening) while I was there. So I went to go see No Country for Old Men, which I've been wanting to see for awhile. It won the season's first major award for best picture (from the National Board of Review) and received absolutely fabulous reviews, and all the accolades it's being granted are wholeheartedly deserved. It was fabulous. It was incredibly violent and sometimes scary and very suspenseful, and I'll probably be having nightmares about Javier Bardem for months. He gave what I think is the best portrayal of a villain I've ever seen. He terrified me (which is a good thing, because he completely embodied his character). He's the one to beat in the Oscar race for best supporting actor, and this is the movie to beat for best picture. Considering that this (in my opinion) is a season with an unusually large number of great movies, that's saying a lot. If you don't like a lot of blood and violence, be prepared to cover your eyes a lot, but if you can stomach it, the movie is well worth your time and money. The Coen brothers are amazing, and they strike again.

"We heard Richard Nixon say, welcome to the USA. The common sense I sometimes lack has opened up a seismic crack. We've fallen in and I can't pull back, and I guess we'll have to stay." ~elton john

I just got home from an advance screening of the movie Frost/Nixon. It was a very advanced screening; the movie doesn't open until some time next year. It was a workprint, which means it wasn't finalized. We had to fill out surveys afterwards that they may use to make changes. I saw Ron Howard (the director) there, which was pretty cool. I'm not a huge fan of his, but he's still obviously a very important figure in the film industry.
The movie was very good (that's the option I checked on the survey for my overall opinion, 'very good'). I wanted to see the movie because it's based on the stage play. The play got great reviews and multiple awards, but I never got the chance to see it, so I wanted to see at least some version of it. Frank Langella (who won a Tony for his performance in the play) and Michael Sheen reprised their stage roles. They were fabulous. The acting made the movie for me. I'd imagine that their characters have become ingrained in them by now after doing so many live performances; they truly embodied the characters. Kevin Bacon, Sam Rockwell, Oliver Platt, and Matthew Macfayden made up a strong supporting cast. The movie is about post-Watergate interviews that David Frost conducted with Richard Nixon. It was interesting, well-directed, and well-paced. I recommend it.

Tomorrow there's a Sweeney Todd screening that I'll try to get into. I don't think I have to tell you how freakishly excited I am to see it. It's the most anticipated movie of the year for me. Actually, it's probably the most anticipated movie ever for me. I'm seriously crazy about Sweeney Todd. And supposedly Tim Burton & co. did a pretty good job with it. I cannot wait. There are song clips on the website and they're pretty good. I'm not crazy about the orchestrations, but I'm relieved to say that the singing is surprisingly strong. If I get in tomorrow, of course I'll post a review.

"Now I hardly know them, and I’ll take my time. I’ll carry them over, and I’ll make them mine." ~the national

I can't wait until Christmas.

Tomorrow I'm going to a professional development workshop, which should be interesting. I hope it will be useful. I think it'll be a nice change of pace from being in school.

I'm trying this new widget that plays music. The song selection is limited and it's not letting me upload my own right now (and it's being very finicky), but we'll see how it goes. I'll kick it off with a track from The National, with whom I became obsessed last summer.

"I'm dying to know, do you do you like dreaming of things so impossible, or only the practical? Or ever the wild or waiting through all your bad bad days just to end them with someone you care about..." ~dashboard confessional

My kids are driving me absolutely insane. I nearly lost it today; I got so mad at them. I hold detention after school every day (today I had more than half the class), and it doesn't change anything; the classroom is still like a zoo combined with an insane asylum. You can't even imagine what this job is like. You really cannot imagine.

Grey's Anatomy is continuing to piss me off. First of all, are they just filling it with blood and gore to shock us and try to defer our attention from the crappy storylines? It's not working on me. The only good part about tonight's episode was the Mer/Lexie development in the last thirty seconds. Screw McDreamy, Mer's got a sister now and hopefully their relationship will continue to develop (although with Shonda & co., I wouldn't count on it; they like to throw blow after blow at Meredith). Gossip Girl was really good this week, though. I loved the Rufus/Lily moment.

I meant to post these videos a long time ago but forgot. I took them with my camera at the Dashboard Confessional concert I went to.

So Long, So Long featuring Adam Duritz:

Rain King featuring Adam Duritz and Augustana:

"I'd be so pleased to see you out of the classroom wearing the smile that I'll bring you." ~dashboard confessional

I'm just popping in to direct you toward the New York Times review of August: Osage County, one of the best plays I've ever encountered. The play opened tonight and got raves across the board, but I particularly like Isherwood's review. Highlights:

"It is, flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years....

It’s theater that continually keeps you hooked with shocks, surprises and delights, although it has a moving, heart-sore core. Watching it is like sitting at home on a rainy night, greedily devouring two, three, four episodes of your favorite series in a row on DVR or DVD. You will leave the Imperial Theater emotionally wrung out and exhausted from laughing, but you may still find yourself hungry for more....

Mr. Letts’s antic recombination of soapy staples is so pop-artfully orchestrated that you never see the next curveball coming, and the play is so quotably funny I’d have a hard time winnowing favorite lines to a dozen....

I’ll leave you with one that neatly expresses the bleak spirit of the play, which nevertheless manages to provide great pleasure by delving into deep wells of cruelty and pain. Recalling a night of youthful high spirits in sad contrast to the gruesome present, Barbara seeks to wise up her daughter to the decay of hope and happiness that often comes with the passage of time.
'Thank God we can’t tell the future,” she observes, “or we’d never get out of bed.'"

I really hope it wins the Tony for best play next year. It seems to have a very good chance based on the reviews. I am so in love with this play.

I went to a free advance screening of Charlie Wilson's War tonight. I enjoyed it. Aaron Sorkin's writing is great; it's very clever and satirical and the dialogue flows well. The movie is a great mix of humor and drama. Tom Hanks was good and Julia Roberts was fine, but Philip Seymour Hoffman stole the show for me (not that that should surprise you; I'm pretty vocal about my love for him). As always, he's hilarious. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, two of my favorite actresses, are wasted in supporting roles.

"Sleep with all the lights on, you're not so happy, you're not secure. You're dying to look cute in your blue jeans, but you're plastic just like everyone, you're just like everyone. And that face you paint is pressed, impressing most of us as permanent, and I'd like to see you undone." ~dashboard confessional

I know I already posted a long post today, but I have to post again to tell you how frakkin' fantastic August: Osage County was. It's now one of my favorite plays ever. It was written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tracy Letts. I wasn't expecting anything else this weekend to be able to top Rock 'N' Roll, but August sure comes close. I might like it as much as or more than Rock 'N' Roll; I can't decide. They're very different. Rock 'N' Roll has an epic feel to it. It spans decades and continents and deals with broad social and political issues. It's long, intellectual, and dense. August: Osage County takes place over the course of a few days inside the same house. It's about one family's issues (and they have quite a few). It's over 3.5 hours long, which is a marathon for a play, but it's so watchable that the time just flies by. The dialogue is sharp and witty and harsh and real. It's funny and heartbreaking at the same time. The acting is strong. Jeff Perry is in it and it was hard for me to shake my image of him as Thatcher Grey in Grey's Anatomy.
This year's Tony race in the non-musical category is going to be extremely competitive, and I think I saw the main contenders this weekend. So now you have multiple plays to read. Start with August: Osage County.

"The snow's coming down, I'm watching it fall, watching the people around..." ~u2

Y'all are so lucky that I'm a clumsy loser who is so desperate not to write lesson plans that she will do anything to put it off. Actually, I'm not sure who 'y'all' is, because it doesn't seem like I have any readers, so I suppose this is mostly for my own amusement, which is fine. I have a few things to write about today.

Nic and I have made it through 4 of our 6 shows, and we're holding up well. Here are my reactions:
1. The Lion King (on Thursday evening) was entertaining. I've already seen it and it's not one of my favorite shows, but the costumes are very impressive and it's fun just because of the visual spectacle. And the music isn't bad.
2. Rock 'N' Roll (on Friday evening) was amazing. I almost cried a couple of times. It's so dense and confusing and requires such a great deal of concentration and thought that I'm still processing it, but I loved it. I will echo the command of one reviewer and tell you to "Beg, borrow, or steal tickets," because it really is fantastic. It further proves how brilliant Tom Stoppard is. Or, if you can't make it to the Broadway production, at least go read the play. It spans decades and continents and generations, and everything is tied together with rock 'n' roll. There was an insert in the Playbill about Czechoslovakia in the 1960's and Marx and Communism, and I was glad I read it before the play started because otherwise I think I would have been pretty confused.
3. Trumpery (on Saturday afternoon) wasn't bad. It focuses on Darwin around the time he wrote The Origin of Species. It was a little slow at times, and I'm not too interested in the subject matter, but the performances were good. Whenever Manuel Felciano spoke (he played Wallace), I couldn't help but picture him as Toby in Sweeney Todd (he was amazing in that role). His appearance has changed, though.
4. Is He Dead? (on Saturday evening) was great. It's a play written by Mark Twain in 1898, but it was never produced until now (it was just recently discovered). It's about a group of struggling artists who stage the death of one of them to raise the demand for his paintings. Norbert Leo Butz plays the main character and he is absolutely hi-larious. He is such a talented comedian.
Norbert and I (obviously not taken yesterday; this is from after a performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels):


5. This afternoon we're going to August: Osage County, so I'll report back on that later.

It is snowing right now. I woke up to see the ground covered with snow. Of course I had to do laundry today. I really was out of clothes, and I couldn't put it off any longer. So at 10:00am I ventured outside to walk 8.5 blocks to go do laundry. It was still snowing hard, and the sidewalks were not shoveled for the most part. I had my granny cart filled to the brim with laundry, and I slowly pushed it along through the snow. I nearly made it to the laundromat with no problems. About a half a block away, I hit a bump. My cart fell forward, and so did I. I ended up spread eagle on top of my cart, with some of my laundry spread all over the snowy sidewalk. Of course this happened directly in front of a store where a group of men were hanging around outside and a bunch of kids had just stepped outside. I had quite an audience. I just lied there for a few seconds in shock. Then I started to laugh. It was just too funny. So funny, in fact, that I decided to reenact it when I got home to show you what I looked like (I was wearing my pea coat, a hat, and my Uggs as well). Picture this in the middle of a snowy sidewalk, with clothes falling out of the cart and a huge group of people standing to the side watching and trying to hide their laughter:

I mean, you have to laugh, right? One of the men asked me if I was okay and if I could get up, and I answered in the affirmative to both questions. I clumsily got up, pulled my cart up and loaded it again, and slowly continued to plow through the snow with as much class as I could muster. Oh, how I dislike snow.