"Juliet says, 'Hey, it's Romeo. You nearly gave me a heart attack.' He's underneath the window, she's singing, 'Hey la, my boyfriend's back. You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that. Anyway, what you gonna do about it?'" ~dire straits

I went to an advance screening of In Bruges on Wednesday. I was excited about this movie because it was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who is absolutely brilliant. He wrote my favorite play, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. I couldn't wait to see his most recent film. It features a strong cast, consisting of Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Peter Dinklage. It's a dark comedy/thriller. It's very funny (although sometimes very offensive), and is quite bloody, violent, and disgusting (I expected all that from McDonagh). It took me awhile to get into it, but by the end I was hooked. I thought it was very well made. At first Colin Farrell's character really annoyed me, but the actor is pretty charming and I warmed up to the character as he was further developed. Colin Farrell did a great job. I loved the soundtrack as well. So I recommend seeing the film when it's released (on February 8th).

Tomorrow is going to be the longest day ever. I'm dreading it. I will leave my apartment at 7:00am and won't get home until about 10:00pm (and all that time will be filled with school-related activities). Ew.

In Bruges trailer:

"A lovestruck Romeo, he sings the streets a serenade. Laying everybody low with a love song that he made. Finds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade. He says something like, 'You and me, babe, how 'bout it?'" ~dire straits

I've been listening to The Killers' album Sawdust for the past few days. Their cover of Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet" is basically on constant repeat right now. I love it so freakin' much. Oh, how I love The Killers. They'd only released 2 studio albums up until Sawdust, and yet they still managed to put together a killer collection of B-sides/rarities. "Under the Gun" (I was upset when they didn't put that on Sam's Town because I loved the demo) and "Leave Your Bourbon on the Shelf" are two other highlights of the album. I feel like it's time for a reprise of one of my favorite photos I've taken.
Brandon Flowers, singing the line "And my stomach is sick" during "Mr. Brightside":

In the full-size picture, you can see every drop of sweat and every wrinkle of pain and every smudge of makeup on his face. It's gorgeous. That Central Park Summerstage concert was amazing; it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I was in the front row, surrounded by pure energy.

This week I'm starting tutoring through the after-school program at my school. It's on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a couple of hours each day. I'm afraid it'll be pretty draining (I already have my hands full with my regular schedule), but I couldn't really say no.
This week I'm also going back to being a student! I'm taking a class called Drama in Education at CCNY. I can see the building in which my class is held from my apartment (the campus is half a block away), so it's very convenient. I met the professor and she seems great, so I'm excited about it. It meets on Thursday evenings, though, for like three hours, so I'm going to be drained on Thursdays after a full day at work, plus two hours of tutoring, plus three hours of class.

"She's got her halo and wings hidden under his eyes. But she's an angel for sure, she just can't stop telling lies." ~the killers

The Radio City Music Hall tour was really interesting; I'm very glad I got to go. My two favorite pictures:
A view of the foyer:

Me on stage:


And a goofy quiz:

Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

Created by BuddyTV

Gen got Chuck. I'm jealous!

"Looking for somewhere to stand and stay, I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away." ~the national

Pretty soon I'm heading off to the New York Athletic Club to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousin for lunch. Then we're going on a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall. I can't wait. The NYAC is running this program/outing, and my relatives are members and kindly decided to invite me because they know I love all things theater/music-related.

I remember the last time I went to the NYAC. It was about a year ago, when I was still living at home in NJ. My mom and I came into the city, and on the spur of the moment my uncle decided we should all go to the NYAC for lunch. I was wearing jeans, not expecting to go out for a fancy lunch, and jeans are not allowed at the NYAC. My cousin Bess, who's 14 years old, is 5'7" and wears a size 0 or 2. I can't exactly share clothes with her. The only thing of hers that I could fit into was a pair of fancy, flowy velour pants. There was a matching jacket that I wore as well. Basically it was a fancy velour track suit, and I looked ridiculous in it, especially with the brown boots that I was wearing. But I amused my cousin and still managed to enjoy lunch (the food is really good there). My uncle reminded me not to wear jeans today (not that I needed reminding), and I plan on looking sharp enough to make up for my last appearance at the NYAC.

Here's a hilarious video you should see, spoofing the Tom Cruise scientology videos that have recently surfaced. Jerry O'Connell's impression is dead-on. He even looks a little bit like Cruise. I like Jerry O'Connell. I met him at my cousin's confirmation party, and he was very nice. He used to live in the same apartment building as my relatives and babysat for my cousins a lot.

"You’re on the road, but you’ve got no destination. You’re in the mud, in the maze of her imagination. You love this town, even if it doesn’t ring true. You’ve been all over, and it’s been all over you..." ~u2

I went to an advance screening of Forgetting Sarah Marshall today. I was super excited about it; I've been anxiously waiting to see this movie since I first heard about it a loooong time ago. My absolute favorite actress in the world, Kristen Bell, plays the title character. Jason Segel, whom I've loved since Freaks and Geeks, wrote the screenplay and acted in the lead role. Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) produced it. Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill had supporting roles. Basically it was made by an amazing group of people whom I greatly admire. So I jumped at the chance to see it. It doesn't open until April 18th, so I was surprised they were screening it so far in advance, but I'm definitely not complaining about that. I loved it. It was hilarious. I only had a couple of complaints (pacing, choppy editing), but overall it was a really fun film. Jason Segel is adorable as always, and he has a couple of awesome musical performances that made me laugh incredibly hard; his character writes a rock opera based on Dracula. Jason Bateman had a really small cameo in the movie, which made me very happy. And, of course, Kristen was lovely.

The last two episodes of Chuck aired tonight. I'm so sad they've run out of episodes. The last episode? Oh. My. Gosh.
Lizzie (to Chuck): "I have two guns. What do you have?"
Sarah: "Me."
That killed me. I nearly started crying.

"Is there a time for keeping a distance, a time to turn your eyes away? Is there a time for keeping your head down, for getting on with your day?" ~u2

Watch The Colbert Report tonight and look for me! I went to the taping. It was fun, although it entailed a whole lotta waiting time. I got there at 3:45 and was #30 (and I had been worried about not getting in!). It was absolutely freezing outside in line. They started letting people inside the holding area around 4:45. They didn't let us into the studio until after 7:00pm, which seemed really late. They were having problems setting up or something. So they didn't start taping until 7:30. But it was worth it. Stephen Colbert is absolutely hilarious. I love him. And he gave me a high-five!

During the last 6 periods of the day today (and there are only 8 periods total), the principal sequestered my class in the library and buried them with work. They even ate their lunch up there as they worked. They had to stay quiet and in their seats that whole time. They missed their regular classes during those periods, and two of those periods were supposed to be gym, which they always look forward to all week (they only have it once a week). They're really been acting up lately, especially for the art teacher, and it got to the point where serious action needed to be taken. I was glad about it, although I have a feeling they'll be absolutely furious tomorrow.

"One man come in the name of love, one man come and go. One man come, he to justify, one man to overthrow. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.
One man caught on a barbed wire fence, one man he resist. One man washed on an empty beach, one man betrayed with a kiss. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.
Early evening*, April 4. Shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last, they took your life. They could not take your pride. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love. In the name of love, what more in the name of love..." ~u2

*Interesting fact that you probably already know if you're a U2 fan and might not know if you're not a U2 fan:
This song is obviously about MLK. In the original studio version, the one line reads, "Early morning, April 4. Shot rings out in the Memphis sky." After the record was released, though, Bono found out that MLK was actually killed in the evening and not the morning. So when he sings the song live, he replaces 'morning' with 'evening.'

There is soooo much to write about tonight and not nearly enough time. I don't even know where to start.

1. I guess I'll start with U2, the greatest band ever. Tonight I went to a free advance screening of the new Imax film U2 3D. It was AWESOME. It made me tear up a few times because it reminded me of the three U2 concerts I went to on the Vertigo tour. Of course the movie wasn't as cool as being at the concert in person, but it was as close as a movie could possibly take you. It really got you up close and personal. My main complaint is that I think they could have chosen a better setlist to film; I read somewhere that it was geared more towards the general U2 fan than the diehard fan, and I agree with that assessment. As a diehard fan I would have liked some more rarities, but overall it was still spectacular. This film really is groundbreaking. It is the first digital 3D, multicamera, real-time production and you can't imagine what it's like until you see it up on the big Imax screen. So go see it when it opens near you. Even if you're not a huge fan, you'll love it. I heard that Bono was at the screening tonight, but i didn't see him. If he was there, I'm mad I missed him.



2. The Oscar nominations. Overall I'm pretty happy.
~Biggest thing that made me happy: Laura Linney's nomination (for The Savages). I'm a huge fan of hers and I absolutely loved her performance in that film. She definitely deserved the nomination (and she stole it away from Angelina Jolie, which makes me doubly happy!). I'm also relieved that Ellen Page (Juno) was nominated in that category; I was pretty sure she was a lock, but you never know.
~Another happy surprise: "Falling Slowly" (from Once) being nominated for best song. If you haven't seen Once, go watch it now. It's on DVD already (I got it for Christmas).
~Biggest disappointment: Sweeney Todd not being nominated for Best Picture. I definitely think it deserved Michael Clayton's spot. And Tim Burton not being nominated for Best Director. Seriously, what's up with that?! It won Best Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, and Tim Burton won Best Director from the National Board of Review, yet it wasn't even nominated for an Oscar in either category?! That's messed up.

3. Heath Ledger. I don't even know what to say. I'm seriously at a loss for words. I only stopped at home to change clothes before tonight's screening so I didn't turn on my computer or anything, and I didn't know about it until Nicole met me at the screening. The very first thing she said to me as she walked up was, "Did you hear about Heath Ledger?" When she told me what happened I was completely floored. It's so incredibly sad. Especially because he has a 2-year-old daughter. What is there to say about a tragedy like that? I just don't know.

"How does it feel, how does it feel, to be on your own, with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" ~bob dylan

I knew school was going to suck today. Like, absolutely suck. I had been dreading it for awhile. It was the first day of the state test, which they took in the morning. I then got to teach them periods 4 and 5 and periods 7 and 8 (they had lunch sixth period). You can't imagine trying to teach these kids (for four periods, or three hours) right after they've just taken a stressful, difficult test that they know is incredibly important. They went crazy, just as I expected. I didn't have particularly difficult lessons planned, but most of them refused to do any work at all and instead decided to play indoor basketball with paper balls and the trash can. I let them. There was really nothing I could do.
The first lesson I did was reading a picture book to them called Courage. Each page began, "Courage is..." and then gave an example of courage (like, "Courage is getting your hair cut."). I had the kids each make their own page by writing their own "Courage is..." statement and drawing a picture to go along with it. Here's my favorite:

It says "Courage is my teacher." How sweet is that?? And during the last two periods, about five students crowded around me and we did their social studies worksheet together. The rest of the class was out of control, but I actually managed to get some of them to work (and they understood it, too). So my lessons weren't a total waste, and we ended the day with no injuries, which meant it wasn't so bad. I'm dreading Thursday even more than I was dreading today (it's the same schedule as today, except it will be after they finished three days of testing, so they'll be completely burned out). I can't wait until this test is over.

On a more positive note, I had a good weekend, even though I got absolutely no work done. On Saturday Nicole and I went to the opening of the New York Guitar Festival. A bunch of different musical artists recreated Bob Dylan's legendary Royal Albert Hall concert. They played through the setlist from that concert with each artist playing a different song. The last song was "Like a Rolling Stone," which is probably my favorite Dylan song. Then all the bands did an encore together. They did "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," another Dylan song that I absolutely love. There was just so much energy on stage during that performance; it was magical. So it was a good night. Then on Sunday I had brunch with my friends Christin and Marie. It was so good to see them. I got to hang out with Christin afterwards, and I'm very glad we got to catch up. I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people, but I need to try harder because I really am blessed with some wonderful friends.

"Can't sing but I've got soul, the goal is elevation." ~u2

That song is one of my karaoke staples. It's pretty hilarious to watch.

Last night my roomies threw a party here. I didn't know anyone besides the two of them, but it was still fun. They made some really good food. They made this amazing lasagna, and we all took leftovers to work for lunch today. We have a lot of cake and beer left over.

My kids are driving me insane. The state ELA test is next week, and we've been doing nothing but test prep since the beginning of December. They're beyond sick of it (and so am I). By the end of the day today I was ready to throw someone out the window. I guess I can't blame them for getting frustrated after three hours of ELA test prep (including a listening passage, an essay, and a bunch of exercises) on a Friday, but still, I was pretty upset with them. I had a parent come in yesterday, and I felt terrible. We sat in the AP's office and the mother just sobbed. The kid was at the meeting and cried, too. The kid is C, whom I've written about before. I absolutely adore him, but he's tough. He's got a lot of stuff going on that makes him act up. I called one parent today and should have called more, but I just wasn't up for it. I hate talking to parents. I know it's necessary, but it's not easy. I can't wait for this test to be over. It lasts for three days, and it's a HUGE deal. I'm so stressed about it (the whole school is).

On a more exciting note, I cannot wait to see this. I saw U2 live three times on the Vertigo tour, and their live concerts are absolutely amazing, indescribable experiences. Bootlegs and videos don't do them justice. Hopefully the 3D movie will make viewers feel like they're there. They cut some really good songs out of the concert for this movie (no Zoo Station?!?!), which pisses me off, and it's not the best setlist, but it should still be really good (the reviews I've read so far are very positive).

"She lives alone on her private archipelago, with her palm trees and her seashells. She sits in the waves all day, she's scared of dying, she wants to keep it that way. She sends a boat out on the sea, with a little note for me, it says, "Why are the girls so hungry?" Well, lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala...lalala...Why are the girls so hungry? Said, why are the girls so hungry? Said, why are all the girls so hungry? Why the girls so hungry? I can't see nothing, nononono, can't see nothing, nononono, 'round here. Nono, said I'm lonely, without you. 'Cause I can't see nothing, nothing, 'round here." ~counting crows

Thanks to Elise for reminding me of that version of "Round Here." It's from Paris, 12/9/94, one of the best Counting Crows concerts ever. I love going back to that bootleg. It's absolutely amazing. The "Murder of One" performance from that show makes me cry almost every time I listen to it.

If you read this in time, watch The A Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight (Tuesday)! (He changed the title until the strike is over). I went to the taping. It was cool. It was his second night back since the strike, and he did just fine without writers. Best line: "My brain's not on strike!" (It was funnier when he said it in the context of the discussion). He mostly discussed the primaries, and he spent a lot of time ragging on Rudy Giuliani. His guest was David Frum, whom I had never heard of before, but my dad said he's pretty famous in the political world. Jon had a hilarious conversation with Stephen Colbert via video during one of the breaks, so that was interesting to watch.

"I don't have any questions, I don't think it's gonna rain. You were right about the end, it didn't make a difference. I'm here to take you now, out among the missing sons and daughters of the SoHo riots. Out among the missing sons and daughters of the SoHo riots, I'm here to take you now. How can anybody know how they got to be this way?" ~the national

As a teacher, I find pleasure in the smallest things. On Friday I did a social studies activity on the Chinese zodiac calendar. The kids worked in pairs, and each pair made a small poster about one of the animals from the calendar. I gave each pair a worksheet featuring a detailed explanation of their animal for them to use.

Necessary Sidebar: D is one of my most difficult students. She has a huge attitude problem. She talks constantly (seriously, you've never heard someone talk this much). Her mom has had to come in numerous times to talk to me. One of my biggest challenges is trying to balance my desire for D not to blow up at me and have a huge meltdown in the middle of class with my desire to be able to teach the class without having to yell over her.

Anyway, during this lesson D asked me if I could give her copies of the worksheets for all of the animals. I didn't have extras, so I offered her a worksheet with a shortened explanation of each animal. She said she wanted the longer ones, and wanted the pictures to go along with the writing. She wanted to take them home and show them to her mom. I told her I'd bring her a packet on Monday. I cannot tell you how excited I was. The girl who has a complaint about every single lesson I teach ("This is boring!" "Why should I care about this?" "I know this already," etc.) was actually interested for once. I didn't even care that a portion of the class spent the period wreaking havoc (throwing paper, running around), because at least one person (the most unlikely person) got something out of it. And she and her partner made a really good poster about their animal, the Dog. A bunch of the kids did like the activity, especially when they got to learn about their own animal. I am a Rat, and it was cool to read about that.

I went to a new church today. It's called the Journey Church and the services are in the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center (the site of the Hammerstein Ballroom). The congregation was made up almost entirely of young people (in their 20's). It was very casual; the pastor wore jeans and he goes by his first name. Today was the first message in a new series called Embracing My City. The sermon wasn't bad; it was very practical. The music was the best part, though. It's contemporary music. The band played Christian songs, but they also played Death Cab for Cutie's "Marching Bands of Manhattan" and Ryan Adams' "New York, New York." I was so excited when they began to play "Marching Bands of Manhattan." I love that song. Any church that plays Death Cab and Ryan Adams is awesome in my book. I know music shouldn't be what I focus on when I'm looking at a church, but good music inspires me.
Whenever I hear Ryan Adams' "New York, New York" I always think of the fourth of July, 2003. Ryan Adams performed in Battery Park for free, and of course he performed that song. It was pretty cool. That was before most people knew who he was.

My friend Gen posted a cool activity on her LJ, so I participated and I'll share it here. Feel free to try it yourself and post it to your blog/LJ/whatever or in the comments here.

Create an Album Cover
Follow these easy steps!
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post or in your own journal.

My album cover (I know it's not the size of an album cover, but I was having too much trouble):

I like it. Maybe when I start a band, I'll use it. I'm not sure about the band name "List of Rugby League Incidents," though. I already have my band name picked out and, believe it or not, it is not "List of Rugby League Incidents." But the album artwork and title aren't bad.
And, because I felt like procrastinating, my second try:

"I know it doesn't seem that way, but maybe it's the perfect day. Even though the bills are piling, and maybe Lady Luck ain't smiling. But if we'd only open our eyes, we'd see the blessings in disguise. That all the rain clouds are fountains, though our troubles seem like mountains. There's gold in them hills. There's gold in them hills. So don't lose heart, give the day a chance to start." ~ron sexsmith

Oh. My. Goodness. Conan was back last night, without writers, and he was AWESOME. His guitar playing? Hilarious. Especially when he was playing Radiohead's "Creep" as the guys were trying to play Rock Band. And his Beastie Boys' impression was pretty amazing as well. Bob Saget was his first guest, and, as usual, he was very funny. It was such a good show. I'm afraid Conan won't be able to keep up his momentum very long without writers, though. It'll get harder and harder to find ways to fill all that time. Conan's brilliant, but that's got to be hard for anyone to do.
I love Conan. I've been to a few talk show tapings (Jay Leno, Craig Kilborn, Conan) and Conan was definitely my favorite. I'm going to a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart next Tuesday and I'm excited about that.

It is FREEZING today. I don't like it. And all my kids were back today (plus one new one), back to being their wild selves. I'm glad tomorrow is Friday because it means the weekend is approaching, but Friday is my worst teaching day. I planned a social studies activity on the Chinese zodiac calendar that I hope they'll like.

Song of the day: Ron Sexsmith featuring Coldplay's Chris Martin singing "Gold in Them Hills"

"But someone, they could have warned you. When things start splitting at the seams and now, the whole thing's tumbling down. Things start splitting at the seams and now, if things start splitting at the seams and now, it's tumbling down hard." ~band of horses

When I made my list of the Best Albums of 2007, I omitted one that should have been there. Band of Horses' Cease to Begin totally deserved to be on that list. I looooove that album. I was reminded of it while watching DVDs of The O.C. season 4 (which my brother gave me for Christmas). Josh Schwartz used a couple of songs by Band of Horses on The O.C. He has also used their music on Chuck. I know I've written about it before, but he is such a musical genius. The O.C., Chuck, and Gossip Girl all have killer soundtracks. Anyway, I've started listening to the album Cease to Begin again and I love it.

I had a pretty good New Year's. As per tradition, I spent it at my friend Kim's house with our families as well as a couple of other families. We had a good time. Kim has a karaoke machine that we love to use. Matt and I performed a horrendous version of Baby Got Back, and I'm terrified that the video my brother took is going to pop up on YouTube or something.

Returning to school today wasn't so bad; a bunch of kids were absent, so it was less crazy than usual. I'm sure it'll be back to its usual state of pandemonium soon.

Quote of the day:
F, one of my students, to me: Ms. B, you're looking a little...fruity today.
Apparently my striped Gap sweater was a little too colorful for him.

Oh, how I missed my kids.

Here are a few of my favorite tracks by Band of Horses.