"Falling slowly, eyes that know me, and I can't go back. Moods that take me and erase me, and I'm painted black. You have suffered enough and warred with yourself, it's time that you won." ~glen hansard & marketa irglova

Obviously, based on my last post of Oscar hopes, I was pretty thrilled with the Oscars. Everyone I wanted to win (besides in the best actress category, for which I didn't pick anyone) won. When Tilda Swinton won best supporting actress, Nic and I went crazy (I think we scared her apartmentmates). We were sooooo excited. I really, really, really was rooting for her but didn't think she had a chance. And her speech? Pure awesomeness. Another favorite moment: "Falling Slowly" (from Once) winning best song (although it wasn't a surprise at all). Jon Stewart was so sweet to bring Marketa back onstage to give an acceptance speech after the orchestra cut her off (with her own composition!).

Today I went to a PD workshop, so I had a break from the kids (after I just had a week-long break from them!). The workshop was okay. I'm still kind of sick, so it was good that I didn't have to waste my voice in class. On Thursday we have parent-teacher conferences, which I'm not looking forward to.

Here's a funny video in honor of the Oscars. It's from last Saturday's SNL. It's a parody of the infamous "I drink your milkshake" scene from There Will Be Blood, so it's obviously a lot funnier if you've seen that film (and No Country for Old Men). Bill Hader's impression of Daniel Day-Lewis's character, Daniel Plainview, is spot-on; it's hilarious. He really does a great job.

"Well, I know I don't know you and you're probably not what you seem. But I'd sure like to find out, so why don't you climb down off that movie screen?" ~counting crows

Happy Oscars 2008! Oscars night is one of my favorite nights of the year. It'll be a good show this year. Here are my predictions and wishes for the major categories:

Best Picture
Will Win: No Country for Old Men
Should Win: No Country for Old Men
I saw all the films nominated in this category (Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood) and really enjoyed all of them very much. But I've got to give it to the Coen brothers.

Best Actor
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Should Win: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
He really gave a fabulous, powerhouse performance. He carried this film. I wouldn't mind seeing Johnny Depp or George Clooney pull off an upset because I thought they were both amazing as well, but I'm pretty sure this is Day-Lewis's year.

Best Actress
Will Win: Julie Christie
Should Win: ?
I haven't seen all the nominees in this category so I can't judge who should win. It's Christie's Oscar to lose, though. I would love to see Ellen Page or Laura Linney win, but neither of them will. Marion Cotillard has the best chance of stealing it from Christie.

Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Javier Bardem
Should Win: Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem played one of the best villains I've ever seen on-screen. I wish Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) had been nominated, though; he was robbed.

Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Cate Blanchett
Should Win:Tilda Swinton

Best Director
Will Win: The Coen brothers, No Country for Old Men
Should Win: The Coen brothers, No Country for Old Men

Best Original Screenplay
Will Win: Diablo Cody, Juno
Should Win: Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Adapted Screenplay
Will Win: The Coen brothers
Should Win: The Coen brothers

Best Original Song
Will Win: Falling Slowly, Once
Should Win: Falling Slowly, Once

So it looks like I agree with most of the frontrunners. Which is unusual. No matter who wins, I don't think I'll end up unhappy tonight. I love most of the films this year and am not strongly tied to any particular films or actors, so there aren't any big opportunities for disappointment. Sure, I've got a soft spot for Ellen Page and Laura Linney, but I'm not expecting anything from them so I can't be too disappointed by the result of that category (and Angelina Jolie isn't nominated, which is very relieving). Obviously I'm predicting a big night for the Coen brothers. I'm sure there will be some upsets, and I'm looking forward to that. I'm going over to Nic's to watch; we're having our usual awards show party. I'm excited!

"She says, 'I'm okay. It's alright. We should have ham and cheese tonight.'" ~counting crows

MWAHAHAHAHA. They totally should have stuck with that.

So we're off from school this week. Which is very fortunate, because if school had been in session I would have been absent the entire week, and my class would have gone crazy (even more crazy than they are with me there).

I've been sick since last Friday. Like, sicker than I can ever remember being. On Saturday I went home to NJ and basically stayed on the couch from Saturday through Wednesday. I got up from the couch to go to bed and to go to the bathroom to vomit. That's about it. I'm still not sure what exactly was wrong with me (the flu?), but whatever it was, it was bad. My throat burned, it hurt to swallow, I had a constant, deep, horking, cough, an upset stomach, a runny nose, a high fever, a congested chest and head, and a completely achy body. I couldn't do anything but lie down and watch TV. One of the worst parts was that I had trouble sleeping because it was really difficult for me to breathe. I felt like I couldn't get any air. That made it really hard for me to sleep. I still don't feel well, but today I managed to actually put on some clothes and head back to the city for my class tonight (which I survived). I have a terrible headache, my cough is still pretty bad, my throat still hurts, and my nose is still running, but I'm better than I was before. On Saturday I'm taking a couple of New York state teaching tests. I think they're four hours each (for a total of eight hours), which is a lot of testing, so I hope I feel better in time for that. And in time for school on Monday. I really need to get a good night's sleep tonight.

"One of the million lies she said is, 'All of the things you love are dead.' But I've seen what she thinks is love and it leaves me laughing, so we'll still come around." ~counting crows

Highlight of my day: being referred to online by a guy as "the cute blonde" standing in front of him at the Counting Crows concert. It totally made what was one of the crappiest days ever slightly less depressing. He was pretty cute, too.

I seriously hate Tuesdays. I came so close to crying in front of my class today. I stayed tough, though. Sometimes I listen to myself screaming at the kids and just hate myself, but I don't know what else to do. You can't even imagine what I have to go through. And during the after-school program today I was stuck alone with the eighth graders, which was not fun. I seriously cannot wait until next week when we have winter break. I desperately need a week off.

Today is my mom's birthday (she shares it with good ole' Abe Lincoln). I gave her tickets to see August: Osage County on Broadway and she was excited, so that made me feel good.

"And I can’t see why you want to talk to me, when your vision of America is crystal and clean. I want a white bread life, just something ignorant and plain. But from the walls of Michelangelo, I’m dangling again." ~counting crows

I had the most amazing night last night. I can't even put it into words. I went to the best concert I've ever been to. I know I've said that before, but as I keep going to more and more, they just keep getting better. I went to see Counting Crows at the Bowery Ballroom. Other people who have seen the band many, many times said that this was the best they've ever seen them. This was only my fourth Counting Crows concert (which is not a lot at all considering how obsessed I am), and it was easily the best due to a number of reasons.
First of all, I made it into the front row. And there was no barrier between the stage and the audience like there sometimes is at concerts, so I was literally leaning against the stage and propping my arms up on it. I was directly in front of Immy. I got spit on by Adam. I could see every single drop of sweat. I live for that kind of thing at concerts; I love being as close as possible. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get that close again.
Second of all, it was an absolutely killer setlist. They played two sets. The first set was all old songs. Then they took a break, came back onstage, and announced that they were going to go through their new album in a Storytellers format. So they played almost every song from the new album with an explanation of each song. They played three songs that they've never played live before. We were literally the first people to hear them. They played for almost 3 hours, which is a really long concert. Here's the setlist:

*Colorblind
*Have You Seen Me Lately
*Recovering the Satellites
*Rain King -- Someone to Watch Over Me
*Anna Begins
*Hard Candy
*Miami (acoustic)
*Round Here (Go to Sleep Little Angel intro) -- All I Need is You, Have You Seen Me Lately
*Raining in Baltimore
*A Long December
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*1492
*Hanging Tree
*Los Angeles
*Insignificant
*Cowboys
*Washington Square
*When I Dream of Michelangelo*You Can't Count on Me
*Ballet D'or
*On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago
*Come Around

Can you believe that?! I was seriously dying I was so excited.
I got to meet some nice people at the concert, and it was just fabulous. I didn't even care that I got home at 1:00am and had to wake up at 6:00am this morning. It was beyond worth it.
When their new album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, is released on March 25th I highly recommend buying it. This new material is definitely worth the wait (they haven't released an album with new material in six years).

"I said come on all you cowboys, all you blue-eyed baby boys. Come on all you dashing gentlemen of summer. I’ll wait for you where Saturday’s a memory, and Sunday comes to gather me into the arms of God who’ll welcome me because I believe, oh I believe…" ~counting crows

I was walking through Times Square this evening and passed the Crowne Plaza, where there was a mob of people and reporters outside. I happened to be passing right as the meeting to discuss the writer's strike was letting out. I stuck around to see some of the writers being interviewed as they left the hotel; I'll probably show up in the background of a few news shows tonight. Supposedly a deal has been reached (though not signed yet), which is pretty exciting. Of course a lot of shows that I watch (Chuck, Gossip Girl, Heroes) won't return until the fall, anyway. Grey's might come up with four or five more episodes this season, though.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. I met my parents in Chelsea for dinner at a really nice restaurant. It was good to see them.

My life has been insanely busy lately. One more week until I get a break from school; I cannot wait. We have the week of President's Day off. I am just so drained right now. School (being a teacher and being a grad student) is taking up so much of my time. It's hard to balance everything. I need time to do fun stuff, though, or else I'll go absolutely crazy. On Wednesday Nic and I went to see the Chinese New Year Splendor show at Radio City Music Hall. It was hi-larious (unintentionally, of course). She had comps, so we didn't pay for it. Tickets are sold for $100, though, and I was surprised to see so many people there. We were among the few white people in the audience.
This Wednesday we're going to see Crimes of the Heart on Broadway. I'm very excited to see it. Kathleen Turner is the director and Sarah Paulsen stars in it (I loved her in Studio 60 and I'm glad she's back on stage).

Did you all see the showdown between Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart last week? If not, go look for it on YouTube or something. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Conan and Stephen have been in an ongoing feud because they both took credit for Mike Huckabee winning the Iowa caucus. They kept insulting each other on their shows (Stephen said he would kick Conan's translucent white ass, Conan called Stephen the temporary host of The Colbert Report, etc.). Jon Stewart got involved as well. Last week they staged a fight that was carried out over all three of their shows (the final stage was on Conan's show). Actually, I'll post the final showdown for you:


Another funny, recent talk show moment: Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon's music video for the song "I'm f**king Matt Damon" (presented to Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah's boyfriend, on his 5th anniversary show:

I love Sarah Silverman. Her show (The Sarah Silverman Program) is hilarious, her movie (Jesus is Magic) is hilarious, and she's just one of the funniest people I've ever seen.

Blake Lively was on Letterman last night; she was cute. Supposedly she's dating Penn Bagdley, her Gossip Girl costar. They seem like an adorable couple.

"So don't break, keep it to yourself. I did him wrong. I was never, no I was never, no I was never enough, but I can try, I can try, to toughen up." ~she & him

I seriously can't get enough of them.


I was incredibly busy with school stuff this weekend, and will be throughout the next two weeks as well. The marking period just ended so grades are due, we just finished a unit so I had to type up all of their final papers, and I have to plan for a new unit (which includes reading about 4 novels that I haven't read yet so I can use them for book groups). I like the new unit, though. It's an author study, and I'm using Katherine Paterson. Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved were two of my absolute favorite books when I was a kid. The Great Gilly Hopkins was also one that I enjoyed. So I'm excited to study the author with the kids and read more of her work. Of course the kids are much less thrilled than I am. They think that they shouldn't even have to do ELA anymore now that the state test is over. That's how much of an emphasis is placed on testing now. Ugh.

"We are the champions, my friends. And we'll keep on fighting till the end. We are the champions, we are the champions, no time for losers 'cause we are the champions of the world." ~queen

GO GIANTS!!!

GAH!!! I'm so excited that they won. That was awesome. When they made that last touchdown, I could hear people jumping up and down in the apartment above mine. New York is going to go crazy over this. Someone definitely needed to take down the Patriots.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gave a solid performance during the halftime show. I was surprised to hear that they were given the honor of performing; they don't seem like the typical kind of band for that gig. I wasn't disappointed that they were performing, just surprised. They did the songs I expected them to do and did them well.

I want to talk about She & Him, aka Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. I absolutely adore them as individuals and have for some time. Zooey Deschanel is absolutely charming and hilarious in movies like Almost Famous, The Good Girl, Elf (in which she showed off her vocal skills), and the miniseries Tin Man. I think she's one of the most talented, underrated actresses around. M. Ward is an extremely talented musician (I've blogged about him before). His distinct, scratchy yet soothing voice is so beautiful and sends me back to a different era. His most recent album, Post-War, was one of my favorite albums of 2006.

When I first heard that these two ridiculously talented people were making an album together, I cannot describe how excited I was. That album, Volume One, will be released on March 18th. So far I've heard seven songs that they've sung together (most from KCRW), and I am so incredibly impressed. Their voices flow together and around each other perfectly. His scratchy voice and her smooth, deep, clear one complement and are made for each other. They really seem to have a shared, distinct vision. I can't wait to hear the album.

"When the sun shines, we’ll shine together, told you I'll be here forever. Said I'll always be a friend, took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end. Now that it's raining more than ever, know that we'll still have each other. You can stand under my umbrella, you can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh). Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh). Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh). Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh eh eh eh)." ~Rihanna

I'm generally not a huge fan of pop music. It especially bugs me when certain songs are played over and over again on the radio. Actually, I don't really have that problem right now because I never listen to the radio anymore (I only used to listen to it in the car, and I never drive now; I listen to my iPod on the subway instead). Anyway, according to my usual standards I should hate Rihanna's song "Umbrella." But, against the odds, I absolutely love it. It's been around for a long time and I'm still not sick of it. Right now I'm listening to a playlist I made of different versions of the song. This is probably the most covered song of the year. Mandy Moore, Mechanical Bride, Amanda Palmer, Plain White T's, Tegan and Sara, Marie Digby and Biffy Clyro have all covered it (and I'm sure there are more versions that I don't have). My favorites are Mandy Moore's version and Tegan and Sara's version. I also like Rihanna's acoustic version. Mandy Moore's version is so stripped down and heartfelt; it's gorgeous. I think the song is so popular because it's so simple and yet so catchy. It's #1 on a bunch of lists of the best songs of the year; it seems to have universal appeal.

Last night Nic and I went to see Citizen Kane at the Loew's Jersey City. We went because it's one of those movies that you must see on the big screen at least once in your lifetime. It was named the Greatest American Movie of All Time by the AFI in 2007. It was an innovative masterpiece when it was made, and it's been able to stand the test of time; it really is brilliant. So it was worth getting completely soaked in the process of getting there (we got caught in last night's downpour). I hardly even realized that I was soaking wet as I watched the movie.

Tomorrow's the Super Bowl, and Giants fever is strong and growing even stronger here in NYC. I've definitely caught the bug; I'm excited. Go Giants!