Merry Christmas!

My Christmas is definitely going to be a white one; there's tons of snow here, and it's been snowing all day today (I'm visiting my parents in Colorado).

I'm going to see Les Mis on Christmas day (tomorrow), which I'm really looking forward to, and a bunch of my parents' friends are coming here for Christmas dinner. I think it'll be a good day. I hope everyone else has a Merry Christmas!

"Do you know—well, of course you do—what it’s like to be afraid? That nothing will become of all the plans that you have made?" ~hartmere and intrabartolo (bare: a pop opera)


I like this article/blog post. It's true. We're in it for the kids.
One of my former students died on Monday. She was one of those kids who make teaching worth all the crap we have to deal with. It's hard to wrap my head around it. 

I don't have much to say today. I'm ready for Christmas.

"Portrait of a girl, painted illusion. She plays her part, she sees that she's a work of art. Paint her in, watching one color end and one begin. Brush away what's stray, there's disguise in her eyes. Add shadows that dance across her skin, hide the doubt that cries out within her. Stripped bare beneath all the layers would you recognize the girl?" ~hartmere and intrabartolo (bare: a pop opera)


I had a lovely weekend hanging out with one of my favorite families. I stayed with my friends Amy and Bill upstate. They're surrounded by wilderness; there are no other houses visible from theirs. They live off of the Appalachian Trail. It's nice to get out of the city every once in a while and be in a completely different environment. I love their kids, so I was happy to spend time with them. Here's Claire and I (yes, we're both named Claire, which sometimes gets very confusing) hanging out at JFK (I was there sending her off to France). We had fun entertaining ourselves for a few hours, and we enjoyed the giant, festive Christmas tree in the terminal.

 Random TV musings: 

Survivor Finale! I've had crazy good luck in the last three seasons; in each of the last three seasons, the person I was rooting for at the beginning of the season ended up winning. Seriously. In this blog post at the beginning of this season, I said that I wanted to see Denise win. Guess who won? I'm pretty darn happy.

How on earth can I wait almost a year for the next season of Homeland to start? (It returns in the fall of 2013). The finale? Oh. My. Gosh. There are no words. It was heartbreaking and thrilling and I loved every moment of it. Here are some of my favorite lines from the finale (don't worry, no spoilers). I loved Saul saying to Estes, "Well, if it isn't Javert." That Les Mis reference is made even cooler by the fact that it was delivered by Mandy Patinkin, a Tony Award winner best known for his musical theatre career (I want to hear him sing on the show). And Quinn's line to Estes, "I'm a guy that kills bad guys," was amazing. I wanted to hug him. Finally, the last line (last word, actually), that final moment, broke my heart. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis have already won Emmys for their role in this show (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they win more), but Mandy Patinkin really deserves one for supporting actor. In the last scene, he didn't have to say anything; his expression was so full of emotion that it said so much more than words ever could. I felt like I could see inside his head and could feel every conflicting emotion with with he was struggling as he tried to put together his thoughts.

And finally, some Les Mis/Flash Mob Love (just because).
Oh, how I wish I had been at this wedding:


Zach Braff is awesome. And so is Lauren Molina. I met her after a performance of Sweeney Todd and she is so, so sweet. (And I got to stand next to Zach Braff while watching his play, which was pretty cool.)

 "I'd like to start with just a....If we could take a moment....If maybe we were silent....Or we had spoken....I tried to find the words to....Just the right quotation....But I must confess I came up empty." ~hartmere and intrabartolo (bare: a pop opera)


I managed to (mostly) hold it together during Bare (an off-Broadway play) last night, but I started crying as soon as I got out of the theater on the walk to the subway. There were two guys walking next to me who had also seen the show, and they were both sobbing. We must have been an interesting sight to anyone walking past us.

They've made a lot of changes to the current production, and I liked the original version much better. They cut some of my favorite songs, changed some of my other favorites, and added dialogue. I don't think any of the changes are for the better. Either way, though, it's an incredibly moving musical, and I also think it's a very important one. And I love the music, so I'll be posting some of the songs this week (songs from the original recording).

I'm going upstate today to visit my friends Bill and Amy for the weekend; I'll be babysitting the girls for some of the time, and I'm excited!

The Survivor finale is on Sunday (yes, I still watch Survivor). Go Denise!

"Oh, catfish bells, catfish bells, catfish all the way."

"Men like me can never change, men like you can never change. No, 24601. My duty's to the law - you have no rights, come with me 24601. Now the wheel has turned around, Jean Valjean is nothing now. Dare you talk to me of crime, and the price you had to pay? Every man is born in sin, every man must choose his way. You know nothing of Javert, I was born inside a jail. I was born with scum like you. I am from the gutter, too." ~~les miserables (kretzmer, boublil, & natel)
AAAAAHHHHHHH. There are no words for how much I love this. It's from Russell Crowe's recent concert at Joe's Pub (with special guest Hugh Jackman). This is one of my favorite songs from Les Mis. I'm so sad I wasn't there, but thanks so much to the uploader. Fun fact: Javert (played by Russell Crowe in the upcoming movie) is my favorite character in Les Mis. I love Javert. I get him.

 "It says a lot about one where you choose to spend the cold months; do you go or do you stay?"~the last town chorus

This post is a weird assortment of things on my mind/radar right now. Mostly movie thoughts/Oscar predictions. Stay tuned for a theater post coming up.

1. Time Magazine named Parks & Recreation the Top TV show of 1012. All I have to say about that is YES. Now Give Amy Poehler an Emmy aready. Please. By the way, I love this. I've learned a lot from Amy Poehler.

2.  Anna Kendrick as Elphaba? I approve. I love this girl. She's been nominated for an Oscar (for Up in the Air) and a Tony (for High Society), which is impressive. She can act and she can certainly sing. She and Kristin Chenoweth sang "For Good" (from Wicked) at Trevor Live on Sunday, and it's a gorgeous performance (it's not my video, and the fans are distracting, but it's still lovely to listen to). I'm now campaigning for Anna Kendrick as Elphaba in the Wicked movie if it ever gets made.


 3. I've read a lot of good books lately, and right now I want to mention just one. The final book of the Matched trilogy, Reached, was released last month. The trilogy is a young adult dystopian series. It's similar to The Hunger Games in that it's a young adult dystopian trilogy with a central love triangle, but the two series present very different views of the future. I love the Matched trilogy. While reading Reached I didn't want it to end, but at the same time I couldn't put it down. It's a satisfying end to the series. If you're a teacher of reluctant readers, this is something that will engage them, and I think adults will enjoy it as well (I did). I particularly love the value Ally Condie (the author) places on the written word; writing is an important part of the book (Cassia, the protagonist, is a poet).

4. Funny video.

5. It's awards season. I try to see most movies that come out as they're released in theaters (at least the good ones), and I love the Oscars. Right now is the time to start reflecting on the year's best movies and thinking about what will be honored in February, so here are my thoughts:

Best Picture: 
I haven't seen Les Miserables yet, so it's probably wrong for me to want it to win already, but I feel like I will love it and I'd love to see it win. I think it's biggest competition is Argo, which I loved. Other favorites of mine are Silver Linings Playbook (so, so, so good), Life of Pi (visually stunning and very moving), Moonrise Kingdom (I love Wes Anderson, and this might be his best yet; it's charming), and Beasts of the Southern Wild (creative, heartbreaking, and imaginative with a central performance that will knock you over). I also enjoyed The Master, Anna Karenina, Lincoln, The Sessions, and Flight, but not as much as the others already listed. Zero Dark Thirty will most likely be nominated and I am really really excited to see it, and I also can't wait to see The Impossible, which also has a good shot.

Best Actor: 
This is an incredibly competitive category. A handful of these men could have won this award in another less competitive year. Daniel Day Lewis will probably win for Lincoln, and he was fantastic, so I won't be disappointed. I'd love to see Hugh Jackman win for Les Miserables, though. I think he has a shot (he has the best shot at beating Daniel Day Lewis). Denzel Washington gives one of his best performances in Flight and will most likely be nominated. John Hawkes should be nominated; he's wonderful in The Sessions. The fifth actor to be nominated is tricky. It could be Joaquin Phoenix for The Master, but his recent anti-awards tirade could hurt his chances. It could also go to Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook. I loved both performances, so I'm torn.

Best Actress: 
Jennifer Lawrence. Silver Linings Playbook. She's fabulous, and right now I give her the edge to win. Jessica Chastain is a contender for Zero Dark Thirty, but I haven't seen the movie so I can't comment. I do love her, though (look for my posts on The Heiress and her Times Talk). I really, really want to see Quvenzhane Wallis nominated for Beasts of the Southern Wild. I am in awe of this tiny force of nature. She was six years old when this movie was filmed. Six! She blows me away; she's filled with this quiet strength. Naomi Watts will probably be nominated for The Impossible, and the fifth slot could go to Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina), Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), or Helen Mirren (Hitchcock).

Best Supporting Actor: 
Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) will get a nomination. Philip Seymour Hoffman will be nominated for The Master, and Leonardo DiCaprio will be nominated for Django Unchained. I think Robert DeNiro will get a nomination for Silver Linings Playbook, and Eddie Redmayne has a good chance for Les Miserables. That's five, right? I think those will be the five. Alan Arkin (Argo) or John Goodman (Argo or Flight) could sneak in and replace one of my guesses. I have no idea who will win this category.

Best Supporting Actress:
This is the easiest race to call. The nominees haven't even been announced and I can still say that Anne Hathaway should start writing her acceptance speech. Based on everything I've heard about and seen of her performance in Les Miserables, she's the one to beat. Helen Hunt in The Sessions and Sally Field in Lincoln both give complex, nuanced performances, but I don't think it's their year to win (they will be nominated, though). Amy Adams should be nominated for The Master. The fifth slot could go to Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Kerry Washington (Django Unchained), Maggie Smith (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Samantha Barks (Les Mis), or Helena Bonham Carter (Les Mis).

That's all for now. Here are the trailers for some of my favorite movies of the year.

Silver Linings Playbook:


Moonrise Kingdom:
Beasts of the Southern Wild:

Argo:

Life of Pi: