"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.