Most of the time, I just go along and do my thing and totally forget that I live in Korea. I spend most of my time on base, which aside from all the Koreans who work there, is just like being in America. So it's easy to forget that I do actually live someplace that is not America outside the walls of the military base as well. But there are random moments when I'll be walking down the street, snooping around the Korean market like the impostor that I am, or laughing over the gaping mouths of Korean children as they watch me walk past with my pale pale skin and blonde hair and get struck all over again that I do, in fact, live in Korea.
I had one such moment last night.
David and I hung out with friends to eat a little dinner and rock out. [I think I'm about ready to step it up to hard on drums.] We left a little after midnight and if we leave that late we generally just take a taxi home. So we waited on the curb where we know we can generally flag down a taxi. I should have instantly known this ride would be an adventure when David flagged down a speeding taxi cab and the driver hit his brakes so hard and fast that he skidded a little and killed his engine.
Still, we hopped in fast and took off, just happy that we'd managed to get a taxi so quickly. (We generally have to wait a little while to get an open taxi.) My second clue that this would be a hair raising adventure came when David and I realized--with a little bit of horror--that the seatbelts had been cut out of the backseat. I don't know why you'd cut out seatbelts from a car, especially a taxi, but we had no choice but to dig our feet in and hold onto the door handles and each other.
Since only designated cabs are allowed access onto base (and this wasn't one of those cabs), the quickest way to our neighborhood from our friend's house was to go around the base and drive through a convoluted series of twisty streets barely wide enough for two cars, down a mountain. So our speedy cab driver was barrelling down these streets, barely slowing down at the speed bumps or when passing another car and generally driving like a crazy person. Halfway down the mountain, I realized that "I'm not in America anymore" and started to laugh.
We had the cab driver drop us of a few blocks from our house and walked the rest of the way home, laughing over the ridiculousness of the ride we had just endured.
But hey, at least it was the shortest cab ride home ever.
But next time, I want a seatbelt.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Some Photos.
I haven't been too busy to post anything new. It's just that there hasn't been much to write about. I always have a running list of things I'd like to post about, but there are often more of my own personal editorials on history, food, and politics rather than what I'm doing with my life (answer: nothing) and I'm not sure if people have much interest in reading what I have to say anyway. Still, I always enjoy reading about the philosophies of my friends and so I may just bore you with my thoughts anyway.
Until then, how about a few of the photos that have been sitting in my camera for the last few weeks?
This is the old gate at Dongdaemun Market, which is in the northeastern section of downtown Seoul, not many subway stops away from our house. David and I went out to visit Dongdaemun a few weeks ago because I heard there was lots of good shopping and I enjoy the sights and sounds of Asian markets. What I didn't know was that the main buildings at Dongdaemun are full of fabrics, zippers, buttons, threads, yarn, lace, and beads. Being there really fueled my desire to take up sewing again (I'm also learning how to knit......for like the third time). Walking in and out of aisles full of gorgeous fabrics and notions also really made me wonder how the contestants of Project Runway would fair in such a place and what they could produce from some of the materials there.
From Dongdaemun, we continued walking in the direction of our home, along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. Until a few years ago, the stream had been basically boarded up and there was an elevated highway that ran through this area. But Lee Myung-bak, then the mayor of Seoul and now the president of Korea, spearheaded a big public project to restore the river and make it a public recreation area.
Now you can walk along the river and there are murals, artwork and fountains all along the way. We walked along the stream all the way home, until we turned south and headed into Myeong-dong.
Here's a Catholic church on the hill in Myeong-dong. *sigh* I love Western architecture (and I love Gothic even more!). Myeong-dong is a fun little area, also full of fun shops and restaurants and one really good gelateria. (Which I love going to because even though everything is in Korean, it's also in Italian which I can read!) We also stopped in at a restuarant where we ordered fried rice which they cooked right at our table.
The rice was quite tasty but we also didn't realize that it was KIMCHI fried rice which meant that my mouth was on FIRE after eating it. Thank goodness there was that gelateria nearby to put out the flames.
Other than that, we've been hanging out with friends and playing a lot of Rockband. We always love Rockband parties because David and I don't have a TV and we can't rock out whenever we want. Which is sad because I want to practice my drum skills some more. I typically play drums or sing vocals, although I dabble a little in guitar.
David, however, is all about the guitar, as you can tell by his expression. He gets really into it.
And in other news, I still love this cat.
Even though she's crazy.
Until then, how about a few of the photos that have been sitting in my camera for the last few weeks?
This is the old gate at Dongdaemun Market, which is in the northeastern section of downtown Seoul, not many subway stops away from our house. David and I went out to visit Dongdaemun a few weeks ago because I heard there was lots of good shopping and I enjoy the sights and sounds of Asian markets. What I didn't know was that the main buildings at Dongdaemun are full of fabrics, zippers, buttons, threads, yarn, lace, and beads. Being there really fueled my desire to take up sewing again (I'm also learning how to knit......for like the third time). Walking in and out of aisles full of gorgeous fabrics and notions also really made me wonder how the contestants of Project Runway would fair in such a place and what they could produce from some of the materials there.
From Dongdaemun, we continued walking in the direction of our home, along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. Until a few years ago, the stream had been basically boarded up and there was an elevated highway that ran through this area. But Lee Myung-bak, then the mayor of Seoul and now the president of Korea, spearheaded a big public project to restore the river and make it a public recreation area.
Now you can walk along the river and there are murals, artwork and fountains all along the way. We walked along the stream all the way home, until we turned south and headed into Myeong-dong.
Here's a Catholic church on the hill in Myeong-dong. *sigh* I love Western architecture (and I love Gothic even more!). Myeong-dong is a fun little area, also full of fun shops and restaurants and one really good gelateria. (Which I love going to because even though everything is in Korean, it's also in Italian which I can read!) We also stopped in at a restuarant where we ordered fried rice which they cooked right at our table.
The rice was quite tasty but we also didn't realize that it was KIMCHI fried rice which meant that my mouth was on FIRE after eating it. Thank goodness there was that gelateria nearby to put out the flames.Other than that, we've been hanging out with friends and playing a lot of Rockband. We always love Rockband parties because David and I don't have a TV and we can't rock out whenever we want. Which is sad because I want to practice my drum skills some more. I typically play drums or sing vocals, although I dabble a little in guitar.
David, however, is all about the guitar, as you can tell by his expression. He gets really into it.And in other news, I still love this cat.
Even though she's crazy.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Suyom
I love this cat.
And very photogenic.
She's a bit of a box whore.
But we try not to hold it against her.
I love cats. They are such regal creatures. I'm often very glad that I have Suyom with me, especially on the days that David works his 14 hour shifts. I just realized that we've had her a little over 6 months now. I think we'll keep her around.
She's endlessly entertaining.
And very photogenic.
She's a bit of a box whore.
But we try not to hold it against her.
I love cats. They are such regal creatures. I'm often very glad that I have Suyom with me, especially on the days that David works his 14 hour shifts. I just realized that we've had her a little over 6 months now. I think we'll keep her around. She really is entertaining. Especially with her new rats. (Thanks Nicole!)
Monday, September 7, 2009
Why I Want to Homeschool
A few months ago, I made an offhand comment about how I wanted to homeschool my future children, and I had an (unexpectedly) good response from many people. (I always think people are going to think I'm a crazy loon.) I don't feel that I need to justify my reasons for wanting to homeschool, but I thought I'd share them with you all the same. (It's rather lengthy.)
There are a lot of reasons motivating my decision to homeschool (which I’ll discuss below) but I think that the main reason I want to teach my (future) children at home is because I want to instill in them a lifelong love of learning. My mother gave it to me and I’ve always felt it’s one of the greatest gifts I have. I know this gift is more dependent on the individual child than the institution in which they are taught, but I feel that a public school education can often hamper or stifle a child’s growth because it teaches to the lower common denominator and doesn’t always account for other learning styles. I’ve also read studies that suggest that school teaches children to only learn at school or to only learn from their one designated teacher. It may be cliché, but I believe that the world is our classroom and I never want my children to stop learning no matter what they are doing. I’ve broken my reasoning into two sections: educational motivations and institutional motivations.
Educational Motivations (What and How Subject s Are Taught)
• To that end, I want to inject a lot of hands-on projects, experiments and field trips into my children’s education. If we’re learning about marine biology, then you can bet we’re going to visit the ocean, an aquarium, Sea World, whatever, to give them a chance to see these animals, touch them, smell them, watch them play. If we’re learning about the American Revolution, I’m going to take them to museums or battlefields, have them read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, dress up in period costume and act out scenes from the Continental Congress. It’s these types of activities that enhance learning and make it so much fun. That’s not to say that you can’t ever learn anything while sitting at a desk, listening to your teacher speak, because I certainly was able to, but this just sounds like so much more fun to me. It also allows us to set our own schedule, and to spend more time studying those subjects that most interest my children.
• I like the idea of tailoring my children’s education to what they are most interested in and how they learn best. I can learn a lot of different ways, and I did just fine in a public school setting but I have a friend who did poorly in school, and not because she’s an unintelligent person. She’s an extremely intelligent person but she is almost 100% a visual learner. She can’t retain any information from a book, but she can watch a movie once and remember everything about it: plot, character, dialogue, scenes, etc. As she always tells me, she can read 10 books on volcanoes and not learn a thing, but if she can see one, hike up one, smell it, touch it, and be told about it while standing in front of it, she’ll remember everything single detail she’s told. If this is how my children learn, then that’s how I want them to learn. If I stick them in a regular class, they’re just going to be miserable and unhappy and learn to hate school, and that’s exactly what I want to avoid.
• Standards and curriculum in public schools is appallingly low. And I say this as a person who has worked in public schools and for a publishing company that produced standardized tests for public schoolchildren. Again, they only strive to reach the lowest common denominator and make school boring and unchallenging for the brighter students. They mandate what teachers must teach and the introduction of the No Child Left Behind act and increased standardized testing have placed too much emphasis on language arts, math and science, and, in some cases, almost completely eliminated the funding for history, art history, arts appreciation, music, foreign languages, physical education, and elective programs. I would like my children to attend high school because it can offer a lot of great clubs, electives, A.P. classes, and social activities that are, I feel, essential to the life of an American teenager. But if they are going to cut out band, choir, theater programs, academic and service clubs, athletics, and other elective courses, then what’s the point? I can just sign them up for club sports, private music lessons, and college courses to get the same experience. And a lot of homeschooling networks have formed in many communities to create the sort of social activities that a regular high school creates, with a lot less drama. (I hope. Oh, how I hated the drama of high school.)
• I think there are many wonderful educators who chose to teach public school for all the right reasons. But there are a lot of restrictions placed on them about what they can and cannot teach. I believe in teaching all angles of a subject (i.e. evolution and creationism) but people who decry the separation of church and state would have public schools completely eliminate any discussion of creationism, despite the majority of people (regardless of their religious beliefs) who accept this principle. I recently read a book by James W. Loewen called Lies My Teacher Told Me which discusses the pathetic way that American history is taught in public schools. Instead of teaching about our controversies, about our failures and foibles and the issues of race, class, and gender in American history, most high school textbooks simply paint America as the savior of the world and try to induce students into blind patriotism for their country. All this does is alienate some students and make history incredibly boring. I love my country (and history) precisely because I understand where we have succeeded and where we have failed and I also understand where we are headed. I do not want to deny my children the chance to learn truths. And I certainly don’t find it necessary for them to know what the Smoot-Hawley tariff was or when Chester A. Arthur became president.
• I’m also concerned about the new debate over how sex education should be taught in schools. I think it’s the parents’ right and responsibility to lead this discussion with their children but unfortunately, there are way too many uninvolved parents out there who are more than content to have the schools take over the teaching of this topic. I cannot prevent my children from learning about this from other sources, but I should be able to teach them about my beliefs and what I feel are the right and moral decisions to make regarding sex. And I want to teach them on my own timetable when they are mature enough to understand what I am trying to teach them.
• Most of all, public school is a big fat time waster. Think about how much time is actually spent learning. In a 6-7 hour day, I’d say only 2 or 3 hours of that is actual education. (Speaking from personal experience.) I’d rather spend 3-4 hours with my children doing schoolwork and then spend the rest of our time playing, doing crafts, going on field trips, and making learning fun.
• One of my more selfish motivations is simply that I love to learn. And there is no better way to learn than by teaching. I look forward to teaching my children all sorts of things because, in the end, I’m also learning myself. Plus, I should also pick up a thing or two about patience, which I’m sadly lacking in these days.
Institutional Motivations (Who is doing the teaching)
• Now, there are a lot of good teachers who loose their jobs because they want to teach controversial subjects. And there are a lot of bad teachers who get to stick around because they have tenure or belong to a teacher’s union. How about the 700 teachers on probation in New York City who still get paid their annual salaries to sit around and do nothing? (Granted, I don’t believe all the teachers held in these rubber rooms belong there. Others should have been fired long ago. Besides which, there are a lot of school positions which do not require any interaction with students that these teachers could have helped with instead of wasting time and money.) Of course, just because I pull my children out of a public school system doesn’t mean that my taxpayer dollars won’t still go to education but this is just an example of how poorly run and managed and wasteful our public schools are becoming.
• I was also very opposed to the CTA’s (California Teacher’s Association) donation of over a million dollars to the Prop 8 campaign. Regardless of their position for or against this proposition, I am ethically opposed to a teacher’s union getting involved in political issues. Education should be non-partisan but when a teacher’s union takes a stand on a highly charged political and moral issue, I have to wonder what else teachers feel is appropriate for them to teach in class. Should I expect my child to face a teacher like this during a presidential election?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezrUd8xH0gQ
• I’m not really a fan of many teachers unions anyway because they don’t have the education of our children as their main concern. I’ll give you an example from my mother’s experience teaching in California. My mother has been unable to get a full-time teaching position at our school district, so she subs (often on long-term sub contracts) and teaches adult classes at night for failing students. She was planning on teaching an English class during summer school which would mainly have helped out band students who often need to take summer school classes to free open an extra elective to participate in the marching band. Because my mother is not a full-time teacher of the school district, she would have been paid less than a regular teacher. This also meant that the students would have been charged less to take her class (I think it was around $150). But the union demanded that a full-time teacher be offered the chance to teach this class ahead of my mother and be paid their regular salary. This also meant that the price of the class (because of budget shortfalls) would have to be raised to cover a different teacher’s salary. The new class price? $400. Who exactly does that benefit?
• I also have an issue with the credential system for educators. Public schools place far more emphasis on their teachers have degrees in education rather than the subject which they want to teach. It’s one thing to understand educational theories, but a good teacher will only become a great teacher if they know their subject well and teach it well. (This applies more to secondary education than elementary education, obviously.) So even though I have a master’s in American history, I’m unqualified to work in a public school over a credentialed teacher who took a couple credits of history in college. While I don’t totally disagree with a credential program, I do think they need to make more exceptions for other highly qualified candidates. For every good teacher I had, there were two or three awful teachers, who did more harm than good, who made learning painful, and who often made me wonder if they became teachers because they were qualified for no other job. (*cough*Harris*cough*)
You may then ask yourself, “Am I a qualified teacher?” Sure, I feel perfectly qualified to teach history, literature, art and elementary education, but I’m certainly not qualified to teach math or science. In this, I am glad that I have a partner (David) who is very supportive of homeschooling (he wants to do it more than I do) and can teach math and science to our children. There are also a lot of homeschooling communities that trade off in teaching different subjects. I’m also fully in support of our children taking college courses or A.P./regular courses at a public high school. And if any of our [currently imaginary] children wanted to go to school, I would let them go. I do believe that any child can get a lot out of a traditional school setting and curriculum if they have involved parents. There are days when I think I’d love to just dump my kids off at school and have some peace and quiet for a little while or to not have to hassle with lesson plans and curriculum. I wonder if we’d be doing them a disservice by homeschooling or that they’d miss out on a lot of necessary socialization and activities that children need. We will have to evaluate our decision for each child, but for now, we are both committed to homeschooling.
Thank goodness I’ve got a few years to get prepared. And to, you know, have some children. I guess that’s the first step, huh? (And no, I’m not pregnant.)
There are a lot of reasons motivating my decision to homeschool (which I’ll discuss below) but I think that the main reason I want to teach my (future) children at home is because I want to instill in them a lifelong love of learning. My mother gave it to me and I’ve always felt it’s one of the greatest gifts I have. I know this gift is more dependent on the individual child than the institution in which they are taught, but I feel that a public school education can often hamper or stifle a child’s growth because it teaches to the lower common denominator and doesn’t always account for other learning styles. I’ve also read studies that suggest that school teaches children to only learn at school or to only learn from their one designated teacher. It may be cliché, but I believe that the world is our classroom and I never want my children to stop learning no matter what they are doing. I’ve broken my reasoning into two sections: educational motivations and institutional motivations.
Educational Motivations (What and How Subject s Are Taught)
• To that end, I want to inject a lot of hands-on projects, experiments and field trips into my children’s education. If we’re learning about marine biology, then you can bet we’re going to visit the ocean, an aquarium, Sea World, whatever, to give them a chance to see these animals, touch them, smell them, watch them play. If we’re learning about the American Revolution, I’m going to take them to museums or battlefields, have them read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, dress up in period costume and act out scenes from the Continental Congress. It’s these types of activities that enhance learning and make it so much fun. That’s not to say that you can’t ever learn anything while sitting at a desk, listening to your teacher speak, because I certainly was able to, but this just sounds like so much more fun to me. It also allows us to set our own schedule, and to spend more time studying those subjects that most interest my children.
• I like the idea of tailoring my children’s education to what they are most interested in and how they learn best. I can learn a lot of different ways, and I did just fine in a public school setting but I have a friend who did poorly in school, and not because she’s an unintelligent person. She’s an extremely intelligent person but she is almost 100% a visual learner. She can’t retain any information from a book, but she can watch a movie once and remember everything about it: plot, character, dialogue, scenes, etc. As she always tells me, she can read 10 books on volcanoes and not learn a thing, but if she can see one, hike up one, smell it, touch it, and be told about it while standing in front of it, she’ll remember everything single detail she’s told. If this is how my children learn, then that’s how I want them to learn. If I stick them in a regular class, they’re just going to be miserable and unhappy and learn to hate school, and that’s exactly what I want to avoid.
• Standards and curriculum in public schools is appallingly low. And I say this as a person who has worked in public schools and for a publishing company that produced standardized tests for public schoolchildren. Again, they only strive to reach the lowest common denominator and make school boring and unchallenging for the brighter students. They mandate what teachers must teach and the introduction of the No Child Left Behind act and increased standardized testing have placed too much emphasis on language arts, math and science, and, in some cases, almost completely eliminated the funding for history, art history, arts appreciation, music, foreign languages, physical education, and elective programs. I would like my children to attend high school because it can offer a lot of great clubs, electives, A.P. classes, and social activities that are, I feel, essential to the life of an American teenager. But if they are going to cut out band, choir, theater programs, academic and service clubs, athletics, and other elective courses, then what’s the point? I can just sign them up for club sports, private music lessons, and college courses to get the same experience. And a lot of homeschooling networks have formed in many communities to create the sort of social activities that a regular high school creates, with a lot less drama. (I hope. Oh, how I hated the drama of high school.)
• I think there are many wonderful educators who chose to teach public school for all the right reasons. But there are a lot of restrictions placed on them about what they can and cannot teach. I believe in teaching all angles of a subject (i.e. evolution and creationism) but people who decry the separation of church and state would have public schools completely eliminate any discussion of creationism, despite the majority of people (regardless of their religious beliefs) who accept this principle. I recently read a book by James W. Loewen called Lies My Teacher Told Me which discusses the pathetic way that American history is taught in public schools. Instead of teaching about our controversies, about our failures and foibles and the issues of race, class, and gender in American history, most high school textbooks simply paint America as the savior of the world and try to induce students into blind patriotism for their country. All this does is alienate some students and make history incredibly boring. I love my country (and history) precisely because I understand where we have succeeded and where we have failed and I also understand where we are headed. I do not want to deny my children the chance to learn truths. And I certainly don’t find it necessary for them to know what the Smoot-Hawley tariff was or when Chester A. Arthur became president.
• I’m also concerned about the new debate over how sex education should be taught in schools. I think it’s the parents’ right and responsibility to lead this discussion with their children but unfortunately, there are way too many uninvolved parents out there who are more than content to have the schools take over the teaching of this topic. I cannot prevent my children from learning about this from other sources, but I should be able to teach them about my beliefs and what I feel are the right and moral decisions to make regarding sex. And I want to teach them on my own timetable when they are mature enough to understand what I am trying to teach them.
• Most of all, public school is a big fat time waster. Think about how much time is actually spent learning. In a 6-7 hour day, I’d say only 2 or 3 hours of that is actual education. (Speaking from personal experience.) I’d rather spend 3-4 hours with my children doing schoolwork and then spend the rest of our time playing, doing crafts, going on field trips, and making learning fun.
• One of my more selfish motivations is simply that I love to learn. And there is no better way to learn than by teaching. I look forward to teaching my children all sorts of things because, in the end, I’m also learning myself. Plus, I should also pick up a thing or two about patience, which I’m sadly lacking in these days.
Institutional Motivations (Who is doing the teaching)
• Now, there are a lot of good teachers who loose their jobs because they want to teach controversial subjects. And there are a lot of bad teachers who get to stick around because they have tenure or belong to a teacher’s union. How about the 700 teachers on probation in New York City who still get paid their annual salaries to sit around and do nothing? (Granted, I don’t believe all the teachers held in these rubber rooms belong there. Others should have been fired long ago. Besides which, there are a lot of school positions which do not require any interaction with students that these teachers could have helped with instead of wasting time and money.) Of course, just because I pull my children out of a public school system doesn’t mean that my taxpayer dollars won’t still go to education but this is just an example of how poorly run and managed and wasteful our public schools are becoming.
• I was also very opposed to the CTA’s (California Teacher’s Association) donation of over a million dollars to the Prop 8 campaign. Regardless of their position for or against this proposition, I am ethically opposed to a teacher’s union getting involved in political issues. Education should be non-partisan but when a teacher’s union takes a stand on a highly charged political and moral issue, I have to wonder what else teachers feel is appropriate for them to teach in class. Should I expect my child to face a teacher like this during a presidential election?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezrUd8xH0gQ
• I’m not really a fan of many teachers unions anyway because they don’t have the education of our children as their main concern. I’ll give you an example from my mother’s experience teaching in California. My mother has been unable to get a full-time teaching position at our school district, so she subs (often on long-term sub contracts) and teaches adult classes at night for failing students. She was planning on teaching an English class during summer school which would mainly have helped out band students who often need to take summer school classes to free open an extra elective to participate in the marching band. Because my mother is not a full-time teacher of the school district, she would have been paid less than a regular teacher. This also meant that the students would have been charged less to take her class (I think it was around $150). But the union demanded that a full-time teacher be offered the chance to teach this class ahead of my mother and be paid their regular salary. This also meant that the price of the class (because of budget shortfalls) would have to be raised to cover a different teacher’s salary. The new class price? $400. Who exactly does that benefit?
• I also have an issue with the credential system for educators. Public schools place far more emphasis on their teachers have degrees in education rather than the subject which they want to teach. It’s one thing to understand educational theories, but a good teacher will only become a great teacher if they know their subject well and teach it well. (This applies more to secondary education than elementary education, obviously.) So even though I have a master’s in American history, I’m unqualified to work in a public school over a credentialed teacher who took a couple credits of history in college. While I don’t totally disagree with a credential program, I do think they need to make more exceptions for other highly qualified candidates. For every good teacher I had, there were two or three awful teachers, who did more harm than good, who made learning painful, and who often made me wonder if they became teachers because they were qualified for no other job. (*cough*Harris*cough*)
You may then ask yourself, “Am I a qualified teacher?” Sure, I feel perfectly qualified to teach history, literature, art and elementary education, but I’m certainly not qualified to teach math or science. In this, I am glad that I have a partner (David) who is very supportive of homeschooling (he wants to do it more than I do) and can teach math and science to our children. There are also a lot of homeschooling communities that trade off in teaching different subjects. I’m also fully in support of our children taking college courses or A.P./regular courses at a public high school. And if any of our [currently imaginary] children wanted to go to school, I would let them go. I do believe that any child can get a lot out of a traditional school setting and curriculum if they have involved parents. There are days when I think I’d love to just dump my kids off at school and have some peace and quiet for a little while or to not have to hassle with lesson plans and curriculum. I wonder if we’d be doing them a disservice by homeschooling or that they’d miss out on a lot of necessary socialization and activities that children need. We will have to evaluate our decision for each child, but for now, we are both committed to homeschooling.
Thank goodness I’ve got a few years to get prepared. And to, you know, have some children. I guess that’s the first step, huh? (And no, I’m not pregnant.)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Herein lies proof that I have no life...
So, you may be wondering what I've been up to lately and the answer to that is a big fat NOTHING. I have, however, been watching a lot of movies. Some newer films I've seen at the base theater, but I've also been checking out a lot of movies from the Yongsan Library. While the library has a pretty pitiful selection of books, it does have a fairly large movie collection.....albeit a rather odd movie collection. They've got a bunch of popular movies, new releases, documentaries, tv shows and classics, but they've also got a sizable portion of just plain weird and obscure movies. And since so many people check out movies from the library, there's always new stuff on the shelves that I've never seen before.
Picking movies is always an interesting endeavor at the library. I always have to look at all the shelves to see what's there, what's new, what I've never heard of, and then whittle down all my choices to 5. Most of the time I grab the movies I've never seen before because you never know when you might see them again on the shelf. (You cannot reserve movies or be put on a waiting list.) Needless to say, I've watched some very interesting movies lately. For those who may be after some movie selections, here's a list of some of the movies I've watched recently.....the ones I can remember, at least....with a little commentary by me.
P.S. Please don't judge me because I watch some rated R movies. I know I'm a bad person.
There are four movies in particular which have especially stayed with me and I'd highly recommend.
1. The Lives of Others - This is a German film, set in East Berlin a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's beautifully written, fabulously acted and absolutely riveting. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2007 and deservedly so. It chronicles a Stasi agent whose life and views are completely changed while overseeing a surveillance project against a German playwright. It's a haunting look at a fallen socialist regime and the people who survived it....and those who didn't. I can't stop thinking about it. (And I want to rent it again but it's already disappeared off the shelves. Who knows when I'll see it again....)
2. Once - So I'd heard a lot about this little Irish indie, mostly because of its soundtrack and the sweet love story between two would-be musicians. It's a bit quirky in its plot and pace, but ultimately very satisfying. Also, great music. I'm also a sucker for unrequited love stories.
3. Doubt - The Academy heaped lots of praise and nominations on this film starring Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams. The movie synopsis didn't make it sound particularly thrilling, but I thought I'd give it a try and I'm so glad I did. All four actors gave great performances and I thought it was a wonderful study of faith, doubt, and human nature.
4. Dan in Real Life - So I seem to have a thing for dramas staring over-the-top comedians. Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction. Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Now, Steve Carrell in Dan in Real Life. It's a very sweet story about a widower (Carrell) with 3 daughters and his loving albeit nosy family. And how he falls in love with his brother's girlfriend. Ouch. But in a good way.
I'll try to be more succinct with the other movies. :-)
5. From Here to Eternity - Classic. Schofield Barracks (on Oahu where this was shot) hasn't changed much. A little hard on the military, but still some truth to it.
6. It Happened One Night - Classic. Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Frank Capra. Why don't they make more movies like this?
7. P.S. I Love You - Warning: Must watch with box of tissues.
8. Cranford - Loving Elizabeth Gaskell right now and this has a great cast. (See also: Wives and Daughters and North and South)
9. The Holiday - A unique and ultimately charming romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz (I still don't think she can really act), Jack Black (charmingly goofy), Kate Winslet (love her) and Jude Law (man whore but so, so pretty).
10. Post Grad - Don't waste your time. So cliche and full of barely likeable "quirky" characters.
11. Northanger Abbey (2007) - The only Jane Austen book I hadn't read....so I checked out the book and the movie together. Read the book, then watched the movie. Eh. Not one of my favorites (book or movie). Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (which just might be edging out P&P, gasp!) are still the best.
12. Strictly Ballroom - Love Baz Luhrman. (Still need to see Australia.) Visually appealing and offbeat, but in a good way.
13. Philadelphia Story - Um, hello? Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant in one movie! What's not to love?
14. Nightmare Before Christmas - I do appreciate and generally love Tim Burton's aesthetic (can't wait for Alice in Wonderland) but this one just fell flat for me. Though I thought it was brilliant visually and I liked a few songs.
15. Evan Almighty - I actually really enjoyed this film. I think we could use a little divine inspiration in Washington right about now.
16. Monster-in-Law - Okay, first off: Michael Vartan. I've loved you since Never Been Kissed, way before Alias. And Jennifer Lopez is very cute and adorable in romantic comedies. I thought this was pretty fun.
17. The Rocketeer - Not at all what I remember it being about. Timothy Dalton creeps me out.
18. Catch and Release - Pass. Not bad, just......not good either.
19. Mostly Martha - So I'm really into German films right now. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart did an English adaption of this delightful movie (No Reservations) but the original is much better.
20. Patton - They sure don't make generals like this anymore. "Rommel, you beautiful bastard. I read your book." Favorite line. Don't judge.
21. Chuck, season one - If you are not watching this show, you should be. Go!
22. Tess of d'Ubervilles - I couldn't finish the book and I couldn't finish the movie. Thomas Hardy, we are officially over.
23. Flags of our Fathers - Heartbreaking and horrifying and sometimes a little hard to follow with all the flashbacks. Great cinematography though. But whatever you do, do not get curious (like me) and read what happened to Iggy in real life. Just....don't.
24. Fireproof - Slightly cheesey Christian film (though I'm inoculated against those from all the cheesey Mormon films I've seen) starring Kirk Cameron, but actually has a sweet story and a good message about the importance of marriage.
25. Gentleman's Agreement - Another really great classic. A reporter (Gregory Peck) poses as Jewish to write an article about anti-semitism in America. Really eye opening. Also, I've got a thing for Gregory Peck. He's the thinking woman's leading man. Swoon.
That's all I can remember. I'm sure there are more, but I suppose they weren't that memorable. I just checked out a documentary called Helvetica today and I'm super excited to watch it. Yes, I get twitterpated over a movie about typceface.
I'm a nerd with no life.
Please don't judge.
Also, does anyone have other movie suggestions?
Picking movies is always an interesting endeavor at the library. I always have to look at all the shelves to see what's there, what's new, what I've never heard of, and then whittle down all my choices to 5. Most of the time I grab the movies I've never seen before because you never know when you might see them again on the shelf. (You cannot reserve movies or be put on a waiting list.) Needless to say, I've watched some very interesting movies lately. For those who may be after some movie selections, here's a list of some of the movies I've watched recently.....the ones I can remember, at least....with a little commentary by me.
P.S. Please don't judge me because I watch some rated R movies. I know I'm a bad person.
There are four movies in particular which have especially stayed with me and I'd highly recommend.
1. The Lives of Others - This is a German film, set in East Berlin a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's beautifully written, fabulously acted and absolutely riveting. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2007 and deservedly so. It chronicles a Stasi agent whose life and views are completely changed while overseeing a surveillance project against a German playwright. It's a haunting look at a fallen socialist regime and the people who survived it....and those who didn't. I can't stop thinking about it. (And I want to rent it again but it's already disappeared off the shelves. Who knows when I'll see it again....)
2. Once - So I'd heard a lot about this little Irish indie, mostly because of its soundtrack and the sweet love story between two would-be musicians. It's a bit quirky in its plot and pace, but ultimately very satisfying. Also, great music. I'm also a sucker for unrequited love stories.
3. Doubt - The Academy heaped lots of praise and nominations on this film starring Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis, and Amy Adams. The movie synopsis didn't make it sound particularly thrilling, but I thought I'd give it a try and I'm so glad I did. All four actors gave great performances and I thought it was a wonderful study of faith, doubt, and human nature.
4. Dan in Real Life - So I seem to have a thing for dramas staring over-the-top comedians. Will Ferrell in Stranger than Fiction. Jim Carrey in The Truman Show. Now, Steve Carrell in Dan in Real Life. It's a very sweet story about a widower (Carrell) with 3 daughters and his loving albeit nosy family. And how he falls in love with his brother's girlfriend. Ouch. But in a good way.
I'll try to be more succinct with the other movies. :-)
5. From Here to Eternity - Classic. Schofield Barracks (on Oahu where this was shot) hasn't changed much. A little hard on the military, but still some truth to it.
6. It Happened One Night - Classic. Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert and Frank Capra. Why don't they make more movies like this?
7. P.S. I Love You - Warning: Must watch with box of tissues.
8. Cranford - Loving Elizabeth Gaskell right now and this has a great cast. (See also: Wives and Daughters and North and South)
9. The Holiday - A unique and ultimately charming romantic comedy with Cameron Diaz (I still don't think she can really act), Jack Black (charmingly goofy), Kate Winslet (love her) and Jude Law (man whore but so, so pretty).
10. Post Grad - Don't waste your time. So cliche and full of barely likeable "quirky" characters.
11. Northanger Abbey (2007) - The only Jane Austen book I hadn't read....so I checked out the book and the movie together. Read the book, then watched the movie. Eh. Not one of my favorites (book or movie). Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion (which just might be edging out P&P, gasp!) are still the best.
12. Strictly Ballroom - Love Baz Luhrman. (Still need to see Australia.) Visually appealing and offbeat, but in a good way.
13. Philadelphia Story - Um, hello? Katharine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant in one movie! What's not to love?
14. Nightmare Before Christmas - I do appreciate and generally love Tim Burton's aesthetic (can't wait for Alice in Wonderland) but this one just fell flat for me. Though I thought it was brilliant visually and I liked a few songs.
15. Evan Almighty - I actually really enjoyed this film. I think we could use a little divine inspiration in Washington right about now.
16. Monster-in-Law - Okay, first off: Michael Vartan. I've loved you since Never Been Kissed, way before Alias. And Jennifer Lopez is very cute and adorable in romantic comedies. I thought this was pretty fun.
17. The Rocketeer - Not at all what I remember it being about. Timothy Dalton creeps me out.
18. Catch and Release - Pass. Not bad, just......not good either.
19. Mostly Martha - So I'm really into German films right now. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart did an English adaption of this delightful movie (No Reservations) but the original is much better.
20. Patton - They sure don't make generals like this anymore. "Rommel, you beautiful bastard. I read your book." Favorite line. Don't judge.
21. Chuck, season one - If you are not watching this show, you should be. Go!
22. Tess of d'Ubervilles - I couldn't finish the book and I couldn't finish the movie. Thomas Hardy, we are officially over.
23. Flags of our Fathers - Heartbreaking and horrifying and sometimes a little hard to follow with all the flashbacks. Great cinematography though. But whatever you do, do not get curious (like me) and read what happened to Iggy in real life. Just....don't.
24. Fireproof - Slightly cheesey Christian film (though I'm inoculated against those from all the cheesey Mormon films I've seen) starring Kirk Cameron, but actually has a sweet story and a good message about the importance of marriage.
25. Gentleman's Agreement - Another really great classic. A reporter (Gregory Peck) poses as Jewish to write an article about anti-semitism in America. Really eye opening. Also, I've got a thing for Gregory Peck. He's the thinking woman's leading man. Swoon.
That's all I can remember. I'm sure there are more, but I suppose they weren't that memorable. I just checked out a documentary called Helvetica today and I'm super excited to watch it. Yes, I get twitterpated over a movie about typceface.
I'm a nerd with no life.
Please don't judge.
Also, does anyone have other movie suggestions?
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