I don't know who will actually read this, but I figured it was my best chance to talk to a bunch of WC folks. Several people have contacted me asking if I was leaving SES. I don't know where this rumor started, but I'm going to squelch it once and for all. I am NOT leaving SES. I will be there on August 18th with all the teachers. In fact, I just bought a house to be closer to SES! So clearly, I have no immediate plans of leaving. It is true that a lot of those with whom I was very close have left SES and I'm not real excited about going back without them. However, I realized that I don't love my job because of the teachers...I love it because of my kids. As long as my kids are there when I get back, then I have everything I need. I have some great new challenges ahead this year that will be fun. I'm going to have only AG classes again and for the first time will have two 6th grade AG classes. I've added a new novel to the 6th grade curriculum as a result. I'm going to be a team leader for the first time (The Buccaneers). I'm working on developing an academic competition among all of my classes (with a little help from Christian, Meredith, Taylor Mac, and Jeremiah hopefully). So I WILL be back this year. If you hear anyone say otherwise, please straighten them out. Let it be known that I bleed Green and Gold!

So after months of waiting, I finally got to see The Dark Knight today. Going into this, I don't think I've ever seen a movie so unanimously hailed as the best ever in its genre. And I've NEVER heard the phrases Best Picture Oscar or Best Supporting Actor mentioned in the same breath as a comic-book movie, but that's what critics were saying. And now that I've seen the movie...I wholeheartedly agree.

This is, in fact, the best comic book movie I've ever seen (barely nudging out its predecessor Batman Begins). It is two and half brilliant hours of action, mystery, good, evil...really evil...and great performances. Christopher Nolan, currently my favorite director in Hollywood on the merit of the Batman films and The Prestige, managed to do what not even grim reaper Tim Burton could- make a Batman movie that is so dark it's actually creepy. This is not a kids movie. I'm shocked it's not rated R. It's not just a story of a super hero and super villain. It's a deep philosophical look into what ails society and the evil within all of us. Would you willingly kill a boat full of prisoners just to save your own life? Are you BETTER than 300 perps? Nolan forces us to answer this and many other questions that have never been covered in a comic book film.

The highlight, as most know, is Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. There is no other way to describe him- he is terrifying. He plays the joker not as an evil clown, but as a soulless, sadomasochistic killer who tortures and murders just because he wants to. There is no end to his means which makes him all the more off-putting. If Ledger doesn't nab a posthumous Oscar for this, then Hollywood is just as crazy as the Joker.

Christian Bale is also excellent, though his gravelly delivery as Batman occasionally gets on my nerves. Bruce Wayne is his truly great performance though. He plays him as the arrogant playboy that Wayne would be if he really existed.

I could go on forever about why this movie is an epic that will not be soon forgotten. But, who would want to read that? Let me just finish by saying this. The Dark Knight will either ruin the comic-book film genre forever or make it the best genre of movie out there. It has set the bar so high that films will either seem awful in comparison or they will raise their own bar and all movies will be as awesome as The Dark Knight. Here's hoping for the latter.

I've been formulating this theory in my head for a few years now. Maybe someday I'll take a sabbatical and do some real social psych research to verify it and write a book that only pop culture junkies and social psych nerds like me would read. My hypothesis is that kids today (let's say age 8-18) don't and will never have the shared pop culture references that every generation before them has. This is mostly due to the expansion and proliferation of pop culture over the last 10 years. When I grew up, there were about 5 TV stations (unless you had cable, which I didn't), a few radio stations, the music that was sold in stores, and no Internet. Today kids have hundreds of channels of TV, any music they could possibly want (thanks ITunes), and an interminable source of entertainment in the Internet. Therefore, very few kids have the same pop culture experience. We were forced to see and hear the same things. They can choose anything they want. Let me give some examples. If anyone over the age of 20 hears the lyrics, "Hey hey hey hey!!!! Don't you forget about me," the movie Breakfast Club will immediately appear in their heads. Or if you go up to someone in their 40s and say "Stifle," Archie Bunker will be brought to mind. How about this one? Who can finish this phone number 867.....and can tell me it belongs to Jenny? Or who can finish this nonsense...All I wanna do is zooma zoom zoom zoom....Anyone over the age of 20. Do these shared cultural references exist with kids today? Is there a song lyric I can start that any 12 year old can finish? Is there a Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller's Day Off to define this generation? I don't think so. I may be wrong, it's just a hunch. But if it's true it's sad. These references tie an entire group of Americans from all over the country together. It's the one thing we all have in common. God Bless John Hughes for helping it happen.

So this week I discovered the scariest thing in the world. No, it's not the Goliath Bird-Eating Spider (though that's a close second, check it out http://www.inteconline.co.uk/newsletter/intec-winter-2006/goliath-spider.jpg)

The scariest thing in the world is buying a house. Today I signed my life away as my offer on a townhouse in Kernersville was accepted. I just went about $100,000 in debt in about five minutes. That's like three years of salary. Yikes! Now all these questions are tearing my brain apart. Am I going to be able to afford all this? Did I buy the right place? Am I cool with living in K-Vegas? Am I all grown up now? How many things can possibly go wrong before I close on this place in August? I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I do know it's a pretty sweet place in great condition and it is a HUGE upgrade over my crappy apartment. Hopefully everything will work out, but I foresee a lot of sleepless nights between now and my closing on August 11. Especially tonight since I looked at that goliath spider...yech.

Keeping with my Youtube theme, I've recently discovered Weezer's music videos online and had forgotten (or just learned) how great and funny they are. I actually think I am going to use a couple of them in class next year to teach allusion. It's a stretch, but there are references to pop culture in all of their videos. Weezer is, in fact, my favorite band of the last 15 years or so and these videos only strengthen that. Check out these three:

Pork and Beans - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muP9eH2p2PI
Buddy Holly - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiIC5qcXeNU
Keep Fishin' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4mDIpYHxWY


Enjoy!

So you know how you get obsessed with certain YouTube vids? Well, my most recent ones are the videos of Queen's performance at Live Aid in 1985. Maybe it's because of 75,000 nuts packed into Wembley stadium. Maybe it's because I know that this concert went a long way to raise awareness of Apartheid in South Africa and eventually had a hand in its demise. Maybe its because I know that less than 6 years after this concert Freddie Mercury, the greatest front man of all time, would be dead of AIDS and now 23 years later his bandmates just held another epic concert in London to fight AIDS in Africa with Nelson Mandela. Maybe it's because Queen is one of those rare bands that sounds better live than on an album. Whatever it is, I am sure of one thing...it is the greatest musical performance of my lifetime. So today I share it with you. I defy you to watch the first clip and not get chills at the 5:50 mark when the whole crowd claps along to the song. It is a sight to behold. Music is a wonderful and powerful thing. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDckgX3oU_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGUdjHUVd18

So we just got back Friday from our third annual 8th grade trip to New York, and I have to say it was the best one yet. The kids and parents were the best group we've taken. There was no whining, complaining, or problems of any kind to speak of...that's quite a feat with 38 people in tow. Everyone seemed happy all the time and definitely had a blast. There were many highlights on the trip; it'd be impossible to write them all here. It did seem to be a celebrity-filled trip. We were able to have a Q&A session with the cast of Hairspray. I got to ask Norm from Cheers what the hardest part about playing a woman was, and the girls all got their picture taken with Ashley Parker Angel, who is apparently famous, though that was news to me. A group also got to be on the Today show and met some skater named Ryan Sheckler or something. He's, "the hottest guy on the planet" according to Emily Rutledge, so I guess he's a celeb too. Chris Noth of Law and Order and Sex in the City fame was also spotted in Times Square. To top it all off I got to sit in an XM radio studio as my heroes, Opie, Anthony, and Jim Norton did their radio show. It ruled. I even got a sweet pic of me and Lil Jimmy thanks to my personal photographer, Meredith. It was an exhausting trip as it always is, but we stayed an extra day this year which made things much less rushed which was nice. I'm glad to be home, but not glad that my official association with this group of kids is over. They truly are the most amazing group of kids I've ever taught, and it will be hard showing up at school next year without them (and Mrs. Burford) there. That being said, I'm confident that this group will do a good job of keeping in touch. Can't wait 'till next year's trip because next year's 8th graders rock too!

What makes a song a classic? Obviously, it needs to be popular, you know something everyone knows the words to when it comes on the radio. I think it should also be timeless. I've said many times there are several Beatles songs that could be released today and would be a 1 hit. They aren't dated, they are just solid songs. I think a third facet of classic songs is that they can be covered by ANYONE and still sound good. With that I give you a group called Low Strung. My friend Brad turned me on to them, but I'll take credit for anyone who downloads them after reading this. Low Strung is a large group of cellists (one who plays cello) that cover classic rock songs. They are amazing. My two fave tracks are Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name." I think it is as much a tribute to the greatness of the songs as much as it is a tribute to the greatness of Low Strung. So, go to Itunes and check them out. It will broaden your horizons. If you dig it, you can also check out Apocaplyptica (cellists playing Metallica) or the London Symphony Orhestra playing Pink Floyd.

Golf is a fascinating conundrum. Basically, here's how the last 100 rounds of golf have gone for me. I pay $20-$50 to play (plus $$ for balls and such), I suck at golf, I come back a week later and fork over another $20-$50 to continue to suck at golf. What a racket! It's the only thing I know that I enjoy even though I am clearly awful at it. Just imagine someone said to you, "OK, if you pay me $40, I'll allow you to fight Mike Tyson for 4 hours." Not only would I not accept that proposition, I sure as heck wouldn't accept it and then go back a week later for more.

Playing golf is possibly the most counterintuitive thing I do. I've been playing casually now for about 10 years, and I can honestly say I am not noticeably better today than I was about 8 years ago. Yet, I keep coming back. Sure I enjoy just being out in nature on a beautiful course (though I'm heavily allergic to it), but is that worth $40 a pop? Couldn't I go to a park for free and get the same thing. Maybe I golf for the company of good friends? Maybe, but couldn't I get that in my living room or somewhere else that doesn't charge me to hang out with them. Besides, most of my golfing buddies spend more time cussing and breaking things than talking to me.

I don't know what it is, but I love golfing. It's too expensive, I suck at it, and most times I'm hot and uncomfortable when I'm playing it. It's highly illogical. Yet, I keep coming back. Despite the above ramblings, I do actually know why. I've never had a round of golf in which I didn't hit one miracle shot that gives me hope (falsely) that I might actually get good at this one day. For example today at Hemlock (where I shot a respectable 94 actually) I hit my second shot from the woods while I stood about 6 feet below my ball which was perched on a root. How'd it go? I smashed that mug 200 yds perfectly straight. Tiger couldn't have done any better. So because of that shot (and the 94 score) I'll go back, but it still won't make any sense.

So I've always said I have a book in me someday. Here is a passage that might make it in someday. The working title of the book is Teacher Droppings...because poo is funny.

So I'm a big fan of Inside the Actor's Studio. James Lipton's grandiose hyperbole and pomposity aside, I've found it's given me a new respect for the art of acting. There really is a lot more to it than reading lines on a page. Like what the heck DO you normally do with your arms and hands while you're just standing there talking to someone? I mean really, have you ever thought about it? But I digress.
At the end of the show, Lipton gives each actor the same survey developed by Bernard Pivot of L'Apostrophe Culture (the French cognate of Actor's Studio). One of the questions is, "If you could pursue any occupation other than acting, what would it be?" Now, I don't have the exact numbers, but I feel comfortable saying that at least 60% of the 200+ guests they've had on has responded with, "A teacher." This is no surprise to me.
First of all, both great actors and great teachers must possess pretty much the same skill set. Both must be intelligent and patient. Success at both occupations relies heavily on brainpower and being able to deal with others. Also, both must be willing to put themselves out there and expose their inner self to a room full of people. They must be willing to fail. Not every acting project is a homerun, just as not every lesson plan works as you had planned. A lot of work go into both successes and failures, so persistence and perseverance must be added to the skill sets of both thespians and pedagogues alike.
What about improvisation? Sometimes you can add to a great script by improvising a bit. The same goes for great teachers. Teachers who aren't able to change on the fly or enhance a lesson with a bit of improv so that the students better understand it aren't likely to make it very long in the education biz. Finally, and most importantly, is passion. Al Pacino has never done anything halfway. He puts every ounce of his being into every part no matter how big or small, no matter how juicy or boring, or no matter how good or bad the resulting box office. Great teachers must be the same way. If a teacher goes into a classroom and doesn't leave 100% of their being in their work and give 100% of their soul to their kids, then they will never be great.
Skill sets aside, there is a much more fundamental connection between actors and teachers – their main job is to entertain. Now I know what all of you non-educators are saying, "Isn't your main job to teach?" Well, yeah, but it's impossible to do that effectively without at least a hint of entertainment. Have you ever tried keeping a room full of twenty-five thirteen-year olds interested while you teach verb tenses? Try it without entertaining them at the same time and let me know how it goes after you're at home on your fifth Long Island Iced Tea. I have to spice up every lesson with dumb jokes, personal anecdotes, embarrassing stories, and sometimes straight-up slapstick humor just to get through a sixty-five minute period unscathed. And that's O.K. That's why teaching (and acting) is FUN!
Now, I do not purport to be a great teacher nor a great actor. I simply see a tangible connection between the two. This is fascinating to me. I thought I wanted to be an actor when I grew up…turns out I may have gotten my wish and never even knew it.