Where do Sundays go?

Well, there are just 5 weeks left of school now. I am both happy and sad about this. Happy, because, well, duh -- I need the time off! ;-D Sad, because I really like my students this year. I mean, I lucked out on the Student Lottery *big-time* this school year. Normally I have at least one student I (almost) want to strangulate. This year, I love every single one of them. No lie.

But I still want these 5 weeks to be over and done with!

I am planned as far as lessons go until June 4th, the last day of class, but I still have Mount Everest to grade. I really want to finish grading my AP students' practice tests so they can know their projected score. Their AP English Language test is on May 13th (eep!). I hope they're ready. I think they are, and I've done everything in my power to get them ready, but I still worry for them. We shall see...

Well, Sunday came and went pretty much. Where does the time go on Sundays? Seriously. At least I had a fun weekend. On Friday I went with a friend to this all girls' event, Shecky's. It's a sort of shopping event that equals heaven. Normally I go hog-wild buying jewelry and purses and stuff, but I was good this year and left with only a leather bracelet. Pictures are forthcoming.

Saturday I started watching a new anime with Ricky, "Gurren Lagann." It's awesome! I also played PixelJunk Monsters in between grading and napping. :p

Today I will finish grading and maybe play another round of PixelJunk. Maybe.

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Happiness is...

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What is happiness? What does happiness mean to you? I was perusing Lolcats this morning, choosing my "Lolcat of the Week" for next week (little secret -- I always choose the Lolcats early and just change the post-date to the upcoming Monday :p), when I came across the kitty above. It got me thinking. (And mind you, that's not common of most Lolcats; they tend to get me laughing!).

I thought about what happiness is.

I thought about what happiness means to me, personally.

I realized something -- I am happiest not in a crowd of people (in fact, most crowds freak me out = claustrophobia!); I am happiest with a few friends or with my dearest one.

I am happy when I am calm, when I can breathe easy and deep.

I am happy when I am reading because it is like a temporary escape.

I am happy when I am writing because it, too, is a form of escape, as well as a wonderful release.

I am happy when I am teaching because I like speaking about reading and writing, and teaching these skills to future generations.

I am happiest when I am myself, when I can let my hair down and just be.

Now I want to know what happiness means toYOU, my lovely readers. So drop me a line or two in the comments and tell me what happiness means to you!

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Lolcat of the Week

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

What's been holding up "The Time Traveler's Wife"? The answer will surprise you...

So I published two more reports for The Examiner today, both on upcoming film adaptations: Where the Wild Things Are and The Time Traveler's Wife. (Click on the titles to read my reports.) In writing up all I knew about those upcoming releases, I was curious as to what had delayed The Time Traveler's Wife so long. So I went digging, both on IMDB and Wikipedia.

I learned that New Line Studio had bought the rights to make the book into a film before Audrey Niffenegger had even published it (!). I learned that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt (when they were still together) had been rumored to want the rights to the film. I learned that it was originally intended to be released in fall of 2008, after having trouble hiring both a director and a screenwriter. They cast a great actor in the principal role, Eric Bana, and a so-so one for the title role, Rachel McAdams (yep, she was in The Notebook).

So what caused the delay? Well, it's really more of a who than a what, and there are two whos involved. (Man, I sound like Dr. Seuss...) You can blame both Mother Nature and Eric Bana. You see, Eric Bana had to shave his head for a new role in the upcoming Star Trek, but then New Line asked Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams to do a reshoot of a particular scene in The Time Traveler's Wife. They had to wait both for Bana's hair to grow back and the right timing to do the scene, which apparently takes place in a meadow.

Crazy. But at least it's got a new release date: August 14, 2009. No trailer as of yet, but I will be sure to post that once it's out. To learn more about what caused the delay, read my report.

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Three films I can't wait to see

I stayed home from work today, having caught the stomach flu from my boyfriend. If you recall, he was violently ill last week. Well, yesterday was my turn. :[

Thankfully, it seems to have been only a 24-hour thing. It came on suddenly yesterday morning and though my stomach is still roiling a bit, I'm feeling human again.

I hate when I get sick on a weekend because that's my down-time. But at least Saturday was a great day. Ricky and I went to our favorite restaurant, Les Halles, and noshed on yummy steak and crème brûlée. (Pictures forthcoming; maybe tomorrow when I'm not feeling so yucky.)

ETA: OK I couldn't resist posting the pix when I saw them enlarged on my computer. ;) Here they are:

Love him.

No, I have no idea why I'm making that expression.



The Happy Couple. (I love how the background's all blurry here.)

At least I got to eat well before I got sick!

After eating at Les Halles, we came back home and had fun watching videos on the web. First we saw the new series of "Full Metal Alchemist" which is being released online. (Verdict: AWESOME so far!) Then we started researching upcoming films on YouTube and IMDB.com.

Some films I can't wait to see? "Up" by Pixar; "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," natch; and the one I'm positively giddy over, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Here are some most awesome trailers:

"Up"


"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"


"Where the Wild Things Are"


Are there any films you are dying to see? Let me know in the comments! :-)

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Lolcat of the Week

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Who knew tigers could have such funny expressions? LOL!
Have a great week, guys! :-D

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Book Fair/Twilight Festival Recap

So today was our Book Fair/Twilight Festival at school. My AP English Language students were in charge of representing various genres such as Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Graphic Novels, etc. I had them make "billboards" (aka, poster-boards) with flashy pictures and book synopses.

They did awesome. Here they are with their boards:


Romance


Comic Books/Graphic Novels


Poetry


Young Adult


Nonfiction


Plays


Comedy


Fantasy/Science Fiction

Love them all. I am so, so proud of them.

The one unexpected treat today was seeing all the Twilight-related paraphernalia. I wasn't in charge of that portion of today's event, the Twilight Club was. I know what you're thinking -- why don't I run the Twilight Club?! Well, as an English teacher, I would rather promote literacy than love of Twilight -- strange but true. This is why I run the Book Club.

But back to the Twilight Festival! I think they did a great job. There were competitions in Arm Wrestling (Emmett did not show up for that, sadly), Lightning Baseball, plus they had the most awesome Human Chessboard (which you can see in the video). They also had booths set up where students could get face paint to look like vampires, plus you could buy red velvet cupcakes and fruit punch (out of blood vials, natch). It was crazy.

The pièce de résistance, however, had to be the Drama Club's production of "Twilight." Their performance was entirely based on movement and expression -- no words were spoken. And it was awesome. It presents the story from when Bella first arrives in Forks, and carries it all the way to the scene where Edward saves Bella by sucking James's venom from her blood.

The students were so much in character -- Bella had flannel! James had a leather jacket! Edward had a peacoat-like jacket and face makeup that sparkled in the light! There were also students representing the rest of the Cullens in the festival, but they didn't appear in the skit.

It's kind of hard to see in the video, but in the scene where Edward reveals his sparklepire self to Bella, the sun, which had been partially obscured by clouds, decided to lend the actors a hand and it shone directly on Edward. I swear to you, I had chills running up and down my arms.

Here's the video. (Sorry for the blurry quality -- this was taken using a digital camera!). Close-up pictures of the student actors are after the vid.

Pretty, Pretty Peektures

Edward and Bella.


Mike Newton and Jacob Black (love Jacob's shirt!)


Alice and Jasper (love her expression!)


Dr. Carlisle and me. :-p


James and other random nomadic vampires


Edward gives Bella's would-be attacker the stink-eye.


Bella confronts Edward.


Edward "makes" Bella dance.


Edward fights James.


Aww...


How did you like the video/pictures? Let me know in the comments!

Have you had a chance to check out my Examiner Book Review of Twilight (the book) yet? Read it and please comment on the site!

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.