'Lies', 'Once' and personal clips

Last night I went to see 'Once', I have reviewed it on 'Falling Brick'.
This is a track from the film called 'Lies'.
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This YouTube clip is a scene from the film that particularly touched me. On IMDb I read about the film, it mentioned in the trivia the clip was of the director, John Carney's real girlfriend. This added to the appeal of the film for me. It was a very real and amazing film.

I love to make clips for people I love. I have just finished making one and sent it to Andy in Tasmania. I want to edit it already! Little snippets of our time together through my eyes. He probably hasn't even seen it yet. Lucky he never reads my blog - would blow the surprise.

Last Christmas I made one for Jane and we added a Christmas message to the end of the collage. She lives interstate, so it was fun to do. I love that too. I made one for my Pa's funeral that is particularly special to me. I have promised family members to distribute it to them. I must do that soon.

I started off making them for my homeroom class and giving a copy to each child as a gift for the end of the year. A couple of my year 9s have told me they still watch them and treasure the one I made for them in year 7. They are just really collages of photos and small videos taken with a still camera. The limitation of 30 seconds that my digital camera has, makes for easy editing. I then edit them in Microsoft Movie Maker. As I said, it is a very simple and inexpensive way to give a meaningful gift. Microsoft also have a program called Photo Story, if you only have photos.

This year at school, my digital storytelling class is making a clip for each homeroom. They are doing a great job. Some of them are using Flash and I am getting them to teach me about it as I haven't used it before.

My Truth about Beauty

Your beauty takes nothing away from mine! There is space in the world for each of us to be beautiful. Our uniqueness, rarity and individuality makes each of us gorgeous. When we try to subscribe to the media's notions of beauty is when it all get's ugly. I love the Dove commercials. Especially this one:


It is sad to see people in competitions about beauty. These range from the school yard quasi popularity contests to the pageants and contests held all over the world to determine beauty. We all know these kinds of things are fleeting, in the eye of the beholder and irrelevant to the real things in life. Most of us are aware of the forces that come into play when these contests occur. Look at the movies about them:

"Little Miss Sunshine", "Beautiful", ,"Miss Congeniality" ,"Drop Dead Gorgeous" are films giving some insight into the ugliness of the beauty competition. It's all wrong!

I remember when my daughter was a baby, one of my most embarrassing memories was putting her in a baby photography competition. I knew she would win because she was divine. She was absolutely gorgeous. My best friend Jane, whom I dragged along with me, begged me not to do it. She sanely pleaded that it was a stupid idea. I couldn't see the harm. I'm not sure what it was I wanted to prove to the world (and a small world it was). Strangely my daughter did not win. I was shocked, as was every other parent in the room whose child didn't win. We all know our children are amazing and beautiful and the truth is they are. I didn't make that same mistake with my second child.

I have been showing my students the evolution clip this week and discussing with all classes the impact of what we see in the media about our gender, beauty and sexuality. It's been interesting and has been inspired from the great talk I heard on Monday by Anthea Paul. I have purchased 'girlosophy' and have loved what I have read so far. It is visually stunning.

Interested vs Interesting

We all want to be interesting, don't we? When it comes to interacting with others, you can have more success in your communications if you are genuinely interested, rather than trying to be interesting.

I watched a film on Saturday night that my daughter recommended to me. "Freedom Writers" was about a young, idealistic teacher who went into a pretty scary school and worked at making it a place of learning for her class. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the end of the movie cause my DVD player wouldn't play the second half, yet what I saw was that her genuine interest in them, won them over, and allowed them to be able to listen to her.

It echoes Stephen Covey's fifth habit, "Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood" in "7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I see a lot of teachers put hours into planning fantastic lessons with students, but until they have built rapport with their class, the most interesting lessons will be hijacked by resentful and uncooperative students. When you show genuine interest in students and come to know them as people, you can take them anywhere, teach them anything. Why didn't anyone tell me that when I was a student-teacher?

When I have focused on trying to be interesting to students I find myself feeling like a one man show. Who can compete with all the amusements available to young people today? If you ask them, they will tell you all kinds of useful things to assist in their learning.

Ironically, I also saw in that movie, her passion for her work, became a priority and she stopped being interested in her partner. So the reverse became true at home. He became resentful and their relationship began to sour. I didn't get to see what happened, but I hope it worked out.

Today in one of my classes a relief teacher had just taught them and I noticed there was a mind map on the whiteboard. It was a subject that class usually complains about and I don't think they really enjoy. I asked them about it and they were positive and enthusiastic about the lesson they'd had. One student said, "He asked us about what we thought, he didn't tell us what to think, it was great, I learnt heaps". I know it's not always practical for teachers to focus on what students think, but if you do it often enough, you can give them something to think about.

It is a mark of respect to listen to another. Before the holidays I read the article about respect and I have been thinking a lot about it. It really resonated with me, yet I have been wondering, who teaches that kind of stuff to teachers. I am mentoring a first year teacher this year, so I am interested in finding ways to share this kind of information. Student management becomes much easier when you have genuine working relationships.

Evan Almighty

The most interesting thing about this film for me was watching Lauren Graham in a different role. I have been watching 'The Gilmour Girls' this year on DVD. I love the series and especially Lorelai's character. So to see a different character, who wasn't as strong and spunky as Lorelai, was kind of freaky.

'Evan Almighty' was ok, there were a couple of laughs but I could have waited to see it on DVD. I must restore my weekly excursions to the cinema to see movies I want to see. I haven't felt compelled to see anything for a while though. Or doing anything much for that matter. All this must change!

My excursion with my adorable neice and nephew today was a great start. They were so fun and grateful, it was an absolute pleasure and the perfect antidote to the misery I've been wallowing in lately. I really need to remember this experience and be more proactive at doing different things to snap out of these funks I find myself in from time to time.

Gone With the Wind

Helping my son with homework....
I must confess I have never helped my kids much with their homework. I don't even check if they have done it. I believe it's their homework, not mine. This weekend was an exception as Tom had to watch 'Gone With the Wind'. I was delighted to get the movie and Andy, Tom and I watched it together. It was Tom's first viewing so Andy and I provided some explanations for him about what was going on in it. There is some great information on the web about 'Gone With the Wind'. I loved the novel too. I haven't read the sequel though 'Scarlett'. I think I might though.
A few surprises...
I was surprises by the things I had to explain, such as the concept of a 'ruined' woman who had gone unchaperoned and being 'in mourning' by wearing black. I guess I take for granted that those behaviours have disappeared.
My First Viewing
I remember the first time I went to see 'Gone With the Wind' with my mum, both grandmothers and Auntie Pat. It was probably my first of many nights out with the girls! I loved it and loved Scarlett. She was such a spirited woman. I have often used her line 'I won't think about that now. I'll think about it tomorrow.'

Recapping My Weekend

Pa
Pa is back in hospital again. He turned 87 on the 8th. I haven't been able to see him for a week because I had the flu again and didn't want to expose him to it. I am worried about him.
Lovely Saturday Afternoon Visit
Visited Andy's mum on Saturday afternoon. She's had a delightful renovation done on her back veranda. I am very impressed. White rooms, floor, ceiling, walls, big windows, white mermot blinds and gorgeous red leather couches and mats. I should have taken a photo. That room was appealing. I had a divine and tasty lunch and was fed so well it brought back my nana's cooking.
Saturday Night Taxi Service
My good friend Rhonda and I put their theatre room to good use whilst spending the time between depositing the young people at their parties and returning to get them home. We watched 'Thank You for Smoking'. Possibly not a great choice for my quitting phase, yet it didn't do too much damage.
Housework - Bare Minimum
Enough said. Changed the sheets, a touch of vacuuming - blah.
Reading
I started 'Boys of Blood and Bone' by David Metzenthen this weekend. I have a pile of good books again and I feel really good about that. When I had the flu, it came when my pile of books had been down to the last unread one. It was kind of scary. When I went to work/school on Friday, I ensured I visited the library and restocked my pile. I have one from the CBCA Awards list - an Elizabeth Honey, one of my favourites as well as the James Moloney sequel to 'The Book of Lies', 'Master of the Books'. It's helping with the pain of finishing Harry Potter.

Now I will go to bed early and read!

"The 11th Hour" Trailer

Leonardo DiCaprio's feature length film "The 11th Hour" will be released August 17th in US. What you see will concern you, in much the same way as 'An Inconvenient Truth' did. This film urges you to Take Action now and there are suggestions for how on the site. Hope is Free. I hope....

Offline Life

Routines
I have been busy offline lately. I felt my Internet usage was becoming a little invasive in my life and whilst having a bit of a stock take of the things I do with my time, prompted by some personal growth reading on Steve Pavlina and Craig Harper's sites I must admit. I have rearranged my routines to work better for me and have spent less time online as a result. I am feeling pretty good about it to be honest.
Exercise
As it is winter here in Australia, I have been struggling for the past month or so, to get up at 6.00 and do my 20 minutes on the stepper. I had all kinds of excuses, my heart monitor battery needed replacing, it was too cold, I had the flu. I would do it for a few days and then stop. So I solved this dilemma this week by doing 30 minutes after work. I am now getting up guilt free in the morning and not resisting getting out of bed so much because I know I have done my exercise the night before. I will probably go back to mornings when it gets a little lighter and warmer in the mornings. I am pleased this is working now, as life has become easier. Why didn't I think of it earlier?
Housework and Lunch
As I am not squeezing exercise into my mornings, or avoiding exercise to be more honest, I've been able to make a healthy lunch to take to work and tidy the house before I go to work. When I get home, I do a couple of chores before exercising and it's really satisfying to come home to a tidy house.
Bedtime
I am going to bed at the same time at night, even though I'm not always getting up earlier to exercise. I read a little longer and get a bit more sleep. I really believe enough sleep is a really important ingredient in a busy life. I can't function if I don't get it.
Treats
I have also been going to the movies once a week, because I love film and have decided to make the time for myself. It has improved my level of cheerfulness. I feel like I am treating myself well and I'm happier. It's a simple thing really and I'm amazed at the difference it has made.
Over to You
I haven't bored you with all my little routine changes just for the fun of it. I reflected today about how much happier I have been this week and wondered if this wasn't worth sharing with others. A few simple changes might be enough to snap you out of a bout of winter blues, or get you back on track.

Solo Harry Potter

Going to the Movies Alone
Tonight I went to see Harry Potter on my own. My son had already seen it the first day, and no one else I knew was interested in going. I'm pleased I went. The first time I went to a movie on my own was in Fremantle when I was visiting my lifelong friend Jane. I went to see a 'not to be missed film', the title I can't recall right now. I was in my early 30s. It was great. The experience of watching a movie alone that is. I have done it several times since then. I had previously thought of going to a film as a social activity and had really deprived myself.

Making Choices
I am always telling the young people I teach to choose for themselves and to do what they want to do, not what all their friends are doing. I have noticed lately that I often go along with what my significant other, or kids or friends want to do. I have committed to doing more things that I freely choose to do, even if I have to do them alone. So tonight's excursion was just the beginning.

Harry Potter
I did enjoy the latest Harry Potter. I have read all the books and seen all the films and look forward to the final in the series. I am delighted with what the author J.K. Rowling has achieved for herself and for the world.

I've found Gnod

Gnod is amazing. I love it. If you click on this image and have a look at the authors on the list, they consist of many that I have read. You can also explore maps of music and films. When you click on another name in the map, it takes you to another map. I would have adored this when I was a kid and ran out of books by my favourite author. The closer the names to one another, the more closely linked they are. This is a great recommendation for when you are looking for something like.....

Films during the Easter 07 holidays

The film '300' was based on a graphic novel. I found that interesting as I brought a pile home from the school library to read. I haven't made much progress with them. There is an interesting one on Chinese Myths that I will use with the year 7's for Imperial China topic. Getting back to the film though, I really enjoyed it. It was a great heroic, action film.

Children of Men was a futuristic look at a bleak reality where no more children can be born. It was a really well done film and is one of the best I've seen lately. Great characters, particularly Jasper, played by Michael Caine.

I finally saw The Prestige on DVD these holidays. I have been longing to see it and will watch it again because it was great. I wanted to see it because of my long term facination with David Bowie and Tesla. It was also a good story with an interesting outcome.

I partially viewed the DVDs The Guardian and Memoirs of a Geisha I couldn't really get into 'The Guardian', even though I am a big fan of Kevin Costner usually. Andy loved it though. 'Memoirs' was ok but I kept getting interupted and only really partially saw it after restarting it three times and now I can't be bothered with it. Not meant to be!

The real dissappointment for the holidays was the Australian film Boytown. It was corny and terrible. I guess it was the subject matter of a boy band that killed it. I usually enjoy Glenn Robbins and Mick Molloy, but think this movie was pushing it a lot of the time.

Wollongong Trip - Omeo to Jindabyne

At Bairnsdale we found there was no accommodation as the DNRE (Department of Natural Resources & Environment) and the CFA (Country Fire Authority) were in town en masse. We moved on towards Bruthen and finding nothing there either, headed for Omeo. The road was splendid in the afternoon sun and I enjoyed the drive in that open golden light. Gentle, rolling, hills, clear, smokeless sky and bitumen underneath was a respite from concern for me.

Omeo is a beautiful town. I found it quite a surprise. Nestled in these smooth, brown hills with clean distinctive buildings, we found a unique and effective accommodation for the night and enjoyed our brief time there.
Does anyone know what this amazing plant is?
There were lovely plants and I got up early and had breakfast in the local bakery surrounded by CFA brave souls who had also filled that town to protect from the surrounding fires. I read that Omeo had been severely affected by fires in 2003. There were posters on the wall describing the effects of a great firestorm that had ravished the area and then the flooding rains that followed had created harmful environmental consequences as unprotected topsoil had washed into the water supply.
From Omeo we headed towards Jindabyne on an amazing road that passed along the Snowy River. The road that passes through Suggan Buggan is one that has to be experienced to be believed. It is a slender dirt road that winds along a cliff that looks out onto vast treed ranges. There is no room for error on those roads. We stopped at one point to take photos after a few kms, and a weary driver stopped to warn that it seemed to go on forever, he looked tired and concerned and wanted to know how much further he had to go on this road. He had traveled from Queensland and was heading towards Tasmania. I had already began to feel queasy from the height and his stress made a deposit in my mind! Andy remained his usual calm self and loves the challenge and adventure of roads like that.
Entering Jindabyne was majestic. The lake is vast and it is surrounded by mountains. It is quite a big place really although much of the commercial nature was subdued as it was summer and it is the snow that draws the crowds in places like that. We attempted to get a spot at the caravan park, yet it was booked out. We searched for landmarks from the film we had recently seen, ‘Jindabyne’(which I loved and will possibly write about later). We stayed at a ski lodge and it began raining and we were glad we weren’t in the tent.
Road to Omeo
A glimpse of Omeo
The Lookout

Interesting Dirt Road just out of Omeo
Suggan Buggan Road (beginning)

Chumscrubbers

Last night I watched this movie,Chumscrubbers. My son recommended it to me and said it was like Donnie Darko as he knew I'd really enjoyed that. He finds great movies!
Andy and I found this movie quite disturbing, because we can see the reality in it. It was scary to watch and scary because you can recognise so much of our existance in it. I was just saying to my friend the other day how I really don't know what my kids life is like, but I just have to trust them. I really try to stay in good communication with them but I know there are times I don't succeed. I don't think I am as extreme as the parents in the movie, but I am confident that some of us are some of the time. If you are a parent, you should watch this.
It also speaks to me of the drug culture in our society. I really find the ADHD drugging of children disturbing. I am not an expert and I probably don't have any qualification to say that, but I just feel it's not right. It reminds me of that other great film 'Thumbsuckers', it had one of the same actors in it as well as a host of other great names.
I found this little clip on MSN that discusses the parent angle in this film, you might like to watch that too.
On a lighter note, this blogger found this to comment on, which is another aspect of the film that was lighter and more enjoyable.

Summer Viewing

I haven't watched many films this summer, whilst we were away we mainly watched our new 'Battlestar Gallactica' DVDs that Andy got for Christmas. Season one was great and I am now looking out for season two. When they were on TV, we didn't always catch them because they were on late, so having the DVDs has been a great way to see them, no ads!
I really enjoyed the ABC show 'How the Hell Did We Get Here?'The Baby Boomers Guide to the Movies'. It was a top 20 of Australian Films and I had seen most of them and truly enjoyed the show. It reminded me how much I love Australian film, even the older films that were mainly included in this list!
We went to the cinema at Woolongong to see 'Casino Royale'. I wasn't keen, because I'm not traditionally a big James Bond fan, but I did enjoy this film. My favourite James Bond was always Sean Connery but this new guy gives him a bit of a nudge. The cinema was looking a bit sad though. It felt dirty and dusty, so lucky it was a good film, or I possibly couldn't have sat through it.
I saw 'Children of the Revolution' on pay TV at the motel we stayed at in Kiama. It was Aussie and quite funny. It's an Australian movie from 1997 and had Rachel Griffiths in it,among others.
I was delighted to see another Australian movie on the guide 'Dalkeith'. It was based on a story from the Traralgon old peoples home by the same name and I had always wanted to see it. I was seriously dissappointed though and couldn't watch it all. Too stereotypical, although the reviewer I have linked to was more positive.
At Ulla Dulla I watched the new TV series 'Men in Trees' and loved it. Andy dislikes the main character, but I'm sure he will tolerate it for me! I am going to watch this series, I can tell. It reminds me of my old favourite 'Northern Exposure'.
PS. Tomorrow, when hopefully I have uploaded the clips I want to include, I will share some tales from my trip.

Ups and Downs

This week has been a rollercoaster ride. I have been all over the place emotionally and mentally.
My daughter had her graduation this week and because she was school captain, had to give a speech. I was so proud of her and in awe of her speaking abilities. She has such a presence when she speaks in public and I am always bursting with pride when I hear her. I also feel a little nostalgic about her finishing school.
My son has had a bit of a health issue that we're still not sure about. I am worried yet hopeful it will all be ok at the same time. So therefore quite up and down about that.
Naturally it is report writing week!
I managed to squeeze in 'An Inconvenient Truth', with the school and it lived up to it's name because it was inconvenient. When you live in a regional area though, you have to support these films with small niche audiences,or they don't come back! Also there was a group organised from school/work, so I didn't want to miss it either.
I read weblogg-ed: "Is Reading Dead" this morning and remembered a lovely moment this week, I might have forgotten in the big action of this week. One of my year 7s who at the beginning of the year hated reading came to tell me she had finished the book I recommended for her last week. As I was so busy and self absorbed, I nearly brushed her off with a nod and a 'well done' smile, but she wouldn't accept that. She said "Tell me, did you cry?". I had to have a look then and really remember the book. It was Painted Love Letters by Catherine Bateson. I admitted that I had sobbed when I read it. It was a great book. She really wanted to share the effect it had on her.
These are the peak moments for me as a teacher. I nearly lost that moment in the rush of the week, so my answer to the question 'Is reading dead?', is no way. This happens quite regularly enough for me to keep going to school every day, correcting, writing reports, doing yard duty and all the other parts of being a teacher that I find less inspiring and enjoyable.

Sunday dinner & 'The Secret'

Last night we had our family Sunday dinner thing, that I have insisted upon since the midyear holidays. I was away at Loch Sport and I did a tonne of reading in the Personal Growth category. I took a few podcasts and generally had a big revision of my life, as I am inclined to do fairly regularly, anyway, the big thing, that I felt I was unhappy about was the lack of time I spend with my kids. I know it is natural for them to be out and about being teenagers, but I missed them. I already have to share them with their dad and now with their friends and part-time jobs added to that, it seemed I was just squeezing in the occasional nag about the mess in their rooms.
So whilst I was away I decided that I would back off with the nagging and let go of expected them to be home all the time, but in exchange for that they would both have to promise to be home for dinner on Sunday nights. We would eat together, at the dinner table, a good meal and catch up. I love Sunday nights now. Previously they had simply been a last clutch of the weekend, but now I plan a great meal, we set the table and enjoy each others company.
After dinner we sometimes watch a movie and once we played the DVD game my brother gave us for Christmas last year. It was great fun. Anyway, I'm sure you can see where this is heading.. Last night I forced them to watch 'The Secret'. They all complained and doubted and thought they would end up having to buy something. Afterwards, they all said they enjoyed it and that it was good. Regardless of their experience of it, I enjoyed it a lot more watching it for the second time. I noticed a few more things and I think I will watch it regularly to remind myself. Thoughts are Things.

The Secret

I finally purchased and watched "The Secret". Yes the
Secret.

It was a great refresher for the Law of Attraction and I want to watch it again and share it with my kids. It didn't contain anything I have never been exposed to and many of the anecdotes I have previously read. The hype kind of spoils it because it creates this expectation that new material is coming to light, when really it is not new. However, that said, I still maintain my often repeated to groaning students stance "Repetition Leads to Discovery".

It's always good to refresh these ideas because it seems at times as though the world surrounding us is constantly reinforcing a false reality. I am having new thoughts today that are more what I choose for myself, so it worked some magic on me.

Term 4, 2006 Kicks Off

I returned to school/work today. We had a lovely reflection centered around angels to begin our term today. That great movie, "Dogma", came to mind;-). It's funny really and probably not that appropriate, but when I am sitting in that space, it is the time I most identify as being a student myself. I was such a rebellious one when I sat in that space as a student. I wonder if the energy lingers and lures me into being that again. Perhaps I should avoid that back row. That is definately the spot where it happens.
It is my favourite term because it is warmer and easier to get up. The holidays I am looking forward to are going to be longer. We have all our lovely completion rituals and there are no parent-teacher interviews after these reports we will write.
There are lots of interuptions and fun things going on.
I have two year nine camps to go on this term and I love the year 9 camps. I love going to the high country and riding horses and living simply and getting to know others better. It is a very enjoyable way to work.

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore is in Australia. This is the trailer of the film referred to in the latest newsvine feed:

Once

I finished Once last night. It is a beautiful story and reminds me of the lovely Italian film 'Life is Beautiful'. A bittersweet reminder that even in the most cruel circumstances, our perception of our experience is what defines us. We enrich others by sharing a positive view of the world, encouraging them to see a more magical and loving reality.