On June 15th I meet with the kind folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters to have an interview for becoming a Big Brother. I originally started thinking of joining BBBS almost a year ago because it would look good on my resume when I apply for teaching jobs, but I wasn't truly motivated to do it until my success as a tutor showed me that, gosh darn it, kids love me. So now I'm psyched about the prospect of getting to spend a minimum of two to four days a month hanging out with a kid in need just because I think it's going to be a blast.
The challenge is going to be finding ways to entertain a 7- to 16-year-old on Long Island (aka: Dullsville). At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I've started planning stuff to do. At the top of the list is dressing up like super heros and hanging out in parks or at the mall looking for villains to fight and people to rescue. Or we'll play skee ball or check out the aquarium. If I'm paired with an older kid, we'll go drag racing.
And if you've got any activity suggestions, send them my way.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Da Vinci Irony
Well, it wasn't complete crap. Had I not read the book, I think I would have enjoyed the movie since the visuals add a lot of what the book is lacking; but the characters were still flat and there isn't anything beyond the puzzle to keep one involved. And since pretty much everybody knows how it ends...
The irony, though, is in the fact that the story revolves around the power, importance, and significance of women, but the movie turns Sophie into a know-nothing-girl who's just along for the ride, and every other female from the book is either diminished or deleted. This phenomenon goes so far that an important scene in the book where Langdon and Sophie get help from a reference librarian is replaced by a scene on a bus where they instead get help from some dude with a cellphone. The changes seem so pointless that one has to wonder if it's not in fact a deliberate commentary on what Hollywood thinks of the book's whole "sacred feminine" idea.
The irony, though, is in the fact that the story revolves around the power, importance, and significance of women, but the movie turns Sophie into a know-nothing-girl who's just along for the ride, and every other female from the book is either diminished or deleted. This phenomenon goes so far that an important scene in the book where Langdon and Sophie get help from a reference librarian is replaced by a scene on a bus where they instead get help from some dude with a cellphone. The changes seem so pointless that one has to wonder if it's not in fact a deliberate commentary on what Hollywood thinks of the book's whole "sacred feminine" idea.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Brett Ratner's mutant power
is the ability to suck the life out of a perfectly good movie franchise.
X-Men 3 sucked. It sucked bad. There are so many structural flaws in the story, it would fail Screenwriting 101. I won't go into detail here since doing so would require lots of spoilers, but I will say that if you do see it, be prepared to endure pointless scenes, a pointless plot, empty characters, and lame action sequences. I want my hour and 45 minutes back. And I want to beat the crap out of Brett Ratner. And I wish there were some way to punish Hollywood for making movies that they must know are crap. Unfortunately, you don't know if a movie is any good until after you've seen it, and by then Hollywood already has your money. I'm going to write a letter demanding my money back.
X-Men 3 sucked. It sucked bad. There are so many structural flaws in the story, it would fail Screenwriting 101. I won't go into detail here since doing so would require lots of spoilers, but I will say that if you do see it, be prepared to endure pointless scenes, a pointless plot, empty characters, and lame action sequences. I want my hour and 45 minutes back. And I want to beat the crap out of Brett Ratner. And I wish there were some way to punish Hollywood for making movies that they must know are crap. Unfortunately, you don't know if a movie is any good until after you've seen it, and by then Hollywood already has your money. I'm going to write a letter demanding my money back.
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