Month: July 2011

Poem for July: Outwitted

Outwitted

Edwin Markham


He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in!

The poetry project mistress almost missed a month of poetry memorization. June’s selection took a very long time to learn and I hadn’t chosen anything for July and here it was July fifth. Then July tenth. Then the fifteenth. Then the twentieth. Would I miss memorizing a poem for the first time since May 2009?


Enter the short poem that I had almost completely memorized anyway. I’ve mentioned this poem before on the blog, Edwin Markham was a former Poet Laureate of Oregon. And this poem was in some anthology I had for some Junior High or High School English class. So now it is officially learned and the Poetry project carries on.


Because I have three weeks off in August and because it is very difficult for me to memorize poems when I am not walking to the train or riding my bike to work every day, I will have another very short poem for August.


Also in August I hope to have a post about how I keep all these poems fresh in my memory.

Three sentence movie reviews: Glee Season 1, Road to Sectionals



“I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m looking forward to the experience,” was always my reply when someone asked me if I watched Glee. And now that Matt and I have jumped on the Glee bandwagon, I can say that I–like 98% of all Glee viewers–love it too. I was looking forward to the singing and the dancing, but I had no idea it would be so funny.

Three sentence movie reviews: Cowboys and Aliens



Harrison Ford’s wattles were covered by a bandanna for most of this movie, which was quite a relief for this viewer. I found this to be a B movie with A list actors who brought their A game, making it a pretty enjoyable summer movie experience. The movie also thankfully connected the dots as to why Olivia Wilde was riding through the late 1800’s Western setting with her hair all about her, instead of pulled back into a nice bun, as would have been correct to the setting; this was driving me crazy for most of the movie and I thank them for clearing the matter up.

Demo of Satyricon

I knew that the Macdonald Center bought the building that housed the club Satyricon and were going to use it to house what used to be Outreach Ministry, before Outreach was absorbed into the Macdonald Center. I know all of this because Matt did a Jesuit Volunteer Year with Outreach and our friend Laurie works there still. What I didn’t realize was that the existing building would be torn down. This is because Outreach has existed in what I refer to as “the unfortunately painted building” in Old Town for quite some time. It’s a bit rough around the edges, so I just assumed that they would perhaps repaint the black facade and move everyone in. So it was quite a surprise to encounter this as I walked from the Max to work:

Even though I’m a great supporter of re-using and re-purposing existing structures, something about demolition of buildings nearly always is exciting to watch. Here we can see the last few hours in the life of the doorway.

And here a view of the back side of the building. I hadn’t realized it was as big as it was.

I’m unsure of how this graffito came to be on this wall, but now it is exposed for all to see.

To read more about Satyricon and the new building click here for an Oregonian article. (Demolition begins on building that once housed Satyricon Nightclub. July 27, 2011.)

And here is a link about the final concert at Satyricon. (Portland Nightclub Satyricon says farewell with series of reunion shows. October 16, 2010)

Three sentence movie reviews: Fever Pitch



Just as I enjoyed this upon its release, so did I enjoy this re-viewing. I had forgotten, however, that it was a Farrelly Brother’s movie, as it doesn’t really fit into their famously gross boy humor style. Drew Barrymore is always a delight and I quite enjoyed Jimmy Fallon, who I think doesn’t get to act in movies any more after Taxi and several other “eh” movies.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Iron Giant



Vin Diesel speaks only 53 words in this movie so I probably could have excluded it from the Vin Diesel film fest, but I have wanted to see this since it came out and so many people spoke well of it. It was a good Brad Bird movie, (and short) with great voice acting. I also enjoy the classic animation style, which fit well with the 1950s setting.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1999/iron_giant_ver1.html

Want Ads fun

In searching for a teaching position, I get the fun of reading Craigslist ads–most of which are not for a teaching position because the job market is not so good right now. In reading these ads, I find delightful, “are they serious?” moments, which I’m going to keep to myself no longer.

Today’s entry from Craigslist:

Math Tutor needed for Portland Family for upcoming 2011-2012 school year. Must have previous tutoring, student teaching, or teaching experience in Math or Science. In addition to math, general homework help may be required. We are looking for someone who has a high energy level and can engage, guide and encourage these students in their studies. Must be able to motivate while making the learning “fun”. Math expertise in elementary school arithmetic – calculus required.

I think they mean “elementary arithmetic through calculus” but their phraseology implies they want someone with experience with calculus at the elementary school level.

Scarf completed

I started this in 2006 or 2007, but when we moved to the house, this project fell to the wayside. I’ve recently decided I need to either start knitting regularly, or give away my needles, so this project was finally finished. The waves came out rather well, if I do say so myself. What you can’t see from this picture is how incredibly soft this scarf is.

Three sentence movie reviews: Midnight in Paris



I greatly enjoyed* this modern/period piece, especially for the acting by Owen Wilson and all the 1920s famous people. I loved the costumes, especially the white sailor-style dress with the red trim worn by Marion Cotillard. It also included a good overall message about staying present and the present.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2011/midnight_in_paris.html

*In my mind, enjoying Woody Allen movies is somewhat along the same lines of enjoying commercials. A really well-done commercial is a joy to behold, but the entire time I’m enjoying it, I can’t forget that the only reason this bit of entertainment exists is to get me to buy something. It’s rather sinister. Similarly, I tend to enjoy Woody Allen films. I find them funny, and the period pieces tend to be beautifully staged, with much to look at. Still, the entire time I’m watching and enjoying these films, I have a general sense of “ew” because the man left his wife for his daughter. Ew. In a perfect world, people who commit such acts would not also continue to be talented in other areas, or I would just not see their films. But, alas, he still is, and I just can’t stay away and so I reluctantly pay my money, enjoy the film and then feel guilty afterwards.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Pacifier



So this was a dumb movie, no two ways about it. I did find the plot point including the Peter Panda dance pretty clever, but the kids were annoyingly snotty, the pacing was slow, the jokes were mostly dumb and even the presence of Vin Diesel could not save this movie. I did, however, manage to finish the scarf I’ve been (not) knitting for five years, so something good came of it.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2005/pacifier.html