Month: June 2014

Postcard from the Netherlands

This is from Unda who is 35 and lives in Maassiuis.  (I’m thinking if there’s a Dutch version of Wheel of Fortune, it’s always prudent to buy some vowels.)
She tells me that she enjoys gardening very much. Unda also included the quote “Begin de dag met een lach” which she translated as “Always start your day with a smile.”
This is a very nice hand-drawn and colored art card.

This is not a member of the marching band!

Text under the picture says, “The Union High School Marching Band takes part in Saturday’s Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.”
Huh.  I remember band as looking more like people in unisex uniforms carrying instruments and playing and stuff, but I guess things have changed since my day.
(There is half of a flute pictured, on the right side of the picture. Also, picture caption writer, you might tell us from whence the Union High School came.  Because I have no idea.)

Just because.

This was a commentary about a program in Portland called Girls on the Run, where girls in third through eighth grades learn life skills and run, completing a 5k at the end of the program. It’s a great program and many girls at school have participated.
Predictably, came this editorial.  I’m not going to be diligent and actually look up statistics, but I’m willing to bet that participation in youth sports is not equal between genders.  And while sports are expected for boys, they still aren’t universally accepted for girls, even forty years after Title IX.  
So that’s why girls get more encouragement.  Lets even things out first.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Fault in Our Stars

Shailaine Woodley was perfectly cast (although missing the puffy steroided face, but hey!  At least Hollywood let her keep the cannula and have a bad haircut and too-loose clothing) in this very faithful adaptation of the beloved novel and I loved every moment she was on the screen.  I cannot say the same about her counterpart, Ansel Elgort, who was full of nervous ticks and goofy mannerisms and didn’t even have the whole I’m-supposed-to-have-a-prosthetic-leg thing down.  It got to the point where every time he was on the screen I found myself wishing they would cut back to Shailaine and by the end of the movie I was very angry that Ansel Elgort was even present.*

*Which was a complete bummer because this movie had a lot going for it, otherwise.

Cost:  $10.00
Where watched:  Living Room Theaters with Matt, Kelly, Laurie and Burt.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2014/fault_in_our_stars.html