Posted by barb on Aug 9, 2003 in
Books by Bel Kaufman
I actually read this book many years ago, when I was in junior high. My favorite teacher had mentioned it in class — I think as an example of a story told in a non-traditional way. Up the Down Staircase tells the story of a first-time teacher, Miss Barrett, and her first semester in a public high school. But rather than being told as a traditional narrative, the story is told through the many pieces of paper that cross Miss Barrett’s desk or end up in her wastebasket. These papers take the form of mimeos from the office, intraschool notes between teachers, written compositions from the students, notes left in the suggestion box, and letters written by Miss Barrett to her good friend in the suburbs.
While the novel was first published in 1964, it is striking how many of the complaints about the education system hold up today. Among the issues raised are too many students per teacher, kids dropping out and joining gangs or working to support their family, insufficient facilities, unreasonable demands’ on teachers’ time, and kids in school with knives. It seems that the only thing that has changed in the intervening 40 years is that school has become more violent.
Up the Down Staircase is an excellent book that really stands the test of time.
Posted by barb on Aug 9, 2003 in
Movies 3/5 stars
Actually, I wasn’t paying attention to the first 30 minutes or so of this movie, so I was generally confused through the rest of the movie. Fortunately Andrew had recently read Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead, so he could tell me what was going on. It wasn’t bad, once you get past Antonio Bandares playing an Arab (with a strong, distinct spanish accent).
Posted by barb on Aug 9, 2003 in
Random Thoughts I love any day spent at the DMV. It makes me feel like such a vital person in this world.
- 7:00 AM
- We arrive at the DMV an hour before they open. The line is already a third of the way around the building.
- 8:00 AM
- The doors open, but we don’t move very far.
- 8:22 AM
- Andrew has gotten his number, and we sit down while he fills out the form and wait for his number to be called.
- 8:45 AM
- Andrew’s number is called. His paperwork is taken, but I need to run out to get the car’s registration, which they need for the driving test (why they need this is far beyond me). Then we sit back down to wait for his test.
- 10:05 AM
- Andrew is finally called for his driving test. I cross my fingers.
- 10:20 AM
- Andrew comes back, but has not been told whether he passed or not. His comment was, “Nothing disasterous happened.”
- 10:30 AM
- Andrew is called up to have his picture taken. Apparently he passed. Yay!
- 10:40 AM
- We finally get to leave. Andrew has his crisp new driver’s license in hand.
Posted by barb on Aug 7, 2003 in
Random Thoughts You might just have eclectic music tastes if you’ve ever uttered the following:
“Honey? Do you think I’d like this 2-disk set of George and Ira Gershwin in Hollywood, or the 2-disk collection of Devo?”
There was no sarcasm involved….
Posted by barb on Aug 5, 2003 in
Books by Candace Bushnell
Bushnell also wrote Sex and the City — the inspiration for the HBO series. While I haven’t read the book, I have seen the series, and I was expecting something more along those lines. I suppose this was somewhat along those lines — the stories were about 4 blondes who were stuck-up and self-centered…the kind of women I would never find among my friends. However, I find that I have some sympathy for the characters in Sex and the City. The blondes in 4 Blondes are not at all sympathetic — they are pathetic, and pathetic of their own making.
Posted by barb on Aug 3, 2003 in
Books The Amazons of Dahomey and the Nature of War
by Robert B. Edgerton
The Amazons of Dahomey were the elite army of the Aftrican republic of Dahomey from early 1700s (?) to nearly 1900 when the French took over Dahomey. They fought more fiercely than the men to protect their king and his interests. They were women.
Edgerton explores the origins of these Amazons, their rise and their fall. They represent an enigma in World warfare history, since war has almost exclusively been the realm of men. While women have gone to fight in wars in other cultures and societies, never before or since have they formed the elite army of a society.
Unfortunately, I rediscovered that scholars are generally not great writers with this book. Edgerton bounces around with is subject and repeats points and even anecdotes frequently, making the book a slog. Perhaps the most interesting chapter was the last one where he explores the history of women in warfare across the globe throughout history — though this certainly could have been a book all its own.
Posted by barb on Aug 3, 2003 in
Movies 0.5/5 stars
Yikes. Talk about your nonsensical movies.
I’m not saying that I didn’t understand the main story, but it jumped around so much that it was hard to follow. Several times I turned to Andrew with a questioning look only to hear him respond, “I don’t know what’s going on either.”
Posted by barb on Aug 2, 2003 in
Biking Andrew and I decided to go the “other way” on the W & OD trail today. Usually when we park in Vienna, we’ve been heading up toward Reston, but today we decided to head south/east toward Falls Church. Unfortunately we only made 6.5 miles total — there is a fairly large hill just after we pass inside the beltway, and I didn’t think I could make it. As it turns out, though, the trip home from there must have been mostly downhill, because I could have kept going.
Just after we passed back outside the beltway, I got a nasty shock. A bee flew directly into my ear! It bounced around for a moment (I stuck my finger around my ear, too, which didn’t help!), and then stung me and flew away. I really hope it’s one of those bees that dies after stinging! My ear was throbbing for the rest of the trip back to Vienna. The wind rushing past my ear just make things worse. It’s just a good thing that I’m not allergic.
Posted by barb on Aug 2, 2003 in
Books by Carl Sagan
Excellent book! I’ve wanted to read this book since they started filming the movie version in Socorro (where I was living at the time) — that was at least seven years ago. I’m glad I finally got around to it!
In the novel, the Very Large Array radio interferometer in New Mexico has been expanded to over 100 telescopes and works much of the time searching for signals from extraterrestrial beings. Project Argus is lead by Ellie Arroway, a strong female scientist who has had to prove herself in a male-dominated field. One day in the late 1980s, Argus is successful — it detects a signal from Vega that is definitely not natural. In fact, once deciphered, the message is seen to contain instructions to build a machine. No one quite knows what the machine will do. In fact, construction of the machine requires whole new industries that Earth engineers had never conceived.
Two of the best things about this novel are Ellie Arroway and the President of the United States, who is female. Sagan has created two strong female characters who are sympathetic, not complete bitches (though Ellie boarders on it), and great role models. It’s just too bad that the movie version had to use Clinton rather than portraying a female president.
Highly recommended.
Posted by barb on Aug 1, 2003 in
Books We’ll see how long the embargo lasts, because I love buying books.
Here’s the deal I made with myself: No new books until I’ve read at least 20 books on my to-read shelves. I’ve already had to make an addendum to this agreement, since I’ll be visiting Minnesota at the end of the month. The significance of that is that my favorite book store, Uncle Hugo’s , is in Minnesota. It’s a locally owned bookstore that carries new and used science fiction, fantasy and horror. (There is a sister bookstore in the same building, Uncle Edgar’s, that carries mysteries.) I want to do my part to keep Uncle Hugo’s in business, so I’ve decided that I can buy any number of books while I’m there. However, that number of books will then be added on to the 20-book mandate. Sigh.