Lost Book-Club Ballyhoo

OK, seriously, this is why I can't sleep:

If you don't watch Lost, or if you watch it casually, you may not be aware that it is deeply rooted in the literary arts. Everything has a meaning, especially names, and these guys drop literary allusions like sunflower seeds at a baseball game. (Hey look, I made a sports reference! $20 says that won't happen again...) What I mean by this is that there are literally hundreds of books to which details big and small connect themselves--it is a finely crafted conglomerate of tasty tidbits for the avid reader.

Take, for just one tiny example, the idea posed to me yesterday by my more brilliant and fashion forward teaching partner/partner in crime/partner in search of all things entertaining or appalling on the internet: the relationship between Daniel Faraday and his benefactor Charles Widmore has a host of commonalities which can be distinctly linked to the Pip/Miss Havisham benefactorial relationship in Dickens' Great Expectations. Whew! That was a mouthful. Now, Dickens is scattered throughout Lost lore, (Lindelof and Cuse confirm that they are both Dickens "afictionados", admiring him for his ability to tell sprawling, character-driven stories and for being the "master of coincidence"--is this sounding familiar yet?)--but I never would have come up with this connection on my own. So when asked to explain her thinking, Mrs. Sinibaldi replied as follows:

"...Pip has a secret benefactor that was both a blessing and a curse, evoking mixed feelings from the reader. Do we feel happy for Pip/Dan and glad that he has this benefactor who takes care of him and leads him to success in his desired field? Or concerned for him because now he's going to owe this person because of this tie? And what if your benefactor is evil? Does that make you evil also? Can you reject an evil benefactor when they've done so much for you? Then something you said about Charlotte/Vegetable-girl made me think of Pip's issues with Estella and Biddy--unsure of who he should love and who he does love..."

I am confident that, somewhere out in the vast universe of the world-wide-web, there is someone as nerdy as I whose sleep is also invaded by similar thoughts of giant literary conspiracies. But since that person is not here (which is actually a good thing because I'm not wearing pants and didn't plan on fetching any), and I have gotten that off my chest, I think I will go back to sleep now.


Check out the Lost Book Club for a complete list of references big and small. Sweet dreams.

Death and Re-birth?

Well, my favorite pen died today, an ominous sign for sure. It was a Papermate Liquid Expresso, dark purple with an extra-fine point. It didn't go quickly, either--it was slow and painful, sputtering every once in a while, giving me hope that maybe it was just a minor infection, and not really the inevitable end of our journey together. But it was (the inevitable end of our journey together, that is).

Luckily I am wearing all black today as a part of a school-wide teacher conspiracy to freak out kids and see if they notice. I really don't make this stuff up. Another reason the black attire is appropriate: the death of our good friend Charlotte Staples Lewis. Yes, folks, she is a goner. Did anyone else think she bore a striking resemblance to Faraday's lab partner/girlfriend who we saw in a vegetative state being cared for by none other than...you guessed it: Charles Widmore? Now, we know that Dan F. was recruited by Whidmore to use his time-travel expertise in an Island-procurring mission to find and destroy Ben Linus, but we didn't know that Widmore was previously connected to Faraday or that he was his "benefactor". Now Widmore is taking care of the "poor woman" whose current situation could be an informercial on the adverse effects of time travel. Ahh!

Poor Charlotte--she finally stopped scowling and actually smiled a couple of times when Dan F. was professing his love for her. But does he love her? Or does he love the similar-looking vegetative-state lab partner? Or are the the same woman?...

I tried to find a picture of C.S. Lewis with blood spurting forth from her nose, but apparently those images are protected. And probably not appropriate for school.

I Have, Yet Again, Found Something With Which to Become Obsessed

I was at the library yesterday (one of my favorite places and, in my humble opinion, a cornerstone of our democratic society-nothing says "equality for all" like the ability to access unlimited sources of information free of charge). I think that is long enough for that sentence. At said library, I picked up a copy of Nick Hornby's Shakespeare Wrote for Money because a) it is Nick Hornby and I always picture John Cusack when I read his stuff, b) it is short, and c) it has a great cover. I had no idea what it was, and upon arriving home and sitting down to peruse it, I realized that it is a collection of essay articles he wrote for The Believer (a monthly rag dedicated to literary exploration). His column (?) focuses on books he is reading at the time, giving insight, review, criticism, and making connections to his own life. Shakespeare Wrote for Money is the third collection of these articles to be published, following The Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt.

In essence, it is like a blog about reading...and it is wonderful and hilarious. Check out the first installment.

Coming to you live...

from mid-term finals (an oxymoron, yes). What a great time of year--the true half-way mark. There is nothing like the peace and quiet of angst-ridden adolescents frantically writing away and glancing at the clock in panic and shock every 2 minutes (I teach a lot of honors classes). Check my Facebook status tonight and it will say: Molly is casually grading mid-term exams while in labor.

This week also marks the beginning of a literary journey upon which I will be embarking with my students. A knowledge bowl-type event (think: the Mathletes from Mean Girls, except with books). Students have formed teams and are posed to read and reflect on fourteen young adult novels of various genres and reading levels. Since I hadn't previously read any of these books, I too am trotting diligently through them. I'm very excited about this little project (see the first paragraph, picture me in baggy jeans and a flannel, and you have an accurate portrait of my own high school experience)--here are the books we are reading:

Peaches, by Jodi Lynn Anderson (I just finished this one--very Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-ish)
The Boxes, William Sleator
Pirates! Celia Rees
Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
The Christopher Killer, Alane Ferguson
Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
Code Talker, Joseph Bruchac
I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Margaret Craven
Maus I, Art Spiegelman
East, Edith Pattou
Night Hoops, Carl Deuker
The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
The Highest Tide, Jim Lynch

A few of these will be tough for me (I don't usually gravitate towards sci-fi or hobbits), but for the most part I really like the selections we have made. Happy Tuesday, I wish you some peace and quiet of your own.

Destiny Calls

Destiny can be a fickle b-word sometimes. A lesson I have learned the hard way a time or two. Like today, for instance. I have a week left in the semester; a mountain of final projects, exams, and essays on which to confer, collect, and grade; and a damn baby is trying to come out of me. The timeline is imperfect and I refuse to submit to it willingly. But, as I previously hinted, destiny is not a supplicant opponent.

Which brings me to the other reason I refused to have a baby yesterday: the season 5 premiere of Lost. In the last couple of years, I have catapulted to level "crazy" of Lost fandom--something that annoys my husband to no end, but is totally fueled by my equally eccentric colleagues. In fact, one of my work friends comes up with theories more brilliant than I could ever conceive to dream up (she's a Dr. and a math teacher, and she works for NASA on the side--go figure). So I have made myself write this before discussing last night's premiere with her, in order to keep myself from plagerizing her ideas. If I write again tomorrow, however, you will be on to me.

And now, what I loved:

1. Hurley's extreme guilt at lying. Guilt, they say, is the worst motivator, but it certainly works. I grew up Catholic, so trust me, I know a bit about the subject. Hurley's guilt over lying about the people they left behind makes him crazy, and he's been seeing dead people.

2. The butcher. She is a badass, and somehow connected to the island? The infrastructure of Ben's madness gets bigger and more complex as each day passes.

3. Sawyer slapping Daniel Faraday. He is just the kind of character who needs a little "right now" slapped into him every once in a while. I love him, though, so don't be confused.

4. Flying flaming arrows. Where did they come from? And who?

I will pause now to formulate my own theories and will return tomorrow. AKA, I have to read Doc Jensen's Entertainment Weekly reviews and talk to my friend Tinell.

Oh! I get it now--you were under deep cover when you killed those 30 guys.

Boy, Tony Almeida perked right up when he wasn't pretending to be a terrorist. And is it my imagination, or did Jack actually look a little hotter on the 2nd night of the season premiere? Especially after he busted Tony out of the FBI headquarters interrogation room. Maybe it is just that my husband volunatrily slept on the couch last night (he is a martyr for my sleep needs), but I think things are starting to look up for 24: Day 7.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's no Season 2 (that was the one where Jack went under-cover with the South American drug lords and became addicted to heroin, a nasty habit he was forced to kick in Season 3 before finding the bio-terrorists), and that red-haired lady is pissed, but I think I can buy-in. Chloe is back and along with Bill Buchanan (the former director of CTU) and Tony Almeida, she is conducting a secret outside-the government-crack the conspiracy of which of the president's cabinet members is working for the terrorists-don't trust anyone until Jack comes back- investigation.

Bright shiny spots of this season: 1. Janeane Garofalo plays a really nervous computer wizz with bad hair and 2. the guy who played Billy, the crazy "Medellin" director in Entourage has the same mannerisms as an FBI analyst that he did as a creative-permiscuous-genius/Sundace Film Festival flop. Who could make this up? Only the writers of 24.

Well kids, it looks like I may be looking forward to Monday nights after all.

The Garden of Last Days--a review

This book was not as action-packed as I originally thought it would be (I must not be getting enough action in my life because nothing is good enough for me--not Jack Bauer, not books, hmmm...). But it did make me seriously consider the pros and cons of being a stripper.

The story is about a woman named April (stripper name: Spring) who lives in Miami and works at a "gentleman's club". She's a single mom and is trying to save up enough money to buy a house for her daughter and herself and brings home $10,000-$12,000 a month (PRO). Then one night her babysitter has a heart attack and she has to bring her 3-year-old daughter to work with her, where she ends up stripping for one of the 9/11 hi-jackers while her daughter is abducted from the parking lot (CON and CON).

The story offered insight into the sometimes devastating decisions people make and the motivations on which those decisions are based. It was sad and depressing and made me root for people I normally would not have...like the desperate child-abductor who somehow thought he was doing the right thing and whose life was a series of consequences put in motion by bad choices.

I work with young people and am daily reminded of the fragility of life and how one bad choice can change your life forever. Sometimes I want to scream at them and tell them there's more to life than what you're going to look like in the five minutes between my class and your next one. But then again, sometimes I'm just not sure there is...

"It's Just Technology! Can't We Unplug it or Something?!?"

Not since Melissa Badgely taught me to smoke in my best friend Hilary's front yard while her parents were sleeping have I felt the sense of thrill and adventure that I did watching the premiere of 24:Season 7.

No wait, strike that. I think I was referring to Season 3 with the bio-terrorism. You know, the one where they injected the guy with ebola and dumped him out of a van at a shopping mall in the first episode? Season 7 is about technology theft. 

I have always been pretty accepting when it came to 24. Even when Tony Almeida got shot in the neck and came back to work two hours later, it was not too much for me because I was a true fan. I remember during my first pregnancy looking forward to Monday nights because I knew I was going to have action-packed dreams starring myself and Jack Bauer as my love-interest/crazy rogue government operative. He would talk to me in that low husky voice and do that weird blinky thing with his eyes and I would swoon. What happened to you Jack? Now you look old and Tony Almeida doesn't look scary, just sleepy. I wish you wouldn't have jumped off that crate on the boat to tackle him because it looked like you may have hurt yourself.

Now, instead of looking forward to those dreams, all I have is heartburn and a husband who is snoring like a screaming child. 

Why Can't I Be Her?

Tina Fey is one of my living heroes. I think I am a little bit in love with her. Here are ten good reasons (in case there is something wrong with you and you have to ask the question "why?"):

1. She is the funniest woman alive. (I really shouldn't have to go any further)

2. She is an emotionally stable working mom.

3. She is normal, not crazy.

4. She doesn't like to break rules. (me neither!)

5. She is honest--"It’s the year after the baby comes that is like someone hitting you every day in the face with a hammer.” (TF)

6. She writes her own show, and it is the best sitcom on TV.

7. She loves to eat.

8. She know how to wear success without carrying a small dog in a gold lame (accent over the e) bag.

9. She isn't afraid to look silly.

10. She is the funniest woman alive. (in case you forgot #1)

I just read a great article about her in Vanity Fair. Check it out and then email me so that I can send you a link to her fan club.