Weekend
Posted on February 11, 2008
Filed Under kids, parenting, praise, bitching and moaning, recommendations, film recommendation |
I am not a very nice person when I’ve been a single parent for a five day stretch and I’m also not a very good writer at the end of such an exhausting stint. So I’m going to take it easy today and just do a sort of weekend round-up. Here are some good things that came of a trying forty-eight hours.
First, I feel somewhat responsible for this lovely thing blooming in the dining room. One thing I miss about South Florida is the easy cultivation of an astonishing array of orchids: phalenopsis, vandas, oncidiums, rhynostachys. I carried all these complicated lady friends with them with me to Massachusetts and watched all but two shrivel up and die. But here in New England I can grow Cymbidium orchids which shun the humidity of the tropics. Every February I am glad for this consolation.
Next, I finalized my Ben Franklin Presentation Board for the third grade history class I am taking right along with my eight year old son.
As evidenced by the expressions in the photograph, I seem to glean greater pleasure from the end product than does my son. He is slightly embarrassed and confused by my obvious pride only because he has yet to become a parent charged with seeing that his third grader read books, take notes and produce a visual presentation on an eminent person of whom the child has never heard, all while explaining the complicated historical significance of the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 
Finally, we made snow people. Okay, I made a snow seductress with her ample bosom and her flowing skirts and the kids rebelled against such liberties taken with what was supposed to be a very basic, male snowman and created a snow child minus the realistic anatomy.
In the evenings I read or watched movies. Three films later, there’s only one I can recommend. Half Nelson, starring Ryan Gosling is definitely worth the rental. I loved this film for its lack of simplistic Hollywood-style messaging. It does tackle the popular mega-flick concept of redemption but in a manner so ambiguous and conflicted that the viewer can’t decide whether to hate the protagonist or envelop him in a huge hug and take him to bed. By degrees, you’ll love him and loathe him and feel like this guy is someone you know, someone possessing charm and intelligence and a disgusting drug habit - a combination of good and bad that makes him human and vulnerable and all together believable. Gosling nails the performance. The director, Ryan Fleck resists the urge to throw in voice overs or obvious narrative tricks. He allows the viewer to manage their own feelings about the characters and their plight. No stirring sappy scores or soft focus imagery. It’s all just harshly illuminated and begs the question, can a person save another if he cannot save himself? Both Gosling and his co-star, Shareeka Epps were nominated for academy awards for their performance in the film. And the soundtrack is pretty solid as well, featuring two tracks by Broken Social Scene.
Well, those are the good things. And there’s just one more. A completely wonderful post was written last week highlighting the emerging role of blogging in a modern day mother’s life. I am mentioned in the post and am most grateful to have been recognized for my contributions to the new art form. But mostly I’m just excited for all of us Moms and writers and bloggers to whom this post pays tribute. It’s all of us. Three cheers for Ron at RWorld. Your recognition of the thing we do here, and at sites all over the blogosphere, day after day, is much appreciated.
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