Who knew that Matthew McConaughey’s foray into romantic comedy–a most dreadful film genre to most critics–would be so sociologically and culturally relevant? In Dr. Leonard Sax’s Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men (2009), he argues that McConaughey’s Failure to Launch is a gem of a movie in that it reflects an American epidemic of men who are underachieving and who seem to be perfectly accepting of that fact. According to Dr. Sax, the United States has been experiencing a […]
my mom must have been jewish in a previous life
My sister lent me The Jewish Daughter Diaries, not because we are Jewish, but because my mother so closely resembles the women in these essays. My mother was raised Roman Catholic by Polish-American parents, there is a lot of overlap in the parenting styles of RC Poles and Jewish mothers. Mostly guilt as a second language and a biological need to feed those who enter her house. And while my mother never meddled in my love life she has volunteered to call/ pay a visit […]
Like a Good Salad
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac was a tough read for me. I have been looking for a book by Native Americans regarding the Native American community. This particular work focuses on the Navajo code talkers in WWII in the Pacific Theater. The code talkers and the important role they played in WWII is a topic that not many know about but who should. Which is why I read it to preview for my students. But now I’m having second thoughts. It’s not because of the […]
Lady, you’re Cheryl Tunt on Archer and Kitty on Arrested Development
Having seen a number of other Cannonballers already reviewing this one, I got curious, and it made for a nice break in between all the fiction I normally read. As a fan of romantic comedies, in many of which she has played a supporting character, not to mention my love of Arrested Development and Archer, I know exactly what I know Judy Greer from. I did have to look up her complete filmography on Wikipedia, though (not IMDB, no matter how many times they get shout-outs in Greer’s […]
Learning the Language of Love
Words of Affirmation Quality Time Receiving Gifts Acts of Service Physical Touch There you go, the entire book in a nutshell. You’re welcome. But I should probably go into more detail. One day at my gym, a spontaneous conversation erupted about love languages. As each person chimed in to say which “love language” they were, it made me wonder what I was missing. What are these mysterious love languages? Why don’t I know my love languages? I also couldn’t resist the allure of labeling my […]
The Common Core Is Coming! The Common Core Is Coming!
Technically, the Common Core is already here, but in case one did not know, the saturation of “Common Core aligned” notices on various workbooks, vocabulary texts, and the deluge of Common Core-themed texts on the market would make that announcement clear enough. Anxious parents, and even more anxious and novice teachers, will soon scan these shelves to buy these Common Core-themed texts in the desperate hope that they will be enlightened. Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher’s Rigorous Reading: 5 Access Points for Comprehending Complex Texts (2014) is […]