Book Club

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Friday Filter: Book “Personal Connections in the Digital Age”

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I read this book for my professional development goal. I was able to connect with a colleague that I met through the blog world, which was quite fitting for our first book.

Ellen and I would read a chapter a week and then emailed each other back and forth about our thoughts, observations, and reflections on that particular chapter.

Nothing about this book was earth shattering, but it did provide some good talking points for us to have some really great discussions.

The chapters were fairly short and very well organized (like an English teacher’s dream).

It was not overly textbookish, and had some great practical examples. She did include data and a lot of history in the book, but again, not in a way that goes over your head or puts you to sleep.

What I enjoyed about the book was looking back at how media and technology has evolved. A lot of advancement happened when Ellen and I were growing up. It gave us some great talking points about our childhood, college, and now our professional lives and how we have interacted with technology over time.

We also had some great discussions about what this means for our students. We have observed a lot of behaviors that stem from the use of technology and the availability of information. That was great to apply it to our work along with our personal tastes.

Throughout the book, the author talked about personal connections and how technology can help and hinder the meaningfulness of those relationships.

We were able to talk about the anonymity that it can provide for criticism on one hand. While on the other, it can provide closeness to long distance relationships.  We explored the idea of communities and individuals needing to create an online identity and what that means as far as connections, expectations, and consequences. We discussed such a wide range of outcomes over the couple months of reading, so it is hard to discuss it all here.

All in all, it was a good little book that gave Ellen and I some great things to reflect on. We were able to see how technology has morphed over time and how our usage has impacted us.

It was very interesting for us to talk about this technology driven book through email and having met through blogging and not ever in real life, which we both commented on every once in awhile. We would send each other little technology nuggets from videos to blogs from time to time too that would relate to whatever topic of the time.

Ellen and I are continuing our little book adventure again with a book on decision making. It was really great connecting with her and having the accountability to read a professional development book. I think we had some really great discussions about our profession, but I would also say we got to know each other really well too, even if it was quite random.

Have you read any great professional development books lately?

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Friday Filter: Dancing With the Stars Recap

Holy Moly! This week’s episode was one of the best premiere’s I have seen.

The new contestants are phenomenal!

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The only one who was not pictured here is Amy Purdy, and that is because she was performing in the ParaOlympics at the time.

Even on just the first night, the bar has been set pretty high on quality, enthusiasm, and competition.

My current favorites are obviously DJ Tanner and Winnie Cooper (I mean Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar). I also am loving Amy Purdy, Merle Davis, and Charlie White hot off their Olympic wins. My unknown favorite is James Maslow (what a cutie). Plus I am loving the dynamic between him and Peeta.

I love this show for two reasons:

1. I love dance. This is mainly about ballroom which fascinates me.

2. It shows how real these famous people are. You know I love a good story.

I already cried on the first episode. I can’t blame it on pregnancy hormones. I would have cried at Amy Purdy’s dance regardless. Speechless. Secretly, I am so glad she was paired with my love from another life, Derek.

I know the fan page blew up with the announcement of Erin Andrews co-hosting with disgust. I honestly thought she killed it. I think she has a knack for announcing and just really enjoyed her.

I am not sure how I feel about switching partners. I think that is one of the great dynamics of the show is seeing how they bond and grow as a partnership. We shall see how this new format of switching partners goes though.

I am one of those nerds who uses two email accounts and their Facebook to vote. I feel better about it especially in the beginning, because I can divvy up my votes with more people. I mean I have 6 favorites. Who does that!

We’ll see if they stay the same throughout the season.

In other TV news (spoiler alert ahead), did you see this week’s episode of Pretty Little Liars? Some answers were given, but SOOOO many questions arose too! I can’t believe I have to wait until June. However, I am glad we were able to see that Ezra is not A, but it would be nice to know if he is ALIVE!

Do you watch Dancing with the Stars? Who is your favorite? Would you vote?

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Friday Filter-New TV Premieres

So with three snow days this week and having no energy, I checked out a few new shows. I am so glad I did! Each of these are so great. I really hope they continue.

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This show is hilarious. It follows a family that just went through a divorce. The twist is that the dad is blind. His son has been his guide for most of his life, but with the divorce the dad now depends on his new companion, a dog. The mom tries to be much cooler than she is, so the whole show is basically the kids being the adults in the situation. The antics that the whole family gets into are pretty funny. It is a quick and smart show. They cover the topics of blindness and how it impacts more than just that person. You will also see regular teenage/tween growing pains, but also parents trying to figure out how to be partners as parents but not be married. The son is my favorite. He narrates the show, so you see more of his transition than the other characters. You should check it out!

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If you have seen the movie with Hugh Grant, the premise is very similar on this show. I would say that since this is a sitcom, it moves much faster and is a little more light-hearted. A mom and her son moved next door to this bachelor, and the boy latched on to manly role model as a neighbor, much to the chagrin of his mother. The bachelor first tries fighting the relationship not wanting the responsibility of caring for someone else, but you see the kid slowly (and hilariously) breaking down those walls. Did I mention that their lifestyles are completely different? The bachelor is as bachelor as you get, whereas the mother son duo are vegan drifters who have a very rosy outlook on life. Watching the son and his neighbor interact and teach each other things is just delightful. Much like the previous show, it is a quick show but super funny!

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This show is very different. It revolves around a new consulting firm that uses psychological methods to meet the needs of their clients. It is a new twist that I am really enjoying. They look at how little things like how you dress or where you sit in a room can affect how someone views you and the decisions they make. Two brothers are the creators of the firm, and their personal stories provide different layers to the story. One brother is a bi-polar professor who was recently fired from a university for having an affair with a student. The other brother just finished a jail sentence for white collar crime. So you can imagine what kind of drama these two can create. I would call this a dramatic comedy. The  premise of the mind manipulation really intrigues me, so I will keep watching for a little bit.

So those are just a few more shows to keep my DVR busy.

Have you seen any of these?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

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Friday Filter-Film “Changeling”

I know I am a bit behind in seeing this movie that came out in 2008. Thanks to Netflix, I can get with the program though.

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This is a film about a mother’s love. Angelina Jolie plays a single mother in the 1930s who comes home one day to find her child missing. She reports it to the LAPD and does a crack job at investigating. They find a boy who matches the description loosely, mostly just meeting “lost boy,” and says that he is her lost son. She insists that he is not, and that her son is still missing and to keep the investigation active. LAPD doesn’t want a scene or bad press, and ensures that the boy just underwent “dramatic” changes while he was lost and sent him home with her. The mother doesn’t ever believe this is her son, and continues to try to get the LAPD to see her truth. They end up sending her to a mental ward just to shut her up.

I won’t give any other parts away. You will have to watch to see whether she ever reunites with her son or not, and for what other surprises are thrown in.

I think why I waited so long to watch this is because I am not particularly fond of Angelina. I don’t really have a reason because she is a decent actress, she just doesn’t strike my fancy. It comes fairly close to my hatred of Nicholas Cage.

I will admit though, that I really enjoyed this movie. It was gripping and emotionally intense. It was a mystery story that kept adding layers as you go through the plot line. You have themes of a parent’s love, women’s issues, corruptness, and more.

The acting was really great. I felt the emotions they were portraying. A review I read said, “rarely is the truth pretty.” That is so perfect to describe this film. It’s not a pretty film. It is cold and dank mostly. But I still was in awe when it was over. It gave me chills.

What I was most impressed with was the way they filmed the scenes. Being set in 1928-1935, they depicted a pretty drabby time in our history. And you could see that in every way they shot the frames. There were no rosy tints or bright sunny colors. It was all blue and industrial. It really set the mood for other themes to come out more fully.

I love when pieces of a film come together. That is what is so great about the movies. Everything from the costumes, music, to the hue of the frames can affect our mood and how we react to the story. These can affect us just as much, if not more at times than what is being said by the actors themselves. So the contributors and masterminds behind this particular movie did a great job making sure all the layers intertwine for a power punch to the viewer.

Have you watched any good films lately?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

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Friday Filter: Band of Brothers

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Right before Tom deployed, I found this TV series on sale and scooped it up. I knew that I was going to love it so I figured I would buy it before I even saw it.

Then Tom deployed, and I decided that it was in my best interest to wait until he returned home to watch it.

I knew if I watched a series about the brutal truths of war plus the added fact that the unit is 101st Airborne, (Tom’s division), it was just a recipe for disaster for my emotional state.

We finally got around to completing the series this week. It is short with only 10 episodes, but each one was jam-packed with goodness.

WWII was my favorite period to study. I took every elective in this time period during college. I was enthralled by the facts and details that they threw into this mini-series.

It was a pretty great cast, and the acting was pretty stellar which made you feel like you were watching a documentary almost more than a show. They did a great job with the scenery and the details of the costumes. They really picked up on the subtleties of the time.

I appreciated the realness of the series. They showed how leadership can affect the troops, how things are communicated, the morale, the conditions, and even the deaths and wounded. This was not an easy war for our men, and many were there for years.

If you imagine the things that are seen in that amount of time….mind boggling.

My favorite part was that they had the real soldiers the story was based on do interviews and tell snippets of their tale. So you saw men in their 60-80s talk about the harsh realities of war before each episode began. I mentioned this the other day to Tom too while we were in the pharmacy and seeing all the older gentlemen there picking up their meds. Some of these men have done unimaginable things, and yet they lead perfectly normal lives now and are sweet old men. (At least the look like sweet old men.) During these segments you saw these soldiers years later get choked up and laugh about memories. You saw real emotion in their eyes and their lip quivers.

I also really liked how they showed the relationships and how the war affected them over time. You watched them go from training days to when they heard the war was officially over. So you see growth and all kinds of transitions occur over that time.

I love when a story impacts you and shows you that rawness of humans. And this series did just that.

I will say it is not the easiest show to watch, but it is a great show to watch. I loved it for what it was. The history told in these 10 episodes was awesome, and better than any textbook. Although, I will say it was better for me maybe because of the context that I have from all those textbooks. However, I am sure you would enjoy it just the same.

Also it won a lot of awards, so other people think it is good too. Just saying.

We love watching war documentaries/shows in our house. Obviously.

Do you have any to recommend to us? Have you seen Band of Brothers? What did you think?Have you ever bought a movie/series without watching it?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.