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Palpatine: “You don’t need guidance, Anakin. In time, you will learn to trust your feelings. Then, you will be invincible. I have said it many times, you are the most gifted Jedi I have ever met.”
Anakin: “Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Palpatine: “I see you becoming the greatest of all the Jedi, Anakin. Even more powerful than Master Yoda.”
Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
There’s nothing like knowing your kid is off doing something important that you have absolutely NO control over. Not that I have control issues or anything. Me? No, never. Oi vey. I’m a right regular basket case this morning.
Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Modern English, (vintage) U2, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure, Men Without Hats, INXS - I’m filling myself up with the comfort music of my high school and university years on Pandora Radio to keep myself sane. OK, I’ve just seriously dated myself. If I end up cutting my hair asymmetrically and dying it flame red, you’ll know why. Seriously, I really, really want to have flame read hair again. I blame that mostly on Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World though. (I’m also feeling compelled to dance with several of the songs as they play though, so daily exercise? Check.)
And tea, I’m drinking vats of tea: Santa’s Secret from my dear friend, Eileen Cook. This may or may not be a good idea as it’s packed full of caffeine and has real, miniature candy canes pieces scattered through out the mix, but that’s not going to stop me. I received a Saeco Electric Water Kettle for Christmas and Ho Boy! that thing rocks. Super fast water from the tap to 150-boiling in moments, and with the measurements on the side I can measure out just how much water I’m going to need.
Padawan Learner is taking the first half of his very first mid-term exam today, the verbal Italian segment. I spent all last night saying, “Shouldn’t you be studying for that Italian test?” only to keep hearing, “No, it’s under control.” He glanced over his notes, made a few pretty sounding utterances (strange, I know, but I really miss hearing those guttural G’s from his Dutch-language days), and watching an episode each of The Big Bang Theory and CSI before going to bed. Who IS this child and how could he have ever come from Dad Windu’s and my DNA? I was a compulsive study-freak in school and I’m pretty sure DW was too. I kept thinking – but thankfully not screaming out – “What the blazes does that have to do with anything? ” In the end, I went and finished up my latest library find (Death of a Valentine ) in the bathtub.
I really don’t have reason to worry too much, PL is doing well in his Energy and Italian classes, but I think one of the underlying reasons is that I feel a fair bit of pressure due to the fact that this is his first leap into the unknown of what is commonly referred to as “real school” by family and friends that were not terribly homeschool-friendly in the first place. This semester has felt like it is, in their eyes (and I fully admit that I could be completely projecting my own insecurities onto others here), the proof in the pudding of homeschooling in general and of our homeschool family in particular. How about you other homeschool to traditional school or duel-enrollment folk? Did you experience this the first time one of your kids started thinking inside the educational box?
OK, on to other things now. Like those dust bunnies lurking in the bathroom and under the beds. Time to slay them all.
Princess Leia: “Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.”
Han Solo: ”Who’s scruffy-looking?”
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Well, at present I am.
With Dad Windu off relaxing at his brother’s house, it was just Padawan Learner and I hanging out this afternoon and evening so we decided to have a Star Wars movie marathon in the basement. We ran through Episodes I, II and IV. For some reason PL decided to skip III, which surprised me, but perhaps it was just to be kind. I think he knows that’s my least favorite one.
As any self-respecting movie marathoner knows, that means nothing more pulled together than comfy pants, piles of pillows and blankets, and those fine lunch/dinner/snack combos of What’s in the fridge? and What’s left in the cupboard? and Do we have any extra Christmas goodies still in the freezer?
I hope you all had a good weekend, too.
General Grievous: “But the loss of Count Dooku?”
Darth Sidious: “His death was a necessary loss. Soon I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful.”
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith
Any Harry Potter Fans in Your House?
If your family, like ours, have been waiting with baited breath for the latest Harry Potter movie (which was excellent, just so you know), one of the local library systems, KDL, has found a couple of books you may want to consider while we all wait for the two installments of the final book. For the record, I knew it was coming but I still was surprisingly sad at the end of #6.
Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli, founder of the Leaky Cauldron website, is truly a fascinating look at the HP fandom, including the founding of her website and how Harry Potter has changed her life. (OK, this seems a little far-fetched for me, but hey – who am I to judge?) It includes meeting J.K. Rowling and the creation of the “premier” Wizard Rock website.
Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views from the #1 Fan Site by Emerson Spartz & Ben Schoen of Mugglenet.com fame is a collection of essays debating different viewpoints on certain controversial issues (as well as some fun ones). As Beth from KDL says, “This book just goes to show that not every thing was answered in the final book.”
“There is… another… Sky… walker.” – Yoda, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Qui-Gon Jinn passed this Star Wars/Star Trek/The Matrix/Harry Potter are all the same movie link on some time ago and I’ve been meaning to point you all in its direction. It briskly runs to the same conclusion as Joseph Campbell in The Hero’s Journey. It lacks Campbell’s depth, wit and largess, of course, but were he still alive I believe Campbell would be smiling as he read it.
[Luke has proposed to bargain for Solo's life]
“Bargain rather than fight? He’s no Jedi.” - Bib Fortuna, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Dad Windu and I have been on a movie kick lately. We’re pretty much working our way through the DVD section at our local library, in fact. Dad Windu is a big fan of seeing new movies right away, while I usually can wait to see something after it has hit the cheap theater or comes out on DVD. If given the choice, I prefer the cheap theater – what is it about movie popcorn – but there really aren’t too many movies that I simply have to see on the big screen to fully enjoy.
This past weekend I saw a couple of great movies (The Good German and The Quiet Man) and a piece of fluff (Because I Said So). The Good German was interesting less for its placement in post-WWII occupied Germany than for its scraping at the underbelly of corruption that necessarily follows war. My great-grandparents (my mom’s grandparents) were stationed in Germany following the war and it was also fascinating to see the urban landscape as she had described it. Several of the things she talked about came back to me as the movie unfolded.
I’m going to just say it. I don’t like John Wayne movies. It’s true; I don’t. Except for this one, that is. I just love watching The Quiet Man. I know as a mom, a descendant of the Celts and a woman, I am probably supposed to get my panties in a twist about lots of things in this movie (i.e., the need to fight to preserve one’s honor, the stereotypical drunken depiction of the Irish, the way Sean treats Mary Kate in the end and the manner in which she responds), but The Quiet Man has me laughing almost from beginning to end every time. I love this movie and had a grand time introducing Padawan Learner to it.
The mental fluff (every movie weekend seems to need one, right?) was Because I Said So. Intrusive mother tries to marry daughter off. Daughter finds different, perfect guy. Mother tries to push her choice on daughter. Disasters and gratuitous sexual references (and partial scenes) ensue. Completely predictable fluff. Time could easily have been spent in a better manner (such as flossing my teeth, washing dishes, staring at the wall), but at least I got a ton of rows knit on the new sweater I’m making in the round – knit top down. The best part was seeing one of the side characters holding Aunt Beru’s fabulous wedding shoes in the middle of the movie (1:55 in, if I remember correctly).
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