Little Miss Sunshine Day

Part I: What is Little Miss Sunshine Day?
When "Little Miss Sunshine" was released on DVD several months ago, I promised myself I wouldn't rush to buy it. I was going to wait. I was going to wait for a day that was so stressful or the kids were so mean/rude/crazy to buy it. And guess what!?! That was today! I already feel better after watching only 15 minutes of it. Abigail Beslin's tumtum is one of the most perfectly round huggable tumtums God has ever created; she's one of my heroes.

Part II: A To Do List for the End of the School Year

Enter 4th quarter grades.
Enter Final grades.
Make schedules for next year's 6th graders.
Run Field Day. (I hate Field Day.)
Tear down room.
Turn in books.
Pick AVID students (already had help with some friends today).
Go to principal's retirement fete.
Hound kids to return books.
And I'm sure I'll think of 28 more things tomorrow.

Anyone want a popsicle for dessert?

FYI

Started watching "Smallville" first week of January '07.

Finished Season 4 of said WB/CW super drama Tuesday, May 22.

Season 5 purchased and started Monday, May 28.

At this rate, taking into account three week trip to Scotland, entire five seasons of television drama will be watched in six months.

When you're having this much fun, getting a life is overrated. :)


(And the creators said "No tights; no flights," but they need to get over that in Season 5. I wanna see Clark catch some air.)

C-C-C-H-A M-M-M-P-A I-I-I-GN!!!

Feeling a bit nostalgified, everyone! Got to go to my cousins' graduation tonight at Krannert Great Hall. (That's Meghann & Matthew above with their good friend, Caitlin.) They looked so good in their maroon caps & gowns. They were brand new caps & gowns, too. (I'm quite jealous!) Don't know when the next family members will travel down those hallowed halls of Central--guess it's up to me to decide. ;)

David Ho was still in attendance if any of you were wondering/ worried.

Icky Whatty?: An Ode to the White Stripes

My brother hates them.

My cousin loves them.

They were media darlings with the release of "Elephant" in 2003.

It was too much for me to take in. White Stripes this. White Stripes that. Were they really married? Are they brother and sister? Don't they have the same last name?

Questions abounded; I checked outted. (That was supposed to rhyme.)

I needed time...time to process. When there's too much hype, I instantly become suspicious, pessimistic, impossible to break through. Loretta made me less skeptical, but my feelings remained uncertain. But it finally happened..."Just give them a chance," she said. "I'll send you a mix CD." Catchy hooks came out of Joseph's room...something about a 7 Nation Army. Ok, I thought. Just like Kevin McAllister, I'll give this one a whirl. I put the mix CD into my retro 50's kitchen CD player and heard Dolly's words hit my ears...but it came from guttural, scruffy, masculine chords. What was this? My feet tapping; chopping lettuce in time to the beats; Martin sticking his head around the corner to find out what racket was playing this time.

Then came my first purchase and confession: "Cousin," I said, "I can't stop playing 'Elephant.' It's been in my car for three months straight, and I can't stop listening. But I'm afraid that the other ones won't be as good." Gleeful laughter came through the cellular telephone as Cousin realized she had turned another...and gotten another one up on lil Andy. Copies of the others were quickly sent my way.

Then came Nashville.

Cousin called Wednesday--tickets on sale Thursday--three lovely ladies before them on Friday. In a small crowd of almost 500, we were THREE. I'd never heard anything like it. Only Eddie & the Boys can rival (and ultimately surpass) the power and purity that can pour forth from this dynamic duo's live efforts. Wishing against reason for Loretty to come on. In the end, the darling daughter of a coal miner didn't show, but homage was paid with "Rated X."

And I left happy.

From the Vault

And it should have stayed there. I was going through AOL videos, and I stumbled upon NKOTB's "Never Let You Go." It's from the group's final album, "Face the Music" (that's when they were from the streets). The song is a Jordan solo effort, with a rap by Donnie D. toward the end.

The video is absolutely cringe-inducing.

I can't even begin to describe it. I'm a New Kids fan of old, but when a video is s@*#, a video is s@*#. The only ones who showed up for the shoot are Jordan and Donnie. Jordan roams around NYC, overacting, and singing with his hands--A LOT. There are also some steamy sex shots of Jordan and his video girlfriend that I wish I had never seen. If you want a laugh, click on the link above.

I want to mention again how tough the boys were during the "Face the Music" push. Just look at that album cover!

OFFICIAL JOKER

Here he is...

Patience...

10 school days left

10 school days left

10 school days left

And Nostalgia Sets In

I went to my cousin's senior choir concert tonight at Champaign Central High School. She was beautiful, and she sang the song I sang for my senior solo, "Maybe This Time," from Kander & Ebb's "Cabaret." I was so proud of her!!! And her mommy even played the piano for her. It was very awesometearfullovelyspecial.

HOWEVER, I was very unimpressed with everything else. There was a very small smattering of people in the audience (maybe 50-60); the choir members talked while they walked on stage and in between performances; a couple of the soloists weren't even prepared for their performances. It made me very sad, for when I was in the choral program there, the senior performances were so packed that people had to stand in the back.

I guess I just wish more people could have seen the hard work Megs put into her solo, which was by far the most rehearsed and professional one. I don't know why students aren't supporting their peers. I don't know what has happened to the once thriving choral department at CHS, where kids would bend over backward to participate. I also wish there could be some stability with the choir director. What's it been, J: three in nine years? I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, hungry for the dedicated music maestros of bygone days...like the ones below: Don't they look gorgeous? They're* so excited to be together, and they are thrilled to start singing. Most of the kids on stage tonight weren't even taking their gig seriously. :( Maybe I should go to EIU to get my music ed. degree, not my middle level teaching degree. Then Abby and I could take over the Unit 4 music program!



*I can't remember the girl's name between Libby and Jenn. Help me out.

Random Saturday Poll

Who would win:

BOND

or BAUER?

It's been causing much debate here at BingBongBoom! headquarters, so set the record straight with your vote.

OMG

What the Shiz!?!?!?!?!


There's hope yet: it wasn't his flashback.

P.S. Freaking amazing episode. Locke goes hardcore; Jon "Laszlo"/"Wolfman" Gries shows up; more Nestor...who doesn't seem to age; not that I'm a big fan, but random Samantha Mathis guest spot; and, THE LAST SHOT.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

"The Landlord" was yanked from the interwebs! Hope you got to see it before it disappeared into the ether. It truly was priceless.

We're Gonna Score Tonight!

I'll tell you one thing: Bowling never looked cooler than it did in "Grease 2." Boy does Adrian Zmed know how to knock 'em down!

That's right, friends. I'm spending my Tuesday night watching that underrated 1982 classic, "Grease 2."* Thanks to FN addict, I recently purchased "Grease" and "Grease 2" for only $14.99. (He's the one that dragged me to Bust Buy, so it's all his fault.) What a steal!

I was discussing this screen gem over the weekend with my dear friend, Cori. "Grease" is everywhere. Reality show, countless community theatre productions (I was even in one-ugh), and innumerable talent show renditions of "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Hey, don't get me wrong: I used to love me some "Grease." And boy, did I ever swoon over John Travolter...just ask my Auntie Shrew. But, as I grow wiser, I tend to favor the lesser known and appreciated "Grease 2."

Top 10 Reasons to Love "Grease 2" More than "Grease":
1. Adrian Zmed...nuff said. (Oh, that rhymed!)
2. They sing a song about reproduction, aptly titled, uh, well "Reproduction."
3. It contains a svelte Christopher McDonald, probably best known now for his work as Shooter in "Billy Madison."
4. Tab Hunter is the biology teacher...AWESOME.
5. It teaches kids new and creative ways to make spare change (charge gang members for writing their papers).
6. Two words: Maxwell Caulfield. His Michael Carrington has held up much better over the years than John Travolta's Danny.
7. It teaches you spelling: C-O-O-L R-I-D-E-R.
8. The plot flips everything when the pristine, foreign boy falls for the rugged, tomboyish girl. And it reinforces the important "Grease" lesson that you should change who you are to get what [who] you want.
9. Maxwell Caulfield's biker suit during the heaven sequence (right).
10. Not only are there songs about reproduction and bowling but other songs that revolve around a luau, the four seasons, prowling [for girls], and nuclear fallout. If you can't learn something new from this film, I don't know what you can learn from.

*I really should be grading. I have 90 student critique portfolios to grade, but this is just so much more fun!

Make Your Next Event Special

Having a special event in the next couple of months? Maybe you have a wedding on the horizon or a graduation party to plan. And I have just the thing to make your event even more specialer.
Go to BTTF.com to rent a custom made, tricked out, future bound DeLorean. You can have the bride and groom pose in it. (I wish I had photos like that in my wedding album!) The new graduates can take a mortar board pic in this grand vehicle. You can even pose new parents with their bundles of joy in this awesome machine that will blast you to the past...or future! Appearance fees start at $1,000, so it's fantastic and affordable.

Don't sit there any longer: book your time machine DeLorean NOW!

Optimize Your Leisure Time

The following is a Public Service Announcement brought to you by the 80's Preservation Society and BingBongBoom!

Have you ever found yourself mindlessly flipping through the channels on a weeknight? All of a sudden it's 10:30, time to go to bed, and you're ticked off you've watched nothing of quality all night. Don't worry, cause you're not the only one this has happened to. We here at BingBongBoom! are ready to help you get out of this rut.

A lot of TV has become simply mind-numbing. There's little of quality to be found nowadays: countless reality shows (Tori Spelling has had TWO shows? are you KIDDING me?), pointless game shows (I mean, c'mon, you don't even have to answer a question; you just have to pick numbered suitcases to open and not be stupid enough to throw away money!), and innumerable cop-scene dramas (I'm surprised Champaign doesn't have its own CSI yet). When something like "House," "24," or LOST surfaces (no pun intended), I salivate at the originality of it. BUT, what do you do the other four nights a week?

STEP ONE: Invest in some of your favorite TV shows on DVD (click on the link for all the up-to-minute info on your favorite shows coming to DVD). They aren't all expensive, and you can also get some really good used prices online. The UK has been packaging shows on video for years (VHS and DVD), and the craze has finally caught on here. There's nothing better than having your favorite shows at your fingertips waiting for you (instead of vice versa).

STEP TWO: Give yourself 10 minutes TOP of flicking/guide perusal time. If you can't find anything in that amount of time, trust me, something won't magically appear. You can sit there and flick as long as you like, but something isn't going to just pop on.

STEP THREE: Now you have the power! Keep the shows you purchased/rented/borrowed close to the TV set. Turn to them as soon as the ten minutes are up, and start picking and choosing. Right now we have seven different shows going, because we never know what we'll want to watch. Pick one, pop it in, and start enjoying a show of quality (whatever that might be in your opinion--just don't tell me if it's "Three's Company").

(Why do I keep stressing TV shows? Because it's a week night, you gots work to be at in the morning, and you're substituting a show in a time slot that only has "Bad Girls Club," "NCIS," and "Deal or No Deal" on. You're supposed to pick something that can be viewed in this amount of time.)

STEP FOUR: This may all sound easy, but it takes discipline! It's easy to just sit there and flick around all night. It's hard to pull away from the alternating pictures of bad show to worse show, but you must make a stand for your rights to enjoy good television. And if you ever need to borrow any, let me know. I thinks we can hooks ya up!

Al & Sam want to know why you're watching another lame episode of "Two and a Half Men" instead of them.

Mini Stream

Blog blog blog.

Don't know what to say.

Random picture to go with random entry (that's my personal threatdown, by the way).

Some guy's got a Cosby sweater on in the Idols result show audience.

22 days of school left...good thing, or I might tell some kids what I really think about them.

Fat day. Feel horrible and like the biggest person on earth. Doesn't work yet to pray for God to cut it off. Yeah, still doesn't work that one.

Watching Idols result show. First time all season. Robin Thicke was on, but Martin couldn't take his sweet R&B sounds.

Saw new Maroon 5 video on VH-1 this morning. Tell me if I liked it, cause I'm not sure. I don't even remember the song now, but they were on a airplane. (Yes A airplane.)

Are 22 days up yet?