> My Neighbor Totoro - Japanese, dub to English. Probably
one of the best and most interesting children's
films I've ever seen. The best part is the 12-legged
cat
bus. Ebert here.
> Punch Drunk Love. Adam Sandler will totally surprise
you, in a good way.
> 13 Conversations about One Thing - Happiness is elusive,
and fleeting. Very cool film with a slower pace
that will surely make you ask some questions about
your own life. Ebert here
(warning - it's a spoiler), imdb.com here.
> The Pianist - Wonderful film based on the story of a
Jewish pianist, and his survival in the Warsaw
ghetto. Ebert here,
imdb.com here.
>
Read my Lips - French w English
subtitles. An interesting premise... deaf woman
meets ex-con. Part social commentary - study of
people - part seat-gripper. Ebert here,
imdb.com here.
:: :: :: ::
<tuesday march 4, 2003
- 12:30 p.m.>
It
is very very very difficult to stuff people, even little people,
into their socks against their will.
<sunday march 2, 2003
- 10:40 p.m.>
Mark
is watching Dancer in the Dark, starring Bjork. Rare
is it that I give up on a film halfway though. This was one
of them. I just figured I had better things to do. So here
I am.
All
I've been doing lately is thinking about crafts. To remedy
that I updated the crafts page with
my most recent project. Next, an unplanned trip to the local
neighborhood craft superstore.
I
wish I had made some kind of plan, or at least a shopping
list. I wandered without aim. I wandered with a 3-almost-4
year old daughter who asked one or two questions at every
opportunity: What's
this? and Can we buy this?
I
was mostly driven by thoughts of projects.
1)
Magnets. Don't tell Mark. He thinks I've gone overboard with
the magnet making. Lucky for him they were completely sold
out.
2)
White t-shirts. I'm gearing up for a Digital Eve event at
the end of Mark. I plan to imprint a geeky slogan on myself.
3)
Bulk card stock to make photo cards. No good deals to be found.
4)
A bone folder. If you don't know what it is, you probably
have the completely wrong idea.
5)
Black buttons for another project. (I'm not posting more information
until it's done - you'll have to stay tuned.)
Next
stop: Ikea, where I made the most amount of pointless purchases
this weekend. These included a ladybug carpet, a live stick
of bamboo, two little stuffed sheep, and clothes pins dotted
with flowers and ladybugs. The most useful item I bought there
was a set of three plastic stackable containers. Orphaned
crayons had an instant home. Other childhood etceteras will
soon occupy the other two.
So
it all started with the letter T. Mark and I were reading
the paper while Emma coloured on the floor behind us. (She
was colouring on paper, not on the actual floor.)
Hey
look, she said, a number!
I
looked at what she'd drawn. It was the letter T. She put the
two lines together and recognized it as something. Mark sat
down with her and had her repeat it a few times. She understood.
He then showed her how to make the letter E. She got frustrated
a couple times, make 4 (and up to 8 or so) horizontal lines
across one vertical one, but then understood that to make
a capital E you make one vertical line and three others -
one at the top, one in the middle and one at the bottom.
Later
on this evening we were watching tv when some large words
came on the screen. She recognized the T again.
I'm
not sure if this is normal for kids her age. But it's pretty
amazing to watch the fundamentals of literacy begin to unfold.
Everything
she'll ever read or write has begun with one letter.
Everything
she'll ever read or write has begun with one letter.
