2009: It's Kind of a Big Deal

2009 will be a big year for me. I should be finishing my certification, probably my Masters (fingers crossed on both of those), hopefully finding a job as a special needs teacher somewhere in the state of Missouri, and getting married. Without doubt, this is going to be the biggest year of my life up to this point. And it all starts a week from today, when I start student teaching.

Above, I have temporarily changed my blog title to indicate my current teacher status (although the URL will stay the same). As I have said recently, my blog will probably turn into a journal, rather than a place to post and comment of headlines in the news. One of the most important aspects of education is tracking progress. I hope that, for the next 4-5 months, this blog will not only be a great outlet to blow off steam about my daily activities, but I also hope it will track my progress (or, God forbid, lack thereof) as a pre-service teacher. I also hope the accounts written in this blog can be a document that other education students can look upon for insight of what they might encounter in their student teaching experiences. From time to time, I do hope to write a little bit on what is going on in the news (education and otherwise). But don't expect a lot of that.

Happy Holidays 2008

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas.  I have taken some time off from the blog to relax, as well as enjoy the company of friends and family.  I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know some things going on in my life.  First, I had a wonderful Christmas with my family.  The only thing that was missing from it was my fiance when she was visiting her family.  She is back now, and I can't wait for our wedding this summer.  Secondly, I am starting a new book The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging.  Huffington Post is one of my favorite websites, and I am hoping I can learn a thing or two to improve my work on this blog.  

Finally, I will begin my student teaching here in a couple weeks.  I am not sure if I will have time to maintain the blog the way I have been.  While I will still post, it will probably be less commenting on stories in the news, and more keeping some type of journal of my day-to-day encounters as a student teacher.  I will spend six weeks working with 9th grade students, and another 6 weeks working with students in grades 3-5.  I am both nervous and excited about the upcoming weeks.  I look forward to sharing all of my experiences with you.  

Problems with line spacing

My apologizes to readers who find problems with the line spacing in this blog (i.e. too many spaces between paragraphs or paragraphs bunched together). I try to properly space out my paragraphs but there is some glitch with Blogger that screws with them.

My First Movie Review

As I have said before, I am a huge movie buff. However, I have not had the real opportunity to write about any movies yet. I have decided that (admittedly for my own enjoyment), I am going to start to writing up my own movie reviews. Sometimes, I may write a review for a new release. Sometimes, I will go back to an older film I have never seen. Sometimes I will even write a review for a film I haven't seen for a while, but saw recently again. I have decided to use the ever-popular, but still reliable 4 star rating system in my reviews.

For my first movie review, I will be discussing a romantic comedy that was recently put out in the theaters. I hope my review is done with the amount of class and sophistication that a film of this caliber deserves. I am reviewing . . .

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (IMDB info found here)

This is the latest film by writer, director, and Silent Bob himself, Kevin Smith. It is about two longtime friends, played by Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, who live together in an old apartment in Pittsburgh. Neither one makes a lot of money, and what they do make is usually wasted on unnecessary crap on the Internet (like a flashlight with a vagina on it that men use to pleasure themselves with). When the two attend their High School reunion, Banks's character hits on an old High School crush, who turns out to be gay. His character's boyfriend, a gay porn star, is played hilariously by Justin Long. Long's character likes to speak in a deep voice, and name some of his own films that have very graphic titles (which I will not name here.) The gay porn star is by far the most memorable character in the entire movie.

When Rogen's and Bank's characters have their water and electricity shut off, they suddenly find themselves desperately in need of more cash. After realizing that they have no dignity, and no living relatives to shame, they grow inspiration from Justin Long's character and decide to make a porn movie. Both characters get financing by one of Rogen's coworkers at a coffee shop, played wonderfully by Craig Robinson. They then hire a camera man (played by Kevin Smith regular Jeff Anderson), assemble a cast of porn-star wannabes, and of course, hilarity ensues.

"Zack and Miri" is not Smith's best film nor his funniest. But it is still very good, and very funny. It is perhaps his filthiest film, and that is saying something (who can forget the donkey show in "Clerks 2"). This movie is filled with adult references, graphic language, "frat boy" humor, and of course, sex. There are at least two scenes in particular that will make your jaw drop in shock and disgust (they are really funny if you're not too grossed out).

But while there is certainly filth, there is also heart, which is also a part of every Kevin Smith film. Without giving away too much, "Zack and Miri" tackles the tricky subject of sex between friends, and the common misconception that it will end up being nothing but meaningless fun. Kevin Smith fans, and fans of adult comedy in general, will enjoy this film.

*** (3 out of 4 stars)

SPOILER ALERT: You get to see Jason Mewes fully naked (yes, Jay of "Jay and Silent Bob"), and he is naked in very graphic detail (even more than you might think). I was certainly not expecting to see that. Fellas, be forewarned.

New Blog Name

Since I have started up my blog again, I have been trying to think of ways to increase traffic (or at the very least, get some traffic to begin with). I decided I needed to alter the title of the blog. Instead of "The (un)Reasonable Missourian", I have decided to go with "The (un)Reasonable Teacher". The meaning behind the title is not only seen below the title quote, but in this post when I first created the blog a year ago (just substitute the word "Missourian" with "Teacher"). Other additional information about the blog that I have previously posted (my autobiography, my updated autobiography, and why I decided to return), are posted under "About the Blog" to the side of the page. I have also posted the original blog website, in case you would like to read some of my earlier posts.

I choose a new title not only because it sounds better, but it also emphasizes the fact that this is primarily an education blog (though it will delve into other areas as well). In addition, I have changed the template of the blog, so it looks a little brighter.

Finally, as I have said, feel free to email me or leave a comment if you stumble across this blog. Tell me what you think about what is discussed here. After all, one of the things I want this blog to be about is an exchange of different ideas. Thanks