If only I had a blogger app

Over the past 5 months, a new relationship has started to consume my life: the blackberry. For years, I refused to get a phone that would cost me more than $19.99, mainly because I knew I would be constantly dropping or losing it. Ironically, my current phone is only my 4th since I went cellular (props to the kyocera that lasted through about 6 flights of stairs and two major bodies of water).

But since I was changing everything else in my life, I figured it was time to make the plunge into what I refer to as dataland. And slowly, I started to see my own autonomy be consumed by my partner. I fell asleep to the fading backlight of my screen. I wouldn't buy any purses that didn't lend themselves to the increased bulk.

I'm to the point now where I use my crackberry (as weakley named it) to avoid awkward social situations. Only one person in your group heads to the bathroom at the movie? Time to sqeeze in a Gail Collins Op-Ed. First one to arrive at a happy hour destination? Catch up on the latest snowpocalypse forecast. Even if I'm sitting with people, in public or otherwise, I find myself constanly checking, in the off chance I got an update from Kayak in my email about useless one-way flights to Nebraska. (And according to the Washington Post, I'm not the only one to sometimes find my smartphone more stimulating than the real world).

I considered for a hot second giving up my data plan for Lent. One of the only successful Lent abstentions, after all, was all non-academic computer or internet use my freshman year of college. But then realized that I just love Gail Collins (don't miss Feb. 13, or Jan. 20) too much to be separated from her just because I'm getting a pedicure. Even my dad, the antithesis of technology, stole my phone for like 2 hours over Christmas break to read the Wall Street Journal, even though he had the print edition sitting right next to the couch.

And actually, my lack of motor skills have risen to the occasion. I've only dropped it twice, and once was actually useful because it jolted my speaker's function back into operation. Now if only I could figure out how to text with two hands while driving...

reel it in

As I was sitting in the movie theater earlier at Valentine's Day (a solid choice), tolerating 20 minutes of pointless ads for Sprite and "don't add your own soundtrack" warnings, I found myself in quite a familiar place.

Since moving to Baltimore, I believe I've averaged about 2 movies a month, give or take. This is quite the increase in my movie-going habit (and subsequently quite the increase of my butter popcorn intake). In honor of the pending Academy Awards season, I thought I'd pass along some of my top favorites (in no particular order):

1. Brothers - One of the most powerful films I've seen since "The Constant Gardener". A husband is thought to have died in Afghanistan in the war, and his brother helps out with the wife and two daughters he left behind. (No real spoiler alert that he is, in fact, alive). Particularly moving in the film is the performance of the two daughters (Taylor Geare, Bailee Madison). I saw the film just days after Obama had announced the increase of troops to Afghanistan, but refreshingly the film wasn't making a political statement about war; it made a statement about the human condition, at its best and its worst. (So take that, A.O. Scott). Also PHENOMENAL performances from the small but mighty cast.

2. Fame - A guilty pleasure for sure, but so worth it, if nothing else then for the opening cover of John Legend's "Ordinary People". I tend to be weary of re-makes, but the film took a different tone and angle than the 1980 original that made it quite refreshing. And who doesn't like dancing around a movie theater on a Friday night during the credits...

3. Couples Retreat - A suprisingly not superficial waste of $8.25. Although the previews make this out to be just another relationship-bashing comedy that uses tastless sexual humor as a crutch for poor writing, take a closer look. I found the movie both funny and full of "mmm hmm" moments.

4. It's Complicated - HILARIOUS. HILARIOUS. HILARIOUS.

5. The Blind Side - Sandra Bullock deserves the best-actress nod. I actually saw it the first time with my students, which was quite the outing.

Flicks that didn't quite make the top 5, but were still enjoyable: "The Time Traveler's Wife", "Invictus", "Sherlock Holmes", and "Precious". Still on the need to see list are "Nine" and "Up in the Air".

And no, I have not seen "Avatar". I waited almost 10 years to see James Cameron's other big hit, so I figure I can at least wait for this one on DVD.

a little later, but not never

Well, it's been about 9 months, so naturally the next fetus of sex education controversy is on its way out of the oven. After all, teen pregnancy is on the rise.

The latest study, however, takes us on a somewhat different genetic path than the previous siblings in this family. Just as Obama reduced/eliminated funding for abstinence-focused education, research is now suggesting that abstinence education actually worked to curb sexual activity in a group of middle schoolers in Philly.

No, that's not a typo. I said abstinence education was effective.

In the past, I've been pretty clear that I take major issue with a lot of these "just say no" approaches to sex ed. A product of this attitude myself, I especially take issue with many of the religious groups and guilt-laden misinformation that gets infused into many of these programs.

But there's a key difference with these new findings. As pointed out by a New York Times article, and again by their staff editorial today, the program urged students to delay sexual activity until the student felt more mature. This is quite the departure from many program's "if you pop the balloon the angels will cry" approach. As Quinn clearly demonstrates on "Glee", this is not the way to go.

I've always believed that sex ed HAS to be more than either of the two extremes, neither "jesus is watching" nor "take a handful of condoms and here's some pictures of clamydia." As a newcomer to the education scene, I'm constantly told to not just spoonfeed my students the answers, but to teach them how to think. It's not always about the right answer; it's how you get to that answer that really has any consequence.

I'm still not ready to throw all my tax dollars back into the abstinence bucket (although it might be a better choice than spending them on a Superbowl commercial. Grrr.). But I think the conversation is finally headed in the right direction.

"stick around if you want to see some real idiots"

This was muttered to us by a man as his other friend and their two lady friends decided it would be ok to try and just drive out of the snow. On a street that hadn't been touched by footprints, let alone a shovel or plow. So that meant an solid 25ish inches.

I can't speak for the whole city, but my neighborhood is less than accessible. Of the about 8-12 streets we walked by on our morning adventure today, only about 3 had been actually "plowed," another half had been intermitently driven down by large trucks but still not passable by anything smaller than a Hummer, and the rest sat in silence. And these are streets that go by a major hospital and one of the wealthiest universities in the country. It's actually not that cold out, so it was a nice trot around town. Here's just a sampling of the scenery:

-A dude in a T-shirt and jeans walking BAREFOOT down the street. News flash: no one thinks you're a big deal.

-Not 1, not 2, but 4 people going for a run. I was waiting for them to slip and fall, so I could laugh at their foolishness.

-A woman pushing 80 years old, trying to diligently dig out her car. She wasn't really making any sort of useful progress, but it gave her something to do at least.

This is Lola, for those of you who haven't met her yet. Needless to say, she's staying put for a while.

This would be one of the "not touched by man or machine" roads, about .75 miles away from my apartment building. The guy looking confused is trying to decide if it was worth the 8+hours of shoveling to get out his car, to take his crappy one-night stand lady friend back to her house across town.

And we could get up to 10 more inches in another storm coming through Tuesday. Good thing I splurged on the value box of corn dog nuggets.

theory of relativity. and bad karma.

As some of you probably have heard, it's "snowmageddon" in this neck of the woods (Obama's words, not mine). As our property manager said they're not going to even attempt to start clearing our parking situation until Sunday afternoon at the earliest, I'm not going anywhere for quite some time.

Current snowfall: approx. 26.3 inches, as of 11:45 a.m.

I'm having to learn to be patient with these Mid-Atlantic pansies. After last January's record snow in Spokane, the fact that I can still see out my windows is considered a victory. At first, I scoffed. "2 feet? Back in my day, I had to dig my HOUSE out of the snow, not just my car."

So far, I still have power, plenty of food, and 1 and a half seasons of "Will and Grace" left to keep me occupied before I decide to do work. Really the only productive things I've done are shower and make some tacos for lunch, but at some point I'll go just bat crazy enough to get out the gradebook.

I might try to trudge outside tomorrow and take some pictures, to do some side-by-side comparisons of the ones I have from last January. Stay tuned.