It’s All Fun and Games Until. . .

Things That Prove the Great Lion Turtle Loves Me:

Here We Are. An exploration of feminism for all. It finally feels like the needle is steadily moving. We seem to have moved beyond the reluctant starts, the false starts, and the abrupt stops of yesteryear. The only sign that my hope may be false is that we are holding actors and comedians to higher standards than the highest office. Shouldn't there be one standard?

Nick Robinson. If I’m being honest, I have something of a crush. In fact, it was my turn to pick on movie night, and I spoke these words to the Siri that lives in our Apple TV remote, “Nick Robinson.” I can't tell my seventh graders that I finally get it, but I get it. See, Molly Peskin-Suso, it really isn’t a big deal to amass crushes. 

Kings of Summer. Thank you Siri. Thank you Nick Robinson. This is a funnier Stand by Me, but it still brings the heartache. Good job me. Good job Siri. Good job Nick Robinson. Confession: I may or may not have foisted a second Nick Robinson movie onto my unsuspecting sweet. My cunning was worth it because Nick Robinson delivered one of the least embarrassing freestyle raps in the history of cinema.

I’ve seen Black Panther three times. I would see it three more times, but I'm going to refrain because at some point it becomes obsession.

How much my students are digging claiming and then responding to poems. Not to mention how much I am digging some of their poems—the allusions, the imagery, the rhythms, the flexing of their creative muscles. I'm a little more in love with them than I was yesterday.

“Dear White Girls in My Spanish Class” by Ariana Brown. Find it on YouTube. The breaks in her voice are her nerves, but a lot of it is her pain. It made me see the language of my childhood in a new way. A way I never knew. 

How excited my students are to claim a work of art to write their own ekphrasis poems. Let me just say, there was never a day when I thought a room full of seventh graders would compete for the honor of telling a painting or photograph's story in verse. I want to teach a yearlong poetry class. Please, Giant Lion Turtle. Please, Jean-Luc Picard. Make it so.

Good Girls. You should watch this show because I need a Season 2 in my life. This is a drama. This is a comedy. This is a show about strong women. This is a show about men-good ones, bad ones, and desperate ones. This is a show about the families we make. This is a show that will make you hold your breath. This is a show that will make you laugh out loud. This is a show that proves I do in fact have a bad boy problem. It’s the actor’s voice. A great voice is an Achilles of mine. Voices and bad boys and some other stuff.

Sitting around with other teachers appreciating the random, the superficial, the Captain America. 

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton is the book that defies my protests. It's palace intrigue that intrigues me. It's magical powers that make for a magical reading experience. 

Things That Prove the Universe is Toying with Me:

Remember my OwlCrate dilemma? Well, this month the book is a veritable quintet of things me no like. It is a sci-fi space adventure with royalty, an enemy becomes a friend storyline, and a droid love interest. I think it might be post-apocalyptic too. I'm a reluctant and raged filled goodish sport, so I'll read it. You win this round the Universe. Well played.

Next month’s OwlCrate seems like it might feature a mystery, which is my reading sweet spot. But wait . . . It's one that takes place in a fantasy world. Are you kidding me? Can I just get an Eleanor & Park 2018? Can I just get a One of Us is Lying redux? Can I get All American Boys 2.0? Can I get some realistic fiction representation in these boxes? 

Whole Foods is no longer stocking our favorite gourmet stracciatella gelato, which means I have to make my own. I don't want to. I like experimenting with flavors I can't buy not creating flavors that I can. Chai Belgian Waffles wth sweet cardamom cream anyone?

Whole Foods is no longer stocking my favorite “it’s okay if it gets lost because it’s only three dollars” organic lip balm by Soothing Touch. It's okay. I buy it by the dozen now, but I shouldn't have to do that, Jeff Bezos. I need someone to explain how Amazon buying Whole Foods has been an improvement. How? Did I mention the Black Bottom muffins? Gone!

Tom Welling made for a particularly pretty, pouty mouthed, non-threatening Superman, but now he's on Lucifer "ruining all my favorite things." 

Up Next: A book review. I can't promise it will be a nice one, but it's time to get down to the business of reviews—good, bad, ugly, really ugly, and volcanic.