History Part 3... well, sort of.

Tonight Dusty and I were planning on going to see the movie "Contagion" at AMC. We are a bit tight on money these days so I thought I had him persuaded when I told him it would be my treat (Secret: I was planning to use 20 dollars in cash that my grandma gave me on the day I was baptized). Well, in a not so uncommon change of plans, we bailed and instead took my brother out for soup at Eddingtons (my favorite local Har Mar restaurant). It would have been the makings of a great night out... until we made a poor choice sitting next to a teenaged boy who was clearly unaware of not only the great projection his voice had with NO effort, but also of how obnoxious his voice sounded period. Think Fran Drescher a la "The Nanny." Literally ruined my entire meal.

That's him in the blue... Curses!!

The night was not a complete waste, however, because Dusty had brought over a different movie from Netflix called "The Hurricane"- a 1999 drama starring Denzel Washington as Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a popular African American boxer from the 1960's who (note, during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement) was wrongly convicted of a triple homicide at a New Jersey bar. For being two and a half hours long, I really enjoyed this one.

It's no surprise for those who know me that I love the Civil Rights Movement. It's been my favorite time period of study in U.S. History... It was my favorite subject to teach. I am absolutely fascinated by every aspect of this era. Civil Rights movies have lately become an obsession of mine. Over the summer I've watched a lot... The Hurricane being the latest. Some of the best I've seen this summer include The Help, Ghosts of Mississippi, Remember the Titans (obviously not new, but also starring Denzel)... I seriously love this type of film. I think for me, it's very hard to imagine or grasp the feel of the time period without having visuals... Movies help to bring the injustice to life for me. I struggle to understand both sides of the issues that faced our country at the heart of the 1960's... but when I see it on film, although often "glamorized" by Hollywood, I get emotionally charged, and it makes me want to know more. The Hurricane did all this and more for me. It flashed back and forth between pivotal moment's in the life of the famed boxer and also tied in some surprising details that ultimately led to his release from prison. The back story behind how he gets there is pretty cool. Very fascinating.

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in the 1960's

 

 

 

Denzel Washington as "THE HURRICANE"

That being said, I seriously can't rave enough about how amazing of an actor Denzel Washington is. He nails the portrayals of his character's perfectly in nearly every role! He pours a lot of passion and soul into the people he is portraying on screen and for me, he really brings to life the different personalities that were so prevalent through out the Civil Rights Movement. Denzel (we are gonna pretend that I'm on a first name basis here) nailed Hurricane... he nails Malcolm X in the biopic about the famous Black nationalist, and he is amazing as football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans. Throw out Civil Rights movies and he's STILL amazing in films like Glory, Training Day, Fallen, John Q, Philadelphia.... If you watch his movies, no matter what the back story, there is almost always an underlying issue facing the plot and I love that he pursues roles that tie in to these themes. I can't pretend that I am a movie expert (you might need to ask Dusty when it comes to that!) But when it comes to my history movies, I highly recommend any flick that stars Denzel, including "The Hurricane."

Check out the trailer if you are interested in seeing the movie for yourself.

Now on a sidenote, one thing that stuck out to me from this movie was the theme song used to portray the events that surrounded Hurricane through out his first court trial. After a couple seconds, I immediately recognized the artist singing the tune as Minnesota's own Bob Dylan. I actually am kind of a fan of Bob (again, first name basis here) because his songs were also quite popular through out the Civil Rights movement. Turns out- he wrote a song about Rubin Carter in the 60's and the music video I found on YouTube isn't too bad a depiction of the Movement itself. This tune is pretty catchy. I never heard it before watching the movie but you can't NOT enjoy that fiddle! Am I right? Gotta include that in the blog post as well... obviously.

Also, how about that bongo jam?! Do you like how I pretend to be an expert movie critic, music critic, and master historian all in one blog post? Oh and also a grouch after including that bit about the kid at Eddington's at the beginning. All jokes aside, I would recommend this movie and I also am very proud to write yet another historically based blog post, this time including my FAVORITE era in American history! Believe me, I'm having fun with this and there will be plenty more history related posts to come... if you don't mind :-)

Happy Wednesday!
*Just so you know, Dusty and I still plan on seeing "Contagion." I will possibly write up my thoughts on it afterward if I feel like it is worthy. Also, as I was reading through this blog post, it dawned on me that at my old college house, the neighbor boy was named Denzel. He was the cutest little kid but he couldn't have been more than 7 or 8. My guess is that his parents just might be fans of the actor. I don't really think Denzel is the most popular of names until THIS Denzel came along (the actor, not my neighbor). It's like naming your daughter Beyonce. Just my opinion. 

Who's that lady? History Part 2

9/11 is always kind of a weird day. There is so much history that I could delve into being that yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in NY, DC, and PA. However, I want to lift the spirits today and do a little something different.

Just to lighten the mood.

Also, I had so much fun writing my blog in "history mode" in the last post! I have to give it a second go.

So, anyways. I was reading some 9/11 articles today to see what types of things were going on around the country to honor the 10th anniversary. I noticed some photographs of First Lady Michelle Obama with the President today and got to thinking about First Ladies. First off, you can't deny it... no matter how you feel about her, or her husband, the Michelle Obama has STYLE! She is a classy dresser and I would kill to nail the looks that she's nailed since her husband took office. From there, I started to let my mind wander to fashion and the First Ladies. I find it very interesting of the most influential First Ladies in our nation's history, majority of them have been quite fashionable. I did a little internet research on the subject. But more on that later. I found out also that it is officially "Fashion Week" in New York. How can I resist tying these two together??

First things first: Mary Todd Lincoln {Wife of Abe} rumored to be the true "fashion pioneer" of American First Ladies. Rumor has it she was a bit off her rocker and she actually suffered from some mental illness after her husband's assassination. Still... a fashionable woman being she was First Lady in the 1800's... No?

I remember being a little girl visiting my grandparents every summer for vacation. My grandma Bev is a HUGE history buff, especially when it comes to the Presidents. She had a coffee table book FULL of facts concerning the First Ladies of the U.S. and I read that book OVER and over and over again. I could not get enough. I think that instilled a love of historical things into me from a very young age. I loved learning about the women behind our countries most influential men. From then up until now, I've developed a love for a few First Ladies in particular, and managed to do some internet searching on the best First Lady looks of all time. I thought it would be fun to share with you. If you aren't a history person, just love this for the outfits. And if your not a fashion person, well... then just love it for the history I guess!

I am in love with this dress. I have no idea who the designer or label is. But she looks fab.

No one can top Jackie Kennedy. I have to include multiple looks of hers that I absolutely love.

Just classy.

Love this.

 Just a sampling of the best of the best in First Lady Fashion. Nothing like style, class, and elegance to accompany being the important woman behind the leader of our nation!

History lessons with Casey Miller

Once upon a time in 1945, the United States came out of World War II victorious and celebratory.

Men and women serving overseas came home to eagerly waiting loved ones. Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters welcomed back the service men and women with open arms. Perhaps more importantly, husbands and wives were reunited after weeks, months, and years apart. It was a happy time for the good old U-S of A.

I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!

Did ya catch that last part? Happy husbands were reunited with happy wives and together they celebrated and created all kinds of happiness!! SO much happiness, in fact, that our country experienced what is now referred to as the BABY BOOM. A surge in the growth of population due to the record setting number of babies born from about 1945 until the early 1960's. It was an interesting time in the U.S. The war was over, families were eager to grow and thus.... a population surge. In fact, through out this time period, 78.3 MILLION AMERICANS were born into our country.

Naturally, an unexpected hike in the population caused for a lot of changes. The baby boomers effected nearly every aspect of the average American lifestyle. Think, for example, of the diaper industry. What happens to the diaper company when there is just a few hundred thousand million extra babies born than normal? The demand for diapers dramatically increases!! The need for people to crank out diapers increases, creating an availability for jobs... And thus, industry is succeeding. What happens when an entire generation turns 5 and has to go to kindergarten? Teachers are needed to TEACH all those extra little youngsters. New schools are established. Which creates more jobs for teachers... (Can you tell where I am going with this...)

My favorite analogy, from a historical standpoint, is this: What happens when an entire generation born in say... 1947, turns twenty years of age in the midst of an extremely controversial war (Vietnam) while there is also an emergence of anti war movements and demonstrations, civil rights movements and demonstrations, women's rights movements and demonstrations, introduction of the birth control pill, rise in environmental awareness and protection, and let's not forget: rise in popularity of Rock N' Roll, increase in the availability of drugs both new and old??

You get hippies. Free love. Peace movements. Tye dye. Janis Joplin. The Rolling Stones. Kent State. I Have a Dream. Silent Spring. Woodstock. Nixon. All the makings of the best scenes in Forrest Gump.

Could it have happened without the baby boom????

This history-based rant is kind of all over the place. But I promise you I'm going somewhere with it. One, it feels good just to write about my passion. It was fun for me to introduce you to my favorite time period of study EVER! (The 60's, if you couldn't tell) and Three, I think it's important to understand and analyze that history is bound to repeat itself in many ways. I say that with a twist. And I use the baby boom example for this reason. When the babies were born, there was a need for certain things related to the age of the generation. As they have come of age, those needs change and evolve again, based on the age of the generation.

So now that the year is 2011, the earliest of the baby boomers are reaching the ripe old age of 65. The average age of retirement in America is currently 62, according to the United States Social Security Administration**. That means that in the next twelve to twenty years, hundreds of thousands of MILLIONS of jobs will have vacancies and will need to be filled. Baby boomers are going to retire. You can't work forever.  But I am starting to understand that in today's economy, people have a higher need to continue working. It makes perfect sense. It doesn't bother me. But it does kind of encourage me to take a look back on history to come to a calming realization today that SOMEDAY, I am going to get a real job. As the baby boomers reach retirement age, I am genuinely hoping our economy will be in recovery somewhat, as more jobs are opening to people ready, willing and able to occupy them. All it takes is a little historical research to come to the conclusion :) But at any rate, I wanted to write this little un-required essay to encourage you readers out there who, like me, are unemployed and frustrated with being unable to find full time work. It will happen.

Someday I'm going to teach in a classroom full of eager-to-learn young students, and give them this exact lesson on history*. And I will love my job and be thankful and happy and excited about the retired teacher who went before me. Or maybe those won't be the circumstances at all. But I'm hopeful!! Jobs are going to open up, people. For more reasons than just the ones I gave here. I'm trying to stay optimistic. And I am so pumped that I finally got to incorporate a little historical info into a blog post. WOOHOO.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Rolling Stones video during the making of this blog post.

*When I was student teaching, I kind of got scolded for the way I told my students the story of the beginnings of the baby boom. I tried to explain as innocently as possible to a room full of 10th graders that the end of the war happiness contributed to a lot of happy reproduction in our country. My coop-teacher kind of gave me a look like I was being inappropriate. Oops. What was I supposed to do, sugar coat it? I remember what it was like to be in 10th grade. Whatevs. 


**One more thing... On the subject of Social Security. As the baby boom generation grows old enough to receive Social Security benefits.. what do you think will happen to this already depleting government fund? When there becomes a need for some 80 million people to receive SS benefits.. it will run out. I guarantee you this will happen. So when you take a look at your paycheck and see that small amount taken out every time for Social Security benefits, act like it doesn't even exist to you. You will never receive that money in your future, ever. I hate to break it to ya. I think that will take my political rant count on this blog to 2. Sorry. See ya!

D~I~Y: Rise to the challenge!

A couple of months ago, I started to develop a love for wine. I am not an alcoholic by ANY means, nor do I splurge on fancy bottles or pretend to be a snob about it... I just enjoy a glass of wine here and there. After a few weeks, I started to collect the corks from wine bottles I'd purchased and just set them aside. I then stumbled upon a fabulous DIY project blog called Design*Sponge. This is one of those websites you happen upon... peruse for three hours before you know what hit you, thus forming an instant obsession. I found the following idea from the website that I feel will be PERFECT for my collected wine corks:

Wait... how am I going to acquire THAT many corks...?

What I love about projects that are "Do It Yourself" is that you can create amazingly cute stuff from things that honestly could just be lying around in your house. After I got the idea for the corkboard I decided to keep looking. I am not very experienced when it comes to DIY projects... But I did take a step in the right direction last December when I decided that for my mother's Christmas gift, I wanted to do something special and different. I heard of the idea for a "felt wreath" from a friend of mine. She explained how to make it, and I went away at creating the following:

Note: this is not a photograph of MY wreath, but I kid you not, mine turned out very similar. I wouldn't lie, I promise.

My mom loved the wreath and it was the little boost of confidence I needed to assure myself that I could in fact complete a successful do it yourself without the result of a complete disaster.

I'm dying to try more projects on my own. Partly because I think it's fun to be in pursuit of the supplies needed to create something adorable and creative, and also because I love all things homemade. To put time and effort into something that is cute, decorative, maybe even fashionable makes it all the more enjoyable. I've done some browsing online, and here are just a few other DIY projects that I feel would be worth trying. What do you think?

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser: I have seen mason jars everywhere lately, especially at weddings used as decorations. How cute is this idea? I would love to try it.

Paint sample coasters. This is something definitely worth trying to me. The paint samples are free at your local hardware store, I imagine the coaster part would require porcelain and "hodge podge" glue of some kind to create the stick... I so so so want to try this. I think it's an adorable idea.

Last but not least: This is an upside down table used as a toddler bed! I don't have a toddler, but I absolutely love this idea. What I DO have, is an enormously huge yellow lab that would just LOVE a fancy little bed like that... in fact, it's just his size... What are YOUR thoughts on these ideas??