Amazing Grace

I just finished reading a book by Jonathan Kozol entitled, Amazing Grace: The Lives of School Children and the Conscience of a Nation. The book is a bit dated in that the material comes from interviews and information from the early 90s, but my guess is the majority of the situation described in his book hasn't changed. The author interviewed, researched, and basically inserted himself into the lives of many individuals living in the South Bronx in NYC. He talks to AIDs patients, preachers, children, teachers, drug addicts, mothers, fathers, drug dealers, and almost anyone you can think of. He paints a grim picture of poverty in America that is both disturbing and I should think accurate. Sometimes I think some of the material is based more on individuals emotional responses to situations, but the author does a decent job of backing up stories with factual information and even citing his own reservations and trust of people's recollections of events.

I find it hard to read this book and not want to do something. What that something is I am not sure. I sometimes think I am already doing something by volunteering and working in a urban school but often that feels more like my job than actively working to reduce poverty. Be forewarned, the book does not provide solutions. If anything it provides a bleak picture of our nation and what we are not doing to help the most in need. I definitely recommend it.

I don't know where to start

I am so far behind in this whole blogging thing. I was going to try and catch up but I decided that might just be too difficult so I guess you get what you get. Recently, I was given a free offer to try Blockbuster Online for free. Who isn't going to turn down free movies. I of course accepted the offer. What is great about Blockbuster Online (no this isn't a shameless plug) is that you can return your movies in the store for a free in store exchange. It is like getting more movies for free. So this month I am currently on movie #5. Here is a list of the previously watched movies and my recommendations.

#1 - Children of Heaven - Well done movie about about a brother and sister in Iran. The brother loses his sister's shoes and the movie is a beautiful story of what brothers and sisters do for each other.

#2 - The Darjeeling Limited - Not for the feint of heart. I am a Wes Anderson fan so I immediately liked this movie. The folks I live with weren't as high on it as I was, but I truly enjoyed this movie about three brothers and their "spiritual" journey.

#3 - To Be and To Have - A documentary about a rural French school teacher over the course of his school year. It is seems like a slow movie but really it just parallels the different pace of life in rural France. The teacher is incredibly loving and caring while also being strict and teaching his students effectively. I would encourage any teacher to watch it.

#4 - La Vie en Rose - Edith Piaf...enough said. Obviously many are probably familiar with this movie, but I finally saw it last night. What a tragedy to be given such an amazing gift but then to have a life that is filled with sorrow and disappointment. I was both amazed by her life and filled with sorrow. Marion Cottilard did an incredible job in the movie...It is not surprise to me that she won the Academy Award for her portrayal in this movie.

#5 - Pan's Labyrinth - I have already seen this movie, but no one else in my community has seen it. I am looking forward to seeing it again.

Also, I have a non-store rental I saw recently called Under the Same Moon. It is a movie about a illegal immigrant from Mexico and her son's journey to find her in LA. There are parts of the movie that are a bit overly sensational but overall it was a wonderful film and may even change your perspective on immigration issues in our country. I cried multiple times...not that that says anything...I cry a lot in movies.

As you can tell with my movie picks, I apparently enjoy foreign language films. I don't know when this happened but I definitely watch more documentaries and foreign language films than your run of the mill American movies. These are all great movies and I highly recommend them all.

Happy Viewing!

Clean Air 5k

We had the first race with kids from my school this weekend with Students Run Philly Style. Sixteen kids from the school and 8 faculty members ran the race. Some others came out to watch and all in all in was a great day. It was the first race any of the kids had ever run so it was pretty exciting. All 16 of the kids finished and we are gearing up for our next race in two weeks. It is a 10 mile run so it will be much more difficult but heck if they have to walk a ton there is no shame. It is exciting to be a part of this and introduce these kids to running. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the day. Br. Patrick who was taking the pictures got better with the camera towards the end so not every kid got their picture taken. I am looking forward to sharing more storied and pictures about our running adventures as we go.

Oh and Mayor Nutter was there....Sara and I got a picture with him at the very end of the day.