Political Passion Revisited

I have to say that yesterday was AWESOME!

I got to the polls at 5am. In our neighborhood, the polls are located at Dewey International School which is within walking distance of our house. Dewey has undergone serious renovation in the last year and it looks great! It's one of the few St. Louis city schools to which I would consider sending Jonny... especially now that the asbestos has been removed.



The line at the polls was like a neighborhood block party. I've always loved living in Dogtown because the "feel" of the neighborhood is very political. Almost everyone has an opinion about politics -- and we all attend neighborhood meetings and town hall discussions. I think it's partly because we're sandwiched between Wash U. and SLU, Clayton and the CWE where a lot of movers and shakers reside. I also think that the history of Dogtown lends itself to revolution.



Dogtown was erected in the early 1900's as a sort of tract neighborhood to house servants and coal workers. Dogs ran freely during community soup dinners in the common areas and the general landscape was absolutely trashy. Some would argue that it still is a little trashy, but for some reason the Bowman's can not imagine living anywhere else!



Anyway, I saw all of our neighbors at the polls. It was good to sip coffee (actually, they sipped coffee -- I can't drink coffee because I get too hyper) and catch up. The long St. Louis winters generally preclude outdoor meetings in Dogtown. The winter months demands us all be a bit more intentional and actually invite each other into one anothers homes. None of us are really good about it -- so we're all generally seasonal friends. As I write this, I'm feeling more convicted to be proactive this winter... we'll see.



So, I voted and walked home so Jon could vote. Little Jonny was sound asleep not knowing that election day is one of the greatest priveleges we have as Americans... He was probably dreaming about Pokemon.



After I took Jonny to school and had the car to myself I felt a huge chill go down my spine. At the risk of sounding cliche, I have to share the following: I am so proud to be living in America. I am so proud that my neighbor could hang a disgusting Sarah Palin sign hanging off his front porch (reference earlier post) and that I could write him a letter and we could talk about our differences. I'm so proud to be able to safely walk to the polls, cast my vote, and walk home whiteout being scared of machine guns or angry party leaders. I'm so proud that I can work in a place where the majority of my colleagues do not agree with my political views and yet I am not discriminated against. I am so proud that I attend a church that preaches that God is not Democratic or Republican, He is God. I am so proud that America now has a black president and that Jonny will grow up not really understanding why all of our Presidents have been white males since there are so many other types of people who would be qualified to hold the office of Commander and Chief.



I was excited when Obama won. Actually, I was sleeping -- and Jon woke me up to tell me that Obama had just secured California's electoral votes and that the race was over -- THEN I was excited, BUT I felt a greater sense of excitement throughout the day as I reflected on all the freedoms with which I have been blessed.

High School Musical 3 Movie Review

Ok, so I owe an apology to all 3 of my readers. I haven't had a chance to write out my personal review of HSM3 until now. Though I've talked with all 3 of you and undoubtedly made the remarks I am about to make here, here we go...

HSM3 was fantastic! I took Jonny on opening night and we had a blast! Jonny was totally into the popcorn and I was totally into the show. (Jonny was into the show when a huge dance number showed up on screen, but was into the popcorn during the "down times" of the movie.)

Let me just say that it is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to attend opening night on a movie like this. Half the excitement is being part of the fan club -- cheering in the middle of the movie when something great happens, dancing out of your seat (along with the rest of the crowd) when a huge hit comes on, etc. Similar to Sex in the City (of which I did not take Jonny) I cannot overemphasize the importance of being part of opening night. Ironically, it was Saw V's opening night too, so the lobby at the theatre had a great cross-section of die-hard fans :)

Now, on to the movie: It was BIG! I read a quote from Lucas Grabeil (my favorite actor in the HSM series) that eluded to the fact that in the first movie, he and his co-start Ashley Tisdale performed their huge Sharpay and Ryan hit on a dark stage with a golden ladder. In the feature film #3 version, they had over 100 dancing extras, 30 costume changes, and hours and hours of filming.

High School Musical 3 seemed to have a huge budget. I was nervous because the first 2 were so sweet on the small-screen and you never know what a crazed director might do with a ton of money to throw into a production. Well, Kenny Ortega knocked my socks off! He color and flash-back cinematography as well as flip-flopping between the real story line and the preparation for the Senior Year musical.

It was so cool to watch the theatrical side of the film - the costumes for the musical (within the musical) were FANTASTIC! The on-stage prom outfits were to die for! Chad's tuxedo even had his basketball number appliqued on the coat tails -- Watch out, Melanie Wood -- I think this is something I may need to do for Jonny when he goes to prom (like he'll let me!) Anyway, the color and the music was AWESOME! I can't wait 'til next paycheck to be able to download all the songs off Itunes... Jonny and I both liked what Zac Efron has described as the "bromance" -- the duet he and Corbin Bleu put together in a junk yard. It was funky and fresh and so fun to see two "cool" guys singing and dancing and not looking like ballerinas! It had an edge of clean hip hop which was totally refreshing.

The only thing I would have changed in the movie follows: the opening scene (not enough group pop... too much focus on Troy) and the amount of time Troy and Gabriella are one on one together. Sure, in HSM time, they've been together for a whole year (which is like a record for true high school romance) but the best parts of HSM are when the whole cast is together singing and dancing. Sure it's cute to watch young love unfold, but not when you're sitting next to your 4 year old son who's best friend thinks girls are of "the dark side," it gets a little old.

Oh, one more note... Troy has a KILLER tree house in the movie. Jonny and I made a pact to try and build a tree house like Troy's in our backyard. Anyone have the phone number for Disney?

Real reviews may be seen at the following links:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-1073770/High-School-Musical-3-



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/10/22/bfhighschool122.xml

High Def!

Yesterday I had a much needed eye exam. At my new job I've been working at the computer almost all day (except when in meetings)... By the way, it's nice to have a "real" job that requires computer work and meetings 9-5, Monday - Friday :) My new job also has provided our family with killer eye insurance (perhaps my employers are aware of the strain computer work puts on employees?) Anyway, I had a great time at my eye exam. They poofed air into my eyes and I screamed.

I was asked to look down a black tube and view a little house with a yard and all I saw was a boy on a bench putting a plastic bottle in the recycling bin. They told me that the way I saw the picture had nothing to do with my eyesight and that maybe I needed to see a psychologist (little do they know I already do... hee hee :) I met with the doctor and she said I have a bit of farsightedness (trouble seeing things up close) and an unusual issue with bringing things into focus when I see them up close. They did a couple of further tests and determined I didn' t have any serious eye problems, but she did say the inability for my eyes to adjust to things was rare.

So as I'm hearing this, I'm thinking (YES! I finally get to buy a killer pair of designer glasses!!!!) I was the kid who wanted to stand out all through grade school. I enjoyed having a head gear, braces, and really wanted glasses. When I was in 8th grade, I got a pair because I fudged on my eye exam on purpose. (Don't tell my parents!) Anyway, so I run to the designer case (you know where they have to use a key to get into the treasured goods...) I felt like Carrie Bradshaw and could hear Fergie's G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S playing in the background of my head. And then the magic words "buy one get one pair free" were spoken by the sales associate. Could this be true? I would not only get to choose one pair, but two pair of status-driven-look-at-me-I'm-important-and-smart-because-I-have-to-put-on-eyeglasses-when-I-read frames! Oh the excitement! So I chose the frames I pictured here... but the D&G pair has clear frames and leopard on the outside. Cha-ching!

So now I have really cool glasses. Oh yeah and the lenses they prescribed will help my eyes come into focus faster (I feel like I've gone from watching an old tube television to watching a high definition flat screen)... and the special coating they assigned to the lenses will help my eyes not get as strained when I'm working on the computer all day. Did I mention that the frames I chose are going to up my cool factor by about 300%?

Political Passion

My neighbor has a sign hanging off his balcony that reads "Sarah Palin" only the graphic in the background is one that you would see on trucker mud flaps (I've provided a picture here...) This infuriates me!

I was driving home with Jonny in the car when I first saw it. I stopped at my neighbor's house, got out of my car, pulled out my pocket knife key-chain and had every intention of ripping down the sign. I was furious!

I stopped when I heard Jonny's sweet little voice say, "Mommy, why are you getting out of the car?" (Louder) "Mommy, why are you going up on our neighbor's front porch?" (Screaming) "Mommy, why are you cutting down that guy's sign?" At that point it dawned on me that stealing someones sign (no matter how inappropriate I thought the sign was) would simply not be a good example for my son. Never mind the fact that one of the best parts of being in America is the protection of Free Speech.

I got back in the car and explained to Jonny that our neighbor's sign made me feel angry. I told him that women all over the country have been working hard to fight for the opportunity to be viewed as professionals and intellectuals... and that Sarah Palin's opportunity to run for Vice President was a great stride (my best friend Jane Ellis reminds me that Sarah Palin is not the first woman who has had the opportunity to run for VP, but I wasn't interested in politics last round...) So, for our neighbor to post a home-made sign that depicted Palin as a sexy silhouette just burned me up inside. Jonny just looked at me and said, "Ok mom. Can we go to McDonald's?" Men, hrmpf!

I decided to write a letter. I wrote a letter telling my neighbor that I didn't care if he was voting for Sarah Palin or not, the sign he made was inappropriate and that women like me who are trying to get beyond their sex appeal in the work force would find the sign damaging. I asked him to call me so we could talk about.

He called me and told me that he was a libertarian and that Sarah Palin was the closest candidate to Ron Paul and that he fully supported she and McCain. Never mind the fact that I do not support the McCain/Palin ticket, I told him that it wasn't the text that was inappropriate on his front porch, it was the sexy symbol. He disagreed with me and said that the symbol was his creative expression, one that he designed to catch people's eye in order to rally support for the McCain/Palin ticket.

We hung up on friendly terms (I had about 4 days to cool off before our conversation... and I didn't tell him that I was on his front porch with a pocket knife ready to cut the sign down...) We agreed to disagree about his creative expression and that was the end of it.

I'm not sure if Jesus would have written this guy a letter. I know Jesus probably wouldn't have ripped his sign down.... I wonder what Jesus would have done. Maybe He would have just gone to McDonald's with Jonny.

Batgirl

My halloween costume! (only mine won't be as fitted :)

High School

This past weekend, I celebrated my 10 year high school reunion. Not only is Westminster Christian Academy's mascot the same as the school in High School Musical (Go Wildcats!), but the environment was much the same. During our spirit week 10-14 years ago, kids were literally dancing and singing through the halls (just like the opening scene in HSM2!) At our reunion, the "kids" who put it together were right-on! They had old videos playing, yearbooks sprawled out on tables, our who's who list, and tons of old pictures... oh, and a lot of alcohol. I never thought I would celebrate my high school days with such excitement. I thought the only way to re live those days was via Disney's phenomenon. But after my high school reunion, I realized I had it even better than Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, and the whole gang... my high school was real.

Working Girls

Friday was the last day of my official 1st week in my new position at CTA,inc. (Christian Tools of Affirmation) It was a great week and the company did a wonderful job of making me feel welcomed and immediately at home. The HR department scheduled lunch for me every day with a different department within the comany, so I got to know a lot of people really fast. I'm a COMPLETE extrovert, so taking my lunch hour to be with a lot of people would seem to energize me. However, I think I met my match. After being home all summer, I think my mind has slowed down a little bit (Really, it's a good thing!) I found myself missing my life of laundry and dirty fingerprints. God has provided a WONDERFUL position within a WONDERFUL company, so I'm not complaining... but there was a twinge of longing to be with my little buzz-haired angel. He was busy at friends homes all week. Since school has not officially started, Jonny was able to bop around and live with various family friends -- he had a BLAST! I think the transition didn't feel too harsh for him, although he did wake up a couple of nights with nightmares of being all alone, not being able to find Jon nor me. ENTER: Guilty Mom Syndrome. I've had it ever since Jonny was born. But I feel that God has stretched and kneaded my heart a lot this summer regarding this very topic. I'd like to think Jonny's dreams mean he's having a hard time letting go of me, but I have a feeling my intrepretation of Jonny's words and actions are more indicative of me having a tough time letting go of him. What makes me think this? Oh, maybe the dry-run carpool I had us run yesterday in the school's parking lot, or the obsession with choosing and ordering his backpack, or the numerous emails I've sent to his new school requesting different bits of information they've assured me is "on it's way, Mrs. Bowman..."

Speaking of working women, a friend of mine, Diane Reeves is launching her career. Diane will be repping the wonderful world of Mary Kay... I purchased a few lip glosses and have been VERY impressed with the quality of the product (and of course the wonderufl service I've received from Diane!!) Shoot her an email if you need anything or would like to request a catalog... Mary Kay has evolved into a full skin-care line, one that I really like for its convenience: dianereeves@charter.net

Check out the CTA website as well and step into my cubical at work... since I've only been there a week, I'll go into more details about my CTA charge in subsequent blogs. Blessings, readers!

Go Bethanne and Johnny Kinmonth!

My incredible sister-in-law Bethanne Savona Kinmonth will be attending school in Seattle to receive her Masters Degree in Counseling.  She begins in September.  Meanwhile, my brother Johnny is embarking on a new career as a communications coordinator for Seattle's most posh and pricey health club/resort/spa.  Way to go, guys!!!

Good Bye, Preschool

Jonny and I leaving his wonderful Pre school at St. Charles Community College.  He will be heading to Central Christian School for junior kindergarten this fall!

 

Sharks and Alligators

The other two B's and I are getting ready to head down to Florida. Jonny and I get down to visit my parents (in Baldwin Park, Orlando) and the beach I grew up loving (New Symrna) about every 3 months.

I know we'll end up living in Florida at some point, but the timing has just not been right (although Jon fielded an interesting offer from a small university in Daytona Beach just last month...)



I have a few things I'd like to do while we're there:
Get a haircut, Draw up plans for a backyard tree house with my Dad and Jon Sr, Take Jonny out on the tennis court with a child-size racket, Shop at the outlet malls with Mom, and do all the other typical stuff: Beach, Bike, Swim, Sun, etc.

The funny thing about "my Florida" is the number of questionable animals that lurk around our retreat. I grew up visiting my grandparents on Lake Berry. My brother and I learned to water ski, sail, and canoe in one of central Florida's typical alligator lakes. (I even took some of my first swimming lessons in Lake Berry!) Alligators lived and raised their families on the lakes just as human beings. There is even a spot on the lake we called "Alligator Alley" and we'd cry if someone would fall off their water skies near that stretch of the lake. The strangest thing? It never phased us!! When Jonny was an infant, I told my grandmother that I would never take him out on that lake... and yet I take him out every chance I get! I want him to experience sailing, canoeing, and swimming with an over sized life jacket swallowing his little head. I want him to catch minnows and avoid fire ants on the beach. The authorities say that Central Florida's alligator problem is well under control... and I'd rather encourage Jonny to experience life than make him sit on Grandma's back porch while the alligators get to have all the fun!

My Neighborhood

This past Tuesday, my friend Val, my son Jonny, and I were driving in our neighborhood. One of my neighbors (who lives a couple of blocks away) was out with his pet Albino Bermese Python. Apparently these snakes need to be "walked" once a week in order to not become cranky. I'm glad they were fulfilling their ritual because I would not want a cranky python in our neighborhood? You?

Batmania

Batmania has overtaken the Bowman house like a moldy basement. What I should say is Batmania has overtaken Jonny and me as Jon Sr. is rarely mastered by anything pop-culture-esque. It could be that Jonny and I had a divine foreknowledge of Batmania last year when we decided to paint our unfinished basement bright orange. We placed an old zebra-print lounge-couch-thing-y in the corner (one that Jon Sr. and I were "given" by a ritzy boutique owner after she had already hauled it out to the trash behind her store.) We hung a Batman kite that we purchased at the dollar store (which happened to be black and orange -- the inspiration for our basement project) and named the area "The Batcave."

Now Jonny and I are watching YouTube clips from the 1966 Batman TV series (POW, SPLAT, BANG.) Jonny thinks he wants to see the newly released movie, but he couldn't sit through a cartoon shot gun scene in Disney's Ratatouille. Needless to say, he won't be getting his ticket to The Dark Knight in my lifetime! He'll just have to stick to wearing the dark knight on his underware.

In anticipation of Jon Sr. and I going to see the movie when we are in Florida next week, I have jotted some Cliff's Notes regarding the Batman Cinema Phenomenon.

• 1989 Batman movie - Direcor Tim Burton, Michael Keaton "Batman", Jack Nicholas "Joker"
• 1992 Batman Returns movie - Director Tim Burton, Michael Keaton "Batman", Danny DeVito "Penguine", Michelle Pfiefer "Catwoman"
• 1995 Batman Forever movie - Director Joel Schumaker, Val Kilmer "Batman", Tommy Lee Jones "Two Face", Jim Carey "Riddler", Chris O'Donnell "Robin", Also with Nicole Kidman and Drew Barrymore
• 1997 Batman and Robin movie - Director Joel Schumaker, George Clooney "Batman", Chris O'Donnell "Robin", Uma Thurman "Poison Ivy", Alicia Silverstone "Batgirl", Arnold Schwartzenegger "Mr. Freeze", Also with Elle McPhearson and Vivica A. Fox
• 2005 Batman Begins movie - Director Christopher Nolen, Christian Bale "Batman", also with Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes

I'm hoping to see all the above listed movies before seeing the new release... We'll see if it happens!