The Riches....ca-razy!!!

Well, I saw the second episode and it doesn't disappoint. I feel a need to talk this up, because not everyone looks at FX network, which has a couple of great shows, including this one. It's fresher than The Sopranos and keeps you wondering what the heck is going to happen next. You can't help but fantasize about being able to just take over someone else's identity. Eddie Izzard is very good and Minnie Driver is unlike I've ever seen her - of course, she is so versatile - from Muriel's Wedding to Good Will Hunting to Phantom of the Opera to this.

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, as well as Lea's four-month birthday. Can't wait to see all my kids in ten days - spring break!

Are you kidding me?

Wednesday I had the air conditioning on in my car - would have put the top down if I didn't have so much crap in it.

Yesterday, it started raining, then turned to sleet (they sent us home from school early) then turned to a kind of snow - like the kind they make at ski areas. It's so hard that I didn't even leave footprints when I went out to get the paper!

Happy St. Patrick's Day - almost spring.

Ides of March observations

1. We finished out "high stakes" testing today - FINALLY and should have "normal" schedules from here on out - unless we get a freak snowstorm or something. The kids hung in there, but this thing has dominated our school's operations for over a month! We did feed them breakfast the last three mornings and gave them plenty of pep talks. I do believe that no child should be left behind; I really do! I just wish there was some other way to ensure this.

2. It was so darn beautiful yesterday - near 80 degrees! Had the windows open last night and nearly was catapulted out of bed by a thunderclap at 2:30 a.m. that sounded like it was right outside my window. The thing reverberated for about 30 seconds, it seemed. My heart was pounding and it took me a while to get back to sleep. But it was still great to sleep with the windows open and the cats seemed to like it, too.!

3. Um, Drexel? You made all of us who complained about you being left out of the Big Dance look a little bad with that opening round HOME loss in the NIT. I will assume it was disappointment and letdown.

4. Has anyone seen "The Riches"? Wow. It is on FX on Mondays at 10:00 p.m. (I think that will be its regular slot), which means it can have more profanity and sex than regular TV but not as much as cable. It is really kind of amazing and I don't really think I can do it justice here - before I saw it, I read that it was sort of Sopranos-ish, and it is, but it is quirkier and has Eddie Izzard (sans makeup and accent) and Minnie Driver (sans classy British accent and glammed-up look) as, well, to be honest, GYPSIES (they refer to themselves as "Travelers" but they live in sort of a commune of RVs and tents). The first episode left me kind of breathless...yeah, it's one of those "you hadda be there" deals. Do yourself a favor - if they replay the first episode, WATCH IT!

5. Baseball in just about two weeks - have I mentioned I cannot WAIT for this season?

6. Finally - the Ides of March has kind of been co-opted by "Pie Day" at our school. 3/14 - get it? The math people get to have fun with actual pies - kids walking around with all kinds of goodies. There just really isn't a snack that goes well with the Ides of March - Caesar Salad just isn't a "treat" you can share in English class, is it?

Spring springs in less than a week! Whoo-hoo!

Open Windows

Nothing better! I walked out of school today and it was close to 80 degrees! If my back seat didn't have so much junk in it, I would have put the top down.

Came home and opened family room and bedroom windows - I will get to sleep in fresh air tonight. Of course, it will all go away in a day or two - supposed to be only in the forties on Friday.

But I'm enjoying today.

Now, this is better!

Flirting with 60º today and promising up to 70 by Wednesday! Nearly all the little piles of snow are gone from our place, although the mountains in the parking lots are still hanging in there. Guess I need to clean out the back of the convertible in case the urge to put the top down becomes too tempting.

And in other news...

Add my voice the chorus - either add to the field or get rid of the automatic berths in the big dance. Drexel and Syracuse are better than at least a third of the teams in the draw. Hard as it is to agree with Dick Vitale, he nailed it.

And add my sentiments to those who mourn the loss of John Vukovich. He is what makes baseball different from the other sports. He was a reliable, if not spectacular player who knew the game and how to deal with the people who played it. He was tough on the guys, but they respected, nay, loved him for it. And when he coached third base, I didn't cringe like I did last year. He was a throw-back and he'll be missed.

And to chime in with my son - how does television support reality crap and not give Studio 60 a chance to cultivate an audience. There is a veritable honor roll of wonderful shows that in today's market wouldn't make it. I miss shows with an edge that doesn't involve profanity. I love that Gilmore Girls makes references to Oscar Levant as well as contemporary bands. I loved Sports Night and still miss the early days of West Wing. Maybe Sorkin wasn't on top of his game (yet) with Studio 60, but, to paraphrase some lame bumper sticker "A bad day of Sorkin is better than a good day of "Deal or No Deal"

Anybody see "The Lives of Others"? This won the Oscar for best foreign language film and, while I still think Pan's Labyrinth probably should have won, it was GREAT! I heard an interview with the filmmaker who said that the muted colors were on purpose because during the Cold War, East Germany couldn't get the bright blue and red dyes for clothes.

And I did adore "The Queen" but I just love Helen Mirren in anything. I need to go back and rent stuff she was in as a young actress. Prime Suspect was THE BOMB!!!

Side note: I'm having severe Lea withdrawal - just in case anyone was wondering!

So darn cold again!

Are you kidding? Zero wind chill tonight. Sounds like the roof is blowing off! I don't even want to take the trash out - it'll end up in Delaware or something!

It was fun to see some baseball on Sunday, though. Hope, as they say, springs eternal.

Not sure I'm liking the idea of the early Daylight Savings Time - it was just starting to be a bit brighter in the morning.

I really can't wait until the end of the month for Spring Break.