Some moms come forward to defend Spears
By JOCELYN NOVECK
Almost
tripped and dropped a baby? PLEASE, they're saying. What mom hasn't? Give the girl a break!When little Sean Preston entered the world last September, the blessed event only intensified Spears' fame, as celebrity births do nowadays. But unlike, say,
Angelina Jolie or Gwyneth Paltrow, Spears had a way of appearing maternally challenged. First it was the sight of baby on Mom's lap in the driver's seat. (OK, that was bad.) Then, the accidental tumble as he was lifted off a high chair. Next, the car seat facing the wrong way in the convertible.
Not good, the celebrity mommy patrol said. We'd never do that.
Until ... the almost-baby-dropping incident.
Suddenly — and there's nothing scientific about any of this, mind you — but suddenly, it seems fellow moms are doing something a bit surprising: defending Britney.
"The woman just can't get a break!" says Lenna Janick, a mother of two in Ijamsville, Md. "I mean, I'm not gonna say that I love her. I don't know if she's a good mother or not. But she's human."
And a
s all moms know, "baby bobbles" happen all the time. Luckily, says Janick, news outlets weren't watching when she walked into a door years ago holding baby son Timmy, whose head hit the door jamb. Her other son, Alex, once fell off the bed as a baby. (Both are fine.)The media also mysteriously missed the moment when Stacey Thaler, an actuary in New York, was sitting on the edge of the tub holding her 2-year-old son and fell in, with the toddler.
"If someone was watching me 24/7, I'm sure they would find any number of things I've done that would be questionable," Thaler says. "Almost dropped my kids? Definitely. Raising kids is hard — no one can really stand in judgment unless they're much closer to the situation."
Thousands of mothers apparently agree. This weekend, the Web site parenting.com asked readers whether the media "has gone too far in its portrayal of Britney Spears as a bad mom." In a figure that surprised the editors, almost 10,000 people answered. The results: 75 percent said yes, 25 percent no.
"I think this last incident is the tipping point," says Janet Chan, editor in chief of Parenting magazine. "I'm not sure this means Britney Spears will be in every mom's Hall of Fame. But this one caused them to say, 'Hey, now we're picking on her.'"
The celebrity magazine US Weekly sensed a similar reaction. The photo of Spears nearly tripping (for the record, her very long jeans appeared to get caught in her espadrilles) elicited an unusually strong response on the magazine's blog, says editor Janice Min. Out of 700 responses, 60 percent were pro-Britney, she says.
"Anyone who has babies knows there are always near-misses," Min says. The problem with Spears, Min says, is that she got herself into multiple situations that didn't look good.
"Any one incident alone would not merit that much attention," she says. "But in the aggregate, they paint a picture that meets expectations the public already has." In other words, that Britney's a bad mom.
None of the mothers interviewed for this piece deny that Spears has shown questionable judgment, at best. But many noted that motherhood has long been subject to changing standards. Was it so long ago, for example, that kids roamed free in the car, unbelted? How long have kiddie bike helmets been around?
Some also noted that there's a silver lining to the various compromising photos of Spears: at least they show she's WITH the baby.
"Look, there are probably a number of celebrities who would have someone else caring for their baby while they went gallivanting around doing whatever," Thaler says. "So maybe we should give her credit for wanting to be with him so much."
So Britney, things may be looking up, just in time for your next baby. Your latest misstep — the one that almost had you and Sean sprawled on the ground — may have been a blessing in disguise.
"It may just be that it took tripping on the curb," Chan says, "for Britney to become part of the Mommy Club."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Who is called maternally challenged in the essay?2. Describe in your own words what that might be, then give vivid examples.
3. What caused Britney Spears to trip while carrying her baby?
4. "To gallivant about town" is a common phrase. What might that mean?
5. One can pick strawberries. What does it mean to pick on someone? Were you ever picked on as in school as a child? What kinds of people do you think are picked on?
6. If a baseball player bobbles a ball, what might happen?
7. What do you think a "blessed event" is?
8. What's a malignant condition, such as a tumor?
9. The article suggests that people should give Britney Spears a break. Does that mean she deserves to drink coffee or tea? What does it mean?
10. If things are looking up, does that means life is getting worse or better?
11. Who do you think was your best caretaker as a child? Explain.
12. What's a blessing in disguise?
13. What does "unbelted" mean in the essay above?
14. Name five singers you would like to put into a music Hall of Fame. Explain your reasons briefly. Do the same for movie stars.
15. What expectations does the public have of Britney Spears?
16. What mishaps in the handling of Spears' baby are described in the essay?
17. What two movie stars is Britney Spears compared to as a mother?
18. According to the essay, it's not easy to make fun of Britney Spears. True False.
19. What are Spears' fellow moms doing that's a bit surprising?
20. When are you likely to say, "Oops"?
21. Who is likely to sit in a high chair?
22. Describe some mishaps you had as a baby or youth. As a babysitter.
23. In a recent poll of 10,000 netizens, how many seemed to support her?
24. What might a "netizen" be?
25. Of 700 responses in US Weekly, how many supported Britney?
26. A proverb says, "Every cloud has a silver lining." What might that mean?
27. Who is America's most maligned mother?
28. Do you think women or men make better caretakers? Explain.
29. Do you expect to be a caretaker of your children or hire a nanny or babysitter?
Home Listening Assignment: Week of 23 May 2006
1. What health issue does Halle Berry deal with in her life?2. Why does Berry work out?
3. Why does she stay in shape?
4. What milestone is coming up for her?
5. Is Berry happy or unhappy about it?
6. Why is she forced to talk about this?
7. Is she particularly reflective about this event?
8. For Berry that event is a) a special year,
b) a special day, c) another year, d) another day.
9. Berry says she's not a big _____________ celebrator.
10. Berry will not be working on that day. True False
11. What is on Berry's mind these days?
12. What does Berry want in life?
13. What will she be thinking about when she dies?
14. After making her recent movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, she feels like she's really an ______________.
15. In her new movie, Berry is really a) jumping,
b) dancing, c) flying, d) singing.
16. For Berry, the best thing of all in her new movie is that she really got to do her own s_______s.
17. In her new movie, according to the interviewer, why is a segment of society being persecuted?
18. In her movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, what issue is being presented?
19. Her interviewer finds parallels between her movie and ____________________.
20. What two cures does Berry imagine?
21. What medical disorder does Berry's nephew have?
22. Her co-star, Ian McKellen is identified in the interview as being ___________.
Madonna Thrills Fans at Music Festival
By RON HARRIS
INDIO, Calif. - Madonna thrilled thousands of fans at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Sunday, even as she brought a mainstream feel to the traditionally edgy event.By RON HARRIS
A swollen outdoor crowd erupted in cheers after the Material Girl made her entrance inside a glittering disco ball that split in two and launched into "Hung Up" for her opening number. She performed an abbreviated set of five songs in less than a half hour.
Not everyone was excited to see the pop star at the musical extravaganza best known for its lineup of indie-rock bands and dance-oriented DJs.
"I'm here for anything but Madonna," said Alessandra Ambrosio, a Brazilian model. "Madonna is too pop to be here."
More than 100,000 people came to the inland desert for two sold-out days of sun and sound. With 47 acts on Sunday's bill alone, fans had so many choices they had to miss some bands to catch others.
Theresa Hioki, 20, sat next to her brother on a large expanse of grass, contemplating the rest of the day's music ahead of them. Sunday's lineup also included the up-and-coming Matisyahu, a Hasidic reggae and hip-hop artist.
Hours before Madonna, the San Francisco-based Mates of State, a husband and wife duo, performed their unique blend of alt-pop drum and organ music.
Jason Hammel, a former cancer researcher, bounced in his seat as he beat his drums furiously, while his wife, Kori Gardner, a former school teacher, swayed in her red summer dress and played complex passages on her organ. The couple has grown from Oakland party gigs to receive a wave of attention for their smart, singable tunes.
British chart favorite James Blunt drew a large crowd, playing to a wedged-in audience in the Mojave Tent. Near the tent openings, the crowd stood 20 deep to catch a glimpse of the singer as he crooned mellifluous tunes, capping his performance with the hit "You're Beautiful" from his album "Back to Bedlam."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. "Alt-pop" probably refers to a) altitude,b) alternative, c) attitude, d) alternate.
2. Madonna thrilled a) hundreds, b) thousands,
c) hundreds of thousands, d) a few.
3. What might "edgy" mean in this essay?
4. One can have swollen glands. What's a swollen crowd?
5. A British chart favorite at the concert was_____.
6. Do a search on reggae and briefly tell the class what you found.
7. Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner are team made up of a) sisters, b) brothers, c) brother and sister,
d) husband and wife.
8. The "Material Girl" mentioned referred to which singer?
9. Alessandra Ambrosio, a Brazilian model, couldn't wait to see Madonna. True False
10. What kind of mountain is likely to erupt?
11. A lineup is likely to be used at a a) hospital,
b) police station, c) garage, d) fire station.
12. "Mellifluous" likely means a) rhythmic,
b) smooth, c) percussive, d) loud.
13. A gig is most likely a a) performance, b) tie,
c) napkin, d) computer.
14. Everyone was excited to see Madonna. True False
15. Kori Gardner played the a) piano, b) organ,
c) saxophone, d) drums.
16. Gardner is a) a former policewoman, b) a former school teacher, c) a current school teacher, d) a current policewoman.
17. Do a search on Hassidic Jews and discuss what you find.
18. "Croon" is a synonym for a) drumming,
b) singing, c) guitar picking, d) piano playing.
19. If one person is added to a duo, what does it become? If two are added what does it become? Three?
20. What's the most famous singing quartet in pop music of the twentieth century?
21. How many acts were on Sunday's bill?
22. There are five acts in a Shakespeare play. What does the word "acts" mean here?
23. If branches in a tree sway, that means a) there's no breeze, b) it's snowing, c) it's raining, d) there's a breeze.
24. The musician beat his drums furiously. That means he a) was angry, b) beat them vigorously, c) beat them slowly, d) beat them in three-quarter time.
25. What puts you in a contemplative mood?
26. What is your favorite place to contemplate?
27. What are your favorite conditions for contemplating?
28. Where is contemplation mostly likely to occur?
29. "Unique" most likely means a) special,
b) common, c) communal, d) entertaining.
30. What's the most unique singer you've heard?
31. Discuss the most unique person you've known.
32. When are people likely to sleep in tents?
33. Does being tentative mean one lives in a tent? What does it mean to be tentative? When do you feel tentative about an issue?
34. An "indie" Rock band is mostly likely a) from Indiana, b) from India, c) from Indianapolis, d) from an independent record company.
35. An "extravaganza" is most likely a) a spectacle made up of many acts, b) a spectacle made up of few acts, c) a spectacle made up of indie acts, d) a jazz festival.
36. A wedged-in audience is probably a) small, b) large, c) noisy, d) drunk.
37. The crowd at one act stood a) five deep, b) ten deep, c) twenty deep, d) thirty deep.
38. Discuss a deep thought. (But not too deep.)
39. The festival lasted a) one day, b) two days, c) three days, d) four days.
40. It attracted a) 1,000, b) 10,000, c) 100,000,
d) 200,00,
Actress-Turned-Nun Publicizes Disorder
By BOB THOMAS
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Dolores Hart, who at age 24 starBy BOB THOMAS
Now the Rev. Mother Dolores Hart and prioress of the cloistered community at Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut, she has been renewing friendships from her studio years.
Why? To spread awareness about a largely mysterious neurological disorder that afflicts countless Americans, including herself, called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy.
Last month, Hart testified at a congressional hearing in Washington, citing the need for research into a cause and cure for the painful and crippling disease.
Over a recent lunch at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Mother Dolores spoke of her ordeal with the disease. She also told of her long ambition to be an actress and what ended that phase of her life.
She seems in radiant health at 67, her cheeks smooth and rosy, her blue eyes clear. She wore traditional nun's attire, with a couple of additions: a green hand-knit sweater under the robe and a jaunty black beret.
In 1999, Hart underwent a root canal. The dentist suggested doing another root canal at the same time, and she agreed. Two days later, Hart awakened with searing pain.
"I couldn't eat," she recalled. "When I put my feet on the floor, I couldn't stand. My feet felt like they were on fire. I couldn't talk. I thought, 'This is ridiculous.' I couldn't understand what in the world was going on. A doctor said this would improve, but it kept getting worse."
For six months, she journeyed from doctor to doctor, yet none could figure out what was causing her pain. Finally, a New York specialist tried changing her medicine and she gradually was able to leave her wheelchair and resume a more normal life.
The luncheon conversation moved to her acting career, and she spoke fondly of that period in her life.
"From the age of 7, I never in my life wanted to be anything but an actress," Hart said. She was a strong-willed girl even at that age. When her parents divorced in Los Angeles but were constantly wrangling, she wrote a letter to her grandmother in Chicago asking to live with her. She was soon on a train to the Windy City — alone — a ticket pinned to her coat.
Hart's grandfather was a projectionist at a downtown movie palace and she often accompanied him to work. Her special job was to awaken him from naps every 12 minutes so he could change reels.
Years later, Hart was back in Los Angeles playing the lead in a school production of "Saint Joan" and an admirer asked where she had studied acting technique. She admitted that her only schooling came from analyzing actors' performances — without sound, no less — in the projection booth of a Chicago theater.
A friend notified the studios of a remarkable young actress in "Saint Joan," and Hal Wallis, an independent producer at Paramount, sent a scout to check her out. He ended up recommending Hart, and a film test and contract soon followed.
She made her screen debut as Elvis' love interest in 1957's "Loving You," his first starring role.
"I had no idea who Elvis Presley was," she admitted. "When I fi
Hart made another film with Presley, "King Creole," and appeared in prestigious productions such as "Wild is the Wind," with Anna Magnani and Anthony Quinn, and "Lonelyhearts," with Montgomery Clift and Myrna Loy.
"I was never a star," she insisted. "Being a star means your name is above the title. Mine never was."
A clever talker, she was a regular on the talk-show circuit and was a fan-magazine favorite.
"I really loved the acting life," she said. But when she was appearing in the Western "The Plunderers" with Jeff Chandler in 1959, she looked in the mirror and heard a voice saying: "You're really enjoying this, but you're not going to do this much longer." She was puzzled but continued working.
After nine months in New York with the play "The Pleasure of His Company," she complained to a friend that she was weary. The friend recommended a retreat at a Connecticut monastery. Hart was hesitant but decided to go. She found a remarkable peace. She continued returning to the monastery twice a year.
Back in Hollywood, she became engaged to Los Angeles businessman Don Robinson. One night, she related, he asked her, "Do you love me?" She answered, "Yes, I love you." He asked her again. Same answer. "It doesn't sound right," he said. The engagement was canceled, and in December 1962, she flew to Connecticut, never to return — until now.
Mother Dolores is proud of one element of her Hollywood life: being invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is still a member and votes each year for the
Academy Awards.
Does that mean she sees all the nominees, no matter how bawdy?
"Yes, I do," she replied with a smile. "If you're a Benedictine, as I am, you're supposed to be capable of integrating anything."
Discussion Questions
1. Where has Dolores Hart spent her last 43 years?
2. How did she startle the film world at age 24?
3. "Cloistered" most likely means a) crowded,
b) secluded, c) holy, d) religious.
4. Hart now lives in a) CT, b) VT, c) AK, d) AZ
5. Hart's disorder is called a) psychological, b) sociological, c) anthropological, d) neurological.
6. Hart's disorder is a rare disease, True False
7. If you use your peripheral vision, you're most likely to see objects a) in front of you, b) in back of you, c) to the side of you, d) above you.
8. Hart's disease is characterized as a) crippling and painful, b) crippling but not painful, c) neither painful nor crippling, d) psychological.
9. Hart now goes by the name a) Sister Dolores, b) Sister Hart, c) Abbess Hart, d) Mother Dolores.
10. Hart never wanted to be an actress. True False.
11. Did you ever have a root canal? Describe? Is it the same as a root beer?
12. "Searing" probably means a) comical, b) very painful, c) cold, d) intermittent.
13. From the age of 7, Hart never wanted to be anything else but a nun. True False
14. From the age of 7, Hart was a strong-willed girl. True False.
15. Her parents were constantly wrangling. "Wrangling" probably means, a) eating, b) horse riding, c) fishing, d) arguing.
16. The "windy city" is a) Arizona, b) Alaska, c) Alabama, d) Chicago.
17. What did her job entail at a movie theatre with her father?
18. The likely meaing of "lead" in a play or movie is a) usher, b) main character, c) supporting actor, d) bit player.
19. What was her main schooling as an actress?
20. In the article, a "scout" is probably a) someone who locates people, b) a young boy who sells cookies, c) a star, d) a producer.
21. Her first movie was opposite a) John Lennon, b) Frank Sinatra. c) Elvis Presley, d) Michael Jackson.
22. Two Hollywood stars who addressed Hart as "Miss Dolores" were ____________ and ____________.
23. Which part of his hairstyle does Dolores remember about her first co-star?
24. Hart believes she was a big star. True False.
25. Hart hated the acting life. True False.
26. What do you think a "retreat" is?
27. What's the name of the annual award given out by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences, to which Dolores Hart belongs?
28. Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, wrote many bawdy lyrics. What's a bawdy lyric?
29. During the 1950s, there was a national movement with people on either side of the segregation/integration issue. What's the difference between these two sides?
30 Do a search on blend words and come up with a list of them.
SCHOOL DAY
This is one of the classic records of early Rock 'n' Roll, preceding even Elvis Presley's national success. The song was written and performed by Chuck Berry, who, as much as any single artist, deserves the title, Father of Rock 'n' Roll. Berry not only gave Rock its musical form and energy, but its lyrical focus too, emphasizing teenage frustration and fun (cars, romance, etc.). His influence was huge, and The Beatles covered three of his songs on their first albums; while his guitar riffs became the basic vocabulary of Rock for decades (The Rolling Stones also covered several Berry hits).
In the early days of Rock, singles were still being released in dual format, including the old breakable 12 inch 78's with the small hole in the middle (left, top) and the newer unbreakable 7 inch 45's, with the big hole in the middle (right). Eventually, the 78's went out of style and the teenagers made the more convenient 45 format the only format (they could be tossed around at parties with little fear of making them unplayable).
Why the big hole in the middle? The reason, apparently, was RCA wished to patent their automatic players (left), which featured a large spindle (instead of the smaller spindle used for manual 78 record players). Since RCA was a major company, it quickly set standards that other companies had to follow in their 45 releases (or they would not sell as readily to people who first bought the RCA players).
2. How did she startle the film world at age 24?
3. "Cloistered" most likely means a) crowded,
b) secluded, c) holy, d) religious.
4. Hart now lives in a) CT, b) VT, c) AK, d) AZ
5. Hart's disorder is called a) psychological, b) sociological, c) anthropological, d) neurological.
6. Hart's disorder is a rare disease, True False
7. If you use your peripheral vision, you're most likely to see objects a) in front of you, b) in back of you, c) to the side of you, d) above you.
8. Hart's disease is characterized as a) crippling and painful, b) crippling but not painful, c) neither painful nor crippling, d) psychological.
9. Hart now goes by the name a) Sister Dolores, b) Sister Hart, c) Abbess Hart, d) Mother Dolores.
10. Hart never wanted to be an actress. True False.
11. Did you ever have a root canal? Describe? Is it the same as a root beer?
12. "Searing" probably means a) comical, b) very painful, c) cold, d) intermittent.
13. From the age of 7, Hart never wanted to be anything else but a nun. True False
14. From the age of 7, Hart was a strong-willed girl. True False.
15. Her parents were constantly wrangling. "Wrangling" probably means, a) eating, b) horse riding, c) fishing, d) arguing.
16. The "windy city" is a) Arizona, b) Alaska, c) Alabama, d) Chicago.
17. What did her job entail at a movie theatre with her father?
18. The likely meaing of "lead" in a play or movie is a) usher, b) main character, c) supporting actor, d) bit player.
19. What was her main schooling as an actress?
20. In the article, a "scout" is probably a) someone who locates people, b) a young boy who sells cookies, c) a star, d) a producer.
21. Her first movie was opposite a) John Lennon, b) Frank Sinatra. c) Elvis Presley, d) Michael Jackson.
22. Two Hollywood stars who addressed Hart as "Miss Dolores" were ____________ and ____________.
23. Which part of his hairstyle does Dolores remember about her first co-star?
24. Hart believes she was a big star. True False.
25. Hart hated the acting life. True False.
26. What do you think a "retreat" is?
27. What's the name of the annual award given out by the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences, to which Dolores Hart belongs?
28. Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, wrote many bawdy lyrics. What's a bawdy lyric?
29. During the 1950s, there was a national movement with people on either side of the segregation/integration issue. What's the difference between these two sides?
30 Do a search on blend words and come up with a list of them.
SCHOOL DAY
This is one of the classic records of early Rock 'n' Roll, preceding even Elvis Presley's national success. The song was written and performed by Chuck Berry, who, as much as any single artist, deserves the title, Father of Rock 'n' Roll. Berry not only gave Rock its musical form and energy, but its lyrical focus too, emphasizing teenage frustration and fun (cars, romance, etc.). His influence was huge, and The Beatles covered three of his songs on their first albums; while his guitar riffs became the basic vocabulary of Rock for decades (The Rolling Stones also covered several Berry hits).
In the early days of Rock, singles were still being released in dual format, including the old breakable 12 inch 78's with the small hole in the middle (left, top) and the newer unbreakable 7 inch 45's, with the big hole in the middle (right). Eventually, the 78's went out of style and the teenagers made the more convenient 45 format the only format (they could be tossed around at parties with little fear of making them unplayable).
Why the big hole in the middle? The reason, apparently, was RCA wished to patent their automatic players (left), which featured a large spindle (instead of the smaller spindle used for manual 78 record players). Since RCA was a major company, it quickly set standards that other companies had to follow in their 45 releases (or they would not sell as readily to people who first bought the RCA players).
brunch breakfast + lunch
glimmer gleam + shimmer
moped motor + pedal
motel motor + hotel
motorcade motor + cavalcade
smash smack + mash
smog smoke + fog
splatter splash + spatter
squiggle squirm + wriggle
telethon television + marathon
twirl twist + whirl
Hail, true body
natum de Maria Virgine,*
born of the Virgin Mary,
Vere passum immolatum*
Who truly suffered sacrifice
in Cruce pro homine,*
on the Cross for man,
Cujus latus perforatum*
From whose pierced side
unda fluxit et sanguine,*
blood streamed and flowed,
Esto nobis praegustatum*
Be for us a foretaste
in mortis examine.*
Of the test of death.
efore dawn so no one would know how many extra hours he worked. Charles goes on all-night work binges to meet deadlines, and Susan can't say no to volunteer projects, social clubs, bridge games, choral singing, lectures and classes.
Each one is a member of Workaholics Anonymous, a 12-step recovery program for compulsive workers based upon the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous. Each one opted to keep their identity secret.
"It's been
called the addiction that society applauds," said Mike, a physician and member of the group known as WA.
"People brag about it and say, 'I'm a workaholic,'" he said. "But workaholics burn out and then you've lost them or they become very dysfunctional and bitter and cynical in the organization and corrosive."
Workaholics Anonymous keeps no central count of members, but organizers estimate dozens of weekly meetings are held in the United States as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Britain. The group also sells about 100 books about WA a month via its Web site, according to organizers.
WA's
roots go back to 1983, when a New York corporate financial planner and a school teacher founded a group based on AA but designed to fight compulsive working.
WA identifies workaholics as people who often are perfectionists and worriers, derive their self esteem from work, keep overly busy, neglect their health, postpone vacations and overschedule their lives.
Workaholics don't even have to have a job; they can just be compulsively busy as they seek an adrenaline high, to overcome feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem and to avoid intimacy, it says.
The weekly meeting in New York draws an average of a half dozen people in a city that might be considered a hotbed of workaholism. Such meager attendance invites the predictable joke that most workaholics are too busy to attend meetings, a quip that organizer Charles has heard a million times.
"People think it's funny," he said. "It's amusing until you hear the stories. There have been many people who have come, and work is destroying their lives."
Unlike alcoholics, who can measure recovery by their days of sobriety, workaholics have no quantifiable gauge of their problem, or their recovery.
"In m
y case, my boss was telling me I had to get my work hours down to 40 a week, and I couldn't do it," said Sam, a former senior project engineer in California's Silicon Valley.
"I was sneaking into work at 5 a.m. on a Sunday so I could get work done and be out of the place before anyone else showed up," he said. "I didn't want people to see how much time I was putting in.
"Now I'm more willing to try to do a mediocre job and keep my own mental health and sanity than to do the perfect job on everything I attempt," he said.
Like AA, WA uses a 12-step program for recovery from addiction. At meetings, members share their experiences and study the organization's literature and guidelines.
"It really forces you to look inside and say, 'What's really going on with me?'" said Charles. "A lot of people don't want to do that."
Even if workaholism is hard to define, you know it when you feel it, said Mike, who has left his high-pressure urban job for work at a rural clinic where cows wander outside.
"After a while one gets a feeling of what driven, compulsive working feels like," he said. "There's a tightness to it. There's a lot of adrenaline surging. There's a lot of worry.
"There's a lot of preoccupation, which is different from just waking up in the morning and saying, 'Wow, I really love what I do'," he said.
2. Describe a sneaky person.
3. Have you ever gone on an eating binge?
4. What is Charles guilty of doing?
5. Why can't Susan say no to volunteer projects, etc."
6. Have you ever been a volunteer? Explain.
7. Can you recall a time in your childhood when you recovered from a disease or injury? Are those memories happy or unhappy?
8. How many steps are there in the recovery program for wokaholics?
9. What's a workaholic? Are you one?
10. "Workaholic" belongs to a class of words known as blend words, such as brunch (breakfast + lunch). Some blend words are humorous, such as alcoholidays. Where is the humor in that word?
11. A
re you a sleepaholic?
12. Many blend words come from a head word, which inspires later versions. "Watergate" for example was a famous Washington scandal which led to the resignation of an American president. Later scandals were modeled on that word, producing blend words such as Irangate, etc. What is the head word that gave us these other blend word
13. Do you think you're addicted to anything? Explain.
14. What do you think are the most common social addictions?
15. Does society disapprove of workaholics?
16. What's a synonomic replacement for "opted" in the essay?
17. Mike, in the wokaholics' group, is a a) dentist, b) pilot, c) policeman, d) doctor.
18. Describe someone who brags. What is the common noun for someone who brags?
19. A candle burns out. But what does it mean to say that a person burns out?
20. Do you know of any dysfunctional families? Explain.
21. Is a cynic optimistic about life? Explain.
22. Describe a cynical attitude towards a) politics,
b) education, c) religion, d) exercise.
23. Name a bitter fruit. What's the word (including in it the word "bitter") for someone who has been made bitter about life?
24. Discuss the meaning of "corrosive" in the essay.
25. About how many books does WA sell each month?
26. What year was the first WA group established?
27. Have you ever felt compelled to do something against your wishes or desires? For example, out of friendship, filial piety, or religious duty?
28. Wokaholics have to have a job. True False.
29. Workaholics tend to have high self-esteem. True False
30. What gives you an adrenaline high or rush?
31. People who wish to avoid intimacy tend to be workaholics. True False.
32. The New York WA group meets a) daily,
b) weekly, c) monthly, d) yearly.
33. A quip is a a) funny remark, b) stupid remark,
c) falsehood, d) song.
34. How does an alcoholic measure his days of recovery?
35. What instrument gauges body temperature?
36. If something is quantifiable, that means it can be a) sung, b) recited, c) counted, d) memorized.
37. Do you think it's acceptable to do a mediocre job?
38. What animals wander outside Mike's new workplace? a) dogs,
b) cats, c) squirrels, d) cows.
39. After leaving his urban job, where does Mike work now?
40. What tends to preoccupy your time when you have free time? For example, shopping, listening to music, walking, parties, etc.
"Crash," featuring a huge cast in crisscrossing story lines over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, rode a late surge of praise that lifted it past the cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain," a film that had won most other key Hollywood honors.
"We are humbled by the other nominees in this category. You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema," said "Crash" producer Cathy Schulman.
She was commenting on a year that saw the box office sinking, provocative independent films dominating big studio fare and a tiny-budgeted ensemble drama from outside Hollywood taking first prize.
Lead-acting Oscars went to Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line," while corporate thrillers earned supporting-performer Oscars for George Clooney in "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz in "The Constant Gardener."
"Brokeback Mountain" filmmaker Ang Lee did win the best-director prize for the tale of two old sheepherding pals who carry on a love affair they conceal from their families for years.
Lee, whose martial-arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won the foreign-language Oscar five years ago, became the first Asian filmmaker to win Hollywood's main filmmaking honor.
"I'm so proud of the movie," Lee said backstage, where he was asked if he was disappointed that his film about gay cowboys lost best picture and what might have kept it from winning.
"Why they didn't go for it, I don't know. You're asking a question that I don't know the answer. ... Congratulations to the `Crash' filmmakers."
In a year of challenging films at the Oscars, "Crash" was one of the fiercest, a portrait of simmering racial and cultural tension among blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians and Iranians.
"Crash" became a solid box-office hit, grossing $55 million domestically. Haggis noted that his film defied convention with its tiny budget and release date early in the year, which usually is considered a barrier for Oscar season.
"This is the year that Hollywood rewarded rule-breakers," Haggis said backstage.
Witherspoon won a close race over Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending performance as a transsexual in "Transamerica."
"Oh, my goodness I never thought I'd be here in my whole life growing up in Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who like co-star Joaquin Phoenix as Carter's soul mate, country legend Johnny Cash, handled her own singing in "Walk the Line."
"People used to ask June how she was doing, and she would say I'm just trying to matter. I know what she means," said Witherspoon, who told the audience the Oscar made her feel she was doing work that matters.
Hoffman's performance nimbly straddles the magnetic qualities of raconteur Capote and the effete, off-putting egoism of the author.
"Wow, I'm in a category with some great, great, great actors, fantastic actors, and I'm overwhelmed. Really overwhelmed," said Hoffman, who asked the Oscar audience to congratulate his mother for bringing up four children alone.
"We're at the party, Mom," Hoffman said. "Be proud, Mom, because I'm proud of you."
Clooney's win capped a remarkable year, during which he made Oscar history by becoming the first person nominated for acting in one movie and directing another.
In "Syriana," Clooney effaced his glamour-boy looks behind the bearded, heavyset facade of a CIA patriot who grows jaded over U.S. oil policy in the Middle East. He joked that an Oscar always would be synonymous with his name from then on, including in his obituary.
"Oscar winner George Clooney, sexiest man alive 1997, `Batman,' died today in a freak accident," said Clooney, who also lauded Oscar voters for their daring.
"This group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the back of theaters," Clooney said, referring to the supporting-actress winner from "Gone With the Wind," the first black performer to receive an Oscar.
In "The Constant Gardener," adapted from John le Carre's novel, Weisz played a humanitarian-aid worker whose fearless efforts against questionable pharmaceutical practices makes her a target for government and corporate interests in Africa.
Weisz thanked co-star Ralph Fiennes and director
Fernando Meirelles, "and of course, John le Carre, who wrote this unflinching, angry story. And he really paid tribute to the people who are willing to risk their own lives to fight injustice. They're greater men and women than I."
2. What famous upset do you remember from the past?
3. What film was the front-runner in this year's Oscar race?
4. What dark-horse candidate would you prefer for the next presidential election in Taiwan?
5. What behavior do you consider provocative? Dress?
6. If the pot is simmering, does that mean the heat is full or low?
7. Have you ever known a good raconteur? Discuss.
8. Discuss a freak accident you've heard about.
9. If a performance is laudatory, that means it's a) poor, b) uninteresting, c) praiseworthy, d) funny.
10. "Maverick" is a word known as an eponym; that is, a word named after a person. Do a search and report on the person who gave the English language this word.
11. A movie can have a great cast. What does that mean?
12. Your body can have a cast too. What does that mean?
13. How do you budget your finances?
14. What do you think is the key to your success at school?
15. What are latch-key children?
16. The movie "Crash" is located in which American city?
17. Which of this year's acting nominees was once voted the sexiest man alive?
18. Which man did Phillip Hoffman protray in his Oscar-winning role?
19. Which woman did Reese Witherspoon portray? In the movie, she is the wife of which famous singer?
20. Discuss a person you've known with a magnetic personality.
21. Which film did Cathy Schulman produce?
22. Have you ever known someone you considered effete? Discuss.
23. Do you have any egoistic friends? Do you consider yourself egoistic? Do you think egoism is good?
24. Read an obituary in your newspaper (English or Chinese) and briefly report the circumstances of the event.
25. If a ball team has a late-season surge, does that mean it's getting better or worse?
26. Do you rely on pharmaceutical aids? Explain.
27. What does one buy at a pharmacist?
28. Discuss a gender-bender performer.
29. How is a transsexual different from a transvestite?
30. Which Oscar-winning actor played Batman?
31. What do you think June Cash meant by saying she was just trying to matter?
32. Whose mother among the acting-nominees brought up four children alone?
33. Which director's film won the foreign-language Oscar five years ago?
34. A self-effacing person is a) humble, b) immodest, c) stupid, d) insincere.
35. If a person has the facade of friendliness, that means that a) he's friendly, b) pretending to be friendly, c) hostile, d) angry.
36. What does it mean to straddle the political fence?
37. What reason did Ang Lee give for why his film lost the Best Picture Oscar?
38. Breathtaking acrobatic skills are a) good,
b) amazingly good, c) average, d) poor.
39. What do you think a crisscrossing story line means?
40. In what US state did Reese Witherspoon grow up?
ly as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end it. They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.
Accor
ding to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, would not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.
Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of
lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the Roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor. On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.
While Va
lentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her, "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.
Valen
tine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.
* Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand.
* Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
* When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife.
* A woman rushed home from work and exclaimed to her husband, "Pack your bags, I've won the lottery!"
The husband excitedly asks, "Should I pack clothes for cold or warm weather?"
She says, "Pack'em all, you're leaving!"
* A couple came upon a wishing well. The wife leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny. The husband decided to make a wish, too. But he leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned. The wife was stunned for a moment but then smiled, "It really works!"
* Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
* Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.
* One woman's hobby is another woman's hubby.
* Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success.
* A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.
* I'm an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.
* We in the industry know that behind every successful screenwriter stands a woman. And behind her stands his wife.
* Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.
* Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.
* If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.
# What's the difference between men and government bonds?
Bonds mature
# What do men and beer bottles have in common?
They're both empty from the neck up
# How can you tell if a man is happy?
Who cares?
# How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
We don't know. It has never happened
# What's a man's idea of helping with the housework?
Lifting his leg so you can vacuum.
# What's the difference between a man and E.T?
E.T. phoned home.
# What does a man consider a seven-course meal?
A hot dog and a six pack of beer.
# What do you call a man with half a brain?
Gifted!
# What did God say after he created man?
I can do better.
# What are two reasons men don't mind their own business?
1. No mind 2. No business
# What do you call an intelligent man in America?
A tourist.
# Did you hear about the man who won the gold medal?
He bronzed it.
# How do men sort their laundry?
"Filthy" and "Filthy and wearable"
# Only a man could buy a $400 car and put a $4000 stereo in it.
# Why did God create man?
He needed to practice.
# Why is it good that there are female astronauts?
When the crew gets lost, at least she will ask for directions.
# A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
# Before marriage, a man yearns for the woman he loves.
After marriage, the "y" becomes silent.
# When a newly married couple smiles, everyone knows why. When a ten-year married couple smiles, everyone wonders why.
# My wife told me I should be more affectionate.
So I got two girlfriends.
# A husband said to his wife,
"No, I don't hate your relatives. In fact, I like your mother-in-law better than I like mine."
# A man meets a genie. The genie tells him he can have whatever he wants provided that his mother-in-law gets double. The man thinks for a moment and then says, "OK, give me a million dollars and beat me half to death."
# The honeymoon is over when the husband calls home to say he'll be late for dinner and the answering machine says it's in the microwave.
# Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
# How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done.
# A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"
And the father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."
# A couple was having a discussion about family finances. Finally the husband exploded, "If it weren't for my money, the house wouldn't be here!"
The wife replied, "My dear, if it weren't for your money, I wouldn't be here."
# A man said his credit card was stolen but he decided not to report it because the thief was spending less than his wife did.
# Love is blind but marriage is an eye-opener.
# The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.
# Cosmetics: A woman's way of keeping a man from reading between the lines.
# Words to live by: Do not argue with a spouse who is packing your parachute
# Boring husband: Honey, why are you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?
Bored wife: Because I married the wrong man!
# First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!" Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."
# Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand.
# Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
# When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car
is new or the wife.
# Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After
marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
# Bachelors should pay more taxes: they enjoy a better quality of life.
Marriage is a three ring circus:engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering.
glimmer gleam + shimmer
moped motor + pedal
motel motor + hotel
motorcade motor + cavalcade
smash smack + mash
smog smoke + fog
splatter splash + spatter
squiggle squirm + wriggle
telethon television + marathon
twirl twist + whirl
AVE, VERUM CORPUS
Ave, verum corpus*Hail, true body
natum de Maria Virgine,*
born of the Virgin Mary,
Vere passum immolatum*
Who truly suffered sacrifice
in Cruce pro homine,*
on the Cross for man,
Cujus latus perforatum*
From whose pierced side
unda fluxit et sanguine,*
blood streamed and flowed,
Esto nobis praegustatum*
Be for us a foretaste
in mortis examine.*
Of the test of death.
Workaholics struggle to say 'No' to work
By Ellen Wulfhorst
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sam used to sneak into his office before dawn so no one would know how many extra hours he worked. Charles goes on all-night work binges to meet deadlines, and Susan can't say no to volunteer projects, social clubs, bridge games, choral singing, lectures and classes.Each one is a member of Workaholics Anonymous, a 12-step recovery program for compulsive workers based upon the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous. Each one opted to keep their identity secret.
"It's been
called the addiction that society applauds," said Mike, a physician and member of the group known as WA."People brag about it and say, 'I'm a workaholic,'" he said. "But workaholics burn out and then you've lost them or they become very dysfunctional and bitter and cynical in the organization and corrosive."
Workaholics Anonymous keeps no central count of members, but organizers estimate dozens of weekly meetings are held in the United States as well as in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Britain. The group also sells about 100 books about WA a month via its Web site, according to organizers.
WA's
roots go back to 1983, when a New York corporate financial planner and a school teacher founded a group based on AA but designed to fight compulsive working.WA identifies workaholics as people who often are perfectionists and worriers, derive their self esteem from work, keep overly busy, neglect their health, postpone vacations and overschedule their lives.
Workaholics don't even have to have a job; they can just be compulsively busy as they seek an adrenaline high, to overcome feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem and to avoid intimacy, it says.
The weekly meeting in New York draws an average of a half dozen people in a city that might be considered a hotbed of workaholism. Such meager attendance invites the predictable joke that most workaholics are too busy to attend meetings, a quip that organizer Charles has heard a million times.
"People think it's funny," he said. "It's amusing until you hear the stories. There have been many people who have come, and work is destroying their lives."
Unlike alcoholics, who can measure recovery by their days of sobriety, workaholics have no quantifiable gauge of their problem, or their recovery.
"In m
y case, my boss was telling me I had to get my work hours down to 40 a week, and I couldn't do it," said Sam, a former senior project engineer in California's Silicon Valley."I was sneaking into work at 5 a.m. on a Sunday so I could get work done and be out of the place before anyone else showed up," he said. "I didn't want people to see how much time I was putting in.
"Now I'm more willing to try to do a mediocre job and keep my own mental health and sanity than to do the perfect job on everything I attempt," he said.
Like AA, WA uses a 12-step program for recovery from addiction. At meetings, members share their experiences and study the organization's literature and guidelines.
"It really forces you to look inside and say, 'What's really going on with me?'" said Charles. "A lot of people don't want to do that."
Even if workaholism is hard to define, you know it when you feel it, said Mike, who has left his high-pressure urban job for work at a rural clinic where cows wander outside.
"After a while one gets a feeling of what driven, compulsive working feels like," he said. "There's a tightness to it. There's a lot of adrenaline surging. There's a lot of worry.
"There's a lot of preoccupation, which is different from just waking up in the morning and saying, 'Wow, I really love what I do'," he said.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What was Sam fond of doing before dawn?2. Describe a sneaky person.
3. Have you ever gone on an eating binge?
4. What is Charles guilty of doing?
5. Why can't Susan say no to volunteer projects, etc."
6. Have you ever been a volunteer? Explain.
7. Can you recall a time in your childhood when you recovered from a disease or injury? Are those memories happy or unhappy?
8. How many steps are there in the recovery program for wokaholics?
9. What's a workaholic? Are you one?
10. "Workaholic" belongs to a class of words known as blend words, such as brunch (breakfast + lunch). Some blend words are humorous, such as alcoholidays. Where is the humor in that word?
11. A
re you a sleepaholic?12. Many blend words come from a head word, which inspires later versions. "Watergate" for example was a famous Washington scandal which led to the resignation of an American president. Later scandals were modeled on that word, producing blend words such as Irangate, etc. What is the head word that gave us these other blend word
13. Do you think you're addicted to anything? Explain.
14. What do you think are the most common social addictions?
15. Does society disapprove of workaholics?
16. What's a synonomic replacement for "opted" in the essay?
17. Mike, in the wokaholics' group, is a a) dentist, b) pilot, c) policeman, d) doctor.
18. Describe someone who brags. What is the common noun for someone who brags?
19. A candle burns out. But what does it mean to say that a person burns out?
20. Do you know of any dysfunctional families? Explain.
21. Is a cynic optimistic about life? Explain.
22. Describe a cynical attitude towards a) politics,
b) education, c) religion, d) exercise.
23. Name a bitter fruit. What's the word (including in it the word "bitter") for someone who has been made bitter about life?
24. Discuss the meaning of "corrosive" in the essay.
25. About how many books does WA sell each month?
26. What year was the first WA group established?
27. Have you ever felt compelled to do something against your wishes or desires? For example, out of friendship, filial piety, or religious duty?
28. Wokaholics have to have a job. True False.
29. Workaholics tend to have high self-esteem. True False
30. What gives you an adrenaline high or rush?
31. People who wish to avoid intimacy tend to be workaholics. True False.
32. The New York WA group meets a) daily,
b) weekly, c) monthly, d) yearly.
33. A quip is a a) funny remark, b) stupid remark,
c) falsehood, d) song.
34. How does an alcoholic measure his days of recovery?
35. What instrument gauges body temperature?
36. If something is quantifiable, that means it can be a) sung, b) recited, c) counted, d) memorized.
37. Do you think it's acceptable to do a mediocre job?
38. What animals wander outside Mike's new workplace? a) dogs,
b) cats, c) squirrels, d) cows.
39. After leaving his urban job, where does Mike work now?
40. What tends to preoccupy your time when you have free time? For example, shopping, listening to music, walking, parties, etc.
'Crash' Pulls Off Upset, Wins Best-Picture
By DAVID GERMAIN
LOS ANGELES - "Crash" pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Academy Awards history, winning best picture Sunday over the front-runner "Brokeback Mountain."By DAVID GERMAIN
"Crash," featuring a huge cast in crisscrossing story lines over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, rode a late surge of praise that lifted it past the cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain," a film that had won most other key Hollywood honors.
"We are humbled by the other nominees in this category. You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema," said "Crash" producer Cathy Schulman.
She was commenting on a year that saw the box office sinking, provocative independent films dominating big studio fare and a tiny-budgeted ensemble drama from outside Hollywood taking first prize.
Lead-acting Oscars went to Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon as country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line," while corporate thrillers earned supporting-performer Oscars for George Clooney in "Syriana" and Rachel Weisz in "The Constant Gardener."
"Brokeback Mountain" filmmaker Ang Lee did win the best-director prize for the tale of two old sheepherding pals who carry on a love affair they conceal from their families for years.
Lee, whose martial-arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won the foreign-language Oscar five years ago, became the first Asian filmmaker to win Hollywood's main filmmaking honor.
"I'm so proud of the movie," Lee said backstage, where he was asked if he was disappointed that his film about gay cowboys lost best picture and what might have kept it from winning.
"Why they didn't go for it, I don't know. You're asking a question that I don't know the answer. ... Congratulations to the `Crash' filmmakers."
In a year of challenging films at the Oscars, "Crash" was one of the fiercest, a portrait of simmering racial and cultural tension among blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians and Iranians.
"Crash" became a solid box-office hit, grossing $55 million domestically. Haggis noted that his film defied convention with its tiny budget and release date early in the year, which usually is considered a barrier for Oscar season.
"This is the year that Hollywood rewarded rule-breakers," Haggis said backstage.
Witherspoon won a close race over Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending performance as a transsexual in "Transamerica."
"Oh, my goodness I never thought I'd be here in my whole life growing up in Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who like co-star Joaquin Phoenix as Carter's soul mate, country legend Johnny Cash, handled her own singing in "Walk the Line."
"People used to ask June how she was doing, and she would say I'm just trying to matter. I know what she means," said Witherspoon, who told the audience the Oscar made her feel she was doing work that matters.
Hoffman's performance nimbly straddles the magnetic qualities of raconteur Capote and the effete, off-putting egoism of the author.
"Wow, I'm in a category with some great, great, great actors, fantastic actors, and I'm overwhelmed. Really overwhelmed," said Hoffman, who asked the Oscar audience to congratulate his mother for bringing up four children alone.
"We're at the party, Mom," Hoffman said. "Be proud, Mom, because I'm proud of you."
Clooney's win capped a remarkable year, during which he made Oscar history by becoming the first person nominated for acting in one movie and directing another.
In "Syriana," Clooney effaced his glamour-boy looks behind the bearded, heavyset facade of a CIA patriot who grows jaded over U.S. oil policy in the Middle East. He joked that an Oscar always would be synonymous with his name from then on, including in his obituary.
"Oscar winner George Clooney, sexiest man alive 1997, `Batman,' died today in a freak accident," said Clooney, who also lauded Oscar voters for their daring.
"This group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the back of theaters," Clooney said, referring to the supporting-actress winner from "Gone With the Wind," the first black performer to receive an Oscar.
In "The Constant Gardener," adapted from John le Carre's novel, Weisz played a humanitarian-aid worker whose fearless efforts against questionable pharmaceutical practices makes her a target for government and corporate interests in Africa.
Weisz thanked co-star Ralph Fiennes and director
Fernando Meirelles, "and of course, John le Carre, who wrote this unflinching, angry story. And he really paid tribute to the people who are willing to risk their own lives to fight injustice. They're greater men and women than I."
Discussion Questions
1. What upsets you in life?2. What famous upset do you remember from the past?
3. What film was the front-runner in this year's Oscar race?
4. What dark-horse candidate would you prefer for the next presidential election in Taiwan?
5. What behavior do you consider provocative? Dress?
6. If the pot is simmering, does that mean the heat is full or low?
7. Have you ever known a good raconteur? Discuss.
8. Discuss a freak accident you've heard about.
9. If a performance is laudatory, that means it's a) poor, b) uninteresting, c) praiseworthy, d) funny.
10. "Maverick" is a word known as an eponym; that is, a word named after a person. Do a search and report on the person who gave the English language this word.
11. A movie can have a great cast. What does that mean?
12. Your body can have a cast too. What does that mean?
13. How do you budget your finances?
14. What do you think is the key to your success at school?
15. What are latch-key children?
16. The movie "Crash" is located in which American city?
17. Which of this year's acting nominees was once voted the sexiest man alive?
18. Which man did Phillip Hoffman protray in his Oscar-winning role?
19. Which woman did Reese Witherspoon portray? In the movie, she is the wife of which famous singer?
20. Discuss a person you've known with a magnetic personality.
21. Which film did Cathy Schulman produce?
22. Have you ever known someone you considered effete? Discuss.
23. Do you have any egoistic friends? Do you consider yourself egoistic? Do you think egoism is good?
24. Read an obituary in your newspaper (English or Chinese) and briefly report the circumstances of the event.
25. If a ball team has a late-season surge, does that mean it's getting better or worse?
26. Do you rely on pharmaceutical aids? Explain.
27. What does one buy at a pharmacist?
28. Discuss a gender-bender performer.
29. How is a transsexual different from a transvestite?
30. Which Oscar-winning actor played Batman?
31. What do you think June Cash meant by saying she was just trying to matter?
32. Whose mother among the acting-nominees brought up four children alone?
33. Which director's film won the foreign-language Oscar five years ago?
34. A self-effacing person is a) humble, b) immodest, c) stupid, d) insincere.
35. If a person has the facade of friendliness, that means that a) he's friendly, b) pretending to be friendly, c) hostile, d) angry.
36. What does it mean to straddle the political fence?
37. What reason did Ang Lee give for why his film lost the Best Picture Oscar?
38. Breathtaking acrobatic skills are a) good,
b) amazingly good, c) average, d) poor.
39. What do you think a crisscrossing story line means?
40. In what US state did Reese Witherspoon grow up?
VALENTINE'S DAY
As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end it. They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.Accor
ding to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, would not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of
lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the Roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor. On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.While Va
lentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her, "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.Valen
tine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.Discussion Questions
1. How did men choose their mates in fourth-century Rome?
2. This by the way is the fourth century BC. What do those letters mean?
3. What's a rite of passage? Discuss some you know.
4. What does it mean to do something at random?
5. Which person was the source of the holiday now called Valentine's Day?
6. He was a a) scholar, b) soldier, c) poet, d) bishop.
7. What is matrimonial bliss? Do you think it's possible? What are some problems that must be surmounted first, or that might interfere with it?
8. What's a physical trauma? Can you guess the plural of trauma?
9. What Roman emperor forbade marriage among soldiers?
10. The Catholic church recognizes seven sacraments. Can you name and explain them?
11. Who was the "friend of lovers"?
12. Do you believe in state executions? What's another name for this?
13. Have you ever been converted to another point of view? Discuss.
14. Valentine's jailor's name was a) Asterius, b) Stella, c) Bob, d) Elvis.
15. What's a patron saint? Waht's a patron? What other English words are related?
2. This by the way is the fourth century BC. What do those letters mean?
3. What's a rite of passage? Discuss some you know.
4. What does it mean to do something at random?
5. Which person was the source of the holiday now called Valentine's Day?
6. He was a a) scholar, b) soldier, c) poet, d) bishop.
7. What is matrimonial bliss? Do you think it's possible? What are some problems that must be surmounted first, or that might interfere with it?
8. What's a physical trauma? Can you guess the plural of trauma?
9. What Roman emperor forbade marriage among soldiers?
10. The Catholic church recognizes seven sacraments. Can you name and explain them?
11. Who was the "friend of lovers"?
12. Do you believe in state executions? What's another name for this?
13. Have you ever been converted to another point of view? Discuss.
14. Valentine's jailor's name was a) Asterius, b) Stella, c) Bob, d) Elvis.
15. What's a patron saint? Waht's a patron? What other English words are related?
Valentine's Day Jokes
Please be prepared to tell and explain a joke when called upon.
* First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!" Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."Please be prepared to tell and explain a joke when called upon.
* Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand.
* Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
* When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife.
* A woman rushed home from work and exclaimed to her husband, "Pack your bags, I've won the lottery!"
The husband excitedly asks, "Should I pack clothes for cold or warm weather?"
She says, "Pack'em all, you're leaving!"
* A couple came upon a wishing well. The wife leaned over, made a wish and threw in a penny. The husband decided to make a wish, too. But he leaned over too much, fell into the well, and drowned. The wife was stunned for a moment but then smiled, "It really works!"
* Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
* Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.
* One woman's hobby is another woman's hubby.
* Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success.
* A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.
* I'm an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.
* We in the industry know that behind every successful screenwriter stands a woman. And behind her stands his wife.
* Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.
* Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.
* If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.
# What's the difference between men and government bonds?
Bonds mature
# What do men and beer bottles have in common?
They're both empty from the neck up
# How can you tell if a man is happy?
Who cares?
# How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
We don't know. It has never happened
# What's a man's idea of helping with the housework?
Lifting his leg so you can vacuum.
# What's the difference between a man and E.T?
E.T. phoned home.
# What does a man consider a seven-course meal?
A hot dog and a six pack of beer.
# What do you call a man with half a brain?
Gifted!
# What did God say after he created man?
I can do better.
# What are two reasons men don't mind their own business?
1. No mind 2. No business
# What do you call an intelligent man in America?
A tourist.
# Did you hear about the man who won the gold medal?
He bronzed it.
# How do men sort their laundry?
"Filthy" and "Filthy and wearable"
# Only a man could buy a $400 car and put a $4000 stereo in it.
# Why did God create man?
He needed to practice.
# Why is it good that there are female astronauts?
When the crew gets lost, at least she will ask for directions.
# A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
# Before marriage, a man yearns for the woman he loves.
After marriage, the "y" becomes silent.
# When a newly married couple smiles, everyone knows why. When a ten-year married couple smiles, everyone wonders why.
# My wife told me I should be more affectionate.
So I got two girlfriends.
# A husband said to his wife,
"No, I don't hate your relatives. In fact, I like your mother-in-law better than I like mine."
# A man meets a genie. The genie tells him he can have whatever he wants provided that his mother-in-law gets double. The man thinks for a moment and then says, "OK, give me a million dollars and beat me half to death."
# The honeymoon is over when the husband calls home to say he'll be late for dinner and the answering machine says it's in the microwave.
# Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.
# How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done.
# A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"
And the father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."
# A couple was having a discussion about family finances. Finally the husband exploded, "If it weren't for my money, the house wouldn't be here!"
The wife replied, "My dear, if it weren't for your money, I wouldn't be here."
# A man said his credit card was stolen but he decided not to report it because the thief was spending less than his wife did.
# Love is blind but marriage is an eye-opener.
# The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.
# Cosmetics: A woman's way of keeping a man from reading between the lines.
# Words to live by: Do not argue with a spouse who is packing your parachute
# Boring husband: Honey, why are you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?
Bored wife: Because I married the wrong man!
# First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!" Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."
# Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand.
# Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
# When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car
is new or the wife.
# Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After
marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish.
# Bachelors should pay more taxes: they enjoy a better quality of life.
Marriage is a three ring circus:engagement ring, wedding ring, suffering.
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