Finishing a School Year & Fan-Girling

Today I have to give a huge shout out and thank you to author Brodi Ashton for coming to our high school to speak to some students about publishing and her great new book, Everneath.  She did an amazing job and the students loved it.  These were a great group of students who had read 20 or more books this last semester (four months).  We had a really good turn out, lots of success with the reading challenge, and Brodi was a great reward!  If I can get my hands on some of the pictures from the event today, I'll be sure to share.

Now to the finish line!  It's the end of the school year and I'm trying to muscle through that last stack of projects and late, later, and mega-later work that keeps trickling in.  Every year I feel like I have to kick in the turbo boosters to fuel through these last few days.  This year is no different.  It's all good though.

And on one final note.  My fan-girl moment came to an end tonight on Dancing With the Stars and the finale.  Yep.  I'll own it.  I don't even watch the show that often, but I did this season thanks to hottie William Levy.  I'll always have his Argentine Tango...

Thank You Matt Damon

I know this clip has been circulating around the web and on the news like crazy, but I had to post it with a big thank you to Matt Damon.   It was so nice to hear someone stand up for teachers!  I think my previous crush on him has been rekindled.

A Short Jane Austen Actor Love: The 39 Steps

Okay, so my AP students from  last year could (sadly) tell you that I have a bit of a crush on Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion.  This certifiable crush was sealed when I saw the newest film version with Rupert *sigh* Penry-Jones.  Yep.  He made my single girl heart go pitter pat.  I'm not much for the blondies, but I definitely made an exception from him.

Thanks to my Mr. Penry-Jones, I set aside my issues with mysteries to record an episode of Masterpiece Theater on PBS, The 39 Steps.  I hadn't watched it yet, so I settled down this evening to give it a go.  What a treat!!!  The premise of the story is that Jones's character, circa 1918, is given a booklet that contains coded messages from a German spy that will leave the British navy vulnerable to their enemies.  Said man who gave him the booklet is murdered in a hotel in front of him, and then he is blamed for the murder and must go on the run to Scotland.  His goal is then to try to get himself out of the murder accusation, and to uncover the German spy ring threatening home and country.

I have to say that this was a great spy thriller, and one that I could easily recommend to just about anyone.  Not only did it have one of my favorite leading men in it, but it had action, espionage, and even a romance.  Even the romance though was different than I might have expected.  The female lead was strong-willed and didn't need to be saved at every turn of the story, and Penry-Jones's lead wasn't as self-assured as a James Bond character might be, but was confused by his role in the espionage.  His fears and anxiety over what was happening to himself and could happen to his country had me eager to keep watching.  Regardless of any fear Penry-Jones might have displayed through his character, he was still quite the swash-buckling, handsome lead!  Also, he somehow managed to be more than a gentleman throughout all the action, which made him even  more charming.

Based on the novel The 39 Steps by John Buchan, I can absolutely say that the film version of this novel is a must see!  I'm not certain if it will be appearing again on Masterpiece Theater again, but it is well worth an effort to track down if you like spy thrillers or are even a fan of Rupert Penry-Jones.  In just under an hour and a half, this is a really great movie to watch!