Well, 2008 is finally over, and I can say that it is one of the few years that I am glad to see go. 2009 is hopefully going to be much better for me. time will ultimately tell, but for the time being, I am happy for this fresh start.
One example of this will be the new computer I am going to receive any day now. My old Medion finaly bit it, but it had a good three year run. I am eagerly anticipating my new arrival, although I am pretty much done spending beyond the necessities until payday. I am also going to be starting a new job soon, teaching high school biology at the FFCA high school. If you are not familiar with this school division, they are a publicaly funded charter academy. I am excited about working with them, but I must confess that I am not looking forward to saying good-bye to the great staff and students ant Sir Winston Churchill High school. I must say that this has been the best high school I have worked at, and much of my thanks goes out to the leraning leader/deaprtment head Deborah Miller. I have been vry fortunate in being able to have worked with some of the best educators in the business, and she ranks right up there.
As I mentioned, the students there are great as well. When I started there in late October, I was the fourth teacher that the kids had for Biology 30 since the beginning of the year. They have done marvelously. As it has been everywhere I have taught, my students really became a becon of light and joy to me, and I am honoured to have served them as their teacher. Sadly, it seems that with the joys of associating with such wonderful students, there comes the pain when one of them is hurt. Sadly, one of the nicest young ladies I have ever taught was involved in a terrible accident over the weekend. She is currently in the Foothills hospital, and is apparently paralyzed from the waist down. I have had two former students from Radville pass away in car accidents since I have left there, and I am feeling the ache again. To see such wonderful people taken from the world so soon, or in this recent case, inflicted with a terrible injury fills me with much sorrow and pain. thankfully, I know that there is more to life than pain, and there is much that comes after that we can look forward to, but it does not always mean that the hard times are any less hard. My thoughts and prayers go out to my student and her family. I can only hope and pray for the best at the moment.
To hopefully end things on a more positive note, I have created for this issues Top 10 list, the top 10 Movies I saw from 2008. Please note that I did not see many of the movies from last year, but I saw enough to make a fairly complete list, I think.
10. Valkyrie - the latest movie from 2008 I saw would have ranked higher if the characters spoke with german accents. Still, Tom Cruise was good.
9. Eagle Eye - Shia Leboef continues to be one of my favourite young actors. This movie had me sitting on the edge of my seat. It was great.
8. Wall*E - Pixar delivers again, though I must admit that this is not their greatest ever. Still, it is excellent.
7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - I know many people hated this movie, and I understand why. Me, I thought it was just great. It had the familiar spirit of the first movies, and while not my fav of the group, I enjoyed it immensley.
6. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - I love this movie series. I rated this higher than others on the list because to be quite honest, I thought that this movie would stink, when in fact I had a blast watching it. My only complaint is that Evelyn was not played by Rachel Weis.
5. Ironman - All I can say is high octane action + great acting by robert Downey Jr. = amazing summer blockbuster flick.
4. Get Smart - I haven't laughed so hard in a theatre since "Rat Race". OK, would you believe "the Man Who Knew Too Little"? It kept to the spirit of the TV series while making it unique from it. Great fun, and anne Hathaway is in it. Growl!
3. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - not as good as the Lion/Witch/wardrobe, but it was amazing action, witty dialogue, and alot of fun. Of all the movies on this list I watched it the most this last year.
2. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - this film did a few things for me. First, it gave me an even deeper respect for Ben Stein. Second, it re-enforced my beliefs about teaching science while beleiving in God. third, it made me laugh and think. Greatly overlooked and it should be seen
1. Batman: the Dark Knight - it was not just Heath Ledger's performance that made this movie special, though I admit he gave the best performance of the year. It ws the whole deal. Great action, a compelling story, and wonderful multi-dimensional characters. I do not always like the top grossing movie of the year, but this is one I agree with.
