March Madness

Fortunately, I am not afflicted by an unhealthy enthusiasm for college basketball (though I did enjoy seeing Kenton Paulino's buzzer beater against West Virginia last night, which got the Longhorns into the elite eight), so I do not suffer from the seasonal malady that affects others (some near and dear) during this month when the 64-team NCAA championship tournament is played. Some time in the days preceding the March 5th Academy Awards show, however, I imagined filling out another kind of championship bracket of Academy Award-winning films. The films would be seeded from 1 to 64 based on the year of their release, so each year, when a new winner is announced, the match-ups would be different. And since my judgments about the value of many of these films is sure to change over time, the result of some of the re-matches would not necessarily be a foregone conclusion.

Rocky (1977) was the first Academy Award-winning film I remember seeing in a movie theater, but between the beginning of this year and yesterday, I’d seen 51 of the last 64 Academy Award-winners, and since then I’ve seen eight more on TV or on DVD: In the Heat of the Night (1968), A Man for All Seasons (1967), Tom Jones (1964), Gigi (1959), Bridge on the River Kwai (1958), All About Eve (1951), and The Lost Weekend (1946). Right now, I have five more to see to fill out my bracket: Marty (1956), The Greatest Show on Earth (1953), An American in Paris (1952), Gentleman's Agreement (1948), and The Best Years of Our Lives (1947). I'm curious to learn if any Academy Award-winning films of years past are the "to see" list of any of the readers of this blog. (Here's a link to a list of all the winners.)

Today, I watched Around the World in 80 Days (1956) for the first time all the way through. I’d actually seen the first five minutes of it on video on Saturday, April 5th, 1986 at the end of the famous Around The World Date, but like many of my travel companions, I promptly fell asleep. Now that I’ve seen it all the way through, I can say that it’s not likely to win many games in a film tournament. I am, however, very glad that I’ve seen it because of my surprising discovery of a bullfighting scene shot in Spain, which was included, I believe, in order to show off Cantinflas’s abilities as a bullfighter (he did not use a stunt double for these scenes). As it turns out, the bullfight was filmed in Chinchón, Spain, which happens to be the same small village in which María José and I were married on May 27, 1994. The bullfights in Chinchón—including the one in this film—actually take place in the town’s plaza central, which on special holidays can be transformed into a bullring by closing the five roads that lead into it. One of the buildings that look out on the plaza is the Ayuntamiento (City Hall), so you could say that Mari and I were married in a bullring.

Certifiable!

As soon as Mari got home from work today, we put on our fancy, church-meetin' clothes and took a taxi to the downtown Sheraton, where Mari and about one hundred other Chicago Public School teachers were to be honored for achieving National Board teaching certification (in addition to Mari, three other teachers from Belmont-Cragin were so honored: Demaris, Jamie, and Julie, seen with Mari in these photos at right on the back row of the risers during the photo shoot). Emilio stayed at the house to help Jack with his voice training. When Julie got off work she came over and she and Emilio hung out while Jack went to the Improv Olympic, where he is now taking classes (it's officially known as "I.O." now because the Olympics sued them!). It's really great to have good friends who are so willing and apparently eager to hang out with Emilio. Thanks again guys!

The big draw of the awards ceremony was the fat check that the Chicago Education Fund (a "venture philanthropy organization") was distributing to all the winners, but I was also curious to hear the seventh scheduled speaker of the night, Richard M. Daley, who has been mayor of Chicago since 1989 (other speakers included Chicago Public Schools superintendent Arne Duncan and the Superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education Randy Dunn).

Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were the entertainment from five to six, and at six the award winners were invited to take their assigned seats near the front of the ballroom. Daley was about a quarter of an hour late, and I spent that time talking to jazz pianist Steve Million (http://www.stevemillion.com), who had been hired to play for the event (he played while we talked). I really enjoyed watching him work the keyboard (he agreed to pose for this photo at left).

Turns out it was a good idea to wear our fancy, church-meetin' clothes because once the scheduled speakers started delivering their sermons, I felt like I was in church. Most of what was said was intended to congratulate "the profession that makes all other professions possible," and there was some evangelism: "go ye, therefore and preach the good news to your colleagues--they, too, can get National Board Certification (1000 CPS teachers took the test this year; approximately 100 passed). Daley delivered a real fire and brimstone number, though, and while I appreciated the fact that he was saying things that were controversial (and, therefore, interesting), I was actually stunned by the crudity of his xenophobia. He did his best to strike the fear of China and India in the crowd. According to Daley, India and China are poised to destroy the United States in an apocalyptic, winner-take-all education war, after which, we can assume, they will enslave us. I overstate the case (slightly), but he did say that China's commitment to education made it a a "frightening" place to visit. Eek!

Anyway, Mari worked very hard to get National Board Certification and I am very proud of her success. She deserves to be feted and I was glad I could attend the event with her. And if she ever runs for mayor of Chicago, I'll give her my vote.

A Fine Fifteen

As regular readers of mariajrb.blogspot.com know, as of last Monday, March 13th, María José and I have been together for fifteen years. On our anniversary, we started to make a list of one thing we could remember about each year, but we got sidetracked. Since then, I’ve spent some more time thinking about it (and consulting computer files, diaries and photo albums) and have come up with the list below. Some years included several vivid memories of places visited, but I've limited myself to one per year here. It has been quite a ride!

1991 The Grand Canyon

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1992 New Orleans

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1993 Petra, Jordan

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1994 The Trans-Siberian Railroad

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1995 Guilin, China

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1996 Washington, D.C

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1997 Sequoia National Park

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1998 University of Chicago, Hyde Park, Chicago

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1999 Perito Moreno, Argentina

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2000 The Isle of Lewis, Scotland

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2001 New York City

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2002 Port Lligat (Salvador Dali's home), Spain

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2003 San Francisco

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2004 Lake Crescent Lodge, near Olympic National Park, Washington State

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2005 Emilio Ruiz Benton