Broken Flowers and Outdoor Learning
It's been longer than I wanted since my last post. Therefore I will give more bang for the buck. Two posts in one!

Outdoor learning
We had a parents night at Emy's pre-school - Dodge Nature Preschool which has to be one of the most remarkable environments for a preschool ever conceived. OK, there is a classroom environment, but it is open with ample floorspace, an indoor treehouse, lots of windows, and animals - Miss Chick (a chicken), Moe Pumpkin (a guinea pig), and Rocky (painted turtle?). There is a kitchen for cooking snacks, two sinks, a bathroom, dress up clothes, a couch for reading. She will have three teachers for 16 kids. One male, two female. When they aren't inside, the play outside (~50% of the 2.75 hours for each of the two days a week) in an expansive playground, hiking the trails through the nature center, visiting the working farm (hunting for eggs in the hay, learning how to milk cows and goats, collecting maple tree syrup), walking the boardwalk across the wetlands and ponds, gardening, and learning from both their teachers and two full-time naturalists about the animals, plants and bugs all around them. The goal of the school is to teach the kids to be environmental stewards from an early age. I sure would have loved this kids of school at Emy's age. If you're curious, check out the link above.

I should add that despite all the fun in and out, when asked, so far Emy's favorite thing she discovered when she had a "meet your teachers" event was the plastic, single strap, purple and pink high heeled shoes that were two sizes two big. However, she did really want to wear them outside for a hike :-)

Special thanks to Bree's parents, who generously pay for Emy's preschool costs, without which Emy would be stuck at home!

Broken Flowers and Bill Murray in general
After Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation, Coffee & Cigarettes (short skit, but very funny - RZA & GZA from Wu Tang Clan are served at a table by Bill Murray, who is "incognito") and now Broken Flowers, I have come to the conclusion that while he may be in danger of becoming typecast, he really, really rocks at the midlife-crisis, worn out, has-been swinger guy. Gone is the total smart-ass smirk and slurred speech from Carl in caddyshack, and well, every character he's played from the beginning up until Ed Wood, in which his transformation apparently began (I haven't seen it, despite also being a big Depp fan).

So, on to Broken Flowers - this movie perhaps takes the cake for his now bread-and-butter character. I laughed and giggled through most of the film, which means I am either nearing my own midlife crisis, or that it is just plain good. The film is directed by Jim Jarmusch, which generally means it might have some slow points, and feel more like a succession of short skits, but will ultimately be quite good. Dead Man is an important exception, and now also Broken Flowers - there is a linear plot with at least two constant characters.

In this film, Bill plays Don Johnston, an "over the hill don Juan". He gets tired of the Don Juan reference, and also the plays on his name. His Nigerian neighbor buddy, Winston, played by Jeffrey Wright (of Basquiat), who lives the opposite lifestyle with a family of five kids and "the perfect wife", helps Don in a quest to find out if an anonymous letter from an old flame contains the truth - that he fathered a son 19 years earlier. The story unfolds as Don travels the country visiting old flames in search of pink paper and a typewriter, often wanting to give up the search and telling Winston he's coming home, but ultimately seeking the truth. I won't reveal the whole story, but you owe it to yourself to find out.

I'll leave you with my favorite line "Couldn't you have rented me something I might actually drive? I'm a stalker in a Taurus!"