Overall, it has been a busy day. It was warm yesterday (in the upper 50s) with rain, but today is cold and windy with temperatures in the 30s. Kiff has jazz band tonight. Emmie is making meat loaf. Bri is doing work upstairs. We watched Carl Azuz in class to learn about Leap Day as well.
All and all, a decent leap day. And the image above is the official Google Doodle for today.
Today, Kiff kept up his pursuit of watching a lot of interesting movies by encouraging me to see Zone of Interest. Although the movie itself was in subtitles - something I am definitely not fond of seeing - I have to admit I was taken by the movie.
The movie itself is based on a fictionalized account of a commandant at a concentration camp in Germany during WWII. The director updated it to be a real account of the commandant of one of the worst camps in Germany. It highlighted how the commander tried to keep his family separated from the harsh realities of what was going on in the camp...and how the family dealt with it.
Despite being in German (some of which I was able to understand), the movie was powerful, gripping, and moving. The visual effects symbolized the evil that occurred at the camp while also masking it from the audience purposefully...similar to what was happening to those who lived near it. The sounds - and distant sites - helped evoke a powerful image of the war and the people who perpetrated the atrocities at the camp.
It is definitely one of those movies that will stick with you!
Today, Emmie, Bri, Kiff, and I went to see Annie at the Boch Center in Boston. Now, truth be told, Emmie was really into seeing this. Bri and I were interested (though I have seen and taken part an Annie enough that, before going, I was okay if I didn't see it again). Kiff was a slightly more reluctant participant.
However, once we arrived we realized we were in for quite a show. First, the people working in the place were very, very, very much about herding us in the right direction when we entered. It was slightly off-putting at first because it was so over-the-top...but we quickly got past it.
Emmie got us some good tix close to the stage. It was quite a view. And, it turned out to be quite a show. Great singing and acting from the kids (and Sandy a real dog), as well as the adults. Their were little nuances added to this show to update it slightly. For example, Ms. Hannigan says "next thing you know, Annie's gonna be in the comics" which subtle irony I don't remember hearing in the original. There were definitely a few such scenes (such as the radio scene where they sign "You're Never Fully Dressed).
Overall, it was amazing. I realized why Emmie was so connected to the musical. She remembers seeing it with her Mom in the movies...and her Mom made a big deal about it. So much so that Emmie wanted to make sure Kiff had a souvenir Sandy and Bri had a souvenir Annie from it.
It was a fantastic show...even if Bri and I had to fight the crowd to get back in and get her jacket, which she left behind. It was definitely one of the best musicals I have seen. In fact, I could feel my Dad shining down watching it. He would have loved it.
Once again, one of my favorite pseudo-holidays came upon us today. It was Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. And, as with recent years, this year we decided to partake in the event.
Now, today's day was a little bit different all around. First, it was mainly me looking for the ice cream for breakfast. Emmie was holding the fort at home helping Bri get ready for her first winter guard competition (she had to be a DHS by 7:30 AM). And Kiff was out cold - he's been battling a bug.
So, once I dropped Bri off, I decided to see what type of ice cream I could get for all of us. I first ventured to Putnam Pantry. They've taken part in Ice Cream for Breakfast the past few years, so I wanted to see what it was like. And it opens earlier than Cherry Hill, our normal ICFB stop. But, as luck would have it, Putnam Pantry was packed. People were even parking in the back side grass lot...which I never knew existed until today.
Alas, I headed to Cherry Hill...which I thought might have a bit of a line, even though it was before its starting time of 8:30. But, the Big Guy was looking out for me and He made sure that there was not too much of a crowd waiting when I got there. Cherry Hill actually opened up early and I was in the shorted line I've ever been there.
Of course, I got the maple and bacon. Everyone else got the donuts and cream. I had a little bit of my ice cream, but saved it for later. After all, we needed to have some real food to get ready for the competition later.
Color Guard Season - Winter Style - go started in grand fashion with Bri's first competition in Salem, MA. Technically, it is the "preseason" show, where they are given an initial evaluation to build upon.
This year's show is focusing on a vampire love story theme. Watching the initial run through proved that this year's show is going to be great. And, it will not has as many props as last year.
Emmie and I - along with several other parents - helped out with this show. It went well overall. And it should be interesting to see what the rest of the season has in store.
