Light The Cauldron

Whiplash

Release Date: October 15, 2014

Who was in that one again? Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser

I can't remember the plot. A really good jazz drummer attends a conservatory and gets pulled into the top shelf jazz group with a conductor that will do anything to weed out the weak and bring out the best in the strong.

The review: I have to admit, I was really riding the emotional train on this movie. You hate Terrence Fletcher from the very first minute of the movie, and your hatred grows even more, and then you kind of understand him, but then you hate him, and then you find out he was lying when you had that moment of "understanding him," and then you're pleased because he got what he deserved, and then you think you understand him better than the first time, and then you HATE HIM WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, and then you actually do understand him. And then the movie's done.

That's pretty much the mindset of Andrew Niemann, the hotshot drummer played by Teller,…

This is a post for all you teachers.

We routinely have children that come and complain to us about things. Some things are understandable, and are dealt with accordingly. Some are ridiculous. ("She's looking at me weird!")

When those ridiculous complaints come to us, we might calmly mention that it's not a big deal and we'll keep our eye on it. If they don't stop, then we might have to resort to telling them "You can just let it go."

Or at least we used to be able to say that.

Thanks to that song from Frozen, a teacher's go-to phrase has now turned into an invitation for children to sing. As a music teacher I should be thrilled, but these random bursts of song usually come when other children are in a grumpy mood and just don't want to hear it.

Child can't get over a call made in four square.

Teacher: "Just let it go!"

Other children: "Let it gooooo, let it gooooo! Can't hold it back anymooooooore!"

Child gets in …

I am not doing an NCAA tournament bracket this year.

This might be the first time in 20 years that I haven't filled out a bracket - I've been filling them out since I was in the middle grades. Most of the time, my pick was Michigan, which meant they always disappointed me even more than usual.

But this year, after an entire season of not following college basketball, I decided that it wasn't worth it to make a bracket this year. I have a few reasons why.

I have no vested interest in any of the teams.

Michigan didn't make the cut. I can't name any players on any other team. All I know is that Kentucky is undefeated and Wisconsin is the Big Ten's hope of taking the championship.

Too much knowledge has failed me in the past, but this year a lack of knowledge is just making me care less.

It will allow me to enjoy the games more.

When it came to a close game in the opening rounds, I was usually on pins and needles, wondering if the team I picked would win. Now I will …

I have reached the point in my life where high school was over 10 years ago. I now look at the high schoolers around me and can't believe that I did stuff that they are currently doing. I think, "Those whippersnappers!" but then realize that I did a lot of those same things.

So today I wrack my brain and think of some of my best memories of high school at Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, Michigan. Because why not?

High school began with Basketball.

Before I even set foot in an academic area of the school, I spent two weeks playing basketball. At that time, the state of Michigan had girls' basketball in the fall with boys' football, and volleyball was in the winter. I liked this a lot - acually, I still do - because girls' basketball didn't get overshadowed by boys' basketball.

I didn't make the team, but I volunteered to serve as the manager of the team. I wasn't too sure why I thought to volunteer, but I think it was from someone telling…