I actually watched Blood Diamond a second time. I think Leo might be edging out Kevin in my Favorites list.

I read several dozen essays on Of Mice and Men and they were generally very good. I am sustained. There were, however, way too many errors with commas. Why is comma use so hard for middle schoolers? Not to mention spelling the word disappointment. We will watch the version by Gary Sinise with John Malkovich next week. I wish we could watch Being John Malkovich but I'm afraid that's a little too much for these youngsters. I love that movie, along with Adaptation. Neither of which I flipped over when I first saw them. But years later, oh man. I am a fan.

Now we're on to To Kill a Mockingbird. I read this book and saw the movie later in life than most. I enjoy the book a lot, but some of the details within can be a little draggy. I have enjoyed watching the depictions of Harper Lee in the two recent Truman Capote biographies. Katherine Keener or Sandra Bullock? I really liked both the movies, preferring the storytelling of the second.

I loved Sandra Bullock in Hope Floats, a movie which only gets two stars on my Tivo. I thought Harry Connick was quite appealing, as was Ms. B.

Anyway, grading all those essays and planning the week in TKM and getting ready for tomorrow took me all day today. I appear to need a three-day weekend every week, just to get prepared for four days. That doesn't seem like a good sign to me. It certainly takes the starch out of Presidents Day.