Best of the summer

Since Labor Day is sort of the unofficial end of summer, I guess it's time for another best of the season rundown.

Frozen Treats
I am a frozen treat connoisseur. I can and will eat ice cream every night. Soft serve, hard serve, custard, frozen yogurt, frozen novelties -- it doesn't matter. But this summer, my one true love has been Texas creamery Blue Bell's "Pecan Pralines 'N Cream." It's unbelievable, so, of course, it's expensive. A half gallon can be $6.75 or higher, but I can usually hold out until it goes on sale. If you're lucky enough to have your local grocer stock this (I don't think they distribute nationwide, yet), do yourself a favor and get some.

Summer Movie
I really thought that this summer's big movie for me was going to be "Up." Again, it got great reviews from the Pixar-loving press, but it was a big disappointment. It felt like a little too much, like Pixar has this formula to combine childlike wonder with emotional, sentimental adult themes and they just plug in different characters and cool animation around that. "Up" was missing that special something else. Maybe it was hurt by coming after "Wall-E," which I thought was their best work yet, but they lost me at the beginning of the film when the cartoon couple visits the OB/GYN to learn the wife is unable to have children. That was a little too heavy, then the dogs started talking.
Anyway, my favorite summer movie -- although I'll admit we haven't seen many -- was "The Hangover." It was hilarious. Plus, it was a nice change to see a big comedy that doesn't star all the usual suspects, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, et al.

Best Rented Television Series
We have to wait to watch all the good television shows until they're released on DVD. This summer, my favorite discovery (and antidote to my wife's super-intense "In Treatment" marathons) was the six-episode first season of the HBO comedy, "Eastbound and Down." It stars Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a bad boy professional baseball player who gets thrown out of the league and is forced to return to his hometown as a substitute gym teacher. It's sick and dirty, and I love it. Season 2 is supposed to be out in January. Be careful watching these clips:



Best Love It/Hate It Book
I've never read a book about vampires before. I've never read a book written by two authors before. I certainly never thought I'd read a book co-authored by a guy named "Chuck Hogan." It just sounds so tough and crappy. But I decided to read "The Strain" because of the other co-author, the great Mexican filmmaker, Guillermo del Toro. I loved "Pan's Labyrinth," even the Hell Boy movies, so I thought I'd give it a shot.
I liked that it actually scared me and grossed me out. I didn't like that some of the writing made me cringe for reasons other than fear. I'll chalk it up to having been written by two authors, one of which is named "Chuck Hogan," but overall, this story about zombie-like vampires spreading like a virus across New York City, does what it's supposed to do.

Best Swedish New Wave Funk
I love Little Dragon. The Swedish group just released their second CD, "Machine Dreams," and I love the big single, "Feather."
Here's an awesome clip of them doing it live with some even more awesome Swedish commercials first:



Best American Moment
I hate that Michael Jackson had to die to make it happen, but it was nice seeing everyone get excited about his work again. I even discovered some new favorites, including "We're Almost There," from his 1975 Motown solo album, "Forever, Michael."

Best ESL Teaching Moments
My Tuesday night ESL class provides lots of great moments, most of them either hilarious or emotionally moving. Two of the best moments came on the same night this summer. First, one of my students, a middle-aged woman from Mexico, came in to class so proud to tell me that she successfully served as a translator for her pregnant friend during a doctor's appointment. It warmed my cold, cold heart.
Then, later that night during our lesson on health symptoms, my young Polish student offered "rainy nose" as one of the symptoms of a cold. We all laughed at her until she ran out of the room in tears, vowing never to speak English again.

Best Summer Vacation Moment
We didn't really go on vacation this summer, but we did visit my parents for Father's Day and they took us to beautiful Macon, Ga., to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. There were some cool little artifacts there, not including the Billy Ray Cyrus platinum record awards for "Some Gave All," but the best thing was seeing this crummy little machine which was used to record James Brown's "Please, Please, Please."