1) The critics say the only original thing about Disturbia is its name, but I venture to say that this movie doesn't need to be original or twisty to be entertaining. Hundreds of moviegoers aren't wrong this time. I got free sneak preview tickets last Thursday and dragged Cade for some spooky movie handholding action. The teen characters definitely fit types, but I think Shia LaBeouf is a great actor. I also jumped so much during one scene that I pulled an abdominal muscle.

2) I've spent recent weeks reading juvenile fiction, because I started writing a YA book of my own last year and abandoned it. I just got stuck, and hadn't made up my mind about the best way to use the narrator. I've read Speak, Sold, Love that Dog, and The Hundred Dresses to get a feel for different ways to tell a story.

3) The Don Imus media blitz makes me think a lot about freedom of speech and that saying about rightfully swinging my fist until my neighbor's nose. It also reminds me of times when I have been called racist, images I see everyday, and one very loud altercation I had with a guy in college. I'll be blogging more about that later.

4) Something special happened to me last week. It probably wouldn't mean much to those of you who can dance to a beat or run and dribble a basketball at the same time. To me, though, it was special. One of my co-workers saw me shooting hoops during indoor recess in the gym. He complimented me on my form, which is usually done by Dominican men on the street. Later that day, he added this on to a staff-wide email string about a student vs. staff basketball game (my co-worker Dan had just proclaimed himself "one heck of a sixth man"): "YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME BEATING AMANDA OUT - I SAW HER SHOOT AROUND TODAY AT RECESS AND ALL I CAN SAY BROTHER DANIEL IS YOU WILL BE ONE HECK OF A SEVENTH MAN."

He then proceeded to tell me I've got game. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm totally eating it up.

I'VE GOT GAME!