What do I get him for Christmas?!

By Rhiannon Miller

It’s that wonderful time of year again, full of love and happiness. But I have no idea what to get my boyfriend for Christmas! Sure, I’ve had a few ideas, but nothing great. So, where do I go to find inspiration? Lucky for me, someone had my same problem and realized a way to solve it, not only for himself, but for millions of others. Gifts.com® is a place to find gifts of all prices for all people. I simply log on to the website and take the personality quiz located on the left side of the page. This handy shopping helper narrows down my search starting with gender, to age, hobbies, and weekend activities all while using clever personality types such as the gadget guru, the travel enthusiast, the music lover etc. The web site then puts together a list of possible purchases. But sometimes I don’t know which gift my friend would like more. In such instances, I simply purchase a gifts.com gift certificate and presto! Once my friend receives the certificate they can pick out their own gift. Now, what about those people who don’t know what give to me? Wishpot.com™ is another cleverly put together website. By logging on and signing up (which takes only a few minutes) I can create a personalized list that can be viewed by all of my family and friends. Making my list is so easy. After creating my free account, I drag the “wishpot button” to my tool bar, which allows me to add items I find online by simply clicking and dragging the item to the button (just like dragging an item to the trashcan on your Mac). These creative websites make holiday gift shopping quick and easy. Log on to the Internet and see for yourself. I’m sure your holiday shopping will never be the same.

Is Simplicity Better than Over the Top?

Is Simplicity Better than Over the Top?
By Rhiannon Miller


What makes a great movie? Is it the graphics? The actors? The plot? The location? I like to believe everyone has their own idea. In other words, to each his own. However, is there a perfect formula to making a movie that everyone loves? For instance, is there such a movie that possess wonderful eye pleasing visuals, top-notch actors, and a story line so great it evokes every known type of feeling within its viewer? Is this possible? Perhaps it doesn’t take much to make an amazing movie. Maybe simplicity is key. Making a great movie could be as easy as walking into a middle school classroom and letting the camera roll. Laurent Cantet based the film Entre Les Mur’s (the classroom), which took the Palme d’Or (the most supreme award) at the annual Festival de Cannes in 2008, on this idea.

Who would have thought that watching a classroom of kids could be so interesting?! Honestly, it wasn’t. If you’re a kid who has attended one of Racine’s public middle schools, chances are you have experienced much of what the movie shows: rowdy kids, poor administration, and a poor learning environment. For those of you who have not , a.k.a. “Prairie Lifers”, this movie may interest you if only for the sake of seeing the experience in middle schools maintaining low incomes. However, there is more to the movie than just what the title suggests. It takes you into the life of its each characters and gets to the bottom of their actions. If that’s not enough for you, at least watch it for its amazing documentary style filming. What I found especially intriguing was the script--the fact that there isn’t one! All the students’ lines are spontaneous. The way it works is rather ingenious. The school is in fact an average school and the students are actual students. The director would speak to the students, explain the scenario, offered words and suggestions and boom! It was filmed. The one exception was the teacher, who was an actor and had more input from the director of what to say. If you want to know more, the DVD includes a “behind the scenes” section where you can learn all about the process for filming. Although the movie is French, it has subtitles and is available at your local Blockbuster. I encourage you to see for yourself what it takes to make a great, award- winning movie. You may be surprised.

More information at Rotten Tomatoes