"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"

A few days before Christmas, I finally saw the play "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians." I say "finally" because I had wanted to see this play for five years. The play is based on a 1964 movie of the same name. However, the movie's ratings have been terrible. (For example, a 2.3 out of 10 on IMDB.)

Why did I want to see a play based on a terrible movie? Because my friend Nick was in it! For the past 5 years, Nick McGee has been performing in "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" at the Maverick Theater in Fullerton. I'm not sure about previous years, but this year Nick was St. Nick himself!

Here's a picture of Nick. When I was looking at pictures and promotional material from the play, I had a hard time recognizing Nick in his Santa suit.


The Maverick is a community theater, and it's got that cozy, hometown feel. This picture was taken during intermission. On the left is the Martians' robot, Torg. People were lining up to have their picture taken with him.


Mark and Torg. Mark remembers watching the movie every Christmas when he was younger.

From Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Mark, I, and the cast. Instead of trying to figure out who each person is, consider seeing the play in person during Christmas 2011! (Quick tip: Buy tickets early, and arrive early and sit in one of the two front rows.)

By the way, Mark and I both really enjoyed the play. It's good family fun. And, as Nick told me, they've had over 40 years to improve upon the original!

Everyone, I hope that this new year is good for you!

Geoff

A visit to a Montessori school

Have you ever heard of a Montessori school? It's a type of preschool that uses "the Montessori method." I don't know enough about preschools to compare Montessori and traditional schools, but my understanding is that Montessori schools focus on "self-directed learning."

My second-cousin Brandon attends a Montessori school. Recently they had a "Special Friends' Day," so Mark and I went to visit.


Ah, the preschool circle. It's clear who the head teacher is. Brandon's in the bottom-right.





Mark and Brandon. Mark seemed right at home in the classroom. (He's been a special-education teacher for years.)








Brandon can already read very well for his age. *Very* well.






I got only one good picture of Brandon smiling. The rest of the time, he seemed a bit standoffish. Maybe that's because we arrived at school thirty minutes late . . . (It was my fault, or Google Maps'.)






Apparently each child has classroom chores–Brandon is supposed to "check aprons." They do that in Japan, too, except it's all the way through high school. They should totally do that in the U.S.






I just like this picture.










Brandon shows Mark a toy for learning about smells.







They had a lot of interesting toys and tools in the classroom. I kept trying to remember if, or when, I had those in school.

From Brandon's school

Back to the circle! I'm not sure if you can tell, but the head teacher was really good. Totally in control.






It was a privilege to visit the Montessori school and to see Brandon in a peer environment.

Actually, I had always wanted to see what a Montessori school is like. Have you ever heard of a guy named Will Wright? Will is the creator of two very creative computer games: "Sim City" and "The Sims." And, yes, he went to a Montessori school.