For those of you who have lived under a rock in the bottom of the Atlantic (no pun intended) and do not know what the Titanic is, it's a huge cruise ship that was thought to be unsinkable, but hit an iceberg and sank just a few hundred miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The incident occured on the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The ship sank on April 15, 1912, and 1, 517 of the over 2, 200 people on board were killed. The story of the Titanic is considered one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history.

Anyways, the actual boat/sinking is not the subject that I was referring to, exactly. In 1997, there was a fictional movie released based on the story of the Titanic. Written and directed by James Cameron (who, yes, also directed Avatar), the film starred Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. (Just to let you know, I have full intentions of becoming Mrs. DiCaprio someday; that man is a smokeshow). The movie was about a fictitious woman, Rose DeWitt Bukater, who came from a high social class, and was forbidden to associate with, much less be in a relationship with, commoner Jack Dawson (DeCaprio)  who won his ticket onto the Titanic in a game of poker. The two fall in love, defying Rose's mother and fiance, and are torn apart as quickly as they were brought together when the ship sinks. The film is told from the perspective of Rose, as an old woman, having survived the disaster, and she recounts the events right from boarding the ship, to the famous, "I'll never let go, Jack."

The film has amazing special effects and ocean scenery considering it premiered almost fifteen years ago. It quickly became one of the top grossing movies of all time (I'm talking 1.8 BILLION dollars here) as well as one of the most beloved. I fell in love with the movie the very first time I watched it when I was seven years old, and have watched it countless times since then. 

This April 15 will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and in honour of this occasion, the movie is being re-released in IMAX and 3D. This essentially means that the already amazing visuals will now be absoloutely mind-blowing. I, for one, could not be more excited. While some argue that it is pointless to go see a movie you've already seen, I feel this is a movie that is different every time you watch it.  There's always something new you notice that makes it just slightly better than the last time. 

The movie is being released in theatres on April 4, 2012, and I will be making a special trip to the closest theatre (a five-hour drive away, thank you very much) to see it during opening week.

If you have been deprived of this necessity of life, I highly suggest you go see it. Even though it's nearly 3.5 hours long, it's well worth it, I assure you :) 

Lisa Simpson is a clever, intelligent,passionate and independent young girl, who somehow managed to rise above her dysfunctional family environment to do great things. At the tender age of 8 she is already a member of MENSA with an IQ of 159. She plays the saxophone, reads college level material, and always stays true to her beliefs.
She also speaks Italian, and Swedish. Pretty sweet, right?

Now you may be wondering why a fictional character should be role model of the month. Lisa Simpson may be exceptional, but she is still fictional. She’s a figment of Matt Groening’s imagination.  It is easy for her to overcome her obstacles. This is true.

However, Lisa Simpson is still a classic example of “girl power.” She teaches young women to be true to their beliefs by her dedicated environmentalism. She demonstrates that it’s okay for girls to be smart. By overcoming the obstacles of belonging to the Simpson family, she shows that it’s possible to overcome adversity.

Lisa is not confined by the show The Simpsons. If I remember correctly, I once read a book that mentioned how Lisa has had a real world impact. Her passion for music on the screen has translated into a greater passion for music among young people. The number of female saxophone players has increased, and many of these girls credit their interest in music to Lisa She is often featured within the show jamming with famous musicians.

Of course none of us can be expected to play with top jazz musicians before we turn 10 or join Mensa before we graduate elementary school. In many respects Lisa Simpson is an exaggeration. A character. But she is an inspiring one who provides someone to whom young girls can look up. In our current culture that focuses on women’s appearance, a smart and sassy young girl is a welcome alternative to the usual TV line up. What do you think?

- Helen

Here on the Patrol site, we've been posting reviews of quite a few YA novels through the GGC book club. HarperCollins Canada has been great in providing us with books every month that "appeal" to a "teen" audience.

But what does that mean? That these books don't appeal to an adult audience? 'Cause quite a few of them have been read and thoroughly enjoyed by adults here at the GGC national office. Does it mean that teens don't want to read books for adults? Well, we all know that isn't true at all!

Over at the Grid, they raise the question, "What's the point of YA fiction?" and highlight a great new book (that you just might be seeing here very soon!) What do you think of YA fiction? Do you find the label useful or condescending? Does having the label mean that books for teens aren't as "good" as books for adults? Does YA fiction "appeal" to you? How do you decide what books to read and what books not to read?

For the last month I’ve been reading the entire Harry Potter series again. You probably know how well these books have done since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997. J.K. Rowling is a name known across the world as the famous author who wrote one of the most successful children’s book series of our generation. But good old J.K. wasn’t always so lucky. As part of my grade 12 English exam, I read Rowling’s commencement address to Harvard University’s class of 2008. In her speech Rowling discusses the failure she experienced after graduating from university. She had a very short marriage, and was living in poverty with her young daughter. Failure, Rowling’s biggest fear, had been realized.

Evidently Rowling was able to get back on her broomstick and soar to great heights, but it was failure that allowed her to do this. She learned from her failure – learned that she was disciplined and had a strong will, and she poured these qualities into her work. As she had already failed terribly, Rowling was no longer afraid of failing. She worked hard, and even though she was at first met with rejection, the story of Harry Potter finally found its way into the hands of children. You don’t need a Time Turner to see how things turned out. Now one of the richest women in the world, success and J.K. Rowling are pretty much synonymous. It is not Rowling’s monetary success that makes her a September WotM, but her ability to overcome  and learn from failure.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

-J.K. Rowling