Hi sKool musiKal

Went home to Reno to visit the family homestead and ended up getting stranded by high winds and a big storm that canceled all flights in and out of the Reno/Tahoe airport. Couldn't get a flight back to Oakland until Thursday, so I find my Christmas vacation forcefully extended.What's a guy to do when the weather is bizarre (60 mph winds, rain, snow, an out-of-control brush fire)? Why, watch High School Musical, of course. I know I'm the last person in the known universe to see this thing -- the most popular thing ever committed on film, ever, EVER -- so I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. It is a musical, after all, and musicals, well, they're not my life, but pretty darn close.And I must say, I was completely charmed by the show. I don't think I'll ever be a huge fan of the songs, but it all works together as a package. I actually cared about Troy and Gabriella and their attempt to be multi-faceted teenagers.If I were a tween (and I actually am a tween at heart), I'd have flipped for this 21st-century Grease rip-off -- actually it rips off Grease and my favorite bad movie of all time, Grease 2 because in that one there's a big school myew-zi-kall, as the HSM drama teacher calls it.My favorite line was uttered by Sharpay: "We're dealing with people who don't know the difference between a Tony Award and Tony Hawk." That's why I love drama kids: they know what a Tony Award is and they know who Tony Hawk is.