Dining Out Christmas Party

Saturday there were 14 present when our Dining Out group enjoyed a pot luck dinner Christmas party at our Whitehall clubhouse. Richard Slocum brought a turkey with dressing. A fun time was had by all.
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Two Movies - VALKYRIE and SEVEN POUNDS

This week we attended the pre-screening of two movies. The first one, Valkyrie, is based on the true story about an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. I felt it was quite engaging with plenty of suspense. Anyone who didn't know the attempt failed would probably find it more gripping. Tom Cruise did a good job and the supporting actors were even better. I recommend this film to anyone but I doubt it will be in contention for the best of the year.
The next night we went to Seven Pounds staring Will Smith. I enjoyed this movie and recommend it even though the plot is implausible and many of the situations were unrealistic. I was quite confused as the story went along but still found it interesting. It seemed to get favorable reaction from many other moviegoers. I can't imagine this film receiving many favorable reviews.

Biggest Full Moon of the Year

Last night, as we enjoyed our pepperoni pizza over on Ocean Boulevard, we watched the rising of the largest full moon of the year. We didn't really see it come out of the ocean since there was the usual low cloud bank. Later, we had a delightful walk with window shopping on Worth Avenue.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamine Button is a movie I highly recommend. It's based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) who ages in reverse. It documents his life from his birth as an 80+ year old. Daisy (Cate Blanchett) passes through his life going the normal way. The age progression of the actors is done incredibly well. It's a long movie and just a bit slow in places. We attended the prescreening Wednesday evening at Muvico. At the end, the audience applauded and I wept. Expect Oscar nominations on this one.
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To see my comments on other movies, type movie in the search box at the top of this page.

Sunday

Last night we had our Palm Beach Pack and Paddle Club holiday party. (photo above)

And this morning we volunteered for the Marathon of the Palm Beaches at the water station sponsored by Obama for President volunteers. (photos on left) - - - - See Video

Thursday

Yesterday evening we attended the dress rehearsal of Leading Ladies at the Lake Worth Playhouse. It is a farce -- not my favorite type of play but well done, as always, by the L. W. players and our friend, Freda Kratka. Earlier in the evening we were hosted by Al Barash for supper and then attended a historical lecture.

ELf Dances

Check out this Dance and This One,

Thanksgiving

What a spread we had today. Sandra and Pete Holmes hosted us among the twenty or so for Thanksgiving dinner today. "The Vittles we et were good. You bet! The company was the same. And we both had a real good time."

Australia

Australia is an epic film -- the biggest of the year. We viewed a prescreening last night at Muvico. I recommend it but there were others this year I liked better. I thought they tried to do too much. The tribal magic man, King George, was a bit too hokey and the frequent coincidences bothered me. I felt the situations and performances were often unrealistic. I tend to be too critical. Jane, on the other hand, allowing for greater cinematic license than I, loved it. See it and be entertained. To view my comments on other films, type in "movie" in the search box above.

Dining Out

Twelve of us dined out last night at Havana.

Election Delight

In case anyone has a doubt, the Holdens couldn't be more delighted with the election results. This goes a long way toward redressing those woes and disappointments of the eight long years just passed.

Beautful Day for a Walk

We had 15 walkers this morning on a beautiful, cool and breezy day. We walked over the middle bridge and returned on the north bridge after breakfast at TooJays.
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Space Shuttle Launch

Yesterday we drove up to Merritt Island and stayed overnight with Steve & Carol and watched the night launch of space shuttle Endeavor.
This evening our Frugal Dining Out Group went to an over-crowded CityPlace with many thousands of other people. We had no idea there would be such a crowd.
Liftoff - CityPalace Crowd (Falling snow visable)

Obama Campaign Closure Party

A party for Josh Phillips (pictured here), the local organizer for the Obama campaign, was tonight.

497 images from Obama campaign

Obama Headlines & Buttons

Bak Middle School of the Arts

The Bak Middle School of the Arts music department tonight presented their jazz band, chorale, string orchestra, and concert band. They thrilled us and restored our optimism for our cultural future. We've never been disappointed with a performance there.

There's Always Something Going On.

Last night we attended a fascinating lecture at the P.B. County Historical Society about the construction of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Sunday we attended the Veterans Day parade on Clematis Street. It was a disappointment -- very noisy and sloppily put together.
Saturday we enjoyed tours of The Dreyfoos School of the Arts as part of the "School on the hill" 100th anniversary.

George Hamilton / Madagascar

Yesterday Jane attended a talk by George Hamilton at The Society of the Four Arts. She said she greatly enjoyed it. Here's a picture she took:

Last night we attended a special screening of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa at Muvico. It isn't an important film but we enjoyed it.

Yes, We Did!

From "Yes, We Can!" to "Yes, We Did!" We're ecstatic and couldn't be happier. It's been an eight-year wait. Here's a video a I made at the post election party. Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3

114th Birthday of West Palm Beach

This afternoon at the library we attended the 114th birthday party of the City of West Palm Beach.

There was this barbershop quartet.

Halloween

Marty and Emily Minor hosted a Halloween party last night. The hockey mama is Margie Yansura.