"Over The River And Through The Woods ..."

To Pete and Sandra's home we went

Click to enlarge.

City Walk

Ten of us enjoyed walking in the Flamingo Park Neighborhood this morning.

Wizards, Wands, Elves, And Magic

It may be my cognitive impairment, but the plot or storyline, if it had one, was lost on me. That didn't matter much though as Jane and I, this morning, viewed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. It is engaging cinema because of the wonderful sets, characters and unrealistic, imaginative fantasy. I found it compelling on several levels. The charming life-like, digital elves were my favorite characters. The fast moving action and quick cuts left little time to savor the detailed sets and many varied landscapes.
We thought it might be too violent and scary for young children, but perhaps today's children are more sophisticated at a tender age than I was. I recommend this movie for nearly everyone. My only complaint is, as always, the overly loud sound.
Of the wands, elves, wizards and magic ... I'll have one wand, if you please.

Dining Out

Friday evening fifteen of us enjoyed the private room arranged by Richard Slocum at Bellante's Pizza Buffet.

Concert Season Starting Strong

Tuesday evening we were thrilled by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra and violinist, Jennifer Koh. We've heard very many symphony concerts at the Kravis over the years and this was equal to the best.
Wednesday evening we heard for our first time the Florida Sunshine Pops in concert at Eissey Theatre. We'll make it a point to usher for them again.

Sunday's Daily Dozen

Jane and I had our morning walk on Singer Island where the surf was up and the bluefish were running.

Mid-term Election Blues

I'm depressed because of the disappointing mid term election results. I understand how our few misinformed conservative friends felt two years ago. Anyway, it isn't the end of the world. Progress is slowed only for a time.

Movie - "Due Date"

Last night Jane and I went to Muvico to view a pre screening of the movie, Due Date, about the misadventures of two incompatible men played by Robert Downey Jr. and Peter Galifianakis on a road trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles. The acting was good and there was applause at the end so, obviously, many liked it. We found it crude, rude, lewd, and generally disgusting. We could hardly wait for this road trip to be over. The story was stupid and exemplifies the downward spiral of civility that we both bemoan. Don't waste your time on this one.

Boo! On Clematis Street

Last night we again observed the the craziness on Clematis Street. And again I forgot my earplugs -- a very big mistake. It is dangerously loud.
(You may click on these pictures.)

Click here for pictures from Halloween 2009

Dining Out

We had sixteen for dining out at Cracker Barrel.

Band Concerts

In our new volunteer ushering job at the Eissey Theater we enjoyed two fine bands. Sunday was the excellent Army Field Band from Washington and on Saturday was the Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches. I was pleasantly surprised at how much our local band has improved over the forty-plus years since I played french horn with them. It was a first-class most enjoyable concert.

Jane Out Of Hospital

Jane's back home after a three-night stay in the hospital. She had a cardiac catheter ablation for her atrial fibrillation. We were surprised by complications and a lengthier stay than expected. Last night we attended a performance of Guys and Dolls at the Lake Worth Playhouse. It was well done and enjoyable. Jane, having just been released from the hospital, didn't feel like going but she went anyway. She's feeling a little better today.

Movie - Hereafter

Last night Jane and I attended a prerelease screening at Muvico of Hereafter. I liked it for the superb acting and even more for Clint Eastwood's directing. I went in skeptical about what was inevitably the hokey subject of a psychic communicating with the dead. Yet, it was engaging and entertaining. I seem to be inexplicably prejudiced against Matt Damon but, surprisingly, I even liked Matt -- maybe because he didn't have a very demanding role. I won't call it a "must see" but I think most people would enjoy this movie. If you see it, tell me how they filmed the extremely impressive tsunami near the beginning.

City Walk

Eleven of us enjoyed a delightful Sunday morning walk along Lake Trail from Royal Poinciana Plaza to the Sailfish Club where we shuttled back to TooJays for breakfast.

Cuban Music

Tonight we volunteered at Eissey Theater and enjoyed "A Night In Havana" by Angel Roque's Piano and his Orchestra.

New Wheels Aquired

This morning we retired our old faithful but long-in-the-tooth Dodge Caravan (2000) with 147,000 miles on it and adopted a new Dodge (2010) with only 11,000 miles on it. I'm hoping we can now travel without worrying about breakdowns.

Last night we went to a prescreening of Red. It has a bunch of big stars I like but I can't recommend it to anyone except the fans of explosions and nonstop gunfire. It could have been funny as intended if I had remembered to take my earplugs. It had more explosions and crashes than Sweeney Todd had blood.

AARP Convention

Jane and I along with 24,000 others attended the AARP convention in Orlando Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This was our third convention. The two previous were Orlando 2000 and San Antonio 1992. It's really quite a big deal -- so much to see and do. A big frustration is being able to attend but a few of the programs since so many are on simultaneously. A few of the speakers we squeezed in were: Governor Charlie Crist, Dave Barry, Jane Pauley, Marlo Thomas, James Carville & Mary Matalin, Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Larry King, Olympia Dukakis, among many others. The movies we saw were Waiting For Superman, Flipped, Secretariat, and Nowhere Boy (A chronicle of John Lennon's childhood).

Mao's Last Dancer -- A Must See

I've been neglecting my blog until today when I couldn't wait to tell you about the great movie we saw today.
Mao's Last Dancer "...tells the true story of Chinese ballet dancer, Li Cunxin, who grew up in rural poverty in Mao's communism before being given the opportunity to dance in the West in the early 80s. Li is forced to examine his conscience as he must choose between his career, family, culture, politics and love whilst having to make heart-wrenching decisions of what he must choose to sacrifice and what he must choose to save." This is the best movie we've seen in a long time -- a truly MUST SEE. It is was released in 2009 so you may need to get it on DVD.

A couple of weeks ago we saw Ben Affleck's new movie, The Town. "As he plans his next job, a longtime thief tries to balance his feelings for a bank manager connected to one of his earlier heists." It is very well crafted and engaging and will, no doubt, be a contender for awards but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It was too exciting and a little too gritty for my taste.

September Dining Out

With Liz hosting our monthly dining out this evening, sixteen of us enjoyed our get-together at Sweet Tomatoes.

We're Back In The Swing

Jane's eye surgery Wednesday wasn't as easy as we'd hoped. We're in recovery mode now with 18 eye-drops daily interfering with the fun.

I am disheartened about so many people speaking with the mind-set of hate, division, and intolerance who seem unwilling or unable to reason.