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.

Man Of The Decade

I'd appreciate your comments on this: Man of the Year

Return

We arrived home safely late last night from our "summer camp for seniors" very tired but feeling thankful for the uneventful drive. We had stops in Minneapolis, near Chicago, Indianapolis, Shelbyville, TN, and Warner Robins, GA.

Nearing The End

It has been a very good ten weeks for us. We'll be leaving tomorrow on our trip home. It's always such a chore to pack up and move out. And we always regret having to leave our summer home so early. This morning we went to breakfast here.

Fish Boil and Hike

We had 27 hikers on The Congdon Trail along Tischer Creek this morning with Bill Delboy leading.

HIKE VIDEO CLICK HERE

The UMD Fish Boil was this evening, always the event not to be missed, with Social Hour in the Atrium and then Dinner in the Ballroom.

Goings-On

Monday evening we enjoyed pizza and a tableside view of the deer show from the window in Chadda and John Shelly's apartment.
Tuesday evening we went to Zinema to see The Girl Who Played with Fire. After that we went to a party at Mary & Evert's apartment.
I thought the movie was good but too complicated for me, especially with subtitles.

Collage UMD 2010

Aerobics Portraits

Into The Woods

Up behind our apartment a couple of evenings ago we observed a number of does with fawns and then last nights we saw these two bucks.

Collages

This is what keeps us retuning to our
SUMMER CAMP FOR SENIORS:

Two Harbors Hike

Thirty hikers enjoyed the Two Harbors Lakewalk this beautiful morning.

Sunday

Yesterday evening we went with Roger and Tamara to the Anchor Bar in Superior.
This morning we attended the monthly meeting of Lake Superior Free Thinkers.
This evening we went to hear the Pinewood Landing Band. Click to Listen

"I am the very model of a modern Major-General, I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral ..."

Friday evening we enjoyed a performance of Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Pinzance. It was much better than I expected. Even though it was outside and rainy, we took a chance and were glad we did.
Hear the patter song:

Tall Ships Arrive

Yesterday we went to see the tall ships. The two lowest pictures showing the crowds are from Duluth News Tribune.
Short Video

Chester Creek Hike

Don McCowen led our hike this morning on Chester Creek. There were 15 hikers.

Click Here for video

Vista Cruise