Disney Concert Hall

Built between 1999 and 2003, designed by the architect Frank Gehry with initial funds by Lillian Disney, this is a building that cannot be missed by visitors to Los Angles.

And if you have the privelege to see a performance, all the better. Indeed when I visited the only way to see the interior was to attend a performance.

A Great and important read.

In The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson chronicles the decades long migration of the blacks from the south to the north. After the turn of the century, Jim Crow laws became numerous and punishing. At the same time, around 1915, northern cities were looking for workers to replace solders gone to war. And the factory and foundry jobs to supply the war effort.

George Swanson Starling on Left

Ida Mae Gladney

Robert Joseph Pershing Foster

After interviewing about 1500 men and women, Wilkerson selected three individuals to tell the story of this great migration. This narrative nonfiction becomes a page turner as I waited to see what happened to these brave and remarkable people.

This is an important epic for all Americans to understand the movement of black from the south to the north in search of a better life.

Drama in the Garden

 The Drama in the Garden

The players:
A common king snake
A spiny lizard
A zucchini plant

The plot:
Act 1
Snake chases lizard
Lizard runs

Act II
Both run amok into the
netting humans put around
the zucchini plant to keep
animals out.

Act III

To the rescue;
MD & RN make surgical
attempt to release the snake,
Lizard already dead,
zucchini not looking good

Final Act
one dead lizard
snake released to go off to
a death with dignity in
Tombstone roses.
Zucchini replanted.

Moral of the story
"Don't interfere with mother nature"
And leave the netting out of the garden.

Top of the boxoffice

 The animation hit Madagascar 3 beat the Sci Fi flick Prometheus for two weekends in a  row.

What does that say about the state of movies, the state of movie attendees or the state of the nation?

Numerous studies have indicated that Science Fiction has always done well when the economy tanks.

In much of Science fiction the Alien is a superior being who tries to tell humans of the world what we are doing to destroy the earth.
War, Global warming, destruction of the environment.
One can also suggest that in bad times we look to something divine for help. This is true in Prometheus, where the team of scientists travel to a far away universe to find out"where we came from and where we go". Looking for stories to explain existence and the proverbial "why" goes back to the Greek Mythologies.

   

    So what explains the popularity of Madagascar 3?

I suppose that just as we seek explanations for our existence during bad times, we need something to laugh at and make us feel good. Madagascar certainly did that. In fact IMO this animation film entertains the adult as much as the child.

Lines like "wipe that Smir-noff you face and Popov" is clearly for the adult as is "Bull-schivek" and "mama mia, maria mia, Mia Farrow".

I have said before on this blog that if you don't go to any animation because it is "cartoon", you are missing out on some good movies.

So to answer the question in my second paragraph, What does azbuddy say about the:

*state of movie. for the most part, they give us what we want. If not they don't make it.
*state of the movie goer. even when people are strapped for cash, they go to the movies and from
my observations they are willing to pay big $$$ for food and film.
*state of the Nation- IMO it sucks, therefore I go to the movies.

Lizard Harassment

 Buddy can spend hours at the back window,

eyes searching for the lizard.

When he sees one, up on all fours, tail wagging.

Open the door!

Out in a flash!

Searching and chasing,

Usually the lizard wins.

But he enjoys the chase.

"Intouchables" - Movie review

 "Intouchables" is a French comedy-drama in
art theaters now. I loved loved loved this movie.
Not since "Departures" a Japanese movie I saw in
2009 have I so liked a movie. I reserve 5*'s for those movies that I think everyone can enjoy. And this is one of those. In fact I have told friends that if they saw it and didn't like it, I would refund their money.

This is a true story of a very wealthy and risk taking Frenchman Philippe (Francois Cluzet) who becomes a quadriplegic after a hang gliding accident. He needs an assistant to be part nurse aid, part 24/ hr. necessary companion who may have
 to complete unpleasant tasks. Driss, (Omar Sy)

a tall strong black man from the projects applies for the job. Not because be wants it, he definitely doesn't but because he has to take a signed form back to the welfare office in order to continue his unemployment.

"Intouchable" is the French word for untouchable.
Indeed each of these characters is an outcast; the
poor man locked in poverty and the rich man locked in his frozen body.  Reluctantly they need
each other.

Many professional movie critics have decried
this move as racist and stereotyped. The New Yorker
even called it an "embarrassment" and "French sentimentality"
This is totally unfair to these two fine actors. And to the Director.
Supporting roles are also fine. And it looks good.
The public, however, both in France and the US have loved it.

So, go see it. You will like it.

My Mexican Hats are Back

With their high rounded crowns
they resemble the sombrero of Mexico
On tall stalks they blow and bend with the wind.
The red and yellow make for a unique show

It is a wildflower of the southwest.
Blooming in late May and beyond.
In my neighborhood they are in the
drainage ditches and common areas
surrounding the homes and golf courses

It is a tough and colorful plant.

Although wild, seeds can be bought.
However I think I will enjoy them in the wild.