Anniversary Number 32

Eight years ago, the Claremont Village West was just starting to open and we were getting ready to head off for a sabbatical year in Chicago. We spent our anniversary going to see the movie Once at the (then) new Laemmle and then dinner at Casablanca.

Last year we spent our anniversary in Machu Picchu, the year before we were in Oregon getting ready to marry off our eldest daughter, and the year before that we were also in Oregon before we took off for Glacier National Park. 

August is a great month to have an anniversary.

This year we went to the Laemmle to see the movie Boyhood. Then we enjoyed the restaurant in our backyard where we (and by we, I mean H) cooked up parmesan and spinach chicken and twice-baked potatoes from Sprouts. 

One more week, and we are off for our Abenteuer (adventure)!

Family Movie Night for Everyone

I work with children. One of these years we will have grandchildren. So, of course, it is important to keep up with the cultural knowledge of kids. We often see the Pixar movies in the theaters, and we have Frozen on our list of should-sees. 

Last night we had the chance to watch The Lego Movie for free, along with all of our neighbors for Claremont's Summer Movies in the Park in Memorial Park. (If we'd been on the ball, we could have seen Frozen in July at Wheeler Park.) You can read more details of the set-up at my friend's blog here. 

It was pretty fun, although at first I thought we might have to go home because I couldn't hear the movie and people around us were talking. Pretty soon the other speaker came on, the crowd hushed, the sun set and the movie was rolling along. As far as kids' movies go, I liked this one, although it could have been about 20 minutes shorter.

Lots of people out on a beautiful evening

The In-N-Out Truck was there on Yale

The Happy Crowd entertained the kids before the movie started

Memorial Day Weekend with the Folks

Last year on Memorial Day weekend, I was with my family of origin (my folks and my sister) on our pilgrimage to Pawnee Rock, Kansas. This year my parents came to Claremont from Colorado for the holiday weekend. 

We enjoyed a variety of activities from touring the new building at HMC, eating some of C and B's excellent food, wandering the Farmer's Market, as well as the folks seeing some of their friends who live here.

We had thought about going to the LA County Arboretum on Monday, but with temps in the 90s, we opted for the air-conditioning of the Laemmle. We chose the movie Chef, and I thought it was a great movie for just fun. It's the story of Roy Choi, the guy who owns the Kogi BBQ trucks (of which I have blogged on numerous occasions). So, for me, it had lots to recommend it. I like stories which feature something I know about firsthand. I like movies with good music. And the food looked great and made me hungry.

So after the movie we had to go out to eat. Of course. We tried to go to Cafe Allegro in La Verne, but it was closed, so we called Pasta Cucina Rustica on Foothill and they were open. Not only were they open, we were the only people there for a long time. Perhaps we were the only people who did not grill out on Memorial Day.

I had some penne pasta from the Over 60 menu. That meant a smaller portion. I thought the sauce was very good. H thought his eggplant not as good as the Thai eggplant from Saturday's lunch at Thai Family. We may or may not go back sometime. 

Tuesday Matinee at the Laemmle

You know that Claremont is a small town when you take in a late-afternoon matinee at the Laemmle on a Tuesday and of the 7 other people in the theater, you know four of them.

The movie was Fading Gigolo. It wasn't terrible, it wasn't fabulous, but it was a nice diversion.

CBS Children's Film Festival

For some reason, the other day I remembered a movie I had seen on tv as a kid called Skinny and Fatty. Nowadays it is so easy to find out all kinds of information with a quick internet search. Up popped The CBS Children's Film Festival with Kukla, Fran and Ollie. This site here has a list of all the movies shown on Saturdays from 1967-1971. I know that I watched many of the films, all from countries all over the world (Including The Red Balloon, the most famous one), but the one that stuck in my head all these years is Skinny and Fatty which is on youtube in its entirety here.

This 45-minute show tugged at my heartstrings as a child when the new boy, a wealthy heavyset kid nicknamed Fatty arrives at school and a poor boy, Komatsu befriends him (and betrays him). The themes of bullying, being new, being different (and not being able to climb the pole) speak to all school children, and rewatching this movie recently brought it all home to me again.

Her

We have decided that we don't really need to see the middle movie of The Hobbit series. At least not in the theaters. So last week when we saw Joaquin Phoenix on The Daily Show talking about his new movie, Her, we were intrigued, so we took in a weekend matinee.

Despite the fact that it was 2 hours long (and I think the story could have been tighter in 95 minutes), it was a pretty good commentary on our relationship with technology. The main character falls in love with his computer's operating system which is set up to become personalized to him. I loved the irony that he works for a company called BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com.

I have held out for owning a smartphone now. (I held out on owning a cell phone for as long a possible.) I know I would love one. At home I am often tied to my desktop, laptop or iPad, (tv, too) but when I leave the house, I do not have a gadget to distract me from seeing the world around me. I watch as people are deeply absorbed in their devices, but not with other people. I know that some day I will get a smart phone, and I hope to not change my involvement in real life because of it.

Public Art

On our way to the Laemmle yesterday, we saw these tree covers next to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I knew to look for them because I had seen a photo on Facebook. I was not sure who was behind these colorful tree-warmers, 

but then today on Instagram I saw this photo. The Clarewood Knitters are "Warming the Village One tree at a time). Now we know them name of these guerilla artists, but not their identity!

Inside Llewyn Davis

When my daughter L was young, and I thought she was old enough to have me read The Phantom Tollbooth aloud to her, she looked up at me somewhere in the middle of the book and said, "I don't really understand this book, but I really like it!" Well, I probably should have waited about 2 or 3 years to choose that particular book, and I hope that someday she gets around to reading it to herself, because she will understand it now, for sure.

I am waiting for C and B to come over soon for some football viewing so that we can discuss Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest Coen Brothers film. H and I walked out of the Laemmle yesterday and said, "We really liked that film. What did it mean?"I don't know if waiting 2 or 3 years will help me understand it, but others' insights might.

Of course, we had to look up reviews online and in the LA Times hard copy. The Times talked about the music of the movie (which I really, really liked, especially since the lead character played by Oscar Isaac not only acted well, but sang and played the guitar for reals. [sic] Then I asked H what he thought about the meaning of the cat (We had had a discussion about the meaning of the cat at the last episode of the Sopranos….), 'cause that cat wove it's way throughout the movie. I came across this article in the Atlantic (and it has spoilers, so you are warned). I thought it had some great observations and might be on to something.

In any case, I plan to see this movie again at some point. I'm glad I saw it in the theater first, though.

Blue Jasmine

Saw our second movie of the summer at the Laemmle, this time Woody Allen's latest offering - Blue Jasmine.

I pretty much like Allen's films, perhaps my favorite is The Purple Rose of Cairo. While walking home we agreed that although the cast is quite devoid of Allen's usual actors, and the setting was not New York, the patina of the film felt like Allen. The jazz music and the messed-up characters fall into his genre. Cate Blanchett is fabulous as the Blanche DuBois character. (It's a long way from Rivendell to San Francisco, but she makes the transition look effortless.)

Twenty Feet From Stardom

We are really chipping away at our "fun summer list." Wednesday night we went to the Kogi truck, and last night we went to the Laemmle. It's been a long time since we've done either of those.

I have been unaware of any summer movies that I must see, but while chatting with Susan during dinner at Kogi, she mentioned the movie Twenty Feet from Stardom, and I vaguely remembered hearing something about this movie on NPR. The Laemmle schedule revealed that this movie would not be around after yesterday, we decided to take in the early evening matinee. ($6 per ticket with Laemmle card and free popcorn!)

I thoroughly enjoyed the music of this documentary about the backup singers whom we have all heard, but don't know. I have harbored a secret dream (maybe not so secret anymore) about being a backup singer in a band because it always looked like so much fun. And when I sing along with the radio/CD/iPod, I often sing those parts.

Letters to Liesl

I thought it would be a good idea to start reading some of the books I own. The thing with library books is that you know you have to return them soon, so you read them in a timely manner.

I found Letters to Liesl by Charmian Carr and Jean Strauss on my shelf (autographed by both women) and started it one night. It didn't take long and was definitely a fun read.

I have not been shy to admit that my favorite movie is The Sound of Music. I saw it when it was rereleased in the early 1970s. A group of us girls went to the movie theater (someone's mom dropped us off) and I know I was entranced. I fell in love with the whole musical family, and I don't remember how many times I've seen the movie since.

This book is the sequel to Forever Liesl, Charmian's memoir of the making of The Sound of Music. (I still need to read that one.) In this one, Charmian answers some of the thousands and thousands of fan letters and we see how infinitely popular this movie has been - I am not the only huge fan (not by a long shot!).

The Claremont story behind this book is that Charmian used to date a Harvey Mudd College trustee, and that is how she met Jean Strauss, when Strauss' husband, Jon, was president of HMC. Jean told Charmian that her story must be told, and Jean made the book a reality. I even had a brief meeting with Charmian once at an HMC event, thanks to Jean.

So, good memories all around!

Unlikely Pilgrimages

 On the recommendation of two friends, I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. This British story of a man who sets out, almost by accident, on a 600 mile + walking journey across England in order to reach an old friend/co-worker who is dying of cancer made me think about a movie I had seen many years ago - The Straight Story. The movie is also about a man who sets out on a journey, this one on a John Deere riding mower for over 300 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin, to see his estranged brother who has just suffered a stroke.

This got me to thinking about why I enjoy stories of journeys, and perhaps it is because they are antithetical to the goal-oriented society we inhabit. Certainly Harold Fry and Alvin Straight have an end goal, but the focus of the book and movie is on the journeys and what each character learns and sees along the way.

I think I also like them because I would like to someday take a road trip where I can stop along the way and see things that aren't listed in guidebooks.

Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom was one of those movies that I wanted to see in the theater this summer, but it was gone before we could get there. We finally watched it last night, and I really, really liked it. Now, Wes Anderson films are pretty quirky, and I'm not a particular fan of his at all, but this one's sense of a mythic 1960s childhood resonated with me. (Guess my age!) It felt like the kind of foreign film that I often enjoy without being able to pinpoint why.

I loved the music of the film - lots and lots of Benjamin Britten (who knew I was such a fan of his?), and the fact that the girl carried a portable record player with her. She also carried about six library books that I found out were made up for this movie.

If I had to chose books that I would have put in her hands, some would have been Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (I know it was published in 1966, a year too late for the movie, but, it would still fit), A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Prydian Chronicles, and any of the Narnia books.

I am also catching up on some TED talks, and I blogged about one of them in my music blog. This one is Stuart Brown's talk about the importance of play in human life.

Maybe I'll add that to my new year's resolution list - relearn German and play more.

Year-End Entertainment Round-Up

I feel as though I should make some sort of "the year that was" post for this New Year's Eve. Since we went to see The Hobbit last night, I thought I would look back on the movies, tv, and books that entertained me this year.

First of all, Home Performance Matters, the company that did our house's energy retrofit, invited all its clients and staff and their families to see The Hobbit at the Laemmle all together last night. We started out with hot drinks and cookies on the Plaza (it was cold!), and then we trooped into theater 4 (the big one), nearly filling all 250 seats.

I agree with all the reviews I heard - too long, too much gore, but also great cgi, costumes, good acting, and fun for Tolkien fans. I can't believe there will be two more movies to finish this book.

The Hobbit brings our movies-in-the-theater number to 8 for this year. That number seems high and low. High, because we used to see about 2 movies in the theater every year before the Laemmle came to Claremont, but low compared to past years at the Laemmle. We need to remedy that.

As for television, we watched through 4 full series thanks mostly to the public library. We are waiting to watch more of Treme, Downton Abbey and The Good Wife.

This year I read 43 books. Two books were the second go-round, two were audio books, and I gave seven of them stars. That number is a little lower for me than usual, but some of the books were quite long.

Here's to a new year of stories!

Friday Photo

In honor of the holiday season and that classic Christmas movie, here is Claremont's own tribute to It's a Wonderful Life. You can think about this movie every time you pass this house on 8th St. between Harvard and College.

Skyfall

It has been four years since the last James Bond movie (Quantum of Solace) came out. I blogged about seeing a private advance screening with the HMC community here. Skyfall, the newest Bond film starring Daniel Craig opens tomorrow, and yet we were able to see it at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City last night. A little more detail: Michael Wilson, one of the producers of the Bond franchise, is not only an HMC alum, but also a trustee, and he once again allowed HMC to preview the film. 

I have to say that I am not a Bond aficionado, but I actually really enjoyed this film. When I looked at Rotten Tomatoes this morning, the critics gave it a 93%. If you don't like action and violence at all, don't see it, but I enjoyed the Adele song, the cinematography, the theme, and the characters.

One of the appetizers included a mashed potato bar. Yum.

Walking toward the theater.

The theater

Sunday Matinee - Argo

I do not remember when we last went to the movie theater, but H had a hankering to see this new release, and we had the time yesterday, so off to the Laemmle we went.

Theater #5 (the big one) was pretty full, and the crowd seemed to enjoy this film. I did, too. Even at two full hours, the pacing was great, the juxtaposition between comedy and tension was well-plotted, the acting was very good. I think it's in contention for some Oscars.

However. I don't think I liked it that this is an historical film harkening waaaay back to when I was in college. Really. I have a hard time believing that I lived back in historical times.

Waiting for Fall

Because I think it is healthy for me (and anyone) to goof off and do things for fun, and because I was inspired by a these articles (this one on a poetry box and this one on a biking poet), I made this little video yesterday afternoon. We are waiting patiently and not so patiently for the days to start cooling down....

Playing with iMovie

Every summer I write down a list of things I need to get done during vacation as well as a list of things that would be fun to do. Somehow the "need to get done" seems to get in the way of the fun, but I took a few minutes today to do one of the things on my play around list. I haven't really worked with the latest iMovie '11 yet, and I wanted to see if I could learn something new. I have been taking pictures of the progress of the bank building in the Sprouts parking lot, standing in the same spot every time I go to get groceries there. I put the seven pictures into iMovie and found that I could play around with various effects, including aged film, cartoon, day into night, b&w, sepia, negative and x-ray. Here is my 14-second clip of special effects.

3-D

Since the Laemmle came to Claremont almost five years ago, I can't remember going back to the Edwards Theater.  With the release of Men in Black 3 in 3-D, we thought we'd treat ourselves to the fun glasses, and the Laemmle is not set up for 3-D.

So, is 3-D worth it?  Of course there are certain scenes in this action/comedy that lend themselves to the special effects, but overall, I'm not convinced that it is that much better to see the characters all rounded out.  Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are funny in any dimension.