Up In The Air

"Men need to think they've made their own decisions, not have them forced up on them."-Abigail Adams (actress, Laura Linney)as heard in the 2008 mini-series JOHN ADAMSThe Best Picture 'hopeful' for 2009 is all a buzz about a film called UP IN THE AIR. The plot heads into corporate America territory with this screenplay adaptation from Walter Kirn's novel, UP IN THE AIR. The plot surrounds a human resource administrator (George Clooney) whose life...

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Movie Magic

"I didn't know what lay ahead for me but I knew I wouldn't have to face it alone."-as heard while watchingKYLE-XY, Season III saw the movie, AVATAR, in 3-D on December 18, 2009 at the AMC Theater in Santa Monica. It was a brilliant feeling of visual special effects and storyline. The film seemed to encompass the best of so many other films: STAR WARS, TRANSFORMERS, LAST OF THE MOHICANS, THE MATRIX, BRAINSTORM, LORD OF THE RINGS, I-ROBOT, ALIEN....

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Feeling Guilty ?

"If you feel guilty you must have done something wrong.""...but I feel guilty about mudslides in Ecuador!"-as heard while watchinga not-so-great film called"Dorian Blues"Thank you Deanna Campbell of Las Vegas, NV for sending this tidbit story. It gave me a good 'chuckle' on the morning of May 18, 2009 (when she emailed it to me):Yesterday, I had a flat tire on the Interstate.So I eased my car over to the shoulder of the road, carefully got out of...

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Infatuation

"There's something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You're never quite sure where they'll take you."-as heard while watchingthe 2006 film"Miss Potter"On April 14, 2009 I received a quote via e-mail from Alan's dear mother, Gloria Weiner-Freiman-Cohen:Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have rather talked.And, oh, how some oldsters can talk!It made me laugh because of how Gloria loves to talk.Please...

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The Desired Craving for Chinese Food

"If variety is the spice of life, then my life must be one of the spiciest you ever heard of...a curry of a life."-Julia Child"My Life In France"Are you craving comfort food? The research behind craving food is reinforced by the idea that it's not the hunger for the particular food itself, but the feeling it provides that brings on a craving.In November 2008, Brian Wansink, a marketing professor, who heads the lab at the Food and Brand Lab at UL...

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Standing Erect

No one was likely to visit him, not until the morning, that was certain; so he had plenty of time to meditate at his leisure on how to arrange his life afresh.-Franz Kafka"The Metamorphosis"Twenty-five years ago today:December 26, 1984WednesdayMy first day back to work and it really was not so bad. I had an especially good day. I sold two 'Remote Call Forwarding' services and one Premiere Telephone Service System. Karyn Kossoff accepted an early...

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In A Kind of Heaven

We were all in a kind of heaven--not sitting about on clouds, you understand, but busy doing things that made us happy.-Morag Joss"Half Broken Things"Twenty-five years ago today:December 25, 1984TuesdayMy running nose was reaching its peak by this morning. I sounded pretty raspy as I spoke to Karyn Kossoff on the telephone this morning."Thank you so much for my scarf and gloves," Karyn said pleasingly.It was one of those sweet Christmas Day kind...

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Honorable Traditions

"I admit she's not perfect, but I think I love her enough to overlook her faults."-Nial Kent"The Divided Path"At holiday time people throughout the world honor traditions, and New Mexico is no exception. One tradition many here look forward to on Christmas Eve is a steaming bowl of posole (po-SO-lay), a spicy corn stew that is known as the ceremonial dish for celebrating life's blessings.New Mexicans have been enjoying posole for centuries. The cuisine...

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Winter Wind

Winter by Nial Kentfrom his book "The Divided Path"The wind howls and blowswith steady fury, driving the frightened snowflakeshorizontally before it.Out of a white sky they come,the snowflakes that whiten the earth.The cruel wind cuts to the heart,and the earth is without life or color.In a grave of smooth icesleeps the river,and the leaves are gonefrom the willow trees.When one is without lovethe wind blows colder,more barren is the earth,and Spring...

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Shopping

Once shame touches your being at any point, even the most distant nerve is implicated, whether you know it or not; any fleeting encounter or random thought will rake up anguish and add to it.-Stefan Zweig"The Post-Office Girl"Ever hear the PET SHOP BOYS sing "Shopping". Oh, it's a classic (I like when they spell the word 'S H O P P I N G'):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR4h6yfqI-MTwenty-five years ago today:December 22, 1984It's Saturday morning...

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Abbott & Costello

"I feel like I'm sleeping in a history book tonight."-Jason F Wright"The Wednesday Letters"Thank you Sue Savarese for sending this joke that made me laugh:If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch,'Who's on First?' might have turned out something like this:COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTTABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?COSTELLO: Thanks I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinkingabout...

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Playing More Games

"Stop memorizing all possible moves from books; play more games."-Bette Bao Lord"Spring Moon"There are a lot of stories that slip through the cracks. And when they turn up again (accidentally) you find a bit of a connection. It was back on May 9, 2003 when there was an article posted on www.people.com (The PEOPLE Magazine website) by Stephen M Silverman:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Demi Moore...

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The Wake-Up Call

All this time I have been becoming the person I am. I have always been heading this way.-Morag Joss"Half Broken Things"Twenty-five years ago today:December 19, 1984WednesdayWhen I awoke Bob Umland was in a rush. He had to be at work by 9:45AM. I left at the same time he left. I decided to head over to the Castro area to see if they still had my Chilly Willy T-shirt at that one particular shop. I was determined to buy it this time. To my dismay,...

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Two Fragments

It's one thing to read your story, and quite another to hear you tell it!And yet another, sir, to have experienced it.-Franz Kafka"A Report to an Academy: Two Fragments"Twenty-five years ago today:December 18, 1984TuesdayI took a drive from Fremont to Danville and arrived in Alamo for my haircut appointment with Danny Garcia. I was at the shop before Danny arrived. I waited patiently. Danny did a clean cut job with my hair. I was pleased. I...

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