Movie - St Vincent

Very predictable but Bill Murray was excellent.  Boy is befriended by old man and it changes the life of both (sound familiar?)  Funny and all the cast do a good job.

Irish Beach News: Halloween 2014

Irish Beach News: Halloween 2014: What a wonderful Halloween it was.  Besides having such a wonderful time at host Gary Klein's house, , the Irish Beach community raised ...

Skeleton Twins

No play tonight so went to dinner and the movies.  This is a movie we would recommend.

Movie - Tasting Room

A really fun movie if you all get a chance to see it.  There was a great crowd last night.

Arena Theater Film Club
Monday September 8, 7 p.m.
Tasting Menu (2013)
The Spain/Ireland co-production plays out over a single night in a world-famous, three-star Catalan restaurant on the closing night. The evening turns into a farce of manners and misunderstandings as an eclectic mix of customers flocks to the eatery.
There's the insecure doctor Marc (Jan Cornet, most familiar to non-Spaniards for Almodovar's The Skin I Live In) and beautiful, best-selling writer Rachel (Claudia Bassols), separated but meeting again for the meal of a lifetime; the mourning Countess D'Arcy (Fionnula Flanagan); the mysterious Walter Reilly (Stephen Rea), with whom the maitre d’ Max (Spain-based Canadian Andrew Tarbet) becomes increasingly obsessed as the evening wears on; and Isao Kamiyama (Togo Igawa) and Yoshio Takamura (Akihiko Serikawa), potential buyers of the restaurant, accompanied by gauche, motor-mouthed Mina (Marta Torné, the director’s real-life partner).
Emili Guirao’s photography is richly textured, approaching both dim interiors and sunlit exteriors with equal care. Stephen Mckeon's score is pleasantly melodic, and the film signs off with The Divine Comedy’s wonderful Perfect Love Song. Writes film critic Jonathan Holland, "The film is a food fetishist’s delight, with close-ups of hands lovingly chopping and shaping: but the affectation of it all is neatly exposed later as, after the desserts fail to arrive, head chef Mar (Vicenta N'Dongo) asks her team, 'Can you make something out of sea water?'"
Director: Roger Gual Rating: PG-13 Runtime: 97 minutes Language: Spanish with English subtitles
And just for kicks: The Costa Brava (“Wild Coast”) is a unique coastal region in northeastern Spain. It is known for its gorgeous coastline, breath-taking vistas, world-class gastronomy, and a wealth of culture.
The Costa Brava has hosted and inspired artists such as Salvador Dalí, Truman Capote, Federico Garcia Lorca and Pablo Picasso. As of 2012, 11 restaurants with 15 Michelin stars and five restaurants with six stars can be found along the Costa Brava. Among them are El Celler de Can Roca, the current Best Restaurant in the World, the Miramar Restaurant in Llança and Les Cols de Olot. They follow the legacy of the legendary Spanish restaurant elBulli.
 

Irish Beach News: Picnic 2014 pictures

Our Irish Beach once a year Labor Day (or close) picnic was today.  A great event with lots of food and wine.  It was shorts whether for the second year in a row.  Nice to see everyone who owns here and to meet some new owners.  .

Irish Beach News: Picnic 2014 pictures: ...
Picnic 2014 pictures - part 2

National Theater - The Curious incident of the Dog in the night-Time

All I can say is FANTASTIC.  If you get a chance to see it - do by all means.  Susan is at a women's retreat so missed it - i would go again to see it with her as it is really that good.


Christopher, fifteen years old, has an extraordinary brain - exceptional at maths while ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion of killing Mrs Shears' dog Wellington, he records each fact about the event in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of the murder. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.
Based on the acclaimed novel by Mark Haddon, adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been hailed by The Times as 'a phenomenal combination of storytelling and spectacle'. Winner of 7 Olivier Awards in 2013, including Best New Play.

Mystery Train

We both thought it was a wonderful movie.  At least one friend said its the worst he had seen.  We loved the character development, the filming style, the music, and how it all went together at the end.


In the three intertwining stories that comprise this comic anthology from director Jim Jarmusch, a pair of Elvis-obsessed Japanese lovers (Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase), a drunken would-be robber (Joe Strummer) and his pals, and a frazzled Italian widow (Nicoletta Braschi) converge at a seedy hotel in Memphis, Tenn. As they all try to make it through the night, one woman believes that the spirit of Elvis Presley himself might be present.
Made with its director's customary precision and wit, this triptych of stories pays playful tribute to the home of Stax Records, Sun Studio, Graceland, Carl Perkins, and, of course, the King, who presides over the film like a spirit. Mystery Train is considered one of Jarmusch's very best movies, a boozy and beautiful pilgrimage to an iconic American ghost town and a paean to the music it gave the world. Rated R at 113 minutes

Movie club - Horse Feathers

Tonight's film club movie was Horse Feathers with some great singing and slapstick.  The football game at the end is a classic.

Arena Theater Film Club 
Monday August 4, 7 p.m.
Horse Feathers

As president of Huxley College, the fun-loving Professor Wagstaff (Groucho) attempts to help his son (Zeppo) finally graduate after 12 years by arranging to "buy" professional football players for an upcoming big game against rival Darwin University. The plan takes an unexpected twist, however, when a bootlegger (Chico) and a dogcatcher (Harpo) are mistaken for the athletes and accidentally hired instead. Featuring their trademark insanity, including a climactic football sequence that has to be seen to be believed, this quintessential Marx Brothers' comedy earned a place on the AFI's 100Years...100 Laughs list.
The mad-cap film - a zany take-off on college education (and football), is known for its fast-paced, non-sequitur, inconsistent nature as was typical of all Marx Brothers films. The plot affords many opportunities for the comedic team to show off their anarchic style of humor, with many pun-filled, absurd, nonsensical bits of dialogue, insults, idiosyncrasies, and one-liners.
Woody Allen's musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996) took its title from the recurring song sung by the characters. Director: Norman Z. McLeod Rating: NR Runtime: 68 minutes

If it's Thursday, I'm probably hiking.: MENDOCINO COAST BOTANICAL GARDENS

Below is the link to the blog of the latest hike.  Harmony had a trail map of EVERY trail in the Gardens and we hit EVERY one of them.  The flowers were great.  A really fun day

Here's the Thursday Ramblers blog site for the full story and pictures

Ramblers Blog

Also, here's the link to the pictures we took  Link to Gary & Susan's pictures of the gardens

Fire Department Cooks for Coastal Senior fundriaser

Each month a different organization takes charge in cooking for the month spaghetti dinner, a fundraiser for the Coastal Senior Program.  This month was the Redwood Coast Fire Department's turn.  A good time was had by all and the food was excellent.  Gary peeled about 100 garlic's for the bread - um good .  Irish Beacher's occupied two long tables.

For the rest of the pictures click here  RCFD Pictures

Mendocino Music Festival - Poncho Sanchez plus dinner

Mendocino Music Festival - Festival Orchestra

Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park

We had a fantastic experience at the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park in Richmond with our neighbors Diane and Karl.  The monument at first glance did not seem like much but is really wonderful.  And the museum at the foot of a historic Ford Assembly Plant was one of the best experienced we have had in a long time.  The 2pm ranger talk was lead by Betty Reid Saskin.  I have pasted a wiki article about her below.  She is the older park ranger in the country.  Go when she speaks and get their early as the word is out about her talk.  Better yet sign up for her 2 hour Richmond Bus Tour which is booked a month in advance - we did not get to see that but want to go back.  Lets just say that her grandma and mom both lived to be over 100 and thus the three generations (she is 92) span from slavery to the present time and she has one story to tell.  Not often have we been so moved with a speaker.

The park really is a hidden gem.  the movies are wonderful.  Great exhibits, great views.

Afterwards we went to Point Richmond and had a wonderful lunch.  Point Richmond is a wonderful place to visit.  Go through the tunnel and get one of the finest views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate.

The link to all the pictures is found below:
Pictures

Betty Reid Soskin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Betty Reid Soskin

Betty Reid Soskin (born Betty Charbonnet; September 22, 1921) is a Park ranger with the National Park Service, assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.[1][2] As of 2014, she is the oldest National Park Ranger in the United States.[3]

Life and career[edit]

She was born in Detroit to Dorson Louis Charbonnet and Lottie Allen, both natives of Louisiana. Her father came from a Creolebackground and her mother from a Cajun background. She spent her early childhood living in New Orleans until a hurricane and flood destroyed her family's home and business in 1927. Her family then relocated to Oakland, California.

During World War II she worked as a clerk for Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow all-black union auxiliary. In June, 1945 she and her husband, Mel Reid, founded Reid's Records in Berkeley, California, a small Black business specializing in Gospel music. They moved to Walnut Creek, California in the 1950s, where their children attended better public schools but the family encountered considerable racism. She became active in the local Unitarian Universalist congregation and the Black Caucus of the Unitarian Universalist Association. During the 1960s she wrote and performed songs, many dealing with civil rights and peace.

In 1972 she divorced Mel Reid and married William Soskin, a psychology professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1978 Mel Reid's health and finances had declined, and she took over management of the music store, which led to her becoming a prominent community activist.[4] Reid's Records is still in business in 2014.

She served as field representative for State Assemblywomen Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock, and through that position became involved in the development of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. She is currently employed as a park ranger for the National Park Service working as tour guide and interpreter. There, she "has been a tireless voice for making sure the African-American wartime experience — both the positive steps toward integration and the presence of discrimination — has a prominent place in the park's history".[5]

Honors[edit]

• California Woman of the Year, California Legislature, 1995.
• Builders of Communities and Dreams, National Women’s History Project, 2006.
• Attended President Obama's Inauguration as a guest of Rep. George Miller.
• Proclamation by Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin on behalf of Richmond City Council, 2009
• Received honorary doctorate at California College of the Arts at Spring Commencement of 2010.
• Reveived the WAVE award as one of 3 "Women of Achievement" by Girl Source of San Francisco 2010.
• Cited in "Wherever there's a fight - the history of the ACLU in California" - Elaine Elinson & Stan Yogi, 2007

With the kids in SF

Rebel With a Cause

As part of Discover the Coast Days in Point Arena, we saw the wonderful movie, Rebel With a Cause.  The movie has been seen on PBS and is the story of the people who helped create  Point Reyes National Seashore, Audubon Canyon, Marin Headlands and Golden Gate National Recreation Area.  The film makers were there to answer questions.

If you have not seen it yet, watch for it - apparently the national network bought rights so it should be all over the country over the next year.

The link to the movie is  Rebel With A Cause

Manchester School BBQ

Stornetta Nat Monument - Discovery Day Hikes and Festival

Mendocino Music Festival - Don Giovanni

Mendocino Music Festival: April Verch Band

SF Mime Troup

Tuesday Nighters

Mendocino Music Festival - Juncal Daners

Irish Beach Prius Gathering

Two of our Irish Beach neighbors, Pam and Don,  just bought a Prius and came up with a gathering of all of the Prius owners here in Irish Beach.  We met at the Vista point just north of Irish Beach.  There were six Prius owners and we shared notes and took lots of pictures.  We learned are car does have a CD - we had it a year and didn't know this.  Others learned as well.  We plan on making it a regular event to compare notes and as a nice social gathering.

Mendocino Music Festival opening night -

Mendocino Music Festival Feast

Fedele Bauccio

Mendocino Music Festival Chair Set-up

This starts our 3rd year of volunteer efforts at the music festival.  As with the previous two, we like chair set-up.  This year it went a lot smoother.  We used wood and ties to hook the rows of chairs together so they could not be moved.  There was still time so we got to set up the Orchestra for the opening night concert.  That was kind of exciting and different.  That also let us see the back stage area.  We had time to eat so went to Mendo Burger for our first time.  Had a crab cake sandwich and a veggie burger.  Both were great.  For working we each got two tickets to a show.  We went over to the box office and selected the two shows we wanted to see.  Its fun being a part of the festival from the start and seeing all that goes into getting it prepared.  And its a wonderful group of volunteers.

Movie Club - Return to Homs

A haunting picture - filmed almost entirely with a cell phone and small hand held cameras.  Was very up-to-date.  Jeff Watts knew of the film from a retired State Department event he attended.
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From 2011 to 2013, filmmaker Talal Derki followed the journey of two close friends whose lives had been upended by the battle raging in Syria.

Nineteen-year-old Basset is a local soccer star-the goalkeeper for the Syrian national team. He has also become an iconic singer in the revolution. His songs reflect his dreams of a peaceful liberation from Assad's brutal regime. Ossama is a 24-year-old media activist and pacifist who wields his camera to capture the revolution. When the army cracks down and their beloved city of Homs becomes a bombed-out ghost town, these two peaceful protesters finally take up arms and transform into rebel insurgents. 90 minutes

Point Arena 4th of July Parade (on July 6)

Went to a breakfast for the benefit of Meals on Wheels.  We were about the last ones to arrive as we slept late and got a slow start to the day.

Then it was on to the Point Arena July 4 parade that always occurs on Sunday and not on the 4th.  The parade was bigger this year with lots of hometown spirit.

.