Second anniversary Song

Raina and Art,
sitting in a tree,
two years down,
now on to three.
Raina and Art,
looking fine as can be,
no lovelier couple,
none better to see.
Raina and Art,
may your union breathe free,0
here’s a toast from the coast,
just for you two, from me.

Be it Resolved

Mr. Bradbury’s Advice


What’s the secret, he was asked,
to being a successful writer?

Write it down,
write it down,
write it down,
for they’re soon forgotten,
those thoughts, ideas, words.

Do it early,
do it early
do it early,
in the morning if it fits you,
feel satisfied and smug by noon.

And remember,
yes remember,
please remember,
never watch
the eleven o’clock news.

Apologies and Happy Holidays to All

To my faithful followers and readers, I am not retired, but just incredubly busy. We have sold a home and the moving process is nearly all-consuming. It has also been crunch time for screening the final round of the the 170 films I saw this year for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is shaping up to be one of the best ever, with a special focus this time on Nordic creations, from Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. There will also be screenings of the 42 best out of 71 Oscar submissions for best foreign language film. My little household has begun its own mini-festival, seeing "Lincoln", "Argo", and "Life of Pi" (in 3-D) this week. A lengthy list awaits before the New Year arrives:

The Hobbitt
Anna Karenina
Flight
LooperZero Dark Thirty
Les Misaerables
Hyde Park on the Hudson
Django Unchained
Silver Linings Playbook
Rust and Bone
The Impossible
The Sessions
Quartet
Arbitrage
Amour
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki

I have a preliminary list of the films we have enjoyed the most so far this year. Not claiming that they are "The Best" films of the year, but simply the ones we are glad we saw:

The Intouchables
The Master
Cloud Atlas (now reading the book, so I can see it again)
Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Argo
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Moonrise Kingdom