I watched Rachel Ray today, and she had Gayle King on -- Oprah's best friend -- talking about Oprah's favorite things for Christmas this year. Gayle and Rachel raved about the tote bag, perfect for carrying to the market, so I decided to Amazon it as a possible gift for my daughter and my daughter-in-law.
Well, needless to say, I was aghast to find that the "market bag" is $298. Yes, that's $300 rounded up. Now, I agree that we all need to take our own bags to the market to save the planet from plastic, but carrying a $300 bag to go shopping seems a bit over the top.
Sorry, Oprah. I know it's one of your favorite things, but I'm on a much more restricted budget than you, so my two girls will have to settle for something a whole lot more affordable.
UPDATE: Well, now it looks like Oprah was offering a bargain bag as Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas featured a Michael Kors' tote for $400. Yes, a tote bag, and not a blinged out product. Very conservative, so no bells and whistles to justify the price. Sorry, girls, but it's still a no-go.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Citizenship
Yesterday was the big day: Yucheng became a US citizen. The entire citizenship process took time, but was relatively easy to complete. He was worried about the test, but the questions asked were very basic and simple. So, the last step in the process was taking the Oath of Allegiance at a ceremony at the Convention Center in downtown LA. The drive was easy, with no accidents and/or slowdowns to add to the time, and we arrived by 12 noon as directed. We, and the 8,000 others who were there for the ceremony!
There were 4,217 people being admitted as citizens – and then all the guests and family members there to witness it. We did find a parking place in the underground garage system, but when we left, we had no idea how to find the car again … and had to ask one of the garage attendants for assistance. Had Y not remembered that the color in the garage was orange, we would have been out of luck. Once he provided the garage attendant with the color, he directed us down the block to another section of the garage where we found our car right where we had parked it.
The crowd was very well-behaved because the ceremony begins with the announcement that, for the purposes of administering the citizenship oath, we were now in a court of law. I was seated so far back in the auditorium that the judge, when he stood at the podium, looked about 3” tall! The “giant” screens that allowed the audience to see the ceremony looked to be about 1 foot by 2 feet from my distance, but I know they were much bigger than that the closer to the front of the auditorium one was seated. It also would have been easier to see what was going on if the chairs weren't arranged all on the floor level, so I had no chance to see anything that wasn't on the screen.
The good news is that the entire event was done by mass process, not individually, so once everyone did the swearing of allegiance and the court clerk banged the gavel to indicate the event was finished, we all got to leave. Needless to say, the 5,000 or so of us who exited became a huge crowd outside waiting for individuals to find their family members! I parked myself on a set of stairs at the back of the crowd and called Y on the phone to tell him how to find me.
Then, it was time to find food. Y said let’s go to Pasadena (where we were going to visit his cousin and the new baby) and we’ll eat at The Cheesecake Factory, which is one of Y’s favorite places to eat because they serve a Chinese Chicken Salad that he loves. Believe it or not, the gps sent us through the heart of LA on surface streets and it took us a full hour to get to the other side of LA and looking for the restaurant! Once we found it, we also found that there is no parking in some parts of Pasadena, so we went to a parking lot two blocks away that advertised Parking $3, but in small letters it clarified: $3 for each 20 minutes, with a total of $8 maximum. I guess no one ever told the owner that 3x20 minutes in an hour each would have been $9 total. Our dinner was excellent and then we were on to see the baby.
Trevor is adorable! He’s only 3 weeks old and he was getting a diaper change when we arrived. I asked if I could snuggle with him and spent a glorious 20 minutes or so cuddling. I have always loved babies and still do, so I was in heaven getting to hold him. We had taken a gift bag filled with little outfits, hats, and booties, along with some washcloths I had made, so Lian was thrilled. She returns home to China the end of the month. I don’t envy her traveling with a huge suitcase and a newborn.
Coming home via the freeway was a breeze as traffic had tapered off, and we arrived home safely to our little doggies, who were thrilled to have us back. More cuddling and then bedtime as I was pooped!
Great day and a special time for both of us.
There were 4,217 people being admitted as citizens – and then all the guests and family members there to witness it. We did find a parking place in the underground garage system, but when we left, we had no idea how to find the car again … and had to ask one of the garage attendants for assistance. Had Y not remembered that the color in the garage was orange, we would have been out of luck. Once he provided the garage attendant with the color, he directed us down the block to another section of the garage where we found our car right where we had parked it.
The crowd was very well-behaved because the ceremony begins with the announcement that, for the purposes of administering the citizenship oath, we were now in a court of law. I was seated so far back in the auditorium that the judge, when he stood at the podium, looked about 3” tall! The “giant” screens that allowed the audience to see the ceremony looked to be about 1 foot by 2 feet from my distance, but I know they were much bigger than that the closer to the front of the auditorium one was seated. It also would have been easier to see what was going on if the chairs weren't arranged all on the floor level, so I had no chance to see anything that wasn't on the screen.
The good news is that the entire event was done by mass process, not individually, so once everyone did the swearing of allegiance and the court clerk banged the gavel to indicate the event was finished, we all got to leave. Needless to say, the 5,000 or so of us who exited became a huge crowd outside waiting for individuals to find their family members! I parked myself on a set of stairs at the back of the crowd and called Y on the phone to tell him how to find me.
Then, it was time to find food. Y said let’s go to Pasadena (where we were going to visit his cousin and the new baby) and we’ll eat at The Cheesecake Factory, which is one of Y’s favorite places to eat because they serve a Chinese Chicken Salad that he loves. Believe it or not, the gps sent us through the heart of LA on surface streets and it took us a full hour to get to the other side of LA and looking for the restaurant! Once we found it, we also found that there is no parking in some parts of Pasadena, so we went to a parking lot two blocks away that advertised Parking $3, but in small letters it clarified: $3 for each 20 minutes, with a total of $8 maximum. I guess no one ever told the owner that 3x20 minutes in an hour each would have been $9 total. Our dinner was excellent and then we were on to see the baby.
Trevor is adorable! He’s only 3 weeks old and he was getting a diaper change when we arrived. I asked if I could snuggle with him and spent a glorious 20 minutes or so cuddling. I have always loved babies and still do, so I was in heaven getting to hold him. We had taken a gift bag filled with little outfits, hats, and booties, along with some washcloths I had made, so Lian was thrilled. She returns home to China the end of the month. I don’t envy her traveling with a huge suitcase and a newborn.
Coming home via the freeway was a breeze as traffic had tapered off, and we arrived home safely to our little doggies, who were thrilled to have us back. More cuddling and then bedtime as I was pooped!
Great day and a special time for both of us.
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Only the Brave
It's challenging to make a good movie out of a story everyone already knows. There is no surprise ending, so how to make the story engaging, interesting, and effective becomes the challenge. The story of the brave fire-fighting Granite Mountain hotshot team whose members lost their lives while fighting a ferocious wildfire in Arizona has been around since that event happened several years ago. It was shocking that 19 men died in the fire, so what would be the purpose in retelling the story?
The film version of the story, Only the Brave, is very effective in building relationships with the 19 men involved in the incident. The viewer sees their humanity, their personal issues that all of us have, but that we leave at home when we report for work. A team is only as strong as its weakest link, so much of the hotshots' time is spent building a fast-moving, effective, dedicated fire-fighting unit. By the time the team earns its hotshot status, the viewer is completely inside the story being shown on the screen.
I did not know that the firefighters died as a result of the failure of the water drop on their location, but that seems to be what happened. The two sides of the out-of-control wildfire suddenly burst into flame and came together, trapping the 19 men, who quickly deployed their individual shelters to protect them from the flames. The water tanker flew directly over their position, but didn't drop the water--and there was nothing that would protect the men from the ferocity of the flames as the fire merged mercilessly at the one exact spot the men were sheltering in place. There was nowhere else for the men to go, so their fate was sealed.
I don't know if the waterdrop would have given them a chance at survival or if that point is moot in the face of the ferocious flames, but my tears and my sorrow for the men were unabated as the film drew to an end.
There is a memorial at a hundred-year-old desert shrub outside Prescott, AZ that the hotshot team saved during another fire. There is a picture of the hotshot crew, smiles wide across their faces as they climbed on top of one another to make a pyramid of them after saving the tree. It made the silent point about the joy these men felt from doing their job to the best of their ability, all the while knowing that any fire could be their last.
The film version of the story, Only the Brave, is very effective in building relationships with the 19 men involved in the incident. The viewer sees their humanity, their personal issues that all of us have, but that we leave at home when we report for work. A team is only as strong as its weakest link, so much of the hotshots' time is spent building a fast-moving, effective, dedicated fire-fighting unit. By the time the team earns its hotshot status, the viewer is completely inside the story being shown on the screen.
I did not know that the firefighters died as a result of the failure of the water drop on their location, but that seems to be what happened. The two sides of the out-of-control wildfire suddenly burst into flame and came together, trapping the 19 men, who quickly deployed their individual shelters to protect them from the flames. The water tanker flew directly over their position, but didn't drop the water--and there was nothing that would protect the men from the ferocity of the flames as the fire merged mercilessly at the one exact spot the men were sheltering in place. There was nowhere else for the men to go, so their fate was sealed.
I don't know if the waterdrop would have given them a chance at survival or if that point is moot in the face of the ferocious flames, but my tears and my sorrow for the men were unabated as the film drew to an end.
There is a memorial at a hundred-year-old desert shrub outside Prescott, AZ that the hotshot team saved during another fire. There is a picture of the hotshot crew, smiles wide across their faces as they climbed on top of one another to make a pyramid of them after saving the tree. It made the silent point about the joy these men felt from doing their job to the best of their ability, all the while knowing that any fire could be their last.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Victoria and Abdul and A Mountain Between
Movies this past week were somewhat a snooze, with Judi Dench commanding the screen in Victoria and Abdul in the same performance she has given previously in her recent films. She is being typecast, so it's not her fault that all of her roles are the same from film to film, but I would have loved to have seen this role be a bit more interesting, more dynamic, and a whole lot less predictable. In a couple of places, I said the lines as she was saying them -- and I didn't write the screen script.
I give this film a C as it's pretty much not good enough for an A or B, and not bad enough for a D or Fail.
A Mountain Between is a story of a plane crash in the deeply snowy mountains which is survived by a man and a woman, and a dog, who then have to find either a way to be rescued (not going to happen) or a way to save themselves, which seems highly improbable. However, being a movie, they do get down the mountain and save themselves -- oh, did I just give away the movie? Really not really because it's that predictable. The acting is pretty good in the film, and the dog has a starring role and provides a bit of both comic relief and a moment of sheer terror, followed by heroism.
I almost want to give this film a C+ as it's better overall than just average, but not really outstanding as it's too predictable. Even the ending, which you'll see coming a mile away.
If your theatre has a discount ticket price, I'd go for the least expensive showing as it would seem really not worth it if you paid full prime ticket sales amounts.
I give this film a C as it's pretty much not good enough for an A or B, and not bad enough for a D or Fail.
A Mountain Between is a story of a plane crash in the deeply snowy mountains which is survived by a man and a woman, and a dog, who then have to find either a way to be rescued (not going to happen) or a way to save themselves, which seems highly improbable. However, being a movie, they do get down the mountain and save themselves -- oh, did I just give away the movie? Really not really because it's that predictable. The acting is pretty good in the film, and the dog has a starring role and provides a bit of both comic relief and a moment of sheer terror, followed by heroism.
I almost want to give this film a C+ as it's better overall than just average, but not really outstanding as it's too predictable. Even the ending, which you'll see coming a mile away.
If your theatre has a discount ticket price, I'd go for the least expensive showing as it would seem really not worth it if you paid full prime ticket sales amounts.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Ricky Martin Puerto Rico Relief
I'm not easily impressed with people who tout their own virtues in an effort to make themselves look good, but I appreciate those who simply go about their business and, if accolades accrue, modestly accept the praise. When Ricky Martin visited The Ellen Show a week ago, he asked for donations to help him purchase relief aid for the people of Puerto Rico who have been devastated by the recent hurricanes. He asked for as many viewers as possible to send any amount, even a dollar, and he assured the viewers that their donations will be put to work where they are needed.
Today, Ellen had Ricky Martin on her show and his visit was accompanied by a visual piece about his taking necessary supplies to Puerto Rico and going person-to-person to deliver supplies in the devastated communities. He warmly greeted the people in his path, sharing his wonderful huge grin and a heart-warming hug along with the disaster relief packages. It was easy to see how appreciative the people were who received the boxes, but it was also nice to see the real joy on Ricky's face. Most interesting is the fact that Ricky was amazed at how Ellen's viewers responded to his request for donations, and he had a quarter of a million dollars to spend on aid just from Ellen viewers.
Ricky Martin is going back to Puerto Rico this weekend and he wants to take another plane filled with relief aid. He asked viewers of The Ellen Show again to donate whatever they can afford, and made the point that one dollar, when combined with lots of other dollar donations, can make a tremendous difference to the people of Puerto Rico. He provided a web address (youcaring.com/rickymartin) for donations.
I pledged $100 and received an additional $37 credit for posting on Facebook. I urge anyone who reads this blogpost to consider a donation too, and to post it so the fund has the money to send many more planes filled with relief products to people who really need the help.
Today, Ellen had Ricky Martin on her show and his visit was accompanied by a visual piece about his taking necessary supplies to Puerto Rico and going person-to-person to deliver supplies in the devastated communities. He warmly greeted the people in his path, sharing his wonderful huge grin and a heart-warming hug along with the disaster relief packages. It was easy to see how appreciative the people were who received the boxes, but it was also nice to see the real joy on Ricky's face. Most interesting is the fact that Ricky was amazed at how Ellen's viewers responded to his request for donations, and he had a quarter of a million dollars to spend on aid just from Ellen viewers.
Ricky Martin is going back to Puerto Rico this weekend and he wants to take another plane filled with relief aid. He asked viewers of The Ellen Show again to donate whatever they can afford, and made the point that one dollar, when combined with lots of other dollar donations, can make a tremendous difference to the people of Puerto Rico. He provided a web address (youcaring.com/rickymartin) for donations.
I pledged $100 and received an additional $37 credit for posting on Facebook. I urge anyone who reads this blogpost to consider a donation too, and to post it so the fund has the money to send many more planes filled with relief products to people who really need the help.
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