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Movie: Shall We Dance? (1996 Japanese Version)
This story is more believable in the context of Japanese culture, which makes it more enjoyable and meaningful to me. Even the comedic characters seem possible, which the American version didn’t pull off. The one strength I grant to the American movie, though, is that it gives more attention to the impact of the main…
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Thanksgiving Guests
A nice Thanksgiving this year. Sarah’s turkey turned out well, even after some extra time in the oven. Her mom Zita delivered extra good green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and homemade cranberry sauce. Tante Berti has retired from her position as dessert chef, but bought us a huge yummy chocolate cake in consolation. The…
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Movie: Gunner Palace
Initially I thought this documentary featured the same palace Ann’s brother Randy, an army Lieutenant, had written to us about, but I think it’s a different Hussein family palace. I don’t regret the choice, though. This film mostly gives a voice to soldiers on the ground near Baghdad, letting them talk (or sing, or rap)…
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Live Music: CSO and Natasha Paremski
Eighteen-year-old pianist Natasha Paremski stole this show with her performance of Tschaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, as is clear from the Rocky Mountain News review. Jeffrey Kahane surprised me at this performance by conducting without a word, and I realized that I was anticipating the long or short lecture he’s given at the past few…