12 Years A Slave

We are really getting with the movie scene here.  Last night we saw at the theater, 12 Years A Slave.  This movie is based on a true story written by Solomon Northrup in 1853.  Solomon was a free black man in NY who was kidnapped and shipped off to Louisiana for 12 years as a slave.  This movie is not for the faint of heart nor is it for children.  We saw two leave.  Hollywood has not glossed over this terrible time in our nation's history and the acting and directing are phenomenal.    If you have great sensitivity to nudity, (not in a sexual way) then you may struggle with this movie, but like I said, it brings the reality of slavery and all it's inhuman components to a world today that needs to be reminded that we are all created equal.   Thank goodness for the compassion of one man who helped enable Solomon to regain his life.  I can only wonder if I could have been that person.  There was not a peep out of the audience when it was over.

An interview????

I drove out to Camp BowWow yesterday to check it out for possible boarding for Hank.  I took a tour of the facility and I must say, I was quite impressed.  Very clean and the dogs have access to play areas most of the day inside and out.  I decided to sign Hank up as a "camper" on the spot but was then informed that he would first have to come in for an "interview".  They will put him in a room with a female and another male to see how he is socialized before they accept his application.   I don't think my mother filled out as much paper work when I went to camp when I was nine.  Anyway, I'm glad we have been taking our walks in the neighborhood as long as we have as Hank is doing much better sharing the street space with other dogs.   So next Tuesday he goes for his interview and then I can leave him there for a few hours if I want at the staff's suggestion so that he will be a little more familiar with the place before we have to leave him there.  I guess they are assuming he will pass his interview as one of the staff said, "well, he is a lab".   They also require twice yearly bordatella which I see as a good thing with so many dogs in one place.  I'll keep you posted on the interview outcome.   Thought you would get a kick out of seeing the camper application.   

I went to the dermatologist today

I went to the dermatologist today and I did not have to get up at 4:30, catch the "red eye" ferry, run around like a mad woman doing Costco, Target etc, rush back to the ferry to sit in line for two hours waiting to catch the ferry that will get me home at 6.  All this for a 15 minute appointment.  Tucson...you gotta love it.

Movies and shows

We are slowly catching up on some movies we have wanted to see.  Last week it was "Philomina" in the theater and two nights ago it was "The Life of Pi".  Both were extremely well done with good messages which I always love.  The Life of Pi was full of incredible special effects that kept us asking, "how do they DO that??"   A couple weeks ago we got tickets to see a live performance of Mama Mia at the Univ. of AZ.  What a fun time with all the great Abba music.  It's just hard to not sing along.   I finished a good book, called Lionel and Charlotte, by Stanley Weintraub.  These two were part of the Jewish Rothschild family, or I should say, dynasty during the 1800s.  Very interesting as a family how devoted they were to each other.  Marrying outside the family was very rare and frowned upon.