swordfights and bill killing

Two things I appreciate greatly: sword fights and strong female leads.
Tonight, I had both and, even better, had a doubleheader!
Woohoo!
I was ushering once more for the Lucas Theatre, this time during the (unofficial) Quentin Tarantino Film Festival. I had skipped the other two, saving myself for Uma Thurman.
Oh, yes!
"Kill Bill: Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" in one glorious evening!
Such a fabulous way to spend the last night of the first month of the year!

blue man monster

I had sent the above "monster" to my ex for his 50th birthday. I hadn't heard anything more about it until yesterday, when he sent me this photograph.
Nice!
He liked it!
I had thought he would.
(smile!)

Jeff: I forgot to send you a picture of this!

me: LOL! Your mini-Me! Doesn't he look just like you?

Jeff: Right, blue skin and everything :-)

me: Yeah, that sleep apnea is rough on the complexion. :-)

Jeff: Ha ha. But using a CPAP is why I grew the tail!

me: :-) Good one!!!

I so enjoy these little moments we share!
Nothing like a little humor between good friends.

from dating tips to drill bits

The Lunch Ladies are a diverse group! I may have mentioned that a time or two before, but it's absolutely true.
Take today, for example.
There were eleven of us dining at B. Tillman's today. When I arrived, I started off the second half of the table, then was joined in fairly short order by Amber, Yvette, Megan, and Elizabeth.
Due to the configuration, I spent much of the time talking with Amber (who I had met earlier) and Yvette. How very fortunate for me!
Both women seem to be around my age and they were both talking about their recent experiences with two popular dating websites, including this one that the peace Guy uses. I had tried one of them and found it was all about booty calls. They concurred.
I also talked about my experience with eHarmony and my two-year relationship with the man from Charleston.
I had talked about my lack of experience with dating, about always wanting to "go Dutch" with the men I saw, about my seeming to scare men off with my independence.
Amber and Yvette told me I need to let the man pay. I need to allow the man to feel needed. I need to show I am softer.
I think they may be right.
I have been on my own for so very many years and old habits - from my youth as a sailor - die hard.
These women in my life are a very good thing.
Change is definitely in the air this year and they are helping me welcome it with open arms.

This group, in particular, is ever-fresh.
We meet on different weekdays, at different restaurants, with different women in attendance. The only constants are the time (11:30 AM) and the presence of either Megan or Debbie or both, to maintain the group identity.
Change is part of the group's nature.
I am definitely in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

Today we dined at B. Tillman, a restaurant which is close to my neighborhood, but one I had not yet visited. After this visit, I intend to remedy that!

For instance,
consider their presentation
of a simple morning beverage:
coffee.
Is this not designed
to make the diner feel special?
There is even
a little sweet treat
on the tray!


Then, my lunch arrived.
The Salad Nicoise was a beautifully arranged work of art.
Rather than having all ingredients mixed together, they were side by side, providing you the option of enjoying each singly, or of making a variety of taste combinations.
Definitely fun as well as delicious!

Barbara,
Debbie,
and
Marjorie

Debbie,
Marjorie,
Betsy,
Agnes,
and
Nancy

Yvette
and
Amber

Megan
and
Elizabeth

the crane's journey

Today has been filled with little pleasures.

An afternoon film with a message of hope.

An afternoon visit with an feisty friend.

An early evening jazz concert.

A fried chicken dinner.

All in all, a most welcome sail, on a calm sea, from isle to isle of delights.

The film was part of the JEA's 11th Annual "Joan and Murray Gefen Memorial Savannah Jewish Film Festival". Usually, I am able to view most of the films, but this time, I have only seen two (of ten total) of the afternoon or evening screenings.
This post-lunch film, "Igor and the Cranes' Journey", followed a young crane named Karl on his first migration from Russia to Israel and points beyond. That uprooting was echoed in the transplantation of 11-year-old Igor from his home in Russia to a new country, a new school, a new language. Worse yet, he had to share all of that with unfriendly Israeli middle-schoolers.
There is also an exploration of father-son, mother-son relationships, as such a film would, and should, also have.
But the focus is on the imprinting of the crane onto the young boy.
The film lends new meaning to the line from one of my favorite movies: "If you build it, he will come". Knowing the young crane had lost both parents, the boy enlists the aid of his classmates and cleans up a pond in a field, transforming the area into a welcoming winter home... and transforming his classmates into friends.
One boy did all of that.

I followed that up with a visit to Marlin Brown.
That's when I took the above photograph of the artwork with the cranes. The presence of the piece served to confirm that I was in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing.
Marlin began her year with a brain aneurysm. I found out on Saturday, via a mutual friend in our philosophy group. Bonnie had written that Marlin was at Hospice House.
I found it amazing that she had survived the aneurysm.
I had attempted to visit her there on Sunday afternoon, but she was sleeping.
I was committed to seeing her one more time.
I'm glad it was today.
She looks incredible! Her headful of wavy, platimum blonde hair was intact and well-groomed, her skin was tanned and healthy, and I could tell at once that she knew who I was. She is very weak, physically, and easily tires, but her mind is sharp.
Amazing!!!
I had brought this photo with me, just to jog her memory or to share with any of her family who were there. It was taken August 29th, 2009, when the former Beer Guy, aka Frank Dinan, was in town for a visit. There she is, in her pink jersey, cutting up and enjoying the game!
The news today is that she is to be moved to a rehab facility to get her muscles back up to speed after more than three weeks on her back.
A rehab facility!!!
Amazing!!!
Now, I can look forward to seeing her bouncing around Grayson Stadium in April, when my boys of summer come out to play.

The jazz concert was at Bonaventure Chapel.
Yes, at Bonaventure Cemetery.
As an awareness raiser of a new organization, Families First Funeral Care & Cremation Center.
What timing, n'est-ce pas?
I had garnered two invitations to the event, from my church colleague Scott West and from the 40+ Women's Social Network. Still, I almost backed out, simply because I was home after a busy afternoon, and thought I wanted to stay there.

But I'm glad I went! I found my meetup group fairly easily, as the crowd had thinned out for this last hour of "The Art Of Living".
I had also arrived in time to hear "Blue Moon" by the local jazz trio, courtesy of the Coastal Jazz Association.
Very nice!
That was followed by "Makin' Whoopie", another favorite tune!
Right place, right time.
Again.
I even met a new transplant from San Francisco who likes Bollywood films and lives out in Pooler. We exchanged numbers and I look forward to her as a movie buddy!
I departed with a lighter tread, whistling "Satin Doll".

I had started the day with the birds, so how best to end it?
Why, with the moist and delectable fried chicken from Sisters of the New South, of course!
The Home of Soul Food.
Yeah, definitely appropriate.
(smile)

elephants and horses and dogs, oh my!

I went to the circus!!!
I haven't been to the circus in... well, it's probably been twenty years, or close to it. It was definitely time to remedy that situation!
I arrived in time for the final twenty minutes of the pre-show, featuring the two Asian elephants and many of the clowns.
Wonderful!

Then began The Greatest Show On Earth!
The official title of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Built To Amaze! - Nuts & Bolts Edition is a bit wordy, but it adds a blue-collar feel to the circus concept - and that is a very good thing. Everyone can understand and embrace the idea of working people who are also entertainers.
The construction themed attire was a bonus!

After the grand intro, with all acts represented on the stage, the first act combined horses and acrobatics. Handsprings!
Back somersaults!
Flipping from one horse to another!
All done bareback, all done while the horses are trotting around the ring!
Amazing to watch!!!
At times, I felt myself holding my breath while a maneuver was in motion!
Such beautiful horses, too!

Then came the crossbow artist! "Artist" is the only word that feels appropriate here -
"archer' is simply not enough!
By the end, there were nine crossbows arranged on stage, with small balloons in front of each. He pulled the trigger for only the first shot. They were precisely aligned for a continuous and sequential release of arrows as each balloon was burst by an arrow.
Utterly amazing!!!

Next up was the King Charles Troupe!
Think Harlem Globetrotters on ever-moving unicycles and you get the picture!
Very funny show they put on, too, with lots of trick shots and a little dribbling...
and a super-tall unicycle for those hard to reach areas!

But wait!
There's more!
Inside the Globe of Steel, two motorcyclists whizzed along, intertwining with each other in a series of near collisions!
Not exciting enough?
Fine. They added a third cyclist and a daring young woman to stand in the middle while they all spun around her!!!
WOW!!!

Time to move the presentation of the floor and into the air!
First up was a quartet of aerialists - very strong acrobats they were, too.
How did I know?
They performed a "flying trapeze" style of act - but with no trapeze. They literally threw each other from one platform to another!
I cannot even imagine the musculature needed for that.

But the next was my very favorite!
Performed on a high wire
right in front of me
was a single motorcyclist, racing along and balancing the actions of the two aerialists on an attached perch below him, while Ozzy's "Crazy Train" served as his soundtrack - superb!!!!
Alex Petrov, you are incredible!!!

Time to bring things
back down
to Earth again!
How better
than with a
group of cute dogs?
Especially
if those dogs
are of a variety
of sizes and colors and breeds -
definitely!

Then it was time for more human tricks to be done!
Hector and Tatiana are a hand-balancing team known as Duo Solys and they are incredible to watch.
She is the one supporting him throughout most of their act.
That's a pretty cool switcheroo!

Now, to the back corner and over to the other side of the arena we go!
Two young men
worked with this
double pendulum,
dancing and running
and jumping in
- and on top of! -
the moving, rotating wheels.
Such great balance and talent!

Where are the elephants?
You can't have a circus without elephants, right?
No fears, my dear!
Here they are, one older, one younger, both thriving on the applause of the happy crowd!
Clearly, this group is treating these sweet beasts like the stars of the show!
Hooray!!!

And then the Grand Finale!!!
Everyone back on stage one last time!
Aerialists, dogs, horses, bicyclists, clowns, everyone!
Add confetti! Add flashing lights!
Add applause!!!
Wow...
what a grand experience!

soup, glorious soup!

(You have to SING it, in the style of that commercial about cheese or the song from "Oliver Twist".)

Oh, what a fabulous night last night!
This is my breakfast today: a bowl of Margaret's 3rd Place entry, Tuscan White Bean Soup, with a grilled cheese sandwich (my first in many years!).
How did I come to have such good soup at hand?
I'll tell you: Dawn's annual Soup Party!

There she is!
The hostess with the mostest!
She's regaling us
with the answers
to the 10-question
trivia game we played.
Amazingly, she had chosen to use the same questions from last year's party (which I had missed).

More amazingly, I managed to get
nine correct answers, beating out those who were taking the quiz for the second year in a row!
Seriously, I was not trying to do so.
I am notoriously bad at trivia.
But I won, fair and square!
My prize?
As well as learning about international soups I had never heard of, I won these five soups!
What a great prize!
I practically live on soup at this time of year.

Those welcome canned goods weren't the only prizes I garnered, either.
Oh, no, not by a long shot!
I did mention she was the hostess with the mostest, did I not?
She doled out raffle tickets before the meal, making sure everyone had two.
(Mine were *639 and *642, jsyk.)
I ended up with this handy egg slicer (in the pretty purple-striped bag) on one ticket and two more cans of soup on the other!

This orange bag was slap-dap full of goodies as my 4th Place prize!
Yep, I was one of the four lucky chef-testants!
(smile!)
I chose to make my version of Mother Pat's Easter Soup.
(It's one of my favorites and I usually prepare it when the ex is in town.)
What a pleasure to be able to share it with new people!
Sure, sure, I can tell you've done the math.
My soup came in last.
Big whoop. Somebody's had to!
I have no problem that mine was last.
Everybody ate all in their sample bowls and Margaret even took some home for her Polish husband!
Success!!!

What's this last bunch of goodies all about?
Dawn gave these to all as parting gifts for attending the party.
For real!
No one ever leaves her parties empty-handed.
Seriously!
I am so happy that she invited me!!!
I even met some new fabulous folks: Jennifer of Summerville, SC, and her mom, Faye; Allison, who should be having a baby soon; Kay, Angie's friend; Cara, Dawn's New Jersey niece; and, of course, Margaret!
SO... MUCH... FUN!

hey baby they're playin' our song

Woohoo!
Tonight, in the balcony of the Lucas Theatre, we had our own dance party going on at The DooWop & Rock Festival!
Rather, I tried to encourage everyone to dance!
I certainly danced to almost every song!!!
I sure do enjoy being an usher here!
(Thanks, Shea and Joe B!)

Yes, indeed, tonight's show, the first of a two-day stand for the festival, featured groups Mama would have loved to hear. She and I danced to their music when I was growing up.
The Archies.
The Buckinghams.
The Coasters.
The Shirelles.
Wow!

Ron Dante was the designated show starter.
And start it he did!
He entered the stage clad in a white jacket,
but soon jettisoned that encumbrance to reveal
his trademark dark shirt and black leather pants...
very nice!
"I Want Candy" was his lead song,
making us "Glad All Over"
and craving more "Sugar, Sugar"!
So much fun!

Then the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Shirley Alston Reeves took the stage!
At 72, the former Miss Owens showed she can still kick out the jams!
"Mama Said" there'd be shows like this!
"Baby, It's You" for this "Foolish Little Girl"!
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow"?
You know I will!
Right down to your "Blue Suede Shoes", you sweet "Hound Dog".
(smile!)

Following a brief intermission to catch our breath, Billy Richards' Coasters leapt onstage.
No need for "Searchin'" anymore, y'all!
"Youngblood" and "Charlie Brown" were right here in Savannah, not on "Blueberry Hill"!
They brought along "16 Tons" to lift us "Higher and Higher" with their sweet "Yakety-Yak"!
Oh, yeah!

"Don't You Care" about Dennis Tufano?
Yes, yes, I certainly do!
He's such a tall, cool one, so silky smooth.
Just listen to that voice...
"Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song"!
That "Dream Lover"
can dance with this "Queen of the Hop"
until it's time to "Splish Splash"!
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy"!

And, as if all of that wasn't enough, they were all onstage at the end, granting us a beautiful "Good night, Sweetheart".
Nice! They love us, too!
Time for me to float on to bed for some sweet dreams...

of bees and bird girls and purring tigers, oh my!

She was once at the Telfair Academy, but she recently moved.
I first saw her here last month, when my friends were visiting from that city by the bay.

One moment, please. Just where is "here"?

Oh, pardon me! She and I were at the Jepson Center for the Arts today. It's the second day of the PULSE Art + Technology Festival and I was there to partake of new exhibits, a lecture, and a dance.
I very much enjoy this celebration of science! It always features a new toy - I mean, interactive exhibit! - that grabs my attention and tickles my fancy.
Last year, I could control the weather and jiggle the Jell-O!
Two years before, it was "Swarm", featuring a screen on which images were recreated with fringes of light.
(We all know I like the fringe!)

This year, my favorite is definitely Mizaru.
It features five different backdrops, each with its own musical theme.
The sound portion of the exhibit is activated by touch from the viewer.
Touch.
Mizaru is Japanese for "to not see".
That's certainly appropriate for art that is meant to be touched and heard.
The tactile aspect definitely appeals to me, as it makes use of one of my favorite senses.
The backdrop for my symphony of touch was "chains" (as shown here, during the evening performance with high school dancers).
Rather appropriate, n'est-ce pas?
On my future visits, I'm going to opt for "water" and "universe" - growing and evolving, learning along the way, exploring inner rhythms.

Before the lecture by the designers, together known as Purring Tiger, I had made it a point to check out their particular exhibit. I'm so glad I did! The lecture provided the more in-depth knowledge needed to truly appreciate the work behind the piece.
I was also treated with the company of Brea Cali, a dance choreographer I first met through Savannah Stage Company. She had helped them with "Syncopation", a romance featuring two players, a chair or two, and music. (I had enjoyed it so much I saw it twice!)
She had choreographed the six young dancers from Savannah Arts Academy. Amazingly, I knew one of the young women! Her mom is the singer I so enjoyed at my church's Christmas Eve service and her dad is a colleague at Armstrong. What a delightfully small world!
Or maybe that just speaks to the well-roundedness of the many circles in which I travel?
Sure, let's go with that!

Um... what about the bees? Where doe they come in?

Oh, yes, the bees!!!
A Swiss artist devised this work which blends technology, dance, and environmental awareness.
Specifically, she addresses Colony Collapse Disorder, an idiopathic problem for bees, worldwide.
(That was a film topic at the Ocean Film Festival last weekend, too.)
Costumed dancers meander in patterns mimicking the bees, creating shifting kaleidoscopes of images.
Very nice!
She also uses the same methodology to address issues for butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds, all endangered species needed for the production of food (fruits and vegetables).
I enjoyed the many works presented in the room, but there was one aspect which was a bit aggravating. She had messages written in the videoportals, grouping the dancers to spell out the words.
That is a very slow process.
The viewer is required to stand there and passively wait while each word is formed, hopefully staying focused enough to string the words together into a cohesive statement or question.
I understand what she is trying to communicate, but her technique is faulty.
Rather, I don't have the patience to stare at one screen for several minutes in order to read the display.
I certainly did enjoy the rest of her Beeplanet!

But Mizaru captured my imagination and my heart!

of cats and tuna and chats

Tonight, I had the bfe all to myself for six hours.
That's right: six whole hours of chatting to him and giving pets to his two old ladies and dining on fabulous ahi tuna!
All because of a change in the status quo.
Change is good.

Let's go ahead and talk about the meal first, shall we?
Here are the two ahi tuna filets I supplied.
I had purchased them earlier in the month, after my brother had told me they were on sale.
Only $5 each at Fresh Market!
I bought four of them.

Here is half of one of the filets, after the bfe worked his culinary magic on it.
Delectable!!!
Of course I had seconds!
He did, too.
He confessed that he was quite impressed with the quality of the meat! He had feared that it might not be as lean as it should.
No worries about that now!

And I still have two filets in my freezer for a future dinner!

Before the meal and during the meal, we sipped wine and talked.
One of the topics concerned his paintings.
He paints???
I told him I did not recall his sharing that with me ever before!
This is his latest one. I think of it as "Two partridges in a pine tree". (He has not yet named it.)
After the meal, we sipped more wine and talked.
Talking is one of the things I most enjoy about our get-togethers.

Then we watched an episode of "The Carol Burnett Show".
Yes, we most certainly did!
I own several of the shows on DVD and we've been making our way through them.
Tonight, we viewed the one with Shirley Maclaine as the guest.
Very funny, too!
I had proposed that we watch the episode with Sammy Davis, Jr., as this was the day of celebration of the life of another Jr.
He was determined to hear the lovely Shirley sing and to see her dance.
So, that is what we did!
Then we happened to look at a clock to check the time.
ELEVEN O'CLOCK?!?
We'd been at it for six hours?!?!
Nice!
But an early morning lecture beckoned for him, so time to me to take my leave and bid him sweet dreams.
Later!

mystery movie!

No, that's not to say it was a movie with a mystery plot.
Oh, no, not with the Psychotronic Film Society!
Here's how the Super Crazy Ultimate Awesome Unknown Mystery Movie was advertised.

"In the 11 years that the PFS of SAV has been screening unusual films here at the Bean, we have often hosted “Mystery Screenings,” where we encourage folks to come out and take in a movie featuring a specific actor, or screenwriter or director, or cinematographer, etc…, without knowing EXACTLY what feature they’ll be seeing.
However, to the best of our recollection, we’ve never shown a COMPLETE MYSTERY FILM – meaning one for which we’re giving the public ABSOLUTELY NO HINTS OR INFORMATION WHATSOEVER.
In other words, there is no way to know if what we’ll be showing this night is either A) a very GOOD movie or B) a very BAD movie.
There’s also no way to know if it’s a comedy, a drama, a crime film, an action flick, a horror or sci-fi gem, a campy cult movie, musical or a mainstream blockbuster.
So why would someone come out on a Sunday night and buy a ticket without having the slightest idea what they’re about to witness?
Because they’re brave, insightful, exceedingly smart and handsome, of course!
Plus, tickets are only $5, so how can you possibly go wrong?
So, make plans now to attend this one-night-only screening of a somewhat amazing movie the PFS spent YEARS searching for, and which we have NEVER shown before.
Can we pack the house for a complete question mark?
You’ll laugh (or not)!
You’ll cry (or not)!
You’ll shriek in terror (or not!)
Your life will be forever changed (or not)!
See you there?
+The term “guarantee” is used solely as a figure of speech and does not imply any tangible contract or agreement."

Seriously, how could I resist?
So, I went.
I'm glad I did!
Because of the movie?
Heck, no.
It turned out to be a horror flick, my least favorite genre.
In its favor, it was a 1966 British horror flick, meaning it wasn't the gore-fest we have on this side of the pond.
In its favor, it was old enough to have missed being part of that ilk here.
Also in its favor was this: Jim screened "The Vulture" in black and white, as had been done in the cinema, not in the color in which it was actually filmed.
That was pretty cool!
But the coolest part of all and the reason I have included it in this blog?
He screened it as a surprise birthday present for his friend Jack.
Nice, right?
But that isn't all. Here's the rest of the story.
Jack had told Jim about this film, to see if the PFS film seeker extraordinaire might be able to unearth it. (That is actually a cool, and unintentional, pun, if you know anything about the flick!) So, the PFS-fse went in search of the flick and the topic was closed.
A few months ago, a VHS tape revealed an excellent copy! Someone, once upon a time, had recorded the flick when it aired on television a few decades ago! And Jim had found them!
Then, he sat on his news, patiently biding his time, not breathing a word to anyone. (Picture Snoopy in his Vulture mode, perched on the roof of his doghouse.)
Then, at long last, he finally baited his trap with the above advertisement.
He had a back-up film at hand, just in case this was one of those rare occasions that Jack was not present.
But Jack came.
Game on!
Super cool!
Joe B and Axelle were there, too, which was good for me. There were also some other regulars as well as several folks who had never been to one of the PFS screenings.
That was cool, too.
And there was a brown bag raffle of crazy items from Jim's collection.
That was cool, too, even though I didn't win anything. (Axelle did!)
The coolest part of all, by far, was seeing this side of Jim and witnessing the delight of the birthday boy.
That is what life's all about, folks!

Ocean Film Festival on the shores of the Lucas

I have so been looking forward to this! I look forward to it every year!!!
This is its twelfth year.
Annually, it explores different elements of marine life. This time, it's sharks, dolphins, and whales - and saving their habitats.

I think I would like to visit Gray's Reef. I've never been to a National Marine Sanctuary and it sounds like they do the kind of work I once thought of doing.
I have been to the UGA Marine Extension on Skidaway Island and that is highly advised for all!

Meanwhile, back to the Gray's Reef Ocean Film Festival (aka GROFF)!
When I signed up to volunteer for it, I knew exactly what the event was about and was very excited to be part of it.
Oh, yes!
And I am so glad it was at the Lucas and not the Trustees... so I could serve it this time.

For the most part, I was the only Lucas usher there, too!
That was okay, really it was.
The films were General Admission, so our service as true ushers was not essential.
Primarily, we were there to keep a head count (for the Fire Marshal) and to help the folks from Gray's Reef, however was needed.
This morning, Judy and I were the only two Lucas ushers there and we both were granted official "VOLUNTEER" badges from those at GROFF!
How very cool!


I'm telling you, these past two days have been such a fabulous time for me!
The fun began, officially, at 7 PM yesterday. The two features were "Great White Shark" and "Mission Blue". Of the two, the one which truly drew in the crowd was the latter, which featured Dr. Sylvia Earle.

As someone who once used to dream of becoming a marine biologist, you would think I would know about her.
Somehow, I did not.
But I'm fairly sure my mother did.
I very much liked both films (except for the gruesome stock footage of finning) and very much enjoyed the extended Q&A session with Dr. Earle.
She even held an autograph session afterward! So very gracious!

This morning began a bit early for me - you know how I enjoy my leisurely mornings! But, oh, was it worth the early rise! This session was devoted to the oceans' future stewards: the children of today. It even featured short films created by kids! How absolutely cool is that?!
My favorite was easily "The Coralax", created by four Maui middle-schoolers and admonishing resort developers to not destroy what they're are seeking to celebrate. Fabulous! Dr. Seuss would be so very proud! (Go ahead and click the link above to watch the entire video!)
The other two shorts, "Ain't No Fish" (based on the old song) and "Papa Cloudy's Restaurant", were certainly entertaining, so please don't misunderstand me. And the behind-the-scenes story, "Winter: The Dolphin That Can", was a different perspective from that of the Hollywood film, concentrating on the effect of Winter's tale on an autistic boy. This film held some personal cachet for me, as I had visited the Clearwater Marine Aquarium last month.
But that tale of the Coralax, with its Seussian flair, really tickled me and made me smile!
Afterward, I popped over to the Kayak Cafe to grab some lunch. (Good thing I did, as I relied on popcorn to fill the gaps until the after-party!) The chef had made an awesome chicken and rice soup, which was as good as mine. It was very filling, too!

Then home to the Lucas for the afternoon of shorts! Yep, that's right: shorts!!!
You know how much I love the shorts!
Some were made by children, some by local SCAD students, some by other college students. The student films ("Humpback Whale", "Make Your Ocean Connection Count", and "Going Green") showcased the works of some talented young people. Keep up the good work, y'all!
The other shorts were made by those already on the career path in film-making. For these artists, as in the past, not all dealt with marine, or even freshwater, animals, but they were all tasked to include some water angle. They met that task with varying success.
For example, "Nutria: The Other White Meat" and "Not So Black and White: Argentine Tegu" focused on the effect of invasive species on the marsh environment in the southeastern United States. Those who own dogs may want to check out MarshDog for tasty nutria foods.
For other films, such as "An Appalachian Tale", "God Save The Queen", and "Imperio Karstico", the link was more tenuous, if not invisible. The first dealt with reclaiming lands ruined by decades of coal mining and poor government regulations, the second concerned honeybees, and the third explored the effect of highway expansions on a specialized environment in Puerto Rico.
"Toxic Beauty" could not be screened, due to technical difficulties, so no appraisal is possible for it. (That emphasizes the importance of sending duplicate copies to film festivals!)
"Painted Buntings" and "Taking Flight: The Carolina Raptor Center" had us looking to the skies above the marshes. The film about the "rainbow birds" was particularly nice and beautifully shot.
"Cocodrilos Del Rio Tarcoles" had us back in the water, investigating tour guide practices in Costa Rica. (This link is not the film screened at the festival, but a similar one used in a newscast.) "Black Gill" was another investigative piece, this time dealing with a resurgence in the last two decades of the 1970's issue with local shrimp. While the disease does not affect the taste of the meat, it makes the shrimp unattractive, greatly decreasing marketability. (This is akin to the reality of the thought of "eating rat meat" greatly affecting the nutria market here in the USA. Having lived in Okinawa and Panama, I can attest that for people in most other countries, any animal can be used as a meat source.)
I think my favorite in this collection of shorts was "Gray's Reef NMS". Through that video, we all gained an introduction to some of the people involved not only at the marine sanctuary, but also at the Ocean Film Festival. Hats off to Amy, Jody, Chris, and Allie!

After a short break, the late afternoon session began. As with every group of films at the Ocean Film Festival, the first one screened was "Earth Is Blue". This short can - and should - be viewed here. This 3-minute video summarizes the beauty of our oceans and the need to protect marine life. The film served as an introduction for those who were present only for one or two sessions, or who were new to the GROFF.
A longer short was next up, this time by a teenager. "The Right Whale: Urbanizes" focuses on the work at the New England Aquarium. You can even view the entire video here. As well as being beautifully shot, it's very much like taking a tour, as you get history, biology, and anecdotes from two personable scientists.
Then it was time for the two feature films of the session! Talk about two extremes! "Antarctica: On The Edge" and "Swain's Island: One of The Last Jewels of The Planet" tracked from extreme cold to sublime warmth. An interview with Jon Bowermaster about Antarctica, found here, emphasizes the dire effect that climate change has had on this land - and what that means for coastlines everywhere. The tropical locale of Swain's Island, in the Pacific Ocean, is now protected waters - and land - thanks to local activism in that region. However, as the film reveals, the decree came only after the owners of the island were convinced that its inclusion in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa did not came at the cost of unwanted government interference. Nicely done!
One more brief recess before the final films of the festival. I missed all of the short films, as I was talking with Jody and Chris about GROFF of the past and brainstorming about future incarnations. I left my post as usher in time to catch the introduction to the feature, "DeepSea Challenge". Basically, the film chronicles one man's determination to build a one-man submersible which could withstand the pressures of diving seven miles down. Since that one man was James Cameron, a noted film-maker, it stands to reason that his quest would be fully documented. And it certainly was! What a ride for the rest of us!

Afterward, John Bruno, the director of the sea-going portion of the film, gladly again answered questions.
Oh, did I say "again"?
Did I not mention that he was there for the Q&A after the screening of "Swain's Island" in the previous session?
Well, he was, and that was quite informative, too.


What a wonderful day it had been!
I was even invited to the wrap party afterward!
After knoshing on beef cannelloni, spinach and ricotta cannelloni, and risotto on a stick (my name for it!) from Leoci's Trattoria, sipping on a Coke and mingling, and chatting with a new usher (who's first day of "work" will be this Friday), I took my leave.
Have I mentioned what a wonderful weekend this has been?
(smile)