Entertainment

Title: Stretching for 50+: A Customized Program for Increasing Flexibility, Avoiding Injury and Enjoying an Active Lifestyle, 2nd Edition Author: Dr. Karl Knopf ISBN-10#: 1612436714 Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes This slim, 128-page book is designed for people who know that health and fitness  are only achieved by staying active and doing as many good things for themselves as they can, says its Introduction. Most of us Boomers were taught a number of outdated fitness rules that could actually cause us more hard than good, says the author, who explains that it is not so much about “more... Continue Reading

Title: Core Strength for 50+: A Customized Program for Safely Toning Ab, Back, and Oblique Muscles Author: Dr. Karl Knopf ISBN-10#: 978-1-612-43101-7 Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes From swinging a pickle ball paddle to lifting and toting a grandchild, or even hauling a bag of groceries, your core strength is everything. Balance, agility and youthful stature are just a few of the benefits of a toned and powerful midsection. This handy paperback book, Core Strength for 50+,  has everything you need to: • Improve your posture • Enhance your athletic performance • Keep your low back... Continue Reading

Title: The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life   Author: Jan Cullinane (Foreward by Kerry Hannon) ISBN-10: 978-1-119-83815-9  Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes This the third edition of Jan Cullinane’s seminal work, and as Kerry Hannon says in her foreword, “(This book) is a persuasive reminder that retirement is vastly different today than in previous generations, and (it) will continue to mutate.” As I write this review, we are living in a time of rampant inflation, post-Covid, when everything – especially food and medical care – costs more, and when... Continue Reading

Independent film exists because studios exist. Show business, particularly these days, has an almost sociopathic focus on the “business” side. Due to the coming merger of streaming behemoths HBO Max and Discovery+, nearly completed films were shelved and declared to be tax write-offs. TV programs that were deemed to be not profitable enough were canceled and/or removed entirely from the streaming library. In the end, money rules all with the studios. No big surprise there, and the reason that Marvel Studios is the name in four-quadrant popular cinematic entertainment is that the movies... Continue Reading

Perhaps more than any other genre, crime films are my jam. Everyone who’s into film has that one genre they prefer just a bit more than the others. Even snooty old film critics will give a pass to their beloved “elevated horror” films or to historical dramas. It’s never been about bias, just personal preference. A film that focuses on scumbags up to assorted scumbaggery? Great, sign me up! I can hang with the sweeping L.A. crime saga of Heat, the chilly nihilism of No Country for Old Men, the jittery panic of Training Day; the list goes on. While I’m not sure the crime... Continue Reading

As recently as 2019,* an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal trotted out that hoary old chestnut about women in the military. You’ve heard this before, the idea that women aren’t as strong as men, are injured far more often, and that by reducing the physical standards of recruits, the lethality of the military will be reduced and the odds of invasion by our hated enemy, Canada, will only increase. Plus there’s the concern that a coed military means a sexually active military, and we certainly can’t have that!** The fact that this lame old argument keeps being made says to me... Continue Reading

Title: Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? Plan Now to Safeguard Your Health and Happiness in Old Age Author:  Joy Loverde ISBN: 978-0-7382-1963-9 Reviewed for the NABBW by:  Anne L. Holmes This book, published in 2017, promises to be everything you need to know to plan for your own safe, financially secure, healthy, and happy old age. It’s an important theme, because so many of us Baby Boomers have been too busy dealing with the needs of the here and now to have any time to plan for the future.  But, the fact is, if we don’t have a support system in place, the mere thought of how we’re... Continue Reading

Imagine you’re a filmmaker. You have an idea. It feels like a good one, a very good one. You start writing, and after multiple screenplay drafts, you think you’re in good shape. Then, after assembling a cast and crew, you begin the Sisyphean task of making the movie. Amazingly, you finish without having too many nervous breakdowns. Then, you oversee the editing. After all that, your creation is released into the world, and…people love it! Your movie becomes both beloved and profitable. What happens next? Everybody wants a sequel. Your success is the good news, but the bad news... Continue Reading

Is Pixar the greatest animation studio in the history of film? Possibly. It can certainly compete with Disney, its quasi-parent, along with the mighty Studio Ghibli of Japan. For my money, Pixar slightly edges out Studio Ghibli and comes out on top due to two factors — the quality of animation and innovative storytelling. From 1995 to 2010, nearly every Pixar release could be considered a classic. I’ll grant you that Monsters, Inc. is well-meaning fluff, and I recognize that Cars is less geared toward families and more aimed at young children. But Wall-E, Up, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille... Continue Reading

There’s an old belief that all little boys go dino-mad for a minute. I have no idea if that’s accurate, but I do know I was no exception. Back then, I recall a zoo of molded plastic critters, everything from the T-rex to the Stegosaurus. I remember junior paleontology books and a bemused father* taking me over and over and over to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science so that I could gawk at the fossils. I love dinosaurs. I always have. Even now. I recently finished the very good book The Last Days of the Dinosaurs by Riley Black.** Odds are I’ll stop loving them right around... Continue Reading