By Jean Ketcham
I saw Avatar!  What a movie!  Very beautiful at times and, also, very violent!  The technology was unbelievable – the way Cameron pulled this off was something to behold!  The 3D glasses were quite substantial (not paper ones like we remember).  I honestly can’t get it out of my mind.  I think the only reason someone would NOT want to see it is because there is a war going on with the people of Pandora and it gets pretty intense.  But the beautiful scenery in other parts of the movie makes it all worthwhile.  I would definitely recommend it!

by Robyn Hall

Hey 2009:  Adios.  Sayonara.  Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.  Good bye and good riddance. 

Last year when I was writing this column, it was okay to joke about how depressing things had been in 2008.  The housing and financial crises were big news.  But there was at least hope in the air.  The new year, and the new administration, promised us change – change for the better. 

Well, I’m not laughing any more.  No one is.  2009 continued in the same vein as 2008 and in fact became worse, not just for me but for so many people.  The national disasters that struck in 2008 became a lot more personal this past year; we all know people who have lost their homes, their jobs, their marriages, their security, their health, or all of the above. 

If you look at the top news stories for 2009, they read like a list of plagues from the Bible:  the red spilleth over as GM, CIT, and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy; darkness covered the banks that closed, the homes that foreclosed, and the Bernie Madoff clients who were hosed; we suffered the pestilence of the swine flu; and the Angel of Death took away society’s kings – the King of pop Michael Jackson, King of pomp Ted Kennedy, even the King of pulp Dominick Dunne. 

In this time of despair, we have to find hope again.  While so many things are going wrong, it is time to remember what is right.  We have to find a reason to smile, to laugh, to look at the glass half full.

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” 
Bobby, age 7