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Monday Moment - Fareed Zakaria

The finale of the UTA Maverick Speaker series featured Fareed Zakaria. His general talk on the issues of the global economy was enlightening. A key aspect he touched on was technology - money can change hands and cross borders at lightning speed. Communication has exploded exponentially. The speed of progress and automation affects perceptions and has heightened fears.

However Zakaria is optimistic. I liked his view that America has been great, is great, and if it can maintain the OLD American spirit we know - the generosity, openness, and ingenuity - progress can be made.

This is a man (an immigrant!!) who was born in India, educated at Yale and Harvard, has traveled widely, and is well regarded for his political and economic coverage of the world. His speech offered humor and was thought provoking.

Plenty of moments to contemplate.

Let's have a thoughtful week, everyone

Movie Review Madness - Beauty And The Beast

A tale as old as time….Beauty and the Beast gets a live action Disney remake that is absolutely gorgeous and worthy. Go see it on a monster big screen. Spring for the good theater with XD fancy screen and sound. Get the big tub of popcorn and bask in an old fashioned musical. Not much new to the story. Belle (Emma Watson) is the odd girl in an old French town. She reads books, for goodness sake, and dreams of more to life. No, she does not want to marry Gaston (Luke Evans) – the hot male in town who’s an egomaniac. Her father (the always good to see Kevin Kline) is eccentric and when he goes off to market loses his way and ends up a prisoner in an odd creepy castle. His faithful horse shows up and takes Belle to find him. There she says, “Step into the light” and meets the Beast.

This formerly vain prince had a curse placed upon him and his castle. Now, until a selesai rose petal falls, he must remain a hideous creature and his servants are stuck as candelabras (Ewan McGregor), clocks (Ian McKellan), teapots (Emma Thompson), and the fancy wardrobe (Audra MacDonald- fabulous voice), etc. Belle swaps places with her father and shows her strong will. She’s not going to put up with crap from the Beast. But slowly she realizes he is her match – he’s well read, has a fabulous library, and she slowly makes him less selfish. Meanwhile, she charms the characters and they love her.

Emma Watson is perfect in this role. She projects intelligence. Her interplay with the Beast (a charming and worthy Dan Stevens) works. And he slowly wins her favor and ours. Deep down he is human, he does care, and does need and seek love. Can she fall for him in time to save them all? Oh, you must enjoy the film to the end – bask in the lavish numbers (Be Our Guest). Love is unpredictable, and sometimes you do have to look into the soul, into the core of a creature to find what’s worthy. So, yes, a bit of a lesson in this day and age. But the supreme goal of Beauty and the Beast is to entertain, to tell a tale as old as time…and golly gee, it will win your heart.

Alaska Cruise - Of Course It's Sunny The Next Day

Of course, Saturday September 10th dawns glorious. It's our day at sea, not the Glacier Bay day. Oh well. There's a lot of motion on the ship and we both have a slight sore throat and cough. Probably best to stay on the down low. Ray does his one gambling foray in the casino. That's a bust. We hang on our verandah in the sun and read. We do get in our one mile walk on the Lido deck, but even that's getting tiresome. We are ready to get off the boat for good. I can highly recommend Holland America. The staff has been fantastic, the shows awesome, food is delicious, etc etc. But we are not "cruise" people. We want to be on land and into the adventure.

Sunday September 11th - we say farewell to the Noordam. We have cruised. Bus trip through Seward and we learn about the great quake of 1964. It obliterated the city. Zoom on through Anchorage, Wasilla (I can see Russia from here - ha!), Willow, and finally outskirts of Denali by 5:30 - the McKinley Chalet. Nifty resort with a room overlooking mountains and a river. The yellow aspens pop - gorgeous fall colors. We are now on our LAND adventure.

Alaska - Denali Grand Finale

Land Ho. Monday September 12. Okay, I admit I do take some dramamine because we are going to be on a bus all day. You never know - better safe thank sorry. Ray did check around midnight for the Northern Lights. Alas, too much cloud cover. We never did see them.

2 pm tour bus for the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Book this now........wow, what a splendid day.

Justin, our tour guide, was studying for his masters in biology. He's been studying wolves. His gig as a Denali bus driver is a bonus for us - the man knows his park, the animals, and he sought to give us the best experience possible.

The National Park system of the USA is a treasure and funds should not be cut. That's my political statement of the day. In Denali they maintain a natural eco-system. No interference. What lives. What dies. That's how it goes. No hunting or thinning of herds. It's maintained naturally. Regulated buses run during the day. The park shuts at night. Only a certain amount of certified photographers are allowed in per day. It is controlled for a good reason - try to NOT interfere with mother nature. I was very impressed.

Denali is the size of Massachusetts. Again the scale is mammoth and it's reassuring to know there is so much wild still not developed. Trust me - go see and you'll be glad.

Caribou had migrated already. We could see the tracks. One lumbering grizzly sought berries. His huge paws dug furiously and found a yield. Justin stopped the bus and we watched him. He dug, strolled, walked in front of our bus, and proceeded to continue his search for food. The whole bus stayed quiet as we snapped pictures. He was SO big and just freaking amazing.

Altogether, in our seven hour day (which flew by), we saw eight grizzly, eight moose (they are humongous), grouse,squirrels, bear cubs, an eagle,and a rainbow.

Wow

Book this trip now

Chug Into Saturday And Out Of Alaska

All Aboard - Tuesday September 13 - Denali to Anchorage via train

We boarded the McKinley Explorer at 9:30 am. I love trains and this one did not disappoint. We had comfortable seats in a glass open bubble. The views were breathtaking. Misty clouds, golden leaves, reflecting lakes, burbling rivers.

"Termination Dust" is a light snow dusting signaling the end of summer.

Look up the Dr. Seuss House in Alaska. You could see it's unique design from the train.

So smooth, we zoomed over look out after look out. How many vista pictures could I take? Oh, yes, I can bore you to tears. Go do it yourself.

And an eagle soared by the train as we pulled into Anchorage. So fitting...............

We arrived in Anchorage at 5:45 pm. A bus took us to our hotel. Back to reality. Not fancy, just a way station. We did get a reservation at 7:30 at Simon & Beauforts - a worthy last meal complete with sunset vistas. Salmon!!!

Wednesday September 14th was our farewell to Alaska. We enjoyed the Anchorage Museum - a mix of art and native culture. Arctic themes and native Eskimo installations. We learned a lot and glad we went.

Onward to to the airport for an 8:40 pm flight that will last six hours and go through three time zones. We land at 6 am in Dallas on Thursday September 15th.

Tired troopers. Our bags arrived with us. Time for reality, laundry, and sort through our pictures.

So many memories. Farewell Alaska - what an awesome state

Excellent Ray 60th Birthday Treat

Go book your land/sea adventure now........................

Monday Moment - Aah, Spring

Sunday March 19th Ray and I went to the Dallas Arboretum - one of my favorite places on this planet. We are having a very early spring with a week ahead of 80 degree weather. The tulips are almost past their prime. Glad we could visit and see them

Absolute bliss. And I know this is rotten, when my Dad and family are all chipping away at ice and dirty snow piles in PA. Hey, it will come back to bite us in August with over 100 degree temps.

Meanwhile, we smile and use sunscreen. Spring.......sings

Book Review - Hungry Heart By Jennifer Weiner

Hungry Heart – Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing by Jennifer Weiner is heartwarming and endearing. It’s like hanging out with a good friend who “gets” you. She’s now a bestselling author (Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, et al), but she’s also a mom, daughter, sister, wife, and is a mix of Nora Ephron and Tina Fey. (That’s a good thing!) From the cover – hilarious and moving, Hungry Heart is about yearning and fulfillment, loss and love, and a woman who searched for her place in the world and found it as a storyteller.

She always felt like an outsider, even in her own family. She was a “big” girl – healthy and athletic (competed in rowing), but loved to eat, loved to read, and just followed a different path. She was smart and knew it and didn’t let it hold her back. She found her voice in a newsroom, then as a novelist, and now as an activist and New York Times columnist. She worked hard at her craft. In a class with John McPhee she learned about revising and revising again. P. 110 Every piece of prose had to be whittled and buffed, fine-tuned and reworked and rubbed down and polished again, until it was as close to perfect as you could get it.

I enjoyed this book – whether it was her describing living in Philly and dealing with her kids. Or it was divorcing and rebounding. I liked the chapter about her grandmother in the retirement home and the “mean girls” there. Nothing in life really changes. You have to learn to be part of a group whether you are a kid or a senior. Jennifer Weiner has learned to adapt and embrace her differences to be part of a group. She’s found her writing niche and keeps honing her craft. She embraces social media and tries her best to help for positive change.

P. 402 Keep swimming. Keep talking. If something’s wrong, speak up. I will always love you, and I will always see you, all of you, inside and out. And every single part of you is perfect.

Wise words from Jennifer Weiner.

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Monday Moment - Fareed Zakaria

Movie Review Madness - Beauty And The Beast

Alaska Cruise - Of Course It's Sunny The Next Day

Alaska - Denali Grand Finale

Chug Into Saturday And Out Of Alaska

Monday Moment - Aah, Spring

Book Review - Hungry Heart By Jennifer Weiner

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