What a wonderful invention Valentine’s Day is!

It nudges us with encouragement  to express love.  On the 14th of February we step out of our regular routine to remind friends and family that we love them.  They are important to us.

Lacy cards with poems, bouquets of red roses, candies that say Be My Valentine, and heart shaped boxes filled with chocolates are just some of the ways we express our feelings to tell  people they’re special.

Letting others know that you are thinking of them and that you care is healthy for your AgeEsteem.  You focus on

• People who you love of all ages
• The blessings of friends and family
• Reaching out to others
• Renewing and strengthening contacts
• Creating or finding the right message
• Celebrating happiness

Bonnie Holidays AgeEsteem, love, reaching out, Valentine's Day

Meryl Streep

It’s so refreshing to have an actress who is not afraid to act her age.   Meryl Streep is an icon of AgeEsteem.  She glows from the inside, plays roles that make her seem real rather than beautiful (though beautiful she is!), appears in public looking like someone we would like to meet and sit down for coffee and laugh with rather than Ms Perfection Celebrity.   Her laughter alone captures your heart.

In the film It’s Complicated, she plays the role of a woman who has been left for a younger woman only to have her former husband fall in love with her once again ten years later.   She doesn’t try to dress or act younger, but flaunts her mature femininity and sexuality that is so attractive and appealing.  Somehow we almost feel sorry for her old husband who is unable to keep up with his younger wife and her son.

Great AgeEsteem lessons come out of It’s Complicated :

• If life is complicated, it is because we make it so.
• When we are blind sided by circumstances we gather our own internal forces and move forward.
• You are not the same person today that you were yesterday.
• Social life with friends and family is important.
• We are responsible for our own actions.
• Humor is delicious and healing.
• Having a purpose and loving what we do keeps us focused on positives.
• Values need to be taken seriously.
• Love is real at all ages.

Bonnie AgeEsteemers, Au Cinema AgeEsteem, It's Complicated, mature femininity, Meryl Streep, sexuality

A Gem Of A Business

I’m always delighted to discover AgeEsteemed Businesses.  Denise’s Beachway Cafe* in Bradenton, Forida is such a place.  Although we were only in the area for a week, we ate there three times.  The food was delicious and the environment welcoming – and full of AgeEsteem.

• Welcoming for all ages:  50 plus customers, grandparents with grandchildren, business people and small groups of friends of all ages.
• Staff of multiple ages with most being 50 plus who love doing just what they do.  In fact, Denise told me « I hire them for their smile and attitude. –  I can teach anyone the mechanics of the job ».
• Family atomosphere.  Staff call many customers by name, asking about their families and activites. (Giving your name to sign up for a table probably helps.)  Many sign in on their own   We saw one regular customer scrub his hands and help put utensils together with napkins after he had paid his bill.  Another was paying for past meal bills that had been held for him.
• Even when the place is packed with people waiting for tables, the racing waitresses still manage a genuine smile and welcome.  And….
• The food is good and within most budgets since you can eat for under $10 even after adding on the tip.

Thank you, Denise, for showing the way to other small business owners.  You have a gem of a business, full of AgeEsteem.

*Denise’s Beachway Café, 7224 Manatee Ave. W, West Bradenton, Florida.

This is based entirely on my own personal experience.

Bonnie Restaurants, Travel & Business AgeEsteemed businesses, attitude, Bradenton, Denise's Beachway Cafe, Florida

What a bummer to be settled into your seat for a trans-Atlantic flight only to learn that due to engine trouble you are headed back to the gate. – And you must remain aboard  during  two hours of mechanical repairs!  That’s what just happened to us on our return flight to Europe.

And yet, what ended up as a four hour delay also turned out to be an enlightening experience.

Not being one to sit quietly, I stood in the aisle and began chatting with  people.   I even interviewed several on what the term AgeEsteem meant to them as they heard it for the first time.  It’s a great icebreaker as well as an interesting source of information.

These spontaneous conversations also highlighted  the dedication and concern ordinary people have for others.  So much goodness around us.  Among the people I spoke with were two women on their way to Uganda for two weeks to work in a project with children who are HIV positive.  One was a student in International Studies for whom it would be her first experience in Africa.  It was a second trip to the project for the other woman, a banker using her vacation to work at the project.  Her first trip working with these children had changed her whole outlook, giving her a new perspective.on life.  She was eager to return.

Another very special conversation was with a Sister en route « home » to Tanzania where she heads an orphanage for children with Leprosy.  Leprosy is still a very real disease in many parts of the world and the work of this Sister with children and parents who live with Leprosy daily is changing lives and giving hope.

When the announcement came to return to our seats for take-off I was actually disappointed.  It was so inspiring to exchange experiences and life philosophies with these people.  Especially knowing within me that whether or not we ever see each other again, we have each received a gift. – The gift of sharing dreams of a better world.

Bonnie For the Soul AgeEsteem, dreams, enlightening, HIV, Leprosy, Tanzania, Uganda

**** Superb       *** Very Good       **  Good         *  Mediocre

UNMISSABLES

Océans ****   (vo French)  This spectacular documentary by Jacques Perrin (Le Peuple Migrateur) is absolute poetry in motion, and a visual gift depicting the beauties and peculiarities of the myriad marine species in our precious waters. It’s a must-see on the giant screen for the full effect of its glorious images and music. Simply breathtaking!

Sin Nombre ****  (vo Spanish)   Along with an incongruous love that develops atop a transport train, this violent and harrowing yet moving film shows the desperate ordeal of emigrants from Central America trying to reach the borders of the U.S. A powerful first film by Cary Joji Fukunaga, it has won awards at both the Sundance and Deauville festivals.

The Little Fugitive ****   This entrancing B&W, multi-awarded film from 1953 will be showing at the CAC Voltaire and should NOT be missed! It’s Brooklyn in the summer and boys will be naughty. When a widowed mother leaves to visit an ailing grandmother, her two sons are left alone for two days. And because little Joey is a pest for his older brother, they play a prank on him, turning Joey into a scared fugitive. A boy’s day out, the innocence yet gumption of a smart kid, and a holiday atmosphere on Coney Island – it’s all here in this independent American forerunner of the French Nouvelle Vague. Cunningly photographed and timeless in its simplicity and universality.

The Road ****   Not for the faint-hearted, here’s yet another end-of-the-world story, but one which is done with a sobriety and depth of feeling that will shake you to the core. The grayness of the desolate earth is given life through the overpowering acting of Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and son trying to survive in the barren wasteland that is left of the world. This tour-de-force which deals with the struggle between brutal survival and remaining “one of the good ones” is based on the celebrated novel by Cormac McCarthy (of No Country for Old Men) and directed by Australian/Canadian John Hillcoat.

Where the Wild Things Are  (Max et les Maximonstres) ***1/2   Based on the beloved children’s book, this Spike Jonze film is about a boy who feels no one really listens to him, so he creates his own strange kingdom with quirky and delightful creatures where he can rule and be heard. Superbly played by little Max Records and Catherine Keener as his mother, this charming tale is for those with heart, from 5 to 95.

Le Concert ***1/2 (vo Russian/French)   A renowned but politically-damaged Russian conductor gets a chance after 30 years to reunite his orchestra and give an impromptu concert in Paris. Can he manage against all odds, and get to perform with the young violin virtuoso with whom he has a connection from long ago? This delightfully constructed adventure by the Romanian Radu Mihaileanu has some silly and unnecessary moments, but as an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser it is saved by its heartwarming story and characters, and especially the lovely Melanie Laurent (last in Inglourious Basterds) as the violin soloist. The rousing concert finale will have you wanting an encore!

It’s Complicated (Pas si simple) **1/2   Here’s a film not to miss – first because it’s a love story about mature adults, second because it’s got such super actors as Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin and third, because a good romantic comedy is a rare thing. But director Nancy Meyers is an expert at the entertaining ones – such as What Women Want and Something’s Gotta’ Give. It’s a delight for the eyes and for many a belly laugh and it all makes giddy sense until the ending, which I personally did not like. But that’s only me – you and others may think it should end in such an American, equalitarian way…

WORTH YOUR WHILE

Bright Star ***   This beautifully-filmed period piece by Australia’s Jane Campion (The Piano) is about the difficult love story between the poet John Keats and his muse, Fanny Brawne. It truly conveys its era and the delicacy and discretion of feelings back then, when emotions hung on rapturous words and silences..

Loup **1/2 (vo Russian)   Nicolas Vanier (Le Dernier trappeur) takes us once again into the wild, this time to oriental Siberia. This saga of a young man, who has to take care of his troop of reindeer and also protect the family of wolves with whom he has become entranced, is an amazing feat of animal and nature photography.

Kérity, la maison des contes **1/2  (vo French)   Here’s a beautifully animated tale of a little boy who can’t read but is bequeathed a precious collection of books by his late auntie, narrated by Jeanne Moreau. Watch the classics come alive.

Mères et Filles **1/2  (vo French)   The tension between three generations of mothers and daughters is magnified by some dark family secrets. This melodrama is enhanced by the fine acting of Catherine Deneuve, Marina Hinds and Marie-Josée Croze.

WHY NOT ?

Le Siffleur **  (vo French)   What makes this film is its setting – the marvelous Côte d’Azur, and the light touch with which it presents its crooked cast of characters, played by the likes of Thierry Lhermitte, Alain Chabat and the indefatigable François Berléand, doubling as his own twin. They all seem to be having such fun down there, in that radiant climate and all the luxury….

Baba’s Song *1/2  (vo English and German)   This uneven mishmash about musicians in Africa, destitute orphans and a shady adoption deal even grapples with Aids. Wolfgang Panzer of the brilliant Broken Silence just can’t seem to recapture the magic of his earlier film. Some of the acting and dialogue is painfully amateur, but the saving grace is Baba and his wily little side-kick.

AT YOUR OWN RISK

Le père de mes enfants *1/2  (vo French)   This is a story that ends tragically about a film producer burdened by bankruptcy and depression. None of the drama will make a dent in your emotions, methinks. (One wonders if those intellos would feel better if they washed their hair…)

Le Dernier vol *1/2 (vo French)   Don’t bother with this endless search through the dunes of the Sahara. Even though it tries to emulate The English Patient, it doesn’t come close to the latter’s quality or intensity. And neither Marion Cotillard nor Guillaume Canet can save the dull scenario.

Limits of Control *1/2   What’s happened to the brilliant Jim Jarmusch (Night on Earth, Ghost Dog) here? A hit-man goes from locale to locale and meets some strange characters. To what end? And who cares finally?  It should be called The Limits of Patience.

Bazar * (vo French)   This tale of an autumn/spring romance between an older woman and her new young beau, filmed here in Geneva, would have been more interesting if it hadn’t succumbed to clichés and superficial solutions. A pity.

Paranormal Activity *   You and I could also make such a home movie, with slamming doors and moving sheets, about a possible entity in a young couple’s home. It’s not scary, just a creepy wool-over-your-eyes stunt. Don’t fall for the hype from the U.S.

Neptune Ingwersen

Bonnie Au Cinema cinema, films, It's Complicated, movies, Neptune Ingwersen, Sin Nombre, The Road

Here we are again, ready to tackle the test of quality. Put in a nutshell, a great film leaves you with an unforgettable experience. Here’s my yearly list, in categories and in alphabetical order. If you missed any, rent the DVD.  Happy and healthy 2010, dear cinéphiles!

Neptune Ingwersen

INTERNATIONAL
About Elly – Iran
Cheri - GB
Le Concert - Romania/Russia/£France
Departures - Japan
Eden à l’ouest – Greece/Franc
Eyes Wide Open – Israel
New York, I Love You – France/U.S
The Road -  Australia/Canada/U.S.
Le Ruban Blanc – Austria
Sin Nombre – Mexico/U.S.
Tokyo Sonata – Japan
Vratne Lahve (Empties) - Czech

U.S.A.
Doubt
Inglourious Basterds
Julie and Julia
Last Chance Harvey
Revolutionary Road
Whatever Works
Where the Wild Things Are
The Wrestler
FRANCE
Coco avant Chanel
Le Hérisson
Je l’aimais
Je suis heureux que ma mère soit vivante
Mademoiselle Chambon
Micmacs à Tire-Larigot
Welcome

FUN, THRILLS or ANIMATION
Avatar – U.S.
The Boat that Rocked – GB
Bolt – U.S.
Envoyés très spéciaux – France
Erreur de la banque en votre faveur – France
StarTrek – U.S.
2012 – U.S.
Up – U.S.

DOCUMENTARY
Capitalism – A Love Story – U.S.
L’Enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot – France
Let’s Make Money – Austria
Man on Wire – France/U.S.
Max Bill- The Master’s Vision – Swiss
Michael Jackson’s This Is It – U.S.
Océans – France
Roman Polanski – Wanted and Desired – France/U.S.

Bonnie Au Cinema animation, best films, documentary, international films, Neptune Ingwersen, thrills, U.S.A. films

My wish for you at every age is to

• Live each day fully.
• Stretch your body, mind and spirit.
• Embrace new experiences.
• Share your talents with others of all ages.
• Learn something new each day.
• Celebrate frequently.
• Seek the positive in each person and experience.
• Give thanks for the blessings of your life.
• Meet new challenges with a sense of adventure.
• Greet each new day with anticipation and zest.
• Become a living model of AgeEsteem for those who meet you!

Bonnie Across-generations, Holidays adventure, AgeEsteem, celebrate, New Year, zest

The time between 2009 and 2010 is a split second, yet it announces  an end to a year and the beginning of a new decade.

Everything is possible in this new decade.  It is for us to explore, define and act.    It is interesting to recognize that what we wish for today is very different from what we wished for ten, twenty or more years ago.  As the world evolves, so do we.  As we age and mature, so do our desires and dreams.  But it remains up to us to drive our dreams to fruition.

What better time to reflect on your accomplishments of this past year and to dream of what you wish for during this new year and decade.

Write these desires and dreams down on a sheet of paper today.  Make them as honest as possible, not worrying about “how” they might evolve.  For the moment simply define them and write them down.  Save this paper where you can read it every few months.  The simple act of writing your desires and dreams helps you to make them happen.

Bonnie For the Soul, Holidays action, desires, dreams, new beginning, new decade, New Year

“What’s going on?”  I asked my husband as we went through yet another security check in Amsterdam.  This time they tapped down the body of every single person even though it seemed as though we had already removed as much clothing as was decently possible.  And as each bag rolled out of  the scanning machine it was opened, searched and often emptied.

My husband and I were on flight NW0243 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 27th, the day following all the excitement on a similar flight between those same cities.

Our flight was smooth and uneventful, but we were among the first to experience the new security measures for air travel. – Regulations that we did not yet understand, such as remaining attached in our seats with no access to hand luggage or toilets during the last hour of flight with blankets and pillows already gathered…

It was while we awaited our connecting flight in Detroit that we learned of the terrorist attempt the previous day.  Then chatting with crew on our Florida flight we learned that there had actually been three incidents the previous day, though only one made the news.  In fact a fellow passenger on our Florida flight had brought one of the other two incidents to safe closure when he brought down the terrorist!

Meanwhile, our flights were smooth with graceful landings and excellent crews.

Yes, we are pleased to have arrived safely!

Bonnie In The News Amsterdam, Detroit, flight NW0243, security, terrorist

One of my favorite card over the holidays is copied below.  – Not the message on the card, but the message of the sender.

Why is it a favorite?  Because the words of June, the friend who wrote it, express how she puts her AgeEsteem to daily use via her

• acceptance of her present health,
• positive attitude,
• gratitude for what she has,
• social contact with others despite not getting out and about,
• interest in the lives of others and what is happening,
• continued purpose and contribution to others.

Precious Ones,

I hope all is well with you and your family and that you will be together for a Happy Festive Christmas…

Things here are ok.  I’m having to use the walker all the time to get around and don’t go out, only to the doctors.  My son and his wife were here the first of Nov. and took me shopping for necessities but that’s it.  I’m just happy I’m here where there are people and I have a nice warm room and plenty to eat, and at 93 that is a lot – Especially when I think of how many older people aren’t warm or have enough to eat.

I finally finished the 60 Hats of Love, (for Cancer patients) and 80 ski caps (for the needy) – my fingers don’t do quite as good as they did – and gave them all away – know they will keep some heads warm even if winter is cold…

June is a wonderful example of AgeEsteem for all ages.

Bonnie AgeEsteemers, Happiness at Every Age AgeEsteem, Christmas, contribution, gratitude, positive attitude