Hallelujah Girls

There are only two more weekends to enjoy the Whittier Community Theatre's production of The Hallelujah Girls, directed by Roxie Lee.

This comedy tells the hilarious tale of the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia.  The action centers around an abandoned church turned day spa named Spa-Dee-Dah!  A group of ladies gather there every Friday afternoon, and after the loss of a dear friend, they realize they need to change their lives and achieve their dreams before it's too late.

The Whittier Community Theatre production
 (Clockwise from the top) Iris Harris, Laura Flores, Rahab Mitchell, and Patty Rangel

Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated when sexy exes show up, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor, and an arch rival vows to take the spa away!

What happens as the women rally together to overcome all these obstacles, is a side-splitting, joyful comedy that will make you laugh out loud.

John Francis, Iris Harris and Laura Flores

This comedy opened last weekend.  It will play for the next two Friday and Saturday nights (November 9, 10, 16 and 17), and one Sunday Matinee performance (November 11th).

For more information, or for tickets, call the theatre at (562) 696-0600 or check out their website at www.whittiercommunitytheatre.org. Tickets are also available on-line through Goldstar.  

TREAT YOURSELF TO A NIGHT OF LIVE THEATRE!

A Little Pumpkin

Hey, Mom!  Look what I found in the pumpkin patch!  Can we keep her?

I love this time of year.  I love that our nights turn chilly with the promise of fun times and holidays to come!

My little friends, Bianca and Noah got to visit a pumpkin patch recently!  It made for a very sweet picture, I believe.

Snow White!

This tiny Princess Snow White is a real Princess to her mommy and daddy and her two attentive big brothers.

Paradise in Black and White

It's funny how different a place can seem in black and white.  It's almost as if you're suddenly transported to the 1940s and 50s!  You know what I mean, like any minute Esther Williams will appear in a swimsuit looking like a goddess wandering through the palms -  followed by some great actor like Don Ameche or (sigh) Cesar Romero in a white dinner jacket.

Those were the days.

Don't you love that brooding sky as a storm approaches over the water?  It's beautiful.

Here is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida beach before a storm.  (And way before Hurricane Sandy hit!)

Get ready for some rain!

- Photos: J.D. Evensen

What seems interesting to me is that, while there are many similarities between the East and West coasts of America, they are very different.

I still prefer the West Coast!  What's your vote?

Get Out and Vote, America!

Today is a big day for America.  Every four years we have the right to make a choice.

Make your voice heard!

 Whoever you may be,

Wherever you are,

Whoever you are voting for, 

just get out and

You go, America!

King Sejong

King Sejong Jangheon Yeongmun Yemu Inseong Myeonghyo the Great

I have to confess I hadn't heard of King Sejong the Great of Korea at all until I received an email from my nephew Daniel saying they'd visited a museum devoted to this historical figure.

He (Daniel, not the King) took his family to the King Sejong Museum in Seoul, Korea last month.  He writes that the museum is located right across from the old capital complex and is very close to the U.S. Embassy there.

Daniel and Livia at the King Sejong Museum in Seoul

As I read about King Sejong, I realized he really earned his title, "The Great".  He was a wonderful ruler who fostered the arts and sciences, reformed the calendar system and helped set up a system of writing that  revolutionized the country.

The native phonetic alphabet system that King Sejong introduced, called Hangul, made it possible for anyone to easily learn to read and write.  Up until the creation of Hangul, only members of the highest social class were literate, as writing required learning very complex characters based on classical Chinese characters.

Inside the museum

King Sejong nurtured the introduction of a 28-letter Korean alphabet, first published in 1446, which changed his society forever.  His goal was for Koreans from every class to learn to read and write.  He also felt that, with a unique script, the Korean Language would provide the country with a cultural identity separate from their neighbors, China and Japan.

The new Hangul alphabet made it possible for anyone to learn to pronounce Korean script accurately after only a few hours of study, and be able to read and write in a matter of days.

Introducing Hangul had a big impact on Korean society.

The King Sejong Museum

King Sejong is credited with many technological advances during his reign.  He also helped foster inventors who developed significant designs for water clocks, sundials and rain gauges - and other "modern" devices.

A 10,000 Korean Won Bill featuring King Sejong the Great

The 10,000 KRW bill today bears the image of this great King.  [This is somewhere in the neighborhood of a $10 USD bill.  The current rate is about 1100 Korean Won to one U.S. dollar.]

King Sejong was a truly great man.  It was fun to read about him.  He had several wives and concubines and lots of children.  He ascended to the throne in 1418, even though he was the third son of King Taejong.  When he was a young prince he so excelled in various studies that his two older brothers made way for him to rule - the one becoming a wanderer, the other becoming a monk.

The King Sejong Museum looks like an interesting place to visit.

Thank you, Daniel, for sharing your experience there!

Halloween Bunnies

Archie is a good sport

There's nothing scarier at Halloween than big, flesh-eating monster bunnies!

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating just a teensy bit.

Max enjoys modeling- he's rockin' this bunny costume

Archie and Max are two of my favorites of all of Jack's step-cat brothers.  I think it's fun that they've gotten into the spirit of the season!

Max has appeared in this blog before.  He loves being the center of attention!  Archie is a sweetheart, too.

I think they had a very happy Halloween dressing up as killer bunnies!  

Lots of Fun at Halloween

My neighbors carved a pretty cool pumpkin!

It looks like this entire week... and maybe a few days more... will be devoted to Halloween fun, perhaps for no other reason than I really had fun this Halloween.

To be honest, I think it helps you get into the mood when you are silly, dress up and carve pumpkins.  It's just more fun.  Some years we've had lots of employees at my firm dress up.  This year Bruce and I were the only ones who did.

We were the cool kids.

(That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

The company threw a really nice Halloween lunch for us, with pizza and chicken.  It was nice just to sit around and visit with people.  A very fun work day.

At home, I ran into my neighbors going off to a party.

Our neighborhood caveman and the Vampire Lestat

They had really gone all out.

I love that

Actually, Lestat was a trifle scary!
... and thinking about it, so was the caveman!  Ha!

Here are some photos of Lestat in a well-lit room.

He's scarier in the dark.

But still scary.

Kinda cute, too.

Hope your Halloween was filled with laughter.