Mega is one of our local super stores. Yesterday, near the main entrance, there was a bunch of cute Mexican school kids (that's redundant) singing Xmas carols to raise money for the Salvation Army. Plus doing a little dance routine.
Click the orange link below.
Kids Singing Rudolfo In Mega
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
New Photo Casa Ancla
Patty de la Mora has a new photo for her listing Casa Ancla. This is of the studio apartment above the main house. Looks pleasant. Bright, with a big terrace, and high, beamed ceilings. Nice.
To see the main web page for Casa Ancla click the orange link below:
Casa Ancla
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| Studio Apt. Casa Ancla, Bucerias |
To see the main web page for Casa Ancla click the orange link below:
Casa Ancla
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Robert: Quote for the Day.
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Monday, November 26, 2012
Robert: A New Cinematic Masterpiece?
Director Ang Lee's new Life of Pi is receiving reviews that are beyond raves. They are almost, I don't know, reverential?
It is described as a rare, transcendently beautiful film. (Or, where I grew up in the sticks, a "purty good pichur show.")
Roger Ebert is dazzled.
James Cameron (Avatar director) is in awe.
A couple of clips; click the orange links below:
Trailer
James Cameron comments on Life of Pi
Below is Roger Ebert's review:
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery. Inspired by a worldwide best-seller that many readers must have assumed was unfilmable, it is a triumph over its difficulties. It is also a moving spiritual achievement, a movie whose title could have been shortened to "life."
The story involves the 227 days that its teenage hero spends drifting across the Pacific in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. They find themselves in the same boat after an amusing and colorful prologue, which in itself could have been enlarged into an exciting family film. Then it expands into a parable of survival, acceptance and adaptation. I imagine even Yann Martel, the novel's French-Canadian author, must be delighted to see how the usual kind of Hollywood manhandling has been sidestepped by Lee's poetic idealism.
The story begins in a small family zoo in Pondichery, India, where the boy christened Piscine is raised. Piscine translates from French to English as "swimming pool," but in an India where many more speak English than French, his playmates of course nickname him "pee." Determined to put an end to this, he adopts the name "Pi," demonstrating an uncanny ability to write down that mathematical constant that begins with 3.14 and never ends. If Pi is a limitless number, that is the perfect name for a boy who seems to accept no limitations.
The zoo goes broke, and Pi's father puts his family and a few valuable animals on a ship bound for Canada. In a bruising series of falls, a zebra, an orangutan and the lion tumble into the boat with the boy, and are swept away by high seas. His family is never seen again, and the last we see of the ship is its lights disappearing into the deep -- a haunting shot that reminds me of the sinking train in Bill Forsyth's "Housekeeping" (1987).
This is a hazardous situation for the boy (Suraj Sharma), because the film steadfastly refuses to sentimentalize the tiger (fancifully named "Richard Parker"). A crucial early scene at the zoo shows that wild animals are indeed wild and indeed animals, and it serves as a caution for children in the audience, who must not make the mistake of thinking this is a Disney tiger.
The heart of the film focuses on the sea journey, during which the human demonstrates that he can think with great ingenuity and the tiger shows that it can learn. I won't spoil for you how those things happen. The possibilities are surprising.
What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3-D in "Life of Pi." I've never seen the medium better employed, not even in "Avatar," and although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film's sense of places and events.
Let me try to describe one point of view. The camera is placed in the sea, looking up at the lifeboat and beyond it. The surface of the sea is like the enchanted membrane upon which it floats. There is nothing in particular to define it; it is just ... there. This is not a shot of a boat floating in the ocean. It is a shot of ocean, boat and sky as one glorious place.
Still trying not to spoil: Pi and the tiger Richard Parker share the same possible places in and near the boat. Although this point is not specifically made, Pi's ability to expand the use of space in the boat and nearby helps reinforce the tiger's respect for him. The tiger is accustomed to believing it can rule all space near him, and the human requires the animal to rethink that assumption.
Most of the footage of the tiger is of course CGI, although I learn that four real tigers are seen in some shots. The young actor Suraj Sharma contributes a remarkable performance, shot largely in sequence as his skin color deepens, his weight falls and deepness and wisdom grow in his eyes.
The writer W.G. Sebold once wrote, "Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension." This is the case here, but during the course of 227 days, they come to a form of recognition. The tiger, in particular, becomes aware that he sees the boy not merely as victim or prey, or even as master, but as another being.
The movie quietly combines various religious traditions to enfold its story in the wonder of life. How remarkable that these two mammals, and the fish beneath them and birds above them, are all here. And when they come to a floating island populated by countless meerkats, what an incredible sequence Lee creates there.
The island raises another question: Is it real? Is this whole story real? I refuse to ask that question. "Life of Pi" is all real, second by second and minute by minute, and what it finally amounts to is left for every viewer to decide. I have decided it is one of the best films of the year.
It is described as a rare, transcendently beautiful film. (Or, where I grew up in the sticks, a "purty good pichur show.")
Roger Ebert is dazzled.
James Cameron (Avatar director) is in awe.
A couple of clips; click the orange links below:
Trailer
James Cameron comments on Life of Pi
Below is Roger Ebert's review:
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a miraculous achievement of storytelling and a landmark of visual mastery. Inspired by a worldwide best-seller that many readers must have assumed was unfilmable, it is a triumph over its difficulties. It is also a moving spiritual achievement, a movie whose title could have been shortened to "life."
The story involves the 227 days that its teenage hero spends drifting across the Pacific in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. They find themselves in the same boat after an amusing and colorful prologue, which in itself could have been enlarged into an exciting family film. Then it expands into a parable of survival, acceptance and adaptation. I imagine even Yann Martel, the novel's French-Canadian author, must be delighted to see how the usual kind of Hollywood manhandling has been sidestepped by Lee's poetic idealism.
The story begins in a small family zoo in Pondichery, India, where the boy christened Piscine is raised. Piscine translates from French to English as "swimming pool," but in an India where many more speak English than French, his playmates of course nickname him "pee." Determined to put an end to this, he adopts the name "Pi," demonstrating an uncanny ability to write down that mathematical constant that begins with 3.14 and never ends. If Pi is a limitless number, that is the perfect name for a boy who seems to accept no limitations.
The zoo goes broke, and Pi's father puts his family and a few valuable animals on a ship bound for Canada. In a bruising series of falls, a zebra, an orangutan and the lion tumble into the boat with the boy, and are swept away by high seas. His family is never seen again, and the last we see of the ship is its lights disappearing into the deep -- a haunting shot that reminds me of the sinking train in Bill Forsyth's "Housekeeping" (1987).
This is a hazardous situation for the boy (Suraj Sharma), because the film steadfastly refuses to sentimentalize the tiger (fancifully named "Richard Parker"). A crucial early scene at the zoo shows that wild animals are indeed wild and indeed animals, and it serves as a caution for children in the audience, who must not make the mistake of thinking this is a Disney tiger.
The heart of the film focuses on the sea journey, during which the human demonstrates that he can think with great ingenuity and the tiger shows that it can learn. I won't spoil for you how those things happen. The possibilities are surprising.
What astonishes me is how much I love the use of 3-D in "Life of Pi." I've never seen the medium better employed, not even in "Avatar," and although I continue to have doubts about it in general, Lee never uses it for surprises or sensations, but only to deepen the film's sense of places and events.
Let me try to describe one point of view. The camera is placed in the sea, looking up at the lifeboat and beyond it. The surface of the sea is like the enchanted membrane upon which it floats. There is nothing in particular to define it; it is just ... there. This is not a shot of a boat floating in the ocean. It is a shot of ocean, boat and sky as one glorious place.
Still trying not to spoil: Pi and the tiger Richard Parker share the same possible places in and near the boat. Although this point is not specifically made, Pi's ability to expand the use of space in the boat and nearby helps reinforce the tiger's respect for him. The tiger is accustomed to believing it can rule all space near him, and the human requires the animal to rethink that assumption.
Most of the footage of the tiger is of course CGI, although I learn that four real tigers are seen in some shots. The young actor Suraj Sharma contributes a remarkable performance, shot largely in sequence as his skin color deepens, his weight falls and deepness and wisdom grow in his eyes.
The writer W.G. Sebold once wrote, "Men and animals regard each other across a gulf of mutual incomprehension." This is the case here, but during the course of 227 days, they come to a form of recognition. The tiger, in particular, becomes aware that he sees the boy not merely as victim or prey, or even as master, but as another being.
The movie quietly combines various religious traditions to enfold its story in the wonder of life. How remarkable that these two mammals, and the fish beneath them and birds above them, are all here. And when they come to a floating island populated by countless meerkats, what an incredible sequence Lee creates there.
The island raises another question: Is it real? Is this whole story real? I refuse to ask that question. "Life of Pi" is all real, second by second and minute by minute, and what it finally amounts to is left for every viewer to decide. I have decided it is one of the best films of the year.
Robert: The Scale of the Known Universe
Tranquility Break:
Oooohh this is cool. The conventional wisdom is that size doesn't matter, blah blah blah, but, ya gotta see this.
It starts with the tiniest of all known objects (or technically, concepts, i.e a fundamental segment as postulated by String Theory, an irreducible grid of quantum foam as conceived by Quantum Mechanics, and the supposed Planck Length (the theoretically shortest possible length).
These are not particles, they are not "matter," they are elemental concepts postulated to explain the behavior of larger particles and/or waves, such as neutrinos and quarks (the next steps up in the size scale).
These tiniest "precursors" of matter are 10 to -35th power meters. That's like, really small, dude.
Next, and much, much larger (relatively) are neutrinos, at 10 to the -24th power meters. Or, 0.000000000000000000000001 meters. Mas o menos. :)
From there you scroll up through quarks, electrons, molecules, viruses, and on and on until ultimately you are scrolling/rising through a receding field of planets, suns, nebulae, and galaxies.
This puts everything in an almost (but certainly not entirely, not for us lowly humanoids) comprehensible scale of relative sizes.
It's fun, I promise. Try it, click the orange link, then scroll on the bar below the graphics. Be sure to start with the scroll button all the way to the left.
Scale of the Known Universe
Oooohh this is cool. The conventional wisdom is that size doesn't matter, blah blah blah, but, ya gotta see this.
It starts with the tiniest of all known objects (or technically, concepts, i.e a fundamental segment as postulated by String Theory, an irreducible grid of quantum foam as conceived by Quantum Mechanics, and the supposed Planck Length (the theoretically shortest possible length).
These are not particles, they are not "matter," they are elemental concepts postulated to explain the behavior of larger particles and/or waves, such as neutrinos and quarks (the next steps up in the size scale).
These tiniest "precursors" of matter are 10 to -35th power meters. That's like, really small, dude.
Next, and much, much larger (relatively) are neutrinos, at 10 to the -24th power meters. Or, 0.000000000000000000000001 meters. Mas o menos. :)
From there you scroll up through quarks, electrons, molecules, viruses, and on and on until ultimately you are scrolling/rising through a receding field of planets, suns, nebulae, and galaxies.
This puts everything in an almost (but certainly not entirely, not for us lowly humanoids) comprehensible scale of relative sizes.
It's fun, I promise. Try it, click the orange link, then scroll on the bar below the graphics. Be sure to start with the scroll button all the way to the left.
Scale of the Known Universe
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Lily's Visitors, Baked Goodies.
Robert:
Secretary extraordinaire Lily's mom and sister Nancy are here visiting from Tepic. Lily's mom is a legendary cook, mmmm, and yesterday sent a bag of homemade empanadas (turnovers) to the office!
Two flavors of filling; caramel and pineapple....uuuiii Dios Mio..!
What's remarkable to me is that Lily stays so slender with a mom that cooks like that!
Secretary extraordinaire Lily's mom and sister Nancy are here visiting from Tepic. Lily's mom is a legendary cook, mmmm, and yesterday sent a bag of homemade empanadas (turnovers) to the office!
Two flavors of filling; caramel and pineapple....uuuiii Dios Mio..!
What's remarkable to me is that Lily stays so slender with a mom that cooks like that!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Tranquility Break
Robert:
Remember Neil Sedaka? His most well-remembered hit is Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do.
I like the slow version he released in the '80s. Gorgeous.
My favorite tune ever of his is less well known. It's called The Immigrant. It charted number 1 on Billboard's AC list in 1975.
The lyric is lovely and evocative, and in this live version of it, he is in his finest voice. And that's sayin' something. Click the orange link below.
The Immigrant
Remember Neil Sedaka? His most well-remembered hit is Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do.
I like the slow version he released in the '80s. Gorgeous.
My favorite tune ever of his is less well known. It's called The Immigrant. It charted number 1 on Billboard's AC list in 1975.
The lyric is lovely and evocative, and in this live version of it, he is in his finest voice. And that's sayin' something. Click the orange link below.
The Immigrant
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Patty de la Mora's New Listing In Bucerias
Patty de la Mora just listed this 2 bedroom (plus studio apt) traditional home, right here in the Zona Dorada, 3 blocks from the beach.
Big pool and nice gardens.
To go to the main web page for more data and photos click the orange link.
Big pool and nice gardens.
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| Living room to terrace. |
To go to the main web page for more data and photos click the orange link.
| Casa Ancla, Bucerias, Zona Dorada |
Some new photos of Vela Vista Penthouse.
These new photos showcase this property a lot better.
For the complete web page with all the data and many other new photos click the orange link below.
Vela Vista Penthouse
For the complete web page with all the data and many other new photos click the orange link below.
Vela Vista Penthouse
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Parades Today! Revolution Day Celebrations!
Robert:
Lily, our secretary extraordinaire, just took some clients to Telmex to get their phone and internet service set up.
They had to navigate through the parades and resulting crowds and traffic.
Every year there are parades celebrating Revolution Day. This is a big deal for all the school kids. The little boys are all dressed up like charros (Mexican cowboys) and/or Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata (heroes of the revolution, with cartridge belts slung rakishly around their necks). The little girls are in gorgeous, long, traditional dresses. Very colorful! Very Mexican! Although they also now have the standard drill teams and baton twirlers.
All the local riding clubs turn out too of course. The Charro Clubs ride along on their dressed up horses, and they themselves are really gussied up, with their big sombreros and suits with braid and sparkles, etc. Suits that would have been the envy of Liberace.
The Revolution was long. From 1910 to 1920. But, it ended the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, ultimately produced Mexico's present constitutional republic, and there has been no serious civil unrest since.
Lily, our secretary extraordinaire, just took some clients to Telmex to get their phone and internet service set up.
They had to navigate through the parades and resulting crowds and traffic.
Every year there are parades celebrating Revolution Day. This is a big deal for all the school kids. The little boys are all dressed up like charros (Mexican cowboys) and/or Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata (heroes of the revolution, with cartridge belts slung rakishly around their necks). The little girls are in gorgeous, long, traditional dresses. Very colorful! Very Mexican! Although they also now have the standard drill teams and baton twirlers.
All the local riding clubs turn out too of course. The Charro Clubs ride along on their dressed up horses, and they themselves are really gussied up, with their big sombreros and suits with braid and sparkles, etc. Suits that would have been the envy of Liberace.
The Revolution was long. From 1910 to 1920. But, it ended the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, ultimately produced Mexico's present constitutional republic, and there has been no serious civil unrest since.
 |
| Real Photos From the Revolution 1910 -1920 |
Friday, November 16, 2012
Robert:
  | |||||
| View straight off terrace. |
Almost all of our clients are truly nice people and a genuine pleasure to know and work with. There have only been a couple of real stinkers in all these years and hundreds of deals. We don't talk about those.
This condo is in gorgeous DelCanto, a high end beach front development, on Flamingos beach, between Bucerias and Paradise Village.
The floor plan is superb; both bedrooms and the living area walk out onto the front terrace and have sweeping ocean views.
Even from the kitchen you look out over the terrace and the bay.
This unit, 506 B, is a two bedroom, two bath condo that has just been beautifully designer-furnished and decorated. It looks fabulous.
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| Living/dining to kitchen |
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| Master bedroom. |
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| Master bath. |
Feels like a 5 star resort. Great rentability or livability. Beautiful lobby, gardens, beach front, and gym. Click the orange link below to go to the web page for this condo, with more pictures and data.
Web Page DelCanto 506B
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Robert:
The long awaited new film version of Tolstoy's powerful and deeply moving novel Anna Karenina is in release this weekend. I love this novel, and have high hopes for this movie. There are people of great talent and taste behind this project.
From the exquisite 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice we have three artists; director Joe Wright; the pitch perfect Keira Knightley (after playing the best Lizzie Bennett ever, she now plays Anna Karenina); Matthew Macfadyen moves from a great interpretation of Mr. Darcy to his new role as Anna's libertine brother, Oblonksy.
But, alas and fiddlesticks, as my grandmother used to say, the reviews are mixed. Here's a trailer. Click the orange link below.
Anna Karenina Trailer
The long awaited new film version of Tolstoy's powerful and deeply moving novel Anna Karenina is in release this weekend. I love this novel, and have high hopes for this movie. There are people of great talent and taste behind this project.
From the exquisite 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice we have three artists; director Joe Wright; the pitch perfect Keira Knightley (after playing the best Lizzie Bennett ever, she now plays Anna Karenina); Matthew Macfadyen moves from a great interpretation of Mr. Darcy to his new role as Anna's libertine brother, Oblonksy.
But, alas and fiddlesticks, as my grandmother used to say, the reviews are mixed. Here's a trailer. Click the orange link below.
Anna Karenina Trailer
Laurie Hurwitz:
New listing, and what a listing it is! This is a wonderful, spacious penthouse in Nuevo Vallarta in Vela Vista, right on the ocean.
It's a corner unit, which means of course that it has wrap around terraces, plus it's 5,380 sq ft of construction on 2 levels; 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, plus an office/studio.
And what a kitchen! Custom parota wood cabinetry, and lots of counter space, with high end appliances.
This is really priced more than fairly at $1,200,000 USD. It's fully furnished and equipped, and the owners, a very nice couple from Missouri, will even throw in a Honda CRV (very low miles).
Here's the complete web page with lots more photos and data. Click the orange link below.
Vela Vista Penthouse #6
New listing, and what a listing it is! This is a wonderful, spacious penthouse in Nuevo Vallarta in Vela Vista, right on the ocean.
 |
| Master bedroom terrace. |
It's a corner unit, which means of course that it has wrap around terraces, plus it's 5,380 sq ft of construction on 2 levels; 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, plus an office/studio.
 |
| Office |
 |
| Kitchen |
Here's the complete web page with lots more photos and data. Click the orange link below.
Vela Vista Penthouse #6
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Robert:
Tranquility Break: Frostie the Cockatoo dancing (?) to Whip Your Hair.
Is Frostie really dancing to the music, or is he just a nervous little birdie? You decide.
Frostie the Dancing Cockatoo
Some (very limited) research has been done regarding the dancing ability of birds. Another dancing cockatoo, named Snowball, adjusts his moves to changes in the rhythm. The Backstreet Boys Everybody (his favorite dance number) was digitally sped up without altering the pitch; Snowball sped up his moves to match the faster beat. Hmmm...
Tranquility Break: Frostie the Cockatoo dancing (?) to Whip Your Hair.
Is Frostie really dancing to the music, or is he just a nervous little birdie? You decide.
Frostie the Dancing Cockatoo
Some (very limited) research has been done regarding the dancing ability of birds. Another dancing cockatoo, named Snowball, adjusts his moves to changes in the rhythm. The Backstreet Boys Everybody (his favorite dance number) was digitally sped up without altering the pitch; Snowball sped up his moves to match the faster beat. Hmmm...
Robert:
Regardless of your political leanings, a good movie is a good movie. So while I would never allow anything partisan in our blog, out of respect for the differing viewpoints of our readers, this is worth passing along for its pure entertainment value. Many of these films are superb, and will never appear at the local multi-screen cinemas here.
The Vallarta Chapter Democrats Abroad is launching its
third annual film series at Paradise Community Center, Pulpito 127 in the
Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone beginning December 4, 2012.
Twenty films are scheduled through
April and, as was true last year, there will be a special week of
Academy-Award-nominated films as well.
Tickets are available for 60 pesos prior to the movie at Paradise
Community Center or 70 pesos at the door. We invite moviegoers to come early to
enjoy ordering from the food venders at the Center before the show.
A Better Life. December 11, 2012 7:00 pm.
A 2011 American drama film directed by Chris Weitz. The screenplay, originally known as The Gardener,
was written by Eric Eason based on a story by Roger L. Simon. Demi‡n Bichir was nominated for an Academy
Award for Best Actor. Shot in the landscape
of Mexican immigrant LA with a large Hispanic cast, Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times
wrote that "the performances are pitch perfect" and he gave the film
3.5 stars out of 4. The New Yorker critic Amy Biancolli, writing in the Houston Chronicle,
said "It's straight, true and heartbreaking, a masterstroke of raw
emotional minimalism.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. December 18, 2012 7:00 pm.
A joy for those who love
veteran thespians who can act up a storm. A group of English retirees decide to
relocate to a seniorsÕ hotel in Daipur, India, to live a relaxing life of
leisure. Unfortunately, the hotel turns out to be a dive -- rundown, dreary,
and depressing. The characters are
a lot more colorful and interesting than the plot. Tom Wilkinson plays gay
magistrate Graham Dashwood, who has returned to India to find the boy he loved
and left when he was young. Bill Nighy is retired bureaucrat Douglas Ainslie
with an irritating, constantly complaining wife (Penelope Wilton), whose
savings have been lost by a daughter's careless investment. Judi Dench is
recent widow Evelyn Greenslade, who has never before looked after herself.
Maggie Smith is Muriel Donnelly, an unapologetic racist in need of a hip
replacement. And Celia Imrie is Madge Hardcastle, a gold digger still very much
on the prowl.
Where Do We Go Now? January 8, 2013 7 pm.
This film tells the story of a remote,
isolated unnamed Lebanese village inhabited by both Muslims and
Christians. The village is
surrounded by land mines and only reachable by a small bridge. As civil strife
engulfed the country, the women in the village learn of this fact and try, by
various means and to varying success, to keep their men in the dark, sabotaging
the village radio, then destroying the village TV. The village is slowly drawn into violence, but the women get
along beautifully and conspire together to keep their men from fighting, even
hiring Ukrainian dancers to entertain their men and other tricks to quell the
hostilities.
Flowers of War.
January 15, 2013 7 pm.
Nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for best picture and directed by Zhang Yimou, this film takes place
in the streets of Nanjing during the Japanese invasion. It throws together a
group of opposites—a flock of shell-shocked school children, a dozen
courtesans, and a renegade American (Academy-award winning Christian Bale)
posing as a priest—all seeking safety behind a walled cathedral. Trapped by marauding soldiers, over a
few days the prejudices that divides them falls away as they unite around a
last-ditch plan to protect the children from impending catastrophe.
Cats of Mirikitani.
January 22, 2013 7 pm.
This film has been called A miracle by New York Magazine. Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the
trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima and homelessness by creating art.
But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets, a local
filmmaker brings him to her home. The two of them embark on a journey to
confront JimmyÕs painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds
of war and the healing power of community and art, this film has won awards at
some 20 festivals including Best Documentary, Philadelphia Film Festival and
Best Picture, Tokyo IntÕl Film Festival.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, in Turkish with English subtitles. January 29, 2013 7 pm.
A metaphysical road movie about life,
death and the limits of knowledge, directed by the Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge
Ceylan ("Distant," "Three Monkeys"), who in recent years
has emerged as one of the consistently most exciting directors on the
international scene. His latest, which shared the grand prize at the 2011
Cannes Film Festival, takes the unassuming form of a police investigation that,
as miles and words mount, evolves into a plangent, visually stunning meditation
on what it is to be human. The
story is direct, if the journey less so. A man has been murdered, and a small
battalion — a doctor, a prosecutor, a few policemen, several soldiers,
diggers with shovels and a transcriber with a laptop — has invaded the
countryside with the suspect to dig up the body. The trouble is that the
accused, Kenan (Firat Tanis), claims to have been drunk when he committed the
murder and can't remember where he buried the body. And so off the men go in
two cars and a Jeep, driving up and down the sensuous, rolling hills of
Anatolia, the enormous peninsula that constitutes most of Turkey and which the
ancient Greeks called the land of the rising sun.
Intouchables. February 5, 2013 7 pm.
Phillipe is a rich quadriplegic
living in a mansion in Paris. He is interviewing for a live-in care-giver.
Driss is just looking to get a signature to show he has been looking for work.
Driss, however, is given the job for a trial period. Phillip learns of his
criminal record for robbery. But, he states that he doesn't care as long as he
does his job properly. As time
passes, the two develop an incredible friendship. This movie, based on a true
story, will warm even the coldest heart.
Hope Springs. February 12, 2013 7
pm.
Starring Meryl Streep and
Tommy Lee Jones in a latter-year marriage, Kay and Arnold are a devoted couple,
but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect
with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple's specialist (Steve
Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her
skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of
marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is
hard enough - the real challenge for both of them comes as they try to
re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.
The greatest pleasure is watching these two old hands at movie magic in star
roles together! This film is a great intro to ValentineÕs Day.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. February 19, 2013 7 pm.
Based on the novel by author Jonathan
Safran Foer, director Stephen Daldry's post-9/11 drama follows the journey of a
nine-year-old boy as he attempts to solve a family mystery. Two years after his
father is killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks, the curious boy
discovers a mysterious key hidden in a household vase and begins an exhaustive
search for the matching lock. Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock star.
Monsieur Lazhar.
February 26, 2013 7 pm.
Academy-award nominee for
Best Foreign-language Film and a CriticÕs Pick by The New York Times, Monsieur
Lazhar tells the moving and poignant story of a Montreal middle school class
shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher, and the 55-year-old Algerian
immigrant who offers his services as a substitute teacher and aids the process
of collective healing.
A Separation (an Iranian film). March 5, 2013 7 pm.
The film is a fascinating
look at the motivations and behavior of modern Iranians and provides a
compelling examination at what goes on behind a particular curtain that almost
never gets raised. The early front-runner for the foreign-language Oscar and a
rare triple prize winner at the Berlin International Film Festival, this is a
movie from Iran unlike any we've seen before. Written and directed by Asghar
Farhadi, "A Separation" is intense, focused and narrative-driven.
Imagine Alfred Hitchcock's intricate attention to plot joined to the
devastating emotional impact of Ingmar Bergman: The result is so exhilarating,
the movie was the first foreign-language film to win the screenplay award from
the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Gradually, bit by bit, like drops turning into a flood, the plot shows
that the ordinary can get devastatingly out of hand, and minor
misunderstandings, confusions and evasions morph into a slow-motion nightmare
that threatens to destroy everything and everyone in its path. This incisive look
at Iranian society reveals, without calling any special attention to it,
divisions over class, over religious observance, over political philosophy. But
what's so inspired here is the directorÕs decision to ground them all in the
most personal of all separations, that between a husband and wife.
In a Better World (Danish
2010). March 12, 2013 7 pm.
This film tackles the global theme of
bullyingÉfrom the personal stage of your own home to how countries bully. It
takes place in Denmark and Africa.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Deborah Foster:
I'll be hosting an open house this coming TUESDAY 13th Nov. 10am to 1pm Please join us to view!
Villa Ensueño! US$499,000 - Flex #247 - MLS #30794, located on Calle Prolongo Tiburon, in Gaviotas area of La Cruz, just above the fish market
This quality built 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath casa has superb views to the ocean and La Cruz Marina on the upper levels....it is being sold unfurnished but does include a new appliance package to be installed with an accepted offer....there is plenty of room to expand or put in a good-sized pool in the spacious lot behind the casa, which is included.
Click the link below:
Our Villa Ensueño website
I'll be hosting an open house this coming TUESDAY 13th Nov. 10am to 1pm Please join us to view!
Villa Ensueño! US$499,000 - Flex #247 - MLS #30794, located on Calle Prolongo Tiburon, in Gaviotas area of La Cruz, just above the fish market
This quality built 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath casa has superb views to the ocean and La Cruz Marina on the upper levels....it is being sold unfurnished but does include a new appliance package to be installed with an accepted offer....there is plenty of room to expand or put in a good-sized pool in the spacious lot behind the casa, which is included.
Our Villa Ensueño website
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Robert:
For a few years now, Teatro Vallarta has offered a variety of live dramatic and musical performances. Now they are offering the live HD simulcasts of operas from the New York Met.
Laurie Hurwitz attended a version of this simulcast in Guanajato and says that it was greeaaat!
There was a massive screen and great sound quality. She says you almost feel as if you are in the live audience at the Met.
I don't know anyone who has attended this locally, so I can't vouch for the technical quality in Teatro Vallarta. But, I may attend Saturday night. The opera is The Tempest, by the British composer Thomas Ades.
Link to Teatro Vallarta: Teatro Vallarta
For a few years now, Teatro Vallarta has offered a variety of live dramatic and musical performances. Now they are offering the live HD simulcasts of operas from the New York Met.
Laurie Hurwitz attended a version of this simulcast in Guanajato and says that it was greeaaat!
There was a massive screen and great sound quality. She says you almost feel as if you are in the live audience at the Met.
I don't know anyone who has attended this locally, so I can't vouch for the technical quality in Teatro Vallarta. But, I may attend Saturday night. The opera is The Tempest, by the British composer Thomas Ades.
Link to Teatro Vallarta: Teatro Vallarta
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Laurie Hurwitz makes her blog debut:
Dia de Los Muertos is an annual festival in Mexico. It is associated with All Saints Day but also has prehispanic origins. The festival focuses on offerings to the dead. There are processions with costumes and altars set up in the cemeteries and around towns. Prehispanic cultures believe that the souls don't die but continue living in a place called Mictlan. The spirits rest in peace in Mictlan and come back once a year to visit their families.
At left is a photo of me, Laurie Hurwitz,
as a Catrina. La Catrina is the legendary benign spirit that appears on Dia de Los Muertos to encourage the living to enjoy life to the fullest in the here and now. As if to say, "Eat, drink and be merry mis amigos. Because someday you will be like me."
Dia de Los Muertos is an annual festival in Mexico. It is associated with All Saints Day but also has prehispanic origins. The festival focuses on offerings to the dead. There are processions with costumes and altars set up in the cemeteries and around towns. Prehispanic cultures believe that the souls don't die but continue living in a place called Mictlan. The spirits rest in peace in Mictlan and come back once a year to visit their families.
 |
| Laurie before her morning coffee? |
 La |
| A classic Catrina in a mural by Diego Rivera. |
Patty de la Mora makes her blog debut:
I just came back from amazing Mexico City! Even though I grew up there, I hadn't seen it in years! I am very impressed about its size and all those massive
overpasses all over the city. Some people think they are ugly, but I see
them as amazing! I had to cross the city many times different ways and I
remembered all those streets and wide avenues as I passed by.
Certainly the traffic is heavy, but people are so skilled to drive is amazing too! There are buses now running sometimes opposite to the traffic and with the traffic, but in a special lane where the other cars can't go so they can flow free besides the subway and "trolys."
When I had to cross the city from north to south I did 3 hours each way, which went by quickly seeing all there is on the way, except when we were stuck for 45 minutes due to some works on the road. I went through the largest avenue in the city, Ave. Insurgentes, so amazingly large, as you go along it changes (no wonder Paris, France seems so compact and easy to walk).
There is a large zone with good restaurants and shops that is so nice, there are many offices of well known companies like Mercedes Benz and famous brands of clothes, then it goes through a residential area where the houses are very old and beautiful and keeps changing as it crosses the city. Same thing going through the "Colonia Roma" and Colonia Condesa, which is in style again and has many nice restaurants. It's nice to go have dinner and then walk through the streets and enjoy the beautiful places.
Reforma is the main avenue in Mexico city and it has amazingly wide sidewalks where now you can pick up a bicycle for free and enjoy it. Today they have an exhibition of what they call the "Alebrijes" and they are big sculptures of animals, or monsters (?). Very interesting! There are many of them throughout the avenue as well as samples of the work of artists exhibiting in the different museums that are along the way.
There was also a singer in a balcony singing opera and a block later a lady also singing some other type of music from another balcony, while downstairs there was all kinds of things selling from algodon (cotton candy) to toys, watches, tools and plants, and mimes performing too in a perfect moonlit night .
After all the excitement of Mexico City, I love going back to my nice and quiet little town of Bucerias, coming into the perfect winter weather... dry, cool nights and sunny days.
I just came back from amazing Mexico City! Even though I grew up there, I hadn't seen it in years! I am very impressed about its size and all those massive
overpasses all over the city. Some people think they are ugly, but I see
them as amazing! I had to cross the city many times different ways and I
remembered all those streets and wide avenues as I passed by.Certainly the traffic is heavy, but people are so skilled to drive is amazing too! There are buses now running sometimes opposite to the traffic and with the traffic, but in a special lane where the other cars can't go so they can flow free besides the subway and "trolys."
When I had to cross the city from north to south I did 3 hours each way, which went by quickly seeing all there is on the way, except when we were stuck for 45 minutes due to some works on the road. I went through the largest avenue in the city, Ave. Insurgentes, so amazingly large, as you go along it changes (no wonder Paris, France seems so compact and easy to walk).
 |
| Colonia Condesa |
There is a large zone with good restaurants and shops that is so nice, there are many offices of well known companies like Mercedes Benz and famous brands of clothes, then it goes through a residential area where the houses are very old and beautiful and keeps changing as it crosses the city. Same thing going through the "Colonia Roma" and Colonia Condesa, which is in style again and has many nice restaurants. It's nice to go have dinner and then walk through the streets and enjoy the beautiful places.
 |
| Alebrije! |
Reforma is the main avenue in Mexico city and it has amazingly wide sidewalks where now you can pick up a bicycle for free and enjoy it. Today they have an exhibition of what they call the "Alebrijes" and they are big sculptures of animals, or monsters (?). Very interesting! There are many of them throughout the avenue as well as samples of the work of artists exhibiting in the different museums that are along the way.
 |
| Cathedral from the Zocalo |
Finally
el Zocalo, with its Cathedral, so beautiful inside, breath taking, and
all the great buildings around it, all worth while. It was the only free day
we had so I took my Mom to the famous restaurant specializing in
the "Chiles en Nogada" and sure thing they were fantastic! With a
refreshing sangria it was nice. The building is an old convent, very
Mexican style, and nicely decorated for the season, I recommend it! After dinner we walked along some streets that are closed, turned into pedestrian boulevards, so people can
stroll around and stop at restaurants and shops. It was packed!
There was also a singer in a balcony singing opera and a block later a lady also singing some other type of music from another balcony, while downstairs there was all kinds of things selling from algodon (cotton candy) to toys, watches, tools and plants, and mimes performing too in a perfect moonlit night .
So
if you have some time, take a couple of days to see this amazing city.
There are the tourist buses that have different routes and with your
ticket you can hop from one to the other and see the main areas the city
offers.
 |
| Palace of Fine Arts (Bellas Artes) |
After all the excitement of Mexico City, I love going back to my nice and quiet little town of Bucerias, coming into the perfect winter weather... dry, cool nights and sunny days.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Robert:
Today is election day in the USA. Drama! Here's a bit of trivia: How many electors (in the electoral college) does each state receive and why?
The number of electors equals the total number of people each state sends to the Senate and the House of Representatives. Every state has two senators, and one representative for every congressional district (the average district has around 700,000 residents).
Small, sparsely populated states, such as Vermont, North and South Daokota, Wyoming and Montana, have only have three people in Congress (two Senators and one House member), so would correspondingly have three electors.
A heavily populated state, such as California, would have its two Senators, and 53 Representatives in the House. So California has 55 electors.
I have my popcorn ready for this evening. It may be a long night, and I may be very "desvelado" (sleep deprived) tomorrow. More below, if you're into this sort of thing. Click the orange Electoral College link.
Electoral College, Wikipedia
Today is election day in the USA. Drama! Here's a bit of trivia: How many electors (in the electoral college) does each state receive and why?
The number of electors equals the total number of people each state sends to the Senate and the House of Representatives. Every state has two senators, and one representative for every congressional district (the average district has around 700,000 residents).
Small, sparsely populated states, such as Vermont, North and South Daokota, Wyoming and Montana, have only have three people in Congress (two Senators and one House member), so would correspondingly have three electors.
A heavily populated state, such as California, would have its two Senators, and 53 Representatives in the House. So California has 55 electors.
I have my popcorn ready for this evening. It may be a long night, and I may be very "desvelado" (sleep deprived) tomorrow. More below, if you're into this sort of thing. Click the orange Electoral College link.
Electoral College, Wikipedia
Monday, November 5, 2012
Robert:
For any of our clients or potential listing clients it's worth noting that the deadline for our December Property Journal ad is November 23. If you are thinking of listing or are up for renewal we need to get rolling on the listing contract very soon, so that we can take the photos necessary for the web page, the MLS systems, and for the Property Journal ad.
It will be a very large centerfold ad, a 2 page color spread, juxtaposed with a real estate article I have written at the Journal's request. This will give us superb visibility and presence.
So if you are thinking of listing this is the time to get started, so that we get a photo and basic data about your property in that December issue.
For any of our clients or potential listing clients it's worth noting that the deadline for our December Property Journal ad is November 23. If you are thinking of listing or are up for renewal we need to get rolling on the listing contract very soon, so that we can take the photos necessary for the web page, the MLS systems, and for the Property Journal ad.
It will be a very large centerfold ad, a 2 page color spread, juxtaposed with a real estate article I have written at the Journal's request. This will give us superb visibility and presence.
So if you are thinking of listing this is the time to get started, so that we get a photo and basic data about your property in that December issue.
Lily:
Returning from my vacation time; one of the things I did during my
vacation was to have gone to Guadalajara, which I love the atmosphere
and weather of this city. I got to be in a religious festival of the
neighborhood of my uncles, in which I could enjoy the food such as
buñuelos, tamales and delicious cakes among others, as well as the show
of dancers and a typical Mexican band music in the place. Another thing I
did was to meet some friends from high school, especially one that was
closest friend who I had not seen in a while, besides enjoying my family, and
make some new friends.
Regresando de las vacaciones; una de las cosas que hice durante mis vacaciones fue haber ido a Guadalajara ya que me gusta el ambiente y el clima de esa ciudad, me toco estar en una fiesta religiosa de la colonia de mis tios en la cual pude disfrutar de la comida como son los buñuelos, tamales, ricos pasteles entre otros, asi como del show de los danzantes y musica de banda
que habia en el lugar. Otra de las cosas que hice fue encontrarme con
algunos amigos de la secundaria, sobre todo con una de las que fue amiga
mas cercana a la cual no veia en mucho tiempo, ademas de disfrutar a mi familia y hacer nuevos amigos.
Returning from my vacation time; one of the things I did during my
vacation was to have gone to Guadalajara, which I love the atmosphere
and weather of this city. I got to be in a religious festival of the
neighborhood of my uncles, in which I could enjoy the food such as
buñuelos, tamales and delicious cakes among others, as well as the show
of dancers and a typical Mexican band music in the place. Another thing I
did was to meet some friends from high school, especially one that was
closest friend who I had not seen in a while, besides enjoying my family, and
make some new friends.
Robert:
And not only is Lily back today from vacation, so is Patty de la Mora! Patty has been in her hometown of Mexico City for a month, mas o menos, relaxing but also taking care of her mom. Patty's mom is in her 80s but still very active! She and Patty spent a month roaming all over Spain just last year, walking, walking, walking!
Anyway, Patty's back on the job this morning, her first floor duty in a month or so. Welcome back Patty!
And not only is Lily back today from vacation, so is Patty de la Mora! Patty has been in her hometown of Mexico City for a month, mas o menos, relaxing but also taking care of her mom. Patty's mom is in her 80s but still very active! She and Patty spent a month roaming all over Spain just last year, walking, walking, walking!Anyway, Patty's back on the job this morning, her first floor duty in a month or so. Welcome back Patty!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Robert:
I was in Mega today, one our our several big superstores. These are so huge and modern it's easy to forget you're in Mexico. But then inevitably you round a corner and, reassuringly, there Mexico is. This lady is de-spining, rinsing, then slicing up nopal cactus. They're a staple here, cooked and served like green beans.
I was in Mega today, one our our several big superstores. These are so huge and modern it's easy to forget you're in Mexico. But then inevitably you round a corner and, reassuringly, there Mexico is. This lady is de-spining, rinsing, then slicing up nopal cactus. They're a staple here, cooked and served like green beans.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Robert:
We had a very late season thunderstorm yesterday. Brief, but a raging downpour. And afterwards, the first really cool weather of the season. A dramatic and welcome change. It was an uncommonly sweltering summer and early fall.
Now it's sheer perfection.
So far the real estate season seems to be starting early. Showings are picking up way ahead of schedule. We are suddenly quite busy.
Will this season be the turning point? Only time will tell, but early indicators are very promising. Dedos cruzados.
We had a very late season thunderstorm yesterday. Brief, but a raging downpour. And afterwards, the first really cool weather of the season. A dramatic and welcome change. It was an uncommonly sweltering summer and early fall.
Now it's sheer perfection.
So far the real estate season seems to be starting early. Showings are picking up way ahead of schedule. We are suddenly quite busy.
Will this season be the turning point? Only time will tell, but early indicators are very promising. Dedos cruzados.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Just in case you came in through the bathroom window, click the orange link below to go to our front door (home page with our latest listings, video tours, etc.)
rfasoc.com
Robert:
Friday morning crafts fair, all handmade things, half a block south of the office. Here's a little video of the people setting up the booths this morning. Click the orange link below.
Bucerias Zona Dorada Friday Handmade Crafts Fair
Friday morning crafts fair, all handmade things, half a block south of the office. Here's a little video of the people setting up the booths this morning. Click the orange link below.
Bucerias Zona Dorada Friday Handmade Crafts Fair
Robert:
Another nice, cool morning, with a light breeze moving the curtains. Perfect. But it will be hot by 11 am. Plenty to do today. Need to review a listing client's escritura (deed) and testamento (will) to see if there are any anomalies. Part of our job is to be as proactive as possible, given the convoluted legal labyrinth in which we operate (i.e. the complex Mexican legal system), to avoid surprises down the road. Surprises, especially negative ones, are deal killers, and we make every attempt to avoid that, for the benefit of our sellers, our buyers, and ourselves.
Will also set up a meeting today between a different client (a penthouse owner), an engineer and electrician. It's a penthouse in a three unit condo complex. The condo owners are considering remodeling the pool to make it more inviting. And the electrician is because one of the penthouse AC circuits has a leak to ground. The electric meter keeps spinning, running up the CFE bill, even when no AC is on. Got to get that taken care of for the owners before they arrive from Alberta.
Another nice, cool morning, with a light breeze moving the curtains. Perfect. But it will be hot by 11 am. Plenty to do today. Need to review a listing client's escritura (deed) and testamento (will) to see if there are any anomalies. Part of our job is to be as proactive as possible, given the convoluted legal labyrinth in which we operate (i.e. the complex Mexican legal system), to avoid surprises down the road. Surprises, especially negative ones, are deal killers, and we make every attempt to avoid that, for the benefit of our sellers, our buyers, and ourselves.
Will also set up a meeting today between a different client (a penthouse owner), an engineer and electrician. It's a penthouse in a three unit condo complex. The condo owners are considering remodeling the pool to make it more inviting. And the electrician is because one of the penthouse AC circuits has a leak to ground. The electric meter keeps spinning, running up the CFE bill, even when no AC is on. Got to get that taken care of for the owners before they arrive from Alberta.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Robert:
No matter how you feel at this moment, feliz, triste, o mas o menos, you'll feel a little better after you watch this. Click the Starry Starry Night link below.
Starry Starry Night
No matter how you feel at this moment, feliz, triste, o mas o menos, you'll feel a little better after you watch this. Click the Starry Starry Night link below.Starry Starry Night
Deborah Foster:
Just returned from my 40th class reunion...the first one I've ever
attended....was a a blast from the past for sure....a big turnout....it
was held in one of the same buildings where we partied back in the day,
"the Corral Club"....not making that up....we were going out to the
parking lot to get our beer from the trunk ....felt like a kid
again....things never change....and everyone agreed that I was living in
the best place of all the attendees... Bucerias/Puerto Vallarta!
Just returned from my 40th class reunion...the first one I've ever
attended....was a a blast from the past for sure....a big turnout....it
was held in one of the same buildings where we partied back in the day,
"the Corral Club"....not making that up....we were going out to the
parking lot to get our beer from the trunk ....felt like a kid
again....things never change....and everyone agreed that I was living in
the best place of all the attendees... Bucerias/Puerto Vallarta!
Robert:
November 1 already? Where did the summer go? I could have sworn I only fell asleep in that hammock a few hours ago. But four months have gone by? What am I, Rip Van Villa?
And already it's been snowing in Red Deer, in Denver, and all over the Alps? Makes me want to book a flight to Munich and start driving south to go skiing. Maybe next year.
But early snows are good for business here, that's a given. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. We sing that around our beach bonfire every night.
November 1 already? Where did the summer go? I could have sworn I only fell asleep in that hammock a few hours ago. But four months have gone by? What am I, Rip Van Villa?
And already it's been snowing in Red Deer, in Denver, and all over the Alps? Makes me want to book a flight to Munich and start driving south to go skiing. Maybe next year.
But early snows are good for business here, that's a given. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. We sing that around our beach bonfire every night.
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