Day: June 29, 2018

Three sentence movie reviews: A Star is Born (1976)

There are few reasons to watch this film* and I recommend people stay far away from this version of the story. Unlike the other films, which made me care about an alcoholic man on the downslide and the woman who loved him, Streisand and Kristofferson did nothing to make me hope that somehow they would find a way. I think the shift from the acting world to the music world was to the film’s detriment** and my hopes are not very high for the upcoming 2018 version which is also set in the music world.***

Cost: free from the library
Where watched: at home, sighing throughout.

*Insight on 70s-era concert attire; Kris Kristofferson’s ability to spay paint backward; Gary Busey before he fixed his teeth
**Somehow, alcoholism getting in the way of filming a movie is much less egregious than alcoholism getting in the way of a concert performance. Those people paid good money to hear you play your songs, not to sit in the sun for four hours waiting for you to get around to going onstage.
***My hopes are higher for the music of the 2018 version. The 1976 music was Not Very Good.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/1976/star_is_born.html

Joan Gunnus’s memorial

We were a large group at Joan’s memorial service, and no wonder due to the remarkableness of Joan.  I love this picture. Though I rarely saw her looking this fancy, the picture captures her lovely essence.

Many people spoke about the different aspects of Joan’s life including her daughter and her neighbor who eventually introduced Joan to her husband John. My favorite speaker was her neighbor who recounted the story of house hunting and hearing that the woman who owned the blueberry field was magical.  Truer words have not been spoken. She also touched on Joan’s doubts and I learned that Joan was a writer of letters.
After the speakers had spoken we had a dance party and sent Joan off the best way we could. She will be missed.

Hazel just died and she was born the same year as my grandmother who died in 1990!


Just when I think I’ve read the last obituary of someone born the same year as my grandmother, another one pops up. Hazel sounds like she had a lot of loss in her life, but met it forthrightly.  Good going, Hazel.

She also lived long enough to see her name go out of fashion and come back into fashion.  I know several Hazels among the under-10 set.

SKS Postcard: Park Inn, Mason City, Iowa


This is from the only hotel Frank Lloyd Wright designed that is still operating as a hotel. Super cool! Sara and Shawn are very good at finding cool things on their trips.

Sara reports that it was fun to stay in the only Historic Suite and get a taste of what a 1910-era couple’s visit would have been like.