Annaconda-- Lots Better and Funnier Than Expected

 Last night my husband and I went to the movies... 

We used to be big movie goers, but in recent years it's rare. Actually, the last time was an occasion like last night. My husband's a retiree from the the Menachem Begin Heritage Center and now volunteers there, so he's invited to some of the staff events. This was a family event in Jerusalem's Cinema City. It included an "all you can eat" dinner in their VIP room, lots of pasta, pizza, salads and more plus a choice between two movies, neither which he had ever heard of. One was described as suitable for kids and the other seemed "childish," too, but we're a generation or two or even three older than pretty much everyone else who'd be attending. We agreed that if we didn't like it, we'd just walk out. Yes, the movie was ANACONDA.

I looked it up on the internet first to get a bit of an idea as to what to expect. It didn't sound impressive at all, but the evening was free. We even travel for free... So we figured there was nothing to lose.

To be perfectly honest, we had no positive expectations... but within a few minutes we were mesmerized...

ANACONDA is a movie within a movie and a comedy. It's fantasy for sure. That's genre #1, but I was reminded of John Belushi, not just because the main character is heavy. If there's such a thing as a John Belushi genre, this would be it... John Belushi in the Jungle.

Apparently an anaconda is a dangerous jungle creature, whether fact or fiction, it's irrelevant. The acting was great; the characters seemed totally real, though it was obviously unrealistic. We recommend it, and yes, there were people who walked out in the middle... 

One more thing... it's a clean movie, neither nudity nor sex. You can take your kids.

PS I took these pictures of the screen while watching the movie. We sat in the back row, and the footrests didn't work in many of the seats. It was still comfortable, lots of upholstery... so different from the Jerusalem movie theaters from way back when.

Vacationing Up North

Cross-posted on Shiloh Musings

Last week I posted a few pictures from our A Bissel Vacation up north taken and posted on my phone. Yes, a smartphone is very much like a mini laptop computer. I don't see the need for a tablet, even though my Samsung J7 isn't the most powerful of phones. But typing on a tiny/mini-keyboard and saying really interesting isn't for the phone. So now I'll tell you more about our vacation.

My husband works for the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, and they had joined with the Kinar-Galilee Hotel for a truly interesting program that began Thursday evening, then a tour Friday morning and a Shabbat full of activities. As an employee of the Begin Center Education Department, my husband was needed to guide one of the buses. As a result we had a wonderful weekend and finally made it to the Kinar, which is really a great hotel.

As the sun set, I took some amazing photos of the hotel grounds and Lake Kinneret:

Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD

Here are more of the photos I took. Thursday night we heard a lecture by Dr. Udi Lebel, PhD, "Beyond the Pantheon": Bereavement, Memory and the Strategy of De-Legitimization Against Herut, which was totally fascinating. He talked about the enduring hatred Ben-Gurion had for anyone who had been associated with the Etzel and Lechi. For example the two men on the screen behind Lebel were twin brothers who had both been killed during the War for Independence. The difference was that one had been with the Haganah and the other Etzel, so the family only got bereavement benefits for the son killed while in the Haganah. They were told they'd lose those benefits if they made a joint memorial for their two sons.

After that we watched the excellent one-man show, "Mr. Begin," which was totally amazing. If you have the opportunity to see it, go. It was in Hebrew.

The following morning we were off to tour to Shlomo Ben-Yosef memorial and grave in the old cemetery in Rosh Pinna, the Memorial for Mishmar HaYarden and Tel Chai.

There were two busloads of people, and we heard very positive reactions. On Shabbat there were two more lectures,  "From Ben Gurion to Levi Eshkol" by Muki Tzur and Herzi Makov, Director of the Begin Center spoke about From Menachem Begin to Yitzchak Shamir.  The veteran singing duo Tzemed Re'im were also there to entertain and act as part of the choir at the Ashkenaz synagogue.

All and all it was a really excellent program which ended after Shabbat. If they repeat the program, try to attend if you can.

How Can I Report This?

The other day when I was walking from the bus stop at the First Station, the old Jerusalem Train Station which has become a lovely activity, leisure place with restaurants and more, on my way to my husband's office in the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, I found myself being forced to walk on the busy road because of a truck parked on the sidewalk.

I really felt in danger, since it's a very busy road with buses, cars, trucks etc. so I took those photos. I figured that if Gd forbid something happened to me in my attempt to walk down the street, the camera's memory card would survive. I needed to be on that side of the street, and I was in a rush, so walking back and looking for a place to cross the street and then crossing back just didn't seem very practical. Thank Gd, as I walked, cars stopped for me to pass the truck and get back on the sidewalk.

My greatest danger ended up being the driver who returned to the truck just as I took these pictures. He wasn't a happy camper and kept yelling at me. That really frightened me. So I got to the Begin Center as quickly as I could and hoped and prayed that he was far away when I exited and waited for my next bus.