Movie Magic

Grab a Seat at Cleveland International Film Festival

Provocative. Profound. Poignant.

Sure, amid all the kid flicks, superhero fare and romcoms, you can still see a few movies for grownups at your local cineplex. But if you want to see a bunch of terrific and — go ahead and say it — sometimes funky films, don’t miss the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival.

More than 100,000 people are expected this year for CIFF April 4-15 at Tower City Cinemas.

With 200 feature films and 200 short subject films representing 70 countries, you’re bound to find something that inspires, confuses and entertains you. Ticket sales begin March 23. Go to clevelandfilm.org.

A Hall of Fame for Cool People

If You Can’t Get a Ticket, At Least Get a T-Shirt

The 33rd annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is back in Cleveland April 14, and with it comes a week of special events for those of us (almost everyone) who won’t be hobnobbing with rock royalty and uber-connected folks at Public Auditorium for the actual event.

Visit the hall of fame website, rockhall.com, for details. You can catch the ceremony on HBO later this spring.

The inductees are Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues and Nina Simone, and receiving the Award for Early Influence is Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Oh, and about that T-shirt: You can order a 2018 inductee shirt at rockhallstore.com or buy one at the hall of fame gift shop.

Tackle Technology

(It Won’t Hurt a Bit)

Do you butt dial your grandkids? Have your Facebook skills turned you into a social media pariah? Fear not, tech-challenged friends. It’s almost time for the second annual Living in the Digital World Senior Expo at the Don Umerley Civic Center in Rocky River.

Mind Matters

Brain Games

What is the word? The first two letters and the last two letters are the same. Try solving them without looking at the letter pairs below. If you need to take a peek, go ahead, but do not fill in the letters right away. Come back to it several hours later. How many did you remember?

EXAMPLE     _ _ u c a t _ _    ANSWER (ed): educated

•      _ _ i  _ _

•      _ _ m a _ _

•      _ _ r m i  _ _

•      _ _ u r _ _

•      _ _ e l l f i _ _

•      _ _ a s _  _

•         _ _ t i _ _

•         _ _ a d a c _ _

•         _ _ e p s a _ _

OPTIONS    he  te  sh   er   ke   re  on   to   ch   

ANSWERS  

1    o n i o n
2    t o m a t o
3    t e r m i t e
4    c h u r c h
5    s h e l l f i s h
6    e r a s e r

7    r e t i r e
8    h e a d a c h e
9    k e e p s a k e

KEEP YOUR BRAIN SHARP

Improving your focus is important for enhancing your remembering skills. Distractions are not your friend.  Practice periodically just being in the present moment. Give something your full attention. Eat a meal and do not do anything else. When driving in your car alone, do not listen to any audio.  
  This puzzle and memory tip is provided by Kathryn Kilpatrick, a speech-language pathologist. She is available for Memory Fitness and Keep Your Brain Sharp programs and private consultations.

Book Shelf

Renewal, rejuvenation, gardening, hiking and baseball. Sure sounds like spring, doesn’t it? Here are book suggestions that suit the season, provided by Carol Tuttle, collection services librarian for the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library.

“Spring Fever” by Mary Kay Andrews

Love, deception and second chances are wrapped in this plot-twisting novel set in the Deep South. Advertising executive Annajane Hudgens finds that leaving her rural North Carolina hometown and traveling to Atlanta for a new job and a promising life is complicated. This is an enjoyable escape for spring.

“Room with a View” by E.M. Forster

In this classic book (that became a movie) sheltered Englishwoman Lucy Honeychurch and her older cousin, Miss Bartlett, tour Italy in the springtime. Lucy meets interesting characters who call into question her dull, repressed Edwardian life. Spring, Tuscany and enlightenment all in one luscious novel.

“How It All Began” by Penelope Lively

In this novel of new beginnings, one random event (the mugging of the very independent 77-year-old Charlotte) cascades into multiple outcomes: marriages disrupted, lovers united and lives changed. This is Penelope Lively at her best in an ingenious and absorbing story about human nature.

“Shoeless Joe” by W.P. Kinsella

Mysterious words inspire the construction of a cornfield baseball diamond. This classic novel, the basis for the film “Field of Dreams,” speaks a story about fathers and sons, family, and our cherished American pastime. Written in lovely prose, it evokes the nostalgia of family life and features a lovable hero.

“One Shot at Forever: A Small town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season” by Chris Ballard

Sportswriter Chris Ballard captures an Illinois high school baseball team’s improbable run at the state finals as poor farm boys from a small, rural town take on the privileged kids in this true-story account.