Do you know this scheme of dividing people and the colors that suit them into a scheme of spring (soft warm tones), summer (soft cold tones), fall (strong warm tones) and winter (strong cold tones)? It depends on the tones of your eyes and hair, but most on your skin tone.

Well, I went to a style class at the Adult Education Center years ago, and fired by the information handed out there my best friend and I did a test of which type we were. It was about the funniest afternoon we ever had together. To do such a test, you need a large mirror in a bright, sunny room, with the brightest sunshine outside. You need to remove all make-up and put on a white tank top. Before starting, you collect single-colored items of clothing and other pieces of cloth of all the colors in the rainbow from your household. (We included towels and tablecloths in colors that didn’t feature in our wardrobes.). Then you take every single item, hold it next to your face and stare in the mirror. Some shades will make you appear like you’ve just risen from the grave, others will make your skin glow softly and take about ten years off your age. (I’m not kidding you.) You really do see a difference, but of course it helps tremendously to have an honest friend next to you.

In my case, it was found out that I can’t wear black or white next my face, nor any other really strong color. Instead, I look best in all soft, mid-tone purples, pinks, greens, teals, and some greys. So I am a typical summer type – no surprise here, as my skin is pale and has almost bluish undertones, or reddish after exertion or a day in the sun. But what was surprising was that not all colors in the summer palette suited me (no lavender for me, for example), but on the other hand I can wear certain burnt orange and watermelon tones very well.

So although I know very well which colors suit me, I still fall in love with the wrong shades. Sometimes I indulge myself and buy a handbag in that hue, or a skirt that can be matched with other colors. But some tones, like royal blue or black, are always tricky. Too bad I still like them!

What’s your favorite color, and can you wear it? Have you ever tested what colors suit you best? Does this help you during your shopping?

- Rike Horstmann

My own mother and father are probably the greatest blessings in my life, something I appreciate now more than ever.  I grew up in comfort, with parents who loved each other, knowing I was loved.  My parents always encouraged me and showed me the value of education, family, and friendships.  Without them, I do not know where I would be today.  Probably not as well-adjusted and content as I am.  I owe everything to them.

Today, mothers of all kinds are on my heart: mothers, grandmothers, young mothers making the best of an unplanned situation, adoptive mothers, single mothers, and all who act as honorary mothers.  And most especially, to my mother and my grandmother, and all of the women who helped make me into the person I am.

Okay, so right now it’s not going to be a lot of fresh produce. Maybe rhubarb (and what one does with rhubarb is completely beyond me)? Perhaps some fresh herbs? But it’s here, the glimmerings of those wonderful months of June through September when an abundance of fresh produce is available at the farmers market.

I treat a trip to the farmers market completely different than a trip to the grocery store. Before I hit the grocery store, I have a list of things I need to get, as well as a list of meals I plan to prepare over the next few days or week. It’s all quite regimented to save me from overspending and forgetting. And there’s nothing fun about those trips. But the farmers market? That’s a completely different thing. I head out to the farmers market with no preconceived notions of what I’m going to buy. I talk to the farmers, get their thoughts on what to make with their products. And I listen to what my fellow shoppers are saying they plan to make with produce.

I buy what looks fresh, what smells good, and what looks interesting. My meals for the next few days are completely determined by those spontaneous purchases at the farmers market. Sometimes in the middle of the summer it will be a series of salads or cold soups. Other times the vegetables will serve as a side dish for a piece of fish I pick up (there’s a fish market next to our farmers market). But always, it’s unplanned. That’s the fun of the farmers market.

My very favorite things to buy at the farmers market are heirloom tomatoes. I realize I have several months before they will be available, but my mouth is already watering thinking about them. But before I get those tomatoes, I should be treated to strawberries, blueberries, and an assortment of greens.

Do you have a farmers market in your town? Is it open year-round? What are some of your favorite things to buy there. And about that rhubarb: should I buy some, and if so, what should I do with it?

-LinnieGayl

Click here to view the embedded video.

When it comes to movies, summer used to mean two things: Harry Potter and Pixar.  Now that Harry Potter’s over, I’m left with just Pixar.  I would call it religious, the way I unfailingly see the new Pixar every June and look forward to their new short, but I did skip Cars 2.  And I don’t feel I’m missing much.

This year’s Pixar is Brave, which is unusual because a) it features actual humans (the only other full-length films that did so were The Incredibles and Up), and b) the protagonist is a girl!  It seems quite fairy tale-ish, about a Scottish princess and bears and lots of humour, and features the voice talents of Kelly Macdonald (love her) and Emma Thompson.  I’m really looking forward to it.

Other movies that caught my eye:

• The Pirates! Band of Misfits – I love Aardman Studios and their claymation.  As soon as my schedule has a free space, I’m going to see the latest from the makers of Wallace & Gromit.
• The Avengers – Not sure if I’d pay full price for it, despite all the positive reviews.  But if I have nothing better to do on a Saturday morning, I’m willing to pay $6 at AMC.
• Ted – Judging by the trailer, it’s about a man and his childhood teddy bear grown into a foul-mouthed toy, and I’m super curious to see what the critics say.  I think it could be absolutely terrible or quite original.
• Magic Mike – Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer in a movie about strippers.  Normally I’d say “whatever” and brush it off.  But it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Curiouser and curiouser.
• The Intouchables – French phenom of 2011: #2 at the all-time national box office, feel-good movie about race, class, and a quadriplegic, and an unknown black actor winning Best Actor at the Cesars (beating, I might add, Monsieur Dujardin of Artist fame).  I’m really looking forward to this one.

So what are you looking forward to this summer?

- Jean AAR

Click here to view the embedded video.

I am not for sure, but I think I just came across this song accidentally on youtube.  Since that time it has become a daily recurring ear worm which has resulted in me watching this scene ten times more than I ever watched the whole movie.

One reason is the overriding theme that in every nice girl there is a bad girl waiting to break out for just the right guy. And what guy wouldn’t want to think that he has so much appeal that this woman is willing to walk on the wild side for him?

The other is the confidence that bad girls project. There is nothing more appealing than that. Of course it can be a facade, but it gets the job done.  And don’t many of us wing it at times, covering up our doubts and insecurities?  Plus I like the fact that Sandy goes after what she wants.  She is not shy about what she needs.

It is interesting too, that having this type of boldness is related to a piece of clothing or object.  For Sandy it is the skintight outfit – which would still be considered sexy today.  Other things that come to mind are piercings – tongue rings, navel rings etc or tattoos. Every woman should have something that makes her feel confident, sexy and a little wild.

Stories about bad girls are one of my favorites.  It can be bad girls turned good like in Ain’t She Sweet or a good girl hiding behind a bad girl persona in It Had to Be You - both books are by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

How about you?  Do you enjoy this fantasy?  If not is there another one that appeals to you?

- Leigh AAR

The Hunger Games have been all over the news lately. In one of the many articles a critic discussed Battle Royale, a year 2000 Japanese film about a class of teenagers forced to fight to the death in an arena. The writer pointed out the similarities between the two films. The greater violence of Battle Royale was emphasized, a fact which drew my husband like a magnet. We watched the movie one rainy Saturday night and I have to admit to being disturbed on many levels. But mostly, I was impressed – because much of the heart that I felt was missing from Hunger Games (the movie) appeared in this movie.

In the future, the Japanese Government finds itself with growing numbers of disenchanted youth. Disrespectful in school, violent in some cases, they represent to the adults a break down in society and the culture they have always known. In retribution and an attempt to hold some form of power over these kids the Battle Royale Act is instated. Battle Royale is a fun little game played every year in which a random class of young people is chosen to fight to the death in an arena. Each person is given a back pack with a weapon but don’t be fooled, there’s nothing fair about the fight. Some backpacks contain frying pans, others machine guns. To add some spice two ringers are added to the field called transfer students. One ringer is a former winner being punished for attitude, reminding the kids that they are never safe from vengeance. The other is the equivalent of what the Hunger Games called a career – a seasoned, trained fighter who likes to kill. Everyone on the island has only three days. If at the end of three days more than one person is alive, all are detonated and no winner is declared.

Because these kids all went to school together, relationships have already been formed. That plays out in some interesting ways. For example, some are happy to have a sanctioned chance to kill those who have wronged them before. Crushes have to determine just how strong their love for the significant other is. Friends have to decide if they want to die together or kill each other. There are forty kids involved so we get to see a little of each and how it plays out.

We meet our hero Shuya and heroine Noriko at the start of the film, on the bus which is carrying them to the arena. They think they are on a class trip. Sweet, shy Noriko gives Shuya some cookies which his flamboyant friend immediately confiscates. Moments later, everyone is asleep from gas. Then the arrival on the island where they are told what is really going on by a former teacher, someone who quit the school shortly after one of the charming students had stabbed him in the butt. Guess whose one of the first two kids to die? Yep, teach is now in charge of the games and an infraction by his mouthy former nemesis results in the child having his head blown off. But I get ahead of myself. The students are being treated to an educational film on how the games are played, a monologue being delivered by a girl in sexy camouflage gear who is far too chipper given her subject matter. As she simpers, flounces and giggles on screen while discussing demolition areas a young girl whispers to a friend. Teach is no longer held back by the unreasonable laws which made him play nice with the kids before and stabs her through the head with a knife. Between this and the boy who complains and has his head blown off, teach now has a quiet, respectful classroom. The children are then handed their backpacks with some food, water and a weapon and are sent out into the arena to live or die. Mostly die.

One thing I liked was that right away one girl refuses to play. She throws her back pack at the soldier who hands it to her and heads to the arena unarmed. When her boyfriend meets up with her they die with honor rather than try to pretend and kill with it. That decision is made by several other students as well.

Another group decides to try to get back at the government. They work together on a plot to overthrow the people forcing them to play in the games. I really liked the attitude and initiative shown by this group. Some of the kids show the murderer that had resided in them all along. I was always glad when these kids got it. But most are decent human beings who stay that way in spite of near insurmountable odds. This is shown by no one more than it is by Kawada, the kid who won the games once and was forced back in for “attitude problems”. Yes, he can kill and does so as needed. But that’s it. He doesn’t troll the arena looking for victims. I loved that about this movie. At least a good few of the people in there tried to rise above their situation. The film could have been a depressing statement about the depravity of society. It wasn’t. It showed there is still good among us, even if that good has to flourish amid great evil.

I also enjoyed that the director did not cut away or flinch from what was occurring. The deaths, while not shown in accurate detail, were shown in such a manner that we had to face them. In case we didn’t get the cruelty of what was happening, the director ends with a tribute to those who died. It shows them at a school basketball game in much happier times. This moment sort of broke my heart. It emphasized how very young the people who had died were.

The director had an advantage over an American director – sex is not considered more evil there than murder so he was free to mix a small bit of that in as well. I found that appropriate, all during WWII the “I may die tomorrow, shouldn’t we get together while we can?” line was used and I can’t imagine teen boys not at least trying it in this situation. I can hear them thinking, “If I’m going to die anyway, why go out a virgin?”

I didn’t expect to like this film at all. In fact, I liked it quite a lot. The message is simple – if kids are less than they should be it is probably the adults who betrayed them first – but we are not beaten over the head with it. Yes, it has some incredibly silly moments where you want to yell at the screen and tell someone to die already (one moment at the end is especially ludicrous) but it rises above that. Fast pacing and strong characterization make this a riveting, don’t take your eyes off the screen thriller. I expected the sub-titles to be distracting and pull me away from the action but they didn’t. If you can handle a movie rated R for violence, I can’t recommend this one enough.

- Maggie AAR

Click here to view the embedded video.

A few weeks ago (or maybe more) I saw a 15-second clip of this ad embedded in the NYT.  It intrigued me, because the production value looked exceptionally high – and for what?  Jewelry, apparently.  So I watched the whole thing – all 3 minutes and 30 seconds of it.

Now, I am by no means an advertisement expert, amateur or otherwise.  But even I can tell that this ad is a little out of the ordinary.  Quite frankly, it looks like a miniature movie, and the special effects, soundtrack, and, yes, it even has a kind of a plot, have a lushness and vitality (and length) that most ads I see don’t have.

But then I started thinking: All this money, and talent and for what?  To celebrate the 175th anniversary of a jewelry company.  Really?  Isn’t it incredibly pointless?

But then, I changed my mind again.  The question that popped into my mind wasn’t “what for”, but “why not”.  The ad actually presents a snapshot of Cartier’s history, and why not do it in odyssey fashion with a leopard and global sets?  Why not use talents where we can?  And it looks so fabulous.

Still have mixed feelings, but in the end, I’ve decided I like it.  What’s your take?

- Jean AAR

Click here to view the embedded video.

But now with the announcement of the Barnes and Noble and Microsoft collaboration I have to wonder if he is feeling so buoyant.  In case you missed the news, Microsoft is making a 605-million dollar investment in the Nook.

Barnes & Noble is creating a new subsidiary, tentatively dubbed Newco. Microsoft initially is investing $300-million and then over the next several years will invest an additional $305 million to help fund Newco’s international expansion – something that has hurt the Nook.

I have a Kindle and have good feelings toward Amazon; still, I am glad that this happened.  I think it just proves that the market place doesn’t need publishers to control pricing to maintain competition.

What are your thoughts?

- Leigh AAR

I believe Marcia Muller was poking gentle fun at song titles when she invented the title of Ricky’s song. But do they work in real life? Do you like such titles, or do you think they are pretentious or over-the-top?

- Rike Horstmann

Click here to view the embedded video.

For the most part my life tends to run on the same cogs.  Go to work, come home, do housework, play with my dogs, socialize.  Every once in a while there is something that happens out of the ordinary.  But usually it some crisis – like losing my billfold with way too much money in it, or a car accident.  But this week, I was faced with a dilemma of not knowing the right thing to do.

Recently I wrote about violence against women – rape – so most of you are aware of my concern about this issue.  Tuesday, my neighbor called me asking if she could borrow my gun because an acquaintance of hers told her ” I will have you”.  Her husband travels with his job, and she is a stay-at-home mom.  The man had just left her premise after a surprise visit. She was petrified but bluffed her way through the conversation and he left.  She called the sheriff and then while waiting for him to come she called me and made her request.

I do have unloaded guns in the house.  They were my dad’s.  I have never used them and really don’t have a desire to learn how. I just haven’t gotten around to selling them.  I think there are way too many guns in the U.S.  I am not truly informed on the subject of gun control but if I had to vote today for more or less control then it would be for more, mainly because of accidents mentioned here.

So her question left me very conflicted.  Of course I want to do everything possible to help someone protect herself.  There is no question about that. But putting a gun in her hands – a gun that could be taken away by an attacker and used against her? Plus she has a young child less than three years old in the home. And is it against the law to loan a gun?

The first questions out of my mouth was, “Do you think you could actually use it – pull the trigger and shoot someone, and have you used a gun before?”  She said yes to both questions.

Lucky for me she didn’t push for an answer right then. She said she was going to ask the sheriff for his advice.

I also cornered him after he left her home.   He was very nonchalant about the whole business  and stated yes, it was fine for her to borrow my weapon but he told her she would be better off getting her own gun.  When I stated something about not really knowing how to use a gun, he informed me I should learn.

I do have a co-worker who carries a concealed weapon with a permit but I never felt the need to carry one.

So for the questions:  Do you have guns in your house?  Do you know how to use them?  Could you shoot someone?

If you don’t have guns, have you ever thought of buying one?  Do you have friends that carry concealed guns?

- Leigh AAR