Columns

This Week at the Reel Deal

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Column By JIM O’DONNELL 
Reel Deal Theater   

This week we are opening Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. We will hold Earth to Echo, Tammy and Transformers. 22 Jump St. will end this Thursday.

Movie poster for ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.’ Courtesy/Reel Deal Theater

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is getting spectacular reviews. 95 percent of critics are loving this sequel to “Rise” by “Cloverfield” director Matt Reeves. It may the first real blockbuster of the summer. Hope to see you at the Reel Deal Theater! It opens Friday.

 A growing nation of genetically Read More

Food on the Hill: Smoked Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

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This Week’s Recipe: Smoked Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
 
Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com
 
Ingredients:
 
1 pound dry fettuccine  pasta
5 oz butter
3/4 pint heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 ½ cups of al dente cooked asparagus, cut into ¾ inch pieces
4 cups of smoked cooked chicken pieces
 
Directions:
 
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large saucepan, melt butter
Read More

‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ Explores Love, Committment and Desire

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Movie poster for ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona.’ Courtesy/www.imdb.com

Review by KELLY DOLEJSI

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) wants Doug (Chris Messina), her handsome fiancé. Cristina, fresh from a break-up, only knows what she doesn’t want. When the longtime friends happen upon the gruff-voiced Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) during a trip to Spain, even Vicky cannot resist a sexual adventure of the highest, PG-13 calling.

Thus begins writer/director Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008), a mighty interesting look at how conventions and desires overlap and drift apart. Mesa Read More

Herbal Wisdom: Herbs for the Summer Season

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By KRISTI BEGUIN
Los Alamos

Summer is a season of growth, heat, sun, beauty and maturation. The warmth and sun bring out the abundance of leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds.

Because of the long days and warm nights, there is much to appreciate during the summer months—dinner on the patio, swimming, exploring the trails, and sleeping under the stars. There is also the unpleasant side–the excess heat of summer can cause lethargy, irritability, and discomfort.

There are many ways to keep our cool during summer through foods, herbs, and beverages. The seasonal abundance of fresh fruit and Read More

Column: Eyesight is Precious … Don’t Risk Losing It!

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By LISA SHIN, Optometrist
Los Alamos Family Eyecare, P.C.

Online shopping has truly revolutionized the way we purchase things. Indeed, many of us prefer online shopping to in-store shopping. Now, coming to a theater near you, the first online eye exam that gives you a prescription! This is where the lure of “cheap and convenient” is a disaster waiting to happen.

Recently, I had a patient come in for an eye examination with no vision changes or complaints. I dilated the eyes for a full view of the retina and found retinal holes with underlying fluid. Prompt treatment by a retinal surgeon prevented Read More

Classical Music World: Why People Don’t Go to Classical Music Concerts

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By ANN MCLAUGHLIN
LACA Artistic Director

Classical music has somehow acquired a reputation for being “snooty.” As artistic director of the Los Alamos Concert Association I think about this a lot and am always looking for ways to let folks know that it ain’t necessarily so!

Here is a list of three reasons why (I think) people don’t come to classical concerts and my stab at enticing them through the door anyway.   

Reason #1: I don’t know anything about classical music.

Who says you need to know anything? We’re talking about music, the universal language!

Several years ago, LACA Read More

How the Hen House Turns: Chatting with Ducks

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How the Hen House Turns:
Chatting with Ducks
Column by Carolyn A. (Cary) Neeper, Ph. D.

The ducks’ vocabulary is limited, but so is my human ability to distinguish the nuances in their conversation. I can distinguish their abrupt protest when Bobbi Goose insists with a silent beak that they leave off swimming in “her” stock tank. When Bobbi loses sight of her adopted mother Lucy, her honk can be heard three blocks away. Lucy’s greeting as I pass her by in the yard and say “hello” is a quiet “bak bak.”

In contrast, when Ms. Ritz (a.k.a., miniature mallard) loses sight of her mate Kiebler, her demand is Read More

Beguin: Medicine Plants on the Pajarito Plateau

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Medicine Plants of the Pajarito Plateau
By KRISTI BEGUIN
Los Alamos

My last column talked about five common medicinal plants found in most gardens and landscapes in the Mountain West. 

Now we will move out into our local canyons and take a look at easy-to-identify medicine plants found there.

Despite wildfire and flooding, the canyons of the Pajarito Plateau remain a verdant realm of greenery. When my soul grows weary from the lack of large trees in my neighborhood, I know that I can head into any one of the canyons and escape into a world filled with plants, shrubs and trees, and I can hear my Read More

Food on the Hill: Chewy Butterscotch Bars

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Food on the Hill by Sue York

This week’s recipe: Chewy Butterscotch Bars

Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com

 

Ingredients:

Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com

In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, butter. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients and morsels and mix well.

Photo by Sue York/ladailypost.com

Spread and pat with greased hands into a well-greased pan (15″x10″x1″). Bake

Read More

Yang: A Humorous Poke … Into Some Serious Issues

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By ELENA YANG
Los Alamos

Today’s example helps illustrate “how to break the mold,” carefully selected to follow the “Weird Ideas” innovation series.

By now, you might have come across the story about how a group of four Canadian professors at the University of Alberta satirized the high salary of their outgoing university president, (read it here and here). And the group of four rapidly grew into new groups comprising 56 professors. (Quick, how many groups are there?)

In responding to the job opening for the president of the University of Alberta, Kathy Cawsey and three other professors decided Read More