Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Movie, 1997)

Eating Glue and Biting a Snake

Werner Herzog tells a real-life tall tale in ''Little Dieter Needs To Fly,'' a documentary that describes enough breakneck adventures for any action hero. But the swashbuckler who is the film's subject, Dieter Dengler, mostly describes his exploits from memory. His war stories -- which he describes in lavish detail -- aren't merely the backbone of the film, they are the film.

Shot down over Laos in '66. Imprisoned by the Viet Cong. Starved and beaten and shackled in wooden blocks until he weighed just 85 pounds. It's all here, recalled by a man so vigorous, agile and upbeat that you have to wonder, as Herzog does, what unseen resources have enabled him to cope with his emotional scars. As Mr. Herzog puts it: ''He hides behind the casual remark that this was the fun part of his life.''

Postscript: He died in 2001 and was buried in full honor in the National Arlington Cemetery. His grave was flown over by a squadron of F-14's.

The King of Masks (Movie, 1999)

Bridging Loneliness Despite the Disguises;

Artist and child find each other in moving Chinese tale

In a remote area of China, in the 1930s (provincial Sichuan), we meet an old street performer. His profession is humble, by ancient silk masks, a man's face can take on a new and startling visage in the flash of a second. But his secrets are a great prize. It is a tradition in his family that the secrets are passed only from father to son.

"The King of Masks" benefits by the survival of ancient ways into modern times. What he does want is an heir, which brings the film to its indignation over sexual discrimination in the China of this era. It goes without saying, at least in Wang's mind, that the only fit protege for him must be a little boy.

With unusual tenderness, this film explores how an old man who desperately needs someone in his life, and a child who longs for home and compassion, form a relationship in a society that seems cold to their needs. The girl, however, is a radiant force throughout the film. Irresistible and irrepressible, Doggie is able to crack open hearts caught in the most bleak circumstances.

Mother of Mine (Movie)

This film powerfully captures the emotionally wrenching experience of a nine year old boy losing his father in war and then apparently losing the love of his mother who sent him to a surrogate home for his wartime safety. Your heart will be torn and tears will roll, but you will know it has been a legitimate experience, rather than just manipulation, watching this story unfold.

There were many Finnish "war children" at the time and later it had a profound effect on their lives extending into adulthood.

The emotional twists and turns keep this from descending into bathos and we discover once again that the human heart is neither predictable or knowable. These tears will be among the best you shed and will make your heart smile.

Princess Mononoke (Movie)

It's a story about being alive!

Realistic films show the physical world; animation shows its essence.

It tells an epic story set in medieval Japan, at the dawn of the Iron Age, when some men still lived in harmony with nature and others were trying to tame and defeat it. It is not a simplistic tale of good and evil, but the story of how humans, forest animals and nature gods

all fight for their share of the new emerging order.

The artistry in "Princess Mononoke" is masterful. There is a remarkable scene where San and Ashitaka, who have fallen in love, agree that neither can really lead the life of the other, and so they must grant each other freedom, and only meet occasionally. You won't find many Hollywood love stories (animated or otherwise) so philosophical. "Princess Mononoke" is a great achievement and a wonderful experience, and one of the best films of the year.

Tavel Log of Las Vegas, February 2009

Mission: To fulfill Olivia’s dream of re-visiting after 20 plus years

Companions: Carol S. Lu and Olivia Yen

Dates: February 10 to February 12, 2009

Stay: Bellagio Las Vegas, on Strip

Gear: By tour bus from Los Angeles to Las Vegas; by Monorail and foot on Strip

Fountain of Bellagio: Elaborate fountains feature ballet of water and lights set to music. Although it took us $20 upgrade, it was nice to overlook the fountains. Ask Olivia, she’ll tell you how much she was excited. She could put her nose on the window glass to take shots over shots of the show.

Sirens of T.I.: The Sirens of the TI is playing at the Buccaneer Bay in front of the Treasure Island, or TI, Hotel and Casino. The "Sirens" presumably taken from Greek mythology, lure the ship full of pirates to their cove, capture them, sink their ship, and then...have sex with them? It’s unclear. Even though we got a ‘super pass’ of front row, unfortunately, however, the "Sirens of the TI" is a piece of crap. And the cause and effect of the ship sinking are pretty weak---we see jets of water fly up in the air, and therefore, the ship sinks...

Siegfried & Roy: two German-American known for their long running show of magic and illusion. We passed by a sculpture of Siegfried & Roy with one of their beloved tigers near the Mirage hotel. On October 3, 2003, during a show at The Mirage, Roy Horn was bitten on the neck by a seven-year-old male tiger named Montecore. Crew members separated Horn from the tiger and rushed him to the only Level I trauma center in Nevada, University Medical Center. Horn was critically injured and sustained severe blood loss. While being taken to the hospital, Horn said, according to sources, "Don't shoot the cat!" The duo gave their final performance on March 1, 2009.

O - Cirque du Soleil: I watched ‘O’ about 20 years ago, which is an aquatic extravaganza performed on stage. For the love of it, I purchased a t-shirt with the logo of Cirque du Soleil.
Lion Habitat at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino: Lions were depressed and stressed. There was a large crowd of rude people flashing cameras into the eyes of a lioness. The enclosure was too small. You could actually walk underneath the lion when the lion is resting on the Plexiglas. Free attraction!

Bellagio Hotel: Resort hotel on a 122 acre site with 3 acre lake. We had a deluxe queen room with a view over the lake. The Walkway connect Las Vegas Blvd. to the hotel is a pleasant scenery walk with spectacular views of Eiffel Tower and Planet Hollywood globe. The lobby is beautiful. The rooms and service on the other hand seemed to be lacking in our experience. The bathroom was nice and spacious, but came to find out the annoyance of high pitch sound occurred at midnight and early morning caused by piping problem. Not to mention the early morning knock on the door by an unexpected ‘out-of-service’ Engineering technician.

Wynn & Encore Hotels: When first arriving the property is exceptionally beautiful, with a lighted tree-lined entrance. The design is superb if you like timeless, contemporary design that feels warm, comfortable and inviting. Everything here is so classy.

Venetian Hotel: Venetian features a 1/4 mile Grand Canal and Canal shops were awesome along with Gondola ride, which we did not try.

Paris Hotel: This is a beautiful hotel. It's connected to Bally's via a short interior walkway. The casino and public areas are fun with the Paris theme. If you can get one of the rooms, with the view of the fountain show at Bellagio, it will be well worth it.

Bellagio Breakfast Buffet: Decided to try this buffet because it was highly recommended by many. The line was extremely long and took forever to get through despite we were hotel guests. Unfortunately, the buffet couldn't live up to my expectations. This used to be the very best buffet in Vegas, well not anymore! Most the wait staff were surly and un-attending, not one wait staff at the carver table smile or offer any helpful hint with the sauces for various dishes. I really don't think this buffet had a lot of food to choose from. Bottom line: Food is not better than average.

Wynn Dinner Buffet: We both love the Atrium seating. The selection was very good, with many items a cut above your typical Vegas buffet. The quality of ingredients was also high. The only thing that left us with a bad taste in our mouths was the poor service, though not rude in any way. Their seafood selection was not bad, from Alaskan king crab, to the butter-sauteed Chilean Sea Bass, to the hand-crafted desserts. Sushi selection was extremely small. The food was pretty good but nothing that blew me away, considering it cost us $38/person. By the way, this was a treat from Olivia.

Spice Market Dinner Buffet at Planet Hollywood: This buffet sits somewhere just between the mid level and high end sections. It's a little pricey for families as an all the time thing but the value is still there as the food was very good as was the service. There are some very unique aspects of the Spice Market Buffet that make it quite enjoyable when you're just not sure exactly what it is that you're hungry for. The Mediterranean section offers some very tasty entrees and side dishes that are not found at many other buffets. The dessert section should win an award as it is special. The wide variety of good food makes up for the less than perfect location and the cleanliness and good service are also pluses. The Spice Market Buffet seems well run and organized and is well lit with comfortable un-crowded seating. I imagine I will go there again.

Todai Seafood and Sushi Lunch Buffet: This is Olivia’s favorite choice and we gave it a shot for our last meal in Las Vegas. It’s an excellent place to go to for sushi/seafood. The sushi was fresh and there was a decent variety but no yellow tail. So many hand rolls to choose from and I tried Salmon Skin Roll. They also offered salad bar, hot foods, and noodle station. We made up our own stir fry vegetables and later came a big plate delivered to our table. The service was excellent and fast plate removal. Olivia loved king crab legs. I believe this place suits Asians’ stomach just well.

Miracle Mile Shop: More than 170 unique retail shops and 15 first-class restaurants are located in this delightful, 475,000 square-foot plaza next to Planet Hollywood. They have everything you could need, everything you want. This mall is like walking through the streets of a foreign country, indoor thunderstorms and all. Some of the shops are a bit pricey but a fun place to walk around and see new things.

Forum Shop at Caesars Palace: This busy shopping mall was built to resemble a street from Ancient Rome. This is a remarkable shopping area. This is the best and most Italian part of the Casino, night skies, Roman Streets, Fountains, Statues and bars and cafes. They have a very neat Fall of Atlantis show at the end of the forum plus Bacchus and Co. show and we missed both. The aquarium on the backside of the statues podium is cool and is missed by us also.

Venetian/Palazzo shops: Palazzo hotel is connected to The Venetian by shared walks and waterways, the Palazzo is the new Las Vegas locale for luxury. The new Shoppes at The Palazzo have more than 50 international boutiques.

The Living Garden show in Palazzo shops: It’s a 3 statues performing on a platform right in the waterfall in the Palazzo Shoppes. The show was pretty entertaining. They shoot water from their hands and such.

Monorail: The Monorail is an excellent mode of transportation although limited. We got all-day passes. It's kind of pricey (24 hours for 13 dollars) and you'll have to walk a long way back to the strip in most cases. We only rode it once back and forth because of this. It's completely automated and they come pretty often. Las Vegas is a LOT of walking, the monorail helped somewhat.

Madame Tussauds: It's a wax museum. We didn't go in but snapped a couple photos with Nicolas Cage and Daniel Craig.

Will the stock market rally stick, or vanish?

-- by AP Business Writer Tim Paradis

Since the bear market began in late 2007, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen into a pattern of huge declines, big gains, and then even larger declines. Four times, the market has rallied only to dissipate.

This past week, the market made a fifth stab at recovery, logging its best performance in months after remarks from bank CEOs and economic data led investors to believe they'd gotten too pessimistic.

"People have been worried that we're heading into this abyss," said Tobias Levkovich, Citigroup's chief U.S. equity strategist. "There are signs that that's not the case, and there is some floor somewhere _ that we may have overreacted."

But is the worst really over?

There's no formula to figure out if this latest rally will stick. But market analysts are watching closely for signs that the worst might be behind us, and they say some good signs are starting to pop up.

"But it's way, way, way too premature to try to make an argument that this is 'The Bottom,' " said John Kosar, market technician and president of Asbury Research in Chicago.

Economies, like stock markets, don't decline in a straight line. The recent spate of better-than-expected retail sales data could be merely a short-term blip.

"A lot of people have been beaten and wounded, and it's going to take time to recover from that. It's more than wealth _ confidence has been rattled," Stuart Frankel & Co. president Jeffrey Frankel said, who works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Before jumping in, "everyone is looking twice," Frankel said.

Thomas Shu's Wedding Banquet: February 2009