French and Francophone Film Festival - Oct. 16 to Nov. 13

Still from Mondovino.

The Department of French and Italian at the University of Arizona will hold a French and Francophone Film Festival from October 16 to November 13, 2008. There will be 5 films with free admission on the UA campus, in ILC 120 at 7pm. From 6:00-7:00 pm, prior to each film screening (except on November 6th), there will be French or Italian food for sale. Yum.

The Tournées Festival, a program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), was made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC), the Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation, high brow entertainment, agnès b., and the Franco-American Cultural Fund, as well as the support of the following units at the UA: the Department of Anthropology, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Department of French and Italian, the College of Humanities, and the Office of International Affairs, and the Alliance Française of Tucson.

Tucson Eat Yourself...and dance to Toa Toa

I don't even have to tell you that Tucson Eat Yourself started today, right? I plan to eat a little of EVERYTHING of course, get wired on Turkish coffee, dance crazy samba with Brazilian rockers Toa Toa, (they play tomorrow, Oct. 11 at 3:30)... but instead of going to The Buffet afterward for traditional beer and shuffleboard I will be celebrating a radical boriqua at her place. Happy Birthday, Zule :)

Puedo escribir los versos mas tristes esta noche...

Brag moment: this is one of my ex-students. He called this recitation a result of my "Spanish-teaching legacy". Poetry performed on YouTube? Those naysayers who insist the internet is killing literature are wrong for so many reasons...

Randy Pausch, Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, and Spiritual Growth in Tucson

I frequently think of Tucson as a place with a special "spiritual aura", but maybe that's just because in my heart of hearts I'm a hippie earth mother. What do you think? (Insert Sarah Palinesque wink here.)

While you think about it, you can watch this lecture by Randy Pausch, known as the Last Lecture. I don't agree with his work ethic, but his life, death and lecture present a lot of important stuff to think about...

Also, if you are a women interested in an affordable support group specifically designed to address the process of personal transformation, I could refer you. The doc's approach is "eclectic, cognitive behavioral, feminist and experiential." Sounds pretty cool, huh?

Both groups will be offered this Fall and are scheduled to begin as soon as they are filled. Space in the groups is limited, and admission to the groups is by interview only. Interested participants may schedule an initial 30-minute individual interview at no cost.

One group will be offered on Thursdays 5:30-7pm and the other group will be offered on Saturdays 10-11:30am. The fee for each 90-minute group session is $35.00. The groups will be facilitated near the Tucson Mall.

If you're interested I can forward you a flier. Here's a bio from the doc:

"I received my Master's degree in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Arizona in 1984 and established my private practice in 1985. I am experienced in social service, educational and clinical settings, and as a consultant, community organizer, and advocate.

My clinical specialties include adults (individuals and couples), marital/partnership, relationship and parenting issues, conflict resolution and mediation, LGBT concerns, depression, anxiety, loss or grief, emotional, physical and sexual abuse issues and trauma resolution. For more details about my professional experience, or for any questions about my services, please contact me directly."

Feijoada at Fiorito's - Saturday, December 13

Good Brazilian eats alert!!!

The complete FEIJOADA with all the trimmings will be served at Fiorito's this Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 from 12 pm to 3:30pm.

Complete feijoada, Black Bean and Meat, Pork and Sausages Stew served on rice and accompanied by collard greens,orange slices, salsa and cassava meal (farofa)

Vegetarian Feijoada, Black Bean and Tofu products and legumes stew is also available

Brazilian traditional drink: Caipirinha

Brazilian desserts:

Flan
Queijadinha (milk,coconut and cheese pudding)

FIORITO'S
2702 e. GRANT ROAD
(TWO BLOCKS EAST OF TUCSON BLVD ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF GRANT ROAD)
325-6913

Dog Sees God - Live Theater Workshop

So Andrew is in the living room watching a play on T.V. and I just thought to myself, "I can't take theater acting" and walked away. Then I remembered that I really enjoyed this great play two weeks ago and wanted to give some props on mi blog.

We saw Dog Sees God performed by Live Theater Workshop as part of their Etcetera Late Night Season. I read a great review of the play in Tucson Weekly and Tucson Citizen. I've never seen local theater, so I thought it sounded like a fun experiment.

I dragged some friends along and we weren't disappointed. Everyone agreed the play was good and the acting was really good. Plus, the vibe at the local venue was young, fresh, hip, and excited. It's cool to see that kind of crowd bubbly about an art form that's become less and less mainstream.