Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, February 25, 2017

B2

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 25, 2017 

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown

On the Marquee: 

Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

Angels on Earth: Inspiring Stories 
of Fate, Friendship, and the Power 
of Connections by Laura Schroff 
& Alex Tresniowski 

From the #1 New York Times and 
international bestselling authors of An 
Invisible Thread comes a heartwarming 
and inspiring book about the incredible 
impact that acts of kindness from 
strangers can have on the world around 
us.One day in 1986, Laura Schroff, a 
busy ad sales executive, passed an eleven-
year-old boy panhandling on the street. 
She stopped and offered to take him to 
McDonald’s for lunch. 20 years later, at 
Laura’s fiftieth birthday party, Maurice 
Mayzck gave a toast, thanking Laura 
for her act of kindness, which ended up 
changing the course of his life. In that 
toast, Maurice said that when Laura 
stopped on that busy street corner all 
those years ago, God had sent him an 
angel.Laura’s invisible thread journey has 
deepened her belief that angels,divine and 
otherwise,are all around us. After An 
Invisible Thread was published in 2011, 
readers from around the country and 
world began sharing with Laura their own 
stories about how chance encounters with 
strangers have changed their lives. From a 
woman who saved a life simply by buying 
someone a book, to a financier who gave a 
stranger the greatest gift of all, to a teacher 
who chose a hug over discipline and 
changed a lost boy’s future.The book will 
introduce a series of remarkable people 
whose invisible thread stories will move, 
surprise, and inspire readers. Angels 
on Earth sheds light on how each of us 
can live happier, more purposeful lives 
through sharing acts of kindness.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi 

Named one of the best books of the year by the 
Washington Post,NPR and the New York Times.At the 
age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s 
worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi 
was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he 
was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a 
patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future 
he and his wife had imagined evaporated. The book 
chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve 
medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the 
question of what, given that all organisms die, makes 
a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon 
at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical 
place for human identity, and finally into a patient 
and new father confronting his own mortality.What 
makes life worth living in the face of death? What do 
you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward 
your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? 
What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new 
life as another fades away? These are some of the 
questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this 
profoundly moving, exquisitely observed 
memoir.Paul Kalanithi died in March 
2015, while working on this book, yet his 
words live on as a guide and a gift to us 
all. “I began to realize that coming face to 
face with my own mortality, in a sense, 
had changed nothing and everything,” he 
wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett 
began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go 
on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes 
Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming 
reflection on the challenge of facing death 
and on the relationship between doctor 
and patient, from a brilliant writer who 
became both.

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried 
Women and the Rise of an 
Independent by Rebecca 
Traister

The New York Times bestselling 
investigation into the sexual, economic, 
and emotional lives of women is “an 
informative and thought-provoking 
book for anyone—not just the single 
ladies—who want to gain a greater 
understanding of this pivotal moment 
in the history of the United States” 
(N.Y. Times Book Review).In 2009, 
award-winning journalist Rebecca 
Traister started All the Single Ladies 
about the 21st century phenomenon 
of the American single woman. It was 
the year the proportion of American 
women who were married dropped 
below fifty percent; and the median age 
of first marriages, which had remained 
between twenty and twenty-two years 
old for nearly a century (1890–1980), 
had risen dramatically to twenty-
seven.But over the course of her vast 
research and more than a hundred interviews with 
academics and social scientists and prominent 
single women, Traister discovered a startling truth: 
the phenomenon of the single woman in America 
is not a new one. And historically, when women 
were given options beyond early heterosexual 
marriage, the results were massive social change—
temperance, abolition, secondary education, and 
more. Today, only twenty percent of Americans 
are married by age twenty-nine, compared to 
nearly sixty percent in 1960. “An informative and 
thought-provoking book for anyone—not just 
single ladies” ( N.Y. Times Book Review), The book 
is a remarkable portrait of contemporary American 
life and how we got here, through the lens of the 
unmarried American woman. Covering class, race, 
sexual orientation, and filled with vivid anecdotes 
from fascinating contemporary and historical 
figures, “we’re better off reading Rebecca Traister 
on women, politics, and America than pretty much 
anyone else” (The Boston Globe).


One dark and stormy night, the eccentric Mrs. Whatsit arrives at the home of Meg Murry, a young teen 
who doesn’t fit in at her New England high school. Aided by Mrs. Whatsit and her friends, Meg, her gifted 
brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin are transported on an adventure through time and space 
to rescue her father from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet.

John Glore’s delightful, wildly theatrical adaptation bring the beloved Newberry-winning novel to life 


All Things By Jeff Brown

FRUIT AND VEG: FOR A LONGER LIFE EAT 10-A-DAY

The study, by Imperial College London, calculated 
such eating habits could prevent 7.8 million 
premature deaths each year.The team also identified 
specific fruit and veg that reduced the risk of cancer 
and heart disease.

 The analysis showed even small amounts had 
a health boon, but more is even better.A portion 
counts as (3oz) of fruit or veg - the equivalent of a 
small banana, a pear or three heaped tablespoons 
of spinach or peas.The conclusions were made by 
pooling data on 95 separate studies, involving two 
million people’s eating habits.

 Lower risks of cancer were linked to eating:green 
veg (eg spinach),yellow veg (eg peppers),cruciferous 
vegetables (eg cauliflower).Lower risks of 
heart disease and strokes were linked to 
eating:apples,pears,citrus fruits,saladsmgreen leafy 
vegetables (eg lettuce)cruciferous veg

 Not all of the 95 studies that were analysed 
fully accounted for other aspects of lifestyle, such 
as exercise levels, that could also play a role in 
prolonging lives.Good luck eating 10 a day!

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


SIGNING UP FOR 
MEDICARE: IMPORTANT 
FACTS FOR THOSE 
NEARING AGE 65

People who are nearing the age of 65 should begin 
making plans for the transition from private health care 
to Medicare. It is not a simple process or one that happens 
automatically. You have to initiate the enrollment 
process at a specific time or suffer a monetary penalty.

It is important to understand that applying for Social 
Security benefits and enrolling in Medicare are two 
totally different things. Don’t confuse your eligible age 
for Social Security with the eligible age for Medicare. For 
Medicare, it is 65; there are no variations based on your 
date of birth.

Can I Sign Up Whenever I Want?

If you are turning 65 and are not covered under a health 
insurance plan through your employer or your spouse’s, 
you must enroll in Medicare during an initial enrollment 
period (IEP) that applies just to you. The period runs for 
a seven-month span beginning and ending on either side 
of your 65th birthday. The fourth month of the period 
is the month in which you turn 65. That is how you 
establish your window of opportunity.

If you passed the age of 65 while covered under a plan 
through your or your spouse’s employment, you have 
a special enrollment period (SEP). The SEP covers any 
time before the employment ends, and for eight months 
thereafter. A word of caution here: employers with less 
than 20 workers may require employees turning 65 to 
enroll in Medicare and have the employer plan serve 
only as a backup insurer.

What If I Missed The Deadline?

If you failed to enroll during your initial or special 
period, you must enroll in a general enrollment period 
(GEP) which is in effect from January 1 to March 31 of 
each year. In such a case, you will be charged a penalty 
of 10 percent of the premiums for each full 12-month 
period after the end of your IEP and the beginning of 
the GEP.

The good news for some who enroll during a GEP is that 
they may not have to pay any premiums for Medicare 
Part A coverage, so there is no penalty to be assessed. If 
you have contributed Medicare tax while employed for 
40 quarters (10 years), you have enough credit to get Part 
A coverage for free. Part A covers hospital and skilled 
nursing facility charges. Part B, which covers doctor’s 
services, outpatient services and medical equipment, 
always comes with a premium, and an enrollment 
penalty will be assessed as long as you are in the plan.

While the process can be complicated, these are some 
of the more important facts people need to know about 
Medicare enrollment. There are still other factors that 
may apply to individuals, especially anyone who is 
disabled and receiving Medicare benefits prior to age 65. 
As such, contacting the Social Security Administration 
(or if you need more help, contacting us) well before your 
65th birthday is the smart thing to do.

Dedicated to your family’s health, wealth, and happiness,

A local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer (Court 
Appointed Special Advocate for Children), Marc Garlett 
is on a mission to help parents protect what they love 
most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., Ste. G, 
Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an appointment to 
sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of love and 
financial security for your family by calling 626.355.4000 
or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more information.


NUTS AND BOLTS OF ACTING TECHNIQUE 

A FOUR MONTH INTENSIVE 

Sundays, January 15 - May 7 (No class Easter, April 16) 

2:00pm - 4:00pm 

Zydeco Casting Studios 

626-355-4572 

Nuts and Bolts begins at the beginning and proceeds in a clear and detailed step by step manner... clarifying 
your understanding of the process of acting... giving you a “tool kit” to own and use... providing you with a solid 
foundation from which to work. This will always be the most important step an actor can take on the path to a 
rewarding career.

Career Launching 
Pad

ZERO TO SPEED...in 6 
weeks 

LEARN THE PROCESS

 ..step by step 

COMMERCIAL AUDITION TECHNIQUES... 

CAMERA TECHNIQUE... 

PROFESSIONAL TOOLS... 

CAREER ADMININSTRATION 

Be completely ready and... 

LAUNCH AT THE AGENT SHOWCASE! 

Can we brag? Over 80% of our graduates have signed with top industry agents. If working as an 
actor is your goal...this class was designed to meet it!

COMMERCIALS A-Z 

Sundays, January 8 - Febuary 12 

5:00pm to 9:00pm 

Zydeco Casting Studios 

Call: 626-355-4572


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com