Dimples

Joyce Rudolph MONTROSE -- Whites Gallery in Montrose has scheduled a reception Sunday for a new exhibit of works by two local artists. Rick Drobner of La Crescenta will show his abstract expressionistic paintings and hand-built pottery while Pasadena resident John Martin displays his abstract paintings. A former advertising graphic artist, Drobner paints with chopsticks and Indian ink. He taps each piece with a title that inspires a chuckle. Martin received his bachelor's of fine arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and his master's in fine art from Otis Parsons Art Institute.

Every Christmas at least one of our overactive friends puts out a Christmas letter. They’re the couple nobody likes. They make their own clothes and annual stock of zucchini relish; their children never scowl and are kind to grasshoppers and strangers; they donate to charities regularly and still have enough left over for a weekly bowling night. And yet, each year we read their saccharine diatribe and silently yearn to be them. Or at least to send out Christmas cards of our own this year.

Every once in a while, I?ll see a movie that makes me glad to be alive and inspires me to be a more complete person. The documentary ?Young at Heart? did just that, and I hope it does the same for you. ?Young at Heart? is the emotional story of a choir from Massachusetts that performs rock and pop songs for audiences around the world. Nothing real unique about that story line, except the average age of the members is 81. This fascinating film follows the chorus for seven weeks as it rehearses and struggles to learn new songs before putting on a sold-out show in the singers?