TORRANCE TRIBUNE November 21, 2013 Page 3 Calendar Business Briefs HOLIDAY CORPORATE PARTIES Great Banquet Rooms, Great Catered Food, Great Live Music and Atmosphere and Great Old School Fun! Bring your team to Palos Verdes Bowl for your event! To book your event or for more information, please contact Charlotte at charlotte@pvbowl.com; or 310.326.5120 Thursday, November 21 • Beach Cities Republicans Monthly Meeting, 7 p.m., (6 p.m. no host dinner), Sizzler Restaurant, 2880 Sepulveda Blvd. For more information contact Patti at (310) 753-4159 or plagrelius@aol.com. • South Bay Ostomy Support Group Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Torrance Memorial Medical Center off Lomita Blvd., West Tower parking structure on #B on second floor in connecting building. For more information call Carol at (310) 378-5331 or Anne Marie at (310) 548-8558. Saturday, November 23 • Faith School Ministries, 7 p.m., Holiday Inn, Harbor Room, 19800 S. Vermont Ave. For more information call (424) 263-4276. • Torrance Art Museum Annual 2013 South Bay Focus Exhibition Opening Reception, 6 -9 p.m., Joslyn Center, 3320 Civic Center Drive. Exhibition open Nov. 26 – Dec. 21. Monday, November 25 • Annual State of the Region Luncheon with Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman Henry Waxman, 12 p.m., Doubletree by Hilton Torrance – South Bay. For reservations call our office at (310) 543- 3113 or visit www.TorranceChamber.com. Tuesday, November 26 • City Council Meeting, 7-10 p.m., City Hall Chambers, 3031 Torrance Blvd. Friday, November 29 • The Y’s Men’s Club Christmas Tree Lot, 1 p.m., Madrona Ave. at Del Amo. Proceeds support Y programs. For more information call (310) 328-3670. Upcoming • Torrance Memorial 30th Annual Holiday Festival, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 3-5, 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 8, Torrance Memorial Medical Center, 3330 Lomita Blvd. For information call the Torrance Memorial Health Care Foundation at (310)-517-4703. For recorded general event information call (310) 517-4606. • Bach’s Lunchtime Recital Featuring AlmaNova, 12:15 p.m. Dec 6, First Lutheran Church of Torrance, 2900 W. Carson Street. Ongoing • Downtown Torrance Marketplace. every Thursday, 3-8 p.m., on El Prado Street, from Sartori to the Buffalo Fire Department. •` Remedy Pharm Ribbon-Cutting Event The Remedy Pharm, located at 23811 Hawthorne Blvd., near the intersection of PCH, celebrated its 6th anniversary with a cake celebration and ribbon cutting hosted by the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce. Several city dignitaries, as well as chamber members and customers, attended to congratulate the staff of the Remedy Pharm, which promotes itself as an eco-friendly, full-service compounding pharmacy with products and services for people who want to live healthy, pure and organic lifestyles – inside and out. Photos by Brandon Smith. Remedy Pharm’s 6th anniversary was celebrated by (back row, L to R) Simone Spadoni, Jillian Francis, Tim Stelly and (front row, L to R) April Barci, Dr. Connie Kim and Store Manager Lauren Spiglanin. Photos by Brandon Smith. Torrance Memorial Honors Long-Time Physician, Richard B. Hoffman More than 100 staff, family and friends came together to celebrate Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s renaming and dedication of its Health Conference Center in honor of the late Richard B. Hoffman, M.D. during a ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013. Hoffman spent more than five decades with Torrance Memorial and experienced countless medical breakthroughs in the field of radiology. The long-time Rolling Hills resident, Hoffman joined Torrance Memorial in 1973 as a staff radiologist and later became the director of the radiology department, where he shaped the interventional radiology program. He served as the Healthcare Foundation president, raising funds to continually keep the hospital on the cutting edge of care. Hoffman helped Torrance Memorial become one of the first hospitals to offer ultrasounds. Through his work, the hospital became the 3rd in Southern California to offer PET CT, detecting tumors that radiologists weren’t able to before. Dr. Hoffman passed away Nov. 3, 2011 and since then, donors have raised more than $1.5 million in his name. • Entertainment Reel Review Short, sweet and brutally honest. By Liana Whitehead Ender’s Game: 1,000 Turns, One Giant Twist Before I dig into the scrumptious plot that is Ender’s Game, I have to admit that I (A) haven’t read the novel, (B) am not a science fiction fan and (C) had no desire to see the film. Since I was already 0 for 3 and hoping Harrison Ford et al would change this sci-fi newbie into a fanatic of futuristic films, I took a chance. Mission accomplished – I’ve been transformed. And this is my unasked-for opinion. Please don’t shun me just yet. I already feel unworthy of writing a column on such a classic sci-fi novel that I’ve yet to enjoy. (Side note: After seeing it, I was told that the novel covers a span of years, while the movie shoved years of plot into what seemed like a few months. I can see why fans of the book might feel gypped). Allow me to, without spoilers, set the scene for the film remake of author Orson Scott Card’s 1985 novel. The year is 2086 (I know, right? A futuristic 80s novel that wasn’t set in close-by 2000). Earth is under attack. It survives. Years later, it will see another galactic war in which adolescent Earthling Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is commander. Through extensive mental and physical training – and emotional discomfort – Ender and his team of fellow juveniles train in preparation for another devastating attack on Earth, seemingly comparable to our Sept. 11 in their references to “terrorism” and “never forgetting.” Although it’s a military science fiction novel/film, it’s not your everyday boots and fatigues. It’s a mind game – on screen and in the audience. And did I mention there’s a wonderfully executed twist in the plot? I am gung-ho about people seeing this movie, so I’m zipping my lips for the good of potential viewers. If you’ve read the book, you know to what I’m referring. So, inching away from plots and toward protagonists: for the most part, it was a well-appointed cast with veterans like Harrison Ford, who was convincing as a warmonger, though I believe his character learned a valuable lesson in the end. Also starring were blossoming beginners like Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and, as Ender, Asa Butterfield, an English actor who appeared in The Boy in Striped Pyjamas. Disney Channel actor Moises Arias (Suite Life of Zack and Cody) played a commander – an OK role. Just OK. Maybe it was the character and not Arias whom I found annoying. All in all, for a cast of notso big names, it was a good fit. Now, I’ve heard and read what people consider plot shortcomings: “It was a CliffNotes version of the book,” and “too many brief glimpses of few characters; too much/not enough story.” Maybe it’s because I haven’t read the book and haven’t fallen love with the original story, as I did with books and films like Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird. Even so, Ender’s Game was a cornucopia of mixed emotions. At the end, I wasn’t sure if I was an adult merely accepting the inevitable faces of war, or if my inner child had resurrected and humanity had failed. It’s a film that’ll make you think, and above the awesome graphics and obvious stroke of imagination, it’s impossible to ignore one of its many themes: our world, whether it’s 300 years ago or 3,000 years from now, will always suffer consequences at the hands of its inhabitants. But one can always hope. • City Council from front page to delay the approval of all projects in the capital budget that rely on general funds in the hope that a cost-effective solution to these issues could be found. However, this doesn’t mean that all these issues will be addressed in the near future. One project that will definitely be addressed in the next two years is a plan to make improvements to 186th Street near Columbia Park. Like the other issues, these improvements had at least one vocal supporter--in this case, Jim Tarbin spoke in favor of the project. “I think it’ll do a lot to improve parking along that area, especially on the weekends with the AYSO soccer,” said Tarbin. “Also it will be great to improve pedestrian and vehicular safety on 186th Street, which can get really overwhelming.” Scotto agreed that the project is in the best interest of the city. “It’s one of those projects we’re all excited to see done,” he said. • THIS IS YOUR TIME TO MAKE A HOUSE A HOME. Buying your first home is exciting. But financing it can be complicated. Trust Boston Private Bank to guide you through the mortgage process, and offer low down payment options and flexible terms. To learn more about our Community Homeowner Program, please call Jimar Wilson, Vice President, at 818-501-1752, NMLS ID: 831903. BostonPrivateBank.com plastic bags and newspapers on the empty strip of land. It looks really bad.” City Manager LeRoy Jackson warned that fixing this problem would require extensive work. He said the City recognized the need to a solution, but said there wasn’t enough funding for the project. He added that creating what Nand asked for would probably cost as much as Seaside Heroes Park. “We are not recommending this project at this point and time--we have no funding source for it,” explained Jackson. “It’s a very substantial project to step out and deal with this strip of land. It would require a significant refurbishing of the soil to make it viable for property use for living items. It would be a very substantial investment to create a viable park setting, even low-maintenance, and then the responsibility of maintenance after that.” Overall the Council was sympathetic to the needs of these constituents, going as far as B O S T O N • S A N F R A N C I S C O • L O S A N G E L E S
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