April is the cruelest month

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April is cruel for us, although not for the same reasons given by T.S. Eliot. April is the hottest and most humid time of year here (although we have had many unusually rainy days lately which block the sun and cool things off a bit). It is also the month when I must complete my work on my annual visa renewal by the last week of the month.
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I just posted a couple of very short book reviews my Zenwind blog, one on With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge and one on the Earthsea novels of Ursula K. Le Guin.
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I managed to get into town a couple of times for US Embassy paperwork visits, to talk with friends, and to see a couple of movies.
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Winter’s Bone, an independent film that was nominated for an Oscar for Best Film, was very good. It featured a strong teenage girl who must be the care-giver for her younger siblings and also stand up to the threat of death to protect their impoverished Ozark home. The young actress also was nominated by the Academy. It is a low budget film and is a bit of hillbilly noir, dark and ugly at times but ultimately redeeming.
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If I survive the coming ordeal with the Immigration Bureau, I will post again.
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-Zenwind.
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