For every one of those faces pictured on the obituary page, thousands of memories have been swept out of the world, never to be recovered. I encourage everyone to write down their memories before it’s too late.

Here’s a fine example of that by Margaret Hasse, who lives in Minnesota.

Truant

Our high school principal wagged his finger
over two manila folders
lying on his desk, labeled with our names—
my boyfriend and me—
called to his office for skipping school.

The day before, we ditched Latin and world history
to chase shadows of clouds on a motorcycle.
We roared down rolling asphalt roads
through the Missouri River bottoms
beyond town, our heads emptied
of review tests and future plans.

We stopped on a dirt lane to hear
a meadowlark’s liquid song, smell
heart-break blossom of wild plum.
Beyond leaning fence posts and barbwire,
a tractor drew straight lines across the field
unfurling its cape of blackbirds.

Now forty years after that geography lesson
in spring, I remember the principal’s words.
How right he was in saying:
This will be part of
your permanent record.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (Rated R)

Where comedy is involved, sequels are often not the most desired approach.

As a prime example, “The Hangover,” outrageously funny, would have been best served had a franchise never been attempted.

The first sequel, arguably passable, made way for another that was, by most accounts, either completely unnecessary or just plain dreadful.

Going against the grain is “Horrible Bosses 2,” a followup effort that would seem to lack promise, only because the trio of victimized workers (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis), who proved to be hilariously idiotic, are reunited for nearly similar challenges.

“Horrible Bosses 2” has a different twist in that the three office drones have morphed into entrepreneurs, even though their understanding of starting and sustaining their own business enterprise is lacking fundamental knowledge and experience necessary for monetary success.

What’s working right now for the “Horrible Bosses” franchise is that the hapless trio of Nick (Bateman), Dale (Day) and Kurt (Sudeikis) are not just unbelievably dense but they have to cope with an adversary worthy of the grief provided by their former horrible employers (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell and Jennifer Aniston).

Having invented a showerhead that dispenses soap, shampoo and conditioner, they find they have a winner with this unique bathroom product known as the “Shower Buddy,” but they still require start-up financing to launch a production facility.

Enter savvy investor and business tycoon Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his psychotic son Rex (Chris Pine), both of whom are schemers, but not necessarily in sync with each other.

Hanson the senior offers $500,000 and an initial order to be processed through his catalog business.

On good faith, Nick, Kurt and Dale rent warehouse space and hire a crew of inexperienced workers.

Kurt, easily distracted by any form of female beauty, hires every pretty girl who shows up for an interview. And yet, the newly-minted businessmen manage to deliver their first batch of showerheads as promised.

The unscrupulous Bert Hanson reneges on his promise for funding so that he can take over their company for pennies on the dollar.

But Bert didn’t count on the criminal minds that are once again willing to team up with underworld advisor MF Jones (Jamie Foxx), a mastermind almost as inept as his clients.

Our trio of hapless heroes knows something about dealing with deceitful operators, having clumsily conspired but not actually succeeding to murder their bosses in the first film.

Kevin Spacey makes a delightful return as Nick’s former employer Dave Harken, now incarcerated.

His brief appearances, punctuated by profane and sadistic rants, during prison visits by the trio seeking expert business advice are priceless and what you might expect from an unhinged horrible boss.

The old friends conspire to kidnap the obnoxious Rex in order to seek a ransom at least for the amount of money owed by the insidious Bert Hanson.

Meanwhile, Rex, not as insipid as he appears, turns the tables by convincing the guys that they can up the ante and turn a windfall.

During the hostage stage, the chemistry between Nick, Dale and Kurt comes comically into play. The three of them bicker as if they were “The Three Stooges,” which is not a farfetched notion. Their incompetence is staggering and overwhelming, resulting in plenty of laughs.

Not a genius by any stretch, Nick is the most rational member of the group who wisely frets about consequential actions. The whiny-voiced Dale is constantly in panic mode, usually acting illogically.

Stuck in the muddled middle, Kurt often facilitates Dale’s nonsense when he’s not preoccupied with eyeballing attractive women. 

That these guys are so easily manipulated is also cause for the comic mayhem.

Jennifer Aniston’s return as the sex-addict dentist, who sexually harassed her former dental assistant Dale, offers some very funny moments when she targets Nick as her newest victim.

“Horrible Bosses 2” adheres to the lowbrow comedy formula that worked quite well the first time around.

In the most basic terms, if you liked the first “Horrible Bosses” chances are you will feel the same way about this sequel.

For one thing, I approached “Horrible Bosses 2” with caution, fearing it would ruin favorable memories.

Well, that didn’t happen, because it’s wacky fun to watch Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis bumbling through the plot, while bringing some fresh material to the basic storyline.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Start the holidays with sounds of joy!

The Old Time Fiddlers Association continues the monthly First Sunday Fiddlers’ Jam sessions at the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum.

On Sunday, Dec. 7, they'll be performing beautiful Americana music with a possible sprinkling of holiday cheer to get you in the spirit.

Come ready to clap your hands and tap your toes. They'll even make room for those who want to get up and dance.

This is a free, family friendly event for all to enjoy, young and old alike.

The fun begins at the museum at 11 a.m. with the fiddlers playing in the barn from noon through 2 p.m.

Come early to enjoy all of the latest museum acquisitions and displays. Take this last opportunity to buy tickets for the “barn replica” birdhouse that will be raffled off during the fiddling that day.

Enjoy the music with beverages and tasty treats provided by the docents. Bring your own wine and sip it in Ely Stage Stop wine glasses that are available for purchase.

Attendees frequently make donations and the money collected is split between Ely, to help fund a blacksmith shop that volunteers will soon be building, and the Fiddlers Association, who uses it to partially fund their scholarship programs.

The stage stop, operated by the Lake County Historical Society, is located at 9921 Soda Bay Road (Highway 281) in Kelseyville. Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. Fiddlers’ Jams occur the first Sunday of every month.

Visit www.elystagestop.com or www.lakecountyhistory.org , check out the stage stop on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elystagestop or call the museum at 707-533-9990.

Stuart Kestenbaum is a Maine poet with a new book, Only Now, from Deerbrook Editions.

In it are a number of thoughtful poems posed as prayers, and here’s an example:

Prayer for Joy

What was it we wanted
to say anyhow, like today
when there were all the letters
in my alphabet soup and suddenly
the ‘j’ rises to the surface.
The ‘j’, a letter that might be
great for Scrabble, but not really
used for much else, unless
we need to jump for joy,
and then all of a sudden
it’s there and ready to
help us soar and to open up
our hearts at the same time,
this simple line with a curved bottom,
an upside down cane that helps
us walk in a new way into this
forest of language, where all the letters
are beginning to speak,
finding each other in just
the right combination
to be understood.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2014 by Stuart Kestenbaum, “Prayer for Joy” from Only Now, (Deerbrook Editions, 2014). Poem reprinted by permission of Stuart Kestenbaum and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR (Rated PG)

Penguins are adorable, lovable creatures often the subjects of documentary films tracking their waddling moves across the frozen tundra of Antarctica.

Now the animated variety has taken the spotlight in the fourth installment of the “Madagascar” franchise.

Naturally, the tuxedo-clad flightless birds get the prime billing in “Penguins of Madagascar,” a title that leaves no doubt that the beloved supporting characters from the earlier films are now the headliners they have always been destined to be.

The film’s opening moments poke fun at the documentary tropes, with legendary director Werner Herzog following a line of anonymous penguins going about their business to be recorded yet again for celluloid posterity.

As the leading characters, Skipper, Kowalski and Rico (voiced by Tom McGrath, Chris Miller and Conrad Vernon, respectively) don’t want to be like every other penguin waiting in line and parading aimlessly around Antarctica. These guys know that adventure is in store beyond their ice-covered chunk of the planet.

While dodging filmmakers and refusing to conform to penguin norms, the trio of merry explorers stumbles upon a runaway penguin egg, from which is hatched the most lovable of them all, Private (Christopher Knights), who becomes the newest member of the team.

As a quartet, the Penguins are formidable. Skipper, the team’s fearless leader, demands loyalty and order from his regimented flock.

His right-flipper man, Kowalski is the brains of the operation, the go-to guy when the Penguins need a quick, life-saving fix. Yeah, these guys constantly need to get out of a jam.

Trigger-happy and reckless, Rico lives to blow things up, which is why the Skipper keeps him on a tight leash, if possible.

Rico can be an effective weapon, but left to his own devices he’s a loose cannon. Though the runt of the team, Private has the biggest heart of them all and stands ready for new challenges.

Marching to the beat of a different drummer, the Penguins, acting like a feathered version of the A-Team, go out of their comfort zone to embark on a globetrotting adventure, where they meet characters who really make them step up their game.

Taking a page from the James Bond film “Goldfinger,” the Penguins take an excursion to Fort Knox, breaking into the most secure facility in America, not to steal bullion but to get the Cheesy Dibbles housed in a vending machine that has become off-limits due to what one of them notes is our “nanny state” obsession with banning junk foods.

Raiding Fort Knox for a tasty treat pales in comparison to the challenges the Penguins face when they come up against the deranged Dr. Octavius Brine (John Malkovich). A renowned geneticist and donor to NPR pledge drives, the good doctor is actually an octopus named Dave.

The purple-hued Dave, grinning with gleeful menace, harbors a giant grudge against all penguins, particularly the ones held in captivity at zoos and aquariums.

Dave was once the star attraction at zoos around the world, until the cuter penguins stole the spotlight away from him.

“You took everything from me!” he bellows at the Penguins, and he’s about to take extreme measures, aided by his octopi henchmen, to once again reclaim his starring role.

Dave has the fevered ambition of a villain in the classic tradition of the James Bond films. His solution to his penguin problem is a serum that turns them into grotesquely deformed creatures. 

Skipper and company are ever confident in their ability to deal with Dave’s ludicrously insidious plans, but a group of covert operatives known as the North Wind, who help animals in need, do not think the guys are up to the task and decide to take over the mission.

North Wind’s leader (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a cocky secret agent wolf, who won’t give his name because he says it is classified. So naturally, the Penguins start calling him Agent Classified, much to his chagrin. Classified is the Alpha male of a tech-savvy team made up of an owl, otter and polar bear.

The Penguins are in fact the polar opposite of the North Wind. They operate on brave, reckless instinct with a very gung ho attitude, while the North Wind are methodical, consumed with intricate planning and using high-tech gadgets.

The globetrotting adventures take the Penguins to Shanghai, while Skipper mistakenly insists they have arrived in Dublin, Ireland.

They end up in Venice, which results in an incredible high-speed gondola chase sequence involving outrunning Dave’s octopi.

“Penguins of Madagascar” has plenty of visual gags that should entertain across the ages, while some of the dialogue and one-liners prove amusing to adults.

When Skipper finds his crew on a flight to France, he’s aghast at that country’s burdensome tax laws, a fact which requires some knowledge of President Hollande’s tenure.

A fair assessment of “Penguins of Madagascar” is that Skipper and the gang are fun to watch in action. Yet, one senses that the film runs its course about a half-hour short of the 90 minute running time. Still, it’s a family entertainment offering pleasant enjoyment.
  
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

I love poems with sudden surprises, and here’s one by Jennifer Gray, a Nebraskan.

Will you ever see depressions puddled with rain without thinking of the image at her conclusion?

Horses

The neighbor’s horses idle
under the roof
of their three-sided shelter,
looking out at the rain.

Sometimes
one or another
will fade into the shadows
in the corner, maybe
to eat, or drink.

Still, the others stand,
blowing out their warm
breaths. Rain rattles
on the metal roof.

Their hoof prints
in the corral
open gray eyes to the sky,
and wink each time
another drop falls in.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2013 by Jennifer Gray. Reprinted by permission of Jennifer Gray. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.