REEL SPIRITUALITY
VeggieTales' second foray from cartoons to movie making opens next weekend. “The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything” features talking vegetables who go from dinner show to reluctantly helping a damsel in distress.
Like other stories in the preachy children's series that rose to popularity a decade ago, this one is heavily moral with a comic edge. It's about what makes a hero.
THIS IS A TEST
Every two years, the Josephson Institute of Ethics conducts a survey of high school students' attitudes on topics ranging from cheating to lying and stealing.
A new report card is coming up this year – and the institute is looking for schools interested in having their students participate. (It's free and includes a detailed report sent back to participants.) To learn more, go to josephsoninstitute.org/reportcard.
The surveys began in 1992. In 2006, some 35,000 teenagers participated nationwide.
STAGE RIGHT
“The Blessing of a Broken Heart,” an adaptation of a book about a mother who loses her child in Israel, is playing at the San Diego Repertory Theatre at Horton Plaza.
Adapted for stage by Todd Salovey, the Rep's associate artistic director, “Blessing” tells about Sherri Mandell's (left) painful journey after her 13-year-old son, Koby, was murdered by terrorists.
Mandell will speak after performances on Jan. 19 and 20. San Diego's Linda Bennett, whose daughter, Marla, was killed at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 2002, will speak after the Jan. 15 performance and before the Jan. 17 performance.
In addition, the play will be presented at Temple Adat Shalom in Poway on Jan. 24.
Ticket information for the Rep: (619) 544-1000; for Adat Shalom: (858) 451-1200.
WORTHY OF NOTE
Louise Hay, the San Diego resident regarded as one of the founders of the contemporary mind-body, self-help movement, will screen a film about her life Friday at the Seaside Center for Spiritual Living, 1613 Lake Drive, Encinitas.
Hay is in her 80s now, and her first self-help book, “Heal Your Body,” goes back to 1976. A minister in the Church of Religious Science, her metaphysical counseling drew headlines in the 1980s, when she launched “Hayride,” an outreach to AIDS patients that preached the message that “love is the most powerful stimulant to the immune system.”
Her film is called “You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie.” Friday's event begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 on that day. Information: (760) 753-5786.
THE LAST WORD
Three Kings Day: A Mexican tradition celebrating the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus (also known as Epiphany). Three Kings Day is tomorrow and is observed by gift-giving and a special dinner.
– COMPILED WITH INPUT FROM NEWS SERVICES WEB SITES BOOKS MAGAZINES AND OTHER SOURCES.
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