Two resolutions to consider: A Movie a Week and Six Pints a Year

Salem Cinema is not out of the woods yet.

It never will be.

An indy theater that shows great documentaries, foreign films (in, gasp!, foreign languages), plot-driven dramas, and quirky films that would never draw the megastudio backing will ALWAYS be in dire need of community support. And that means you, you who appreciate what a rare gem we have, three screens for intelligent and beautiful films, easily a rival (and probably outdoing) every other theater from San Francisco to Vancouver BC.

All you have to do to keep this treasure in your life is to enjoy it. So make your 2011 resolution: A movie a week at Salem Cinema. We'll all be the better for it.

And when you're not enjoying the fine offerings at Salem Cinema, consider going to any of these. In the coming hard (and getting harder times), we are all going to have to depend on each other a lot more. And there's nothing more essential to community-building than providing for our own blood supply. Most healthy adults can donate six pints a year (every eight weeks). Takes about an hour, and makes a world of difference.

It literally SAVES. LIVES.

Think about that. YOU can SAVE LIVES. TODAY, while relaxing on a couch. Not an exaggeration. Not hype. People in accidents, people getting tumors removed, people fighting cancers and cancer treatments, people with infections, people whose blood doesn't clot properly, and on and on and on. All of them die unless there is an uninterrupted supply of blood available for them.

Likely you'll be one of those people some day, you or someone you care about. So make and keep the resolution: Donate your six pints a year if you are eligible to donate.

Just to point out how easy it is to donate blood, your editor just finished his 80th donation here in Salem, on top of another 70 or so elsewhere over the years. Of all the charitable gifts we've given over the years, these have been the most satisfying. LOTS of people can write checks, but no amount of checks will keep someone alive if what they need is blood. Especially important if, like me, you're blood type O- (universal donor).