Jordon Murphy boxes in the recent Boxing at the Creek VII card at the StrikeGym in Coconut Creek. Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

Anthony Calix calls boxing the hardest thing he has ever done in his life.

“It was just pure energy,” said Calix, 17, of Margate, who recently graduated from Coral Springs High School and is going to Palm Beach State College. “It doesn’t come easy like school and working. Nothing to me gets more intense than this.”

Calix fell to 0-2 in his amateur career after he dropped a Jorge Torres in the recent Boxing at the Creek VII card at the StrikeGym in Coconut Creek. Calix, who fights for the Deerfield Beach BSO PAL, has been boxing since he was 13 and recently started competitive matches.

Calix said it isn’t nervewracking being in the ring.

“When you are in there, you get the most powerful feeling ever,” Calix said. “It is like everybody is there to see you work and perform. Most people don’t know what it is like to be an athlete. They just see people doing things that you, yourself, as a normal person, wouldn’t do. It is inspiring. It is more energy for me.”

Boxing presents different challenges for Calix than other sports. Calix used to run track.

“Compared to boxing, track is really boring,” Calix said. “It is a really static sport. Somebody is going to run faster than somebody else and that is it. Here, somebody can be losing the whole match and win it back in the last round. Someone might get knocked out of nowhere. It is dynamic. The exciting part about it too is that you could be trailing, and it only takes one punch to win it.”

When Calix first started, he used to take the 2-1/2 hour bus ride from Margate.

“It’s good,” Calix said. “That’s all I got. Without them I wouldn’t be here. It kind of is a team sport. We support each other and we make each other better at the end of the day.”

Deerfield Beach’s Jordon Murphy, 14, won his bout in the Coconut Creek event. Murphy, a six-year veteran of boxing, won Ringside World and Nationals and was hopeful of repeating this year.

Murphy, a freshman at Monarch High School, improved to 56-10 with the win.

“My coach and I don’t really worry about the local shows,” Murphy said. “It is all about practice. He wants to see what we can do before we go to the big shows. I wanted to work on my footwork and beating him to the punches. I don’t think I did that good. I could have worked on more. I think I could have done better.”

As long as he wins, it’s okay.

“If he were to lose at a local show heading into a big competition, it would give me a bad reputation and people would be thinking other stuff about me,” Murphy said. “They would say that I slacked off.”

His favorite fighters are Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez.

“I like how they are smart fighters,” Murphy said. “Manny works punches and Canelo hits hard and fast.”

Simply Soccer camp

Local residents have an opportunity to take advantage of World Cup soccer fever this summer as the Simply Soccer camp closes out its 26th year in Coral Springs.

There have been record numbers this year for the camp, which was also previously held in the city of Pompano. The soccer camp is for boys and girls, ages 5-14, of all skill levels, who will be taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.

Remaining dates are July 28-Aug. 1; August 4-8; August 11-15. There are three sessions each day ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; extended hours camp from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a Tiny Tot program for kids ages 5 and 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. Full day campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. For information, call 954-345-2200.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.

Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1966, Sang Koo Kang immigrated to the United States and has lived the American Dream. His family settled in Miami and Sang drew attention for kicking field goals in High School. While Hurricane Coach Jimmy Johnson took notice of this young talent, Sang impressed the legendary Bobby Bowden and became the Florida State Seminole field goal kicker for four years. With his interest in martial arts, Sang Koo Kang earned the designation “Master Sang.”

Upon graduation in 1990, Master Sang opened a small martial arts studio in Miami Beach on Collins Avenue. Sang’s Academy has grown to several schools in Miami- Dade area and expansion into Coconut Creek. As for success, Sang says, “1. Make sure you have the right attitude, you are special and different from others. 2. Everything must be consistent, you have to find something and be the best at it.”

Director Brett Ratner cast Master Sang in Rush Hour 2 and 3 and, more recently, Sang was flown to Budapest, Hungary to contribute his expertise for Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson. Sang is philosophical about his involvement with the motion picture.

“Brett Ratner is a genius, so smart with a good eye. Ratner gets his family involved and works with good action people. Going to Budapest and working with Brett Ratner helps set a good example for my children that they can do it.”

With $30 million in the box office treasure chest, Hercules is proving to be formidable summer blockbuster. Marketed as another “sword & sandals special effects extravaganza,” this film contains a good story with strong character development and clear action-packed visuals.

Based on the graphic novel The Thracian Wars by Steve Moore, this Hercules debunks the “son of Zeus legend” with a story about a mortal mercenary and his team of myth-makers. The King of Thrace (John Hurt) recruits Team Hercules to train his country of farmers to become soldiers. After accomplishing this task, Thrace gains an empire.

Despite his box office success, Ratner is an under-rated filmmaker. Hercules tells an old story with a modern twist and is perfect for a matinee.

“Cinema” Dave Montalbano Photo by Barbara McCormick

The Observer’s Flicks columnist celebrates 15 years

Congratulations to “Cinema” Dave Montalbano for successfully completing 15 years of coverage with his Flicks column. Steadfastly relaying information on current films playing at a theater near you, Montalbano, a 1981 Deerfield High School graduate and Florida State University alum, incorporates film history into every piece. His knowledge of the classics is evident and his love for cinema keeps him writing year after year. When not writing and watching movies, this former teacher and WAXY radio promotions coordinator spends time at local film festivals and Spooky Empire events, and dining with his mother, who just celebrated a 90^th birthday not long ago. His “mortgage-paying job,” as he terms it, is with Broward County libraries. In addition, he is just finishing up his third novel. This one, still untitled, is themed Christian Horror, whereas his last, “Davy Jones & the Heart of Darkness” was set on the high seas. His first book, “The Adventures of Cinema Dave and the Florida Motion Picture World” includes many of his columns from The Observer as well as other historical tidbits and essays. What’s next in the world of Cinema Dave? Visit his blog to find out: http://cinemadave.livejournal.com.

“Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations “(Psalm 90: 1).

Moses’ statement written for the benefit of the tribes in the wilderness is often borrowed and applied to contemporary communities of faith.

It is a declaration that beyond buildings and roofs, God himself is the abode of the believer.

In God, he puts his trust, his confidence and his faith. His offspring and succeeding generations inevitably follow the same pattern and make the same proclamation. It springs from the realization that God guides, comforts, protects and provides for those who put their trust in Him. He can be counted on to be faithful, dependable and true.

One such community of faith in our fair city is the Cathedral Church of God (365 S. Dixie Hwy).

For 90 years, the congregation has witnessed the faithfulness of God as they have served him and the community.

In August of 1924, at the corner of Dixie Highway and SW 2 Street, a small group of Christian believers proclaimed the “Full Gospel” and laid a foundation for what would become Deerfield Beach’s first Pentecostal church.

In the ensuing decades, the church would grow as many individuals and families began to put their faith in God and bear witness to the power of the Gospel. Many of the founding members’ progeny are still actively involved in this ministry of faith.

Today, the church is celebrating a rich history and legacy that has lasted for several generations. Cathedral Church of God is one of the leading congregations in the Florida/Cocoa Church of God (Cleveland, TN). It has produced numerous leaders who have served the state and national offices in administrative positions. Various other ministries and congregations have also emanated from the church.

Current community outreach includes an afterschool tutoring program, bi-weekly feeding program, and support for various social service agencies. All of which are an expression of an abiding faith in God and a desire to demonstrate that faith in service to others.

In honor of their 90-year milestone, the church is planning a host of activities for the month of August.

In addition to the dynamic worship and preaching that takes place every Sunday, there will be an outreach to the community on the church’s property August 13 to 15 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. each night. Activities include music, testimony, proclamation and praises, as well as distribution of bags of groceries and children’s backpacks on Friday, August 15th.

Saturday, August 30 at 3 p.m., the church will hold a celebration and homecoming service with many dignitaries (both civic and ecclesiastic), ministry partners, friends and former members.

The concluding event will be a grand banquet at the Westin hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday August 31 at 3 p.m.

The entire community is invited to come and help celebrate in any of these events.

More information can be obtained by calling the church’s office at 954-427-0302.

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly,

Pastor

Cathedral Church of God Deerfield Beach

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.

For the past 10 years, San Diego Comic-Con has become as much of a summer staple as the summer movie blockbuster season. While local businesses like CJ’s Comics, Tate’s Comics and Docking Bay plan local events, Hollywood studios will promote their agendas with Marvel Comics/Disney expected to announce their movie titles until 2019, featuring some of the final screen appearances of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man in their current incarnation.

Lacking the multimillion dollar promotional budget of comic books and cartoons, there are a series of independent films opening locally that could stand scrutiny. One such movie, Boyhood, is generating Oscar buzz for director Richard Linklater.

Filmed once every nine years, Linklater created three films (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight) about the maturation of a couple played by Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. Hawke returns in Boyhood, which has been filming for 11 years starting in 2002. The purpose of this project was to document the rites of passage of the film’s leading man, Ellar Coltrane as Mason Jr. (Hawke portrays Mason Sr.)

Given the current international crisis in Ukraine, A Most Wanted Man is a timely spy thriller about a half-Chechen, half-Russian fugitive who takes refuge in an Islamic community in Hamburg, Germany. This film is based on Jean Le Carre’s best-selling book of the same name.

This film also features Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s final performance in a leading role. This ensemble piece also features Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright and Willem Dafoe. What the film lacks in big budgeted explosions, this thriller will make up with suspenseful character motivation.

A Coffee in Berlin seems to combine two elements of A Most Wanted Man and Boyhood. The winner of six German Academy Awards, A Coffee in Berlin is about the rite of passage for a college dropout slacker.

While the countdown to Halloween does not start until August, A Wolf at the Door opens this weekend and features a parent’s worst nightmare, child abduction. This Miami International Film Festival winner opens this weekend at Cinema Paradiso (www.fliff.com).

My wife and I were thrilled this week to touch, feel and see one of life’s most exciting new possibilities. The occasion was to spend quality time with Lucy Anne, our first granddaughter.

Born the first day of July, Lucy Anne weighs all of 9 lbs. She is fragile and completely dependent on the loving care of those entrusted with her well-being. But Lucy’s delicate frame will strengthen and grow. Before we realize it, she will demonstrate signs of mobility. She will be turning over and sitting up. She will be crawling then walking. She will be running even before she is potty trained. I imagine her in pre-school tomorrow and driving a car next week, but, hopefully, not on I-95!

However quickly life passes, like cars in the far left lane of the interstate; however messed up the world appears to be, whenever God presents new life in the form of a newborn child, then we pray the sun keeps rising and setting perfectly. We have this hope because we desire yet another generation touch, feel and see the thrill of new possibilities too.

But how is it so engrained in our psyche that we look to the future with such optimism for a tiny infant so small and weak and vulnerable in a world so large and troubled?

Like deep roots of a tree tall and strong, the explanation is in our faith. Jesus speaks to his followers about this in a parable saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater

than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” (Matthew 13)

You see, we all may have small beginnings, but we are children of a big promise.

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “It is the Spirit that bears witness with our spirit that we are all children of God. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, then who is against us? For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8)

And so, my prayer is not only that the small will physically grow strong, but that we will all spiritually grow strong in our faith.

For, as we see a seed grow from small beginnings to become a tree strong and tall providing space for nesting and shade for resting, the roots of faith run deep to withstand the world’s testing. This is the ground of our confidence in Christ in whom we are heirs to a promise greater than the world. Through Christ our well-being is guaranteed.

Turns out we are not so fragile after all because nothing can separate us from the love of God in whose loving care we have been entrusted since before we were born….

Reverend Andrews is a minister at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach), located five blocks south of Hillsboro on A1A. This Sunday’s chapel worship is at 10 a.m. and the message is “From Small Beginnings.”

By Gary Curreri

Although Lighthouse Point’s Linda Kenoyer doesn’t have an official handicap, she at least shares something in common with her professional golfer daughter Stefanie.

The 64-year-old Kenoyer recently picked up her firstever hole-in-one when she hit a 9-iron, 95 yards to ace the Par-3 hole at the Winding Hills Country Club in Montgomery, NY.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Kenoyer, who was visiting family in New York and was able to get away for a round of golf. “I’m not a great golfer, and Stefanie has three hole-in-ones, so, for me to do it, it was such an amazingly fluke thing.”

Kenoyer, who says she plays to about a 22 handicap, called it the “right club for the right distance” on the executive course.

“I kind of heard it and we walked up to look and see and I said, ‘I think it is in the hole. How did that happen?” said Kenoyer, who was playing with her husband Steve. “I hit it a little left of the hole and it kind of banked down. It rolled right in. I heard it hit the pin. It was exciting. We found the ball in the cup.”

“I didn’t expect myself to get one,” Kenoyer added. “It was a shock really. I hit the ball very cleanly. It was a good shot. It was a perfect connection. I was pretty lucky to get it to bank correctly and fall into the cup. It takes quite a lot of luck and some skill because it has to be the right club and the right distance.”

Stefanie, 24, a professional golfer on the Symetra Tour, and two-time participant on the Golf Channel’s Big Break television series during 2013, started playing golf 12 years ago and took lessons from Bob Loring, the head golf professional at the Pompano Beach Golf Course.

Linda Kenoyer also started playing golf at the same time and took a few lessons from Loring. She found it ironic that her daughter got her first hole-in-one at age 14, while she was 50-years older when she got her first. Stefanie had three career hole-in-ones.

“I’ve had very, very few lessons, just a couple of lessons,” Linda Kenoyer said. “I’ve gone out with Stefanie when she has been around and she’s given me some tips. I just never really had the time to take the lessons.”

Following her round, she sent a text to her daughter.

“It said, ‘you won’t believe this. I just got my first hole-in-one,’” the elder Kenoyer said. “She was all excited. I think all of my friends were more excited than I was. I guess it is a big deal in a lot of ways because you don’t know if you are going to get another one. That could be it for my whole life.”

She was surprised to find out a short time later that Stefanie made a post on her Facebook page congratulating her mother on her milestone.

“That was very nice,” Linda Kenoyer said. “It was very, very touching when she said how proud she was of me. It was very sweet and she wrote a nice post about it. It is so funny because we are always so proud of our kids and the things that they do, and we try and be supportive, so here it was in reverse. I thought it was a very thoughtful thing she did.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With the loss of the Star Wars franchise, 20th Century Fox has devoted much to their remaining science fiction franchises, X-Men and the rebooted Planet of the Apes series. Beyond the special effects and visual cinematography, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes succeeds for two reasons: a good story and strong character motivation.

The film takes place 10 years after the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Caesar (Andy Serkis, an actor wearing a motion capture suit) has consolidated his ape regime to a park near San Francisco, while becoming a father of two. Unleashed during the closing credits of Rise, the simian flu has devastated the human population, who now live in disconnected city-states.

While on a scouting mission, Malcolm (Jason Clarke) and his family run afoul of Koba (Toby Kebbell), Caesar’s scarred right hand simian, who holds a grudge against all humans. While Caesar seeks a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Koba’s paranoia antagonizes the situation.

With a small amount of dialogue for an action movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is based on an intelligent screenplay. The motivations are clear and concise; both humans and apes struggle for the same goals, protecting one’s family. One relates to the struggles of both Malcolm and Caesar.

Given his work as Gollum, King Kong and Caesar, Andy Serkis’ performance should be considered for an Academy Award. Despite the special digital effects, Serkis manages to invest some heart into Caesar, while revealing character maturity from the last movie. I can’t wait to see how Caesar evolves in the next Planet of the Apes movie.

This film is a visual treat. Director Matt Reeves makes use of light and shadows to support the symbolism of the relationship between man and ape. Koba is definitely the best villain of the summer. The street battle between the militia and apes on horseback is worth the price of admission.

For those seeking a quieter movie experience, the awardwinning Gabrielle opens this weekend at The Living Room Theater. Gabrielle (played by Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, who has Williams syndrome in real life) suffers from a disability, but finds a connection singing in a choir at a recreational center. As the choir goes on a field trip, Gabrielle finds independence and a potential boyfriend.

Moses descended from Mt. Sinai, but as he sees the children of Israel singing and dancing around a Golden Calf, he lets his temper get to him; and what does he do? He takes those stone tablets and throws them down and breaks them. The tablets are no longer stone; they are just a bunch of rocks.

WE WILL, WE WILL ROCK YOU … ROCK YOU…

Later, in the Torah, we read about Moses and rocks again.

The children of Israel cry out for water. Moses turns to G-d and He tells Moses to speak to a rock and water will fl ow. But it seems that Moses still has a problem because, instead of speaking to the rock, he hits it. In the JPS translation of the Torah, rather than saying, “speak to the rock,” it says, “… before their eyes, you shall order the rock …”

No matter which translation you use, it is pretty apparent that Moses was told not to hit the rock, but rather, to speak to the rock.

But, why does G-d tell Moses to speak to a rock? The Sages wisely asked, “Does a rock have ears with which to hear or eyes with which to see?”

So who was supposed to hear Moses’ words? In Numbers 20:7-8 we read that Moses is “to speak in front of their eyes…” That’s right, the children of Israel have eyes with which to see and ears with which to hear.

It is no secret that when we try to teach Torah to some people, it is like talking to a rock. They are not open to hearing the words. It gets frustrating and sometimes we have an urge to lash out. But let’s learn from the greatest of all teachers, from Moses himself, that lashing out at the people is not going to satisfy their thirst.

I don’t know if you remember studying rocks in school, but there are three different types:

The first is Igneous. The word igneous comes from the Latin root, ignis, which means fire. Igneous rocks are formed as they cool off after a great heat. If you look in the Thesaurus, you will find the synonyms quite interesting, as they include hot-headed and impulsive. Yet it also includes passionate and enthusiastic.

Moses was passionate; he was enthusiastic. He also could be rather impulsive. As human beings, we all have a bit of the igneous rock within us.

Then there is the Sedimentary rock, a layered rock that comes from many grains, including fossils of just about everything from the past including remnants of the dinosaur. As humans, we have many layers and come in many grains, and, we all carry remnants of our past.

And last, but certainly not least, there are the metamorphic rocks. These rocks change over the years, as the things they go through, all the pressure and all the heat, give them new shape.

Again, I turn to the Thesaurus and find that the synonyms for metamorphic include to age or to mature. Also included in the synonyms are to develop. As humans, we should be constantly trying to grow and mature, to develop ourselves.

We are rocks Igneous ,and, as such, we need to learn to be less hot headed and more passionate. We are the rocks Sedimentary, and, as such, we need to learn to handle the heat and play it cool. We are the rocks Metamorphic, may the changes we make in ourselves and in this world be for a blessing.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains. He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.

In the past seven years, when I have reviewed the four Transformers movies, I have always begun each film with a sense of dread; the films are made for people 40 years younger than me, the action scenes are best suited for people with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and the plots will be inane. After acknowledging this prejudice, I ended up enjoying the Transformers franchise each time. Transformers: Age of Extinction is no exception.

The new flick opens with the mass extinction of a species, the dinosaur. The film flash forwards billions of years and evidence of a unique dinosaur is found in the Arctic circle. DNA is taken from dinosaur bones and is used for nefarious means by a government agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer, in a chilling performance) and corporate entrepreneur Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci, in a goofy performance).

Meet entrepreneur Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), a widowed father of high school senior Tessa (Nicola Peltz) who lives on a farm facing foreclosure in Texas. Cade converts trash into working Rube Goldberg machines. After tinkering with a beaten up old truck, Cade learns that the truck is really a Transformer. In fact, the beaten down truck is the alpha male Transformer Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen).

Since the last movie (Revenge of the Fallen), many heroic Transformers have become outlaws. Despite defeating the evil Decepticons, the heroic Autobots are treated with extreme prejudice for turning Chicago into a battlefield. Harold Attinger takes advantage of this situation by making a deal with the devil.

Transformers: Age of Extinction has many likeable moments and Easter Eggs for cinema academics. The Optimus Prime truck is found in an abandoned movie theater, which features posters of John Wayne classics. The Science Fiction elements acknowledge Michael Crichton, Arthur C. Clarke and H.P. Lovecraft. This film deserves its success for providing detail beyond the surface of battling giant robots on the big screen.

For those who want to continue the alternative universe experience, Irving Santiago will present UltraCon of South Florida next weekend (July 19-20) at the Broward Convention Center. Fans of Transformers, Star Wars and comic books will want to attend this fan-friendly convention.

For those of more high–brow tastes, Life Itself, the documentary about the late film critic Roger Ebert, plays this weekend at Cinema Paradiso. The most respected of modern film critics, Ebert and I butted heads with each other on his blog regarding politics. With executive producers Steve Zallian and Martin Scorsese, Life Itself acknowledges this Chicago critic’s contribution to the history of cinema and his battle with throat cancer. Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary? You be the critic. For information , visit www.fliff.com