If you had to divide your favorite things between yourself and somebody else, what would you keep? Patricia Clark, a Michigan poet, has it figured out.
Fifty-Fifty
You can have the grackle whistling blackly from the feeder as it tosses seed,
if I can have the red-tailed hawk perched imperious as an eagle on the high branch.
You can have the brown shed, the field mice hiding under the mower, the wasp’s nest on the door,
if I can have the house of the dead oak, its hollowed center and feather-lined cave.
You can have the deck at midnight, the possum vacuuming the yard in its white prowl,
if I can have the yard of wild dreaming, pesky raccoons, and the roaming, occasional bear.
You can have the whole house, window to window, roof to soffits to hardwood floors,
if I can have the screened porch at dawn, the Milky Way, any comets in our yard.
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 2004 by Patricia Clark, whose forthcoming book of poetry is Sunday Rising, Michigan State University Press, 2013. Poem reprinted from She Walks into the Sea, Michigan State University Press, 2009, by permission of Patricia Clark and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A first-ever Lenten concert series held at St. John’s Episcopal Church drew such high praise that another set of concerts is being planned to honor Lake County’s fall harvest season.
“It’s a wonderful experience to hear music in St. John’s small but elegant venue,” said John Parkinson, local musician, composer and conductor. “This is such a treat for Lake County music lovers. I’m waiting for the fall concerts.”
The opening of the recent recital was performed by Tom Aiken on his highly ornamented Flemish Harpsichord.
Aiken described the origins of each piece and then expertly interpreted them for us to hear and enjoy.
They enjoyed the educational aspect and also the technical information given by Aiken. It was a very nice opening concert. As the audience was departing the church, one lady mentioned that she couldn’t believe she had heard such beautiful music in such a jewel of a church.
Mel Taylor, church organist of St. John’s Church, played a beautifully planned and executed concert of French, German and contemporary music and spoke about each number before he played it. It was a special pleasure to listen for the certain nuances Taylor pointed out.
The last concert was performed by Bob Culbertson on his Chapman stick. Culbertson played, pointed out and demonstrated to us the most interesting aspects of his instruments. The audience knew so much more about his Chapman stick and its musical possibilities by the end of his performance, which was beautifully planned and executed.
For further information, please call Fr. Leo Joseph at 707-349-6563 or see St. John’s Web site www.saintjohnslakeport.org .
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lower Lake High School and Konocti Unified School District Drama Department will perform “Fame, the Musical” in the high school multipurpose room on Friday, May 24; Saturday, May 25; and Sunday, May 26.
The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Cost of admission is $8 students, $9 senior citizens and $10 adults. Presale tickets will be discounted $2.
“Fame” is based off of the hit motion picture and television series. It is set during the last years of New York City’s celebrated High School for the Performing Arts on 46th street (1980-1984).
“Fame, the Musical” is a bittersweet but an inspiring story of diverse group of students as they commit to four years of grueling artistic work.
The show explores the issues that confront many young people today: prejudice, identity, self-worth, literacy, substance abuse and perseverance.
The cast consists of Lower Lake High School students and seventh and eighth grade students from Lower Lake Elementary School, including: D’Art Markowski, Michelle Kimsey-Bailey, Wayne Harris, Kesean Harris, Jade Holling, Julia Jiohnson, Megan Smith, Patty Tuell, Patrick McGough, Betzy Rowland, Eddie Pineda, Jacie Baker, Sadie Sheldon, Exzonta Mosley, Weeden Wetmore, Allison Lahr, Corrine Thill, Cedalia Schofield, Sophia LaRose, Theresa LaRose, Natalie Carte, Rachel Cabral, Brandon Goodson, Nalani Geary and Fallon Diener.
The production is being directed by Tracy Lahr, choreographed by Michelle John-Smith, and is under the musical direction of the amazing Viki Jay.
For more information contact Tracy Lahr at 707-994-6471.
Hollywood delivers surprises when you least expect them. Who would guess that director Michael Bay, famous for big-budget action films like the “Transformers” franchise, would come up with a stunning dark comedy?
Bay likes to blow up things, wreaking havoc and creating mayhem, just for the fun of it. As he indulges his every fiery whim, the director wants the audience to get its money’s worth for his love of gratuitous excess.
“Pain & Gain,” a comedy of the absurd and devoid of major explosions, is definitely not a film in director Bay’s wheelhouse. It would be like Mel Brooks directing an Ingmar Bergman-like depressing Swedish drama.
The story is about three dim-witted bodybuilders at Miami’s Sun Gym, whose minimal brain power has been further atrophied by the use of steroids and other drugs, hatching a kidnap scheme of a wealthy fitness client.
The ringleader is Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a personal trainer with delusions of grandeur who has been affected by a motivational speaker (Ken Jeong) to become in his words a “doer” instead of a “don’t-er.”
Lugo targets his filthy rich client Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub), a man of dubious character himself who has likely acquired his wealth by less than savory means, sheltering money off-shore and investing in a string of franchise delis.
To assist in his desperate scheme to achieve the American dream with ill-gotten gains, Lugo recruits fellow physical trainers Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson).
Doorbal has lost his sexual prowess due to an excess use of steroids. This is a problem because he wants to marry his plus-size nurse girlfriend (Rebel Wilson) and settle down to suburban living.
Recently released from prison, Doyle found Jesus on the inside and now wants a clean living, and yet the sway of Lugo leads him astray, to say nothing of his newfound fondness for cocaine.
The scheme is to kidnap Kershaw and force him to sign over his waterside mansion and numerous bank accounts. The trio of losers is so bad at execution of the plot that it takes them several tries to nab their victim. Each failed attempt proves funnier than the previous one.
Once they have Kershaw stashed in a warehouse, the cretins engage in awkward and ham-fisted efforts to torture their captive into submission. For his part, Kershaw proves very resilient and not easy to break.
In fact, they can’t even kill Kershaw, who ends up in a hospital where the police find it difficult to believe the victim’s story. Only a retired detective (Ed Harris) begins to suspect that his colleagues messed up.
Meanwhile, for a time, Lugo and company live high on the hog, buying expensive homes, and in the case of Doyle, snorting a lot of dough right up the nostrils.
One of the funniest scenes involves Lugo clumsily trying to ingratiate himself with his new wealthy neighbors by hosting a Neighborhood Watch meeting, assisted by his two cohorts high on drugs.
This trio of criminal lame-brains is so incompetent that even their most egregious acts of violent unlawful behavior are patently ludicrous and thus disturbingly and diabolically funny.
There’s nothing in this film that glorifies these thugs and their moronic plans, nor makes them into sympathetic characters. No, these guys are first-rate losers, destined for the eventual fall.
Like most delusional characters, they also don’t know when to quit. Thanks to Doyle’s frantic need for coke money, a scheme to kidnap a porn king (Michael Rispoli) goes even more badly.
“Pain & Gain” has a warped sense of humor. A casual scene at a barbecue to destroy physical evidence appears inspired by the Coen Brothers (“Fargo,” a prime example).
Every so often, a subtitle flashes on screen as a reminder that this is a true story, something that becomes increasingly difficult to believe since the entire chronicle of weird criminality is so utterly nutty.
However uneasy one may feel on occasions of some nasty violence being perpetrated, “Pain & Gain” is insanely funny, crazy, wacky, strange, weird, ludicrous, disturbing and often unsettling.
Despite claims to the contrary, Michael Bay likely took a few liberties with the true story – you know, the obligatory dramatization needed for a two hour movie.
In a follow-up to this movie, a smart move will require reading the series of articles, upon which “Pain& Gain” is based, from Miami New Times columnist Pete Collins. I know that’s my plan.
TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL UPDATE
Speaking of Mel Brooks, as he’s mentioned above, one of the highlights of the TCM Classic Film Festival, recently concluded in Hollywood, was the presence of the famed comedy director for a showing of “The Twelve Chairs.”
Brooks talked briefly about his filming experience in the then-nation of Yugoslavia, cracking a few jokes about dictator Tito’s use of the country’s only vehicle on Saturday nights.
In the canon of Brooks’ comedies, “The Twelve Chairs,” sandwiched between “The Producers” and “Blazing Saddles,” is often overlooked. Among other things, it’s a subdued but comically brilliant skewering of the Soviet Union.
TCM celebrated the 50th anniversary of Stanley Kramer’s zany comedy “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” a rare feat for a director whose career was all about message movies like “The Defiant Ones” and “Judgment at Nuremberg.”
For the festival, the film was screened in its original 70 millimeter format on the big screen of the Cinerama Dome, which Kramer’s widow described as having been built exclusively for the release of this comedy.
Sadly, the recently deceased Jonathan Winters was scheduled to appear with other cast members Barrie Chase, Mickey Rooney and Marvin Kaplan to talk about the filming.
“It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World” is notable for the large cast of characters involved in a madcap search for buried treasure.
Comic greats like Phil Silvers, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle and Don Knotts graced the screen and are sadly missed. Kramer’s homage to American comedy still stands as a masterpiece.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – “I used to be pretty good on the cello in high school … “
“Once upon a time I played flute in a marching band … “
“I think I still have my old trumpet in a case in the basement … “
“Yeah, I used to play the viola, but do orchestras still even use them?”
If these sound like you, then Clear Lake Performing Arts (CLPA) – Lake County’s music education and performance organization – wants to encourage you to start playing again.
According to CLPA Board Member Jerry Mundel there are probably many former musicians who would like to play their instrument once again, or even learn to play one now.
“We’d like to find out how many of them are out there, and how many remember just how much fun it was to join with others in making music. That way we can determine what resources are needed to create programs to meet those needs,” he said. “If there is enough interest, then we’ll look for ways to make it happen.’
Activities might include providing music teachers for different instruments, helping returning and new musicians to develop good ways to practice, and maybe to learn more about how the instruments were built and should be cared for, or where to go for repairs or to find sheet music for each level of ability.
“Best of all,” he added, “we’ll create opportunities for everyone to get together and play. This might be in small ensembles, but for some who get serious it might even lead to a seat in tn the Lake County Symphony.”
CLPA will provide information about musical options, including benefits for members of the organization.
For information, contact Jerry Mundel at 707-350-1335, or email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
I love writing poems about the most ordinary of things, and was envious, indeed, when I found this one by Michael McFee, who lives in North Carolina. How I wish I’d written it.
Saltine
How well its square fit my palm, my mouth, a toasty wafer slipped onto the sick tongue or into chicken soup,
each crisp saltine a tile pierced with 13 holes in rows of 3 and 2, its edges perforated like a postage stamp,
one of a shifting stack sealed in wax paper whose noisy opening always signaled snack, peanut butter or cheese
thick inside Premiums, the closest we ever got to serving hors d’oeuvres: the redneck’s hardtack, the cracker’s cracker.
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 2012 by Michael McFee from his most recent book of poems That Was Oasis, Carnegie Mellon Univ. Press, 2012. First printed in Threepenny Review #107, Vol. 27, no. 3, (Fall 2006). Poem reprinted by permission of Michael McFee and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 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.
