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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Some of us have more active fantasy lives than others, but all of us have them. Here Karin Gottshall, who lives in Vermont, shares a variety of loneliness that some of our readers may have experienced.
More Lies
Sometimes I say I’m going to meet my sister at the café—
even though I have no sister—just because it’s such
a beautiful thing to say. I’ve always thought so, ever since
I read a novel in which two sisters were constantly meeting
in cafés. Today, for example, I walked alone
on the wet sidewalk, wearing my rain boots, expecting
someone might ask where I was headed. I bought
a steno pad and a watch battery, the store windows
fogged up. Rain in April is a kind of promise, and it costs
nothing. I carried a bag of books to the café and ordered
tea. I like a place that’s lit by lamps. I like a place
where you can hear people talk about small things,
like the difference between azure and cerulean,
and the price of tulips. It’s going down. I watched
someone who could be my sister walk in, shaking the rain
from her hair. I thought, even now florists are filling
their coolers with tulips, five dollars a bundle. All over
the city there are sisters. Any one of them could be mine.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by Karin Gottshall, whose most recent book of poetry is Crocus, Fordham University Press, 2007. Poem reprinted from the New Ohio Review, No. 8, Fall 2010, by permission of Karin Gottshall and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2011 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.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
This column has now hit a trifecta with its third consecutive review of a family film. You can’t get more kid friendly than a G-rated Pixar animation film.
The good news is that “Cars 2” has moved the car racing franchise into a whole new international territory that is all the better for its global cast.
“Cars 2” opens by playing homage to the James Bond franchise that easily recalls several key elements in the best of the Sean Connery works. For one, the coolest car is the Aston Martin that belongs to a suave British secret agent.
Naturally, Michael Caine has the perfect quality to his voice that embodies the ultimate cool and suave British spy. His sporty British car is loaded with James Bond-type gadgets.
Caine’s Finn McMissile is teamed with the fetching Holley Shiftwell (voice of Emily Mortimer), a rookie field agent. Together, they launch an assault on a deep sea oil rig run by a nefarious gang.
Back in the States, noted race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) returns to Radiator Springs for rest and relaxation with his best buddy, the tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy).
Meanwhile, billionaire Miles Axlerod (Eddie Izzard), eager to promote his alternative fuel called Allinol, is staging a series of World Grand Prix races in Europe and Asia.
After being taunted by arrogant Formula champion Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro), McQueen and Mater, along with their hometown pit crew, head off to Tokyo for the inaugural Grand Prix race.
In a series of contests to occur as well in Italy, France and England, McQueen is eager to prove that he is worthy to compete with the cocky, flamboyant and self-absorbed Francesco.
As the racing gets under way, Mater, who sounds like a backwoods hillbilly from Arkansas, is mistaken by McMissile for an undercover American agent on a similar mission to take down a villainous East German scientist.
To make matters worse, the attractive Holley Shiftwell chats up Mater for his supposed prowess in international espionage, while the clueless tow truck imagines that they might actually go out on a dinner date.
Easily distracted, Mater finds himself torn between assisting his good pal McQueen in the high-profile race and falling in with the top-secret mission orchestrated by the smooth, debonair Finn McMissile.
Mater’s charm, which does wear a little thin after too many cornpone witticisms, anchors much of the action around his unwitting ability to chug along on his hapless path to ultimate vindication.
Much of the fast-paced action is filled with a global conspiracy to sabotage the race, which has as much to do with political intrigue as garnering market share in a new fuel source.
The ongoing intrigue plays well for the adult audience, while taking nothing away from the enjoyment of “Cars 2” at a level appealing to grade school kids.
The colorful settings of the Tokyo streets, the coastal beauty of the Italian Riviera, the cosmopolitan charm of Paris and the elegance of London make for very great visuals.
“Cars 2” proves to be a worthy addition to the pantheon of Pixar animated films, enjoyable for its deft combination of comedy and international intrigue.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
“Elektra Luxx” arrived in theaters to little fanfare, but the thought of Carla Gugino playing a pregnant ex-porn star sounded intriguing.
Gugino’s adult film star Elektra Luxx has decided to quit the industry and become a “sexology” instructor at a community college.
“Elektra Luxx” has been released on DVD, a copy of which arrived unsolicited in the mail.
I thought it might be interesting, given a cast of characters that include Timothy Olyphant, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Malin Akerman and Emmanuelle Chriqui.
The right comedic elements seemed to be in place, what with Elektra coping with a clothing-challenged neighbor, a criminal twin sister and other assorted oddballs.
Unfortunately, “Elektra Luxx” just didn’t deliver the comedic goods, so spare yourself any trouble or expense.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Arts Council invites Lake County photographers to participate in the next of its summer series of juried shows, “Lake County Landscape in Photography.”
The judging is open to all original, unenhanced digital photographs, image size not to exceed 8 by 10 inches.
Entries for jury will be received on Friday, July 22, at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport.
Curator Ray Farrow welcomes Jan Hambrick back to judge work submitted for jury into this show. Many will remember the great show that Hambrick selected for the last Main Street Gallery photographers show.
Hambrick is founder of many successful art-related businesses and has four decades in the commercial and fine art industry. She has received numerous awards and accolades for her published work. Since 2006 she has been teaching the next generation of aspiring artists and photographers at Clearlake High School.
Entry information and guidelines are available at the Main Street Gallery, 325 N. Main St., Lakeport, during regular business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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- Written by: Editor
The evening of art and music will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the gallery, 325 N. Main Street, Lakeport.
New works from the following local artists will be introduced: Colleen La Plante – artistic, colorful fused glass table settings and more; George Waterstraat – one-of-a kind burl wood (maple, redwood, walnut, bay laurel), redwood, ash vases and bowls; Lois Feron – acrylic on canvas and boards; and Judy Cardinale – abstracts watercolor.
Currently showing at the gallery are Konocti Pleine Air Plus – landscapes of Lake County painted on location by the Pleine Air Artists Group; Amy Heppen – figurative; Diane Constable – acrylic; Linda Richmond – acrylic/collage; Bruce Vandraiss – colored pencil; Terry Durnil – pastels; Wanda Quitiquit – turn-of-the-century Pomo design, hand-painted gourds; Bill Rose – stained glass, fused glass, carved eggs of the ostrich, emu, duck and rhea.
The gallery also is putting on an abstract show, including 23 painted entries and two sculptures. Two
wall spaces in the main saloon and the Linda Carpenter Student gallery are full of these marvelous abstract paintings and sculptures
There will be finger food, a chance to meet the artists, music by Shady Tree (Michael Barrish, Janet Berrian, Tom Nixon and Scott Somers) and wine poured by Beaver Creek Winery.
For more information contact the Main Street Gallery at 707-263-6658.