Arts & Life

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Written by: Editor

Published: 15 June 2011

The Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra and the newly formed Junior-Youth Orchestra presented their end-of-the year concert under the direction of Susan Condit on Sunday, June 5, 2011, in Kelseyville, Calif. Photo courtesy of Susan Condit.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On June 5, the Clear Lake Performing Arts Youth Orchestra and the newly formed Junior-Youth Orchestra presented their end-of-the year concert under the direction of Susan Condit.

The concert was performed in the Friendship Hall of Kelseyville Presbyterian Church to more than 160 people with standing room only.

The audience was very enthusiastic and rewarded the orchestras with a standing ovation.

The six-member Junior-Youth Orchestra opened the program with standard beginning tunes in three parts – “Lightly Row,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Au Clair de la Lune.”

Four advanced members played “Trio in G” by Schradieck and “Trio in C” by De Beriot.

The 17-member Youth Orchestra began their portion of the program with “Raiders March” by John Williams from the movie “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc.”

“The Basso,” a traditional gypsy tune arranged for string orchestra by Clovice A. Lewis Jr. was a favorite with the audience.

Lewis, a well-known local composer and member of the CLPA Lake County Symphony joined the cello section in playing this piece.

“Ashokan Farewell,” a favorite fiddle tune by Jay Unger, and the theme for the award-winning PBS special “The Civil War” featured a violin solo by Clayton Rudiger.

The first half ended with the amazing “M to the Third Power,” a minor meter mix composed by Carold Nunez.

Sandy Ross, a member the CLPA Auxiliary spoke about their fundraising endeavors and invited the audience to participate in a raffle.

The second half of the concert was a tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and featured “Amadeus,” “Rondo K. 80,” and “Ave Verum Corpus.”

Andi Skelton, Marta Fuller, Eleanor Cook, Austin Ison, Patricia Jekel and Clovice A. Lewis, Jr., all members of the CLPA Lake County Symphony and mentors to the students joined in playing their final piece, “Allegro Vivace,” from “The Hunt.”

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Written by: Ted Kooser

Published: 12 June 2011

Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Photo by UNL Publications and Photography.

Here’s a fine poem by my fellow Nebraskan, Barbara Schmitz, who here offers us a picture of people we’ve all observed but haven’t thought to write about.

Uniforms

It is very hot—92 today—to be wearing

a stocking cap, but the adolescent swaggering

through the grocery store automatic door

doesn’t seem to mind; does not even appear

to be perspiring. The tugged-down hat

is part of his carefully orchestrated outfit:

bagging pants, screaming t-shirt, high-topped

shoes. The young woman who yells to her friends

from an open pickup window is attired

for summer season in strapless stretch

tube top, slipping down toward bountiful

cleavage valley. She tugs it up in front

as she races toward the two who have

just passed a cigarette between them

like a baton on a relay team. Her white

chest gleams like burnished treasure

as they giggle loudly there in the corner

and I glance down to see what costume

I have selected to present myself to

the world today. I smile; it’s my sky blue

shirt with large deliberately faded Peace sign,

smack dab in the middle, plus grey suede

Birkenstocks—a message that “I lived through

the sixties and am so proud.” None of the

young look my way. I round the corner and

walk into Evening descending.

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 ©2009 by Barbara Schmitz, whose most recent book of poems is How Much Our Dancing Has Improved, Backwaters Press, 2005. Poem reprinted from the South Dakota Review, Vol. 47, no. 3, 2009, by permission of Barbara Schmitz 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

Published: 11 June 2011

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (Rated PG-13)

That the original “Star Wars,” released in 1977, was one of the best action adventure movies of all time is nearly indisputable. The prequels that came later, well not so much.

“The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones” are, to be charitable, forgettable. Few would even likely recall the name of the actor who played Anakin Skywalker before he became Darth Vader.

Why do I bring this up, you ask? Simply to illustrate that prequels are often inferior to the real thing. Yet, “X-Men: First Class” stands, on its merits, as a forceful argument to the contrary.

Without any doubt, “X-Men: First Class” is so far superior as a prequel to the “X-Men” franchise that I would only consider viewing the sequels once again out of a vague sense of curiosity.

For a comic book series that had become increasingly tedious, “X-Men: First Class” is a refreshing boost of adrenaline, injecting much needed vitality into a bland exercise of superpower heroics.

I only fear that the brilliance of this newest “X-Men” may be wasted on a younger generation largely ignorant of Cold War history and the frightening relevance of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It’s possible to imagine that some of the dolts walking among us may come to think that nuclear Armageddon was averted solely due to the manipulations of the mutants with superpowers.

For those who know history, you may have figured that the setting of “X-Men: First Class” is circa 1962, when tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union are at a fever pitch.

A brief prelude set during World War II introduces a young Erik Lensherr as a concentration camp internee subjected to brutal treatment by the Nazi camp doctor (Kevin Bacon).

Meanwhile, a young Charles Xavier befriends a young Raven when she breaks into his suburban New York mansion in search of food. The lonely Charles adopts her as the sibling he’s never had.

Moving forward to the 1960s, Xavier (James McAvoy), the future Professor X, is completing his doctorate at Oxford and uses his brilliant academic observations and telepathic powers to court the ladies.

When not tweaking her brother Charles, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), struggles to find her place in the world, as her shape-shifting tendency to turn into blue-skinned mutant Mystique is off-putting to mankind.

Bent on revenge, the adult Erik (Michael Fassbender) hunts down old Nazis in Argentina. An explosive scene at a pub frequented by ex-pat Germans demonstrates the extent of Erik’s pent-up rage, whose power to bend metal puts him on track to become Magneto.

The former Nazi doctor turns up as villainous mogul Sebastian Shaw, whose partner in crime is the sexy Emma Frost (January Jones, who looks really hot in white lace underwear and garters).

Like one of those larger-than-life James Bond villains in search of world domination, Shaw’s evil scheme is to start World War III as the result of a showdown in the Caribbean seas.

Plucky CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), after going undercover in her lingerie at a Vegas strip club, argues with her oblivious superiors that it is necessary to recruit Xavier and other mutants.

Working with another offbeat CIA agent (Oliver Platt), Moira brings Erik and Xavier together in a concerted effort to pursue the malevolent Sebastian Shaw.

A remote CIA facility becomes a training camp for all kinds of mutants, including a sonic screamer, a fire breather, a storm-tosser, an adaptive chameleon and a human fly.

The CIA-trained mutants get the chance to put their full talents on display, but unfortunately learn that they must fight a group of bad mutants who have been seduced by Shaw’s spiel of a dominant race soon to take world power.

“X-Men: First Class” is at its best for the formative character development of Xavier and Erik leading up to the adversarial relationship that is inevitable to come between Professor X and Magneto.

Insofar as this prequel has much to do with conjuring the psychological underpinnings of the mutants’ developing awareness, there is still an extremely effective focus on the sheer energy of their nifty physical talents.

On an emotional and effects-laden basis, the ultimate showdown during the Cuban Missile Crisis is undeniably thrilling. The resultant mayhem is well orchestrated by director Matthew Vaughn.

“X-Men: First Class,” a really great blockbuster thriller, has a terrific overall cast, made all the better by Kevin Bacon’s deliciously twisted arch-villain.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

USA Network’s top-rated shows “Burn Notice” and “White Collar” come to DVD, for their seasons 4 and 2 respectively, at the very same time, leading to double thrills for those who love action-packed series.

“Burn Notice Season 4,” which pairs master-spy Michael Westen with Jesse Porter, another burned spy, puts these guys in plenty of dangerous situations, assisted by their pals Sam and sexy Fiona.

“Burn Notice Season 4” contains never-before-seen bonus footages such as “Sam Axe’s Guide to Ladies and Libations,” “Burn Notice Roasts White Collar,” and “White Collar Roasts Burn Notice.”

Meanwhile, “White Collar Season 2” continues the exploits of sophisticated conman Neal Caffrey as he teams up with FBI Agent Peter Burke to investigate an intriguing array of crimes ranging from extortion to murder.

“White Collar Season 2” includes bonus footage on fan-favorite Mozzie, a gag reel, and the same “Roast” specials, just in case you don’t pick up “Burn Notice Season 4.”

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.