The following is just one of three fine poems John Drury, who lives and teaches in Ohio, has written about the summer jobs he had when young.
Many of us have thought, with him, “So this is experience,” though we might have added a question mark.
His most recent book of poems is “Sea Level Rising,” published by Able Muse Press.
Motor Lodge
“So this is it, experience,” I thought, lugging tin buckets from the ice machines to rooms of real adults with cigarettes, mixed drinks in plastic cups, and proffered coins.
I reached out for their blessings, but the tips were nothing next to rumpled, unmade beds at four in the afternoon, women in slips and men in t-shirts while the TV played.
Down in the laundry room, I counted sheets, stunned by the musk that vanished in the wash, and balled up soggy towels that down the chutes exploded in bins. Before the evening rush,
avid and timid for what I glimpsed at work, I left, hanging my gold vest on a hook.
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. They do not accept unsolicited submissions. Poem copyright 2000 by John Philip Drury, “Motor Lodge,” from The Disappearing Town, (Miami University Press, 2000). Poem reprinted by permission of John Drury and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2015 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.
Given its premise that aliens assume arcade games to be a declaration of war, “Pixels” finds that its target audience just might be middle-aged persons who spent a lot of time roughly three decades ago plunking quarters into video games at the local arcade.
Director Chris Columbus (the first two “Harry Potter” films and the “Night at the Museum” franchise) became sold on guiding “Pixels” to the big screen because the blend of comedy and action allowed him, in his own words, to create “an original summer movie that took you back to the 80s in an evocative, nostalgic way.”
To some extent, “Pixels” would have us believe that years of misspent youth could have a payoff in the future.
This would come as welcome news if you spent a lot of time in arcades, and as such, the film does have a nostalgic touch.
As kids in 1982, Adam Sandler’s Sam Brenner, Kevin James’ Will Cooper, Josh Gad’s Ludlow Lamonsoff and Peter Dinklage’s Eddie “The Fire Blaster” Plant mastered the gaming arcade universe.
A prologue centered around the world championship bout of Donkey Kong in 1982 results in a protracted gaming battle in which teenage whiz kid Sam Brenner eventually loses to the arrogant, voluble and preening Eddie Plant.
The loss is devastating to Brenner’s self-confidence, though his buddies Will Cooper and Ludlow Lamonsoff try to buck him up.
Still, Brenner ends up in the present day in the unsatisfying job of a techno geek, installing flat screen TVs and other gadgets.
Meanwhile, Lamonsoff, younger than the other guys and the child prodigy amongst the gamers, fares even worse than Brenner. He’s turned into a conspiracy theorist that still clings to his childhood crush on Lady Lisa, the cartoonish lead character in Dojo Quest, his favorite game.
On the other hand, Kevin James’ Will Cooper, barely literate, it would seem, has inexplicably become the President of the United States. Yes, I am surprised too, because the likable James is more like your mall security guard or, at best, manager of a fast-food joint.
And yet, President Cooper, floundering in the polls, is in need of a boost, one that will come from the most unlikely source, namely his video tech buddy who wears a hideously ugly orange Nerd Crew uniform, and yet could be the key to a strategy to defeat alien invaders who resemble creatures from Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, among many others.
Apparently, NASA launched into space a video cassette of the 1982 championship match, and then thirty or so years later the aliens decided that this questionable cultural exchange was, in fact, a hostile act.
I would say these aliens are slow-witted if it took them this long to arrive at this erroneous deduction. Then, perhaps, they needed several decades to create a war machine influence by Donkey Kong, Galaga, Pac-Man, Q*bert, Space Invaders, Frogger, and Centipede, among others.
Oh, let’s not forget Dojo Quest, because Lady Lisa has to come alive, if for no other reason than for the socially awkward Lamonsoff to have his fantasy realized. Indeed, the sword-toting female warrior makes a big mark.
Speaking of women, the major flesh-and-blood version is Michelle Monaghan’s Violet Van Patten, who first meets Brenner when he comes to her house for an installation job. Brenner and Violet don’t exactly hit it off, mostly trading sarcastic barbs and insults.
Coincidentally, Violet happens to be Lieutenant Colonel Van Patten, a trusted military and scientific advisor to the President, one who is in the war room when Cooper summons his old pal Brenner to the White House to offer tactics on fighting the alien invaders.
The fact that video game enthusiasts, known as Arcaders, would be called upon to rescue New York City from a full-scale attack seems too absurd for the military leaders, including Admiral Porter (Brian Cox, having little to do other than express contempt for the gamers).
To wage the war, the government is forced to release Eddie Plant from federal prison. Though he’s still obnoxious and continues to sport a mullet, “The Fire Blaster” also has a large ego, reminding everyone how good he is at video games.
Bad attitude makes Plant the most interesting character to watch. His demands are so ridiculous that he insists on, well, a date with both tennis star Serena Williams and Martha Stewart (both of them making cameo appearances, along with assorted others).
“Pixels” is a Happy Madison Production starring Adam Sandler. This combination alone is enough for many to doubt that this film is much different than other recent Sandler efforts that flopped.
However, in a big change of pace, Sandler is more restrained than usual, allowing Josh Gad and Peter Dinklage to grab plenty of attention for comedic antics.
Younger children won’t grasp a lot of the humor and cultural reference, but will likely enjoy the extensive battle scenes.
“Pixels” has its inevitable flaws, and yet a sense of fun runs through the ultimately breezy comedic action that director Columbus intended to be evocative and nostalgic. Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio (LCWS) is hosting a series of silk scarf painting parties in August with local artist Diana Liebe.
The parties will be held on Aug. 1, 16, 22 and 23 from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
RSVP is required for participation.
Liebe will demonstrate the process and each participant will paint and take home a hand-painted silk scarf.
Liebe is a former art teacher at both the high school and college levels, and actively teaches art workshops around the county.
Cost of class is a $35 materials fee and space is limited to 12 persons.
For reservations and additional information, contact Susan Feiler at 707-293-8752 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Lake County Wine Studio is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The free movies in Middletown Square Park will continue on Saturday, Aug. 8, with a showing of “Strange magic.”
The film will begin at dark in the park, located in front of the Middletown Library and Senior Center at 21256 Washington St.
A free concert will take place before the show, starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Middletown Merchants Association, Hardester's Market, Star Gardens, Twin Pine Casino, Mount St. Helena Brewery and Bennett Solutions are presenting the event.
A concession stand will be offered by the Boy Scouts, Mount St. Helena Brewery, Munchies & Music and the Lake County International Charter School.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The second event of the Summer Poetry Series is this Wednesday, July 29, at 6 p.m. at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, 3825 Main St., Kelseyville.
Hosted by Lake County Poet Laureate Casey Carney, the July 29 reading features poets Julie Adams and Lorna Sue Sides, and guest musician Sarah Ryan.
Open mic signups are at 6 p.m. Five poets will be invited to share up to five minutes of poetry each.
The $10 admission includes a glass of wine, an appetizer and $20 in Saw Shop bucks, to be redeemed at the patron’s convenience.
This is the second of three poetry readings, occurring on the last Wednesday of the month through August.
Patrick Phillips lives in Brooklyn, but in every city, town and village, and at every crossroads, there’s an old guitar. Here’s one from Elegy for a Broken Machine, a fine book from Alfred A. Knopf.
The Guitar
It came with those scratches from all their belt buckles,
palm-dark with their sweat like the stock of a gun:
an arc of pickmarks cut clear through the lacquer
where all the players before me once strummed—once
thumbed these same latches where it sleeps in green velvet.
Once sang, as I sing, the old songs. There’s no end, there’s no end
to this world, everlasting. We crumble to dust in its arms.
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. They do not accept unsolicited submissions. Poem copyright 2015 by Patrick Phillips, “The Guitar,” from Elegy for a Broken Machine, (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015). Poem reprinted by permission of Patrick Phillips and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2015 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.
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