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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Despite having once been bitten by a rabid bat, and survived, much to the disappointment of my critics, I find bats fascinating, and Peggy Shumaker of Alaska has written a fine poem about them.
I am especially fond of her perfect verb, “snick,” for the way they snatch insects out of the air.
Spirit of the Bat
Hair rush, low swoop—
so those of us
stuck here on earth
know—you must be gods.
Or friends of gods,
granted chances
to push off into sky,
granted chances
to hear so well
your own voice bounced
back to you
maps the night.
Each hinge
in your wing’s
an act of creation.
Each insect
you snick out of air
a witness.
You transform
obstacles
into sounds,
then dodge them.
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 2013 by Peggy Shumaker from her most recent book of poems, Toucan Nest: Poems of Costa Rica, Red Hen Press, 2013. Poem reprinted by permission of Peggy Shumaker and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2014 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. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
DIVERGENT (Rated PG-13)
The dystopian future has become a commonplace staple of the cinema geared to young adults. From “Twilight” to “The Hunger Games,” an imaginary world where dehumanized people lead fearful lives is all the rage.
“Divergent,” based upon young author Veronica Roth’s bestselling novel of the same title, has been likened to “The Hunger Games” meets “The Matrix,” as noted by one of the film’s producers in the press notes.
The above-mentioned films that fit into this anti-utopian genre have gained popularity for their respective franchises. The jury may be out on whether “Divergent” scores big enough at the box office to elevate Roth’s sequel novels, “Insurgent” and “Allegiant,” into the same cinematic orbit.
Running at 140 minutes, “Divergent” may achieve a split decision with critics and audiences alike. The film has promise, especially with Shailene Woodley in the leading role, but it appears in need of surgical strikes to trim some of the narrative overload and the surfeit of action set-pieces.
The setting of the story is in a post-apocalyptic, decaying Chicago, where the inhabitants are believed to be the last remnants of civilization. The city’s boundaries are protected by electrified high walls.
Societal functions are given to five basic factions, including Amity, Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. One needs to be able to fit neatly into one of the factions. It’s a cultural phenomenon typically relegated to high schools. But here it is more insidious and consequential.
Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) lives with her parents (Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd) and twin brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) in the drab world of Abnegation, where people wear sack clothes, reject vanity and pursue altruistic motives.
The lifestyle of the Abnegation faction is vaguely communal and boring. This explains why Beatrice is tormented when confronted with being required to choose her path in life during her teens.
All children at the age of 16 must choose a faction, resulting in a decision that is irreversible. The Choosing Ceremony follows a drug-induced test that measures each young person’s aptitude and personality traits, thereby guiding impressionable minds to a permanent choice.
At the ceremony, following the usual rituals, Beatrice is confused because the tests conducted by sympathetic Tori (Maggie Q) had shown that her aptitude rests in several factions, making her a “Divergent,” or what others would call a rebellious outsider.
Inexplicably, Beatrice chooses to join Dauntless, the fearless warriors and soldiers who are assigned to guard the other factions against harm, but seem to have no problem with inflicting it on their own members.
Joining Dauntless obliges Beatrice to undergo extreme physical training, a feat for which she appears unsuited, even to the somewhat considerate Dauntless teacher Four (Theo James), a hunky, handsome dude who just may warm to the beautiful innocence of his charge.
“Divergent” spends an inordinate amount of time with the training exercises, which range from jumping onto rooftops from fast-moving elevated subway trains and zip lining from skyscrapers to winner-take-all boxing matches that often send the participants to the infirmary.
Not one of the top-ranked initiates, Beatrice has a lot to prove. For one thing, she changes her name to Tris, because it sounds more fitting for Dauntless. Her skills improve when she realizes that coming in at the bottom of the class will get rookies booted from the faction.
Free thinkers are frowned upon, apparently in every faction. Tris proves not to be the best fit even for the supposedly rebellious Dauntless faction, where one of its leaders, Eric (Jai Courtney), is a basic jerk who disdains independent thought.
Conflict comes when the Erudite faction, led by the imperious Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet), believes it is superior to everyone else and seeks to overthrow the benevolent rule of the Abnegation faction.
The stench of fascism lingers in the air as the ruthless Jeanine seeks to impose her will on the other factions. In fact, Erudite is masterminding an evil plot of mind control so that Dauntless is turned into an army of suppression.
Oddly enough, the Candor and Amity factions are barely noticed, since unfiltered truth-tellers and communal, hard-working agrarian populists are not high on the dystopian hit parade.
“Divergent” is a parable about the virtue of an individual going up against the soul-crushing arrogance of an elite that misguidedly believes it will govern with compassion and benevolence.
The trouble here is that a parable needs to be a short story, and that’s just not the case for “Divergent,” which runs too long for no apparent reason. But hey, Shailene Woodley and Theo James end up making a good team.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Editor
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – It’s time again to dig out your art supplies and wave the olive branch or simply create a stunning poster for the 2014 Kelseyville Olive Festival Poster Contest.
Poster themes should reflect Kelseyville and the olive industry.
Prizes will be awarded in three categories: under the age of 12, ages 12 to 18, and over 18.
In addition, a grand prize winning entry will be chosen to be used as 2015’s Kelseyville Olive Festival poster.
In the under 12 category the grand prize will be a $50 savings certificate from Westamerica Bank.
In the 12-18 category the grand prize will be a Maherajah Longboard Skateboard.
For the 18 and older category grand prize will be a $100 gift certificate to The Saw Shop.
To be eligible, all entries must be submitted on paper with minimum dimension of 8.5 inches by 11 inches and no larger than 11 inches by 17 inches, and include the entrant’s name, age and phone number printed legibly on the back.
All printable media will be accepted.
Please deliver entries to Rosa d’Oro Vineyards tasting room located at 3915 Main St. in Kelseyville, Westamerica Bank located at 4025 Main St. in Kelseyville or Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill located at 5625 Gaddy Lane no later than 10 a.m. April 21.
Entries will be on display at the Westamerica Bank from April 14 through April 21 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day of the festival, April 27, at Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill.
For additional information, please contact Chacewater at 707-279-2995 or www.kelseyvilleolivefestival.com .
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Considering that I’m a dog lover, I haven’t included nearly enough dog poems in this column.
My own dog, Howard, now in his dotage, has never learned a trick of any kind, nor learned to behave, so I admire Karla Huston for having the patience to teach her dog something.
Huston lives in Wisconsin.
Sway
The cruelest thing I did to my dog
wasn’t to ignore his barking for water
when his tongue hung like a deflated balloon
or to disregard his chronic need for a belly rub
but to teach him to shake hands,
a trick that took weeks of treats, his dark eyes
like Greek olives, moist with desire.
I made him sit, another injustice,
and allowed him to want the nuggets enough
to please me. Shake, I said. Shake?
touching the back of his right leg
until he lifted it, his saliva trickling
from soft jowls, my hand wet with his hunger.
Mistress of the biscuit, I ruffled his ears
and said good dog until he got it. Before long,
he raised his paw, shook me until he got
the treat, the rub, the water in a chilled silver bowl,
the wilderness in him gone, his eyes still lit with longing.
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 2013 by Karla Huston from her most recent book of poems, A Theory of Lipstick, Main Street Rag Publishing Co., 2013. Poem reprinted by permission of Karla Huston and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2014 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. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.