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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
In many of those Japanese paintings with Mt. Fuji in the background, we find tiny figures moving along under the immensity of the landscape.
Here’s an American version of a scene like that, by Stanley Plumly of Maryland, one of our country’s most accomplished poets.
Off A Side Road Near Staunton
Some nothing afternoon, no one anywhere,
an early autumn stillness in the air,
the kind of empty day you fill by taking in
the full size of the valley and its layers leading
slowly to the Blue Ridge, the quality of country,
if you stand here long enough, you could stay
for, step into, the way a landscape, even on a wall,
pulls you in, one field at a time, pasture and fall
meadow, high above the harvest, perfect
to the tree line, then spirit clouds and intermittent
sunlit smoky rain riding the tops of the mountains,
though you could walk until it’s dark and not reach those rains—
you could walk the rest of the day into the picture
and not know why, at any given moment, you’re there.
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. Reprinted from Old Heart, by Stanley Plumly. Copyright ©2007 by Stanley Plumly. Used by permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Introduction copyright © 2009 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
SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (Rated PG-13)
Anyone who thinks director Guy Ritchie would not stamp the legend of Sherlock Holmes with his own contemporary cool factor hasn’t paid attention to his career.
The legendary detective, famous for logical reasoning and the use of forensic science to solve crimes, not to mention the artful use of disguises, is an unlikely source for a modern action hero.
Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” as well as his 2009 version, has redefined Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character for a new generation.
To the purists who believe the British sleuth is best represented by Basil Rathbone, there’s a big surprise in store for the rough-and-tumble style that Robert Downey Jr. brings to the role.
The titular character created by Downey defies convention. Gone are the emblematic deerstalker hat, curved pipe and posh British decorum.
Still possessing a brilliant, logical mind, the new Holmes is a streetwise, bare-knuckled brawler, whose physical prowess is equal to his superlative mind and preternatural powers of perception.
Guy Ritchie remakes Sherlock Holmes into the ultimate 19th century action hero, whose physical dexterity and keen interest in all types of weaponry make him a more contemporary figure.
At the very beginning of the story, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” staggers and lurches in a wobbly array of almost incomprehensible action scenes. It may all be a bit confusing at first.
Fortunately, the story settles down into a globe-trotting adventure that has Holmes absconding with his best pal and reluctant partner, Dr. Watson (Jude Law), just as the good doctor has married the lovely Mary (Kelly Reilly).
Set in 1891, the action quickly shifts out of London when Holmes and Watson, investigating terrorist plots that target political figures, get pulled into a rescue mission for Gypsy fortune teller Simza (Noomi Rapace).
Soon enough the trio is racing through France, and then Germany, in search of Simza’s missing brother who is apparently caught up in revolutionary schemes.
The ever-smart Holmes, of course, figures that his arch enemy Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) is cleverly manipulating and orchestrating a dastardly plot to assassinate various European diplomats.
The nefarious Moriarty plan is to spark all-out conflict between France and Germany so that he may profit from having cornered the munitions market.
To this end, Moriarty schemes his evil plan to occur at a summit that is scheduled to take place high in the Swiss alps at a hideaway that looks like something from a James Bond film.
Given his cinematic history, Guy Ritchie puts a real premium on the breakneck pace of explosive action, and “Sherlock Holmes” delivers the action goods in spades.
Most impressive of all is Ritchie’s slow-motion technique for many action sequences, where the unhurried pace is used brilliantly to allow Holmes to visualize in great detail his next moves on the action chessboard.
Of course, there’s more to the action scenes than just the deliberate, measured pace of the slow-motion sequences. Once visualized, Holmes’ perceptions are rendered expertly into real time speed with forceful impact.
Though it may not seem this way, there’s more to this “Sherlock Holmes” than just high octane action. One of the best scenes is a chess game between Holmes and Moriarty realized as a cerebral cat-and-mouse exercise.
In a film filled with delightful characters, one of the best may be Stephen Fry’s Mycroft Holmes, the famous sleuth’s older brother who provides some comic relief.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” loaded with explosive action, is an exciting adventure. But best of all is the great chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law; their collaborative effort really pays off.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
I find it hard to pass up a DVD release of old buried treasure from the glory days of television. “I’m Dickens...He’s Fenster” falls into this category.
This brilliant but short-lived 1962 ABC TV situation comedy starred John Astin (“The Addams Family”) and Marty Ingels (“The Dick Van Dyke Show”).
The show was created by Leonard Stern, the writer and/or producer for such great comedies as “Sgt. Bilko,” “Get Smart” and “The Honeymooners.”
“I’m Dickens...He’s Fenster” followed the comic exploits of two construction workers and bosom buddies (Astin and Ingels).
Though the TV show was a favorite of critics, it ran for only one season of 32 episodes. It suffered the fate of a premature cancellation.
Because it never had enough episodes to qualify to run in syndication, “I’m Dickens … He’s Fenster” has been a lost treasure up until now.
The Volume One release offers the first 16 episodes, along with bonus material such as commentaries from the original stars.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Editor
Hawley will play her rendition of Ludwig von Beethoven's “Hammer Klavier Sonata Opus 106" at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17.
This is a very long work so only a few movements will be featured with short narratives by Hawley.
The performance also can be listened to online at www.kpfz.org.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
The persons we are when we are young are probably buried somewhere within us when we’ve grown old.
Denise Low, who was the Kansas poet laureate, takes a look at a younger version of herself in this telling poem.
Two Gates
I look through glass and see a young woman
of twenty, washing dishes, and the window
turns into a painting. She is myself thirty years ago.
She holds the same blue bowls and brass teapot
I still own. I see her outline against lamplight;
she knows only her side of the pane. The porch
where I stand is empty. Sunlight fades. I hear
water run in the sink as she lowers her head,
blind to the future. She does not imagine I exist.
I step forward for a better look and she dissolves
into lumber and paint. A gate I passed through
to the next life loses shape. Once more I stand
squared into the present, among maple trees
and scissor-tailed birds, in a garden, almost
a mother to that faint, distant woman.
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 ©2010 by Denise Low, from her most recent book of poetry, Ghost Stories of the New West, Woodley Memorial Press, 2010. Poem reprinted by permission of Denise Low and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2009 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.