Thursday, May 26, 2016

Chance's Corner: Florence + The Machine

I have a short list of musicians I'd like to see in concert, and last week my list got even shorter when I got to see Florence + The Machine live and in-person. Florence + The Machine is an English indie rock/alternative band that caught my attention way back in 2008 with the release of their single "Dog Days Are Over". Since then, Florence + The Machine has soothed my soul with other hits such as "Sweet Nothing", "Shake It Out", "Only If for a Night", "Breath of Life", "Seven Devils" and their contribution to The Great Gatsby soundtrack "Over the Love".

As all my concert experiences have been, thus far, I've gotten to sit through some pretty interesting opening acts. ZZ Top, Semi Precious Weapons, Courtney Love, and now... Grimes. Her style of music is what I'd call "experimental" electronic, a blend of all genres cranked up a notch. She comes off sweet and meek, but wow... she's a powerhouse packed in a small body. Probably one of the most interesting opening acts I've seen. I would definitely call it a rave atmosphere.


Grimes

The main act, however, was more of a spiritual experience. The lead singer, Florence Welch, has an extraordinary vocal talent. I was covered in goosebumps the entire time and transfixed at her limitless energy as she ran and bounced around the stage (barefooted!). At one point she left the stage, and I was like... where did she go? Next thing I know, she's running towards me and passes right by! My knees nearly buckled.


Florence




After the concert, basking in afterglow, I flipped through the concert program and discovered that Florence has her own book club! It's called Between Two Books. Past reads include Fates and Furies, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Great Gatsby, The Goldfinch and many others. I've always known that Florence was inspired by literature, catching references in her lyrics, so getting to know which books inspire her is very cool!

Monday, May 23, 2016

Julie's Journal : Book Challenges - Anne of Green Gables

One of the book challenges that I signed up for this year was the 2016 Anne of Green Gables Reading Challenge by purpleinkstudios.net/.  I've been keeping on track with this one, which means I just finished book five of the series, Anne's House of Dreams.


The Anne books take place on Prince Edward Island. Anne is an orphan who finds a home with the elderly brother/sister pair of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Through the series we get to watch Anne grow from a precocious eleven year old, to a beloved teacher, and finally to a mother who delights in her own children. I love Anne and all her adventures.  Her life has not always been easy, but she keeps a sunny outlook and finds joy in all the simple pleasures of life.  She is always ready to make new friends and is adored by all who know her.  She is funny, wise, loving, and kind.   I've read the books many times and never get tired of going back to P.E. Island to visit.

Since there are only 8 books in the main series, and 12 months out of the year, the challenge asks us to read at least two other books by L.M. Montgomery.  I am choosing to read The Blythes are Quoted, which I've never read before.  It is a collection of stories and poetry written by Anne and her family.  I also think I will read the Emily of New Moon trilogy.  It doesn't center around Anne at all, but is also about an orphan.  I've never read it either, so it should be interesting.

I'm finding this challenge easy to keep up with.  Others on my challenge list are little more difficult.  I'll be updating my progress on those soon.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Poet's Perch : There Is No Frigate Like a Book by Emily Dickinson

There Is No Frigate Like a Book



There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

Emily Dickinson

Image from: http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2016/03/no-frigate-like-a-book.html

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Chance's Corner: For Movie Lovers

When you walk in a library you expect books, right? Well, as all our usual patrons know, the Franklin County Library has plenty of movies, new and old, to choose from! I'm pretty sure that we're the cheapest movie rental place in town... because it's free! Unless the movies are turned in late, of course. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

By sitting at the front desk, I know that some people have some pretty strong opinions about the movies they check in and out here at the library. Some are good, some are bad, and some are mixed. That's just how it goes in the movie-making business. I use a lot of these verbal reviews to help guide people on what they should watch next. The reviews also help me out when other people hold up a movie and ask, "is this any good?"

Other places I gather reviews are the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and Letterboxd. Both use user-generated reviews to formulate an overall rating, instead of relying on professional critics, which I often disagree with. But what's the difference between the two websites?

IMDb is the go-to place to look up anything you ever wanted to know about a movie. Who is in the movie? Who directed it? What was the budget? When was it made? What's some interesting facts about it? IMDb has all that and more.

I just recently joined Letterboxd, so I'm still getting to know the website, but overall it's a site where an individual can log and review movies in a diary-type format. You can also review movies you've already seen, but they won't be logged into your diary. It's a great place to connect with other people who share the same movie tastes as you.

If any of you movie lovers are interested, you should join and let your opinions be known! Would love to see you on either site.




Monday, May 2, 2016

Tom's Two Cents : House of Cards on Netflix



I never expected to be admitting to anyone that I've been binging on a TV series, much less one about politics.  It's bad enough to binge on anything, chocolate maybe, but television?  Well, my cousin Doug tricked me into it by coming down from Dallas a few weeks ago, shopping with me for an Apple TV remote and then conveniently installing the darn thing.  A couple of episodes of "House of Cards" and I was hooked.  Admittedly I had seen the British 3-episode series with the great Ian Mackellan first, but the American version with Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, now at the end of its fourth season, has gone to 52 episodes and is still running strong.  Why?  Well, it's superbly written, acted, directed and produced, but it's very, very dark, and, if you take it too seriously, not just as a piece of entertainment, but as a rather true-to-life slice of America's political pie, then it's positively scary.

"House of Cards" is the story of Francis Underwood, U.S. Senator and Majority Whip from South Carolina, and his wife, Claire, both deeply driven and ambitious individuals, enmeshed in the political machinations of the nation's Capitol.  And what machinations they are!  Alongside Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright is a superb ensemble cast with a Machiavellian plot line that allows very little time, if any, for kitchen or bathroom breaks (no commercial interruptions--aha!) each episode filled with twists and turns that may or may not be unraveled until later in the season.  The series as a whole traces the rise of the Senator from South Carolina from Majority Whip to Secretary of the Treasury to Vice-President to President, while his equally ambitious wife conspires both with and against him to create her own ascendancy from U.S. Ambassador to the UN to his running partner in next year's (i.e. Season's) forthcoming presidential election.  By the end of this fourth season, if not long before, you know this couple will stop at--well, nothing, actually, to achieve their path to power.


Does this show descend into melodrama, murder and mayhem, and explicit and sometimes pointless sexuality?  Yes--at times, but for the most part it walks a finely rugged line in appealing to mass audiences and prurient interests.  Believe it or not, the best comparison I can make is to Shakespeare's "Macbeth," even to its use of an old dramatic technique, the aside to the audience.  At their common core both works are about the corruption of power in high places and the inevitable fall of those who get there.  After four seasons of devious and malevolent ascent, I predict that "House of Cards," like "Macbeth," can go only downward, into death and destruction.  Attributed to Euripides (but in fact erroneously), the statement "Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad [with power]" could easily be the watchword of this show.