Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, October 31, 2011
Quote
"Although he stood five-ten, a respectable height, he somehow failed to exude the authority so necessary for survival in rough bars, alleys, police stations, jails, and McDonald's drive-throughs." - TOURIST SEASON by Carl Hiaasen
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Too much coffee ...
Please Note: Due to a tragic coffee on computer incident...Groovy Reviews is working to 'reboot' ...but hopes to be back in the groove before long.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Books
A bookshelf can speak volumes about a person. What does your bookshelf say about you?
All photos by Melissa Slachetka
Monday, August 8, 2011
Answered Upon Reading
Otherwise, Elsewhere…The title is like reading an implied question. Filled with unwavering eyes, the cover art is abstract enough that you want to open it, if only because it feels like you are being stared at and are not sure what to expect. Or maybe because after staring back at the title (which is scrawled so diagonal across the cover, at first glance you may not even be sure if you read it right), you are thinking ‘where then?’ and ‘otherwise what?’ and hope you will get an answer.
“Otherwise elsewhere – someone somewhere other than here – the stable-hand for an equestrian team or the bodhisattva stretched out by the river or the sleepwalking knife-thrower…”
–pg 3
Whimsically reminiscent: the poems inside feel like a summer carnival. They highlight the simplicity of emotion as they tap into innocence, vulnerability, and certain strangeness. Poet David Rivard’s thoughts ride like waves of continuous prose that loop from the depths, to the shallow with considerable ease. He takes images we know well and splices them with philosophical meanderings to create something tactile.
In “Plural Happiness”, Rivard amplifies a peaceful summer day with description of curtains billowing and a dinner of peat-smoked scotch, fresh berries, cheese and baguette, and reflects on the accidental nature of happiness. “The Same Bourgeois Magic Wherever the Mailtrain Sets You Down” analyzes the idea of money, challenges those who don’t think it’s important, and questions us to think about why it is. The most masterful piece, titled “Forehead” is a love poem, which in a way denies itself as being a love poem by focusing on the safe closeness that is shared between two people, and not some idealized perfection.
Rivard’s poetry doesn’t attempt to answer life’s questions, instead it seems to pose its own and answer only that “Otherwise, Elsewhere” is anywhere you want to be, whether it is reminiscing about childhood, analyzing religion and politics, or just sitting outside, scotch in hand, enjoying the moment exactly how it is.
Otherwise, Elsewhere
By David Rivard
Graywolf Press, 2011
Bookworm Note: I skimmed through this book of poetry some time ago and several pieces really jumped out at me, but I haven’t had time to sit down and review it until know. I’m so glad that I trusted those first impressions, because the poems I liked at first, I enjoy even more.
“Otherwise elsewhere – someone somewhere other than here – the stable-hand for an equestrian team or the bodhisattva stretched out by the river or the sleepwalking knife-thrower…”
–pg 3
Whimsically reminiscent: the poems inside feel like a summer carnival. They highlight the simplicity of emotion as they tap into innocence, vulnerability, and certain strangeness. Poet David Rivard’s thoughts ride like waves of continuous prose that loop from the depths, to the shallow with considerable ease. He takes images we know well and splices them with philosophical meanderings to create something tactile.
In “Plural Happiness”, Rivard amplifies a peaceful summer day with description of curtains billowing and a dinner of peat-smoked scotch, fresh berries, cheese and baguette, and reflects on the accidental nature of happiness. “The Same Bourgeois Magic Wherever the Mailtrain Sets You Down” analyzes the idea of money, challenges those who don’t think it’s important, and questions us to think about why it is. The most masterful piece, titled “Forehead” is a love poem, which in a way denies itself as being a love poem by focusing on the safe closeness that is shared between two people, and not some idealized perfection.
Rivard’s poetry doesn’t attempt to answer life’s questions, instead it seems to pose its own and answer only that “Otherwise, Elsewhere” is anywhere you want to be, whether it is reminiscing about childhood, analyzing religion and politics, or just sitting outside, scotch in hand, enjoying the moment exactly how it is.
Otherwise, Elsewhere
By David Rivard
Graywolf Press, 2011
Bookworm Note: I skimmed through this book of poetry some time ago and several pieces really jumped out at me, but I haven’t had time to sit down and review it until know. I’m so glad that I trusted those first impressions, because the poems I liked at first, I enjoy even more.
Friday, July 22, 2011
A Book, A Cuppa, A Cozy!
Groovy summer signage...
...and designs!
Arriving tomorrow at:
Janine's CoffeeHouse
119 North 1st Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
...and designs!
Arriving tomorrow at:
Janine's CoffeeHouse
119 North 1st Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The Charm of Italy
Italy...fabulous food; great wine; what more do you need? For actor Michael Tucker, best known for his years on L.A. Law and his wife, actress Jill Eikenberry, buying a home in the countryside is the next step, especially when the home comes with a large outdoor pizza oven, and is surrounded by olive trees. Discovering the nuances of the language, finding the best butchers, and surviving the Italy’s notorious driving habits, is worth learning to enjoy really living the Italian life.
“He uses a thin carving knife that looks like it’s been around for generation. After a few quick strokes on the honing steel, he began to slowly saw the prosciutto, starting away from his body, cutting in the direction of his heart, so that he looks very much like a cellist – playing Brahms, perhaps.” – pg 147
Tucker’s writing is rich and the story easy to fall into. The description of Italian meals and customs is top notch. A nice addition is the honesty of how challenging it is to balance a life in Italy with a smattering of acting roles which pull Tucker and Eikenberry between California and New York. This acting insight is a nice inclusion for all the fans of Tucker and his wife.
“At voice-over auditions, I reconnected with old buddies from our early days in New York – all older but not in any way wiser. One afternoon I ran into Chris Murney on the Upper West Side and we sat on a bench in the middle of Broadway, sipping coffee, cars whizzing by on both sides, and reminisced like the two old geezers we had become.” – pg 237-238
Tucker writes this memoir with a masculine charm. He doesn’t try to be too polished in his description of his life, or down-play any egos, and his writing almost takes a boyish tone when opening up about his strong connection to his wife. Perfect for the summer, Living in a Foreign Language will cure your wander lust.
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy
By Michael Tucker
Grove Press, 2007
“He uses a thin carving knife that looks like it’s been around for generation. After a few quick strokes on the honing steel, he began to slowly saw the prosciutto, starting away from his body, cutting in the direction of his heart, so that he looks very much like a cellist – playing Brahms, perhaps.” – pg 147
Tucker’s writing is rich and the story easy to fall into. The description of Italian meals and customs is top notch. A nice addition is the honesty of how challenging it is to balance a life in Italy with a smattering of acting roles which pull Tucker and Eikenberry between California and New York. This acting insight is a nice inclusion for all the fans of Tucker and his wife.
“At voice-over auditions, I reconnected with old buddies from our early days in New York – all older but not in any way wiser. One afternoon I ran into Chris Murney on the Upper West Side and we sat on a bench in the middle of Broadway, sipping coffee, cars whizzing by on both sides, and reminisced like the two old geezers we had become.” – pg 237-238
Tucker writes this memoir with a masculine charm. He doesn’t try to be too polished in his description of his life, or down-play any egos, and his writing almost takes a boyish tone when opening up about his strong connection to his wife. Perfect for the summer, Living in a Foreign Language will cure your wander lust.
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy
By Michael Tucker
Grove Press, 2007
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