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Monday, June 6, 2011
The Smurfs branded anti-Semitic and racist by French academic
The Smurfs, the cuddly blue comic strip creatures loved by generations of children, are anti-Semitic and racist, treating blacks like moronic primates, a new book claims. The claims by Antoine Buéno, 33, a lecturer at Paris' prestigious Sciences Po political sciences school, have been branded a "disgrace" that "soils the legends of our childhood" by an army of Smurf lovers. Under the guise of a "critical and political analysis of Smurf society", Mr Buéno's 'Little Blue Book' ruthlessly deconstructs the world of Smurfs (Schtroumpfs in French).
His stark conclusions are that the blue men created in 1958 by Belgian artist Peyo, real name Thierry Culliford, represent an "archetype of totalitarian society imbued with Stalinism and Nazism". The author backs up his claims of racism by citing Peyo's first work – The Black Smurfs in French but translated as The Purple Smurfs in the English version for reasons of political correctness. In the story, a Smurf gets stung by a black fly that turns his skin jet black, drives him insane and deprives him of speech. Soon the entire village has changed colour.
Mr Buéno said the story was clearly racist, as when the Smurfs turn black, "they are reduced to the state of primitives who get around by jumping and crying: 'Gnap! Gnap!'" "They lose all trace of intelligence and become completely moronic," said Mr Buéno. "It's roughly the way Africans were viewed by white colonisers in the 19th century." Mr Buéno also contends that The Smurfs' arch-enemy, the wizard Gargamel, comes across as a classic anti-Semitic caricature of a money-grabbing Jew, the book claims. "Gargamel is ugly, dirty, with a hooked nose (who) is fascinated by gold".
YouTube link.
Papa Smurf, the village's aged white-bearded leader, meanwhile, is portrayed as a dictatorial gerontocrat wielding absolute power and whose red hat and trousers are a nod to Stalin, while Smurfette, the only blonde female created by Gargamel to wreck havoc among his enemies is a misogynistic take on Aryan woman. The book has sparked a deluge of fury from Smurf aficionados. Such has been the outrage, the author said he feared for his physical safety and insisted he meant no harm.
His stark conclusions are that the blue men created in 1958 by Belgian artist Peyo, real name Thierry Culliford, represent an "archetype of totalitarian society imbued with Stalinism and Nazism". The author backs up his claims of racism by citing Peyo's first work – The Black Smurfs in French but translated as The Purple Smurfs in the English version for reasons of political correctness. In the story, a Smurf gets stung by a black fly that turns his skin jet black, drives him insane and deprives him of speech. Soon the entire village has changed colour.
Mr Buéno said the story was clearly racist, as when the Smurfs turn black, "they are reduced to the state of primitives who get around by jumping and crying: 'Gnap! Gnap!'" "They lose all trace of intelligence and become completely moronic," said Mr Buéno. "It's roughly the way Africans were viewed by white colonisers in the 19th century." Mr Buéno also contends that The Smurfs' arch-enemy, the wizard Gargamel, comes across as a classic anti-Semitic caricature of a money-grabbing Jew, the book claims. "Gargamel is ugly, dirty, with a hooked nose (who) is fascinated by gold".
YouTube link.
Papa Smurf, the village's aged white-bearded leader, meanwhile, is portrayed as a dictatorial gerontocrat wielding absolute power and whose red hat and trousers are a nod to Stalin, while Smurfette, the only blonde female created by Gargamel to wreck havoc among his enemies is a misogynistic take on Aryan woman. The book has sparked a deluge of fury from Smurf aficionados. Such has been the outrage, the author said he feared for his physical safety and insisted he meant no harm.
Couple killed crossing road after visiting all 50 US states
A retirement dream ended in tragedy for a Manchester, Conn. couple travelling through Ohio. Friends of Keith Rodgers, 73, and his wife, Doreen, 71, said the couple had just finished the last leg of a tour that took them to all 50 states.
Keith and Doreen had pulled over on Saturday evening at a Quality Inn not far from Warren. Sgt. Randy Skaggs from of the Ohio Highway Patrol said the couple were heading to dinner at the Denny's located across the street from their hotel when they were hit by a minivan. A crash scene diagram indicated their bodies were thrown several hundred feet.
Video link.
Keith Rodgers died at the scene. His wife died a short time later at St. Elizabeth's Health Center. "At this point in time it looks like they entered the path of the vehicle," said Sgt. Skaggs. He said the couple crossed five lanes of traffic in an area not marked for pedestrians.
The patrol is still trying to determine if Sandra L. Scott, 64, from Vienna who was driving the minivan was somehow at fault. Sgt. Skaggs said the Rodgers' bodies had been returned to their home in Connecticut, their retirement dream now a nightmare for their families to endure.
Keith and Doreen had pulled over on Saturday evening at a Quality Inn not far from Warren. Sgt. Randy Skaggs from of the Ohio Highway Patrol said the couple were heading to dinner at the Denny's located across the street from their hotel when they were hit by a minivan. A crash scene diagram indicated their bodies were thrown several hundred feet.
Video link.
Keith Rodgers died at the scene. His wife died a short time later at St. Elizabeth's Health Center. "At this point in time it looks like they entered the path of the vehicle," said Sgt. Skaggs. He said the couple crossed five lanes of traffic in an area not marked for pedestrians.
The patrol is still trying to determine if Sandra L. Scott, 64, from Vienna who was driving the minivan was somehow at fault. Sgt. Skaggs said the Rodgers' bodies had been returned to their home in Connecticut, their retirement dream now a nightmare for their families to endure.
Police say they can't arrest drunk man who admitted driving into building
Seattle police say they can't arrest a man who admitted to driving drunk and crashing into an apartment building on Northeast Ravenna Boulevard at around 1 a.m. on Thursday morning.
Police say despite the man admitting to being behind the wheel, they can't arrest him because there are no witnesses to confirm his story.
“We were drinking, we started fighting, I decided to dip out. Driving drunk, smashed into the thing, because they were chasing me,” the man told a news crew.
“We all got drunk - everyone's drunk - you know, you can't blame anyone - there's no one to blame there, it's just, things happen."
You can see the man being interviewed shortly after the incident here or here. (Contains NSFW language).
Police say despite the man admitting to being behind the wheel, they can't arrest him because there are no witnesses to confirm his story.
“We were drinking, we started fighting, I decided to dip out. Driving drunk, smashed into the thing, because they were chasing me,” the man told a news crew.
“We all got drunk - everyone's drunk - you know, you can't blame anyone - there's no one to blame there, it's just, things happen."
You can see the man being interviewed shortly after the incident here or here. (Contains NSFW language).
Lolly thief impales hand on receipt spike
A 16-year-old Australian boy impaled his hand on a receipt spike after he and his friends broke into a Perth Hills deli and robbed the place of lollies. Police say the boy and two friends forced their way through the front door of the deli in Darlington, east of Perth, on Sunday night.
"Once inside they've scaled the front counter without noticing the receipt spike," Sergeant Gerry Cassidy said. "One of the offenders, a 16-year-old boy, has impaled his left hand on the spike which has proceeded all the way through his hand and right out the other side."
Despite the injury, the boy's friends, aged 16 and 18, continued to steal items from the deli, mostly lollies. The three then took themselves to hospital, where the injured 16-year-old underwent X-rays.
When police later went to the hospital to ask whether anyone had arrived with an injury, nurses confirmed a boy had turned up with an impaled hand. The three were taken to Midland police station where they were charged with aggravated burglary.
"Once inside they've scaled the front counter without noticing the receipt spike," Sergeant Gerry Cassidy said. "One of the offenders, a 16-year-old boy, has impaled his left hand on the spike which has proceeded all the way through his hand and right out the other side."
Despite the injury, the boy's friends, aged 16 and 18, continued to steal items from the deli, mostly lollies. The three then took themselves to hospital, where the injured 16-year-old underwent X-rays.
When police later went to the hospital to ask whether anyone had arrived with an injury, nurses confirmed a boy had turned up with an impaled hand. The three were taken to Midland police station where they were charged with aggravated burglary.
Four-year-old Australian art prodigy exhibits in New York
A four-year-old Melbourne girl is drawing fans in New York with her first solo art exhibition. Aelita Andre is said to be the youngest professional painter in the world, and has been compared to the likes of artistic giants Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
Her work is already commanding top dollar, with a Hong Kong collector last year paying $24,000 for one of her pieces. Now her colourful paintings are on display at the Agora Gallery in Manhattan.
Gallery director Angela di Bello says Aelita, who produced her first meaningful body of work before turning two, is a talented artist. "What's interesting about her work is that I also I find that it is abstract expressionism, but that she's also surrealist in the way she includes objects in her works and how she includes those objects," she said.
YouTube link.
"She is completely and utterly innocent, just with an innocent eye almost coming to a canvas," said her father Michael. Andre's solo exhibition, aptly named The Prodigy Of Colour, runs until June 25.
There's a 13-minute film about Aelita here.
Her work is already commanding top dollar, with a Hong Kong collector last year paying $24,000 for one of her pieces. Now her colourful paintings are on display at the Agora Gallery in Manhattan.
Gallery director Angela di Bello says Aelita, who produced her first meaningful body of work before turning two, is a talented artist. "What's interesting about her work is that I also I find that it is abstract expressionism, but that she's also surrealist in the way she includes objects in her works and how she includes those objects," she said.
YouTube link.
"She is completely and utterly innocent, just with an innocent eye almost coming to a canvas," said her father Michael. Andre's solo exhibition, aptly named The Prodigy Of Colour, runs until June 25.
There's a 13-minute film about Aelita here.
'Transformer' car aids firefighters rescue training
A 'transformer' car custom-built by University of Derby students to help firefighters with rescue training is already attracting interest from other emergency services. For their final year project Motorsports degree students have redesigned a Toyota Avensis so that hydraulic motors will rotate the front, and so that the roof can be folded back or lifted off and one whole side can be removed. It will be used by Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service to train their officers in how to extract people trapped in vehicles during a road traffic collision. It is believed that the transformer vehicle is the first of its type designed for use by emergency services.
Steve Hill, Programme Leader for Motorsports courses at the University, said: "The students have worked very hard on this project to make sure the fire and rescue service got exactly what they wanted. Much of the vehicle's 'transforming' is done using hydraulic motors, duplicating the actual procedures and making it easier to use for those training. We don't believe there is another training rig like this in the UK. Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service are looking for us to produce a single-decker bus or truck version for them next year and have told us that they have had interest from other emergency services."
The original idea came from Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service. Four Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Motorsport Engineering degree students - Mike Barlow, Emily Bell, Mark Upton and Antony Wan - were involved in its design and realisation for their final year project. Challenges included being able to remove large sections of the car, and getting its front to pivot under the dashboard, and for it all to fit back together again properly. The students used structural analysis, computer simulations, built-in supporting frameworks and hydraulic rams to overcome these problems.
Organiser Watch Manager Mark Burnham, of Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, added: "A large part of firefighter training is to extricate casualties as safely and as quickly as possible from vehicles involved in road traffic collisions. Currently, we get through a large amount of vehicles which can only be used once. The transformer project has created a re-usable training vehicle which allows our trainees to observe the techniques and methods used to extract casualties, over and over again at a minimum cost to the fire and rescue service."
There's a news video here.
Steve Hill, Programme Leader for Motorsports courses at the University, said: "The students have worked very hard on this project to make sure the fire and rescue service got exactly what they wanted. Much of the vehicle's 'transforming' is done using hydraulic motors, duplicating the actual procedures and making it easier to use for those training. We don't believe there is another training rig like this in the UK. Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service are looking for us to produce a single-decker bus or truck version for them next year and have told us that they have had interest from other emergency services."
The original idea came from Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service. Four Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) Motorsport Engineering degree students - Mike Barlow, Emily Bell, Mark Upton and Antony Wan - were involved in its design and realisation for their final year project. Challenges included being able to remove large sections of the car, and getting its front to pivot under the dashboard, and for it all to fit back together again properly. The students used structural analysis, computer simulations, built-in supporting frameworks and hydraulic rams to overcome these problems.
Organiser Watch Manager Mark Burnham, of Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service, added: "A large part of firefighter training is to extricate casualties as safely and as quickly as possible from vehicles involved in road traffic collisions. Currently, we get through a large amount of vehicles which can only be used once. The transformer project has created a re-usable training vehicle which allows our trainees to observe the techniques and methods used to extract casualties, over and over again at a minimum cost to the fire and rescue service."
There's a news video here.
Giant robot kidnaps two members of Take That
Take That singers Mark Owen and Howard Donald were both trapped on a stage robot during their concert at the City of Manchester stadium at the weekend.
The pair were meant to be lowered to the stage on the palms of the group's giant robot man, Om, but the mechanics failed. It meant they were stuck singing Love Love three metres (10ft) above the rest of the band on Saturday night.
Ladders were used to rescue Mark Owen so he could continue his performance. Howard Donald was forced to sing lead vocals for the next track Never Forget while still stuck on the robot before being helped down himself.
YouTube link.
The stage production cost around £15 million to put together with the robot used in the shows standing 30 metres (100ft) high when fully erect.
There's another view of the incident here.
The pair were meant to be lowered to the stage on the palms of the group's giant robot man, Om, but the mechanics failed. It meant they were stuck singing Love Love three metres (10ft) above the rest of the band on Saturday night.
Ladders were used to rescue Mark Owen so he could continue his performance. Howard Donald was forced to sing lead vocals for the next track Never Forget while still stuck on the robot before being helped down himself.
YouTube link.
The stage production cost around £15 million to put together with the robot used in the shows standing 30 metres (100ft) high when fully erect.
There's another view of the incident here.
THE BEAR AND THE WILDCAT
by Kazumi Yumoto & illustrated by Komako Sakai
Gecko Press
For ages 4 to infinity
48 pages -
Hardback NZ$29.99
One morning, Bear was crying.
His best friend, a little bird, was dead.
When the little bird dies, Bear is inconsolable. Full of grief, he locks himself in his house and ventures out again only when the smell of spring grass blows in through his window.
He meets a wildcat and finally feels understood. As the cat plays his violin, Bear remembers all the fun he had with the little bird. Now he can say goodbye to his friend, because he knows he’ll always have his memories.
The Bear and the Wildcat is a touching picture book about loneliness, grief and loss, ending with a positive new beginning. It brought a tear to my eye I can tell you. Absolutely beautiful storytelling.
It shows a way through paralyzing grief and simultaneously tells the story of a budding friendship.
About the author:
Kazumi Yumoto was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1959. She studied music composition at Tokyo College and during this time wrote opera libretti and plays for radio and television. Her books, mostly novels for older children, have won numerous international awards.
About the illustrator:
After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Komako Sakai worked at a kimono textile design company. She is one of the most popular children’s author/illustrators in Japan.
About the illustrator:
After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Komako Sakai worked at a kimono textile design company. She is one of the most popular children’s author/illustrators in Japan.
- An astute and sensitive ‘guide to grieving’ in picture book form
- A valuable resource for counsellors, schools, hospices and grief centres
- Previously published in Japan, Spain, France and Germany, this is the first time it’s been available in English
- “If grieving people are allowed to grieve, then they will find their way back to the joy of life - that’s the message of this delicate Japanese book.” (Hella Kemper, Time, Germany)
Recipe of the Week Blog Hop - The Mighty Mac Patties + Gravy
Today I am going to share a recipe that my mom made a lot while I was growing up. I grew up vegetarian and mostly vegan, and this recipe is completely that. I am also using this recipe to show case some of the items I sell through The Pampered Chef. I started being an independent consultant last fall. I love all of their products. They make cooking enjoyable and fast! If you would like to know more and possibly purchase one or more of our wonderful products, please send me an e-mail.
Now on to the recipe for this week!
The Mighty Mac Patties
Be sure to link your recipe below! Please link back to Recipe of the Week or grab my blog hop button on the right side of the page!
Now on to the recipe for this week!
The Mighty Mac Patties
All my ingredients out and ready to go: walnuts, onion, oats, chick peas, soy sauce, salt, and broth packets.
First drain the chick peas and then measure 1 cup worth. 1 can is just a little over 1 cup worth, so I went ahead and added the whole can. I used The Pampered Chef medium size mesh colander and the 2 cup Easy Ready Measuring Cups. I love the measuring cups because it shows the measurements on the inside of the container so you don't have to guess and look at the sides to see how much you are adding (as you can see by the picture above).
Add the chick peas and 1 1/2 cup of water to a blender and blend until smooth. Add to a bowl and set aside.
Add 2 cups of rolled oats to the chick pea mixture. You can see my trusty Small Mix and Scraper. It acts like a spoon and spatula all in one. I love it!
Next, I used my 5" Utility Knife to quarter a medium onion and then used my food chopper to mince the onion! The food chopper comes completely apart when you are done and is dishwasher safe! With only 5-10 quick pushes on the top, the onions and walnuts were minced nicely! Only a food chopper can get items chopped that thinly and nice!! I love it! I am also using The Pampered Chef Cutting Board.
Next I added about 1/4 cup of oat flour since it was little too moist. Then I added the salt, The Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning mix and soy sauce. I used my Adjustable Measuring spoons. I absolutely love these! The small size goes from 1/8 tsp to 1 tsp and the large goes from 1 tsp. to 1 Tb. size. They take up less space in your storage area which makes to a neater and cleaner drawer!
I used a scoop to put 6 balls of the patties into a greased glass dish. Then I just flattened the tops of the burgers with the bottom of the scoop. This recipe will make 9 large patties. I put them in a 400 degree oven and cooked for 15 minutes before adding the gravy so that the tops get crispy. I also flipped them after 15 minutes before adding the broth.
Next I made the broth using George Washington Rich Brown Seasoning and Broth. You can find this at specialty stores or any health food store. Or you can use any broth gravy mixture you like.
I used the Measure-All cup to measure 12 oz. of water for 2 packets of broth/seasoning. I also added 2 tsp. of corn starch to make the broth a little thicker while it baked.
I used the Mini Whisk to mix everything together so it was nice and smooth.
After the patties baked for 15 minutes, I added the broth and cooked them for another 1/2 hour at 400 degrees.
And the result....
These were definitely delicious! I served them with grilled veggies, a recipe I will share next week! :)
To make recipes even easier for you to get off my site, I am now offering a free printable of this recipe. Just click here to get it!
The Might Mac
1 cup chick peas (either soaked garbanzo beans or 1 can of chick peas).
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning (original recipe calls for sage).
2 Tb. soy sauce
Whiz first two ingredients in blender. Remove and add to a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon. Drop from 1/3 cup measurer to form patties on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. You can serve as a burger as use as a casserole with gravy.
If making a casserole, place all patties into a greased glass dish. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Then add gravy recipe below and bake for another 30 minutes.
Gravy Option
2 packets of George Washington Brown Broth/Seasoning
12 oz. of water
2 tsp. corn starch
Wisk all ingredients together.
For more great recipe ideas visit the following blog hops: Delectable Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, Take a Look Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Delicious Dishes, My Meatless Mondays, Midnight Maniac Meatless Monday, Recipe Roundtable.
130 Million eBooks Downloaded from Apple iBookstore
By Jason Boog on Galley Cat, June 6, 2011
Today at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled a new set of cloud computing tools and revealed that users have downloaded 130 million books from the iBookstore.The company did not separate that figure into paid and free eBooks. In addition, the overall Apple App Store has counted 14 billion downloads and paid more than $2.5 billion to developers for these purchases–a bustling market for publishers to explore.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs also unveiled iCloud, a new storage platform for Apple customers.
All users with the new iOS 5 update on their devices will get 5GB of free cloud storage to backup writings, photos and music. This GalleyCat editor uses cloud-based programs like Dropbox and Evernote every day–do you think these companies can survive Apple’s new cloud push?
Familiar names return to the page: Pikihuia short story finalists announced
All Pikihuia entries are submitted to the judges by the title alone to ensure no biases, yet when it comes to quality writing, it is the tried and true that are prevailing. More than half of the Māori writers who have been previously published by HUIA are appearing once again on the finalists’ list.
One familiar name that has not only been selected for the short story category but also for the novel extract category is Ann French (Ngāpuhi) who resides in Tauranga. French has been selected as a finalist and published five times in HUIA’s collections of short stories.
When asked what she thought makes a good story, French (pic left) commented, ‘A good story must have heart and touch the understanding and instincts of the reader. A good story is also about humans and all their fallibilities and strength. I think Māori people have great strength.’
Having been largely recognised as a short fiction writer, French is starting to enjoy the practice of novel writing and stated that, ‘It was the easiest thing to produce 5000 words for a novel because it came straight from the heart. I write from the heart and I write what I feel at the time.’
The Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers, formerly known as the HUIA Short Story Awards, were set up in 1995 and held in an effort to find Māori writers. Huia Publishers has since published hundreds of books, including many award-winning titles, and continues to host the Pikihuia Awards with the support of the Māori Literature Trust.
For many established Māori writers, these awards are where they started as writers. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony in August where Huia Short Stories 9 will be launched, featuring the short story and novel extracts finalists.
The featured artwork for the Pikihuia Awards for Māori Writers 2011 was designed by Wiremu Barriball. His artwork will also feature on this year’s book cover.
The finalists for Best Short Story written in English are:
Anahera Gildea (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga); Anita Tipene (Ngāpuhi); Ann French (Ngāpuhi); Challen Wilson (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Kuia, Kai Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Koata); Dionne Norman (Ngāti Kurī, Whakatōhea); Helen Waaka (Ngāti Whātua); Hira Hunapo (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Arawa); Lesley Rain Walker (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rongomaiwahine); Marama Salsano (Te Aitangi a Māhaki, Tūhoe); Mark Sweet (Ngā Māhanga); Olivia Giles (Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Whānau-a-Apanui); Piripi Evans (Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāi Tahu); Raschel Miette (Ngāpuhi); Robert Madden (Whānau-a-Kai, Te Aitanga a Māhaki); Sharon Clair (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Ranginui); Tania Waikato (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tūhoe, Ngāti Hine); Tania Bayer (Tainui); Terence Rissetto (Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha).
The finalists for Best Short Stories written in Māori are:
Fred Te Maro (Ngāti Porou); PJ Akuhata (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Tūhoe); Te Atawhai Kumar (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa); Erin Thompson-Pou (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Waikato); Mataia Keepa (Te Arawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Rārua).
The finalists for Best Novel Extract are:
KT Harrison (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Hauā); Anahera Gildea (NgatiNgāti Raukawa ki te Tonga); Ann French (Ngā Ppuuhi); Gordon Te Araroa-Ham (Ngāti Tūwharetoa); Mark Sweet (Ngāa Māahanga); Marama Salsano (Te Aitangi a Māahaki, and Tūuhoe).
Long poems at the heart of Tuesday Poem this week
The Tuesday Poem blog this week hosts five verses from a hundred verse sequence by NZ poet Richard Sturmer called The Book of Equanimity Verses. The work is inspired by The Book of Equanimity, a Zen Buddhist collection of one hundred koans. Editor Harvey Molloy says, 'The sparkling intelligence at work in these poems is shaped by Zen poetic forms and Zen practice. Richard's poems acknowledge a greater reality, an awareness of a spiritual power or energy that flashes through the poems and provides both the poet and the reader with a knowledge or insight that can only be expressed within the poem.'
After reading the hub poem, blog readers are invited to read the Tuesday Poems linked to in the sidebar, posted by an international community of up to 30 poets. This week, there is a brilliant long poem by Jenny Bornholdt from her latest collection called 'Poem about a Horse'. Wellington poet Sarah Jane Barnett - a self-confessed lover of long poems - has posted the poem, which is terrifically playful and domestic and surreal all at once. Another brilliant long poem can be found on the Booksellers' site, this time by Serie Barford who recently won the Seresin residency.
Tim is also featured on Helen Heath's blog with an intimate poem on summer. There is so much more besides, including a new poem by Kapiti's Mary Cresswell and - to finish with the opposite of a long poem - a strong haiku by Orchid Tierney. And as Tuesday rolls by, there will be more posts by the US and UK poets. Come and see.
THOSE BOOK AWARDS AND THOSE SHORT-LISTS !!
Came across the following on Mary McCallum's blog this morning:
With the shortlist for the NZ Post Book Awards still being wrung out and pegged on the line by writers and readers around the country, Renee Liang (left) popped into my mind.
Why? Well there's a groundswell of dissatisfaction about the list of only three books for both the fiction and poetry awards. Five, why can't there be five? That way more books would get their time in the sun; and for the same reason, many of us would also like to see a shortlist for the Best First Book Awards rather than one outright winner for each.
I have already said that the judges' list is the judges' list and despite our own wish-lists, we should just get on and celebrate the authors they have selected. I do believe that, but how much more of a celebration we could have if there was a more substantial, nay, a more generous list. The celebration isn't just for literature, it is a celebration - and vital affirmation - of us and the way we think and live. Renee has explored this idea online (I don't know her view of the Book Awards per se). In The Big Idea arts website, Renee writes about this year's Auckland Writers Festival and why people converged in record numbers
Footnote from The Bookman:
I totally agree with Mary re the size of the fiction and poetry short-lists and have written, some would say endlessly, about it on the blog but as a friend of mine said to me over the weekend -
"The Book Awards are fast becoming the Wellywood sign of the book world - the only people who want them in their present form are the administrators".
With the shortlist for the NZ Post Book Awards still being wrung out and pegged on the line by writers and readers around the country, Renee Liang (left) popped into my mind.
Why? Well there's a groundswell of dissatisfaction about the list of only three books for both the fiction and poetry awards. Five, why can't there be five? That way more books would get their time in the sun; and for the same reason, many of us would also like to see a shortlist for the Best First Book Awards rather than one outright winner for each.
Footnote from The Bookman:
I totally agree with Mary re the size of the fiction and poetry short-lists and have written, some would say endlessly, about it on the blog but as a friend of mine said to me over the weekend -
"The Book Awards are fast becoming the Wellywood sign of the book world - the only people who want them in their present form are the administrators".
BLOG STATS LAST WEEK
13,142 visitors last week but this week has started slowly with only 1252 visitors yesterday being a public holiday here in New Zealand.
About half my visitors each week are from NZ with others coming in order from the US, Australia, UK, Canada, India and France. Most days I have visitors from up to 50 countries.
Thanks for dropping by.
Suzanne Collins Becomes First Children’s Author To Sell 1 Million Kindle eBooks
By Jason Boog on Galley Cat, June 6, 2011
According to Amazon’s announcement, Collins became the first children’s author (The Hunger Games) to achieve this digital feat. Other members of the club include Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Charlaine Harris.
Thriller novelist Child (right-photo Jim Cooper) added this comment: ““I started writing at the same time Amazon first went live, back in 1995, and it has been a thrill to move forward
My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece
By Annabel Pitcher
(Orion, $29.99)
Reviewed by Nicky Pellegrino
Every so often a children’s book comes along that I think adults would find just as much pleasure in reading. Harry Potter is probably the most famous crossover kid’s book. And, while this one doesn’t star a boy wizard, it does feature a small boy who is likely to win your hearts.
Jamie Matthews is ten and he’s just moved to England’s Lake District for a fresh start with his Dad, his pink-haired sister Jasmine and his beloved cat Roger. Life has been sad and confusing ever since the death of Jasmine’s twin Rose in a London terrorist attack. Hence the title - his sister really does live on the mantelpiece in an urn and she’s the centre of the family, the perfect child, the hole in all their lives. Except Jamie isn’t really sad enough because he was only five when she was killed and doesn’t remember his sister so well. He hasn’t even cried. All his grief is saved for the loss of his mother who has run off with a man she met at a support group and his worry for his father who is drinking way too much.
A simple first-person story about a child trying to makes sense of the changes in his world, this is the most touching and sensitive novel I’ve read in a long-time. While there are lots of issues dealt with – from messed up families to eating disorders, racism and school bullying – Pitcher gets the tone just right. She tackles tough topics unflinchingly but is never preachy or obvious in her messages, instead letting them unfold very naturally through the sweet and often funny voice of Jamie.
At only 29, this debut novelist has produced a modern classic, a book that made me both laugh and cry, and forget for a while that I was a grown up so convincingly does it conjure up childhood. It’s definitely not a story for young kids, given the heaviness of some of its themes, but children of eleven upwards will get a lot out of reading it. It’s a tale that rings true and is as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking. The front cover though is beyond unappealing and the title, while very original, doesn’t give much more of a clue of the treasure that lie within. If you only read one kid’s book this year make it this one.
Footnote:
Nicky Pellegrino, a succcesful Auckland-based author of popular fiction, The Italian Wedding was published in May 2009, Recipe for Life was published in April, 2010, while her latest The Villa Girls, was published three weeks ago and is riding high on the NZ bestseller list.
She is also the Books Editor of the Herald on Sunday where the above review was first published on 15 May, 2011 as was the Booklover column below:
Footnote:
She is also the Books Editor of the Herald on Sunday where the above review was first published on 15 May, 2011 as was the Booklover column below:
Booklover
David Hartnell has recently released his autobiography Memoirs Of A Gossip Columnist (Penguin, $45)
The book I love most is.............I'm not one to gossip but… Hollywood Babylon - It's Back and Hollywood Babylon Strikes Again! They are both hot on gossip, unauthorized and unapologetic! Authors Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince write about lurid but unknown scandals from Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as shocking rundowns of today's scandals-in-the-making. I love their writing style and their razor wit.
The book I'm reading right now is.....................Jeannie Out Of The Bottle, Barbara Eden's autobiography. Growing up I would watch I Dream of Jeannie on the telly, so I related to stories about the TV series. I met Barbara Eden a few years ago in Hollywood and she told me she was writing her autobiography, so I’d been waiting for it and am thoroughly enjoying it.
The book I'd like to read next is.............. Any actor or actress’sautobiographies or memoir’s. Right now waiting in the wings is Dame Judi Dench’s autobiography called And Furthermore. With out a doubt she is one of my all-time favourite actresses.
My favourite bookshop is.......Well I don't actually have one, but on saying that I can never go past a book shop without going in. I adore haunting second hand book shops because you can sometimes find such gems.
The book that changed me is..............Hedda and Louella a dual biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons by George Eells; they were the Hollywood gossip queens of yesteryear. I got the book out of the library back in 1972 and a light went. From that moment on I wanted to be a gossip columnist.
The book I wish I'd never read is...........As an author of eight books I know just how much blood sweat and tears goes into writing one. So my lips are sealed on the ones I wish I’d never read!
THE LARNACHS - Owen Marshall - Vintage - $39.99
Publication date for Owen Marshall's fourth novel was only Friday last and yet over the weekend I have read three reviews in our print media - Charlotte Grimshaw waxed lyrical (by her standards) in the Weekend Herald's excellent Canvas magazine, while Kelly Ana Morey was also most impressed in the Herald on Sunday's book pages. Meantime the New Zealand Listener splashed out three whole pages for John McCrystal's review.
That is an impressive opening salvo. In the UK and US it is commonplace for reviews of major fiction titles to be published on or immediately before publication date whereas here reviews tend to trickle out over a month or so.
Clearly then there is a lot of interest in The Larnachs.
Joining in the fray Beattie's Book Blog regular fiction reviewer, Wellington-based writer Maggie Rainey-Smith, has also found the book an impressive read.
Here is her review:
When offered the chance to read an advance copy of ‘The Larnachs’ by Owen Marshall, (pic right), to review, I did not hesitate, for indeed, Owen Marshall is one of my absolute favourite authors. But I must add that I wondered if it was appropriate too. For you see, I am also one of his students from the Class of 2001 at Aoraki Polytechnic and for just a moment I considered how appropriate it was for me to even dare to review – the student and the Master.
All this became so much easier as I began reading. I will admit to a tiny frisson of trepidation in the beginning as I adjusted to the tone, the conventions of the time, the densely packed yet beautifully rendered historical details to set the scene.
But this trepidation was very quickly supplanted by delight and admiration as I became absorbed into the life of William Larnach as told by his third wife Constance and his youngest son Douglas, (known affectionately to each other as Conny and Dougie). This is not a novel in which the plot is a grand secret but it is a recreation of the scandal and tragedy that befell the Larnachs. Marshall has bravely re-imagined a grand passion amid the constraints and conventions of another century, indeed a scandal that in any century would set tongues wagging.
The novel builds upon meticulous historical details of the time, including the relationship between William Larnach and Richard John Seddon, down to acute observations of their character, ambitions and rivalry, the petty social side-shows and the more pressing political dramas of the day. It is a riveting recreation of a particular era and brings to bear Marshall’s acute observations (as always) on human character.
That this novel manages to be so much the story of Connie and Dougie and yet too remains intensely, the story of William Larnach, is a tribute to the skill of the author. The reader could so easily have been distracted by the growing relationship between William Larnach’s son and his third wife and lost sympathy for William, or even vice versa. But somehow, with great affection and attention to detail, Marshall has re-created a grand passion that impels the reader to feel great empathy and understanding for everyone and deliciously, to be transported into the joy and truth of love.
Ah, and there is more. This is good sex. How hard it is to write well about sex. Although constrained by the mores of the time, the conventions and the language, somehow Marshall has managed to write well of an intense, intimate and achingly physical relationship in loving detail that remains within the language conventions of the time and dare I say it, manages to be erotic, without being distasteful.
When I was a student in the Class of 2001 at Aoraki Polytechnic, I was working in the recruitment industry where we relied on superlatives to market our candidates and I was free with such language and expected to hear it in return. But there were no ‘greats’, or ‘excellents’ in the Class of Timaru’s Chekhov. It was here in this class that I learned to lean inwards, to listen carefully and to be glad of a simple ‘good’. There were three levels of good, and our class learned to discriminate and decode which good was which and we knew when we heard the slightly longer, with a rising inflection, that indeed, we had produced a piece of 'good' work.
And so, to demonstrate rather than to squander superlatives, I will alert you to what I believe are examples of the very, very, ‘good’ writing in this novel.
The sly humour (as always):
This is Conny speaking after an accident in the buggy with her husband William and they were taken in by strangers to change clothes and recover. “Mrs Driffel remained with me throughout, commenting on the garments effusively: In other circumstances I would have asked to be left alone to dress, but felt under some obligation….She was born in Waterford, she told me, came out as a servant and had three proposals of marriage before the ship landed, with better ones to follow. Judging by the appearance of her husband, the earlier men must have been markedly unprepossessing.”
The precision of his prose:
‘Marriage to William has disclosed no particular unpleasant side to his nature, but I must admit to some disappointment in the relationship we have in private.’
Acute observation of character:
‘There was a terrible fire at Cargill’s following the Otago Anniversary Ball of ’92 and although Edward rebuilt, it has not regained its former splendor. He told me that the times were very different and indulgence could not be justified again. Much of considerable beauty was destroyed. William was sympathetic, yet could not repress a sense of smugness that misfortune had passed him by.’
And of love:
‘The sun, the sea, the opportunity for us to talk with complete openness, and for the first time, the relaxation that comes from having enjoyed each other utterly.’
‘I especially noticed the smallness of her hands, the pale wrists barely thicker than the ivory shaft of a riding crop.’
Historical detail:
Conny on travelling to Brisbane Exhibition with William and Douglas … ‘More than three thousand staghorn, birds’-nest and elkhorn ferns, and untold numbers of palms, orchids and potted plants.
the building of ‘The Camp’ (Larnach Castle).
Dougie recalling the good times when ‘The Camp’ was being built… ‘It wasn’t just people that Father gathered from afar for his great enterprise, but materials too: heart kauri from the Far North, fire bricks from Glasgow, Belgian marbles tiles, flagstones from Edinburgh, Marseilles cobblestones for the stables, Welsh slate, Arabian rugs, Italian marble baths and Venetian glass’
And of sorrow:
One of the Maid’s at the Castle on learning of the death (well, I shan’t say of whom readers already familiar with the story of the Larnachs will know)… ‘She put her hands to her hair, shook her head as if assailed by a swarm of bees, and sobbed.’
Oh, it is a very good read (think good with a long slow emphasis on the vowel sounds and a marked rising at the end of the word). Actually, I venture to say, I am certain that this is his very best novel. So, snuggle up by the fire or a glowing heater, entrust yourself to the master storyteller, and go back into the history (imagined and real) of one of our more famous founding families, and of course ‘The Camp’.
Footnote:
Footnote:
Maggie Rainey-Smith (right) is a Wellington-based author and regular reviewer on Beattie's Book Blog. She is also Chair of the Wellington branch of the NZ Society of Authors.
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