Poetry from Tony GlamorTramp LeTigre

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Yes, This is a Metaphor
 
Although we certainly need traffic lights—
consider the carnage that would ensue without them!—
I can’t help noticing that the number of pedestrians
who stop at a crosswalk in a glazed-eye stupor,
waiting mindlessly for it to change even when there are no cars in sight,
greatly outnumbers those who rely on their own brain & senses 
to tell them when it’s OK to cross; it would appear
that thinking for oneself is a bit passé, perhaps deemed
“more trouble than it’s worth”;  
if so, I must dissent
 
—Tony GlamorTramp LeTigre

Poetry by Neil Ellman

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Selfinity

(Roberto Matta Echaurren, painting)

Selfinity, 1995. http://www.nordstamp.com/artists.dir/matta1.html

Selfinity, 1995

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Infinity, self

the self in infinite shapes

of past, present and future selves

never quite themselves

yet always somehow

the same

as if the self = mc2

constant, eternal and infinite

as if there were only

a single time and space

in which the self

transcends its place

in the infinity of its time.

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Elizabeth Hughes’ Book Periscope

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Adina Sara’s Blind Shady Bend

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Blind Shady Bend is a wonderfully warm novel that will make you want to curl up in your favorite chair with a cup of hot tea or cocoa. It is perfect for this time of year as a gift or for yourself. Even though the story doesn’t take place during Christmas, I think it is the perfect book to read on a cold winter night. The characters come to life and you feel as if you know them. It is about Hannah, who gets a registered letter informing her she has inherited her deceased brother’s estate. She had no idea he had even died since she had not seen or heard from him in many years.  When she goes out to see the land, she finds a ramshackle house on overgrown property. Her life changes once she meets her neighbors. I know you will love this book as much as I have. This is a book that you will want to read over and over.

 Rea Nolan Martin’s The Anesthesia Game

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WOW!! This is an absolutely breathtakingly deep book. It is mystical, suspenseful and exciting. The Anesthesia Game will not disappoint and will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat page after page after page. It is the story of a teen who has cancer and is undergoing chemo. Her mother and father are finding it very hard to cope with it. Her father stays away working most of the time, while the mother has checked out mentally, emotionally and nearly physically. She consults a psychic, who winds up being an important part of Syd’s recovery. The mother’s sister does not believe or approve of the mother consulting the psychic. Then everyone starts having the same dreams of living in the past as other characters who also have sick children. The psychic tries to find the right amount of energy in her quest to heal the child. You will be riveted to your seat reading The Anesthesia Game. This is definitely a must read. I absolutely love the book and I am sure you will too.

Joy Coates’ Integrity

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Integrity is a fantasy novel that is a must have for the fantasy lover. I absolutely loved the book. It will keep you excited page after exciting page all the way to the end. It is the story of Audra Ketchum who recently moved to the small town of Integrity. She has found a job at Van Campe’s Antique shop. When Audra is doing the inventory and moving things around, she finds an old book that has become wet from a leak in the ceiling. She takes the book home to dry it out and read the history of Integrity. If you love stories of gargoyles and magic, this is just the book for you. Buy it today for yourself or for as a gift for the fantasy lover you know!

Charles Markee’s Maria’s Beads

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Maria’s Beads is the perfect gift for a middle school child. it is about a selfless girl who has a very sick friend. Maria proves what true friendship is when she finds out the girl’s parents refuse to call a doctor. she tries to convince the adults around her that her friend needs help. she s the perfect example of true friendship and being selfless in a world of messages that teach kids just the opposite. this is the perfect gift for your child, a friend, a school classroom or the school library. I absolutely loved the book and know you will too.
Jennifer Ott’s Desperate Moon
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If you like vampire stories, you will absolutely love Desperate Moon. it is, in my opinion a different and unique vampire book. It is the story of Katerina, who was turned into a vampire 600 years ago. She marries an army colonel in the 1800’s who loves fighting and war more than anything else. She meets a doctor who very much interested in the research of blood related diseases. He begins studying her blood when he notices she heals very quickly.This book will grab your attention and imagination. You will feel as you are with Katerina as she tells the story of her life for the past 600 years. She has learned much and gained great knowledge of people and the lives they have lived. I loved this book because it is not your typical vampire book. it is exciting and very deep. It will keep you riveted page after page to the very end.

Christopher Bernard reviews the Rude Mechs’ Cal Performances theater show Stop Hitting Yourself

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The Rude Mechs theater troupe

The Rude Mechs theater troupe

HEY AMERICA! STOP HITTING YOURSELF

Stop Hitting Yourself

Rude Mechs

Zellerbach Playhouse

November 19–22, 2015

A review by Christopher Bernard

Cal Performances brought Austin, Texas’s zany theater collective Rude Mechs to Berkeley for a weekend of their 2014 New York hit. And a hit it was, hitting me, at first silly, then awake, with its brainy provocations, savage wit, and the cruel tickle of truth.

The show is an inspired combination of a classic Hollywood musical, a pithy allegory on contemporary mores, sudden outbreaks of wacked-out dance routines, witty seductions into audience participation, moments of unexpected confessions by the cast, and a fable on the inner conflict, at the heart of American life, between today’s brutal culture of narcissism, rapacity and greed and ancient ideals of selfless love, kindness to neighbors, the sanctity of nature and the basic decency of the common man and woman.

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Poetry from Michael Robinson

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Angels

Angels come to mind when I’m alone,
When something seems to have gone wrong in my life,
The words fold like a chair, and I whisper to God.
There’s something in the wind that gives me hope,
Perhaps it’s their wings that open and close,
Giving me comfort as I sleep.

Poet’s Life  

I have to write,
Or I will die
A empty death,
A soulless death.
But when the words,
Come alive on the screen,
Rising from a deep sleep,
I’m rescued from a wasted life.
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Kimberly Brown reviews Linda Baron-Katz’ memoir Surviving Mental Illness: My Story

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What can you say about a woman who was created to take the world by storm, but who was faced with family difficulties from her youth that plagued her through her teenage and adult years. Still, giving up on herself, her family, and her life never became an option for her.

Though affected by mental illness as a youth and into her young adulthood, Linda learned to advocate for herself in ways that not only made her feel like a whole human being, but also led to her becoming an overcomer and a strong advocate for others with mental illness. Through bouts with psychosis, the loss of love interests and close family members, including her own mother, she made sound decisions to keep herself surrounded with people who could help her fashion her mind into a healthy state in times of crisis.

For Linda, being dually diagnosed with more than one mental illness was in short a heavy blow. However, she relied on professional therapists and psychiatrists and medication to guide and heal her on her way to recovery. Recovery became possible for Linda and she found love and married someone who also lives with a mental illness. Her supportive marriage helped give her the strength to face death in her family, shame and loneliness. Linda used her intelligence and determination and what she had learned from certain life experiences to help her to overcome many of the mental illnesses that had plagued her thoughts for far too long. Due to Linda’s breakthrough with her mental illness, she is now able to give back to the world and to many others who are also suffering. She shows us in her memoir that mental illness is not a death sentence nor is a diagnosis a reason to crawl up in a hole and rot and die. Linda shows us that there are resources for those in that situation, as entire professions specialize in helping people with mental illness.

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Kimberly Brown reviews Linda Baron-Katz’ Peter and Lisa

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Peter & Lisa

A Mental Illness Children’s story

By Charles Katz & Linda Baron Katz

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To every problem in life there is always a great resolution.

In this small read about two people battling two different mental illnesses, we can see that it’s not a death sentence and nothing to be ashamed of but it is a most common thing that occurs in many humans: men, women, boys and girls. I think that anyone who is suffering from a sick mind, unwanted feelings or thoughts but who is able to recognize these abnormal feelings and thoughts is already on the road to recovery.

Mental illness is something that many people are ashamed of. For many people mental illness can be apart of their genetic makeup, or developed during traumatic life events and occurrences, or through one’s environment and life experiences. This book shows us how two brave individuals had the courage to seek help after struggling with mood swings and sadness for long periods of time. After proper medical treatment these two characters in the book, Peter and Lisa, were able to live healthy and normal lives.

Through self-awareness and education, the battles that many humans face with mental illness can be won. People can go on to live healthy lifestyles with the support of medicine, family and supportive friends. People with mental illness or who have suffered from them in the past can go on to live productive and healthy lives.

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