Book Review: Come on In! New Poems by Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski, a now world-renowned American poet known for his alcohol fueled escapades and trysts wrote over six novels and two thousand poems. Bukowski passed away in 1994 known as the United States most imitated poet and the voice of the working lower class.
The "Barfly Poet" has risen in popularity since his death and in response a collection of over six volumes of poetry have been released, assembled from findings within the authors home and private collections.

Come on in! is one of the last collections to be released to the public and contains in my opinion some of the best poems Bukowski had ever written. The book spans 284 pages and contains 320 poems. To those new to the authors style Come On In! continues in the fashion of it's predecessors, nihilism and romance being the main topics discussed in short simple prose.
The highlight of the read was for me was easily the last poem in the book, which was written just before the author died. As a dedicated fan of Bukowski's work to read the last known poem of such a vast body of work was in itself staggering.

Come On In! explores the end of the prolific authors life and takes the reader down a dark and lonesome road often times questioning their perception of what it truly means to live a quality life and the goodness of human nature as a whole.

Becca Music Review

Becca Hollcraft better known as just Becca is a 20year old "rocker chick". Her music may be somewhat new here in the U.S, but she was a multi-media star in Japan while she was a teenager. Recently she is trying to conquer her home country and is releasing a new CD called I'm Alive!.

Her current single is called I'm Alive!. The artist may have a young punk look to her but her songs show her true maturity. The song I'm Alive! is about living life to the fullest after dealing with the death of one of her close friends. The single has a upbeat punk rock sound to it. The song is an enjoyable song to listen to, and sounds like something you could find on the radio. The song has a good message behind it and is catchy. The singer already has a huge fan base in Japan, and with songs like I'm Alive! she is sure to be a hit her in the states. Personally I would rate this song a 3 out of 5 (1 being the worst,and 5 being the best). I believe the song itself is a well done song, but its more of a girly rock kind of song. If I had to compare it to any other artist I would say a young Avril Lavigne.

To check out her music you can either buy her CD I'm Alive, or check out her official website-

http://www.beccaoffical.com/

Hunger for More - Knut Hamsen's most Disturbing Psychological Novel

"A true classic of modern literature-and a forerunner of the psychologically driven fiction..." is just the Paul Auster would describe the disturbing mind bending novel that is Hunger. Written by Knut Hamsun, a Norwegian novelist, poet and playright comes this psychologically perplexing story driven by a struggling middle aged writer whose name is never revealed. Living on the border line of poverty in Christiana, Norway, the avid writer becomes perturbed with his inability to sell his works to a local newspaper. He wanders the streets in dire need of money, encouraging every bystander to purchase one of his whimsically dark tales. However, his proclivity to starve his mind and body hinders his ability to produce a remotely attractive fiction. The artists begins to digress into a realm of starvation and paranoia which fittingly allow him to create epics of madness, that revolve heavily around desparity and melancholic antithesis of the self. He seems to lose touch with reality altogether in this tale, enabling him to discover new ways of thinking and interpreting the world around him. The passerby's on the streets are stricken with either fear or confusion at the unnamed narrator who, upon this, subsequently realizes that he has in fact lost any sense of logical reasoning.

As his body and his mind transcend into sheer madness and dilusion, the writer's life becomes almost like that of a movie in that it begins to work in sequences. He finds himself constantly panhandling for bread and butter and lives with a pregnant, employed woman who is discontented with his behavior as well as his inability to present her with any form of currency in order to pay off his rent for the month. He is exiled to the streets after pure dissatisfaction and anger from the woman where he takes to writing once more. His distorted reality persists as he then begins to notice a woman who appears at a street light night after night. He disregards this strange figure who seems to stand completely unmoving dressed in a melancholic color of black each night until he musters up the courage to approach her. From there he learns that this woman has been watching him night after night observing his somewhat bipolar tendencies. As the narrator progresses with this woman, it appears obvious that this woman possessed an alterior motive. He realizes that she does not love him for who he actually is and that his grubby appearance has prohibited him any chance of gaining an actual relationship with this woman. After assessing his options, he decides that he wants nothing to do with her and rids immediately. He returns to his writing where his deepest discrepancies lies. He seems unable to fixate on one singular topic and finds himself cursing in the cool night air at his stupidity.

The interesting concept, is that this novel includes both sides of this man's personality that intertwine with his adventures in Christiana. The reader observes both the tangible propensities of the wayward artist as well as the disturbing behavior and treatment he bestows upon certain people. It is both melancholic and joyous to read as his perception of reality becomes an experience that takes hold of his own life. He continues to write stories and even conjures up a uni-character play in which he indulges in for days on end. His goal becomes his life as he beomces enveloped in this grueling race, with hunger inexorably prevailing. Knut Hamsun has written a novel in which the character finds himself in a constant battle not only with hunger, but with his own reality. It is strange that the character would have the desire to continue this starvation after he experiences the mental effects and the drastic mood swings it bodes upon him however, he is fiercely persistent in his efforts to complete the anecdote of perfection.

Towards the end of the story,the character decides to get on board a ship and sail to the city of Cadiz for reasons that are still unknown. It shows the desire to part from Christiana and to learn something new about himself as well as the world around him. This is an excellent take on the psychological paranoia that hunger can cause. One may lose complete touch with reality, but there is an underlying tone of amusement and curiosity behind the dilusionment. Knut Hamsun did a wonderful job in intricately constructing a storyline through which the reader asks for more on each page. He leaves us with nothing to trust but our own ethical judgment on whether or not this character is madly insane or a veiled literary genius. In order to decide for yourself, I recommend that you read this psychologically cryptic tale.

Teen Driver Charged in Canton Hit-and-Run

According to courant.com, in last month's hit-and-run accident on Dowd Avenue, Canton police have made an arrest. The accident severely injured a seven year old girl. Deputy Police Chief Donald Hull says that 18-year-old Leontina Scanlon confessed to her involvement in the incident. She has been charged with not taking responsibility and has been released on bond. She will appear in court next month.

Woman Struck By Car, Seriously Injured

According to courant.com, police are looking for the driver of a car that hit a 34-year-old woman in Hartford. The accident happened on Tuesday morning, right on Blue Hills Avenue. According to police, the woman's car broke down in the northbound lane at about 6:15 am and she was walking to the back of the vehicle where she was hit by a car that didn't stop. The Farmington woman was found lying in the road by a person passing by, who called police. The woman has been taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, which is in Hartford and was in stable condition. Anyone who has information about the accident are asked to call Windsor police at 860-688-5273.

Music Review: Dave Matthews Band, "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King"

Since forming in 1991, Dave Matthews Band has pumped out album upon album of catchy tunes. While perhaps better known for their massive radio hits "Crash Into Me", "The Space Between", and "Where Are You Going", DMB has gathered quite the following along with their massive catalog. The most recent album, "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" has taken their work to the next level.

Known for their unorthodox time signatures and intricate guitar/fiddle/saxophone harmonies, Dave Matthews Band does not disappoint in "Big Whiskey". From the very first track, "Shake Me Like A Monkey", the trademark energy draws in the listener and grabs their attention. For me, my attention was never lost throughout the 13-song album.

The driving opening track leads into "Funny the Way it is", a song which serves as their only single off the album so far. From here, the album takes the listener on a journey through many different genres, tones, and time signatures (particularly in my favorite song "Seven" during which the band experiments with a 7/4 time signature."

These days, it becomes a rare oddity to find an album you can listen to all the way through and truly enjoy each and every track. "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King" is without a doubt one of these amazing rock albums. Each song stands out on its own, but also contributes to the greater piece of art: the album as a whole. This album will be in my car CD player for months to come. Without a doubt: 5/5.

RHAM Bands Prepare for Disney Trip

With the long awaited trip to Walt Disney World only days away, the RHAM High School Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Bands are making sure to tie up all the loose ends before their departure next Tuesday the 16'th.

This week, the Symphonic and Wind Ensembles will be meeting on two evenings to make all of the proper last minute preparations. The meeting on Tuesday the 9'th is a student/parent Q&A seminar that will serve as a forum for parents to ask any final pressing questions about the trip. Information such as itineraries and information about the parks will be passed out at this meeting.

The following evening, Wednesday the 10'th, will serve as the final after-school rehearsal for the RHAM bands. Because about only half of each band is attending the trip, the music department decided to combine the two bands into one larger "Disney Band". Thus, the two bands needed extra time after school to mold their separate classes into one performing unit. This practice will serve as the second of two such rehearsals.

With the trip getting closer and closer, students are beginning to become more and more excited. Being the first band trip since Virgina Beach in 2008, students and teachers alike will be sure to enjoy themselves as they relax by the pool this February break.

Two Planes Collide

According to cnn.com

In Boulder, Colorado, two planes collieded in mid air. On one side of the collision was single seat plane that was towing a glider with a pilot and two passengers, on the other side of the collision was another small passenger plane. The captain of the single seat plane unfortunately did die, however the people on board the glider were able to disconnect from the plane before the collision and land safely on the ground all thanks to the quick thinking pilot. On the other small passenger plane two people died. According to eyewitness Jennifer Rodi the accident was described as "immediate disintegration and explosion of both planes,". The aviation administration is currently involved in investigating the incident.

To watch footage of the accident visit : http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/06/colorado.plane.collision/index.html

Movie Review: Mystery Team

Mystery Team is an independent film written and produced by the creative minds behind the sketch comedy group Derreck Comedy. The story follows three high school seniors who part time as kid detectives in the style of encyclopedia brown. In "The Mystery Team" once respected child detectives struggle to gain respect in the adult world while still sticking to their innocent childhood ways.

After being requisitioned by an eight year old girl to solve the murder of her parents the team is thrown head first into one dangerous situation after another, their oblivious nature making for a series of laugh out loud encounters with the criminal world.

Donald Glover, the story's "Master of Disguise" steals the show with a hilarious performance. Every scene with Glover in it left me laughing harder then the previous one.

Mystery Team is an oddball comedy that is extremely well written, acted, and shot and is a must see for anyone in the mood to laugh.
5/5

Doctors Amputate the Wrong Foot

86 year old Jorge Villanueva had a serious infection on his right foot. Doctors in Lima, Peru found it necessary to perform a emergency amputation in order to prevent the infection from spreading. Unfortunately, the doctors mistakenly removed his left foot only to realize the awful mistake they had made. The following day a second surgery was scheduled that left Villanueva without any feet. Health Minister Oscar Ugarte asked for an investigation and the doctors involved in this incident have been suspended until the investigation is over. The Villanueva family intends to sue, according to Carmen Villanueva, the daughter of Jorge Villanueva.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-01-25-Peru_N.htm

Music Review: Okay Go : Of The Blue Color Of The Sky

Okay Go burst into music stardom with the debut of their abstract music video for "Here it goes again" in 2006. While the band had relative fame for multiple years proceeding the premiere it launched them from obscurity to winning an emmy for best short form music video.

Their newest album "Of The Blue Color Of the Sky" takes the band in an entirely new direction, straying from their power-pop roots and moving closer toward a sound derivative of Animal Collective. This change will most likely seem shocking to fans of the band's previous material as it sounds almost nothing like it's predecessors, however this is not necessarily a bad thing.
The bands new melodic and sometimes trance-like new sound is a welcomed addition to their musical library. Opening with the song "WTF" the aforementioned new sound is made evident and sets the stage for a musically colorful album driven by hypnotic guitar parts and echoed and distant vocal parts.

"Of The Blue Color Of the Sky" is an easy and pleasent listen and an interesting change of pace for an already quality band.
4/5

Movie Review: From Paris With Love

From Paris With Love stars John Travolta as a zany loose cannon american intelligence agent and his much less adventurous partner French agent (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). The film is a thrill ride from beginning to end and has no qualms with shoving one action packed set piece to the next down your throat. While this is not necessarily a bad thing if you're in the mood for a constant adrenaline rush the movie leaves a lot to be desired if you hoped for something even a tad more substantial.

John Travolta's character Charlie Wax is supposed to come across as witty and charming but as the movie goes on moves closer towards "grating" then anything else.To his credit Rhys Meyers pulls his weight alongside a HollyWood star such as Travolta. There is no denying that From Paris With Love's special effects and stunts are top notch and if you come expecting nothing more, expect to leave very satisfied.

However rating a movie as a good film versus a good action film are two totally different things and given the movies general lack of substance and often hackneyed comedic moments it doesn't rate extremely high
3/5

RHAM Leos Go To Connecticut's LEO Conference

On Saturday, February 6th, nine LEOS as well two of the club advisors went to the annual Connecticut LEO's Conference in Southbury. The conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and several of new and old LEO's groups were in attendence. The conference had some icebreaker activities to socialize with the other groups and a police officer came to talk at the conference about internet safety. Governor Jodi Rell made an unannounced visit to the conference and after making a small speech to the group, she was presented with a small beamer by the president of the Montville LEO club. The Connecticut LEOS Conference was a total success.

LEOS is the youth arm of the Lion Club International.

MIddletown Power Plant explosion

At 11:17 on Sunday in Middletown Connecticut the Kleen energy systems plant experienced a very serious explosion, entire portions of the building were blown away. There are at least 100 injured and two confirmed fatalities. The authorites have not yet found the source of the explosion.

According to: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585040,00.html

Entertainment Review: Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2, the sequel to BioWare's critically acclaimed Mass Effect(2007)in true sequel style, attempts to address the complaints lodged against the first game and in turn create a new and better game. On some levels the game achieves these lofty goals such as the augmented story line and amount of narrative archive material available for the player to read at their leisure. However as a fan of the first game I noticed some sizable changes that were not only irritating but served as a step backwards in the games mechanics.

For one, the weapons system present in the original Mass Effect has been extirpated and replaced with an extremely simplistic and frustratingly conventional one. While I can understand the desire to reduce the learning curve for more casual players by no means do I believe BioWare was justified in taking what would have otherwise been an intricate and entertaining system and dumbing it down.

Another less grave addition to the new game is the in game ship's refueling system, which forces you to spend money to purchase fuel if you travel a certain distance. without a navigation system of any kind traveling from one system to another was frustrating enough on it's own in the original. With the addition of the new refueling system the task of going anywhere often prompted me to take breaks from playing to subdue my frustration.

Where Mass Effect 2 does succeed is in it's storyline, which has been completely overhauled for the sequel. The most notable addition is the plethora of new races, locations and unbelievable amount of text sources all made available to the player early on. Being a developer known for their mastery in creating RPG's(Role Playing Games) it comes as no surprise that BioWare included so much additional backstory if only for fan service.

Overall the gameplay in Mass Effect 2 is solid. The gun play is a step above the previous entry despite the weapons system being scaled down and the graphics and voice work are all top notch. I can honestly say that Mass Effect 2 is a quality title however I wonder if it would be as well received having not been a follow up to such a block buster game.
4/5

Look Whats Between the Bread

Today in America obesity is a huge crisis. With all the fast food restaurants that we have it is just making the problem worse. It is not just the Big Macs at McDonalds or the Whoppers at Burger King it is also a lot of the sandwiches that we take for granted. These nutrition facts were pulled from the pages of the best selling weight-loss series "Eat This, Not That!" It shows all of the different sandwiches that people may portray as good for you but in the end it is just adding on a huge amount of calories to your diet. It shows that the famous meatball grinder at Subway has 1,160 calories, 46 grams of fat and 3,060 mg of sodium and that I just ate number five of the top ten worst sandwiches. According to "Eat This, Not That!" the worst sandwich in the world is the Cheesecake Factory Grilled Shrimp and Bacon Club with 1,930 calories, 24 grams of fat and 2,965 mg of sodium.

Although we all can enjoy splurging on restaurant food now and then, it's probably best to know the facts and do it in moderation.