Quills and Frills-12/13/2014 Wayward, Image Comics

Aleathia says:

Yes folks, it is time for another great comic book from Image Comics.  I recently picked up the first 4 issues of a new series called Wayward.  This comic features stories by Jim Zub (of Samurai Jack and Skullkickers fame) with line art by Steve Cummings (who has worked on Elektra, The Flash, and Deadshot) and color by Tamra Bonvillain (lighting it up for Blackout, Curse, Sleepyhollow, and Penny Dora and the Wishing Box).

Wayward is a great story about a half Irish, half Japanese girl that leaves her father's home in Ireland to live with her mother in Tokyo.  She has bright red hair and muddles through her understanding of her mother's native tongue.  It is a story about trying to fit in where you feel you don't belong.

The great twists and turns come when the girl, Rori, finds out she has a special gift...a supernatural power...that leads her to find others in Tokyo that are different thus finding a way to fit in together. The story weaves in a lot of great myth and folklore that is native to Japan and at the end of each comic Zack Davisson, a scholar of Japanese Folklore, gives an understanding of the current issues myth and any creatures that make their way onto the pages.

If you love a more traditional looking anime, but also love the new world of color and fantastical themes then this is the series for you.  I eagerly await the new issue.

OM-12/7/2014 Worrying Changes Very Little, Dalai Lama

Aleathia says:

Everyday is a learning experience.  Every moment I understand who I am in this life.  The navigation is difficult despite trying to make it smooth; despite best efforts.  I often turn to my faith when I feel the wheel of suffering spinning.  It spins constantly, but sometimes I have run so fast in circles that I notice it and have to stop.  I have to grab the brass ring and get off the go round.

"Because of our worries and our grieving and our self-inflicted torment, God takes away nothing at all.  We must pray about it."--Paul Gerhardt, German poet.

Dalai Lama:

"That is a beautiful thought.  For us, this means: if there are worries that we can do something about, then there is no reason to despair.  But if there is nothing we can change, then despair will not help.  So why should we worry if a problem can be solved?  If there is a solution, then we don't have to be afraid.  But when something cannot be changed, then we must yield to it.  Worrying just takes away necessary strength.  It is useless.  I usually follow this rule:  hope for the best and be prepared for the worst......When a hope is not fulfilled, this is not a catastrophe.  Life with its many possibilities goes on, and other wishes are fulfilled.  If we put all our eggs in one basket, then a failure may cause us to fall into a deep despair and depression, or we may even take our life out of disappointment.  But with the right attitude, no one needs to be this hopeless."

Quills and Frills-12/6/2014 Black Science

Aleathia says:

As you may know I have recently gotten back into the comic scene.  It was something I enjoyed as a kid and then again in my 20's.  I didn't read the usual fare, but enjoyed things like Night Breed and Wild Palms.  If it was dark and maybe on the fringe, I enjoyed it.  The 90's was a bit of a fade out for comics and then it was uncool to be a nerd for the longest time, but god damn if I'm not totally excited that the nerd nation has risen again!!

The problem I am having is there are so many damn awesome comics out right now that I can't catch up or keep up.  I am reading one now called Black Science.  It was created by Rick Remender with art by Matteo Scalera.  I am telling you.  I have no idea what the hell is going on in my brain when I read this.  There is science fiction and real science....dudes speaking in alien languages, German and English.  There is a breech in the time space continuum.  There is blood and guts and jaded love.

You can find this gem of a series on Image Comics.  Yes, I am an Image Comics whore at this point. They are producing some spectacular work.  I have loads more to read in the Black Science series as well as a ton of titles that my better half has squirreled away in the office.  More to come!

Art Bomb-12/5/2014 George Grosz

Aleathia says:

On my most recent travel excursion to Rochester, I had the opportunity to visit the Memorial Art Gallery in the East End neighborhood.  It was a nice little gallery and in the coming weeks I will be featuring some of the artists that I saw while I was there.  There were 18-20 artists that I had never seen before so investigating their work is a pleasure.  I love finding new art!

George Grosz is a German born painter (1893-1959) who is known for his caricatures of Berlin in the 1920's.  He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada movement as well as New Objectivity before he emigrated to the United States in 1933.

Grosz was bitterly opposed to the Nazi movement in his country and left Germany before Hitler came to power.  In 1933 he was invited to teach the summer at the Art Students League of New York. After that summer he returned to Germany for his family and then emigrated.  He taught at the League permanently until 1955.

In 1959, Grosz decided he wanted to visit his homeland and returned to Germany.  While in Berlin he fell down the stairs after a night of drinking and died.

His original influences were expressionism and futurism as well as graffiti.  He drew Berlin city scenes until he emigrated and left those themes behind.  He eventually turned to landscapes and conventional nude painting.

Foodies-12/4/2014 White Chocolate-Cashew Coffee Biscotti

Aleathia says:

One of the great things about the holidays is that it gives you the opportunity to try out different kinds of cookies (my favorite!!!) and share them with others.  Holiday brings cookie swaps at work or with family and it is nice to bring something different than the normal favorites.

Today I am going to share a recipe for White Chocolate-Cashew Coffee Biscotti.  These dunkable wonders are also great to make as gifts as they keep pretty good when you pack them up as they are harder and dryer than most cookies which make them perfect for coffee or hot chocolate.  Let's get to it!

White Chocolate-Cashew Coffee Biscotti

1/2 cp granulated sugar
1/2 cp packed brown sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
2 1/2 cp all purpose flour
1/4 cp instant coffee granules
3 T unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cp dry roasted cashews, coarsely chopped

cooking spray

1 T granulated sugar
3 ounces premium white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife.  Combine flour, instant coffee, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in the cashews.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly 7 times.  Divide dough in half.  Shape each portion into a 12 inch long roll.  Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray and pat to 3/4 inch thickness.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes.  Remove rolls from baking sheet, cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.  Cut each roll diagonally into 21 (1/2 inch) slices.  Carefully stand slices upright on a baking sheet.  Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and bake 20 minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and cool completely.

Place chocolate in a small heavy duty zip lock bag.  Microwave on high for 1 minute or until chocolate is soft.  Knead bag until smooth.  Snip a tiny hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate over the biscotti.  Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

Lit Bits-12/3/2014 Grace Schulman

Aleathia says:

Grace Schulman is an American poet and academic born in New York City in 1935.  She studied at Bard College and graduated from American University in 1955.  She received her Phd in 1971 from New York University.

Her work has been published in highly regarded journals such as The Paris Review, The New Yorker, and Atlantic Monthly.  She was previously the Poetry Editor of the Nation from 1972-2006.  She was also the director of the Poetry Center 92nd Street Y from 1973-1985.

She has published seven collections of poetry with the most recent one out in 2013 called "Without a Claim: Poems".


The Button Box

A sea animal stalked its prey
slithering under her bed, and gorged
on buttons torn from castaways;
ever unsated, it grew large

until it became a deity
spewing out buttons in a fire
of brass for blazers, delft or ruby
for shirts--and dangerous.  You'd hear

it snarl when the beds were being made.
It ate stray pins and shot out poison.
But mother, who stuffed its wooden frame,
scooped up waterfalls of suns,

enamel moons, clocks, cameos,
carved pinwheels, stars, tiny "Giottos,"
peacocks strutting out at sundown,
FDR's profile, flags of Britain,

steel helmets, each with a mission.
Mother sewed ballerinas set
in circles on your satin dress,
onyx buttons that would join

you, collar-to-hood, at graduation;
she would find in the creature's lair
"bones" of an army officer,
"pearls" of a war bride's dressing gown;

nights when the radio hissed dive bombers
my mother dreamed that she could right
the world again by making sure
you had your buttons, sewed on tight.

Music Monday-12/01/14 Neil Young

John Says:

A month or so ago I started really listening to Neil Young. I was never real Neil fan. That’s not to say I don’t like Neil. I’ve had After the Goldrush and Harvest in my music collection for years. I never really advanced further than those albums. I have no explanation for this other than Neil Young kind of slipped off the radar for me when I was younger and finding those guys like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. There was enough of a back catalog between those two and, of course, limited financial resources to purchase, thus shoving good ol’ Neil in the backseat of one of his classic Cadillacs.

This fall as the leaves fell and every jackass in Brooklyn reached for their spiced lattes and scarves, I reached for my singer-songwriters. I went the rounds with Dylan for a bit. Then some early Bruce, and even took long walks with Ryan Adams and his great new album. One morning I threw on After the Goldrush by Neil Young, and something between he and I clicked. I spent a good week toggling between that album and Harvest. Then I went CD shopping.

One of the great things about you sheep becoming completely consumed by the trappings of the digital world is that guys like me, left back here in the dust, get to reap all of the benefits. While real music stores in NYC seem to be converting their standard stock to specialty CDs and vinyl, most places have been adding used sections. Those sections have been growing at enormous rates with people selling off their stuff and continuing to rely more on hard drive storage or corporate clouds to keep their vast and varied musical collections (oh Christ how I pray for a solar flare). These used sections have become filled with all of the classical rock albums that I had always been unable to purchase at the full-rate.

I figure since this is the Christmas Season and this is America, you all would appreciate hearing how much something cost over its aesthetic value. What the increase in used music stores/sections means for me now is that when I get on a music jag a basic trip to the music store can feel like Christmas morning. Lately I’ve been able to go out and find a number of Neil Young albums at prices hovering between $2-$8 depending on the album.

On the Beach and Tonight’s the Night have become quick new favorites of mine. I love On the Beach’s slick viperish take on the California rock scene and maybe the mid-70s in general. Its one of those 3 a.m. albums. Tonight’s the Night with its ragged, tuneless, junky ode has become a must-listen during those five mile morning walks to the job. Most of the other albums I found on the cheap are: Freedom, Silver and Gold, Prairie Wind, Chrome Dreams II, Fork in the Road, Le Noise, Comes a Time, Ragged Glory, Harvest Moon, and Are You Passionate?

It’s been a mixed bag of classic Neil and later, questionable Neil, something a novice listener, such as myself, has already picked up on.  But Neil Young has been a great addition to some of those records that keep a guy together on lonely, long walks when he’s already got too much on his mind. The voice in those lyrics are able to reach out to me in ways that, as a forty year-old man, I didn’t think possible with music any more. I’m glad that I didn’t find Neil Young back when I was eighteen or twenty, and really struggling to make sense of things…as if I got it all under control now, right? As you age it becomes harder and harder to find those things that really impress themselves upon you. Jobs are dull. Most people are dull. Time just kind of sits there. For me it’s been great to get up and out in the morning with a new voice ringing in my head as these leaves keep falling, and another three-hundred-and-sixty-five limp on their way to calling it a game.