Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect, A Novel by Rick Anderson Schuster
(Not to be confused with The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews)

Take A River Runs Through It, explode it into a dizzying mix of interlocking puzzle pieces indescribably reshaped into vague flashes of certain and uncertain intangibilities, and you have Rick Schuster’s covertly personal novel about coming-of-age on the Jersey shore, Butterfly Effect. Ken Rossi is a middle-aged swim instructor who once aspired to Olympic stardom but is now a high school gym teacher, ever wondering if he had what it takes but failed to apply himself.

Scouts had acknowledged his natural ability, sowing his imagination with seeds of a golden future. Had he not achieved a citation in Sport Illustrated? Now he wondered where the sidetracks began. Why had he failed to make the necessary sacrifices? When did he begin to realize the dream would never come true? When did his parents first recognize he’d been slacking? What were the emotions ripping their hearts that he never recognized?

The catalyst for Rossi’s self-reflective explorations is a fourteen-year-old Lizzie Norman who catches his eyes during a routine swim meet against Rahway. The teen swimmer has the moves and determination of a champion, the same kind of drive that once drove Rossi as a teen. What he doesn’t anticipate as their relationship unfolds is the manner in which she responds to his fatherly attentions.

It’s the little things that bind the two. Her broken family has filled the pool of her heart with saltwater tears, but his kindnesses instead of helping only serve to exacerbate her pain, becoming the very distraction he hoped she would not have to deal with.

Butterfly Effect explores a variety of sub-plots, including the roles of sports and scholastics in character formation, social posturing, the challenges of adolescence and the difficulty of identifying boundaries regarding appropriate and inappropriate behaviors in a post-modern age.

At times the narrative is a bit jumpy as the reader flashes back and forth between Rossi’s teen experiences and Lizzie Norman’s present struggles. It seems the author was striving to reinforce the parallels of their lives, from different locker room viewpoints.

SPOILER ALERT

In the end, Rossi and Norman recognize too late the trap they’ve made for themselves. Both lack the willpower and energy to be proactive in their liberation. When the scandal hits the papers, Rossi realizes that the whole of it began with a single harsh look by his father when he finished second in his first swim meet, a look that at the time he took wrong and only now begins to see in its true light.

Being from New Jersey I could relate to this story a Jersey teen on the edge of the Big Apple and the Big Pond, and the big world out there so near and yet so far away. The highest levels of competition involve pushing through pain thresholds that most of us shy away from. Butterfly Effect explores the internal pain thresholds we grapple with as well. Sometimes it’s just all too much.

If you enjoyed this fictional review of a fictional book, you might also enjoy The Breaking Point and Other Stories, available as an eBook for your Nook or Kindle.

In a Better World

Every once in a while in the very first sequence of a movie you get a strong sense that this is going to be an extraordinary film. It happened for me with Run, Lola, Run. It happened with There Will Be Blood. And yesterday, from the first, I knew that In a Better World would be a thought-provoking and painfully powerful film to watch, the kind of pain that comes from art. The opening film score and landscape shots alone conveyed that mix of beauty and pain which elevates it to something almost transcendent.

It's a Danish film directed by Susanne Bier, whom you may know from Things We Lost In the Fire and After the Wedding, films I've heard of but have not yet seen. The story takes place in Darfur, centering primarily on two families. It's a drama that looks at the problem of vengeance from an assortment of angles.

We meet Anton, the first main character, at a small outpost hospital where he is the doctor. A woman is rushed in with her stomach cut open and they begin the emergency surgery that they hope will save her. We hear that the "big man" did this, and the horror of it is this. The "big man" likes to take pregnant women and bet whether she is carrying a boy or a girl child. Then they cut her open to see if he won the bet.

Once you hear this story, you're almost certain that we'll be meeting the "big man" later in the film, and indeed we do.

Anton has a son Elias who is victimized by bullies in the school he attends. This son and a new friend named Christian will be a central piece in the story. Christian becomes the new kid in this tough school because his mother has died and father brought him to a new place. Like the bigger world where Anton's dad works, this bullying situation is a microcosm, with its own "big man"...

What is the response to these bullies? What is the response to violence? When Christian sees the school bully corner his friend Elias in a basement bathroom, he chooses violence to subdue the kid, and threatens him with a knife.

In another confrontation Anton attempts to teach the boys that there is an alternative to revenge. By turning the other cheek we demonstrate our strength and the other person's foolishness. This lesson doesn't sink home with the boys, however, and they make other choices in response to things going on.

This inadequate summary is meant to simply hint at the varieties of ways violence is examined in this film. The acting is top-notch, the pace is good, the story remarkable.

This is not the kind of film you will balance a checkbook to. Besides, much of it requires reading subtitles. It is the kind of film that will move you if you engage it. We live in a broken world. How do we respond to the violence that is tearing us apart?

Holiday Stress? Bring It On

Nearly every year around this time I post my brother's article about holiday stress and things you can do to alleviate it. The feedback I get has been evidence that the season isn't always jolly with ho-ho-hoes while we're decking the halls and splitting logs for the yule-tide fire. If you need a little encouragement in this regard, and a handful of practical wise words, read Dr. Ron Newman's Holiday Ups and Downs.

On the other hand, a few words in defense of holiday stress might be in order.

Stress, or the pressure that comes from responsibilities, isn't all bad. I'm not going to say it's fun. But it can be rewarding. Here are some examples.

We have made it annual tradition to write a Christmas letter that we send to friends and family. It updates them on what our children are doing and what we've been up to. There's a sense in which it keeps us connected to the people we care about, something which is healthy in a post-modern world where so many connections have been broken.

Even if you don't write a letter, just sending pictures or even a card requires addressing envelopes, staying organized, keeping current with addresses of people in your life. It takes time and could be perceived as a burden of sorts, but doing it has hidden benefits. One is that we're elevating this season in some way, marking the passing of a year by not letting it pass unmarked, unnoticed, just another season.

There are other things most of us do that we don't have to. We put up trees and lights, we go to parties, some spend an evening or afternoon visiting shut-ins and singing carols. And there's always the shopping that needs to be taken care of. If you're not in the right frame of mind, those lines can be stressful.

What I've found, though, is that years later the memories created by family traditions can comfort us like a warm blanket and hot cocoa. Here's an excerpt from an email I received yesterday from my daughter who is currently in China. You can see here the variety of traditions that were built into our family Decembers.

I really miss singing Christmas carols!!! ... I was just thinking of when we'd sing Christmas songs on the way to get the tree, and we'd sing Frosty the Snowman and we'd always get mixed up on the words. haha. Getting the Christmas tree and decorating it I think is my favorite Christmas tradition, the one I have most memories of... it was so special to all be together, singing, and being excited for Christmas... Christmas eve was always almost more exciting than Christmas, too, with the suspense of everything. watching A Christmas Carol as a family, reading together and putting out the cookies for Santa...

I share all this because even when the feelings aren't there -- you're tired or burned out or going through a hard time -- next year will probably be different. We don't scrap traditions because we're not in the mood. These traditions have hidden rewards and give continuity to ourselves and our families.

Please note: I do understand the emotions of those for whom the excessive commercializing of Christmas has become odious. The "reason for the season" was the birth of an infant born into a poor family in a stable, in a country oppressed by a foreign power. It's an almost crazy setting for the birth of king. And how that event turned into long lines at the mall I'm not quite sure.

All this to say that traditions have value. Each family benefits by shaping its traditions for another generation. It's a beautiful thing.

The Soothing Magical Power of Quiet Heart Music

This week I was prompted to think again about the power of music, especially its ability to console and soothe. These thoughts led me to pick up the phone and call a lifelong friend, Henry Wiens of Quiet Heart Music, whose piano CDs are designed purposefully to this end, to comfort and heal. Afterwards he passed along to me a recent letter from a "customer"... the kind of feedback that keeps him motivated to continue sharing his music. (Posted below.)

The trigger for all this was a USA Today article that included some interesting insights on this topic.

"Often, music therapy is more cost-effective than administering medication, especially for patients with anxiety, sleep disturbances or pain," says Al Bumanis, spokesman for the American Music Therapy Association.

A 2007 survey of U.S. health facilities by the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, along with the Joint Commission and Americans for the Arts, found that of the 1,923 facilities, 35% offered some type of music to patients.

Besides promoting relaxation and reducing stress, music therapy has been shown to affect sleep patterns, improve stroke patients' memories and decrease the amount of sedation medication needed for some patients.*

Here's the letter that Henry forwarded to me:

Henry,
I’ve been meaning to email you for a while but just getting around to it now. I hope you are well.

My mother had a rough summer as she progresses further into the depths of Alzheimer’s disease. She no longer can feed herself or walk. Most days she is unaware of her surroundings and gets agitated very easily with noise and multiple people in the same room. My sister and I tried many things to calm her and have her be more relaxed and peaceful. We bought a few soft animals for her to hold. A soft blanket for her lap, and then my sister remembered she had bought your CD at the Pittsburgh conference last year. Your music has been key to calming my mother. When we start the music she closes her eyes as if she is visualizing a green pasture and feeling a warm breeze. It’s amazing to watch the tension leave her face and her body relax.

I will be purchasing some CDs for the facility where my mother is residing so everyone on her floor can experience the calm, soothing magic of your music. Thank you for providing this for not just folks with dementia but everyone who needs to restore tranquility and calm to their day.

Lois

Are you stressed out because of this whirlwind called the holidays? Do you have life complications driving you to distraction? Does the armor you wear during your workday make you weary by day's end? How do you spell relief? I spell it, M-U-S-I-C.

*Music provides healing grace note for hospital patients
USA Today June 17, 2008

Mad Men

The soundtrack begins with descending strings playing as a graphic shows a man in a dark suit looking at the corner of an office. Close up: silhouette of shoes stepping into frame and a briefcase being set on the floor. The wall art falls away, the chairs melt and fall away, and then the man himself begins his fall, descending in apparent helplessness past all the sensual imagery of his ephemeral world of glamour and glitz. Like a cat with nine lives he ends up seated in a position of suave cool, arm stretched over the back of a couch, facing forward. So begins the introductory sequence that is Mad Men, the sophisticated award-winning TV drama featuring ad agency exec Don Draper in early Sixties New York.

The haunting music and intro sequence is perfectly executed and thought-provoking. It's classy, smart and essentially tells the whole story. It makes a fitting touchstone to begin each episode.

So what's this show's appeal? Why such high ratings by critics and viewers? First off, the stories are well crafted to give an inside glimpse of not only the lifestyle of Madison Avenue, but of the Sixties itself. For example, what better vehicle for discussing the public relations issues of the Kennedy-Nixon campaign than through the ad agency that represents one of them.

The first four seasons give viewers plenty to work with as the agency's activities take place against the backdrop of the JFK year during which women's issues, race issues, Viet Nam, the Cold War, Cuba relations and more all came to the fore. We see, too, the impact of advertising and the ethical issues agencies deal with.

The story itself, like the show's intro, features creative director Don Draper, a complicated man in the midst of this complicated time. The supporting cast includes the young, ambitious sleazeball Campbell, secretaries, and the partners at the top. Almost none of these characters can be considered role models, and when I watched the first few episodes it was like fingernails on a blackboard at times. The sexist attitudes, the devious agency politics, moral bankruptcy of some of these characters could easily make one uncomfortable. But the show is not about creating role models. These were the real attitudes in many places, and continue to this day though we're more aware of their unacceptability today.

Amongst its fans, the show shines because of the writing, the attention to detail and the broad range of understanding of everything from the fashion scene to the political scene, from dog food to soul food.

There are so many good lines, all delivered in the midst of ordinary conversations as agency execs meet with clients in boardrooms and restaurants, or wait in taxis down on the street. Here's one I scribbled down last week: “Nobody knows what’s wrong with themselves. And everyone else can see it right away.”

In another episode, Joan lays it on the line with, "I'm not a solution to your problem. I'm another problem."

In a somewhat hilarious scene in which there is an accident in the office involving a client from England, I believe: "That's life. One minute you're on top of the world and the next minute some secretary is running you over with a lawnmower."

Through the course of time the characters change, grow together, grow apart, take on more responsibilities experience heartaches, and at times reveal our own lives here in various parts of the American scene. If you need a show with guns and violence, this is not really for you. If you like something thoughtful, it's something to consider. And even Campbell isn't all bad, just as the heroes aren't all good. It's a slice of life.

Enjoy your weekend and get your Christmas presents wrapped. The 25th will be here before you know it.

Ten Minutes with Steampunk Artist Eric Horn

I first met Eric Horn at the world premiere of Chronicle at the Friends of Industry event early last summer. Think of Jules Verne. Think of futuristic contraptions that might have been conceived 120 years ago. Think steampunk... a world where flight and travel and life is all steam-powered. And now meet a talented artist and illustrator who is bringing this world to life.

Ennyman: When did you first take an interest in artistic expression and who were your early influences?
Eric Horn: I have always been into drawing and being artistic. Ever since I was able to hold a pencil, crayon, or pen I have been drawing and sketching things. My parents encouraged me to keep at it. My father, Ran Horn, is in his own right a very good artist, who has his own Gallery in west Texas and his own website. He taught me a lot of what I know about drawing and painting. Although we have completely different styles I learned the basics from him. My other influences came from art teachers I had over the years. Two of those teachers had a big impact on me, Mr. Englund and Mr. John Salminen. They taught me that there is more than one way to draw, paint, or take a photo. They also taught me that criticism is not a bad thing, but a way to help improve yourself and your art.

EN: How did you become interested in Steampunk?
EH: Steampunk is something that I stumbled across only a couple of years ago. I fell in love with the look and feel of the genre. I also love the fact that it lends itself to interpretation. Although there are some hardcore steampunk enthusiasts out there, overall there are no real rules on how to be steampunk. As to my art it is very loosely steampunk or I should say it is my version of steampunk, which may or may not fall into what other people view as steampunk. I work with what I have available and the funds to do this, so I have limits on how exact to the genre I can be.

EN: Tell us about your current project, which you shared at the Friends of Industry event last spring.
EH: "Chronicle" is a graphic novel that I have been working on for over a year now. We came up with the idea of showing it as a slide show set to live music for the "Friends of Industry" show last June as a way of introducing the idea to people. It took me over 4 months to do all the art and get the layouts on a DVD. Because I was on a time limit I did not get everything that is going into the final graphic novel. I only had about half an hour for the "film" and had to pick and choose the scenes and shorten any narrative and dialog so the viewers would not be bored. But all said, I think I was able to tell most of the story to a point. This project has taken on a life of its own and I am currently working on continuing the story. I have taken my time getting back on the horse, so to speak, because over the 4 months I worked on the first part it took a lot of energy out of me, and once I get going again I know how much work I have to do. Part one is approximately 25 pages of a comic, give or take. And that is only a third of what we have written, and that third is only a third of what is in our basic outline of the story, not counting the 5 side stories I'm currently writing and story boarding or the re-shoot of the scenes I left out or was not happy with originally.

As to what "Chronicle" is about, it is a gothic, steampunk fairy tale that I have come up with. The bulk of the story takes place on an Air-ship in a world that would resemble the late 1800's. The story has all the good stuff, like action, drama, horror, with a dash of comedy. The story is amazing (if I do say so myself) and I am trying to make sure that all the art in the book is just as amazing. I want my future readers to enjoy the ride I give them and want them to engross themselves in just looking at the pictures of the story.

EN: Like many artists you have a regular job. What is your typical art regimen?
EH: Well in my real life I work at the casino as a Black Jack Dealer, and then I also work at the Renaissance Festival every year. Not sure about my typical art regimen. I usually go in spurts of working on different things. But even when I am not working on anything I do think of ideas of things I would like to do and try. Like I have a couple of ideas for coffee table books, more stories to tell, and paintings I should do. The trick is trying to find the time and motivation to do them....

EN: How much time do you spend on your drawings?
EH: Well, that all depends on the piece. Some of my pen and ink drawings have taken me months to do, putting in a couple of hours a day on them. Some I have cranked out in under two hours. As for my self-titled Over Art style (Over Art is when I take a photograph and then ink over it to give it an animated feel and look) I can do a piece in usually a day or three. The longest I have worked on something is years. I have one piece that I still have not finished because of the amount of ink involved, and I also lose focus on finishing it and put it away to work on something else.

EN: I heard someone say they had no idea you were doing all these fantastic pictures. Have you only recently begun showing? And were you surprised at the positive reactions to your work?
EH: I find that funny as I always have some kind of drawing tablet with me. And thought I was known as the artist in my friend circles. I have done a few shows around town in the past. I have done 4 or so at Jitters coffee house, and I am on the short list if an artist is a no show for the month. But because it is not a real art venue I have not had a lot of exposure. Now that I have been involved with "Friends of Industry" and a few other well advertised and attended shows people are seeing and being exposed to me and my art. I'm now taking every chance I can to get a fan base built for my yet to be published work. No, I am not surprised that people like my work. This sounds conceited, but I know my work is good. If I did not think so I would not be doing it. I have 2 sort of mottos 1) I am awesome! 2) Anything is possible. As long as I can believe in those two things I feel I will make it as an artist. Told you I am a very vain person.

EN: Where can people find examples of your art online?
EH: I mostly have examples of my work on Facebook, and a few of my old black and white ink drawings are on my dad's website VangoghTX.com. I have not had the time or money to build my own site yet, but that is a plan in the future.

EdNote: At last weekend's Goin' Postal show Eric should us some experiments he had been doing using coffee as a medium for creating backgrounds for illustrations. When I saw these I knew I was talking with a kindred spirit.

Almost Wordless Wednesday, December 14

A few images from local art galleries or shows. At top is Richard Rosvall, whose Steampunk masks, weapons and jewelry were featured in the Chronicle event at Friends of Industry last summer. Here he is seated at the Ochre Ghost Gallery where work by Adam Swanson, Emily Ostos, and Crystal Pelkey is on display, among others. At bottom is a scene from last weekend's show at Goin' Postal in Superior. Some of my paintings line the shelf above as visitors chat below. Andrew Perfetti plays a quiet guitar riff that allowed guest musician Mark Anderson to take a break. Andy played a key role along with Jeredt Runions and Gustave Campanini in assembling this show that will be on display at his place of business through the month of December.

While driving home last night I listened to an interview with an artist on NPR about an exceptionally haunting piece by Schubert. Here's a quote that caused me to stop the car so I could scribble it down. "It's beautiful and painful. That is what I expect from art."

On a less serious note, my daughter posted a link to a somewhat hilarious website that pairs Nietzsche quotes with Family Circus cartoons. It'll be worth your while to check it out, aptly called The Nietzsche Family Circus.

Meantime, life goes on all around you. Take it in and have a good day.