Maryann Gromisch

Gardening From the Ground Up Part 1

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0000

Never judge a book by the cover. Never judge the content of a CD by the title. I was expecting an album on basic gardening. I was surprised when I opened the package and saw that instead of a how-to CD, it was the debut album of Sarah Elizabeth Foster. This artist began studying music at the age of four. She is a classically trained vocalist who has fulfilled her ultimate dream of being a singer/songwriter in New York City. By persevering through intensive vocal therapy, Foster made a “miraculous recovery” from the diagnosis of a benign, vocal cord polyp.

Gardening from the Ground Up Part 1 is a display of the singer’s vocal range and the songwriter’s poetic lyrics. Foster brings her values and beliefs to this project. All of the CD covers are printed with recycled materials. She donates one percent of album sales to 1% For The Planet, a non-profit organization which donates to environmental charities.

“Wake Up” is the first track on the album. It is a young girl’s conflicting mental conversation. She retreats from life by day and longs for the day come the night. Foster implores us to wake up and start living. “Gardening from the Ground Up” has metaphorical lyrics comparing a romantic relationship to weeding a garden. She loves him and he loves her, but in the process, she has lost herself. The song concludes with “I’m gardening from the ground up, but I can’t pull this weed. It will come back. He will come back.”

“Missing You Now” is a nostalgic love song which is written in the musical style of a waltz. “Be My Friend Always” is the only track that, according to the artist’s website, was recorded live in the studio. This is a soulful song of friendship. “Let’s Go Away,” I think speaks to us all. At some point in time, we all just want to escape. The songwriter invites us to join her and leave everything behind.

With just five tracks, this disc features instrumental and vocal variety. I am looking forward to Part 2. This time, I have a good idea what to expect.

Written by: Maryann Gromisch, January 31st 2010

The Lute Player: A Novel of Richard the Lionhearted

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:04:00 +0000

By Norah Lofts

Touchstone Books

Like an exquisite medieval tapestry, The Lute Player, a novel of Richard the Lionhearted, has a bit of historical truth and a good measure of romantic fiction. There is historical evidence of the existence of Richard, Berengaria, Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the leading power figures of the day. However, the lute player, Blondel, is mentioned only in legends. The true reason for Richard’s indifference to his wife is subject to the author’s imagination.

With well-crafted writing, Norah Lofts takes the reader to the time of the Third Crusades, to the medieval castles of Europe and to the sun-drenched landscapes of Palestine. This is the tale of Richard Plantagenet, son of Henry II, King of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. The story of this legendary soldier of the Crusades and future king is told from the prospective of three very different individuals: Blondel, the lute player and Richard’s close companion during the Third Crusade, Anna Apieta, the illegitimate half-sister of Berengaria, princess of Navarre and Richard’s wife, and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

This is a tale of love. Berengaria falls in love with Richard at first sight of him during a tournament at her father’s castle in Navarre. She will not consider marriage to any other suitor. After much pleading with her father, a suicide attempt, and many delays, Berengaria succeeds in her plan to become Richard’s bride. But the marriage is ill-fated.

Blondel, the lute player to Berengaria and the King of Navarre, longingly loves the beautiful princess. He becomes lute player to Richard. Upon Berengaria’s request to watch over Richard and as an escape from the life as the royal ladies’ minstrel, Blondel joins Richard on the quest to liberate the Holy Land from the infidels. Anna Apieta, the physically deformed illegitimate daughter of Sancho, King of Navarre, loves Blondel but knows that it is a love that can never be fulfilled.

It is a tale of betrayal. Richard is determined in his pursuit to march triumphantly into Jerusalem. He is betrayed by his allies, Philip of France and Leopold of Austria. While on campaign in Palestine, Richard is betrayed by his brother, John, who is left to rule England during the king’s absence.

The main characters in this novel evolve, the seemingly acquiescent become resolute and the tenacious become weak. The exceptions are Richard and Anna. The conclusion of this novel is very poignant. “But you come in the end to the place where your heart is, that is, if you set your heart in an attainable place. And it occurred to me that of them all I [Anna Apieta] was the only one who had done that.”

Written by: Maryann Gromisch, January 30th 2010

Foolish Words: The Most Stupid Words Ever Spoken

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:59:00 +0000

By Laura Wood

Sterling Publishing

We have all heard them. We have all read them. We have all uttered them. They are foolish words. In her recent book, Foolish Words, Laura Ward has compiled approximately 800 quotes ranging from the humorous to utterly stupid. This is an entertaining collection of verbal blunders, as well as misquotes and misprints.

The first chapter, "Brain in Neutral - Mouth in Drive," will make the reader chuckle. “Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.” This quote is from an accident claim submitted to an insurance company.

Ward cites examples of the consequences of the misprint of just one word. The scope of misquotes and misprints encompasses the printed media from The New York Times to television broadcasts to local church bulletins. In "20/20 Hindsights," the reader will grin while reading predictions by individuals like Bill Gates about the future of computers and technology and Walt Disney about the popularity of animated films.

The faux pas of politicians continue to be fodder for comedians and late night talk show hosts. The verbal blunders of our national and international leaders are brought together in the chapter, "History is Bunk." Former President George W. Bush merited his own chapter, titled "Dubbya."

Whether you are a sports fan, enjoy a good poke at the legal profession, or find the battle of the sexes engaging, there is a chapter for everyone. It is safe to assume that we have all read at least one foolish warning on a product label. The quotes in the last chapter will not disappoint the reader. Not only is the content of this book comical but the graphic presentation is fun, from the orange cover with bright pink lip print to the artistic use of color on each page.

Written by: Maryann Gromisch, January 13th 2010

How to Rule the World from Your Couch

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0000

By Laura Day

Atria Books

Do you want to make a change in your life? Each December, as one calendar year ends and a new one is about to begin, most of us reflect upon where we have been and plan for where we want to be. If you answer yes to the question I pose, I highly recommend Laura Day's most recent book, How to Rule the World from Your Couch.

This New York Times bestselling author teaches the reader, as she has taught her students, to use intuition as a useful strategy to achieve change in one's life. Day explains intuition as the higher octave of your five senses. Intuition can guide you to your truest, best possible self. Each chapter begins with a Quick Hit Exercise. Her techniques for embodying the skills taught in this book will help you deal with stress, improve personal and professional relationships, and aid you in achieving your goals. Day guides the reader through each chapter by offering examples which are applicable to individual life as well as sharing personal experiences from her life. As Day advises throughout the book, do not over think the exercises. Intuition is a part of each of us. Some may be more aware of the skills of intuition than others. You may discover that you are already practicing these tools but address them by another name. By being an intuitive person, you are harnessing an often underutilized part of your brain.

Day encourages the reader to consciously create a sacred space, which can be a state of mind or a physical place, a sacred time, an actual time which you devote to connecting with your inner being, and a ritual, which is a repetitive and comforting routine that helps you connect with yourself.

By setting aside any preconceived ideas which the chapter titles may invoke, the reader can explore and experiment with the skills of intuition. Mediumship is a chapter on how to view the world by becoming someone or something else. Telepathy is the subject of chapter four, which focuses on the ability to guide the thoughts and behavior of others. At the same time, your own vulnerability can be manipulated by the telepathy of others. Body Heat Telepathy is the ability to exchange mutually attractive messages with another person but from a distance. Intriguing? I thought so.

Do you want to be more in control of your destiny? Chapters six and seven are a must read. Remote Viewing is the most detached of the intuitive states and involves perceiving the target while being separated from it by time and space. Precognition is the ability to move the target, which can be a person or situation forward in time, thus experiencing what will happen.

Each individual is unique and, consequently, each reader will have a personal level of involvement with this book.

Written by: Maryann Gromisch, December 29th 2009

Sisters in the Brotherhoods: Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York City

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:01:00 +0000

By Jane Latour

Palgrave MacMillan

The concept for Jane Latour’s book, Sisters in the Brotherhoods: Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York, was initially a brochure. While serving as the director of the Women’s Project of the Brooklyn-based Association for Union Democracy (AUD), Latour had the opportunity to interview women who were working in non-traditional blue-collar trades. Watching women who were contesting the inequalities in the workplace, organizing, and supporting each other, the author seized the chance to record their voices and experiences. The idea to comprise the oral histories into a book evolved following the favorable response her paper received at a labor history conference held in Detroit. Latour, a labor activist, not only chronicled this facet of the feminist movement in the last quarter of the twentieth century, she worked on the assembly lines in Philadelphia and Newark and later as a sorter on the night shift at United Parcel Service.

The format of this literary work includes quotes from the interviewees and documentation of the labor situation in the United States during the last thirty years. These women were pioneers on the frontier of the skilled, blue-collar employment. Early in the book, Latour refers to Rosie the Riveter and the encouragement women received to enter the workforce during World War II and fill the vacated positions in blue-collar industries. That climate changed after the war ended. Sisters in the Brotherhoods draws attention to the link between the feminist fight for equality in employment and the similar battle which was being fought by minority males and the double burden which minority women faced. As Latour writes, “The further out one was from that norm, the more resistance it generated.”

The women are diverse in their levels of education, racial background, and choices of occupation but they shared the common threats of sexual harassment, unfair hiring practices, and the corruption of the trade unions. Latour’s documentation of the experiences of these forerunners in notational, blue-collar jobs is a testament to their legacy to the young women of the next and future generations.

The feminist movement of the 1970s was the backdrop of my adolescence. Personally, I knew women who occupied traditional female roles and I chose a traditionally female occupation, nursing. So I found this book enlightening and empowering. Battles have been fought but the war has not yet been won.

Written by: Maryann Gromisch, November 30th 2009