New WKAR Book Review: The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

Current StateToday on WKAR’s Current State, I got the opportunity to catch up with some of my fellow reviewers. You can add me to the chorus now, singing the praises of The Turner House by Angela Flournoy.

You can listen to my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-angela-flournoys-turner-house

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

If you want to check out The Turner House,  you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this pageContinue reading

Check it- “I’ll Be Waiting” by Adam Emperor Southard at the Two Twelve Arts Center

I'll Be WaitingHi everyone! Got a drama recommendation for you if you are in the Michigan or Midwest area!

My brother, Adam Emperor Southard, has a new play opening at the Two Twelve Arts Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Produced by From Around Here Productions,  I’ll Be Waiting will run exclusively for one weekend in 2016, from January 7 through January 9. Here is the description of this new work.-

The evidence of violence is there: Crissy’s blood and fingerprints are on the steering wheel; her broken necklace is found at the crime scene; even her abandoned and torched car points to an attempted cover up. The only thing missing is Crissy. Sheriff Mills knows the longer he takes to put the pieces together, the less likely he is to find the young woman alive…if she’s alive. But as he sets about questioning those closest to Crissy, Mills discovers each lover, brother, and friend reveals a different dark side to the story surrounding Crissy’s disappearance, leaving him to doubt his own conclusions at the tragic end.   I’ll Be Waiting by Adam Emperor Southard is a suspense thriller about buried secrets, love, anger … and vengeance.

You can learn about my bro’s new work on the site for the theater company here. If you want to snag a ticket, you can do so by visiting this website. I hope to see you there! 

New WKAR Book Review: Jim Harrison’s Brown Dog

Current StateI am back on WKAR’s Current State with a new book review!  This time I am taking on Michigan author Jim Harrison and his collection of novellas entitled Brown Dog.

You can listen to my book review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-jim-harrisons-brown-dog-novellas

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Brown Dog can be found on Amazon.com here. You can check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State via this page on their site and the links on my page here.

I hope you enjoy my new book review! Continue reading

New WKAR Book Review: Mitch Albom’s The First Phone Call From Heaven

Current StateI am back on WKAR’s Current State today with a new book review! This time it is for the new novel by Mitch Albom, The First Phone Call From Heaven.

You can listen to my latest book review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-mitch-alboms-first-phone-call-heaven

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Mitch Albom’s book can be found on amazon here. If you would like to learn more about my book reviews or hear/read past installments you can do so via my site (here) or via this page on Current State’s official website.

I hope you enjoy the review! Continue reading

Falling Out of Step: A High School Marching Band Farewell

Last night I had a dream that my yard and driveway were taken over by a marching band. I can’t explain how it happened and why they chose my little house to park in front of and warm up their instruments by but there they were and they were everywhere; the sounds of the horns and percussion seemed to engulf every room.

I went to my front porch, now fully aware that I was in a dream, and watched transfixed as these high schoolers acted as if it was perfectly natural for the drum line to practice by my tree, the saxophones to tune each other on my sidewalk, the flutes to gossip while sitting on the edge of my porch, their feet dangling and kicking over the precipice. Even the color guard was there, stretching and practicing their throws and catches on the street in block formation.

In the dream I walked through the crowd of kids, feeling very much the adult, and found a surprised parent, I’m not certain why she was surprised, she just was. I asked what school is this? Why are they here? She didn’t answer my question, only asking a little hesitantly if it was okay.

I smiled and said it was great. And then I woke up. Continue reading

Mlive.com: “We are losing our school with consolidation, but not our identities”

My editorial, “The Fall of the Vikings” (here), has been published via mlive.com!

You can read the article here.

Enjoy!

The ending of a story… the beginning of a new one

All stories come to an end, and this is true for more than just books and movies. The hard fact is that it is also very true for each of the stages in our lives. Yet, I have always believed, a great sign of maturity is the realization and acceptance that such an ending has occurred for oneself. Because, endings happen all of the time, brothers and sisters of Wyoming, yes they do.

Since writing my editorial “The Fall of the Vikings”  (which can be found here) I have heard from a lot of people. (A lot, a lot of people.) And one of the most disappointing things that I have learned over the course of this experience is how many former alumni of both Rogers and Park can’t seem to let go of their past. These fellow alumni are fighting the consolidation, tooth and nail, as if someone is trying to take something away from them in the change. Continue reading

The Fall of the Vikings

Our time in high school haunts us. Some may brush off that idea (maybe pointing to college as more important), but a lot of who we develop into starts during those four years. We figure out things about ourselves then, to put it more simply, and later we fine tune it. Good or bad, that high school version of yourself still exists someplace inside your psyche, no matter how much you wish to deny it. Yes, the pimples are there still, but just under the surface now.

For me, I had a recurring dream that lasted for about five years after I graduated. In that dream, I am always in different locations (college classroom, my evening job, etc.) and my high school band director shows up in full marching band uniform (which is weird since he would never wear a uniform), screaming that there is an emergency and he is calling everyone back.

Recently, I have learned that my old school, Wyoming Park High School in Wyoming, Michigan, was going away. And upon hearing the news, I was flooded with memories around that old building. Remembering the days when I wore blue and white and proudly told kids from other schools that, yes, I was a Viking. Continue reading