The Arcade Magazine

In Restoration

The Arcade — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:01:30 +0000

In Restoration, Valerie Thornhill’s first novel, is a fascinating read for several reasons. There is a strong story-line, the characters are memorable and credible while the descriptions and details paint a full visual picture. One is transported to specific Italian and English landscapes with their buildings, characters and views. Why is Olivia’s need to find her father and the olive groves which inspired her name of paramount importance to her? Why did her partner, Paul, become a restorer of paintings in Florence after the devastating floods of 1966, and what drove the couple to seek refuge from a personal tragedy in a remote Tuscan valley?

The central character and narrator is Olivia, a schoolteacher from Guildford who is following a run-of-the-mill career path while coping with her private tragedies and tensions. Those around her are equally familiar characters: university friends pursuing their chosen careers; her mother and grandparents with whom she lives; her young son Tim and her partner, Paul, an art restorer.

This tidy existence is dramatically changed following a personal tragedy. In order to escape her grief, while seeking out Paul in Italy, she buys a rundown farmhouse in a small Tuscan village. Here she imagines that she can spend all her holidays enjoying the beautiful scenery, dealing with the renovations and getting involved in local life. This denial, however, is no substitute for her loss. Deeper emotions of unhappiness disturb both her and Paul. Only with time, after the arrival of their second son Dan and by learning to come to terms with their feelings, can Olivia and Paul cope with the past and the future.

In Restoration is a wonderfully satisfying book to read, not least for the rich evocation of Tuscan life and its environment. But it is also a book that offers a profound reflection upon the importance of history, not just in order to understand major events or works of art, but to understand ourselves.

By Sapna

http://www.in-restoration.com

The Bristol Prostitute

Roxanne — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:56:55 +0000

This stuff called Mad Cat aka Miauw aka Methalone, is the new shit on the market these days and is getting bigger and bigger in The Netherlands and The UK, especially in the club scene. The beauty of it is, that you are still able to purchase it on the internet, disguised as “Plant Feed”, and it will arrive at your house in a little blue packet reading exactly that, “Plant Feed” and in big letters NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. I’m not sure what inspired me to go along with it as in the past few years I’ve never really felt the necessity or even the mood to get wasted on anything other than weed. But there you go, a snort, a gag and 20 cigarettes and 50 Gummies later, I’m bouncing through the streets feeling quite all right with people. All of the sudden they weren’t as scary anymore and the thought of letting them in wasn’t at all terrifying. But as soon as this feeling came it left again with the alarming warning kicking off all sirens in my head, reminding me this ain’t real, this ain’t real. I skipped past that feeling and on to the next, now speedily and energetically and non stop talking about the plan – whatever it is. And I thought man, how dope is this, yesterday I wanted to kill this motherfucker in front of me and now I can actual bare him for the time being. And there it was again that little “Reality? Reality? Is that you?”. And all I wanted to do was go home. Home to you. But I couldn’t get myself to. Cause I was embarrassed. And it was a kind of shame that I can’t even describe. I didn’t want you to be part of this artificial reality. I didn’t want to sit there feeling this incredible connection, this amazing outburst of love, this urge, this need to hug you and kiss you and make love to you all at the same time, this craving to take all of you in, and have it not be natural and true and genuine. I felt that would be cheating you in some twisted sense. The way I felt I had cheated the people I had ran into on my little stroll about town in a purring haze. Maybe these people deserved no better because the real players only love you when their playing, and that was all me, I was playing. But you, you deserved so much more. And so I came back here and I surpressed all these wacky emotions going through my head and through my body which made me feel even worse. And so I left again, and walked straight into a frenzy of paranoia, a master plan behind scared eyes and wirey hair. The Bristol Prostitute, all shiny silvery eye shadow and wicked smile, tells me right there and then how she had deliberately chosen the enemies side and I was starting to feel the full weight of it. She violently walked me through my past traumas, my worst nightmares and my deepest issues, until I could feel my head surrounded by deep heat, my eyes sprang open and I was back on my feet, treading carefully on a floor full of egg shells. And she derived so much pleasure from my sitting there squirming in her throne, as though she had made it her mission today, to take me 10 years back in time. I crawled out of there on hands and knees, and got my shit together by the time I had made it down the stairs and through the door. Suddenly surrounded by hoards of screaming kids and adults crowding around three kings followed by one shitty star. NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. I wondered what the king had to say about this all.

And the King, the mighty king, he ignored my pleas and my cries. He ingnored my pathetic misery, my broken body as I slithered through the masses, screaming obscenities, willing him to listen, so obsessed was he in his quest of following that one shitty star, the one that didn’t even shine so brightly. And I thought of her words, her innocently constructed words, piercing me so violently, so forecefully, digging through my flesh, layers and layers of it, seven to be exact, until finally clawing out my insides until finally reaching the depths of my soul. Yanking on it, smiling bitterly, laughing sweetly, speaking softly, screaming harshly : —————-

And oh, how I wanted to get home to you, how I wanted to share the momentum of this situation, the meaning of this trail, the intensity of my feelings with your kind eyes and how I dreaded the bare nudity of such a confrontation with all its hearts and daggers, all it’s grime and dirt, its magnificance and beauty. Why burden you with such absurdities, such impossibilities, such a series of contaminated words when all I want is for you to take pride in my being, in my feeling, in my nature. And how I wanted for you to take my hand and lead me away if you will, lead me astray if you will, to your world, your reality, your dream, fearing all along that restless sensation in me, that undeniable tendency to despise everything it is you stand for, every element in your environment you so thoroughly enjoy for it will whisk you away leaving me stranded in my suffocating pool of nightmares that are too large, too dehumanizing, too dreadful for your pretty little planet.

And the King, he finally reached her, the star that shone so dimly, the star that would never live up to his intelligence, his power, his position, for she would never possess enough bravery, enough strength, enough elegance to take his world in her stride, when she was oozing nothing but bitter stupidity, pitying pride, foul play from every orifice. And so he picked her from her throne, the vast heavens, the infinite universe and lay her face down in a puddle of her own discretion. Spreading her legs forcefully with just a swift movement of his royal knee he tied her hands to her ancle in the shape of an X. She sobbed and begged and spat until the King wrapped a piece of cloth around her face, muzzling her cries and to the knot he had tied to secure it behind her head, he binded another rope to meet the middle of the X forcing her head back viciously almost so it snapped her neck and it was then, when her entire weight pushed on to her lower abdemon and her neck was being pulled so far back by the rope, any sudden movement might kill her, it is then that the King pulled out his royal cock and slid inside of her, slowly and teasingly at first. She made no sound and no movement but as the King’s hips started moving on her more rhythmically her screams could be heard from beyond the cloth covering her face, saliva could be seen trickeling down along the side of her throat meeting in the path of nomansland between both naked breasts, her clit rubbed against the floor hard, burning her skin, irritating the elasticity of her lips, and she was loving it, every excruciating minute of it, until the King’s hand landed on the top of her head as he came loudly and dangerously.

And I felt my heart break, its remaindants shattering now oozing into the flow of my bloodstream, the flow that had been stilled through years and years of fears, as I watched this scene of pure hatred, of pure love unfold before my very eyes and was once again reminded by the agony and the extacy of it all. The disgust in the kings eyes as the Bristol Prostitute cried for help. The loving in his touch as he tied the rope hard enough to make her hurt, soft enough not to kill her. The bitterness in his voice as he screamed at her for being such a whore like creature, the soothing tranquility of his tone as he spoke of her as a posession. I wept for her strong sense of forgiveness and her unconditional love. I felt her aching groin and her bruised breasts. I heard her silent cries silenced by the river of her own tears. And I wondered: Is there no love without hate?

Working Class Hero

The Arcade — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:52:42 +0000

When I was about to turn eighteen, I started freaking out. I couldn’t believe it, it was ironic really. For as long as I could remember, all I wanted was to be a legal adult. Oh all the liberties I would gain!

No more asking the older kids to buy some green at the coffee shop knowing full well they’d take their runner’s profit. No more being denied entrance into certain clubs. No more curfews. No more biking in the rain but a smoothe ride home in the comforts of a car. Oh, it was gonna be excellent.

I had it all worked out, man.

But then a few weeks before my birthday, something snapped.

I got this letter in the mail. It was a from some type of funeral service insurrance company.

It was practically telling me that now that I was gonna be an adult soon, I should start thinking about how I was gonna handle my shit when I croaked it.

Did I want to be buried or cremated, they asked. Did I want to donate my functioning organs or not? Had I thought about a song yet? Open casket?

And I thought, Ho there dudes, I havn’t even made it out of school and your asking me if I’ve thought about my way out period?

This distressed me immensly. But as you do, I pushed it to the very back of my head and decided to deal with it later. Like when I was fifty.

About a week later, I am finally able to breathe again after having finished my exams and I’m thinking, Pheeew, got that one off my back. No sooner than that thought made it out of the depths of my brain, everyone was on me: “So what are you going to do next?”.

And I’m thinking, what do you mean What are you gonna do next?

Can’t I just relax for a minute before moving on to the next major obstacle of this hilarious little path we call life?

Of course not, don’t be silly. Where are you going to study? How are you going to finance it? What are you going to study?

And I’m thinking, Ho there dudes, I can’t decide on an outfit for a single day, let alone a career for the rest of my life, you’re asking me to commit to one major institution? What are you nuts?

And no matter how much we all may try and fight the system at some point there is nothing left but to join. You may live with one foot in and one foot out, but fact is and fact stays without it you’re pretty much fucked.

In Holland you can actually get busted for not having health insurrance, but when the standard package goes at €115 a pop and you’re only earning € 8 an hour as a waiter for your local chinese which goes straight into your €300 a month shithole room in a shithole student house, the tips of which go to your weekly supply of groceries, it don’t look too attractive being part of this numbered institution, I admit.

But when your stuck in a foreign country without your travel insurrance and are having your wisdom tooth pulled by a little thai girl with one knee on your chest and dirty looking in your mouth, those € 115 may seem like nothing.

So I’m twenty three now, I have health insurrance, I work black, I pay rent, I buy my food.

I wash my own clothes, I sometimes do the dishes, I try my best at cooking, and I get myself in and out of bed on time.

If I were living in some kind of peruvian community, where things happen by trade and money is of no value whatsoever, where Brujo’s are sought for medical concerns and the food is grown in the land behind our huts, I would have more time to dedicate to my dream than I’ll ever have in this reality. Because in this reality I am working two jobs to keep myself fed and insurrued and dressed and in the end I have nothing to show for it but a great fucking funeral I spent my whole life paying for. But hey, at least someone will make use of my liver and whatever else is still in tact by that time and all the guest will send me out with a rocking “Highway to Hell”.

Freaks and Geeks

The Arcade — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:35:11 +0000

Although at times it seems like the most tragic of “after school special” stylie shows, like Saved by the Bell, most of the times it is almost sad how much I can relate to the likes of scenarios shown in Freaks and Geeks. It takes me back to the classic day’s of High School and makes me think of some of the things that in my mind will always remain unfair; and yes, I almost feel ashamed to describe these things as unfair, because let’s face it, we pretty much learn after the age of six, that nothing in this world is fair.

But so I am watching this episode where one of the younger main characters, Sam, is faced with his worst nightmare: The school has made it compulsory for the students to take a shower after P.E! For the remainder of the epsiode Sam feigns sickness, or hides out in a toilet stall, doing everything he possibly can to avoid the dreaded shower. When he get caught out one too many times by his gym teacher, he is forced to finally face his fear and strip down infront of all his classmates. And as it happens, the school bully rips away his towel and pushes him into the school corridor for absolutley everyone who is anyone to see him naked. The moral to this story? Don’t make young teens shower at school!

Yeah, ok, you can throw me any type of hygiene arguement you want, but surely no one’s going to die by waiting to shower till they get home.

Like coming to terms with puberty yourself isn’t hard enough, no, go on, get naked in front of the entire year! I may not have any impressive diploma’s on my wall, but any straight thinking Pedagoge can tell you, that putting a bunch of puberscent kids into the same room naked, is asking for trouble. The Bully’s get meaner, the victims get sicker, the insecurities explode and hormonal anger implodes. So tell me teacher, what’s our lesson?

So this other episode, Lindsey starts going out with this Dude named Nick. And no sooner is the first kiss over and done with, everyone’s talking about it. When a date is discussed for the coming Friday night, everyone just assumes they’re going to “do it”. Comments are made, nerves are spiked.

And I’m thinking, ” I remember it well”. You’re hand has hardly met that of your new boyfriend, when you get pulled into the directors office by some “concerned” teacher, who has noticed your ” relationship with a fellow student”, and is now talking you through his fear of it “affecting precious study time”, the possibility of being “in the hands of bad influence” and the reassuring hand on the shoulder, ending the whole thing with ” I only have your best interest at heart”.

At home you are being talked through the various methods of contraception, and all you can do is wonder, if you’ll ever, ever want to have sex ever, after having witnessed how obsessive it apparently makes the adults.

It’s funny. We all seem to experience Highschool in the same way, although be it under different subheadings: The Geeks, The Freaks, The Loosers and The Über-popular.

And it doesn’t seem to change either.

But what amazes me the most is the teachers. In my years of high school, I can only speak of two teachers who really had their class under control and actually motivated them to learn.

All the others seemed to walk into the classroom seemingly aware of their nearing nervous breakdown and therefore conducted their lessons in a likewise attitude, something along the lines of ” Do whatever you want just please don’t yell”.

The fun is taken out of anything and everything at school. I mean why the hell grade kids on art work, sports or essays? Seriously? It shouldn’t be allowed to rate creativity or stamina.

The kid who can make magic happen with a brush, may be a complete klutz with asthma. So what, the school system is just going to punish him for that, and give him one mark for what, not dying during the shuttle run? Just because one kid tends to let himself be inspìred by the likes of Chuck Pahlunik instead of Chaucer, you’re going to destroy a imaginative piece of fiction with a big, fat, red F? Tossers, the lot of ya!

Broken

The Arcade — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:36:21 +0000

Broken tells the story‭ ‬of the turbulent lives of six main characters and their‭ ‬pursuit for happiness in LA.‭ ‬Through various situations and strange coincidence their paths cross‭; ‬beautiful friendships are born while each and‭ ‬every one of them struggles to conquer their pasts demons,‭ ‬ultimately only being able to do so with the love and support of one another.
The story begins in the year‭ ‬1996‭ ‬walking you through the lives of each character,‭ ‬the‭ ‬obstacles they’ve overcome,‭ ‬their highlights and low points,‭ ‬all the way up to the year‭ ‬2006.

Skye Garucci is a teenage‭ ‬drug fiend.‭ ‬Homeless and battling a vicious heroin addiction at the sweet age of‭ ‬17,‭ ‬she finds comfort in her music and keeps her spirits alive with fantasies of rock stardom.‭ ‬The horrific lifestyle her father put her through in her young years left deep scars and with the death of her baby,‭ ‬leaves Skye feeling empty and dead.‭ ‬She dreams of a life without drugs and wishes to take pleasure in the‭ “‬normal‭” ‬things in life.‭ ‬When she meets Jackson,‭ ‬a big shot business man and music producer who takes her under his wing and promises to support her musical career,‭ ‬for the first time things seem to be taking a positive turn in Skye’s life.‭ ‬But things end up different than expected and once again Skye faces a life of artificial happiness,‭ ‬because the real deal seems too far to reach.
Through a series of‭ ‬awkward encounters she meets T.J who in turn introduces her to Dylan and their gang.‭ ‬For the first time in her life,‭ ‬Skye is surrounded by loving people,‭ ‬who support her in her battle against drugs and her fear of being loved.

Amber Johnson is a‭ ‬19‭ ‬year old single mother,‭ ‬struggling to support herself and her little daughter Kimberly.‭ ‬Desperately trying to offer Kimberly a better life she falls in with the wrong circles and starts pushing drug for an angry dealer.‭ ‬When things go wrong,‭ ‬she is forced to grab Kimberly and run.‭ ‬Amber’s goal is to earn enough money to put herself through nursing school,‭ ‬and the only job she can find to make ends meet is dancing in a strip joint.‭ ‬Amber lives in constant fear of the man who raped her and is‭ ‬incidentally the father to her child.‭ ‬Her anger and hatred towards men comes to the surface on many an occasion and the irony of her job fuels her with more rage as she is forced to seduce men,‭ ‬grinding up and down a pole.‭ ‬Besides Dylan there are no men she’s let close into her life,‭ ‬until she meets Ron,‭ ‬who helps her see through the darkness her mind has created around men.

Beth Crawford‭ ‬21‭ ‬is Amber’s best friend.‭ ‬Having been raised by two gay fathers and never having actually met her birth mother,‭ ‬Beth feels‭ ‬awkward.‭ ‬She keeps to herself and doesn’t have a lot of friends.‭ ‬As for men,‭ ‬she finds it hard to be at ease and although she seems to want to find a special someone,‭ ‬she doesn’t really know how to go about‭ ‬it.‭ ‬A one-night stand on her‭ ‬21st birthday,‭ ‬with the infamous Jackson,‭ ‬leaves her feeling used and pregnant.‭ ‬She is scared and confused but having Amber by her side,‭ ‬and seeing that although she is‭ ‬struggling she is coping ok,‭ ‬takes the fear away a little.‭ ‬By the time her son Jonathan is born,‭ ‬Beth has grown into a stronger woman,‭ ‬for the first time standing up to Jonathan’s father Jackson and not granting him part-time custody due to his‭ ‬dependence on painkillers.
When she is one day invited to be part of a television dating show,‭ ‬she meets Kelly who is still heartbroken at having found his ex wife Reece,‭ ‬sucking Jackson off one afternoon.

T.J Martini‭ ‬23,‭ ‬is a walking accident who constantly finds himself in the most humiliating situations out of which he walks out blushing violently.‭ ‬He is soft at heart and enjoys the simple things in life and doesn’t mind working dead end jobs which usually involve him dressed up as a giant burger or cell phone,‭ ‬to support his beach lifestyle.‭ ‬His dream is to make it in‭ ‬the acting‭ ‬world‭;‬ however,‭ ‬he hardly makes it to any auditions due to his chaotic organization skills.‭ ‬He feels he is a big failure in his father’s eyes and hates the fact that he is right in saying that T.J will never make it in LA.‭
After a‭ ‬completely‭ ‬embarrassing encounter with Skye,‭ ‬he meets her again,‭ ‬this time with her friend Flora.‭ ‬Flora was one of the first girls he ever dated in LA,‭ ‬and he screwed it up royally by being his usual‭ ‬clumsy self.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬after several more dates Flora learns to look past his catastrophic being and they fall in love.‭ ‬Flora is the one thing he knows his father will truly respect and see as an accomplishment in T.J’s life.

Jackson Rockenberger‭ ‬28,‭ ‬is a professional football player and owns several businesses.‭ ‬After a football injury he is left in chronic pain which can only be soothed by painkillers and massages.‭ ‬Soon his painkiller‭ ‬dependency grows and he is constantly high and incapable of proper emotions.‭ ‬Although it is clear his heart is in the right place,‭ ‬it has been scared by his‭ ‬parents‭’‬ strange relationship and the somewhat twisted relationship he shares with his now demented Mother.‭ ‬Originally not wanting to have anything to do with Beth or his son Jonathan,‭ ‬he finds hope in building a relationship with Jonathan after his mother’s passing,‭ ‬fearing he will never be loved again.‭ ‬Beth grants him access to her son’s life under the condition he complete a rehab‭ ‬program.‭ ‬Although initially he is eager to pull through,‭ ‬within three days of the‭ ‬program he is sneaking pills and cuts the therapy short,‭ ‬showing up on Beth’s doorstep stoned yet again.

Dylan Slade‭ ‬21,‭ ‬has never really fit into the mainstream crowd and never really wanted to.‭ ‬After having dressed up as a‭ ‬Goth for a‭ ‬Halloween party in high school,‭ ‬he decided‭ ‬he liked his unique style and stuck to it which obviously caused for a lot of piss-takings by his fellow class mates.‭ ‬While others his age were out partying and listening to whatever was fashionable,‭ ‬Dylan could be find dissecting the Bible and listening‭ ‬to the likes of Velvet Underground.‭ ‬One of his‭ ‬favorite novels is‭ ‬A Clockwork Orange,‭ ‬which seems to be a great source of inspiration for him and his dream of becoming a writer.‭ ‬He sports the‭ “‬I don’t give a shit mentality‭”‬; to the point he‭ ‬doesn‭’‬t mind his genitals dangling through a‭ ‬sarong in the presence of others.‭ ‬He despises the rich‭ ‬and the famous and can’t understand how people could possibly measure themselves by the money they earn or the clothes they wear.‭ ‬He is set in his ways and opinions and finds it hard to accept the opinions of authors,‭ ‬especially when it comes to the likes‭ ‬of Music and art.‭ ‬His first experiences with girls were bad and so he finds it hard to trust and bare his soul,‭ ‬until he meets Skye.‭

Kelly Dampier‭ ‬24,‭ ‬is a‭ ‬lonely Physical Therapist who blagged himself a job at the Motion Picture Television fund in the valley.‭ ‬Nothing in his life seems to challenge him and although he is stubborn in his‭ ‬pursuit for a woman by his side he comes across as a bit‭ ‬awkward.‭ ‬On his drives to and from work,‭ ‬he can usually be found singing along loudly to the likes of Pearl Jam.‭ ‬One day whilst singing along to his hero Eddie Vedder’s lyrics‭ ‬Black at a traffic light,‭ ‬a beautiful woman pulls up and joins in the singing fun.‭ ‬He manages to get a date with Reece,‭ ‬with whom he ends up having a son,‭ ‬Theodore.‭ ‬He is aware of the fact that there is no real passion or love between them but his desperation for companionship dismisses this as a minor fact until he walks in on her with another man.‭

Paul Ritter‭ ‬24,‭ ‬is a preacher who fled to LA to make up for the sins of his dark past.‭ ‬He comes across as a man who is on the straight and narrow and commits his life to helping others.‭ ‬He is concerned and supportive of his girlfriend,‭ ‬the actress Maria Orlando and takes all the right steps in helping her recovery.‭ ‬Yet when being let in on his thoughts and his admiration for his idol Van Gogh,‭ ‬it becomes clear that there is dark shadow over Paul’s past,‭ ‬one that he will never be able to rid himself of entirely.‭ ‬Up until a crucial moment during a wedding ceremony he is ministering,‭ ‬it seems as though his mother’s bigot attitude had no effect on him.‭

Ron Griffin‭ ‬27,‭ ‬just out of jail for petty crimes he is on his way to LA to start a new life.‭ ‬He spent the majority of his time in jail reading and writing in his journals and was now hoping to make a fresh start‭; ‬however just a small whiff of money seduces him into stealing once again-‭ ‬and he hasn’t even landed in LA.‭ ‬With no real goal,‭ ‬Ron picks up where he left off-‭ ‬conducting new plans for theft.‭ ‬When he meets a young black stripper after having robbed‭ ‬her,‭ ‬Ron finds himself in a moral‭ ‬dilemma:‭ ‬He was raised to hate blacks after a childhood trauma,‭ ‬but somehow he finds himself drawn to this girl and feels remorse for having robbed her.‭ ‬Suddenly,‭ ‬Ron finds a new goal in life:‭ ‬To make this girl’s life the best it could ever be.

Maria Orlando‭ ‬18,‭ ‬is a young actress and the daughter of a major mob.‭ ‬She has no real talent but remains oblivious to the fact,‭ ‬that it is her father who pays people off for her roles.‭ ‬Feeling the pressure of LA and the perfect body‭ ‬image,‭ ‬Maria develops a serious case of bulimia.‭ ‬Even when she is stick thin and her breast implants start to look comical on her tiny frame,‭ ‬she feels she looks fat and bloated.‭ ‬When she meets Paul,‭ ‬a preacher her Dad openly‭ ‬despises,‭ ‬she finds great support in him and it is he who finally convinces her to join a therapy‭ ‬program.

Reece Brooks‭ ‬29,‭ ‬is a model,‭ ‬although her career never really took off.‭ ‬Now hitting thirty,‭ ‬overly bitter about men and still dreaming of wealth and fame,‭ ‬she grows agitated and anxious.‭ ‬A baby seems to be the next best step in her life.‭ ‬When she meets Kelly,‭ ‬she sees the golden opportunity-‭ ‬although she is not overly impressed by him,‭ ‬he seems to worship the ground she walks on and attends to her every needs.‭ ‬The perfect father figure.‭ ‬She results to a passionless marriage,‭ ‬becoming more and more angry with Kelly.‭ ‬When one day she meets Jackson‭ ‬-‭ ‬a possible ticket into the glamorous and wealthy life-‭ ‬she does not hesitate and ends up cheating her husband.

Flora Perez‭ ‬21,‭ ‬is a‭ ‬Filipino immigrant who has moved to LA to escape her tragic past.‭ ‬She is hard working and determined.‭ ‬She is sweet of nature and has a warming effect on people.‭ ‬Making her way through nursing school she engages in a relationship with‭ ‬the hospitals psychologist in her first year in LA.‭ ‬He ends up smothering her and leaving her no freedom until one day she manages to break free.‭ ‬Bit by bit her English improves and she makes some great friends.‭ ‬When her father falls sick in the Fillipines her boyfriend T.J finances a trip for them to go and see her ill father.‭ ‬Flora is troubled by the thought of having to confront her past lives tragedy.

Dr.‭ ‬Juan Salazar‭ ‬35,‭ ‬is a psychologist who is more warped than all of his patients put together.‭ ‬Scarred deeply in a sexual sense,‭ ‬Juan can only find‭ ‬arousal in young girls.‭ ‬His whole life is made up of associations with a previous life,‭ ‬smells and sounds and thoughts.
He is suffers from OCD and sports many ticks he cannot hide from the outside world.‭ ‬He‭ ‬is still a virgin when he meets the young nurse Flora,‭ ‬one of his eldest conquests so far.‭ ‬He becomes obsessed with her as she somehow manages to make him feel more normal and he convinces himself that life without her will have him spiraling down again,‭ ‬which eventually happens.‭ ‬Before he met Flora he only ever conducted odd relationships with girls as young as‭ ‬12‭ ‬but never went further than soft petting with them.

J.‭ ‬Matthew Nespoli,‭ ‬managed to dig deep into the souls of his characters,‭ ‬bringing to the‭ ‬surface all the deep scarring and hurt that made them into who they are.‭ ‬Each character is portrayed in a way that many adolescents with a dark past can relate to and even those who have been blessed with a cheery childhood and cheerleading school days can understand.
Even when looking deeper into the female psyche,‭ ‬Nespoli seemed to have nailed the ill emotions that stem from abuse,‭ ‬rape and bigot mentality,‭ ‬without ever‭ ‬losing touch with the female insight.‭ ‬A nice touch,‭ ‬was the three‭ ‬separate chapters on Amber’s daughter Kimberly and her thoughts and feelings behind growing up fatherless and approaching puberty.‭ ‬I felt it was rather impressive,‭ ‬the way he marked key moments in her life.
Although the‭ ‬overall theme of this novel,‭ ‬is dark,‭ ‬emotional and intense,‭ ‬Nespoli managed to build in a good sense of‭ ‬humor in all the right places,‭ ‬especially in painting an image of T.J and his various classic stunts.‭
All characters can easily be distinguished and their stories are all fueled with‭ ‬their personal anxieties,‭ ‬hopes and dreams.‭ ‬After having read the final page of Broken,‭ ‬I can honestly say that with each and every character a strong picture comes to mind.

Broken is a mixture of‭ “‬Junks‭”‬,‭ “‬Trainspotting‭” ‬and‭ “‬The Pink Boots‭”‬,‭ ‬and will leave your heart filled with compassion for the various individuals in the plot,‭ ‬will fuel your veins with anger for all the horrific figures that have added to their hurt,‭ ‬and will crack your lips into a blinding smile once you‭ ‬realize that we are all Broken,‭ ‬but together we can‭ ‬beat anything.

Roxanne Sancto

Curry Potatoes

The Arcade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:08:50 +0000

Ingredients

6 medium sized potatoes

1 pack of cream (o,2l)

1 dice of stock

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of pepper

2 tablespoons of curry powder

Preparation

Cook potatoes. Put cream into a oven form and mix stock, salt, pepper and curry powder with the cream. Add potaoes and bake in the oven at 200º until creamy.

Marinated Zucchini

The Arcade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:59:27 +0000

Ingredients

500g Zucchini

2 Cloves of Garlic

2 Tablespoons fresh Basil

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Salt

2 Tablespoons wine vinegar

.

Preparation

Cut Zucchini into small slices and let them dry off on a kitchen towel.

Chop garlic and basil fine . Heat Olive oil in a wide pan bake Zucchini portionwise. Put it into a dish in layers and springe with salt, garlic, vinegar and basil. Add oil in the end. Cover the dish with a plate and put something heavy on top to keep it air tight and put in the fridge.

African Chicken

The Arcade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:47:27 +0000

Shopping List:

1 Chicken

1 jar of peanut butter

1 bunch of parsley

1 onion

salt and pepper

Preperation:

* chop onion and parsley fine

*clean chicken and cut into 8 pieces

*spice with salt and pepper

* add peanut butter and water into a bowl and stir till creamy.

*mix onion and parsley in with peanut butter

*roll chicken in it until covered and lay it in a oven form

*pour remaining peanut butter mix over the chicken

* close off form with lid or aluminion foil

Oven: 180º 35-45 minutes

Microwave: 700W 10-15 minutes

Goes well with rice, potatoes and couscous.

Enjoy!

Swiss Tongues

The Arcade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:37:34 +0000

200g of flour

200g of butter

120g of powdered sugar

40g ground almonds

4 egg yolk

Stir butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Add egg yolk, almonds and flour. Shape on to tray and bake at 175º for 40 minutes. When done, add marmelade and stick them together. Dip the ends in chocolate.

Soda Cake

The Arcade — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:29:42 +0000

3 Cups of Flour

2 Cups of Sugar

1 Cup of Oil

1 Cup of Soda (Fanta, Sprite)

1 pack of Baking Powder

1 pack of Vanilla sugar

1 pinch of salt

4 eggs

Mix everything together and put it into a small form.

Bake for 45 minutes at 180º.