Thursday, January 03, 2013

Poem for Thursday, Winterthur, Skyfall

effect shrewd preferences
By Evie Shockley

the screed seen here blesses
        the sweet, the meek, the gentle,
                the serene. let eyes ensembled
peep the news sheets: ere
        december descends, we'll elect
                the next pres, reps, etc. when
we welter, cede the wheel,
        we let greed-questers enter
                (well-dressed jerks!). they send
themselves the green we need,
        help themselves fleece the sheep
                we be. we're the perfect prey!
the press sleeps the sleep we
        deserve, then bleeds berserk
                text between celeb tweets. we'd
best reject the mess, steer
        the fleet between these repellent
                hells. veer! swerve! reverse!
here's the pledge: we'll expect
        better press. elect the decent
                men, the keenest shes. revere
sense. never feed spleen lest
        we weep endless weeks, red-
                eyed, bereft. let excellent pens
represent the experts' ken, help
        peeps remember key elements.
                let's select well. we'll revel yet.

--------

Our first chore of the new year involved getting our flat tire replaced, so we left the van in the shop for the morning and Paul worked from home. Adam was back at school, we had lunch with Daniel, then we went to retrieve the van. The rest of my day involved unexciting work, laundry, and various other forms of cleaning (Adam has inspired me to clean out my dresser but this is a multi-day project). I laughed to see that several Republicans are so angry with Boehner for blowing off Hurricane Sandy emergency relief funding that they are encouraging constituents not to give the Republican party any money. Perhaps the sane Republicans will stop sucking up to the insane ones and retake the party...or leave it.

In the evening, despite winter break technically being over, those of us who had not seen Skyfall decided that we wanted to. I liked it better than the previous Daniel Craig Bond movies -- I like him as an actor, just don't like the overall humorlessness and amped-up violence -- but compared to, say, Lincoln or Les Miserables, it isn't really my thing, and I thought Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes were under-used. It does have my favorite opening credits sequence since "The Spy Who Loved Me" and it is a comfort to know that Bond will ALWAYS have opening credits! Here are some more photos from last weekend visiting Winterthur's winter holiday displays:


The table is set in Winterthur's Marlboro Room for a fancy holiday dinner.


The DuPont Dining Room is set up with gifts for family and guests.


The Cobblestone Courtyard, which has the facades of three historic buildings surrounding a central path, shows a Christmas fair in progress.


Holiday flowers from the greenhouses adorn the Chinese Parlor.


This lovely wallpaper depicts a lovely celebration around the lovely Bay of Naples with lovely Mount Vesuvius about to erupt!


Many Christmas trees throughout the house reflect the estate's collections and interests, including this dried flower tree...


...this butterfly and hummingbird tree...


...and this azalea tree with flowers from the greenhouses.

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