Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Poem for Tuesday, Romper Stomper, Strathmore

Postcards
By E. Ethelbert Miller

When was the last time you mailed a postcard?

My mother kept the ones I sent her. My sister mailed them back

to me after my mother died. I had forgotten I had written

so many small notes to my mother. The price of stamps

kept changing. I was always mentioning on the back of cards

I was having a good time. I can remember the first time

I lied to my mother. It was something small maybe the size

of a postcard. I went somewhere I was not supposed to go.

I told my mother I was at the library but I was with Judy

that afternoon. Her small hand inside my hand.

I was beginning to feel something I knew I would never write

home about.

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I had Cheryl visiting for nearly all of Monday so we got to indulge in lots of entertainment! After we got up and got organized, we watched Romper Stomper, figuring that since it's the movie that brought Russell Crowe to Hollywood's attention, we should probably see it even though it was reputed to be extremely violent and hard to watch. I have to say that the most shocking moment is a three-word statement by one character that isn't part of the racist, pro-Nazi mindset of most of the characters, and I am really glad I wasn't spoiled for it because the entire movie twists around it and changes its perspective on women.

While Adam did some work for a neighbor and went to the pool with friends, we went out to bring back Indian food for lunch, then watched the 1958 French Les Misérables dubbed on videotape, which was how Cheryl found it in a Goodwill store -- parts of it are very slow, but it includes things no other version I've seen does, like Colonel Pontmercy. After that we wanted something upbeat and cheerful, so we watched Bride and Prejudice, which The Guru had us in the mood for. Here are more photos from Strathmore on Sunday, where I discovered only as we were leaving that we weren't supposed to photograph the comic art:


Mark Newport knits costumes for his original superheroes.


The superhero art was on display in the mansion at Strathmore...


...which has indoor and outdoor sculpture and fountains.


The last day of A Shared Universe: The Art of Comic Books overlapped with The Jazz Samba Project - Bringing Bossa Nova to the United States...


...which was being celebrated with a Sounds of Brazil festival last weekend (here the Maryland Renfaire's Squire of the Wire greets a performer before going to juggle fire).


The wonderful Music Center had indoor concerts all day...


...and the outdoor stages had local bands and dancers.

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