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‘Massachusetts Mills’ by Richard Marion
“Massachusetts Mills” by Richard Marion (c) 2012. This is purple loosestrife season in the valley. See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
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Helping the President in New Hampshire
According to the Boston Globe today, the Obama for America campaign needs help in New Hampshire because a lot of the experienced Democratic political activists in Massachusetts are signed up for the Elizabeth Warren campaign. I’ve had a few people speak to me in the past month, asking how they…
Read More »THE MUSIC MAN Opens Tonight at Durgin Hall, UMass Lowell
Nancye Tuttle in the SUN wrote about the cultural entrepreneurs of the Greater Lowell Music Theatre—Jack Neary, Lee Grande, and company—whose concert production of THE MUSIC MAN opens tonight at UMass Lowell’s Durgin Hall (7.30 pm curtain), with a second show on Saturday at the same time. Lots of advance tickets…
Read More »Folk Festival Notes
We were lucky about the weather, given the unsettled skies all weekend. Twenty-six years later, the event feels more like a street festival than a music and dance festival, which is fine. The audience is determining what the experience will be. Food from around the world, sidewalk entertainers, storefront buzz,…
Read More »Leymah Gbowee Carries Olympic Flag in Opening Ceremony: Nobel Peace Prize Recipient and 2011 UMass Lowell Greeley Peace Scholar
From the NYTimes: Meanwhile, back at the stadium, the Olympic flag was carried along the track by eight humanitarians, including Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, and Leymah Gbowee, who shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Once they made a half-circuit of the stadium, they met a frail-looking Muhammad…
Read More »Outrage? Charles Blow of NYT Asks for It
“Where’s the outrage” cried US Sen. Bob Dole in 1996, asking voters to repudiate President Clinton. In today’s NYT, opinion writer Charles Blow asks, What’s the matter with Democrats in this election cycle? He cites polls that suggest that Republican voters are ready to run to the voting booth while…
Read More »‘Bridge Street Bridge’ by Richard Marion
“Bridge Street Bridge” by Richard Marion (c) 2012 This painting is the cover image for Tom Sexton’s new book of Lowell poems, “Bridge Street at Dusk,” which is available now from www.loompress.com See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
Read More »A Cautionary Tale: Stockton, Calif.
I lived in Stockton, California, for about seven months in 1967. My father had taken a job grading wool for the Cal Wool Co-op; the move didn’t work out, and my family was back in the Lowell area by the end of the year. Stockton felt a lot like Lowell…
Read More »‘The Great Gatsby’ Election of 2012
“The Great Gatsby” often tops the list of the best American novels. It’s a strange choice, really, but then maybe not. You would think the best novel would play out on the western frontier or take place during the Civil War or involve the Mississippi River or Plymouth Rock somehow.…
Read More »‘Commute’ by Richard Marion
This will be a good day to stay above it all and catch a breeze if you can find one. “Commute” by Richard Marion (c) 2012 See more artwork at www.richardmarion.net
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