‘Arts’ Archives
Peace House People
This poetical picture story is by Mike Hazard. It is part of a project called Peace House People. The work will be exhibited at Franklin Library in February, 2020. The project is funded by an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. MIKE HAZARD BACK PORCH Life surprises on the back porch at Peace House. Ellie listened to music while Shayna braided her waist-length hair. Shayna said, “Mama used to always say, ”˜Suffer for beauty.”™” “When I look at this picture, I see a scene I have seen a hundred times in the neighborhood,” said the spoken word poet Fatima Camara. “I feel like I know these people even though we have never met.” “When I look at this picture, I see a blended family,” said the artist Bill Jeter. A blended family is a perfect metaphor for the Peace House Community. Life is good on the back porch. MIKE HAZARD I STILL LIKE TOMORROW Stories are shared at [...]
Movie Corner – Joker
By Howard McQuitteroldschoolmovies.wordpress.comhowardmcquitter68@gmail.com  “Joker” (2019)Warner Bros.4/5 Stars It”™s Gotham City, circa 1981, but it”™s mood is somber, melancholy, with visual decay from loads of trash and super rats running in and out of fifth, while crime is nearly everywhere. Then, thugs steal purses and wallets; to start the film rolling, Arthur Fleck, an amateur clown by day, is beaten and robbed by roaming bands of thugs. Gotham City really is the future. Actually, what is at play here is a series of snapshots of today”™s American cities”™ disparities balled into one, like in Gotham City, and rancidity rising near boiling point between the wealthy and the poor. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a.k.a. “Joker”, lives with Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy) in what is one of those apartments with drab hallways and worn-out interiors (that with a little ambition can be made presentable). [...]
Diahann Carroll: reflections on a groundbreaking career
By DWIGHT HOBBES Reprinted with permission from Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder October 14, 2019 MGN Online The late Diahann Carroll broke interesting, transitional ground starring as “Julia” (NBC, 1968-71). Her portrayal of a gracefully dutiful, wholesomely assimilated single mom was the image and embodiment of a white woman with brown skin: Caucasian features, straight hair, and grammatically correct at all times. The character was a widowed, well-paid nurse working for a white doctor, living in white suburbia. (more…)
