Author: Matthew Green

I am a translator, origami artist/teacher, and photographer, a blogger, former philosophy professor, and I love to sing. You can see my photos on Flickr and buy prints of some of them on Fine Art America. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter (@mehjg), and in various and sundry other social media sites on the web.

Anticipated St. Joseph Feast at Sista Felicia’s

Posted on by Matthew Green

 

The feast of St. Joseph isn’t until the 19th, but the celebrations are getting started!  Felicia’s St. Joseph Altar was the first one I have blessed this year, and I was very happy to join the family and friends for a magnificent feast yesterday.

 

The fish was wonderful, and came in many varieties!

 

They made literally piles of home-made pasta for the occasion.

 

Fish was just half of the story; there was a variety of salad and antipasto.

And, of course, there were desserts! I particularly liked these nacho-style cannoli!

 

And of course, Joey was there with is family, along with several other members of the GMG team.  Thanks again, Joey, for inviting me to be a part of the GMG family!

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

Winter’s last gasp?

Posted on by Matthew Green

Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, here are some images from our latest storm.

St. Joachim’s in Rockport
Walking in a winter wonderland!
A wooden fish swimming among coral-like snow-covered trees in Rockport
Delicate coral, or sea foam on the beach in b&w? Or just wet snow on a window?
City Hall seen through drops of water in the window screen
Snow clings to the walls of St. Ann School

Snow at St. Ann’s Church

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

 

 

 

Rocky Neck Art Colony New Artists Show

Posted on by Matthew Green

On Sunday, March 3, I attended the Rocky Neck Art Colony “New Members Show – Meet The Artists Reception” at the The Cultural Center At Rocky Neck.

As usual, the selection of art was intriguing and beautiful – well worth the visit! The show runs until March 18, so you still have time if you haven’t seen it yet.

I set about trying to get photos of each one of the artists with one of works. Here are a few samples.

Otto Laske:

 

Nadine Boughton:

 

Peter Reis:

To see the photos, click below:

thumbnails

I only missed Thomas Martin, Rosella Park Sagall, and Deb Schradieck, who were not there while I was taking photos. 

– Fr. Matthew Green

Chorus North Shore’s “Letters from Ireland

Posted on by Matthew Green

Last Saturday I went to “Letters from Ireland”, a concert by Chorus North Shore with counter-tener Thomas Mark Fallon, The Travelers Three Plus One, actress Pauline Miceli, and Trautel Brown on Irish pipes. The Chorus includes many members from Gloucester and Rockport. The music was at beautiful – at times tranquil and other times rousing (with audience participation in some cases)!  Well worth the price of admission.

– Fr. Matthew Green

Origami Class coming up at The Hive

Posted on by Matthew Green

I’ll be teaching an origami class at The Hive (on Pleasant Street) on March 14 at 7PM!

The theme this time will be Easter and Passover.  I’ll post photos of some of the models we will be doing, as soon as I pick them out… I’m thinking maybe a cross for the religious side of Easter and a bunny for the secular side of Easter, and I haven’t picked out the Passover designs yet – I have a book with lots of Passover-themed origami that I have to peruse to make a good selection!

As usual, please contact The Hive to make register, so we know how many people will need supplies although one or two latecomers are fine too!

To see some of my previous posts about origami (including photos) and origami classes, click here.

– Fr. Matthew Green

Have you been to the Pop Gallery recently?

Posted on by Matthew Green

_Pop Gallery open for business

During the month of January, the Pop Gallery (67 Main St. in Gloucester) was closed, but the re-opened in February (pretty much right on time for Snowpocalypse Nemo).  Among other things, they used the down time to redecorate the interior:

_Pop Gallery redecoratedThey also have new products to add to their already interesting and eclectic selection.  The gallery carries a variety of “Jolly Roger” and similarly skull-themed items, like these skull-themed items of jewelry:

_Pop Gallery skulls

They also carry some chocolate with some of the most inventive packaging I have ever seen (click on the photo to enlarge it so you can read the small text):

_Pop Gallery chocolateThat’s just the tip of the iceberg, really. At Christmas I bought some really nice catnip toys for my parents’ felines, and they were a big hit!

The gallery’s winter hours are as follows:
Thu: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sun: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

– Fr. Matthew Green

Tragedy of Julius Caesar – don’t miss it!

Posted on by Matthew Green

Turn off the TV, save money by not going to the movies… and go see LIVE theater right here on Cape Ann!  The talented director, cast and crew of the Cape Ann Shakespeare Company are offering a great production of Shakespeare’s “Tragedy of Julius Caesar”. I was at the dress rehearsal on Tuesday, and really enjoyed it.  They act it out with intensity and emotion that totally blows away the barrier of Elizabethan English.  This would be a great opportunity to help high schoolers see a text they probably have to read for English class, jump off the page and come to life!

Performances February 27 (opening special: all seats $5) through March 2 are at 8 PM; Sunday, March 3 at 3 PM at the Gorton Theatre (home of the Gloucester Stage Company) 267 East Main Street. Tickets, $15, general; $10, student; $5, youth under 19, are available at the door or may be reserved at cast2008@prodigy.net . More information is available at capeannshakespearetroupe.blogspot.com and Facebook.

 

 

Click here for more photos!

The cast includes David Adams, Jonathan Arnold, David Cluett, Stephanie Cochran, Richard Crowell, Timothy Edwards, Ashlee Holm, Ray Jenness, Ian O’Connor, Craig Owen, Dominic Parry, Matthew Recine, Jim Robinson, Jessie Sorrells, Ken Stoeffler, and Pauline Wright.

– Fr. Matthew Green

“Flash Mob” for the Grace Center

Posted on by Matthew Green

Glow with Grace

 

WHO: All members of the Cape Ann Community wishing to support Grace Center, Inc.

WHEN: Saturday, March 23 – Registration between 6:00-7:00 p.m. March begins at 7:15 p.m.

WHERE: Meet at Gloucester High School to join others as we march to Stacey Boulevard and then return to Gloucester High School.

WHY: To raise visibility and awareness for the Grace Center, a day resource center to help those in crisis.

www.gracecenterinc.org         www.facebook.com/GraceCenter        @GraceCenterInc

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

More photos from the Mass. Cultural Council meeting at Bodin’s gallery

Posted on by Matthew Green

I got there towards the end of the meeting last Thursday, but I got a few photos…

The meeting looked like a “who’s who of downtown Gloucester”!

Anita Walker sounded very optimistic about the establishment of the cultural district.

State Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante spoke for a few minutes while I was there too.

Joey obviously thought the whole thing was wicked awesome!

_Joey is excited! closeup

Kudos to Joey and all those who have been involved in publicizing and promoting, organizing, recruiting support, writing proposals, etc., to make this happen! And thanks to Fred for being a great host and a fine gentleman, as always!

– Fr. Matthew Green

Purim Celebration at Temple Ahavat Achim

Posted on by Matthew Green

“Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther).” – Wikipedia

Here on GMG, I saw an invitation to Temple Ahavat Achim’s Purim celebration, and decided to attend! I’ve already been to their Hanukkah celebration and two of the Cafe Shalom events, and it’s always been interesting and enjoyable. This was no different!

If you want to make sense of these photos, I recommend you read about Purim on Wikipedia or some other source. In brief, they read and partially reenact the book of Esther (using noisemakers to blot out the name of Haman), accompanied by alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) beverages, traditional pastries called hamanashen, and the wearing of costumes.  It’s a fun mixture of ritual and lighthearted fun. Cape Ann Brewery contributed some delicious pomegranate beer!  Here are some shots I took.

Click here for a complete full-size slideshow:

Thumbnails

and/or scroll down for a few highlights:

 

 

– Fr. Matthew Green

Nachos at the Dog Bar

Posted on by Matthew Green

 

Delicious nachos! @ the Dog Bar.  No, I couldn’t finish it all.  Well, not the nachos.  Next time I’ll try the wings!

I know, it’s Lent… but I gave up other things.

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Meeting at the Dog Bar for Catholic Young Adults

Posted on by Matthew Green

Announcement from Holy Family parish:

Living our faith in today’s world is a challenge.  Combining family life with work is tough enough in itself; finding time to pray and get to Mass can feel like an added challenge. In addition, it can be hard to reconcile contemporary cultural trends, lifestyles, and world view, with Church teachings which are often misrepresented in the media and/or difficult to understand, or can simply seem out of touch.

At the same time, the Catholic Faith is a source of inspiration and strength for countless men and women of all ages around the world.  It can be a moral and spiritual anchor, a driving force for increased respect of human dignity, and a key for interpreting the events and dilemmas of our dynamic, information-filled, and constantly more connected world.

Young Catholic adults, wherever you are in that picture, we want to hear your thoughts and get to know you! As a parish we want to better address your needs and answer your questions, and bring together Catholic adults who can support each other.

So, we would like to invite young Catholic adults (parishioners of Holy Family or not, ages roughly 20’s-30’s) to meet at the Dog Bar on Thursday, February 21, at 7PM, for an informal gathering to get to know each other over food and drink, and to discuss plans for future social, service, and prayer activities. We will be easy to find, as Fr. Matthew Green will be there sitting at a table wearing his distinctive Roman collar, probably munching on a plate of nachos or wings…

If you plan on attending, please RSVP to this address: capeanncya (at) zoho.com

You can also stop in last minute if necessary, but it would be helpful for me to have an estimate of how many people will be there, to give a “heads up” to the management. Hope to see you there!

– Fr. Matthew Green

Mari Martin Trio concert at Saywer Free Library

Posted on by Matthew Green

Last week, the Mari Martin Trio (Mari Martin, Ken Steiner, and Mark Retallack) gave a fantastic, free, hour-long concert at the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library. (A wonderful institution, but have they considered renaming the place to something that can be said with fewer syllables?)  Here are some photos.

 

 

 

 

Check out the matching shoes and beret!

This library and this trio are just a part of the cultural wealth of Cape Ann!

– Fr. Matthew Green

 

Abstract Origami

Posted on by Matthew Green

Each folded from a single sheet of paper following a regular geometric method. I am not sure who discovered these first; I discovered them independently back in the 80’s and published diagrams in the Origami Newsletter of the Friends of the Origami Center of America at that time. I also did a math-based science project about the one in the top middle while in high school; I showed that the spirals in the model are all based on the golden ratio.

– Fr. Matthew Green