Category: Chickity check it!

The Greening of Literature

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Reblogged from JoeAnn Hart’s Float ~

JoeAnn Hart writes:

“Last week at the AWP conference in Seattle, I participated in a panel called The Greening of Literature: Eco-Fiction and Poetry to Enlighten and Inspire. The discussion was led by John Yunker of Ashland Creek, an environmentally conscious press in Oregon, (and publisher of Float). I was joined by poet Gretchen Primack, and fiction writers Ann Pancake and Mindy Mejia. We had such a scintillating program, I am moved to share my short talk here, starting with a quote from Ian McEwan’s 2010 novel, Solar:

 “Professor Beard would not have believed it possible that he would be in a room drinking with so many seized by the same particular assumption, that it was art in its highest forms – poetry, sculpture, dance, abstract music, conceptual art – that would lift climate change as a subject, gild it, palpate it, reveal all the horror and lost beauty and awesome threat and inspire the public to take thought, take action, or demand it of others.”

Professor Beard, with his Nobel prize in physics clutched to his chest, is offended by the idea that art might be a better tool for curing a sick planet than his analytical facts. But for all his scientific knowledge, he fails to understand that art has power. Images created by art by-pass the modern cerebral cortex and go straight to our ancient limbic brain which controls memory and emotion, the part of the brain where we process value judgments, judgments that exert a strong influence on our behavior.”

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Continue reading here.

Fred Rice to Present at the Seaside Garden Club on March 11th at the Manchester Community Center

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Kate Wilwerth from the Seaside Garden Club writes,

“Hi Kim – Great to follow your Monarch journey in Mexico. Beautiful photos and accompanying text! The Seaside Garden Club has a great program coming up next week. Fred is a dynamic speaker – should be a great turn out!  Thanks for your continued support!”

The Seaside Garden club is thrilled to have the always entertaining Fred Rice present his new program entitled “The Well Decorated Garden” on Tuesday, March 11th at the Manchester Community Center.  Doors open at 7:00 pm for social time; the program begins promptly at 7:30 pm.  Light refreshments will be served. We are pleased to announce that this program is open to all at no charge, thanks to the generosity of the Manchester Cultural Council.  

Fred describes his new program: An appealing garden is the result of the sum of it’s individual parts, and plant material is only a part of the horticultural equation. The “bones” of the garden provide the form, the plants provide color, texture, and fragrance, but there is another factor that provides a sort of garnish,  a sort of human touch.  The addition of sculpture, furniture, structures, and architecture help to make each garden unique to it’s creator and the possibilities are nearly endless!  “The Well Decorated Garden” explores many of those possibilities.

Fred Rice, former Manchester resident (now residing in Rome, New York), is a well known garden designer, consultant and sought-after horticultural lecturer. He has nearly 30 years experience as a lecturer/public speaker throughout the Eastern United States and in the UK.  His former home at 9 Friend Street in Manchester was open regularly for garden tours and has been featured in many publications, including Country Homes, Country Gardens, The English Garden and Dream Gardens Across America.  In addition, Fred has many stage and screen credits to his name for wig and makeup design.  His resume also includes floral design and consultation and teaching.  Visit Fred’s website for more information: http://frederickrice.com/

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Fred Rice Photo

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Manchester Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency.  Together, MCC and its advocates and partners across the state are working to restore funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences. We have a long way to go, and it remains crucial that we continue to demonstrate the value of arts and culture to the people of Massachusetts. The Manchester Cultural Council has been a generous supporter of the Seaside Garden Club programs.  

About the Seaside Garden Club: We are a group of fun, active, civic-minded and hands-on gardeners.  We welcome all types of gardeners from beginners to experienced… there is always something to learn and share.  We invite you to become a member of our club ($25 annual membership) and enjoy our monthly programs which feature interesting guest speakers and creative workshops.  The Seaside Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of every month (September through June) at 7:00 pm at the Community Center, Manchester-by-the-Sea.  Visit our blog: http://seasidegardenclub.wordpress.com/

So I’m Going Through The Blogroll in the Right Hand Column and…

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

So I’m going through the GMG Blogroll (a list of links) in the right hand column of the blog (for those who subscribe and get the email version go to www.goodmorninggloucester.com  and you can see what I’m talking about) and I start clicking through the list of links.

I hadn’t gone through the list for a while but what I found was that a huge number of the blogs that I link to in the GMG Blogroll either haven’t been updated in over a year or don’t even exist any more.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that it doesn’t matter how fantastic the content you create, there are a bazillion other websites out there that you are competing for eyeballs with.  Many people think you can just create a website, register a domain and then magically a million people know about your blog and are anxious to find you.  Well for probably 99.5% of people who start blogs my guess is that after pouring your heart and soul into it for a while and if it doesn’t pick up steam you look at your stats and it could be disheartening and you lose the drive to update it.  Thud.  End of story.

This isn’t to discourage anyone from starting a blog, but rather to celebrate the ones who have been doing it for a while and have kept at it.

This brings me to my buddy Bowsprite who I discovered back in the first months of creating GMG.  How I found her and Marty’s son Brian and Bowsprite’s buddy Tugster was through a search for like minded bloggers who were blogging about industrial boats.  They were all located in NY.

Monkeyfist (seated and facing away) Bowsprite and Tugster Visit Gloucester

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Joey C

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Our Marty Luster actually moved here after a two or three day visit to Gloucester with his blogging son Brian (Marty wasn’t a part of GMG yet)  whose blog A Movable Bridge hasn’t been updated in far too long.

But Bowsprite has kept at it.

My dream is to have her up here and take over one of the months at the Goettemann residency on Rocky neck so she could illustrate Gloucester’s industrial ships and share her deep love for Industrial waterfronts with us.  I’ve even written on her behalf to the selection committee but it hasn’t happened yet.  Maybe some day.

Anyway, Kudos To Bowsprite for keeping at it.  You really ought to check out here site, her stories and her illustrations.  She’s one of my favs and an incredibly kind soul.

Check out her waterbog here-

Bowsprite: A New York Harbor Sketchbook

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and this from here visit to the dock to take a dip in Gloucester Harbor-

Bowsprite’s November Gloucester Harbor Swim 11/16/09

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Joey C

Bowsprite is an artist and blogger from the sixth borough in NY.  Check out her incredible nautical illustrations by clicking this text

Who drives up from New Yawk to jump in Gloucester’s inner harbor for a leisurely swim in mid-November?  Bowsprite, that’s who.

Related:

All It Takes Is One Visit Posted  November 29, 2009 by Joey C

Welcome To Gloucester Marty! Posted on May 14, 2010 by Joey C

Gorgeous Works on Paper by American Realist Painter JEFF WEAVER

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

SIMPLY EXQUISITE ~Don’t miss this show!

Afternoon Light, Governor's Hill 528

Rockport Art Association

Jeff Weaver ~ Solo Exhibit

Opening Reception

Sunday, March 16, 2014, 2-4pm

Show runs through March 27, 2014

Artist Statement

“This show of works on paper consists of drawings in charcoal, pastel, and oil, as well as watercolor.
Some were done as sketches or studies for larger works, others as finished pieces in themselves.
The use of a variety of mediums helps me to take a fresh approach to familiar subjects””

Wharves in Snow 528

 

The Writer’s Book Club at Duckworth’s Presents “The Things They Carried”

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Very much looking forward to this Writer’s Book Club event, presented by Eastern Point Lit House and Duckworth’s Bistrot! Chris Anderson, one of my favorite people and a GMG FOB, is going to be leading the event. This promises to be a great discussion, made especially enjoyable as it will be held at the always warm and welcoming Duckworth’s restaurant, accompanied by the sublime Ken Duckworth viands!! I hope to see you there!

Chris writes:

Hi Kim!

Glad you’re back. But with this snow, I bet you wish you were still in Mexico;
Can you help spread the word about these upcoming EPLH events? I’d really appreciate it. The reading this Sunday is going to be great–Joseph Riippi is a wonderful writer and person. And I’ll be leading the book club at Duckworth’s. We’re doing Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, a modern classic, and one of my favorite books (I was lucky enough to attend workshops/hang with Tim in grad school back in Texas). I can’t wait!

Hope this finds you well (and warm).

Thank you!
Chris

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Lecture: Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

On Thursday, March 6th, at 7:30pm I will be giving a slide presentation and lecture for the Holden Garden Club. The lecture is based on my book, Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!, which I both wrote and illustrated.

Now is the perfect time of year to read Oh Garden, as we dream of spring awakenings and all the garden’s possibilities!

See the Events page of my website for upcoming lectures and film screenings open to the public.

Addendum to the post ~

Brian M. O’Connor, “happy me” asks in the comment section, “what beach or dock is Holden near?”

My response:

Hi Brian,

How you you? How is your beautiful daughter Amelia?

I am so blessed that Oh Garden has sold all around the country, as well as in Canada and England, and continues to do so. It has legs for a reason. The information within its pages continues to have relevance and inform. My book is primarily about garden design, with a tremendous amount of information about habitat gardening; how to create a welcoming haven for people, butterflies, and songbirds; how to create a fragrant garden, and beautiful Gloucester gives it a sense of place. I wrote Oh Garden for my children, and primarily for young families just starting out with a garden, and for people who want a new look to their garden, to try something new and give them a fresh way of thinking about their existing garden.

One reason I chose my publisher, David R. Godine, is because he has a fabulous backlist catalogue; books don’t end up in the remand pile, which is the fate of most non-self published books today if they aren’t number one best sellers.

Thanks so much Brian for the question!

Best wishes to you and your family.

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Meet the cast of Fame Jr., tonight on Cape Ann TV — see the play live @ O’Maley this week

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

FameLogoHeidi Dallin interviews the cast and crew of “Fame Jr.” for a  Cape Ann TV special that airs tonight at 6PM on Channel 12.

If you haven’t seen the show, your last chance is this week: Thursday & Friday, March 6 & 7 at 7PM or Saturday & Sunday, March 8&9 at 1pm.

Tickets are available at the door.

If you can watch the special tonight, see it on the Web at Cape Ann TV’s wicked cool streaming service here.

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VIDEO: Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll) it’s Mardi Gras!

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

Well, here in frosty New England, it used to be just another Tuesday in the dead of winter.  But once Henri Smith moved to Gloucester (after Katrina blew is house down — see short bio here) we started celebrating Mardi Gras and now you have plenty of opportunities to celebrate on Cape Ann.  Here are a few:

Eat and drink at Lat43 and Minglewood from 11:30 – close today and 10% of what you spend goes to help send YMCA Teens on their service learning trips to New Orleans and the Navajo Nation.  Plus you can enter a raffle to win cool prizes (including 4 tickets to see Grammy-winner Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers with Henri Smith on Friday at The Larcom Theatre just down the road in Beverly).

Great music tonight all over town and music is the best way to celebrate.  See the complete live music schedule here.

Any time you like you can see Henri Smith and Charles Neville’s 2012 Mardi Gras concert at Minglewood Tavern on Cape Ann TV’s wicked cool streaming site here.

If you’re NOLA homesick, check out the live webcams here.

Maybe — just maybe — if we celebrate Mardi Gras today, we’ll heat up Cape Ann and usher in Spring a tad earlier.  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

New SingerSongwriterShuffle begins this Thursday @ Giuseppe’s Ristorante, Gloucester, Ma. Start planning your week!! This Thursday, our 7th SingerSongwriterShuffle begins!!!! 7-10pm

Posted on by Joanne

singersongwritershuffle 3.6.2014

New SingerSongwriterShuffle begins this Thursday @ Giuseppe’s Ristorante, Gloucester, Ma
Start planning your week!! This Thursday, our 7th SingerSongwriterShuffle begins!!!! 7-10pm Here is the lineup!

7:10-7:30 Matt Minigell
7:35-7:55 Toni Ann Enes
8:00-8:20 Satch Kerans
8:25-8:45 Charlee Bianchini
8:50-9:10 Allen Estes
9:15-9:35 Penni Hart/Tony Trites (Folkapotamus)
9:40-10:00 John Jerome

VIDEO: Excellent songs up for Oscars tonight — and lots of great music in town too

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

OK, tonight most of us will be celebrating films, but Oscar night is also a perfect time celebrate great songs — and this is a particularly good year for song nominations.

Our two favorites are “Happy” by Pharrell Williams (the guy with the funny Smokey the Bear hat who won the Record of the Year Grammy with Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers) from the movie Despicable Me 2; and “Ordinary Love” by U2 from the movie Mandella: Long Walk to Freedom.  I particularly like Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” video (not from the movie).   Check out this dancing!

Among the Best Picture nominees is American Hustle, part of which was filmed down the road in Salem.

If you like to be out on Oscar night and just follow the events on your phone, there’s plenty of excellent music, starting with The Jazz Brewers at the Brew Pub at 5pm and one of our favorites, Inge Berge, at The Rhumb Line at 7:30.  See tonight’s full live music schedule here.

LISTEN LIVE and hear Gracie Curran Sing on Boston Herald Radio today at 2pm

Posted on by Vickie & Peter

Hear Boston blues singer Gracie Curran, who opened the 2013 Gloucester Blues Fest, sing on Adriana Cohen’s  Boston Herald Radio show, “Trending Now” today at 2pm.  You can listen LIVE ON LINE here.

And you can see Gracie LIVE at the Larcom Theatre in Beverly with Roomful of Blues horns (remember them from Celebrate Gloucester?) on Saturday, April 5.  Get tickets here.

Got stuff? Indoor Yard sale Friday Night 5-8pm, March 7th at the Magnolia Library.

Posted on by Joanne

If you’re like most of us, you’ve got a LOT of stuff. Why not turn it into extra cash this Friday Night, March 7th at the Magnolia Library? Set up a table and come sell your unwanted items with your friends and neighbors!

Besides antiques, collectibles, books, records & household items, this sale will feature lots of postcards local and others. And… coffee by Glosta Joes, and Desserts by East Main St. Baking co.! If you’d like to set up, the fee is $20. This includes an 8ft table and chair. These events are well promoted, so there should be a great turnout! For more details call Walt at 978-395-7077 Hope to see you there!

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2013 Sunday Greasy Pole Walking for Loved Ones and Former Champs

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Another favorite event to look forward to this coming summer!

Nicky Avelis Walking for Loved Ones

Nicky Avelis captures the flag for the third year in a row. Avelis dedicated his win to family friend and St. Peter’s Fiesta legend Sleepy Pallazolla.

Congratulations Nicky!

Originally posted on GMG July 5, 2013

Video – 2013 Sunday Greasy Pole Walking for Loved Ones and Former Champs

Chickity Check It: Seven Tips for Good PR Writing by John McElhenny

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Seven Tips for Good PR Writing

Posted on: February 21st, 2014 by John McElhenny


There’s an unfinished conference room in the back of our office where no one ever goes. Table tops lie on their sides with no legs. Deconstructed cubicles stand against the walls, shelves and desktops assorted like giant puzzle pieces. A dry erase marker lies on the ground, never used.

It’s there in the dark that I write.

As public relations professionals, content generation is becoming an ever more important part of our job. Clients need a continuous stream of blog posts, opinion articles, news releases, feature articles and social media posts to connect with their audiences.

For the entire article click here to view it at Ink House

No Brainer Magazine Subscription For North Shore Magazine $12 A Year

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

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Click here for the deal

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Publishing ten issues a year, Northshore magazine offers a colorful round-up of the very best in shopping, food, entertainment, style, education, and health, making it one of the premier luxury lifestyle publications north of Boston:

• $12 ($59 value) for a one-year subscription
• Find seasonal activities for the whole family
• Look for restaurants in a colorfully descriptive dining guide

“What a great magazine for those that live on or love the North Shore! Very well put together and informative articles about things that are right near my home!”
– LivingSocial Member

Northshore Magazine’s Website | Facebook | Twitter

PAID VALUE DOES NOT EXPIRE

PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES ON June 26, 2014

Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph Film Project Website Launch

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Feast of Saint Joseph header for website ©Kim Smith 2014

You may recall that last year on Saint Joseph’s Day, as well as during the nine day novena leading up to the Feast, we began filming the community-wide project, Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph.  My original hope was to have completed the doucmentary and release it to the community on Saint Joseph’s Day 2014. There are, however, several very important elements missing, and they can only be filmed during the days leading up to Saint Joseph’s Day. In lieu of presenting the finished film on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19th, 2014, we will instead be releasing a short 5-minute film trailer. Stay tuned for more details!

My most heartfelt thanks goes to all the families who have so far contributed to make this a very special film. If you would like to participate in creating Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph ~ A Community Film Project, please contact the director, Kim Smith, at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Much more is to come, with many wonderful surprises. Stay tuned for updates as filmmaking takes place during the Feast of San Giuseppe, 2014!

While editing over the past few months, I created Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph  website to keep our community informed and updated about the film’s progress. Read more about Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph, the Director’s Statement, follow our blog, and see snapshots from last year’s filming here:

Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph ~ A Community Film Project