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Aotearoa New Zealand's Poetry Day

Today's the day to celebrate poet laureate Cilla McQueen's Serial. I'm going to check it out at least once a week—I love how she entertains and inspires me with a few lines and an image! I'm hunting round the house for her wonderful A WIND HARP CD. Where is it?


Then there's Heather McPherson, up in Auckland doing pavement poems today. 


Remember this moment. The footpath blooming poems under your soles.
(Heather at left). Photo: Fran Marno


A tribute to the Pulse visual artists

(And to Rachel)

When Phyddy, the next-door Pekinese,
barks at outsiders broaching the walls –
acting watch-goose from a more feudal era –
I don’t expect militia, I don’t get too
alarmed. My inside wall after all, wears

disquieting witchy images: a gorilla mask
smirks in the schoolgirl’s mirror, an owl
pores over a spell-book, a Goddess floats by
an arbour’s swollen grapevine, a giant
exotic butterfly flaps. And here’s

Development’s virtual ticket - a calico
look-alike tea towel marked with a red
film-legend message - slung from
a beret-knit-painted Mandala. And
the small one’s a cunt-art print. All
these graphics bark warnings:

Look out! We’re Queerly strange!
And all help concentrate my gaze.

—Heather McPherson



You can read more about Heather here and here, where you can also hear her read.

Finally, here's Wild Celtic's contribution to the Kid in the Front Row's
Sequels, Remakes & Reboots blogathon with its lovely roundup post afterwards. I don't know Wild Celtic's 'real' name, but today she's got a clip of Barack Obama presenting an award to another poet, Paul McCartney. So, from far away, she's taking part in our poetry day, too.


At the cinema eagerly I wait in line
To see a brand new show.
It is the newest, most brilliant thing to see
A plot - the only one of its kind.

I loved it, we cheered and gave applause
Not a dry eye in the house
Film makers grinned like Cheshire cats
A greedy idea had come about...

"Let's make it again!"
They said energetically
"Let's bring back the same plot device."
And so it began, making sequels to things
The idea of money being their vice.

And so it began and so it continues
These gimmicks and cheap movie games.
Bringing back the same movies again and again
Their pockets lined without shame.

At times it's nice to see old friends
Like Woody or Jack or Steve Martin
But other times it feels odd, off or forced
Like hanging with your aunt at Christmas
Right after your Uncle's divorce.

Sometimes it's better to leave it be
To take away your memory
Of lovely moments that brought a laugh
So I think sequels are a major gaffe.

There you have it. Sequels are one of those topics best discussed at length in person. There are many sides to the argument. There's the creativity aspect of it to be debated, not to mention the financial ramifications. There is, to be considered, the quality of the cinema and whether or not you think more time and money should be spent on films nominated to Cannes rather than the next Mission Impossible 4 million. So, rather than fan the flames on an already heated debate, I shall leave you with my list of guesses for films we shall see in the not so distant future:

The Pirates of the Caribbean 13: Space World's End
American Pie 69: Granddad goes to Camp
Transformers 666: Robots Eat Pretty Girls by Michael Bay
Father of the Bride's Granddaughter's Neice Part 3
Saw 30: He's back from the grave again!
and finally
Shrek 14 - Donkey and Shrek meet Buzz Lightyear

**Side note, I do think Toy Story 3 was brilliant and magical. It was wonderfully presented and had a lot of heart. Other sequels also have a lot of merit. City Slickers, The Godfather and Father of the Bride. It's the films like Alien v Predator 15 and Transformers blah blah that add the arguments against them. Great advice: All things in moderation.

—Wild Celtic

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