Words by Christine Stoddard
​Photos by Aaron Gold

I had every intention of reviewing An-My Lê's "Between Two Rivers/Giữa hai giòng sông/Entre deux rivières" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. As my City College of New York sculpture professor Colin Chase once told me, I'm a "serious artist" and a "serious thinker." (He also called me Miss Thang, but that's another story.) Shouldn't I gaze upon this conflict related body of work and come up with something poetic about Vietnam and the U.S. military-industrial complex?

​Thankfully, it is a sign of maturity to know when to excuse yourself from a task. Given that my visit occurred on my birthday, I decided to cling to the wisdom that one acquires by living another year. Rather than inundate myself with more thoughts of war-themed photography, I'd inundate myself with thoughts of conceptual art. So I opted for Ed Ruscha first and foremost during my most recent MoMa escapade. I needed escapism and humor, and "Now Then" is a big, honkin' retrospective. Did I see An-My Lê's exhibition? Yes, and the "Fourteen Views" installation juxtaposing images from Vietnam, U.S., and France was a chapel I hope to reflect upon another time. If nothing else (and there's a lot else), go see it for that.

Poem & Photo by Ghia Vitale

Art Effects by Pixlr E

​In case you haven’t heard already, I married myself on Samhain (Halloween) of October 31, 2023. My self-marriage ritual is the result of sologamy, or the practice of marrying yourself. During my self-marriage ritual, I read “Venus of Abyssal Seas”. I wrote and dedicated this poem to Venus and Astaroth, the goddess of love and demon who blessed my self-marriage.

Words by Christine Stoddard
Photos by Aaron Gold

Comedian/actor/shutterbug Aaron Gold and I galavanted around the Maryland Renaissance Faire for its closing weekend last month—and what a smorgasbord! I flaunted my Queen Jaguar attire, but I gotta say, plenty of costumes outshone mine. No worries. A huge part of ren faire fun is gobbling up the wardrobe buffet. Take a gander at this gallery below for a couple of our favorites, including a whole-ass boat! Another indelible aspect of the ren faire experience: live shows. We adored Celtic Magic, a comedic medley of illusions and Irish culture performed by Daniel and Bella Green Wolf. Equally stunning (though tonally totally different): Knightwings, a birds of prey show that highlighted owls on the afternoon we caught it. We're already anticipating next year's revelry at the Maryland Renaissance Faire! May we see you there at all 27 acres of the festivities. RennFest.com