Tuesday, May 31, 2011

When You're Not Invited Anywhere, Make Your Own Fun

Yesterday my Scottish Wife and I celebrated our second anniversary. She cleaned the kitchen, I mowed the lawn. We watched N. bounce around on the yoga ball all day. Too hot to go out. We're having a celebratory anniversary/her birthday (which is Monday) on Thursday night at Alana's.

A lot of poetry is going to be starting June off. Tomorrow night at Writers' Block there will be a Haiku Death Match. Eight poets enter the ring with their haiku, there is hari-kari, one poet will be crowned champion. Simple, right? All that plus the usual shenanigans and the continuation of the race war. Starts at eight at Kafe Kerouac.

On Saturday is the Columbus Arts Festival. The Poetry Tent will be hopping all day. I'm reading at 2:20 with a twenty minute set. Here is the complete schedule. Make your plans, see all the poets cooler than me. Drink plenty of fluids, it's going to be a warm day and it's a sauna in the tent!

Coming up on Sunday is the another installment of The Language of Art. The opening is at 2:30 and the poetry reading is at 3:30. I really enjoyed taking part in this event last year and this year promises to be great as well.

Last week of school for my son. Em's being great looking after him while all this is going on this weekend, and I'm working on Sunday before the reading. It's busy, he starts day camp for the summer on the 13th. We're less than three months from our trip to Scotland.

No picture of Sophia Loren today. I should make that a feature of this blog, she has brought a lot of traffic here.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

This has to be asked



That's for those of you who have found this blog by using Sophia Loren as your keywords.

For those of you using "mystery spot pregnancy" or "ozzie and harriet spanking" I have one word for you.

Really?

These were brave men, all of them

This is the time of year we remember our soldiers the most. In my family there have been cousins in the Coast Guard and Marines, parents and step parents in the Navy and Army, an Uncle who served in the Army.

The only one I know of who saw the horror of combat and paid the ultimate price was my Great Uncle, who I am named after.

I've done some research on his service and have found very little. My Aunt has his basic information, the unit he served in and company. She also gave me a photograph of him and two of his army buddies (names unknown) that was found in his wallet when he died. I also have a photograph of his grave in France.

Today I hit the mother-lode, a Yahoo group dedicated to his division. He was in the 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, Company A. I posted an inquiry and within minutes (23 to be exact) I had a response then a copy of the then classified document of his unit's action during the last weeks of his life, and a list of names from his unit who earned infantryman badges.

It's a stunning document, with sketched in maps and detailed descriptions of the unit's activities. I can't thank the gentleman (the moderator of the group?) enough for the information he gave me, and the leads he showed me to get even more information. I've sent out a request for the daily log of the company, and will mail out a formal request for his Individual Deceased Personnel File. That file should have some gruesome but very descriptive details as to what happened to him.

Looking at the action file, it seems he was probably killed while his company was crossing the Rhine River, possibly around three in the morning. I do not know much about him. I posted in the hope that I'd find someone else in his unit who knew him, a long shot as soldiers are dying by the day. This information is something though, more than I knew this time yesterday, and why I continue to dig.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Least that Can Be Said

At around eight last night the news of Gil Scott Heron's death was trending on Twitter. Jamie Byng, who had published some of Heron's work last year had put the news out that he had passed. It was not a hoax.

The first time I heard him was at WCVF.



I was seventeen, a white kid from the suburbs. I'd never heard anything like this. The tone, rhythm and timbre of his voice was great. The anger, relevance and intelligence of his words was impressive.

Over the next decades we went in different directions. He was jailed a couple of times, had a number of personal issues.

Last year he released his first record in sixteen years.



His voice a rasp due to cigarettes and who knows what else, he looked older than his 62 years. He was still relevant, and certainly had something left to say.

As a poet, his influence was astonishing. He was rapping, slamming, performing poetry on stage well before any other poet had thought up the act. I went back and found some of his earlier work, what I had missed. Damn, he was good.

Also found out his father, Gil Heron, was the first black player to play for Celtic FC, in Glasgow, in the 1950's. That only increases the coolness.

No cause of death has been revealed. It's said he became sick after coming back from Europe.

I wrote this last year, as a thank you.


The Revolution was Not in the Program Guide
(Apologizes to Gil Scott-Heron)

The revolution was not televised
It was not tivoed, nor recorded onto anyone's hard drive
The revolution was not cancelled due to lack of ratings
It did not get any blog hits, nor followers on twitter
The revolution was not seen on youtube, hulu, fox, or cnn
It was not streamed
It is not available for download
The revolution was not voted off of American Idol
It does not come in diet or lite form
The revolution contained no high fructose corn syrup
If you call in the next ten minutes you will not get extra revolution
There will be no DVD release of the revolution with bonus footage or director's commentary
There are no hidden tracks, or Easter eggs
The revolution did not take steroids or growth hormones
The revolution did not last up to four hours so we do not need to seek medical treatment for it

The revolution should not be handled by pregnant women,
or women who want to become pregnant
It does not have a pre existing condition
The revolution has no poll numbers, personal assistant or staff
It makes its own coffee
The revolution has not been interviewed by Larry King nor guest hosted on the View
It has not been seen on a kindle
The revolution does not have premium content
It has not been outsourced but may have been downsized
The revolution was not a part of the cash for clunkers program
It is not green, nor a hybrid
Steve Jobs is not working on a program called iRevolution
You cannot hear it in headphones
The revolution is not made out of cupcakes
The revolution was not factory farmed
It does not drink tea
The revolution did not get a golden parachute of stock options
It is not password protected
The revolution has a soundtrack that does not include Lady Gaga
You cannot play the revolution on a Wii
It cannot be exchanged for frequent flier mileage
The revolution is gone, but not missed and may be remade as a Hollywood film
The revolution does not need to fill out a census form
The revolution does not require a loyalty card
It endorses no one and nothing
The revolution, will not be winnable

Friday, May 27, 2011

Call Me Patch.

So the procedure is done. I'm waiting to take the patch from my eye.

I was given a local anesthetic, a needle into my eyelid. That stung, but the rest of the process I barely felt. My eyelid was turned inside out with a clamp. That was weird. There was some pressure, but no pain. Now that that local is wearing off, it hurts, like something is using my eyelid as a trampoline while wearing stilettos.

I'm ok though. Got to run out to get the prescription eye drops once I assess the damage. Should be some swelling and bruising.

In other news, if this film does not come to Columbus, I will be very sad.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

There's been another murder

The swelling in my eyelid has gone down significantly, but the size of the chalazion is still about the same. Surgery should be tomorrow.

Since the eye feels better it has been a little easier to read. Managed to fit a book in this week.



You do not think of Columbus as being much of a crime capital, at least violent ones but David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker found quite a few doozies from the last hundred years or so of Columbus' history. From digging up graves for medical research to the murder of Dimebag Darrell at the Alrosa Villa, the book encompasses many years.

I wanted to like Historic Columbus Crimes, but it's a slender volume lacking a lot of details. It is a labor of love, written by a father and daughter and when a chapter starts with the sentence, "On an otherwise unremarkable Monday, Mrs. Addie Sheatsley, a few hours after serving lunch to her husband and four children, crawled into the coal furnace of her Bexley home and shut the door behind her." You want to cheer them on.

Unfortunately that's the most colorful phrase in the book. In that particular story we find that the authors did not investigate the story of the story with great enthusiasm. Leaving out such details of the actual address, when other addresses are given in other chapters. I did not expect the authors to try and solve some of the crimes, but a bit of follow up would have added some depth to the text.

If you want to know more about an ax murder on Norwich or a vicious gunfight at Broad and High after some serious tabloid snark go for it, I'll give Taggart a shot instead.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

I Can't Even Touch the Books You've Read

Today is the 70th birthday of Bob Dylan. He's written a few songs in his life but to me, his best tunes are the angry ones. Positively 4th Street is a middle finger raised epic.

He's the king of the divorce song, Blood on the Tracks is the best assemblage of divorce songs, with Shoot out the Lights by Richard and Linda Thompson coming in a close second.



You poets talk about spitting. None of you will ever come close to the viciousness of this song.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Not Electric or Authentic Enough

Small things set me back. A computer problem at worked slowed me down, made me feel like time was wasted. Today is probably going to be taken up by waiting for the problem to be resolved It wore me down when it happened and the day ahead wears me out thinking about it.

My son is obsessed with the covers of Veggietales DVDs and bouncing on a yoga ball. Slowing down is not how he operates. Full blast, bouncing on the yoga ball. Watching him saps my energy.

The chalazion on my eyelid seems to be getting a little smaller. Heat on it does not completely remove it. The leaking has slowed down so my eye is not as fused shut in the morning. I'd like it to be lanced or cut out on Friday as drugs did not work the last time.

Why am I not capable of building my own pedestal to shout my praises from or proclaim myself as a deity? Maybe I'll change my Facebook name. Post links, shake my fist at them and not follow anything up, like a good keyboard warrior.

On that note, I really need a vacation.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

More Administrative Things

I look at the stats that bring people here from time to time. To see who is reading, from where and for how long. Someone in Australia gave a good once over to this blog, as did someone from Lockport, New York. I do not know anyone in Vermont, but thanks for reading.

I'm very confused about the search keywords concering "(Columbus Poet) sexy pics" but thanks for coming, I think. A picture of Sophia Loren has also been bringing people in. Here's another.



Weiner mobile still brings them in and "I Do the Chet" is a popular magnet.

Wherever you come from and however you get here thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed your stay. Do come back soon, and please leave a comment.

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Sun Rises on the Prairie, and Here

The Toronto Globe & Mail is reporting that the Atlanta Thrashers NHL franchise is moving to Winnipeg, bringing the NHL back to Manitoba for the first time in 1996 when the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix.



Rumors also have it that the Phoenix Coyotes are in bad financial shape, this season the city of Glendale has ponied up 25 million to keep the team in Arizona for another year. Moving the NHL to Arizona was commissioner Gary Bettman's doing, and he should take responsibility for its failure. The Jets were a franchise that had its supporters in Winnipeg, and the heart of the city was ripped out when the team moved, much like the Browns when they moved to Baltimore. Hockey is not working well in warmer climates.

I'm glad hockey is going back to Canada, and the Coyotes may be moving to Quebec City sooner or later. After that, who knows what will happen with the franchise shuttle? The Blue Jackets lost millions last year and do not seem to be a team on the upswing. How long can the city sustain a horribly run franchise, with little hope of success?

Sports in a city is fine and dandy, and I love hockey, but a locality putting up millions to keep a team that sucks is folly. The Blue Jackets are already trying to claim revenue from a casino that has not even opened. This is going to get ugly.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Come for the Poetry, Stay for the Coy Racism

Traffic was heavy headed to Kafe Kerouac last night. Was it the masses going to the Usher concert, the Ride of Silence up High Street or the multitudes headed to Writers' Block and the Rap Lyric slam?

Start time was late, Nordiq was spinning some tunes then Scott Woods burst out from behind the curtain dressed in a puffy coat and ball cap, looking like someone sitting in the back of the number two bus. As he broke out a stream of profanity you knew this night was going to be a bit, different.

It was not merely an ignorant night, but a night that took a few letters away from the alphabet.

It was ig...

I enjoyed having a DJ there again. Nordiq brought some more energy to the room. I've missed having a DJ but Kerouac is so small the music lasts for just a couple of steps until the poet hits the stage. Nordiq had a good flow going.

I'm editing this in to say what a pleasant surprise to hear Scott again. He's a doctor who was part of WB when I started out and he moved away for a better job a couple of months later. He's in Russia now and delivered a poem by phone at 5AM local time. Impressive poem and before his sunrise!

All was right as Tracy brought her sister Barbara with her to the mic, and Barbara brought another woman with her. The mystery woman read a poem in Italian, which Tracy translated. Turns out, it was The Humpty Dance, and it was hot. Hot in a Sophia Loren 1960 way.



Yes. That.

After all the merchandise on the table was mentioned Serius Add took to the stage to warm up the crowd for the slam. Six crazy fools took on the challenge. Claudia started it off then The Chet went on. Did Chet really do someone else's work, or did he slip in one of his own poems.

Again, I've been hearing the N-bomb dropped more in the past three months than I have in the last five years of WB. What is up with that?

My turn now. I had about four pieces to choose from, and my wife said to do this one.



Went over well.

I was hoping someone would kick in with the Wizard of Oz chorus, but it was not to be.

After me it was JG then Gina blew everyone away with her off paper Ice Ice Baby - which I did not recognize without the Under Pressure backing.

Sean FM did an original work with Tupac backing him up. Impressive stuff.

Judging was done in Gladiator Style, poets were eliminated and I was one of the last three standing with Sean and Gina. But when Gina got her applause I turned to Sean and said we should leave the stage.

She earned the win.

I drove a poet home afterwards, it was her first time at WB and she was not scared off. She'll be back. Call it a win.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Parts is Parts

It took all day but this phase of the car repair is completed. I take it to a place that tells you everything wrong with the car, and it is depressing seeing such a long list. Tires, water pump (and all its accessories), rotors, all adds up to a money pit of suck.

What is disturbing is that I was told Part-A, which I paid to have fixed elsewhere earlier this year, is still messed up. I'm trying to process how to handle this one. Maybe the part went bad because if it was not looked at and I still paid for it, that is beyond alarming.

Even more disturbing is that my son's mother brought him to me yesterday morning without a coat. She said he does not have one. Really? What I put in his backpack on Wednesday is not a coat? 45 degrees yesterday morning and she did not put a coat on him. Children's services would be called on me if I did that.

My eye is still a leaky mess. Going to be a long ten days.

Monday, May 16, 2011

I Found them, Now

85 degrees on Thursday, barely hitting 50 today. Going to be a chilly walk back from the car repair shop after I drop it off, but I need the exercise.

Went thrifting over the weekend. A couple of weeks ago I found a couple of old Panasonic speakers to replace the ones I had for over twenty five years. It did not take two weeks to find the ones I was looking for in the first place. Figures, right?



Old Radio Shack Optimus 127's. Bookshelf size. They fit on the shelves in the corner of the back room perfectly. They push out a decent amount of sound and the quality is very good. To put it succinctly, I'm thrilled.

Best part is, they cost eight bucks for the pair. Same price as the Panasonics. So sixteen bucks were invested in speakers. I'll take that price.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

There is always indoors.

It would not surprise me if I were to go to the ER before the 27th and beg to have this thing removed from my eye. Going on an eye and a half at times is no fun. Yes, I do not have cancer or a brain injury, yet this is interfering with my daily activities. My sight is bad enough without this chalazion warping my eyelid.

Reading. is difficult. Work, is tedious. Typing this, is hazy. Open mic might be out of the question this week, which means I miss participating in the rap slam. At least I should be healed up by Arts Fest.

Supposed to sit on a porch and drink wine in a bit. Fifty degrees and rain, this should be grand.

Tomorrow morning the car goes to the shop for repair. Some work needs to be done on the front end. These were all known issues; ball joints, a possible axle, the alternator belt needs tightening. Maybe they'll take my left eyelid instead of an arm and a leg.

I'm going to go shake my fist at god now, tell him to get off my lawn or start mowing it.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tasks and More

Woke up at an unearthly hour to have my exhaust system looked at. It's been making some odd noises. At first they were skeptical, but then a couple of other people got under the car and listened. Agreement was reached. Nuts were tightened, a few tiny holes were sealed and everyone was happy with the quieter car. Once again, I sing praise of Mad Hatter Muffler.

In two weeks I'm having a chalazion removed from my left eyelid. It's been there a few months, has not gone away and it starting to be an annoyance.

Once again, Jeni's Ice Cream has created a masterpiece. A new flavor, Rockmill Golden Ale and Apricots was released yesterday. It is killer. The Belgian style ale meshes perfectly with the cream and fruit. You can taste the carbonation of the beer in the texture. An amazing collaboration between Rockmill, a brewery of authentic (albeit expensive) Belgian ales and Jeni's.

After digging a hole in the backyard yesterday, the reasons why will be revealed soon, we enjoyed our ice cream, then some Vihno Verde, while listening to Radio Amsterdam. A song came on which I did not recognize, but my Scottish Wife came bouncing out of the kitchen.

It was a song by Scott Walker.



A Jacques Brel number of whores, opium dens and depravity that was quite racy for 1967. I found the record it was on and listened to that, liked it. The was another Jacques Brel number he covered called Next that was even crazier. I found the video on youtube and read in the comments that a guy named Alex Harvey did it better, so I found that.



I had never heard of this guy before. Holy shit, this guy was a performer. Hell, the whole band is amazing. How many bands had a guitarist in mime makeup?!? Before you know who, that is.

I see that Harvey died in 1982, such a shame. This band's live act had to be legendary. Check out their cover of Delilah.



I was in hysterics watching this. My wife wondered what was going on. She never told me about this group of Glasweigans.

Even if you think you have heard it all, and I do not, you have not. There is always something new out there, even it's it's a Scottish glam group from the 1970's.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Mutant Albino Crocodiles!



Tonight my wife and I headed to the Gateway Film Center for not just a film, but an event.

The last time I saw a film in 3-D, my wife was not even born. It was House of Wax, in a re-release. I remember putting on the paper frames with the colored lenses and really not being able to see a thing except a paddle ball flying at me in a blatant film making stunt.



It was not an enjoyable experience, the frames were awkward fitting over my own glasses, the film is not very good either.

I've been reading up on the current trend to make movies in 3-D and not hearing very good reviews of them from friends or reading decent reviews either.

What would it take to get me to plunk down my money, put a questionable pair of plastic frames over my glasses to attempt to see a 3-D movie?

Werner Herzog.

His new documentary, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, shows cave paintings in Southern France. Paintings that were discovered in 1994 and proven to be almost 30,000 years old. These are the oldest paintings, the oldest art, on the planet. It's a wonderful story that Herzog tells with his usual skill and narration.

The amazing thing is the 3-D projection inside the cave. You can practically feel the walls of it. The paintings are pristine, you can see the stalagmite crystals sparkle. The texture of the walls is spectacular. The glasses worked for me most of the time. There were a few moments of rapid camera movement that gave me pause, but these were seldom. I'm not sure if the film seemed darker with the lenses on, or how out of focus the film was because I had two pairs of frames on. All I can say is it did not really bother me

I do not know what people with normal vision got out of the experience, but I think ours were similar at worst. This was an impressive documentary in itself and the 3-D in the hands of Herzog presented the images remarkably. You feel like you're in the cave with them, that's how the depth of field felt.

I'm not sure I'd want to see Hobo with a Shotgun in 3-D, but if another film I was interested in came along, I would not be as fearful. This may not be the future of film making (and I hope it is not) but this is a good commercial to justify the process.

It's not a perfect film, the soundtrack swelled during moments the images should have been given silence and there is a bit of choral padding. Yet, this is essential viewing, enhanced by the technology. This is how 3-D should be used.

Here's the trailer.



Herzog also adds a postscript that is quite random and I really do not want to spoil it, but Ebert did. It's the subject line.

Get in the cave, and see it in 3-D!

Dude with a Dream



Been looking for information on templates for chapbooks, it's been a frustrating process. My macbook only has text/edit and I'm not going to spring for Pages, or word for mac.

Microsoft Word and Publisher are bloated and it's very hard to find what I'm looking for, let alone have it do what I want. I have found one type of template but have not had much time to work with it so the verdict is unknown.

Trying to come up with something finished by Arts Fest, or thereabouts. If it gets done, great, if not, no worries. Trying to keep it in house. Heck I do not even have a title for it, let alone the poems.

Maybe by August, or Christmas.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Eyes of Truth



Bit of a pity party last night. All is well, but the emotions of the times weighed down on me. Then my friend Sue, who often puts things in her blog that are exactly what I need to hear, said "The torment of having an autistic child is not knowing what he knows, so you don’t know what level to interact. And you don’t know what to hope for."

Which is where I've been with him. He's a very well behaved child but last night he went up in his room and sat in the dark for about half an hour, playing with his toys. He knows how to turn on the light. Then he's just sitting there, on the edge of his bed, feet in the headboard and you can't get him to tell you what's in that brain of his...he looks so lost and I can see he knows I know...it's in his eyes.

He has so many challenges and I feel guilty I cannot erase them.

Monday, May 9, 2011

What a Dump

The sun finally made an appearance yesterday afternoon. After mowing the lawn it was time to sit in the back room with a beverage and some vinyl.

One of the records I picked was from the Walker Brothers.



They were one of the rare bands who were American and became famous in the UK.

This morning I woke up to read that one of the founders of the group, John Walker, has died of cancer at the age of 67.

Not since Roy Orbison have I played vinyl only to find that the artist died the next day. If I were David Bowie or Paul Weller I'd not cancel any doctor's appointments.


"This is my first marriage!" I exclaimed during the first scene of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."

Ah Martha, telling George that, "He knew," when he really did not. Or did he? Geez, they deserved each other. Not that I was Richard Burton, or she Elizabeth Taylor. It's the only film to be nominated in every eligible category of the Academy Awards and every one of those nominations was deserved.

There is a bit of drinking that happens during the film. Alcohol is bad for you, kids, remember this.

In other news my son has figured out how to unlock the locks of the back door. This is both good and bad.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Before I forget these

Two dreams.

In one I was in bed and turned on the iPod as I woke up. The headlines said something about William Shatner dying on set in Hawaii. He was filming something and he and a number of cast members were killed in some accident. I could not read it well because I did not have my glasses on.

In the other I was at work, but in a different building. The Main Library but not the Main library. For some reason I was working the floor, wearing my coat, not identifiable as an employee and I was approached by a customer with a complex question. I directed him toward the reference desk (gee, sounds familiar) and his response was some sort of insult (more familiarity!)

Later, I was working that desk with one of my coworkers, who is Muslim. We were approached by a customer whose first words to her were to try and covert her to Christianity. Her response was to call security about this guy who had traumatized her.

Then there was an announcement that I could not quite make out, but there was a cheer from people in the building as the main power suddenly went out. With emergency lighting on, my coworker and I raced down the stairs.

I think that's when I woke up.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

You Think You're Lonely?

You think the sun does not shine upon you ever? Ralph McTell knows where the sadness is, and he's going to take you by the hand and show you.



One app I have is Tune In Radio, there's a great station out of the Netherlands that plays minor hits, or hits such as McTell's that were popular across the pond during the sixties and seventies.

Are you still sad?

Have you changed your mind?

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Another Day of Now What

It’s been kind of sad, watching the internet hate fly around the past couple of days. There’s nothing approaching closure going on, not while troops are still on the ground, looking for more thumb drives in homes with no internet or phone access.

What I’ve really been doing is watching the story take on Jessica Lynch-like spin.

WB had a couple of poems about the death of Bin Laden last night. I thought the over/under would be three. The Chet claims to have written one before his death, we will not know if he will not read it.

Before the night started a friend mentioned reading my blog last month and with the April 2011 project ending this blog was back to the “thoughts.”

I never once said this place would be specializing in anything, admitted that it would be all over the place from the beginning. I have kept it drama free for over two years since the craziness of Live Journal and I am proud of that accomplishment. Themes are tough, be they poetry, music or otherwise.

Scott Woods has a new chapbook out called, "The Livingston Avenue Suite,” which he read at his latest 24 hour marathon. I was not there when he read it so I’m excited to read it this weekend. I took a peek, holy crap there’s a Chinese Astrology chart in there. What did he do to it I wonder? Quantities are limited.

I do have some thoughts about the new My Morning Jacket record. Want to give it another spin before fully forming them. There may be writing this weekend, also working on the Arts Fest set.

First up, while it’s sunny, fixing the chip in the windshield.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Not your Father's Brady Bunch

The amount of time I've spent reading has been abysmal. I did finish a new one by Brendan Halpin and Trish Cook.



Notes from the Blender is a book for the young adult audience, but that does not mean people of a certain age will not get something out of it.

Declan is your typical high school who likes Scandinavian death metal and violent video games. Neilly is the girl of his dreams who has just been dumped by her boyfriend and best friend. Unknowing to both of them, their parents have been dating and are about to get married. They're all moving into a home together.

Halpin and Cook write this quickly paced book with great wit and throw in some surprisingly touching moments. Their characters avoid acting cliched and one, a vegan punk rocker named Ulf Lovhammer, is quite memorable. For the life of me I cannot understand how Halpin's work does not get put to screen, large or small. I'm not familiar with Cook's work, but Halpin's assembled a small number of well crafted books, including my favorite, Forever Changes.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Avoiding the Vitriol

Alright May, you're just like April with the rain. Knock it off!

Already knew this but it became magnified yesterday that this country is not over 9/11. I have no idea what it's going to take for this country to move ahead but it was not the death of Bin Laden. Even his death kept the divide going. I'm not sad the guy's been killed, but I'm not wrapping myself in the flag and jumping into Mirror Lake over it either.

Been thinking, writing, goofing off the last few days. After a conversation in a bar I'm wondering what poets in this town say about me behind my back. Still processing that part of the weekend.

Been in contact with my high school graduating class on the Facebook. There's a group forming for the 30th anniversary reunion later this year. A lot of pictures. I put one up of my fifth grade class, the only class picture I think I own. There were comments praising the teacher. The guy made my life a living hell for a year so I kept quiet. I'm not going to be the one to harsh others reflective buzz.

In good news my first college roommate found me through Facebook. Been trying to find him for years so it's been good to be catching up.

In very sad news a good friend's mother died. A sudden diagnosis of cancer and it stinks being so far away.

The little guy is good. Fell asleep at nine last night and slept through the night. Must have been tired. Swimming has been going great. He's going underwater a lot, opening his eyes up big. He's going to be swimming underwater any time now. Time to make sure he's finishing breakfast.

All in all, all is well. Now about that sun. Time to make an appearance, sometime this month.

Monday, May 2, 2011

You Got to Hang on in, You Got to Cut the String

Turned the local news on last night and heard that the president was going to make a statement at the bottom of the hour. For the president to address the nation, late on a Sunday, is something that I do not think has happened in my lifetime. The information must be significant, and it was.

Speculation was blowing up on Facebook what it would be, and after it was revealed that Libya was not part of the address, most were of the belief that Bin Laden had been captured or killed.

The news that Bin Laden is dead has to be a form of closure for the family and loved ones who died on 9/11.

Killed in a million dollar compound outside the Pakistani capital and not a cave in Tora Bora. How long was he holed up there?

What has changed though? Hundreds of billions of dollars has been spent so obtain this goal, now what? A wait for potential retaliation? This is not going to change the economy, the price of oil, inflation and government debt.

The jingoists are not even going to get the pleasure of dragging his body through the streets, it's said the corpse has already been thrown into the ocean.

Here we are on the day after. Just over eight years since Mission Accomplished. One boogeyman has been eliminated. Time for another to be named.