Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Football sestina, not the best idea

I know there were some harsh words about the Bob Dylan Christmas record said here. There is a video out now. It has to be seen to be believed. Bob's wearing a wig that makes him look like Iggy Pop, or Tom Petty. There's a hellacious party going on. I think the guy swinging from the chandelier is the Jack of Hearts.

The boy went to bed at 10PM, woke up at 2AM and is still awake. At least it gave me the opportunity to see that what I started writing last night was total nonsense. It's been a tough month on the page, especially with the 30/30 project happening. I'm not getting much out of it, nor am I putting anything in. Writing the pantoum, getting only one response then seeing another poet write this short throwaway piece (that had a Springsteen song as a title) get scads of attention completely turned me off. Sure I'm being petty and unnecessarily jealous but this was not a clique I was a part of from day one.

The new Margaret Atwood book is rather bleak and fierce. It picks up around the time of Oryx and Crake and runs with bioengineering, pandemics and massive changes in the way humans live. Atwood has some wicked humor going on, and her satire is top notch.

I also liked I'm Dying up Here, a well told story about stand up comedy in Los Angeles in the 1970's. It's a quick read about the founding of the Comedy Store and the early careers of Letterman, Leno, Boosler, George Miller, Richard Lewis and many other comedians. It also has the story of a boycott of the Comedy Store and its operator, Mitzi Shore, that is rather detailed. I wonder how fair the book is toward everyone involved but it seemed a rather balanced reporting of events to me.

Alright, I think the kid's back to sleep. Maybe I can get another hour or two of shuteye.

5 comments:

Louise Robertson said...

Re: Must Be Santa. I be that is what Christmas looks like to non-Christians. Everything but a burned goat and lines of cocaine. And those might be in the bathroom with Uncle Todd.

Anonymous said...

Year of the Flood is set concurrently to Oryx and Crake. I agree with your assessment. Atwood's brilliance of writing, imagery and story completely overshadow the very few weak spots. I loved this one.

I'm having problems with my google acct here, which is why I virtually never comment.

-nammu

Someone Said said...

Louise: Uncle Todd eh? I had cousins. I think Bob may have been doing lines right before he popped up from behind the bar with a bottle of, something, in each hand!

Nammu: I just used your name in a recent poem :)

Anonymous said...

Did you post the poem on your blog?

- nammu

Someone Said said...

Nammu, you've got mail.