Change of the wall calendar

Here's how it ends, with the Marx Brothers on TCM. You might make #54 Monkey Business unless I decide to watch the Blue Jackets.

The death pools have been posted to.

1) Brassed Off
2) Big Fan
3) Exit Through the Gift Shop
4) Triplets of Belleville
5) Five Easy Pieces
6) The Expendables
7) A Town Called Panic
8) House of Flying Daggers
9) Sunrise
10) Who is Harry Nilsson?
11) The Secret of Kells
12) Local Hero
13) Sherlock Holmes (2009)
14) Murder by Death
15) A Mother's Courage
16) Poetry
17) The Kids are Alright (2010)
18) The Town
19) Raging Bull
20) Bottle Rocket
21) Morning Glory
22) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
23) Cave of Forgotten Dreams
24) Winter's Bone
25) Wallace & Gromit - A Matter of Loaf and Death
26) The Fighter
27) Beauty and the Beast (1991)
28) Partir
29) Romance and Cigarettes
30) Tristram Shandy a Cock & Bull Story
31) Airplane
32) Steamboat Bill Jr.
33) The King's Speech
34) Love and Other Drugs
35) Midnight in Paris
36) Blue Valentine
37) Empire Records
38) The Guard
39) Keyhole
40) Killer Elite
41) The Natural
42) Pearl Jam 20
43) Catfish
44) Passport to Pimlico
45) Whisky Galore
46) This is Spinal Tap
47) Mad Max
48) 24 Hour Party People
49) Hugo
50) Office Space
51) George Harrison: Living in the Material World
52) War Horse
53) Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten



Rest up!

Fewer posts this year than last. Readership is up, and I thank all of you for stopping by.

Trying to be brave, hiding on the couch instead

The day started by messing up my plans for the weekend because my ex did not pay attention to the schedule she agreed to concerning watching our son over winter break. And it was up to me to sort it out, by altering my work schedule. I did not yell, she is not worth it. I am lucky to be in a work situation where there is flexibility, but that capital is not bottomless.



I did calm down after being at work for awhile. Then again, I am getting annoyed at people who who incessantly click 'like' on my Facebook status, no matter what it is. Feel like planting a 'my goldfish died' status update just because I know there are people who will click on like. Pay attention dammit!

Took a half day so I could head to Fado up at Easton to watch the Old Firm match. An impressive crowd of over two dozen showed up at mid-day on a Wednesday to watch the good guys win by a score of one nil. Heard some impressive cursing and serious white on white hatred. No one was stabbed though, and the distributor was giving away free Newcastle Brown Ale, not my brand, but no complaints.

While at Easton I figured I'd take in a movie since I had free time.



Have to say War Horse is one of the most beautifully filmed works of cinema I've seen in some time. The cinematography is breathtaking, the locations picturesque. It's the story of a boy and his horse during World War One. There's a lot of earnestness from the actors, and the script. There's a line from The Last of the Mohicans used which made me nearly groan out loud. Spielberg does not go Saving Private Ryan during the detailed war scenes, he keeps the gore in check while showing us that war is a nasty piece of business. The film is also about the sad advancement of weapons technology. A scene that goes from a cavalry attack to the use of machine guns is horrifying. The horses used are so expressive, they can do comedy next, they can't be worse than Sandler.

It's not Spielberg's greatest work, far from it, but a touching at times story reminiscent of an epic from the 1940's. Again, it's a visual feast.

When You Get Two Calls

We were watching the George Harrison documentary when the phone rang. I checked the number, it was a name I definitely recognized, my heart jumped because the name on the caller-ID was one that has never called me, ever. I immediately wondered who died.

Picked up the phone, the person on the line was the name on the caller-ID. It was my stepfather's sister. She was calling me because she was not sending out any Christmas cards this year, and wished me a Merry Christmas. We talked for a few minutes, we asked how everyone was. She said she was old, had good and bad days. Was maintaining. She's an absolute hoot who may out live all of us. I can tell wonderful stories about her offline and was so happy to get a call from her.

Later, while still watching the documentary, my mother called. I waited until the film was over to call her back. She asked if my aunt called. I told her she did and how amazing she is.

Just now, I found out that a cousin is having open heart surgery on Tuesday through a Facebook update.

I hate being so far away from them.

He is Shaggy with Coin

This weekend the Wexner Center is holding its annual family film festival. A silent is usually screened and this year was no different. They selected three silent shorts and had local band Super Desserts provide the soundtrack.

The first short was Movie Night, with Charley Chase. I admit to being unfamiliar with Chase's work. You do not see it screened much and his work is overshadowed by Chaplin's and Keaton's even though he was quite popular in the late twenties.



It's a period comedy of Chase taking his family out to the movies. His son needs to dress younger to get in at a cheaper price, there's a Jewish joke and a couple of people with cases of the hiccups. Super Desserts really captured the feel of the film and delivered a very authentic soundtrack. I thought this was their strongest interpretation of the night. A good start.

The second film was Go West, this had nothing to do with the Keaton feature.

Monkey western.



This was a group of trained animals called the Dippy Do Dads, who were involved in about twenty Hal Roach produced shorts in the silent era. The Monkeys drank, smoked, rode goats and were probably horribly treated. I'd bet a number of these monkeys were in some of the Our Gang shorts.

The finale was the classic Laurel & Hardy short Big Business.



The boys are selling Christmas trees in July. They come to the great James Finlayson's house. Mayhem ensues. One of the great silent comedy shorts. Super Desserts did some nifty foley work involving a tree stuck in a door. I was teasing them on twitter this week but had to go up and praise them after the show. I asked how they prepped and they told me they watched the films over and over, took lots of notes with cue points. They did a fantastic job.

It was a good night out. We took my son, the program was only an hour. Hard to tell what he got out of it, but he stayed in his seat the entire time with no trouble at all. It was his second time seeing a film at the Wex, maybe Godard will be next for him?

My Bunker’s better than Gaddafi’s

We watched Blue Valentine the other night. A realistic, but completely depressing film about a couple who meet, get married and split up. I thought the leads, played by Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were terrific. A lot of it hit very close to home in the ‘hey this shit really happens to people’ theme. My problem with the film is that the script ignored the middle period of the brief marriage, in which the rot set in and the death spiral began. Their marriage itself seemed to be built on a lie and a sense of duty by one of the couple. We’re never shown scenes in which they are truly happy.

The film seemed to trigger me. Maybe it was a combination of that and the "You were at SUNY Fredonia in the 80's" Facebook group which added to my baggage of moroseness.

Anyway, it put me in an unsettled but safe mood and has made me think too much.
My first wife is in that group, and it's weird seeing people naming her in threads and me not being able to see it. She's blocked me. She requested four years ago that I no longer contact her. I have not crossed those boundaries. It's petty and bizarre all at once and I know there are people reading this who still have contact with her, which is expected.

I bear her no ill will, never have.

Closure's a myth and social media is a really fucked up place sometimes.

Busy week ahead as we prepare for the trip to the old country. Sending out the itinerary to some, a spare key and phone numbers go to others. Have some immigration forms to fill out and send. Bills need to be paid. What to pack? The temperature will be about twenty five degrees cooler. Do we go to the concert on Friday or Tuesday?

Also have to start promoting and get ready for a feature I will have in late September. It will be in Mount Vernon at Sips Coffeehouse. Mark, the man who runs the show up there has been asking me a few times and it’s time to finally take him up on that offer. I’ll be joined by Joe Suarez. Not sure if the CD will be done by them as it has some production issues and the inevitable delays of life. Mark September 27th on your calendars to take a little road trip up north.

In the midst of everything else, I’ve been researching the action of my Great Uncle’s WW2 unit, to varying degrees of success. It is a lot of work that takes up plenty of time with a lot of dead ends and dead veterans. I’ve found a book though interlibrary loan that has a history of the unit’s activities. There are some pictures and the names of his fellow soldiers are listed. Now comes the task of trying to find out if any members survive.

We both took the day off on Friday. My wife waited at the house for the gas company to install a new meter while I got the oil changed in the car. She wanted to play mini golf, in a continuation of the International Mini Golf Series, and blew me out by four strokes. I think she has a three to two lead now.

I have a couple of days off early in the week coming up. My son finished day camp on Friday and his first day of school is on Wednesday so I’m watching him until then. Third grade, how did that happen!?!

The final qualifying slam for IWPS is this Wednesday at Kafe Kerouac. I will be out of the country for the finals (which I have most likely qualified for) so this is my game seven sudden death there’s no tomorrow last slam of the season. I will not only be swinging for the fences, but at them.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be

If the world shifted on its axis a few months ago, it might be due to Woody Allen releasing an anti-nostalgia film.

Midnight in Paris asks the question, "Is it better to live in your own time, than one you fantasize about?"

Owen Wilson is an admitted hack of a screenwriter who travels to Paris with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams) and her wealthy parents. Wilson is trying to break with his image by writing a novel and is obsessed with 1920's Paris - the city of American ex-pats and foreign artists.

After an evening out with friends of McAdams, Wilson gets lost in the streets and is invited into a 1920 Peugeot Landaulet



Where he arrives is where the fun starts, and it reminded me of some of Allen's fiction, mainly The Kugelmass Episode.

Wilson runs into some well known characters, and offers up some wonderful throwaway lines regarding the value of Matisse paintings. He also falls in love with a muse, beautifully played by Marion Cotillard.



It's revealed that Cotillard's character wishes to live in another time as well, and people in other eras have similar wishes. In the end, some dreams are realized, others are not but there's a bit of hope for all of us.

It's the most enjoyable Allen film I've seen in years but it's not without its flaws. While lovely to look at, McAdams is way out of her comedic depth and her parents are extremely superficial. I can't see the two main characters as a couple. Wilson is perfect in the role Allen would have done himself thirty years ago.

Two Nights in a Row at the Ohio Theater

It had been a long time since I've seen Airplane, and last night The Summer Movie Series at the Ohio Theater was showing it, one night only.

It still holds up very funny. A silly film that the large crowd really enjoyed. So much love was given Leslie Nielsen when he first showed up on screen, and when he delivered the seminal line, the masses nearly gave him a standing ovation.



Worth missing Writers' Block for it.

Tonight we hung out downtown as well. Columbus Commons has a Thursday night music series.



Nick Tolford was playing. That man can sing! We hung out there for awhile and enjoyed a decent, reasonably priced beer. This scene can only grow in such a large space, it's good to see steps taken to get people downtown.



A few eating establishments were still open as well. Great to see spots not shutting down at five. We went to one of our favorite places.



After dinner it was time to head to the Ohio for tonight's feature.



Each year, when the series presents it's silent, members of the local Ford Motor Club bring out some of their vehicles. This year they brought more than usual.




We got our tickets early enough to snag some front row balcony seats, which are great to get the whole screen in while watching the organist play to the film.

Clark Wilson is always exceptional.



We got one of his shorts, Neighbors, before the feature. Despite a seriously racist scene (thank you 1920) it's a witty short with some fun stunt work.



Steamboat Bill Jr. is not one of my favorite of his films, I've always thought the pace was slow and the plot rather dull. But the hurricane sequence, in which objects break apart, dissolve and reform into other shapes and angles is rather amazing.



The determination in which he fights the wind, fights nature, makes my jaw drop, every time. Everyone mentions the danger of the house falling scene, but the wind, his fight against God, that makes it for me.

My Scottish Wife tried a new candy (to her) also. She gave the counter a once over and got some Necco Wafers. I tried to talk her out of them, "Dear, they taste like chalk." But she would have none of it.

She said one tasted like Fairy Liquid, which is dish soap. Another root beer, which she hates.

Not sure if she finished them or not but I do not think she'll be getting them again.

Downtown Columbus is not dead, if you think it is you're going to the wrong places.

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!

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.

This is it boys, over the hill

I rarely get out to the movies these days. Last night though, what a doozy.

This is the best film about a tire that kills people with its mind that has ever been made.



Day 30 - Your favorite song at this time last year.

I'd say these guys. See them live if you can, they are spectacular. Really want this band to follow up with a strong second record.



And with this the April 2011 project is done. Thanks for tuning in people. Time to mow my lawn and yell at people to get off of it!

Seeing the Tree

Dinner last night was our first time at a place that's a bit alternative and off the beaten path. It was probably the last time we'll set foot in there. Not that the food was bad, it was not. I think I liked what I had more than she, and the meals were completely vegetarian, for both of us. The service left a lot to be desired. I was not expecting a white table cloth, with teams of men in tuxedos de-crumbing the tables. However, the server, who may have been the owner, was not the friendliest sort and his casualness crossed the line to indifference. Sorry we went, sir, we will not bother you again.

Our movie experience was stellar. After wandering the new Wexner Center exhibit and it's chandelier of underwear, we went to see Poetry.

After we sat down I saw a few other poet friends enter the theater. They joined us and we had a small WB clan representing at the Wex.

The film is quite profound. A woman is raising her grandson and trying to make ends meet. He is implicated in the rape and eventual suicide of the classmate. She is taking a poetry class because her sister once told her she had a 'vein for poetry.' This woman is also going through the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. The plot advances slowly but surely. The woman struggles to find her poetic voice as the rape victim's mother seeks compensation.

There are some wonderful scenes in the poetry class and one actor, who does some risque poetry, had a great impact.

The direction of Lee Chang-dong is top notch. He constructed a beautiful scene by using no dialogue, a river, a journal and rain. I have to highly praise the acting of Yoon Jeong-lee as the mother. In researching her life I see that she is an acclaimed Korean actress, and that this was her first role in sixteen years. She really took on the role of this woman, and you feel everything she experiences. See this film.



Day two of the April project now.

My least Favorite song.

Is this my most hated? A song that makes me want to break speakers? A song that makes me question the sanity of anyone who likes it? Hate is a strong word. Least favorite from my favorite band? Not in this case. And why post my least favorite song, it may cause me stress and discomfort. It may cause you stress and discomfort. It may cause my laptop stress and discomfort. Just searching for this song and embedding it gives it value. Why do I want to do that?

So here it is. I'm not going to mention it by name. Just by that song that sucks so much it makes when something actually suck seem like it shits gold.

Ha, the link cannot be embedded. You have to click here.

While watching the Blue Jackets Fall Apart...

I'm returning to the land of the healthier while having a Genny Cream and watching the Blue Jackets' season essentially come to an end in Calgary.

More loss, but it's only a game I have no stake in.

I've been listening to a lot of soccer over the internet the past few weeks. It's become so much easier to find a match through my Tunein Radio app than find a video link online that may get cut off, could be of middling quality or a wonderful Veetle feed that takes up all the RAM so you can't do anything else on the laptop.

While sick on the couch Wednesday I could have listened to Arsenal beat the crap out of Leyton Orient but I found a station similar to ESPN radio and dozed to reports of gambling odds interspersed with updates of the live matches. So I got to hear the reports of the Scottish Cup match when Neil Lennon acted like a thug. Yes, it's an Old Firm match and tempers are in the red zone, but Lennon's really got to tone it down if he's going to be manager long term. The guy's already facing a four match ban.

Watched Nowhere Boy last night. A decent look at John Lennon's awkward teenage years. Most of the film took place during the time he was just beginning to listen to rock and roll and before he met Paul. Aaron Johnson did a good job at portraying Lennon. Thomas Brodie-Sangster was outstanding as a teenage Paul. Just looking at his resume I see that he played Sam, the kid in Love Actually.



Kristin Scott-Thomas was very effective in playing Aunt Mimi, who essentially raised John. The weak link in the film was Anne-Marie Duff, who gave Julia a bit more vacancy and cool mom vibe than was necessary. I'm not going to quibble about historical accuracy, but John's eyes were brown, not blue. First time director Sam Taylor-Wood did a good thing by including a rendition of the opening chord of A Hard Days' Night into this film's opening. She and Johnson also fell in love during filming.

Another film we just watched was The Secret of Kells. A fictional, animated rendition of the writing of the Book of Kells. The animation was gorgeous. The story held together quite well. But this is one I would have liked to have seen on a large screen, the colors and details are a treat.

The Peasants Dance

Got out of the political doldrums and went to the Wexner Center to see Murnau's 'Sunrise.'

It's only the second film of his I've seen, the other being The Last Laugh. I know, have not seen Nosferatu or Faust. I have gaps.

The plot is straightforward drama: Infidelity, attempted murder, forgiveness, a nasty thunderstorm, and this nifty scene at an amusement park.



It stars the lovely Mary Gaynor as the wife and a few other people whose faces I recognize, including that guy at the :20 part of the clip.

The special effects and cinematography are outstanding, and not just for a film of 1927. They still work and work well. It's a very good film that is not as dated as I thought it would be. To me though, it did not possess the power that The Last Laugh has.



Emil Jennings has been fired from his job at a hotel for being too old and is forced to become a bathroom attendant. Come on now! This film is devastating. Plus, it only has one title card. That takes a good script and some amazing acting. I know The Last Laugh is a German film and Sunrise was Murnau's for an American studio, and there are differences in studio styles as well. We're lucky to have them both survive.

A Long Post About Several Things

Been a good run these past few days. A lot of poetry, friends, and driving.

Wednesday night Kafe Kerouac was packed as the Win and You're In slam went down. Teams from Cleveland, Detroit and two from Columbus went head to head. I'm not sure about the scoring, I was busy keeping time, but Cleveland won with some solid poems.



Again, I've seen the place crowded before, with people on stage sitting, but this was a serious standing room only crowd, and it was amazing!

Friday night's First Draft had Columbus' own Rose Smith doing a feature of all new work.



A couple of powerful poems about a father trying to keep his children fed and about how Obama needs to tighten up really moved me. Great work.

I did a new piece after a one word prompt Scott Woods gave me back in November. It's called Gaythiest and I thought it went over very well.

Later the was a white guy (stay with me, there's a reason I'm calling his skin color) who none of us had never seen hanging around. He paid his admission, got on the list. When he took the stage he simply started taking, no paper, about hospitals, emergency rooms then he dropped the N-bomb. N-please to be a bit more specific. It was some weird unfunny Seinfeldian routine that ended with him saying if you say you are suicidal in a hospital emergency room you will be admitted. And he was done.

The applause was uncomfortable as he left the room. Questions were raised. He did come back, which was good considering the topic of his poem. Suicidal thoughts are not to be laughed off.

I was talking to Scott about this afterward. In my five years of going to WB I've only heard the N word a handful of times, never used by a white guy. And we talked about how WB definitely uses racial humor as part of the act, we do not do racial slurs. Big difference. You never know what the night will bring.

Also during this time we saw the film A Town Called Panic a silly animated film from Belgium. Simply put, a cowboy, Indian, and horse have an adventure. Here's a short of theirs which may, or may not explain what this is about.



It's not a long film at 75 minutes, but I giggled a lot, and that's hard for me to do these days.

Saturday was a long day. Started with me headed to the junkyard to try and harvest a couple of small parts for my car. Went into the yard with a phillips head screwdriver and hope. Took me some time to find the Subarus. Walked by the sad Volvos and a long line of damaged Beetles, which was where they were behind. Found a trashed, older Outback, there were no Legacys that I could fine, and opened the hatchback. I was looking for a clip for the curtain, which was tough to get out and a lock for the rear seat to move it up and down.

Turns out, only one of the items, the seat lock, fit.

The tragedy was that my sunglasses were missing. They clip on to my frames with magnets. I had the screwdriver and sunglasses in my inside coat pocket. Somehow, when I took the screwdriver out, the sunglasses were attached and went flying.

Went back in the Subaru area, and thanks to St. Anthony the sunglasses were right on the ground, easily seen.

After this stress it was off for coffee at Cup O' Joe in Bexley where I sat with the iPod Touch, updating and updating as Everton took Chelsea to penalties in their FA Cup match, and won! Happy morning!

After watching my son swim it was time to get the car ready for the trip to Cincinnati. This was a test for the Subaru as it was the first long drive I have taken with it.

We were joined by our friend B-Dazzle, who did a craft project with my wife during the drive down.



It was an Army of Amys and one of them stared at me the whole drive down. I think there's one left in the back of the wagon.

Out first stop was Jungle Jim's in Fairfield. We've been here before, but not B-Dazzle. Out main objective was the IRN-Bru, which was, to our delight, available in 12 packs. We bought one of those while my Scottish Wife tossed candy and crisps into the cart. I almost picked up a can of haggis.



Picked up a few beverages including, the national drink of Austria.

After Jungle Jim's it was time to head to Cincinnati proper. Thanks to B-Dazzle's GPS we arrived with little trouble.

By this time we were a bit hungry. Sure, we had plenty of IRN-Bru, but we needed hot food. The place across the street from where we parked was closed, but my wife spotted a beer light about a block away. Turns out it was a bar and grill called Arnold's.



Immediately upon entering I knew we found the right spot. Reminded me of Ulrich's and McSorley's. This was an old school place (since 1859) in a building that has been standing since 1948 and it did not disappoint. Good food, good beer and friendly service. If we're in downtown Cincinnati again, this is the place to go.

We walked the two blocks to the Blue Wisp for the other reason for the road trip, the Whirlwind Company, Brisn S. David, Mike McGee, Mindy Nettifee and Jon Sands, a group of touring poets.



We immediately met three other Columbus poets who made the trip down and Jon Sands. Jon took a table from the back of the room and moved it to the front, which was where we sat the rest of the night. Great people, great poetry family.

I had never heard of Mindy before this tour and was completely gobsmacked by a poem she wrote about her father called Tremelo. I do not buy as much merchandise as I should, but I bought the book the poem is in.

It was good to meet Brian and Mindy and reconnect with Mike (who I had not seen since Berkeley) and Jon. On the drive home under an extremely bright moon I thought how lucky I am to have such great, talented friends, and to be a small part of the poetry community locally and nationally.

Various Administrative Things

I do check the stats for this blog to see how many hits it gets, what people are reading, how they're getting here and where they're from.

I joined Networked Blogs via Facebook and that has had some good results. So if you're coming from Facebook, hello.

A few others have joined from unknown and known reasons, hello to you also.

The U.S., Canada and the U.K. are the top three countries that read this.

Ohio, New York, Illinois, California and Minnesota are the top five states, in that order.

The search keywords people use and somehow wind up here can be amusing.

"Weiner Mobile" is something that gets people here. The post about it remains one of the most popular pages.

"The Blog of Mystery" is another search.

"Make Me Dance I Want to Surrender" another.

Two of the oddest ones are "John DeBella 1981 WLIR" a blast from the past! And "Esther Craw, Ohio State"

Bless her.

As always, thank you for stopping by and feel free to comment.

Last night was a first for my Scottish Wife and something I had not done for a long time.



She mentioned to me she had never had Jiffy Pop. I guess it was a part of America she wanted to experience. Do the Scots have it over there?

So I bought one and cooked it up last night. First off: Electric stove and Jiffy Pop does not mesh well. We ended up with a lot of burnt popcorn despite the constant shaking and motion. The house still smells like it was on fire and it was not because we watched The Expendables.

Yesterday's Football and Getting on Youtube

Both games were fairly boring yesterday. I was perked up by my mojito stupor to find that Todd Collins had entered the game as quarterback for Chicago, replacing the injured Jay Cutler.

Collins played for the Bills early in his career. He was handed the starting job after Jim Kelly retired and was a complete waste. Until J.P. Losman came along, Collins was viewed as one of the worst quarterbacks in recent Bills history. So I laughed and laughed loudly whenever he took the field.

Collins did not disappoint, he played two series and was nearly picked off twice. Chicago then replaced him with third string quarterback Caleb Haine, but the damage had already been done.

I missed the second half of the Steelers/Jets game and put on Exit Through the Gift Shop a look at street art, an obsessed film maker turned artist and the elusive Banksy. A very entertaining look at insanity.

Sean FM has been taping many of the events at Writers Block these past few months and some of the work has been put on youtube. I got uploaded last night.

The link to Slam Poet Junction can be found here.

Thanks again to Sean for doing the taping, and for Scott Woods for doing the uploading.

It's that time of the year already - submitting work for consideration in the Columbus Arts Festival. The deadline is Saturday.