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.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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