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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Years!

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The final hours of the decade are slipping by… I made a run to Taco Bell on the spur of the moment and then stopped off for a bottle of Chardonnay. The traffic was frantic. I sensed many are anxious to get this decade over, as if they could grease it and slip out of it a bit ahead of time.

So many are writing about the decade past or future expectations. Lots of New Years Resolutions. I’ve made some, though I normally take a dim view of the practice, something has driven me to do so this year. I’ve committed them to a page in my journal and I’m not going into them here, not now. There are a litany of bad things to say about the past ten years. I could repeat many I’m sure you’ve heard or can recount all to well from personal experiences. That is not what I want to do here. Instead I want to point out a positive story I read this evening. It even relates to poetry!

Christine Klocek-Lim blogs at November Sky Poetry and she writes poetry. I’ve followed her blog for a while now as well as read her on-line journal Autumn Sky Poetry. Still, I learned more about Christine in post from today then I ever knew about her. She writes about her metamorphous as a poet over the past ten years and it’s a story of challenges and successes. It’s a positive story and I think it’s a good way to pass out of this decade and into the next. Read and enjoy Christine’s story – Ten years of internet poetry (is poetry dead?) It’s a good note to end the year on.

Have a safe, a prosperous and a joyous new year!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Scavenger : GPS locates water, offers poetry for illegal immigrants crossing desert

 

I ran across this story tonight and had to share it. 

Here's how the tool works. The phone, loaded with free GPS software, displays a digital compass that locates water stations installed by John Hunter, founder of the Water Stations project. Stations that are too far will not be displayed. The phone pinpoints "safety sites" -- such as Border Patrol station, a clinic or a church -- and includes poetry written by Amy Carroll to "welcome you to the U.S," said Dominguez. Encrypted to avoid detection by authorities, phones are $30 and should be available by summer.

CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY

The Scavenger : GPS locates water, offers poetry for illegal immigrants crossing desert

 

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Saving our forests is in / Tiger Woods is out

You know how you see something out of the corner of your eye and you think it says something but on closer look, it says something else.  I saw this link Couple Following GPS Get Stranded for 3 Days but on first glance I would have sworn it read, Couple Following GOP Get Stranded for 3 Days. I mean I can see how they could have gotten lost.
This has been a crazy year for politics at home and around the world. The Republicans eating their own, so to speak; Democrats finding even with a majority it is difficult to rule. In Iran, the people decry a what they believe a stolen election and the ruling government finds an enemy not from the west, but right there at home.


As is often the case with a year passing we see things some things that follow it out the door and new things or at least different things become vogue.  My in and out list:
  • Phone applications are in / Land lines are out
  • Hybrid Vehicles are in / The Hummer is a bummer (out)
  • Collaboration is in / Competition is out
  • Staycation is in / Vacation is out
  • More tasks on the job is in / Bonuses to executives is out
  • Saving our forests is in / Tiger Woods is out
  • Staying put is in / Moving is out
  • Main Street is in / Wall Street is out
  • Saving is in / Investing is out
  • Paying online is in / mailing the bills is out
  • Sarah Palin is in / Governor Palin is out
  • Keith Olbermann is in / Sean Hannity is out
  • Reading is in / Jay Leno is out
  • Project Runway is in / Dancing with the Stars is out
  • Starbucks Coffee is back in / McDonalds Coffee is out
  • News online is in / Newspapers are out
  • Screaming at your Congressman is in / Writing your Congressman is out
  • Afghanistan is in / Iraq is out
  • Twitter is in  / IM is out
  • Texting is in  / Calling is out
  • Value is in / Price is out
I suppose I could go on but I have to stop somewhere so for now, this is my list.  I’m not saying all these changes are for the good, but some are. At any rate, another year from now many of the newly In items will be on the way out anyway.
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Monday, December 28, 2009

An American Sentence 4

I’m compelled ask the question are we safer today from ourselves?

Search for Missouri's Next Poet Laureate

Governor Jay Nixon has signed an executive order establishing the procedure for selecting  Missouri’s second poet laureate. The new laureate, who will replace Walter Bargen is to be named in January.

Nixon has an advisory committee that includes three representatives from the Missouri Center for the Book and two individuals named by the Governor. This committee of five is charged with soliciting, publicizing and encouraging nominations for the post. They will develop additional selection criteria, [minimal criteria established by the executive order: resident of state, a published poet, active in the poetry community, be willing and able to promote poetry in the state throughout the two-year term], reviewing and evaluating the nominations, and recommending candidates for appointment to the Governor.

The committee is comprised of: Thomas F. Dillingham, Associate Professor of English at Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri; Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of an independently owned bookstore in St. Louis; Carl Phillips, Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis; Kevin Prufer, author of a number of books of poetry and winner of three Pushcart prizes as well as an National Endowment of the Arts fellowship, from Warrensburg, Missouri; and Cheryl D.S. Walker, poet, lawyer and native of St. Louis.

I’m delighted to see the Governors approach to this appointment. Given this is nearly the end of December I would have hoped the committee would have had a little more time to give to the process. Those named to the panel appear to be reasonable choices for the search; I am however disappointed that the five member panel has a heavy St Louis tilt.

It would be nice to see at least one Kansas City area person on that panel.

A copy of the application for for consideration can be found here.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

What I'm Reading

I started a new book today.  Winter Pollen - Occasional Prose edited by William Scammell.  The book is  a collection of reviews, essays and articles by Ted Hughes, much of which originally appeared in newspapers, magazines and journals. I'll let you know what I think of it once I get a little deeper into it.

Is tomorrow Monday again? [heavy sigh]

Unconscious Mutterings week 361

You say... I think:

1. Classified :: ads

2. Praised :: child

3. Censored ::  book

4. 2010 :: decade

5. Lamp :: shade

6. Alternate :: lifestyle

7. Script :: post

8. Handsome :: man

9. Eager :: beaver

10. Meeting :: business
 
 
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings

Take a deep thought...

Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn. ~Thomas Gray

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas has passed, the snow hasn’t

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Snow came to visit us for Christmas but I understand it was pretty much making the rounds all over the Mid-west.

Thankfully our travel yesterday was safe. It was all local but the highways were still challenging. Visited my son & had a Christmas meal with him at his house. Cathy cooked a scrumptious lunch.

So we saw a son and on of our daughters. The other two daughters were out of the area but at least they were able to see each other.

It’s so quiet quiet here today I can hear myself thinking. Ok, maybe an exaggeration but not much. Actually I was thinking about some of the books I read this year. There were some  impressive poetry collections published.

By far most of the books I read this year were in fact poetry books. Otherwise biographies and some political non-fiction and baseball non-fiction. I’m wondering if I would best be described as a narrowly focused reader or a poets dream come true?

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

It’s the Season of Red… get in the spirit, give blood

I took time today to do a double platelet donation at our local blood bank.  I’ve never done platelet donations before but have been donating whole blood for many years now. Today I passed the 5 gallon mark.

Platelet donation takes longer but they are critical for patients with blood disorders, such as leukemia and aplastic anemia. They help stop bleeding. Fresh frozen plasma increases the level of clotting factors to help control bleeding.Red blood cell transfusions are critical for many patients who have suffered a traumatic injury,have anemia or have undergone surgery.

The need for blood donations is ongoing. Shelf life is limited and maintaining an adequate supply is a constant challenge. If you are able to donate blood I would urge you to look into it. It’s a gift that saves lives.

An American Sentence 2

Winter comes to slap us in the face and say wake-up you are mortal.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Unconscious Mutterings - Week 360

You say... I think:



  • Interest :: loan
  • Chase :: pursue
  • Itch :: seven year
  • Soothe :: unruffle
  • Lamp :: street
  • Tutor :: English
  • Nicole :: Smith
  • Sloth :: lazy
  • Burn :: unit
  • Bug :: flu
get your own list at Unconscious Mutterings

An American Sentence

A blank page is always pleading to make something magical happen.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Crab Creek Review Summer 09

                                                                                                          
Reading CCR this weekend – I just wanted to draw attention to a few poems that stood out to me.
  • Gail White’s -  How I Spent My Time Since You Died
  • Marjorie Manwaring  - Refusal
  • Kimberly L. Becker -  Washing the Blankets
  • Jill Crammond Wickham – Even with Clorox, June Cleaver Has a Tough Time Cleaning The Skeletons From Her Closet
  • January Gill O’Neil – Tether
  • Paul David Adkins The Mouse in Iraq
  • Maya GanesanUndefined
  • Joannie Kervran Stangeland A Crow Means Everything
  • Buzz Mauro – Einsteinian Physics in Plain English
This is the first copy of CCR I’ve seen. I haven’t finished reading it, I usually like to read poems multiple times.  I was impressed with what I’ve seen,  My favorites so far are bolded in blue above.
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Religious Right & Wrong

gopprayer
What is it about the Religious Right element within the Republican Party that feels compelled to seethe such meanness of spirit?   The rhetoric from such people seems quite in contrast to Judo-Christian  spirit.
A classic example was a sad display Sunday afternoon, just nine hours before the scheduled  1 a.m. vote  critical to the Senate’s Health Care Reform bill, Republican Senator Tom Coburn (Okla.) went to the Senate floor and  proposed a prayer. "What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote tonight. That's what they ought to pray."

Do we really need leaders that mix the darkest sides of human nature with religion and then insert it into how we govern ourselves as a nation? I find this kind of thing sickening.

Homeless Awareness


Today is National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day

A few facts about homelessness...

  • Research indicates that 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces, as compared to 34% of the general adult population.
  • Persons with severe mental illness represented about 26 percent of all sheltered homeless persons.
  • 35% of the homeless people who are members of households with children are male while 65% of these people are females.
  • 25% of homeless were ages 25 to 34; the same study found percentages of homeless persons aged 55 to 64 at 6%.
  • Children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population; 42% of these children were under the age of five (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). This same study found that unaccompanied minors comprised 5% of the urban homeless population.

Learn more here

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Poetry breaks silence - NashuaTelegraph.com

Poetry breaks silence - NashuaTelegraph.com:

“Out of Silence” by Pamela Harrison; David Roberts Books; 87 pages; paperback; $18.

"What I look for in poetry may not be what you look for in poetry. I want the poet to tell me a story. Because the form requires the poet to keep the story short, I want the words to be precise. The poet should help me see by using concrete images. Sound is important. Even while reading a poem silently, I want to hear its music."  Story here.

An artist’s genius seen in pictures of ‘poetry’ - BostonHerald.com

An artist’s genius seen in pictures of ‘poetry’ - BostonHerald.com:


"In the late 1930s, Detroit native Harry Callahan was working as a shipping clerk at Chrysler Corp. He picked up a camera and taught himself how to use it.

Inspired by a workshop with Ansel Adams he took in 1941, within a decade Callahan became an influential figure in American photography." Story here

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Set for the weekend

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Earlier this week my Poets & Writers arrived and today the Summer 2009 Crab Creek Review I ordered was in the mail box. I’m set for reading for the weekend.

 

There’s a great interview of British poet Andrew Motion linked on the Huffington Post.  Christopher Lydon says "Harrowing clarity" is Motion’s stated goal. He laughs with us about trying to write poetry that looks like water and bites like gin. Click here!