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Wednesday, July 06, 2005

What is it like to live on $1 a day...

MSN Money - Extra: What it's like to live on $1 a day The Africa Plight - as G8 gets underway.

Expressive Aphasia

Touch it with select words
Succulent multi-syllable
Words that get right-to-the-point.
Not two hand phrases that engulf
Far more than we can hold
And dangle like participles
Incapable of modifying
A point-of-view.



Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Tabios Gift of Poetry better than any Toaster

Well I didn't realize it.... But I guess Eileen Tabios had a bit of an anniversary on June 30th. It was the tenth anniversary of the day she quit her banking career for poetry. Now if that seems trivial to some, I think it is not. After all, what are the odds that I would be reading a blog on banking or any of those gazillion other peeps ( Stick has lost count ) out there. Happy belated Eileen.

Speaking of Eileen, I have been reading in I Take Thee, English, For My Beloved somewhat often lately. It seems ( to me anyway) this book is difficult to just pick up and read through unlike Menage A Trois With the 21st Century. Don't get me wrong, The Brick, as it is often referred to is inspiring on several levels. One, it seems to layer so much into one complete book. Life, culture, politics, relationships, language, art, sex - have I missed anything? Second, it approaches poetry with innovation.

But seriously, lately I have been reading parts of it - some for the first time, some for - Oh I don't know, but certainly the umpteenth time. I keep trying to process this and let it speak to me. I think I'd like to try writing from some portions of it for prompts - like epigraphs.

I really have not blogged much about this book, though I have had a copy of it since I think March. Actually, I really have a lot of questions about it I'd like to pose Eileen. And maybe I will at some point soon.

I guess to go full circle on this post, I should say that I am glad that Eileen traded in here banking career for poetry. I don't know what kind of a banker she was, but she has been electric as a poet. Her energy, thought process as well as expression are all simply amazing. Trust me - I'd take one of her books over a toaster any day!

Meanwhile, I need to get back to The Brick.


Friday, July 01, 2005

Thoughts on Patriotism

As we go into the 4th of July weekend, here is a link to a short essay that I wrote for USAToday. It appears in their online version and a portion was included in a print copy of the newspaper. You can find the whole essay here, along with others that the newspaper carried. Mine is the first one.

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Shakedown


Arms of vast floral range
Gave way to abscission
I too was stripped
Having covered the corkage
After polishing off my shot

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | A who's who of the G8 campaigners

BBC News - offers a look at some of the G8 Campaigners in a bit of a Who's Who.


Reuters - Protests planned for Scottish G8 summit

Reuters News service profiles some of the protest & activists events planned for the G8 conference in Edinburgh. If all this goes off as planned - the 8 heads of state at the meeting should feel a little dwarfed with this vast number of activists. Perhaps this will keep in focus that the world is watching.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

More LIVE 8 News

Sheryl Crow has reportedly dropped from the Paris LIVE 8 Concert due to what she called "substantial logistical and personal challenges." Her own internet site urges her fans to support the concert and objectives of The ONE Campaign. Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake has been added to the lineup of the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia.

Source

It's In The Mail

I've sat here with three poems (for a contest) ready to go in the mail for better than three weeks now and this afternoon, one day before the deadline - the puppies actually made it in the mail. One of the poems I intermittently reworked - but settled upon the draft that I had once before concluded was a wrap. Oh well... what is done is done.

A child in Africa dies every 30 seconds...

The African continent will be the focus of a great deal of attention during the G8 summit. We've all heard Africa referred to over the years as an emerging continent. Yet all that we have really seen is a continent with unresolved issues and people with dimming hope.

The leaders of the G8 countries have an opportunity to take a bold position that can go a long way towards eradicating poverty in African countries but they will not likely take bold steps without knowing the world is watching and expecting more than token efforts.

Africa needs more than money. For one thing, it needs debt forgiveness. Many nations are unable to move forward because they continue to struggle under the burden of simply repaying interest on money given them years ago from the world bank. Between 1970 and 2002 Africa received $540 billion in loans. Over that same period, African countries paid back $550 or $10 billion more than the original loans--today they still owe another $293 billion. Most African nations spend more repaying these debts then they spend on education and health care. Read more about the issues here

Food and water are in short supply. Much of Africa is in extreme poverty. People living on less than $1 a day.

Every day:
  • HIV/AIDS kills 6,300 people
  • 8,500 people are infected with the HIV virus
  • 1,400 newborn babies are infected during childbirth or by their mothers' milk.

[source]

Corruption in government is always harmful to those under its rule, but those in poverty suffer the most in such situations and are perhaps the least able to do anything about it directly. The issue of government accountability is critical to Africa.

All of these factors are critical to ending extreme poverty in Africa. They are what The One Campaign is about.

The One Campaign isn't asking you for money... it is asking you to stand up and say to our leaders that the time to act ins NOW. The G8 summit offers the perfect opportunity to address Africa's POVERTY and we are watching. We support action and We are watching. We are asking you to become part of the solution and We are watching.

WHAT YOU CAN DO....

STEP ONE:

Sign the ONE Declaration and encourage others to do so too! [sign here]

Wear the white band and learn more about world poverty [here]

STEP TWO:

Raise your voices... Encourage Congress and the president to make overcoming hunger, poverty and decease a priority. Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Millennium Development Goals Resolution (H. Con. Res 172) for a sample letter click here .

STEP THREE:

Engage others in discussing these issues. Ideas and resources of sharing ONE with others here

I challenge everyone, but especially poets and writers to get involved. Sign the declaration & encourage others via your blogs your conversations, etc. Link the resources I have provided her or link this post if you wish. I have this belief that poets and writers tend to be more in tune with our world as a whole and those about us. I hope that is not a misconception on my part.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Crack me up...

Shamefully, I admit I have not been over to 32 poems blog for a while. See what happens when you neglect to read a truly worthwhile blog for a few days.... you risk missing good stuff.

Good stuff in this case is Deborah Ager's link to Charles Jensen's Definitive List of Problems with American Poetry. Well, be warned. This is "to-bust-a-gut" material.

Gee, where would I start with the best of this piece. I do like the decoder rings... but you gotta love the Poetry created outside of academia fitting into one of two new genres of writing: greeting cards or word noise.

Follow the link and read the whole thing for yourself. (Did I just encourage people to leave my site?) OK, go read it, but come right back.

Live 8 Full Coverage on Yahoo! News

Live 8 Full Coverage on Yahoo! News


Moscow has been added to the LIVE8 concert list which kicks off Saturday the efforts to build support to put pressure on world leaders meeting the following week to do more to alleviate extreme poverty.

News of U2: Live 8: U2 and Paul McCartney (Sgt. Pepper's)

Paul McCartney and U2 will be preforming the Beatles Song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" on Sarurday to open the live8 Concert in London - according to the u2fanlife blog


Last night's reading

Writers Place Open MIC last night was a light turnout - 10 people but it was a warmly supportive group as there were a couple of new readers and I thought although it was perhaps a little less formal ( around tables rather than theater style) it was an enjoyable atmosphere.

I read three poems of mine...

  • Beautiful Music
  • Freedom Summer Redux
  • Doing Circles

Speaking of readings.... I see Christine Hamm is doing one at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. Yes, this is me all impressed.

Beyond poetry, (but maybe not) I have been enjoying a good deal of 60's music on my new satellite radio. It has really hit me how much I miss the music of the 60's and 70's for that matter. I am sure this says a lot about me besides age.

The 60's were such a turbulent age and it is quizzical how it seemed to amalgamate both social conscience and at the same time lead so many to sort of drop out of institutional society for a while. There are many differences between the 60's and the past five years, I do feel some of the same undercurrents developing around me. Just an observation.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Pentagon Is Hoping No Child Is Left Behind

It should come as no surprise that the military is finding it more difficult to recruit young people these days. I think it was just Friday that I blogged on the poll showing declining numbers of parents who would encourage their sons and daughters to enlist.

Part of that "wonderful BUSH law called the NO CHILD LET BEHIND ACT requires schools to provide information on students be given to the military. This information includes names, phone numbers, address, gender, ethnicity, Social Security numbers, academic achievement data and age for students as young as 16 along with e-mail addresses and other personal information. Hey, and you thought No Child Left Behind was an education Act not a military recruiters Act.

But wait, this gets better.... the Pentagon has hired a private marketing firm to keep files on millions of young people. WOW this deserves the Earnie Grahan Award for innovation in trashing privacy rights.

The Pentagon contract for this data is with BeNow - 500 Edgewater Drive Suite 525 Wakefield, MA 01880 781-246-0040.

It seems that there is an "opt-out" option - which few are told of. School districts have reportedly discussed providing such information to parents on cards - but have been pressure from federal education authorities who warned they'd pull funding from their districts. Which again begs to ask the question what exactly are we trying to prevent the "Child" from missing out on?

Two things are running through my head here...

1. Sixteen year olds do not need to be hounded by military recruiters.
2. Private vendors do NOT need involuntary access to social security numbers of anyone, much less minors.

sources:

Washington Post

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Tags:

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Live 8

I have chosen to focus on LIVE 8 in my blog- so you'll be hearing about if somewhat routinely for a while. Live 8 get its name from the members of the G-8 summit members the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

From July 6th - 9th Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair hosting the meeting of leaders from these 8 nations. Last year a commission began exploring the problems Africa faces in today's world. The summit will have an opportunity to focus on the African continent's past and present and the international community's role in its development path. The issues facing this continent are not surprising... unpayable debts, uncontrolled spread of AIDS, and unfair trade rules which keep Africans poor. Still, the major obstacles to the people of Africa developing any real hope for the future is one in which the solution lies in part with the countries that comprise the G-8 summit membership.

On July 13, 1985 - the world took notice when rock stars from around the world held unique dual concerts in London and Philadelphia, which saw millions of people watching as Live Aid, called on people to take action to help the sufferers of the famine hitting Africa. Live Aid raised over $100 million. Still, 20 years later poverty, famine and disease remains major problems in Africa. The public has shown this is important is to them, but now it is time to get our governments involved. LIVE 8 is not a fund raiser... it is about justice not charity. It is about asking our governments to take a responsible look at our policies to African countries.

I hope you'll check this message [here] from Bob Geldof about Live 8. Find out what it is all about. Join in support of creating HOPE for the people of Africa.

I'll be blogging some on this daily throughout the duration of the summit along with the rest of my blog routine. I hope other poets, writers and artists will do likewise. Sometimes I believe the creative minds of the world are also those people with the great sensitivity to those cultural and political issues that divide us. I think it would be great to see others in the poetry community to be on the front lines supporting the effort along with the many musicians who have made the commitment.

Tough Issues Exposed In Poetry & Prose

I read A Houston Chronicle article with some excellent examples of poets and writers tackling tough issues in their work. It has for example people like Naomi Shihab Nye featured.

Ney is a highly talented poet who I have met and had the pleasure to experience her great passion for the troubled lives of so many on both sides of the Middle East spectrum. It is good to see such work getting exposure from mainstream media outlets. Such attention in literature can only broaden our opportunities for better understanding.

Friday, June 24, 2005

I'll take a shot of 80 proof poetry. Make that two!

I thought I'd take a moment to capsule some divergent thoughts about this week that seem to be flying about lose like stray arrows aimed at no one in particular or at least the hunter has had a few to many shots of 80 proof poetry.

Entering the week, there was lots in the international press and increasing references on the domestic front about the Downing Street Memo. The basic premise of course is that President Bush had his sights set on Iraq long ago and that the Administration manipulated intelligence information to build a case for attacking Iraq. None of this surprises me based on things we have historically already pieced together. What is significant is that it seems to point to the fact that British officials were aware of this as well ( as it was happening) and still Tony Blair became joined at the hip (or perhaps the brain) with Bush on this. It of course causes me to wonder why Blair fell into line so easily. Did Bush have pictures of Blair and sheep in compromising positions?

So here is a big surprise - Poll: Majority Says War in Iraq a Mistake 53 percent of Americans now say the war in Iraq was a mistake. 56 percent disapprove of how Bush has conducted the war. HOWEVER - good news for the President. If you are a suburban - male - Republican, there is a chance you may actually support the war. Well, that is the strongest base of support for it.

Now get this... Iraq-Like Regime not appropriate for Syria so says US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Wow... yeah, cause like where would we find the troops?

Speaking of troops... Poll Finds Most Oppose Return to Draft. A majority of Americans are opposed to reinstatement of the draft. Now, I don't think there was any ground swell of support growing for it anyway, but I'll bet a lot of people find the concept less palatable given how Bush has taken the United States into Iraq. Despite the recruiting problems, nearly 70% of Americans say they oppose reinstatement and almost half of those polled were strongly opposed. Notably, the poll also finds that a majority wouldn't encourage their own children to enlist - highlighting the problems faced by the military as recruiting is in a slump.

Rumsfeld claims US not losing Iraq war. American troops killed since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 rose to 1,731 with six new casualties today. Other casualties of Iraq.

My contribution to water cooler talk this morning was "only in America..." in reference to this headline: Justices Rule Cities Can Take Property for Private Development. Of course I quickly recanted that statement. There are plenty of totalitarian governments that will do this.

And after a group of neo-conservative Republicans try to do a hatchet job on funding for public radio and television broadcasting - the House beat back the cuts with a 284-140 vote to restore $100 million in funds.

Thursday, former Republican National Committee co-chair, Patricia Harrison, is named president and chief executive of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.... gee, it gets pretty clear where all this was coming from. By the way- there was still a loss of some funding the budget even with $100 million restored.

And don't you just love it. We have a economic issues - a war - a national deficit out the wazoo and some in Congress want to spend time on votes to ban flag burning. A vote that is nothing more than GOP members trying to get record votes on something so that can point fingers at others later and question their patriotism.

What a week... I need a shot or two of 80 proof poetry.

Holy Batcave... The weekend is almost here!

Went to see Batman Begins last night. I did not see the previous Batman movies and only did a smattering of the comics as a kid. The storyline is great, I don't know if the basis for it existed in the comics or not. My wife enjoyed it as well. We both agreed this is on to see at the theater and not wait to bring home and see. I think it needs the large screen experience to really make it work right. Lot of dark screens that just would not work well on a smaller TV screen.

So glad it is Friday... This has not been a good week for writing. Not that I haven't tried. Just the results have been disappointing. Monday, June 27th - 8pm is Open Mic at Writers Place. Need to decide what to read.





Thursday, June 23, 2005

Smooth with a bit of an after-kick

Last night I experienced Starbucks new Coffee Liqueur. It was a real thumbs up experience. Surprisingly so because it's base coffee is the House Blend. Of all the Starbucks Coffee blends, it is perhaps one of my least favorite. Alas, they've found a way to improve it!

I had a shot of it over steamed milk with a shot of espresso. It is rich and smooth. Frankly I think I'd enjoy it over rocks. Well, we'll know about that tonight after I get home from work. I'm thinking a shot of it and Irish Cream - over rocks would be good too!

It is funny, because while I like coffee, there are not a lot of coffee flavored products that I do like. Coffee flavored candy is like gag-city. Some of the Starbucks Ice Cream flavors I like - but some I'm not fond of. In general, I do NOT buy coffee flavored desserts. I think this is a throw back to the fact that for years I could not stand coffee and sweets together. The marriage of cream and coffee was a Starbucks thing for me. I normally would only drink black coffee. I think the successful union of the two works only because most of Starbucks coffees that I like are city-roast (dark roast) and have a deep flavor that bleeds through dairy products to keep the rich flavor of the coffee alive.



Starbucks Coffee Liqueur