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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Years!

newyearseve

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