The following was created with the help of Get A Google Poem and a thanks to Christine for the link to get this rolling.
Dance Of The GOP Puppets
by the
nation's top GOP spin-nurses in an incredible show of chutzpah on ...
To the
puppets writing for the mainstream press, this signals she may be ...
... is the
beginning of a hostile take over of our University system by the
GOP....
along with Hannity, is just one of Murdoch's dime-a-dozen meat puppets. ...
comment: Wilson showed a clip of GOP Allen asking his question, ... Layers of
puppets. Jerk the
string at the
top, and all of the
levels start to
The
GOP’s champions of this war had a hard time finding their own way to the
battlefield ... ,
White Boy, .
I suddenly really want some Pocky ...
... He's innocent, and the
is guilty
nothing more than ... This time, ol'
BartCop let you
f easy. Next time, you'll dance. ...
... act in Bush’s Theater
Pain starring helpless Democratic puppets. ...
…and the masquerades as the
party
fiscal sanity that must be kept in ...
... wouldn’t gamble and could never, ever be caught – God forbid – dancing. ...
Can the
GOP keep
the puppets under control? Stupid is as stupid does ...
Dylan - Master
Puppets (Metallica - Master
Puppets) ... They ripped
a page from the
old GOP
playbook as they ripped
the no-tax-but-still-spend ...
Because puppets are better. You can control a puppet. ... pledge that had to
be drafted, then redrafted to the specifications of
the GOP
leadership. ...
... Existential puppets contemplate the mysteries of
animation Dead Puppet Talk...
Genre Fluent in British Dialect Produces Paranoid Pleasures ...
... blurring of
the issue by the GOP
in the 2000 and 2002 campaigns. ... about foreign
intervention by making Iran's liberals look like Western puppets. ...
... A New Kind of
Dancing in Iraq: from Occupation to Guerrilla War ... opened a
warehouse for building puppets, attracted puppet builders from all over...
... But polls suggest the GOP's Clinton blame-game will have some resonance ...and we think that if he learned to do it with dueling sock puppets,...
-driven musical to the all-American songs of Billy Joel. ...
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
Monday Malaise
Ugh! I had a ton of e-mail awaiting me today. I was not on the computer at all this weekend. I've used the handy delete key on a good deal of it that was obvious of no import. That however was just the one e-mail act.
I was hoping for more feedback from Friday's post on attention deficit disorder, but not really surprised that it has not elicited more response.
Met with my writers group Sunday afternoon and it was really a good session thought I was not prepared to present. After the featured work was presented and completed, I did offer a poem I wrote last week that was in a first draft/with last minute scribbled changes. I knew it was really roughed and did not even read it well. I only was looking for a general feel for what I was trying to do and the feedback was positive. However, I have since come to the conclusion it needs major changes beyond what I was thinking because the ending is too personal to a broader readership awareness of what it implies. In some respects I'd be inclined to toss this one back into the lake, were it not for the fact that I have a larger idea that this poem would fit nicely into if I can only get it together in a way that holds the general idea that is very personal and at the same time meet a more universal paradigm.
I'm still feeling less than 100% which is getting old. Hell, I don't think I'm even up to 75% and given how long it has been since I felt really good, this is draining both in a physical and emotional way.
I was hoping for more feedback from Friday's post on attention deficit disorder, but not really surprised that it has not elicited more response.
Met with my writers group Sunday afternoon and it was really a good session thought I was not prepared to present. After the featured work was presented and completed, I did offer a poem I wrote last week that was in a first draft/with last minute scribbled changes. I knew it was really roughed and did not even read it well. I only was looking for a general feel for what I was trying to do and the feedback was positive. However, I have since come to the conclusion it needs major changes beyond what I was thinking because the ending is too personal to a broader readership awareness of what it implies. In some respects I'd be inclined to toss this one back into the lake, were it not for the fact that I have a larger idea that this poem would fit nicely into if I can only get it together in a way that holds the general idea that is very personal and at the same time meet a more universal paradigm.
I'm still feeling less than 100% which is getting old. Hell, I don't think I'm even up to 75% and given how long it has been since I felt really good, this is draining both in a physical and emotional way.
Friday, May 13, 2005
ADD or AD/HD Poets
Need a little help here. I am interested in information on established poets who have Adult -Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or AD/HD. I'm also looking for feedback from anyone who is actively writing poetry, about how you believe it impacts your work and if you find differences in your ability to express yourself verbally in conversation as opposed to the creative processes of putting words to a page.
As Adult ADD is historically, somewhat a young condition (it's recognition) I'm sure that information on the affliction within the poetry community is limited.
My interest relates to a better personal understanding of what I perceive as impact to myself and the experiences others may have.
Anyway.... your posts are welcome or e-mail me directly if you would prefer. E-mail-Michael Wells
As Adult ADD is historically, somewhat a young condition (it's recognition) I'm sure that information on the affliction within the poetry community is limited.
My interest relates to a better personal understanding of what I perceive as impact to myself and the experiences others may have.
Anyway.... your posts are welcome or e-mail me directly if you would prefer. E-mail-Michael Wells
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
The American Freedom Challenge Comes From Within
Haji Abdollahi Sefid Kasseh, a 72 year old Iranian traveled all the way from far northeastern province of Khorassan to Tehran so he could fill out a questioners in order to be screened to be a candidate for President. The old man may not exactly be an odds on favorite to be the next President of Iran, but his message was simple and interesting.
If Haji Abdollahi Sefid Kasseh were to become Iran's next president, he says that he would not shy away from working to restore ties with the United States after a quarter of a century of bitter animosity on both sides. And how would he do this? He said he would sit down at the table with President George W. Bush and tell him “we are all brothers”. “We have to teach our arts to others and they should teach us theirs,” is how he explained his simple diplomatic formula. He adds, “And my art is poetry.”
Such a meeting, however unlikely, would be interesting. Until recently, American publishers and editors were restricted from publishing works in collaboration with authors from various U.S.-sanctioned countries, Iran among them. These rules have been somewhat eased, but the government continues to assert authority to categorically approve editing and publishing activities — a power that has questionable authority according to many lawyers who represent U.S. publishers and editors.
So here is this humble 72 year old Iranian poet who believes there is something beneficial about the exchange of culture between these two nations who are at each others throats. Then you have the President of the most powerful nation in the world... A nation who's basic foundation was built upon the principal of free expression of ideas, freedom to practice religious beliefs of one's own choice apart from the state's interference and a free press. So I have to wonder why our government remains so fearful of writers and poets that it feel it must protest us from their works by exercising censorship and control over their material.
Sources: NM&L and Daily Times
If Haji Abdollahi Sefid Kasseh were to become Iran's next president, he says that he would not shy away from working to restore ties with the United States after a quarter of a century of bitter animosity on both sides. And how would he do this? He said he would sit down at the table with President George W. Bush and tell him “we are all brothers”. “We have to teach our arts to others and they should teach us theirs,” is how he explained his simple diplomatic formula. He adds, “And my art is poetry.”
Such a meeting, however unlikely, would be interesting. Until recently, American publishers and editors were restricted from publishing works in collaboration with authors from various U.S.-sanctioned countries, Iran among them. These rules have been somewhat eased, but the government continues to assert authority to categorically approve editing and publishing activities — a power that has questionable authority according to many lawyers who represent U.S. publishers and editors.
So here is this humble 72 year old Iranian poet who believes there is something beneficial about the exchange of culture between these two nations who are at each others throats. Then you have the President of the most powerful nation in the world... A nation who's basic foundation was built upon the principal of free expression of ideas, freedom to practice religious beliefs of one's own choice apart from the state's interference and a free press. So I have to wonder why our government remains so fearful of writers and poets that it feel it must protest us from their works by exercising censorship and control over their material.
Sources: NM&L and Daily Times
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Fido Poetics
"You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell." ~Emily Dickinson
I didn't realize that Emily had a fondness for dogs. Though it is perhaps not surprising to me that she speaks of them in more endearing terms than fellow man. They seem to be able to sit for long periods of time and simply consume (I'm talking about take in - not eat) their surroundings.
So what is Dickinson really saying here? Well, I'm going to surmise that she rather likes Fido because he sees- he takes in and knows, but holding that within is sufficiently satisfying.
Now, someone go ahead and tell me she meant something all together different. I don't really care to argue the point one way or another, so you are welcome to your own explanation, but to me it is all quite amusing. I can picture Emily Dickinson and her four legged friend sharing the commonality of poetic thought. They glance at each other, say absolutely nothing, but they both understand the other's knowledge. None of this Lassie runs down the road backing... "What? Hold on Lassie... You say Timmy has fallen in the well? OK, I'm coming girl."
Sometimes I think where art and nature are concerned we all have to start with a Fido moment. Take it in. Let it just be. Once it has settled in long enough.... we can then do what differentiates man and woman from dog. Having processed all of something we can.... put it in a visual. A picture, a sculpture, a poem. The human inclination is to input / output. Pardon the expression but the morning breakfast becomes the afternoon waste.
Humans have an intellectual component that is unique but often hurry to use it with less than desirable results. . Dogs can teach us a lot.
I didn't realize that Emily had a fondness for dogs. Though it is perhaps not surprising to me that she speaks of them in more endearing terms than fellow man. They seem to be able to sit for long periods of time and simply consume (I'm talking about take in - not eat) their surroundings.
So what is Dickinson really saying here? Well, I'm going to surmise that she rather likes Fido because he sees- he takes in and knows, but holding that within is sufficiently satisfying.
Now, someone go ahead and tell me she meant something all together different. I don't really care to argue the point one way or another, so you are welcome to your own explanation, but to me it is all quite amusing. I can picture Emily Dickinson and her four legged friend sharing the commonality of poetic thought. They glance at each other, say absolutely nothing, but they both understand the other's knowledge. None of this Lassie runs down the road backing... "What? Hold on Lassie... You say Timmy has fallen in the well? OK, I'm coming girl."
Sometimes I think where art and nature are concerned we all have to start with a Fido moment. Take it in. Let it just be. Once it has settled in long enough.... we can then do what differentiates man and woman from dog. Having processed all of something we can.... put it in a visual. A picture, a sculpture, a poem. The human inclination is to input / output. Pardon the expression but the morning breakfast becomes the afternoon waste.
Humans have an intellectual component that is unique but often hurry to use it with less than desirable results. . Dogs can teach us a lot.
Monday, May 09, 2005
The Fusion Of Poetry And Wellness
The impact of one's health on their writing may sound like a strange topic for a post, but feeling like crud for a couple of weeks now has fueled this thought. I'm not offering any profound evidence to support any theories associated with my thoughts, rather I am considering this aloud as I write today's post.
Of course, I imagine that people likely do not work their best at anything when under the weather. Generalizing, that is likely a safe assumption. While none are coming to my mind at this moment, I am sure there are examples of writers who have created some profound work on their death bed. I wonder if they might have done better were they at full strength and feeling quite fit at the time? More particularly, I have considered that a possibility exists that a poet, very sick... even dying could perhaps write from a "place" that he or she might not otherwise outside the realm of such illness, and perhaps provide something more profound as a result of their own "place" in the physical world of health.
Feeling as lousy as I have certainly has not produced anything more profound from me these past few weeks. It has seemed to add to an urgency to write, but that urgency has not resulted in any stronger will or drive to write. The physical body remains limited in energy and that level of efficiency seems to out power any mixture of mental and emotional capacity to stay with a poem or project for too long.
I have tried the denial thing.... where you pretend you are not sick as long as you possibly can. Going to work in spite of how I feel because you figure that if it all stacks up and you come back feeling better, the increased work load just makes you feel lousy all over again.
So right now, I want to feel good if not great. I also want the move ahead on several projects. Things that I believe are best served better by both physical and mental health (attitude) which I do not feel are immediately within my control. As a result, I resort to thinking about how health and writing might be impacted beyond the obvious quantity factor and more to the nature of quality. Hence, you get today's blog. Long on thoughts, short on answers.
Of course, I imagine that people likely do not work their best at anything when under the weather. Generalizing, that is likely a safe assumption. While none are coming to my mind at this moment, I am sure there are examples of writers who have created some profound work on their death bed. I wonder if they might have done better were they at full strength and feeling quite fit at the time? More particularly, I have considered that a possibility exists that a poet, very sick... even dying could perhaps write from a "place" that he or she might not otherwise outside the realm of such illness, and perhaps provide something more profound as a result of their own "place" in the physical world of health.
Feeling as lousy as I have certainly has not produced anything more profound from me these past few weeks. It has seemed to add to an urgency to write, but that urgency has not resulted in any stronger will or drive to write. The physical body remains limited in energy and that level of efficiency seems to out power any mixture of mental and emotional capacity to stay with a poem or project for too long.
I have tried the denial thing.... where you pretend you are not sick as long as you possibly can. Going to work in spite of how I feel because you figure that if it all stacks up and you come back feeling better, the increased work load just makes you feel lousy all over again.
So right now, I want to feel good if not great. I also want the move ahead on several projects. Things that I believe are best served better by both physical and mental health (attitude) which I do not feel are immediately within my control. As a result, I resort to thinking about how health and writing might be impacted beyond the obvious quantity factor and more to the nature of quality. Hence, you get today's blog. Long on thoughts, short on answers.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Eileen has such a way with words....
"Yeah, I thought, as I smiled at him before gliding graciously out the door. Like a constipated bowel movement."
Now there's a work of poetry ;)
Now there's a work of poetry ;)
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