National Poetry Month?

Really? Is it?

Oh, Hello! Yes, it's National Poetry Month!
I work with a poet name Emily and told her I wanted to "poetriate".
Um, yeah. So here are three poems I wrote in about 15 minutes.

They are apropos of nothing. they don't resemble my family, my friends or...
(okay they're autobiographical! Leave me alone!)

So here ya go!


Poetry Month 2008


(okay this one may be autobiographical)
THE LIFE OF LATE I LED
(an ode to Borders)

Waking in anxiety
Rushing off to work
Dealing with my overlords
Trying not to be a jerk

Pretending all is sunny
Using all the skills I’ve got
The pills and meditation
Help me through a tricky spot

I think of who I used to be
A yesterday ago
He never needed anything
Except a cuppa joe

I check the load I’m hauling
Is it even worth the pain
To close my eyes and carry on
Brings abject self disdain

As I can see things clearly
I can’t qualify this lot
If things are doomed to failure
Let’s just break it on the spot

Fire me, sue me or kill me
There’s nothing worse than this
I wave my white surrender flag
And turn to seek forgotten bliss


(I was in a mood when I wrote this, it doesn't pertain to my life. Really!)
FAMILY PRIDE
(Merry Christmas Everybody!)

A type of suffering most unique
We sit politely if not meek

Play a savage passive game
As we cut out the weak and lame

The past we’ll always remember
As the we gather each December

Throwing niceties with grace
With a scalding aftertaste

Paying homage to the portraitures
Smiling civilly to past torturers

Now the time has come to part
With a dagger in each heart



(okay THIS one is autobiographical too.)
SURF CITY
(amber waves, dude)

The Mother Prairie heart mind kind beckons
I slip fault back to my distant anarchy blast past

Young punk funky friends grab their wheelie boards
Their greasy mike spikes of hair shout rude moody laughter

I’ve become a skate bored no fun to hoard somewhere off the ramp camp
No need for upset regret, I’ll ride the germinated thermal run fun on the wind

Mother prairie sends her heart beat no retreat feed the meat
and I fly sky high oracle of Delphi on the Rosebud sled of the dead

That's not even a word, ...is it?

Philologists shall gather!

Mark Rozell was on CNN today discussing religious voting trends... Zzzzzzz huh!

Yeah. One word he used repeatedly was RELIGIOSITY. He used it several times as I shouted at the television. ('cause they can HEAR you if you shout RIGHT INTO the screen. True story!) In context; "Democrats have often found it to be a bit crass to wear their RELIGIOSITY out in the open." Uh, that's an ever so slight paraphrase 'cause I didn't write down the exact quote. (Remember, I was shouting into the cathode ray tube at the time.)

Religiosity; word or no? Well, yes it's in Wikipedia (for what that's worth) but I stand before you, your honors, saying it is a pseudo-word! It is a basic word all dolled up in order to sound like it means MORE than means! Which is unnecessary in the extreme.

Whenever I hear pundits spouting "new-speak" terms with -osity clearly tacked on as the suffix like a bit of overdone bling I grit my teeth and mentally beat the speaker with a dead fish. There is NO need for this. It belittles the very word it attempts to "Embiggen" (Simpson's reference) I say 'RELIGION' can stand on it's own. RELIGIOSITY? Just say no.

Ha ha ha... Oh, I'm not very nice today.

Uh, Oh, I MUST really say it. I told you so!
---------------------------------------------

Borders Group to Consider Selling Itself

By DAVID RUNK – 1 day ago

DETROIT (AP) — Borders Group Inc. is launching a review to consider the possible sale of part or all of the company.

The announcement from the nation's second-largest bookseller Thursday came after it delayed the scheduled Wednesday release of its fourth-quarter earnings.

Borders says it has received a $42.5 million financing commitment on behalf of some Pershing Square Capital Management LP-affiliated investment funds that includes an offer to buy Borders' international businesses.

Ann Arbor-based Borders says J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. have been retained as the company's financial advisors to assist the company as it explores strategic alternatives.
--------------------------------

Can I just throw you guys both ends of that rescue line?

I don't mean to be a snark about this, BUT,

I've been trying to convey to so many people for so long that if a company puts ALL, not some, but ALL of it's energy into making itself LOOK GOOD to it's shareholders without doing anything, ANYTHING to drive sales, create quality, promote from within to strengthen it's workforce, investigate local interests and live as a partner to it's customer base it will fall the hell apart.

So Borders, "Thanks for playing!" ...don't let the door hit ya!
(I hope Wal-mart buy them all!) [evil laughter here]

The French have a word for it.

-Or in this case the Eastern Europeans.

I can't tell you how much I love this new website I've been watching.

For some reason I hang on every episode.

http://www.hotforwords.com/

Marina and her... um, topics! -give me a renewed respect for personal communication.

Welcome Back Charlie!

Hi, are you ready for too much information?

Well here we go...
This month I have decided to stop having my mood stabilized!
Yes, I am ditching the chemically restrained 21st century Charlie for last century's model. (an oldie but a goodie!)

So here's the thing. I'm getting off the Cymbalta at the same time I'm discovering H.P. Lovecraft! (Yeah, thanks 'violaghost' for turning me onto this at this particular point in time!)

Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine. ...just fine.

It just means I need to pay attention to those wacky mood swings, the mad insomnia and the depressive need to sleep all day ...and adjust accordingly! Truthfully I think I'm much more capable of dealing with um, well LIFE I suppose you'd call it. (See, Charlie learns from his experiences!)

If I recall... those feelings of chronic dread and the sense of impending doom were perhaps slightly exaggerated in those halcyon "pre-chemical days".
Or not! I mean it was a really, REALLY bad year! But that was last year and life should be about celebrating memories and family, not about grieving over what we've lost. There really is nothing like real loss to make you realize your problems weren't that bad. So we're trying life de-stabilized. (well, you know what I mean!)

However, what with nuclear spy satellites tumbling out of the sky, the "War on Terror" and the omnipresent curse of Cthulhu just over our heads... I think my sense of reality allows for some dread! -just not as much as I used to feel.

So a little Lovecraft, some perspective and more good friends and of course the cats and I'll be chemical free in no time.

Black Friday... (cue scary music!)

Well I'm off work today, how the hell did THAT happen?

I did call in and ask them to call me in if needed. This is the first Black Friday I haven't been working in mmmaybe 12 years? So it just feels wrong.

How did your BF go?

If you see my folks...

I am really missing my folks this week. I have met so many fun, intelligent and creative people this year and it seems all of them are doing things that I would dearly love to tell my folks about. Oh, I've told them about this stuff in my way, I just can't call them anymore and I would really like to have a nice long conversation about these folks.

Most recently there is one of my oldest friends, Kathleen. She is a photographer who is currently reinventing her life. Her creative eye and innovative mind create some of the coolest shots I've ever seen. -and now she's on a new project with vineyard leaves which blows me away. Very nice, very Kathy.

Sina, can anyone explain Sina? Creative as a mechanical hat, that one! Every talk I have with her she is describing some new revelation she is relating through her writing, photography or in her blogging which tends to be a combo platter of all her talents. Her latest venture in random communication found throughout the city in the way of posters, signs or any type of relayed message is forcing me to explore my mundane environ (okay it's Austin so it's pretty hip) with a new set of eyes.

Stephen, my fellini-esque co-worker is still out there pushing his latest film BACK, which blew me away. I don't think Stephen would describe himself as Fellini-esque, he's more down to earth in his craft. ...less cryptic.

Little Jennifer really puts words together well. Her short stories have a darkness and depth she hides from the real world! She's also a grammar fascist, so I really appreciate her going over my stuff with her red marker hunting out the errors in syntax or punctuation. I might even correct some of the bits she finds!!!

Erin who has created her own mad workshop out back of her house. A very sedate and groovy mad scientist, she. Here a Mac, there a Mac every where an i-pod. What she is currently working on looks highly promising. She's designing a magazine / catalog / what have you for UT and her choices for the cover and interior stuff lean towards stunning. She's got that whatcha call eye fer design.

Lauren is drawing and learning Korean...

Steph' is dancing and learning TX politics...

Tammy is flying her jets and learning the flute...

Hmmm... I think I'll pack it in for the day, get some sleep and figure out what I'M gonna do.