Friday, September 29, 2006

Consciousness Streaming



Consciousness Streaming (steaming... screaming...)

On the radio right now: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget," an early Beatles tune (but not written by them, I think). Great title, though.... Last weekend was action packed: I attended a memorial service for a friend's father, followed by two Hitchcock movies at the Loew's (Rope and Vertigo), then, on Sunday, a seminar-type thingee at the Jersey City Museum about "independent publishing" -- which is sort of what I'm doing here, no? I want to do nothing this weekend, except sleep and do errands and replace some of the burnt-out light bulbs around here. That type of thing.... So, Congross has decided to give Fearless Leader the power to lock up anybody he has a "mind" to as an "enemy combatant" and throw away the key, at least for the duration of our endless "war on terrah." When did I fall down the rabbit hole?

Visual Version

Sunday, September 24, 2006

One-Sentence Stories

Making a long story short

The One Sentence archive is a collection of stories told in, yes, one sentence. The 50 most popular sentences/stories, as rated by visitors, are on the linked page, but as the site notes, "Just like high school...sometimes the losers are the cooler kids to hang around with."

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Random Acts of Poetry

Random Acts of Poetry

End of Summer

Maple seeds helicopter into the grass.
The yellowjackets buzz drunkenly around a glass.

And my sleeves grow long again.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Found elsewhere

Nota Bene

Now and zen, I like to read a small stone for its quiet epiphanies, which are haiku-like but without the 5-7-5 syllabic strait-jacket.

~~~

Australian boynton has an interesting quote from Steve Irwin, wildlife warrior.

~~~

The Eggcorn Database is a collection of interesting, sometimes almost poetic, lexical mistakes in English compositions. Example: "I got a call on my self-phone early this morning, waking me up." (via Maud Newton)

Monday, September 11, 2006

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Word of the Day: Shrift

Word of the Day

shrift (n)

Confession (implying penance and absolution)

"Benvolio: See, where he comes. So please you step aside,
I'll know his grievance, or be much denied.

Montague: I would thou wert so happy by thy stay
To hear true shrift. Come, madam, let's away"
--Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene 1

~~~

"Ratcliffe: Make a short shrift; he longs to see your head."
--Richard III,, Act III, Scene 4

I think this word is only used today in the phrase "short shrift," which originated with Shakespeare (at least his is the first recorded use of it) and has come to mean brushing off someone else's feelings in an offhand, callous manner.

I have a CD, called Lost in a Moment, by a musical duo who call themselves Shrift. Their album is hard to describe; it's sort of Brazilian-flavored ambient/chill-out music with some beautiful, but subtle, vocals and electronica. You can find some information about Shrift here. Anyway, the CD made me think of the word.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Poet Name Generator

Pseudonym

My poet name is Lucius Cornelius Swanswaddle, according to the poet name generator. (If I was a "lady poet," it would be Forsythia Swanswaddle.)

(via Watermark)

Consciousness Streaming

Consciousness Streaming

Wind, rain and October temperatures--happy Labor Day Weekend!... Bus, train, bus, train--being carless over the last couple of days (the spouse needed it) has given me a new appreciation for driving to work, despite the low-grade torture of Northern New Jersey traffic and high gas prices. What takes 45 minutes by car takes almost two hours by public transportation, thanks largely to a rattletrap bus that seems to stop at every other block. Oh well. At least I got a lot of reading done... What happens to a chameleon if it crawls across a mirror?... JC Fridays is coming 'round again -- a day of free art events here in the JC, held quarterly. Daylight Gallery, for example, is showing "Transformations: artists, musicians, singers and poets explore transformation -- experience and meaning." Apparently, this will include some photographs by the fine Jim Legge... Why don't I... Put on some really comfortable shoes. Walk somewhere in them. Remember to take an umbrella...