Sunday, December 31, 2006

Sylvia Plath Ringtones!

Her blacks crackle and drag

You can now download Sylvia Plath ringtones for your cell phone. "The black telephone's off at the root" might be cool, emphasizing your cell phone's wirelessness. Or maybe "You bastard, I'm through!" It would certainly get your attention.

Sorry to Disappoint

Looking for love in all the wrong places

Recent search-engine queries that have brought seekers here:

kinky twist instructions

I get this one a lot. I think it has something to do with hairstyles.

greek vases homunculus

Speaking of kinky, some of those ancient Greek vases featured, uh, interesting artwork. I don't recall ever seeing a homunculus on one, however. Don't recall discussing Greek vases here before, either, for that matter. I think I used "homunculus" once in a poem, though.

Ricardo Blaustein

Sounds familiar. I can't place him right now, but his name has no doubt appeared here in some context.

Amit Chaudhuri

No idea who he is, though that doesn't mean his name hasn't popped up here. I've quoted a lot of people.

Agnes vacuum cleaner

I don't know who she is. Yeah, yeah, I know: "But, gee, I'd like to meet her."

love lust lies

I get this one almost every day, for some reason. Some AOL person. If only I had more to write about along those lines, I'm sure I'd get a lot more hits.

werewolf names generator

How about...Wolfgang?

gunnison exhibitionists

Gunnison Beach is the famous/infamous nude beach on the Jersey Shore (or "down the shore" as you're supposed to say). I did visit it once, briefly and entirely by accident (honest), and wrote about it here. I imagine this person was looking for pictures, though. Sorry to disappoint!

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Full Moon Names for 2007

I never knew...

...that each full moon has its own name, derived from Native American tradition. This is where the phrase "once in a blue moon" comes from. We will soon be observing the annual Wolf Moon (January 3rd), sometimes also called "the moon after Yule."

Full Moon Names for 2007

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Hudson Reporter - My back yard

On Lines

My essay is online at the Hudson Current site. I've written for the print edition before, but this is the first time they've put me up on their website too.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Definition of revenant - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Word of the Day

revenant (n)

One who returns from a long absence or from death.

"A specter is always a revenant. It begins by coming back."
--Jacques Derrida

My wife's favorite (acoustic) band, Mad Agnes, has released a new CD called Revenants. Great music. Great word, too.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Complete Idiot's Guide (random thoughts)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel

At the Willowbrook Mall today: a huge crowd of people, all ages and sizes. I had to bob and weave and (yes) twist and turn as I made my way to the record store. (That sounds almost quaint now, doesn't it? Record store? They will all be out of business soon, I suppose, or they will only exist online as virtual stores.) A woman with bleached, cotton-candy hair and thick, pancake makeup was barking orders to a clerk -- the manager, apparently. I couldn't find the CD I was looking for and asked her if they might have it in stock. She suddenly became apologetic and sweet; no, they don't have it. Nuts. I will probably have to download it and make my own CD to give as an Xmas gift..... On PBS tonight: "Xmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir," with special guest...that opera singer. Can't think of her name now -- Fleming? Rhonda Fleming? Something like that. Her voice was spectacular, but way too polished and professional sounding for all the old Xmas chestnuts. Like driving a Maserati to the corner store to pick up some eggnog..... Then there was a program about artistic depictions of Mary through the ages, as the "perfect woman, the perfect mother." If there was a Mary, she was, in my opinion, a teenager who was kicked out of town for getting unwed pregnant and had to have her baby in a barn. I doubt it had anything to do with a census or taxes. I imagine her as a religious fanatic convinced that there had to be some divine reason why God would put her in such a pickle. Poor Joseph; I'm sure he didn't know what to think..... Bush's solution to the Iraq fiasco is to (drum roll) send more troops. Dig the hole deeper. Can't retreat. Must save face. How many lives is Bush's face worth, I wonder..... Why don't I... wrap gifts before Xmas eve? I'm not a last-minute shopper, just a last-minute wrapper. There might be an Xmas hip-hop song in that....

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Definition of consilience - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

Word of the Day

consilience (n)
consilient (adj)

The combining of different branches of knowledge into a comprehensive theory

"Mandle is interested in design that integrates left and right brain activity, incorporates art and engineering, brings aesthetics and function together, like Leonardo da Vinci -- perhaps the world's most consilient artist and designer ever -- drew."
--Ethan Zuckerman, My Heart's in Accra

The definition sounds very much like that great buzz word of the 90s: synergy. Or maybe just "synthesis." I don't think I'll use the word consilience much, if at all. I don't quite trust a word that contains both "con" and (what sounds like) "silly."

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Word of the Day

Word of the Day

mumpsimus (n)

A person who persists in a mistaken expression or practice, or an erroneous belief that is obstinately adhered to.

Hmmm. Who might we apply this word to? I'm thinking of someone at a high level of government...

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

Shopocalypto

I went to see/hear Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping at a local church tonight. It was quite entertaining and rousing. Reverend Billy is an ersatz southern-style preacher (complete with white suit and dyed-blond pompadour) backed by a large gospel choir and a rock band. Instead of fundamentalism or faith healing, though, he travels the country preaching "anti-shopping" and promotes "Buy Nothing Day" (aka Black Friday) -- quite a radical message this time of year. I'm not sure I agree that shoppng is always evil -- I believe it predates capitalism and has always been with us in some form -- but the music was fantastic, as was the satire.

dogseat has some photos of this event.