Thursday, August 28, 2008

hometown love 2

BD posted a complete account of hometown love here. She even has a Colin Clary Identification Guide in case you're not sure if you have a legitimate Colin Clary in front of you or not.

Went to the fair last nite with mkl and we ran into tkbs and ipw. The demolition derby was the finest example of fair time hot action I've seen in a while.

This car is a hero. It went through 3 rounds. The last 2 it had no rear end. It had spunk, it had charm and it wouldn't die no matter how beat up it got. It wistfully dragged its rear end off the track at the end of the rounds and showed up with its heart glowing ready to attack again. The crowd cheered loudest for #77 as it was dragged off to the dumpster. Just like a true hero in america #77 came in second place. It clearly out performed the pack and put on the best show of the nite. #2 won a trophy but #77 won the hearts of the thousands attending.

rock it soldier.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

if it isnt penetration it isnt worth the kiss

i realized i wrote that I had a delusion i would write something 'beautiful' in my last post. which is funny because i've never written anything 'beautiful' in my life. i don't know why i wrote that.

i was thinking about studies and how they have the potential to ruin innovation today... i have an example. actually a few but i dont seem to want to put much thought into it tonite.

i rediscovered pedro the lion today like i do every few years... it was a good re-discovery.

Monday, August 25, 2008

hometown love

one of the things i love about burlington is its support of local artists:

i am the magot.

went for an obscenely long walk yesterday on the bike path in the dark:

some spots were completely black. it was great.

tonite i did laundry then walked downtown for a creemee with BD and MKL. they are both good eggs. now im listening to sigur ros... i really like having studio monitors in my room. even if they are low end.

i had this delusion i was going to be able to write something beautiful tonite while listening to great music... but it appears the music has just made me tired. the fact that I went to bed at 3am is hitting me. i think i will just sleep.

nite soldier. thanks for the cool weather.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

going for a while and going for good.

been thinking of a lot of things to write on my way home from various places the past week. both for here and other things. by the time i get home i'm too tired to put the thought into them that they deserve. so they sit and wait.

saw missy bly, james kochalka super star and the maxfranks/vanderpolls/jazzguys tonite.

been thinking about death again
and I am very slow to respond.
every time someone dies i want to write something for them
but i cant and i wont.
if i didnt do it when they were alive
it doesnt count
because death is about the dead.
not the alive.
when i die
i want to have a skylight
so the people who pass over
can see my rotting eyes
and my rotting eyes
can see the moon
because if i can see the moon
i can think of you.

i have thought about everyone i know
while looking at the moon.
its true.

and if i did anything right.
you thought of me while looking at it too.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

cocktail weenies cooked in grape jelly

i think that there are
levels i havent seen
i make things up when i need to
using logic learned from wet streets
and simple turns

i need to make more of my last 2 chapbooks. they are gone. well maybe i have 2 sound of the cities left. if you want one let me know and I will send it to you free. email me with your address. 440a440@gmail.com

played tonite at red square with colin. the smittens played after us. it was fun.

i am tired and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

boredom movement

i fell into a marketing scheme. there is this group of writers all writing about each other. or they were a few days ago. I noticed the pattern cause I read blake butler, noah cicero, sam pink and tao lin's blog daily. then one of them posted this:

Blake Butler writes about Mike Bushnell
Brandon Gorrell writes about Colin Bassett
Chris Killen writes about Ken Baumann
Colin Bassett writes about Chris Killen
Connor O'Brien writes about Tao Lin
Gena Mohwish writes about Sam Pink
Gene Morgan writes about Noah Cicero
Jereme Dean writes about Blake Butler
Jillian Clark writes about Kathryn Regina
Justin Rands writes about Matthew Savoca
Kathryn Regina writes about Kendra Malone
Ken Baumann writes about Jereme Dean
Kendra Malone writes about Brandon Gorrell
Matthew Savoca writes about Gena Mohwish
Mike Bushnell writes about Zachary German
Noah Cicero writes about Shane Jones
Sam Pink writes about Justin Rands
Shane Jones writes about Jillian Clark
Stephen Daniel Lewis writes about Two Tears Boy
Tao Lin writes about Gene Morgan
Two Tears Boy writes about Connor O'Brien
Zachary German writes about Stephen Daniel Lewis

i added all of their blogs to my reader. i've been reading them a few days. their strategy worked on me. im sure eventually i will buy some books. i tend to buy writers books if i find their blogs interesting.

i dont think any of them know i read their blogs unless they have google notifier set up to search their own names. then they will all get an email tomorrow linking to my blog.

i read a lot of other blogs where people blog about the content of other blogs. it's like the new news.

i've typed blog far too many times.

maybe i will turn this blog into a blog where i blog about blogs. maybe i will blog about these blogs and i will be the official news blogger of new inter lit blogs. the first thing i would need to do is coin a term describing this group of writers. i am horrible at naming things though. i dont think i am familiar enough with all of them to give them an accurate name but i will come up with one later.

actually, if you are one of these people and are coming to this post because i showed up in your google notifier you should leave a comment with a name for the 'movement' you are 'creating' with your 'marketing strategy'. if you come up with the name you will be like Leslie Paul and can add the fact that you named this 'movement' to your wikipedia entry. you can use your comment to this post as proof.

Monday, August 18, 2008

My First Days On Junk's 'No Order' is now available.

Hey Everyone,

My First Days On Junk's New record No Order is now available. You can get it from itunes, emusic, amazon and everyone else you like to buy your mp3's from. You can also get it direct from me here.

Here's what early reviews are saying:

Press Play Record
"...one of the best records of 2008 has been released!"
Read the full review here.

mp3hugger
"‘Count Me In, I'm Good To Go’ is a classic of its kind and is well matched by its siblings on My First Days On Junk’s sophomore ‘No Order’"
Read the full review here

Rock It!

My First Days On Junk

Saturday, August 16, 2008

George Orwell


insulation office

George Orwell's domestic diary is being posted here to celebrate the 70th anniversary of it. They are posting on the same days he posted them for the next 3 years. They are starting the political diary in September.

He likes to write about berries. I can understand that.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

katie holmes

mp3hugger reviewed the new mfdoj here.

I thought of something to write about earlier today but I forgot what it was. Maybe I will turn this into a blog of childhood stories instead of daily partial poems. who knows.

until then:

shhhh
suspended strings hung
and flutters in speeds of -3
back..........forth
like sleeping breath
back.........forth
hummmmmms
and words of sleeping dreams
holding hands with
katie holmes while
she reads william blake
from songs of innocence:

"When wolves and tigers howl for prey,
They pitying stand and weep;
Seeking to drive their thirst away,
And keep them from the sheep.
But, if they rush dreadful,
The angels, most heedful,
Receive each mild spirit,
New worlds to inherit. "

some hack plays johnny be good
singing the wrong lyrics.
back.........forth
shhhh
like sleeping breath
back.........forth

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Newport, etc.

This is going to be a long post. I am staying home tonite so I figured I would write some stuff out:

MFDOJ got a new 'review' here.

I got a Joy Williams book called 'The Changeling' for free from Small Press Distribution. They have a program called Poetry Trading Post where poets can send them a poem and they will send you back any book you want out of their catalog. If you give them permission to print the poem you could appear in their new lit guide. Print or online version. Thank you very much Small Press Distribution!

Here are some pics for you from my trip to Newport:

Cambridge (?) Dam:


Clyde River Dam:


Clyde river below last dam:


Newport in the afternoon:


Newport in the evening:



And, one last thing. When I was in Newport I noticed the Warren "Jersey" Drown Memorial Parking lot which seemed odd to me. He died a few months after my father and I thought the dedicated a tree to him that was in the little park by the parking lot. So I did some research. I found the Journal to the Joint Assembly from Jan 8th 2002. This is actually Howard Deans State of the State address. Here is a copy and paste if you don't feel like searching for what I am talking about:

----
“Shortly after I signed the controversial clear-cutting bill, I met Warren “Jersey” Drown at a meeting of POST – a group that strongly opposed the law. Jersey, a forester from the Northeast Kingdom, came up to me after the meeting and we talked about his objections. That began a friendship that continued until the time of his death a few weeks ago.

“In fact, a couple of years ago Jersey sent me 100 pine seedlings that I planted on my property in Lowell.

“One day about two years ago, Jersey called me at home. He said, “Howard, you know how you built that state building facing Lake Memphremagog so the whole town would turn toward the lake? Well, if the cars are parked in the building’s lot, you can’t see the lake when you’re driving up Main Street. You need to lower that lot so we can see the lake.”

“The next day I drove to Newport and looked at that parking lot -- and sure enough, Jersey was right. I called Tom Torti in the Buildings Department and asked him to lower the lot by a foot-and-a-half. And now, when you drive down Main Street in Newport by the state office building, you can see the lake, even if the parking lot if full of pickup trucks.

“All because one man – Jersey Drown – called me at home and made a simple suggestion.

“Today I ask the Legislature to name the parking lot of the Emory A. Hebard State Office Building in honor of Warren Drown -- a sportsman, an historian, a great story teller, and a true Vermonter.

“The Drown family is here today, and I ask that they stand so we may pay tribute to all those Vermonters -- like Jersey -- who make a difference in our lives."
---

My main problem with this is they dedicated a parking lot to him. Sure, It was one he helped change, but a parking lot? Howard signed a clear cutting bill and Jersey sent him trees. Sounds like something he would do. Jersey was a real woodsman, sportsman, story teller, forester and true Vermonter with a sense of humor.

I'm sure Jersey would laugh if he saw a parking lot dedicated to him. He said the lot was blocking the view of the lake, they lowered the lot and dedicated it to him after he died. I would imagine he would have really seen the irony.

If they were thinking at all they would have dedicated the light house they put in the little park next to the parking lot to Jersey. Jersey was, after all, watching out for the residents of Newport when he made that suggestion and he did it for the view of the lake. His concern was the lake and the residents. The parking lot was the thorn in the side. Since when do you dedicate the thorn?

I'm going to share my Jersey Drown story with the internet to offset Howards.

I think I was just out of high school or maybe in my senior year. I mowed lawns all summer. I forget how many I was doing. There were at least 5 or six. One was Jerseys house and the other his camp on Mephremagog.

Jerseys camp lawn was a pain. It was on a dirt road so the top was full of stones. There were pricker bushes hanging over one side and shrubs hanging on the other. Next to the rocky waterfront the lawn was pushed up and bumpy. It may have had a clear edge and a beach at one time but the years of erosion ate it away and left it a stony mess. The distance from the road to the waterfront wasn't too far but it was hill from beginning to end.

There were boats that needed to be moved and mowed around which often hid bees nests. There was a large thick moss patch that held water like a sponge and bogged down the mower. The entire lawn was pitted and full of holes.

I showed up to mow his camp lawn one really hot afternoon while he was there. I was in a horrible mood. I don't remember why. It was probably a number of unimportant things that seemed really important at the time. I was not happy about mowing the lawn that afternoon but it had to be done.

I was probably 3/4's done, sweating like crazy and about to hit the waterlogged moss patch when Jersey comes around the corner and waves at me to stop. I do and he motions me over to the bench that's on the edge of the rocky beach.

I assumed he wanted to talk to me about something. I didn't really want to stop because it was prolonging my time there and I was grumpy about doing it as it was but I had no real choice.

I go over and sit on the bench. He hands me a cold coke. We open them and drink. . I got a little confused after a second and said, "Did you want to talk to me?" He just shook his head in a non yes / non no type way and said, "Just look." So I did.

I remember the way the lake looked. It was a summer day at the lake. There was nothing crazy in the sky, no impressive clouds or wildlife around. Just the lake, and occasional boat speeding by in the distance and one trolling by a little closer probably looking for salmon.

I took another drink. It was colder this time. There is nothing like coke in a can when you are hot and gross. I sat there for a few minutes drinking. I was halfway through the coke when I realized I was halfway through and had to start rationing. I was enjoying my time on the bench and wanted it to last longer. I thought it was over when the coke was gone. Back to work time.

I took a small sip and felt my face relax. When I felt my face relax I realized what expression must have been on it. Then I realized Jersey must have seen me from inside with that look on my face stressing out, hot and sweaty, completely unimpressed with everything hating what I was doing.

That's why he wanted me sit on the bench. He saw I needed to slow down and take a second to recognize what was around me and appreciate it for what it was. The lawn wasn't a horrible torture device there to make my bad day worse. It was a gateway to an opportunity to spend some time relaxing at the lake. An opportunity to appreciate whats there and whats always there.

Then I realized that the break wasn't over when my coke was gone so I took a large gulp. I felt refreshed.

We sat there for a little while longer. When he got up I got up. He told me I could go back there and use his cabin or boats anytime I wanted. Just let him know. I thanked him and went back to mowing in a much better mood.

I never went back to use his cabin. I didn't have to. He only said two sentences to me and pointed his finger and it taught me some things I really needed to know. 1. It's always ok to slow down. 2. Beauty is everywhere its important to make time to appreciate it. 3. You need to see things for what they are and react appropriately. 4. There is never reason to not be happy when nature is around.

Really, I didn't know Jersey well. Aside from mowing his lawn and visiting his sons sugar house every year (one year we tapped trees and fallen dead branches off the lines together) I really didn't talk with him much. However, I think just about anyone that did know him, even for a little while, knew about his reputation within the community as a person who appreciated nature and his community.

I'm sure no one who thinks of him ever thinks of parking lots.

That's about it I guess. I should re-read this whole thing before I post it but instead I'm going to bed. Hope it wasn't too fucked up.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

rain rain

the lets whisper got a good review here

i need to try harder

driving drops of rain
on guitar colored leaves
wiping away stains with wind
hearing misunderstandings
and translating them to under
standing at the foot absorbing
one after another bouncing
around and losing steam
reverb hydration
giving the false room
an air of moisture.

what you need to do is listen to the the autumns, hush plain girls and feel the grass between your toes.
-
Thrown
into throws
ankles twist
in the tide's winding flight
windblown smiles
bite their lips
.

la la la laaa la

i tried and couldn't do it. maybe next time. sorry. I thought if i tried real hard I could make it longer but I guess the leaves and the wind are stronger.

Monday, August 4, 2008

movie sunday

saw the new mummy movie and mongol today. also had a delicious dinner at tkbs's.

sent a ton of emails this weekend and only got wet twice.

my record also got its first review here:
http://pressplayrecord.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-first-days-on-junk-no-order.html

plus its listed on hype machine with some fans:
http://hypem.com/artist/my+first+days+on+junk


the earth sunk right away from itself. it didn't manage to get away. it just became more exposed.

monday is for you. let me know what you want to do.

rock it soldier.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

large long steps burning up the street.

the city's
like a gristle fat filled mouth
of steak that you chew and chew
constantly filling your
saliva with flavor
but never letting you get your teeth
in far enough to tenderize
so you can swallow.