Blasphemy! How Sweet!

I like how Brent gets a book published and then starts bossing me around (See what would Jesus do comment below). Man, I thought it might take at least a month to go to his head but I was wrong. So, in response to Brent's needs (cause it's always about him) here is a new post. And a blasphemous one at that. These candies could use a better name, one that doesn't sound like a bad line from a bad romance novel, or a basement softcore video. Thanks to my wife Bethany for sending me this morsel.

So What Would Jesus, or You, Do?

Doing Nothing

When I passed him near the bus stop
on Union Square while the cops
cuffed his hands behind his back, while he
said, “I didn’t do anything,”
I didn’t either,
do anything but look away,
a little afraid they might cuff me
if I paid too much attention,
and walked on still wondering
what he might’ve done
and still more what I
might’ve done.

Dan Gerber, Primer on Parallel Lives


What would you do?

Guatemalan poet, Otto Rene Castillo, who was killed by government
forces in the ambush of a guerrilla group in 1954 when President
Arbenz was overthrown by the US mercenaries, asked the same question:

[excerpt] ..... One day, the apolitical intellectuals
of my country will be interrogated
by the simplest of our people.
They will be asked what they did,
when their nation died out,
slowly,
like a sweet fire,
small and alone.

Early, Really Early Spring?

Mid 50's today here in Akron. In February. How f---- up is that, my friends. Pass me the jar ...


Rinsing sorrows of a thousand forevers
away, we linger out a hundred jars of wine,

the clear night’s clarity filling small talk,
a lucid moon keeping us awake. And after

we’re drunk, we sleep in empty mountains,
all heaven our blanket, earth our pillow.

Li Po (A.D. 755-762)



At White Deer Spring

A little fishpond, just over two feet square,
and not terribly deep.
A pair of goldfish swim in it
as freely as if in a lake.
Like bones of mountains among icy autumn clouds
tiny stalagmites pierce the rippling surface.
For the fish, it is a question of being alive …
they don’t worry about the depth of the water.

Yuan Hung-tao (1568-1610), trans. Jonathan Chaves

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

.. always get him down, especially rainy Tuesdays -- like it is right here in Akron.

Coldish, wet, heavy rain at the moment. I came home to eat - mashed kidney beans and steamed chard with vinegar - and now I am waiting for the rain to let up so I can go back to work. I want to throw myself onto the couch like Otty and forget it all.

Rise and Shine

As my wife leaves our bed in the morning, the covers blow her scent to me, a blend of: Blackberry, blackberry. Autumn, grass, green or yellow; redwing blackbirds; the little kiss of red on the wings. Bach. The ocean. Death, sunbathers, sun, breast milk, deer, pine trees. Heat, rain in hair, lilacs. Tea rose, fig jam. Coffee on lips.

Jaan Kaplinski: Two Takes

I recently picked up a new release, Evening Brings, which pulls together three of Jaan Kaplinkski’s early works. Reading through I found this translation that echoed a poem I remembered from The Wandering Border (from the late 80’s).

A)

There are so many insects this summer.
As soon as you go into the garden
a buzzing swarm of flies besieges you.
The bumblebees are nesting in the boxes you made for birds,
the wasps have made their nests in hazel bushes.
And sitting at your desk in the attic room
you constantly hear a buzzing, and don’t know
whether it’s the sound of bumblebees, wasps,
electric wires,
a plane in the skies, a car on the road,
or the voice of life itself wanting to tell you something
from the inside, from your inner self.

from Evening Brings Everything Back
trans. by the author and Fiona Sampson


B)

This summer is full of insects.
As soon as you go to the garden,
a cloud of flies buzzes around your head.
Bumblebees nest in the birdhouses,
wasps nest in the hazel,
and as I sit at the window
I hear a buzz I cannot name,
whether the voice of bumblebees, wasps,
or electric lines,
a plane in the sky, a car on the road,
or the voice of life itself that wants
to tell you something from the inside out.

from The Wandering Border
trans. by the author with Sam Hamill and Riina Tamm


Of the two, I prefer Hamill and Tamm’s translation.

Why say “nesting boxes you made for birds” instead of birdhouses? From the inside, from your inner self is the “get it” elbow in the ribs I didn’t need. And I prefer the “I” in Hamill’s take to the “you” in Sampson’s. More notable choices: swarm vs. cloud; besiege vs. buzzes.

Uh-Oh! Bad Kitty!

Opening day I saw Cloverfield twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. The monster is amazing. Not your garden variety lizard-saur.

Thumbs Down -- Finally

A good two months late with their rejection, Willow Springs finally passed on my poems. Alas, alack. Etc. Etc. The tiny, speckish little part of me that read the delay as a good sign wants to get drunk and forget the humiliation. They were nice enough to point out they have a new address for future reference. Please make a note of it.

Belated Meat Surprise

Besides the Kitty Surprise my nephew got from Santa, as a joke my sister gave me the gift of meat, a book that is surely the apogee of processed meat literature -- All About Sausage by Oscar Mayer.

It is essentially a recipe book and shameless promotion of Oscar Mayer meats. Oh, the wonderful things you can do with meats. The photos of these concoctions are as nauseating and amusing as the names of them. Perfect for keeping guests from ever coming back. Here are a few images to whet your appetite.

The Holiday Meat Tree
It all starts with 2 lbs. over assorted cold cuts ...













Nothing says summer like a bowlful of cool, chewy Meat Pops*
*Use a variety of meats!

Remember two things: you had no idea meat was so versatile; and, take in these names through the lens of processed meat as the key ingredient. That said, here is a list of more recipe names (best not shown):

Can Sandwich
Bean Bells
Hodgepodge Salad (from the section titled Saladry)
Sausage Pudding
Yummy Buns
Smokie Cosmopolitan
Little Weiner Shortcake
American Weiner Pie
Smokie Link Bundles
Weiner Chow Mein
Thermos Bottle Sandwich

NOTE: Sorry about the image quality. These are photos of photos in the book. Any crisper though and you might just think you taste 'em

Belated Kitty Surprise

Running way behind on a few posts I wanted to put up back around Christmas yes, I am that far behind. I wanted you all to meet Kitty Surprise - this is a toy my nephew got and it creeped me out to no end. To begin with, it has a hard plastic doll face instead of a soft furry face. Kind of like if Chucky were a stuffed animal. Then, the surprise! Flip kitty over and a giant slit in her belly allows you to pluck up new born kittens - ala tissue dispenser engineering.In the end, we turned Kitty Surprise into dark Spidercat.

Olan Mills Presents Good Ol Days v.2

Happy Cloverfield to Me, Happy Cloverfield to Me ...

Originally, my Blog was to have some focus on monsters. I think my descript line was along the lines of fatherhood, monsters and poetry. Well, it's become more about random shit that I have time to post than anything else - however, I want to put up a little post on my latest monster buzz - Cloverfield. I have been waiting (impatiently) like a lot of monster movie freaks for this to open, and finally this Friday it does and I will be there as a birthday treat to myself. I am ready for a ride and expect the movie will be extremely scary. Here are a few stills I grabbed from the web. Bleeding from the eyes and mouth ... what's next? I won't say just in case you have not read up on the movie - but I can tell you it ain't pretty.