Boston Review — Marjorie Perloff: Poetry on the Brink:
"What happens to poetry when everybody is a poet? "
I know, I know! A lot of crap.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Productive morning
Just past ten and I finished my class prep ... made scrapple ... had breakfast ... ready for a mellow day.
Portland State Currently | News
Portland State Currently | News:
"Charles Deemer, English adjunct faculty, publishes Varmints, an opera libretto in search of music, as a Kindle book. Round Bend Press will publish a paperback in the fall. This tragi-comedy of the Old West, set in the gold fields of eastern Oregon, is based on his stage play of the same name, which was written with an Oregon Arts Commission grant to conclude the 1988-89 play series "Charles Deemer's Oregon.""
"Charles Deemer, English adjunct faculty, publishes Varmints, an opera libretto in search of music, as a Kindle book. Round Bend Press will publish a paperback in the fall. This tragi-comedy of the Old West, set in the gold fields of eastern Oregon, is based on his stage play of the same name, which was written with an Oregon Arts Commission grant to conclude the 1988-89 play series "Charles Deemer's Oregon.""
Kickstarter Basics » Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) — Kickstarter
Kickstarter Basics » Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) — Kickstarter:
3 years old, a revolutionary new way to fund indie artistic projects. I wish this existed 20 years ago, maybe I could have funded the Seagull Hyperdrama.
3 years old, a revolutionary new way to fund indie artistic projects. I wish this existed 20 years ago, maybe I could have funded the Seagull Hyperdrama.
Gatz: The greater Gatsby | Stage | The Guardian
Gatz: The greater Gatsby | Stage | The Guardian:
"A performance of every word of F Scott Fitzgerald's jazz era classic, Gatz lasts a marathon eight hours (with a break for dinner). How do the actors manage it?"
"A performance of every word of F Scott Fitzgerald's jazz era classic, Gatz lasts a marathon eight hours (with a break for dinner). How do the actors manage it?"
Monday Monday
Most prep work finished yesterday. Loose ends today. Rain back but I did mow a bit of lawn before it arrived. No energy for my outside in work but good energy for harmonica practice. Should make scrabble today. Term at halfway point. Amazing.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Has the internet run out of ideas already? | Technology | The Observer
Has the internet run out of ideas already? | Technology | The Observer:
" from somebody's hobby to somebody's industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel"
Alas, I see nothing to change the pattern toward corporate control.
" from somebody's hobby to somebody's industry; from jury-rigged contraption to slick production marvel; from a freely accessible channel to one strictly controlled by a single corporation or cartel"
Alas, I see nothing to change the pattern toward corporate control.
The 10 best first lines in fiction | Culture | The Observer
The 10 best first lines in fiction | Culture | The Observer:
Terrible list! No James Cain. No J. D. Salinger.
Terrible list! No James Cain. No J. D. Salinger.
Not all roads lead to London when it comes to culture | Catherine Bennett | The Observer
Not all roads lead to London when it comes to culture | Catherine Bennett | Comment is free | The Observer:
Ah, these Brits! More smug than Portlanders ha ha.
Ah, these Brits! More smug than Portlanders ha ha.
Robert Redford praises Prince Charles's film at Sundance festival | Film | The Observer
Robert Redford praises Prince Charles's film at Sundance festival | Film | The Observer:
"The film, Harmony: A New Way of Looking At Our World, was being given its premiere at the opening night of Sundance London, the first non-US outing for Redford's successful film and music festival."
"The film, Harmony: A New Way of Looking At Our World, was being given its premiere at the opening night of Sundance London, the first non-US outing for Redford's successful film and music festival."
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The Freshman
I started classes at the Harmonica Academy today. Early lessons should go quickly since I'm familiar with the harp but looking over the syllabus, the last half of the Freshman work looks challenging. This will be fun. It's actually quite different from playing on the rack.
 |
| Young Paul deLay, harp master |
Round Bend Press: Rough Cut #1/Dreams of Journalism
Round Bend Press: Rough Cut #1/Dreams of Journalism:
First teaser from Terry Simons about his film project.
First teaser from Terry Simons about his film project.
Road trip
After being on the wrong end of a perfect game, the Mariners have come to life, now on a road trip's 4-game winning streak. Remarkable and cool. This young team has a future.
The real CSI: what happens at a crime scene? | Science | The Guardian
The real CSI: what happens at a crime scene? | Science | The Guardian:
"From the diver who finds the body parts, to the forensic specialist who identifies flecks of paint on the victim and the handwriting expert who examines the killer's notes... What happens behind the yellow tape of one crime scene"
"From the diver who finds the body parts, to the forensic specialist who identifies flecks of paint on the victim and the handwriting expert who examines the killer's notes... What happens behind the yellow tape of one crime scene"
Sixty years in poems | Books | The Guardian
Sixty years in poems | Books | The Guardian:
"Carol Ann Duffy invites leading poets to recall a year in verse"
An interesting concept.
"Carol Ann Duffy invites leading poets to recall a year in verse"
An interesting concept.
George Takei: We Japanese Americans must not forget our wartime internment | | The Guardian
George Takei: We Japanese Americans must not forget our wartime internment | Comment is free | The Guardian:
"The degrading treatment of Japanese American families like mine is the theme of my new musical, Allegiance"
How long will it take this to come to Portland?
"The degrading treatment of Japanese American families like mine is the theme of my new musical, Allegiance"
How long will it take this to come to Portland?
Friday, April 27, 2012
Now everyone is connected, is this the death of conversation? | Simon Jenkins | The Guardian
Now everyone is connected, is this the death of conversation? | Simon Jenkins | Comment is free | The Guardian:
"As our meeting places fall silent, save for tapping on screens, it seems we have mistaken ubiquitous connection for the real thing"
"As our meeting places fall silent, save for tapping on screens, it seems we have mistaken ubiquitous connection for the real thing"
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Current and recent reading
The Age of American Unreason
Beyond Outrage: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix them (Kindle Single)
Miami and the Siege of Chicago (New York Review Books Classics)
On The Trail Of The JFK Assassins
Mary's Mosaic
Empire As A Way of Life: An Essay on the Causes and Character of America's Present Predicament Along with a Few Thoughts about an Alternative
Beyond Outrage: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix them (Kindle Single)
Miami and the Siege of Chicago (New York Review Books Classics)
On The Trail Of The JFK Assassins
Mary's Mosaic
Empire As A Way of Life: An Essay on the Causes and Character of America's Present Predicament Along with a Few Thoughts about an Alternative
We Americans, let alone our English forefathers, have produced very, very few anti-imperialists. Our idiom has been empire, and so the primary division was and remains between the soft and the hard.
Climate change is a human rights issue – and that's how we can solve it | Olivier De Schutter | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Climate change is a human rights issue – and that's how we can solve it | Olivier De Schutter | Environment | guardian.co.uk:
"We can overcome the problems of delivering collective action on climate change by treating mining, deforestation, ocean degradation and more as violations of human rights"
"We can overcome the problems of delivering collective action on climate change by treating mining, deforestation, ocean degradation and more as violations of human rights"
Waiting for the bus
Rec'd a nasty comment on an old post here today. Man, there sure are a lot of mean-spirited folks in the world. All of them named Anonymous.
Need a dry day over the weekend to keep up with the lawn work. Also need to get back to my outside-in projects before I forget them entirely ha ha. Well, I wanted pressure-free writing. Exactly what I seem to have -- so pressure free I can hardly get myself to do it.
Discovered an unfortunate consequence of harmonica playing yesterday. I haven't started my studies in earnest but I did blow on the harmonica. And Sketch immediately started howling! He does this regularly when sirens pass by, some kind of return to the wild, but if harmonica sets him off as well, this will make practicing very interesting indeed. Maybe he'll get used to it. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe he won't hear it if I practice in the basement. I want to practice AT the netbook, where I bring up the Harmonica Academy with its cool interactive lessons. Be curious how this all shakes out.
End of week four, which means I collect midterms next week. The term just flies by!
The sound and fury of book-prize brouhaha leaves literature nowhere | Books | guardian.co.uk
The sound and fury of book-prize brouhaha leaves literature nowhere | Books | guardian.co.uk:
"As the fuss surrounding the Pulitzer and Orwell prizes shows, book awards are increasingly more about hype than substance"
Hear, hear!
"As the fuss surrounding the Pulitzer and Orwell prizes shows, book awards are increasingly more about hype than substance"
Hear, hear!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Harvard University says it can't afford journal publishers' prices | Science | The Guardian
Harvard University says it can't afford journal publishers' prices | Science | The Guardian:
"University wants scientists to make their research open access and resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls"
Makes good sense of me.
"University wants scientists to make their research open access and resign from publications that keep articles behind paywalls"
Makes good sense of me.
English National Opera's new season includes controversial Disney story | Music | guardian.co.uk
English National Opera's new season includes controversial Disney story | Music | guardian.co.uk:
"A new work by Philip Glass about Walt Disney will have its UK premiere at English National Opera (ENO) in June 2013. Glass's opera – his 24th – is based on Peter Stephan Jungk's 2004 novel The Perfect American, a fictionalised account of the final years of Walt Disney's life, described by Glass as "unimaginable, alarming and truly frightening". "
"A new work by Philip Glass about Walt Disney will have its UK premiere at English National Opera (ENO) in June 2013. Glass's opera – his 24th – is based on Peter Stephan Jungk's 2004 novel The Perfect American, a fictionalised account of the final years of Walt Disney's life, described by Glass as "unimaginable, alarming and truly frightening". "
The old man and the harmonica
Although I've played harp for years, it's always been on the rack with guitar. So this will be a new adventure and I may even have some bad habits to unlearn, which was the hardest part of learning claw hammer banjo. Here I am playing harmonica on a rack.
I enrolled in the Harmonica Academy in Australia and this will be the center of my self-education. I also have some supplemental material, both on Kindle and on CD. I have no performance goals -- my performing days are long gone, though I could see changing my mind if I got really good, which in fact I don't expect. I think I'll be capable and I'll have fun. That's enough. The most adventurous thing I'm doing is this: I ordered a minor key harp so I can learn Russian gypsy songs. I love Russian gypsy songs, always meant to learn and perform them on guitar but never took the time.
Waiting for my material to arrive, most end of the week. Then the new adventure begins. (Always a new adventure.)
My teaching schedule is set for next year. There was a minor issue when, on the first advanced list, I appeared in fall schedule but not on winter or spring. The department protested and it's been fixed. I get great support. PSU was been very good to me indeed. I'm most grateful.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Thinking in a Foreign Language Makes Decisions More Rational | Wired Science | Wired.com
Thinking in a Foreign Language Makes Decisions More Rational | Wired Science | Wired.com:
"The researchers believe a second language provides a useful cognitive distance from automatic processes, promoting analytical thought and reducing unthinking, emotional reaction."
"The researchers believe a second language provides a useful cognitive distance from automatic processes, promoting analytical thought and reducing unthinking, emotional reaction."
Eating headcheese
Troilus and Cressida – review | Stage | The Guardian
Troilus and Cressida – review | Stage | The Guardian:
" the Auckland-based Ngakau Toa company, performing in classical Maori, offer a potent, swaggering production that looks entirely at home on this stage. The Globe has always been a space that rewards large performances, and few have been as outsize as this, which begins with a bulging-eyed, tongue-waggling, foot-stamping haka-style war dance and rarely loses its energy thereafter."
I am a fan of this often ill-regarded play.
" the Auckland-based Ngakau Toa company, performing in classical Maori, offer a potent, swaggering production that looks entirely at home on this stage. The Globe has always been a space that rewards large performances, and few have been as outsize as this, which begins with a bulging-eyed, tongue-waggling, foot-stamping haka-style war dance and rarely loses its energy thereafter."
I am a fan of this often ill-regarded play.
Why trailblazing Amazon should take on the publishing establishment | Books | guardian.co.uk
Why trailblazing Amazon should take on the publishing establishment | Books | guardian.co.uk:
"Scaremongers who warn of of a potential Amazon monopoly conveniently forget that one already exists in shape of legacy publishers"
Hear, hear!
"Scaremongers who warn of of a potential Amazon monopoly conveniently forget that one already exists in shape of legacy publishers"
Hear, hear!
Monday, April 23, 2012
A moment in time
I am here to say that our entire large yard is mowed and trimmed, more or less, as best as I can do with the tools and body at hand, a considerable accomplishment in my view. This will last for a few days before it's time to start all over again. Yard care embraces Sisyphus(see animation at blog title above).
Track and Field: Final results from the Oregon Relays | OregonLive.com
Track and Field: Final results from the Oregon Relays | OregonLive.com:
In the men's mile (1500 m), THE FIRST 25 RUNNERS broke four minutes! Man, how times have changed! I can remember what a big deal Roger Bannister was.
In the men's mile (1500 m), THE FIRST 25 RUNNERS broke four minutes! Man, how times have changed! I can remember what a big deal Roger Bannister was.
Huffington Post's Pulitzer prize win marks a turning point for journalism | Media | The Guardian
Huffington Post's Pulitzer prize win marks a turning point for journalism | Media | The Guardian:
"Only six years ago it would have been unthinkable that a website would be celebrated in this way"
Want to see first self-published ebook win.
"Only six years ago it would have been unthinkable that a website would be celebrated in this way"
Want to see first self-published ebook win.
UN to investigate plight of US Native Americans for first time | World news | guardian.co.uk
UN to investigate plight of US Native Americans for first time | World news | guardian.co.uk:
"The UN human rights inquiry will focus on the living conditions of the 2.7 million Native Americans living in the US"
This could be big.
"The UN human rights inquiry will focus on the living conditions of the 2.7 million Native Americans living in the US"
This could be big.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Oregon track & field rundown: UO women's team is shaping up as a "prohibitive favorite" for the Pac-12 title | OregonLive.com
Oregon track & field rundown: UO women's team is shaping up as a "prohibitive favorite" for the Pac-12 title | OregonLive.com:
"Now, the Ducks enter the second phase of the season as they gear up for the Pac-12 Championships, May 12-13 in Eugene, and the NCAA Championships, June 6-9 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa."
"Now, the Ducks enter the second phase of the season as they gear up for the Pac-12 Championships, May 12-13 in Eugene, and the NCAA Championships, June 6-9 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa."
Vatican Rebukes American Nuns for “Radical” Views | News | The Advocate
Vatican Rebukes American Nuns for “Radical” Views | News | The Advocate:
Radical nuns may be the best thing left in American politics, those who act in accordance with "What would Jesus do?" and have the same radical view of Christ that Woody Guthrie and others have had. Individuals who walk the walk, and I don't mean in a march. We need more radical nuns.
Sun! Warmth!
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| Art by Lynn Trimble |
This morning I even got this week's student work online, most of my prep now done!
The digital bookstore
Those bemoaning the rise of ebooks have created any number of conspiracy theories, usually with Amazon as the demon, but folks like Passive Guy at his The Passive Voice blog are quick to add rationality and sanity to an otherwise loud and angry discourse based largely on disinformation.
One of the worries is the loss of physical bookstores. I, too, would hate to see them go. But guess what? The best, the small indie bookstores, were already disappearing at the assaults of corporate chains. How interesting that one of these, Barnes and Noble, now becomes a good guy to those who see Amazon as a monster. At any rate, what is needed is imagination and faith in books, which after all are noted by CONTENT, not packaging.
Imagine a future bookstore. There is a large ebook section. This is made up of a computer terminals where a customer can sit down and browse for ebooks. These ebooks are stored at and sold by a site managed by the store itself -- the store sells the ebook. There needs to be some perks to make this competitive, of course. One perk is to offer a hard copy print service -- you get your ebook and a print out as well. Or maybe a perk is a credit with each purchase to apply to a future print book purchase. Use your imagination, book entrepreneurs! This can be done and moreover, an ebook section, perhaps modeled after coffee houses where everyone is using a laptop, coffee available and so on, nice music, an ebook section in a traditional bookstore has possibilities to explore.
Luddites have no imagination, of course. But someone is going to embrace the future and make it attractive, rather than whining in the dust of the inevitable.
One of the worries is the loss of physical bookstores. I, too, would hate to see them go. But guess what? The best, the small indie bookstores, were already disappearing at the assaults of corporate chains. How interesting that one of these, Barnes and Noble, now becomes a good guy to those who see Amazon as a monster. At any rate, what is needed is imagination and faith in books, which after all are noted by CONTENT, not packaging.
 |
| Ebook section at bookstore: would adults embrace as readily as kids? |
Luddites have no imagination, of course. But someone is going to embrace the future and make it attractive, rather than whining in the dust of the inevitable.
The Harmonica Academy
Harmonica Academy:
An extraordinary site for harmonica players and students, hosted by Tony Eyers, an Australian player and academic, a site that distinguishes itself in two ways:
An extraordinary site for harmonica players and students, hosted by Tony Eyers, an Australian player and academic, a site that distinguishes itself in two ways:
- harmonica lessons are organized like a college degree course, with freshman, sophomore, junior and senior terms, each with 10 "tune lessons" and 10 "blues lessons"
- tuition is $19.95 for six months, during which you have access to everything (lessons and considerable resources) at the site. You progress at your own rate
Ebooks: should their form determine their value? | Books | The Observer
Ebooks: should their form determine their value? | Books | The Observer:
"Despite what retailers think, the true value of a book lies not in its physical form but in the time spent writing it"
"Despite what retailers think, the true value of a book lies not in its physical form but in the time spent writing it"
Don't read the last rites for hardbacks just yet | Books | The Observer
Don't read the last rites for hardbacks just yet | Books | The Observer:
In the ebook revolution, hardbacks hanging in much better than paperbacks.
In the ebook revolution, hardbacks hanging in much better than paperbacks.
The talking penguin's guide to climate change | Books | The Observer
The talking penguin's guide to climate change | Books | The Observer:
"Darryl Cunningham is using the graphic novel format to address the most serious issues in science and to fight disinformation"
Hear, hear!
"Darryl Cunningham is using the graphic novel format to address the most serious issues in science and to fight disinformation"
Hear, hear!
Should judges always pick a winner? | The Observer
Should judges always pick a winner? | Comment is free | The Observer:
Decades ago I was the judge in a prestigious regional playwriting competition. I refused to pick a winner, not admiring any of the scripts. The sponsors were very unhappy. They appointed a new judge and I was never asked to judge again. In retrospect, I should have thrown the scripts up a staircase, the highest one wins.
Decades ago I was the judge in a prestigious regional playwriting competition. I refused to pick a winner, not admiring any of the scripts. The sponsors were very unhappy. They appointed a new judge and I was never asked to judge again. In retrospect, I should have thrown the scripts up a staircase, the highest one wins.
'They're killing us': world's most endangered tribe cries for help | World news | The Observer
'They're killing us': world's most endangered tribe cries for help | World news | The Observer:
"Logging companies keen to exploit Brazil's rainforest have been accused by human rights organisations of using gunmen to wipe out the Awá, a tribe of just 355. Survival International, with backing from Colin Firth, is campaigning to stop what a judge referred to as 'genocide'"
"Logging companies keen to exploit Brazil's rainforest have been accused by human rights organisations of using gunmen to wipe out the Awá, a tribe of just 355. Survival International, with backing from Colin Firth, is campaigning to stop what a judge referred to as 'genocide'"
Amazon.com: Varmints eBook: Charles Deemer: Kindle Store
Amazon.com: Varmints eBook: Charles Deemer: Kindle Store:
I'm quite proud of this. Worn well. Probably because it's so dark ha ha.
I'm quite proud of this. Worn well. Probably because it's so dark ha ha.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
White Sox RHP Phil Humber throws perfect game - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
White Sox RHP Phil Humber throws perfect game - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:
Against the Mariners!
Only other perfect game I saw was in High School, Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956, it was gym class so they let us see the end of the game.
Against the Mariners!
 |
| Berra grabs Larsen after perfect game |
Music in my life
Lately, reconnecting with people I knew decades ago, from the Army or from graduate school, I'm struck by the fact that much of what they remember about me is that I played and sang folk music. And I'm struck by the fact that the single greatest common denominator through all the changes of my years is the fact that I listen to west coast jazz. Indeed it's likely that today on the car radio I'll hear a tune that I listened to half a century ago -- and the very same version! (This is because we have such a great jazz radio station in town, KMHD).
It felt quite out of character, therefore, when I recently found myself with no desire to play my banjo. I had played guitar through most of my life but in the Army the five-string was my primary instrument. I never did learn claw hammer style. So a few years ago, I picked up the banjo again and took some lessons and learned claw hammer. Decent, too, if a tad slow. I even did some soundtrack music for my film. And then I lost all interest.
Strange. Was music disappearing from my life?
I'm happy to report: No! Just as with the banjo, I have sudden energy to pick up an instrument I played a little and get much better at it: the harmonica! I always played it on a rack, backup to the guitar, folk harmonica, Woody Guthrie harmonica. Now I feel the urge to take it off the rack and learn how to do more with it.
So I shall! A musician once again. I guess I was in transition. Now we'll see what happens.
It felt quite out of character, therefore, when I recently found myself with no desire to play my banjo. I had played guitar through most of my life but in the Army the five-string was my primary instrument. I never did learn claw hammer style. So a few years ago, I picked up the banjo again and took some lessons and learned claw hammer. Decent, too, if a tad slow. I even did some soundtrack music for my film. And then I lost all interest.
Strange. Was music disappearing from my life?
I'm happy to report: No! Just as with the banjo, I have sudden energy to pick up an instrument I played a little and get much better at it: the harmonica! I always played it on a rack, backup to the guitar, folk harmonica, Woody Guthrie harmonica. Now I feel the urge to take it off the rack and learn how to do more with it.
'Steinbeck In Vietnam': A Great Writer's Last Reports : NPR
'Steinbeck In Vietnam': A Great Writer's Last Reports : NPR:
"John Steinbeck's reports shocked readers and family so much that they've never been reprinted — until now."
A domino theory man to the end.
"John Steinbeck's reports shocked readers and family so much that they've never been reprinted — until now."
A domino theory man to the end.
Quotations of the day
“The American People can have anything they want, trouble is, they don’t want much of anything.” --Eugene Debs
"What the people expect, they deserve. What they deserve, they get. Always." --from The Stiff (1975), a play by Charles Deemer
Theater: Serpents, true believers and ‘Holy Ghosts’ | Oregon ArtsWatch
Theater: Serpents, true believers and ‘Holy Ghosts’ | Oregon ArtsWatch:
Bob Hicks doing what he does best.
Bob Hicks doing what he does best.
Internet: a web for the world | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian
Internet: a web for the world | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian:
Wishful thinking. Corporations are too powerful to let the consumer web decline.
Wishful thinking. Corporations are too powerful to let the consumer web decline.
YouTube loses music clip copyright battle in court | Technology | The Guardian
YouTube loses music clip copyright battle in court | Technology | The Guardian:
With copyright violations all over YouTube, this can have major consequences in what it is and how it is used.
With copyright violations all over YouTube, this can have major consequences in what it is and how it is used.
DCWG | DNS Changer Working Group
DCWG | DNS Changer Working Group:
Infected computers will lose the net this summer ... this is a legit problem and here is a legit test to see if you are infected.
Infected computers will lose the net this summer ... this is a legit problem and here is a legit test to see if you are infected.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Old-timers fete oldest of ballparks on 100th b-day - Yahoo! News
Old-timers fete oldest of ballparks on 100th b-day - Yahoo! News:
"BOSTON (AP) — For one more afternoon, Yaz had the Fenway fans cheering, Pedro had them celebrating and Johnny Pesky brought tears to their eyes.
Scenes from Fenway Park's first 100 years played out on the major leagues' oldest ballfield again on Friday, when the Boston Red Sox celebrated its centennial by welcoming more than 200 former players and coaches back onto its landmark lawn."
Scenes from Fenway Park's first 100 years played out on the major leagues' oldest ballfield again on Friday, when the Boston Red Sox celebrated its centennial by welcoming more than 200 former players and coaches back onto its landmark lawn."
Travel + Leisure: America's Best Cities For Hipsters (PHOTOS)
Travel + Leisure: America's Best Cities For Hipsters (PHOTOS):
"No. 2 Portland, OR"
And #1? You guessed it. Seattle.
"No. 2 Portland, OR"
And #1? You guessed it. Seattle.
On Tribal Lands, Digital Divide Brings New Form Of Isolation
On Tribal Lands, Digital Divide Brings New Form Of Isolation:
"On a recent night, she endured a 30-mile drive along a dark desert highway to reach this town, her nearest access point to the Internet. She carried her laptop into a hotel that offers wireless access. In the dim light of the lobby, she hunched over the screen and finished an online exam."
i.e. reservation has no access.
"On a recent night, she endured a 30-mile drive along a dark desert highway to reach this town, her nearest access point to the Internet. She carried her laptop into a hotel that offers wireless access. In the dim light of the lobby, she hunched over the screen and finished an online exam."
i.e. reservation has no access.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Good parenting
From a video board I frequent, "water cooler" talk and memories of baseball:
The Cubbie Hole was a little restaurant/bar across from Wrigley, my Dad loved to take us there before the game.I love this.
When we went to see the Cubs play it was an all day event, some of the best times I ever spent with my Dad.
So many memories, but living here in Atlanta it's time to start creating those memories with my youngest, who just turned 11
He is a Braves fan, so I will be too ...
Morning milk run
Loose ends
There are a few items in my archive that are available nowhere else and I want to make them more widely available with Kindle and print editions. First on the list is my libretto Varmints, based on my play of the same name, a tragi-comedy of the Old West, whose theme is Greed. I doubt if Round Bend Press would be interested in so esoteric a manuscript. I'll do it myself if that's the case.
Mariner fans
Last night the Mariners' Safeco field drew the smallest crowd, a bit over 11 thousand, in the history of the team. Doesn't bode well. Too bad, too, because the team had a solid victory, looking good from all angles.
Most of the times we've gone up to see a game, the stands were over 40 thousand. In years past.
Most of the times we've gone up to see a game, the stands were over 40 thousand. In years past.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
My coffee ritual
Just put tomorrow's coffee into the refrig to brew. By the gods, this has become a more important ritual than making scrapple, no doubt because it's daily instead of biweekly. Finally nearing the end of my first batch of various beans, experimenting, and close to settling on what my bean staples will be. I use about a cup and a half of beans a day, so the stock moves quickly. Jeez, there I am sounding like a capitalist.
My audience
This is a pretty typical distribution of the location of visitors to this blog. What is telling is how few are in the Northwest, where I live, and that half the audience is out of the U.S. (I seem to have a significant audience in Scandanavia, where one student even did a graduate thesis on my work in hyperdrama). This distribution pertains for my work in general, as near as I can tell. I have to remind myself of this in those moments, fortunately rare, when I feel completely isolated here at home. Attention, Deemer! Your audience is elsewhere.
Stories in the mind, on the page, in the marketplace
The usual itinerary is this: a story begins in the mind as an idea, gets developed on the page, and ends up in the marketplace to be shared. This was my own story-path through most of my career.
But things began to change as I got older. The psychology of writing began to change. In the beginning, validation was important to me. As one commentator said about screenwriters, "Screenwriters are ego-maniacs with low self-esteem." Perfect!
As one experiences success, at whatever level, validation becomes less important. Later, for the older writer, validation is irrelevant
As a result, the usual itinerary of a story begins to change, too. I find this fascinating. First, the step from page to market changed. I found I cared less and less about marketing my work. I wanted it available, yes, I had not become "a closet writer," not yet, but I didn't want the hassle of marketing, especially in the current atmosphere in which marketing had become far more essential, far more highly regarded, than when I began my career, when the serious writer was looked at more as a kind of monk, a creator and protector of literary culture, than as a huckster of literary commodities in the marketplace, so that Salinger and Pynchon could become downright sexy by being reclusive, unavailable to book clubs and book tours, invisible. In this new stage, I found it easy to end the story's journey on the page, make it public somewhere, such as in my online archive, and letting it go.
But I feel the stirrings of even more change, even more fascinating. I find myself flirting with the connection between mind and page, with ending the story in the mind where it begins. That is, I feel an attraction to writing the story in my head and letting it go at that. This is remarkable to me.
But it also brings to mind something I read years ago: in Zen, poetry is not the words on the page but the mode of thought in the mind of the poet.
POETRY IS NOT THE WORDS ON THE PAGE BUT THE MODE OF THOUGHT IN THE MIND OF THE POET.
That's so unAmerican, I thought I should emphasize it.
Thus, today, even with outside-in projects, I find myself struggling more than usual just to "get them down" after I create them in the mind. It's so easy just to stop there, self-satisfied, the story born and permanently housed in the mind alone.
An interesting state of affairs indeed. I have no idea what happens next. Stay tuned.
But things began to change as I got older. The psychology of writing began to change. In the beginning, validation was important to me. As one commentator said about screenwriters, "Screenwriters are ego-maniacs with low self-esteem." Perfect!
As one experiences success, at whatever level, validation becomes less important. Later, for the older writer, validation is irrelevant
As a result, the usual itinerary of a story begins to change, too. I find this fascinating. First, the step from page to market changed. I found I cared less and less about marketing my work. I wanted it available, yes, I had not become "a closet writer," not yet, but I didn't want the hassle of marketing, especially in the current atmosphere in which marketing had become far more essential, far more highly regarded, than when I began my career, when the serious writer was looked at more as a kind of monk, a creator and protector of literary culture, than as a huckster of literary commodities in the marketplace, so that Salinger and Pynchon could become downright sexy by being reclusive, unavailable to book clubs and book tours, invisible. In this new stage, I found it easy to end the story's journey on the page, make it public somewhere, such as in my online archive, and letting it go.
But I feel the stirrings of even more change, even more fascinating. I find myself flirting with the connection between mind and page, with ending the story in the mind where it begins. That is, I feel an attraction to writing the story in my head and letting it go at that. This is remarkable to me.
But it also brings to mind something I read years ago: in Zen, poetry is not the words on the page but the mode of thought in the mind of the poet.
POETRY IS NOT THE WORDS ON THE PAGE BUT THE MODE OF THOUGHT IN THE MIND OF THE POET.
That's so unAmerican, I thought I should emphasize it.
Thus, today, even with outside-in projects, I find myself struggling more than usual just to "get them down" after I create them in the mind. It's so easy just to stop there, self-satisfied, the story born and permanently housed in the mind alone.
An interesting state of affairs indeed. I have no idea what happens next. Stay tuned.
From the kitchen of Anonymous
Inspired by the hash brown casserole recipe below, an anonymous cook sent this:
1 can of corned beef hash5 shucked eggs, i.e., out of their shells, in a bowl. Don’t break the yolks.2 Tbsp olive oil
Cover your broiler pan with a sheet of Al foil. Scoop out the hash, spread it as thin as you can and stick it under the broiler for as long as you can without actually burning the hash; that’s about 9 minutes max in my broiler. Your results may differ.
After the hash has cooked a few minutes, start the eggs. (And if you need more carbohydrates, start some toast too.) When the oil is nice and hot, pour all the eggs into the pan over medium heat, cover them, and cook them sunnyside up just long enough until the whites are snot-free, so to speak, but the yolks still totally runny. Remove from heat.
Pick the crispy hash up by pinching the L corners of the foil in your L hand and the R corners in your R and slide it into the pan. (You may have to set it down on the counter to lightly scrape loose a little stuck hash, so be sure to leave space for it.)
Mix it all up. Eat. This should be enough for two, but it’s barely enough for me, I like it so much.
Moyer fends off Father Time to notch win at 49 - Yahoo! News
Moyer fends off Father Time to notch win at 49 - Yahoo! News:
"DENVER (AP) — Jamie Moyer is headed to the Hall of Fame.
Well, maybe his uniform anyway. Or perhaps even his glove.
Cooperstown has asked for some sort of memorabilia from Moyer to commemorate his record-setting night as the 49-year-old left-hander became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league contest."
A former Mariner (they're everywhere! and doing well).
Well, maybe his uniform anyway. Or perhaps even his glove.
Cooperstown has asked for some sort of memorabilia from Moyer to commemorate his record-setting night as the 49-year-old left-hander became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league contest."
A former Mariner (they're everywhere! and doing well).
On the insecurity of being a Mariners' fan
So the Mariners blow a seven run lead that their starter and bullpen can't protect.
There was one game a few years ago, if I remember right, where they blew a 14 run lead!
A Mariners fan, if smart, never rests with a lead.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Shuttle Discovery rides piggyback into posterity - Technology & science - Space - msnbc.com
Shuttle Discovery rides piggyback into posterity - Technology & science - Space - msnbc.com:
I came of age with the Space Age, a freshman at Cal Tech when the Russians launched Sputnik and the race was on. So I felt sadness today with the formal landing of our space program for the immediate future, which feels like abandoning a vision, which feels like giving up, quitting. I'd rather feel that sense of change with the abandoning of our self-appointed policing of the world. Let's abandon the bully in us, not the imaginative visionary going into space.
Afternoon rhythm
My bus home comes by once an hour. If I let class out five mins early and rush I can make it. But I don't like to let class out early and definitely don't like to rush anywhere ever. So I hobble up the street to a deli, have half a sandwich and coffee, read my Kindle and catch the next bus. This is the perfect lowkey mellow way to be after a strenuous class.
It reminds me how good my life can be even in this insane asylum called Western culture.
Denmark royalties!
I just learned I have earned royalties from sales in Denmark! Somebody (i.e. ONE) bought my collection Seven Plays for Kindle. My royalty is ... 54 cents! This could be the start of something big.
Auden & JFK
I can't think of Auden without bringing to mind his poem Musee des Beaux Arts, which in turn brings up the Kennedy assassination. This is the poem we were studying in English class at Pasadena City College at 8 a.m. on November 22, 1963. A few hours later, stunned by the tragedy, I ran into the class' professor in the hallway, and we both said, almost in unison, "About suffering they were never wrong, the old masters..." Maybe it helped a little.
Here's a chapter from my recent novel.
Here's a chapter from my recent novel.
The story gets a little mystical as well but I've told it here before and don't have the time or energy to retell it now. Time to get to the university.
The Old Masters, 1963
COMING DOWN THE HALLWAY, CJ ran into Henry, a graduate student in English, whom CJ knew from folk music circles. Henry's face was damp and swollen.“About suffering they were never wrong, the Old Masters,” said Henry, his voice shaking.“Is something wrong?”Henry said, “How well they understood its human position. How it takes place while someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along.”“Henry, what is it?”“Auden.”Suddenly Henry embraced him. He said something that was muffled against CJ's shoulder. CJ pulled back.“They shot JFK,” said Henry.The President died before CJ was able to get home to Helen, where they cried together. As painful as it was, they couldn't stop watching television. Helen called her parents. CJ called his mother. They stayed up too late and went to bed too drained and upset to make love.Apparently a lone nut had killed the President, who in a few days would be killed himself on live television. CJ watched the rerun in horror. First, all the horrific beatings of Negroes in the south, and now this – what was the world coming to? Over a decade would pass before CJ began formulating an answer to the question, one that was far more terrifying than anything that had occurred to him at the time.
September 1, 1939 by W. H. Auden
I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
Accurate scholarship can
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.
Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave;
Analysed all in his book,
The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.
Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.
Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
All the conventions conspire
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.
The windiest militant trash
Important Persons shout
Is not so crude as our wish:
What mad Nijinsky wrote
About Diaghilev
Is true of the normal heart;
For the error bred in the bone
Of each woman and each man
Craves what it cannot have,
Not universal love
But to be loved alone.
From the conservative dark
Into the ethical life
The dense commuters come,
Repeating their morning vow;
'I will be true to the wife,
I'll concentrate more on my work,'
And helpless governors wake
To resume their compulsory game:
Who can release them now,
Who can reach the dead,
Who can speak for the dumb?
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.
Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.
Accurate scholarship can
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.
Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave;
Analysed all in his book,
The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.
Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.
Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
All the conventions conspire
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.
The windiest militant trash
Important Persons shout
Is not so crude as our wish:
What mad Nijinsky wrote
About Diaghilev
Is true of the normal heart;
For the error bred in the bone
Of each woman and each man
Craves what it cannot have,
Not universal love
But to be loved alone.
From the conservative dark
Into the ethical life
The dense commuters come,
Repeating their morning vow;
'I will be true to the wife,
I'll concentrate more on my work,'
And helpless governors wake
To resume their compulsory game:
Who can release them now,
Who can reach the dead,
Who can speak for the dumb?
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.
Defenseless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
My Feynman story
In my recollection of pleasant memories at Cal Tech below, I forgot to tell my Richard Feynman story. It's fall, 1957. I'm a freshman. I'm well aware of Feynman and all the other Nobel-winning scientists on the faculty, all of them very accessible to freshmen (!).
One day I enter the men's room, enter a stall, and sit down to do my business. After a moment someone in the stall next to me starts banging on the partition between us! I mean, banging big time, as if it were a drum. Or, as it turns out, a set of bongos. I finished as fast as I could and got the hell out of the stall, as the banging continued.
An upper classman at the wash basin was laughing at me. I must have looked a fright. "I see you met Feynman," he said.
Playing bongos, it turned out, was one of Feynman's great passions and he put in a little practice whenever he could, even on the partition of a bathroom stall.
One day I enter the men's room, enter a stall, and sit down to do my business. After a moment someone in the stall next to me starts banging on the partition between us! I mean, banging big time, as if it were a drum. Or, as it turns out, a set of bongos. I finished as fast as I could and got the hell out of the stall, as the banging continued.
An upper classman at the wash basin was laughing at me. I must have looked a fright. "I see you met Feynman," he said.
 |
| Physics and bongos |
The King's Speech impediment: when films don't work on stage | Stage | guardian.co.uk
The King's Speech impediment: when films don't work on stage | Stage | guardian.co.uk:
"The King's Speech is struggling to make anywhere near the same impact on stage as it did on the big screen. Can cinematic and theatrical versions of the same piece happily co-exist?"
"The King's Speech is struggling to make anywhere near the same impact on stage as it did on the big screen. Can cinematic and theatrical versions of the same piece happily co-exist?"
No fiction Pulitzer given for 1st time in 35 years | abc11.com
No fiction Pulitzer given for 1st time in 35 years | abc11.com:
Well, let me suggest .... ha ha, you get the picture. Actually in the 80s a play of mine was nominated when the committee invited regional nominations.
Well, let me suggest .... ha ha, you get the picture. Actually in the 80s a play of mine was nominated when the committee invited regional nominations.
Class, week 3
Now we start spending most of our time on student work, so the "real class" begins. I always look forward to it. A busy day and school week, therefore.
Got a brainstorm last night related to my outside-in experiment, which if fruitful would keep me busy for a longer time than I probably have left. I discovered I have 16 screenplays I still "own up to," stories I like -- and each very easily could be redone as a Kindle novel. A novelization of a screenplay, 16 times. I'm beginning with my one and only vampire story, and we'll see how it goes. I'll submit it under a pseudonym. Just the right combination of mostly grunt work, minor creative work, to keep the juices flowing without stress and soul-searching. I think it would be depressing if this experiment were too successful but really cool if it brought in some coffee money.
Looking forward to class today.
Got a brainstorm last night related to my outside-in experiment, which if fruitful would keep me busy for a longer time than I probably have left. I discovered I have 16 screenplays I still "own up to," stories I like -- and each very easily could be redone as a Kindle novel. A novelization of a screenplay, 16 times. I'm beginning with my one and only vampire story, and we'll see how it goes. I'll submit it under a pseudonym. Just the right combination of mostly grunt work, minor creative work, to keep the juices flowing without stress and soul-searching. I think it would be depressing if this experiment were too successful but really cool if it brought in some coffee money.
Looking forward to class today.
Monday, April 16, 2012
A love story (poem)
Bosko and Admira's story,
who in escaping Sarajevo tried to cross a bridge
hoping that on the other side
where the bloody past reappeared anew
there could be a future for them,
was the media-event of the Spring.
Death was waiting for them in the middle of the bridge.
The man who pulled the trigger wore a uniform
and was never accused of murder.
The whole world press wrote about them.
Italian articles wrote of Bosnia's Romeo and Juliet
French journalists praised love's inseparability
which tear up political boundaries.
The Americans recognized in them two nations' common symbol
there
on the bridge split in two.
The British saw their corpses as examples of wars' absurdity.
And the Russians just kept quiet.
The dead lovers' photographs spread out
in the blooming Spring.
Only my Bosnian friend Prsic
who secured the bridge
was forced to watch day after day
how the worms the misquotes and crows
finished off Bosko and Amira's bloated bodies.
I heard how he cursed
when the Spring wind blew from the other side of the bridge
the stentch of decay
forcing him to pull on a gas mask.
About that however not one paper made mention.
--Goran Simic
Also see Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo.
Ready, Teddy!
Hear Little Richard in there? At any rate, I am prepped for class this week, finished up this morning all the grunt work of putting stuff online, grunt work I actually enjoy.
Still have an advanced student's pages to look at ... but otherwise the rest of the day is my own.
Still have an advanced student's pages to look at ... but otherwise the rest of the day is my own.
Recent reading
Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life
 |
| Cal Tech campus |
The campus was beautiful, and serene. And it was large, considering that Caltech undergraduates numbered only in the hundreds. Most of it lay on a site several blocks on each side that was not intruded upon by city streets. Instead, broad sidewalks punctuated by well-kept lawns, shrubbery, and craggy gray olive trees wound their way amongst the low buildings, many of Mediterranean-style architecture. It was a place to feel peaceful and protected, free to forget the outside world and focus on pursuing your ideas.
Mlodinow gets into physics that will go over the heads of many readers (some of it went over mine) but the focus here is on his emotional journey, and I found his story gripping. I'm glad I stumbled upon this short memoir.
Tearful Paula Radcliffe sees hopes of Olympic medal fade in Vienna | Sport | The Guardian
Tearful Paula Radcliffe sees hopes of Olympic medal fade in Vienna | Sport | The Guardian:
Long been a fan. Jocks have a hard time retiring. Like writers. Like humans. This is why it's important to me, as a serious writer, even as a human being, not to hang around beyond my sensible allotted time. Rocky Marciano knew how to retire. Joe Louis didn't. Let me follow Rocky's tradition.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Daily Kos: Todd Gitlin on the Port Huron Statement’s 50th Anniversary
Daily Kos: Todd Gitlin on the Port Huron Statement’s 50th Anniversary:
"The Port Huron Statement was the clearest, most vivid and energetic articulation of an awakening: one of those great uprisings that are the crucibles of America struggling (against much violence and cruelty) to become itself—a commonwealth of free association and mutual aid.
The New Left wanted to make, out of the lonely crowd, the beloved community—the kernel of a moral awakening that would put intelligence to work in behalf of transcendent values and overcome as much human ugliness as possible.
This beloved community would be bound together in what Carl Oglesby would later call “brute love”—an association of free and struggling individuals joining together what an earlier president, Abraham Lincoln, called “the better angels of our nature.”"
"The Port Huron Statement was the clearest, most vivid and energetic articulation of an awakening: one of those great uprisings that are the crucibles of America struggling (against much violence and cruelty) to become itself—a commonwealth of free association and mutual aid.
The New Left wanted to make, out of the lonely crowd, the beloved community—the kernel of a moral awakening that would put intelligence to work in behalf of transcendent values and overcome as much human ugliness as possible.
This beloved community would be bound together in what Carl Oglesby would later call “brute love”—an association of free and struggling individuals joining together what an earlier president, Abraham Lincoln, called “the better angels of our nature.”"
Kindle blogs
Kindle blogs vary greatly in quality but I've found some really good ones. Best, for me, is The Passive Voice, a blog with several entries a day on the publishing scene. I also subscribe to a free ebooks blog, even though I almost never find anything I want -- but at 99 cents a month, well, I often find SOMETHING in a month that I wouldn't know about otherwise. I subscribe to a Mariners blog now that baseball season has started. I'm doing the two-week free trial for a science blog, a southern cooking blog, and a climate news blog.
Most Kindle blogs update at least once daily, automatically, and cost 99 cents a month. Pretty easy.
I thought briefly about doing a screenwriting blog but decided it would be far too much work.
Most Kindle blogs update at least once daily, automatically, and cost 99 cents a month. Pretty easy.
I thought briefly about doing a screenwriting blog but decided it would be far too much work.
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