Hi, yes, I've moved over to WordPress.
I'M HAVING A BLOG WARMING PARTY ON FEB 1, 2009 from 4 - 8 pm (Pacific Standard Time)
Feel free to poke around on this blog all you want. There's disapproving cats, sad monkeys, and a few useful writing exercises. I do receive and read all comments.
We've having a Moving Sale soon. Check back for details.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Monday Poetry Cha-ching (last one on this blog)
Getting ready for my permanent move to my new blog. I'll be having a moving sale and a blog-warming party. There will be poetry games and treats and music and frolicking, so stay tuned for that. Frolicking is so underrated.
The poem below combines lines from three separate 3:15 experiment poems written August 15, 2008 by Gwendolyn Alley, Tod McCoy and myself. The 3:15 Experiment itself is a work of collective consciousness. We used these poems as part of our process of creating a collaborative poem to submit to an on-line journal; this is a draft of the stanza I produced. We're still working on the final poem and will let you know when it appears.
I ALSO have a Monday Poetry Post on my NEW BLOG this week.
the TRAIN leaves every Monday.
The poem below combines lines from three separate 3:15 experiment poems written August 15, 2008 by Gwendolyn Alley, Tod McCoy and myself. The 3:15 Experiment itself is a work of collective consciousness. We used these poems as part of our process of creating a collaborative poem to submit to an on-line journal; this is a draft of the stanza I produced. We're still working on the final poem and will let you know when it appears.
Thunder and lightning
arriving back from the dead
thawing a bottle of wine
with a drum roll please
my dream angel solid and
drowned for safe
when the light flashes
fiercely beautiful down the hallway
Let’s not fool ourselves
inside a shoe that doesn’t fit
shed some clothes
roam the house
of my youth more human than
closing windows and
slowly warming coal
I ALSO have a Monday Poetry Post on my NEW BLOG this week.
the TRAIN leaves every Monday.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Monday Poetry Thang
daily grind
miracle birds fly on miracle wings under a miracle sky
someone loads a parking meter with time and the “oo”
in the school sign makes me think the world is looking
out for me. every brick in the library was fashioned in
its brickiness to perfection and laid brick upon
brick and somewhere along the way someone thought
up electricity, the discarding of light, the key to your
heart, like a blossom in the spring snow. clever despite
the cold. I crack open my own, a walnut with a teardrop
center, and fold my hands into the brunt of winter. all
day the miracles follow me around like housecats. all
day I thank them for their moody persistence.
Have a great week! Have two, they're fat-free!
(Join the Poetry Train)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Thursday (gettin my poem on)
The theme this week on Read Write Poem's "get your poem on" is "beginnings and endings." To me, they are always the same thing. This poem speaks to that idea.
(still working on accompanying video poem)
avoiding the woolly worms
I drive 10 miles an hour slower to avoid them crossing the road
it is the season for so many things
don't know what they will become if left to become
some moth or butterfly fluttering to light
but for now they simply creep across every path
subtle as skin, twice as vulnerable
and I know I must be insane, crying for black and orange
fuzz-piles on blacktop as commuters back up I
swerve into the opposing lane
my life an unconcern
as worms are enlightened
be free be free
in the next lifetime, perhaps they will live
in a great ocean
* * *
if you listen to sea turtles laying eggs
it sounds like a moan of human pleasure
exhale so familiar it makes one shiver
afterwards they leave their young
to predators and elements
return to ocean with straight necks
sun and salt stinging tears mistaken
for regret
At recess, village school children shield emerging
baby sea turtles from vultures
They would tear their heads off
if we let them…
they say in Spanish
So few, so few after egg gathering season
ever make it to the water.
* * *
Upstairs, I stand at the window
wondering if you are asleep in the hammock
one leg thrown over the side
It is as if I am looking down on the memory
of something
or a distant happy dream
It is green and dry through the trees
I'm at the window upstairs as the hammock swings
back and forth and back and forth
filling the space between us
You wave slowly and I wave back
far too calm and quiet
from Every Day Angels and Other Near Death Experiences
Monday, January 5, 2009
Monday Poetry Something or Other
Something from the vault.
phobia
after much food and drink
I take a walk in the night
while Baby does the dishes
I turn down a dark street
I am not
frightened by the dark street we are in
Platanes,Crete
and the most dangerous thing
I can think of
is the uncertain sidewalk
a motorcycle takes the corner
heads intentionally for me
at the last second veers
and speeds away
there isn’t any laughter
back at our hotel prepared
with my motorcycle story
I find my husband on the floor
keep your shoes on he says I dropped a wine bottle
there are shards in every corner
of the room this is his fear
right now he is frightened by bits of glass
when flying with my husband I figure
one of us should not be afraid as the plane dips
I take his damp hand and smile
I am frightened sometimes by herds of animals
because of the way they all move at once
one thought becomes all thought
all thought becomes sudden
I am not frightened by cherry blossoms
although they are just as sudden
and of one mind
but I’ve never
had to jump out of their way
and when they drop on stone floors
it is merely fragrant snow
phobia
after much food and drink
I take a walk in the night
while Baby does the dishes
I turn down a dark street
I am not
frightened by the dark street we are in
Platanes,
and the most dangerous thing
I can think of
is the uncertain sidewalk
a motorcycle takes the corner
heads intentionally for me
at the last second veers
and speeds away
there isn’t any laughter
back at our hotel prepared
with my motorcycle story
I find my husband on the floor
keep your shoes on he says I dropped a wine bottle
there are shards in every corner
of the room this is his fear
right now he is frightened by bits of glass
when flying with my husband I figure
one of us should not be afraid as the plane dips
I take his damp hand and smile
I am frightened sometimes by herds of animals
because of the way they all move at once
one thought becomes all thought
all thought becomes sudden
I am not frightened by cherry blossoms
although they are just as sudden
and of one mind
but I’ve never
had to jump out of their way
and when they drop on stone floors
it is merely fragrant snow
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Best / Most / Favourite of 2008
The Best Happy Surprises from the Youth of Today that make me hopeful for the future.
I write/direct (basically showrun) a TV show called VJIAM tv. Even though the job has been extremely overwhelming at times, one of the positive aspects of the show is that it's given me the warm fuzzies for the youth of today. Let's face it, they get a bad rap in the media, and we've left them with a mess. Oops, guys, sorry about that!
The show features the work of emerging video journalists sharing stories about their communities. They cover arts, sports, music, dance, environmentalism, and more. But the really cool thing is that their work is uplifting. They create stories about saving the planet, building community, teaching each other, and being strong in mind, body, and spirit. Some of it has been mighty inspirational.
Here are just a few of my favourites:
At 22 years old, Emily Jubenville was voted Greenest Canadian.
Teens in San Francisco organize a solar powered hip hop festival.
Reel Grrls helps young women get a head start in filmmaking.
Five teenagers are given free music lessons and then put in a band together.
Circus Smirkus... a circus made up entirely of teenage performers.
There are a few that haven't aired yet; I'll link them to the segments when they are online. In the meantime, I've linked them to some information about them, which you'd want to know anyway.
Girls Helping Girls was founded two years ago by 15-year-old Sejal Hathi. It's an international nonprofit organization that partners girls in the U.S. with girls in developing countries to jointly identify problems in their communities and develop social change through micro lending projects.
(Uhhh... what was I doing at 15... hmmm, yeah, working at Winchell's Donut Shop and writing bad poetry.)
Matt Harding travels the world, connecting people, through one simple dance.
And here's a story they haven't covered yet, but I'm hoping they do:
18 year old kid invents a silent, electrically powered motorcycle. I saw this kid on Dragon's Den, a show where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a panel of investors. When one of the dragon's pointed out that it was the same concept as the segwey, and the segwey had failed, he replied, "yeah, that's because the segwey wasn't cool."
He received a $2.5 million development grant.
I write/direct (basically showrun) a TV show called VJIAM tv. Even though the job has been extremely overwhelming at times, one of the positive aspects of the show is that it's given me the warm fuzzies for the youth of today. Let's face it, they get a bad rap in the media, and we've left them with a mess. Oops, guys, sorry about that!
The show features the work of emerging video journalists sharing stories about their communities. They cover arts, sports, music, dance, environmentalism, and more. But the really cool thing is that their work is uplifting. They create stories about saving the planet, building community, teaching each other, and being strong in mind, body, and spirit. Some of it has been mighty inspirational.
Here are just a few of my favourites:
At 22 years old, Emily Jubenville was voted Greenest Canadian.
Teens in San Francisco organize a solar powered hip hop festival.
Reel Grrls helps young women get a head start in filmmaking.
Five teenagers are given free music lessons and then put in a band together.
Circus Smirkus... a circus made up entirely of teenage performers.
There are a few that haven't aired yet; I'll link them to the segments when they are online. In the meantime, I've linked them to some information about them, which you'd want to know anyway.
Girls Helping Girls was founded two years ago by 15-year-old Sejal Hathi. It's an international nonprofit organization that partners girls in the U.S. with girls in developing countries to jointly identify problems in their communities and develop social change through micro lending projects.
(Uhhh... what was I doing at 15... hmmm, yeah, working at Winchell's Donut Shop and writing bad poetry.)
Matt Harding travels the world, connecting people, through one simple dance.
And here's a story they haven't covered yet, but I'm hoping they do:
18 year old kid invents a silent, electrically powered motorcycle. I saw this kid on Dragon's Den, a show where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a panel of investors. When one of the dragon's pointed out that it was the same concept as the segwey, and the segwey had failed, he replied, "yeah, that's because the segwey wasn't cool."
He received a $2.5 million development grant.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Word on Wednesday - Best / Most / Favourite of 2008
(because what year would be complete without a best / most / favourite list?)
2008'S BEST CRIES
Most tender cry
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
(whose website has been under construction for quite some time)
Years ago my friend Barbara recommended this book and the title stuck in my mind. I finally bought it last Jan with a bookstore gift certificate someone had given me, and even then it sat on my shelf for months. Just before summer, curled up on the couch for a weekend, I cried my way through Henry and Clare's romance. I love how the story's sadness and foreboding is peppered with the humour that comes when two people are so comfortably one, destined and resigned to that destiny of constant heartache. A heartache as beautiful as is is tragic.
Most stunning cry (sudden and unforseen)
Fierce Light - Where Spirit Meets Action
a documentary by Velcrow Ripper
Last October I attended my friend Sue's wedding. This friend had a chronic kidney condition and during the ceremony I could tell she was exhausted. Part way through the reception dinner, my husband and I realized that the entire wedding party was gone. Word came around that Sue had fallen ill and had to be taken to the hospital. She went into a coma and died that evening.
I was in shock, it was unreal that one could attend a friend's wedding and then the friend could vanish from this earth. Sue was all light and heart and spirit, but she also had a flair for the dramatic. We all agreed that her exit was beautiful... how many other people get a reception line of all their friends and family at the end of their lives?
A friend at Sue's wedding recommended a movie to me. She had specifically thought of me after watching it. She said Fierce Light was an inspiring documentary about people coming together for good, for peace, for action. That sounded about right. In the midst of a crazy work week, just a few days after Sue's death, I ducked out for a few hours to see the film at Vancouver Film Festival. It was sold out. I sat in the front row, swallowed by the screen.
In the opening sequence, the director Velcrow Ripper shows the story of Brad Will, an anarchist and video journalist, through his final film footage. Brad was shot and killed (by police) in 2006 during the teacher's strike in Oaxaca, Mexico, which he had traveled down to document. He basically filmed his own murder. The footage was gut-wrenching.
My heart burst open... it was too much. I had known Brad. I knew he had been killed, but I hadn't expected to see the footage on full screen in colour.
I had met Brad at Naropa University. My two fondest memories of him were when he and I spent an afternoon trying to create the perfect intoxicating tea and attending his mock gay wedding held outside the Promise Keeper's convention. Brad was one of a kind. A generous coyote trickster with a heart for justice.
I'm pretty sure I cried through the entire film, and not just for Sue and Brad, for all the wonderful, beautiful people out there with fierce light and spirit. Brad died doing what he had to do. Sue died in the arms of love. I don't know if there is any more appropriate way for them to leave us.
LINK to story about Brad that appeared in Rolling Stone
Bradwill.org
2008'S BEST CRIES
Most tender cry
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
(whose website has been under construction for quite some time)
Years ago my friend Barbara recommended this book and the title stuck in my mind. I finally bought it last Jan with a bookstore gift certificate someone had given me, and even then it sat on my shelf for months. Just before summer, curled up on the couch for a weekend, I cried my way through Henry and Clare's romance. I love how the story's sadness and foreboding is peppered with the humour that comes when two people are so comfortably one, destined and resigned to that destiny of constant heartache. A heartache as beautiful as is is tragic.
Most stunning cry (sudden and unforseen)
Fierce Light - Where Spirit Meets Action
a documentary by Velcrow Ripper
Last October I attended my friend Sue's wedding. This friend had a chronic kidney condition and during the ceremony I could tell she was exhausted. Part way through the reception dinner, my husband and I realized that the entire wedding party was gone. Word came around that Sue had fallen ill and had to be taken to the hospital. She went into a coma and died that evening.
I was in shock, it was unreal that one could attend a friend's wedding and then the friend could vanish from this earth. Sue was all light and heart and spirit, but she also had a flair for the dramatic. We all agreed that her exit was beautiful... how many other people get a reception line of all their friends and family at the end of their lives?
A friend at Sue's wedding recommended a movie to me. She had specifically thought of me after watching it. She said Fierce Light was an inspiring documentary about people coming together for good, for peace, for action. That sounded about right. In the midst of a crazy work week, just a few days after Sue's death, I ducked out for a few hours to see the film at Vancouver Film Festival. It was sold out. I sat in the front row, swallowed by the screen.
In the opening sequence, the director Velcrow Ripper shows the story of Brad Will, an anarchist and video journalist, through his final film footage. Brad was shot and killed (by police) in 2006 during the teacher's strike in Oaxaca, Mexico, which he had traveled down to document. He basically filmed his own murder. The footage was gut-wrenching.
My heart burst open... it was too much. I had known Brad. I knew he had been killed, but I hadn't expected to see the footage on full screen in colour.
I had met Brad at Naropa University. My two fondest memories of him were when he and I spent an afternoon trying to create the perfect intoxicating tea and attending his mock gay wedding held outside the Promise Keeper's convention. Brad was one of a kind. A generous coyote trickster with a heart for justice.
I'm pretty sure I cried through the entire film, and not just for Sue and Brad, for all the wonderful, beautiful people out there with fierce light and spirit. Brad died doing what he had to do. Sue died in the arms of love. I don't know if there is any more appropriate way for them to leave us.
LINK to story about Brad that appeared in Rolling Stone
Bradwill.org
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