Winter Spring Summer

Surrounding yourself with beautiful things

Thursday, March 29th, 2007 | 9-5, Poetry, Whatnot | 2 Comments

In just a few weeks, I’ll end my two-year stint of working from home and return to the daily grind of having a job that actually requires I *gasp* leave the house.

I couldn’t be more excited.

Not only because I get to re-assert the much-needed separation between work & life (although, ironically, my new job is more in-line with my personal ethics/passions/ambitions/etc.), but because, in doing so, I get the joy of creating a work space — an entirely distinct and unique environment in which to spend my days. I realized this about myself when I started working from home: there are things that I will do in an office workspace that don’t work at home… for one reason or other.

For instance, I can have a plant, provided there’s adequate light, which I think there is. At home, plants are verboten because my kitties like to eat them & knock them over. …Of course, let’s not even get started on how much I’m going to miss spending my days with the wee bastards …that’s a whole other matter.

The other thing I can do is set up my Magnetic Poetry stand… again, the wee bastards make this rather impractical for the home. I’m sure that I’d find all the little magnetic words scooped out of their little tray, to be eaten or strewn about the house, and all of my brilliant little magnetic poems destroyed.

But my favorite workplace design feature is to wallpaper the area surrounding my desk and computer with favorite poems. I started doing this at my very first job out of college, where I worked for a dreadful trade magazine. The office was about as lively as morgue (mostly because we were all so miserable we were silently praying for our own swift deaths). One day, I read the poem To My Twenties by Kenneth Koch — and it just made me so purely happy that I printed it out, so I could read it whenever I was feeling low (which happened regularly enough at that particular job I really needed to have a poem at the ready). When I left, after the longest 6 months of my adult life, I untacked the poem from the cubicle wall and took it with me to my next job.

I’ve had the same crinkly print out ever since. Over time, I’ve added several others — Well Water by Randell Jarrell, A Rescue by John Updike, Metamorphosis by Billy Collins, What the Living Do by Marie Howe, and more — each in various stages of crinkle, most with tears, all marred by several folded over pieces of tape, from being stuck and unstuck to my myriad workstations.

As uplifting as my “wallpaper” was, it’s problematic in my own home office. Ironically, the same scraps that have made me feel settled and inspired at work, make me feel sloppy and transient at home. Still, I’ve missed being able to just look at my wall and be transported by a good poem, the way a small framed photo can take you back to that moment when it was taken. I’ll be happy to get those little trips back.

Friday Random Ten, “jury duty” edition

Thursday, March 29th, 2007 | Music | 3 Comments

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crimes and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.

This is their FRT.

…a day early: I have to report @ 8.15a, and I just don’t function any earlier than that. And I can’t count on doing it tomorrow evening, because what if I get sequestered!?!??! (*cross fingers*)

1. Creep (Acoustic), by Radiohead
2. Turn the Page, by Bob Seger
3. Mr. Moonlight, by Clinic
4. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, by The Cure
5. Downtown Lights, by Annie Lennox
6. Pale September, by Fiona Apple
7. The End of an Act, Team America Soundtrack
8. The National Front Disco, Morrissey
9. I Palindrome I, They Might Be Giants
10. Gut Feeling, Devo
    Bonus: Cuando Floresca El Chuno, by Colca Punko

Guilty (of sucking): not-a-one, kids… okay, maybe 2 & 4… jury’s still out.
Guilty (of awesomeness): 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, Bonus
Guilty (of causing swooniness): ….um, if I even have to answer this, you’re obviously not looking at the dreamboat over there on the cover of Your Arsenal.
Guilty (of lyrical excellence):
I Palindrome I:
“Someday mother will die and I’ll get the money.
Mom leans back and says ‘My sentiments exactly,
You son of a bitch.’
I Palindrome I…”
and
The End of an Act:
“Why does Michael Bay get to keep on making movies?
I guess Pearl Harbor sucked
Just a little bit more than I miss you.”

It’s too early to know who’s rollin’ with this weeks FRT posse, but my money’s on:
howard
marisa
ben
brian
lauren
andrea

scott doesn’t have comments turned on…

Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 | Books, Theatrics, Whatnot | 1 Comment

…so, I have to comment here on how much I love the idea behind his new blog, Stalking the Bard. I, too, embrace the most unoriginal sentiment of loving all things Shakespeare. In fact, when I visited Stratford-upon-Avon during the brief time I lived in England during college, I was so overcome that I gobbled up every ridiculous Shakespearean souvenir I could get my credit-enabled hands on: quill pen, journal with quotes in the corners, socks with the Bard’s little blue head embroidered all over them. (As an aside: Those socks were worth every penny — since I still have them & still wear them fairly regularly, yet they remain hole-free. If you’re ever in Stratford looking for something fun and Bardy, go for the socks, you won’t regret it.)

Anyway, Scott’s goal is to see every Shakespeare play performed live, at least once in his life. I’ve seen at least a few plays in my time:

It’s funny, making this list, I realize I haven’t seen as many plays as I thought I had (at least not that I can clearly remember from my adult life…) I feel like I’ve seen other plays, but I’m not sure if I saw them in grade school or high school and just can’t remember clearly… or if my brain is muddied by the various on-screen representations from the likes of Branagh, Gibson, Zeffirelli, Luhrmann, etc. etc.

Either way, Scott’s project sounds like so much fun, I’m tempted to copy him. But, I won’t. Instead, I just wanted to throw my support behind the noble effort.

Friday Random Ten, “my scone is still warm” edition

Friday, March 23rd, 2007 | Music | 5 Comments

1. XTC vs. Adam Ant, They Might Be Giants
2. Feeling No Pain, Josh Rouse
3. Smell the Coffee, Joe Jack Talcum
4. Mighty Mighty, Earth Wind & Fire
5. Parabol, Tool
6. Tell Mama, Etta James
7. Space Dog, Tori Amos
8. Twilight, Josh Rouse
9. Don’t Cry, Guns N’ Roses
10. On a Plain, Nirvana

Bonus Track: Foolin’, Def Leppard

Yay!: 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, and obviously the bonus track (otherwise, there’d be no bonus, right?)
Blech!: 5… Tool just doesn’t do it for me.
Swooniest: Josh Rouse, for the 2^nd week in a row. Obviously my ipod agrees, dishing up a double-helping of Rouse this week. Oh, and Tori Amos is a pretty swoony option for the fellas.
Would have preferred:
September, Let’s Groove, or Boogie Wonderland off the Essential Earth Wind & Fire. Que sera…

Who else should be so active this early in the day:
howard (oral surgeon + Sweetness Follows = ipod irony)
ben (regina spektor is winning me over)
marisa (daybreaker is a great album)
brian (i want to join the polyphonic spree!)
lauren (i just love that this is the “wah wah bar” edition)

If you happen to be in North Jersey…

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 | Events, Poetry | No Comments

Poetry Festival: A Celebration of New Jersey’s Literary Journals

Sunday, May 20, 2007, 1:00 - 5:00 PM

Hosted by: Diane Lockward

West Caldwell Public Library

30 Clinton Road

West Caldwell, New Jersey {Directions}

The event will feature 24 poets representing 12 different journals from throughout New Jersey, as well as a few immediate neighbors from across the river. I’ll be reading, along with indomitable Dan Maguire, on behalf of the Mad Poets Review. I’m really looking forward to it — not only because its going to be an excellent showcase of poets and a great way to meet & learn about a variety of journals, but because, as far as I can tell, there are at least three White Castles between the library & the NJ Turnpike. That alone is worth the 2 hour drive!

Poetry as Memoir @ Mt. Airy Learning Tree

Sunday, March 18th, 2007 | Events, Poetry | No Comments

Beginning April 28th, I’ll be teaching a 6-week course on Poetry as Memoir over at the Mt. Airy Learning Tree. How cool is that?!?

The course description & registration are up online now…. but here’s an overview:

Most of us have saved up stories-crazy things we did as kids, family legends and legacies, anecdotes about our wacky bosses. But we are daunted by the time and endurance needed to write a novel or prose memoir. Students will practice using poetry as the vehicle for personal stories. By working with various forms and prompts, discover the freedom, possibility and power of using poetry to convey a personal narrative. Examining a range of published works, students will see how personal poetry can be so much more than “confessionalism.”

For more info, or to register, visit the MALT website. If you’ve still got questions, give me a holler.

Worst. Tour. Ever.

Friday, March 16th, 2007 | Philly | 2 Comments

Gentle Tourists,
To you I offer the following advice when visiting Philadelphia: skip the tour of Independence Hall.

No matter how “free” it is, it’s not worth the hour that you will spend waiting in line(s), going through “security” (ahem! my mace made it through totally unquestioned, I can’t even get into the Troc with that stuff), and then enduring the “tour” (haha! jokes about the genocide of Native Americans is funny — woohoo! [yes, that's sarcasm]).

I went this week with my wonderful & patient friend who was visiting from San Diego. It was TERRIBLE! I’m lucky I still have a friend.

So don’t do it. Walk by, take pictures from all sides, and move along. You’ll thank me. I swear.

Live Blogging: Top 50 Chick Flicks on the Style Network

Friday, March 16th, 2007 | Whatnot | 4 Comments

Style Network is airing the most wonderful show — 50 Best Chick Flicks: Sex, Cries & Videotape, hosted by none other than Allie Sheedy & Molly Ringwald! It’s like watching all of my favorite movies without having to sit through all the boring parts.

This is perfect, “I’ve had too much to drink & I can’t concentrate” TV. Although I can’t post on the internets exactly why I’ve had too much to drink, let’s just be clear that its celebratory!

So… we’re at no. 20 12 6 and there are only five 6 7 that I haven’t seen:

1. Waiting to Exhale
2. Moonstruck
3. The Joy Luck Club
4. The Wedding Planner
5. Pride & Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth… how did I miss this??)
6. The Way We Were
7. Terms of Endearment

I’m ashamed… I should have seen all of these BUT “The Wedding Planner”… I draw the line at J Lo… sorry, a girl’s gotta have some standard.

Oh, and just in case you’re bad at math (or you’ve been drinking A LOT), that makes 31 other chick flicks that I’ve seen – and could probably recite word for word.

UPDATE:
Say Anything @ #14 — what?!!?! Not in the top 10… that can’t be right.

UPDATE No. 2: The Top 10
10. Thelma & Louise — okay, that’s fair… definitely top-10 worthy.
9. The Notebook — Oh. My. God. I love this movie. Makes me cry every time. Okay, I’m embarrassed now.
8. Terms of Endearment — I think its chick blasphemy to admit that I’ve never seen this… but I think I earn some grrrrl cred… if that’s even possible for me at this point.
7. Ghost — ick. Definitely could have been moved out of the top 10 for Say Anything.
6. Dirty Dancing — nobody puts Baby in a corner… so how did she miss the top 5?
5. Sleepless in Seattle — of course… although, I dunno, this one never really did it for me.
4. When Harry Met Sally — I remember seeing this when I was 10 or 12 or something… I think it was my inauguration into chickflickdom.
3. Steel Magnolias — damn straight! this is one of the greatest girlie movies of all time.
2. PrettyWoman — what can be no. 1, if it’s not this?!?!
1. Beaches — BLECH!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh! I’m so disappointed. 2 hours in front of the tv to end up with Bette frickin’ Midler. Ugh!!! They should have just stop the frickin’ countdown at Pretty Woman. Seriously. This is dumb. I hate the Style network.

UPDATE No. 3: The final countdown
Of the 50 movies, it’s only the 7 above that I haven’t seen.  So, I’ve seen 43 of the Style network’s top 50… not that it matters… the whole countdown is called into question by that number one!

Friday Random Ten, the great news edition

Friday, March 16th, 2007 | Music | 9 Comments

1. Dead, by They Might Be Giants
2. Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now), by Nine Inch Nails
3. The Scoop, by The Beastie Boys
4. It’s the Nighttime, by Josh Rouse
5. Buckingham Rabbit, by Silver Jews
6. Send in the Clouds, by Silver Jews (I *swear* this was totally random!)
7. Comin’ Under Fire, by Def Leppard
8. Falling for You, by Weezer
9. One of My Turns, by Pink Floyd
10. My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (The Inner Life as Blazing Shield of Defiance and Optimism as Celestial Spear of Action), by The Flaming Lips

Yay!: 1, 4
Blech!: 2
Seen live: 1, 4, 8
Swooniest: Josh Rouse
Would have preferred: “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song” by the Flaming Lips, “Sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed” by Silver Jews

Other players on the FRT team:
howard
ben
marisa
brian
lauren

Friday Random Ten, the late afternoon beer edition

Friday, March 9th, 2007 | Music | 5 Comments

I almost completely forgot it was Friday… but as soon as I realized, I cracked open a beer and put the ole itunes collection on shuffle.

1. Express Yourself, by Madonna
2. Overjoyed, by Magnet
3. The Boogie That Be, by The Black Eyed Peas
4. Love My Way, by the Psychedelic Furs
5. Wicked, by Ice Cube
6. Reflection, by Tool
7. Sister Christian, by Night Ranger (awww yeah!!!)
8. I Put a Spell on You, by Marilyn Manson
9. Rocket, by Smashing Pumpkins
10. Copache, by the Melvins

Bonus: Z Twig, by Aphex Twin… ah! One minute and 37 seconds of pure, ambient bliss.

Yay!: #7, #5… perfect Friday afternoon, beer-drinkin’, dancin’ in my swivelly desk chair music
Blech!: #3… I still feel like the BEP did the ole bait & switch with their first single “Where is the Love”… b/c the rest of the album just blew!
#8… I just never got Marilyn Manson, never)
#10… another one I just don’t get
Inherited from the Little Mister’s music collection: #2, #5, #6, #8, #10

Where everybody knows your name:
howard (”why not smile” is great, late REM)
ben (I think Keane is one of those bands that I shouldn’t particularly care for, but there’s just something about ‘em)
marisa (representin’ the love this week)
andrea (yay! more REM!)
brian (josh rouse is dreamy)
lauren (I *love* the video for Ya Mama!)