I started hearing about BPA while I was pregnant and did alot of looking to find BPA-free bottles, teethers, and other plastics.  This stuff is scary.  Lots of people like to say “We’ve been using it for years…” or “We were all raised on plastics, and we’re doing fine.”  But I think its far too early to actually know if we’re all “fine.”  And I mean, okay, maybe there aren’t Erin Brokovich-esque repercussions… or maybe there are… either way, I’m much more comfortable making sure that me and my wee one aren’t consuming extra hormones.

I’ve found two web pages that have been really helpful in sorting through the vast field of baby things in search of BPA-free products:

• This one has reviews for nearly all baby product manufacturers:  ZRecs
• And this one is a good reference for bpa-free teethers & pacifiers: NatureMoms.com

Thankfully, lots of manufacturers are now labelling their products with “BPA free” stickers.  So, even some of the manufacturers with negative reviews from ZRecs have good usable products that aren’t mentioned in the ZRecs profiles.  For instance, my lactation consultant recommended Playtex NaturalLatch nipples for their most boob-like quality — and although I couldn’t find anything about that particular product on ZRecs, most of the Playtex things were labelled (or not).  So there are LOTS of BPA-free options, and you shouldn’t have to go for something that’s potentially poisonous.

• I moved from the big city to the ‘burbs.
• I’ve been studying for the GREs (the general & the Lit test), on the off chance that some PhD program wants to accept me back into the fold of academia.
• And I birthed a wee one.  He’s the cuteness.  We spend our days together, snacking & napping & staring at anything in bright contrasting colors (for me that means watching all the Project Runway reruns).

So, I realize there’s some funny bizness — weird characters and what not — all over this site.  I’ll probably fix some of it… or not… we’ll see.  But there shouldn’t be any more of that going forward.  And I have no idea how often I’ll be posting, but I’m pretty sure it will be more than once a year.

It’s good to be back.

But in case you’re aching for an update, here’s the latest:

• Started a new job.  We do good work & its important & you should support it.  Come check us out on Nov. 8th to find out how.
• The series I host for the Mad Poets Society lost our venue, then got a new one (with barely a moment to spare).  Now, we’re rockin’ 1st Thursdays at Milkboy in Bryn Mawr like nobody’s biznass.  We’ve been packed for every reading — and this month we were standing room only. Be there in October for Jenn & Chris McCreary.
• I got hired to teach a college comp class and then my class got cancelled… all in the space of a month.  Que sera.
• Luckily, the workshops at Big Blue Marble are going strong, 2nd & 4th Saturdays.  We meet up next on Sept. 29 (which I think is actually the 5th Saturday… but don’t tell).
•  The Mad Poets blog is humming along… and when I dare to blog, its over there & its generally just to try and get people to promote themselves.  Feel free to join us in unabashed self advancement every Monday and read the reviews, interviews, etc. etc. all the rest of the week.
• And if you don’t have anything to do next Wednesday, you should come see me read at the Belmont Hills Library in Bala Cynwyd.  There will be free refreshments and an open mic.

I’m particularly satisfied with Wikipedia’s definition of “memoir,” particularly this bit (which may or may not be attributable to Gore Vidal, I can’t tell from the way the entry is arranged):

It is more about what can be gleaned from a section of one’s life than about the outcome of the life as a whole.

The quote makes me wonder: what actually constitutes a “section” of one’s life? How large or small of timeframe might that be? Poetry, at least much of the best poetry, is about gleaning from moments and simple details. And the old cliche is right: Life is but a series of moments. So, I suppose I see each poem as the opportunity to write a mini memoir. The most exciting part, for me, is that these mini memoirs get to defy physics. Once you’ve written enough of them, you can string the poems together to tell a larger story, only that story need not abide by the laws of the space-time continuum. This is where the gleaning comes in. The meanings of our lives, or situations within our lives, are often less dependent upon the chronological circumstances and more upon the way our memories rearrange and juxtapose long after the experiences have ended.

How many times have you been absolutely sure that the last time you saw so and so was at such and such restaurant, only to eventually realize that’s impossible?  Such and such place wasn’t built yet, or it burnt down the year before, or you’ve never actually been to such and such but the color on their sign reminds you of the shirt that so and so was wearing the last time you saw him, although you can’t quite remember where exactly that was.  Probably, where you were at the time doesn’t matter.  It’s what you said.  It’s what so and so was wearing or doing.  Whatever it was, its important enough to be triggered every time you pass by such and such restaurant.  The gleaning comes from that connection.  Maybe you would never think of so and so otherwise.  Or maybe something else would be the trigger.  In all likelihood, whatever it is would have more to do with your subconcious than anything going on the actual world of facts.

That’s why I like to think about poetry in the context of memoir — because poetry is not bound by the world of facts, even if we’re using poetry to tell personal stories. Personal stories don’t necessarily have to be factually verifiable — at least not in our world.  This doesn’t mean, however, that the stories don’t have to be true. But there’s a big difference between “actual” truth and “emotional” truth.  Was James Frey actually in jail for year, or however long he claimed? (I never read A Million Little Pieces, although I feel like I did.)  No, but it may have felt like it to him.   That’s an extreme example of emotional truth (although I’m pretty convinced that James Frey knows is just a big fat liar who thought nothing about emotional truth).  Either way, emotional truth isn’t really acceptable in the world of prose — especially in anything like a biography or memoir that claims a foothold on reality.  But in poetry - ah! - we deal almost strictly in emotional truth.  Was the car blue or orange, it doesn’t matter.  If you’re comparing your mother’s innonence to that of the virgin Mary, then the car was blue.  Period. End of sentence.  Poetry understands that details and specifics are the cornerstones of the most engaging writing, but that those details have some sort of proof to back them up?  Poetry doesn’t care about that.  Poetry wants the best details to help us understand what it all means.

It’s late and I’m rambling.  More to come later.

1. “Goodnight Elizabeth,” Counting Crows
2. “Crystal,” New Order
3. “Porcelain,” Moby
4. “Pitseleh,” Elliot Smith
5. “Rebel, Rebel,” David Bowie
6. “Radio Free Europe,” REM
7. “A Long Day,” The Polyphonic Spree
8. “No Pictures, Please,” Rod McKuen
9. “Threadbare,” South
10. “Vera,” Pink Floyd
Bonus: “Could it be I’m falling in love,” The Spinners

Yay!: 1, 6, bonus
Blech!: 7 - wtf? 37 minutes of white noise. i only let this play all the way through b/c its friday & i was filing
Seen Live: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9
Swooniest: 9 — the whole band wins, just for being british.
Most Annoying (whose music I still kinda like): 3

Loosen your hold:
howard (this ain’t no disco)
marisa (losers are the winners)
jeff (this the beginning of forever and ever)
brian (it was only a test)
ben(Oh Lord, what have i done to myself?)
rachel (the more we talk about it, only makes it worse to live without it)
kb (i have nothing to offer but confusion)

Yay!: eh, I’m not particularly thrilled by any of this weeks tunes
Blech!: … then again, none of them really disgust me either — I’m just sort of apathetic.
Seen live: 2, 9, 10, and 6 (if you count that Joe Jack=Joe Genaro the weeist and swooniest little imp of the Dead Milkmen)
Swooniest: see above… oh, and kurt cobain was kinda cute too.
I’d rather be listening to:
Hem or the Roadside Graves… seriously can’t get enough. Or… almost any of the other lists out there in FRT list. Mine just feels lame this week.

Everybody’s got nice stuff but me:
howard (sixteen candles down the drain)
rachel (I keep a close watch)
jeff (I wanna be a lion, eh, everybody wanna pass as cats)
brian (they’re free to fly away)
lauren (we stayed a long long time)
marisa (you lie that your life’s unappealing all the time)

Yay!:  1, 3, 6, 8, bonus
Blech!:  I don’t particularly hate anything on this list.
Seen live:  3, 6, 10, bonus
TMBG lyric of the week:  since they seem to be landing on this list at least once a week…
It’s a long long rope they’ll use to hang you soon I hope.
And I wonder why it hasn’t happened… why? why? why?

Windows needs your permission to perform this function:
brian
howard
jeff
lauren
marisa
rachel

oh vista… why won’t you let me download rhapsody, so that I might find new favorite songs among those that aren’t currently in my collection.  no, no, I’m not saying that i’m not grateful that you let me download iTunes… of course, yes, you’re right, that was very generous of you.  thank you vista.  thank you very very much.  no, please don’t get mad and take it away.

this reads like a yearbook entry from when I was in the 6th grade. and that’s particularly bemusing because i’m not really sure what the point is. but i guess that’s the way i feel about yearbooks too. either way, i’m considering stealing this tactic. not that i really have anything to spam about. but i could always use a few extra hits. and i mean, have any of us really outgrown the desire for the cheerful and pointless fake friendships cultivated in the pages of our grade-school annuals? I didn’t think so.

See you next year. TTFN. Stay Sweet. LYLAS.

Bonus: “Why Won’t You Tell Me What,” Josh Rouse

Yay!: 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, Bonus
Blech!: 6. Way better Jesus songs: “I Dream of Jesus” by the Dead Milkmen or “Jesus is a Friend of the Family” by the Roadside Graves.
Swooniest: Michael Stipe… I’ve spent the better part of the last few hours scouring the internet for the What’s the Frequency Kenneth video, or at least a good still of Stipey, in mid hip swivel wearing that little star t-shirt… this is the best I could come up with. Oh, swoon!
Best Lyrics:
I got a letter from the government the other day.
Opened it and read it, it said they were suckers.
They wanted me for the army, or whatever.
Picture me giving a damn. I say never.
~Tricky

Other friends of the family:
howard (no, we’re never gonna survive)
jeff (young boy done me bad, and I went and did you wrong)
ben (quiet, don’t tell anybody)
brian (oh has the world changed? or have i changed?)
lauren (i slowly wilt and die)
rachel (i’ve quit this a million times, can’t quite stay away)
kb (i wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for the journey now)
marisa (So why not stop trying to run and hide)

Here they are:

1. “Dark Center of the Universe,” Modest Mouse
2. “Fishin’ 4 Religion,” Arrested Development
3. “Take me to the river,” Annie Lennox
4. “Super Magic 2000,” Chris Isaak
5. “Spent,” Filter
6. “Summer Days,” Bob Dylan
7. “You’ll Miss Me,” They Might Be Giants
8. “Life in the Factory,” Drive-By Truckers
9. “Kitten Intro,” They Might Be Giants
10. “The Precious Jewel,” Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny

Yay!: 1, 2, 7
Blech!: 5 – I totally zoned, I barely even heard this song playing.
Would have preferred: Something off of Decoration Day, by the Drive-By Truckers… the Southern Rock Opera albums just don’t do it for me.

So bring you’re good times and you’re laughter too:
howard(baby, instant soup doesn’t really grab me)
marisa (i tried so hard not to be the cryin’ kind)
ben (the mind that knows itself has a mind to serve the other)
brian (everyone’s happy when the wizard walks by)
lauren (minutes take so long to drift away)
jeff (i’ll tell everything i know)
rachel (if you’ve got love in your sights, watch out)