the old blog
Back in the early days of the internet, I kept up an intermittent routine blogging on this website.
The very first post was on January 7th, 2001. I continued to post on and off until sometime in 2017.
Below you’ll find all of it preserved. All the posts and poems, the stories and essays, the strange little musings… whatever possessed me to rattle away at the keyboard on so many days and nights when I should have been writing.
There’s a lot of broken links, of course. Bad html and ASCII characters that didn’t survive the font conversion wars of the early oughts.
Bad poetry. Rough drafts and rougher ideas. Duplicate posts. Ill-conceived rants and whining. Outdated plans and abandoned projects.
But there’s some good stuff in there too. Little echoes that I smuggled out from my dreams and nightmares. Dispatches filed from the outposts of my travels and tribulations.
Feel free to click around, but be careful… it’s easy to get lost in there.
November 5, 2024
Miasma
It's Election Day here in the U.S. today and I can't help but wonder if we'll escape the miasma that has plagued us or be swallowed whole by the noxious cloud of our past. I'm honestly not sure what…
October 31, 2024
Samhain
“Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows’ Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or…
October 22, 2017
Offices
This past week I conducted two sacred offices, both equally difficult in their own right. On Thursday, I was the foreman in a jury and delivered our verdict to the court. After nine days of…
October 2, 2017
Life During Wartime
[Blogging pro-tip: If you wait long enough, your last post becomes relevant again. But regardless, I deserve a good scolding for sure.] It’s been nearly a year since last I posted, and it…
October 31, 2016
Halloween
Just a little something in the spirit of the season... "Summer Salt" by T.M. Camp The aged oak trees line each side of the narrow dirt lane. The twisted boughs above me clutch at the flat,…
April 5, 2016
#fyg
Well… things have a way of getting away from you, if you’re not careful. Meaning me, meaning this here website. I know it’s pretty common for people to post apologies for not posting very…
October 1, 2015
Summer’s End
October. As long back as I can remember, I’ve always been a fan. There are lots of reasons why but, if I’m being honest, the biggest one is probably that October is when it’s fairly safe to…
May 24, 2015
Grandpa was…
My wife wrote this eulogy for her grandfather, Kensinger Jones. She read it at his memorial service last month. Since the service, people who knew and loved Ken have been asking for a copy (including…
April 30, 2015
Periscope
I’ve talked about this before, but the latest surge in popularity for live video streaming apps like Periscope has reminded me of the digital clock I used to watch from my bedroom window late at…
March 10, 2015
Kensinger Jones
February 10, 2015
“When there is trap set up for you…”
It's been a while since I posted some music — hell, it's been a while since I posted anything, I know. This song has been with me for a few days now (my middle daughter is taking accordion…
January 1, 2015
Goodbye 2014
November 24, 2014
Context
This is a true story. One afternoon this past summer, my 19-year-old son was walking down the middle of the street in a neighborhood here in our town. A car pulled up behind him. My son did not…
October 26, 2014
“…and we change with them.”
When I moved to Michigan in 1996, one of the first things I set out to do in my new hometown was find a comic book store. Finding the right comic book store is like finding the right church. And more…
October 14, 2014
“Come back here and give me my daughter…”
Busy times right now, just a quick share of a song that's been rattling around in my head for the past few days. Still holds up, yeah? There's also a very nice acoustic version of it out there as…
August 26, 2014
time and tide
My youngest started school today. She was excited. She was ready. It was a good morning, lots of memories. A bit fraught, a little bittersweet. We did okay. We watched her walk to the door. So…
August 10, 2014
On Shooter’s Hill…
...right about now, they're scattering Steve Moore's ashes on this burial mound, by the light of the full moon.
July 2, 2014
“These are the days it never rains but it pours…”
It's been hard going around here lately . . . and there's another tough week ahead. Here's David Bowie and Queen (of course). (This one goes out to the rest of the people on the edge of the night.…
June 2, 2014
“It sneaks up on you without a warning…”
A bat showed up in the house this morning. He was hiding in the bookshelves. I assume it was a harbinger of prosperity and long life for my birthday, and not because, y’know, we don’t have a…
May 13, 2014
“You know me, I’m your friend…”
You can blame Greg Proops for this one. The cat plays it all the time on his The Smartest Man in the World podcast. And it's outstanding. As is the podcast. So here's Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman"…
March 18, 2014
“We feel lost and we feel found…”
Some songs just stick with me, sometimes. I don't know why that is. It seems like songs — well, some songs — are more like places. They occupy a physical place in my mind. They're snapshots of…
I…
The less said about last year,…November 29, 2013
On Black Friday
There is something deeply distasteful about the annual Black Friday rituals. Lining up hours (even days) in advance, sacrificing comfort, sacrificing time with family or friends, risking possible…
November 28, 2013
This day…
"Thanks" by W.S. Merwin Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow for the railings we are running out of the glass rooms with our mouths full of food…
November 19, 2013
“They said I’d gone south…”
Haven't done one of these in a while, but I'm a big fan of composer Clint Mansell's soundtracks
November 6, 2013
lost keys
As the plane breaks the cloud cover over Key West, I look out the window and see the ocean for the first time in I've-lost-count-how-many-years. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I hate the sea.…
October 15, 2013
“I listened to your problems, now listen to mine…”
Woke up the past two mornings with this one in my head. No idea why. But I love the wistful, retro 80's feel of it. Here's Daft Punk's "Instant Crush" from their latest album Random Access Memories.
August 20, 2013
“I go under the earth and listen to the dead people talk…”
"...they tell stories, they know it all. They tell stories of you." Odd little synchronicities have been forming around my next book.* I've been struggling with the story a bit, trying to find…
August 6, 2013
Driving to School
I listen to a lot of music when I write. I find it helps set the mood and, honestly, I can get a little obsessive about it — playing the same song over and over throughout the course of a project.……
July 30, 2013
“I wish I knew where to start, how to give what you dream…”
For whatever reason, some tracks just stick with me. They become a touchstone. This is one of them. For me, this song is always going to evoke Christmas 2011, those cold winter nights right before my…
Words fail me when I try to…July 23, 2013
“Fair lamp of Night, its ornament and friend…”
An interesting find this week, I stumbled across Daemonia Nymphe on Spotify and their music clicked perfectly with my love of myth as well as my growing obsession with classical Greek music. So…
July 16, 2013
“It must be my lungs you were breathing from…”
Happy Tunesday, everyone! (Yup. I'm not above a pun. I won't apologize.) It's been a bit quiet around here lately, mainly due to the fact that I'm pinned under a massive amount of work right now and,…
February 14, 2013
Shared Mythologies
I wrote a little something about bedtime stories for my friend Jeff Hite's website. Here's how it begins...
February 9, 2013
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day
(One of my earliest memories is listening to this on my little Mickey Mouse record player. It makes me very happy that my youngest loves it as much as I did. As I still do.)
February 8, 2013
Social Security
Bear with me. This post is a long one. I'm making some changes in the next few days and I wanted to take a few minutes to explain why. I don't think it's any secret that I have a day job — I work…
January 17, 2013
Happy New Year, everyone!
Boy I can't believe it's January 1st already. It's been such a hectic year, so much going on. And can you believe how fast the time flies when you're so . . . wait, what? It's the 17th? Already? Is…
December 21, 2012
Thank You
I just sent off the last of the pre-Christmas books this morning. Many thanks to all of you who ordered copies of Assam & Darjeeling, Matters of Mortology, and The Cradle as gifts for family and…
December 21, 2012
Morning Music: September 30, 1955
A new song from Poe, even just a snippet, is always a welcome (and long overdue) surprise.
December 18, 2012
Damage Control
In recent days, some folks have noticed that I've been mentioning harpies on my Facebook page. I'm working on a new book, hence these little glimpses of the story. There will be more as I go along.…
…November 26, 2012
Holiday Closeout Sale Extravanganza! [UPDATED]
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who placed orders. The sale is now closed up for the holidays. If you'd still like to order books, please go here. During my recent move, I discovered a stash of Assam &…
November 22, 2012
Giving Thanks
Thankful today (and every day) for so many things — family, friends, health, blessings . . . all things I don't deserve. Thankful too for all that I've been given to write, and for all of you . . .…
November 17, 2012
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Plague of the Prototypes
As if the Brave and the Bold cartoon wasn't already awesome enough, this episode gives us Ace the Bat-Hound and Adam West!
November 7, 2012
Morning Music: Praan
The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in…
November 6, 2012
Morning Music: “Election Day”
"Pull my shirt off and pray..." (Trying to keep it non-partisan, kids. We'll see how I feel about that tomorrow.)
October 24, 2012
Lunchtime Reading: “She is the first person to see me as a whole being.”
Traveling the past few days, criss-crossing the state in a massive slab of automobile and doing my best to stave off the boredom and frustrating lack of productivity. And then I run across this,…
October 16, 2012
Lunchtime Reading: The real story behind “Argo”
October 15, 2012
Morning Music: “I watch the sky…”
Here's Smith & Mudd with "My Hill" (Coyote Watch The Sky Mix)
October 15, 2012
Pure Joy
Google has a special doodle today, commemorating the 107th anniversary of Winsor McKay's Little Nemo comic strip.
There are few things that make me as happy as Little Nemo.
October 13, 2012
10 Places
Since we're rounding the corner to Halloween, here's a list of the 10 Most Terrifying Places on Earth.
October 12, 2012
Morning Music: “This is Your Life”
(Discussing insomnia this morning on Twitter. So, here we are...)
October 9, 2012
Morning Music: “Fake Palindromes”
(Andrew Bird is pretty good driving music and I'm missing him a bit this morning. On the road today, though I'm not driving so the music is a blend of sometimes saccharine pop on Sirius XM. Alas.)
October 5, 2012
Morning Music: “Just Dropped In”
"I tore my mind on a jagged sky..." (You blame Stephen Colbert for this one.)
September 28, 2012
Morning Music: “Episode of Blonde”
"Was that fire engine red that she left upon your cheek?" (Yeah, I think we're back...)
September 24, 2012
“There’ll be peace when you are done…”
There's a little piece of conventional wisdom that I hear (and say) a lot: The last 10% of a project usually takes the most time to complete. Apparently this is true of moving, too. It's been a few…
September 13, 2012
Last Night / First Night
(The past few months have been a blur of days. I wouldn't have believed it was actually months, even, if I didn't know better. The momentum picked up so fast, some days I wasn't sure I could take it.…
...the news that…August 24, 2012
Morning Music: “Rather Lovely Thing”
(In case you haven't figured it out yet, this week's theme has been a few examples of the music I listen to while I'm writing. And you probably thought it was all Lady Gaga.)
August 24, 2012
So, this happened…
In the kitchenette at work... "Morning." My coworker, recently returned from maternity leave, observes me boiling water. "Making tea again." "Yes." "Do you ever drink coffee?" "Sometimes . . . it's…
For a few years now, I've been…August 17, 2012
Morning Music: “Heigh Ho”
I really should have started off the work week with this one, but here's Tom Waits' rendition of "Heigh Ho"
August 7, 2012
“…one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society…”
Like everywhere else, we've been dealing with the high end of tolerable heat this summer. Back in July, it was topping 100° for a few days. Unbearable. We rent an old house in an old neighborhood,…
June 13, 2012
On Sand
This past weekend, before it got impossibly hot, my wife and I took Sophie to the toy store to get some sand.
May 31, 2012
Words Fail Me
My son graduated from high school today.
I don't entirely understand how this...
March 12, 2012
“It’s part of the noise when winter comes…”
February 29, 2012
Now on Sale!
UPDATE: The deadline for the launch pricing and sweepstakes has passed. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the enthusiasm. This was the biggest launch turnout I've ever had and I truly…
February 24, 2012
It matters.
After a busy, stressful month or so at the office and a full court press to get The Cradle ready, I was all set last week to write a longish sort of post to catch up and get back on a normal schedule…
January 19, 2012
Back from Black
We're back. It looks like yesterday's SOPA/PIPA protest got some attention and, hopefully, made enough waves to get the right people thinking in the right way. For once. At the very least, it gave me…
December 7, 2011
Discovery of the Week: Twine
Twine lets you create Internet-connected systems and objects anywhere you have WiFi. Compact, low-power hardware and real-time web software work together to make networked physical computing simple…
December 7, 2011
“Almost four million children…”
November 30, 2011
The Book Job
I just watched this last night. It's wicked funny and you get a very fun performance from that nice Mr. Neil Gaiman as well...
November 28, 2011
Almost thirty years ago…
November 28, 2011
The Worst Thing I’ve Ever Said
(at least, this week) "The truth is, I find myself more and more going back to things I've already read and loved rather than taking a risk on something new." (Admittedly, a pretty awful admission…
November 22, 2011
I have to say…
November 18, 2011
Persephone Eats
This video is very much NSFW — in fact, depending on your sensibilities, it's very likely not safe for anywhere. If you're not sure if you can handle it then you probably should click here as fast…
November 16, 2011
Amazing.
Alan Moore on Harvey from Estate of Harvey L. Pekar on Vimeo. (Guess what I just bought me'n the missus for Christmas...)
November 15, 2011
Well, that’s disappointing.
There's a longer blog post brewing in the back of my mind right now, something about the Gods and the movies that hate them. But for now, I'll stick to saying how I'm disappointed, though not…
November 14, 2011
Promises, Promises
A few of you have noticed that I've switched the blog from the "magazine" style template to something a bit more traditional -- at least, in blogging terms. After a few years of intermittent posts…
October 17, 2011
On the + side of things…
A few people have asked me if I'm done with Twitter and/or Facebook, as I've not been on either much lately.
The answer is "No."
September 9, 2011
September Songs
[NOTE: I had this update ready to go when I discovered my site had been severely hacked by Russian pornspammers. Apparently they felt the same audience for my books would also be interested in their…
February 23, 2011
A Cruel Season
December 22, 2010
Harington’s Destiny
"If you are destined to become a writer, you can't help it. If you can help it, you aren't destined to become a writer. The frustrations and disappointments, not even to mention the unspeakable…
December 21, 2010
Tea with Winterly
UPDATE: All of the books have been claimed and will be sent out this week, providing the post office isn't too hectic. Many thanks to everyone who joined in. I hope you all have a very happy holiday…
December 19, 2010
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Cool and quiet fish, that's me... It's been a busy time. For the first year that I can remember, I find myself starting to get a little overwhelmed by all of the activity and bustle around the…
November 23, 2010
Reporting from the Robot Wars
It started quiet, this little holiday promotion of ours. The cold silence of Thanksgiving and Black Friday spread into the weekend, leaving all of us huddle down in the trenches and despondently…
November 18, 2010
Rukeyser on the Universe
‎"The universe is made of stories, not atoms." — Muriel Rukeyser
September 27, 2010
Sim on Ideas
"These are ideas. I could say that they just came to me, but it would be more accurate to say that I went to them. Ideas - and new connections between ideas - lead you away from commonly held…
September 24, 2010
Stoppard on Writers and Words
I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you…
September 10, 2010
Selene and a Smattering of Olympians Cavorting
Put on your grass skirt and coconut brassiere, it's time for another Link Luau.
July 20, 2010
Pride of Lions
"Storms are, by nature, and among other things, scary, awesome, chaotic, terrible and beautiful all at the same time. My personal theory is that you cannot look at a storm brewing and not feel…
June 30, 2010
The Other Twlilight
"You see. No shock. No engulfment. No tearing asunder. What you feared would come like an explosion is like a whisper. What you thought was the end is the beginning."
June 10, 2010
Occasional Wasp & Other Thoughts
Kneel Before Zod After my iPad post a few weeks ago, this picture cracked me up. Quick Quiz Is the phrase "T.M. Camp is mine." either (a) What the bill collectors whisper when I answer the phone late…
May 20, 2010
“As Those Fabulous Dragons Teeth…”
“The enemy of most authors is not piracy but obscurity.†— Dave Charest About a year ago, I experienced what some might describe as a moment of clarity, one of those points where your…
April 27, 2010
The First. The Tenth. The Third.
A few months back, my wife had to switch doctors. She’d been with the same physician for years, so losing them halfway through her first pregnancy was a little bit of a disappointment. But it…
November 29, 2009
The Good News
Out of everything in my life, one of the best things that I get to do is be a father. I love being a dad. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel grateful for my son and daughter. They’re moving…
October 28, 2009
The Kitchen Sink Post
(The weather has drifted down into the cooler temperatures, slowing everything down a little bit more each day — including this this blog post, which I've rewritten and added to three or four six…
September 8, 2009
Enemies and Friends
"The enemy of most authors is not piracy but obscurity." A few days back, Dave Charest posted that on Twitter, perfectly encapsulating a line of thought that’s been haunting me for the past nine…
June 4, 2009
On Boxes, Books, Ballet, and Birthdays
Turning 40? Nothing to it really, once everything was said and done. With chaotic detritus from the recent move still littering areas of the new house (and my own psyche), we celebrated my fortieth…
May 14, 2009
On New Ideas and the Perils of Watercress
Well, it's been a while. Lying in bed a few weeks back I found myself drifting in and out of a vague dream about a clone on the run from some sort of shadowy government agency. In my half-waking…
April 30, 2009
"Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead" — W.H. Auden
March 24, 2009
Il Terribile Pescecane
In which I relate how I got my Big Break . . . and then let it go.
I've been dropping hints here and there for a while now, but here's the full story…
March 23, 2009
Stay Tuned
New post coming later tonight in which I reveal the real story behind The Cat and the Fox.
March 17, 2009
The Cat and the Fox
In which I drop vague hints, recount a trip to Aurohn Lake this past weekend, and discuss the appeasement of local gods.
February 6, 2009
Twenty-Five Things
I think it was Dark Gracie who tagged me first and then Dona. Since I have a difficult time saying "No" to most anyone, it looks like it's my turn to blog twenty-five random things about myself. So…
January 28, 2009
“The Third Day Comes a Frost…”
Cold times here in the Midwest — single digit temperatures and below, arctic winds, and lots of grumpy people. And when the sun does shine, it's a brittle, cheerless light. So, of course, I'm…
January 27, 2009
The Spring Chap is Coming
December 19, 2008
Snow Day
Whiteout conditions this morning, but I gave it a go anyways and tried to drive to work. I got about ten miles and realized I wasn't going to make it another forty. I made it back home about an hour…
On Wednesday…December 12, 2008
Twitterati, Plurkers, and Other Odd People I Know
I had the opportunity earlier this week to give my colleagues an overview of the various social networking sites out there and how one of our clients might make use of them. Most of the conversation…
November 20, 2008
Olá La Piñata
Before I forget, a new friend-of-the-site La Piñata has a website out there, where she says rather nice things about me. You should also take a look at her presence on Deviant Art. Give her a wave,…
November 1, 2008
A Eulogy for the Phoenix Mission
On August 4th, 2007, NASA launched a new Mars exploration mission named Phoenix. After a series of failures and disappointments, Phoenix represented perhaps the last hope that Martian exploration…
October 31, 2008
Five Seconds, Maybe Ten
October 31, 2008
Now Available: The Winter Chap
[For those of you who have been putting up with my little hints about the October Surprise, here's the payoff.]
October 29, 2008
Gates of Horn, Ivory
The spiral winds tighter as it descends, so we're getting pretty close to the core at this point. I've done my take on scary books and movies, spent some time babbling about ghost poetry and music .…
October 28, 2008
The Livid Scar
Leading up to Halloween this year, I've been writing a bit about various things that scare me, and why. So far, I've gone through movies, poetry, and music. I've got a few more things I want to write…
October 27, 2008
Thin Rain…
Poetry is probably one of the few things that doesn't typically get marginalized into genres. Sure, you have anthologies geared towards specific themes like Love/Romance or Nature but that seems…
October 25, 2008
Now on Sale: The Winter Chap
In case you missed it above, The Winter Chap (aka The October Surprise) is now available for purchase.
October 25, 2008
Welcome Home, Eleanor
Last year, I posted a few articles during the week leading up to Halloween. At the time, it had been my intention to write one article a day on different topics. But real life stepped in and I had to…
October 23, 2008
The October Surprise
COMING SOON -- Lots of nice people have been asking for something new to read now that they've made it through both of the podcasts/audiobooks. The new podcast is still under development, but I've…
October 22, 2008
Tags
After almost ten years, I'm just starting to apply tags to blog posts, so apologies for the thin pickings at this point. It'll grow over time, promise.
October 17, 2008
Fixed
The "Assam & Darjeeling" problem files have been fixed out on the server, so the iTunes, RSS, and MP3 links should be all sorted out. Thanks and let me know if you run into any other problems.
October 15, 2008
A Quick One
Looks like at least a few of the "Assam & Darjeeling" podcast files are corrupt. I'm working on a solution, stay tuned...
October 14, 2008
Garrick’s Lament and the Appeal of Milkweed
The new site is up and running, mostly without any major problems — thanks mostly to Wordpress rather than my own skills. And I'm still picking off the 1,600+ blog entries from the past 8 years,…
October 10, 2008
The Vanity Installation
I've posted a few new pictures out in The Vanity Illustration. Enjoy.
October 2, 2008
Pardon My Dust
Yup. I'm doing some updates, so things will be goofed up for a few hours. Probably have things sorted out by midnight tonight. Apologies. [ADDENDUM] Well.. I'm still digging through code. I think I…
October 1, 2008
From the Outskirts of October
The leaves are turning. The warmth of summer that lingered on unexpectedly through September snapped off last night, like a lightswitch. Autumn, sudden. The past few weeks haven't been as productive…
September 10, 2008
The Road to Xibalba
I received a nice note from someone this weekend about the formatting of the podcasts, politely asking for the books in MP3 format (as opposed to the MP4s that are posted). After doing a little…
August 26, 2008
A New Poem: Bigpop
August 23, 2008
In The Ghetto
(Note: This past week marked the birthdays of Ray Bradbury and H.P. Lovecraft. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that they are perhaps two of the most influential American writers of the 20th…
August 7, 2008
Just About A Day
Back in September of last year, I started podcasting my novel "Assam & Darjeeling" on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Overall, I stuck fairly close to a weekly-ish schedule for new episodes, not…
Created using Wordle and the full…July 23, 2008
The Bones of Time and Other Diversions
It's been a busy couple of weeks, with birthdays and holidays and various little things eating up my time in dainty bites so small you hardly notice until there's nothing left but the bones. Speaking…
July 3, 2008
Till the monster stirred…
The storms came in yesterday afternoon, scraping across the lake. The sky went from blue to black in a matter of minutes, the wind kicked up and the horizontal rain turned the street outside the…
June 24, 2008
On Pirate Satellite
Spent a busy weekend working on the latest episodes of Assam & Darjeeling -- which are now up and ready for listening at either iTunes or via RSS. It was interesting last night to see little…
June 19, 2008
Apologies
Last night while setting up a profile page on NextCat.com, their confusing registration process and poor user interface led me to inadvertently send an invite to everyone in my address book. I'm very…
June 17, 2008
Unclogging the Grate
Spent a fairly miserable time over the past few days, dealing with some sort of bug I picked up on Father's Day -- which was, conversely, a wonderful time out at Aurohn Lake with most of my favorite…
June 11, 2008
Strangers When We Meet
"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls." -- Anais Nin Been back home for a week or so -- well, going on two weeks now -- and I've been following up with the…
May 31, 2008
After the Ball is Over…
Friday night, I'm meant to connect up with all sorts of interesting and famous people. Seriously famous people. You've heard of them. But they ditched us. Alas. Which turned out just fine by me. I…
May 31, 2008
But for the Grace
Well. This is what it's like: A big convention hall filled with booths, books and people everywhere. Thousands of them. It's overwhelming sometimes and, eventually, all that I have left are little…
May 30, 2008
blak citins sleyp
It isn't too far into the evening that I realize why Neil Gaiman always writes about food and sleep on his blog. Apparently there's neither in the publishing world. An open bar, however, makes up for…
May 30, 2008
Five Black Kittens
I've made it to L.A., heading to a few parties tonight populated with the West Coast literati. So I'm a bit out of my element. But I did get to lend a hand feeding five stray kittens that my hosts…
May 30, 2008
Memphis Belle
As we're getting situated, the woman sitting next to me asks to trade seats. I am the aisle, she is the window. She has never flown before. Apparently five hours staring at the clouds isn't appealing…
May 30, 2008
Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City
In Memphis, I have plenty of time to grab something to eat before the long flight to L.A., so I forgo the plastic food court in favor of a proper, sit down restaurant for grownups. Unable to locate…
May 30, 2008
Heading Out
It's raining when I leave. A flat, stuttering downpour punctuated by half-hearted thunder. Always early to airports and movies, I sit surrounded by furious, inert midwesterners delayed by a lightning…
May 27, 2008
Up and Away
After a herculean effort (well, perhaps not...) the new site is up and running. There's lots of new things to read and there's more coming. (But if you're looking for the old blog content, be…
May 27, 2008
A Site for Sore Eyes
Not a lot of time for posting. It's been a bust month and I've been grinding through a very long todo list, getting ready for the Book ExpoAmerica this week. One of the big things has been doing a…
May 27, 2008
A Site for Sore Eyes
Not a lot of time for posting. It's been a bust month and I've been grinding through a very long todo list, getting ready for the Book ExpoAmerica this week. One of the big things has been doing a…
April 30, 2008
"Snapshots"
My mind is playing tricks on me. Thin slices of memory slide out and blind mewith frozen moments from the past,a stack of images,shuffled,held up one by one,distracting me...faces of people I knew…
March 29, 2008
Odd Question
Anybody out there know how to get a message to Lucirina Telor Vevan? E-mail me if you do. Thanks. (My assumption is that, eventually, this page will get indexed and Google will do my work for me.…
March 29, 2008
Odd Question
Anybody out there know how to get a message to Lucirina Telor Vevan? E-mail me if you do. Thanks. (My assumption is that, eventually, this page will get indexed and Google will do my work for me.…
March 20, 2008
Paul Scofield | January 21, 1922 – March 19, 2008
Over the next few days, much will be written about Paul Scofield's talent, career, and…
March 11, 2008
Sneak Peek: Chapter Fourteen
[Note: Due to popular demand from a few of the Twitter kids -- okay, it was Dark Gracie but she is quite popular -- I'm posting a chapter here from the Undertaker story for your reading pleasure.…
March 7, 2008
Blessed
May the road rise up to meet you.May the wind always be at your back.May the sun shine warm upon…
Tonight, wolves are eating the moon...
February 12, 2008
Waaugh…
Sometime last fall, I stumbled across a handful of comic book related websites and blogs…
January 30, 2008
Snow Day
There was a whole ritual they went through last night.
I noticed the pajamas turned inside…
January 29, 2008
Promoting for Patry
I can't imagine going through all of the trouble to write my book, run the hellish gauntlet of publishers and agents to get it out there, and then find myself unable to promote it . . . but that's…
January 24, 2008
Taking a Break During the Burial
Just wanted to take a quick break from working on the Undertaker story tonight (he's…
January 19, 2008
"Alone" by Edgar Allen Poe
From childhood's hour I have not beenAs others were — I have not seenAs others saw — I could not bringMy passions from a common spring —From the same source I have not takenMy sorrow — I…
January 8, 2008
Whimper and Bang
It's a week into the new year, so I thought it was time I came clean: Simply put, I don't "do" New Year's resolutions. I'm not trying to be contrary or anything, it's just that it feels a bit like…
December 24, 2007
The Whispering Boyby T.M. Camp Once, long ago, there must have been a fire. There's a long brick wall that still bears faint streaks of shadow where flames once flickered. Here and there, the faded…
December 18, 2007
Taking the Cure
I've had my head down for a bit, finishing out the year with a lot of work to do as well as some pretty tight deadlines for the Undertaker Story. Oh, and there's that whole Christmas thing going on…
December 18, 2007
Taking the Cure
I've had my head down for a bit, finishing out the year with a lot of work to do as well as some pretty tight deadlines for the Undertaker Story. Oh, and there's that whole Christmas thing going on…
December 5, 2007
"The runner took a breath…"
It's been a rough couple of weeks. Very hectic at work and home -- if you ever have children, do not have a daughter; if you do have a daughter, do not allow her to do ballet; if you allow her to do…
December 5, 2007
“The runner took a breath…”
It's been a rough couple of weeks. Very hectic at work and home -- if you ever have children, do not have a daughter; if you do have a daughter, do not allow her to do ballet; if you allow her to do…
November 30, 2007
“It was one of those jolly, peaceful mornings that make a fellow wish he’d got a soul or something…”
Woke up early this morning -- well, early-ish -- and planned to spend the whole day writing, working on the second draft of the Undertaker Story. Read for a bit after Keeley left, having my tea.…
November 24, 2007
Making the Grade
I've found that one of the hardest things to explain about writing is why it is that, sometimes, things come so easily that they seem almost magically obvious when, other times, they are so difficult…
November 24, 2007
Making the Grade
I've found that one of the hardest things to explain about writing is why it is that, sometimes, things come so easily that they seem almost magically obvious when, other times, they are so difficult…
November 17, 2007
A Proportional Response
And so, the day after I get a smattering of positive responses for my podcast, I also get another form-letter rejection from an agent. The book is 147,000 words long. They’re judging its merit…
November 17, 2007
A Proportional Response
And so, the day after I get a smattering of positive responses for my podcast, I also get another form-letter rejection from an agent. The book is 147,000 words long. They’re judging its merit…
November 16, 2007
Talking to Dragons, Talking to Girls
A brief one: My twitter friend Melissah noted that this week's podcast has an [explicit] tag in iTunes, guessing correctly that this is "the infamous 'fuck' chapter" -- so, caveat auditor.……
November 16, 2007
Talking to Dragons, Talking to Girls
A brief one: My twitter friend Melissah noted that this week's podcast has an [explicit] tag in iTunes, guessing correctly that this is "the infamous 'fuck' chapter" -- so, caveat auditor.……
November 16, 2007
Fan Mail and the Podcast
In reviewing the last podcast, it struck me that the "bitter end" line in chapter seventeen might not actually be mine. I have a vague recollection of overhearing it. For some reason, it seems like a…
November 5, 2007
The Resentful Story and the Vanishing Idea
The second draft of the Undertaker story was going along very well until everything fell apart at the beginning of chapter eight. It was my fault, really. Chapter seven suddenly got very preachy, so…
October 31, 2007
Happy Hallowe’en
Instead of doing a new chapter from Assam and Darjeeling over at iTunes this week, thought I…
October 30, 2007
Halloweek: In Sheep’s Clothing
I had originally intended to post a week's worth of essays on various thoughts and topics related to Halloween . . . but real life intervened (in the form of writing and work and a strange obsession…
Ouija board, ouija board,…October 23, 2007
And I Hope I Never Forget
There's three different blog posts in various stages of not-quite-done, but I figured I might as well start number four. So . . . a few new query letters went out to more agents last week. I'll send…
October 23, 2007
And I Hope I Never Forget
There's three different blog posts in various stages of not-quite-done, but I figured I might as well start number four. So . . . a few new query letters went out to more agents last week. I'll send…
October 13, 2007
"It was one of those jolly, peaceful mornings that make a fellow wish he’d got a soul or something…"
Woke up early this morning -- well, early-ish -- and planned to spend the whole day writing, working on the second draft of the Undertaker Story. Read for a bit after Keeley left, having my tea.…
October 11, 2007
Nothing to see here, move along…
Unless something dramatic occurs, ongoing news and updates regarding my novel "Assam & Darjeeling" can be found here. Long story short, the latest is that one agent had already kicked back a…
October 11, 2007
Nothing to See Here, Move Along…
Unless something dramatic occurs, ongoing news and updates regarding my novel "Assam & Darjeeling" can be found here. Long story short, the latest is that one agent had already kicked back a personal…
October 7, 2007
"Habitation" by Margaret Atwood
Marriage is nota house or even a tent
it is before that, and…
October 4, 2007
"I've simply been brought up being knocked down."-- Buster Keaton
Happy Birthday, Buster.
October 3, 2007
Just a Quick One
Over at Podcast Alley, they tell me I have to "validate my feed" before I can claim my podcast in their directory. Assuming that they know what they're doing, here goes... My Podcast Alley feed!…
October 3, 2007
Just a Quick One
Over at Podcast Alley, they tell me I have to "validate my feed" before I can claim my podcast in their directory. Assuming that they know what they're doing, here goes... My Podcast Alley feed!…
October 2, 2007
The Undertaker Story
Started work on my second novel tonight. This is actually an odd one. I wrote the…
September 30, 2007
Something About Third Times and Charms
I keep starting and stopping this post and then having to restart it again, mainly because the landscape changes under my feet rapidly enough that whatever I'm trying to report on shifts before I can…
September 30, 2007
Something About Third Times and Charms
I keep starting and stopping this post and then having to restart it again, mainly because the landscape changes under my feet rapidly enough that whatever I'm trying to report on shifts before I can…
September 27, 2007
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing for…
September 26, 2007
Ten Chapters, Two Interludes, a Modest Amount of Begging, and a Boatload of Letters
Lots of developments over…
September 20, 2007
In And Out The Eagle
After a very late night last night, it had been my intention to go to bed fairly early this evening. My brain, apparently, has other plans. Spent the evening being tired and fretful and writing agent…
September 19, 2007
Penguins and Publishers
Well, it's more than fairly late at this point and I really ought to be getting in bed and trying to sleep for a few hours, but... I haven't written for the past couple of days, which is very odd for…
September 16, 2007
A Quick One from The End
"There is a sense of achievement that comes with finishing something that is unlike anything else I know. There is no word for it: The feeling that one has clawed something back from eternity, that…
September 16, 2007
A Quick View from the End
"There is a sense of achievement that comes with finishing something that is unlike anything else I know. There is no word for it: The feeling that one has clawed something back from eternity, that…
On Twitter, you have a…September 13, 2007
Absolutely
"A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom."-- Roald…
September 12, 2007
Coming Home
Just a quick post to mark the milestone: I'm nearly through the fourth draft. Book Three was…
September 11, 2007
A Little Bird
From my bedroom window, I could see the clock and weather flashing on top of a bank building a few miles away. Late into the night, I'd sit at that window and pound out on my typewriter whatever…
September 11, 2007
A Little Bird
From my bedroom window, I could see the clock and weather flashing on top of a bank building a few miles away. Late into the night, I'd sit at that window and pound out on my typewriter whatever…
September 7, 2007
Madeleine L’Engle (November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007)
"With each book I write, I become more and more convinced that the books have a…
September 2, 2007
I feel your love dear…
...in the value of silence in the mornings, a quiet island of peace to rest for a while before the…
August 31, 2007
Scott William Camp III
I haven't written much about him, my father.
There's a brief cameo here and there -- fragments…
August 30, 2007
The Face Game
My mother has this game she plays. "There are two kinds of people in the world," she says, "Two kinds of faces. Pig faces and fox faces." When she goes out, to the market or a store or to a…
August 30, 2007
The Face Game
My mother has this game she plays."There are two kinds of people in the world," she says,"Two kinds of faces.Pig faces and fox faces." When she goes out,to the market or a store or to a…
Just popping my…August 15, 2007
The Candy or the Clown
After the general activity and excitement of this past weekend, particularly the birthday celebration for my son, it seems to be somewhat anticlimactic to mention that I also managed to finish the…
August 15, 2007
The Candy or The Clown?
After the general activity and excitement of this past weekend, particularly the birthday celebration for my son, it seems to be somewhat anticlimactic to mention that I also managed to finish the…
August 10, 2007
"It’s Sam…"
On this day, at almost exactly this same time, my son started to work his way out into life,…
August 9, 2007
"Two Ghosts"
There's the little girl,the shy one who hidesbehind the banisterand peeks around corners. The one waving to me from the dining room that first nightwhen I was unpacking dishes in the kitchen. It was…
August 3, 2007
The Wired Tiger
The latest issue of Wired Magazine has a section with all sorts of helpful How-To's, including one…
July 26, 2007
The Home Stretch
I put the final work in tonight on the third draft of Book Three, as well as putting away a few chapters of Book Four. A quick word count tells me that the book is right about at 151,000 words in…
July 26, 2007
A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens -- second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter. Millions survive without love or home, almost…
July 26, 2007
The Home Stretch
I put the final work in tonight on the third draft of Book Three, as well as putting away a few chapters of Book Four. A quick word count tells me that the book is right about at 151,000 words in…
July 21, 2007
Advice from the Hook
At the friendly advice of Dan Wilson (to whom I am writing a long-overdue and extremely grateful letter), I've added some pertinent information below for contacting me. And now I sit, anxiously…
July 21, 2007
Advice and Support from The Hook
At the friendly advice of Dan Wilson (to whom I am writing a long-overdue and extremely grateful letter), I've added some pertinent information below for contacting me. And now I sit, anxiously…
July 18, 2007
Never Mind
Forgot to mention, I read someone's mind yesterday. In deference to the subject, I'm going to leave their name and identity out of it . . . but the conversation went something like this... "Well, why…
July 11, 2007
Never Mind
Forgot to mention, I read someone's mind yesterday. In deference to the subject, I'm going to leave their name and identity out of it . . . but the conversation went something like this... "Well, why…
To recap... Late last week my laptop hard…July 11, 2007
“Actually, there was quite a lot of profanity involved…”
It's been a bit of a hectic mess, the past four or five days. I've dealt with lots of work stuff. I've had my hard drive go tits up on me (which sounds much better than it really is, believe me).…
July 11, 2007
"Acutally, there was quite a lot of profanity involved…"
It's been a bit of a hectic mess, the past four or five days. I've dealt with lots of work stuff. I've had my hard drive go tits up on me (which sounds much better than it really is, believe me).…
July 8, 2007
Hard Day’s Night
It happened yesterday afternoon at work. I opened up my laptop and . . . nothing happened. Well. That's not quite accurate. Something happened and it wasn't good. It was a sound, a low hum from the…
July 8, 2007
Hard Day’s Night
It happened yesterday afternoon at work. I opened up my laptop and . . . nothing happened. Well. That's not quite accurate. Something happened and it wasn't good. It was a sound, a low hum from the…
(Photo by Julia Camp. Extra chin by…
June 27, 2007
St. Clairesville
Too busy working on the Third Draft to post anything of length or intelligence, but…
June 16, 2007
Seconds
Over the years, I've written lots of things -- plays, poems, stories -- some of them quite long. A…
June 9, 2007
"Oh! I’m waking up. Who are you?"
There are probably better ways to spend a Saturday morning than with a cup of tea and the Little…
June 2, 2007
Ocean’s Whatever
I've actually had that conversation with him, just saying "Look, I'll give you whatever support you need—including staying completely away from you." Actors have done a lot of damage to candidates…
June 2, 2007
Ocean’s Whatever
I've actually had that conversation with him, just saying "Look, I'll give you whatever support you need—including staying completely away from you." Actors have done a lot of damage to candidates…
May 28, 2007
The Hallway
I have spent a ridiculous amount of time tonight, writing about this hallway.
May 28, 2007
The Hallway
I have sent a ridiculous amount of time tonight, writing about this hallway.
(Got through…
May 27, 2007
13 Months in the Year of the Dog
Those of you who don't care about the new novel have been putting up with a lot lately.
As a consolation, here's one of the cooler sites I've run across recently.
May 26, 2007
People in Glass Houses
I'd carry on the whole Lost Weekend things here but, in all honesty, I'm pretty sure that the pills the doctor gave me for my back are placebos. (Gracias, Doctor Placebo Domingo.) Spent most of the…
May 25, 2007
The Lost Weekend
About a week and a half ago, I woke up with some stiffness and aches in my neck and left shoulder. I figured I slept wrong and kept moving. Today, I can barely move my head. My left arm mobility is…
May 25, 2007
The Lost Weekend
About a week and a half ago, I woke up with some stiffness and aches in my neck and left shoulder. I figured I slept wrong and kept moving. Today, I can barely move my head. My left arm mobility is…
May 25, 2007
TwitterVision
I think I finally found a way to work with Twitter in a way that makes sense for me. And I like having all those friends out there. It reminds me of when I used to stay up late at night and watch the…
May 23, 2007
Work Conversation
"Doesn't she realize that there's a stereotype here?" "That's not a stereotype, that's a..." "...a template?" "Yes, it's a condition derived from reality." (We now return to our regularly scheduled…
May 22, 2007
Until We Are Good
Well. We're just shy of one hundred and eight thousand words into the Second Draft. I did a quick calculation tonight and I'm going to have to get through about five thousand words a day in order to…
May 15, 2007
"Polka Music Without Instruments, Chanting"
Been sitting here working on a few things and gearing up to write for a while tonight. As I've been working, the cats have moved constantly between the two open windows, bouncing back and forth every…
May 15, 2007
A Quick Milestone and Some Oblique References to Things About Which You Probably Have Little Or No Interest
I am happy to report that, as of about five minutes ago, I just passed 100,000 words on the second draft. Work is underway. Book Three is ticking along and I'm about just going to make my deadline.…
May 15, 2007
“Actually, What I thought I meant to say was…”
Just took a quick look through the archives and was surprised to see that a year ago I was writing the first draft of what I'm working through in the Second Draft* now. Worst of all, I posted this --…
May 15, 2007
“Polka Music Without Instruments, Chanting”
Been sitting here working on a few things and gearing up to write for a while tonight. As I've been working, the cats have moved constantly between the two open windows, bouncing back and forth every…
May 15, 2007
"Actually, What I thought I meant to say was…"
Just took a quick look through the archives and was surprised to see that a year ago I was writing the first draft of what I'm working through in the Second Draft* now. Worst of all, I posted this --…
May 14, 2007
The Case of the Limping League
It might be coincidence. Earlier today, driving through downtown to a meeting, I wait to turn right at a corner as a man limps through the crosswalk. He glances over to me as he passes in front of my…
May 4, 2007
"Child of the pure unclouded brow…"
Today is the birthday of Alice (in Wonderland) Liddell and so I offer here my stage adaptation of…
May 3, 2007
Discovered Today: The 100 Year Old Photo Blog
A wonderful collection and a great archive of stories waiting to be told.
May 2, 2007
Discovered Today: Gorey’s Studio
A 360-degree view of Edward Gorey's studio as it was when he left The Elephant House and…
(New Wilco album available for pre-order on iTunes.)
(Via Jeffrey Burton…April 29, 2007
Purgatorio
Woke up yesterday, right eye swollen and painful. I spent most of the day writing, making pots of tea, and bathing my eye with warm water and Eyebright. End of the day, the eye was worse . . . but…
April 28, 2007
They Don’t Have Meetings About Rainbows
A few weeks back, after the Virginia Tech shootings, I wrote a fairly long post about how I was concerned that a precedent had been set for teachers to essentially "profile" problem students by what…
April 27, 2007
A Thursday Milestone on a Friday Evening
Last night I ran a word count and was happy to see that I've passed 75,000 words. That's how much of the second draft is done. It seems like a lot -- but only if you don't realize how much more there…
April 27, 2007
A Thursday Milestone on a Friday Evening
Last night I ran a word count and was happy to see that I've passed 75,000 words. That's how much of the second draft is done. It seems like a lot -- but only if you don't realize how much more there…
April 20, 2007
“Why don’t you come to me now, more like you are?”
Over the past day or so, I've put in a handful of hours into the second draft (not a lot, really -- would that I could do more). Because I wrote the first draft in longhand, working on the second…
April 20, 2007
"Why don’t you come to me now, more like you are?"
Over the past day or so, I've put in a handful of hours into the second draft (not a lot, really -- would that I could do more). Because I wrote the first draft in longhand, working on the second…
April 19, 2007
“Wandering Among the Twittering Dead”
A few weeks back, Jack went into a spiel about Twitter and how cool it was. Soon a bunch of people at work were jumping in. Usually, I'm not an early adopter and Jack goes through software demos…
April 19, 2007
"Wandering Among the Twittering Dead"
A few weeks back, Jack went into a spiel about Twitter and how cool it was. Soon a bunch of people at work were jumping in. Usually, I'm not an early adopter and Jack goes through software demos…
April 18, 2007
On Heads
Over on his blog, Neil Gaiman writes Probably more than you really wanted to know, but I'm an author who's been writing a book, and mostly it's what my head is filled with, and it's interesting if…
April 18, 2007
On Heads
Over on his blog, Neil Gaiman writes Probably more than you really wanted to know, but I'm an author who's been writing a book, and mostly it's what my head is filled with, and it's interesting if…
April 14, 2007
Early Morning Thoughts on a Clean House, Gatsby, Pronoun Trouble, and the Seduction of the Innocent
I've been cleaning the kitchen tonight -- trying to get a head start on the weekend, really. My rationale has been that the more I do tonight, the more time I have to write this weekend. It's…
April 13, 2007
We Control the Vertical
Just noticed that there are lots of goofy characters showing up all of a sudden. I apologize to anyone who isn't seeing the em-dashes, quotes, and apostrophes the way god intended. It appears to be a…
It's been a while…April 12, 2007
Hello, goodbye, hello…
Woke up to the news that Kurt Vonnegut is dead. Over the next couple of days, I expect we'll see and hear a fair number of news stories, commentaries, and retrospectives . . . unless something more…
April 12, 2007
Vonnegut’s Eight Rules for Writing a Short Story
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. Every character should want something,…
April 12, 2007
"Hello, goodbye, helllo…"
Woke up to the news that Kurt Vonnegut is dead. Over the next couple of days, I expect we'll see and hear a fair number of news stories, commentaries, and retrospectives . . . unless something more…
April 6, 2007
Good Friday
"Have a good weekend." "You too. You doing anything?" "I dunno. I'm gonna . . . die and come back from the dead." "Well, that's original."
April 6, 2007
Good Friday
"Have a good weekend." "You too. You doing anything?" "I dunno. I'm gonna . . . die and come back from the dead." "Well, that's original."
April 1, 2007
Google Writer
Google Writer is a new application planned to be launched soon at Google Labs. It will integrate with many other Google services and guide you while writing a blog post, an essay or a news…
April 1, 2007
Google Writer
Google Writer is a new application planned to be launched soon at Google Labs. It will integrate with many other Google services and guide you while writing a blog post, an essay or a news article.…
March 31, 2007
The Weak in Review
When I got back a week ago, I woke up to find my voice crumbling all around the edges. This is pretty rare and, needless to say, not a good thing if 99.9% of your day job is talking too much. It also…
March 31, 2007
The Weak in Review
When I got back a week ago, I woke up to find my voice crumbling all around the edges. This is pretty rare and, needless to say, not a good thing if 99.9% of your day job is talking too much. It also…
March 20, 2007
Home
My family is defined by distance and by the reunions we have to overcome them. The past few days were no exception. We come from all over, little by little. We eat and drink. We stay up too late and…
March 20, 2007
Home
My family is defined by distance and by the reunions we have to overcome them. The past few days were no exception. We come from all over, little by little. We eat and drink. We stay up too late and…
March 16, 2007
Past Lives, Pannini’s, and Other Impossible Things
I leave town later than I want, which is not so much of a problem as I have planned to arrive two hours early . . . meaning, I will be arriving three hours early. I do this partially as a stopgap…
March 16, 2007
Past Lives, Pannini’s, and Other Impossible Things
I leave town later than I want, which is not so much of a problem as I have planned to arrive two hours early . . . meaning, I will be arriving three hours early. I do this partially as a stopgap…
March 16, 2007
Midway to Sacramento by way of Sin City
I'm on my way to California later today. I don't know what my connectivity will be so I may be out of touch for a bit. Try to survive without me for a few days.
March 15, 2007
The Music of Chance
Most of the time, I listen to music as I write — which is not too surprising, as I typically listen to music all of the time. But usually, music plays a pretty big role in what I’m writing. Once…
March 15, 2007
The Music of Chance
Most of the time, I listen to music as I write — which is not too surprising, as I typically listen to music all of the time. But usually, music plays a pretty big role in what I’m writing. Once…
March 7, 2007
A Brief Commercial
I don't write many fan letters. The first one, long ago, was to Herman Wouk in thanks for his book 'Inside, Outside' -- I was fifteen, so that's probably the epitome of pretentious, but I meant…
March 6, 2007
A Brief Commercial
I don't write many fan letters. The first one, long ago, was to Herman Wouk in thanks for his book 'Inside, Outside' -- I was fifteen, so that's probably the epitome of pretentious, but I meant…
March 5, 2007
Father’s Day
(From a recent conversation with my lovely wife...) "Which one is Joy?" "Joy's the one who — have I told you this?" "I don't think so." "Joy's the one who . . . I probably shouldn't tell you……
There are really very few things that I…March 3, 2007
Father’s Day
(From a recent conversation with my lovely wife...) "Which one is Joy?" "Joy's the one who — have I told you this?" "I don't think so." "Joy's the one who . . . I probably shouldn't tell you……
March 2, 2007
Tee Gee Eye Eff
Keeley, tossing slivered almonds in a pan just like a pro while she holds a cell phone up to one ear, her iPod plugged into the other: "Look at that. I'm fucking awesome at that." Me: "Hm?" Keeley:…
March 2, 2007
Tee Gee Eye Eff
Keeley, tossing slivered almonds in a pan just like a pro while she holds a cell phone up to one ear, her iPod plugged into the other: "Look at that. I'm fucking awesome at that." Me: "Hm?" Keeley:…
This movie is a great…February 21, 2007
Accessory to Murder
“So . . . what did you do this weekend, Daddy?†“Well, you know what I did?†“What?†(leans in close, whispers) “I murdered a guy.†“What?†“I murdered someone. …
February 15, 2007
This Just In: Jimmy Camp at Wired.com
With a great disregard for the trickery of Pro Tools and the perfection it allows/enforces, folk-rock artist Camp was looking for a new way to record a demo album. Hell, you already know the story…
February 15, 2007
Jimmy Camp is Wired
With a great disregard for the trickery of Pro Tools and the perfection it allows/enforces, folk-rock artist Camp was looking for a new way to record a demo album. Hell, you already know the story…
February 14, 2007
Firefox + Wikipedia x Greg Spencer = Hugh Laurie
And, in news completely unrelated to writing or writers, I was surprised today to find that if you type "wiki Greg Spencer" into the address bar of Firefox*, it does not bring up a page on my former…
February 14, 2007
Second Draft, Behind the Scenes
(The story so far: Two weeks ago now, I finished the first draft of a novel and immediately jumped in to start the second draft. As the first one was written in longhand, the second one needed to be…
February 13, 2007
Second Draft, Behind the Scenes
(The story so far: Two weeks ago now, I finished the first draft of a novel and immediately jumped in to start the second draft. As the first one was written in longhand, the second one needed to be…
February 13, 2007
Second Draft, Behind the Scenes
(The story so far: Two weeks ago now, I finished the first draft of a novel and immediately jumped in to start the second draft. As the first one was written in longhand, the second one needed to be…
February 9, 2007
A Writer Dreams
Last night I dreamt that I was reading a manuscript of a novel, something a friend had written and given me. They wanted my feedback and reaction. And, well, it was horrible. Everything about it was…
February 9, 2007
A Writer Dreams, Part One
Last night I dreamt that I was reading a manuscript of a novel, something a friend had written and given me. They wanted my feedback and reaction. And, well, it was horrible. Everything about it was…
February 9, 2007
A Writer Dreams, Part One
Last night I dreamt that I was reading a manuscript of a novel, something a friend had written and given me. They wanted my feedback and reaction. And, well, it was horrible. Everything about it was…
February 6, 2007
First Thoughts on a Second Draft
I made some good progress today, banging through the first three chapters in about an hour and a half. If I can keep this pace up, I might be able to get the second drat out of the way in fairly…
February 5, 2007
Finished.
Just over an hour ago, I wrote the words "The End" -- marking the end of my novel. I finished it about two minutes before midnight. I could have finished it the previous night but I had been writing…
February 5, 2007
Finished.
Just over an hour ago, I wrote the words "The End" -- marking the end of my novel. I finished it about two minutes before midnight. I could have finished it the previous night but I had been writing…
February 5, 2007
Finished.
Just over an hour ago, I wrote the words "The End" -- marking the end of my novel. I finished it about two minutes before midnight. I could have finished it the previous night but I had been writing…
January 1, 2007
SWC 4.0
(Pictured here, my brother continues his birthday tradition ofremoving his pants and dancing…
December 10, 2006
White Wine, Dragon’s Blood, and Eyebright
Back when I was a kid, I had a lot of records -- proper LPs, the sort of thing that's hard to find anymore. One of my records, no idea where it came from, was a comedy record for children: Some silly…
December 1, 2006
December
The ice storm started about a half-hour ago.
By early morning, everything outside will be glazed…
November 30, 2006
Song to Me
This is my brother.
This is his site and his music.
And this is his movie.
November 11, 2006
A Bad Sign
So I'm sitting here working through some invoicing and listening to a podcast of the Penn Gillette radio show. Last week he had Dee Snyder on as a guest. As they're talking about censorship and…
November 2, 2006
A Bad Sign
So I'm sitting here working through some invoicing and listening to a podcast of the Penn Gillette radio show. Last week he had Dee Snyder on as a guest. As they're talking about censorship and…
November 2, 2006
Lunch Table Conversation
At work... Bryan: "Your wife works at Victoria's Secret?" Rex: "Yup." Me: "You know, I just want to go on record that I can't think of an appropriate Victoria's Secret joke. But I'll be working on…
November 2, 2006
Lunch Table Conversation
At work... Bryan: "Your wife works at Victoria's Secret?" Rex: "Yup." Me: "You know, I just want to go on record that I can't think of an appropriate Victoria's Secret joke. But I'll be working on…
November 2, 2006
A Bad Sign
So I'm sitting here working through some invoicing and listening to a podcast of the Penn Gillette radio show. Last week he had Dee Snyder on as a guest. As they're talking about censorship and…
October 31, 2006
Owl
"Julia, what were you for Hallowe'en?"
"An owl."
"Who?"
"An owl."
"Who?"
"AN OWL!"
"Who?"
October 31, 2006
NYT | An American Halloween
Fear is a wonderful thing, in small doses. You ride the ghost train into the darkness, knowing that eventually the doors will open and you will step out into the daylight once again. It’s always…
October 31, 2006
An American Halloween
<span style="font-style: italic;">Fear is a wonderful thing, in small doses. You ride the ghost train into the darkness, knowing that eventually the doors will open and you will step out into…
October 31, 2006
Samhain
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;…
October 26, 2006
Assam
<div style="text-align: center;"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="https://www.tmcamp.com/uploaded_images/assam_2-700551.jpg" alt="" border="0"…
October 25, 2006
Assam
(I changed the original title of this post because I realized that I was giving awaythe Big…
September 29, 2006
Psalm 124
If it had not been the Lord who was on our side --let Israel now say-- if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when…
August 8, 2006
There Was Some Good Light That Day
I feel a little guilty for having abandoned things here for almost a month now. A lot has been going on, not all of it good (nor all bad, for the optimists out there) but it has at least been going…
August 8, 2006
Anyways…
...apparently one of the nice things about being a Really Professional Writer Chap is that you get to write movies with Penn Gillette. And so, I am left to wonder in my declining years: Who would I…
August 8, 2006
"There was some good light that day…"
I feel a little guilty for having abandoned things here for almost a month now. A lot has been going on, not all of it good (nor all bad, for the optimists out there) but it has at least been going…
August 8, 2006
Anyways…
...apparently one of the nice things about being a Really Professional Writer Chap is that you get to write movies with Penn Gillette. And so, I am left to wonder in my declining years: Who would I…
July 13, 2006
Bombshells and Realizations
Writing tonight, trying to finish up a section this week. Seems like every time things take an unexpected turn, there's eating involved. Perhaps I should avoid stories with food in them. Realized…
July 13, 2006
Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin
Israel has rejected Hizbollah demands that it release Arab prisoners in exchange for the captive soldiers, named by the Israeli army as Ehud Goldwasser, 31, and Eldad Regev, 26, but says it fears the…
July 13, 2006
Bombshells and Realizations
Writing tonight, trying to finish up a section this week. Seems like every time things take an unexpected turn, there's eating involved. Perhaps I should avoid stories with food in them. Realized…
July 12, 2006
Poetic Divination: Cat’s Dream
"Cat's Dream" by Pablo Neruda How neatly a cat sleeps,sleeps with its paws and its posture,sleeps with its wicked claws,and with its unfeeling blood,sleeps with all the rings--a series of burnt…
July 11, 2006
Poetic Divination: The First Dream
"The First Dream" by Billy Collins The Wind is ghosting around the house tonightand as I lean against the door of sleepI begin to think about the first person to dream,how quiet he must have seemed…
July 5, 2006
"Rain Or Shine" by Charles Bukowski the vultures at the zoo(all three of them)sit very quietly in theircaged treeand belowon the groundare chunks of rotten meat.the vultures are over-full.our taxes…
July 4, 2006
For…
...some odd reason, I couldn't sleep tonight. Maybe it was the mid-evening nap I took (accidentally). Maybe it was this mind of mine, wandering. Maybe it was the heat. In any case, I was up (still…
July 3, 2006
Poetic Divination: Crows
"Crows" by Judith Barrington Crows startle the clouds with grievances never resolved and warnings blurted into thin air. Once in a while, the cries of all those who tried to survive pour from the…
July 2, 2006
The Example of Cats
When the power went out yesterday evening, it didn't go in a bang like a lightning strike or a snapped pole. No, it was slower than that, gentler. I was in the basement, having just finished loading…
Recently…June 14, 2006
Poetic Divination: The Angel
"The Angel" by William Blake I dreamt a dream! What can it mean?And that I was a maiden QueenGuarded by an Angel mild:Witless woe was ne'er beguiled! And I wept both night and day,And he wiped my…
June 12, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Curse For A Nation
"A Curse For A Nation" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning I heard an angel speak last night,And he said 'Write!Write a Nation's curse for me,And send it over the Western Sea.' I faltered, taking up the…
June 6, 2006
Long After Midnight
I could go on for hours (or at least minutes) about the past few days, my birthday, catching up with old friends and family, playing with my presents, peeking over the collective shoulder of the…
June 6, 2006
Long After Midnight
I could go on for hours (or at least minutes) about the past few days, my birthday, catching up with old friends and family, playing with my presents, peeking over the collective shoulder of the…
June 2, 2006
Poetic Divination: Moleeds
"Moleeds" by Charles Fleischer I like numbers. Through numbers I have discovered the mathematical structure of the universe which I call MOLEEDS. All things are moleeds, from galaxies to fairlanes,…
June 2, 2006
Thirty-Seven
Taking stock just after midnight...
I don't think I have much to complain about -- at least, less…
May 31, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Riddle Song
"A Riddle Song" by Walt Whitman That which eludes this verse and any verse,Unheard by sharpest ear, unform'd in clearest eye or cunningest mind,Nor lore nor fame, nor happiness nor wealth,And yet…
May 31, 2006
Then Spoke the Thunder
I really should catch up on the past few days -- the interminable hot weather, the holiday weekend, watching X-Files with Sam, me and Keeley working our way through Deadwood Season Two, my growing…
May 26, 2006
Poetic Divination: East Side Moving Picture Theatre — Sunday
"East Side Moving Picture Theatre -- Sunday" by: Maxwell Bodenheim An old woman rubs her eyesAs though she were stroking children back to life.A slender Jewish boy whose foreheadIs tall, and like a…
May 25, 2006
Surf or Die
"I have received information psychically, which is corroborated by scientific data, according to which on May 25, 2006 a giant tsunami will occur in the Atlantic Ocean, brought about by the impact of…
May 25, 2006
May 25th — Surf or Die
"I have received information psychically, which is corroborated by scientific data, according to which on May 25, 2006 a giant tsunami will occur in the Atlantic Ocean, brought about by the impact of…
May 25, 2006
Poetic Divination: In a Dark Time
"In A Dark Time" by Theodore Roethke In a dark time, the eye begins to see,I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;I hear my echo in the echoing wood--A lord of nature weeping to a tree.I live…
May 24, 2006
Poetic Divination: I threw my arms about those shoulders
"I threw my arms about those shoulders" by Joseph Brodsky I threw my arms about those shoulders, glancingat what emerged behind that back,and saw a chair pushed slightly forward,merging now with the…
May 23, 2006
On Manners
I was raised to say "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" and "yes ma'am" and "no sir" -- it's practicaly grafted into my DNA. So I'm generally surprised by people with bad manners. And I don't…
May 23, 2006
Poetic Divination: Silence
"Silence" by Thomas Hood There is a silence where hath been no sound,There is a silence where no sound may be,In the cold grave—under the deep, deep sea,Or in wide desert where no life is…
May 23, 2006
On Manners
I was raised to say "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" and "yes ma'am" and "no sir" -- it's practicaly grafted into my DNA. So I'm generally surprised by people with bad manners. And I don't…
May 22, 2006
Incidentally…
...the photo backdrop is one I took, just before the recent move . . . when I dropped a whole bottle of black ink and it shattered on the floor. The soles of my feet were black for a week.
May 22, 2006
Limehouse Blues on a Quiet Evening
And a bit of a sad one, really. The kids are off at their mother's, Keeley's got three days…
May 22, 2006
Incidentally…
...the photo backdrop is one I took, just before the recent move . . . when I dropped a whole bottle of black ink and it shattered on the floor. The soles of my feet were black for a week.
May 22, 2006
Poetic Divination: If We Must Die
"If We Must Die" by Claude McKay If we must die, let it not be like hogsHunted and penned in an inglorious spot,While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,Making their mock at our accursèd lot.If…
May 19, 2006
Poetic Divination: We are Going
"We Are Going" by Oodgeroo Noonuccal They came in to the little townA semi-naked band subdued and silentAll that remained of their tribe.They came here to the place of their old bora groundWhere now…
May 18, 2006
Too Much Water
There's been a lot of water over the past week or so. A lot of water. Went into work on Monday morning to find that there was water coming through the ceiling onto Bryan's desk. It was raining. A…
May 16, 2006
Poetic Divination: Confined Love
"Confined Love" by John Donne Some man unworthy to be possessorOf old or new love, himself being false or weak,Thought his pain and shame would be lesserIf on womankind he might his anger wreak,And…
May 16, 2006
Springtime Crushes and the Trouble with Cats
Spent a fair amount of the weekend getting ready for Mother's Day, helping the…
May 15, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Lyric Day
"A Lyric Day" by Robert W. Service I deem that there are lyric daysSo ripe with radiance and cheer,So rich with gratitude and praiseThat they enrapture all the year.And if there is a God b\above,(As…
May 12, 2006
Poetic Divination: How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear
"How pleasant to know Mr. Lear" by Edward Lear How pleasant to know Mr. Lear,Who has written such volumes of stuff.Some think him ill-tempered and queer,But a few find him pleasant enough. His mind…
May 12, 2006
Candlewax
After about three or four weeks of packing up one house and moving it to another, dealing with all sorts of dramas (including finicky wireless networks, failed cell phones, and broken car windows),…
May 12, 2006
Candlewax
After about three or four weeks of packing up one house and moving it to another, dealing with all sorts of dramas (including finicky wireless networks, failed cell phones, and broken car windows),…
May 9, 2006
Poetic Divination: To The One Upstairs
"To The One Upstairs" by Charles Simic Boss of all bosses of the universe.Mr. know-it-all, wheeler-dealer, wire-puller,And whatever else you're good at.Go ahead, shuffle your zeros tonight.Dip in ink…
May 8, 2006
Poetic Divination: We Wear the Mask
"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar We wear the mask that grins and lies,It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--This debt we pay to human guile;With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,And…
May 5, 2006
Then Spoke the Thunder
I really should catch up on the past few days -- the interminable hot weather, the holiday weekend, watching X-Files with Sam, me and Keeley working our way through Deadwood Season Two, my growing…
May 2, 2006
Poetic Divination: Flock
"Flock" by Billy Collins "It has been calculated that each copy of the Gutenberg Bible...required the skins of 300 sheep." -- from an article on printing I can see them squeezed into the holding pen…
April 30, 2006
Pirate Radio
Apparently one of my new neighbors has an unprotected wireless network ("None of your preferred wireless networks are available. Whould you like to join the wireless network 'lyinksys'?" -- Oh, would…
April 30, 2006
Pirate Radio
Apparently one of my new neighbors has an unprotected wireless network ("None of your preferred wireless networks are available. Whould you like to join the wireless network 'lyinksys'?" -- Oh, would…
April 29, 2006
Poetic Divination: Moving Forward
"Moving Forward" by Rainer Maria Rilke The deep parts of my life pour onward,as if the river shores were opening out.It seems that things are more like me now,That I can see farther into paintings.I…
April 28, 2006
Poetic Divination: Again and Again
"Again and Again" by Rainer Maria Rilke Again and again, however we know the landscape of loveand the little churchyard there, with its sorrowing names,and the frighteningly silent abyss into which…
April 27, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Musical Instrument
"A Musical Instrument" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning What was he doing, the great god Pan,Down in the reeds by the river?Spreading ruin and scattering ban,Splashing and paddling with hoofs of a…
April 24, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Poison Tree
"A Poison Tree" by William Blake I was angry with my friend:I told my wrath, my wrath did end.I was angry with my foe:I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears,Night and morning…
April 22, 2006
Nice Line
"Her heart thumped in her chest like a kitten trying to get out of a pillowcase." (Heard that tonight on Prairie Home Companion while I was making dinner. I assume Keillor wrote it.)
April 22, 2006
Nice Line
"Her heart thumped in her chest like a kitten trying to get out of a pillowcase." (Heard that tonight on Prairie Home Companion while I was making dinner. I assume Keillor wrote it.)
April 22, 2006
Poetic Divination: I Met a Genius
"I Met a Genius" by Charles Bukowski I met a genius on the traintodayabout 6 years old,he sat beside meand as the trainran down along the coastwe came to the oceanand then he looked at meand…
April 21, 2006
Brian in Dallas is a Comic Genius
You know, there's some really great comedy going on out there . . . but it all pretty much sounds the same after a while. And then, every once in a while, I discover someone like this guy -- this…
April 21, 2006
Poetic Divination: Father Death Blues
"Father Death Blues " by Allen Ginsberg Hey Father Death, I'm flying homeHey poor man, you're all aloneHey old daddy, I know where I'm going Father Death, Don't cry any moreMama's there, underneath…
April 21, 2006
Looking Forward, Moving Back…
...and as I'm finishing up a fairly productive evening of writing, I thought I might share with you (whoever you are) this link -- which is somewhat interesting to me, given the number of picture and…
April 21, 2006
Looking Forward, Moving Back…
...and as I'm finishing up a fairly productive evening of writing, I thought I might share with you (whoever you are) this link -- which is somewhat interesting to me, given the number of picture and…
April 20, 2006
Filler Post
In refreshing my memory on how to fill the vintage Esterbrook that Jan gave me last year, I came across this fairly cool site with detailed scematics and filling instructions for every type of pen…
April 20, 2006
Filler Post
In refreshing my memory on how to fill the vintage Esterbrook that Jan gave me last year, I came across this fairly cool site with detailed scematics and filling instructions for every type of pen…
April 20, 2006
Rainy Days Ahead
Yes, it's a new design. I got done test driving the last one and decided on swiping an open-source template from someone who knew what they were doing. I'll customize it a bit when I have a chance…
April 20, 2006
Rainy Days Ahead
Yes, it's a new design. I got done test driving the last one and decided on swiping an open-source template from someone who knew what they were doing. I'll customize it a bit when I have a chance…
April 20, 2006
Poetic Divination: Children
"Children" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Come to me, O ye children!For I hear you at your play,And the questions that perplexed meHave vanished quite away. Ye open the eastern windows,That look…
April 16, 2006
Poetic Divination: Descending Theology
"Descending Theology: The Garden" by Mary Karr We know he was a man because, once doomed, he begged for reprieve. See himgrieving on his rock under olive trees, his companions asleepon the hard…
April 13, 2006
Poetic Divination: Alba
"Alba" by Samuel Beckett before morning you shall be hereand Dante and the Logos and all strata and mysteriesand the branded moonbeyond the white plane of musicthat you shall establish here before…
April 10, 2006
Poetic Divination: Unreal City
from "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot Unreal City,Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many. Sighs, short…
April 8, 2006
Uh oh.
I've been messing about with the layout of the site this weekend, just playing with some new tools I found online. I was trying to republish things this afternoon and sort through some issues and…
April 8, 2006
Pan’s Labyrinth
I've been hearing bits and pieces about this movie over the past few months. Over at Dark Horizons, they've posted some pictures from it that just make me want to see it more.
April 8, 2006
Poetic Divination: The Waitresses
"The Waitresses" by Matt Cook The waitressesAt the restaurantHave to keep remindingThe schizophrenic manThat if he keeps actingLike a schizophrenic manThey'll have to ask him to leave the…
April 8, 2006
Pan’s Labyrinth
I've been hearing bits and pieces about this movie over the past few months. Over at Dark Horizons, they've posted some pictures from it that just make me want to see it more.
April 5, 2006
Poetic Divination: Love and Sleep
"Love And Sleep" by Algernon Charles Swinburne Lying asleep between the strokes of nightI saw my love lean over my sad bed,Pale as the duskiest lily's leaf or head,Smooth-skinned and dark, with bare…
March 24, 2006
Poetic Divination: #46
"# 46" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti And every poem and every picture a sensation in the eye and heartSomething that jolts you awake from the rapt sleep of living in a flash of pure…
March 24, 2006
Gadsby
Jack mentioned the other day that he'd heard about a novel written without using the letter 'e' even once. I've heard the same thing for years and didn't really believe it . . . but, of course, here…
March 23, 2006
Poetic Divination: The Rider
"The Rider" by Naomi Shihab Nye
March 22, 2006
Poetic Divination: Mornings
"Morning" by Billy Collins
March 21, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Little Tune
"A Little Tune" by Joseph Enxweiler Here's a poem for the little girlwho sat with the band and hit the drum,who swung her feet to a little tune.At four years old, it's all that easy.When she hit the…
March 17, 2006
Mild Angels
No snow today, even though they promised. Winter is gone. Book three is barely begun. No idea where to pick things up, but I suspect there's a cat or two wandering in the wasteland. And Edgar. Edgar…
March 16, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Winter’s Tale
"A Winter's Tale" by D.H. Lawrence Yesterday the fields were only grey with scattered snow,And now the longest grass-leaves hardly emerge;Yet her deep footsteps mark the snow, and go On towards…
March 16, 2006
"…something like a blessing, something like a prayer…"
Well. I just finished the second book in the novel. It doesn't end on a high note, to say the least. And I'm starting to realize, given what's coming next in the third (and final) book, that I'm…
March 16, 2006
“…something like a blessing, something like a prayer…”
Well. I just finished the second book in the novel. It doesn't end on a high note, to say the least. And I'm starting to realize, given what's coming next in the third (and final) book, that I'm…
March 15, 2006
Poetic Divination: Modern Love
"Modern Love" by Jan Beatty Early evening, five minutes beforeyou're due home, I slam the dishesin the dishwasher, squeeze riversof 409 onto the kitchen floor andcounters, smear it white with too…
March 14, 2006
Goodbye French Blue
After almost five years of writing with a fountain pen, I've had my first casualty. I was working at my desk and accidentally dropped the pen. the barrel caught the edge of a fairly-thick notebook…
March 8, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Fond Kiss
"A Fond Kiss" by Robert Burns A fond kiss, and then we sever;A farewell, and then forever!Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.Who shall say that…
March 7, 2006
Poetic Divination: Stopping By The Woods
"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village, though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with…
March 3, 2006
Poetic Divination: Seemed Pleased
"Seemed Pleased" by Malena Morling Just after the plane liftedoff the ground with all of itsweight, a small hand, its nails withpartially chipped off red nail polish, worked itself backfrom in…
I don't quite…March 1, 2006
Work Conversation: Egypt
"Have you been to see that Egyptian thing at the museum?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, if you've seen one..." "...racist." "I used to live in Egypt." "No you didn't." "I did. In a former life." "No you…
March 1, 2006
Work Conversation: Egypt
"Have you been to see that Egyptian thing at the museum?" "No." "Why not?" "Well, if you've seen one..." "...rascist." "I used to live in Egypt." "No you didn't." "I did. In a former life." "No you…
March 1, 2006
Poetic Divination: Manners
"Manners" by Howard Nemerov Prig offered Pig the first chance at dessert,So Pig reached out and speared the bigger part. "Now that," cried Prig, "is extremely rude of you!"Pig, with his mouth full,…
February 27, 2006
Poetic Divination: On Imagination
"On Imagination" Phillis Wheatley Thy various works, imperial queen, we see,How bright their forms! how deck'd with pomp by thee!Thy wond'rous acts in beauteous order stand,And all attest how potent…
February 24, 2006
Locke’d and Loaded
Last night, a stray missive drifted in from the general direction of that excellent altar ego known as RageBoy. Really quite something to get a note from someone like that who writes things like…
February 24, 2006
Ad Club Awards
Nice to come in to work today and hear that we won a big ol' bunch of awards at the Ad Club last night. Yay. [Update: And the local paper had another slow news day, apparently.]
February 24, 2006
Locke’d and Loaded
Last night, a stray missive drifted in from the general direction of that excellent altar ego known as RageBoy. Really quite something to get a note from someone like that who writes things like…
February 24, 2006
Poetic Divination: The End of the Library
"The End Of The Library" by Weldon Kees When the coalGave out, we beganBurning the books, one by one;First the setOf Bulwer-LyttonAnd then the Walter Scott.They gave a lot of warmth.Toward the end,…
February 23, 2006
Riding the Rails
For what it's worth, there's a new website out there for Fusionary Media (the company I work for). I wrote some of it (there's even a Harvey Birdman
February 23, 2006
23
And today is the twenty-third of February. Such a strange feeling, this day it brings me.
February 23, 2006
23
And today is the twenty-third of February. Such a strange feeling, this day it brings me.
February 22, 2006
Erratum
I was wrong. Locke appears to know what he is doing -- even if the rest of us don't. Yet.
February 22, 2006
A conversation I did not have…
"Yeah, my boyfriend and I discovered that place recently. He buys all of his tea there now." "Oh, is he Asian?" "Uh..." (That's right, kids. Tea = Asian just like Watermelon = African American and…
February 22, 2006
Poetic Divination: Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" by Edna St. Vincent Millay This door you might not open, and you did;So enter now, and see for what slight thingYou are betrayed... Here is no treasure hid,No cauldron, no clear crystal…
February 22, 2006
Errattum
I was wrong. Locke appears to know what he is doing -- even if the rest of us don't. Yet.
February 21, 2006
Poetic Divination: Nonsense Song
"Nonsense Song" by W.H. Auden My love is like a red red roseOr concerts for the blind,She's like a mutton-chop beforeAnd a rifle-range behind. Her hair is like a looking glass,Her brow is like a…
February 20, 2006
The Last Green Candle
The call came today during a production meeting at work. I saw the number and recognized it, albeit vaguely. I checked my address book during the meeting and excused myself: "That was the kids'…
February 19, 2006
Poetic Divination: When I Have Fears
"When I Have Fears" by John Keats When I have fears that I may cease to beBefore my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,Before high-piled books, in charactery,Hold like rich garners the full ripen'd…
February 16, 2006
The First Mac OS X Virus?
According to the initial investigation, the application uses Spotlight to find the other applications on the infected machine and subsequently inserts a stub of code into each application……
February 16, 2006
Poetic Divination: Aftermath
"Aftermath" by Sylvia Plath Compelled by calamity's magnetThey loiter and stare as if the houseBurnt-out were theirs, or as if they thoughtSome scandal might any minute oozeFrom a smoke-choked closet…
February 14, 2006
Poetic Divination: Sonnet XXXIV
Sonnet XXXIV by Pablo Neruda
February 10, 2006
No Poetry
Well. I spent a fair amount of time last weekend working very hard to not feel sick, despite the sore throat, congestion, aches, pains, and fever. Monday morning, I woke up and felt quite a lot like…
February 10, 2006
Poetic Divination: Funny Books
"Funny Books" by Robert Morgan
February 10, 2006
No Poetry
Well. I spent a fair amount of time last weekend working very hard to not feel sick, despite the sore throat, congestion, aches, pains, and fever. Monday morning, I woke up and felt quite a lot like…
February 4, 2006
Poetic Divination: Contusion
"Contusion" by Sylvia Plath Color floods to the spot, dull purple.The rest of the body is all washed-out,The color of pearl. In a pit of a rockThe sea sucks obsessively,One hollow thw whole sea's…
February 3, 2006
Poetic Divination: White Nights
"White Nights" by Paul Auster No one here,and the body says: whatever is saidis not to be said. But no oneis a body as well, and what the body saysis heard by no onebut you. Snowfall and night. The…
February 3, 2006
“And then I wrote this.”
Spent a perfectly enjoyable evening tonight making dinner while the kids played with their websites. Then we ate that dinner. Then we sat and talked about my son's recent scholastic milestone of…
February 3, 2006
"And then I wrote this."
Spent a perfectly enjoyable evening tonight making dinner while the kids played with their websites. Then we ate that dinner. Then we sat and talked about my son's recent scholastic milestone of…
February 2, 2006
Poetic Divination: Here Dead We Lie
"Here Dead We Lie" by A.E. Houseman Here dead we lieBecause we did not chooseTo live and shame the landFrom which we sprung. Life, to be sure,Is nothing much to lose,But young men think it is,And we…
February 1, 2006
Poetic Divination: Last Night
"Last Night" Last night two men stood on our porch at 2 AM. I woke at their knock while you peeked through the blinds and described them to me. Standing there in the hall,I listened as they…
February 1, 2006
Up Late…
...trying to write my way out of the Underworld, worrying about my children, fretting over work and other dramas . . . thinking of my father and mother off on vacation and ? God knows why ?…
February 1, 2006
Up late…
...trying to write my way out of the Underworld, worrying about my children, fretting over work and other dramas . . . thinking of my father and mother off on vacation and ? God knows why ?…
January 27, 2006
Demon Days and Something for Ted
Hectic days at work, which is a very good thing. it wasn't too long ago that it was too quiet and that makes people start to wonder what the tall guy in the corner is doing with all his time,……
January 26, 2006
Poetic Divination: Frustration
"Frustration" by Dorothy Parker If I had a shiny gun,I could have a world of funSpeeding bullets through the brainsOf the folk who give me pains; Or had I some poison gas,I could make the moments…
January 26, 2006
Conversation: Swords and Hacks
"Is this what goes on in men's psyches?" "What?" I walk into the room to see a naked man wrestling with a suit of armor in a forest. "You're watching Excalibur?" "Yeah. Is this the sort of thing that…
January 26, 2006
Conversation: Swords and Hacks
"Is this what goes on in men's psyches?" "What?" I walk into the room to see a naked man wrestling with a suit of armor in a forest. "You're watching Excalibur?" "Yeah. Is this the sort of thing that…
January 25, 2006
Poetic Divination: Coda
"Coda," by Mark Perlberg When I was six or sevenyou stopped singingas you moved about the houseas you dressed for evening I'll see you again wheneverspring breaks through againTime will lie heavy…
January 24, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Lover’s Call
A Lover's Call XXVII by Khalil Gibran Where are you, my beloved? Are you in that littleParadise, watering the flowers who look upon youAs infants look upon the breast of their mothers? Or are you in…
January 23, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Character
"A Character" by William Wordsworth I marvel how Nature could ever find spaceFor so many strange contrasts in one human face:There's thought and no thought, and there's paleness and bloomAnd bustle…
January 19, 2006
Poetic Divination: Israfel
"Israfel" by Edgar Allen Poe In Heaven a spirit doth dwell "Whose heart-strings are a lute"; None sing so wildly well As the angel Israfel, And the giddy stars (so legends tell), Ceasing their hymns,…
January 19, 2006
Hic Vigilans Somniat
One of the problems with writing late, late, late at night is that you can start to drift a bit. One minute you're walking through an abandoned ballroom with the queen of the Underworld and the next…
January 19, 2006
Hic Vigilans Somniat
One of the problems with writing late, late, late at night is that you can start to drift a bit. One minute you're walking through an abandoned ballroom with the queen of the Underworld and the next…
January 17, 2006
Poetic Divination: MIrror, Mirror
"Mirror, Mirror" by Spike Milligan A young spring-tender girlcombed her joyous hair'You are very ugly' said the mirror.But,on her lips hunga smile of dove-secret loveliness,for only that morning had…
January 16, 2006
Poetic Divination: A Snifter
"A Snifter" by Robert W. Service After working hard all dayIn the office,How much worse on homeward wayMy old cough is!Barney's Bar is gaily lit,Let me stop there;Just to buck me up a bitHave a drop…
January 13, 2006
Poetic Divination: Ambulances
"Ambulances" by Philip Larkin
January 11, 2006
Poetic Divination: Lost
"Lost," by David Wagoner Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside youAre not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,Must ask permission to know it…
January 10, 2006
Quote of the Day
"Thirty-six years old is a lot younger than it was twenty years ago."-- Steve Lewis
January 9, 2006
Holidays, Day Jobs, and Other Alternate Realities
Helluva week — couple of the weeks, actually. It's going to be quite a ride for a few months. Coming back after the holidays — lots of time spent with friends and family, spent cooking for…
January 9, 2006
Quote of the Day
"Thirty-six years old is a lot younger than it was twenty years ago." -- Steve Lewis
January 9, 2006
Poetic Divination: Passengers
"Passengers" by Billy Collins At the gate, I sit in a row of blue seatswith the possible company of my death,this sprawling miscellany of people--carry-on bags and paperbacks--that could be gathered…
January 9, 2006
Holidays, Day Jobs, and Other Realities
Helluva week — couple of the weeks, actually. It's going to be quite a ride for a few months. Coming back after the holidays — lots of time spent with friends and family, spent cooking for…
January 6, 2006
Poetic Divination: Serving Time
"Serving Time" by Charles Simic Another dreary day in time's invisiblePenitentiary, making license platesWith lots of zeros, walking lockstep counter-Clockwise in the exercise yard or watchingThe…
January 4, 2006
Poetic Divination: Selecting a Reader
"Selecting A Reader" by Ted Kooser First, I would have her be beautiful,and walking carefully up on my poetryat the loneliest moment of an afternoon,her hair still damp at the neckfrom washing it.…
January 3, 2006
Poetic Divination: Reading the Brothers Grimm to Jenny
"Reading The Brothers Grimm To Jenny" by Lisel Mueller Jenny, your mind commands kingdoms of black and white: you shoulder the crow on your left, the snowbird on your right; for you the cinders part…
December 31, 2005
Quote of the Day
"We don't speak ill of the dead. We will join them soon enough."-- Garrison Keillor
December 31, 2005
Quote of the Day
"We don't speak ill of the dead. We will join them soon enough." -- Garrison Keillor
December 27, 2005
Quote of the Day
"There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. . . . We need stories so much that we're even willing to read bad…
December 27, 2005
Quote of the Day
"There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. . . . We need stories so much that we're even willing to read bad…
December 27, 2005
Poetic Divination: Empty Cradle Songs
"Empty Cradle Songs" by Chase Twichell I think about the roomsin which my parents sleptas children, what hungon the walls. In my Mom's room,angels with watering canssprinkled the green and…
December 25, 2005
Poetic Divination: Christmas
"Christmas" by George Herbert The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be? My God, No hymn for thee?My soul's a shepherd too: a flock it feeds Of thoughts, and words, and deeds.The pasture is thy…
December 23, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Water Ouzel
"The Water Ouzel" by Harriet Monroe Little brown surf-bather of the mountains!Spirit of foam, lover of cataracts, shaking your wings in falling waters!Have you no fear of the roar and rush when…
December 22, 2005
Poetic Divination: Lute Music
"Lute Music" by Kenneth Rexroth The Earth will be going on a long timeBefore it finally freezes;Men will be on it; they will take names,Give their deeds reasons.We will be here onlyAs chemical…
December 20, 2005
Conversation at the Grocery Store
"Do you want the greens cut?" "I'm sorry?" "Do you want the greens, the tops of your carrots? You want them on or off?" "I want them on." "Okay. Some people want them off." "They're for the…
December 20, 2005
Conversation at the Grocery Store
"Do you want the greens cut?" "I'm sorry?" "Do you want the greens, the tops of your carrots? You want them on or off?" "I want them on." "Okay. Some people want them off." "They're for the…
December 20, 2005
Poetic Divination: Shirley
"Shirley" by Billy Bragg Shirley, it’s so exciting to be sleeping here in this new room,Shirley, you’re my reason to get out of bed before noon Shirley, you know when we sat out on the fire…
December 19, 2005
Swoop to Nuts
Every year the place where I work does an interactive holiday greeting -- usually it's some kind of fun little game.
This year, it's about a little squirrel getting ready for winter...
December 19, 2005
Swoop to Nuts
Every year the place where I work does an interactive holiday greeting -- usually it's some kind of fun little game.
This year, it's about a little squirrel getting ready for winter...
December 18, 2005
John Spencer, 1946 – 2005
Sad to hear this morning that John Spencer has died at a very young 58 years old (too young, but it happens). He was (and is, I suppose) one of the reasons why I loved 'The West Wing' so much and…
December 18, 2005
Poetic Divination: O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" by Charles Wesley O for a thousand tongues to singmy great Redeemer's praise,the glories of my God and King,the triumphs of his grace! My gracious Master and my…
December 18, 2005
Why Men Never Stop to Ask for Directions
Having spent the better part of six months wandering around through the same territory, realizing I'm lost, going back to the beginning and starting again, driving down deserted roads, checking my…
December 16, 2005
Conversation
Eavesdropping while someone is delivering a new water cooler today... "So what's wrong with this one?" "The hot water doesn't work." "Okay . . . what's all this?" "What?" "All this red stuff in…
December 16, 2005
Conversation
Eavesdropping while someone is delivering a new water cooler today... "So what's wrong with this one?" "The hot water doesn't work." "Okay . . . what's all this?" "What?" "All this red stuff in…
December 16, 2005
Poetic Divination: Song
"Song" by Allen Ginsberg The weight of the worldis love.Under the burdenof solitude,under the burdenof dissatisfaction the weight,the weight we carryis love. Who can deny?In dreamsit touchesthe…
December 15, 2005
Poetic Divination: St. Roach
"St. Roach" by Muriel Rukeyser For that I never knew you, I only learned to dread you,for that I never touched you, they told me you are filth,they showed me by every action to despise your kind;for…
December 14, 2005
Poetic Divination: Cross
"Cross" by Langston Hughes My old man's a white old manAnd my old mother's black.If ever I cursed my white old manI take my curses back.If ever I cursed my black old motherAnd wished she were in…
December 13, 2005
Poetic Divination: A Blessing
"A Blessing" by James Wright
December 10, 2005
Poetic Divination: 1665
1665 by Emily Dickinson I know of people in the GraveWho would be very gladTo know the news I know tonightIf they the chance had had. 'Tis this expands the least eventAnd swells the scantest deed--My…
December 10, 2005
Stories and Children and Death
Wandering around online tonight, I found this tidbit on The Dreaming: There was a guy in Denver whose son died young – he was only seven or eight years old. And this man realized he'd never told…
December 10, 2005
Stories and Children and Death
Wandering around online tonight, I found this tidbit on The Dreaming: There was a guy in Denver whose son died young – he was only seven or eight years old. And this man realized he'd never told…
December 9, 2005
Word of the Day
And today's word of the day is "bitchcakes" courtesy of Mr. Neil Gaiman. ("Why?" you ask? Well, here's part of the reason why. And also a bit more explanation here). Oh bitchcakes, yes.
December 9, 2005
Poetic Divination: Light
"Light" by John Milton Hail holy light, ofspring of Heav'n first-born,Or of th' Eternal Coeternal beamMay I express thee unblam'd? since God is light,And never but in unapproached lightDwelt from…
December 9, 2005
Word of the Day
And today's word of the day is "bitchcakes" courtesy of Mr. Neil Gaiman. ("Why?" you ask? Well, here's part of the reason why. And also a bit more explanation here). Oh bitchcakes, yes.
December 8, 2005
Writing tonight…
...sitting at the table, fresh pen full of ink, a juniper wreath on the wall, dragon's blood burning, lots of story left to tell. Back to work.
December 8, 2005
Mind Games
I thought it was interesting that the coverage this morning on NPR of the anniversary of John Lennon's murder pointedly ignored the name of his killer. I assume this was because the general belief is…
December 8, 2005
Mind Games
I thought it was interesting that the coverage this morning on NPR of the anniversary of John Lennon's murder pointedly ignored the name of his killer. I assume this was because the general belief…
December 8, 2005
Poetic Divination: Beautiful Boy
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" by John Lennon Close your eyes,Have no fear,The monsters gone,He's on the run and your daddy's here, Beautiful,Beautiful, beautiful,Beautiful Boy, Before you go to…
December 8, 2005
Writing tonight…
...sitting at the table, fresh pen full of ink, a juniper wreath on the wall, dragon's blood burning, lots of story left to tell. Back to work.
December 7, 2005
Poetic Divination: Clap Hands
"Clap Hands" by Tom Waits
December 6, 2005
Poetic Divination: As Winds That Blow Against A Star
"As Winds That Blow Against A Star" by Joyce Kilmer Now by what whim of wanton chanceDo radiant eyes know sombre days?And feet that shod in light should danceWalk weary and laborious ways? But rays…
December 4, 2005
Learned Today…
...that the font Verdana was originally created for Microsoft to be the coporate font. I learned a lot more than that today, most of it from a fascinating article about font designer Matthew Carter…
December 4, 2005
Learned Today
...that the font Verdana was originally created for Microsoft to be the corporate font. I learned a lot more than that today, most of it from a fascinating article about font designer Matthew Carter…
December 3, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Altar
"The Altar" by Charles Simic
December 2, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Thought-Fox
"The Thought-Fox" by Ted Hughes
December 1, 2005
Learned Today…
...the proper way* to refill my vintage Esterbrook fountain pen that my friend Jan gave me. Friends are nice, especially ones who give you vintage fountain pens that they found in the back of a junk…
December 1, 2005
Stamp out Superheroes in 2006?
This makes me very happy. Not sure why, but it does. Perhaps it's because I'm happy to live in a world where we can have postage stamps with superheroes on them. Perhaps it's because I'm a power…
December 1, 2005
Learned Today…
...the proper way* to refill my vintage Esterbrook fountain pen that my friend Jan gave me. Friends are nice, especially ones who give you vintage fountain pens that they found in the back of a junk…
December 1, 2005
Stamp out Superheroes in 2006?
This makes me very happy. Not sure why, but it does. Perhaps it's because I'm happy to live in a world where we can have postage stamps with superheroes on them. Perhaps it's because I'm a power…
December 1, 2005
Poetic Divination: A Dream within a Dream
"A Dream Within A Drem" by Edgar Allan Poe Take this kiss upon the brow!And, in parting from you now,Thus much let me avow-You are not wrong, who deemThat my days have been a dream;Yet if hope has…
November 30, 2005
Quite a Day
David Mamet, Samuel Clemens, and Jonathan Swift were all born on this day. Quite a group, quite a day. To celebrate, be sure to indulge in profanity and satirical observation. (Basically, just…
November 30, 2005
Poetic Divination: To Jennie
"To Jennie" by Mark Twain Good-bye! a kind good-bye,I bid you now, my friend,And though 'tis sad to speak the word,To destiny I bend And though it be decreed by FateThat we ne'er meet again,Your…
November 29, 2005
Deanimator
Searching around for interesting things for Sam, I found this which isn't very appropriate for him . . . but, boy, do I love a good Shooting-Zombies-in-the-Head game.
November 29, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Country of the Blind
"The Country of the Blind" by C.S. Lewis Hard light bathed them-a whole nation of eyeless men,Dark bipeds not aware how they were maimed. A longProcess, clearly, a slow curse,Drained through…
November 29, 2005
Snow Job
It snowed, then it melted. Then it snowed again, more than before. Then it melted. They say it's going to snow tomorrow. Then it's probably going to melt again. Damn.
November 28, 2005
Learned Today…
...what a "merkin" is: "A Merkin" has been slang for (an) American since the 1960s. Originally used for its risqué meaning, it has become common internet slang for Americans by non-Americans. A…
November 28, 2005
Learned today…
...what a "merkin" is: "A Merkin" has been slang for (an) American since the 1960s. Originally used for its risqué meaning, it has become common internet slang for Americans by non-Americans. A…
November 28, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Human Abstract
"The Human Abstract" by William Blake Pity would be no moreIf we did not make somebody poor,And Mercy no more could beIf all were as happy as we. And mutual fear brings Peace,Till the selfish loves…
November 27, 2005
Quote of the Day
You should regard each meeting with a friend as a sitting he is unwittingly giving you for a portrait - a portrait that, probably, when you or he die, will still be unifinished. For however handsome…
November 27, 2005
Learned Today…
...the word "pleached" and what it means (with thanks to Mirlees' Lud-in-the-Mist
November 27, 2005
Learned today…
...the word "pleached" and what it means (with thanks to Mirlees' Lud-in-the-Mist
November 27, 2005
Quote of the Day
You should regard each meeting with a friend as a sitting he is unwittingly giving you for a portrait - a portrait that, probably, when you or he die, will still be unifinished. For however handsome…
November 27, 2005
Poetic Divination: My Dead Daughter
"My Dead Daughter" by Robin Merrill Every spring my dead daughter spraypaints PLEASE DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE on the road where she died. My dead daughter has a flute at the grammar school for kids…
November 26, 2005
Learned Today…
...that the word "thank" comes from the word "think" and also that the Hebrew word for "thank you" is the same as the Hebrew word for "please" -- all of which comes from a conversation tonight with…
November 26, 2005
Learned Today…
...that the word "thank" comes from the word "think" and also that the Hebrew word for "thank you" is the same as the Hebrew word for "please" -- all of which comes from a conversation tonight with…
November 24, 2005
And…
..of course, watching the movie tonight, I couldn't help but notice that the Monolith (the first one, the monkey one) was pointed at the <i>moon</i> of all things . . . and that the film…
November 24, 2005
Monolith
A good night. We watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. Julia crashed sometime after the Dawn of Man and before poor Frank's birthday. (Keeley: "You know, it's called an 'Odyssey' and H.A.L. is a cyclops.…
November 24, 2005
And…
..of course, watching the movie tonight, I couldn't help but notice that the Monolith (the first one, the monkey one) was pointed at the moon of all things . . . and that the film spends a fair…
November 24, 2005
Monolith
A good night. We watched 2001: A Space Odyssey. Julia crashed sometime after theDawn of Man and before poor Frank's birthday. (Keeley: "You know, it's called an 'Odyssey' and H.A.L. is a cyclops.Did…
November 23, 2005
Lunar Eclipse
At the lunch table today, one of the guys I worked with mentioned he was on steroids for some health issues. "Just what I need," he said. "Big biceps, small testicles." Another person at the table…
November 23, 2005
The Man Who Was November
It finally snowed a bit last week, which made me very happy indeed. Then it melted and I got grumpy. It's snowing in earnest now, might have ten inches or more by tomorrow night. And now I'm happy…
November 23, 2005
Lunar Eclipse
At the lunch table today, one of the guys I worked with mentioned he was on steroids for some health issues. "Just what I need," he said. "Big biceps, small testicles." Another person at the table…
November 23, 2005
The Man Who Was November
It finally snowed a bit last week, which made me very happy indeed. Then it melted and I got grumpy. It's snowing in earnest now, might have ten inches or more by tomorrow night. And now I'm happy…
November 23, 2005
Poetic Divination: To the Unattainable
"To the Unattainable" translated by Laurence Hope Oh, that my blood were water, thou athirst, And thou and I in some far Desert land, How would I shed it gladly, if but first…
November 22, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Answer
The Answer by Orrick Johns "Crying cranes and wheeling crows... I'll remember them," she said; And I will be your own, God knows, And the sin be on my head.…
November 21, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Origin of Trades
"The Origin of Trades" by Voltaire When with a skilful hand Prometheus made A statue that the human form displayed, Pandora, his own work, to wed he chose, And from…
November 19, 2005
Mercury in Transpose
My daughter was at a sleepover tonight, so Sam and I had a chance to hang out a bit and watch some movies with Keeley. Bruce Lee biopics, a little bit of the X-Files. Then bedtime. I stayed up for a…
November 19, 2005
Mercury in Transpose (or something)
My daughter was at a sleepover tonight, so Sam and I had a chance to hang out a bit and watch some movies with Keeley. Bruce Lee biopics, a little bit of the X-Files. Then bedtime. I stayed up for a…
November 19, 2005
Definitions
Embarrassing: Realizing you've forgotten to silence your phone and it rings during church. Extremely embarrassing: Same as above, but your ringtone is 'Tubular Bells' (a.k.a. the theme from 'The…
November 18, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Pirate Song
The Pirate Song from "The Pirates of Penzance"Lyrics by W.S. Gilbert. With cat-like tread,Upon our prey we steal;In silence dread,Our cautious way we feel.No sound at all,We never speak a word,A…
November 16, 2005
Poetic Divination: Ten Degrees
"Ten Degrees" by Tom Chandler
November 15, 2005
Rice and Treacle
It's been a very busy couple of weeks (or months) and I've spent a fair amount of time over the past couple of days getting caught up and back on track with regards to the novel. I don't know how…
November 14, 2005
Rice & Treacle
It's been a very busy couple of weeks (or months) and I've spent a fair amount of time over the past couple of days getting caught up and back on track with regards to the novel. I don't know how…
November 13, 2005
Anchors Away
Thankfully, I've replaced the lighthouse motif with something a bit more interesting. I'm sure I'll get bored with it in a couple of weeks.
November 10, 2005
Lighthousekeeping
I apologize for the awful Blogger template. I have not moved to the Upper Peninsula. I am not currently living in a lighthouse -- or anywhere decorated in a style that even remotely approximates a…
November 10, 2005
Poetic Divination | Nightfall
"Nightfall" by Neil Gaiman Half-remembered lines of Shakespeare -- change of times and states and crystal tresses -- and Pepys, going out with his wife to see the comet, and afterward the plague, and…
November 10, 2005
Poetic Divination: Nightfall
"Nightfall" by Neil Gaiman Half-remembered lines of Shakespeare --change of times and states and crystal tresses --and Pepys, going out with his wife to see the comet,and afterward the plague,and…
November 8, 2005
One Step Forward, Two Steps . . . Um, Somewhere Else…
This weekend's mail brought me a DVD of the production Northwestern College did of my adaptation of 'The Odyssey' along with rejections from Samuel French on two of my playscripts (one of which was,…
November 7, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Grid
"The Grid" by Barbara Crooker A black and yellow spider hangs motionless in its web,and my son, who is eleven and doesn't talk, sitson a patch of grass by the perennial border, watching.What does he…
November 1, 2005
Poetic Divination: The High Heat
"The High Heat" by Jeff Tweedy She wants to dieLike people doShower clickingSummer was sickeningIn that room High in the heatA white-hot beehiveWell she was doomed She has a wingTo offer the skyShe…
October 31, 2005
Snopes | Halloween Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and More
Over at Snopes.com, they've got a collection of some of the most popular Halloween urban legends, including a few that have turned out to be true.
October 31, 2005
Poetic Divination: Laminated Cat
"Laminated Cat" by Jeff Tweedy Springtime comes and the leaves are back on the trees againSnipers are harder to see my friendsWeeding out the weekends Summer comes and gravity undoes youYou're happy…
October 28, 2005
Poetic Divination: A Divine Image
"A Divine Image" by William Blake Cruelty has a human heart, And Jealousy a human face;Terror the human form divine, And Secrecy the human dress. The human dress is forged iron, The human form…
October 27, 2005
Poetic Divination: Tempora Mutantur
"Tempora Mutantur" by Ambrose Bierce "The world is dull," I cried in my despair: "Its myths and fables are no longer fair. "Roll back thy centuries, O Father Time:…
October 26, 2005
Poetic Divination: Spirits of the Dead
"Spirits of the Dead' Edgar Allen Poe Thy soul shall find itself alone 'Mid dark thoughts of the grey tomb-stone; Not one, of all the crowd, to pry Into thine hour of secrecy. Be…
October 25, 2005
Poetic Divination: One Upon a Time
"Once Upon a Time" by James W. Foley Once upon a time rare flowers grew On every shrub and bush we used to see;The skies above our heads were always blue,The woods held secrets deep for you and me;…
October 24, 2005
Poetic Divination: Wraith
"Wraith" by Edna St. Vincent Millay "Thin Rain, whom are you haunting,That you haunt my door?"—Surely it is not I she's wanting;Someone living here before—"Nobody's in the house but me:You may…
October 21, 2005
Poetic Divination: Monarchs Landing and Flying
"Monarchs Landing and Flying" by David Baker If they have come for the butterflies thenbless their breaking hearts, but the young pair islooking nowhere except each other's eyes.He seems like he…
October 20, 2005
Poetic Divination: Old Roses
"Old Roses" by Kate Barnes When my father met my motherat a dinner party in a garden of very old roseson Beacon Hill one hot eveningin early June, he said to his friend, F. MortonSmith, that night,…
October 19, 2005
Poetic Divination: Sonnet
"Sonnet" by Neil Gaiman I don’t think that I’ve been in love as such,Although I liked a few folk pretty well.Love must be vaster than my smiles or touch,For brave men died and empires rose and…
October 16, 2005
Leather Pants as Literature
I used to pride myself on how well I wrote my eBay entries. Then I ready this guy's work and realized how far from greatness I truly am.
October 16, 2005
Ten Thousand Songs in My Lap
Lately, I've been going through my iTunes library, cleaning up files and adding artwork and adjusting settings and labels and things like that. I've got all sorts of stuff on there -- books and…
October 16, 2005
Poetic Divination: White Towels
"White Towels" by Richard Jones I have been studying the differencebetween solitude and loneliness,telling the story of my lifeto the clean white towels taken warm from the dryer.I carry them through…
October 14, 2005
Poetic Divination: Smell and Envy
"Smell and Envy" by Douglas Goetsch You nature poets think you've got it, hostagedsomewhere in Vermont or Oregon,so it blooms and withers only for you,so all you have to do is name it: primrose--and…
October 13, 2005
Harold Pinter, Nobel Laureate
Harold Pinter has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In honor of this event, please observe a ceremonial moment of silence in this manner: Stare intently at the floor until someone asks you…
October 13, 2005
Poetic Divination: Wendell Berry
"How To Be a Poet (to remind myself)" by Wendell Berry Make a place to sit down.Sit down. Be quiet.You must depend uponaffection, reading, knowledge,skill-more of eachthat you…
October 12, 2005
Poetic Divination: It Is Not the Fact That I Will Die That I Mind
"It Is Not the Fact That I Will Die That I Mind" by Jim Moore but that no one will love as I didthe oak tree out my boyhood window,the mother who set herselfso stubbornly against life,the sister with…
October 10, 2005
Poetic Divination: Considerations
"Considerations" by Louis McKee It was one of those decisionsthat had to be madein a moment. A Puerto Rican girlwalked across the streetin front of my car. Fifteen or so and wellon her way to…
October 9, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Man of Double Deed
There was a man of double deedSowed his garden full of seed.When the seed began to grow,'Twas like a garden full of snow;When the snow began to melt,'Twas like a ship without a bell;When the ship…
October 7, 2005
Poetic Divination: Instruction
"Instructions" by Sheri Hostetler Give up the world; give up self; finally, give up God.Find god in rhododendrons and rocks,passers-by, your cat.Pare your beliefs, your absolutes.Make it simple; make…
October 6, 2005
The Dan Wilson Show
I first met Dan back in college. He was a few years younger than me and I was quite the pathologically-self-involved-wannabe-actor-writer-whatever at the time. We got on fairly well, were in a number…
October 6, 2005
Poetic Divination: Spelling
"Spelling" by Margaret Atwood My daughter plays on the floorwith plastic letters,red, blue & hard yellow,learning how to spell,spelling,how to make spells. I wonder how many womendenied themselves…
October 5, 2005
Nicholas Cage is an Idiot
In a nutshell, naming your son Kal-El is pasting a "Kick My Ass" sign on his chest every day before he leaves for school. In fact, I'm naming my next child Kryptonite so she can kick Nicholas Cage's…
October 5, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Future
"The Future" by Wendell Berry For God's sake, be donewith this jabber of "a better world."What blasphemy! No "futuristic"twit or child thereof everin embodied light will seea better world than this,…
October 3, 2005
Businessweek | Apple vs. Warner Music
So . . . there's been a bit of a verbal slapfight between Steve Jobs and Edgar Bronfman about Apple's decision to hold tight on the 99-cent per download price per song in the iTunes Music Store.…
October 3, 2005
Poetic Divination: To Waiting
You spend so much of your timeexpecting to becomesomeone elsealways someonewho will be differentsomeone to whom a momentwhatever moment it may beat last has comeand who has beenmet and…
October 2, 2005
Cold Comfort
For I-don't-know-how-long-now I've been trying to write my way through the next sequence of the novel I've been working on. I think I must have more false starts than ever before. Fifty pages in, I…
October 2, 2005
Cold Comfort
For I-don't-know-how-long-now I've been trying to write my way through the next sequence of the novel I've been working on. I think I must have more false starts than ever before. Fifty pages in, I…
October 1, 2005
The Literacy Site
Well . . . that's good news, it looks like The Literacy Site isn't gone. Just some problems with the server, I expect. The usual hiccups that come with weekend maintenance, perhaps. But they're back.…
October 1, 2005
Poetic Divination: Instructions
"Instructions" by Neil Gaiman Touch the wooden gate in the wall you neversaw before.Say "please" before you open the latch,go through,walk down the path.A red metal imp hangs from the…
October 1, 2005
Missing Links
Two sites I usually look at every day are Vers Libre and The Literacy Site. This morning I was disappointed to find both of them gone. It's not the first time for Vers Libre. Plenty of time over the…
September 30, 2005
My First Podcast
My First Podcast I wasn't so sure about this Podcast thing. It seemed like most things as a fairly interesting bandwagon that a lot of people, companies, narcissists, and other subliminal celebrities…
September 30, 2005
Poetic Divination: In Time
"In Time" by W.S. Merwin The night the world was going to endwhen we heard those explosions not far awayand the loudspeakers telling usabout the vast fires on the backwaterconsuming undisclosed…
September 29, 2005
Poetic Divination: In the Lap of a Stranger
In the Lap of a Stranger" by Karen Whalley A young man is bendingOver an old manLying on a street cornerAt the busiest intersectionOf the city.Homeless or drunk, I can't tell which,But there are…
September 28, 2005
Calico
It's an odd sort of feeling to know that someone new is out there, somewhere, and that she's a part of my family. And that I don't know anything about her. Not a bad feeling. Just odd. There's a new…
September 28, 2005
Soap and Hope Since 1959
I'm sitting in a darkened ballroom, waiting for a client presentation to go up on a big screen in front of two hundred managers from around the world. There's two actors onstage at the moment, going…
September 28, 2005
Calico
It's an odd sort of feeling to know that someone new is out there, somewhere, and that she's a part of my family. And that I don't know anything about her. Not a bad feeling. Just odd. There's a new…
September 28, 2005
Soap and Hope Since 1959
I'm sitting in a darkened ballroom, waiting for a client presentation to go up on a big screen in front of two hundred managers from around the world. There's two actors onstage at the moment, going…
September 27, 2005
Poetic Divination: Dew
"Dew" by Kay Ryan As neatly as peasin their green canoe,as discreetly as beadsstrung in a row,sit drops of dewalong a blade of grass.But unattached andsubject to their weight,they slip if they…
September 26, 2005
The Best Comics Writer is..?
Over here they're doing a bit of a voting-competition-fan-favorite-thing to determine who the best comics writer is. It looks like we're in the final heat, so there's still time to cast your votes.…
September 26, 2005
Poetic Divination: This Shining Moment in the Now
"This Shining Moment in the Now" by David Budbill When I work outdoors all day, every day, as I do now, in the fall,getting ready for winter, tearing up the garden, digging potatoes,gathering the…
September 25, 2005
Spiders
I've been thinking about spiders lately. Not a lot, not really. Just noticing them on the periphery of my vision, right there at the edge of things. Maybe it's because I've been reading Anansi Boys,…
September 25, 2005
Spiders
I've been thinking about spiders lately. Not a lot, not really. Just noticing them on the periphery of my vision, right there at the edge of things. Maybe it's because I've been reading Anansi Boys,…
September 24, 2005
Poetic Divination: Our Other Sister
"Our Other Sister" by Jeffrey Harrison (for Ellen) The cruelest thing I did to my younger sisterwasn't shooting a homemade blowdart into her knee,where it dangled for a breathless second before…
September 23, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Broken Men
"The Broken Men" by Rudyard Kipling For things we never mention,For Art misunderstood --For excellent intentionThat did not turn to good;From ancient tales' renewing,From clouds we would not clear…
September 22, 2005
Poetic Divination: Something Else
"Something Else" by Christian Barter I know a woman who calls meevery week or so when she has somethingon her mind and starts by saying,"I have something to talk aboutbut let's start by talking…
September 21, 2005
Poetic Divination: Changing Diapers
"Changing Diapers" by Gary Snyder How intelligent he looks!on his backboth feet caught in my one handhis glance set sideways,on a giant poster of Geronimowith a Sharp's repeating rifle by his knee. I…
September 21, 2005
Cards and Cats
It's late and Vincent is lying on the couch snoring. I just finished up a long night trying to solve the problems of the world, with a little help from Steve, and now I'm going to go wander for a bit…
September 21, 2005
Cards and Cats
It's late and Vincent is lying on the couch snoring. I just finished up a long night trying to solve the problems of the world, with a little help from Steve, and now I'm going to go wander for a…
September 17, 2005
The Graveyard Book
Not only is it for a good cause, but there's something very cool about this Ebay auction I wish I had the money. I'm writing a novel, you know. I could name something after someone for money. Just,…
September 17, 2005
The Graveyard Book
Not only is it for a good cause, but there's something very cool about this Ebay auction I wish I had the money. I'm writing a novel, you know. I could name something after someone for money. Just,…
September 16, 2005
Poetic Divination: Porch Swing in November
"Porch Swing in September" by Ted Kooser The porch swing hangs fixed in a morning sunthat bleaches its gray slats, its flowered cushionwhose flowers have faded, like those of summer,and a small brown…
September 15, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Undeniable Pressure of Existence
"The Undeniable Pressure of Existence" by Patricia Fargnoli I saw the fox running by the side of the roadpast the turned-away brick faces of the condominiumspast the Citco gas station with its line…
September 14, 2005
Poetic Divination: For All
"For All" by Gary Snyder Ah to be alive on amid-September morn fording astream barefoot,pants rolled up, holdingboots, pack on, sunshine,ice in the…
September 12, 2005
Poetic Divination: The Best of It
"The Best of It" by Kay Ryan However carved upor pared down we get,we keep on makingthe best of it as thoughit doesn't matter thatour acre's down toa square foot. Asthough our gardencould be one…
September 10, 2005
Life Expectancy: 81.62 Years Old
Apparently, my biggest problem will only add a year or so to my life. At least, according to this test. (Thanks to Masuga for pointing me to the test.)
September 10, 2005
White Noise
I'd forgotten how much I liked reading Jack's Blog. I don't pretend to understand the smart bits, but I like the rest of it enough to mention it here. And, no, in case you're wondering, I can't…
September 10, 2005
Life Expectancy: 81.62 Years Old
Apparently, my biggest problem will only add a year or so to my life. At least, according to this test. (Thanks to Masuga for pointing me to the test.)
September 10, 2005
Your Hands, Too Much Time on Them You Have
Somebody, somebody crazy, used the Unreal engine to recreate environments from various horror movies. Hey. I play Unreal Tournament. I'd play it in the Bates Motel, if they'd let me.
September 10, 2005
Cheney in 2008
I don't know if anyone has told George Bush that he can't run for a third term. After all of the impact he's had during the Katrina aftermath and his record approval rating, someone should let him…
September 10, 2005
Sean Hannity is a Tool
Seriously. This is why Big Brother controlled the media in Orwell's '1984' and why they can't in the real world. Geraldo might be a crybaby. But Hannity is a lapdog.
September 10, 2005
Bush is a Disaster
I bet someone over at Sky News lost their job over this one. And I bet it was worth it.
September 10, 2005
Cheney’s Fan Club
A heartwarming moment from when our Vice-President Dick "Geppetto" Cheney finally managed to head south to let us all know that the Administration really cares about what's happening. Apparently,…
September 9, 2005
That Nice Mr. Gaimain is Writing Another Book
"Now I'm writing a children's book, which begins with four pages of a serial killer walking around a house with a knife covered in blood, having killed all the family but the baby, and he's trying to…
September 9, 2005
Hurricane Preparedness Tips
The geniuses at Something Awful have put together some insightful tips from FEMA on coping with diaster . . . if you live in Ducksburg... First you need to assess the situation. Are you a duck or are…
September 9, 2005
Gaiman’s Next Book
"Now I'm writing a children's book, which begins with four pages of a serial killer walking around a house with a knife covered in blood, having killed all the family but the baby, and he's trying to…
September 9, 2005
Poetic Divination: Prophecy
"Prophecy" by Elinor Wylie I shall lie hidden in a hut In the middle of an alder wood,With the back door blind and bolted shut, And the front door locked for good.I shall lie folded like a…
September 8, 2005
Poetic Divination: Black Umbrellas
"Black Umbrellas" by Rick Agran On a rainy day in Seattle stumble into any coffee shopand look wounded by the rain.Say Last time I was in I left my black umbrella here.A waitress in a blue beret will…
September 7, 2005
Thank God, Mexico is on the Job
Listening to NPR tonight, I hear that the Mexican Navy is sending a couple of ships to help out with the Katrina aftermath. Okay, is it just me or is it complete validation of how royally we have…
September 7, 2005
Katrina and the Waves
A couple of years ago, I decided to never, ever watch anything on television news ever again. When something bad happens, most people I know immediately turn on the television to find out what's…
September 7, 2005
iPod Nano
With almost anything I enjoy, there comes a certain point where I realize that I've become a fanatic. Sometimes it takes longer than others. Eventually I shake myself and get on with my life. But…
September 7, 2005
Katrina and the Waves
A couple of years ago, I decided to never, ever watch anything on television news ever again. When something bad happens, most people I know immediately turn on the television to find out what's…
September 7, 2005
Poetic Divination: Parting
"Parting" by Emily Dickinson My life closed twice before its close;It yet remains to seeIf immortality unveilA third event to meSo huge, so hopeless to conceiveAs these that twice befell.Parting is…
September 6, 2005
T.M. Camp RIP
Through the miracle of the latest in time-travel technology, I have some video here of my funeral. No word on who the woman dancing on my grave is. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
September 6, 2005
T.M. Camp, RIP
Through the miracle of the latest in time-travel technology, I have some video here of my funeral. No word on who the woman dancing on my grave is. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
September 6, 2005
Rise of the Ubermensch
I hate him. I just hate him. Maybe it's Frank Miller's fault. Maybe it's Jules Feiffer's fault. Maybe they're the ones who soured me forever on the big blue schoolboy. But whoever it was . . . god do…
September 6, 2005
Poetic Divination: Waving Goodbye
"Waving Good-Bye," by Gerald Stern I wanted to know what it was like before wehad voices and before we had bare fingers and before wehad minds to move us through our actionsand tears to help us over…
September 4, 2005
Pen and Ink
Digging around tonight for some instructions on how to clean my fountain pen, I found this site. Best of all, it explains the mechanics of fountain pens -- something I've been wondering for a while…
September 4, 2005
Pen and Ink
Digging around tonight for some instructions on how to clean my fountain pen, I found this site. Best of all, it explains the mechanics of fountain pens -- something I've been wondering for a while…
September 4, 2005
Five Years Gone
When I put this site up I don't know how many years ago now, the intention behind it was to put some of my work -- specifically, the plays -- visible and available to anyone who might be looking for…
September 4, 2005
Five Years Gone
When I put this site up I don't know how many years ago now, the intention behind it was to put some of my work -- specifically, the plays -- visible and available to anyone who might be looking for…
September 2, 2005
Poetic Divination
"Another Postponement of Destruction," by Henry Taylor Banging out the kitchen door, I kickedbefore I saw it a thick glass baking dishI'd set outside for dogs the night before.It skidded to the top…
September 1, 2005
Poetic Divination "Apartment House At Evening," by Gregory Djanikian Something about a hundred windowslit up like a ship's upper decks, something about the weed treestossing like water below and the…
September 1, 2005
Cartoon Tunes I expect that someone out there is about to go to jail for all of this. But until they do, I'm loving it.
August 31, 2005
Poetic Divination "At the Algonquin" by Howard Moss He sat at the Algonquin, smoking a cigar.A coffin of a clock bonged out the time.She was ten minutes late. But in that time,He puffed the blue…
August 30, 2005
Poetic Divination "And the Word" by Richard Jones I find things inside booksborrowed from the library--foreign postcards, rose petals,opera tickets, laundry lists,and, once, a bloody piece of cloth.…
August 29, 2005
Poetic Dvination "Dostoevsky," by Charles Bukowski against the wall, the firing squad ready.then he got a reprieve.suppose they had shot Dostoevsky?before he wrote all that?I suppose it wouldn't…
August 24, 2005
Poetic Divination "To Daffodils" by Robert Herrick Fair daffodils, we weep to see You haste away so soon;As yet the early-rising sun Has not attained his noon. Stay,stay Until the…
August 23, 2005
Ink, ink everywhere and nary a drop to drink…
In some of my wanderings today, I came across this article on fountain pen ink and discovered that my depth of interest was a strong indicator that I had achieved true powerdork status. Yay.
August 23, 2005
Ink, ink everywhere and nary a drop to drink... In some of my wanderings today, I came across this article on fountain pen ink and discovered that my depth of interest was a strong indicator that I…
August 23, 2005
Poetic Divination "Lucinda Matlock" by Edgar Lee Masters. I went to the dances at Chandlerville,And played snap-out at WinchesterOne time we changed partners,Driving home in the moonlight of middle…
August 18, 2005
Poetic Divination "Hailstorm, 1965" by Twyla Hansen It was the summer I turned sixteen, one brotherwas soon to be married and we'd sold the farm.I remember wanting desperately to be kissed.…
August 17, 2005
Poetic Divination "No Work Poem #1" by Virgil Suarez what hurt my father most after his accidentwhere one bad turn to the water fountainnearly cost him his life, a forklift droppeda pallet of 526…
August 11, 2005
testing again
August 11, 2005
Testing Just putting a new post out there, to see if a shift on the server is working properly.
August 11, 2005
Poetic Divination "At Dawn" by Amy Levy In the night I dreamed of you;All the place was filledWith your presence; in my heartThe strife was stilled. All night I have dreamed of you;Now the morn is…
August 10, 2005
Poetic Divination (In honor of my son Sam's birthday, I'm posting one of his current favorite songs.) From "Feel Good Inc." by The Gorillaz City's breaking down on a camel's back.They just have to go…
August 5, 2005
Poetic Divination "One Day You'll Knock and a Stranger Will Come to the Door" byCharles Darling My parents write to announce--after the predictable weather reportand brief obituary of someone I never…
August 5, 2005
Fingering Bush I didn't know George Bush knew sign language. It's only fair, I suppose. I know plenty of people who've made the same gesture in his direction. Despite the "It's only his thumb"…
August 2, 2005
Poetic Divination "Reunion" by Amber Coverdale Sumrall In your old pickup we drive the length of the island looking forblackberries and trails that lead to the lighthouse, tell storiesabout our six…
August 1, 2005
Poetic Divination "Lesson" by Steve Straight Standing by the side of the road in Jenner, California,hitchhiking. At least that is the idea.So few cars pass that one may not stop today.It's sunny.…
July 28, 2005
Poetic Divination "Composition"by John Ashbery We used to call it the boob tube,but I guess they don't use tubes anymore.Whatever, it serves a small purpose after wakingand before falling asleep.…
July 27, 2005
The Quiet American Well, it looks like the server issues have been sorted out, so I'm back for the time being. It's been a pretty hectic summer (not always a good thing) and I expect that things will…
July 27, 2005
Poetic Divination "Willy Loman" by Edwin Romond After I hit 50I stayedin the backof my roomduring Deathof a Salesman.Some morningsit was too much to seewhat comeswith the territoryof dreamsringing up…
July 14, 2005
Fear Itself
Someone (can't remember who, probably the geniuses at Something Awful got me looking at this site which is an obviously well intentioned and yet terribly cheesey effort to combat terror -- Because,…
July 14, 2005
Fear Itself Someone (can't remember who, probably the geniuses at Something Awful got me looking at this site which is an obviously well intentioned and yet terribly cheesey effort to combat terror…
July 2, 2005
Poetic Divination "Why do poets write?" by Richard Jones My wife, a psychiatrist, sleepsthrough my reading and writing in bed,the half-whispered lines,manuscripts piled between us, but in the deep…
June 29, 2005
Poetic Divination "Visit with the Newlyweds" by Rebecca McClanahan She does not know how white her neck,or how naked. He cannot pass herwithout touching. It is summer,their cotton clothes soft as…
June 27, 2005
Testing One Two... The server's been gitchy for a while now, so I'm just checking to see if I can post yet. (Apparently not. Still getting errors. Damn.)
June 23, 2005
"From June to December" by Wendy Cope You know exactly what to do--Your kiss, your fingers on my thigh--I think of little else but you. It's bliss to have a lover who,Touching one shoulder, makes me…
June 22, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Bracelet: To Julia" by Robert Herrick Why I tie about thy wrist,Julia, this silken twist;For what other reason is 'tBut to show thee how, in part, Thou my pretty captive…
June 16, 2005
Poetic Divination "One Time My Dad" by Richard McMullen One time my dad said to me, I don'tsee why people complain about how hard they workor how tired they are. Nobody works hard butfarmers, miners,…
June 15, 2005
Poetic Divination "hi" by Tocarra Opal shining latter slow thus she armssuddenly suddenly already yousteps already friends arms somewhere reading (Yup, another evocative spam haiku. Looks like a…
June 14, 2005
Poetic Divination "Turtle" by Kay Ryan Who would be a turtle who could help it?A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,She can ill afford the chances she must takeIn rowing toward the grasses…
June 12, 2005
Poetic Divination "Another End of the World" by James Richardson Here in the last minutes, the very end of the world,someone's tightening a screw thinner than an eyelash,someone with slim wrists is…
June 10, 2005
Poetic Divination "hi" by Madonna Ferne here explain speaking shining why makeadded least veryparents black bad turning back speaking (Actually, this was spam I received today. I have no idea what…
June 8, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet 318 by Emily Dickinson I'll tell you how the Sun rose--A Ribbon at a time.The Steeples swam in Amethyst,The news, like Squirrels ran--The Hills untied their Bonnets--The…
June 8, 2005
Nope, Not Asleep Yet…
I am deeply, deeply disappointed in the weather. After spending the last nine months of my life struggling to stay awake until midnight, I'm suddenly awake at 2 am with my laptop and a dwindling…
June 8, 2005
Summertime in Hell
There's only one thing I hate about the Midwest: Summer. The heat, the humidity, it's like walking around in a dog's mouth for three months. It's hot tonight, thunderbolts and lightning (very very…
June 8, 2005
Nope, Not Asleep Yet... I am deeply, deeply disappointed in the weather. After spending the last nine months of my life struggling to stay awake until midnight, I'm suddenly awake at 2 am with my…
June 8, 2005
Summertime in Hell There's only one thing I hate about the Midwest: Summer. The heat, the humidty, it's like walking around in a dog's mouth for three months. It's hot tonight, thunderbolts and…
June 7, 2005
Poetic Divination "Life's Work" by Maxine Cumin Mother my good girlI remember this old story:you fresh out of the Conservatoryat eighteen a Bach specialistin a starched shirtwaistbegging permission…
June 6, 2005
Poetic Divination "Inversnaid" by Gerard Manley Hopkins This darksome burn, horseback brown,His rollrock highroad roaring down,In coop and in comb the fleece of his foamFlutes and low to the lake…
June 5, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Star" by Jane Taylor. Twinkle, twinkle, little star,How I wonder what you are!Up above the world so high,Like a diamond in the sky. When the blazing sun is gone,When he nothing…
June 3, 2005
Poetic Divination "For the Thief" by Alison Hawthorne Deming Thank you for leaving the desk and the chair,the books, snapshots and piano.I've heard of moving van robberies--coming home from work to…
June 2, 2005
36 I'm not the only one. It's good to keep that in mind. Other things and other people happen. So. That being said, here — in no particular order — is the tally so far: One boy, one girl, one…
June 2, 2005
36
I'm not the only one. It's good to keep that in mind. Other things and other people happen. So. That being said, here — in no particular order — is the tally so far: One boy, one girl, one set of…
June 2, 2005
Poetic Divination "Alone" by Edgar Allen Poe From childhood's hour I have not beenAs others were; I have not seenAs others saw; I could not bringMy passions from a common spring.From the same source…
May 27, 2005
Poetic Divination | Abandoned Farmhouse
"Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser He was a big man, says the size of his shoes on a pile of broken dishes by the house; a tall man too, says the length of the bed in an upstairs room; and a good,…
May 27, 2005
"Abandoned Farmhouse" by Ted Kooser He was a big man, says the size of his shoeson a pile of broken dishes by the house;a tall man too, says the length of the bedin an upstairs room; and a good,…
May 26, 2005
Postcards From Hell
These postcards are about a thousand times more interesting and honest than the news here. They just broke my heart. It's really quite something, what people can do. There's been so much unhappiness…
May 26, 2005
Poetic Divination "At the Summer Estate, 1899" by Christopher Wiseman The servants meet them. They were sent aheadTo open up the house, stock up, prepareFor the family. They know the Count will…
May 26, 2005
Postcards From Hell These postcards are about a thousand times more interesting and honest than the news here. They just broke my heart. It's really quite something, what people can do. There's been…
May 24, 2005
Poetic Divination "Boarding House" by Ted Kooser The blind man draws his curtains for the nightand goes to bed, leaving a burning light above the bathroom mirror. Through the wall,he hears the deaf…
May 23, 2005
Poetic Divination "Her Memory of the Picnic" by Timothy Steele To finger-sponge crust crumbs of fruit meringue(Grass prickling through the blanket-tablecloth);To climb the shading oak; to roll and…
May 22, 2005
Poetic Divination "Knives, or the Way to a Man's Heart" by Jay C. Davis It's been a great couple of weeks for stayinghome and sharpening my knives,and each one has a perfect edge now.All this honing…
May 21, 2005
Poetic Divination "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" by Andrew Bird over prescribedunder the misterwe had survived toturn on the history channeland ask our esteemed panelwhy are we…
May 20, 2005
Poetic Divination "An April Night" by Lucy Maud Montgomery The moon comes up o'er the deeps of the woods,And the long, low dingles that hide in the hills,Where the ancient beeches are moist with…
May 19, 2005
Good Night, Frank
Just heard that Frank Gorshin died on Tuesday -- news that leaves me feeling a little sad and a little old. Like most of the people in my generation, he was and will always be The Riddler. One of the…
May 19, 2005
Goodbye Frank Just heard that Frank Gorshin died on Tuesday -- news that leaves me feeling a little sad and a little old. Like most of the people in my generation, he was and will always be The…
May 19, 2005
Poetic Divination "Phone Call Idyll" by Henry Allen I want to live in a town where the women wrinkle their eyes and say "Mmmmmmm," a little sexy.Like, a small town where it's a morning in early…
May 18, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet XLV by Michael Drayton Muses, which sadly sit about my chair,Drown'd in the tears extorted by my lines,With heavy sighs whilst thus I break the air,Painting my passions in…
May 17, 2005
Learned Today... ...that you can use Wikipedia as a fairly comprehensive Bartender's Guide and cookbook.
May 16, 2005
Poetic Divination "Borrowed Time" by David Moreau I will not die tonightI will lie in bed withmy wife beside me,curled on the rightlike an animal burrowing.I will fit myself against herand we will…
May 11, 2005
Poetic Divination "Snowflakes" by Deborah Slicer Snowflakes are fools God sweeps out of his kitchen.Last night he emptied his dustbin all over western Montanaand we sure got a load of themon top of…
May 6, 2005
Poetic Divination "Everything in Life is Divided" by Cortney Davis Everything in life is divided:twenty-four hours that fade from day to night, the sand at Martha's Vineyard, where we vacationed last…
May 5, 2005
Poetic Divination "The sun has burst in the sky" by Jenny Joseph The sun has burst in the skyBecause I love youAnd the river its banks. The sea laps the great rocksBecause I love youAnd takes no heed…
May 4, 2005
Poetic Divination "By Her Aunt's Grave" by Thomas Hardy 'Sixpence a week', says the girl to her lover,'Aunt used to bring me, for she could confideIn me alone, she vowed. 'Twas to coverThe cost of…
May 2, 2005
Poetic Divination "Jack" by Charles Henry Ross That's Jack;Lay a stick on his back!What's he done? I cannot say.We'll find out tomorrow,And beat him today.
May 1, 2005
Talking to Myself
Talking to Myself
There's a scene or two in the movie The Commitments
May 1, 2005
Poetic Divination "Couple at Coney Island" by Charles Simic It was early one Sunday morning,So we put on our best ragsAnd went for a stroll along the boardwalkTill we came to a kind of palaceWith…
May 1, 2005
Talking to Myself
There's a scene or two in the movie The Commitments
April 29, 2005
Learned today... ...that my porn name is Lance Peppertree. (Name of your first pet plus the street you grew up on.)
April 29, 2005
Poetic Divination "Fathers in the Snow" by Jill Bialosky After father diedthe love was all through the houseuntamed and sometimes violent.When the dates came we went up to our roomsand mother…
April 28, 2005
Poetic Divination "An Appearance" by Sylvia Plath The smile of iceboxes annihilates me.Such blue currents in the veins of my loved one!I hear her great heart purr. From her lips ampersands and…
April 27, 2005
Poetic Divination "Getting the Machine" by Joyce Sutphen It was good to hearmy own voice againwhen I called, afterbeing gone for weeks.I sounded the same.I hadn't changed my name;didn't have a…
April 26, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Deluge" by G.K. Chesterton Though giant rains put out the sun,Here stand I for a sign.Though earth be filled with waters dark,My cup is filled with wine.Tell to the trembling…
April 24, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Angel" by Michael McFee The Angel unhooks her wings after another long day.They are her glory but also a burden,binding her chest and making her sacrum ache.She reaches behind…
April 23, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet 144 by William Shakespeare Two loves I have, of comfort and despair,Which like two spirits do suggest me still;The better angel is a man right fair,The worser spirit a woman…
April 22, 2005
Poetic Divination "A Spell before Winter" by Howard Nemerov After the red leaf and the gold have gone,Brought down by the wind, then by hammering rainBruised and discolored, when October's flameGoes…
April 21, 2005
Poetic Divination A Fragment from "Works" by Thomas Love Peacock Nay, deem me not insensible, Cesario,To female charms; nor think this heart of mineIs cas'd in adamant; because, forsooth,I cannot…
April 20, 2005
Poetic Divination "Wherever We Travel," by Linda Pastan Wherever we travelit seems to take the samefew hours to get there. The plane rises over cloudsinto an unmarked sky,comes down through clouds to…
April 16, 2005
Poetic Divination "Waiting for Icarus" by Muriel Rukeyser He said he would be back and we'd drink wine togetherHe said that everything would be better than beforeHe said we were on the edge of a new…
April 10, 2005
Poetic Divination "The First Spring Day," by Christina Rossetti. I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sunAnd crocus fires are…
April 8, 2005
Poetic Divination "I Will Make You Brooches" by Robert Louis Stevenson. I will make you brooches and toys for your delightOf bird-song at morning and star-shine at night.I will make a palace fit for…
April 7, 2005
Poetic Divination "In the Hospital" by George Garrett Here everything is white and cleanas driftwood. Pain's localizedand suffering, strictly routine,goes on behind a modest screen. Softly the nurses…
April 6, 2005
Poetic Divination "In Second Grade Miss Lee I Promised Never To Forget You And I NeverDid" by Alberto Rios In a letting-go momentMiss Lee the TeacherWho was not marriedAnd who the next year was not…
March 29, 2005
Poetic Divination "Grace," by Linda Pastan When the young professor foldedhis hands at dinner and spoke to Godabout my safe arrivalthrough the snow, thanking Him alsofor the food we were about to…
March 25, 2005
Poetic Divination "Upon My Offering Her an Easter Chocolate, My Wife Screams that She Won't Let Me Make Her Fat" by Gaylord Brewer Later, it may occur to methat inside a door frame is, they say,…
March 24, 2005
New Scientist | Dark Matter and Other Confusions
Although researchers have made many suggestions about what kind of particles might make up dark matter, there is no consensus. It's an embarrassing hole in our understanding. Astronomical…
March 24, 2005
Something Awful | 60's and 70's Fashion The clever monkeys over at Something Awful take some time out of their busy schedule to review some ads from the pinnacle of 20th Century Fashion: These people…
March 24, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Song of the Strange Ascetic" by GK Chesterton If I had been a Heathen,I'd have praised the purple vine,My slaves should dig the vineyards,And I would drink the wine.But Higgins…
March 24, 2005
New Scientist | Dark Matter and Other Confusions Although researchers have made many suggestions about what kind of particles might make up dark matter, there is no consensus. It's an embarrassing…
March 24, 2005
Learned today... ...that the word hysteria comes from the Greek word for uterus -- meaning, in essence, behaving like a woman. (Courtesy of David Milch, creator of the most-excellent Deadwood.)
March 23, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Blue Blanket" by Sue Ellen Thompson Toward the end, my father arguedwith my mother over everything: He wantedher to eat again. He wanted her to take her medicine. He wanted…
March 23, 2005
Today is the twenty-third of March.
March 18, 2005
Poetic Divination (Eve speaks to Adam) from Paradise Lost by John Milton. With thee conversing I forget all time,All seasons and their change, all please alike.Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising…
March 17, 2005
Poetic Divination "Ireland" by John Hewitt We Irish pride ourselves as patriotsand tell the beadroll of the valiant onessince Clontarf's sunset saw the Norsemen broken... Aye, and beforethat too we…
March 16, 2005
Learned today... ...that the rooster on the box of Kellogg's cornflakes is named Cornelius. (Actually, I learned it last night from Sam who has a school report today on W.K. Kellogg.)
March 16, 2005
Poetic Divination The Four Angels" by Rudyard Kipling As Adam lay a-dreaming beneath the Apple TreeThe Angel of the Earth came down, and offered Earth in fee;But Adam did not need it,Nor the plough…
March 15, 2005
Learned today... ...that the word "ides" comes from the Latin, meaning "to divide" and that the Ides marked the full moon -- the division of the lunar month. However, since our solar calendar month…
March 15, 2005
Poetic Divination "Echoes" by Emma Lazarus Late-born and woman-souled I dare not hope,The freshness of the elder lays, the mightOf manly, modern passion shall alightUpon my Muse's lips, nor may I…
March 14, 2005
Poetic Divination "Colder" by Erica Jong Not that I cared about the other woman.Those perfumed breasts with heartsof pure rock salt.Lot's wives-all of them. I didn't careif they fondled him at…
March 13, 2005
Learned today…
...that there's an awful lot more going on in the song Pop Goes the Weasel than I realized. The "pop" in the song, for instance, means to pawn something. (I should have guessed, given how much is…
March 13, 2005
Learned today... ...that there's an awful lot more going on in the song Pop Goes the Weasel than I realized. The "pop" in the song, for instance, means to pawn something. (I should have guessed,…
March 13, 2005
Poetic Divination "Forgiveness" by Muriel Stuart Ask not my pardon! For if one hath needOnce to forgive the god that he hath raised,No further creedCan that god give; but 'neath the soul who…
March 12, 2005
Poetic Divination "Love You To" by John Lennon and Paul McCartney Each day just goes so fastI turn around - it's pastYou don't get time to hang a sign on me Love me while you canBefore I'm a dead old…
March 11, 2005
Learned today... ...that the eyes of a fox have vertical slits, like a cat. (The fox in my story is dead and gone, by the way -- although she didn't go how I expected her to go, which was a surprise.…
March 11, 2005
Learned today…
...that the eyes of a fox have vertical slits, like a cat. (The fox in my story is dead and gone, by the way -- although she didn't go how I expected her to go, which was a surprise. But she's gone,…
March 11, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Discovery of Sex" by Debra Spencer We try to be discreet standing in the darkhallway by the front door. He gets his handsup inside the front of my shirt and I put minedown…
March 10, 2005
Poetic Divination "Ode to My 1977 Toyota" by Barbara Hamby Engine like a Singer sewing machine, where have you not carried me-to dance class, groceryshopping,into the heart of darkness and back…
March 9, 2005
Poetic Divination "Moment of Inertia" by Debra Spencer It's what makes the pancake hold stillwhile you slip the spatula under itso fast it doesn't move, my father saidstanding by the stove. All…
March 8, 2005
Travis vs. Hell
Interesting interview/argument between Richard Hell and Adam Travis over at Bookslut. The interviewer opens the door to the author for comments. The author takes him up on it, giving the interviewer…
March 8, 2005
bookslut | Travis vs. Hell Interesting interview/argument between Richard Hell and Adam Travis over at Bookslut. The interviewer opens the door to the author for comments. The author takes him up on…
March 8, 2005
Poetic Divination "Day Bath" by Debra Spencer Last night I walked him back and forth,his small head heavy against my chest,round eyes watching me in the dark,his body a sandbag in my arms.I longed…
March 7, 2005
Poetic Divination "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods…
March 4, 2005
typogenerator
Something that looks (and works) this simple probably isn't simple at all. Here's how it works: ...the user types some text; typoGenerator searches images.google for the text and creates a background…
March 4, 2005
Nonsubliminal | Mandarin Test nonsubliminal nonsubliminal (Just testing something I ran across at Mandarin Design.)
March 4, 2005
typogenerator Something that looks (and works) this simple probably isn't simple at all. Here's how it works: ...the user types some text; typoGenerator searches images.google for the text and…
March 4, 2005
Poetic Divination "Writing" by Howard Nemerov The cursive crawl, the squared-off charactersthese by themselves delight, even withouta meaning, in a foreign language, inChinese, for instance, or when…
March 3, 2005
Poetic Divination "Broken Music" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti The mother will not turn, who thinks she hearsHer nursling's speech first grow articulate;But breathless with averted eyes elateShe sits,…
March 2, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Monkey" by Mutabaruka The monkey speaks his mind Three monkey sat on a coconut treeDiscussing things has they are said to beSaid one to the other, now listen you twoThere is a…
February 28, 2005
Learned Today... ...that ligers are real and not just a creation of Napoleon Dynamite. (Thanks to Sam and Julia for setting me straight on this.)
February 28, 2005
Poetic Divination "Riveted" by Robyn Sarah It is possible that things will not get betterthan they are now, or have been known to be.It is possible that we are past the middle now.It is possible that…
February 25, 2005
Poetic Divination "In the Apartments of the Divorced Men" by Sue Ellen Thompson The apartments of the divorced men are small,you can stand in the doorwayand see their whole lives as through a convex…
February 25, 2005
Poetic Divination "In the Apartments of the Divorced Men" by Sue Ellen Thompson The apartments of the divorced men are small,you can stand in the doorwayand see their whole lives as through a convex…
February 23, 2005
Poetic Divination Job (Job 28:28) by William Baer Yes: wisdom begins with fear of the Lord,which comprehends the power that made the seas,the earth, the shimmering dawn, the unexploredunfathomed…
February 23, 2005
Today is the Twenty-Third of February.
February 17, 2005
"It Was Wrong To Do This" by Stephen Crane "It was wrong to do this," said the angel."You should live like a flower,Holding malice like a puppy,Waging war like a lambkin." "Not so," quoth the manWho…
February 16, 2005
Poetic Divination "A Credo" by William Makepeace Thackeray For the sole edificationOf this decent congregation,Goodly people, by your grantI will sing a holy chant --I will sing a holy chant.If the…
February 15, 2005
Poetic Divination "Good Morrow" by John Donne I wonder, by my truth, what thou and IDid, till we loved; were we not weaned till then,But sucked on country pleasures, childishly?Or snorted we in the…
February 14, 2005
Some Courage, a Heart, and a..?
There's no better way to say "Thinking of You" to your loved ones on Valentine's Day.
February 14, 2005
And then he guessed my weight…
Sitting in an early morning meeting this morning with five salespeople I've never met before in my life, I mentioned being from out of state and someone asked where I was from. Before I could answer,…
February 14, 2005
And then he guessed my weight... Sitting in an early morning meeting this morning with five salespeople I've never met before in my life, I mentioned being from out of state and someone asked where I…
February 14, 2005
Some Courage, a Heart, and a..? There's no better way to say "Thinking of You" to your loved ones on Valentine's Day.
February 14, 2005
Poetic Divination "Self-Dependence" by Matthew Arnold Weary of myself, and sick of askingWhat I am, and what I ought to be,At this vessel's prow I stand, which bears meForwards, forwards, o'er the…
February 13, 2005
Auster’s Coy Mistress
Yesterday I finished reading Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude which contains "Portrait of an Invisible Man" which is a memoir about his father written during the time that Auster was clearing…
February 13, 2005
Auster's Coy Mistress Yesterday I finished reading Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude which contains "Portrait of an Invisible Man" which is a memoir about his father written during the time…
February 11, 2005
Miller’s Crossing
He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back - that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat and…
February 11, 2005
CNN | Miller's Crossing He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back - that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of…
February 11, 2005
Poetic Divination "For My Daughter in Reply to a Question" by David Ignatow We're not going to die.We'll find a way.We'll breathe deeplyand eat carefully.We'll think always on life.There'll be no…
February 11, 2005
Maddox for President Nuff said.
February 9, 2005
Poetic Divination "Things" by Lisel Mueller What happened is, we grew lonely living among the things, so we gave the clock a face, the chair a back, the table four stout legs which will never suffer…
February 9, 2005
When Words Aren't Enough It's hard to show that you care . . . but why not try wearing some crappy color coded junk? That always helps.
February 8, 2005
fortune.com | The Big Apple Apple's recent achievements, in fact, make it look as if it is walking on water. Its stock price, which languished during and after the dot-com crash, suddenly more than…
February 8, 2005
Poetic Divination "Sancta Maria" by Edgar Allan Poe Sancta Maria! turn thine eyes - Upon the sinner's sacrifice, Of fervent prayer and humble love, From thy holy throne above. At morn - at noon - at…
February 7, 2005
Poetic Divination "My Mama Moved Among the Days" by Lucille Clifton My Mama moved among the days like a dreamwalker in a field; seemed like what she touched was here seemed like what touched her…
February 6, 2005
Poetic Divination "Aaron" by George Herbert Holiness on the head, Light and perfection on the breast, Harmonious bells below, raising the dead To led them unto life and rest. Thus are true Aarons…
February 5, 2005
Sinister Ducks
Alan Moore has written a lot of things I like over the years. But this was a bit of a surprise. I'd heard of it and I'd made some assumptions . . . but, well, this was a side of Alan I hadn't really…
February 5, 2005
Poetic Divination "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon The anguish of the earth absolves our eyes Till beauty shines in all that we can see. War is our scourge; yet war has made us wise, And, fighting…
February 5, 2005
Sinister Ducks Alan Moore has written a lot of things I like over the years. But this was a bit of a surprise. I'd heard of it and I'd made some assumptions . . . but, well, this was a side of Alan…
February 4, 2005
Learned Today... ...the name corned beef is due to a coarse salt being used in the pickling. Corn originally meant grain, as in a small particle of something, and referred to the corns of salt.
February 4, 2005
Poetic Divination "Poem for the Family" by Susan Cataldo Before I went to sleep, the soft lamplights from the tenements across the street, still, in the night, resembled peace. There is something I…
February 3, 2005
Sitting Alone
"It still seems like a strange way to make a living, sitting alone in a room for long periods of every day... I never go out looking for stories to tell; they grow inside me and become a weird…
February 3, 2005
Sitting Alone "It still seems like a strange way to make a living, sitting alone in a room for long periods of every day... I never go out looking for stories to tell; they grow inside me and become…
February 3, 2005
Poetic Divination "My World Is Pyramid" by Dylan Thomas I Half of the fellow father as he doubles His sea-sucked Adam in the hollow hulk, Half of the fellow mother as she dabbles To-morrow's diver in…
February 2, 2005
Learned Today... ...the true meaning of the placeholder text "Lorem Ipsum" and where it comes from.
February 2, 2005
Wearing the Red Shirt William Shatner gives us a little pep talk to start our day.
February 2, 2005
"To Ireland in the Coming Times" by W.B. Yeats While still I may, I write for you The love I lived, the dream I knew. From our birthday, until we die, Is but the winking of an eye; And we, our…
February 1, 2005
Conversation
"Well, if need be, I'll just step out of the conference call early. I don't think their feelings will be hurt. They probably know by now that I have no meaningful value to add to the meeting." "Oh, I…
February 1, 2005
Learned today…
...the true meaning of the placeholder text "Lorem Ipsum" and where it comes from.
February 1, 2005
Conversation of the Week "Well, if need be, I'll just step out of the conference call early. I don't think their feelings will be hurt. They probably know by now that I have no meaningful value to…
January 31, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet XXX by Elizabeth Barrett Browning I see thine image through my tears to-night, And yet to-day I saw thee smiling. How Refer the cause?--Beloved, is it thou Or I, who makes me…
January 30, 2005
Learned Today... ...that in ancient Egypt, mirrors were often made in the shape of an ankh. (Courtesy of Wikipedia).
January 30, 2005
Poetic Divination "Calf Born in Snow" by Patricia Gray I can still hear the loud moan in my grandfather's kitchen, where the woodstove was open for the failing fire's warmth, and on the oven door,…
January 29, 2005
Gaiman + McKean x Henson = MirrorMask I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to see this movie.
January 29, 2005
Poetic Divination "Driving to Town Late to Mail a Letter" by Robert Bly It is a cold and snowy night. The main street is deserted. The only things moving are swirls of snow. As I lift the mailbox…
January 28, 2005
The Theology of Cats
This guy here has quite a lot to say on the subject... Throughout history, particularly in the middle ages and reaching its climax in the Salem Witch trials of the seventeenth century, cats were…
January 28, 2005
Conservative Groups Accuse Cartoon Characters of Eroding Moral Values Looks like the self-appointed moral watchdogs of this country (or "idiots" as I like to call them) are once again showing their…
January 28, 2005
The Theology of Cats This guy here has quite a lot to say on the subject... Throughout history, particularly in the middle ages and reaching its climax in the Salem Witch trials of the seventeenth…
January 28, 2005
Poetic Divination "At My Funeral" by Willis Barnstone I take a seat in the third row and catch the eulogies. It's sweet to see old friends, some I don't know. I wear a tie, good shoes, and greet a…
January 27, 2005
Poetic Divination "Winter Song" by Aaron Kramer Under a willow close by a brook her lap for a pillow her eyes for a book she like a drummer practiced her art all…
January 26, 2005
Poetic Divination "Approach of Winter" by William Carlos Williams The half-stripped trees struck by a wind together, bending all, the leaves flutter drily and refuse to let go or driven like hail…
January 25, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet XIII by Michael Drayton To the Shadow Letters and lines we see are soon defac'd, Metals do waste and fret with canker's rust, The diamond shall once consume to dust, And…
January 24, 2005
Poetic Divination "April" by William Carlos Williams If you had come away with me into another state we had been quiet together. But there the sun coming up out of the nothing beyond the lake was too…
January 23, 2005
Twenty-Three Today is the twenty-third of January.
January 22, 2005
Poetic Divination "When We Two Parted" by Lord Byron When we two parted In silence and tears, Half broken-hearted To sever for years, Pale grew thy cheek and cold, Colder thy kiss; Truly…
January 21, 2005
Poetic Divination "Approach of Winter" by William Carlos Williams The half-stripped trees struck by a wind together, bending all, the leaves flutter drily and refuse to let go or driven like hail…
January 20, 2005
Poetic Divination "Death Bereaves" Stevie Smith Lamb dead, dead lamb, He was, I am, Separation by a tense Baulks my eyes’ indifference. Can I see the lately dead And not bend a sympathetic head?…
January 19, 2005
Olympic chief invites the FCC, Americans to shut the Hell up. According to Reuters, the self-elected Thought Police are at it again. Next up on these idiots' to-do list: Developing and enforcing a…
January 19, 2005
Olympic chief invites the FCC, Americans to shut the Hell up.
According to Reuters, the self-elected Thought Police are at it again. Next up on these idiots' to-do list: Developing and enforcing a worldwide museum rating system to protect decent people from…
January 19, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Haunted Palace" by Edgar Allen Poe In the greenest of our valleys, By good angels tenanted, Once a fair and stately palace (Radiant palace) reared its head. In the…
January 19, 2005
Science Friction I expect all of you to answer this survey. Thanks.
January 18, 2005
Poetic Divination "The Waster Singing at Midnight" by Robert Fuller Murray Loud he sang the song Ta Phershon For his personal diversion, Sang the chorus U-pi-dee, Sang about the Barley Bree. In that…
January 17, 2005
Strategies and Needs Given Oltion's Strategies below, I did some digging at Wikipedia on Maslow's Hierarchy and the concept of self-actualization. One of the questions I prepared for when I went to…
January 17, 2005
Oltion's Strategies Work avoidance is one of the major paradoxes of the writing profession. Generally, writers want to write (or want to have written), but all too often we find ourselves doing…
January 17, 2005
Poetic Divination "To a Little Girl That Has Told a Lie" by Ann Taylor AND has my darling told a lie? Did she forget that GOD was by? That GOD, who saw the things she did, From whom no action can be…
January 17, 2005
Strategies and Needs
Given Oltion's Strategies below, I did some digging at Wikipedia on Maslow's Hierarchy and the concept of self-actualization. One of the questions I prepared for when I went to lecture to classes at…
January 14, 2005
Poetic Divination Sonnet XXXVI by Elizabeth Barrett Browning When we met first and loved, I did not build Upon the event with marble. Could it mean To last, a love set pendulous between Sorrow and…
January 13, 2005
Crafty and Wise My name tag, and this is only a slight exaggeration, is made up of a half dozen or so pine cones, spray-painted gold and attached to a cross section of a medium-sized white birch tree…
January 13, 2005
Poetic Divination "Distressed Haiku" by Donald Hall In a week or ten days the snow and ice will melt from Cemetery Road. I'm coming! Don't move! Once again it is April. Today is the day we would have…
January 13, 2005
Crafty and Wise
My name tag, and this is only a slight exaggeration, is made up of a half dozen or so pine cones, spray-painted gold and attached to a cross section of a medium-sized white birch tree which in turn…
January 12, 2005
Poetic Divination "These Fought in Any Case" by Ezra Pound These fought in any case, and some believing pro domo, in any case ..... Died some, pro patria, walked eye-deep in hell believing in old…
January 11, 2005
Quote of the Week "I wonder if I was the only person in the whole world who had a dream about Rutger Hauer last night." -- Keeley Geary
January 7, 2005
Poetic Divination "For a Five-Year-Old" by Fleur Adcock A snail is climbing up the window-sill into your room, after a night of rain. You call me in to see and I explain that it would be unkind to…
December 29, 2004
Poetic Divination "Snowflake" by William Baer Timing's everything. The vapor rises high in the sky, tossing to and fro, then freezes, suddenly, and crystallizes into a perfect flake of miraculous…
December 28, 2004
Disaster Relief Unicef. The Red Cross The Red Crescent Network for Good. And more on How You Can Help
December 28, 2004
Yahoo News | 50,000 Dead, Supermodel Injured Okay, you know what? When we're talking about fifty thousand people lost, I really don't think that a supermodel should rate top billing on the headlines.
December 28, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Dialogue Of Self And Soul" by William Butler Yeats My Soul I summon to the winding ancient stair; Set all your mind upon the steep ascent, Upon the broken, crumbling battlement,…
December 27, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet II by William Shakespeare When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, Will be a…
December 26, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Meeting" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow After so long an absence At last we meet again: Does the meeting give us pleasure, Or does it give us pain? The tree of life…
December 25, 2004
Christmas Madness A little holiday cheer for all of you here and here.
December 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "St. Stephen's Day Murders" by Elvis Costello I knew of two sisters whose name it was Christmas And one was named Dawn of course, the other one was named Eve I wonder if they grew…
December 23, 2004
And today is the twenty-third of December.
December 21, 2004
Holiday Cheer Finally, a site devoted to all of those pictures you don't want to send to grandma this year. And for those of you sick of wasting your time writing to Santa, there's always a chance…
December 21, 2004
Poetic Divination "Gratitude" by Henry Van Dyke "Do you give thanks for this? -- or that?" No, God be thanked I am not grateful In that cold, calculating way, with blessing ranked As one, two, three,…
December 20, 2004
Yeah. Good tip, Ernest, thanks... I'm told that Hemmingway (at least, I think it was Hemmingway) said you should only stop writing when you're in the middle of a scene or conversation, so that you…
December 20, 2004
Poetic Divination "To His Mistrsss Going to Bed" by John Donne Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy, Until I labour, I in labour lie. The foe oft-times having the foe in sight, Is tired with…
December 17, 2004
Playgrounds and Mazes Sitting at lunch with Stan Greene this afternoon, getting caught up. Stan asks about my father and says that he (Stan) still uses a story that my dad told him about six or seven…
December 17, 2004
Poetic Divination "Song of the Fifth River" by Rudyard Kipling Where first by Eden Tree The Four Great Rivers ran, To each was appointed a Man Her Prince and Ruler to be. But after this was ordained…
December 17, 2004
Hang in there, Gabe I don't quite know what's going on here but I know this guy, even though we've never met. (Well . . . I don't know him -- but I recognize him.)
December 17, 2004
Hang in there, Gabe
I don't quite know what's going on here but I know this guy, even though we've never met. (Well . . . I don't know him -- but I recognize him.)
December 17, 2004
Playgrounds and Mazes
Sitting at lunch with Stan Greene this afternoon, getting caught up. Stan asks about my father and says that he (Stan) still uses a story that my dad told him about six or seven years ago, one about…
December 15, 2004
Poetic Divination "1914" by Wilfred Owen War broke: and now the Winter of the world With perishing great darkness closes in. The foul tornado, centred at Berlin, Is over all the width of Europe…
December 14, 2004
We Who Walk Here It's Shirley Jackson's birthday today, author of The Haunting of Hill House. I'd wax poetic about her, but Garrison Keillor already beat me to it on today's Writer's Almanac: She was…
December 14, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Good Night" by Francis Quarles Close now thine eyes and rest secure; Thy soul is safe enough, thy body sure; He that loves thee, He that keeps And guards thee, never slumbers,…
December 14, 2004
We Who Walk Here
It's Shirley Jackson's birthday today, author of The Haunting of Hill House. I'd wax poetic about her, but Garrison Keillor already beat me to it on today's Writer's Almanac: She was a very eccentric…
December 13, 2004
Released Well, although it was being considered by the committee, Northwestern's production of 'The Odyssey' was not invited to participate in the ACTF regional festival this year. Taking a show to…
December 13, 2004
Poetic Divination "Carrion Comfort" by Gerard Manley Hopkins Not, I'll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not fest on thee; Not untwist -- slack they may be -- these last strands of man In me or, most…
December 13, 2004
Released
Well, although it was being considered by the committee, Northwestern's production of 'The Odyssey' was not invited to participate in the ACTF regional festival this year. Taking a show to the…
December 12, 2004
Yeah. Good tip, Ernest, thanks..
'm told that Hemingway (at least, I think it was Hemingway) said you should only stop writing when you're in the middle of a scene or conversation, so that you will be able to easily pick up from…
December 11, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Little Song" by Amy Lowell When you, my Dear, are away, away, How wearily goes the creeping day. A year drags after morning, and night Starts another year of candle light. O…
December 10, 2004
Exorcism and Blood Find the demon. Do you know what I'm talking about? It's the little voice in the back of your head that's always whispering, “You can't.†You know the demon. You may think you…
December 10, 2004
Poetic Divination "Lively Hope and Gracious Fear" by William Cowper I was a grovelling creature once, And basely cleaved to earth: I wanted spirit to renounce The clod that gave me birth. But God…
December 10, 2004
Exorcism and Blood
Find the demon. Do you know what I'm talking about? It's the little voice in the back of your head that's always whispering, “You can't.†You know the demon. You may think you hate the demon, but…
December 7, 2004
Poetic Divination "Passengers" by Billy Collins At the gate, I sit in a row of blue seats with the possible company of my death, this sprawling miscellany of people - carry-on bags and paperbacks -…
December 6, 2004
Song to You Just heard that Northwestern College's production of 'The Odyssey' has been held for consideration to be invited to the KCACTF Region V Festival XXXVII next January at the University of…
December 6, 2004
Song to You
Just heard that Northwestern College's production of 'The Odyssey' has been held for consideration to be invited to the KCACTF Region V Festival XXXVII next January at the University of Missouri-St.…
December 3, 2004
Persephone's Power When I got my new iBook, I was amazed to see that the battery when fully charged appeared to have about six hours of maximum capacity. I actually bought a second battery, assuming…
December 3, 2004
Poetic Divination "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday…
December 3, 2004
Persephone’s Power
When I got my new iBook, I was amazed to see that the battery when fully charged appeared to have about six hours of maximum capacity. I actually bought a second battery, assuming that it would have…
December 1, 2004
Poetic Divination "In Memory of M.B." by Anna Akhmatova Here is my gift, not roses on your grave, not sticks of burning incense. You lived aloof, maintaining to the end your magnificent disdain. You…
November 30, 2004
The Future of David Mamet The future doesn't exist. If you keep saying we have to do something because of the future, if you boil it down, it means we have to do this now because I'd like you to. The…
November 30, 2004
The Future of David Mamet
The future doesn't exist. If you keep saying we have to do something because of the future, if you boil it down, it means we have to do this now because I'd like you to. The future is a mythical…
November 29, 2004
Poetic Divination "Insomnia I" by Howard Nemerov Some nights it's bound to be your best way out, When nightmare is the short end of the stick, When sleep is a part of town where it's not safe To walk…
November 26, 2004
Sam Coughing "Are you okay?" "Yeah," "How's your stomach?" "Fine. Just dreaming." "What were you dreaming?" "About the last castle." "In your game?" "Yeah. Can I have a cup of water?" "Yes." (I go…
November 25, 2004
Winterly When I went into work this morning it was cold, but not too cold. The sky had an iron grey cast to it that I have learned to know very well. Winter. When I left tonight, about five inches of…
November 25, 2004
Winterly
When I went into work this morning it was cold, but not too cold. The sky had an iron grey cast to it that I have learned to know very well. Winter. When I left tonight, about five inches of snow had…
November 24, 2004
Books for Kids Listen. Go here and click to give a kid a book. It's free and, really, you're doing something remarkable without actually having to do something remarkable. And don't forget about it.…
November 24, 2004
Books for Kids
Listen. Go here and click to give a kid a book. It's free and, really, you're doing something remarkable without actually having to do something remarkable. And don't forget about it. Keep going…
November 23, 2004
Mrs. Frisby All night, Vincent's been sitting by the bookshelf. He's been poking his nose into the shelves and mewing and generally being a pest. During dinner, I said to my daughter "What's he…
November 23, 2004
Welcome Just a quick note to say hello to Louis Sirois, new to this world since five o'clock tonight. And congratulations to Tanya and Pierre. There's nothing better than this, it's what we were made…
November 23, 2004
Learned today... ...that hazelnuts are hollow inside. There's a little three-chambered heart at eh center of them. And it's the twenty-third of November today.
November 23, 2004
Learned today…
...that hazelnuts are hollow inside. There's a little three-chambered heart at the center of them. And it's the twenty-third of November today.
November 23, 2004
Welcome
Just a quick note to say hello to Louis Sirois, new to this world since five o'clock tonight. And congratulations to Tanya and Pierre. There's nothing better than this, it's what we were made for.…
November 23, 2004
Mrs. Frisby
All night, Vincent's been sitting by the bookshelf. He's been poking his nose into the shelves and mewing and generally being a pest. During dinner, I said to my daughter "What's he looking for?" She…
November 22, 2004
Odyssey Over Back home after a quick-but-very-nice trip to Iowa to see the opening of 'The Odyssey'. Sleep now, post more later...
November 22, 2004
Odyssey Over
Back home after a quick-but-very-nice trip to Iowa to see the opening of 'The Odyssey'. Sleep now, post more later...
November 20, 2004
Talkback Early on, when I was still in college, I was fortunately to have one of my plays produced. There was a talkback afterwards and someone in the audience asked me what the play meant. I'd been…
November 20, 2004
Talkback
Early on, when I was still in college, I was fortunately to have one of my plays produced. There was a talkback afterwards and someone in the audience asked me what the play meant. I'd been prepared…
November 19, 2004
Performance The show is terrific. The performers are on it and the Director has done a huge amount of work. It's amazing what they put together in four weeks of rehearsal. I had no idea how funny…
November 19, 2004
Spiritus Interruptus Eventually, I head off from the potluck full of homemade Indian food. The Director asked us to show up early at the theatre to join in with the cast's pre-show prayer and I don't…
November 19, 2004
Lockput I escape with my life after the afternoon writing workshop and head back over to the hotel to primp and prepare for opening night. No jitters, not worried at all. The faculty potluck is a…
November 19, 2004
Casting Call We follow Bob, the Director, through a maze of students, hallways, paths, across streets. Students are everywhere and I come down from my post-lecture giddiness to feel a bit old.…
November 19, 2004
Morning and the Maze I spend about two hours in the morning trying to figure out what time it is and if I'm late for my breakfast with the Director. Because it's so early, most of this is done if the…
November 19, 2004
Layover Plenty of time in Minneapolis for a steak and a pint of Newcastle. I wonder, for the hundredth time, why gay men find Friday's such an appealing work environment. I assume it's the snappy…
November 19, 2004
Morning and the Maze
I spend about two hours in the morning trying to figure out what time it is and if I'm late for my breakfast with the Director. Because it's so early, most of this is done if the dark, fumbling with…
November 19, 2004
Lockput
I escape with my life after the afternoon writing workshop and head back over to the hotel to primp and prepare for opening night. No jitters, not worried at all. The faculty potluck is a bigger…
November 19, 2004
Spiritus Interruptus
Eventually, I head off from the potluck full of homemade Indian food. The Director asked us to show up early at the theatre to join in with the cast's pre-show prayer and I don't want to disappoint…
November 19, 2004
Performance
The show is terrific. The performers are on it and the Director has done a huge amount of work. It's amazing what they put together in four weeks of rehearsal. I had no idea how funny the play was.…
November 19, 2004
Layover
Plenty of time in Minneapolis for a steak and a pint of Newcastle. I wonder, for the hundredth time, why gay men find Friday's such an appealing work environment. I assume it's the snappy vests -- or…
November 19, 2004
Casting Call
We follow Bob, the Director, through a maze of students, hallways, paths, across streets. Students are everywhere and I come down from my post-lecture giddiness to feel a bit old. College was a long,…
November 18, 2004
A Ring of Moons Getting out of town on time proves to be a challenge. Even leaving work early, I'm rushing to get the last few things in my various bags. The phone rings four times on my way home, a…
November 18, 2004
A Ring of Moons
Getting out of town on time proves to be a challenge. Even leaving work early, I'm rushing to get the last few things in my various bags. The phone rings four times on my way home, a friend in need.…
November 16, 2004
Disappointed (but not really) I just put two-and-two together to realize that the Gaiman/Sandman convention Fiddler's Green wasn't in conflict with the opening of my adaptation of 'The Odyssey' in…
November 10, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Writer's Prayer" by Neil Gaiman Oh Lord, let me not be one of those who writes too much; who spreads himself too thinly with his words, diluting all the things he has to say,…
November 2, 2004
The Onion | Election 2004 Comprehensive Everything you wanted to know about the election, courtesy of The Onion. I'm done for now, I promise...
November 2, 2004
The Onion | Voting Tips ...Remember to take the day off to vote. And the day before, to psyche up. And the morning after, to dry out. ...If you live in Florida, for Christ's sake, look at the ballot…
November 2, 2004
The Onion | GOP GOTV Efforts with Minorities MIAMI, FL—With the knowledge that the minority vote will be crucial in the upcoming presidential election, Republican Party officials are urging blacks,…
November 2, 2004
Pollwatching Yahoo News has a nice little page running throughout the day with snapshots from a polling place in Michigan. Given all of the hype and battle that's led up to today, it's nice to be…
November 2, 2004
Poetic Divination "Stetson Kennedy" by Woody Guthrie I done spent my last three cents Mailing my letter to the President Didn't make a show, I didn't make a dent So I'm swinging over to this…
November 1, 2004
Daylight Savings Fiction Woken this morning at 4 AM by old DNA set to non-daylight-savings-time. I got up and made myself a cup of tea and finished off the last forty pages or so of Susanna Clarke's…
November 1, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Ritual to Read to Each Other" by William Stafford If you don't know the kind of person I am and I don't know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in…
October 31, 2004
Samhain At this time the spirits of the dead and those yet to be born walked amongst the living. The dead could return to the places where they had lived and food and entertainment were provided in…
October 27, 2004
Sam Coughing
"Are you okay?" "Yeah," "How's your stomach?" "Fine. Just dreaming." "What were you dreaming?" "About the last castle." "In your game?" "Yeah. Can I have a cup of water?" "Yes." (I go and get it for…
October 23, 2004
XXIII And today was the twenty-third of October.
October 22, 2004
Six Pomegranate Seeds She came today. I was out of the office, so Tracy phoned me special to tell me she had arrived. So later in the day, once we'd gotten back from Hastings and ballet lessons were…
October 20, 2004
Cucking Fomputer II Now heading into Week Two without a computer -- that means working on a temporary machine during the day and being unplugged every night and all weekend. In other words, Hell.…
October 18, 2004
Radio Free Fusionary For all of you out there in West Michigan: As Minister of Propaganda here at Fusionary Media, I will be appearing on our local public radio station WGVU this afternoon from 4:30…
October 18, 2004
Cucking Fomputer In case you're wondering where I've been... A week ago, the hard drive on my computer failed. Although some documents were backed up, I pretty much lost everything . . . including…
October 8, 2004
The Moment Watching the debates and I believe that, with his answer on Supreme Court appointments, George Bush revealed how truly corrupt he is: "Plus, I want them all voting for me." Horrified. I…
October 7, 2004
Learned Today: Hogmanay Hogmanay is the Scots word for the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. Its official date is the 31st of December. However this is normally only the start of a…
October 7, 2004
Fiddling with the Odyssey While I'm disappointed that I can't make it to Fiddler's Green (the Sandman-themed convention, powerdork gathering, Gaiman block party), I'm very glad that the reason I…
October 7, 2004
Poetic Divination "Fall, leaves, fall" by Emily Jane Brontë Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; Lengthen night and shorten day; Every leaf speaks bliss to me Fluttering from the autumn tree. I…
October 6, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Garden" by Lee Robinson Now that the teenagers have taken the house - long legs, loud shoes, sarcastic tongues, their paraphernalia winding from chair to floor to stair like…
October 5, 2004
Lex Luthor vs. Dick Grayson If I had the time tonight, I'd dust off my Rhetorical Analysis training and take a look at the fundamentally different styles that Cheney and Edwards are employing in…
October 1, 2004
Quote of the Week "Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember but the story." -- Tim O'Brien Flub of the Week "You can't be Commander in Chief and send mexed…
September 30, 2004
Poetic Divination "Berryman" by W.S. Merwin I will tell you what he told me in the years just after the war as we then called the second world war don't lose your arrogance yet he said you can do…
September 28, 2004
The Library of Dreams This is one of those things that makes me long for a life without a budget. Two hundred dollars is a lot of things -- food, tuition, clothes, music, travel, medical bills,…
September 26, 2004
Poetic Divination "La Figlia che Piange" by T.S. Eliot Stand on the highest pavement of the stair— Lean on a garden urn— Weave, weave the sunlight in your hair— Clasp your flowers to you with a…
September 24, 2004
Quote of the Week "Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald (And vice versa, I suppose.) Fitzgerald might have been a drunk and a tyrant and a dilettante and the…
September 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "Do not stand at my grave and weep" by Mary E. Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on…
September 22, 2004
Left Behind While I was standing here browsing Amazon for Brewer's Dictionary of Miracles, I was surprised to hear NPR's Robert Siegel absolutely grilling John Kerry on the Bush Administration's…
September 16, 2004
Mama Don't Take My Monochrome Away This afternoon, Ryan stopped by my desk and said he was just checking to confirm that I really wasn't, as he had been told, wearing black today. He expressed some…
September 10, 2004
Use a Blog, Go to Prison Wait. Scratch that, reverse it. This guy is apparently doing quite a bit of blogging from jail. If you read the his journal, you feel sorry for him. If you read the article .…
September 9, 2004
Poetic Divination "Ordinary Life" by Barbara Crooker This was a day when nothing happened, the children went off to school without a murmur, remembering their books, lunches, gloves. All morning, the…
September 8, 2004
Orwell's ATM I was going to post something really intelligent, but all you get instead is: I like this story because it appeals to my dark, subversive side. And so, good night...
September 7, 2004
Finding the Red Square A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Neil Gaiman give a talk at the University of California Santa Barbara. This was at the height of 'The Sandman' and he spoke for a…
September 2, 2004
Learned Today: Contronym A contronym is a word that is its own antonym . . . such as "cleave" which means to join as well as to divide.
September 2, 2004
Poetic Divination: For Sharon And because today is my mother's birthday, here is "The Face Game" by T.M. Camp My mother has this game she plays. "There are two kinds of people in the world," she…
September 1, 2004
Prank You Notes It's probably a good thing that the Internet didn't exist when I was in high school (for many, many reasons) but this site is one of them. This guy cracks me up.;
August 31, 2004
Falling on the Face of the Earth Well . . . okay. I've been away for a while trying to make it through some hectic weeks at work and dealing with a fair amount of noise at home as well. It was one of…
August 31, 2004
Daddy Dear No too long ago, I had the same exact experience with two very different people. In each instance, the person I was with was holding my hand and ran their fingers along the back of my…
August 26, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet XVII by Pablo Neruda I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz, or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off. I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,…
August 24, 2004
"Christmas in August" Someday before I die, it is my dream to find out who signed me up for the Thomas Kinkaide e-mail newsletter and track them down like the evil little monster they are. By the…
August 24, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Valentine" by Edgar Allan Poe For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes, Brightly expressive as the twins of Leda, Shall find her own sweet name, that nestling lies Upon…
August 23, 2004
A Day Short I missed a post on it, but yesterday marked the birthdays of Dorothy Parker and Ray Bradbury. On his Science Fiction writing, Bradbury once said "I don't try to describe the future. I try…
August 22, 2004
"Knots" by T.M. Camp It’s a story they used to tell when I was young, at slumber parties we would gather round in the dark and then all of the old stories would be unwound dusted off and shared.…
August 19, 2004
Mockingbird I was sad to read this morning that Elmer Bernstein has died. He wrote over two hundred film scores but it's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' that I keep coming back to. It's one of those rare…
August 13, 2004
Poetic Divination "Touch Me" by Stanley Kunitz Summer is late, my heart. Words plucked out of the air some forty years ago when I was wild with love and torn almost in two scatter like leaves this…
August 10, 2004
Happy Birthday Up late tonight, too many things in my mind to let me sleep. I spent a few hours drawing pictures for the-story-that's-turned-out-to-be-less-of-a-story-and-more-of-a-comic-book-…
August 9, 2004
Poetic Divination "Halley's Comet" by Stanley Kunitz Miss Murphy in first grade wrote its name in chalk across the board and told us it was roaring down the stormtracks of the Milky Way at frightful…
August 6, 2004
Little Boy Eighty thousand people died instantly on this day in 1945 when the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima just after 8:15 in the morning. Sixty thousand more would…
August 4, 2004
Poetic Divination "Asia" from "Prometheus Unbound" by Percy Bysshe Shelley My soul is an enchanted boat, Which, like a sleeping swan, doth float Upon the silver waves of thy sweet singing; And thine…
July 28, 2004
One Fanboy's Story There's a new Batman cartoon starting this fall and I'm very geeked about it. I've been thinking about Batman a lot lately, what with the release of the first season of the…
July 23, 2004
Still And Today is the twenty-third of July.
July 21, 2004
Tenth Draft Tonight I finished and sent off the tenth draft of my adaptation of "The Odyssey" -- a few weeks back the director sent me a lot of notes, some major and some minor, to consider. I'm a…
July 13, 2004
Workplace Poetry "I am going..." by T.M. Camp I am going To rip my Fucking ears From my head And drive to The radio station To fling them Bloody and ragged Into the face Of the D.J. If I have to…
July 5, 2004
Ratchet and Clank Sam's playing a videogame in which he plays a mutant/alien cat looking guy who battles evil robots. At one point in the game, a video screen pops up with a female mutant/alien cat…
July 3, 2004
Learned Today You can get scuffmarks off of a hardwood floor with a pencil eraser (although it does take a lot of eraser).
June 25, 2004
1984 in 1949 and 2004 "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns. . . instinctively to long words and exhausted…
June 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "It Is Marvelous..." by Elizabeth Bishop It is marvelous to wake up together At the same minute; marvelous to hear The rain begin suddenly all over the roof, To feel the air clear…
June 22, 2004
Red Light District Tracy's possible red light romance has sadly flickered, inspiring Jack to explore coming up with Tracy-esque names for his all his "ex-whatevers" and I thought I might follow suit,…
June 22, 2004
Poetic Divination "Having Come This Far" by James Broughton I've been through what my through was to be I did what I could and couldn't I was never sure how I would get there I nourished an ardor for…
June 19, 2004
Closing Some Tabs on Cryptozoology, Cash, and Christians About the size of a fox, but with short brown hair and a long cat-like tail, it looked more like an animal in a National Geographic spread out…
June 16, 2004
The Conversation "I don't like deadlines." "Deadlines are good, my friend. They're the fence we build to protect the present from the future." (Pause.) "Okay." "I better write that down..."
June 14, 2004
I Can't Stop Loving You Why didn't anyone tell me that Ray Charles died? Seemed like every time I turned on the radio last week, they were blathering on about a funeral but it sure as hell wasn't…
June 3, 2004
Poetic Divination "An Asphodel" by Allen Ginsberg O dear sweet rosy unattainable desire ...how sad, no way to change the mad cultivated asphodel, the visible reality... and skin's appalling…
June 2, 2004
Birthday Porn To everyone who sent me kind wishes today, thank you. Unfortunately most of it was flagged as spam and rendered unreadable by the filtering software on the servers. I can understand why…
June 2, 2004
Poetic Divination Alone, Looking for Blossoms Along the River The sorrow of riverside blossoms inexplicable, And nowhere to complain -- I've gone half crazy. I look up our southern neighbor. But my…
June 1, 2004
Cleaning House Spent the weekend with Sam and Julia, just hanging out. Inbetween times, I worked on the latest episode in the teakids story and knocked off things on my to-do list for updating stuff…
June 1, 2004
BBC | Books to Get More Fun New Zealand researchers have developed a way to overlay detailed animations and images on textbooks, children's picture books and any other title that uses……
June 1, 2004
Simon Says "Fix that Chin" This is a fairly cool thing, taking the American Idol model and giving aspiring comic book artists a shot at the brass ring. Too bad they're not doing writers. I'd thought…
June 1, 2004
Get Your War On | Skirmishes and Apologies You know what thought woke me up at three in the morning last night? Rumsfeld, Feith, and Perle are actually more incompetent than they are evil. How the…
June 1, 2004
Rantz Killer This guy claims to be someone famous, writing an insiders-view-type-blog of Hollywood. Luke Wilson, perhaps. Or Ben Affleck. Possibly even George Clooney. I can't believe it's Clooney.…
June 1, 2004
laze.net | 200,000 Maury Fans Can't Be Wrong Apprently, Maury viewers are stupid. Real, real stupid if reading the comments on this post are any measuring stick. Maury has left the building, people.…
June 1, 2004
The Village Voice | Conspiracy Nation Barkun informs us that the "essence of conspiracy beliefs lies in attempts to delineate and explain evil." Ergo Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and most other…
May 28, 2004
Wasting Away At work, the conversation often turns to what junior high and high school would have been like if we had unlimited access to broadband, wireless internet connections. I expect that…
May 28, 2004
Really, Really Special Ops 'Operation Take One For The Country' (abbreviated OTOFTC) is a movement of like-minded women (women predominantly as of right now) who have covertly organized into groups…
May 28, 2004
Lennon's iPod Their sound defined a decade and spawned a thousand imitations, but a long lost jukebox owned by John Lennon has revealed that, when it came to musical inspiration, even the Beatles got…
May 28, 2004
Poetic Divination "Cobwebs" by Christina Georgina Rossetti It is a land with neither night nor day, Nor heat nor cold, nor any wind, nor rain, Nor hills nor valleys; but one even plain Stretches…
May 26, 2004
A King of Shreds and Patches Today is the birthday of Robert W. Chambers, author of The King in Yellow. There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an…
May 26, 2004
Bridger on Wilco Wilco is back and graphic designer Gabriel Bridger was there.
May 25, 2004
Slate | Exit, Stage Left To implement this exit strategy, we will have to practice running quickly. It is further recommended that, while running, the eyes be cast down, to avoid witnessing any…
May 25, 2004
Quote of the Day "Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste. It's what everything else isn't." -- Theodore Roethke Poetic Divination "Ask Me No More" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Ask me no…
May 24, 2004
Retraction: Spam Does Work! I've been getting spam for this damn thing for about three weeks. Today I accidentally clicked on the link and, well, after watching the demo . . . I have to say that want…
May 24, 2004
Spook Marketing While I was working through some new web copy at lunch, a thought came into my head and I scribbled it down as a possible bumper sticker: "The CIA: Making Bad Things Happen To Good…
May 24, 2004
Ain't Got No Spare, Ain't Got No Jack For some reason, I find myself turning to Tom Waits when the weather turns warm each year. Tom can get you through, no matter how muggy the evenings get or how…
May 23, 2004
Neverland "Dad," Julia asked when the movie was over. "How do you get to Neverland?" "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." "I wish I could go to Neverland." "I wish you wouldn't."…
May 21, 2004
And once again... Jack Baty ruins my day.
May 21, 2004
More on Torture and Fountain Pens The current song being played over the office webcast radio thingy is a version of "No Woman, No Cry" sung by a choir of women in what I assume is Chinese. I dreamt…
May 21, 2004
Museum of Hoaxes | Decepticons Among Us They say it's a hoax, but I read about it in last month's Esquire. No . . . wait, I didn't read about it in Esquire. It was one of those little pull out book…
May 21, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Child's Amaze" by Walt Whitman Silent and amazed, even when a little boy, I remember I heard the preacher every Sunday put God in his statements, As contending against some being…
May 21, 2004
The Return of Andy Kaufman Andy Kaufman faked his own death 20 years ago and has returned, alive and well. DNA tests prove that this is indeed the real Kaufman and not another hoax. Some fans are…
May 21, 2004
No Power Without Accountability Donald Rumsfeld has refused to comment on the recent round of photos showing inmates being subjected to various forms of intimidation and humiliation in a US-run…
May 20, 2004
Google Got Mail? Interesting. And, apparently, there's a lot of desperate people out there who want in on the action. For what it's worth, as an "active Blogger" I was offered an account.
May 18, 2004
Cicadas, The Silent Killers Protect yourself, protect your children.
May 18, 2004
Niue World Order Lots of people came to visit our buddy Fullmo a few weeks back. Some of them came from a place I'd never heard of before. (See, the CIA isn't just all fun and games. They're…
May 18, 2004
Seekers Beware I have no idea why the site search and archives are behaving so strange. Once I figure out who to blame (Blogger, Google, or me), I'll get it fixed.
May 18, 2004
Gas Prices in California... ...are really getting ridiculous.
May 18, 2004
Maddy's Dare There's a very good interview with Madeleine L’Engle over at Newsweek: I sometimes think God is a shit — and he wouldn’t be worth it otherwise. He’s much more interesting when…
May 17, 2004
Six Degrees of Wikipedia | Status to Persephone Her name has been explained as "she who destroys the light." a pre-Greek death goddess who was merged with the Greek Kore, a fertility goddess. Kore…
May 17, 2004
The Conversation Talking with my father... "...and I have some other interesting news." "Okay." "Your grandfather is getting married." (pause) "Really?" "Well, I missed it." "Missed what?" "I…
May 17, 2004
Calling Donald Rumsfeld | The Stanford Prison Experiment What suspects had done was to answer a local newspaper ad calling for volunteers in a study of the psychological effects of prison life. We…
May 17, 2004
The Ladder Nebula Hubble's sharp pictures show that the Red Rectangle is not really rectangular, but has an X-shaped structure, that astronomers interpret as arising from outflows of gas and dust…
May 17, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Sorrow Of Love" by William Butler Yeats The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves, The brilliant moon and all the milky sky, And all that famous harmony of leaves, Had blotted out…
May 14, 2004
Fanboy Awakens If you head over to the new site for the next Batman movie and click on the images of the Batmobile, you will get a look at some interesting (and maddeningly undetailed) images of the…
May 14, 2004
And... ...lest I forget to mention it, my birthday is next month. But what I really want for my birthday is for two new sites to be up and running. One of them is almost ready. And the other one…
May 14, 2004
The Hour of Babel Over at Mark Evanier's site he has some fairly intelligent things to say about weblogs and how they work (or don't work, as the case may be). With that in mind, it occurs to me that…
May 12, 2004
Wired | iPods and Fashion Lagerfeld confesses to owning 40 of the devices. Although at first glance the reader may assume he means a single 40-GB iPod, he meant what he said: He has 40 iPods. You…
May 12, 2004
fray.org | The Worm Within This could not be happening. This was not my life. I began panting, all alone in a locked cubicle in a half-decent restaurant with a dead tapeworm hanging out my ass. Ahhh…
May 12, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Kiss" by Sarah Teasdale I hoped that he would love me, And he has kissed my mouth, But I am like a stricken bird That cannot reach the south. For though I know he loves me,…
May 10, 2004
Poetic Divination "Rain" by Edward Thomas Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me Remembering again that I shall die And neither hear the rain nor give…
May 9, 2004
The Conversation Sitting in a coffee shop with Sam and Julia... Me: Well, you know what they say. Sam: What? Me: What? Sam: What do they say? Me: You don't know? Sam: No. Me: Oh. Sam: What? Me: I…
May 8, 2004
It's not too late... ...there's still time to send your Other Mother a card. (And if you don't know what an Other Mother is, you need to read Coraline
May 8, 2004
Renewing My Faith It took a lot, but this somewhat renewed my faith in Improvisational Theatre . . . but only somewhat. I'm contemplating a Midwestern appearance by Samuel Beckett sometime soon. All…
May 7, 2004
Power to the People Last Tuesday, our ISP lost part of their network, knocking out our T1 line and the 100 or so websites we host (inlcuding this one). I spent much of my time on the phone with…
May 7, 2004
In the Dogpen and Hell If this was a fountain pen, I'd ask for it for my birthday. Having a fountain pen shaped like an ancient god would either be very, very cool or painful to write with. And I…
May 6, 2004
And Speaking of Interactive Marketing... Pac-Man is back . I don't mind live-action recreations of classic games. I just hope they do Qix next.
May 6, 2004
Sit Down and Shut Up My horoscope, according to Yahoo: You feel and you think. You react and you handle with care. These days the stars perch you on that perfect balance point between logic and…
May 5, 2004
Poetic Divination "Changed" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow From the outskirts of the town, Where of old the mile-stone stood, Now a stranger, looking down I behold the shadowy crown Of the dark and…
May 4, 2004
All Spooks, All the Time This is the sort of thing that makes me love the internet more and more every day: Twenty-four hour a day broadband access to webcams set up to capture ghosts? Forget about…
May 4, 2004
Ireland's Eye is Blind Sorry Keeley, the Ghost Cam at Ireland's Eye is a hoax along with the rest of the story.
May 4, 2004
Everybody's a Critic We've been transitioning to IMAP mail protocol over the past week or so. I discovered this afternoon that somehow Entourage decided that all mail from T.M. Camp was spam. All my…
May 4, 2004
Nothing's Free Well, it looks like Nth Dimension and Vers Libre are gone for good. Which makes me very sad. Their Random Daily Poem feature was by far the best one I'd found out there. And they had a…
May 4, 2004
Poetic Divination "Lights" by Sarah Teasdale When we come home at night and close the door, Standing together in the shadowy room, Safe in our own love and the gentle gloom, Glad of familiar wall and…
April 30, 2004
The Truth About Cats And Dogs I bought a new pair of shoes a week or so ago. Well, not "new" -- I got them at a thrift store for ten bucks. They're the first pair of non Doc Martens I've had in…
April 30, 2004
Enter Vince The kids and I picked up Vince last night from the animal shelter and took him home. I didn't want him to get too overwhelmed, so I put the pet carrier in the bathroom and left the door…
April 30, 2004
Pilgrim Days "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -- Annie Dillard Today is her birthday.
April 29, 2004
"You Must Be Mad... ...or you wouldn't be here." If you're in Los Altos this weekend (or next), you might consider going to see a play.
April 28, 2004
A Writer's Life Seems like everyone is thinking about writing these days. Over at Gaiman's site, Neil talks about that sleepwalker-like mood that sets in when the work starts to hum along on its…
April 28, 2004
The Conversation "Can I go home?" "No." "Seriously, I think this would be better if we all went home." "Actually, I think this would be better with whiskey." "Well, yeah, what isn't better with…
April 28, 2004
Selby's Last Exit When I ran out this afternoon for lunch, I caught the tail end of an interview on NPR's Fresh Air. And I sat there, stunned to hear a capital-W Writer talking about their work and…
April 28, 2004
Currently Playing Right now the office webcast radio (courtesy of, I believe Radio IO) is playing a song off Wilco's unreleased album 'A Ghost Is Born' -- which is probably illegal. I'd report it to…
April 26, 2004
...with my head in a sad taking... There's just not enough hours in the day. I have calls from California to return -- some of them deserve hours at least, but I expect I'll end up writing letters to…
April 26, 2004
...handsome, though not gaudy... And over at Sam's Blog, a king has just been crowned: ...and if ever I was foxed it was now, which I cannot say yet, because I fell asleep and slept till morning.…
April 26, 2004
Quote of the Week "Shadows are like doors, the doors of not-doing. You may say that there is movement in them, or you may say that the lines of the world are shown in them, or you may say that…
April 26, 2004
Origami + Math = Paper Geeks David Huffman has been creating some very complex and original folded structures. He works with both straight and curved folds, using mathematical techniques that he has…
April 26, 2004
Mnemonic Possession The company said: "Of the 172 office workers surveyed many explained the origin of their passwords, such as 'my team - Spurs,' 'my name - Charlie,' 'my car -minicooper,' 'my cat's…
April 26, 2004
In Texas, Everything is Big -- uh, I mean Mutated Spooky. Texas is spooky.
April 26, 2004
uiweb.com | Smart Managers, Smart People Everyone is talented. Certainly not everyone is as talented as everyone else, but every individual has certain things they are good at, and certain things…
April 26, 2004
Little Fristies And this article explains why the local animal shelter is asking for eight references before it will allow me to adopt a cat.
April 26, 2004
Hoping for Vincent For the past few months I've been talking with Sam and Julia about the possibility of getting a cat. Actually, what happened was I mentioned something about it back in December…
April 23, 2004
I am Jack's Imaginary Tiger Someone over at Whatever-Dude has posted an essay on the parallels between 'Calvin and Hobbes' and 'Fight Club'.
April 23, 2004
Bug Mode Sitting here at work this afternoon. Sam and Julia are in the conference room playing games over on Cartoon Network. Every few minutes, Julia comes out to bring me another drawing -- bugs…
April 23, 2004
Strange Wars As Mark Evanier reports, there's quite a flap going on over the latest Doonesbury strip. In a strange parallel, it appears that... ...while B.D. undergoes his ordeal in Iraq, former NFL…
April 23, 2004
Many Thanks... ...to the people who pointed out that the new Wilco album 'A Ghost is Born' has already seen an (ahem) unofficial release online and that the band came up with a creative way for…
April 23, 2004
The Only Man Among Us Today is the birthday of William Shakespeare. In addition to his birthday, today is also the day Shakespeare died. So light a candle tonight and blow it out, commemorate and…
April 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "Love's Secret" by William Blake Never seek to tell thy love, Love that never told can be; For the gentle wind does move Silently, invisibly. I told my love, I told my love, I told…
April 23, 2004
Twenty-Three Today is the twenty-third of April. (But I take no responsibility for 23's fotolog...)
April 22, 2004
The Revelation of St. Angus What would happen if history were to infringe upon fiction? Would the writer, who originally wrote this fiction work own history itself? Or would others be able to deny…
April 22, 2004
Kentucky Correctional Guestbook If you've ever wondered what kinds of people got to prison in Kentucky, this is the site for you. I'd recommend the Guest Book listing above for great comic writing,…
April 22, 2004
Tweedy Enters Rehab Apparently his longstanding bout with migraines -- notably seen in the documentary 'I Am Trying to Break Your Heart' -- has taken it's toll on the Wilco frontman/songwriter.…
April 22, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Meeting With Despair" by Thomas Hardy As evening shaped I found me on a moor Which sight could scarce sustain: The black lean land, of featureless contour, Was like a tract in…
April 20, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Dream" by Edgar Allen Poe In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of joy departed- But a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken-hearted. Ah! what is not a dream…
April 19, 2004
T.M. vs. The Tick Pulling a comb through Julia's hair last night after her bath, the comb just stopped suddenly and caught on something. "Hold still, sweetie..." I start lifting her hair away to look…
April 19, 2004
All in the Family Making lunches this morning with Julia... "Are you looking forward to going back to school?" "Yeah, I need to talk to my teachers." "What about?" "Oh, I've been working on a couple…
April 19, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Night" by Hilaire Belloc Most Holy Night, that still dost keep The keys of all the doors of sleep, To me when my tired eyelids close Give thou repose. And let the far lament of…
April 17, 2004
Wired | Brother, Can You Spare a Gold Piece? "It's going to be hard, because I still have this inventory and because I'll have to be selling (it)," he says. "And I know that people are going to be…
April 17, 2004
Rich + Lawrence = Iraq? "Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators." -- General Stanley Maude, Baghdad in 1917 Frank Rich over at the New York…
April 15, 2004
Sapphire Waterless Water Okay, you know . . . just when you figure you can count on things never changing like (for instance) water always being wet, those jagoffs from Tyco come along and...
April 15, 2004
All I Need is Grace Kelly and a Camera Woke up at about three o'clock in the morning feeling like someone had punched a hole through the muscle of my right leg. It wasn't a cramp, it wasn't a muscle…
April 14, 2004
The Conversation: Polynesian Programmers Me and Jack and Steve in a meeting... Me: "What's 'wiki' mean?" Jack: "I think it comes from the Hawaiian word for 'quick' or something." Me: "Wiki is a fun…
April 14, 2004
Immortal Geisha I instantly needed to know more about Geisha, living national treasures. Being somewhat artistically inclined myself, I found myself drawn to these mysterious women. In particular, I…
April 14, 2004
My Robot More from TIMEasia: Japanese personalize their machines. They give names to their office PCs and printers, their factory robots, their cell phones, CD players and Game Boys. Such playful…
April 14, 2004
Poetic Divination "Disabled" by Wilfred Owen He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark, And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey, Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park Voices of boys rang…
April 14, 2004
TIMEasia.com | Ten New Gizmos Maybe it's just me, but none of the 10 Smartest Machines in the photo essay catch my attention. Don't get me wrong, despite my absolute hatred of my cell phone (What I…
April 13, 2004
The Conversation: Social Justice and Band-Aids "Hey, I like these new band-aids. They blend in really well." "Well yeah, on you maybe." "I don't care about anyone else." "Well..." "...yeah, I've…
April 13, 2004
Foxrock, 1906 "Where I am, I don't know, I'll never know, in the silence you don't know, you must go on, I can't go on, I'll go on." -- Samuel Beckett I once had a dream that I was sitting…
April 13, 2004
Poetic Divination "From an Essay on Man" by Alexander Pope Heav'n from all creatures hides the book of fate, All but the page prescrib'd, their present state: From brutes what men, from men what…
April 13, 2004
Jack's... ...back. Welcome home. ("Anomaly" my ass. I was trying to be funny...)
April 12, 2004
20 Questions Seriously, I found this quite amazing. I went through fifteen different common things and the computer got each of them expect for three ("table salt" and "an orgasm" and "a skunk").…
April 12, 2004
"lego minifigures having sex" Somehow, I've made the top ten on Google for this search term. Which not only means that someone was looking for this, but that they also felt that my site might have…
April 12, 2004
The Naked Language All I can say is, at least they didn't make a serif font. (To understand the joke, type a name/word into the box and hit 'send' to view it, um, rendered in naked people.)
April 12, 2004
Cell Phone Study: Mind if I talk? Jack is on vacation, so it's up to me to carry the torch for all things geeky. This quote and link from usability guru Jakob Nielsen is about as close as I can get…
April 12, 2004
The Conversation: Mamet in the Workplace "Can you please call the place and let them know I have a package to pick up?" "Sure." "My iPod broke." "You broke it?" "No." "It broke by itself?" "No."…
April 12, 2004
Poetic Divination "Nature" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow As a fond mother, when the day is o'er, Leads by the hand her little child to bed, Half willing, half reluctant to be led, And leave his…
April 12, 2004
A Merry Life In several places, I asked women whether they would sell me their children, but they denied me all, but said they would give me one to keep for them, if I would. Seriously, if you're not…
April 12, 2004
Some Thoughts on the Movement of the Earth and Other Heresies "The authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -- Galileo Galilei Today is the anniversary of…
April 12, 2004
Who's That Boy? Man, that Jeremy kid knows everybody... (This is either one father's strange obsession to brush his baby up against greatness as often as possible, or it's an ongoing attempt to…
April 9, 2004
The Conversation: The Otter Box "If you had a waterproof, shockproof box, what would you keep in it?" "Um . . . Crackers?" "Okay." "Matches . . . tampons?" "Okay." "Are you going to write about this…
April 9, 2004
Leave the Door Open for Pan
"Yeah, I get to take Sam and Julia out for dinner tonight. Their mom is having like twenty people over for a Passover seder." "A what?" "A seder." "A satyr?" "Yeah, a seder. You know what Passover…
April 9, 2004
An Eye on the Latest Fashion Trend The procedure involves inserting a 3.5 mm (0.13 inch) wide piece of specially developed jewellery -- the range includes a glittering half-moon or heart -- into the…
April 9, 2004
The Conversation: A Special "With Clients" Edition "So, how many new people have you got now?" "Oh, there's Jeremy, Jay, and Dan. So three altogether." "Poor Tracy, she's the only woman at…
April 9, 2004
If I Really Loved My Brother... ...I'd buy him the "Fight Communism Now" billboard that's for sale here (although I might just keep it for myself).
April 9, 2004
Poetic Divination "Her Hair" by Charles Baudelaire O fleece, that down the neck waves to the nape! O curls! O perfume nonchalant and rare! O ecstasy! To fill this alcove shape With memories that in…
April 9, 2004
Surrender "Boys, I have done the best I could for you. Go home now, and if you make as good citizens as you have soldiers, you will do well, and I shall always be proud of you. Goodbye, and God bless…
April 8, 2004
Poetic Divination "A doubt if it be Us" by Emily Dickinson A doubt if it be Us Assists the staggering Mind In an extremer Anguish Until it footing find. An Unreality is lent, A merciful Mirage That…
April 7, 2004
Poetic Divination "Afternoon in February" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The day is ending, The night is descending; The marsh is frozen, The river dead. Through clouds like ashes The red sun flashes…
April 6, 2004
Odysseus and Alice A few weeks back, the director who asked me to take a look at adapting Homer's 'The Odyssey' read through the ninth draft and wondered if maybe there might be some kind of prologue…
April 6, 2004
Where's Waldo (and Ralph)? While I was waxing rhapsodic about fine vintage fountain pens (that's enough links for now), a piece of junk mail got delivered for some sort of male enhancement drug.…
April 6, 2004
Parker Duofold c. 1941 And over at Wikipedia today, the featured article was one on Fountain Pens, which led me to some very interesting sites. Seriously. While some guys stay up late and surf porn…
April 5, 2004
"...it being a brave moonshine..." The moon is out this evening, very large and very bright. One of those moons that, while driving, you see it thundering along at the horizon and say "Oh, my……
April 5, 2004
Who Killed Kurt Cobain? This website exists for the reader to view the information surrounding this case and in hope that a proper investigation will be conducted so that Kurt's fans and his…
April 5, 2004
Poetic Divination "October" by Hilaire Belloc Look, how those steep woods on the mountain's face Burn, burn against the sunset; now the cold Invades our very noon: the year's grown old, Mornings are…
April 2, 2004
Is it Saturday yet? At home this morning, Julia asks "Dad, what's that stuff on your dresser?" "What stuff?" "The gold stuff." "What gold stuff?" "The gold stuff in the bottle." "Oh. It's cologne."…
April 2, 2004
Zombie Technology I have just spent two hours trying to find a way to move files from my Newton 2000 (yeah, you heard me) to my OS X laptop. No fucking dice. I love the Newton and, for the longest…
April 1, 2004
Sarlacs Suck Over the past few weeks, I've been watching the original Star Wars trilogy with the kids. Sam saw it a long time ago but he doesn't remember very much of it and this is Julia's first…
April 1, 2004
April is the Foolest Month Over at the Museum of Hoaxes, they've got a list of the top 20 greatest April Fools Jokes of all time. My personal favorite is number thirteen, but I've always had a soft…
April 1, 2004
Poetic Divination Fragment 31 V by Sappho In my eyes he matches the gods, that man who sits there facing you--any man whatever-- listening from closeby to the sweetness of your voice as you talk,……
March 31, 2004
Ghost Town "Everthing is not real, like painted..." There's very little I can say about this story. I'm still off-center from reading it. It's all true: One woman's motocycle ride through Chernobyl…
March 31, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet 75 by Edmund Spenser One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Agayne I wrote it with a second hand, But came the tyde, and made my…
March 30, 2004
The Conversation, part 63 In a meeting with Jack... "So I figure I can just make it a 'New Quote' button and get rid of all that other stuff on the screen." I nod, writing on a pad of paper.…
March 30, 2004
Poetic Divination "Hysteria" by T.S. Eliot As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her teeth were only accidental stars with a talent for…
March 30, 2004
Act Your Age Over at his Museum of Conceptual Art Earl has posted a nice little engine that lets you enter your age and see, quite clearly, how you so far have failed to measure up to the real…
March 29, 2004
FinanceAsia.com | Hard Hitting News from the Head Office... I used to work with a writer who would always try to fit their name into anything that they were doing (a brochure, a presentation), using…
March 29, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Lecture Upon The Shadow" by John Donne Stand still, and I will read to thee A lecture, love, in love's philosophy. These three hours that we have spent, Walking here, two shadows…
March 26, 2004
Scientific American | The Dashboard for Dreams "It could be that dreams are diagnostic," Wegner suggests. "They may be important indicators of what we try not to think of during the day." Well, okay…
March 26, 2004
New Scientist | The Sixth Extinction This kind of takes the edge off of that urgent client phone call I just got: "Hey pal, update your own damn site, the Brit's butterfiles are dying..." We . . .…
March 26, 2004
Poetic Divination "Acquainted with the Night" by Robert Frost I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I…
March 26, 2004
Keeping Abreast of New Trends in Beverage Marketing From time to time, the conversation here turns to the subject of milk, meat, and other topics mammalian. I don't remember who first asked me if I'd…
March 26, 2004
The T-shirt of the Christ Although I'm half-Irish and I have a fairly good alibi, I want one of these. And on that note, I'm going to bed...
March 25, 2004
Persephone It's suddenly warm outside. There's a damp smell everywhere and rain over the past few days has pushed back the last shreds of winter. There are birds now, again -- battling back and…
March 25, 2004
Poetic Divination "Japanese Beetles" by April Parish 130 minutes for us to sit in silence the sun burns my face so I turn away wishing you would speak but knowing every word you're thinking scares……
March 24, 2004
Poetic Divination "To An Old Mate" by Henry Lawson Old Mate! In the gusty old weather, When our hopes and our troubles were new, In the years spent in wearing out leather, I found you unselfish and…
March 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "Door in the Dark" by Robert Frost In going from room to room in the dark, I reached out blindly to save my face, But neglected, however lightly, to lace My fingers and close my…
March 22, 2004
Time Travel Dilemma Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber were both born on this day (although on different years). Kind of brings new life to the "If you had a gun with only one bullet in it..."…
March 22, 2004
"I Am Not Yours" by Sarah Teasdale I am not yours, not lost in you, Not lost, although I long to be Lost as a candle lit at noon, Lost as a snowflake in the sea. You love me, and I find you still A…
March 18, 2004
Who is Joel Furr? I didn't know and I didn't care. Oddly enough, once I got to the end of the FAQ on his site, I found that I did care. Just a little bit (although I'm baffled by the strange…
March 18, 2004
The Bloopers of The Christ Whatever you or I might think of him, Mel Gibson appears to be a guy with a good sense of humor. And, having logged a little bit of time onstage, I know how hard it can be…
March 17, 2004
The Truth Hurts | www.improvsucks.com Improv is the Special Olympics of comedy. People don't attend expecting to see a great performance, they attend expecting to see a friend or family member do…
March 17, 2004
Poetic Divination "An Epilogue" by John Masefield I had seen flowers come in stony places And kind things done by men with ugly faces, And the gold cup won by the worst horse at the races, So I…
March 16, 2004
Gonads and Strife I hate to admit it, but it was a suicide bomber that led me here.
March 16, 2004
Act of Terrorism or Political Attack Ad? It's coming out now that it is possible that the recent attacks in Spain were coordinated to coincide with (and influence) that country's elections, as a…
March 15, 2004
Terroir Saturday is an easy day. Jim leaves early, heading back south to continue his work for Fascism, er, the Republican Party. I struggle my way through yet another draft of 'The Odyssey'…
March 13, 2004
Noonan Right, apologies to all of you out there who are saying "That jerk came out here and didn't even call me..." -- it really was a trip to see family, to spend time with my brothers. Next time,…
March 12, 2004
She Fell in Love with the Drummer Before I get started I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Gloria, Lexi, and all of the other women who had to share the Shields bar last night with me…
March 11, 2004
I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea My brothers called me from California and said: "Hey, Elvis Costello is playing in a few weeks. If we sent you a plane ticket, would you come out?" So I'm off to…
March 6, 2004
Winterset They say . . . they say it will snow tomorrow.
March 5, 2004
Constantine's Excellent Adventure This is terrible news. This is bad, for so many reasons. Keanu as John Constantine? Ugh.
March 5, 2004
Poetic Divination "Ah! Sun-Flower" by William Blake Ah, Sun-flower! weary of time, Who countest the steps of the Sun, Seeking after that sweet golden clime Where the traveller's journey is done:…
March 4, 2004
For What It's Worth I think we're very cool.
March 4, 2004
For What It's Worth I think we're very cool.
March 4, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Cradle Song" by William Butler Yeats The angels are stooping Above your bed; They weary of trooping With the whimpering dead. God's laughing in Heaven To see you so good; The…
March 3, 2004
Poetic Divination "To David, About His Education" by Howard Nemerov The world is full of mostly invisible things, And there is no way but putting the mind's eye, Or its nose, in a book, to find them…
March 3, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Summer Rain" by Henry David Thoreau My books I'd fain cast off, I cannot read, 'Twixt every page my thoughts go stray at large Down in the meadow, where is richer feed, And…
March 2, 2004
Tracy went... ...home early today, sick with the hantavirus: "Where you going, faker?" "I'm going home to die alone, surrounded by my cats." "Well, better now than thirty years from now." (God, I'm…
March 2, 2004
CLM: Good and Good for You "What was it exactly that made you break out?" "I dunno. Maybe the cheese." "Well, you know, milk is liquid meat. Which means that cheese is coagulated liquid meat." "Can I…
March 2, 2004
First I gotta get some eggs... "Self discipline has been a pleasure for me. I was a terrible student, I had a difficult time with chores and I hated every job I ever had. To make up your own stories…
March 2, 2004
Also Learned Today That some people are crazier than Mel Gibson.
March 2, 2004
Learned Today That Mel Gibson is crazy.
February 28, 2004
Poetic Divination "If" by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance…
February 27, 2004
Learned Today That a nice cup of freshly-brewed coffee is the key component to successfully faking your own death -- well, it's one of the key components. You're gonna need a corpse, too. Not yours,…
February 27, 2004
All I Need is a Handbasket "What're you doing this weekend?" "I was thinking about going to the movies." "What're you gonna see?" "I dunno. There's this new French cartoon that I hear is pretty good.…
February 27, 2004
AP | Martha Gets Off (kinda) A federal judge on Friday threw out the most serious charge against Martha Stewart, securities fraud, just before her trial goes to a jury. U.S. District Judge Miriam…
February 27, 2004
No . . . I don't believe it . . . it's not possible... Your appearance now is what we call 'residual self image'. It is the mental projection of your digital self. -- Lawrence Fishburne as Morpheus…
February 27, 2004
Poetic Divination "Dirge of the Three Queens" by William Shakespeare URNS and odours bring away! Vapours, sighs, darken the day! Our dole more deadly looks than dying; Balms and gums and heavy…
February 26, 2004
Learned Today That the symbolic meaning of the Lotus flower is mystery and estranged love.
February 26, 2004
My Arms Would Just Gather Dust 1. "Every Little Thing" by The Beatles 2. "Don't Leave Me Now" by Elvis Presley 3. "Cosmic Thing" by the B52's 4. "She's a Jar" by Wilco 5. The cha-cha version of "The…
February 26, 2004
A Mouse's Tale Tracy had a mouse. Actually, Tracy had chocolate bars. She was selling them for her nephew's school. One morning she came in and found that a couple of the chocolate bars had been…
February 26, 2004
Poetic Divination "Before the Birth of One of Her Children" by Anne Bradstreet All things within this fading world hath end, Adversity doth still our joys attend; No ties so strong, no friends so…
February 26, 2004
Diet Pepsi Tastes Like Robot Sweat In high school, for some reason I can no longer remember, Coca-Cola became an obsession of two or three of my friends. They refused any and all Pepsi products in…
February 25, 2004
Trying To Be Good By Not Being 'Round First fifteen... 1. "Been It" by The Cardigans 2. Ute Lemper's dreamy take on "La Vie En Rose" 3. Bill Frisell's jazz reconstruction of "What's Her Name Today"…
February 25, 2004
Poetic Divination "Winter" by William Shakespeare When icicles hang by the wall And Dick the shepherd blows his nail And Tom bears logs into the hall, And milk comes frozen home in pail, When Blood…
February 24, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Poet's Epitaph" by William Wordsworth Art thou a Statist in the van Of public conflicts trained and bred? --First learn to love one living man; 'Then' may'st thou think upon the…
February 24, 2004
With You On Top, And Me Underneath Today's first fifteen... 1. "Back to the Rivers of Belief" by Enigma 2. "Never Fall in Love Again" by Dionne Warwick 3. A very, very old live recording of Elvis…
February 24, 2004
Shadow, Mirror . . . Urinal? A marketing company here in town just landed a big contract with a urinal manufacturer, proudly announcing their new relationship in a local business paper. One of our…
February 23, 2004
Fond Relations Mouthing Words of Love and Tragedy Today's first fifteen... 1. "New York" by U2 2. "Enemies Foreign and Domestic" (Episode 62 of 'The West Wing') 3. "Peg and Awl" by The Carolina Tar…
February 23, 2004
MSNBC | Dark Energy Recent Hubble Space Telescope images of distant exploding stars add further confirmation to the permanence of a mysterious, repulsive force called dark energy that appears to…
February 23, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet 53 by William Shakespeare What is your substance, whereof are you made, That millions of strange shadows on you tend? Since everyone hath, every one, one shade, And you, but…
February 20, 2004
February Tapped Me On The Shoulder Today's First Fifteen... 1. "?Y Tu Que Has Hecho?" by Buena Vista Social Club 2. "Adagio E Cantibile" played by Glenn Gould 3. "Little Things Mean A Lot" sung by…
February 20, 2004
Learned Today Despite what they say, you can't freeze yogurt. Saying it may "undergo some changes in texture or taste" actually means it will "become a runny, stinky mess that resembles in both…
February 20, 2004
Poetic Divination "Echo" by Christina Georgina Rossetti Come to me in the silence of the night; Come in the speaking silence of a dream; Come with soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright As sunlight…
February 19, 2004
My Radar Screen Yesterday someone asked me what I've been working on lately (apart from not answering my e-mail at all) and so, well, here goes... ...my adaptation of Homer's 'The Odyssey' got a…
February 18, 2004
First Fifteen: Dreamy and Creamy and Brunette Curls Over at Neil Gaiman's website someone asked him to fire up his iPod and list the first fifteen songs that come up on shuffle play. It's an…
February 18, 2004
Poetic Divination "Remember" by Christina Georgina Rossetti Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go yet…
February 18, 2004
Sitting Among the Rafters "It is something -- it can be everything -- to have found a fellow bird with whom you can sit among the rafters while the drinking and boasting and reciting and fighting go…
February 16, 2004
Julia's String Theory She had a string hanging from the sleeve of her sweater and I pulled it off for her. Laying it on her shoulder, I said "Here sweetie, it can be your pet string." Yeah. I'm a…
February 16, 2004
Learned Today That sushi was invented by the French: In 1865, Tokyo, a Frenchman opened his french bakery in downtown Tokyo. But 100 years ago, Japanese did not understand western food, and therefore…
February 15, 2004
Poetic Divination "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour. A Robin Red…
February 14, 2004
Poetic Divination "Never Give All The Heart" by William Butler Yeats Never give all the heart, for love Will hardly seem worth thinking of To passionate women if it seem Certain, and they never……
February 13, 2004
Learned Today Valentine's Day was originally a fairly risky and (one can only hope) risque random pairing of men and women in ancient Rome to round out a festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god…
February 13, 2004
An Cat Dubh There's a black cat that prowls around the back of the building where I live. He's often out there -- not always, but I see him often -- early in the morning and late at night, slinking…
February 13, 2004
Poetic Divination "Enough" by Sarah Teasdale It is enough for me by day To walk the same bright earth with him; Enough that over us by night The same great roof of stars is dim. I do not hope to bind…
February 11, 2004
If it's an election year, it's time to re-read David Icke! "Okay, but the real reason I refuse to believe this shape-shifting reptile stuff is that it would give way too much credence to a Paula…
February 11, 2004
More Amazing Chalk Pictures There was a debate here at work a few weeks back that the first round of these pictures that I linked to were computer fakes. I'm in the camp of those who believe.
February 11, 2004
Learned Today: Military Combat Techniques Today I learned that "[b]efore any killing or disabling technique can be applied, the soldier must first gain and maintain dominant body position. The…
February 10, 2004
Semi-Appropriate Workplace Banter Me and Jack, talking up front at work... "See, you did that one all by yourself. You didn't need me at all." "I did. It was you doing your little twitchy that got me…
February 10, 2004
Poetic Divination "Words" by Sappho (tr. Barnard) Although they are only breath, words which I command are immortal (Make sure they carve this on a stone when they lay me down, my friends -- but may…
February 10, 2004
Learned Today Today I learned that legendary comics editor Julius Scwartz died on Sunday morning. I'd been with Sam and Julia all weekend and hadn't done my usual round of eavesdropping on Neil and…
February 10, 2004
Be My Anti-Valentine Just a few days left, send your anti-valentines today and avoid the rush...
February 7, 2004
Learned Today Following Mr. Baty's lead, here's what I learned today: The little x's that people put at the end of love notes to signify kisses come from an early European custom in which the…
February 6, 2004
Poetic Divination "Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" by Christopher Marlowe It lies not in our power to love or hate, For will in us is overruled by fate. When two are stripped, long ere…
February 4, 2004
Poetic Divination, Welcome, and Congratulations "The Family" by Katherine Mansfield Hinemoa, Tui, Maina, All of them were born together; They are quite an extra special Set of babies--wax and…
February 3, 2004
Please Stand By It appears that the search and archives aren't working properly right now. I'll take a look tonight...
February 3, 2004
Poetic Divination "Fate" by Ralph Waldo Emerson Deep in the man sits fast his fate To mould his fortunes, mean or great: Unknown to Cromwell as to me Was Cromwell's measure or degree; Unknown to him…
February 2, 2004
What's for sale on eBay this week? Well, it looks like someone already bought nothing but there's still time to find a girlfriend. (Whoever thought up the imaginary girlfriend auction should be…
February 2, 2004
State of the Union (remix) Way, way too easy. I'm surprised no one thought of doing this before. (Although, perhaps they did...)
February 2, 2004
Dan Wheeler's Happy Freaking Ray of Goddamn Sunshine Who says that comics aren't Art? ("The cookie's on your head!")
February 2, 2004
www.humanclock.com | What time is it? Very, very cool site.
February 2, 2004
This is London | Baby Dragon Found in Garage The dragon is flawless, from the tiny teeth to the umbilical cord. No matter how closely you look, you cannot tell if it is real. . . . It could be made…
February 2, 2004
Half Time with Half of Janet Was I offended by the sight of Janet Jackson's bare left breast on national television? Not really. I mean, lots of kids were watching and I think that parents should…
February 2, 2004
Poetic Divination "Poem I," by James Joyce Strings in the earth and air Make music sweet; Strings by the river where The willows meet. There's music along the river For Love…
January 31, 2004
Poetic Divination "A Dead Rose" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning O Rose! who dares to name thee? No longer roseate now, nor soft, nor sweet; But pale, and hard, and dry, as stubble-wheat,--- Kept seven…
January 30, 2004
Poetic Divination "Fly Like an Eagle" by Steve Miller Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future I want to fly like an……
January 29, 2004
marmot gain hematite jerome agrarian Another example of how spammers' randomly-generated subject lines are Dadaist poetry. See . . . it's the "jerome" that makes it Art.
January 29, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Other Tiger" by Jorge Luis Borges A tiger comes to mind. The twilight here Exalts the vast and busy Library And seems to set the bookshelves back in gloom; Innocent, ruthless,…
January 29, 2004
Snow Day Games All afternoon, Julia and Sam played The Game. They invented The Game a few weeks ago. It started off as, I suspect, a roleplay based on repeated viewings of 'The Pirates of the…
January 29, 2004
Conversation with IV Talked to my brother Scott tonight... "One of the best things about being a Liberal is that we can point out everything that's wrong without having the responsibility of finding…
January 28, 2004
A Grain of Fault An e-mail today made me step back for a few minutes to shake my head over how easily the truth can be magnified and distorted until it barely resembles it's purer self. Like the…
January 27, 2004
Lunch Conversation: Scent of a Woman "It smells like women in here." "No it doesn't." "Yes it does." "I've smelled women before and it really doesn't." "You smelled all of them?" "Uh . . . Do you…
January 27, 2004
Yup... ...it's snowing pretty hard and they say it's not going to stop anytime soon.
January 27, 2004
Poetic Divination "Prayer" by Galway Kinnell Whatever happens. Whatever what is is is what I want. Only that. But that. (courtesy of The Writer's Almanac)
January 27, 2004
Mytholgical Viagra? Every morning I go through my junk mail and sort through the messages promoting cheerleader sexuality, low interest rates, herbal Viagra, and the Democratic Party, just to see if…
January 26, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Art of Poetry" by Jorge Luis Borges To gaze at a river made of time and water And remember Time is another river. To know we stray like a river and our faces vanish like……
January 23, 2004
Martian Panoramics It's a big file and you're gonna need the QuickTime plug-in from Apple, but it's worth it . . . unless you've already seen a big, orange desert landscape before. Be sure to click…
January 23, 2004
Sidewalk Chalk This guy's a genius, an absolute genius.
January 23, 2004
www.annthenwhat.com | photoswapped Personally, I like the reptile cat the best. And the pandas. The pandas are cool. (Link courtesy of Mister Baty.
January 23, 2004
XXIII To Eris is human, to forgive divine...
January 23, 2004
Poetic Divination "Death the Leveller" by James Shirley The glories of our blood and state Are shadows, not substantial things; There is no armour against Fate; Death lays his icy hand on kings:…
January 21, 2004
Who am I searching for in this waste? Neglected to mention last week that there's now a search engine in place on the site. If you're looking for something I posted to the journal, that's a good…
January 21, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Cry of the Children" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Alas, alas! my children, why do you look upon me? - the Medea of Euripedes Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers,…
January 20, 2004
Uncle Robert on Gambling Spent forty-five minutes on the phone with my father's brother tonight, getting a quick overview of Craps and his technique for dice setting. Fascinating stuff and probably…
January 20, 2004
That's "Freedom Bread" to you, Chippy "I saw a squirrel this weekend, climbing a tree with a half-loaf of French bread in his mouth." "Really? Was he wearing a beret?" "No." "Did he have a little…
January 20, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet XLIII by George Santayana The candor of the gods is in thy gaze, The strength of Diane in thy virgin hand, Commanding as the goddess might command, And lead her lovers into…
January 18, 2004
Poetic Divination "Father Explains" by Czeslaw Milosz "There where that ray touches the plain And the shadows escape as if they really ran, Warsaw stands, open from all sides, A city not very old but…
January 15, 2004
For What It's Worth... There is a sense of achievement that comes with finishing something that is unlike anything else I know. There is no word for it: The feeling that one has clawed something…
January 14, 2004
NYT | Spaulding Gray is Missing I'm inclined to believe this is not a joke or a publicity stunt. But either way, it's bad news. The article ends with a particularly haunting image, somewhat…
January 14, 2004
Winter It's snowing...
January 14, 2004
Poetic Divination "My Hero Bares His Nerves" by Dylan Thomas My hero bares his nerves along my wrist That rules from wrist to shoulder, Unpacks the head that, like a sleepy ghost, Leans on my mortal…
January 14, 2004
Attention All Parents: This is a Public Service Announcement For anyone who went to the potluck at my kids' school last night, the temporary tattoos can be removed by laying duct tape over the image…
January 13, 2004
Poetic Divination "Spells and Incantations" by Wilfred Owen A vague pearl, a wan pearl You showed me once; I peered through far-gone winters Until my mind was fog-bound in that gem. Blue diamonds,…
January 10, 2004
Mood Indigo
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
January 9, 2004
Battle of the Bulge Watching the old Henson film 'Labyrinth' with the kids tonight. During the "Dance Magic Dance" song, Sam asked "Is that guy really singing?" "Yeah, that's David Bowie." "Oh." He…
January 9, 2004
George W. Hitler: A Holocaust Survivor's Perspective So far, I've seen nothing to eliminate the possibility that Bush is on the same course as Hitler. And I've seen far too many analogies to dismiss…
January 9, 2004
Scaryduck's Latest on Zombies If you're like me (and, boy, I sure am), you know what it means to love something with a passion so, um, passionate that society at large turns away from you faster than…
January 9, 2004
Poetic Divination "Confirmation" by Paul Laurence Dunbar He was a poet who wrote clever verses, And folks said he had a fine poetical taste; But his father, a practical farmer, accused him Of letting…
January 8, 2004
Pixelated And how did you spend your Christmas vacation, Mister Lewis?
January 8, 2004
Poetic Divination "Philomela" by Matthew Arnold Hark! ah, the nightingale-- The tawny-throated! Hark, from that moonlit cedar what a burst! What triumph! hark!--what pain! O wanderer from a Grecian…
January 7, 2004
Poetic Divination Sonnet XVIII: "With What Sharp Checks" by Sir Philip Sidney With what sharp checks I in myself am shent, When into Reason's audit I do go: And by just counts myself a bankrupt know…
January 5, 2004
Poetic Divination "The Convert" by G.K. Chesterton After one moment when I bowed my head And the whole world turned over and came upright, And I came out where the old road shone white, I walked the…
January 4, 2004
Welcome to Mars Impressed and inspired as I am by all of this (and I truly am), I just wish they'd picked a better, less New Century sounding name for the missions. I mean, "Spirit"? It's not like…
January 2, 2004
Poetic Divination "November Evening" by Lucy Maud Montgomery Come, for the dusk is our own; let us fare forth together, With a quiet delight in our hearts for the ripe, still, autumn weather,…
December 31, 2003
Jesus, is that you? Hmm . . . I wonder what a miraculous image of Our Lord could do for website sales?
December 31, 2003
Poetic Divination "A Good Night" by Francis Quarles Close now thine eyes and rest secure; Thy soul is safe enough, thy body sure; He that loves thee, He that keeps And guards thee, never slumbers,…
December 24, 2003
Danville My brother has a pool table and wireless broadband. So life is good.
December 24, 2003
Poetic Divination "To Age" by Walter Savage Landor Welcome, old friend! These many years Have we lived door by door; The fates have laid aside their shears Perhaps for some few more. I was indocile…
December 24, 2003
Godwatching "Who am I seeking in this waste?" After eight hours, three airplanes, and four airports, I have come to the conclusion that the Gods do not travel during the holidays. Which makes a kind…
December 23, 2003
In the Shadow of Mount Diablo The earthquake reports mention the Mount Diablo nuclear plant, so I thought I'd post a link with a bit on the history and myth surrounding the area considering how close…
December 23, 2003
Christmas in California Flying in to the Bay Area tomorrow evening...
December 22, 2003
What the hell..? Over the past week or so, there's been a handful of times when I've seen a little flag come up saying that someone is logging into my AIM account from a second location. Today I saw…
December 22, 2003
Poetic Divination "Les Lauriers Sont Coupée" by Elinor Morton Wylie Ah, love, within the shadow of the wood The laurels are cut down; some other brows May bear the classic wreath which Fame…
December 15, 2003
Poetic Divination "Give All To Love" by Ralph Waldo Emerson Give all to love; Obey thy heart; Friends, kindred, days, Estate, good-fame, Plans, credit, and the Muse,- Nothing refuse. 'Tis a brave…
December 11, 2003
Dialogue Me: "...so it looks like we did a good job in the meeting." Bryan: "Hey man, there's no 'we' here. It's all you." Me: "Y'know Bry, there's no 'I' in 'TEAM' . . . but let's not forget that it…
December 6, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Truth of Woman" by Sir Walter Scott Woman's faith, and woman's trust - Write the characters in the dust; Stamp them on the running stream, Print them on the moon's pale beam,…
December 3, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Frosted Pane" by Sir Charles GD Roberts One night came Winter noiselessly, and leaned Against my window-pane. In the deep stillness of his heart convened The ghosts of all his…
November 25, 2003
Poetic Divination Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be…
November 23, 2003
XIII And today is the twenty-third of November, of course.
November 23, 2003
Poetic Divination "A Farewell" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea, Thy tribute wave deliver: No more by thee my steps shall be, For ever and for ever. Flow, softly flow, by…
November 19, 2003
Poetic Divination "Hero-Worship" by Amy Lowell A face seen passing in a crowded street, A voice heard singing music, large and free; And from that moment life is changed, and we Become of more…
November 17, 2003
To Be Brief Have just returned from a rather long car trip to Chicago, taking the kids to see 'The Lion King' which was as beautiful (thanks to Julie Tamor) and horrible (thanks tp Disney) as I…
November 14, 2003
Poetic Divination "Faces In The Street" by Henry Lawson They lie, the men who tell us in a loud decisive tone That want is here a stranger, and that misery's unknown; For where the nearest suburb and…
November 13, 2003
Poetic Divination "Change Upon Change" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Five months ago the stream did flow, The lilies bloomed within the sedge, And we were lingering to and fro, Where none will track…
November 12, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Conqueror Worm" by Edgar Allan Poe Within the lonesome latter years! An angel throng, bewinged, bedight In veils, and drowned in tears, Sit in a theatre, to see A play of hopes…
November 11, 2003
Chicago
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
November 10, 2003
Poetic Divination and Happy Birthday "A Writer's Prayer" by Neil Gaiman Oh Lord, let me not be one of those who writes too much. Who spreads himself too thinly with his words diluting all the things…
November 9, 2003
Raiders of the Lost Ark Turns out, Sam's never seen it . . . so we rented it this weekend and, after Julia fell asleep each night, watched it in installments. I gotta say, The boy loved it. He now…
November 8, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Sound of the Sea" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The sea awoke at midnight from its sleep, And round the pebbly beaches far and wide I heard the first wave of the rising tide…
November 6, 2003
Poetic Divination "Song of a Second April" by Edna St Vincent Millay April this year, not otherwise Than April of a year ago, Is full of whispers, full of sighs, Of dazzling mud and dingy snow;…
November 5, 2003
The Devil You Know Tracy has posted a picture of me, in my Halloween costume. She caught me, up at the front desk at work and took my picture. Jack has one too, although not one that's quite so…
November 5, 2003
Poetic Divination "Interpretation" by Vikram Seth Somewhere within your loving look I sense, Without the least intention to deceive, Without suspicion, without evidence, Somewhere within your heart…
November 4, 2003
Poetic Divination "Grook About Faith, Love, etc." by Piet Hein She gave me hope she gave me love, with bounty unalloyed. But what she had of faith, alas, she gave to Freud.
November 2, 2003
Poetic Divination "Who Ever Loved That Loved Not at First Sight?" by Christopher Marlowe It lies not in our power to love or hate, For will in us is overruled by fate. When two are stripped, long ere…
November 1, 2003
Poetic Divination "Sonnet V" by George Santayana Dreamt I today the dream of yesternight, Sleep ever feigning one evolving theme - Of my two lives which should I call the dream? Which action vanity?…
October 31, 2003
Samhain Sitting on the porch, surrounded by pumpkins, handing out candy, drinking beer and reading the early poetry of Galway Kinnell. A kid just walked up, dressed in black, wearing black sunglasses…
October 31, 2003
www.retrocrush.com | Unhappy Halloween When I was growing up, most of the kids in my neighborhood were fairly uncreative. Instead of thinking long and hard about what you wanted to be for…
October 31, 2003
Blogjam | "One Giant Fucking Leap for Mankind" I think this proves conclusively that the moon landing was not, in fact, faked.
October 31, 2003
Poetic Divination "Tz'u No. 18" by Li Ch'ing Chao Thin mist, dense clouds, a grief-stricken day; auspicious incense burns in the gold animal. Once again, it is the joyous mid-autumn festival, but a…
October 30, 2003
Poetic Divination "Lady" by W.H. Auden Lady, weeping at the crossroads Would you meet your love In the twilight with his greyhounds, And the hawk on his glove? Bribe the birds then on the branches…
October 29, 2003
Marry Your Pet So, you adore your pet, consult him when channel switching and give him fresh fish every Sunday. But if you really love him and you're in this for life, isn't it time you married your…
October 29, 2003
Poetic Divination "Guides for the Soul" by Dick Davis Who thickens from the shadows as you die? Who silences your comprehending cry? Emblem of all you lost and now inherit, What psychopomp attends…
October 28, 2003
California I used to live there. I never much cared for it and, even now, there's only a handful of places I'll spare when the great quake comes: the city of San Francisco, the town of Santa Barbara…
October 28, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Wayfarer" by Sara Teasdale Love entered in my heart one day, A sad, unwelcome guest; But when he begged that he might stay, I let him wait and rest. He broke my sleep with…
October 27, 2003
CNN | Lightning Strikes Twice Actor Jim Caviezel, who plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of Christ" was struck by lightning during shooting. Caviezel was uninjured, but a…
October 27, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Rainy Pleiads Wester" by A.E. Housman The rainy Pleiads wester, Orion plunges prone, The stroke of midnight ceases And I lie down alone. The rainy Pleiads wester, And seek…
October 27, 2003
Verse Libre Looks like they're back up and running after nearly two months of being down. Random poems for everyone!
October 25, 2003
Poetic Divination "Mutability" by Percy Bysshe Shelley We are the clouds that veil the midnight moon; How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver, Streaking the darkness radiantly!--yet soon…
October 24, 2003
Poetic Divination "On the Night of a Friend's Wedding" by Edwin Arlington Robinson If ever I am old, and all alone, I shall have killed one grief, at any rate; For then, thank God, I shall not have…
October 23, 2003
Poetic Divination "Flower of Love" by Oscar Wilde Sweet, I blame you not, for mine the fault was, had I not been made of common clay I had climbed the higher heights unclimbed yet, seen the fuller…
October 23, 2003
Twenty-Three Today is the twenty-third of October. And it always will be.
October 23, 2003
Venus Foot Trap ...when the old athlete's foot infestation was at its worst, bits (yea, even chunks) of skin were peeling off my feet like shingles from an old barn in a hurricane. Ever-enterprising,…
October 23, 2003
Jesus H Christina | Blogging for the Lord Hi my name is Christina and I am a 14 year old home school student and I am going to blog for our lord and savior Jesus Christ since he is in heaven and…
October 23, 2003
National Novel Writing Month National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word)…
October 22, 2003
Conspiracy Theory of the Week | Boeing, Boeing, Gone! As everyone knows, on September 11th 2001, less than an hour after the attack on the World Trade Center, an "airplane" collided with the…
October 22, 2003
Poetic Divination "To Sleep" by John Keats O soft embalmer of the still midnight! Shutting, with careful fingers and benign, Our gloom-pleas'd eyes, embower'd from the light, Enshaded in…
October 21, 2003
Black Market Babies For years, it was essentially impossible for honest Americans who may have made a few mistakes in the past to obtain the child of their dreams, except by childbirth. Not anymore!…
October 21, 2003
f2 Network | Tall = Better Researchers from the universities of Florida and North Carolina analysed four large-scale studies, which followed thousands of participants from childhood to adulthood.…
October 21, 2003
Poetic Divination "After All" by Henry Lawson The brooding ghosts of Australian night have gone from the bush and town; My spirit revives in the morning breeze, though it died when the sun went……
October 20, 2003
www.chick.com | Jack Chick is a ----- I remember these tracts from my youth. No idea how they ended up in my hands, but I remember reading them over and over again until I was filled with evangelical…
October 20, 2003
Extreme Pumpkin Halloween is on the way...
October 19, 2003
Poetic Divination "He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven" by William Butler Yeats Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths…
October 17, 2003
Wikipedia | They Went That A Way The amazing online encyclopedia Wikipedia is an excelent example of how one little step on the internet can lead you into all sorts of interesting places. Last night…
October 17, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Table Turned" by William Wordsworth Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and…
October 16, 2003
Alice in Wonderland A theatre out in Sourthern California did my adaptation of it this past Summer. Here's a little review of the production I just ran across accidentally...
October 16, 2003
Poetic Divinatio "Autumn Song" by Dante Gabriel Rossetti Know'st thou not at the fall of the leaf How the heart feels a languid grief Laid on it for a covering, And how sleep seems a goodly thing In…
October 15, 2003
Cosmic People PART OF THE MEN IS WORKING HARD ON MICROCHIP CONTROL SYSTEM TO ALL THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET EARTH. This system will stand for the entire loss of remaining liberties the people…
October 15, 2003
Does spam work? I've been wondering about this for some time now. I mean, I get upwards of 200 spam messages a day. I filter it out of my in box, I don't read it if I can avoid it, I don't reply to…
October 15, 2003
Poetic Divination "Autumn" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Go, sit upon the lofty hill, And turn your eyes around, Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. The summer sun is faint on…
October 14, 2003
"The New Moon" by Sarah Teasdale Day, you have bruised and beaten me, As rain beats down the bright, proud sea, Beaten my body, bruised my soul, Left me nothing lovely or whole -- Yet I have wrested…
October 13, 2003
Facade, Stichomancy, Hazard, and Failed Novellas on Oriential Vampirism As was kindly pointed out to me this evening, there is a real outlet for those of you craving poetic divination over at……
October 13, 2003
Mundane Note of the Week There's a bit of fluff up my nose. I can feel it up there, when I breathe. But I can't get it out, no matter how hard I blow or dig. At least, I assume it's a bit of fluff.…
October 13, 2003
Poetic Divination "Athenasia" by Oscar Wilde To that gaunt House of Art which lacks for naught Of all the great things men have saved from Time, The withered body of a girl was brought Dead ere the…
October 10, 2003
Poetic Divination "Across The Red Sky" by Katherine Mansfield Across the red sky two birds flying, Flying with drooping wings. Silent and solitary their ominous flight. All day the triumphant sun…
October 9, 2003
Poetic Divination "Later life" by Christina Georgina Rossetti Something this foggy day, a something which Is neither of this fog nor of today, Has set me dreaming of the winds that play Past certain…
October 8, 2003
Poetic Divination "In Progress" by Christina Georgina Rossetti Ten years ago it seemed impossible That she should ever grow so calm as this, With self-remembrance in her warmest kiss And dim dried…
October 7, 2003
Conversation of the Week: Here There Be Tygers "Look! There's a tiger on TV." It's footage of Siegfried and Roy. "I can't believe that happened." "Yeah, well, if you play with tigers every night for…
October 7, 2003
Poetic Divination "Change" by Sarah Teasdale Remember me as I was then; Turn from me now, but always see The laughing shadowy girl who stood At midnight by the flowering tree, With eyes that love had…
October 6, 2003
October 6, 1998 "Child of the Pure Unclouded Brow" by Lewis Carroll Child of the pure unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy…
October 6, 2003
Poetic Divination "A Poison Tree" by William Blake I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in……
October 5, 2003
Diseased Wits | My hair's not wet, it's just drawn that way... Kev's posting some of his drawings. Kev's a great illustrator in addition to being a great photographer. One day, maybe never, I'll ask…
October 5, 2003
Poetic Divination "Hail! Childish Slave Of Social Rules" by Robert Louis Stevenson Hail! Childish slaves of social rules You had yourselves a hand in making! How I could shake your faith, ye fools,…
October 4, 2003
Poetic Divination "A Creed" by John Masefield I hold that when a person dies His soul returns again to earth; Arrayed in some new flesh-disguise Another mother gives him birth. With sturdier limbs…
October 4, 2003
Dark Waters, Part II More from my trip with Sam down the Might Manistee... While everyone gets their tents set up, I wander around looking for someone to help, saying things like "I suppose an extra…
October 3, 2003
Poetic Divination | Growing Old "Growing Old" by Matthew Arnold What is it to grow old? Is it to lose the glory of the form, The lustre of the eye? Is it for beauty to forego her wreath? Yes, but not…
October 3, 2003
Howard Bloom | The Dreams of the Mass Mind Ancient stars in their death throes spat out atoms like iron which this universe had never known. The novel tidbits of debris were sucked up by infant suns…
October 2, 2003
Poetic Divination | London's Brilliant "London's Brilliant" by Elvis Costello I didn't want to be some satellite clown So I went up to London 'cos I heard it's falling down Found the Dennis the…
October 1, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Sleepers "The Sleepers" by Sylvia Plath No map traces the street Where those two sleepers are. We have lost track of it. They lie as if under water In a blue, unchanging…
October 1, 2003
Dark Waters, Part One Since a few people are paying enough attention to ask, here's a some moments and episodes distilled from my trip with Sam down the Mighty Manistee river this past weekend...…
September 30, 2003
Poetic Divination | Child "Child" by Sylvia Plath Your clear eye is the one absolutely beautiful thing. I want to fill it with color and ducks, The zoo of the new Whose name you meditate -- April…
September 29, 2003
At the Corner of Belfast and Alger Walking back from the library tonight with the Young Darkness and Sparkle Magic Machine Dancer Princess (never let your children choose their own nicknames), we…
September 29, 2003
Poetic Divination | The False Friends "The False Friends" by Dorothy Parker They laid their hands upon my head, They stroked my cheek and brow; And time could heal a hurt, they said, And time could…
September 28, 2003
Home Back again, sore and tired and sandy and scruffy. I've got three days' growth of beard and, um, nine hours paddling's worth of pectorals . . . along with two or three sections of a porcupine's…
September 27, 2003
Poetic Divination | Deep Dead Blue "Deep Dead Blue" by Elvis Costello Deep dead blue That I invite Bringing on disguise of night Turn the whole Kaleidoscope Deep dead blue Deep dead blue that…
September 27, 2003
Poetic Divination | Deep Dead Blue "Deep Dead Blue" by Elvis Costello Deep dead blue That I invite Bringing on disguise of night Turn the whole Kaleidoscope Deep dead blue Deep dead blue that…
September 26, 2003
Kum By Yah Heading up tomorrow with Sam to Manistee -- two-day canoe trip with a group from church. We're all packed up. Sleeping bags and warm clothes and snacks and flashlights. I'm smuggling…
September 26, 2003
SkyNews | Outh! There's a hundred tasteless (pun intended) jokes to be made about this, but I think that this line from the article says it all: Doctors said the teenager would need years of……
September 26, 2003
And the Girls Dance Alone... It's strange to hear that Robert Palmer has died. I mean, it's not a significant moment of loss like what I felt with Johnny Cash or even Joe Strummer earlier this year…
September 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Birds Will Still Be Singing "The Birds Will Still Be Singing" by Elvis Costello Summertime withers as the sun descends He wants to kiss you. will you condescend? Before you…
September 25, 2003
Ananova.com | Euro on Top Again Magazine publisher Igor Maltsev said he did not realise what the posters were supposed to represent. "I thought the currencies were dancing on our poster," he said.…
September 25, 2003
Poetic Divination | I Want to Vanish "I Want to Vanish" by Elvis Costello I want to vanish This is my fondest wish To go where I cannot be captured Laid on a decorated dish Even in splendor this…
September 25, 2003
Wired | The Virtual Prison Fascinating article at Wired about prison websites and the virtual tours they offer: Hi-res images of the electric chair and the gas chamber, 360 views of cells, archives…
September 24, 2003
Me and Bry in the Conference Room "I'm playing the lottery. There's $126 million out there with somebody's name on it." "Really?" "Yeah. Three weeks ago it was $75 million and now it's up another $50…
September 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | The King of The Unknown Sea "The King of The Unknown Sea" by Elvis Costello Beneath the turquoise pools and emerald jewels There lie the broken spines of seven ships The skulls of…
September 24, 2003
Gaiman Quote of the Week "Most of us hope that this next story will be one of the beautiful, angel-winged children we are proud of, rather than one of the evil malformed ones who should have remained…
September 23, 2003
Twenty-Three And today is the twenty-third of September. omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
September 23, 2003
Holly Go Brightly A Bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview. A Bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements. The ethics and actions of a Bright are based on a…
September 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | All The Rage "All the Rage" by Elvis Costello The twitching impulses to speak your mind I’ll lend you my microscope and maybe you will find it Is it in that ugly place that’s…
September 23, 2003
The Mirror Project | Jack Baty Hey! Jack has taken a sip of the collective reflective kool-aid (a.k.a. The Mirror Project). I'm not sure what is more dangerous, taking cool pictures while driving…
September 22, 2003
Site of the Week | "But give the souls to me..." WWYS® has been formed by a consortium of international companies - including leading financial and genetic research institutions - to create a…
September 22, 2003
Poetic Divination | somewhere "somewhere" by e.e. cummings somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond any experience, your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which…
September 21, 2003
The Guardian | Alone with the Man in Black I had the daffodil on my desk while I wrote my first book. I still have it - a little dried-up papery ghost of a thing, reminding me that that's what…
September 21, 2003
Entropy8 | Hallucinations and Ephemera Gaiman calls these images "strange and beautiful" and I would have to agree.
September 20, 2003
Poetic Divination | In a Future Age "In a Future Age" by Jeff Tweedy Genuine Day will come When the wind Decides to run And shakes the stairs That stab the wall And turns the page In a future age…
September 19, 2003
Name the Bunny That's a lot of rabbits, George. We had rabbits as kids, my brothers and me. Our dog, Muffin, pretty much went through them on a regular basis, like a chainsaw. Sweet little dog,…
September 19, 2003
Poetic Divination | One by One "One by One" by Woody Guthrie One by one the teardrops fall as I write you One by one my words come falling on the page One by one my dreams are fading in the twilight…
September 18, 2003
Wow... Uh, kids? I think it's time to get out of the pool now.
September 18, 2003
Lost in Translation What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages? The authors of the Systran translation software probably never…
September 18, 2003
Gaiman on NPR The Sandman isn't your typical comic book. It's dark, geared towards adults and praised by the likes of Norman Mailer and Stephen King. Neil Gaiman, the comic book's creator, joins Neal…
September 18, 2003
Poetic Divination | Via Chicago "Via Chicago" by Jeff Tweedy I dreamed about killing you again last night And it felt alright to me Dying on the banks of Embarcadero skies I sat and watched you……
September 18, 2003
Despair is the Thing With Feathers For over 75 years the devoted staff at The Feathered Back Hair Site has been dedicated to bringing you the best information and photographs about your favorite…
September 17, 2003
Poetic Divination | No More Poetry "No More Poetry" by Jeff Tweedy Gonna take a meteor shower Lay me out on the lawn With one detective's daughter Nth power, shine on And maybe my verses Ain't that…
September 16, 2003
Poetic Divination | Laminated Cat "Laminated Cat" by Jeff Tweedy* Springtime comes and the leaves are back on the trees again Snipers are harder to see my friends Weeding out the weekends Summer…
September 15, 2003
tbray.org | Ads via RSS I recently started reading the RSS feeds from Infoworld, which contain advertising, my first experience with this. Some general impressions and a complaint, but I think this…
September 15, 2003
Poetic Divination Since it appears that the Random Poem Generator at Verse Libre is down for the count (as is all of Verse Libre, apparently . . . a very, very sad loss) I'll start posting other…
September 12, 2003
Ring of Fire Johnny Cash, ladies and gentlemen. Goodnight.
September 11, 2003
Another Conversation with The Darkness Walking home from school with Sam... "Hey Dad?" "Yeah?" "If you could have any superpower, what would you pick?" "I think it'd be a toss up between flight and…
September 11, 2003
Two Years Ago... ...the first of two towers fell.
September 11, 2003
Be A Pro For Free Looks like Blogger (the technology behind this intermittent-not-quite-daily-mishmash-of-journal-postings) is taking a lot of their cool Pro features (which were once upon a time…
September 10, 2003
When Bad Design Goes Bad A site about bad design, usability, and how designs down always line up with user expectations. Also . . . it's one of the worst designed sites I've seen in a while. Irony,…
September 10, 2003
The Endless Dinner Oh, it's a bit silly but the Sandman inspired "Which of the Endless Should You Invite to Dinner?" quiz is a good ten seconds of fanboy fun. And, for what it's worth, here's my…
September 8, 2003
Conversation with The Darkness "Hey Dad..." "Yeah, buddy?" "How come you don't call me The Young Darkness anymore?" "Why?" "I just want to know why you stopped." "Well, [name deleted] gave me a hard…
September 7, 2003
The Mirror Project | "I Am Buddha" Three for three on submissions.
September 6, 2003
ROM is Dead, Long Live ROM This site was created to remember ROM the Spaceknight. I met this character in 1982 through Marvel Comics. I have followed this character though his full run, until it was…
September 6, 2003
Circle Jerks I never really had much interest in the so-called crop circle phenomenon or much patience with the fanatics who claim that the designs are so complex that they must be extraterrestrial…
September 1, 2003
The Red Boy Started working on a screenplay tonight, up against a deadline for a contest in October. The call for entries came a month or so ago. And while I don't have the time or inclination to…
September 1, 2003
For what it's worth... ...if you're trying to e-mail me, it's best if your subject line doesn't read like an ad for free porn, herbal viagra, or home refinancing. Just so's you know.
September 1, 2003
Bumper Nuts For the man (or woman, I suppose) who has everything...
September 1, 2003
Diseased Wits, Diseased Hands As a man who makes his living with his hands, Kevin really needs to call a doctor soon.
August 31, 2003
Aliens or Fumblethumbs? Aliens aren't as dexterous as humans. They can't remove thought screen helmets secured with tape or string. In one case, before thought screen helmets were available, an…
August 31, 2003
Got Protection? “Since trying Michael Menkin’s Helmet, I have not been bothered by alien mind control. Now my thoughts are my own.I have achieved meaningful work and am contributing to society.My…
August 30, 2003
The Trouble With Tribbles When grading an English Angora Rabbit, 25 points are based on density, 20 points are based on texture, 12 points based on length, and 200 points are based on amusement…
August 30, 2003
The Guardian | Elvis Moves North "Well, we just all want to find some peace. You can entertain dark thoughts, you can retain your sense of indignation, disgust with things that deserve those…
August 29, 2003
Cleaning House
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 29, 2003
House Hunting This message arrived in my mailbox this morning... Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Edward Taylor, I am resident in Monrovia the capital city of Liberia. I urgently want to acquire properties…
August 28, 2003
The Trouble With Ares Walking in tonight from the grocery store, I stop and look up at the sky. Sam: "What are you looking for? Oh, yeah . . . Mars!" Me: "Nope, I don't see it. Must be too cloudy . .…
August 28, 2003
Word of the Day | Doppelganger Thanks to Bryan for flagging this odd word in my vocabulary and saying "What the hell does that mean?" Bry has a twin, for what it's worth.
August 28, 2003
Poetic Divination | DIY It appears that Vers Libre is down and has been for most of the day. Another example of the truth in "you never really miss something until it's gone" I suppose. Hopefully…
August 27, 2003
Cannot Find Server Another variation on the "The Page Has Been Eaten By Monsters" error page. I think this may be my favorite new art form. Hmm. Have to ask Jack about that.
August 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | Where Is the Sprinkler Stop Valve? "Where Is the Sprinkler Stop Valve?" by BS Johnson Urinating in a urinal I try at first directly to jet down a fruitfly then see random…
August 25, 2003
#@!$*&! Brookstone The fellow at Brookstone swore that there was a Macintosh driver for this little camera. After an hour searching online, I can find nothing to indicate it is Mac compatible and…
August 25, 2003
Ghosts in the Mirror In case you haven't seen the Mirror Project yet, you're missing out. It is absolutely great. Especially because I am two for two on my submissions. Nyah. This theme made me…
August 25, 2003
Mozilla vs. Fark A sample from a conversation with an anonymous co-worker today... "And look, no popup windows." "No popup windows?" "Yup." "Then how do you surf porn?" "Faster." "Okay." "You know,…
August 25, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Scribe "The Scribe" by Walter de la Mare What lovely things Thy hand hath made: The smooth-plumed bird In its emerald shade, The seed of the grass, The speck of the stone…
August 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | Walls "Walls" by Constantine P Cavafy With no consideration, no pity, no shame, they have built walls around me, thick and high. And now I sit here feeling hopeless. I can't…
August 23, 2003
XXIII It's still the twenty-third of August. Just in case all of you were wondering.
August 23, 2003
Twenty-Three Today is the twenty-third of August.
August 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | At Ease "At Ease" by Walter de la Mare Most wounds can Time repair; But some are mortal -- these: For a broken heart there is no balm, No cure for a heart at ease -- At ease, but…
August 21, 2003
Free Your Mind New trailer posted, kids. November. Everything that has a beginning has an end.
August 21, 2003
Poetic Divination | On Eastnor Knoll "On Eastnor Knoll" by John Masefield Silent are the woods, and the dim green boughs are Hushed in the twilight: yonder, in the path through The apple orchard, is…
August 21, 2003
Diseased Wits | Katie Did What Now? Nice photo work from Mister White.
August 20, 2003
Quote of the Day | H.P. Lovecraft "Calm, lasting beauty comes only in a dream, and this solace the world had thrown away when in its worship of the real it threw away the secrets of childhood and…
August 20, 2003
Page Not Found Have to agree with Neil on this one: There really aren't enough pages like this on the internet.
August 18, 2003
Poetic Divination | Time, Cruel Time "Sonnet XXIII: Time, Cruel Time" by Samuel Daniel Time, cruel Time, come and subdue that brow Which conquers all but thee, and thee, too, stays As if she were…
August 18, 2003
Make Room for Daddy Phone rings while I'm at work. It's my father. Sounds like my uncle told him to check out my site and he wandered over for the first time today. Um. Hi Dad.
August 16, 2003
Strange Question #3,476,934 "Dad?" "What?" "What happens when you split an atom?" "Uh..." The Young Darkness needs the Internet.
August 16, 2003
God Only Knows
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 15, 2003
Nine Minutes That's all that's left on my laptop battery. Any second now the reserve warning is going to pop up. Just enough time to talk about the big power surge tonight that knockd out half the…
August 15, 2003
Long After Midnight Apparently, my brain is determined to keep me awake until 3 AM. Spent the last couple of nights working on a logo design for the new site -- not a redesign of this one (although…
August 14, 2003
CNN | And In The Darkness Blog Them... One possibility was a lightning strike in the Niagara region on the U.S. side of the border, according to the Canadian Department of National Defense. The…
August 14, 2003
Breaking News | Power to the People? Earlier today, I saw that my cell phone couldn't pick up a signal. Which is odd, as I work downtown within sight of about thirty towers and have never had trouble…
August 12, 2003
More Like The Moon Today (yesterday) was Julia's first day of school. Kindergarten. She has such energy, such confidence. They get so big so quickly. Full moon tonight.
August 11, 2003
Tokyo Storm Warning
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 11, 2003
Silver Slippers As he gave me a hug my brother said to me last night: "I wish you didn't have to leave." I've got to stop crying myself to sleep. Home now after a long but more or less uneventful…
August 9, 2003
Byes, Books, Burritos, Bad Dreams, and Bottlecaps
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 8, 2003
Wednesday’s Child Says Goodbye
Wednesday's Child Says Goodbye Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years…
August 6, 2003
(a few days behind, writing out my entries in longhand and posting them whenever I have the free moment to wait through the interminably slow dial up connection....) Wednesday Mourning No Chinatown…
August 4, 2003
Red Bluff to Winters to Marin to Chance
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 4, 2003
Word of the Day | "toile" toile (n): A sheer fabric, such as linen or cotton.
August 4, 2003
Ground Control to Major T.M. It's hot, it's dusty and barren, there are strange creatures all around me . . . . yeah, I'm on fucking Mars. Tonight, some whiskey and poetry and a little more of…
August 3, 2003
Girls vs. Boys Getting things together tonight, packing the kids up for the trip down to the reunion . . . the Young Darkness brought one pair of shoes on the trip, whereas his sister brought six or…
August 3, 2003
Pembroke Wakes Up Last night I dreamt I was at a fancy dress party given by a friend at which we all had been asked to pretend to be various subspecies of the eccentric and idle rich in order to…
August 3, 2003
Miscegenation on a Saturday Afternoon No bowling today, looks like the alley opens late on the weekends. But we were able to show the kids a proper white trash adventure by sitting in the parking lot…
August 2, 2003
Putting the Honky in 'Honky Tonk' A sample of a conversation I had today with one of the locals here... "What's the crime rate like?" "Not too bad. Some minor burglary, a few bank robberies last…
August 2, 2003
Small Town Man, Part II It's a small town and my father, the archetypical old-school salesman, knows everyone's name. First we drop off the overheating Ford Explorer (my first time driving anything…
August 2, 2003
Small Town Man Woek up early this morning and am now officially on West Coast time . . . And hating every second of it. More tea for the kids this morning. It appears that they are slowly returning…
August 2, 2003
Small Town Man Woke up early this morning and am now officially on West Coast time . . . And hating every second of it. More tea for the kids this morning. It appears that they are slowly returning…
August 2, 2003
Godzilla vs. Mothra "Wouldn't it be cool to live in a country where at any moment a giant monster might show up and attack? I mean, everybody'd get off of work, schools would close..." "...yeah, it'd…
August 2, 2003
Family Ghosts "Think, Odysseus . . . they're gods, all they have is the time to watch and wait for us to fail..." -- (from my as yet unproduced adaptation of The Odyssey It's always dangerous to…
August 1, 2003
Three Thousand Words An entrance, a novelty, and a self portrait. More new pictures coming in a few days. For what it's worth, Bubba is a yellow pickup truck that my dad uses to drive around the…
August 1, 2003
In Like Flynt With a brother and a mother who are both influential players in the Republican Party here in California, the topic of conversation has been frequently focused on the recall of Gray…
August 1, 2003
Losing Time Noon at home, nine o'clock where I am. There's thunder and lightning back home and here I can feel the heat from outside, seeping in through the walls. Is it still Friday? Not sure if my…
August 1, 2003
Poetic Divination | Rose D'Amour "Rose D'Amour" by Mathilde Blind Oh haste while roses bloom below, Oh haste while pale and bright above The sun and moon alternate glow, To pluck the rose of love.…
August 1, 2003
Tanglewood Woke up this morning (Thursday) to Julia, getting a hug after a long long long month. Only two and a half hours of sleep, but very happy to be with my kids again. Apparently no one has…
July 31, 2003
On My Way
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
July 30, 2003
Poetic Divination | Still In The Trace "Sonnet XXX: Still In the Trace" by Samuel Daniel Still in the trace of my tormented thought, My ceaseless cares must march on to my death; Thy least regard to…
July 29, 2003
Straight Outta Kansas | I Love You As Much As I Love Myself The researchers found that mate choice "seems to be based on a preference for long-term partners who are similar to one's perception of…
July 29, 2003
Wired | My Thoughts Are Real But I Am Not LifeLog -- the controversial Defense Department initiative to track everything about an individual -- is just one step in a larger effort, according to a top…
July 29, 2003
Poetic Divination | Conclusion "Conclusion of a Letter to a Friend" by Mary Wortley Montagu But happy you from the contagion free, Who, through her veil, can human nature see; Calm you reflect, amid…
July 28, 2003
Bowie's Bulge Not Included Q: What do you get when you cross Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean with the Jim Henson film Labyrinth? A: A new film, coming out next year, called MirrorMask.
July 28, 2003
New York Times | Shoot the Writer, Not the Film In the movies, screenwriters from "Sunset Boulevard" onward have been embodiments of impotence, and it's at least arguable that real screenwriters…
July 28, 2003
Poetic Divination | Lyric Written in 1830 "Lyric written in 1830" by Aleksandr Pushkin What means my name to you?...T'will die As does the melancholy murmur Of distant waves or, of a summer, The…
July 27, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Wind "The Wind" by Vikram Seth With no companion to my mood, Against the wind as it should be, I walk, but in my solitude Bow to the wind that buffets me.
July 26, 2003
Site of the Week | a sea black with ink Like a cloud his fingers explode On the typewriter ribbon, the shadow grows His heart's in a bowl behind the bank From "Summerteeth" by Wilco (courtesy of The…
July 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | Opening Doors "Opening Doors" by B.S. Johnson He smashed his hand in opening a door for her, and less pain than embarrassment shrieked through him. Concealing both, grimacing as…
July 25, 2003
Poetic Divination | Small Things and Great "Small Things and Great" by Piet Hein He that lets the small things bind him leaves the great undone behind him.
July 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Wounded Cupid "The Wounded Cupid" by Robert Herrick Cupid as he lay among Roses, by a Bee was stung. Whereupon in anger flying To his Mother, said thus crying; Help! O help!…
July 23, 2003
911 Goes Unreal I got to work especially early that day. I did the usual routine of buying my coffee, going outside by West Street for my cigarette, and heading upstairs to the 87th floor to my…
July 23, 2003
Site of the Week | Just as long as you stay inside the lines... Welcome to Baby Ink, where we believe that it's never to early to start expressing your unique personality through professional, high…
July 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Summer Morning "A Summer Morning" by Robert Fuller Murray Never was sun so bright before, No matin of the lark so sweet, No grass so green beneath my feet, Nor with such…
July 23, 2003
Twenty-Three Today is the twenty-third of July.
July 21, 2003
Silence of the Lambs, the Musical If you work hard, persevere, and follow your dreams, you will eventually die and turn into a skeleton like daddy. This bit of professional advice courtesy of…
July 21, 2003
Quote of the Week | The Score "You want my advice? Make a list of everything you want now . . . and then plan on spending the next twenty-five years of your life getting it, slowly, piece by piece."…
July 20, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Pause "A Pause" by Christina Rossetti They made the chamber sweet with flowers and leaves, And the bed sweet with flowers on which I lay; While my soul, love-bound, loitered on…
July 19, 2003
The Devil You Know Started working on a new site recently. Registered a domain name, plotted out the site architecture and featureset, and started on a layout. It's pretty big and well outside my…
July 19, 2003
Poetic Divination | All Is Well "All Is Well" by Arthur Hugh Clough Whate'er you dream, with doubt possessed, Keep, keep it snug within your breast, And lay you down and take your rest; And when you…
July 18, 2003
Quote of the Week | Shielded by Happiness But happiness is not what I thought. Happiness is the lucky pane of glass you carry in your head. It takes all your cunning just to hang on to it, and once…
July 16, 2003
Enough Moping Already Just because I'm living in the leading edge of a class 5 shitstorm right now doesn't mean I shouldn't find my fun wherever I can. Pathetically, it's looking through my site…
July 13, 2003
This space... ...intentionally left blank.
July 11, 2003
Moon Train Saturday July 12 is the 23rd annual "Moon Amtrak" day in Laguna Niguel, Calif. "The Amtrak trains will be filled to capacity with passengers to see the 'moon show' between the stations of…
July 11, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Refusal "A Refusal to Mourn the Death, by Fire, of a Child in London" by Dylan Thomas Never until the mankind making Bird beast and flower Fathering and all humbling…
July 10, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Mist "The Mist" by Carl Sandburg I am the mist, the impalpable mist, Back of the thing you seek. My arms are long, Long as the reach of time and space. Some toil and…
July 9, 2003
WWJB? In the parking lot at work, there's three or four cars sporting a bumper sticker that reads "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" Available here.
July 9, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Last Judgment "The Last Judgment" by Amy Levy With beating heart and lagging feet, Lord, I approach the Judgment-seat. All bring hither the fruits of toil, Measures of…
July 8, 2003
Poetic Divination | Sonnet LVI: When Like an Eaglet "Sonnet LVI: When Like an Eaglet" by Michael Drayton When like an eaglet I first found my Love, For that the virtue I thereof would know, Upon the…
July 7, 2003
Weekend Naps, Electrical Storms, and The Trouble with Grandparents Spent most of the holiday weekend either on the couch or in bed, quickly collapsing into a dreamy state right after doing an airport…
July 7, 2003
Poetic Divination | Liason "Liaison" by DH Lawrence A big bud of moon hangs out of the twilight, Star-spiders spinning their thread Hang high suspended, withouten respite Watching us overhead. Come…
July 5, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Prayer to the Wind "A Prayer to the Wind" by Thomas Carew Go thou gentle whispering wind, Bear this sigh; and if thou find Where my cruel fair doth rest, Cast it in her snowy…
July 4, 2003
Poetic Divination | i shall imagine life "i shall imagine life" by ee cummings i shall imagine life is not worth dying,if (and when)roses complain their beauties are in vain but though mankind…
July 3, 2003
Traveling Mercies It started with my son Sam, when he was maybe two or three years old. He was going on a plane trip with his mom to California to visit grandparents. I had to stay behind for work,…
July 3, 2003
Poetic Divination | My Own Heart Let Me More Have Pity On "My Own Heart Let Me More Have Pity On" by Gerard Manley Hopkins My own heart let me more have pity on; let Me live to my sad self hereafter…
July 2, 2003
Poetic Divination | Love Song "Love Song" by Rainer Maria Rilke How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things? I would…
July 1, 2003
Poetic Divination | Footsteps of Angels "Footsteps of Angels" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow When the hours of Day are numbered, And the voices of the Night Wake the better soul, that slumbered, To a…
June 30, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Terms in Which I Think of Reality "The Terms in Which I Think of Reality" by Allen Ginsberg Reality is a question of realizing how real the world is already. Time is…
June 29, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Good Night "A Good Night" by Francis Quarles Close now thine eyes and rest secure; Thy soul is safe enough, thy body sure; He that loves thee, He that keeps And guards thee,…
June 28, 2003
Poetic Divination | Tall Nettles "Tall Nettles" by Edward Thomas Tall nettles cover up, as they have done These many springs, the rusty harrow, the plough Long worn out, and the roller made of…
June 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward "The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward" by Robert Graves Why do you break upon this old, cool peace, This painted peace of ours, With harsh…
June 24, 2003
Fake or Foto? Today we're presented with images in movies, on TV and in the press that are of such good quality we don't even think to consider whether the picture is of something that exists in…
June 24, 2003
Google = God Google has grown so fast that even those who use it religiously have started to worry about the tendency of its huge audience to increasingly regard the site as comprehensive when in…
June 24, 2003
Ignore it... It's only a Blogger glitch.
June 24, 2003
Google = God "Google has grown so fast that even those who use it religiously have started to worry about the tendency of its huge audience to increasingly regard the site as comprehensive when in…
June 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | Summer "Summer" by John Clare Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come, For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom, And the crow is on the oak…
June 23, 2003
Mmmm, salty death... No slugs were harmed in the making of this website.
June 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | Thee, God, I Come from "Thee, God, I Come from" by Gerard Manley Hopkins Thee, God, I come from, to thee go, All day long I like fountain flow From thy hand out, swayed about…
June 22, 2003
Poetic Divination | Triple Feature "Triple Feature" by Denise Levertov Innocent decision: to enjoy. And the pathos of hopefulness, of his solicitude: --he in mended serape, she having plaited…
June 22, 2003
May Stats I think the thing I like most about reviewing the statistics for this site every month is that they refer to "Unique Visitors" -- because I know a few of them and, in reality, they are…
June 21, 2003
Harry "Antichrist" Potter It is almost impossible not to either love or hate the books. If you love magic, the occult, or witches, you will be jumping with glee. If you do not believe witchcraft…
June 21, 2003
Poetic Divination | Goodbye! "Goodbye!" by Richard Aldington Come, thrust your hands in the warm earth And feel her strength through all your veins; Breathe her full odors, taste her mouth, Which…
June 20, 2003
Lovecraft vs. Rankin-Bass "Wait, you plush fools!" cried Professor Blue Smush DinoBaby. "'In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.' Do not disturb Him, or you will doom us all!" Save your…
June 20, 2003
Welcome to the Matrix Cell phones. I hate them, intensely. I hate hearing them ring in stores, in meetings, in movies, in restaurants, in church. I hate talking to someone who stops, reaches for…
June 20, 2003
Poetic Divination | Finis - Dorothy Parker "Finis" by Dorothy Parker Now it's over, and now it's done; Why does everything look the same? Just as bright, the unheeding sun, -- Can't it see that the…
June 19, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Future "The Future" by Matthew Arnold A wanderer is man from his birth. He was born in a ship On the breast of the river of Time; Brimming with wonder and joy He spreads out…
June 18, 2003
Poetic Divination | I Planted a Rose Tree - Mathilde Blind "I Planted a Rose Tree" by Mathilde Blind I planted a rose tree in my garden, In early days when the year was young; I thought it would…
June 17, 2003
Guardian Unlimited | Playboy vs. Premiere: Best Sex Scene While the cinephile magazine Premiere's list is characterised by subtle, arty scenes, in some cases shot fully clothed, Playboy TV's list…
June 17, 2003
Poetic Divination | My Soul is Dark - Lord Byron "My Soul is Dark" by Lord Byron My soul is dark - Oh! quickly string The harp I yet can brook to hear; And let thy gentle fingers fling Its melting…
June 16, 2003
Before I Forget Tracy informs me that even though Jack linked to her and he linked to me, that she refuses to link to Jack even though I linked to him -- thereby ending the sick cycle of…
June 16, 2003
Poetic Divination | Silence "Silence" by Marianne Moore My father used to say, "Superior people never make long visits, have to be shown Longfellow's grave nor the glass flowers at Harvard. Self…
June 15, 2003
Poetic Dvination | Love In the Asylum "Love In the Asylum" by Dylan Thomas A stranger has come To share my room in the house not right in the head, A girl mad as birds Bolting the night of the door…
June 14, 2003
Apple Trailers | The Eye Sometimes I wander over to Apple's site to see what new movie trailers are up . . . this one caught my eye. Looks very, very cool. Let's hope it makes it out to the Midwest.
June 14, 2003
GFD There's a party going on next door, has been since about three this afternoon. Loads of paunchy drunken former fratboys wandering around with their shirts off, borderline anorexic sorority wives…
June 14, 2003
Blogger Pro So I finally decide to make the switch to Blogger Pro, chiefly because of the whole RSS thing and that technocrat bastard Jack Baty getting me hooked on Net Newswire. However, it appears…
June 14, 2003
Disturbing Search Results Are you obsessed with your site stats? Why don't you log in and post the search requests you found in your log files? It's easy. As someone who is, in fact, obsessed with my…
June 14, 2003
Jeff's Advice | Just Smile All The Time Sitting here, crusing on the wireless laptop, listening to Wilco singing "How to Fight Lonliness" and thinking about my dreams. Stopped dreaming there for…
June 14, 2003
Poetic Divination | Ami Green "Ami Green" by Edgar Lee Masters Not "a youth with hoary head and haggard eye," But an old man with a smooth skin And black hair! I had the face of a boy as long as I…
June 13, 2003
Poetic Divination | On Being Oneself "On Being Oneself" by Piet Hein If virtue can't be mine alone at least my faults can be my own. (Just needed another poem today, the birds weren't doing it for…
June 13, 2003
Martian Exploration | Mission or Marketing? A new breed of explorer is on board the two Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft?Astrobots Biff Starling and Sandy Moondust are part of The Planetary Society…
June 13, 2003
Friday the 13th Have a good day, kids. Keep your eyes open for black cats, ladders, cracks in the sidewalk, salt on the table, and the solitary crow.
June 13, 2003
Poetic Divination | Turns and Movies: Duval's Birds "Turns and Movies: Duval's Birds" by Conrad Potter Aiken The parrot, screeching, flew out into the darkness, Circled three times above the…
June 12, 2003
Gregory Peck, 1916 - 2003 "There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible." Goodnight Atticus...
June 12, 2003
Poetic Divination | Gray Room "Gray Room" by Wallace Stevens Although you sit in a room that is gray, Except for the silver Of the straw-paper, And pick At your pale white gown; Or lift one of the…
June 11, 2003
The Black Table | Online Evil Yeah, this site just warms that crusty lump of coal that is my black little heart. Especially the links sidebar. And pay special attention to the ass kicking they give…
June 11, 2003
More Online Losers No matter how bad it gets, I'm just going to keep reminding myself that it could be worse. I could be a guy running a fan site for The Weather Channel. Airline food doesn't looks…
June 11, 2003
Scott Radke | From time to time I get this urge to create something with my hands, to work with something other than words. Most of the time, it's clay that I want . . . but once I get my hands on…
June 11, 2003
Asya Schween | Girl on Film This young lady frightens me . . . and I like it. More to be scared of here as well.
June 11, 2003
Steve Lightfoot | You Can't Handle the Truth That is how the biggest true story since Christ was discovered. It is absolutely the biggest story since Christ that can be proved. it is a story…
June 11, 2003
Poetic Divination | At Last the Secret is Out "At Last the Secret is Out" by W.H. Auden At last the secret is out, as it always must come in the end, the delicius story is ripe to tell to tell to…
June 10, 2003
Airline Meals Wandering around online tonight, looking for something to delight and/or distract me. This pretty much ain't it. A site devoted to literally everything about airline food? A fucking…
June 10, 2003
Hello Kitty Tarot Yup, not a joke... Also, other (ahem) famous Hello Kitty merchandise is available here as well. Find Your Inner Pin Up Gal Apparently I am: "The Girl Next Door. You're the sweet…
June 10, 2003
Chicken Street | Affordable Housing Online This is very cool, a virtual apartment building . . . with some really interesting neighbors.
June 10, 2003
Freakshow Okay . . . um . . . not a clue why this exists, but I feel better knowing that it's out there.
June 10, 2003
Better than Vegas [Martin] Rees calculates that the odds of an apocalyptic disaster striking Earth have risen to about 50 percent from 20 percent a hundred years ago. Fifty-fifty kids . . . smoke…
June 10, 2003
The Library Hotel The Library Hotel in New York City is the first hotel ever to offer its guest over 6,000 volumes organized throughout the hotel by the DDC. Each of the 10 guestrooms floors honors…
June 10, 2003
Poetic Divination | Behold, the Grave of a Wicked Man "Behold, the Grave of a Wicked Man" by Stephen Crane Behold, the grave of a wicked man, And near it, a stern spirit. There came a drooping maid…
June 9, 2003
Poetic Divination | Grown-up "Grown-up" by Edna St Vincent Millay Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That now, domestic as a plate, I should retire at…
June 8, 2003
Poetic Divination | Les Silhouettes "Les Silhouettes" by Oscar Wilde The sea is flecked with bars of grey, The dull dead wind is out of tune, And like a withered leaf the moon Is blown across the…
June 7, 2003
Poetic Divination | Dreams "Dreams" by D.H. Lawrence All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, Wake in the morning to find that it was vanity.…
June 6, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Trinity "A Trinity" by Hilaire Belloc Of three in One and One in three My narrow mind would doubting be Till Beauty, Grace and Kindness met And all at once were Juliet. (with…
June 5, 2003
Poetic Divination | A Daily Joy to be Alive "A Daily Joy to be Alive" by Jimmy Santiago Baca No matter how serene things may be in my life, how well things are going, my body and soul are two cliff…
June 4, 2003
Six of Swords, Nine of Swords Either one, take your pick. Going underground now...
June 4, 2003
Poetic Divination | Spring in War Time "Spring in War Time" by Sara Teasdale I feel the Spring far off, far off, The faint far scent of bud and leaf-- Oh how can Spring take heart to come To a world…
June 3, 2003
Absolutely Kickass One of my birthday presents was a wireless router for my computer. Took about forty seconds to setup . . . and now I can connect from anywhere in the house. I'm typing this on my…
June 3, 2003
Poetic Divination | A May-Day Madrigal "A May-Day Madrigal" by Robert Fuller Murray The sun shines fair on Tweedside, the river flowing bright, Your heart is full of pleasure, your eyes are full of…
June 2, 2003
Conversations with my Father "So . . . how's mom doing?" "Not too bad." "How's her arm?" "Well, she's in a lot of pain right now. She went to see an Acupuncturist and that helped a bit, although it…
June 2, 2003
Thirty-Four Today's my birthday and as much as I'd like to, I just can seem to hold onto thirty-three like I'd planned. I tried, I honestly did, but I got up this morning and it was just . . . gone.…
June 2, 2003
Poetic Divination | Let Us Have Madness "Let Us Have Madness" by Kenneth Patchen Let us have madness openly. O men Of my generation. Let us follow The footsteps of this slaughtered age: See it trail…
June 1, 2003
Poetic Divination | Pain Has An Element "Pain Has An Element" by Emily Dickinson Pain has an element of blank; It cannot recollect When it began, or if there were A day when it was not. It has no…
May 31, 2003
In SARS We Trust Woke up a few days ago feeling not quiet right (actually, that started a few weeks ago, but that's another story). Chest constricted, coughing, sore throat . . . head muzzy. Figured…
May 31, 2003
Quote of the Week | www.wax-work.com "...Even though pride is one of the seven deadly sins I think it’s really not so bad and the people who made it a sin are just envious."
May 31, 2003
Poetic Divination | Joy "Joy" by Carl Sandburg Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands And take it when it runs by, As the Apache dancer Clutches his woman. I have seen them Live long and laugh…
May 30, 2003
The Independent | The Case for War "We were told Saddam had weapons ready for use within 45 minutes. It's now 45 days since the war has finished and we have still not found anything. . . . It is…
May 30, 2003
Poetic Divination | There's Wisdom in Women "There's Wisdom in Women" by Rupert Brooke “Oh love is fair, and love is rare;†my dear one she said, “But love goes lightly over.†I bowed her…
May 29, 2003
Poetic Divination | At Parting "At Parting" by Anne Ridler Since we through war awhile must part Sweetheart, and learn to lose Daily use Of all that satisfied our heart: Lay up those secrets and…
May 28, 2003
Tolkien Sings Hobbits, dwarves and elves are heading for the London stage in the world's first major musical of the "Lord of the Rings," its backers said on Wednesday. Ugh. Just that.
May 28, 2003
Poetic Divination | Eyes That Last I Saw In Tears "Eyes That Last I Saw In Tears" by T.S. Eliot Eyes that last I saw in tears Through division Here in death's dream kingdom The golden vision…
May 27, 2003
Poetic Divination | Mont Brevant "Mont Brevent" by George Santayana O dweller in the valley, lift thine eyes To where, above the drift of cloud, the stone Endures in silence, and to God alone…
May 26, 2003
Memorials We set aside this day to remember the people who died for the sake of this country. Here's a thought -- and perhaps an incredibly unpatriotic one on this day -- why don't we set aside a day…
May 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Revelation "The Revelation" by Coventry Patmore An idle poet, here and there, Looks around him; but, for all the rest, The world, unfathomably fair, Is duller than a…
May 25, 2003
Last night I dreamt I was hunting for spiders, little gray ones. I can't remember why, but I needed them desperately . . . I needed their thin webs for something very important. Lives were at stake…
May 25, 2003
Poetic Divination | Petals "Petals" by Amy Lowell Life is a stream On which we strew Petal by petal the flower of our heart; The end lost in dream, They float past our view, We only watch their…
May 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | Elm "Elm" by Sylvia Plath I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root; It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there. Is it the sea you hear in me,…
May 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Mower to the Glo-Worms "The Mower to the Glo-Worms" by Andrew Marvell Ye living Lamps, by whose dear light The Nightingale does sit so late, And studying all the…
May 23, 2003
23 Apples Today is the twenty-third of May.
May 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | Before Day "Before Day" by Siegfried Sassoon Come in this hour to set my spirit free When earth is no more mine though night goes out, And stretching forth these arms I cannot……
May 22, 2003
Makes Me Angry Reason #2,356.45/z not to go looking for spiritual healing on the internet. And yet, I feel somewhat better. Anybody got a dollar?
May 22, 2003
Plato Shrimp "Look at 'em, ordinary fucking people. I hate 'em." I just like the tagline...
May 22, 2003
Highly Sensitive Persons | Spiritual Introverts You may have arrived at this web site because you are interested in your sensitivity, intuitive feelings, creativity or dreams. Perhaps you appreciate…
May 22, 2003
QTVR | Trinity's Apartment Unfortunately, she's not home. Some very cool QuickTime VR shots of the Matrix sets over at The Matrix website. Hit the Reloaded section and look for QTVR in one of the…
May 22, 2003
A Girl to Die For I love Death, she's terrific.
May 22, 2003
Trinity: "I'm in." Okay, now I want a cell phone. Actually, I want this cell phone. Yeah. I'm that kind of geek. My birthday's next week, actually.
May 22, 2003
Poetic Divination | Sonnet CXVI Sonnet CXVI by William Shakespeare Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with…
May 21, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Past "The Past " by Ralph Waldo Emerson The debt is paid, The verdict said, The Furies laid, The plague is stayed, All fortunes made; Turn the key and bolt the door, Sweet…
May 20, 2003
Sour Times, part two And I can hear the question: "Okay, then what do you care about?" Tea and kids and amnesiac gods. A good night's sleep. Cheap beer and red wine. Your mom. Dreams. Mythologies.…
May 20, 2003
Poetic Divination | There Is a Solemn Wind Tonight "There Is a Solemn Wind Tonight" by Katherine Mansfield There is a solemn wind to-night That sings of solemn rain; The trees that have been quiet…
May 19, 2003
Sour Times There's a lot of things I don't care about right now... ...I don't care about the latest news and conspiracy theories. ...I don't care about Neil's trip to Italy. ...I don't care about…
May 19, 2003
Poetic Divination | Slumber-Song "Slumber-Song" by Siegfried Sassoon Sleep; and my song shall build about your bed A paradise of dimness. You shall feel The folding of tired wings; and peace will…
May 17, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Remove ambiguities and convert to specifics."
May 17, 2003
Poetic Divinsation | suppose "suppose" by ee cummings suppose Life is an old man carrying flowers on his head. young death sits in a cafe smiling, a pierce of money held between his thumb and first…
May 16, 2003
Poetic Divination | Rondeau Redoublé "Rondeau Redoublé" by Sophie Hannah I know the rules and hear myself agree Not to invest beyond this one night stand. I know your patter: in, out, like the……
May 15, 2003
Alias Grace A few months back I was wandering through a bookstore with my best friend. She pointed me toward this book . . . and it's wonderful. Beautifully written, a very compelling story and…
May 15, 2003
Matrix Essays It is not unusual to take up a sword and die for a belief. It is unusual to take up a sword to die for the belief that swords do not exist. Last week I read a couple of lines of an…
May 15, 2003
Lunar Eclipse "Blood on the moon tonight..." that's what my best friend wrote to me today. I watched it, just now. I watched the moon get eaten away by shadow. It must have been something, a few…
May 15, 2003
LyricZ.Net Nice and clean design, good search . . . not a bad selection of lyrics, if you're looking for something.
May 15, 2003
Poetic Divination | Autumn "Autumn" by William Morris Laden Autumn here I stand Worn of heart, and weak of hand: Nought but rest seems good to me, Speak the word that sets me free.
May 14, 2003
The Sea-Child "The Sea-Child" by Katherine Mansfield Into the world you sent her, mother, Fashioned her body of coral and foam, Combed a wave in her hair's warm smother, And drove her away from……
May 13, 2003
Poetic Divination | Mystery "Mystery" by DH Lawrence Now I am all One bowl of kisses, Such as the tall Slim votaresses Of Egypt filled For a God’s excesses. I lift to you My bowl of kisses, And…
May 12, 2003
Real Genius There was a time when I wanted to be as flippant and fun as Chris Knight -- which explains a lot about my behavior in college, actually. "It's yet another in a long series of attempts to…
May 12, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Ghost echoes."
May 12, 2003
Poetic Divination | Life "Life" by Henry Van Dyke Let me but live my life from year to year, With forward face and unreluctant soul; Not hurrying to, nor turning from the goal; Not mourning for the…
May 11, 2003
Poetic Divination | Dust "Dust" by Carl Sandburg Here is dust remembers it was a rose one time and lay in a woman's hair. Here is dust remembers it was a woman one time and in her hair lay a rose.…
May 10, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Best Friend "The Best Friend" by William Henry Davies Now shall I walk Or shall I ride? "Ride", Pleasure said; "Walk", Joy replied. Now what shall I -- Stay home or roam?…
May 9, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Into the impossible."
May 9, 2003
Poetic Divination | Permanence "Permanence" by Duncan Campbell Scott Set within a desert lone, Circled by an arid sea, Stands a figure carved in stone, Where a fountain used to be. Two abraded,…
May 8, 2003
Entrances to Hell I've blogged this site before, but it's one I come back to from time to time -- just to see what new entrances have been found. A week or so ago, while driving my daughter to…
May 7, 2003
Poetic Divination | One Day I Wrote Her Name "Amoretti LXXV: One Day I Wrote Her Name" by Edmund Spenser One day I wrote her name upon the strand, But came the waves and washed it away: Again I…
May 7, 2003
Poetic Divination | In the Stalls "In the Stalls" by Arthur Symons My life is like a music-hall, Where, in the impotence of rage, Chained by enchantment to my stall, I see myself upon the…
May 7, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Give way to your worst impulse."
May 6, 2003
Thirty-Three Had breakfast with an old friend last week, mostly for business and partially just to get caught up. She told me that she's decided to stay twenty-five forever and asked me to keep that…
May 6, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "How would you have done it?"
May 6, 2003
Poetic Divination | Men at Forty "Men at Forty" by Donald Justice Men at forty Learn to close softly The doors to rooms they will not be Here's to thirty-three, then...
May 6, 2003
New Poems Just a handful, a few pieces I wrote earlier this year and late last year -- writer's challenges and apologies . . . all thanks to my best friend who offered up a word or two as inspiration…
May 5, 2003
Poetic Divination | To the Same "To the Same" by John Milton Cyriack, this three years? day these eyes, though clear, To outward view, of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing…
May 4, 2003
Poetic Divination | Parabola "Parabola" by Alec Derwent Hope Year after year the princess lies asleep Until the hundred years foretold are done, Easily drawing her enchanted breath. Caught on the…
May 3, 2003
The Coolest Clock in the World Perhaps not the coolest but very, very cool nonetheless... Hephaestus would be impressed by the elegant marriage of the analog and the digital.
May 3, 2003
Oblique Strategy at Twilight "Just Carry On" I'm having a love-hate relationship with the strategies right now...
May 3, 2003
Poetic Divination | Cramped in that Funnelled Hole "Cramped in that Funnelled Hole" by Wilfred Owen Cramped in that funnelled hole, they watched the dawn Open a jagged rim around; a yawn Of death's…
May 3, 2003
The Man Smell Finally figured out why I dislike Summer so much . . . it's all the fucking yardwork. I just spent all day doing yardwork, cleaning out the garage, taking a fence down, knocking down…
May 2, 2003
The Mirror Project | Sandman Two for two, kids. Very cool.
May 2, 2003
War is Over Terrific. Anybody told our troops yet or the Iraqi civilians they keep killing? I support our troops, by the way . . . just not when they're firing into crowds of unarmed fucking people.
May 2, 2003
May 2, 2003
Poetic Divination | At the Mid Hour of Night "At the Mid Hour of Night" by Thomas Moore At the mid hour of night, when stars are weeping, I fly To the lone vale we loved, when life shone warm in…
May 1, 2003
April Site Stats Right. So one person found this site in April by typing "dreadful or scoundrel or favoring or ladanum or fibrotuberculosis" into a search engine. Hope they got what they were looking…
May 1, 2003
Poetic Divination | Primavera Mia "Primavera Mia" by Sara Teasdale As kings, seeing their lives about to pass, Take off the heavy ermine and the crown, So had the trees that autumn-time laid down…
April 30, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Trust in the you of now." (pause) Okay...
April 30, 2003
Poetic Divination | Remorse "Remorse" by Emily Dickinson Remorse -- is Memory -- awake -- Her Parties all astir -- A Presence of Departed Acts -- At window -- and at Door -- Its Past -- set…
April 29, 2003
High Anxiety This guy's got a site full of all the things that people usually send to everyone they know over e-mail -- all the stupid jokes and lists are there (or most of them). This, however, is…
April 29, 2003
Poetic Divination | telling our stories "telling our stories " by Lucille Clifton the fox came every evening to my door asking for nothing. my fear trapped me inside, hoping to dismiss her but she…
April 28, 2003
Scary... Yeah. This is what happens when you do a Google search on "teaching a kid to ride a bike". Trust this guy around kids? Yeah, he appears to know a lot about balance.
April 28, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Breathe more deeply."
April 28, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Two Songs "The Two Songs" By William Blake I heard an Angel Singing When the day was springing: "Mercy, pity, and peace, Are the world's release." So he sang all day Over…
April 26, 2003
Poetic Divination | Love Came to Us "Love Came to Us" by James Joyce Love came to us in time gone by When one at twilight shyly played And one in fear was standing nigh -- - For Love at first is all…
April 25, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Evening "What are you really thinking about right now?"
April 25, 2003
La Bella Luna God, I love the internet...
April 25, 2003
And speaking of divination... It might just be the normal transition from winter to spring, but there are a hell of a lot of dead animals everywhere all of a sudden. In addition to the usual…
April 25, 2003
Poetic Divination | Wisdom "Wisdom" by Siegfried Sassoon When Wisdom tells me that the world?s a speck Lost on the shoreless blue of God?s To-Day... I smile, and think, ?For every man his way: The…
April 24, 2003
Poetic Divination | The Well The Well by Denise Levertov At sixteen I believed the moonlight could change me if it would. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â I moved my head on the pillow, even moved my bed as the…
April 23, 2003
April 23 | William Shakespeare (b/d) Will was born and died on this day. A thousand more things could be said, but that's enough. Here's my favorite sonnet... Sonnet 53 What is your substance,…
April 23, 2003
The Matrix Reloaded Double kickass.
April 23, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Do nothing for as long as possible."
April 23, 2003
Poetic Divination | Doveglion "Doveglion" by ee cummings he isn't looking at anything he isn't looking for something he isn't looking he is seeing what not something outside himself not…
April 22, 2003
White on Ice Remember that Ice Storm I mentioned a few weeks back (scroll down, it's there)? I didn't take any pictures, because I knew Mister White was already on it. Love this picture -- the way…
April 22, 2003
Mister White On God And why is it that Zeus, God, and Santa all look the same? Santa is merely an overweight version of God. God is merely a flabby zeus. Jesus is really the 20-something version of…
April 22, 2003
Sick Days Walking into work this morning under a very gray sky, a friend and I talked about how it was the perfect sort of a day to play sick and stay home from school -- sit in bed, drink tea, read…
April 22, 2003
Poetic Divination | Spelling "Spelling" by Margaret Atwood My daughter plays on the floor with plastic letters, red, blue & hard yellow, learning how to spell, spelling, how to make spells. I…
April 22, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Put in earplugs."
April 21, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day: "Remember those quiet evenings."
April 21, 2003
Poetic Divination | Echoes "Echoes" By Emma Lazarus Late-born and woman-souled I dare not hope, The freshness of the elder lays, the might Of manly, modern passion shall alight Upon my Muse's lips,…
April 20, 2003
Poetic Divination | if "if" by ee cummings If freckles were lovely, and day was night, And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie, Â Â Â Â Â Life would be delight,- Â Â Â Â Â But things couldn't…
April 20, 2003
Oblique Strategy "Do nothing for as long as possible." (Yeah, just like college.)
April 19, 2003
Stupid Statement #3,456,564.45/d A word of advice: If you see someone reading something you've written or looking at your website, do not under any circumstances, roll your eyes and say "Get a……
April 19, 2003
Oblique Strategy for the Day "Go slowly all the way round the outside."
April 19, 2003
Poetic Divination | From Fairest Creatures "From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase" (Sonnet I) by William Shakespeare From fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might…
April 18, 2003
Good Friday What have you sacrificed for the ones you love? No one should know what you have done, what you have given up for them. Otherwise, it becomes a favor unasked for, an unwilling debt to be…
April 18, 2003
Oblique Strategy for The Day "Twist the spine."
April 18, 2003
Poetic Divination | Incident "Incident" by Countée Cullen Once riding in old Baltimore, Heart-filled, head-filled with glee; I saw a Baltimorean Keep looking straight at me. Now I was eight and…
April 17, 2003
Oblique Strategies The Oblique Strategies evolved from me being in a number of working situations when the panic of the situation - particularly in studios - tended to make me quickly forget that…
April 17, 2003
Poetic Divination | Love's Nearness "Love's Nearness " by Henry Van Dyke I think of thee, when golden sunbeams shimmer Across the sea; And when the waves reflect the moon's pale glimmer, I think of…
April 16, 2003
X-2 Kickass.
April 16, 2003
Poetic Divination | Burial of the Dead "Burial of the Dead" by John Keble I thought to meet no more, so dreary seem'd Death's interposing veil, and thou so pure, Thy place in Paradise Beyond where I…
April 15, 2003
Poetic Divination | Psalm Concerning the Castle "Psalm Concerning the Castle" by Denise Levertov Let me be at the place of the castle. Let the castle be within me. Let it rise foursquare from the…
April 15, 2003
alternet | Roger, Moore And that, my friends, is the real point of this film that I just got an Oscar for – how those in charge use fear to manipulate the public into doing whatever they are…
April 14, 2003
Poetic Divinination | Lines to Him Who Will Understand Them Excerpts from "Lines to Him Who Will Understand Them" By Mary Darby Robinson O, FRIENDSHIP! am I doom'd to find Thou art a phantom of the…
April 13, 2003
Poetic Divination | "Sing -- Sing -- Music Was Given" "Sing -- Sing -- Music Was Given" Thomas Moore Sing -- sing -- Music was given To brighten the gay, and kindle the loving; Souls here, like…
April 13, 2003
Good Friday Sketch "They're going to come and install the windows on this coming Friday." "That's Good Friday." "Yeah." "I can't be here." "It's okay, I have the day off. I can do it." "You have the…
April 12, 2003
Stats Reviewing stats for the site, I find that someone came to visit here by typing the phrase "infected hair follicle pussy" into a search engine. Another search term of note: "phallic canes" (a…
April 12, 2003
Poetic Divination "The Couriers" Sylvia Plath The word of a snail on the plate of a leaf? It is not mine. Do not accept it. Acetic acid in a sealed tin? Do not accept it. It is not genuine. A ring…
April 12, 2003
The Leash ...and I go outside to head up the street to the corner store. I'm halfway up the block when I hear a woman scream. She's running down the sidewalk. "The bombs are falling," she shouts,…
April 6, 2003
Quote of the Day | Schrodinger "There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks." -- Erwin Schrodinger
April 6, 2003
Crooners Lounge | Jimmy Camp That's my older brother there on the left . . . from the pose he's striking, I can only assume he's singing Elvis Presley's "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" -- but…
April 6, 2003
The Ice Storm They mocked me three years ago when I got an eighth of a cord of firewood for Y2K. They mocked the watter bottles and the Coleman stove and the canned goods. And they mocked me a few…
April 2, 2003
Food-Eating Battle Monkeys No idea. No idea at all. But, y'know, my monkey can beat up your monkey...
April 1, 2003
worthless word for the day | steganography The art of hidden writing But steganography is more than just cryptography in that it keeps the message secret by hiding the fact that it exists at all...
March 31, 2003
Judgement The card represents the critical factor for the issue at hand. A swift and conclusive decision. The resolution of a matter long unanswered. A change in point of view, most frequently…
March 29, 2003
eBay | bizarre tool In the spirit of incestuous cross-blogging, check out this interesting item availble on eBay. No idea what it is, but I like the conflicting opinions offered in the customer…
March 26, 2003
underground Got a light..?
March 22, 2003
Baghdad Blogger | Where is Raed? The most disturbing news today has come from Al-Jazeera, they said that nine B52 bombers have left the airfield in Britain and flying "presumably" towards Iraq, as if…
March 22, 2003
William Rivers Pitt | Now, I Am the Terrorist Baghdad is a city of 5 million people, half of whom are under the age of fifteen, most of whom are too poor to flee. As I sit here, I can hear my two…
March 18, 2003
Recent Stats Apprently there's someone out there who found this site by typing "pictures of kings being murdered" into a search engine. There are more of you out there than I realized. Visits in…
March 18, 2003
Returned I spent most of last week Underground -- which, in my personal mythology, means I was busy being sad and tired and not interested in anything but continuing to be so terribly, terribly sad.…
March 17, 2003
St. Patrick | The Deer's Cry I arise today, through the strength of Heaven: light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of…
March 12, 2003
camera Yes, I know it's gone dark. No . . . it's not broken.
March 11, 2003
timesunion.com | Arresting Peace About 100 people marched through Crossgates Mall at noon today to protest the arrest Monday of a man who wore a peace T-shirt while he shopped. Fight the future,…
March 11, 2003
In a Cold Place I know they say it's getting warmer, but I've never been so cold . . .they say it's getting warmer every day but the wind still slides around everything to get at you. Can't keep it…
March 10, 2003
The Onion | The Price of War Seems like a good deal to me...
March 10, 2003
The Colors of Noise Ran across this last week, doing some research for a client's project. I knew about white noise, of course, but I had no idea that there was a complete spectrum of sound and that…
March 7, 2003
Word of the Day | Perfect Complete; thorough; utter... Yeah.
March 6, 2003
The Endicott Studio | Coffeehouse There's some nice poems here. My particular favorites are Girl Without Hands by Margaret Atwood, and Locks by Neil Gaiman. Also, one called Bubah Yagah caught my…
March 4, 2003
MoveOn.org | Emergency Appeal to the U.N. I'm not much of a joiner, but... President Bush is pushing hard for a second Security Council resolution that would authorize war against Iraq. But millions…
March 4, 2003
Yahoo! News | Back to the Batcave Thirty-seven years after Adam West and Burt Ward put on skintight suits to keep Gotham City safe from the villainous Penguin, Joker and Riddler, the Dynamic Duo is…
March 4, 2003
Worthless Word for the Day | Filemot Filemot: Of the color of a dead or faded leaf "The walls were panelled; each panel was comparted like a modern office-desk, and each compartment crowded with…
March 1, 2003
p o r n o l i z e . c o m Reviewing the stats for the site tonight, very surprised to find that February's visits are more than double those in January . . . not quite sure why -- although it may…
February 28, 2003
truthout.org | Pitt on The PNAC The Project for the New American Century seeks to establish what they call 'Pax Americana' across the globe. Essentially, their goal is to transform America, the sole…
February 27, 2003
Fred Rogers | 1928-2003 Good night, Fred....
February 25, 2003
worthless word for the day | macroverbumsciolist the worthless word for the day is: macroverbumsciolist 1) a person who is ignorant of large words 2) a person who pretends to know a word, then…
February 24, 2003
Sam walked in this weekend after diner with Oreo crumbs all over his face. He said "Dad, what am I?" and puckered. "I have no idea." "A cat's butt!" He said, making little farting noises. Ah . . .…
February 22, 2003
Symptoms I have to remind myself that it's always better if I don't go looking on the internet for an answer to the odd little symptom I'm feeling . . . because it almost always turns out that I have…
February 22, 2003
diseased wits | Kevin White Except for a brief period in college, I never picked up a camera, never took a picture . . . until I saw Kevin work his magic. He takes a camera with him everywhere, like…
February 22, 2003
How Stuff Works | Seashells Here's an interesting fact. The spiral tips of conch shells were once broken off and used as simple hearing aids. These rudimentary hearing aids predate the tubes and…
February 21, 2003
My daughter just walked in and said to me: "Are you sad?" Me: "I am a little." She held her arms out to me: "Kiss and hug?" Me: "Sure. Are you tired? Are you ready for bed?" Her: "No, I just came in…
February 19, 2003
Accidental Symbols | Gebo (X) Symbols are everywhere. A unconscious doodle on a napkin at lunch turns out to be a sign, a commentary on the conversation at hand... Gebo is a rune of connection,…
February 18, 2003
Word of the Day | Kindred noun: A group of related persons, as a clan or tribe; a person's relatives; kinfolk. adjective: Of the same ancestry or family: kindred clans; having a similar or related…
February 18, 2003
The Guardian | Clooney Speaks Up It's the head guys who really tick me off," he says. "You dumb down at the top, so what does that do to the bottom? Who's going to stand up for us now? I just want…
February 17, 2003
The Observer | Euan Ferguson and One Million Lesley Taylor, a constitutional law lecturer who's lived across here for 29 years, holding a forlorn placard reading 'American against the war.' Why only…
February 17, 2003
The Mirror Project | Snow Day Congratulations! Your photograph has been added to The Mirror Project. Please feel free to contact me with any changes that you might like to make to your information.…
February 15, 2003
The Charelston Gazette | Senator Robert Byrd: Dove "I truly must question the judgment of any president who can say that a massive, unprovoked military attack on a nation which is over 50 percent…
February 14, 2003
The Shadow Project Very cool. A nice companion piece to 'The Miror Project' below... Yet another thing to add to the list of "Things I wish I'd thought of..."
February 12, 2003
Site of the Moment | The Mirror Project "For you know only a heap of broken images..." -- T.S. Elliot, The Wasteland
February 12, 2003
Automatic Flatterer | Custom Rubs For All Just type your name to get a little love in your life...
February 12, 2003
Thinking…
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
February 7, 2003
www.whitehouse.gov | The Department of Homeland "Security" Orange: High Condition High risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may…
February 6, 2003
truthout | Silencing Picasso As Colin Powell lobbied the world to back his proposal to drop 800 cruise missiles on Baghdad the mural of Pablo Picasso's anti-war masterpiece Guernica, that hangs in…
February 6, 2003
AlterNet | Laura Bush: Former Librarian turns Antipoet? First Lady Laura Bush's decision to cancel a White House symposium on the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes because…
February 6, 2003
The Odyssey | Update Well. The sixth draft is done . . . and it's still far too long. I can see the seventh draft from here, but I'm not doing anything about it. It's time to let this one go for a…
February 5, 2003
The Lysistrata Project The first-ever world-wide theatrical event for peace is coming to a city near you on Monday, March 3rd, 2003! Theatre artists from around the planet are raising their…
February 3, 2003
Stats Been looking over the stats for January, marvelling at how many people have (and haven't) come to visit. Nice little bit are looking at all of the phrases people typed into search engines,…
February 2, 2003
truthout | William Rivers Pitt When men and women die in the pursuit of what is greatest about humanity, it is both a tragedy and a glorious statement of what is best in all of us. We mourn them in…
February 1, 2003
True Story
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
January 31, 2003
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
January 25, 2003
wwftd | an identity the worthless word for the day is: momist /MOM ist/ a fault-finder [obs] from Momus, the Greek god of ridicule, who for his judgments of the gods was banished from heaven; hence a…
January 24, 2003
Guardian | Vonnegut on Madness I recall when I pondered buying from a gift shop a pretty object sacred to believers in a faith I knew nothing about. Only kidding, I asked the woman who waited on me…
January 23, 2003
William Rivers Pitt | Don't Do It, George On the home front, Bush is facing a similar dissolution of support from the American people. A recent Washington Post/ABC News poll states that seven out of…
January 21, 2003
Conversation with Julia on the way home from preschool today... "Hey dad, you know what?" "What?" "Martin Luther King Jr. is dead." "Uh huh. I know. It happened a long time ago." "He was a nice……
January 20, 2003
Homer's Revenge Well. Chalk it up to bad luck or the petty whim of some minor writing god . . . but I've just heard that I've got got another year at least before the director who originally asked me…
January 18, 2003
FilmJerk.com | Fincher Bites Dogs Set in the 1970s, this story is based on the rise -- and sometimes the fall -- of a group of brilliant young skateboarders raised in the mean streets of Dogtown in…
January 17, 2003
Sanberg at 'Spider' | Hanging with Ralph and Dave Sandberg's in London right now. It was raining this afternoon, so she went to go see a movie, deciding on some obscure art house showing 'Spider'…
January 16, 2003
www.waitallday.com Just in case you like your comedy quiet...
January 16, 2003
Worldometers | You Could Be Next You know, if these numbers are right, someone is going to have to move to Mars soon. Like, maybe China? It's enough to make you vote Green Party, no?
January 16, 2003
With The Beatles | 'Paul Is Dead' Noted as "the most elaborate pop hoax in history," the "Paul is dead" myth has generated more rumors and speculation for the Beatles than for any other group. It…
January 15, 2003
John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project (JLAIP) | I am the Eggman John Lennon Artificial Intelligence Project (JLAIPâ„¢) is recreating the personality of the late Beatle, John Lennon, by…
January 13, 2003
Los Angeles Times | Le Guin on Rules for Writing In his terse and cogent essay "When Rules Are Made to Be Broken" (Book Review, Oct. 6), John Rechy attacks three "rules of writing" that, as he says,…
January 13, 2003
Word Detective The theory that "news" is an acronym whose letters stand for the four points of the compass -- North, East, West and South -- is an attractive, superficially plausible theory, but,…
January 12, 2003
The Catalogue of UK Entrances to Hell
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
January 11, 2003
Alright, yes, it occurs to me that I should mention that Tolkien and Wolfe bear absolutely no similarity to each other -- either in style or content or anything else. The resemblance is that each of…
January 10, 2003
I've been spending most of my time over the past few weeks working through the fifth draft of 'The Odyssey' -- I've got a director who's interested in taking it on, which gives me a deadline to work…
January 8, 2003
This Day in History | Emperor Norton Dies At the pre-emptory request of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for…
January 7, 2003
A Few Definitions No one really knows what it is, a ghost. The easiest and most common definition is an earthbound spirit of someone who has died. But that really doesn't take into account about…
January 7, 2003
A.I. | I Am Real, But My Love Is Not David: Is it a game? Monica: Now, I'm gonna read some words, and, uh, they won't make any sense, but I want you to listen to them anyway. And . . . look at me all…
January 4, 2003
Tommy Can You Hear Me? Looks like we're up and running again, thanks to the tireless efforts of Jack Baty. Anyways. A new framework, a new look and feel . . . hopefully no holes to fall through.…
January 1, 2003
tmcamp.com | a haunted year It's finished, no more ghost pictures (although I may keep the journal going if the episodes continue...) Please note, this link is to the old site -- no guarantees on…
December 31, 2002
worthless word for the day | coenesthesis "The undefined consciousness, the product of all the vital processes, constituting bodily perception... which is expressed in one word--the coenesthesis."…
December 24, 2002
The Small Hand of Mars
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
December 23, 2002
Joe Strummer | 1952-2002 Man, that make me sad. I just got very old. That's a big hunk of my youth gone cold. Goodbye Joe.
December 18, 2002
Yipes Going onstage tonight for the first time in about ten years. It's only a staged reading, but still... Suddenly, very cold.
December 16, 2002
www.iused to believe.com | What Do You Believe? i used to believe is a collection of ideas that adults thought were true when they were children; some of them are funny, some of them are bizarre,…
December 14, 2002
Site of the Week | City of the Silent So . . . currently I'm writing a novel about the underworld while at the same time revising a story about an undertaker . . . . which makes this site…
December 12, 2002
Yahoo News | That Harvey Porter Kid LONDON (AP) - An American collector has paid more than $45,000 for a card full of clues to the plot of the long-awaited fifth Harry Potter (news - web sites)…
December 9, 2002
John Milton (1608-1674) Lucifer: Still. "Better to rule in hell, than serve in heaven." Eh, little brother-killer? Cain: Suh-certainly, Lord Lucifer. Whatevery you say, Lord Lucifer. Luficer: "We…
November 30, 2002
The Village Voice | The New American Revolution "We need to do more than be passive observers of history, because the decisions being made right now are our future. . . . Laws like the USA Patriot…
November 28, 2002
BBC | Arachnids or Terrorism? But the supermarket denied that food producers are using black widow spiders, after three customers found them in bags of grapes. You watch, all of this will get blamed…
November 26, 2002
Quote of the Day | T.M. Camp "Sometimes you gotta get the stick out, the big one with the nails. And you gotta be willing to hit something with it, you can't just wave it around. If you want the…
November 23, 2002
*cough* Sick for a week now, time to go to the doctor.
November 22, 2002
Fox News | Watching Your Pennies A massive database that the government will use to monitor every purchase made by every American citizen is a necessary tool in the war on terror, the Pentagon said…
November 22, 2002
Yahoo! News | Homeless For The Holidays "The House and the Senate have to get something done in order for the president to have something to sign," Fleischer said, refusing six times to state…
November 21, 2002
Russian Mail Order Brides And the douchebags who want them. Because a site this great deserves two posts. Y'gotta check out the Yankees who're standing in line to hook up with them Russian broads.…
November 20, 2002
Bozemoi | Am I Russian Or Not? Da, tovarish, da!
November 18, 2002
My New Role Model | Henry Raddick's Reviews on Amazon I don't know if it's comedy or some form of low-level terrorism. Perhaps it's both. This guy's a genius.
November 15, 2002
Cryptome | Raw Material for the Conspiratologist Start digging, there's a lot there. But take a look at this for starters...
November 13, 2002
Team Nostrovia Please, don't ask me why . . . but on the home page (near the bottom) vote for Adam to be the captain. He needs the props.
November 12, 2002
The Muses and Other Tramps (Note: This past weekend, my old friend insomnia showed up for a visit. This is what wandered out of my head at two o'clock in the morning on Saturday...) I meet once a…
November 10, 2002
Neil Gaiman Happy birthday, Mr. Gaiman. If you haven't read something Neil's written, now's the time to start.
November 8, 2002
AlterNet | Gulf War Blues Sometimes we suffer from nightmares, lack of sleep, flashbacks. Sometimes the nightmares are when we are awake. Sometimes veterans inflict their nightmares on other people.…
November 7, 2002
Word of the Month: Anonymous This word has been on my mind for the past week or so and, finally, I can't help but ask: Is there a way to be truly anonymous? Of course not. You betray your position so…
November 5, 2002
Penny for the old guy..? Remember, remember The Fifth of November Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. -- Anonymous
November 1, 2002
Bookslut | 100 Books 'Hey, what if we take the list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century and split it up, reading all of it, and writing columns about each one?'
October 31, 2002
From The Snare BUSTER If you were a ghost, if you were a ghost, you wouldn’t be here. HARRY Pray tell... BUSTER ...Houdini is dead, he died... HARRY ...I died on October 31st, 1926 with my dear…
October 29, 2002
www.blackpeopleloveus.com | Black People Love Us! "We are well-liked by Black people so we're psyched (since lots of Black people don't like lots of White people)!! We thought it'd be cool to honor…
October 28, 2002
The election is a week away and I've taken to answering the phone with "John Lennon Society. Fight The Future. This is T.M., how may I direct your call?" Which has cut down on the political calls (I…
October 21, 2002
Pearl Harbor Sat tonight and watched this with my grandfather (who was stationed in Europe during the war, doing recon behind enemy lines in Germany). About halfway through the movie I said to…
October 20, 2002
Eight of Swords | Confusion Since most people would consult the Tarot in times of confusion or doubt, why do you suppose there's a card that, essentially, says "You're confused"? Actually, why aren't…
October 20, 2002
Spoke to a creative writing class last week, taught by my friend Tanya Eby. Read a few pieces, did a scene with she-who-shall-be-called-Coco (it's a long story, trust me), shut off all the lights and…
October 20, 2002
The Banned Books Project | Internet Bookmobile "...the premise is simple; we would gain more access to all things written if more books were to be placed in the public domain. libraries (and the…
October 15, 2002
The Village Voice | The Spoils of War "The doctrine of the preemptive strike is the perfect strategy for ushering in a new century of neocolonialism, unfettered by any need to respect sovereignty or…
October 10, 2002
Happy Birthday: Harold Pinter Today the playwright is seventy-nine years old. Pinter is perhaps best known for his plays 'The Birthday Party', 'The Dumbwaiter', 'Betrayal', and 'Old Times'. Highly…
September 30, 2002
I've been writing most of the night, in longhand. I should be editing plays, rewriting older works and getting them ready for submission. There's a list of proposals and estimates for work to be…
September 26, 2002
T.S. Eliot | Happy Birthday Twelve years ago I had to commute two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening to a very miserable job. Drive time radio was inane drivel (this was at the height…
September 17, 2002
Alice in Wonderland Word in this past weekend from a company in Southern California that wants to produce my Alice script sometime late next summer. So that's good news. ------------- Been working on…
September 6, 2002
Lying Mofo | Fake Blogs, Real People For all of you out there wond'ring what would Virginia Woolf have to say if she had a weblog, here y'go. Also other notables include Edward Gorey, Dr. Seuss, and…
September 2, 2002
tmcamp.com | A Haunted August Someone complained recently, about the ghost journal being so hard to find on my site. So. Here you go.
August 29, 2002
See, there was this thing on my eyelid. Been there for a while. A sty, an infected hair follicle or somesuch. Warm compresses, drops, trips to the doctor, steroid injections . . . wouldn't go away.…
August 28, 2002
John M. Ford | 110 Stories I hugged the stranger sitting next to me. So this is what you call a second chance. One turn aside, into eternity. This is New York. We'll find a place to dance.
August 26, 2002
Ten Years
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 22, 2002
Tenth Anniversary
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 20, 2002
H.P. Lovecraft "Despite all the evidence given in the other pages here, there will still be those who believe that the Necronomicon is a “real†book. There will also be those who merely claim to…
August 19, 2002
t r u t h o u t | US Already at War With Iraq "Far from acting in cooperation with anyone during the decision making process, the Bush Administration has ignored the concerns of both Democratic and…
August 19, 2002
Rock And Roll Confidential - The Hall of Douchebags My new favorite site...
August 13, 2002
anil dash | Stop Forwarding "That forward? I got it. I've gotten it. I do not wish to keep receiving it. I was neither moved nor inspired. It was neither clever nor funny. I was not amazed at the…
August 5, 2002
Russ Kick | Shattered Cover "Despite the Task Force's claim that the warrant only targeted these two books purchased by the suspect, Recht says the text of the warrant told a different story. The…
August 5, 2002
Gerry McGovern | Taking Time "All this extra work has not made us much more productive. I noticed that as each day wore on, I became more tired, less focused. Each day blurred into the next. And yet…
August 2, 2002
open source poetry | Untitled Interesting little poetry engine, either for writing or sharing. Here's what I came up with, starting with a line they shared/suggested: like hers and mine a life…
August 1, 2002
Crankbunny Tracked down the folks responsible for the work I saw in Hell this morning (I just love saying that). I don't know who they are or what they do, but I like them.
August 1, 2002
indymedia | Speaking Softly Without a Big Stick "This president and his entourage have elevated themselves above the constitution, and told us that our rights that we think are held sacred by this…
August 1, 2002
hell.com | go to hell If you can find your way through the maze, I highly recommend getting on their mailing list. It's well worth it. Every few weeks I get a private link for some interesting design…
July 31, 2002
New Scientist | I Want To Believe "[Reasearch] suggests that paranormal thoughts are associated with high levels of dopamine in the brain, and the L-dopa makes sceptics less sceptical." Hmmm . . .…
July 29, 2002
Public Service Announcement | Night Terrors? Crazy as it sounds, I'm trying to track down some leads related to odd night activity this weekend. Specifically, did you (or anyone you know) experience…
July 25, 2002
LA Weekly | Hobohemians "Since then every major war and economic downturn has seen a return to the rails, providing a sort of shadow history of America, a constantly mobile underground of migrant…
July 24, 2002
t r u t h o u t | John Dean on Presidential Scandal "If past is prologue, and I believe it is, President Bush is now highly vulnerable to scandal." Listen to Mr. Dean kids. He was Executive Counsel…
July 10, 2002
The House of Clocks Back in May I mentioned this site in passing, referring to someone who sneakily registered the URL after hearing it during a reading of an unpublished manuscript (confused yet?)…
July 10, 2002
Yahoo News | The Backdoor to Cyberterrorism "Currently, power grids, dams, and other industrial facilities are monitored by Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems; approximately…
July 8, 2002
I'm back and visible again (and writing as well) after a week of rattling around the house, painting rooms, and trying not to miss the kids quite so much. So.
July 5, 2002
CNN | US Planning for a Rainy Day Report: A draft U.S. military plan for an invasion of Iraq is said to envision a multipronged attack with tens of thousands of Marines and soldiers probably invading…
July 3, 2002
Word of the Day | Syngamic The typos caught by spellcheckers can be particularly evocative. This morning, "synamic" was flagged (should have been "dynamic"). The suggested correction was "syngamic",…
June 29, 2002
Woke up this morning, started the laundry, mentally planning out my day -- yardwork, paint the kitchen, read a book maybe... Opened the front door to put a letter in the mailbox. A odd discolored…
June 29, 2002
Woke up this morning, started the laundry, mentally planning out my day -- yardwork, paint the kitchen, read comic books... Opened the front door to put a letter in the mailbox. A odd discolored lump…
June 28, 2002
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
June 27, 2002
Yahoo | Shakespeare Too Expensive in Japan "There were just too many debts," Yamada said. "So the judgement of our managing company was that it would be better to let the place go." The farewell…
June 27, 2002
t r u t h o u t | The More Things Change... "[In the 1960's] We thought America was being run by the corporate-military-industrial white male power structure . . . We were certain there was a…
June 26, 2002
legodeath.com | You Kids Play Nice Now Personally, I think this site is pretty tame compared to what they could have built. If you think that using Legos to stage various acts of torture and violence…
June 25, 2002
Sitting at the table tonight, Sam said "When does the book come out?" "Next month." I said. "Which is?" "July." He groaned. "I won't be here to read it." "Sure," I said. "But you're coming back."…
June 22, 2002
faces | new photos Put up a few new pictures -- one for each of my brothers, a few of Sam and Julia. I'm not a photographer but I've been pleased with how much Photoshop will let me disguise my…
June 20, 2002
disinformation | Tyler Durden vs. The Aliens A contrastive analysis of the subtexts of the movies Independence Day and Fight Club and of two George W. Bush's key speeches demonstrate that the choice…
June 18, 2002
CNN | Unholy Land "Israel will respond to acts of terror by capturing PA territory. These areas will be held by Israel as long as terror continues," the statement said. "Additional acts of terror…
June 17, 2002
Michael Lewis | Daddy the Monster A month after Tallulah was born, I would have felt only an obligatory sadness if she had been rolled over by a truck. Six months or so later, I'd have thrown myself…
June 14, 2002
CounterPunch | Dirty Bombs and Dirty Dumps "We should be worried about this? I'd say it comes pretty low on the list of Major Concerns. Now suppose Al Qaeda was to plan something really nasty like…
June 14, 2002
slate | Fire = Money? "In the past 10 years, wild-land firefighting has transformed from a federal government responsibility to a massive, extremely lucrative, private enterprise. The feds provide…
June 10, 2002
Driving home today, Julia announced that she had never seen an apple tree before. "Well, there are apple trees here. We can go look at 'em sometime." "No. I want to grow one," she said. "We can't…
June 5, 2002
The Washington Post | Why Johnny Won't Read When my son Jake was in third grade, the one required summer reading book for his whole class was Little House on the Prairie. Jake's first impression?…
June 5, 2002
The Random Frog Children "I think Batman is a lot like Jesus. Y'know, if he hit people more and dressed like a giant bat."
June 5, 2002
truthout.org | 9/11 Question and Answer You know it's bad when the conspiratologists are starting to interview themselves. Dig through Truthout when you get a chance. There's some interesting food…
June 4, 2002
Partly Cloudy After Midnight
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
June 2, 2002
Thirty-three today, as old as Jesus.
May 31, 2002
A little late in mentioning this, but a few weeks back I had the opportunity to see a couple of pieces done as part of an undergraduate directing class at a college here in town. As a part of their…
May 23, 2002
Star Wars | More Thought Than It Deserves I may be overthinking this, but . . . doesn't it strike you as mildly creepy that Jango Fett would want an unmodified clone of himself for himself so that he…
May 21, 2002
CNN | Incredible Threat "New Your City authorities are taking new precautions to protect landmarks from new attacks . . . The FBI, citing an "abundance of caution," warned authorities to be ready…
May 20, 2002
Gaiman Nominated for 2002 Mythopoeic Award "The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published…
May 18, 2002
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Franchise Tonight Sam was looking through the New Yorker review of the new Star Wars movie. "Queen Amidala?" "Yeah," I said. "She's in it." "She is?" "Yeah. She's…
May 15, 2002
John Zerzan | Long Live King Ludd "Technology has never been neutral, like some discreet tool detachable from its context. It always partakes of and expresses the basic values of the social system in…
May 9, 2002
All Shook Up In the classic Elvis Presley song from the 50's, Elvis sings that he's "itching like a man on a fuzzy tree..." Hmmm. A quick Google search on the term "Elvis was Gay" brings up any…
May 5, 2002
Sam bought his first comic book today, with his own money. Somehow, I was very proud . . . as a father. This wasn't Little League. This wasn't his first home run or winning game. But I was proud. Of…
May 3, 2002
Mouse Circus | "Coraline" No, I don't know what 'mouse circus' means . . . not yet, anyway. The book will be released on audio in June, read by the author. Then the hardback will be released a month…
April 30, 2002
Welcome To Andyco.com | Everything to Everyone "At The Andyco Foundation, we believe today's destitute lowlife is tomorrow's paying customer -- as long as we take the time to lend a helping hand. For…
April 24, 2002
Huntsville Times | Science Friction "Michael Williams, a Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District seat, has a novel plan to fully fund NASA: Tax science fiction. Williams proposes a 1…
April 23, 2002
Salon | Literary Daybook, April 23 Happy birthday, Bill.
April 22, 2002
Wired | The History of Video Games Anybody want to go to London and play some games?
April 19, 2002
April 19, 1995 | Never Forget Until his execution, Timothy McVeigh's only reget over the loss of innocent lives was that it detracted from the larger message of his "gesture" in Oklahoma City -- a…
April 17, 2002
How to be a Ninja It's not as hard as it looks. I used to do this practially every night in college, playing Laser Tag with the guys until 2 AM.
April 17, 2002
vers libre | random poem Nights with bright spindles, divided, material, nothing but voice, nothing but naked every day. From "Sonata" by Pablo Neruta
April 16, 2002
Seven of Pentacles "Failure -- Labor abandoned. Sloth. Unprofitable speculation. Promises of success unfulfilled. Hopes deceived. Disappointment. Little gain from much labor. If particularly…
April 15, 2002
BrainyQuote There's more here than you'd imagine... We live in oppressive times. We have, as a nation, become our own thought police; but instead of calling the process by which we limit our…
April 15, 2002
babycakes | Neil Gaiman and Jouni Koponen A few days Gaiman posted this link to his blog. Someone(this Jouni person) had taken his story and put pictures to it the same way a composer might set a…
April 13, 2002
Which Member of the Endless Are You? If you need to know who the endless are, don't bother... For the record: Death.
April 11, 2002
As It Is In Heaven I did something tonight that I don't get to do very often . . . I went to see a great play. The story is elegant, simple: A quiet Shaker village is rocked by controversy. Some of…
April 11, 2002
McPhee | The Ultimate Action Figure Who can forget the excitement of coming down on Christmas Morning to find one of these under the tree?
April 8, 2002
Attention Grandparents | New Pictures Added a handful of new pictures tonight. A couple from Easter morning, one or two from the trip to Balitmore, and an older one of Julia to round out the…
April 8, 2002
Wendy Cope | The Law Of Copyright Although I've been invisible for the past couple of weeks while I got the first draft of "The Odyssey" under wraps, I haven't been ignoring anyone. Someone recently…
April 1, 2002
E-mail at www.fucker.com | Your Name is Still Available! You know, if I didn't already have tmc@tmcamp.com, I'd be sorely tempted...
April 1, 2002
Sweet Facy Moses | Clash of the Smarties Pretending to understand things is an instinct. In everyday conversations with the opposite sex, for example, you pretend to know what is going on simply by…
April 1, 2002
CNN | Snoring Kids Obstructive sleep apnea can result in daytime tiredness, which may make children act up or have learning difficulties. Some studies have even suggested affected children may be…
April 1, 2002
Google Technology Oh, it's April Fool's Day. How cute. Pigeons and computers. Whatever.
April 1, 2002
Dialogue
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
March 29, 2002
Karaoke Night I've never been a big fan of audio books. The few times that I've tried to listen to one, I've always been annoyed by the performer, the abridgement, the half-performance-half-reading…
March 28, 2002
vers libre | "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea- journey on the highway across America in tears Yeah.
March 19, 2002
Zealot.com | Coraline Preview A number of years ago I had the opportunity to hear Neil Gaiman speak to a literature class at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Think about that: A…
March 18, 2002
Orisinal | Simple Beauty These are some of the nicest, most elegant little games that I've seen in a long while. They're not particularly complex or conceptually innovative, but they are absolutely…
March 15, 2002
The Grey Labyrinth | Don't Forget The Jewelled Thread If you're the sort of person who doesn't have enough to sort through and figure out in your day-today life, GL will give you enough diversions to…
March 15, 2002
Tarot Online| Tempereance Badly dignified, this card indicates a lack of self-control, confusion, imbalance. May also indicate that conflicts in personal, business, and spiritual matters create…
March 14, 2002
Archives A few people have asked me to repost older entries (my negotiations to regain ABBA for the straight population . . . my thoughts on superheroes, dreams, and September 11th) but instead I've…
March 11, 2002
NASA | One World Lest we, with all of the wars and rumors of wars, forget...
March 11, 2002
Except from "SEPTEMBER 1, 1939" | W.H. Auden 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…
March 10, 2002
Weather Report | White Out
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
March 7, 2002
The Skyscraper | Not Enough Time In The Day I just started digging. There's a lot of fun stuff here...
March 7, 2002
Good and Evil | Vote Early, Vote Often "Below is a list of the "Top Ten" evil people of all time followed by a list of the "Top Ten" good people of all time -- sorted in order of evilness and…
March 6, 2002
California Secretary of State | My Brother's Candidate My brother's worked hard over the years and I'm happy that it's starting to pay off. Sure, it's a fiercely conservative Republican, so I'm…
March 4, 2002
tmcamp.com | New Plays Due to requests for shorter material, I have posted two or three one-acts for your reading pleasure (we can always hope). The scripts in question are from a longer piece called…
March 4, 2002
CNN.com | My Kid's a Genius "Elizabeth Chapman, 29, hospitalized her son Justin in November after what she feared was a suicide attempt. She said she decided to tell the truth because her lies were…
March 4, 2002
CNN.com | The Groundhog Was Right It's very cold tonight...
March 1, 2002
jaybill.com | What's Wrong With This Picture? This is a great mind-teaser/puzzle. I don't care how good you are at details, you'll miss it. Look very closely and see if you can see what's wrong with…
February 27, 2002
SearchSecurity | What's on Your Mind? "In the test, the subject is fitted with a patented headband equipped with sensors and shown a series of relevant words or pictures on a computer screen. When…
February 25, 2002
The Odyssey I won't go into all of the circumstances, but I had an interchange this evening with another writer. They inquired about something I was working on and then asked me to chalk the question…
February 22, 2002
Edna St. Vincent Millay | Wraith "Thin Rain, whom are you haunting, Â Â That you haunt my door?" --Surely it is not I she's wanting; Â Â Someone living here before-- "Nobody's in the house but…
February 21, 2002
PrayStation | New Design A compeltely new design/interface, with some very cool new toys...
February 21, 2002
CNN | Daniel Pearl is Dead "We now believe, based on reports from the U.S. State Department and police officials of the Pakistani province of Sind, that Danny Pearl was killed by his captors. We are…
February 15, 2002
Funny Garbage 1 Samuel 17:45-51
February 15, 2002
Equal Time | Do You Hate The Beatles? Been listening to The Beatles a lot lately, don't know why. I love their music and have had incredible difficulty convincing one of my friends of their talent,…
February 14, 2002
Cat's Cradle Submitted without comment or preface...
February 12, 2002
A Conversation With Julia After her bath tonight, my three-year-old daughter came in wearing her pajama bottoms. "You see these?" She asked, pointing to her chest. "Yes." "They're going to get…
February 8, 2002
tmcamp.com | A Haunted Year If you haven't seen the journal or photos yet, it's probably worth a look...
February 7, 2002
Elizabeth Willetts Camp | 1915-2002 I spoke this past weekend at my grandmother's funeral. She had been suffering from Parkinson's for a number of years and spent the past year or so in steep…
February 6, 2002
Fusionary Media Today was a good day.
February 4, 2002
Sweet Fancy Moses | Why I Write "Then, deprived of the pregnant obscurity that now envelopes me like a shroud, I shall become an hollow man--a wraith upon the earth, shuttled amongst the…
January 30, 2002
T.M. Camp | A Haunted Year Yes, it's true...
January 30, 2002
Elizabeth Willetts Camp My grandmother died last Saturday. My father's mother. Sixteen years ago, she was the first person to read anything that I had written. Elizabeth was the first person tell…
January 30, 2002
Neil Gaiman "Overall, I try not to take the praise too seriously. I like making up stories, I'm lucky that people want to read the stories I make up. If they didn't want to read them, I wouldn't be…
January 16, 2002
National Lampoon | Bin Ladin Finds "One Ring" President Bush expressed his desire to assuage fears of both the British and American families of those soldiers taken that they won't have died in vain.…
January 10, 2002
Tron's 20th Anniversary | You're Older Than You Look"When we made it, there was this hope that technology would put us in touch with the best of ourselves. One of the reasons the dot-com bubble burst…
December 24, 2001
The Whispering Boy | a story by T.M. Camp Once, long ago, there must have been a fire. There's a long brick wall that still bears faint streaks of shadow where flames once flickered. Here and there,…
December 20, 2001
James Watkins | The Genuine Jesus The counterfeit Christ and his followers have long lists of "do's and don't's" that are preached as "Gospel." And everyone who doesn't subscribe to their legalistic…
December 6, 2001
www.chadandkeek.com | Why I Hate Chad. Chad is an old friend. And I hate Chad. He has the best personal site I've ever seen. I hate you Chad.
December 5, 2001
Sweet Fancy Moses | Retrieval "Books are (typically) not stolen, meaning they're over-borrowed (or lost). But we cannot allow the belief that these bound pages evacuated our homes on their own.…
November 27, 2001
vers libre | Hugh Sykes Davies In the stump of the old tree, where the heart has rotted out, there is a hole the length of a man's arm, and a dank pool at the bottom of it where the rain gathers, and…
November 26, 2001
The Odyssey Tonight I begin writing my next play, an adaption (or "adaptation", if you're from Hollywood) of Homer's classic story. I've been commissioned by a director who has never read my work,…
November 16, 2001
CNN | Drugs and Guns "I don't know if you know this or not," Bush said during his high school appearance," but the Taliban government and al Qaeda ... use heroin trafficking in order to fund their…
November 12, 2001
The Queen of Pentacles "Represents the watery part of Earth. A woman ambitious in useful directions, affectionate and kind, charming, timid, practical, quiet and domesticated. Indicates generosity,…
November 12, 2001
Quote of the Week | January Magazine Interviews Gaiman "Whenever I do things because I want to do it and because it seems fun or interesting and so on and so forth, it almost always works. And it…
November 8, 2001
disinformation | More Than Meets The Eye "And then comes the US government's stepped-up assault to capture the hearts and minds of citizens at home and governments abroad. Much has already been made…
October 30, 2001
NYT ONLINE | Words of Wisdom from Lemony "The darker aspects of American culture have been getting a bad rap lately. Dark humor has been deemed unfunny. There are even a handful of towns that have…
October 30, 2001
CNN | Anthrax Comes Home "...there was no evidence at all that there could be -- or is -- an individual in which there might be the reasonable question, 'Did they get infected from a piece of mail…
October 30, 2001
Salon | The Citizen's Bag "From pencils to flammable liquids hidden in shampoo bottles, there is, when it comes right down to it, virtually no way to prevent somebody from fashioning a dangerous…
October 30, 2001
CNN | Credible Threats Ashcroft: "I trust the American people to be able to understand ... that they can make good judgments and understand this kind of information." On my way to Baltimore this…
October 27, 2001
Long After Midnight It's late...
October 27, 2001
Unamerican | Your Brain is Our Domain Despite the increasingly stark revelation that capital letters indicate the opression of the masses, I recommend this site as another touchstone in my…
October 27, 2001
Al Martin | The Face of the Future They call everyone "citizen." I swear to God, I'm not making this up. Then the guy asks for his driver's license, then something else and something else. Then he…
October 25, 2001
Radical Urban Theory | See You Later Alligator "The alligator story relies on the conjecture that to live in a big city is to be subject to the unintentional acts of others. This may be a…
October 23, 2001
Apple | Lord of the Rings One ring to rule them allOne ring to bind themOne ring to bring them allAnd in the darkness bind them. There's simply nothing that gets my little fanboy heart beating faster…
October 23, 2001
Heist | Mamet is BackMamet. David Mamet. Arguably one of the best dramatists working today. And Ricky Jay in a leading role? Delroy Lindo? Outstanding. Nobody writes a con better than Mr. Mamet. I'm…
October 23, 2001
CNN | Cropduster Sprays BoatsEither it was a slow news day or this was a trial run . . . you make the call...
October 23, 2001
Sweet Fancy Moses | Equal Rights for the Temperture-ChallengedQuestion: How many Snowmen does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: Snowmen don't screw. This is true, which is why it may also be…
October 22, 2001
Boston.com / Don't Know Much About HistoryThe new books, which students will not see until the fall of 2002 or 2003, must wear well over time, while providing reasonably current information -- a…
October 19, 2001
Conspiracy Planet | Gen X SpooksSponsored by the CIA Directorate of Operations, Clandestine Service, the ad says you can't be older than 35 to enter the trainee program. In other words, the ad copy…
October 19, 2001
FEED | The Collectable UnconsciousThe first two arrays of doll-like figures and sacred bric-a-brac were devoted to Haiti's two main groups of gods, the Rada and the Petro. But the final altar, bathed…
October 19, 2001
Doyle MacDonald | Parlor TricksThere's not a whole lot to say. It's ain't Ricky Jay or anything, but go have a look. Many thanks to The King in Yellow for helping me find this cute little trick.
October 17, 2001
Sweet Fancy Moses | Do Not Be My GroupieMetaphorical?No, that wasn't meant to be metaphorical.What do you mean, "are you joking?" Modern poetry they didn't teach you in school.
October 17, 2001
disinformation | Flight 93If, indeed, a missile downed Flight 93, where would the aircraft come from to do it? First of all, Flight 93 was reported hijacked to NORAD at approximately 9:16 AM…
October 17, 2001
Wired | Hotel ApocalypsoI'm moving next week.
October 16, 2001
ThinkGeek | Cool ToysThe perfect resource when you're looking for that perfect gift for that special someone in the cube next door.
October 15, 2001
disinformation | Bush and bin Ladin...if a national security priority is to seize the financial assets of those who support terrorists, then perhaps we should start right here at home. Keep in mind…
October 12, 2001
Grand Rapids | A River Runs Through ItI'm not an expert on geography or anything, but don't most rivers run north to south? Just looked out the window and the Grand River is a broad choppy line of…
October 11, 2001
Writer’s Digest | The Red BoySo I come home to find this large parcel on the kitchen table addressed to me. Return address is FW Publishing (whatever that is). I slice it open with a kitchen knife…
October 11, 2001
The Web Standards Project | Patents and Technologies...the Web of the future will be an even more corporate affair — a long nightmare of so-called "defensive" software patents giving rise to more…
October 11, 2001
Medical News | The Health Benefits of TeaThis warm beverage is a good source of caffeine. As well as caffeine, tea contains a wide variety of compounds that may be good for everything from your teeth…
October 11, 2001
CNN.com | Third Person Infected With Anthrax "I think this is an attack against America. The World Trade Center was attacked, the Pentagon was attacked, and American Media was attacked, and I think…
October 10, 2001
Salon.com Technology | Be prepared? When a listener to a recent radio call-in show asked the physician-host how he might protect himself from the biological threat, he was told, "It's being addressed…
October 10, 2001
Sweet Fancy Moses | Dick's MustacheHistorically, I can think of no other actor who grew facial hair late in his career. There's only Raymond Burr and Orson Welles, but the real story with them is…
October 9, 2001
disinformation | The War at HomeBut you can be sure that some system will be devised to enable Ridge at Homeland Security, and Downing on behalf of the Pentagon, to keep track of every suspects every…
October 4, 2001
New York Heading out tomorrow to the city that never sleeps. I'm very conscious of the reality that the New York I am visiting for the first time is an entirely different place from what it used to…
October 2, 2001
Learn to Whistle'Cause you gotta have goals.
September 27, 2001
Thought and MemoryTonight as I was putting my son to bed, I looked out the window in his room into the backyard. Sam asked me what I was looking at and then, before I could respond, said "Does the…
September 26, 2001
CNN Fact SheetPersonally, I'm all for Infinite Justice and Enduring Whatever-it's-called . . . but I'd prefer something with a bit more oomph. It ain't no Operation Overlord or Desert Storm.…
September 25, 2001
Walter WalkerOut my window I can see the river, choppy under the cold skies. I want to go out in my overcoat and hat, and walk the bank with nothing but a cigarette and the rain to occupy my time.
September 21, 2001
Toaster-Instruction Booklet Author Enraged That Editor Betrayed His VisionFrom The Onion. Because comedy, like fine legumes, is tightly coiled and can make you cry when you chop it into fine pieces…
September 20, 2001
Calvin CollegeThere was to be a gathering on the campus tonight, a vigil for peace. That has been disrupted by this threat. I can't help but believe the threat is a hoax, concocted to disrupt the…
September 19, 2001
Wish You Were HereCourtesy of The Village Voice
September 18, 2001
Two of WandsFire in its highest form. Energy initiating a current of force. Harmony of rule and justice. Influence over another. Boldness, courage, fierceness. Success, wealth and power are negated…
September 17, 2001
www.flippedoff.comMy new favorite site...
September 15, 2001
From "SEPTEMBER 1, 1939"by W.H. Auden 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…
September 15, 2001
The Untouchable The attack that night was the last great air raid of the Blitz. Driving down from Oxford, I was stopped at a police barrier on Hampstead Heath. I got out of the car and stood in the…
September 14, 2001
{fray} hope - missing pieces Stories from New York.
September 14, 2001
Fighting Back Don't be frozen by shock and fear: That was the terrorists' objective. Fight them by continuing to live normally in our free and open society.>
September 14, 2001
October Almost Magritte clouds in the sky today; probably my favorite kind of sky. The window at my shoulder shifts between light and shadow every few seconds.
September 14, 2001
Words Fail Us Indeed they do. Things seem so much worse today than yesterday. A settled silence is out there, going through the day under the shadow of some unseen dread. And with so little to be…
September 13, 2001
The Dark KnightNear the end of Frank Miller’s epic Batman story The Dark Knight, there is a scene in which a passenger airline crashes into a skyscraper in Gotham City. Miller’s words and images,…
September 13, 2001
Lamentations From The Banner: "Before we drift into vengeance or let fear get a grip on us, we ought to mourn. Sorrow for the dead, for the thousands of new orphans, for the terror those buried alive…
September 13, 2001
Will we ever know the names of which gods struck out against the two chief princes of the western world -- Mammon and Mars -- crippling them horribly?
September 12, 2001
Weekly Horoscopes: ArchivesFrom the week of 8/27: We've been pretty fortunate over the past years... even though we've had a couple "conflicts", we really haven't had a major war in quite a while...…
September 11, 2001
December 8, 1941 "Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous…
September 10, 2001
The Queen of SwordsIll-dignified: Cruel, sly, deceitful and unreliable woman. Superficial attractiveness makes her all the more dangerous. Can indicate, spitefulness, malice and deceit. Ah yes. How…
September 6, 2001
Neil Gaiman
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis"All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 31, 2001
Ecclesiastical CommerceOthers are troubled "that churches are profiting from the communities that they're supposed to be serving." The Rev. Joe Samuel Ratcliff counters that his McDonald's restaurant…
August 27, 2001
Three of SwordsBetrayal, abandonment, rejection, separation, a reversal of fortune... Looks like it's gonna be a good week.
August 22, 2001
Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis "All things change, and we change with them." Please note that this blog spans a broad period of time. The intervening years have brought many things into my…
August 7, 2001
The StarBadly dignified, the Star shows lost hopes, doubt and failure. May indicate problems with physical health or the mental outlook.
August 3, 2001
FAUST - A ROCK OPERA This just sucks on so many different levels, I don't even know where to start. There are those ideas where you say "Man, I wish I'd thought of that." And there are ideas where…
July 31, 2001
Knight of Swords Ill-dignified: Person filled with low cunning and frivolous, she can cause great problems. Unforeseen problems, danger, and the possibility of illness. Well. I'm certainly looking…
July 5, 2001
For Dreamer We're missing out on something, living in this world. There's a piece of us that has been removed, a necessary component to meaningful interaction with creation. And, no, I don't know…
July 3, 2001
The High Priestess After days of drawings with only conflict, strife, and failure at the heart of them, I finally pull a card that seems to indicate that this passage is leading somewhere. It is a…
May 24, 2001
Bonsai KittenSometimes, you just have to follow your dreams.
May 22, 2001
GhostWatcher At some point, some one out there will be watching and they'll see more in my camera than just me.
May 11, 2001
Moulin Rouge I'm just dying to see this movie. I know I shouldn't want to. I shouldn't be vulnerable to the cheap and tawdry pastiche of pop culture, historical dramatizations, and romantic…
April 30, 2001
What does the future hold? If you're the sort of person who believes that the larger shape of your life can be defined and devined by archaic scraps of pasteboard festooned with obscure symbols and…
April 13, 2001
This is a red-letter day on my literary calendar, just so's you know. Samuel Beckett was born on this day. Wallace Stegner died on this day. Two of the big lights in 20th century literature. Beckett…
April 9, 2001
Writer’s Digest Writing Contests and Competitions 'Cause, you know, you gotta have goals.
March 16, 2001
ISPs -- Naked People in Empty Rooms What happens when you take pornography off the internet and digitally remove the people? It's not what you might expect, and in many ways it's far more disturbing…
March 16, 2001
isometric screenshots There's something chilling in the simplicity of these images. A few of them take a few moments to register and then the shock of recognition rolls through you . . . and all you…
March 15, 2001
HOT or NOT? Well. It was just an experiment, but I'm pleased to know that I am officially hotter than 83% of the men on www.amihotornot.com. And yet, how can I mention my hotness without also…
March 10, 2001
This Day in MusicJust in case you ever wondered what the no. 1 single was the day you were born. "Get Back" by The Beatles, just in case you care.
March 1, 2001
Mr.T vs Everything The other night a 1-800-COLLECT commercial came on and I was utterly amazed to see Mr. T back in the, uh, limelight making a fast buck as the latest pitchman for the most annoying…
February 26, 2001
31.5 I look at my own face here and I can't believe how quickly I have gotten to this point in my life. I look so tired, so dejected, so hopeless. When did I get so old? I can see every loss and…
February 20, 2001
The Tiger Fierce and fleet and full of meatA tiger's walking down my street.His tongue wipes at his sticky chinHe's had his fill of pedestrian. Sleek and flair, so debonairThe tiger softly climbs my…
January 25, 2001
Underground"What we're really overcoming is imaginary barriers that are just understood but barely questioned." From time to time, I say to myself "I wish I were ten years younger. I would make a…
January 20, 2001
In a Cold Place Don't kid yourself. No matter how brightly the sun might shine, we live -- all of us -- in a cold place.
January 15, 2001
The Official Britney Spears Website Is it a bad sign that I'm starting to find deep emotional connections in Britney's music? I mean, ultimately what's the difference between liking Britney and, oh I…
January 15, 2001
Yellow Submarine All the way to school today, my son was singing "When I'm Sixty-Four" in the backseat. Somehow, I've gone six years without having either Barney or Teletubbies playing in my stereo…
January 9, 2001
Strange that today a new issue of Fate magazine would arrive with articles and review devoted to the two subjects I am currently writing about: Spirit Voices and Lycanthropy. One play is from nearly…
January 8, 2001
Werewolves and Marriage
Apart from working on a new play about werewolves, here's my most recent piece of writing... The Marriage License They don't let you throw rice at weddings anymore. They say the birds will eat it and…
January 7, 2001
First Post
Now what should I do in this place But sit and count the chimes, And splash cold water on my face And spoil a page with rhymes --Dorothy Parker