Pumpkin Seeds: Randomonia Edition

1. Salomé doesn't want her own blog because she hates those that are of the self-absorbed, "Today, I went to..." variety. Between that and her complete disdain for politics, I'm starting to believe she really does only use my blog for the links to other people's blogs. That's what she tells me, at least! Meanwhile, she's bugging me to post my To-Do For 35 List. [Which is coming as soon as I figure it out!] 2. Five days into my 35th year and I'm sleepy, still recovering from the open bar and late night out on Tuesday. Between the two-day…

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Happy birthday to me! Great weekend, great party, great presents, including... Batman pajamas! Best birthday ever? Perhaps. Pretty damn close, that's for sure! PS: I couldn't care less about the Olympics but the no-name Puerto Rico basketball team dismantling the egotistical, overhyped and overpaid USA Dream Team IV was a beautiful thing. Punks!

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Pumpkin Seeds: Wizard of Oz Edition

1. I have no problem with anonymous comments – not everybody wants/needs to sign up for a Blogger account – but to do so maliciously, purposely hiding your identity so you can make hurtful or inflammatory statements is just cowardly, petty bullshit. To go so far as to create a fake Blogger account for the express purpose of tormenting someone you have issues with is even worse. Have the courage to own up to your shit or shut the hell up. 2. This has nothing to do with me directly as I couldn’t care less what an anonymous commenter has…

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Weddings

When Salomé and I got married back in 1998, it was a step into completely foreign territory as none of our close friends were married, few even in serious relationships. Not counting my father’s shotgun second marriage at town hall 18 years earlier, I’d never even been to a wedding before! Our wedding was a relatively simple affair, with 90 or so family and friends attending a no-frills, non-denominational ceremony, and a well-catered reception with a DJ. We avoided as much of the traditional stuff as we could get away with – one friend jokingly called Sal's father the "wedding…

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John Rodriguez was a breath of fresh air at last night’s Acentos, dropping a solid mix of old and new work, as well as a nice little slam on half of the unusually weak open mic. "Hey, Guy, remember when I used to yell all my shit? Waving my hands like I was conducting the orchestra?" It felt like the slam had invaded the Blue Ox at times with some of the worst "love" poems and history lessons I’ve ever endured, too many of which were delivered at maximum decibel levels. The history lesson, in particular, had me leaning over…

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It's been four days since my last confession, Blogger, but in a rare switcheroo, I was busy talking smack over on my little-used LiveJournal account, commenting on the debacle that was the 2004 National Poetry Slam. I won't get into it here other than to say, while I feel bad for those who attended and got screwed over in one way or another, you get what you pay for. If I were you, I'd think twice about renewing that PSI membership next year. Mind you, this is completely separate from my opinion on the concept of slam itself, which I…

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Best. Feature. Ever.

Thanks to everyone that came out to the Blue Ox last night. There's no possible way you could have enjoyed it more than I did but I hope it came close. Having family, both blood and chosen, and friends in the audience along with a nice mix of complete strangers helped make it a truly special moment. Other than the night I proposed to Salomé at the Nuyorican, nothing else I've ever done on a stage even comes close. At the beginning of my set, I mentioned Tony Brown's approach of what if this was the last time you ever…

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