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Me, Self-Portrait Back in my early poetry days, at the very beginning in the summer of '97, I wrote the majority of my poems sitting at the shadowy bar in Botanica, a pint of Brooklyn Brown always at hand as my pen scribbled furiously in my notebook. Tonight, a series of unexpected events set in motion by Roger's bailing on the Mets game and me unable to find a taker for the extra ticket, found me watching the game at Coppersmith's, a pint of Magic Hat #9 always at hand as my pen scribbled furiously in my notebook. It's been a long time since I've written…

The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination Jason Rekulak Between the improving weather, tee ball and the new job -- plus occasional virtual forays into Elona and the return of new Grey's Anatomy episodes -- comics have gotten the short end of the stick the past couple of weeks and my Comic Book Commentary blog output has slipped dramatically. It doesn't help that I'm steadily moving away from floppies in favor of TPBs and OGNs -- a move Marvel and DC are making especially easy lately with their overdoing it on the big event crossovers that have curbed my enthusiasm quite a…

Isaac on the Run 4 Tickets to Mets vs. Braves @ Shea Stadium: $40 Parking & Tolls: $23 Chicken Tenders & French Fries: $7.75 Isaac looking through the Mets calendar to find the next Mets vs. Marlins game: Priceless! Read and post comments | Send to a friend

John Barleycorn In an effort to streamline the "Hey, let's go have a drink tonight!" process, I've created the Spontaneous Drinking Network(TM), a group of friends' cell phone numbers in my address book to whom I can send a text message whenever I'm in the mood for a drink with others who have demonstrated the ability to handle their liquor with aplomb, with the time and location where I intend to do battle with Mr. John Barleycorn and would like them to accompany me.ie: SDN: Trailer Park Lounge, 271 W 23rd St @ 6pmLike the Bat Signal, this alert could come at anytime, but…

  Spoken Word Revolution Redux Mark Eleveld That's a great line from the United States of Poetry CD, but I don't remember from whom. It came to mind because I stopped by 13 last night for the first time in several months to catch the first semi-final slam of the season and Marc Smith's feature set, having never seen him do more than one poem. I've now still only ever seen him do one poem (though not the same one each time) since he pulled off what seemed like a 15-minute riff that felt oddly affected to these jaded ears. The whole slam movement…

Isaac at the Bat Yesterday was the Pee Wee Marlins' first game -- Isaac's first experience with organized sports, and my first time coaching an organized team in something non-poetry related. 15 kids (one didn't show up), all 5 and 6-year olds, most of whom were playing tee ball for the first time. It was a little bit herding cats, a little bit America's Funniest Home Videos, and a whole lot of fun. We had the first slot in the morning schedule, an 8:30am game on a brisk morning that had a few of the kids keeping their coats on while playing. Most of…

Jackie Robinson Many to take part in honoring Robinson LOS ANGELES -- For the first time in Major League Baseball history, Commissioner Bud Selig has decreed that any uniformed personnel -- player, coach or manager -- can wear Jackie Robinson's famous No. 42 as the sport celebrates on Sunday the 60th anniversary of Robinson breaking the color barrier. Robinson will be honored in each of the 15 ballparks where games will be played, with the core ceremony at Dodger Stadium beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Robinson played his first regular-season game for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, at…