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  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…

Jordin Sparks Haley Scarnato was just voted off of American Idol, a couple of weeks sooner than I expected as she's actually been finding her groove while a couple of presumed front-runners have been slipping. I was emailing a friend of mine about the show last week, and my take on the remaining singers entertainers contestants became fodder for this post as I explained that I'm rooting for Jordin Sparks and, to a lesser degree, Blake Lewis.  That'd be a great finale, I think. Both have great personalities, talented voices and good-but-flawed looks. Jordin's on the chunky side, and Blake has no lips, so they don't have to worry…

FIT One of the many appealing aspects about the new job is the significantly shorter commute, cutting at least 20 minutes off my old tip-of-Manhattan adventures on a good day; as much as 40 minutes when things really get bogged down (aka, a typical day!).  I can now leave home as late as 8:15am and still walk into the office at 9am on the dot.  It's great for bad weather days, too, because, if I choose, I can be above-ground for a combined ONE BLOCK now that I can take the D-train, which is mere steps from my front door, and switch to the…

Retirement Plan Baseball season starts tonight, and it promises to be an exciting season as the Mets march to their third World Series title, defeating the Yankees in 6 games. That's right; I'm calling it in writing! I bought one of the cheapo Value Packs this year, 2 nosebleed seats for 5 random games, and a huge group of us are also going to the Autism Awareness Day Game on April 22nd, which should be a lot of fun. It will be the most games I've ever been to in one season. Yesterday morning, I gave out uniforms to my Pee Wee Marlins Tee…

Gomez, Me Friday was my last day at the Floundering Yo-Yo Publisher as it will be known from now on -- 3 positions (officially), 4 reorganizations, 6 bosses -- after 4 years, 1 month and 8 days of working there, and as much as I'll miss some of the people, the place itself can't disappear in my rearview mirror fast enough! Seriously; what a clusterfuck! My exit interview was interesting in that much of what I had to say wasn't really news to the HR person, despite the fact that she's only been there since January. There's routine turnover, and then there's "Abandon Ship!" frenzy,…