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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Did Ni Imu Abe Imu.

What to do?

I haven’t really had any compelling desire to blog lately, what with my decision to not bash the holidays this year, things at work in flux yet again, and Comic Book Commentary getting most of my writing attention these days. So much so that I’ve lost interest in the previously announced Anecdotal Evidence which is supposed to launch next month!

I’m loathe to make this a purely personal journal as I find most of those boring, and have pretty much withdrawn completely from the poetry scene the suspected majority of you reading this know me from. Factor in the necessary break from politics for the next couple of months and I’m at a loss for words.

And yet, I feel vaguely guilty when I go more than a couple of days without posting something here. Like I’m neglecting the only, admittedly tenuous, connection to many of you that I consider friends but don’t get to see nearly enough.

I’ve also noticed my traffic has dipped by almost half over the past month, too, which is a bit of a drag on the ego!

So, what to do?

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Continue ReadingDid Ni Imu Abe Imu.
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: Gonzalez’s Twelve Edition

1. The difference between sanity and insanity is whether or not you do what the voices tell you. 2. If you know you're a sore loser, it's best not to answer the phone for an hour or so after your team loses the game you talked so much trash about. 3. Don't tell my wife but, I don't really hate Christmas. Beyond the obligatory, consumerist aspect of it - which I do despise - I actually like shopping for people I want to get gifts. The feeling of finding that perfect gift for someone makes the overall stress worth it.…

Continue ReadingPumpkin Seeds: Gonzalez’s Twelve Edition
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Review: Chango’s Fire by Ernesto Quiñonez

There is something simultaneously appealing and frustrating about Ernesto Quiñonez's second novel, Chango's Fire, a marked improvement over his highly-flawed debut, Bodega Dreams, but in the end, still something of a disappointment. This time, the problem lies in his biting off more than he can chew with too many subplots rolling around what is essentially one man's coming-of-age story at its heart. He's inexplicably combined the systematic burning of Spanish Harlem, insurance fraud, organized crime, gentrification, Santeria, pseudo-socialism, illegal citizenship papers, a shady government agent and a few other random nuggets into a muddle-headed plot that rests precariously, and unsuccessfully,…

Continue ReadingReview: Chango’s Fire by Ernesto Quiñonez
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Pumpkin Seeds: STFU! Edition

1. Democrats whining about the election. It's pretty clear there were various problems across the country, as there always have been, but crying foul-play after your guy limply threw in the towel and disappeared is self-flagellation at its most annoying. Screw Kerry, deal with reality and start working on fixing the system that stuck us with the two of them as a choice. 2. Elitist Blue-Staters. Enough of the "Fuck the South" and "Urban Archipelago" nonsense. I have family down south. I live in the City you all cream yourselves over. They're not all ignorant racist homophobes, and it's not…

Continue ReadingPumpkin Seeds: STFU! Edition
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

NaNoWriMo 2004 Update: 15,609

While technically NaNoWriMo ended yesterday, practically speaking, I fell off the wagon two weeks ago and never managed to get back on. Final word count: 15,609.

Well short of the 50,000 word goal, but an amazing leap forward for me in terms of self-discipline. For the first two weeks, at least. I take some solace in these words from the final NaNoWriMo update:

The only time we ever catch a glimpse of our creative potential is when we try something so clearly impossible that only a fool would dare attempt it.

Yep. There’s a tremendous payoff in getting in over our heads. In spending thirty days sleeping too little and writing too much, and watching, delighted, as our imaginations haul their weird and wonderful treasures into the bright light of day.

It’s a heroic endeavor whether you ended up writing 10,000 or 100,000 words, and I hope that everyone, regardless of final word-count, realizes what a brave and inspiring thing they’ve accomplished this month.

Indeed, I caught more than a glimpse, I stared it dead in the eye and…well yes, I blinked, but not before I confirmed that the only thing really standing between me and a completed novel is ME. There’s a million excuses and twice as many distractions, some of each are even legitimate, but the bottom line is that you find the time to do the things you want to do when you really want to do them. Like playing Morrowind til 1am again last night!

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Continue ReadingNaNoWriMo 2004 Update: 15,609
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Parenting isn’t all rainbows and butterflies!

Last night's Desperate Housewives had an interesting subplot centering on the stay-at-home mom character - the one with the hyper twins and an infant, and possibly a fourth kid? - and how she ends up having a nervous breakdown from the stress of it all. There's a moment towards the end, when she's talking to the other two moms about how she feels like a terrible mother because she can't handle the stress when it seems like every other mother can, that was particularly poignant. They comfort her with their own war stories and she's like, "how come no one…

Continue ReadingParenting isn’t all rainbows and butterflies!
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Damn ABC and their addictive Sunday night lineup!

How am I supposed to ease into the beginning of a new week, following an exciting afternoon of football, when I can’t get away from the TV from 7-11pm?

Scoff if you like, but America’s Funniest Home Videos is funny as hell. Tom Bergeron is no Bob Saget, thank god, and who couldn’t benefit from a little mindless slapstick humor while being forced to admit the weekend is over and start preparing for a return to the old grind? Then Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the most emotionally-manipulative tearjerker on TV, interferes with the kids’ bath and get-ready-for-bed time, forcing us into a graceless ballet in between commercials. The first 10 minutes and the final 20 are the must-see portions of the show, though, no distractions allowed, which means their usual bedtime gets extended by a half-hour.

At 9pm – kids in bed but still awake, the apartment littered with toys and other married-with-children hazards like a sink full of dishes, piles of unopened mail, shredded magazines and random clothing spead here and there – it’s time for Desperate Housewives. If we blink during the closing credits of EM:HE, we end up stuck to the couch for the first 10 minutes as ABC has perfected the “don’t change the channel” transition between shows that reels the unsuspecting viewer in like bad poets to an open mic. Housewives is without question the best guilty pleasure on TV since…well, since the A-Team if I’m being honest!

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Continue ReadingDamn ABC and their addictive Sunday night lineup!
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