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

I Get Around

create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide Of these, I've lived in NY, NJ, TN, FL and VA. The majority of the other states were solely thanks to poetry gigs as I would otherwise have never visited them at all. Specifically, California, Colorado, DC, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Rhode Island, Washington and Vermont. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeearrrrrrrgh! ;-) From 1999-2000, when I did most of my sporadic "touring," my primary criteria for traveling somewhere was whether it was a place I'd likely never visit otherwise. As long as I could make enough money to break even,…

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

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR GEORGE W. BUSH

10. Because you'd like to see him elected legitimately this time. 9. Because women have too much control over their own bodies. 8. Because affirmative action is reverse racism and slavery was a long time ago. 7. Because you are a CEO or other high-ranking corporate executive. 6. Because you're single with no kids and drive an SUV. 5. Because you can afford your own health insurance, have significant money in the stock market and/or send your kids to parochial school. 4. Because those uncivilized Arabs need a Starbucks, Wal-Mart and McDonald's on every corner. 3. Because the Pentagon is…

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

Wow! Thanks for all of the feedback. Didn't expect this much of a response, especially over the weekend. Keep it coming. Non-poetry books: The only one so far that I've already read is Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, though that was a long time ago. I went through my Hemingway phase somewhere in the very late-80s, early-90s and had a love/hate thing with him. While I liked his style, I felt he was a little overrated. His manly-man posturing was very appealing, though, especially since I believed I was going to put a bullet in my head when I…

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

Recommendations, please

There's a good reason for the idea that you don't discuss politics and religion in the company of strangers. Both can inspire passionate debates and sometimes, when facts and opinions aren't necessarily equal on one or both sides, that passion can overflow into outright hostility. It can interfere with one's sex life, too! That said, I'm going to lay off the politics for at least a week - both here and in the physical world - to let my own emotions settle down a bit and come to terms with the fact that I can't singlehandedly change people's minds or…

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

10 Random Reasons I’m Addicted to This Blogging Thing

  1. Thought I saw him there tonight. Could have sworn I saw something like him kneeling and waiting. My heart jumped a bit thinking that maybe he knew and came. But when I blinked, I realized that it was someone else’s him waiting for another her. I could only blink again, this time something wet and threatening to flood. Made my way to baggage claim and just stood there numb. Head down. Saw a faded pair of Levis and a pair of black and white shell toes next to me and my heart jumped again. Looked up and it was another him. He apologized for bumping into me. I wanted him to apologize for not being who I wanted him to be. And then I didn’t blink back fast enough and the tears came. I wiped them away quickly and decided to feel nothing. —Bassey
  2. last night- i read ‘Getting Ronald Reagan to Visit the South Bronx’ (the greatest title i have yet to dream up for any of my pieces) and when i got off stage- i could care less what ‘my select few’ thought. it was a great moment of being really free of my own constraints and, as things turn out in life, one of the select few made it a point to comlpiment me on the new work. others gave me the polite silence and some the ‘not bad’ and they all felt the same. —Oscar Bermeo
  3. My therapist, knowing this, has asked me if the general air of dread in the country has contributed to my depression; she even is pushing the idea that I’m undergoing some kind of delayed reaction to the stress I dealt with on 9/11 and in the weeks following, especially all those weeks of “travel education” (read: grief counseling/shouting matches) I ran for all the folks here at work who lost friends and colleagues. Sessions I wasn’t really qualified to run, but which I jumped in and did like a good soldier, because, you know, I’m like that. —Tony Brown (more…)

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

Presidential Match

Found another Presidential Match site that has you rate various issues and, in a nice twist, at the end it lets you rank the general categories (ie: Social Issues, Security and International Policy, etc.) by personal importance. It then lists the candidates by how closely they match what you're looking for: 1 Kucinich Score: 100%2 Sharpton Score: 89%3 Kerry Score: 88% 4 Clark Score: 82% 5 Dean Score: 82% 6 Edwards Score: 79% 7 Lieberman Score: 69% 8 Bush Score: 3% Not at all surprising that Kucinich came in first. Sharpton and Kerry running neck and neck speaks more to…

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

Pumpkin Seeds: 1/18/2004

1. How do you spell implosion? D-E-A-N. In less than 24 hours, the Iowa caucus will have its say and, despite the high-profile endorsements, the internet-driven fundraising, the months-long blessing from the media, Howard Dean's campaign has hit a wall. Hard. It's looking more and more like the Matrix than Lord of the Rings: a great beginning overshadowed by an ending full of muddleheaded plotting and a lethal preference for style-over-substance. In his narcissistic attempt to "take our country back," he's not only distracted thousands of well-intentioned progressives from the candidate that's actually represented their ideals for years - that…

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