tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113996222024-03-07T14:27:46.155-07:00Dr. WriteOn Reading, Writing, Teaching, Mothering, Eating, and Cooking, not necessarily in that orderDr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.comBlogger660125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-19106987235563182018-04-29T09:56:00.000-07:002018-04-29T09:56:13.302-07:00Today's ReadingToday I read "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/30/japans-rent-a-family-industry" target="_blank">Japan's Rent-a-Family Industry"</a> by Elif Bautman, one of my favorite New Yorker writers.<br />
The article is great, very long and in-depth, which is one of the reasons why I love the NYer. They commit to a lot of journalism that takes time.<br />
This industry is so fascinating and causes Bautman to meditate on the nature of relationships and why money seems to alienate our thinking about relationships.<br />
For me, the article made me think about several aspects of this industry that are curious. One, is there something uniquely Japanese about this phenomenon? Bautman makes the argument that, for example, many cultures have had or currently have "rental mourners" for funerals. I'm not sure that's enough to make me think there isn't something uniquely Japanese about this trend.<br />
That said, for a time in graduate school I thought it was a funny idea to have a "Rent a Boyfriend," not for any sexual purpose, but someone to bring you kleenex and chicken soup when you were sick, maybe someone to come over and wash your dishes or bring you a movie to watch (this was pre-streaming, obviously).<br />
Bautman discusses the many tasks we already pay others to do, such as taking care of our children, or cleaning our houses, or cooking. We have disentangled those tasks from the relationship with the person who performs it (usually a mother/woman). But other tasks, such as the nurturing which might accompany those chores, seems diminished when coupled with pay.<br />
The concepts are so interesting. She discusses Marx or course and Gilman, along with other theorists.<br />
But the whole scene raises interesting questions about how difficult it is for us to initiate, maintain, have relationships in cultures where we are increasingly alienated from ourselves and each other. What's the alternative to rent-a-family?<br />
I guess we have to work hard to make and maintain close relationships. I am lucky in that I am close to my parents and my sisters, but I know that is not the case for everyone. I think our increasing separation from others contributes to the growing depression in our midst. (Well, that and politics.)<br />
But I think if we can get together, whether it's for lunch or coffee or parties or dinners, and just sit down and relax and be and feel, I am confident that we will be happier.<br />
To that end, I'm going to try t<a href="https://www.splendidtable.org/story/it-s-not-a-dinner-party-it-s-just-supper-monday-nights-with-pableaux-johnson" target="_blank">his idea I heard about on The Splendid Table</a>. I really love this idea of a weekly supper, but to be realistic, maybe once a month. I'm only human!<br />
And now I have to get back to my regular Sunday, which involves swimming and, today, a whole lot of grading. Sigh.Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-2969813542116643252018-04-11T11:03:00.000-07:002018-04-11T11:03:10.912-07:00Hello World! Since I have given up the FB, I am going to try to blog instead.<br />
I look back on our blogging heyday (yes, OUR) with great nostalgia. I feel like I can be long-winded and go on and on and also I can say whatever I want. And also there is less snark on the blog, perhaps because there are fewer comments?<br />
In any case, as soon as the insanity that is the last few weeks of class is OVER, then I will be blogging with wild abandon.<br />
ABANDON.<br />
say it with me....Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-22920625391961455982017-06-12T09:24:00.003-07:002017-06-12T09:24:43.116-07:00Iceland: the firstI am newly returned from Iceland.<br />
I am trying to remember what I did and how I did it, but oye! I think I was sleep deprived for 95% of the time I was there. I may very well still be sleep deprived. We shall see.<br />
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So, I always have this idea that I will follow these very exact rules for how not to get jet lag, but first, I can't really sleep on planes. So that. The main rule is to start eating according to the time where you are going the day you leave. So, I didn't do that, and then when they offered me free salad and free wine on the flight, I took it! Yeah!<br />
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Then I maybe got two or three head-jerking, superficial hours of "sleep," and then arrived at Reykjavik! I had already booked a shuttle to town, which takes about 45 minutes. Then I transferred to another bus that dropped me off about a ten minute walk from the place I was staying.<br />
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The place, basically the lower floor of a house, was awesome, and right next to the University of Iceland, where my conference was. After consulting a map, I figured out which way I was going and found the place. I dropped off my extremely too heavy back pack, and got my bearings. I believe this was when I walked around the neighborhood, found a grocery store but was too confused to do much except buy coffee and a banana. I took the long way home and got a bit lost, but saw some cool stuff. I went back to our flat, dropped off the stuff and headed over to the University.<br />
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I couldn't register for the conference yet, so I bought a salad, which was not too expensive, in the student center. Then I registered for the conference, ran into some friends, and went to a roundtable with one of them, Laura. She was presenting, but there were so many people that each person just read for about 5 minutes. Overall it was pretty amazing, and one woman played a song she had written on her fiddle. She had an amazing Scottish accent. During this panel, I felt like my face was melting.<br />
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After this panel, there was free wine! Always drink free wine! So I drank some wine and talked to people I knew, all the while feeling like my head was a balloon being blown about by some invisible wind. I was going to go back to the flat, have a handful of trail mix and crash, but Brenda, my flatmate, convinced me that I should eat dinner.<br />
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We went to the Nordic House and I had fish, I think it was cod, with a rhubarb reduction and roasted vegetables. It was delicious and $40!! Then I went home and crashed, and I had a great night's sleep, with my eye mask and my ear plugs!<br />
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top: my adorable flat!<br />
bottom: view from my walk around the neighborhood<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-6920193128354576432017-05-18T08:59:00.000-07:002017-05-18T08:59:14.790-07:00A Small Dose of NothingBecause in all things I want to be like <a href="http://www.hightouchmegastore.net/" target="_blank">Hightouch</a>, I am blogging, though I have no breaking news. But, hey, even I can write a list, if the list is the thing to write. Which, apparently, it is.<br />
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<br />
<ol>
<li>Every day, I think, "This is it! It's all going to come crashing down!" And by "it" I mean, the end, how can we go on this way? But, apparently, we can, go on this way, I mean, so it goes on and we go with it, like a child being dragged by a very strong dog. But hey, it can't go on like this forever. CAN IT???</li>
<li>I finished a draft of one novel (regular, literary fiction); am now making chapter outline for almost finished novel (written before other novel, mystery!!). My other novel (yes, that makes three) is out with some small publishers who have been silent, so that probably means no. But I have almost three manuscripts, so that can't be bad...can it?</li>
<li>Meditating on the nature of empathy and sympathy. You don't want to hear about it, but it involves an argument with Middlebrow and the idea that some of us should just "buck up." Hey, I'm all for bucking, but sometimes isn't feeling bad justified? And can't we empathize with those who are feeling bad and even, maybe, feel bad on their behalf even if they are feeling bad about first world problems? Empathy can't be a bad thing, can it?</li>
<li>So there's the theme...can it? The rhetorical question that actually, right now, from me, requires an answer. What is one to do in such perilous times?</li>
<li>I find myself turning away from news, reading books about alternate universes, fantasizing about living in a cabin right by a lake where there is no internet service but there is a canoe. That's my mental state right now. </li>
<li>I think the answer is NO. As in no, it can't go on forever; no, it's not bad that you have three unpublished manuscripts; no, empathy isn't bad. And no, there's nothing wrong about indulging my escape fantasies.</li>
<li>The end. </li>
</ol>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-64084669268936797902017-02-07T18:56:00.000-07:002017-02-07T18:56:01.391-07:0020th Century WomenEver since the Oscar nominations came out, I have been obsessed with the<i> idea</i> of seeing all the movies. Have I actually seen any? Well....like I said. Obsessed. Idea.<div>
But today I drove myself downtown to the little theater to see a movie by myself. Seeing a movie by myself during the day feels like even more of an indulgence than just seeing a movie. I should say that I did, in fact, see a Sundance movie during the day about two weeks ago, but that's ancient history now. On with the Oscars!!</div>
<div>
So I should just say that, before today, I had seen <i>Moonlight</i>, <i>Manchester by the Sea</i>, and <i>La La Land</i>. Of those, <i>Moonlight</i> is my favorite. I love the look of it, and the acting, and the emotional melancholy of it. Also, it felt real and emotional without being sappy or trite. (Also, aside, am I the only one who thinks <a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/TEA9dOzOIdo/Selma+New+York+Premiere+Inside+Arrivals/eQeaKTBtngX/Andre+Holland" target="_blank">Andre Holland</a> should star in a Prince biopic? I mean, eyelashes!!) I liked <i>Manchester by the Sea</i>, I think Casey Affleck was amazing in it (but he's also an asshole?), but it's all white people all the time.<i> La La Land</i> was good, but ultimately disappointing (sorry!!).</div>
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Which brings me to 20th Century Women. Oh. My. God. I love it so much that I'm probably not being completely honest about its flaws (it must have flaws, right?). But I LOVE the form of it, and I LOVE Annette Bening, and I LOVE the kid who plays Jamie. I love Greta Gerwig more than I have loved her in other things and holy shit, Billy Crudup. I mean, I can't believe it didn't get nominated for Best Picture. I think the script is better than La La Land for sure. Oh well.</div>
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This movie is especially powerful/heartbreaking for those of us with sons, and maybe particularly with sons who are the exact age as the son in the movie, Jamie.</div>
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The movie is witty and wry and smart and sad. If you haven't yet, you should read <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/09/mike-mills-anti-hollywood-family-films" target="_blank">this profile of Mike Mills from The New Yorker</a>. Once I read it, I became obsessed with seeing the movie. I found his comments in the profile interesting, especially about making art and his relationship with his wife, Miranda July. For some reason, he thinks she is more of an artist than he is, but I would disagree. I thought her movie was flat and self-indulgent. His movie, I think, is transcendent and emotional and real, as well as being formally innovative and interesting. </div>
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It is just so, so good that I would see it again if I weren't so obsessed with the idea that I can see nine movies in 19 days. Oh, that's totally doable. Except that I'm rather ho-hum at the prospect of seeing Hacksaw Ridge, so I might not see that. But I would totally see the rest, but I might not get to.</div>
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What is your favorite movie of the year?<br /><div>
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Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-31110939502073628752017-01-24T18:24:00.001-07:002017-01-24T18:24:39.240-07:00Sundance: First WeekendThis is my second year volunteering at Sundance, at the Grand Theater on the SLCC-South City campus. It's a huge (huge!) venue, 1100 seats!, so I see a lot of people during the two movies that play during my volunteer shifts.<br />
This year I am part of the "inside theater" team, which means I do a variety of things. On the first day, Saturday, I worked re-entry on the balcony. On Sunday, I handed out and collected ballots for the first movie, and ushered for the second.<br />
Saturday was pretty easy. It had snowed over night, so the first movie was pretty slow. Overall, all of that day was pretty calm.<br />
I'll run down the movies in order and give you my reviews!<br />
"Novitiate": This movie was set in the '60s. It was about a young woman, Kathleen, who grows up and decides to become a nun. Most of the movie was set in the convent and followed the young women as they take their first vows, confess to their flaws (yikes!), and then go through the changes as a result of Vatican 2. This movie was interesting. It dragged in parts, but I certainly learned a lot about convents and nuns. I anticipated the obligatory lesbian love scene, but was disappointed when it actually happened. I'm sure it's accurate, but it feels cliched. In any case, I'm glad I saw it as it wasn't a movie I would ever have chosen. And I learned a lot. I'd give it TWO stars (out of five).<br />
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"Their Finest": This movie follows a young woman during WWII as she becomes a writer for a propaganda feature film that is supposed to increase morale. This movie was occasionally heavy, but overall it was a comedy, based on a true story, or true stories. I thought this one was very good. All the actors were great, especially Bill Nighy. He's always great. Parts seemed heavy handed, but all in all, I would recommend it. THREE stars.<br />
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On Sunday, I worked as a balloteer. This meant handing out ballots as people went in, then collecting them in a ballot box as they left. Crazy town!! People going in were very serious about rushing in and getting the absolute best seats. It was so hard to hand out ballots quickly. My co-balloteer said, "That was the worst ten minutes of my life."<br />
I got to see the movie "Chasing Coral" which was probably the MOST beautiful movie I have ever seen. When I heard it was about coral, I thought it would be boring. First, they have the most amazing footage of underwater scenery I have ever seen. Sea Dragons!<br />
Also, they have amazing scientists, etc. But the main character, besides coral, turns out to be Zack, this adorable young man (he's probably in his 20s) who LOVES coral. So some of the movie follows him as he documents coral bleaching.<br />
The whole thing is incredibly heartbreaking. Basically, global warming causes the water temperature to rise which kills coral, which kills all the other life forms that live on coral.<br />
Also, you probably knew already, but coral IS AN ANIMAL. I still can't get my mind around that. It seems like a plant. It is not a plant.<br />
This movie is excellent. Everyone should see it. Warning: you will cry. About coral. Yep, you definitely will. FIVE stars!!<br />
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Luckily, the second movie was not balloted. But it had Robert Redford in it. Sadly, he was not there. But people were crazy for this movie and the theater was pretty packed! I worked as an usher. Basically this means hovering around seats that have magazines draped over them and trying to enforce the "no seat saving" rule.<br />
"The Discovery": Basically, RR is a scientist who discovers proof of the afterlife. People start killing themselves in droves. The movie centers on Jason Segal and Rooney Mara and what happens to them. I liked much about this movie. It kind of seemed like an extended thought problem. A lot of it worked. I liked the visual representations of the afterlife. As in any movie like this, at the end, there were many questions! I had to explain parts of it to a woman sitting next to me. But it made a certain amount of sense to me. I agreed with a co-worker who said the main couple didn't really have chemistry. Agreed! I like both of them, so it was hard to see that when they kissed...no spark. But, that said, I still liked the movie and would recommend it, especially if you like the premise. FOUR stars.<br />
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I'm excited to see some movies this week, but also exhausted!! It's fun to volunteer and see movies. I also get some tickets, but last year I didn't use them all. So, I probably won't this year either. Oh well.Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-1053112865418285572017-01-17T17:01:00.000-07:002017-01-17T17:01:19.850-07:00On WritingNow that I am trying to be more regimented about my sabbatical writing, I sat down and wrote out a few things, long hand, in a notebook.<br />
Later, I discovered a few stories I had written last summer, and I "fell in a hole" by which I mean I read them and that took some time.<br />
But then, then!, I started a new story with these same characters and I wrote quite a bit on that.<br />
<br />
All this to say that I should be/want to work on my non-fiction project, but I find it much easier to work on the novel, because I can just write whatever.<br />
<br />
But! part of my research was looking up hit songs from my past, and so I give you this list:<br />
Dancing Queen, ABBA<br />
Grease<br />
My Sharona,The Knack<br />
TUSK, Fleetwood Mac<br />
Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield<br />
Jack & Diane, John Cougar<br />
Missing You, John Waite<br />
Careless Whisper, Wham!<br />
Broken Wings, Mr. Mister<br />
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I look forward to see what writing might be inspired by this titles....<br />
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<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-76398277467678558682017-01-12T14:51:00.003-07:002017-01-12T14:51:40.112-07:00Donald Trump Poem from 2005!!Here's a poem I "wrote" using the Google Poetry generator. I found it on this very blog, from 2005. It's like a time machine!!<br />
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<strong style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Donald Trump: Luddite Boy Scout</strong><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Dawns the new era when the Boy Scout</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Motto "Be Prepared" is, for example,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">a luddite described as having more than a color TV</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Sad: An electrical accident at the Boy Scout</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Jamboree in Virginia has killed four.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Call me old-fashioned, call me a Luddite, I don’t care.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Whether You are a technophile or neo-luddite or if you are (choose one):</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">1) Donald Trump</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">2) Richard Branson</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">3) Martha Stewart</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">4) Bill Gates</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">5) Oprah</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">It's a tough decision to make.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Or, if Trump was a boy scout</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">before he (never) went to Vietnam</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Or if he was a cat or a hooker or a Girl Scout</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Cookie. Donald Trump wants to fire you.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Donald Trump wants to. . .</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Listen: Even Donald Trump is complaining. Is this Luddite</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">environmentalism? Is this positive thinking?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Or a gimmick? Like a new breakfast cereal or a press conference.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Donald Trump eats this way, chews this way,</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Head in the sand, sad, a Luddite, oh—</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">He’s my boy, Scout, he’s a mogul.</span>Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-83369745365813400132017-01-12T14:27:00.002-07:002017-01-12T14:27:41.446-07:00On BooksWill there come a time when books will be obsolete?<br />
Honestly, I don't think so, and I certainly HOPE not.<br />
But a recent visit to the University library (research!) got me thinking. I was wandering around, looking for books, and all around me I was surrounded by young people on their computers. Were they studying? Perhaps. Probably.<br />
But it begs the question, why do we need this library for them to study in? They could study in any structured space that gave them some privacy and some quiet. None of them (none!) was looking at a book. Not one!<br />
On the plus side, when I walked among the rows and rows of books, I felt at ease. The smell of the books, many of them old, was familiar. I know my way around a library.<br />
But for how many of the younger people (how many? how young? who can say!) is information and the idea of a text a wholly virtual and non-tactile thing?<br />
My son certainly loves books, but he grew up with me and my husband. My husband, whose philosophy is "one cannot have too many books!" If my son expresses an interest in an idea, my husband buys him a book about it. Which is a great thing, and has made my son a fantastic and broadly read person.<br />
But so many others don't know and don't care about books.<br />
I suppose I (and others like me) are dinosaurs in our love of the actual, physical book. I know others love the book, but enough others?<br />
And I don't necessarily think the death of the library as a place that houses books as a bad thing. I often go to the downtown public library and I think of it more as a social hub than one whose focus is primarily books. People go there to use the computers. And yes, to find books. But also to hang out, to find shelter, to use the bathroom, to sit at a table and exist.<br />
So what is the future of the book and what is the future of the library?<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-69712163840241869592017-01-10T16:09:00.001-07:002017-01-10T16:09:18.227-07:00ThoughtsAs I was walking on the treadmill (don't ask), I watched two young girls and one young man on the ice below. One girl was twirling, one was skating, and the boy was leaping and spinning. "They're so lucky," I thought, "to be able to do that." But do they think they're lucky? They looked like they were having fun, but I bet, at their ages, they never once thought that maybe something would happen, an injury, that would prevent them from looking like magic on the ice.<br />
I am feeling sad/sorry for myself that my injuries/pains prevent me from doing things I want to do, like run or lift heavy weight. I know, things could be much, much worse.<br />
<br />
I saw a Cadillac Escalade with Virginia plates parked at the U, and wondered, "Why?" I mean, that is one giant vehicle. It made me think about how, when I was in college, I had a bicycle. But, it's true, I had friends with cars. Sigh.<br />
<br />
I am quite happy that Moonlight won Best Picture at the Golden Globes. I thought it was amazing.<br />
<br />
What I've read/been reading:<br />
"California Dreamin'" by Tad Friend (about Mike Mills) from The New Yorker<br />
an excerpt from The Theory of Absence (on my phone!)<br />
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman (so far, pretty good)<br />
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (about Ted Bundy; SO CREEPY)<br />
<br />
<br />
Deep Work by Cal Newport<br />
This one has affected the way I work. I'm trying (!!) to stay off social media all day and FB forever, thus the blogging. I have lists for every day, including a writing schedule and writing goals (which I need to make more concrete). I'm trying to be a "rhythmic" deep worker, which means I set aside time each day to do deep work. I'm also trying to be a person who sops checking her email & looking at her phone at like, 6, each night. Trying!! It's a good book with good advice about being productive which, thankfully, includes a section on Being Lazy. Hooray!<br />
<br />
Also, I've realized I'm a highly distractable person. Back to Deep Work!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-59065153313449828932017-01-05T12:42:00.001-07:002017-01-05T12:43:35.551-07:00On Doing Two (or more) Things at OnceI'm sure there is some science somewhere that explains how different parts of your brain can work on two different problems at the same time, and, in fact, how you can be better at solving two problems because one part of your brain is distracted by one problem and so the rest of your brain can sub-consciously work on that second problem.<br />
This is my philosophy anyway, and explains why, in addition to trying to write this amorphous memoir-crime-history book I am also trying to put together a collection of poems. Also, today I started working (again) on a crime story I started. When I was looking for the notes I had made for this crime story (still lost!), I saw the manuscript of the mystery I wrote, oh, a few years back that I sort of promised myself I was going to finish and then try to find an agent for. Maybe?<br />
Well, my point is, and I tell students this often, that when you have ONE BIG thing to do, it sometimes helps to do something else. Usually I recommend walking or working out or writing something that you tell your brain you don't care about (a blog post?). It's just fun! Just write it! It doesn't matter!<br />
So, because of that, I easily tacked 1,000 words onto this crime story that I have NO IDEA where it is going....and that's okay, because it's just an exercise while I work on this very serious, totally important book project. Which is probably why that seems to be going nowhere, because it is so serious and important. Actually, I've written a few things for it, and I sort of like them.<br />
The problem, speaking of amorphous, is that I've read a few things lately that have this sort of formal aspect to them, which, in theory, I like. In the two instances I can think of, however, the form sort of interfered with what, for all other purposes, might have been good novels.<br />
This discovery has made me paranoid about the form of my amorphous project. Am I thinking too much about form? Maybe. However, when I try to write a straight narrative I realize that my life is actually pretty boring and no one would want to read about it that way. (trust me, it's true)<br />
This leads to some long stretches of self-reflection that don't result in my "producing one thing." Though today I can at least say that I produced some words and that, by the end of next week perhaps?, I should have a draft of the story.<br />
And with that, I'm going for a walk. (I hope I don't freeze out there!)<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-8670546399738780622017-01-03T15:26:00.002-07:002017-01-03T15:26:43.168-07:00On ListsSo here I am on the first *real* day of the year, that is, the first WORKING day, because no one does anything of note on January 1. That's the day when you are getting ready for the year. January 2 fell on a Monday, so that's the day we pretend is a holiday because if a holiday is a Sunday, it's a rip off, because Sunday is already a day off. So.<br />
That brings us to Tuesday, a fine day to start things, just as good as any other day, and the day in which I began to implement my PLAN. That makes it sound like a book that could be featured on Oprah, but in reality, it's just a wee plan to help me get/be/stay motivated to DO THINGS! in the new year.<br />
What, pray tell, do I mean?<br />
Well, there's this sabbatical project/s that I should be/totally am doing. Then also fitness and converting myself from a sloth into a person with a god-like body (but I'm giving myself until the end of the summer for that, because what good is a god-like body when it is covered in sweats and giant sweaters? no good is the obvious answer). Also healthy (non-sugar, alcohol free) living.<br />
Which means life needs lists. Lots and lots of lists. But, it turns out, lists help me manage to do the thing that needs to be done while not doing the thing that can obviously be done later, i.e. during my writing time.<br />
Writing time! That's a thing. That I schedule. So in addition to lists, schedules. I need one and not just to plan out my exercise for the week (done! something I can cross off my list).<br />
Here's what's on my list:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Blog (ON IT!!)</li>
<li>Look for flights to Iceland (I KNOW!!)</li>
<li>Get up and walk for 5 minutes every hour on the hour between 9-5 (so far I am 4 out of 6, but given that I spent 12 to 1 swimming, I'm going to call that a win. )</li>
<li>Read Deep Work (pm)</li>
<li>Produce 1 thing per day (I have to be loose because I don't know what I'm writing. What is a thing? It's the text that I've written, whatever that is. WIN!)</li>
<li>Find a family volunteer project for MLK, jr Day</li>
</ul>
<div>
So, good bloggers of blogville, I am on my list. I am running my list and my list does not run me. When I think of a thing I want to do that day, I write it on my list. Today I have crossed out: write 2 hours (!), Swim, Lunch. Now I can cross off "Blog." Also produce 1 thing. I did that and more during my two hours. Take that, list!</div>
<div>
I feel like Toad who writes a list in the sand so he can cross off Go to Sleep. I think all lists should be treated like structures of sand that might be erased by an incoming wave.</div>
<div>
Oh well, it's only a list.</div>
<div>
Adieu. </div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-44044068529531077922016-12-07T09:54:00.002-07:002016-12-07T09:54:57.272-07:00Nostalgia for EverythingI stole this title from a <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-12-21/news/1992356010_1_i-remember-remember-the-wind-stop-remembering" target="_blank">favorite short essay by Andrei Codrescu</a>.<br />
The reason I am feeling nostalgia is that Son is 15, and as I peruse photographs of Christmas past I miss the us we were. Now we are not an us, now we are a me and a him.<br />
I know this is a stage of life one must pass through, just as one must go through all the symptoms and illness of the flu before one can recover from it. Yes, adolescence is an illness, mostly for the parents.<br />
The difficulty of this stage of his life surprises me. I was (somewhat) prepared for the difficulty of the younger years. They call them the Terrible Twos! But so much of that was difficult physically. Chasing after the little demon as he tried to put all the poisonous and electrical things in his mouth. Staying up late, getting up early when he developed his very own sleeping schedule that ignored the laws of nature and light. Being exhausted is just part of the deal.<br />
But now the exhaustion is of a psychological nature. Son spends most of his time ignoring me, or slowly pushing the door closed as I try to talk to him. In all ways he is creating and drawing attention to the chasm between us. For him, I'm sure, this is healthy and all part of the process. For the mother, of course, it is painful.<br />
So I find pictures of us when he was five and he has his arm around me and a crooked grin on his face. I sift through memories for moments with him. Watching TV. Listening to him watch Looney Tunes in the basement while he laughed hysterically, the day I was walking with him across a store parking lot, holding his hand, and I had the wherewithal to think, "Remember this. His little hand." And I did, so much so that I can feel the shape of his tiny hand in mine.<br />
Those days are gone, my friends, and I think (a lot, actually) that our best days are behind us. I know there will be good times in the future, but when? The future, as always, is uncertain.<br />
I'm sure there is a Buddhist way to make peace with all of this.<br />
He is a wonderful person, and I'm sure that at some unspecified time in the future he will be able to admit that he likes me again.<br />
But until then, Oy!<br />
So I have nostalgia for everything. For the him he was and the me I was. For Christmases when we could buy him toys and coloring books. For the time when he *wanted* to make cookies with me. For the time when I didn't swear at him every day. (I'm a bad mom. I know.)<br />
At the same time, I'm aware that in the future, two years perhaps, when he's away at college and the house is a tad-bit emptier, that I will have nostalgia for this time, when he ignored me and when I could observe, every day, tiny glimpses into the man he will become.<br />
Damn. Being a Mom is hard.Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-24700970050245387572016-11-22T14:11:00.000-07:002016-11-22T16:00:07.680-07:00A Night at The Westerner in President-Elect Trump's America<br />
There are a few things I know for sure, and one is when a man who looks like a straight, white redneck in blue jeans, a plaid shirt, and a camo baseball cap gets on stage at a bar called The Westerner to do karaoke, and he sings <a href="http://pynjl9_rcjc/" target="_blank">"Don't Cry Out Loud,"</a> you can be pretty sure he's not what you first thought him to be.<br />
After, you will turn to your friend and say, "He's a closeted gay man," or something to that effect.<br />
Later, when two older gentlemen, one in a giant black cowboy hat with a white mustache and beard, the other in a baseball hat, going by the names "Jack Daniels and Bud Light," get up to sing a version of "Beer For My Horses," you will begin to worry. The song, written by Toby Keith and Scotty Emerick, and originally recorded by Keith and Willie Nelson seems to be a benign country song in the tradition of many such country songs. Some of the lyrics, however, began to grab your attention and cause an uneasy knot to form in your stomach.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;">Grandpappy told my pappy</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;">Back in my day, son</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;">
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
A man had to answer</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
For the wicked thing he done</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Take all the rope in Texas</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Find a tall oak tree</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Round up all of them bad boys</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
And hang 'em high in the street</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: , "arial" , sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: left;">
For all the people to see</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Are you alone in being reminded of, say, a lynching? You look around and most of the mostly white people in this bar are singing along and don't seem to be aware of the words that are actually coming out of their very own mouths.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We got too many gangsters<br />
Doing dirty deeds<br />
Too much corruption<br />
And crime in the streets<br />
It's time the long arm of the law<br />
Put a few more in the ground<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Is it the word "gangster" (code for African-American?) or is it the idea of vigilantism that now makes you worry, not only about yourself, but about lots of other people, some of them in this very room?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The cute young man in the plaid shirt has signed up for another song. He has a good voice. The song turns out to be "Sweet Transvestite" from Rocky Horror. Uh-oh. He gives a strong performance with some, but not too much, flair. You look uncomfortably around the room for any men who may be looking violent/disturbed. You say to your friend, "okay, maybe NOT in the closet."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">A very talented friend has already signed up to sing a song by the Dixie Chicks. She reminds you of the very public battle between Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks resulting in the F.U.T.K. t-shirt. Too late now. On she goes. Luckily, she sings like an angel and thereby, through the magic of music?, wins over Jack and his friend Bud. When she comes down from the stage, Jack gives her a high five. He must of forgotten that TK hated the DCs. Good!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Before you leave, you tell the young gay man that he has a good voice and that you liked both his songs. He hugs you. He is gathering his things, and you hope he is leaving, but you see him and his friends heading to the dance floor. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">It occurs to you that he is brave, in Post-Trump America, to dress like a redneck and sing like a fabulous gay man. You complimented him because you wanted him to know you are on his side, you wanted to encourage him, but now it occurs to you that he saw right through you. That he recognized immediately that you were the one who needed a hug, not him, b</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">ecause he has the knowledge and security of being 100% who he is. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Even at the Westerner in President-elect Trump's America.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
</span>Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-30377089770125809432016-05-31T10:08:00.001-07:002016-05-31T10:08:09.694-07:00Some Thoughts on a TuesdayYesterday Middlebrow and I were doing yard work. Or, Middlebrow was doing yard work and I was approximate to him in a way that might suggest I was also invested in this labor, whether I was or not. The point is, we were in the yard and we were doing some manual type labor, wearing gloves, using tools, getting into and near the dirt.<br />
Not very long, minutes-wise, into this endeavor I might have said something like, "This is boring." Because it was. It's basically the same physical action or actions over and over. Then one might look down the long row of rose bushes that stretches from the sidewalk to the fence and using some kind of fancy algebraic formula, one might guess at the amount of time it will take to finish the project and then one might imagine the boredom stretched out over those minutes and days and one might become instantly exhausted.<br />
"This is why we went to college," said Middlebrow. To avoid such labor, I'm guessing. And it's true. I hated weeding in the summer, when my mom made me, I hated mowing that one day when I actually did it for money.<br />
But it's necessary, isn't it? The labor? The weeds grow, and they grow and grow unless we pull them and then put down this miracle fabric which prevents them from growing. And the roses bloom and then they die, and someone has to trim them otherwise, how will the new buds find the sun?<br />
I contemplated these ideas, labor, adulting, as I did some light weeding in the cool morning breeze. It felt good, but it was still boring. Also, my back hurt.<br />
And then I thought about social media, and how obsessed it is, right now, in this moment with one particular gorilla. And how everyone and their fucking dog is using it as an occasion to bludgeon everyone else about a pet obsession: The gorilla proves that we don't care about endangered species (this one might be true); the gorilla proves that parents are distracted/lazy/bad; the gorilla proves that unless we are vegans, we're not allowed to feel compassion for the gorilla; the gorilla proves that zoos are bad; the gorilla proves that zoos are good; the zoo was justified in killing the gorilla; the zoo was unjustified in killing the gorilla. All these ideas basically come down to one thing: people who don't agree with me are stupid.<br />
This seems to be the general sentiment these days, in social media, in politics, in entertainment, in sports, in life.<br />
I have been guilty of it, but the quiet boring contemplation of yard work and the busy, hectic meaningless posturing of social media has given me a lot to think about.<br />
Also I am contemplating a daily "black out" for my whole family.<br />
I look forward to your thoughts.<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-16359245111983992472016-05-24T11:00:00.000-07:002016-05-24T11:00:02.368-07:00My husband told me to write a sonnet<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sabbatical Sonnet</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-eb4319ac-e3eb-7bc6-68ec-c16441cadeee" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You must do the one thing that you think you </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cannot do, Eleanor Roosevelt tells me. With all </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the things due, it’s true, I do not think I can do</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all the things I have yet to do. If you think</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">you can or think you can’t, you’re right. Says who?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe Henry Ford, who wanted to do to </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us before we did to him. Maybe it’s true</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that thinking is key, that we do as we believe</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or we believe as we do. There is only do,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">there is no try, another sage says. Try as I do</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I accomplish very little with much to do.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes I sit. I often admire the view. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piles shift in space rather than disappear.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m on sabbatical. Good thing I have a year. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-86904402353881343822016-04-24T13:49:00.002-07:002016-04-24T13:50:59.076-07:00Sunday<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: garamond; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over at Jim’s, across the street, they are still</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">asleep, but the trees dazzle, blossoms</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blowing in the Sunday wind. The soft</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">down of grass has been culled into shape,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the dandelions removed, the pansies trained</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">into neat little rows. Even the maple seems</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to be obeying some grand design.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the mid-day sunlight, the greens glisten,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the yellows sparkle and pop, the oranges</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">blaze like dying suns, the reds bleed and bleed.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I observe Nature here, in the urban garden,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "garamond"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a blinded muse, a bound dancer, a slave.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: garamond; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am no master.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(the first word of each line is taken from <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/47734" target="_blank">This Poem</a>) </div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-7027282331335499622016-04-19T12:10:00.000-07:002016-04-19T12:10:41.842-07:00to fast: v. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to go without, to postpone, to defer,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might be furthered</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to hasten, to proceed quickly, to heighten,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might arrive</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to increase, to displace, to prolong</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might want</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to hunger, to yearn, to need,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might desire</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to bind, to fetter, to fix, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted herself that she might persist</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to worship, to mortify, to meditate</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might be pure</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to elevate, to seek, to pursue</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she fasted that she might find</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to arrive, to discover, to escape</span></div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-10242265504462979852016-04-16T07:46:00.003-07:002016-04-16T09:25:24.778-07:00Self-Portrait as Lucian Freud's "Double Portrait" (1985-86)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Am I the woman, artificially still, arranged as if in sleep, </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or death? Am I the dog, nestled beside her, its jaw tense,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dreaming, ready to snarl or bite? Am I the paint, deep </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and patchy, ridged brushstrokes blowing from edge </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to edge? Or am I the canvas, flat, transparent, and square?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Am I the navy of her dress, her pale buttery skin, the grayish-</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pink of the dog’s vulnerable belly? Am I the paint brush, the hair</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of rabbit, badger, or horse? Am I the shadow beneath the weight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of her arm, casually shielding her eyes, or is her pose a defense</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">against the artist’s gaze? I’m the suggestion of a wall, the blank </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bedsheet, the too white bed, the dog’s mottled fur, the sense</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the world is one indecipherable scene and art makes it think. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What, exactly, is it the subject of this painting? That which we see:</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4e344978-1f89-39c9-f04b-d09a573680d9"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">woman, dog, paint? Or the space between the painting and me?</span></span>Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-57701750917673138122016-04-12T13:23:00.001-07:002016-04-12T13:23:20.073-07:00SonnetI like this one, so I'm reposting it here.<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Sonnet for an Absent Spouse</b><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I almost wrote “an empty house,” but it isn’t, still three of four</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on site: Son, and dog and me. In your absence, I chauffeur Son</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and walk the dog. I text “I miss you.” Is that the vodka (80 or more?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">calories) talking? Or maybe it’s the delicious and necessary wine</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(5 ounces Merlot = 120 calories) that makes my thumbs light.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I miss you, I drink whiskey (110 calories), I let Son spend more</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">time watching “Firefly” on his computer to avoid the nightly fight.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I imagine expensive additions to our home: a deck, French doors</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">opening off our master bedroom and into the backyard, fertile</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with rosemary, tomatoes, chard, sunflowers, and orange poppies.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you are gone, I am uncharacteristically morose. I wile</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the hours away reading actuary charts which forecast our untimely</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">demise. It’s not wise, the way I spend my time. Wait: that’s a lie.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-4b9b80bb-0c23-60db-f98c-ebe6a52259da"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I imagine the hours we’ll spend, sipping wine, until we die. </span></div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-63065951310342911112016-04-01T07:17:00.000-07:002016-04-01T07:17:35.883-07:00National! Poetry! Month! Welcome to April, in which two poets test themselves against time, meter, rhyme, and the days that demand poems. That's right, it's National Poetry Month which means that HighTouch and I will be writing a poem a day, and you know what that means! Lower those expectations. Let's go!<br />
<br />
<br />
April Fool<br />
<br />
Perhaps there is a spaceship where astronauts<br />
grow tomato plants in zero gravity. Perhaps there is a zip code<br />
where anyone can live, their mail circulating in some imagined zone<br />
Perhaps instead of a tax refund, I am buying you an air conditioner<br />
or a refrigerator or those teal shoes that you love.<br />
I am leaving them on your front porch, surreptitiously,<br />
for you to find.<br />
<br />
Perhaps I am pouring water on you to wake you from your sleep,<br />
only it's a pitcher full of shredded newspaper,<br />
confetti of the displaced, the forlorn,<br />
the slightly out of date.<br />
<br />
Perhaps I am beckoning you near with only a whisper,<br />
trying to dump water, soapy and warm,<br />
down the front of your blouse, rendering you rain-<br />
soaked, stained and foolish.<br />
<br />
Or maybe I am a lie, a single red tulip,<br />
planted years ago in a patch of dirt beside the house<br />
that bursts forth unexpectedly every year this day.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-57292666003859250492016-03-24T14:12:00.000-07:002016-03-24T14:12:02.432-07:00In Which I Lament/Praise My Own PlanningAnother thing I excel at, since you asked, is planning. I am a planner. I like to plan things.<br />
So, back three or two weeks ago or whenever, I decided (for reasons which are now lost in the haze of my brain) to schedule four days of un-interrupted, hellish consultations with students. Oh yes, I planned it. For myself. Of my own free will. For myself.<br />
What this means, in practical terms, is that for each day of this week I had to read two drafts for each student. That's right, TWO. This I also planned. Which means that the days leading up to this week, and IN FACT, this week was the definition of No Fun.<br />
Luckily I discovered the joy and ease of copy and paste commentary, because, I discovered, even though each student wrote their own draft, they all faced the same challenges. So I wrote very detailed comments, and then I pasted them for each student, customizing them for a students draft. This made my life EASIER.<br />
So what I did I learn from this marathon, no holds barred, few breaks in the schedule, schedule?<br />
First, NEVER DO IT AGAIN!! I say this knowing I will forget the pain and that I will, in fact, construct for myself a similar hell. What can I say? I vacillate between boundless optimism and hard-edged cynicism.<br />
Second, for some students, it actually does work. (Dammit!)<br />
ALSO, re:planning, I was a super-genuis this weekend and prepped food for both breakfast and lunch, therefore making the morning/day portion of my eating life a BREEZE.<br />
The upshot, therefore, is that while sometimes my planning bites me in the ass, sometimes it is an asset.<br />
Thereby, the theme of my planning = ass.<br />
The end.Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-70063893467568974332016-03-23T08:08:00.000-07:002016-03-23T08:08:21.332-07:00I still have a Blog! You guys, I still have a blog!<br />
Which sits here, dormant, like a piece of white paper that, for some reason, is growing mold.<br />
BUT<br />
Poetry Month will soon be upon us and Hightouch and myself made a somewhat informal pact to revive our Poem A Day project during Poetry Month, which is April.<br />
So, I decided I would write a poem a day but BY HAND. That's right. Like, in a notebook and shit.<br />
With that in mind, I decided having a daily writing project (a la Hightouch) is a good idea. I have been Facebooked into brevity, but, my dear readers, I have more to say.<br />
Yes, I will not be contained in a mere Status Update.<br />
No, my words will be many and my sentences will be convoluted.<br />
I HAVE ALL THE BEST WORDS.<br />
<br />
and outDr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-82165139488476219302015-05-07T11:25:00.001-07:002015-05-07T11:25:57.558-07:00Part Dos de MPSI doubt any of the three people who read my blog still remember how I said I would tell about the dining part of the evening, but since I said I would and since I am mostly done grading (damn you, 2 stragglers!), and I am avoiding real life/cleaning my house, no time like the present for completing way past due writing assignments!<br />
<br />
So....after getting to take our informal tour of the Guthrie, Hightouch and I hailed a cab to take us to a trendy little Farm to Table restaurant...The Bachelor Farmer. Apparently we were able to get a table because our reservation was for the exact moment it opened! So when we tried the (locked) door, a cute young man popped his head out and said we could wait at the "little bar" downstairs and gave us somewhat ambiguous directions.<br />
<br />
There was a burly young man in a huge sweatshirt waiting near a fence who wanted to see our ID. "Sure," I said, laughing. He said, "You're going to want the purple door." What kind of direction is that? We approached the back of the building which looked more like an industrial facility than a cute little bar. There was only one door, so we opened it. At the end of a hallway there was, in fact, a purple door. We went in! Cute bar! Dimly lit with round booths. I want to say there was a jazzy burst of trumpet to let us know we had truly found the speak easy...but....<br />
<br />
It was so dimly lit we had to use the candles to read the menu. I had a Presbyterian because, why not? It had whiskey. Say no more. Our drinks were lovely, with big square cocktail-hipster ice cubes. We told our waiter we had reservations up stairs so he settled the tab and then gave us some more vague directions, something like "you want the first door past the sign." Okay, we get it. Speak Easy. Secret. Vague. Yeah.<br />
<br />
The Bachelor Farmer was just as charming as its name sounds. The wallpaper was blue and Nordic seeming, in a warm way. Hightouch made me laugh by reading to me from the menu: "Parsnips baked under a brick." I can't explain that one.<br />
In any case, the highlight of the meal was the toast course, which involved toast, of course, and farmhouse cheese, onion-bacon jam, mushroom pate, and toasted seeds. Say what you will, but toasted seeds are the thing. Coming soon! Everything was delicious, but the toast course is what we will remember.<br />
<br />
We decided that we always have fun when we travel because we are Aspirational Eaters. Pretty soon we are going to write a manifesto.<br />
<br />
So that catches you up to about a month ago.<br />
<br />
I'm exhausted.<br />
<br />Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-55359465674440158702015-04-30T21:19:00.001-07:002015-04-30T21:19:33.296-07:00Last Day of PoMoI fell woefully behind on NaPoWriMo, but I had to write a poem today, for the last day. I was thinking a sonnet, but then this one turned...I don't know, political? Inspired by listening to the radio on the way home and having some theory thoughts about all the violence we're experiencing, and then hearing a man talk about the long history of race riots in the US.<br />
In any case, here's my sonnet. It's pretty bad, I won't lie, but maybe I can fix it.<br />
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sonnet for the End Times</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-dbbdb2cd-0db2-dd0d-6134-e9f481599592" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">every generation seems doomed to repeat the same problem</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today they riot in Chicago and New York and Baltimore.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before that, Ferguson, and Brooklyn and L.A. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since America has been a country we’ve been at war</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with ourselves. Or let me be honest: they,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the whites, we have been at war with black men. Four score,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a hundred years, a century, more. In 1919, play-</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ing at Lake Michigan, a young black boy crossed a line, bore</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the weight of ensuing riots on his thin corpse. Today</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this same black boy wears a hoodie, does not answer, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sir</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">does not defer, physically, to the Law. They will say</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">he was armed, he attacked, that’s what Police are for.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They shoot; we riot; played by the game.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell me, Fire, who burns in the flame?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
Dr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.com2