I know I haven't posted in a while. Things should be getting less crazy soon.

I just sort of reconnected with a friend the other day. I found this poem that she sent me when she was in this uber-cool feminist's class, Jane Gallop. I hope she doesn't mind me posting this.

Enjoy!

"To Michael's Hunger"

My day is chaos:
I had to skip lunch,
all I have to eat is cheese,
and that won't suffice until dinner.
Do I have take-out menus?
Maybe I should just drink.

It's 2:00, is it okay to drink
away my thoughts of chaos?
Or should I just eat this menu?
Why would anyone schedule lunch
so early and make dinner
so late? So here's to cheese!

No fromage and crackers, just cheese
and wine--the acceptable drink
for any time before or after dinner,
and is this really chaos
or the absence of lunch?
I don't like anything on this menu.

Is there sanity on one of these menus?
Hot guys, prozac, and cheese--
that would have been a great lunch
followed by a pretty stout drink.
I could have forgotten about the chaos
and even had the same thing for dinner.

What should I do for dinner?
I'll order from this menu--
food to fight the chaos--
French fries and burgers with cheese
and an espresso to drink.
That should make me forget lunch.

Tomorrow I should remember lunch,
and have a light healthy dinner,
then I can go out for a drink,
somewhere with a good cocktail menu.
I should throw away this cheese
and ignore my thoughts of chaos.

I should not drink my lunch
or have chaos for dinner
and not eat menus or old cheese.

Writing / Blog Discovery

I found this really awesome blog that I wanted to share with everyone. It is called "The One-Minute Writer." (http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2009/01/todays-writing-prompt-time.html) I thought it was quite serendipitous that today's entry was "Teach: What information would you like to teach to others?"

Here is my 60 second writing:

I think it is interesting that the one thing that Beamish wished for was world peace. How can you teach world peace? It seems that so many people like to teach hatred and live by fear that to teach others to love one another. And yet, as I write that last sentence, I already know examples that contradict that and know people who want to love and to create love. To change the world and teach others to live not in fear but rather in

--

So that was about how far I got with just 60 seconds. This blog seems like a really great thing for those of us that do teach writing to use as an activity in class. To get students to think about writing. I can already see from what I wrote that I did not even necessarily write about my ideas. But the restriction of just having 60 seconds to write makes me want to write more. Perhaps five is more reasonable, but I have always found that with the free-writing exercise things go too far astray.

I hope others enjoy this blog and maybe even use it.

Also, I think it would be cool to know how some of you would answer this questions, too? What would you want to teach others? I immediately wrote about what Beamish wished for, but I guess I wouldn't even really want to teach people that. It is was just what was on my mine. I guess what I would teach is a motto I drilled into my 3 year old cousin several years ago, "Difference is good."

"i sometimes desire to be alone"

"i sometimes desire to be alone"

every fiber screams to pull away
and all that I compose stumbles outward
but I unconsciously move towards others

it is as if every turn is decided
resisting and fulfilling some fate as
every fiber screams to pull away

the shreds of myself are caught in the wind
cycling in the atmosphere I hate it
but I unconsciously move towards others

freedom is an oxymoron unable
to resist movement and complexity while
every fiber screams to pull away

how can you be free while tethered to the world
i conspicuously act against nature
but I unconsciously move towards others

someone marks out my text as i claim
what little is left for the taking
every fiber screams to pull away
but I unconsciously move towards others

Dagger ------

Here are some haikus...

"Dagger"

He pushes it in me
as my hymen breaks open
and I lose my Self.

The paintbrush works along
the hard surfaces of your flesh
colouring your soul.

We girls work as one
saving the world from doomsday
fighting the evil words.

Theme Songs

So, the other week I was hanging out with some dear friends when I was posed a questions somewhere along the lines of: Would you rather always hear a theme song running through your head when you walk or have spotlights on you that reflect your mood? Being the person I am, of course, I opted for the theme song, and as of late, I have been thinking about music quite a bit. So then the real dilemma started—which theme song? I mean there are so many to choose from and I love TV so finding one was going to be hard. I mean thinking about this really got me. Of course, we mentioned quite a few that I would say make the complete nexus of my themes songs—at least for this moment. But of course…before then, there are the iconic ER and Law and Order non-verbal themes that are quite popular, and oddly enough I happen to have both of them on my ipod. And there is also the Friends theme, which I would be hesitant to necessarily claim as my own since I never really liked the show all that much.

Anyways, so I think I’ve sort of put it down to three show theme songs that I love and I think represent me in this present. However, I would also think that I wouldn’t necessarily like to hear them every time I walk. But I do think that they are good for you to check out and take a look at. I’ve mentioned and dissected some lyrics and imbedded some videos.

Felicity. So, I discovered this show through Netflix, and I vaguely remember seeing an episode when it was on air on the WB. It has now become one of my top 5 shows and is one of the few shows that I actually own. I’ve worked my way through the show 2 and half times…currently working on Season Three. The show also introduced me to quite a b it of some beautiful songs, and thus, I honor it as one of my own themes.



Written by JJAbrams
Can you become. Can you become. A new version of you. New wallpaper. New shoe leather. A new way home. I don't remember. New version of you. I need a new version of me. New version of you. I need a new version of me.

Short and simple and sweet. I like it because it attests to the fact that I am everchanging and evolving. I also like the ethereal quality of the first two seasons. Very "aural." I feel as if I'm in a cool trance a little bit. When it switches over in the 3rd and 4th season, I love the scenes they show because they come from some of my fav episode. And, I actually really like the Twilight Zone episode, which apparently everyone hated.

Of course then there is the iconic, Golden Girls, which I think is actually one of the first songs that I ever learned besides those nursery rhymes. When my cousins used to babysit me, and I was 5 years old, I remember sitting in my uncle’s recliner and watching the show with them. Not to mention the countless nights in high school that my family spent watching it right before Designing Women came on.



Thank you for being a friend / Traveled down the road and back again / Your heart is true your a pal and a confidant. / And if you through a party / Invited everyone you ever knew You would see the biggest gift would be from me / And the card attached would say thank you for being a friend.

And now, Cheers. Perhaps a little weird since I’ve maybe only seen three full episode, which at the time Iliked. I don’t really know if I would like the show, but I came across the theme song on an info website recently and I totally loved the lyrics.



Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same You wanna be where everybody knows Your name. You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, You wanna go where everybody knows your name.

I think this song really fits with my life right now. It’s all about my friends and all about comfort. I couldn’t have made it these past couple years without them. Shoulders to cry on, friends to laugh when, women to dance with. Ah, good times. I also really love the color and the mix of the old and new in the theme.

So, what are your theme songs?

Sestina: To Michael's Hunger

I mentioned in my first blog that I would hope to include other people's writing in my blog. Well, I finally found something I was particularly moved by.

This sestina was written by a dear friend, another MG.

Enjoy!

"To Michael's Hunger"

My day is chaos:
I had to skip lunch,
all I have to eat is cheese,
and that won't suffice until dinner.
Do I have take-out menus?
Maybe I should just drink.

It's 2:00, is it okay to drink
away my thoughts of chaos?
Or should I just eat this menu?
Why would anyone schedule lunch
so early and make dinner
so late? So here's to cheese!

No fromage and crackers, just cheese
and wine--the acceptable drink
for any time before or after dinner,
and is this really chaos
or the absence of lunch?
I don't like anything on this menu.

Is there sanity on one of these menus?
Hot guys, prozac, and cheese--
that would have been a great lunch
followed by a pretty stout drink.
I could have forgotten about the chaos
and even had the same thing for dinner.

What should I do for dinner?
I'll order from this menu--
food to fight the chaos--
French fries and burgers with cheese
and an espresso to drink.
That should make me forget lunch.

Tomorrow I should remember lunch,
and have a light healthy dinner,
then I can go out for a drink,
somewhere with a good cocktail menu.
I should throw away this cheese
and ignore my thoughts of chaos.

I should not drink my lunch
or have chaos for dinner
and not eat menus or old cheese.

By another MG

Web Art from the Cabinet

Everyone should check out this awesome web-art feature on the Cabinet's website. It's called "There There" by Jackie Goss. It's very informative, and the graphics are kinda awesome.

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/art/webart/jackie_goss/index.php

I hope you enjoy and feel free to post your favorite factoids. Mine happens to be: "In a map of 1900 you see the Philippines tucked under California" or maybe "Henry Garnett, chief cartographer and pizza lover, chooses 'souvenir'--a font he recognizes from Pizza Hot menus."

I never really think about space or place really all that much outsides of wanting to find places to go out for vacation. But in reading this, I remember a really interesting West Wing episode where some people tried to convince Leo or Sam that the United States should back this organization that wanted to redraw the map of the world. We very rarely think about the world at large in a geographical sense...or so I think. Although of course as of late we have been obssessed with ecological issues. Look at films like Wall-E or The Happening.


There really is such a large space out there, but it is seriously dwindling each day. We are not only losing space and resources at an alarming rate, but we are increasingly destroying the Earth with our horrible habits. How many times have we kept the lights on too long? Wasted food? Or abused our access to gas and water? In ecofem, I remember reading an article about how women in some countries walk five hours a day to reach available water sources.

Paris Running For President

I actually love this video, and I don't see why I wouldn't vote for her. Haha!

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

"Inspired by The Blood of Fish"

"Inspired by The Blood of Fish"

As I look down, I see the blood
surrounding the women and the solitary fish.
A voice speaks within my body
telling me to accept in the pain
because grief would make it easier for them to swim.
Even better, it allowed me to become the artist and paint.

She steps off the page, dripping in paint.
Walking slowly around her friend’s body,
she wonders why there is a fish,
and she begins to realize that it is harder to swim
within the cavity of blood
than to walk over the bodies writhing in pain.

The artist’s brush has entered her body,
Causing torment, anguish, and pain.
He not only created but used his pen to swim
within the concave self smothered in blood,
a sacred space that should be untainted by paint
or the presence of this rude fish.

She moves slowly toward the fish,
not enjoying the walk as she would a swim.
Not prepared for the movement, she slips on the paint.
The solitary figure inspects her body,
and notices that her friend is in pain,
a single soul not subject to death but still gurgling life’s blood.

The artist observes, realizing that his pain
can no longer control the movement his figures of paint
make as they exist on the field of blood
squirting forth from the veins of the lonely fish.
The soul enters in the body
of the broken, walking girl as if on a summer’s swim.

The creator looks like a lifeguard saying, “You cannot swim
in that curious liquid known as blood,
which will only cause you such pain
and heartache because of the rape of my brushstrokes and paint!”
He gazes upon the now inanimate woman and the dying fish
and realizes that his own soul is bound to the canvas like her body.

He realizes that she, the subject, has a body,
superior to his and not suspect to the nature of blood
because she exists, unlike him, within the medium of paint.