tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197354082024-03-19T07:08:03.454-04:00Ephemera Ephemerae(everything she touches changes)
(no, really, everything)
(really)Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-10531035500432450612011-10-15T11:15:00.002-04:002011-10-15T11:18:02.146-04:00Chaucer Weighs in on the Netflix DebacleWell, Netflix made a Stupid Decision, and then it took it back, so now those of us who use both the CD rental AND the streaming get to use them both and not have separate accounts (in what way was this not obviously stupid?), and now they've even apologized, and that's all well and good.<br /><br />But even better is <a href="http://houseoffame.blogspot.com/">what Geoffrey Chaucer has to say about it</a>.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-32275707460554041572011-10-12T09:56:00.003-04:002011-10-12T10:14:44.233-04:00Farewell to Elsie Dinsmore (sorta)A friend and colleague of mine was in grief and sorrow the other day, so I very helpfully recommended Books To Read in Times of Distress, the main one of which, as far as I'm concerned, is <em>Elsie Dinsmore</em>. That, and <em>Elsie's Holidays at Roseland</em>, <em>Elsie's Girlhood</em>, <em>Elsie's Womanhood</em>, and <em>Elsie's Motherhood</em>. After that the series loses its punch.<br /><br />When I was a child, I liked to read Elsie books whenever I had a fever -- very comforting they were then, cause I never had times as hard as Elsie's, at least in the first two books, wherein she is persecuted for her goodness.<br /><br />I'm still waiting for my colleague to report back on her reading of Elsie -- if indeed she's still speaking to me after she slogs through the book -- but handing it over reminded me that years ago I had a plan to write some scholarly article on Elsie, just to get her out of my system, so I collected other scholarly articles, <span style="color:#ffff00;">so</span> as to familiarize myself with the discourse, of which, really, there wasn't much, but it was going to require me to learn a whole nother field -- which would be American, you know, and 19th Century, rather than, like, British and medieval -- and I never got around to it and I can't find the articles either, and I think I threw them out.<br /><br />So it turns out that the blog entry I wrote long ago on Elsie is probably the only thing I'm going to write about Elsie. That's it.<br /><br />So here, from about 7 years ago in "Creating Text(iles)," is My Last Scholarly and/or Semi-Scholarly Word on Elsie Dinsmore:<br /><br />********************************<br /><br />Occasionally I get tired of all the excellent literature I read, and return to a project I've got going, which is that I'm in the middle of reading ALL the "Elsie Dinsmore" books.<br /><br />The first Elsie book, <em>Elsie Dinsmore</em>, was written in 1860, by Martha Finley. In this book, little Elsie, who is, oh, I guess about 10 when the series starts, is living with her grandparents and a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins, while her father, whom she has never met, is off in Europe. Elsie's VERY young mother died when Elsie was teeny tiny, but not before she imbued Little Elsie with a strong and abiding Christian faith, a faith which has been since nourished by Elsie's faithful mammy. Yes, our Little Elsie is rolling in the bucks, and owns slaves, being a very wealthy plantation heiress someplace in the ante-bellum South.<br /><br />When I was small, my mom bought the second book, <em>Elsie's Holidays at Roseland</em>, for me, and I was immediately hooked. This is one hell of a series. Little Elsie is, hands down, THE most put-upon heroine of children's literature. Ever. In the first book, all her relatives hate her cause she's so committed to Being Good and saying her prayers, and they've got no patience with her, and when her dad comes home, he comes to like her cause she is so beautiful, but they all the time have little troubles, which eventually get Big when, one Sunday, he tells her to play the piano for the guests, and she won't, cause it's Sunday, and he makes her sit at the piano stool till she agrees, which she won't, cause though she's supposed to honor her father, she's also supposed to keep the Sabbath holy, so eventually she passes out and cracks her head open and has to be put to bed. The guests are pretty disturbed by this -- well, really, you can imagine -- and her dad is sorry.<br /><br />But not so sorry that he doesn't get into almost exactly the same jam, only worse, in the next volume, when, during a lingering illness, he asks Little Elsie to read to him from a book of fairy tales, and she won't, cause, guess what, it's Sunday, so she's in dutch again, and he decides he can't treat her as a daughter if she won't act like one, so he won't kiss her or anything, and she goes into a decline, and then he leaves for Europe, so as to absent himself from her, and she just FADES away, very dramatically, and he manages to get back to her dying beside at just about the last minute. What the hell, I'll start a new sentence. In this dying illness, Elsie has become delirious, and is alternately haunted by visions of being handed over to The Nuns (the doctor has had her hair cut off on account of the fever, and her dad has threatened to hand her over to the Catholics), and visions of being Spurned By Her Father. "Oh, Daddy, Daddy, won't you kiss me now?" she's crying in her delirium.<br /><br />Well, then she dies, and her dad is sorry and grieved, and becomes a Christian. And then she recovers. And all is well. I'm quite taken with the resurrection imagery here, myself. And it's SO subtle.<br /><br />The rest of the series, which was enormously popular, went on for about 36 volumes. I forget the exact number. They go downhill after the first two, which are PACKED with interesting scenes, though throughout the series various interesting bits appear: Elsie marries her father's best friend, the nearest she can get, I guess, to her Dad himself; the family rides out the Civil War in Europe, sort of conveniently not taking sides (though their slaves all seem to be freed all of a sudden, one notices); later, on their return, the neighbors, who consider them to be Traitors to the Cause, attack the house, but the former slaves pour boiling oil on the Ku Klux Klan from an upstairs window; several many babies appear, all in the most mysteeeeerious fashion.<br /><br />This is how it works, in the Elsie books: at breakfast, the family will be discussing the day's planned events, and making remarks about the excellence of the beaten biscuits. Then, one of the grown AND married women will disappear upstairs. End of chapter. Opening of next chapter: there's a baby! Yes, and Mama is doing well and is very pretty and fetching in her ruffled bed jacket. Also, baby is cute.<br /><br />Anyway.<br /><br />I'm on Book 13 -- <em>Elsie's Friends at Woodburn</em> -- and you'd think I'd be used to these things by now, and their singular narrative structures. But this one took me by surprise the other night -- I nearly fell out of bed laughing.Here's what happened.<br /><br />In this book, Elsie's grown daughter, Violet, has married a much older sea-captain (yep, you see a pattern here), who has three children already. They have come to love their dear and beautiful new mama. She loves them. He loves her. Everybody loves everybody else. The children have retired to bed, and Violet and her husband are sitting looking meditatively at the fire. Violet remarks that she's been thinking about how two of the three inherited children look like their father, but the youngest, Grace, doesn't. "No," the father says, "she is just like her mother." Violet asks about the mother, mentioning that her husband's never mentioned her. The husband says that he didn't think Violet wanted to know about her. Oh, yes, Violet loves the children, and wants to keep their mother's memory green for them.The husband mentions that Grace was a lovely and kind Christian woman. "Oh," Violet says. "Grace!"<br /><br />"Yes," the husband answers. "Our little Grace is named after her."<br /><br />That's where I fell out of bed.<br /><br />These people have known each other for at least two years now, and Violet's never learned the name of his first wife?<br /><br />God, I love these books. They are deeply inspired.<br /><br />But beware, folks -- if, hooked by my description of them, you want to go read them, do NOT get <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1928749542/qid=1102341186/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-3292365-3985628?v=glance&s=books">the new editions</a>, which have been rewritten. You need to hit the used book sellers. Don't get anything published after 1990.<br /><br />***********************<br />Since this writing, there has been an unexpurgated edition of a few of the Elsie books published -- just be careful. If you buy these books, you want the originals, in all their gawdawful horror.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-5137277354365165882011-07-27T11:02:00.002-04:002011-07-27T11:19:59.115-04:00Help Create Movie! Exciting Opportunity!So, my buddy <a href="http://starhawksblog.org/">Starhawk</a> is all involved in making her novel <a href="http://fifthsacredthing.com/home/"><em>The Fifth Sacred Thing</em> </a>into a movie, which is awesome and great -- it's a good story* -- and she's all meeting with important people and stuff,** and it's all exciting, and she's looking for a director and all, AND in order to make this project exciting for top directors, she needs to show that there's an audience out there saying where the hell is my movie, I want my movie dammit, get this movie out there so I can go see it in theaters and then buy the DVD with all the extras, like interviews with Star, and perhaps also the opportunity to watch the whole thing over with commentary by the actors. One of whom should probably be Angelina Jolie. Just sayin'.<br /><br />And so now this whole show-your-interest-in Star's-book-becoming-a-movie project is like 85% done, BUT there is still the opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Even just a little bit of money -- like a dollar, she says -- is useful; it's the numbers of interested people who matter. <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fifthsacredthing/the-fifth-sacred-thing">One of whom you may be, if you desire. </a><br /><br />So consider this your artistic public service announcement -- still time to send in a tiny bit of money, and back Star's novel-into-movie project.<br /><br />Star! Film it in Pittsburgh! We are awesome! Also, I will feed you lunch. Oh, and Angelina, too, no prob.<br /><br />Does she like corgis?<br />__________________________<br />*When I moved out here to Pittsburgh, Star sent along one of the proofs of the manuscript of the novel so I could read it, though I had moved so far from San Francisco alas, and I did read it, and I liked it, and then she asked for it back and I refused to give it back and pulled the I am so sad cause I had to leave you and San Francisco and my coven and go to PITTSBURGH fer the love of gawd can't I keep it card, and she let me, cause she's so nice. Book came out anyway, so I gather I did not cause Horrible Problems.<br /><br />**My imaginary version of this looks a lot like Tina on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_L_Word"><em>The</em> <em>L-Word</em> </a>having meetings, but probably in Star's case they weren't quite like that.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-43001387256783735622011-03-09T11:00:00.002-05:002011-03-09T11:30:18.519-05:00Best Tea Cups Evar<a href="http://fairysteps.blogspot.com/2011/03/because-theres-nothing-like-good-cup-of.html">Here's a cupboard of sun. Want.</a> Ren is really posting about the cups up at the top of the photo, which come in colors other than yellow. I'm posting about the yellow tea cup and the yellow jug and plate below.<br /><br />My own tea cup is now on its second incarnation; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Our-Name-Mug-Rise-Whine/dp/B003UPI6LM">also yellow and cheery, but enormous </a>(it must hold four refined cups of tea). Alas, it is no longer available. My giant yellow teapot, also on its second incarnation, now requires a third, as once again its lid has broken. I'm hard on the teaware.<br /><br />Got a minute here before lunch, to go find yellow teapots. Catch ya later.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-75768234270285469562011-03-03T07:33:00.003-05:002011-03-03T07:39:38.362-05:00Writer's Site Coming!Yesterday I drove up to Butler, to meet with my friend <a href="http://mybrilliantmistakes.com/">Cindy</a> from <a href="http://bigbigdesign.com/">Big Big Design</a>; she helped me put together a web site (which I can update, but she'sll manage -- excellent plan!) to corral my writing, so that when editors ask for my website I'll have one.<br /><br />Excellent pieces of the trip: 1) seeing Cindy, of course; 2) not getting VERY lost, only a LITTLE bit; 3) picking out the template.<br /><br />Instead of having a site designed from the ground up -- which of course, Big Big Designs can do, cause they're, like, you know, Big -- I chose the fast template model. I saw several that were just lovely, but one that was not only quite striking, but made me laugh every time I saw it. I picked that one. <br /><br />When it's up -- a few weeks, I think -- I'll post the update.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-32815493152401020392011-02-22T10:11:00.002-05:002011-02-22T10:23:49.368-05:00NOW We Get Snow...So the <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2011/02/01/massive-winter-storm-threatens-million/">Snowcalypse hit the Midwest and the East Coast a couple of weeks ago</a>, and we were supposed to get it too, and since we're in the middle of them it would Only Make Sense if we did, but no, not so much, actually no snow at all. Because it went north.<br /><br />And yesterday we were supposed to get a couple of inches of snow in the evening. About 3:00 I looked out the window and saw that what we were having (after hours of rain) was thick snowfall, and I thought, well, maybe it'll all be over soon, but no, not so much, <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11053/1127135-455.stm">actually it went on for hours</a>. Because this time, too, it went north. Only we were in the north part.<br /><br />So, there was chaos, as usual, and all the schools shut down this morning, as usual, and the traffic was hell on wheels (literally), as usual, because it is Pittsburgh in Winter and we are ALWAYS surprised. Life is entertaining that way.<br /><br />Laura dug my car out, but I got activity points, too, cause I chipped the ice off. And I'm at work. Where the department office is in chaos cause the roof leaked (again), this time onto the copy machine.<br /><br />So. I am in my private office, and I've printed out all copies of the Midterm Review Handout on my own little printer here, and I'm staying away from that end of College Hall. <br /><br />It's so pretty out there! Sunny and bright and crisp and just darling. But Pittsburgh's just not that great at dealing with snow.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-14035208791770394292011-02-17T09:10:00.004-05:002011-02-17T09:20:13.690-05:00How The English Department did Deal With the Starbucks, ReduxNo time for an actual blog post, too bad, so I give you yet another saved post from the now defunct and sorely missed Creating Text(iles) -- many of you, oh ancient and faithful readers, have seen this already. You may go about your business, see you later.<br /><br />For the rest of you, Malory tells the story of the time the first Starbuck's got put into the campus:<br /><br />********************<br /><a href="http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=Mal1Mor.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div2">It befell in the days </a>of George W. Bush, when he was president of all America, and so reigned, that there did come unto the noble knights and ladies of the English Department in the land of Duquesne, which was a noble and fair university, wherein did reside the holy fathers of the Holy Ghost, who did keep that university which hight Duquesne in fair and noble condition, a messenger, who rode unto the faculty lounge on the 6th floor of College Hall, which was a fair and noble room, with some sofas and a little refrigerator, wherein the noble knights and ladies of the History Department did keep their lunchtime sandwiches, and the messenger was sore afflicted, having walked up the six flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator, and the messenger did say, "Who here can help me? For I have heard that this is the place wherein I may find the English Department, which, like most other English departments in the great land of America, is known far and wide for that it does speak forth often of social justice, and even harbors Marxists and Feminists, and will do battle with those who oppress the weak."<br /><br />And the noble knights and ladies of the English Department did rouse themselves from their lunchtime sandwiches, which they kept not in the little refrigerator in the faculty lounge, but did keep in the big refrigerator which was harbored in the mews wherein did reside the teaching assistants, who were the fair and noble squires unto the English Department, and did many noble deeds throughout the land of the university which hight Duquesne, which deeds shall be recounted elsewhere, and the noble knights and ladies did say unto the messenger, "Hey! what's going on?"<br /><br />And the messenger did say, "You are not going to believe this, but there are wicked plans to dismantle the fair and noble deli next door in the Student Union, wherein you do buy your lunchtime sandwiches, and to put in its place the evil Starbucks, which has in its time vanquished many a fair and noble deli and/or small coffee shop, and eaten up its profits, in its evil quest to rule the world."<br /><br />And the knights and ladies of the English Department did say, "Forsooth! and Damn! This is a pain in the butt! and also it is against the cause of social justice, to which, as denizens of the land of the university which hight Duquesne, we are sworn! and also, where the hell will we buy our lunchtime sandwiches, for the Subway is too far to walk in between classes?"<br /><br />And they were wroth.<br /><br />And they did wage battle with words, for which they were known far and wide as fearsome opponents, and undefeated in battle, at least most of the time, except when they went up against the theologians.<br /><br />And they did remark at length amongst themselves on the evil nature of the Starbucks, calling it imperialist lackey of the capitalist running dogs and other such curses such as they remembered from their youth, when they did perform many works of social justice and political activism, being at that time stronger in body and also possessing no mortgages.<br /><br />And this did continue for some time.And finally the Starbucks did open, and there came unto the noble knights and ladies of the English Department, where they did sit in the faculty lounge eating their lunchtime sandwiches, which they had brought from home, as the Subway was too far to walk to in between classes, a messenger, who did say, "Lo! I have seen the Holy Grail!"<br /><br />And the noble knights and ladies of the English Department were quite interested, and did prick up their ears.<br /><br />"No kidding!" the messenger did say. "The Starbucks kicks butt! Try the non-fat latte! I get the tall, cause it keeps me wired all through the Poetry Class, but they've got one even bigger!"<br /><br />And the noble knights and ladies of the English Department did troop over to the Starbucks in a large group, and they saw that therein did reside the Holy Grail, ans it had been reported unto them, and that it was possible to buy a new one every day, though indeed, the cost did add up.<br /><br />And they did cause their writers' group to meet there.<br /><br />And they did hold their Poetry Readings there.<br /><br />And the squires did meet with their apprentices there, for they saw that the Holy Grail did help them to stay on track through lengthy discussions with the apprentices wherein they did try to find the thesis statements that the apprentices had neglected to invent.<br /><br />And there was much rejoicing.<br /><br />And there was no more talk of social justice, as far as the Starbucks was concerned, though indeed the Faculty Senate did point out the need for a deli closer to College Hall than the Subway, wherein the knights and ladies of the university which hight Duquesne could puchase lunchtime sandwiches which were tastier than those they brought from home, and maybe could even be accompanied by those excellent potato chips which the knights and ladies of the university which hight Duquesne did sore miss.<br /><br />And so the noble knights and ladies of the English Department did cease to speak evil against the Starbucks, for they had seen the Holy Grail, and they did turn their attention elsewhere, in search of their next evil and wicked opponent, who should be Sore Afraid.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-16912858384485610672011-02-14T11:39:00.002-05:002011-02-14T11:51:09.757-05:00"The Arrival" -- Andy ShulmanI'm listening to the new CD I got from <a href="http://www.andyshulman.com/">Andy Shulman </a>-- called "The Arrival," it's the first I've heard of his music since I lived in Berkeley in the 70's, where I was a loyal fan of "Deakin," the band he fronted with Kate Moran.<br /><br />And what a lovely gift this is this morning -- Andy's solid, intelligent, and sane lyrics -- the same deft touch I remember from long ago, but with years of wisdom added. And that strong lyrical musical line, and the clear rhythm. And the quick move from one form to another. Love. It.<br /><br />One of the things I always loved about Andy's music was the way that he could make songs sound both familiar and unknown at the same time, as if one was following the sound and the lyrics down a path one vaguely remembered, only to find, at the end, that one had ended up someplace fresh, a new way of being in the world. <br /><br />Still there, but more so. Thank you, Andy.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-1194089575173745902011-02-13T15:50:00.002-05:002011-02-13T15:55:55.609-05:00Sally Rosen Kindred Reading in PittsburghOn February 25, 8:00 PM, Sally Rosen Kindred will be in town, to read poetry at Enrico's Tazza D'Oro in Highland Park. She's being sponsored by Carlow University's "Madwomen in the Attic" program. <br /><br />Her first full-length poetry book, <a href="http://www.sallyrosenkindred.com/No_Eden.html">No Eden</a>, is out from Mayapple Press.<br /><br />See you there!Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-91634806252196702122011-02-12T11:57:00.002-05:002011-02-12T12:02:49.653-05:00Beowulf SocksOver at <a href="http://www.sanguinegryphon.com/catalog/index.php">The Sanguine Gryphon</a>, Sarah, Gryphon, and the Elves design, among other things, literary knits.<br /><br />I now have beautiful hand dyed yarn, and the pattern to make it into <a href="http://www.sanguinegryphon.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22_100&products_id=3012">a pair of "Hwaet!" socks</a>, which have knit into them the beginning lines of Beowulf. Because clearly the universe loves me.<br /><br />And no. You can NOT buy the socks. You have to knit them yourself, or find somebody to do it. (And nope, not me! Sorry.)Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-69429088000288666842010-07-16T10:56:00.002-04:002010-07-16T10:59:15.175-04:00Another Poem Available OnlineI didn't get notice when the poetry for the July issue of <em>Literary Mama </em>went up, but did think today to go look again, and to my delight, <a href="http://www.literarymama.com/poetry/archives/2010/07/vasilissas-doll.html">"Vasilissa's Doll" is now in electronic print.</a>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-59768139261710217692010-07-01T09:37:00.002-04:002010-07-01T09:57:29.395-04:00Juliet in the Funeral Parlor: Just Say No.Here's another installment from the now defunct <em>Creating Text(iles),</em> this a review of an opera, from December 7, 2006:<br />******************<br /><br />At some point recently I promised to discuss the production of <em>Romeo and Juliet: The Opera</em> which I went to recently. I learned a lot. I learned that if you are producing a version of <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>, whether it's been transformed into an opera or not, and it occurs to you that making the Capulets into modern-day Mafia owners of a funeral home would add a lot to the deeper meanings of the plot, you should lie down for a while till you sober up, BEFORE you go on over to a meeting with the director and begin to throw your weight around.<br /><br />I'm all for messing with the classics. Hell, I've got a sense of humor. No prob. So my objection to the version of the opera that I went to is NOT that people tweaked the holy works of Shakespeare (and Gounod, as far as that goes), when they should have left them alone on account of their sacredness. Nope. My objection is that if Juliet has decorated her bedroom with coffins, it just doesn't make any sense for her to get all hysterical at the thought of waking up from the poisoned sleep and seeing Tybalt's ghost.<br /><br />You can't buy it. She's been sleeping with ghosts all along.<br /><br />Also, why are the Capulets having all their parties in the funeral home<br />itself? Have they no home to go to? Are they ALL just so addicted to hanging out with the corpses they can't go home?<br /><br />No. The Mafia part, fine. Hell. Set it in the city streets with New York gangs. I think the Mafia part could have worked nicely.<br /><br />But having the Capulets spend all their time, waking or sleeping, playing or working, in the funeral home just. Does. Not. Work.<br /><br />I was reminded of the classic livejournal page, "<a href="http://angevin2.livejournal.com/148520.html">THE THINGS I WILL NOT DO WHEN I DIRECT A SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTION, ON STAGE OR FILM</a>."* The site's up to well over 400 entries now, and I haven't got time to go through it all, but if the Capulet Funeral Parlor isn't the list, it damn well should be.<br />*********************************<br />*Oh, I love this site with a mighty passion.<br /><br />Some highlights:<br /><br />"Lady MacBeth should never give her biggest speeches lying facedown on a green couch."<br /><br />"I will not have Romeo and Juliet's clothes gradually become more modern as the play progresses, to symbolize that their love is eternal, especially if this means that Juliet has to wear a pink mini skirt for her death scene."<br /><br />"Should I choose to portray Lady Macduff as pregnant, I will ensure that her bump is secure."<br /><br />"I will not begin A Midsummer Night's Dream with a song and dance number featuring Puck tap-dancing."<br /><br /><br />"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will not enter on a miniature train."<br /><br />"I will remember that Much Ado is a comedy. I will refrain from having the company dress in funerial black for the wedding, dance to sombre music, and then die in a bombing raid. Even if am labouring under the misapprehension that this would be terribly artistic. "<br /><br />Lord, it makes me want to go harrass Shakespeare just for the sheer fun of it.<br /><br />Maybe that explains the funeral parlor......Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-56930175921026299122010-05-01T14:46:00.003-04:002010-05-01T15:02:33.101-04:00In Which I Explain the Whiskey Rebellion 1791-1794I'm in the process of taking down my blog of long ago, <a href="http://www.creatingtextiles.com/">Creating Text(iles)</a> -- I stopped writing in it and said farewell in May of 2007, but I kept it on the server, in case anybody needed it, but I don't think they do anymore, so I'm going to save the money; the blog and all its archives will disappear into wherever it is that internet sites go towhen they disappear.<br /><br />But before I do that, I'm going through and saving any bits of writing that seem to me to be worth keeping track of. By which I mean that they amuse me.<br /><br />Here, for instance, is a useful explanation of the Whiskey Rebellion, taken from one I wrote in 2006:<br />**************************<br /><em>Back when Our Federal Government was very young, it discovered it needed a bunch of money, on account of having gotten terribly into debt whilst winning freedom from the imperialist teadrinkers. So it created a bunch of taxes, one of which was the tax on whiskey. Now, this was a problem for the farmers out in Western Pennsylvania, which was at that time The Western Frontier, cause whiskey was what they were shipping back to the Eastern Cities. Why was this, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It was cause 1) the Eastern Cities didn't need wheat and rye; 2) the Eastern Cities needed a lot of whiskey; 3) grain, turned into whiskey, was WAY more profitable than grain in its unadulterated state, and 4) grain, turned into whiskey, was WAY more transportable than grain in its unadulterated state, and since the roads sucked, this was an Issue.<br /><br />Shall we have a new paragraph? Why not. Ok. So the local farmers needed to sell whiskey, and they were opposed to paying taxes on it. Why? Because 1) they operated in a barter economy, unlike the denizens of the Eastern Cities, and did not have cash to hand, and 2) as far as they could tell the federal government wasn't doing anything for them, such as keeping them safe from the local native population, which was, understandably, annoyed by their presence, but that's a whole nother story, or, indeed, making the roads passable.<br /><br />So. The farmers didn't pay the tax. They were told they had to pay the tax. They didn't pay the tax. Tax collectors appeared. The farmers did Bad Things to them. The farmers were served with writs. They ignored them. </em><br /><br /><em>The farmers marched on Pittsburgh in order to burn it down, but were met by the citizens of Pittsburgh, who had set out tables of food and drink. The farmers burnt down one barn, after, I guess, having been placated with sausage and beer. The federal government sent soldiers. It took SO LONG for the soldiers to get here (see sucky roads, above), that everybody had disappeared. So the soldiers didn't have to do much except stand around, but this was proof that the federal government meant what it said, by God, so we should all behave.<br /><br />The end.<br /><br /></em>So there was a civil war, though there weren't a lot of casualties, thank goodness. Actually, the Whiskey Rebellion was a model for a nearly tolerable civil war, I'm thinking. Keep it short, keep it simple, keep it fairly safe. Have no massacres. And in the end, since there were soldiers stationed in the county, there was a Sudden Cash Flow, and everybody could pay the taxes. Also, since there were soldiers stationed in the county, the roads got better. This is called Dramatic Irony.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-9498956761722688142010-04-29T09:20:00.003-04:002010-04-29T09:34:07.090-04:00The Hazards of CrimeSome weeks ago, my brother Jim asked me, "so is this James Joyce any good?" -- which is an odd question, coming from a person who Enjoys Reading. But he was a history major, and never got exposed to any <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Dubliners</span> when he was a young man. Turns out he'd run across <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Finnegans</span> Wake</em>, and thought, oh, I've heard of this, it's by that James Joyce guy. And then he bought it. And then he tried to read it. And then he stopped.<br /><br />I've got a bucket list of books I want to read before I die -- finished <em>War and Peace</em>; am in the middle of the 12 volume unabridged <em>Clarissa</em> -- and <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Finnegans</span> Wake</em> is not on it. I will happily go to my grave with <em><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Finnegans</span> Wake </em>unread. Perhaps one of my loved ones who would find it hilarious -- Jim comes to mind -- can read it to me when I'm on my death bed. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">Perferably</span> when I'm in a coma.<br /><br />At any rate. I put together an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">unbirthday</span> present for him of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error"><em>Dubliners</em></span>, <em>Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man</em>, <em>Ulysses</em>, and that Burgess book <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error"><em>ReJoyce</em></span>, as a sort of helpful how to get through Ulysses guide, and had amazon.com send it off.<br /><br />For reasons unknown to us, they divided the books into two batches. And though the site said that indeed <em>Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man</em> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error"><em>Dubliners</em></span> got delivered, Jim never saw them.<br /><br />This happens sometimes, when the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">postperson</span> leaves packages at his door, cause in the Albuquerque apartment building where he lives, sometimes his fellow tenants seize opportunities when they find them, and a box from amazon.com caught <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">somebody's</span> eye, and the package got delivered, all right, but somebody else is reading Jim's books. Or decorating the trash with them.<br /><br />I had amazon send some more, and they got to Jim safely.<br /><br />But I do dearly love the thought of someone stealing a treasure box -- things you can sell! maybe eat! whatever! -- and discovering that alas, what they've got is James Joyce.<br /><br />Makes me almost which I'd send some Beckett instead. That would be even funnier.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-81309465107040173632010-02-02T08:55:00.004-05:002010-04-29T09:03:04.117-04:00Poetry for ImbolcActually, there's two parts to this entry today: 1) poetry offering and 2) poetry update. thus:<br /><br />1) Poetry Offering<br /><br />as my contribution to the 5<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">th</span> Annual <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">CyberSpace</span> (Silent) <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Poetry</span> Slam, one of my all-time favorites, in which the most accomplished English Court Poet of All Time compares the courtly lover to a fish in sauce (Because He Can):<br /><br /><strong>To <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rosemounde</span></strong><br /><br />by Geoffrey Chaucer<br /><br />Madame, ye <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">ben</span> of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">al</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">beaute</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">shryne</span><br />As fer as <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">cercled</span> is the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">mapamonde</span>;<br />For as the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">cristall</span> glorious ye <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">shyne</span>,<br />And <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">lyke</span> ruby <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">ben</span> your <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">chekys</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">rounde</span>.<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Therwyth</span> ye <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">ben</span> so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">mery</span> and so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">iocunde</span><br />That at a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">reuell</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">whan</span> that I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">se</span> you dance,<br />It is an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">oynement</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_24" class="blsp-spelling-error">vnto</span> my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_25" class="blsp-spelling-error">wounde</span>,<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_26" class="blsp-spelling-error">Thoght</span> ye to me <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_27" class="blsp-spelling-error">ne</span> do no <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_28" class="blsp-spelling-error">daliance</span>.<br /><br />For <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_29" class="blsp-spelling-error">thogh</span> I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_30" class="blsp-spelling-error">wepe</span> of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_31" class="blsp-spelling-error">teres</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_32" class="blsp-spelling-error">ful</span> a tyne,<br />Yet may that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_33" class="blsp-spelling-error">wo</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_34" class="blsp-spelling-error">myn</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_35" class="blsp-spelling-error">herte</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_36" class="blsp-spelling-error">nat</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_37" class="blsp-spelling-error">confounde</span>;<br />Your <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_38" class="blsp-spelling-error">semy</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_39" class="blsp-spelling-error">voys</span> that ye so small out <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_40" class="blsp-spelling-error">twyne</span><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_41" class="blsp-spelling-error">Makyth</span> my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_42" class="blsp-spelling-error">thoght</span> in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_43" class="blsp-spelling-error">ioy</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_44" class="blsp-spelling-error">blys</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_45" class="blsp-spelling-error">habounde</span>.<br />So <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_46" class="blsp-spelling-error">curtaysly</span> I go, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_47" class="blsp-spelling-error">wyth</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_48" class="blsp-spelling-error">loue</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_49" class="blsp-spelling-error">bounde</span>,<br />That to my self I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_50" class="blsp-spelling-error">sey</span>, in my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_51" class="blsp-spelling-error">penaunce</span>,<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_52" class="blsp-spelling-error">Suffyseth</span> me to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_53" class="blsp-spelling-error">loue</span> you, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_54" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rosemounde</span>,<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_55" class="blsp-spelling-error">Thogh</span> ye to me <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_56" class="blsp-spelling-error">ne</span> do no <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_57" class="blsp-spelling-error">daliaunce</span>.<br /><br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_58" class="blsp-spelling-error">Nas</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_59" class="blsp-spelling-error">neuer</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_60" class="blsp-spelling-error">pyk</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_61" class="blsp-spelling-error">walwed</span> in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_62" class="blsp-spelling-error">galauntyne</span><br />As I in <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_63" class="blsp-spelling-error">loue</span> am <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_64" class="blsp-spelling-error">walwed</span> and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_65" class="blsp-spelling-error">iwounde</span>;<br />For <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_66" class="blsp-spelling-error">whych</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_67" class="blsp-spelling-error">ful</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_68" class="blsp-spelling-error">ofte</span> I of my self <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_69" class="blsp-spelling-error">deuyne</span><br />That I am <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_70" class="blsp-spelling-error">trew</span> Tristam the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_71" class="blsp-spelling-error">secunde</span>.<br />My <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_72" class="blsp-spelling-error">loue</span> may not <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_73" class="blsp-spelling-error">refreyde</span> nor <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_74" class="blsp-spelling-error">affounde</span>;<br />I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_75" class="blsp-spelling-error">brenne</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_76" class="blsp-spelling-error">ay</span> in an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_77" class="blsp-spelling-error">amorouse</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_78" class="blsp-spelling-error">plesaunce</span>.<br />Do what you <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_79" class="blsp-spelling-error">lyst</span>, I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_80" class="blsp-spelling-error">wyl</span> your <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_81" class="blsp-spelling-error">thral</span> be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_82" class="blsp-spelling-error">founde</span>,<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_83" class="blsp-spelling-error">Thogh</span> ye to me <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_84" class="blsp-spelling-error">ne</span> do no <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_85" class="blsp-spelling-error">daliance</span>.<br /><br />******************<br />2) Poetry Update:<br /><br />There may be an infinite number of narratives which explain why I spent several decades NOT writing poetry (and being tormented that I wasn't writing poetry; it's not like I just forgot, or that I didn't care), and then was able to start writing poetry, and I have none of those narratives to which I currently owe allegiance. I didn't write. Now I do.<br /><br />Sometime in about June, I started writing every morning, the first thing after I made a pot of tea. I'd write for an hour, maybe two. I'd journal, I'd work exercises out of the various books of writing exercises I own. I started writing other stuff. I wrote a draft of a short story. I wrote notes for a play. I wrote poetry.<br /><br />In September, I started sending it out. To date, 5 poems have been either published or accepted for publication. More are out there. A chapbook MS is at a press for review. Another chapbook is being put together. A third chapbook is being thought about.<br /><br />I went to a writer's weekend workshop and came away with two <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_86" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">poem</span> drafts, notes for several other poems, and plans to find a place to get a low-residency MFA in poetry.<br /><br />That's my update. Didn't write. Now do.<br /><br /><a href="http://cabinet-des-fees.com/?p=731">Here's a link to one of the published poems.<br /></a><br />And many thanks to That Brigid. Many.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-37211921024251118632010-02-01T15:10:00.002-05:002010-02-01T15:16:35.166-05:005th Annual CyberSpace (Silent) Poetry Slam!WHAT: Bloggers' Silent Poetry Reading<br /><br />WHEN: Anytime tomorrow, February 2<br /><br />WHERE: Your Blog<br /><br />WHY: To celebrate Imbolc, the Feast of Brigid, or, if you prefer, Groundhog Day.<br /><br />HOW: Post a poem, one of yours or someone else's, on your blog, anytime February 2. If you do, link back here in the comments (or <a href="http://branchesup.blogspot.com/2010/01/5th-annual-cyberspace-poetry-slam-for.html">directly over at Oak's place </a>if you like), so we can keep track of the web. This gets bigger and bigger every yearAnnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-9745970745299152102009-10-12T09:51:00.002-04:002009-10-12T09:52:04.469-04:00Hanted by Civil Rights IssuesAs in Don't Ask Don't Tell -- <a href="http://www.feministing.com/archives/018272.html">bad enough, but worse for lesbians</a>.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-41206456012507305152009-10-09T15:20:00.001-04:002009-10-09T15:21:32.303-04:00Haunted by the Most Beautiful Place in the World<a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/09/a-tour-of-the-deepes.html">The most beautiful, I think -- but also the most inaccessible.</a>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-53030275534240347502009-10-09T12:41:00.001-04:002009-10-09T12:44:27.936-04:00Haunted by the Young Diana Rigg<a href="http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/two-minute-nostalgia-sublime_09.html">Thanks to Shakesville.</a><br /><br />Hell, haunted by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD-BUoTAl2M">the current one</a>, as well.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-85734609327896286312009-10-08T12:38:00.000-04:002009-10-09T12:39:45.260-04:00Haunted by Idiot Things People Say About WelshI'm always grateful when <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/09/watch-what-you-say-a.html">smart people get pissy about the things people say about Welsh</a>. (Much of this goes for Irish, too.)Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-7093294407903223782009-10-07T21:05:00.000-04:002009-10-08T21:07:36.114-04:00Haunted by Willy Wonka in Reverse<a href="http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/2009/10/yad-eht-fo-oediv.html">Truly terrifying.</a> The wierdest part (for me) is being <em>almost able to understand English in reverse</em>, which sounds like some Scandinavian language I haven't picked up yet.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-18275186775650278852009-10-06T10:43:00.001-04:002009-10-06T10:45:24.334-04:00Haunted by a Past That Surely Can't Get Much Older Than ThisThey've found <a href="http://arbroath.blogspot.com/2009/10/40000-year-old-baby-woolly-mammoth.html">a mummified baby wooly mammoth</a>, still in excellent condition -- for a dead mammoth -- even down to the mother's milk still in its stomach.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-4438918225994995962009-10-05T10:39:00.000-04:002009-10-06T10:41:17.913-04:00Haunted by Non-Existent PastWe never actually <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2009/10/05/1967-dance-video---d.html">danced like this</a>; what would the world be like if we had?Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-62415284272905648022009-10-04T21:14:00.002-04:002009-10-04T21:24:59.859-04:00Haunted By the REEEALLY Old PastNot that many rune stones show up in Norway these days -- the last one found was discovered in 1947 -- but there's one that <a href="http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1763822/rune_in_norway_dates_to_400_ad/index.html">turned up in a garden in Mandal</a>, -- it's on the southern coast, the lowest tip -- one of our ancestral hometowns. Still have cousins there. Lovely place. It's in Vest Agder. It has three salmon on the coat of arms. Now I'm homesick, just thinking about it. Which is odd, since I've never lived there. Just seen the cousins, and the ruined foundations of the farmstead where my great grandmother lived...Where was I...Oh, right, rune stones. There are about 3,000 in Scandinavia. Mostly carved in honor of dead men. The one they've found is a pretty early one.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19735408.post-12602125781100509422009-10-03T21:21:00.002-04:002009-10-03T21:23:21.762-04:00Long-term HauntingsFor a very long time the main ghost that haunted me was the poetry I wasn't writing. Towards the end of the summer, though, I started writing about 3 or 4 poems a week. After classes started, my output went down -- about one a week now. Not bad, though; that's 52 a year, if this keeps up. And it's a lot more than none.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00153700936764940261noreply@blogger.com0