Bird park - 2 weeks later

It's cold now and still no bird park. This has gone on too long. The descendants of the dinosaurs are getting pissed.

The critique

I finally got the critique of the poems I entered in the Nevada Arts Council Artist Fellowship Program last spring. It took long enough. If you are one of the rare regular readers here you perhaps remember I was not awarded the $5000 grant but you may have been on the edge of your keyboard waiting for the judge's commentary to arrive. Well, probably not. I'd forgotten all about it myself. At any rate, in keeping with my dedication to truth and transparency here at the language barrier, I'm posting the panels comments (there were two judges), as is (including typos) just as I did last year. If nothing else, it's another item for the alien's data bank who cleverly gave us this technology knowing we will freely pour our hearts out into the void.

ARTISTS FELLOWSHIP FY07
LITERARY ARTS APPLICATIONS

Application Number 331
Discipline / Category Literary Art - Poetry


Panel Comments

Found these poems intriguing, mysterious. Especially liked "Skin Trade"


Some strong imagistic details: "an old man...gulping like a fish," the synesthesia of "leathery squeak," "dusty clods of petals and wax." These poems are strongest when centered in image; where rhetoric outweighs image, they become slightly less so. The poems are consistent in tone: ominous, detached. The poet should trust in his/her image making to convey this surreal landscape without the need for flatter discursive passages such as the opening lines of "Road's Eye View" and "Skin Trade."


Interesting since (their misuse of word) of mystery remind me of some surrealist French poems. The musically did not work for me. There was not much effort to create a song pattern that work as part of the package.


Stunning images very surreal, but at the heart surreal there is a process of uncovering a deeper reality, a deeper meaning. I'm not quite sure what the poems were cohesively adding up to. The language was inventive and creative thematically but not quite there.

"Discursive passages"? Okay. But "not much effort to create a song pattern that work as part of the package"? Package? As in word product? I'm glad these guys don't get it.

Nothing to hide, everything to protect

Excerpt from "The Grave"

"Oft in the lone church yard at night I've seen,
By glimpse of moonshine chequering thro' the trees,
The school boy, with his satchel in his hand,
Whistling aloud to bear his courage up,
And lightly tripping o'er the long flat stones,
(With nettles skirted, and with moss o'ergrown,)
That tell in homely phrase who lie below."

by Robert Blair

"I have nothing to hide."

This is the standard answer when someone defends Republicans spying on us without a proper warrant. Otherwise intelligent people totally miss the point thinking it doesn't matter as long as the person spied on is innocent. I marvel at their ignorance. Their passivity stuns me. Either these people are whistling past the graveyard or they are as clueless as animals chew their cuds in the slaughterhouse.

Our Constitutional guarantee of privacy is violated when the government spies on us without a warrant and that, my friend, is a Big Deal. It should be a clue that the conservatives do not want anyone monitoring them when they spy on us. This is because they want secret, full, unrestricted access to all our phone conversations, emails, downloads, credit and banking records. They want to know what we buy, what books we check out at the library, the groups we belong to, and the people with whom we spend personal time. They want to be able to imprison anyone, at any time, for no stated reason, deny the accused access to the evidence held against them and even deny the defendant the right to attend their own trial. Far fetched? You bet it is. It's totalitarianism, baby. Fascism.

Bush & Co are bringing America Fascism on the installment plan. Their illegal actions and our passiveness have created an environment toxic to democracy and freedom. When we stand on the sidelines and let the Republicans disassemble our Constitution we are letting them destroy the very thing that defines and protects us as free people.

"What does it matter? I have nothing to hide." We may have nothing to hide but we sure as hell have something to protect.










fascism Bush republicans NSA warrentless spying constitution

Countdown 9/11 Special Commentary

Keith Olbermann blasts Bush calling him and his supporters "grasping, opportunistic dilettantes at best and at worst idiots." I say screw the either/or because they're all that.People are so mesmerized by the Republican spin machine but the fact is emperor has no brain and he's driving the bus off the cliff. Check out CrooksandLiars.com for the link. The complete transcript of speech is also available at crooksandliars.

Bush, our pet goat

September 11, 2006

2666: current US death toll in Iraq
20000 - 48100: estimated US wounded in Iraq
41650-46318: Iraqi civilian death toll

9/11: Why did Bush sit reading "My Pet Goat" and ignore the news that the country was under attack? And why did he mire us in this trumped-up war on Iraq instead of going after Osama bin Laden who was the master mind behind 9/11?

Watch our pet goat read as America burns.

bush 9/11 my pet goat osama bin laden

Bird Park blues

The Bird Park is a sad place these days. The trailer is taking much longer than expected. It shouldn't surprise me how long a do-it-yourself project ends up taking but it always does. The bed liner is on. It looks great and now the only thing left is to paint the outside and Mr. Lee is doing the prep for that today.

At this point the bird feeders have been down for over a week but every morning a little band of pigeons continue to gather just after day break on the roof of Dick's house to see if their world has been restored. I guess all pigeons are homing pigeons. When the feeders are up the finches gobble away at them from dawn to dusk and spew seed chips on the ground for everybody else. Mr. Lee assures me that it should only a few more days before the trailer is done and my little artifical environment can return to it's own form of normal. I hope so. Otherwise it's pretty quiet here in suburblandia.

Tonopah Nevada, one more time

Here are a few photos from my weekend in Tonopah.


Proud home of the Tonopah Muckers


World weary lama
downtown Saturday afternoon "petting zoo"



Main Street, downtown Tonopah

"The Last Picture Show"
Th film was supposed to be about a desperate little town
in Texas but many of the scenes were filmed in Tonopah,
including the street scene used on the official poster for the film,
hanging in Tonopah's Convention Center.



One block off of Main

Thrift shop



Outhouse



Miner's house
located just north of the outhouse, also one block of Main St.


View of Mizpah Hotel on Main St.
as seen from cabin next door.



Polaroid of a guy drinking a beer
found in this shack. Yes, I left the photo there.
It's waiting for you.



Back side of heaven



Wild hot springs a few miles from town.
The water was too hot in the middle of the day
to do anything but soak our feet.


Local newspaper clippings 1907 - 1911
Tonopah museum

An incredibly different style of journalism.

1909


1911


1907



Old Tonopah graveyard

revisited again


Baby William's doll
Something moved the doll since my last visit in the spring



Unknown baby
the wind has rubbed the name away

tonopah nevada the last picture show graveyard miner's cabin old west

Saturday at the Roxy - 09.09.06

Today the Roxy matinee is coming to you from the lovely town of Tonopah located in the geographic center of the Great Basin, aka Nevada. This link takes you to some poetry by a few friends of mine that you might enjoy. At any rate, I'll post photos of the Tonopah trip later. I hope you enjoy the show. Last Saturday was basically Werner Herzog day here at the Roxy. First we watched him eat his shoe and then saw his video of aboriginals in the Amazon. Naturally they were both pretty intense, so today I've chosen lighter fare.

To kick off today's matinee here's
Bengal cat Zimba treading Richard Norton's...

Evil Cat Wheel

This next video is for dog lover's.
or you might say lover dogs..

Puppy Love

I found this video by Falconer & Tom (sorry no link) on Channel 101.
It didn't make it very far in the voting but I kind of like it and hope you do too...

Stripey #1

saturday roxy

Tonopah in the morning

I'm leaving for Tonopah in the morning and will be gone until Sunday. For the last couple of years I've been attending meetings there but, after this trip, I rotate out of the service position I've been in and that's it. I'm done and I'm a bit sad about it.

I love to wander around photographing Tonopah's remains which the desert is quickly consuming, but otherwise there's not much else going on there besides the gas station, which must make about a million dollars a month, and the two prisons which will eventually be buried by the sand. Otherwise Tonopah belongs to the dead.







tonopah

Victory for Horses!

Mare and two colts, members of a small band of
wild horses in the Nevada desert.

Horse protection bill passes House!

I got this email from the Humane Society today and want to share it with all of you who called your Representatives yesterday to speak up for wild horses:

Dear Asha,

I am thrilled to share with you truly historic news: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503) by a vote of 263-146. Our opposition tried to introduce two "poison pill" amendments that, if passed, would have killed the bill. But thanks to your calls and emails, these amendments were soundly defeated, and the House passed the legislation. Your work carried the day for America's horses!

I can't stress enough how crucial the support of dedicated advocates like you has been in this long fight to close down the brutal and foreign-owned horse slaughter industry. Each time you made a phone call, met with your legislators, sent an email, and told your friends and family about this issue, you helped the horses win. All of these efforts have led us to this historic win in the House.

Your actions have also paved the way for a victory in the Senate. To ensure final passage of this vital legislation, please contact your two U.S. Senators (Harry Reid and John Ensign) and urge them to immediately pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1915).

We are closer than ever to protecting nearly 100,000 horses a year from a grim and painful end, just so they can be turned into foreign delicacies. Please stay with us in this fight as we reach toward final victory for the horses.

Please share this good news with your friends and family, and urge them to take action by contacting their U.S. Senators, too.

Now the bill has to pass the Senate and that fight is yet to be fought, but that's for another day. Today is a day to celebrate. Thanks for your help! We did together what we could not do alone!







H.R. 503 wildhorses slaughter

Republican plan

"Yada yada woof woof" - President Bush

campaign conservatives congress election iraq

Stop slaughter of America's wild horses

Today's the day!

Homestretch for Horses

With the U.S. House of Representatives set to vote on a permanent horse slaughter ban, animal advocates and lawmakers rally to keep American horses off the menu. more

• Video: Be part of the national rally to ban horse slaughter.

• Take Action: Join the charge, and call today.

Call your Representative today.
The vote is tomorrow!

If you need a script here's the one I used. It's the one provided by the Humane Society. Do it. It only takes a couple of minutes. Swamp 'em!


"I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that my Representative please protect American horses from slaughter and support H.R. 503, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. I also urge my Representative to oppose any amendments to H.R. 503. I am very concerned about American horses and I don't want them slaughtered."



If you'd like to read more there's a lot links on the subject here: Lexidiem: Barbaro Burgers Legal after Thursday?






H.R. 503 wild horses

End wild horse slaughter

Sept. 6, 2006:
National Call-In Day for Horses

The wild horses need your help. The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday, Sept. 7 on the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act! Please help. Call your U.S. Representative directly or call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If you don't know what to say, here's a script courtesy of The Humane Society. Please help.

"I am a constituent and I am calling to ask that my Representative please protect American horses from slaughter and support H.R. 503, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. I also urge my Representative to oppose any amendments to H.R. 503. I am very concerned about American horses and I don't want them slaughtered."






wild horses end slaughter H.R. 503 humane society

Bird Park moritorium - Day 3

Strange goings on in the Bird Park today but I am assured that the project is going well. Supposedly the trailer bed is ready to be sprayed with some kind of tufftufftuff coating tomorrow and rumor has it that the outside will be painted and done on Wednesday. I hope so. The natives are getting restless.

Steve Irwin, one of the good guys

So sorry to hear Steve Irwin died today but it doesn't seem appropriate to add RIP after his name. If there is life beyond I doubt he's ordered up a fluffy cloud or rocking chair. I'll miss him. I really appreciate that with his life he brought so much awarness and compassion to creatures worldwide. He was a joy.


Steve Irwin / UF Gators - YouTube




Cries over dead croc - YouTube







steve irwin crocodile hunter crocodile uf gators

Moratorium, Day 2

Evening and Day 2 of no seed in the Bird Park but birds are still occasionally dropping by, some drinking a little water before taking off again. Otherwise, it's pretty quiet out there.

I spent some time in the morning working on the Coda for Three Cockroaches, not writing it, it's been done for months, but playing it in different voices on the keyboard. I must say some where kind of nice. I got a mixer and microphone for my birthday last month so I would like to record and upload it to the Cockroach Diary but I still lack one set of cables.

I also spent some time at the drawing board today. Like all of my projects, that's going very slowly. I've become self-conscious about what I'm doing and every other line now looks wrong. I'm much better when I don't think about these things but seems the mind always finds a way to intruded. Then begins the hard part.

The sky is blue here in Nevada this evening with elongated white clouds tethered to the desert by invisible ropes. Inside the window I am completely surrounded by things — 360° of stuff — in front of me brain coral from the Caribbean, Crow Stone, the Mayan leopard, then to the right the camera cradle, book holder, lamp, microphone, printers, scanner, bookshelf crammed with boxes of paper, notebooks, photographs, CDs, then the small table with books and drawing paraphernalia, the drawing table, then another bookshelf, file cabinet, another table with shelving holding my minuscule puppet theatre, and shelves of pens, tape, glue, rubber stamps, paper clips, scissors, post office stickers, labels etc. and so on, then the window in front of me again and the big table at which I sit typing. The clutter is contained compared to other days but it is the open blue sky on the other side of the glass toward which I lean like a plant bound in a pot that is too small.

When I began writing this post I was listening to a CD by woman called Sada Sat Kaur, an American disciple of Yogi Bajan. A friend loaned it to me. It's horrible. I knew it would be. I can't complain about an American taking initiation and wearing robes. I have a guru. Did. Do. Did. ...do... in an abstract way ... so I can't fault Kaur for that but god! her syrupy synthesized muzak just doesn't cut it.

Rumsfeld's dance with nazis

Following up on Rumsfeld's recent accusation that any American critical of his war on Iraq is a nazi, the NYT just published an article by Frank Rich about Rummy and Saddam. Naturally Rumsfeld didn't embarrass the dictator by criticizing him for torturing political prisoners. I guess there's some kind of twisted honor among sociopaths.

Donald Rumsfeld's dance with the Nazis'

NYT via The Raw Story

" ...what made Rumsfeld's performance special was the preview it offered of the ambitious propaganda campaign planned between now and Election Day. An on-the-ropes White House plans to stop at nothing when rewriting its record of defeat (not to be confused with defeatism) in a war that has now lasted longer than America's fight against the actual Nazis in World War II.

Here's how brazen Rumsfeld was when he invoked Hitler's appeasers to score his cheap points: Since Hitler was photographed warmly shaking Neville Chamberlain's hand at Munich in 1938, the only image that comes close to matching it in epochal obsequiousness is the December 1983 photograph of Rumsfeld himself in Baghdad, warmly shaking the hand of Saddam Hussein in full fascist regalia. Is the defense secretary so self-deluded that he thought no one would remember a picture so easily Googled on the Web? Or worse, is he just too shameless to care?

...Well before Rumsfeld's trip, Amnesty International had reported the dictator's use of torture -- "beating, burning, sexual abuse and the infliction of electric shocks" -- on hundreds of political prisoners. Dozens more had been summarily executed or had "disappeared." American intelligence agencies knew that Saddam had used chemical weapons to gas both Iraqi Kurds and Iranians.

According to declassified State Department memos detailing Rumsfeld's Baghdad meetings, the American visitor never raised the subject of these crimes with his host..."







rumsfeld saddam nazi fascist

John Dean on Rumsfeld

Zendaba

"Nazi" and "fascist" are the New Big Buzz Words the neocans are rolling off the talking points assembly line this upcoming election season. These words are intended to fend off the growing awareness that it's the conservatives themselves who are fascist. As usual, the neocans hope to dazzle, baffle and intimidate voters into staying lock step with the party. The problem is that more and more people are catching on to the fact that, as Dean points out, this current government is a "textbook example of authoritarianism".

Rumsfeld's recent accusation that Americans who disagree with the war in Iraq are nazis is typical over the top offensive game they have played all along. The difference is that now the conservatives are getting desperate and sloppy in their effort to stem the tide by lobbing as many accusations of fascism against their critics as possible in an effort to own the word first. Until recently it has worked to boldly declare black is white, hot is cold, wrong is right but the magic has grown thin.

Seems we have reached a state of critical mass as people from both the "left" and "right" finally grasp the fact that the conservatives in power are a very sick blend of Christofascism and corporate fascism and their stubborn resolve is leading us over a cliff.

Zendaba
Karl, Rummy, Dirty Dick and the Bushman depend on team sport politics to support them but the election is not a football game and truth is not a team sport. People are getting tired of waving pennants from the stands as The Deciders run amok on the field. Americans died winning and protecting our right to dissent and this new strategy is designed to crush us into silence. Rumsfeld and company are the Nazis.

Keith Olbermann recently interviewed John Dean on Rumsfeld's Nazi speech. A lot of people have trouble asking simple, direct questions and even more trouble answering them but these guys do an excellent job of it. The only place I have a complaint is about 4 minutes in when Olbermann asked Dean if there can be a bigger threat to our democracy than the repression of open debate, never mind the issue. Seems to me Dean wandered a bit here, focusing on Rummy's speech instead of addressing the larger issue ... that open debate is indispensable for the health of a free society ... but the debate is on whether Rummy likes it or not.





olbermann dean rumsfeld nazi fascism

Sad day in bird land

It will be a sad day in the Bird Park for the next 5 days. Mr. Lee is in the final stage of prepping the off-road trailer for painting and asked me to stop putting out seed so I pulled the feeders. Most of the birds have already taken off but throughout the day others drop by and wander around looking baffled and confused that everything has suddenly disappeared. At the moment there's one lone pigeon just standing looking at the empty pool that usually has a happy bather or two by this time of day. I'm leaving the water but will move it to another part of the yard. I know there's plenty of food elsewhere. All the weeds are currently going to seed. It's me that needs them to bring a little life to the suburban monoscape where we are currently living.

Saturday at the Roxy - 09.02

Today I have a couple of pieces by Werner Herzog, one of the great directors of the German new cinema. He is unique, one of my favorites. If you're not that familiar with him here's short article by Michael Atkinson. Or just jump in. The first clip is all the introduction you'll need. But, as this is a matinee, to kick things off first here's a little cartoon by David Firth called...

Men From Up the Stairs

Werner Herzog eats his shoe

"In 1981, the last of the hidden tribes that had lived a nomadic life in the remotest parts of the Brazilian rain forest was finally contacted by our civilization. This event propelled a tribal people from a stone-age existence into the world of TV, cars, and big cities."
- Werner Herzog

Ten Thousand Years Older

roxy werner herzog david firth

Slogan contest

Here's a contest for all you word warriors.

Working for Change is looking for a phrase that cuts through the "cut and run" shield conservatives are hiding behind defending their failed policy in Iraq. Anyone with half a brain knows by now that getting out of Iraq is not "cutting and running" but tagging dissenters as cowards has, so far, been pretty effective. It's a war of words. Simplicity is essential. Brevity is not only "the soul of wit". It is the heart of wisdom. Being a very complicated person I'm having a hard time of it. Can you do better? More info and contest rules here.


Ps. Ah.....and speaking of brevity... the contest ends tomorrow.



writing contest writers

New space

End of the day. A dog is barking in the distance. At dusk I caught a glimpse of the waxing moon at midheaven and now the stars are out.

I set up another work space in my office today which is amazing because the room is so small. I found the table yesterday at the second hand store, seven bucks, talked down from ten. It fits perfectly so I'm feeling pretty good about things.

And at the moment I'm listening to Low through headphones...

"two-step around the room
kneel down on white

that's not all
voices small
heed them either way they call

and the light, it burns your skin
in a language you don't understand."

Uncle Monkey and Ugly Bear in Otherland

I haven't got time tonight to write a scintillating revelation or grind out a scorching rant. We're going to watch a movie in about 15 minutes. I just have time to finish pounding out quick update about what's been going around the office today.

I hate to say it because he's a nice guy, very likable, but Uncle Monkey is, well, sometimes full of shit. No, I take that back. He's a story teller, not a liar. Anyway, he loves telling Ugly Bear all kinds of wild ass stories and the poor guy believes every word he says. But no harm, I suppose. They enjoy each other's company and don't get into any trouble. Well, much trouble.

I managed to snap a candid shot of them this afternoon when they thought I was out of the room. I don't know what crazy yarn Uncle Monkey was spinning but Ugly Bear was transfixed. Looks like it had something to do with the book but we'll never know. As soon as they heard the click of my camera they looked up and Uncle Monkey became veeeery quiet.

Nice book though, wouldn't you say? I got it for 13 cents at the second hand store this weekend. I was already reading the crappy paperback version with tiny print that was hard to read to the end of the inside line when I found this one. In case you're wondering why I got it for such an insanely low price it's because Saturday was Half Price Day.






otherland uncle monkey ugly bear

Note to the future self

Don't change the template for this blog yet. I tried out the new features on one of my other blogs and found out that Blogger hasn't activated html editing yet. Very bad. They're only allowing access to templates at the moment, slick but too limited.

Beta blogger

It's been out for a couple of weeks but I just switched to the new beta Blogger format. It's a mad thing for me to do but it had to be done. Mad because I will now waste even more time screwing around with templates but there's no going back. Once you switch, that's it. No return. I haven't started fiddling yet but I'm sure I'll be down in the rat hole soon enough. My kind a fun/nightmare. There's a helpful link on the upgrade at BotHack if you're interested.




blogger beta templates

Saturday at the Roxy - Weird Day

Today is Weird Day at the Roxy. A few friends of mine just showed up from Mexico bound for Burning Man, reminding me it's that time of year again. Burning Man, for all it's strut and fret, sham and flim flam, is still a feast for the eyes and, if nothing else, the desert will restore some perspective on the ephemeral nature and tenuous hold we have in the universe. Also, Burning Man is in Nevada and therefore it is only right to honor this prestigious, local event. But first a word from one of today's fine sponsors...

Before going to Burning Man
you'll want to get a costume together
and for all your costume needs,
I always recommend ...

Shaye's Thrift Store
03:15 YouTube



Now on to...


Burning Man
06:42 YouTube

Today's Feature Presentation:

Elephants Dream



"Elephants Dream is the world's first open movie, made entirely with open source graphics software such as Blender, and with all production files freely available to use however you please. The short film was created by the Orange Open Movie Project studio in Amsterdam during 2005/2006, bringing together a diverse team of artists and developers from all over the world."

roxy saturday shaye st. john burning man emo elephants dream

Off-road dreaming

Today Mr. Lee is working on the off-road trailer he picked up a couple of months ago in Idaho. He's going to take the tent off the top of the jeep and put it on the trailer. That way we can make a base camp and explore further with the jeep without having to break camp to do it. All the birds are pissed. The little ones keep darting in and grabbing a few sunflower seeds but even they can't take the noise and comotion for long. It's causing me a bit anxiety as well, but not because of the noise. Fixing up this trailer means that now we will be able to get deeper and stay longer in the Great Basin than ever, a prospect over which I have mixed feelings.

I love and hate disappearing into Nevada's outback and disappear we do. I love it because it's fun, breathtakingly beautiful and it's a great cleansing for body, mind and spirit. A few days out and I finally get out my head and to my heart. Even Bush, if I think of him at all, resumes his true form, a mere bloodsucking tick painfully embedded in world's collective ass.

And I love seeing, being, knowing that I am walking on the living planet, not property. People who don't understand the desert think ugh ... brown dead wasteland. All the better. They must stay away. Go to the lovely beach resort. The clean, fun campground. Go visit relatives. Even those that do understand the glory of this wild solitude should go somewhere else. I want it all for us. It's fun pretending to be the only people on the planet ... explorers of a lost, living world in a universe far, far away. It's a great fantasy and finding thousands of years old human artifacts coughed up by spring flooding only adds a post-apocalyptic thrill of it all.

The problem is that we really are out there and, if we get hurt, break an ankle, wrench a knee, run out of gas, food and/or water it might as well be true.I think about these things. Of course Mr. Lee is a savvy outdoorsman. We are fucking prepared, I'll tell you that. And he reminds me of that when, after a day or two, I stop writing and snapping photos and begin silently staring at the horizon ringing us fifty miles out and start talking about how we are bugs cupped under a foreign sky and locked in a vanishing point were, if the slightest thing goes wrong, we will surely die. He reminds me we have food and water for a month but I'm never convince that's enough, that probably we'd die long before some desert rat or drunken hunter happens by. Which is to say I'm a chickenshit but it's been so long since we've camping that these days I catch myself visually following a dirt road up into the nearby hills. I don't talk about it much. Don't want to appear too eager. We'll be there soon enough but the truth is I miss it. Where else will I meet a team of noble Great While Pyrenees caring for their flock? They were so cool, I just wish I'd had some food handy. They seemed hungry.