| there will be food in our mouths, there will be teeth in the grass |
[Sep. 18th, 2008|10:43 pm] |
simpleton hands
mixing the mud
spread out spread out
separated by
the biggest fields
and wet on by the biggest skies
a strawberry field
fert for the farm
pickin berry
tiny hands
spread with sugar-n-
biscuits-n-whip
lookin out the kitchen
window at the north
thinking of faulkners
sanctuary south cause your copy
is new and popeye
makes you think of spinach
not moonshine
and corn cobs are for pipes
not rape.
a stare and the turn around
and around. slapping of
shoes on the porch floor
dusted boards
and the kids need some
lemonade. the man needs
a banjo
the neighbor boys father
plays guitar, mostly gospel
and sometimes they join
on the porch
if the suns just right
and the breeze is cool
enough to make the sweat
evaporate faster than normal.
sweet sweet pies too.
let them cool on the sills
the scent draws in
the rascal boys like sweeeet magnolia
draws bees they aim to steal
the nectar off your sill but not no more
them boys haffa go hungry
or rely on tha food the mamas give em.
the neighborhood stray limps his skinny ribs
near a mile for a chance at a scrap
cause he aint been lone long enough
to know hes wasten more than he gains
and every extra step he makes
is a step to the turkey vulture
a slower than usual set
red sky at nite
but the rivers miles away
we're just happy replacing pies on the sill
pickin berries, playin music
and watchin that crazy dog die. |
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| we're on a bender when it's 80 degrees at the end of december |
[Sep. 14th, 2008|09:56 pm] |
1. stills of small frames bent and holding a camera
2. the relation of the world... the dead, just like rocks
3. tripping over ee cummings words because they dont work how my brain works.
4. beautiful, cynical and sad
5. a penguin walks to the mountains.
6. wood nuts
7. trespassing
8. no helpful messages
9. where you are
10. you |
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| Inspirational Teachers |
[Sep. 13th, 2008|03:33 pm] |
7d asked me to write something about a teacher that inspired me. Its published here. When they asked me to send them something I originally wrote something longer because I tend to be wordy when my fingers move. Obviously, I had to re-do it in short form. But this was the full thing. Its probably good I had to cut it way down.
I have one teacher from Johnson State College who really changed my life. I don't remember her name and, by my reaction to what she did, I'm sure she doesn't remember mine either. The only thing she did was assign our American Lit class to read Ralph Waldo Emerson's The American Scholar.
Later I found out that this address to the Phi Beta Kappa society was called the "literary declaration of independence". To me it solidified what I was thinking about my own educational independence. I needed to drop out of school. One section in particular sealed the deal for me:
"Meek young men grow up in libraries, believing it their duty to accept the views, which Cicero, which Locke, which Bacon, have given, forgetful that Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries, when they wrote these books."
I grew up in libraries myself. I was never exceptionally smart. I always did ok in school. I loved to learn but I always found myself learning things that weren't being taught. That's why up until this point I stuck with school. I figured I was learning I might as well continue. Upon reading this address I realized that learning was everywhere. I was currently learning things incidentally and the only thing I needed to gain the knowledge I wanted was the desire to learn and the willingness to think.
I don't mean to say that structural education isn't valid. It is, after all, what led me to this decision and showed me I had everything I needed to learn what I wanted. Schools provide great opportunity if you recognize it and exploit it. It provides many tools, opportunities for connections and leadership that many professions need. Any of the sciences or engineering related professions for example require degrees that can only be provided through education. That is completely valid. Personally I was an English / Creative Writing student. I was left asking, what would a degree REALLY get me? Am I making connections I cant make elsewhere? If I took the money I am spending on college and put it in to my writing / music (my other love) would it help me more?
My decision was that it would. I learned that I can look at course plans online, find out what the assigned reading is for classes, and read the books for myself. I learned that I can buy a lot of gear for the price of an education and I will always be able to find a band that will let me record them for free until I got good at it. The willingness to pay attention, learn, and desire to work hard really provided invaluable experiences.
My teacher (and Ralph Waldo Emerson) unknowingly helped throw me into the world full of motivation and desire to learn. I consider myself very lucky to have learned a lot of things from every situation I've ever encountered, every book I have read, every person I've ever met and every project I've completed successfully / totally flubbed up. I continue to learn every day of my life and strive to make what I do better through hard work and understanding. I probably wont be building you your next house or developing new technology that will revolutionize the green energy industry but I will be living a life that I've always wanted to live.
Lots of times I wonder if I should go back to school and complete my degree. Every few years I look at applications from schools and think, 'From what I know now I could really make the educational system work for me'. Whenever I do this I also re-read The American Scholar as a gauge for whether or not I should try formal education again. Emerson did, after all, graduate from Harvard. It turns out this forces me to try harder at whatever project I am working on at the time and it challenges me to find a new way to learn from the world around me. It forces me to, as my teacher paraphrased the above quote, "Be my own Cicero."
I will never be a Cicero, Locke or Bacon but I will make sure I am me, doing the things I love, to the best of my ability. All thanks to my teacher. Whoever she was. |
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| ... |
[Sep. 11th, 2008|10:25 pm] |
hows the place?
quiet.
what are you doing?
listening.
to?
neighbors. the wind blowing. my window is open a bit... i like the fresh air. the lights are off. there is a dog barking.
oh. are you doing anything later?
no.
...
...
um. do you want to?
maybe. what are you doing?
i don't have plans.
oh.
...
... |
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| stuck in vermont |
[Sep. 10th, 2008|11:27 pm] |
eva used 2 more songs from no order on stuck in vermont.
wooo. thanks eva!
i'm beat. insanely full day.
nite soldier. |
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| we call them like we see them and we'll call it a nite |
[Sep. 8th, 2008|11:41 pm] |
Dave Heaton at erasingclouds reviewed the new mfdoj record here.
I always enjoy Dave's reviews. I'm not just saying this because he gave my record a favorable review. His reviews show that he pays close attention to the music and cares about making the reviews an accurate helpful portrayal of the record. That's helpful to a music fan looking for new things to listen to. (like me)
tkbs and I went to l'amante for dinner. mmmm good.
i had a long ranting blog post to write today full of freddie mac, fannie mae and more auto manufacturer bail outs. but you will be spared. i think i got it all out of my system ranting to tkbs over dinner. plus its late. so i will leave it at 'our govt is a bunch of t-hole d-bags' and assume you will agree with me.
happy birthday tkbs.
nite. |
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| lay it down easy, lay it on me, lay it down easy, but lay it on me |
[Sep. 7th, 2008|09:47 pm] |
ipw's bike race. speed city.
i like it when people put sticks in the sand
drunk rock say "hi, hello lake, hello word, bye"
been writing a lot lately for one reason or another. non blog stuff. i've also been enjoying my recent found slow reading method.
i cant tell how many ways
a conversation comes to mind
when speaking within my head.
all conversations
as one way monologues
or with anticipated responses.
simple and sweet
is what i forget
every time.
that is the hardest.
sweating turned steam making way
for coolness under layers.
my stomach grumbles at the thought.
"i need a western burger"
grumble grumble
lets talk soon
something simple
over something sweet.
pie? apple? |
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