Two Explosions Rock Boston Marathon Finish Line; At Least 3 Dead, Dozens Injured
I honestly wish I had more to say, but this will have to do right now, my heart is just too heavy.
Keep Calm and Believe in Boston
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If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed
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“When I was in church
They taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service
Those words aren’t anointed
And that Holy Water
That you soak in
Is then poisoned
When everyone else
Is more comfortable
Remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans
That have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same
But that’s not important
No freedom til we’re equal
Damn right I support it!“
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Petitioning Tunisian Government : Amina must be safe
19 year old Tunisian Amina who posted a topless photo of herself bearing the slogan “my body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honour” has been threatened with death.
The Hipster is as big a coward as the Fundamentalist.
So after reading Christy Wampoles’ really well-written NYT opinion piece “How To Live Without Irony” I kept scrolling down and found this brilliant comment:
“I think to fully understand the hipster you have to place him alongside the fundamentalist. The hipster and the fundamentalist are two sides of the same fake coin; they are both fearful people. The first is too afraid of looking like a fool to risk being wrong or right; the second is so afraid of ambiguity, of not knowing the difference between wrong and right, that he throws himself blindly into “faith.” They are equally fearful responses to the moral ambiguity of life. The hipster stands outside every attempt at sincere living, mocking anyone who tries to find a moral center; the fundamentalist pretends there is no question about it, there is only one center, one God, one true, one good, and he has found it.” – Chris Buczinsky, Arlington Heights, IL
Have I told you how much I love VAST?
“There’s no angels here,
just a light to lead the way.
There’s no innocence,
only strangers…”
Have you ever found out about a band, told yourself you would check out more of their music someday, and when you finally do so years later, you feel like kicking yourself for not having started listening to them much earlier? VAST (or Visual Audio Sensory Theater) is one of those bands for me. I had heard their song “Touched” on a promotional compilation that came with my subscription to Alternative Press in the late 90′s. Considering the number of albums we all bought back then solely on the strength of just one single, I am still annoyed that I did not pick up a copy of their first album until about 2004.
“Lost” is actually from their third album Nude. Both “Touched” and “Lost” display what VAST mastermind Jon Crosby does best: skyward-soaring hooks that sound like they were meant to be heard on a mountaintop and lush, atmospheric arrangements that wash over you like a dream. Hell, even the mostly acoustic based album April, still sounds otherworldly even without their usual use of synths and sampling.
I could go on about how maddening it is that VAST isn’t much more popular, but all that energy is better spent on telling people what they are missing out on. If you’re a fan of albums like Disintegration, Achtung Baby, and The Fragile, then let Crosby and co. take you some place else.
Banned substances for writers
Click here to read the whole post at McSweeney's here, because it is brilliant.
My personal favorites:
CAPOTEX -- A vintage 1960s designer drug. Unlike most other banned literary substances, this drug is often used by fiction writers and non-fiction writers alike. Artificially increases prose style and sophistication. May cause speech patterns to be affected. Known to induce cutting, witty remarks in some test subjects.
OPRAHDONE
Once-popular sales and reputation enhancement drug. Known side effects include media overexposure. In rare cases, can lead to career implosion if mixed with extensive fabulism.
Article on GotPoetry Live! in Providence
An article on the venue where I am featuring on Tuesday, March 12th.
Referred to as a “listening room,” Got Poetry Live! provides a reading for those who choose not to slam or who want a quieter, more relaxed environment. The open mic and features draw from the world of performance poetry, academia, and Hip-Hop poets. “We also have musical features,” says Ryk, who readily exclaims, “We try to mix it up.”
