Friday, January 18, 2008
And Finally....
A little about me. I got three rejections this week, so that means most of these poetry outfits take about three weeks to read your stuff. Pretty good feedback time. I sent some querries about the Korpo, and after about a week, got one reply. They seemed interested and I sent them a sample. I'm still waiting for the reply to that. Visions of being rich float through my head. I think it could be successful. Not in a Justin Timberlake way, mind you, more like a Ravi Shankar way. Funky way out music for the funky and way out. And, for the first time in my life, I've managed to keep one of my resolutions, which was to send all of my submittable poetry to magazines. I've done that, and the next step is the plays. I also had an idea to do more self promotion. I mean, Rainbow boy is read by around 30 people a day. With no promotion. My Korpo has been downloaded around a thousand times (which is a feat, considering you can listen to it online, for free). Imagine, how much more successful my projects would be if I actually promoted them? If I figured out a way to make money from them, that would be great. I am going to set up a group of companies, each of which is dedicated to promoting one area of my work, for example, poetry, plays, korpo, or the Byen Vidnasa. I think I will also change the Byen Vidnasa in some way to make it more palatable. And I had another idea, which is kind of crazy, but could work. A literary magazine called 'Porn and Poetry'. It's funny how all of these poetry magazines have some kind of pretensious literary theory, but they never simply say they want poetry they like. And of course, it would have porn. And of course, it would probably be the most read literary magazine on the planet. The first step is to start a website for the group of companies, and I'm currently working on it. Soon I'll have my entertainment empire! Ha! Ha! Ha!
A little about me. I got three rejections this week, so that means most of these poetry outfits take about three weeks to read your stuff. Pretty good feedback time. I sent some querries about the Korpo, and after about a week, got one reply. They seemed interested and I sent them a sample. I'm still waiting for the reply to that. Visions of being rich float through my head. I think it could be successful. Not in a Justin Timberlake way, mind you, more like a Ravi Shankar way. Funky way out music for the funky and way out. And, for the first time in my life, I've managed to keep one of my resolutions, which was to send all of my submittable poetry to magazines. I've done that, and the next step is the plays. I also had an idea to do more self promotion. I mean, Rainbow boy is read by around 30 people a day. With no promotion. My Korpo has been downloaded around a thousand times (which is a feat, considering you can listen to it online, for free). Imagine, how much more successful my projects would be if I actually promoted them? If I figured out a way to make money from them, that would be great. I am going to set up a group of companies, each of which is dedicated to promoting one area of my work, for example, poetry, plays, korpo, or the Byen Vidnasa. I think I will also change the Byen Vidnasa in some way to make it more palatable. And I had another idea, which is kind of crazy, but could work. A literary magazine called 'Porn and Poetry'. It's funny how all of these poetry magazines have some kind of pretensious literary theory, but they never simply say they want poetry they like. And of course, it would have porn. And of course, it would probably be the most read literary magazine on the planet. The first step is to start a website for the group of companies, and I'm currently working on it. Soon I'll have my entertainment empire! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Labels: Adam wants to take over the world
Movies: Road Rage Britian, about over crowding on British roads. A little too sensationalistic for my tastes. Their example of road rage was a guy complaining about bad driving while being a bad driver. Digging for the Truth-Searching for the Lost Tribes of Israel-this is a little more interesting, but a tad too eager. The story is this, there is a tribe in South Africa who claims to be descended from one of the lost tribes of the Ancient kingdom of Israel. There is some circumstancial evidence, their dna shows that they have semetic origins. I don't really buy it, though. For one reason, if it was true that they had left their homes over 3000 years ago, the stories they tell would have been changed alot. The name of the place they came from would have been corrupted, not Israel, but some other name. I have been trying quick silver screen, but unfortunately, videos there take forever to load, I watched Thank You for Not Smoking- a little bit funny, and part of one episode-Hooked-Illegal Drugs and How they got that Way about cocaine. It shows alot about human nature. People starting taking cocaine when it was invented without doing many tests. It was put into everything. Why? Because it was so addictive. It took a while for science to prove that it was harmful. Even then it wasn't banned until Southern Whites thought cocaine crazed blacks might kill them. Cocaine was also given to black workers to give them energy to work long hours. Kind of like Redbull. A history of Comic Book Super Heroes-very interesting, but it always crashes in the middle. Dear Mr. President-The Politics of Hip Hop quite interesting. I never liked the more assinine versions of hip hop, but this shows how hip hop from the begining was a political force. It is narrated by Snoop Doggy Dog, but the film demonstrates how that kind of rapper moved hip hop into being what it is today, purely entertainment.
Labels: films
Books: So for Christmas, I got two books in Polish. The first, is called Kawałki: żeńskie, męskie i nijakie. Or Pieces: Female, Male and Neuter. It was written by Stefania Grodzieńska who was a humourist on Polish radio during the People's Republic of Poland. I was a bit hesitant to read anything in Polish, but some of my students bought it for me, because I am always encouraging them to read something in English, so fair is fair and I started to read it. To my surprise, I can understand alot, and I'm actually learning words as I read, which is nice. It's also nice because Ola has a huge library (in Polish), so my budget for books will get smaller. The book itself is very funny, and pretty revealing about life in communist Poland. The early work, due to censorship revolves around men and women, later it's more about society as a whole. Here's an example: (I've changed the food to make it more North American)
Dinner Tragedy
Her: Say what you want for dinner tonight.
Him: I don't care.
Her: Don't say, 'I don't care', because I want to make what you want.
Him: I really don't care. I'll eat what you give me.
Her: And then later you won't like it.
Him: I'm sure I'll like it.
Her: Are you sure there isn't something you have a special craving for? I'll make pork chops. Want pork chops?
Him: Yes, please.
Her: Only pork chops? And they'll probably be too fatty. It could harm your health.
Him: So buy lean ones.
Her: You think it's so easy. You think it's like before the war. You have to take what they give you. Then you have to make do with that.
Him: So take what they give you.
Her: Then after a while you'll complain because it's too fatty.
Him: So take something else.
Her: I want to make what you want. Maybe you can think of something.
Him: I don't know. Really. Maybe steak?
Her: Steak? Today? How am I supposed to get steak today?
Him: And you can get pork chops today?
Her: No, you're right. Probably not. Maybe bagels with cheese?
Him: Fine.
Her: But the cheese isn't good right now. Maybe with apples?
Him: Fine.
Her: But apples are expensive now. I know! I'll buy you fish. Want fish?
Him: I want cod.
Her: Cod might not be fresh. Maybe carp?
Him: Maybe carp.
Her: But carp is a lot of work. So, say want you want. I want to make something special for you.
Him: Honestly, it doesn't matter to me.
Her: So you say, but you don't like anything I suggest.
Him: What?
Her: Really. Because for me, food isn't important. I could eat dry potatoes.
Him: So cook dry potatoes.
Her: Dry potatoes? For dinner? It's not so bad yet. I'll buy some chicken.
Him: Okay.
Her: But not today, because you have to order it. If you want chicken for dinner, why did you wait until the last moment? I should have ordered it yesterday and you won't want anything else. Men.
Him: Not exactly.
Her: See? You even don't want chicken. I don't know what to suggest. Maybe eggs?
Him: Eggs.
Her: But after eggs you'll be hungry. You've lost your head. Maybe it's better for you to buy a sandwich on the way home.
Him: Fine, I'll buy a sandwich.
Her: Hell, a sandwich. You always get want you want.
Dinner Tragedy
Her: Say what you want for dinner tonight.
Him: I don't care.
Her: Don't say, 'I don't care', because I want to make what you want.
Him: I really don't care. I'll eat what you give me.
Her: And then later you won't like it.
Him: I'm sure I'll like it.
Her: Are you sure there isn't something you have a special craving for? I'll make pork chops. Want pork chops?
Him: Yes, please.
Her: Only pork chops? And they'll probably be too fatty. It could harm your health.
Him: So buy lean ones.
Her: You think it's so easy. You think it's like before the war. You have to take what they give you. Then you have to make do with that.
Him: So take what they give you.
Her: Then after a while you'll complain because it's too fatty.
Him: So take something else.
Her: I want to make what you want. Maybe you can think of something.
Him: I don't know. Really. Maybe steak?
Her: Steak? Today? How am I supposed to get steak today?
Him: And you can get pork chops today?
Her: No, you're right. Probably not. Maybe bagels with cheese?
Him: Fine.
Her: But the cheese isn't good right now. Maybe with apples?
Him: Fine.
Her: But apples are expensive now. I know! I'll buy you fish. Want fish?
Him: I want cod.
Her: Cod might not be fresh. Maybe carp?
Him: Maybe carp.
Her: But carp is a lot of work. So, say want you want. I want to make something special for you.
Him: Honestly, it doesn't matter to me.
Her: So you say, but you don't like anything I suggest.
Him: What?
Her: Really. Because for me, food isn't important. I could eat dry potatoes.
Him: So cook dry potatoes.
Her: Dry potatoes? For dinner? It's not so bad yet. I'll buy some chicken.
Him: Okay.
Her: But not today, because you have to order it. If you want chicken for dinner, why did you wait until the last moment? I should have ordered it yesterday and you won't want anything else. Men.
Him: Not exactly.
Her: See? You even don't want chicken. I don't know what to suggest. Maybe eggs?
Him: Eggs.
Her: But after eggs you'll be hungry. You've lost your head. Maybe it's better for you to buy a sandwich on the way home.
Him: Fine, I'll buy a sandwich.
Her: Hell, a sandwich. You always get want you want.
Labels: A Dinner Tragedy
The Liberty Tree
First of all, I'd like to thank all of those people who come to my blog to read about trees. They are quite fascinating, and meaningful, and I'm glad that I can share this knowledge with you. This week's tree is not just one tree, but the idea of a tree. I think it is alot about America, that these Liberty trees were places to meet, and be free, but as you can see by the picture, also places to kill. Americans forget that the American Revolution was a civil war and that alot of people were killed and driven out of their homes simply because they remained loyal to the British crown.
The Liberty Tree (1646–1775) was a famous elm tree that stood near the commons of Boston, Massachusetts Colony, in the days before the American Revolution. The tree was a rallying point for the growing resistance to the rule of England over the American colonies. In the years that followed, almost every American town had its own Liberty Tree—a living symbol of popular support for individual liberty and resistance to tyranny.
In 1765 the British government imposed a Stamp Act on the American colonies. It required all legal documents, permits, commercial contracts, newspapers, pamphlets, and playing cards in the American colonies to carry a tax stamp. Because the Act applied to papers, newspapers, advertisements, and other publications and legal documents, it was viewed by the colonists as a means of censorship, or a "knowledge tax," on the rights of the colonists to write and read freely.
The summer of 1765 in Boston was marked by militant citizens demonstrating against the Stamp Act. On August 14, 1765, a group of men calling themselves the Sons of Liberty gathered in Boston under a large elm tree at the corner of Essex Street and Orange Street near Hanover Square to protest the hated Stamp Act. The Sons of Liberty concluded their protest by hanging two tax collectors in effigy from the tree. From that day forward, the tree became known as the "Liberty Tree." The tree was often decorated with banners and lanterns. Assemblies were regularly held to express views and vent emotions. A flagstaff or pole was raised within the Tree's branches and when an ensign (usually yellow) was raised, the Sons of Liberty were to meet.
When the news of the Liberty Tree spread throughout the colonies, local patriots in each of the 13 colonies formed a Sons of Liberty group and identified a large tree to be used as a meeting place. In those times, holding an unauthorized assembly was dangerous business that carried threats of imprisonment or death. The casual appearance of a group chatting beneath a tree was much safer.
Other towns designated their own Liberty Trees as well. The Liberty Tree in Acton, Massachusetts, was an elm tree that lasted until about 1925. In 1915, knowing that the Liberty Tree was getting older, Acton students planted the Peace Tree, a Norway Maple that still stands today.
In the years leading up to the war, the British made the Liberty Tree an object of ridicule. British soldiers tarred and feathered a man named Ditson, and forced him to march in front of the tree. During the siege of Boston, about the last day of August 1775, a party of Loyalists led by Job Williams defiantly cut the tree down in an act of spite, knowing what it represented to the colonists, and used the tree for firewood. This act only further enraged the colonists. As resistance to the British grew, flags bearing a representation of the Liberty Tree were flown to symbolize the unwavering spirit of liberty. These flags were later a common sight during the battles of the American Revolution.
For many years the remnant of the tree was used as a reference point by local citizens, similar to the Boston Stone, and became known as the "Liberty Stump." Later the citizens in many of the colonies erected a Liberty pole in commemoration of the Liberty Tree.
In October 1966, the Boston Herald began running stories pointing out that the only commemoration of the Liberty Tree site was a grimy plaque on a building three stories above what is now the intersection of Washington and Boylston Streets. Reporter Ronald Kessler found that the plaque, a block east of Boston Common, was covered with bird droppings and obscured by a Kemp’s hamburger sign.
No one in the area had even noticed the site “where America was born.” Local guidebooks did not mention it.
Kessler persuaded then Massachusetts Gov. John A. Volpe to visit the site. A photo of Volpe examining the plaque from a fire engine ladder appeared on page one of the October 6, 1966 edition of the Boston Herald.
Volpe promised to preserve the site, and eventually the Boston Redevelopment Authority created a handsome bronze bas relief replica of the liberty tree and installed it in a small plaza on Boylston Street at Washington Street. The plaque bears the inscription "Sons of Liberty, 1766; Independence of the Country, 1776."
In the 1990s, some Acton school children again gathered to plant the Freedom Tree. This tree, a London Plane tree, was planted the same week that Apartheid ended in South Africa.
Labels: The Liberty Tree
So, I'll start this week with hockey. First the good news, and then the bad news. The good news is that Spezza, Heatley and Alfredson were all picked for the all star team. The members of the all star team in both conferences are chosen by a combination of fan voting and the coaches of the teams. And I think the Ottawa coach is coaching the Eastern team. And now the bad news, Heatley has a separated shoulders and will miss about six weeks of hockey, and of course, the all star game. Alfredson injured his hip last night in a win over Carolina. Spezza was injured too, but came back. This just makes me wonder if we are seeing the return of obstruction where players of a certain skil level are being targeted. I think the league should get rid of all contact. It works in the Olympics and the world championships, and those are exciting contests. The Leafs have put together a two game winning streak. But already they are fighting for a play off position and they can only afford to lose a few more games this season. There are rumours of a switch in management, and it couldn't come soon enough. The experts say that the team will have to be gutted before it gets better, and I think I agree with them. Funny how some Canadian teams can suck for a really long time, and then be at the top of the league or strong playoff contenders (i.e., Ottawa, Calgary) and others just keep on sucking (i.e. Toronto). The problem is that they keep making money. If those other teams start to suck, the fans leave, which inspires them to not suck.
Labels: all star game, injuries, toronto death watch
