This is the second best note that i ever found on my refrigerator door

Poem

Dear Dr. Jekyll,

For the paper clip chains
the dangle is a dull knife
in the changeling’s fist.
Further action dismays
the court-appointed cows
that mask their milk
with paper meows.
The future of office supplies
alters in the beaker
of common-law propane.
Can you send this memo
to the inbox of Mr Hyde:
re: Artifice
Please douse the candles
with the stapler-machine.
Please cut the capers
from the stroganoff recipe.
We rent our bodies
from the office manager.
Only she holds the keys
to the desirable supplies.

I Heart Heatley

My dear friend Peter Heatley comes from the most amazing family. Peter is is a highly talented designer & editor working from within the castle walls of shredding solos, Guitar World (where they have a black metal colmun, by the way). He designs their cdrom content & he directs a new line of dvds. Also he has been in training for AIDS-ride along with a posse from Guitar World--he's going to be riding 60 or more miles a day down the West Coast & raising money for AIDS research. I love that guy. While I was in NY Peter gave me a copy of his twin brother David Heatley's new comic Deadpan. You might know David's work from the New York Times, Chicago Reader, McSweeney's, This American Life, etc. He is disarmingly emotive through his artfully simplistic style & his comics twist like Amy Bender stories. (David's wife, Rebecca Gopian is also a poet, which is a very good thing to be.) Peter's other brother Raphael used to be in what I consider to be one of the most amazing bands I have ever seen live. Their live shows were like being under a bridge, or putting a check in the mail, or like knocking a stump out of the ground with a sledgehammer. They were called Vitapup & you've probably never heard of them but they still are the only successful blend of hip-hop & punk (& I know that this blend sounds annoying when you read it but they are the only band ever to have made it not only organic but rich.) One day looking around the record store I saw Raphael's face staring out at me from a cd in the Hip Hop section. It turns out his wife's and his band Apsci is on one of my favorite labels, Quannum, home of Blackalicious and the absolutely brilliant Lyrics Born. No real point to this posting, I just marvel sometimes at the amount of creativity & vitality in this one family. Also, all three boys are pretty cute.

Assignment

Your assignment for tomorrow is to read Olson's Maximus Poems while listening to the thundering slo-mo metal of Ocean. I'd like a 500-word response on the confluences you notice.

Movies

I love digging up relics from my pre-web life on the web: Five State Drive (apparently there is a current band named Five State Drive, but I ain't talking about them). They were an amazing power trio in Virginia/DC in the mid 90s. They never quite had the right production for their music which was raw, catchy & mesemerizing somehow all at once.

I had a movieful Memorial Day weekend. I wanted to watch a big dumb blockbuster that would be total escapism. The D-Code was boring & ploddingly melodramatic, and X-Men III was almost completely devoid of action, instead exploring such crucial issues as the ethics of being a mutant. Will noone make a dumb movie with things blowing up & hi-tech special effects for me? What has this country come to?

I also watched State of Mind, which seemed far too squishy politically but had amazing footage of the Mass Games. Freedom of Space, the film on skatebaording culture & public space was pretty fantastic. It went a few too many time to the Romantic slo-mo to reinforce the seriousness with which it took its subject, but overall balanced the energy of skating and the intellectual energy of the ideas well. It seems the the group raised some decent money toward starting a new skatepark in Lincoln, which is great. I was thinking about this in NY watching some kids skating around a parking lot, that there is a kind of physical comfort I see in a skater, a way of being so much a part of their current moment, that I do not see anywhere else.

The Last Mention of the Pete's Reading

Some pics from JMW.


Try not to waste your entire work day looking fondly at me & my nearly buttonless shirt.

Instead look at these all day. Thanks to ben for sending me that link. I'd seen some of those books under glass at moma, but this lets you see so much more. Score one for the information superhighway.

Freedom of Space

This Friday Tugboat will co-sponsor a exciting night of film, art and skateboarding.

At 7pm Friday May 26th, The Ross (313 N. 13th) will screen "Freedom of Space", a documentary film that discusses skateboard culture and the public space. Shot throughout the U.S., including Lincoln and Omaha, last summer as part of a Fuel TV experiment. It is enjoyed by non-skateboarders as much as those who ride. Directly following the film Steve Olpin and Tim Irwin, the filmmakers, will be present to answer questions and continue dialogue of the film's topic. Admission is a $2 donation to the Lincoln skatepark fund, though seating will be limited.

Then two hours later at 9pm, Tugboat Gallery will host a silent auction in which local artists and nationally know skateboard artists contributed original work on skateboard decks. Local artists include Keith Jacobshagen,Jake Gillespie,Matt Hilker, The Faint, Deb Oden,Jessica Levy and over 30 others. Nationally recognized skate artists include Don Pendleton, Lori D, Andy Jenkins and Russ Pope to name a few. Admission to the auction is free and all proceeds from the boards will go to the Lincoln skatepark fund. Stop by to look at great art and/or to own your own unique work. The boards will go to Precision Skateboards to be on display the week following.

This night will be a fun way to help support a great cause.

Sponsors are The Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, Tugboat Gallery, Precision Skateboards, The Skateboard Mag, Fuel TV, PS Stix, and Watson Laminates.

Ella

Tomorrow is my last day with the Ella. She is a darling.











I read Jenny Boully's [One Love Affair]* and am reminded of how amazing I think she is. in a way this book solidifies The Body for me as well, despite my affection for that book there's always that feeling that if someone else had come to the only-footnote approach I would have liked it just as much, which would make it purely a gimmick. [one love affair]*'s emotional, intellectual and literary scope remind me that it is Boully that I like in The Body, not only the epistemological/structural trick.

Some music we should talk about after a beer or two:
Mountains: Sewn

Pelt: Bestio Tergum Degero

This Heat

Beefy

Driving in to start my new class I was listening to NPR & there was a quote from Bush saying something like "Our beef is not with the Palestinian people; our beef is with the government."

Now I'm not one to enjoy the whole Bush-speaks-like-an-idiot thing. It's not funny. But "beef"? We as a country are supposed to feel beefy about Hamas? Beef? Are we on a playground in the 1950s?

Bush contains beefiness. Slight sense of beef. Feel the beef. Bush is welling up with beef.

I feel sad when you bake your log

1. Sommer Browing is the best. The reading was fun.
2. The Bacon Lab is a new breakfast place that invents a new form of bacon eating everyday.
3. Some artists I liked that I saw in NY:



At the Whitney Biennial I especially likedTroy Brauntuch's crayon renditions of shirts (ablove) & Urs Fischer's "Untitled (branches)". I couldn't find a good image of the Branches piece & I'm not sure it's photographable, two tree branches cast in metal hanging from the ceiling slowly circling the room with candles at the ends of the branches.

In Chelsea I liked
Loretta Lux

& Valerie Hammond
4. This is my new lady friend. She & i are going steady this week:

Her name is Ella.

I-80 Back to the Midwest

I'm at Laguardia. I ended up staying all night roaming Brooklyn & now I'm exhausted. I hope I am not called upon to perform my duties as a member of the exit row team. I will be sleepy-limbed. It's always sad to leave NY. It feels like home from the moment I get into the city, but a provisional kind of home where i never have a job & people always tell me how to get to destinations. That actually sounds like a pretty good kind of home. My phone was a mess & it made getting in touch with people or coordinating anything pretty difficult. There are a handful of people I wish I had been able to spend more time with, Sommer, Peter & Sam in particular. There are people I would have liked to have seen at all but did not. I did make some new friends & meet some talented people I've admired but never met before. Saw some great old friends. Didn't eat enough pizza. I did get back in contact with that bookstore the guy there was shocked I had called him inorder to give him additional money. I was surprised he was shocked. I'll be getting on the plane soon. I'm a little bit sad. Maybe I'm just tired.

JMW &KH

The Water Cycle

I just got stuck in a rainstorm walking back to Jon's apartment. It was pretty heavy rain & me with no umbrella. I turned onto Jon's street & was noticing how good rain drops feel on the palm of my hand & thinking about how I rarely feel raindrops on my palms when a young girl, maybe eight, jumped out of her apartment intot he rain & danced in a circle, whipping the shiny tips of her twists around her head. Then she stopped and looked at me (I was about ten feet away from her) and shot me a huge smile. She leapt back to her building but the door had locked behind her. She rang the button but there was no response. As I neared Jon's building I could still hear her pounding on the wood door to hers.

A Difficult Decision

I have an ethical dilemma. I bought some books at a very cool little bookstore today. It should have been 61.75 but I realized later that the credit card slip said 6.17. Now I know it's wrong but I'd like to think of this as a gift. But it's wrong. Wrong. They're an indie bookstore. They're the good guys. So I guess I don't have an ethical dilemma I have a should-I-not-steal dilemma. I'm going to call them tomorrow. I know a lot of things that aren't cool. I'm pretty certain stealing is one of them.

I have this friend who likes vitamin water. His name is New York City.

Speaking of difficut decisions, if I were going to choose between watching the movie Art School Confidential & the city of New York I would have to choose the city of New York. I've had the incredible pleasure of staying with Jon Pack (who by the way was the one that they named teddy bears after (he was named for them as well)). Visited Shelton Walsmith today & had a lovely chat about art & paintings & inspiration. He's a really stunning photographer & painter. It's strange because I think I've heard about him & seen photos of him for about seven years and only now have met him. The photo above is his.

Walked around town, did some looking at buildings but mostly just walked.

Some other things I saw today:
The people & their pigs.
Same old wild cat.
Same old machete.
And the inevitable injection of venom.

At some point in time I'm going to have to explain my love for Fern Jones.

Fort Green

NE & NY (some self promotion)

This might be a good idea for you Lincolnieurites:

Paddy Wilkins will be performing his solo theater pieces at The Loft At the Mill on May 18,19, & 20th at 7pm. The evening's entertainment includes live music with Rob Hawkins of The Golden Age, Performance pieces performed by Patrick Wilkins written by Jim Hanna, Paul Schackman, and Mathais Svalina. $10 General admission, $5 students.

Come, enjoy some wine before and after the performance, walk through the gallery space have a pleasurable theater experience

Paddy is a talented actor/performer and a real mensch & you get to hear my favorite Lincoln songwriter, Rob "The Hawk" Hawkins. There'll be some stuff of mine in the show & I would love to be there but I have a previous commitment to be here:




Joshua Marie Wilkinson and Mathias Svalina
Read Poems This Friday, May 19th -- 7pm -- FREE!
The Final Pete's Candy Store Poetry Reading this Season.

Only at Pete's Candy Store
709 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn

"L" to Lorimer, "G" to Metropolitan, "J/M" to Lorimer.

I'm excited to be part of Sommer's series; she's had some great readers there & i love Pete's. I'm doubly excited to be reading with Josh, who is one of my favorite poets and a darling, darling man. If you're in NY (or even Jersey City) and you like the words you should stop by. Feel free to miss me just be there to hear Josh.

The Clean Part Four

Another inspiring installment of The Clean Part last night. If you were there you already know that Seanna won a Dutch Apple pie. If you weren't then you need to track down everything you can by Hadara Bar-Nadav, Joshua Edwards & Dora Malech and read it. All three are fantastic in very different but overlapping ways. It was a great pleasure to hear them read. Thanks again to Tugboat Gallery & Gomez for hosting us, Denny Schmickle for the spectacular design work he does, the Mill & Alisa Heinzman for providing. Thanks to everyone for attending. And thanks most of all to Hadara, Dora & Josh for reading.

I was a little late for Hadara because I was picking up Josh from the Omaha airport, so I aint got no picture of her. Sorry Hadara, but with pictures this poor it's probably for the best.




After the reading we headed out for food & drinks. Lots of great conversations about poetry, cattle ranching, Denis Johnson & the fact that I don't like Alan Dugan's poetry. I forgot I had a camera until after Dora left but here are some slightly beery pictures of Hadara (with two faces) & Josh, Zach & Michael D reading. I swear it was more fun than it looks.

Hadara Bar-Nadav at The Clean Part Reading Series

We have a lineup change for the fourth installment of The Clean Part Reading Series. We are incredibly pleased to present Hadara Bar-Nadav reading her poetry Saturday night along with Dora Malech & Joshua Edwards.

Hadara is a truly incredible poet. Her lyric poetry is sharp and confrontational but also intimate and personal. I am happy to hear her read before she heads up north for her new jobby-job. Here's her bio:

Hadara Bar-Nadav’s recent publications appear or are forthcoming in Beloit Poetry Journal, Chelsea, Indiana Review, The Journal, Quarterly West, TriQuarterly, Verse, and other journals. Her book of poems, A Glass of Milk to Kiss Goodnight, was chosen by Kim Addonizio for the MARGIE First Book Prize and will be published in spring 2007. This summer, she'll be moving to MN where she'll be hanging out with monks and teaching creative writing.

The Clean Part Reading Series and Tugboat Gallery Present Poets Joshua Edwards, Dora Malech and Hadara Bar-Nadav
Saturday, May 13th, 7PM
Tugboat Gallery, 1028 O Street
(alley entrance behind Gomez Art Supply), Lincoln, NE
Free: peanuts will be provided at no extra charge
www.thecleanpart.blogspot.com

File Under: Life in Lincoln, Nebraska

Actual Conversation I Had at Russ'

Cast: Checkout Girl--Maybe 16, lots of blue eyeliner, eyebrow pierced
Me--I'm not going to describe myself, but I was buying bread, romaine & raddichio lettuce, cheddar cheese, yogurt and a bottle of San Pelligrino.

(Checkout Girl picks up bottle of pelligrino & looks at it)

Checkout Girl: Someone said I should drink this.
Me: Oh yeah?

Chairs

These chairs



are in my kitchen



& living room



perhaps on Saturday



they will contain you at The Clean Part Reading Series