Catch KSM's project. No need to comment, but read what he and others write. Enjoy the poems. I don't have the anthology that handily is filling a nothing-pressing-to-do void for him. So far two poems, both ballads, have been posted. It is my feeling his doing this benefits him and those who are tracking along. & Rho00056
Sunday, April 13, 2008
100 poems project
Friday, April 11, 2008
Poet Poet
Precipitated by a technical hold at PF's Harriet, Linh Dinh's ninth post exists in three places: here (where there are 10 comments) here here The second comment at the second site supports (more vividly) a part of my comment at the first site. However, the comments at each site should be read. Also, Aaron McCollough's provocative: "Self-Consuming Artifacts ... towards an unquiet metaphysics"--which Ron Silliman provided a link to--references and discusses Linh Dinh's post. Although bickerings over aesthetics are not without value, I prefer to observe and learn from them. That may change. There appears to be a growing group of poets moving towards the metaphysical, towards a positive metaphysics, which is where--even when most down--I have always been. Still, I usually am not a beat-the- drum type. I am too variegated. Questions ever haunt me. As I once wrote: Uncertainty is my milieu. That is why I often compare my being to air. I am posting this but it is still in draft. Aaron McCollough has added a second post on the topic of an "unquiet metaphysics". As a way in he reveals some childhood facts. It happens that mine are similar to his; so I am going to reveal some of mine. I was raised as a Roman Catholic in Wisconsin in the 1940's and 1950's. Love of neighbor (and enemy) are also important to me. He cites a passage from the Bible which imprinted itself in his mind. One which has imprinted itself in my mind is from the prayer to God the Father which Jesus taught his disciples: . . . and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Several years back I began to understand this passage in a way I had not so clearly understood it, and it was all due to the "as" in it. What is being said here is that God the Father only needs to forgive us our tresspasses to the extent that we are willing to forgive the tresspasses of others against us. Sadly, for me it is easier to do that than it is for me to forgive myself. ~ ~ Rho00055
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Intentionality
My placing these words in this order in this space is an example of evident intentionality. Whether through a visionary experience or months of rational labor, whatever is kept (like a secret) in my mind is an object of hidden intentionality. Hope lives in the former, and faith lives in the latter. If no one reads what I try to share, my hope and intentions will not matter. If I forget and cannot recall what was in my mind, my faith and intentions will not matter. Actually, even if you discern my intentions and the signs I use here, they will only retain importance by what you decide to do with them. Infederowsah, Ishtin. But let me proceed to an explanation at EPC about "Uncreativity as a Creative Practice" by Kenneth Goldsmith. The title seems oxymoronic, but it is bluntly factual. Mr. Goldsmith had set himself the task of becoming totally uncreative by his fortieth birthday, and his present project, tedious as it was/is, exemplified his best effort so far toward that end. He reveals the urges he's had to subdue in order to successfully accomplish his task. We are managers of information, and cannot be other. The way he dresses befits this/ idea. I have the feeling he is better suited than most for doing what he does. Not that most do not do similar things. It's just that most do them, not because they see it as beyond choice, but rather because sometimes they are beyond choice. I was a night auditor at mostly busy motels and hotels for many years, during which the technologies used in the hospitality business changed often. However, there were times when weather or error caused those technologies to shut down, forcing employees to resort to doing everything by hand. Therein lies the point: Regardless of the task, creativity is creativity; and sometimes the more difficult the task, the greater the creativity needed to complete it. I am beginning to suspect that, like the customer, the intentionalities of an artifact's perceiver are ultimately more powerful than those of an artifact's maker. ? Rho00054
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Mezangelle
Thanks to a comment by Angela G. re a Reginald Shepherd techno- post at Poetry Foundation's Harriet blog, I found out about the existence of a techno poet named Mary Anne Breeze who created her own language known as mezangelle and other similar names. Upon doing a search: this interview Was then led by it to an ARG article at Wikipedia: Alternate Reality Game which is not exactly a game, and possibly cannot be defined. l[i]ove Rho00053
Monday, April 7, 2008
Two Anti-Cancer Advances
First found out about the following from a free weekly newsletter www.kurzweilai.net e-mails to me. Did searches for the articles linked to here: - UCLA "nanoimpeller" for placing drugs inside cancer cells fasting for two days before chemotherapy protects healthy cells - Reminder: Alkaline foods fight cancer. Acidic foods fuel cancer. But there is more. See this tough valuable article from the Wellness Directory of Minnesota. * * Rho00052
Saturday, April 5, 2008
One to Know
Today I learned of an Isaac Stolzfuts because a grandson of his has maintained his journal. Isaac (Zac) was born September 11, 1919, and was residing in south Florida when he disappeared about the 3rd of August in 2007. If the link above is still active, information surrounding that incident persists in his journal. I left a message earlier, but do not know when or if it will be posted. My initial encounter with Mr. Stolzfuts's Journal was the result of a Charles Ray "Oh Charlie . . . ." search. I could tell you more about him, but it would be best if you used the above link and found out for yourself. He was a special man, and I am dedicating this day to him. Regarding Charles Ray's sculpture, read this post from 12-20-06 in the journal linked to above. = Rho00051
Friday, April 4, 2008
Performatism
May add more to this later but, thanks to Robert Peake, a search led me to an essay I want to provide a link to: "Performatism, or the End of Postmodernism" by Raoul Eshelman. In order to make it easier for you to understand Eshelman's positions, I suggest scrolling down to "I can make out five basic features of performatism" and reading from there to the end of his essay first. > See my bloglist for a link to Robert Peake's site. Rho00050 . . . . .
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Celtic Poetry
Poetry Is a Way of Life is the title of a post on Todd Swift's Eyewear, a blog he may discontinue come May of 2008. Beneath this post is a comment by background artist in which is a link to "The Cauldron of Poesy" by Erynn Rowan Laurie, an historical article about Irish/Celtic poetry. If you do not wish to read it, but would like to know the root rules of this neoceltic poetry, scroll to the article's last paragraph. Note: I tried to discover the id of background artist, but it is hidden. } } } } } } } } } Rho00049
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
tic toc tic toc tic
At www.commondreams.org are three articles, two of which should be read, and one which you might choose to read but the comments beneath it are more important. In a link to that article will be information about the comment I feel everyone ought to read. /archive/2008/04/01/8025/ beneath this "Could the Republicans . . ." by Wayne Barrett scroll down to the Galen April 1st, 2008 1:14 pm comment and read it first. Many of the other comments should also be read. /archive/2008/03/29/7966/ Read this article. /archive/2008/03/27/7920/ Read this article. Common Dreams is an excellent site for those who are interested in the tic toc tic toc tic of human activity on planet Earth. I, for one, will be visiting it more often after today. Somewhere in the course of history on the third out from the Sol star situated approximately two-thirds of the way from center in a spiral arm of a galaxy called Milky Way was a sentient being named, alas, Homo sapiens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rho00048
Monday, March 31, 2008
four Tran Da Tu poems
[ Note: This post will contain several asides or insides or whatever-you-wish-to-call-them remarks which will be enclosed by brackets. Over at the Poetry Foundation's Harriet blog Linh Dinh has shared his translations of four poems by Tran Da Tu after a short introduction. I am grateful. May you also be. ] "Love Tokens", "Toy for Future Children", "Fragmented War"; "Standing" are the four poems. Ostensibly these are war poems, but they are not so in any sense I am accustomed to. Linh writes: "His war poetry reads as if it was written, well, right now." Yes it does, and I think I know why. The angles of vision the author takes/ raises them to a different order, an order I am calling the deep within, which has nothing to do with the idea of "deep image" but everything to do with the human spirit. I first read these poems several days ago, and have read them twice since. The second time I read them/ Celan and Adorno came to mind, but I'm not equating Tran Da Tu with Paul Celan and I'm not stopping at Adorno's hard after-Auschwitz thought. [Notice what these poems are devoid of.] The poet here is speaking from the spiritual in him to the spiritual in each of us / all of us. The facts in the poems are not merely there for factualness. Each poem is addressed to a someone or a group, but only through pronouns and general nouns. This distancing reveals empathy. Beneath the facts, Tran Da Tu's attention is on the will- ingness of humans to harm each other, to perpetrate evil acts which are presently visible and which have conse- quences forever imaginable; and the suffering and unto- death sadness resulting therefrom. [Sartre wrote: "Hell is other people." My response and David Bromige's response: "Heaven is other people too."] [Jesus: ". . . love your enemies. . . ." / and in that prayer to the Father He taught to his disciples: "And forgive us our trespasses as (emphasis mine) we forgive those who trespass against us."] You want Armageddon. We do not need Armageddon. We are Armageddon, and until we cease lording it over each other/ we will continue to be Armageddon unto our extinction. The A- and H-bomb horrors will seem as nothing once the robot armies we create figure nearly everything out, and turn on us. That is, if we even make it/ to that juncture. Can a poem change one's life for the better? Yes, but I cannot promise any will. Certainly, for those who are open to it in them, these poems have the power to. ~ Rho00047
Sunday, March 30, 2008
blog name
May change this blog's name. Am in decision. Maybe that's what I should change it to. Say, Salchert's In Decision. How 'bout Salchert's Nescio, or Salchert's Dry Heaves. Had those once for 12 hours. Rhodingeedaddee is unique but seems too mysterious. Could simply ditch this blog, but doubt I will. Am building it for any who care to read its bricks and windows, but am also building it for myself. Am on a steep learning curve, or several such. Won't be changing its http name. Flipping pancakes, just can't settle on anything. Could it be it's because of too many hard boiled eggs? Rho00046 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Friday, March 28, 2008
Poetry Daily Project
If you would like to read poems featured at Poetry Daily, and then vote for the one you think is the best, Andrew Shields has a weekly project about to begin week 6 and is planned to run 12 weeks. Take a look. * Rho00045
Thursday, March 27, 2008
immanent critque
K. S. Mohammad's post Sugarhigh on Immanent Critique deserves a considered read, and not because I have so far commented twice there. * Rho00044
Monday, March 24, 2008
brian's brain p6
Monday 18DEC00 - Last night I wrote "Silent Song", a song lyric, a creation deeply satisfying to me. I sent an e-mail copy of it to three friends. . . . . I am certain it has far more meaning to me than to most others. . . . . Tuesday 19DEC00 - St. Alphonsus Rodriquez, you and I both know I messed up today. Yes, most of my 360 minutes at work were difficult for me, especially physically; but I missed a great opportunity to use the adversities I faced as a means of atoning for my many sins because I too often complained about them. Perhaps tomorrow I will be fired; but if not, I ask you to help me (though Jesus) to cease complaining. Thank you. Wednesday 20DEC00 - No doubt my current job is putting a strain on my back, but I did manage to complain far less today. Tomorrow my work will be a shortened one, bookended by two major appointments, one at 8:30am and one at 2pm. I am not expecting either to be pleasant. - - - This morning I made several calls regarding our moving. If I can get all that is needed ready to go, we will likely move this mobile home to another Gainesville-area location just after New Year's. I think I already know where, even though that is not my preference; but it would be the most monetarily sensible one. It is, alas, far from where I am now working, but I am going to seek a second job, and that might be closer to our new address. - - - Due to a certain action I had to take, a government check I am to get may get delayed, a circumstance that could cause a bill problem. - - - One bright "thank-the-Lord" event which occurred today was the arrival of money I desperately need. Thursday 21DEC00 - Unusually busy appointment day. At my 2pm meeting today I was given a large book. The task it mandates is extensive, and it will take many hours to complete. It may even cause to miss making daily entries here, especially since I must also attend to the task of getting our home moved. Friday 22DEC00 - Stabat Mater, generally ascribed to Blessed Jacopone da Todi. Upon conducting a search, I finally found the original Latin and an English version at a site named Making of America. I added it [that site] to my Thinking Lizard favorite places. - - - My work day again was long and tiring. - - - After reading the Stabat Mater, I began to sing what I could remember of the Tantum Ergo. I am now going to search for it. Saturday 23DEC00 - Janice, my wife, has always deserved someone other than me, someone much better; and I have never deserved anyone. I do not know what is wrong with my brain, but it definitely is not wired right. So skewed is it I would not be surprised if upon examination I, the bearer of it, would be found to be insane. Sunday 24DEC00 - This b thing is f nasty, and mostly because of my writings. Luckily, I do have some secure records, but there is so much which is not yet settled into book form that finding a satis- factory way to account for it is going to be--however worth- while--difficult. Add to which the number of books and tapes I have, though far fewer than I once had; and our various tools, utensils, dishes, clothes, furnishings, etcetera, accomplishing what I need to accomplish in the time I wish to accomplish it in is going to be stone difficult. Monday 25DEC00 - Didn't finish cataloging all my books, but I did get many useless items cleared off my shelves and tossed into the dumpster. All the stirred dust allowed the dust mites to mess heavily with my too allergic body. I also may have a cold. - - - I should make a list of all the places I ought to call in the morning. - - - I have a feeling we are going to have to face several unwanted circustances as regards our trying to move the b thing. Tuesday 26DEC00 - B thing or no, and though a second from now I may be dead or gravely stricken, I yet want to repay what I owe, and will attempt to do so. I realize that being without certain protective insur- ances may in the end thwart my ability to do that, but I yet will try. Wednesday 27DEC00 - A cousin forwarded through a sister a 2001 message from the Dalai Lama. Because of the wisdom in it, I have begun passing it on to numerous others. Thursday 28DEC00 - Got two checks today. Am due to get one check 1-12-01 if I last at my present employment. I want to last, but it is hard on my small weak body. I also hope to find a second job. One that would go from 5pm to 10pm. I also hope to fashion a new career which--if I am able to do it--will allow me to earn some real money. Friday 29DEC00 - St. Thomas Becket. First sentence of the Comment section reads: "No one becomes a saint without struggle, especially with himself." Saturday 30DEC00 - Long hard day at Chick-fil-A. Spent this morning seeking out online addresses for other good persons I wanted to send a greeting of mine to along with the Dalai Lama mantra. Unwisely-- being unwise seems to be a congenital defect in me--I several times sent my greeting to more than one person. Perhaps it was the cousin influence, but once I realized the impropriety of doing that, I thereafter sent to one person at a time. Sunday 31DEC00 - Called my aunt. Called my father. Called my Sister sister twice. - - - My mind is spinning. Hope mixed with fear & trembling engage in a macabre dance in my spirit. - - - Happy new millenium. 6 Rho00043
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Sunday
For a 1941 Latin Roman Catholic celebration of Easter Sunday Mass filmed at Our Lady of Sorrows in Chicago, Illinois, do this search: Roman Catholic Easter Sunday Mass. The YouTube video lasts 54+ minutes. - For historical information about Easter read this article at New Advent - Though not directly connected to Easter, Robert P. Baird's useful article at Slate "Why doesn't anyone read Dante's Paradiso?" / It so happens I am rereading the Pantheon Lawrence Grant White translation - a copy of which I bought on sale at a bookstore in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when I was briefly at Marquette University 48 years ago - and as of last night am at Canto 8 of the Paradiso. * * * Rho00042
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Palm Sunday thoughts
For "About Those New Seven Deadly Sins" by Liliana Segura read this at AlterNet. - For another view, read this 7 new deadly sins article in Trinidad Express. - For general information, go to this Deadly Sins site. - For some tech takes on this, read the 3-11-08 post by Jack Kapica and the comments at Kapica's Cyberia Blog. - Also do a Palm Sunday search for some interesting articles. Here is input from me. * * * Rho00041
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Dark
See song lyrics of mine from 11-30-1974 at S H. Dark Thanks to Dale Smith at possumego.blogspot.com see also James Howard Kunstler's "Campaign Blues" March 03, 2008 post at http://www.jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com and read at least the first ten comments. It is daily (sadly) becoming more likely that before the end of this year this nation will be in the midst of a dread recession. Rho00040
Saturday, March 1, 2008
brians brain p5
Wednesday 13DEC00 - It's your elfin fool again, God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I know I could utter a 1001 thank you's, and every last one would mean nothing if I did not thereafter live your will. Truly, my unworthiness notwithstanding, these recent days have been whirly ones, miracle ones. Today there were five events of moment: 1) the decision to move our mobile home out of Pinehurst by January 31, 2001, in order to receive $2000/ to use for moving/ from the development company taking over this property 2) the Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging's exceptionally well-catered Christmas Party complete with the harkening GHS Chorale 3) the surprise presents for me from J- and N- and T- 4) my likely last official day at the Center for Aging Resources 5) the continuing special circumstances integral to the miracle gift is appears is coming from my highest angel here on Earth. "There should be no end to the thanks I show" Thursday 14DEC00 - St. John of the Cross. How amazing! But I must wait. - - - Stopped by the bank this morning on my way to my Chick-fil-A job. After work I made phone contact from home with the bank woman who is helping me. Nothing new, so I phoned the pivotal bank woman up north and found out she had to be away from her bank most of the day. I suggested to her I might make another touch- base call to the source woman, a woman I regarded as holy. She said she is a character, a description I had to agree with. I decided not to call, as I did not want to appear pushy. As the bank woman here said: "We will just have to wait and pray." - - - What a first day of work! That Chick-fil-A is so constantly busy that I told one of the other employees: "This place is famous." The services I perform there are far from being the kinds of services I would prefer to be performing, but if I can acclimate myself to six hours of light but rather constant physical labor, the exercise will hopefully be beneficial in spite of my asthma and osteoporosis, etcetera. It is baldly humble work. There was, curiously, one particularly rewarding incident: when I freed a small boy's foot that had gotten caught in the netting of what I will here call the jungle gym tower tunnel slide. I happened to be where I could hear that child's whining/ only because the girl I was working with asked me to clean the windows in the play area. - - - I now must leave this online place to prepare some highly vital information for the bank woman who is helping me. Friday 15DEC00 - My normal Chick-fil-A work hours are 10am-4pm. It was so busy I wasn't able to take my 20-minute meal break until 3:12pm. and because I was working alone for several hours, I found it hard to keep abreast of the traffic. Several times I spoke to St. Alphonsus Rodriquez about it. It occurred to me that perhaps this finally is the motivation I need to find new permanent work more suited to my talents. I'm honestly not sure I can labor as I am now for long. As good as the activity may be for me, it is severely pushing my limits. Saturday 16DEC00 - Busy, busy, busy: from 11:15am to 2:45pm. At least James, who is 15, was with me. Toward the end of my shift I told Daniel, a huge black man who is one of the bosses, that this work is good for humility. He smiled. During my break today I had a bowl of chicken soup. Out in the car after work I had another conver- sation with St. Alphonsus as I drove off. Humility. I do need it. Still am not sure how well my body will tolerate/ this much physical work. Besides which, there is no indication my job is going to be anything near permanent. Therefore, I am going to continue to seek employment more fitting for me. The Enrollee Supervisor at AARP told me she too will continue to be on the lookout for such work for me. I plan to contact Sante Fe Com- munity College. Securing employment there would definitely please me. Sunday 17DEC00 - Saint of The Day: Lazarus, he whom Jesus raised from the dead. Will I, who am financially dead, be raised back to financial vitality? Will I, by the grace of The Holy Spirit, become a truly productive servant, and one who is given both praise and substantial monies for enough of his creations so as to one day be able to repay his past debts? Do I have the talents to so succeed, or will I always be a poor poet who may as well be forming his word creations in an unknown cave? As long as I am alive, I am going to try (with the talents I have) to so succeed. I know/ I may be dead before tomorrow. I know my days ahead are not likely to be pleasant ones. I could even suffer a terribly debilitating stroke, or any manner of illness that would greatly curtail my ability to pursue any dreams of respectful self-sufficiency. I will pray and work and hope. I cannot do else. And of my anger, my inability to forgive myself? I can only pray and work and hope, and seek faith, and learn to love. - - - Before you boldly reach for a star, know who you are. 5 Rho00039
Thursday, February 28, 2008
brians brain p4
Friday 08DEC00 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Saturday 09DEC00 - Today I participated in a locked-building age-grouped psychological study investigating the relationships of personality traits and the formulating, setting, and achieving of goals. Characteristically, I was too slow to complete all the study's sections on time, and so had to bring some home in an envelope for mailing them back. Now finished and sealed in, they will be returned on Monday. Three years ago I would have answered many of the questions quite differently. Then my view of myself, while not good, was consid- erably more positive than it presently is. Oh, if I am alive, I will go on; but if the wounds I inflicted on my spirit heal, I will go on revivified/ and intensely grateful. For being a human--even amid odious difficulties--is an experience which is unfathomably beautiful. It is only that a melancholic such as I am often does not see it so. Go ask the suicides. Sunday 10DEC00 - Due to an interesting link on a FlipDog page, arrived at ProvenResume.com and spent several hours reading and thinking about the 12 free workshops there on how to write a powerful, proven-to-work resume. While I was impressed by what was presented, including the need for most job seekers to have their self-esteem and self-confidence strengthened, my feelings about myself barely changed. I'm afraid my age, physical ailments, financial condition, and general feelings of separation are going to be formidable barriers for some while yet, if not from now on. I know I need to heal my traumatized self-image, and I know such valuable persons as Regina may well be an integral part of that healing. Certain saints and the Blessed Virgin and Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are--and more intensely so than ever--in my life. (I ought to have communicated deeply with them all my aware hours.) Tomorrow is going to be a signal day. It may not be a pleasant day, however. If I am here then, I will write of it. Monday 11DEC00 - Life changes. My working at the Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging appears to be coming to an end, and my working at Chick-fil-A appears to be about to begin. I did see the attorney today. It was definitely educational, but even though I have no other choice but to C7, I have a feeling that even that is not going to save me. I simply tried to master a skill I was not up to mastering, and my failure is yet likely to impede what I now must do. Tonight I will have a conversation with one of my angels. I do not think that angel will in the least be pleased. Yet we will talk and perhaps reach an equitable decision. Here, I, a Capricorn, am supposed to be clear-headed and pragmatic. I may have been born under the sign of the goat, but I mostly do not fit there except for my stupid stubbornness. - - - Had the conversation with my angel, and we did settle on what move I should make next. It is not one I relish making, but just as with the C7/ there seems to be no other option. So I will be going to a higher angel, and only God knows what is going to occur then. Tuesday 12DEC00 - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Thank you, most holy Mother of Miracle. Thank you, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Katharine Drexler, St. Alphonsus Rodriquez. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Almighty Father. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Even if what the higher angel told me does not come to pass, thank you. Fools such as I have been deserve nothing. Therefore, I ask only that I be allowed the grace to live those moments remaining to me as they ought to be lived/ in faith and hope and charity. - - - This afternoon at the Center for Aging Resources of the Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging, my boss being out ill, I--with guidance from another employee--created seven interlocking Access 2000 databases. They are each fairly simple, and may get changed, but my boss will be pleased they exist. Tomorrow, their Christmas party day, is likely to be my last day there. Thursday morning I expect to be starting my job at Chick-fil-A. I will miss the Center and all the good people at mfaaa.org. I shall try to visit them. 4 Rho00038
Monday, February 25, 2008
brians brain p3
Saturday 02DEC00 - How does one keep from losing one's spirit? How does one strengthen one's spirit? Does one say: Begone, darkness. To my left sunlight bright against my cold window. I here rocking, wearing a sweatshirt with a winter jacket over it. I drink some water and feel all cold, as if I have no warm blood. Pianist/singer/songwriter Bruce Hornsby and his group were just on NBC in the chilly plaza/ playing "That's the Way It Is"--thank you. More and more life is becoming a moment-to-moment journey for me. My Sister sister said: "At least you are hanging in there, even if it is by a thread." Magical as our being is, it is ever/ tenuous. ~ Sunday 03DEC00 - Despair here. Despair here. Get your red-hot despair here. - - - I do not know. - - - PRAYER FOR THE SICK. PRAYER FOR EMPLOYMENT. - - - Saint of the Day: St. Francis Xavier, a scholarly man brought into the infant Jesuit Order by his friend St. Ignatius of Loyola, traveled to the Orient to reveal Jesus, where he sacrificed greatly but was filled with joy. - - - Jesus, Father, Holy Spirit, I today come to You to ask You to deign--if that is the word to use-- to heal my downcast spirit, to imbue this delicate sickly fool I am/ with grace enough to know even a slight amount of the joy St. Francis Xavier knew. I am not as he, nor could ever be. Direct me, who cannot seem to direct himself, toward that which is pleasing to You and will benefit all of us who struggle to make of our human conditions passages of lasting value. ~ Monday 04DEC00 - Last night I found myself thinking that since the part-time employment I presently have at a non-profit organization is both educational and enjoyable/ I would like to full-time employment at a non-profit. Tonight I went to FlipDog with that in mind, selecting Virginia and Florida as places I would prefer to be. It is likely to take time for me to fashion a proper resume/ as seeking such work would constitute a career change. Volunteering, gathering information, and networking may be my only way in--if I can convince myself I am really serious about being employed at a non-profit. - - - Deep truth is I know what I really want to do, and I am doing it; but for me there is no money in it, and the odds are there never will be. ~ Tuesday 05DEC00 - If you "plan" to attempt a difficult task, ask: "Must I?" If the answer is yes, assess yourself deeply. Ask yourself not only if you really have the ability to succeed, but also how you will judge yourself if you fail. If you determine you have a reasonable chance of succeeding, assess the task deeply from the moment you begin it, and do not hesitate to truncate your efforts if your original thinking is proven inadequate. I proffer this because of what has happened in my life. The psychic harm to yourself and others because of an irrational "I-can-do-it" attitude/// is not worth it. I have made an ash of myself. I have. I have. [ 02/25/08: Here is a verse from the memoir I wrote about it. * Some will call Many will send But in the end You are all So if you attend Attend with care Let not befall Conditions where No one is there * And here are some present thoughts. 1) Although some have done so and fared well, never chance more than you can afford to lose. 2) Identify those opportunities which have the most positive long-term potential. A solid base thwarts worry. 3) Still, keep abreast of events. Even a solid base can crack. 4) Beware of all/ that might dash your efforts, especially your own emotions. 5) Identify those opportunities which have the most positive short-term potential. Timing is crucial here. 6) These thoughts have universal relevance. However, there are circumstances where they do not apply. ] ~ Wednesday 06DEC00 - Today is St. Nicholas Day. * For me it was a busy, strange day, especially with phone calls. After my hours out at the Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging's Center for Aging Resources, I drove over to Chick-fil-A for an orientation session with one of the lead managers, and to pick up a possible uniform. On Monday, however, I must get a written approval from my doctor regarding my ability to perform the job I will be expected to do. I hope she okays it/ as that job will pay me twice what I am making now, and I surely need it. - - - Just as this morning was, tomorrow morning will be busy with this and that and phone calls. My brain is buzzing. I hope that means it is out for nectar, not out to saw limbs off. ~ Thursday 07DEC00 - Dreams, dreams, dreams, dreams, dreams. Who in the hell is Brian (Arthur) Salchert anyway? Does he know? Does he have the slightest tittle? I just came from a web site which seriously questions whether creative writers should look to technical writing as a viable profession. I didn't read much of it, and so I will be going back to it. I have it AOL FP'd. I did read enough however to once again encounter "the what is your passion" question. Dreams, dreams, dreams. Is it better to do that which I am moved to do, even if I cannot secure a living by means of doing it, even if few or none care why or what I write; or should I just seek to put my passion to sleep/ as is often done with a horse with a broken leg? Dreams. How do I know if mine are true? So what if I can write this or that. So what if I try my best to make what I write excellent. Should I--if I am honestly passionate about making poems and crafting letters and deliberating over journal entries--even be asking such "lack-of-self-confidence" questions? Also went to the Songwriters Guild site. Who in the hell is this BAS guy anyway? - - - Wasted space. That is how I feel right now: like wasted space. 3 Rho00037
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
brians brain p2
Monday 27NOV00 - Today's saint: Francesco Antonio Fasani. The first sentence in the "Comment" about him reads: "Eventually we become what we choose." On Thanksgiving I wrote a small prayer to God in which I said: Be for each each given moment what each most needs. Months ago I had a notion in my head that I would open a business in BizLand. So I tried this and that approach, at last settling on a strange idea (much of which I now plan to share here); but I was never able to get myself to open that business, nor do I--from the vantage of this moment--ever expect to open a business anywhere. Hopefully, later today I will be back to enter here the essentials from my Ibnar.net Ring: Atrium III misadventure. * * * The following is Atrium III. 08/01/04, thinking lizard * o-ib WELL? > > > > ! ! ! > > > COME. Come/ into the Mad Man's Message Mine. It's dark. ~ 1) From Ibnar's Journals (a certain meandering) 2) Hear a Word (odd occurrences like fireflies) 3) Just a Few Gatherings (things stumbeld upon) 4) Klick/ Wip/ Vink (you're in you're out/ cave) 5) Inside the Shell (by the hummingbird's wings) ~ Though this be a cave, a dark place where a mad man mutters, it is yet in a realm, a kingdom, a domain, which is Atrium III of Ibnar.net, a meeting space where light enters, clear and warm. > from ibnar's journals (a certain meandering) ~ Hello! Did you see my wall paintings? Oh, I'm sorry, my lantern's not lit. Stay though. Have you ever been in a place where it seemed there would never again be anyone else but you? Out in the vling/ vling/ vling/ zingo, time swooms while the neon dances hold our eyes; but if we're players in that flux, we glance at our watches and hurry on. Yet here where one's aloneness becomes more obvious, or there where one's aloneness is easily hid, reflection speaks. And what does it say? To the hermit it says: You do need others, but do not let your spirit crack. To the lit-in-the-dance it interrupts: You are alone, but do not let your spirit flag. > hear a word (odd occurrences like fireflies) - It must have happened that a word so sparked your grey brain/ you drifted from your usual outer awareness to a charged unusual inner awareness. Example: doodad. Now, keying on the sound of the first syllable, how many meanings can you uncover that are different from the primary one: gadget: when presented with the question: What is a doo/dad? Pause. Of course this is silly; yet that doesn't mean it is without value. Many of the "silly" creations of humans are not only valuable, they are also necessary. Sanity is not for humans what it is for purely cyber beings. > just a few gatherings (things stumbled upon) - In this long, sharp-cornered tunnel, I have stumbled into/ over/upon many curious & catching things. One "day" I found a crow's feather; one other "night" I found a diamond stud; and one other "time" I found an hourglass/ with no sand in it. So long ago/ now/ it was/ I can't remember the whole of it, but there was a book I then there had/ named Maps of the Mind/ in which one map divided the brain of Homo sapiens into three-from-evolution ascending parts. Perhaps I will conjure them up one "while". Da Vinci, Du Cange, de Chardin. That conjuring, sadly, did not work. No matter. If nature or aliens or we ourselves don't destroy us, the brain of Homo sapiens will not far off/ and through the surge of creativity from its highest part/ open a yet higher part. Let angels abound. * Tuesday 28NOV00 - The first entry here is from my final BizLand page. It is a vision of sorts--a short weird vision. ** ** Everyone went to Hell But at the tolling of a bell Everybody came back out To have a cup of sauerkraut ** ** The last entry here is the final entry of an aborted journal. I have several such journals. Happened upon it a couple hours ago, and decided to reveal it because it fits the moment. There are certain thought patterns of mine which, I have found, recur and recur. Still, coming upon them usually--even while darkening my dim pride--surprises me. * 7-15-86 Lord, I have not the brilliance I would like to have, for you have not blessed me with such brilliance; and I have not the stamina I would like to have, for you have not blessed me with such stamina; and I definitely do not have the calm nature I would like to have. Would I like to complain? I suppose I would, but what good would it do? Lord, just move me to do the best I can with what little I have, and please teach me to be at peace ------ whenever I suddenly must ride rough waves of frustration. I am not a Jose-Antonio Alvarado. * ~ Wednesday 29NOV00 - Today I was blessed with emails from two extraordinary humans, Tom Montag and Aleta Pippin. Tom I first met, if I recall rightly, in 1972. It was in November of that year his Monday Morning Press published my Rooted Sky volume. Aleta is a new acquaintance. I am getting a newsletter she writes. If you aren't already reading it, I recommend it. ~ Thursday 30NOV00 - Just finished reading the J. M. Spalding and Guy Shahar Philip Levine interview in The Cortland Review. Do spend some time with it and interviews with other poets. - - In the 1980's I attended a reading Philip Levine gave at the University of Florida when I was a student under Donald Justice. Mr. Levine is a strong, earthy, yet tender poet. Toward the end of the interview he recounts his telling a young poet to avoid getting caught up in the literary networking, the push, push, push, encouraging him to learn and write as well as he can, but not to hurry into getting published, to possibly wait until he is about 35. He did, however, also say that being with other serious writers in a workshop setting can be energizing, can accelerate one's progress by several years. ~ Friday 01DEC00 - Because I enjoy writing, so long as I am able to write, I will do so. Whether it comes to nothing or not--though I will always try to use language in ways which resonate in the spirits of others, is beyond consideration. Perhaps I will not survive to 65, but retiring (early or late) was never an event I wanted, nor do I now want it. Verdi. - - Two statements by Chas Melichar in an Inkspot.com Chat: "As a writer, you write because you can't do anything else." "Never give up on your passion." 2 Rho00035
Friday, February 22, 2008
brians brain p1
An autobiographical journal originally named Brian's Brain / Daily Log began on Thanksgiving Day in 2000 and ended in 2006 at a Tripod site. I am reposting that journal here. During those years I kept a like endeavor at ThirdAge. Have begun reposting it in my AOL blog. * Thanksgiving Day (23NOV00) - If no one ever reads this log I will not be surprised, nor will I be further saddened. Given the way I now feel, there is already enough sadness in me to fill our galaxy. And don't go "Oh, poor baby"; for a goodly portion of this sadness in could easily have been avoided, but I made a series of grave errors because I failed to do that which Solomon did: pray first for wisdom, and because I failed to do that which Socrates urged: to care to know myself, and because I failed to do that which all the great prophets and teachers catechize: seek to fill each moment with the wondrous light of that peace which is godly love. Am I a horrid person? No: not all-in-all, though certainly from time-to-time. Do I fear my future as a human being may well be more and more difficult? Yes. Have you ever felt insufficient, of little or no current value? Each of is, of course, valuable; but value in the mind of God is far different, often enough, from value in the mind of a crowd of humans. Why am I bothering to write this? I need to. Remember "he's a loser, but he still keeps on trying"? Hmm. In one sense every human is a loser, even those who are afforded fame by other humans. In another sense every human is a winner, even those upon whom infamy is cast by other humans. Jesus said: "You have heard it said you should love you neighbor as youself. I say you also love your enemy." Let me interject here a warning: Trekking with me, while it may be instructive, may also be highly dangerous, especially for one who is not adept at negotiating abnormal interior realms. Let me present some touchstone revela- tions. I have always been fascinated by the wind, by loneliness, by vast spaces, by whatever brings tears of joy, by words. At times the reality of being human/ is excruciating. ~ Friday 24NOV00: - I am such a riddled result! I did not dream it would be so. I even dreamed excessively beyond any potential I would reasonably be capable of. How do you define insanity? Is allowing a failure, however dire, to cause one to drop the shield of hope, more insane; or is clasping the shield of hope inordinately tight against one's heart when it no longer can protect one from failure/ more insane? Were it not for human insanity, where, pray tell, would humanity be? If that isn't a double-edged question, I do not know what is. But, in fact, what is striving anyway, if not a form of insanity. Obviously, those "insane" acts which produce results of value, which enhance human lives, lose then whatever layers of "insanity" opinions had given them. Examples abound. Nonetheless, opinions do matter in the here-and-now, and it takes an uncanny self- confidence to do that which the doer knows will not be appreciated in the doer's life. Stendahl comes to mind. Leonardo da Vinci comes to mind. And then there is Confucius. Others? You know there are: thousands of others. My core temperament is melancholic: a bane, and yet a spur. Doing that which is of artistic and/or investigative merit gives me the deepest pleasure. Do I wish my creations would also deeply please you? Yes. Will I have wasted my life if nothing I create is deemed to be of merit? ~ Saturday 25NOV00 - There were years during which whenever a goodly chance came for it, I would respond: Smile, you're on Kik the Kam'ra. There were other like negatives I also/ frequently voiced. I was not born a physically healthy human. Neither was I born mentally healthy. That is why/ now nearly 60 full years later/ while I am not "disabled" I am disabled just the same. That is why I wrote A Special Thank You on my Ibnar.net Ring: Atrium IV Homepage, a thank you which now is on the page linked to here. Let every pulsing of your cursor/ a heartbeat be. Let each such remind you--especially so at those moments your spirit is anguishing-- you are a being of intricate beauties and transformational energies. If I no longer am able to/ save myself, perhaps you, reading this, are yet able to save yourself, and will. ~ Sunday 26NOV00 - Yesterday--I am not sure why--I decided to find out who the Saint of The Day for today would be. It is St. Leonard of Port Maurice, a Friar who gave retreats and promoted The Stations of the Cross devotion. The last sentence in the "Comments" section: "When was the last time you prayed The Stations of the Cross?": moved me to think back and say to myself: I believe it was during those days in 1960-62 when I was a Jesuit Novice. Leaving the story of Friar St. Leonard, I went to my iwon searcher and did a Stations of the Cross search, quickly finding www.catholic.org/prayer/ station.html - - - Yesterday I prayed The Stations of the Cross and several other prayers. Today I have done so again. I found that I had not clearly remembered the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary" but that the words did return to me. Enlightenment. Divine intervention. My life has not been a storied one. Perhaps that is because I have not had the wisdom to make it so, but it has been one of many minor triumphs; and it has been one punctuated by mysterious events I prefer not to attribute to chance or coinci- dence, events my actions did play a significant part in but which actions would have come to naught had it not been for what I see as divine intervention. Do I therefore expect divine intervention to ever save me when I am in need? No. Certainly I have never deserved such wondrous aid, and even though my need for such today is greater than it has ever been, I feel I now deserve it less: that is how grave I count the errors I have made. Remember I told you trekking with me might be exceedingly dangerous. There is a chance you might be privy to the dissolution of a human psyche, though I do pray that won't be so. [ Peace and light. ] 1 Rho00034
Friday, February 15, 2008
Corey's Post-Mainstream
One could, if one cared to, construct a map of 2008 poetry aesthetics. Approaches to poem-making these days are nearly as varied as are those who make poems. There are, however, fields of interest. Examples: Simon DeDeo has defined an anarchist poetics. Visual poet, David-Baptiste Chirot, labels himself an Anarkeyologist. Joshua Clover (a/k/a Jane Dark), in an interview, forwarded a possible totality poetics. John Latta has developed an engaging centrist aesthetic which uses its own lingo--note, for instance, the contractions in his poems and prose--and easily accommodates whatever is blinking in his brainbox at that time. Tight forms. Loose forms. Accessible. Impenetrable--without special knowledge. A formalist's poem can be as easy or as difficult to grasp as a non-formalist's poem. ~ But read Corey's post, and do not skip or zip over the quote from a Ron Silliman post/ inserted near the essay's conclusion. The word "secret" in that quote reminded me of Andrew Shields' translation of an essay by Durs Grünbein which was printed in the January 2007 issue of Poetry: "The Poem and Its Secret"--an essay that awards reading and rereading. Here is one sentence: "For me, what makes up the constituency of poetry's secret is twofold: a mix of love of this world with curiosity about metaphysics." Most of my poems are rooted in silence, and I see I wrote in the white space beneath this translation: 01/26/07 If you cannot understand my silences, you cannot understand my words. - In recent months my aesthetic has become poem-centered rather than centered in a preconceived aesthetic. Therefore, I prefer to "engage with a poem on its own terms"-- see Katy Evans-Bush's response to the first set of 10 Questions at Nic Sebastian's Very Like a Whale. - Anyone for/ leaping off the margin's edge? Given that we live in a world riddled with the incessant intersectings of seeming happenstance, one could see forms of poetry aesthetics based on chance as being the dominant forms, but I wouldn't guarantee it. Rho00033
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Wordsworth on Fancy and Imagination
Had been reading through a selected version of William Wordsworth's The Prelude but have broken off to read selections from his prose. In the "Fancy and Imagination" one I came upon three sentences of high (to me) interest. Fancy does not require that the materials which she makes use of should be susceptible of change in their constitution, from her touch; and, where they admit of modification, it is enough for her purpose if it be slight, limited, and evanescent. Directly, the reverse of these, are the desires and demands of the Imagination. She recoils from everything but the plastic, the pliant, and the indefinite. These words should make connection bells ring in your brain. They did in mine. - Source: p. 437 The Selected Poetry and Prose of Wordsworth edited by Geoffrey H. Hartman Copyright © 1970 A Signet Classic 451-CJ854 The Signet Classic Poetry Series General Editor: John Hollander New American Library, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 74-126353 Rho00032
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
3 sonnet notes
Several months ago Stan Apps posted two of his sonnets on his blogspot blog. In my comment about them one of my remarks was: the essence of a sonnet is the presentation of a difficulty and a resolution. - While reading his sonnets it also occurred to me that the resolution did not need to follow the difficulty but could (through the use of some device) be intertwined with the difficulty. However, I did not mention that thought. On Monday February 04, 2008, Ron Silliman shared and wrote about on his blog several sonnets from Geoffrey Young's The Riot Act. After the last of those: "Why I Don't Write Novels": his first words were: "There is a calculated austerity here--. . . ." Indeed. And my thought because of it is: Although a sonnet may have deeper meanings, its content can be quite plain on its surface. Rho00031
Friday, January 25, 2008
Michio Kaku Civilization Types
Theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku, accepting the likelihood of extraterrestrial civilizations, has imagined four types, with Type 0 being the lowest. Our civilization is a Type 0, striving to become a Type 1. As I understand it, if we do not reach Type 1 status soon enough, our species may become extinct. A Type 0 civilization, depending as it does/ on fossil fuels, simply isn't sustainable. This is an essay by Michio Kaku which was published in the February 2006 issue of Cosmos Magazine: ..... - post revision - 2008-06-27 * Rho00030
Thursday, December 13, 2007
high regard
2 poets held in high regard by 2 other poets are Bill Knott and Franz Wright, with Knott higher. Go down to the 11.27.07: entry. This entire interview is worth reading. * - - - See directory2007 in Catmap. Rho00029
Sunday, December 9, 2007
It Poetics
For the past three weeks I have been reading Paul Hoover's Postmodern American Poetry. Am into the Poetics section. Along the way I have found that my open-style poetics has similarities to Gustaf Sobin's organic view and to Michael Palmer's view about narrative. Stan Apps's post yesterday contained a link to an older post of his I zapped to and read. Afterwards it occurred to me I--if some publisher were willing to do it--could bequeath Invisible Ink, a book of 1024 pages of my collected poems. Of course, every page in that book would be blank. Later yesterday I read a sobering 2005 interview: Robert Arnold with Bill Knott Even though I do not accept all of Bill Knott's conclusions, I consider it a must-read entry. My situation is less conducive to recognition than Knott's is. Why? Several life-choice reasons pertain, but for as long as I am vital (able to think and do) I hope to continue to make poems and other things. However others judge what I do, being beyond my control, I for myself cannot deem it a waste. One thought of mine I have clung to is: Do not let your life wend on, nowhere going, nowhere gone. This does not mean I need to be highly regarded or possess material wealth. It does mean, however, I need to consistently deepen whoever it is I am. Another thought of mine, one I stated in a letter I wrote in May of 1970, is: ". . . creatures of polarities, caught up in change, we are constant mysteries." Though I do have an aphorisms entry in my primary blog, both here in Rhodingeedaddee and over in Sprintedon Hollow/ my thoughts about poetry are wherever I had them. Onward. Brian A. J. Salchert's It Poetics is so named because it centers on a made thing. As to the sources, the main ones are three: a word or words as they come to me from the womb of my subconscious, a word or words along with an idea, an idea. Sometimes what comes/ I later abandon. Those that appear and are not abandoned/ I try to be true to. That is, the directions I sense, I strive to follow. One could say I do not have a staunch aesthetic. Some would say, therefore, that my not having a perceptible style is a failing in me which indicates a weak sense of self, and thus a status unworthy of more than a passing glance. I say it takes more strength to be open in the ways I am than it does be closed in the ways certain others are. I also say it is a lot more interesting to be open in the ways I am, albeit I am not totally open. For intance, as I have written elsewhere, I have a supra-rational God belief. For another instance, as I have written elsewhere, I like to engage in conversations. Strangely, two things just happened: 1) I got a red notice saying: could not contact blogger.com 2) When I saw that I immediately looked at the time. The time was 1:11, which in my universe is God-time. I clicked SAVE NOW, and it saved. It is only by such events that I know God, for God (by whatever name spoken of) exists within and yet beyond human knowability. Belief in a god is always and ever a matter of faith. No rational argument for or against matters, which is why I am not a proselytizer. Onward. Each human who makes constructions with words, or with any other intangible or tangible sign, is moved to choose preferences. So, some poets settle on a certain aesthetic, a way of making, and stick with it. The late Jon Anderson wrote: "My poetry is not for everyone." Nor is mine, however varied. I have written over 800 poems, and therefore am not a prolific maker. If among those/ you find one you like, thank you. In Sprintedon Hollow--where my most readily available poems are, I insert on most entries: © 2007 Brian A J Salchert Thinking Lizard All rights reserved. -- Thinking Lizard is a viable press I created in 1978 or 1979. At the same time I created the pen name: Alden St. Cloud. I then produced on cassettes four of my books, sold a few copies of them, and registered them with the Library of Congress. That was in 1980 and 1981. In 1982 I put together a book of new and selected poems under my Thinking Lizard and my pen name. I think the run was 20 or 25. That book is also registered with the LoC. There are no remaining copies of those ventures. The only traditionally published book of mine is the 1972 Rooted Sky (the original version of that book). It was published out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Tom Montag's Monday Morning Press. Some copies of it are available online, but they sell for 6 or more times what they sold for originally. Somehow Beyond Baroque acquired a copy of it. Partly due to personal problems & partly due to my personality, I became more and more dissatisfied with traditional publishing. As a result, what I am doing--placing most of my writings only online, is Dissed (consigned to Hell). I suspect such writers as Walt Whitman, E. A. Robinson, e.e. cummings would have welcomed the Internet; but that's just my guess. - - - See directory2007 in Catmap. - - - Rho00028
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Ketjak replica
Although the pull to do so is there, I did not expect someone actually would set out to replicate the pattern of Ron Silliman's Ketjak as a means to more fully appreciate that work, but-- to take one word from Kasey Mohammad's comment beneath this poet's revealed effort--doing so is "illuminating": ~ - - - See directory2007 in Catmap. - - - Rho00027
Monday, December 3, 2007
Electoral College
* some thoughts about why I do not like the Electoral College * See directory2007 in Catmap. Rho00026
