I Can Read

I’m very pleased with myself: I started reading a book I started over Spring Break. I forget the exact title, but it involves some combination Marx, economic papers of 1844, and the Communist Manifesto (which I’ve read several times). The economic papers are interesting, and my objective is to read these papers, the Manifesto again, and then start into Baudrillard’s early economic writing, the books before he acid tripped his way into another dimension. I plan to sneak in some novels as well just to ease the dry reading. And I need to finish Minima Moralia, too, as I cannot generally start new books without finishing any outstanding projects.

One thing I have noticed about Marx’s economic papers is how much things have changed. The chapter on renting and landlords, while correct at its very base, is just completely non-applicable. True, maybe just updating the lexicon would help tremendously, but the examples / support he uses makes me furrow my brow (which, as B would note, is not necessarily an uncommon occurrence). That’s why I like Baudrillard’s early stuff – he applies Marx in a very pomo way that, imo, is a must in post-industrial societies.

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The above reading schedule can only occur if B retrieves my copy of Simulation and Simulacra from Marshall. She has refused to do so thus far. Everyone join in a chorus of holding her responsible for my general level of stupidity.

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Finished second in the golf scramble. Won some money. Enough to pay for the next scramble.

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I’ve never had more trouble finishing a take-home test in my life. I had to turn down a round of golf with a friend tonight b/c I need to finish that test and take care of a few things around the house. How lame is that?

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At least for another eight months or so, tax hours have been cast into hell once more.

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Kinda dry today, gang. Hopefully, with a little stimulation, I’ll be moist with the honey of wit and wisdom soon. Feel free to help.

-j

First thing I want to do is congratulate Daya on his recent good news. He knows what I mean. My gifts to him:

"Memories of Paradise"

And, of course, some Pez:

I can hear the profanity from here. And I didn't even mess up the homonyms.


* * *

I apologize for the lack of entries this week. My boss has been out of the office the entire week, so I’ve been forced to keep things afloat by myself. Of course I’ve succeeded, but that means I have less time to piddle.

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Yes, piddle makes me sound like I’m 80. That’s okay b/c I am at heart (and hairline).

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One more MBA class, and I’m through with my formal business education forever. Yes, there will be certifications more than likely, but the only inane professor I’ll have to deal with will be myself. And even though I loathe myself some days, I loathe myself much less than others. That’s called self-esteem.

B & I are going to my parents this weekend. I’m playing in a golf scramble, and we’re celebrating the above MBA graduation. No, I’m not walking in the ceremony. Rather than having a separate graduation ceremony for all Masters students the day before the main graduation ceremony like last year, they’re having Masters students walk with their undergraduate counterparts according to school on the main graduation day. I can’t begin to describe how stupid and even insulting this is for Masters students who deserve a little recognition of their own. But, as luck would have it, I am scheduled to golf that day as well.

* * *

I’ve just about received all open submissions back to me in one form or another. So I declare next weekend (after the golf scramble) Great Revisionist Weekend. I’ll rewrite some history while I’m at it – just like an English major.

Thank you for dropping by, patriots.

-j

I Hate the Blogger Font Size Button b/c It Never Works

By definition, small and medium cannot be the same size. Otherwise, all bras would be labeled "bra" instead of [insert letter of the alphabet that most fulfills your fantasy]. If a bra's contents do not excite you, my apologies. I'm two posts away from blogger jihad.

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Originally, this little nectar grove of cyberspace was supposed to have more of a literary bent, and I’m determined to follow through on that mission. Unfortunately, I cannot blame the deviation on anything noteworthy: just classes and associated projects. Longer tax season hours, two nights of classes a week, and two-three additional nights of homework / reading, made me treasure whatever free moments I could spare. Which means mindless entertainment like basketball or computer gaming. While warmer weather will certainly encourage more golf outings, that’s a tad more relaxing than career-enhancing (seriously) than HRM. So after the upcoming weekend, expect to see more blog posts related to literature, poetry, and theoretical crap that only dorks like myself, B, and Daya can appreciate.

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I do have one poetry related question though: Why is Mark Irwin so popular? For his popularity, his work seems to be missing that essential ingredient that makes me take notice. I’m not crying generic, and he is definitely a talented poet, but his poems just seem unremarkable.

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If you like good music, you owe it to yourself to check out the following bands (I provided myspace accounts for your listening pleasure where I could):

FGFC820
And One
Panzer AG
Derma-Tek

Don't tell me you're going to listen. Go listen, and then tell me how sorry you are for not listening sooner. And then shower me with accolades.

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I desperately miss being in an active intellectual / literary community. Most of Marshall is akin to a post-apocalyptic wasteland of Abercrombie & Fitch zombies, though the English department seemed to be a dim bastion of promise. (Says quite a bit about my MBA, I know.) I’m very envious of B in that regard as I miss the classroom catfights / discussions and just having the sense that I wasn’t the only well-read individual in a 100 mile radius. Wait, that can’t be true with Wal-Mart’s cornucopia of books . . . Heck, OU even has a golf course on campus.

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Hippiecore slut was the best term I’ve heard since Nintendocore (Horse the Band).

-j

Stupid Hippies

Happy Earth Day!

Today, retarded hippies around the globe can celebrate all their brainless and uneconomical ideas to end world pollution. Related to this, one of B’s classmates, who Daya said should have been miscarried, sent around an email / petition stating that all coal mining should be halted. Granted, if we lived in a Utopia, we could all use our smiley face solar panels to capture the sun’s energy and power our Candyland-esque society. But this, sadly, is not the case. As soon as someone can explain to me we’ll replace all the jobs and energy created by the coal industry, I’ll listen. Because, unfortunately, even if we farm the entirety of North America, we’ll only meet 12% of our gasoline demand and 6% of our diesel demand. Hmmm, now hippies may not mind going without cars or other vital industries, but I’m partial to them (and bathing). And considering ethanol is questionably better pollution wise than fossil fuels – and this is REALLY questionable when considering clean coal – I just don’t buy the arguments of stupid hippies (and the Democrats who fall into that camp. As much as I like you, Mr. Gore, you’re wrong on quite a bit, not because you’re paid to be or anything).

Now, I’m not some cold-hearted capitalist – everyone who reads this blog should know better – but I don’t believe in wasting billions of dollars in subsidies on biofuels that won’t make a dent in our energy needs, can’t be competitive on their own, and/or don’t reduce GHG emissions by any great measure. Yes, the government has a moral obligation to support biofuels because of their potential environmental benefits as well as their ability to replace exhaustible resources, but ethanol and biodiesel probably aren’t the answers. Yes, there are biofuels under development that are far superior to ethanol and biodiesel, but don’t tell the farm lobby.

Geeze, look at what these Earth Day hippies cause me to write. And no apologies if you’re a hippie.

* * *

Acceptance from The Akros Review came in my inbox. Yay!

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For the first weekend in awhile, most of my efforts will be going toward relaxation. I haven’t written a poem in almost two months, but I’m still holding out until all of my schoolwork is officially done. Probably sometime next week.

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Not much else at the moment. More insight, wit, and overall genius later.

-j

Although My Return Was Not Foretold

First off, I am alive, which I’m sure is a relief to all four of you that read this blog. And B is doing excellent as well. Unfortunately, we’ve simply been overwhelmed with school / work lately, and it’s been difficult to find the time / motivation to blog. And, a week before Spring Break, B told me that I couldn’t write any poetry for two weeks (b/c I was supposedly very foul about my writing), and given that time off, I just never got back into the habit. But with the urging of Daya, I hope to begin posting regularly again.

* * *

Being just a few years removed from staying in a dorm and attending classes regularly, the VT events struck a chord with me. As I’m sure the case is at most schools, Concord would have been woefully under-prepared had such an event occurred. There would have been no escape from the dorms or from most classrooms because of the way they were constructed. Plus, both B and I know a few people from that area, and while we’re not sure if they’re still attending VT, it does make the issue a little more “real.”

But that’s bothering me more than anything at the moment – aside from the obvious fact that some nut-job decided to kill 32 people (he doesn’t count) – is the media coverage. The grieving isn’t and can’t possibly be authentic: I can’t imagine having to suffer through such a tragedy with cameras and Matt Lauer around every corner. While some details have come out about the shooter’s motives, the media acted earlier as if the event were all the more horrendous b/c the killer hadn’t left a note. Something about the killer’s silence made things more ominous according to our beloved media. If the shooter didn’t have a voice, how could these events have possibly happened? Of course they’re wrong, but that’s nothing new. What’s true is that the killings themselves were the only authentic / real event that occurred that day, and now with the arrival of the media, authentic / real grieving probably won’t be able to occur for vast amounts of the student / faculty populace. Yeah, I know this sound very Baudrillard, but his words seem apt at the moment. It's all a spectacle.

* * *

I haven’t been able to do much, if any, pleasure reading thanks to class demands. B bought me Pynchon’s newest (and it will be my first of his), a book by Vonnegut, and a collection of Benjamin essays for my birthday. Plus a space empire video game for my dorky side. I’m looking forward to reading all, though most of all the Pynchon who I’ve read great things about.

Of course, I’ve bought a few poetry journals here and there: Lungfull, Denver Quarterly (congrats to LT for placing a poem in there), and Fence just recently. I received contributor copies for The Eleventh Muse and Forklift, OH as well. Both volumes are superbly done.

I’ve had a little good news on the poetry front: 42opus, Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression, Kulture Vulture, and The Sierra-Nevada College Review have all accepted some work in my absence. There have been some kind notes too, most notably from jubilat. Of course, there have probably been double / triple the rejections, but those are the odds I suppose. The good thing about not submitting anything for the past two or three months is that I’m getting everything back and can revise accordingly. I’m thinking about sending a few actual paper submissions once school ends (for good) this May. I’m looking forward to seeing where Palsy Aria actually stands stylistically and how significantly I’ll revise the poems that have been returned to me time after time. I do want to get started soon, though, as there are a few publications whose reading period ends mid-May.

* * *

B and I are trying to decide where to take a little vacation. Right now, Charlottesville is holding our interest (no, not b/c of you Rach). There’s a goth club nearby as well as a Shakespeare theater over which B is drooling. It’s supposed to be a replicate of the Globe Theater in Britain. Hopefully Charlottesville, being a college town and all, would have something of interest other than Rorty.

* * *

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters was freakin’ awesome as Carl might say. The opening sequence where the members of Mastodon are animated as a pretzel, nachos, etc. was one of the funnier bits I can remember. The whole movie is fantastic if you’re an ATHF fan.

* * *

Legal Environment final tonight. Better sneak in some studying while work is quiet. Have I mentioned that group work should be outlawed forever?

Love to all my peeps,

-j