Earlier today I was walking to the Math and Computer Science Building talking a poem to myself--just sort of freestyling. Anyway, I tried to remember it after math class but you know how that goes. So I decided to scrap it and start over--but I wanted to make a piece that was completely free-flowing and untouched. This is how it appears in my notebook without alteration. Every line came right after the other and my pen never stopped moving. It was an exercise that I learned from Ellis Paul. Okay here it is:
Folk Music
It's country with a conscience.
It's Hank & Woody getting paid by the pick,
flicking the stringswith calloused thumbs
like the doorman flicks his Zippo.
It's not getting paid
playing Thursday nights to a sea of nods
and black coffee
and cigarettes.
Folk is a room with picture windows that open doors
if you sing the right words.
It's the walkin' man
with a guitar slung,
a harmonica hum.
How every man starts outa Dylan doppelgange
rand every girl lets her long hair fall over
the fretboard.
All we are saying,
All we are saying,
All we are saying is all that we have
That's why it's repeated in the refrain.
It's open
Open to interpretation
Open tuning
Open your ears,
hear the jingle-jangle,
the bottom of a tip cup,
the snap of a quick pluck.
The palm can't mute the soul
This ain't rock-n-roll.
It's grass roots
and wooden flutes
and if folk can't pay the rent, babe,
you'd better start singin' the blues.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Politically Correct Interest Survey
Al and I were talking about how fun it must be for teachers to create tests and use peoples' names for hypothetical questions. So here's a test:
1) Jose offers you a choice between the top bunk or the bottom bunk. He says that he is indifferent. Do you pick the top or the bottom bunk? Does your desicion have to do with the fear of being knifed in your sleep?
2) Melinda is selling Girl Scout Cookies for local troop number 1678525643. The boxes cost $6.00 each and require proof of insurance and a major utility bill upon purchase. Which kind of cookie do you buy from little Melinda? Remember--if she sells the most she gets to go to Space Camp!
3) Henrik is trying to figure out where to take you for dinner for your anniversary. He finally decides that he should let you pick the restaurant. Which restaurant do you pick? Will you go Dutch with Henrik?
4) You are riding in the passenger side of Lorenzo's 1992 Toyota Tercel and it really hits you that you'd like to try riding in a nice car for once. Which car do you fancy yourself in?
5) Giovanni can fit nine heads in two duffel bags. How many bags will he need to tote 36 heads? Knowing all of this, would you date Giovanni?
6) Sebastian likes to play board games. He picked last time and you both enjoyed a game of strip parcheesi. Now it's your turn. What game would you like to play with Sebastian?
7) Muhammad, Chang, and Tyrone invite you to their house party and ask you to bring three CDs. Which three CDs do you bring to get the party pumping? (Note: do not let your decision be affected by the names of the characters in this question.)
8) Seamus tells you over and over again in a really loud voice that he likes Guinness better than he likes his rat-bastard of a father. Then he scratches his ruddy beard and orders another pint. He asks what you're drinking. So what are you drinking?
9) Shirley wants to go to shopping for some clothes and pick up adolescent boys at the local mall. Which store do you duck into to spend your time in while Shirley is led away in handcuffs from a group of Boy Scouts? Why don't Boy Scouts sell cookies like Melinda?
10) Things are getting pretty heavy between you and Aloysious/Aggie. It's time to plan a perfect romantic evening so the three of you can be alone. What's the blueprint for the night?
11) Winston is screaming at the screen in the local cheap theater. He hates this "Passion of the Christ" movie! Which movie do you hate more than "The Passion of the Christ"?
12) Don't you just hate it when Sade clips her toenails over the carpet? Eesh! Is there something that's more annoying to you than Sade?
13) You and Chilton are stranded in the soup aisle and somebody needs to make a shotgun decision! Which soup is on the dinner table tonight?
14) Your friends Angel and Jing-Lang are trying to decide which phase of Madonna's career they like the most. You punch both of them in the throat.
15) Blanket asks if you'd like to have a Dum-Dum from his daddy's massive candy jar while he is still riding the mini-train out back. Which flavor Dum-Dum do you take? After you have procured the Dum-Dum, how fast do you run away?
I hope you guys do this/enjoy this. I put off sleeping to make it!
1) Jose offers you a choice between the top bunk or the bottom bunk. He says that he is indifferent. Do you pick the top or the bottom bunk? Does your desicion have to do with the fear of being knifed in your sleep?
2) Melinda is selling Girl Scout Cookies for local troop number 1678525643. The boxes cost $6.00 each and require proof of insurance and a major utility bill upon purchase. Which kind of cookie do you buy from little Melinda? Remember--if she sells the most she gets to go to Space Camp!
3) Henrik is trying to figure out where to take you for dinner for your anniversary. He finally decides that he should let you pick the restaurant. Which restaurant do you pick? Will you go Dutch with Henrik?
4) You are riding in the passenger side of Lorenzo's 1992 Toyota Tercel and it really hits you that you'd like to try riding in a nice car for once. Which car do you fancy yourself in?
5) Giovanni can fit nine heads in two duffel bags. How many bags will he need to tote 36 heads? Knowing all of this, would you date Giovanni?
6) Sebastian likes to play board games. He picked last time and you both enjoyed a game of strip parcheesi. Now it's your turn. What game would you like to play with Sebastian?
7) Muhammad, Chang, and Tyrone invite you to their house party and ask you to bring three CDs. Which three CDs do you bring to get the party pumping? (Note: do not let your decision be affected by the names of the characters in this question.)
8) Seamus tells you over and over again in a really loud voice that he likes Guinness better than he likes his rat-bastard of a father. Then he scratches his ruddy beard and orders another pint. He asks what you're drinking. So what are you drinking?
9) Shirley wants to go to shopping for some clothes and pick up adolescent boys at the local mall. Which store do you duck into to spend your time in while Shirley is led away in handcuffs from a group of Boy Scouts? Why don't Boy Scouts sell cookies like Melinda?
10) Things are getting pretty heavy between you and Aloysious/Aggie. It's time to plan a perfect romantic evening so the three of you can be alone. What's the blueprint for the night?
11) Winston is screaming at the screen in the local cheap theater. He hates this "Passion of the Christ" movie! Which movie do you hate more than "The Passion of the Christ"?
12) Don't you just hate it when Sade clips her toenails over the carpet? Eesh! Is there something that's more annoying to you than Sade?
13) You and Chilton are stranded in the soup aisle and somebody needs to make a shotgun decision! Which soup is on the dinner table tonight?
14) Your friends Angel and Jing-Lang are trying to decide which phase of Madonna's career they like the most. You punch both of them in the throat.
15) Blanket asks if you'd like to have a Dum-Dum from his daddy's massive candy jar while he is still riding the mini-train out back. Which flavor Dum-Dum do you take? After you have procured the Dum-Dum, how fast do you run away?
I hope you guys do this/enjoy this. I put off sleeping to make it!
Monday, October 10, 2005
Lyrics to Live By
Choose a Band/Artist/Album and describe yourself only in song lyrics:
Band/Artist/Album of choice: Ellis Paul--Live
Are you male or female?: "Here she is"
Describe yourself: "Like when she smiles, it's slightly out of line./It's half awkward, yet half grace. "
How do some people feel about you?: "I've come a long, long way"
How do you feel about yourself?: "You paint the picture/With colors squeezed from your hand"
Describe your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend: "The excuses get weaker/As the stories get tall"
Describe your current boyfriend/girlfriend: "Tonight will this mystery end?/ When we begin "
Describe where you want to be: "It was cold in the park"
Describe what you want to be: "The great American novel sits on top of Peter's kitchen table/300 pages on a town he built inside of his head"
Describe how you live: "You gotta get gone, you gotta get goin'/Hey the world ain't slowin' down for no one"
Describe how you love: "And she'll love like it's thirst, like she's never been hurt"
Share a few words of wisdom: "Seize the day"
I've been writing a lot lately. Perhaps I'll post a little bit later.
Band/Artist/Album of choice: Ellis Paul--Live
Are you male or female?: "Here she is"
Describe yourself: "Like when she smiles, it's slightly out of line./It's half awkward, yet half grace. "
How do some people feel about you?: "I've come a long, long way"
How do you feel about yourself?: "You paint the picture/With colors squeezed from your hand"
Describe your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend: "The excuses get weaker/As the stories get tall"
Describe your current boyfriend/girlfriend: "Tonight will this mystery end?/ When we begin "
Describe where you want to be: "It was cold in the park"
Describe what you want to be: "The great American novel sits on top of Peter's kitchen table/300 pages on a town he built inside of his head"
Describe how you live: "You gotta get gone, you gotta get goin'/Hey the world ain't slowin' down for no one"
Describe how you love: "And she'll love like it's thirst, like she's never been hurt"
Share a few words of wisdom: "Seize the day"
I've been writing a lot lately. Perhaps I'll post a little bit later.
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