tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70511602012-02-16T23:48:48.683-05:00"I understand floods and earthquakes, and the urge to step on ants." <a href="http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=6680&amp;poem=192788">- Margaret Atwood</a>d.e.g.noreply@blogger.comBlogger4501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-10868579955183550112011-03-01T13:59:00.000-05:002011-03-01T13:59:34.396-05:00

Ok, I'll admit at the outset that there are apps I can buy which will let me post to Blogger from my iphone. And I could just sign onto blogger in the web browser on the phone. But blogger (I'm pissed off so I'm done with capitalization for these guys for now) really doesn't have just a simple app for uploading photos or leaving quick posts? I've got problems with this for several reasons. Of

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-61715796898198756892011-02-21T22:04:00.004-05:002011-02-22T00:49:00.864-05:00

Earlier tonight we went to hear Eileen Myles do a reading from her recent novel, Inferno. I haven't finished the novel, but read a few chapters and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. The book itself is beautiful, even as a paperback.Our house is full of books that I should read, that I want to read, and this one is a new addition which wouldn't have been able to demand my attention normally.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-16406929916734222422011-02-18T15:21:00.001-05:002011-02-18T15:27:17.158-05:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-68701199547628868922010-12-13T00:01:00.004-05:002010-12-13T00:52:15.962-05:00

I bought a Toshiba Satellite about 4 years ago. I've put it through hell. It has gone to sea with me on terrible little long-line vessels from Hawaii and on crab boats in Alaska. That little piece of electronics has been dragged around in a backpack back and forth across the country and functioned in sub-optimal conditions. Salt spray and shitty, unreliable power sources: it keeps on ticking.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-1455342882650150642010-12-06T13:43:00.003-05:002010-12-06T14:01:35.791-05:00

I wish that I didn't find this so unsurprising. But then the whole point of the defense of marriage act and don't ask, don't tell and prop 8 and all that other bullshit was always exactly this: gay people do not matter as much under the law. Same point that jim crow laws were trying to make about black people. Is it constitutional? Of course not, but who cares as long as it stays on the books

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-13437376798285787512010-08-31T12:39:00.004-04:002010-08-31T13:58:09.831-04:00

The last couple of years, I've been working on boats and traveling quite a bit, so I've pulled back on some of my political fire and brimstone that marked my musings on this blog for the first few years (how long have I been doing this now?!?). I've liked backing off and not staying quite so fired up all the time, but I'm not really conditioned to stay too demure for too long. One thing that is

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-29445699731700048672010-08-20T11:25:00.003-04:002010-08-20T11:41:27.631-04:00

I've been constantly on the move the last few years, dividing my time between New York and Hawaii and Alaska with a few side trips here and there. I've got to finish a contract out in Hawaii, but home base has shifted southward from Brooklyn to Athens, GA. Ben is going back for his ph.d and I'm going along for the ride. My writing has been sporadic in all this flux and I'm feeling the insanity

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-46064230890635545772010-08-04T19:56:00.002-04:002010-08-04T20:05:10.148-04:00

"The sad part to me is, I thought we were supposed to be able to exercise our rights of free speech," said Emmer. "We're supposed to celebrate the fact that we have different perspectives. And it doesn't seem like that's what this is about. This seems to be more personal and we've got to get over that."This is a comment by the republican asshat that target just gave 150,000 bucks to in support of

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-86519401425833499362010-03-29T00:27:00.003-04:002010-12-06T14:31:22.202-05:00

At the root of things, I’m a taxonomist. My only talent lies in identifying things, naming them. We call prostitution the oldest profession, and maybe it was the first paying gig, but it wasn’t first job in the Garden. Adam’s first task was to name, so perhaps my obsession with what things are and what to call them shouldn’t seem too strange and certainly isn’t something new. I am not one of

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-84783674778650681972010-03-29T00:22:00.002-04:002010-03-29T01:31:00.662-04:00

This list was started a year ago when folks were listing their “15 most influential albums” on Facebook. John and Nicole had both listed theirs and I always want to play along, but as always had to obsess over it first. Just making a list without any explanation wasn’t working; more than explaining to anyone else, I found I had to pick through my list and work out for myself why each album

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-26763318852391448252010-03-29T00:18:00.001-04:002010-03-29T00:20:44.323-04:00

it should be notedhow the sunlit (orsometimes grey) morningsaround the table -waitingfor you to finishmaking grits, others drinking their coffee towake up, me probablyalready drinking a beer-are missed, whenI wake up alonewithout a planfor the day.in our fullhouse you neverhad to look for a partnerin crime, you justhad to wait forone to wakeup or come home.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-68102885303498547342010-03-10T20:32:00.002-05:002010-03-10T21:23:47.546-05:00

Just a quick short post about where I'm at right now to clear my head a little bit. I'm in Dutch Harbor for Opilo crab season. I can't really complain, because I'm on a great boat and everything has gone pretty smoothly. Except the ice. So I'm finding myself spending longer in town than a trip would have taken and my season drags on. I wasn't too keen on being away from home this season in

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-72984039375959226982010-02-17T18:38:00.003-05:002010-02-17T18:43:41.653-05:00

In the last post, I mentioned most of the gay bars that I’m very familiar with, but there are a few other places of note (bars and otherwise) that should be mentioned before moving on. If you continue away from the hullabaloo walking down Bourbon St., you come to an area where the streets go at different angles and don’t quite line up the same way after you cross Esplanade Ave. Welcome to the

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-56318628936182778172010-02-12T20:07:00.005-05:002010-02-14T09:58:02.223-05:00

When not in Alaska, I pick up various odd jobs. One of the gigs which has come my way via the dazzle employment network is helping change out the window display in a 5th avenue store. Working late into the night during the last window change, we were discussing going out in different cities around the country and I found that I had something to say about the nightlife in every town we named,

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-50578934207115612382010-01-15T12:58:00.006-05:002010-03-10T17:40:27.278-05:00

Earlier this week, I got on the computer to find that Ben had left open an article from the Advocate.com, "Gays vs Democrats". Reading the article, I got a sinking feeling. I've been complaining that the gay community has been ill served by the myopic focus on specifically "gay" issues while neglecting to build alliances with potential allies. I'm certainly not the only person who has commented

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-25726313022644426952010-01-12T04:10:00.001-05:002010-01-12T04:13:37.784-05:00

I was too angryto say goodnight when mymother said itto me eachnight without failduring those yearstrapped and confusedin my adolescence,so I simply repliedan abbreviated “ ‘night.”The omission wasnot unnoticed, butshe never stoppedsaying, “Good night.”or “I loveyou” even whenI replied only,“You too.”She wasn’t whyI was angry;it was thatage, the trappedsituation, the peopleand the hellthey formed

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-14621220806585247782009-12-24T15:46:00.003-05:002009-12-24T16:21:05.672-05:00

I didn't know the man who sold peelers at Union Square had died. He always made me smile when I saw him. I've got one of his peelers in my kitchen drawer.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-58160718286617169462009-12-20T13:47:00.002-05:002009-12-20T14:44:56.049-05:00

Perhaps I am arriving late to this internet discovery, but at a friend's birthday party this weekend I was pointed towards the blog Missed Connections. Or more specifically towards this post: Phoenix With Crutches.The illustrations are gorgeous and whimsical and punny. All of them make me smile and laugh a little, but this one in particular melts my heart just a little bit. "I would love to

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-14077021904728839362009-11-24T15:14:00.001-05:002009-11-24T15:14:58.111-05:00

There is something cringingly jolting when you find yourself embarrassed by someone you revere. I can't shake that feeling right now having just finished Payback by Margaret Atwood. This isn't to say that the book isn't brilliant and that I'm not going to recommend it to friends; it is and I am. The book overall is full of that casual genius that so much of her work teams with. There is that

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-58123585430524000662009-11-24T15:09:00.000-05:002009-11-24T15:10:00.053-05:00

I bought Red Claw by Philip Palmer at the airport, wanting something fun to read. It looked like it would fit the bill and I liked how the cover felt. I’ll spare any detailed analysis about why this relationship didn’t work out, but I just can’t see it through. 67 pages in is as far as I go. It is embarrassing and distracting in that same way a Clive Cussler novel is: you can feel the author

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-28551184617065071232009-11-20T00:57:00.001-05:002009-11-20T00:57:02.802-05:00

The Folding Star was already sitting on our shelf at home and had caught my eye earlier in the week, so when John recommended it, it secured a spot in my duffel bag library. This would not be my first tangle with Alan Hollinghurst. Back when The Line of Beauty won the Booker Prize, I kept hearing it's praises being sung and seeing gushing reviews, so when I saw that my boss had it one day at

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-68670912922693381192009-11-14T02:32:00.001-05:002009-11-14T02:32:39.275-05:00

Mrs. Turpin is Hoyt's mother from True Blood. I couldn't help but picture the character in the story the same as the character in the show, but the funny thing is that I don't think this is something new from having watched the show. I think Hoyt's mother is the way I've always imagined this character. I think I've watched the show and wondered where I'd seen that actress before and now I

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-62696308098111931062009-09-17T20:06:00.005-04:002009-10-07T09:44:58.774-04:00

(written a few weeks ago; I've been slow to publish these days, but I've been thinking and arguing along similar lines in the run up to the big gay march in D.C. so maybe I should put this stuff out there finally.)I just when to advocate.com to see what kind of political coverage we are getting from them. I've been doing this a lot lately. My eye was caught by the headline "Clinton Blames the

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-41691476014642899382009-08-26T15:21:00.003-04:002009-08-26T15:57:17.530-04:00

I have moved into a new apartment.My name is on a legal document with a significant other (who is not Mason).I turn thirty two this weekend. I keep thinking I'm turning thirty three.A hurricane named after me is set to hit (ok, at least brush) New York for my birthday.My bowl is broken; I did not go crazy. Maybe just a little crazy, but not much.My cat has learned how to spoon.Orchid blooming

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-79695997094205898402009-08-26T14:16:00.003-04:002009-08-26T15:04:16.438-04:00

(this was written weeks ago. I am safe and secure in a new abode. I apologize in advance for my melodramatic musing.)I have not bought a one-way ticket to Mexico and I am not hitchhiking vaguely towards the western openness and the liberating/dangerous adventures offered by unplanned time in arid and alpine expanses. Equally surprisingly, I have not crawled head first under the covers of a

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-33153728447416884842009-08-04T08:58:00.003-04:002009-08-04T09:47:47.457-04:00

I've been letting some of my political rage simmer. It is summertime and I've got a beautiful community of people around to love enjoy the (occasional) sunshine with. But I'm still just as pissed off at all the stupid.Among the more odious things happening at the moment are these asshole teabaggers trying to shout down townhalls meant to be opportunities to discuss healthcare reform. Over at

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-25690454132643868552009-07-24T14:39:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:39:34.011-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-70287936889599757072009-07-23T14:34:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:39:54.134-04:00

in the flower garden at McKarren Park.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-84439578010465091002009-07-22T14:27:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:40:20.355-04:00

inside a box truck.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-83134495880326924872009-07-21T14:24:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:41:34.033-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-4383188285783533482009-07-21T14:22:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:42:00.414-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-33936030701481616132009-07-20T14:40:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:42:25.367-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-18947319784715146372009-07-19T18:09:00.003-04:002009-07-19T19:15:31.468-04:00

Catapult built with brothers and cousins at the family reunion.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-15957191988353207622009-07-18T14:51:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:43:16.698-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-37676476625079597572009-07-17T14:54:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:43:39.200-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-34550486514113657952009-07-10T14:21:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:44:13.687-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-36048853671649739632009-07-10T14:09:00.000-04:002009-07-11T12:44:38.377-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-21391147352555096962009-06-29T10:07:00.003-04:002009-06-29T11:44:13.893-04:00

I'd rather be writing about Michael Jackson at the moment. Instead, I'm greet by this first thing on this beautiful Monday morning. The day after the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, I've got to wake up to the news of police targeting a gay bar on this anniversary and assaulting patrons? WTF? Really?!?!?I've of two minds on this: 1) This isn't surprising or shocking. The idea that

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-20535940874789318732009-06-25T19:40:00.002-04:002009-06-25T19:55:10.419-04:00

wow.There is a longer, more thoughtful post somewhere in me that will come out later, but for now let me simply express disbelief. And sorrow. He might have been crazy and something of a monster, but he was our monster. I'll elaborate on this idea later (note that I don't mean it as a criticism, or perhaps as more of a criticism of us than of him), but for now, I need a shower and another beer

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-43868953699942853062009-06-17T14:44:00.001-04:002009-06-17T14:51:11.205-04:00

For reals.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-13585765236700541892009-06-12T09:31:00.003-04:002009-06-12T11:50:36.064-04:00

I'm not the biggest fan of the HRC. At least here in New York. The national organization is mostly just concerned with the issues of wealthy gays who already have a lot and want more. It is a bit too corporate and plastic, sort of a collective attempt at best-little-boy-in-the-world ("If I'm smart/pretty/talented/happy/rich enough, then they will like me!"). On a local level, I feel like they

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-55876065745866801662009-06-10T14:05:00.003-04:002009-06-10T14:07:42.035-04:00

on subway advertisement; 1st Ave. stop on the L.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-89428460136389795152009-05-27T15:33:00.001-04:002009-05-27T15:35:33.643-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-52300963713024875462009-05-22T15:30:00.000-04:002009-05-22T15:30:00.987-04:00

Central Park

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-24405599910163508722009-05-21T15:28:00.000-04:002009-05-21T15:28:00.762-04:00

in Central Park

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-13574541611037562152009-05-20T15:32:00.000-04:002009-05-20T15:34:21.804-04:00

Central Park

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-1855457316689615382009-05-20T15:24:00.001-04:002009-05-20T15:27:59.412-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-41506028623335429662009-05-15T13:49:00.001-04:002009-05-15T13:49:00.199-04:00

(written earlier in the year while still at sea...)I can't stop listening to "Oh, Heaven Isn't Real" by David Karsten Davies. I'm listening to it mindlessly, drawn to it because it is so happy and cheerful. Something about it is just absolutely joyous.I'd be lying if I said there wasn't something in the sentiment which also draws me to it.Sometime last week I listened to a podcast of Fresh Air

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-41257115372070152812009-05-14T13:19:00.000-04:002009-05-14T13:19:00.195-04:00

(written earlier in the year while still at sea...)I don't normally go in for horror or gothic fiction or movies. It just has never been my thing, but I think I've just gotten my hands on the wrong stuff. I might actually have inside me the makings of a decent enthusiast of the darker, creepier side.Earlier I wrote about Neko Case tingling my spine and making my hair stand on end and lamented

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-6241891913855245082009-05-13T13:16:00.000-04:002009-05-13T13:16:00.373-04:00

(written early in the year while still at sea...)I've already established that I like sad songs. This is just a short moment to comment on the latest which is breaking my heart into little pieces. It is nothing new that I'm listening to Dolly Parton. Love, love, love her. Anyway, I've lately been giving her another listen to and "Mountain Angel" snuck up on me and punched me in the tear ducts

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-56493180484719935452009-05-12T13:52:00.000-04:002009-05-12T13:52:00.947-04:00

(written earlier in the year while still at sea...)Neko Case is not a new discovery for me. Granted, everyone else found her before I did. She came to me as so many musical discoveries do: on a mix cd Mason made for me. I can't remember which one, but on it he had put "Deep Red Bells". At first it only sort of caught my attention, but then there is that moment when she asks, "Where does this

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-32143005259071358022009-05-11T15:59:00.000-04:002009-05-11T15:59:00.298-04:00

Redwall by Brian JaquesI had fled the boat in a hurried rush after being woken from an attempt to catch up on sleep by the stinging difficulty I had trying to breath as our boat was enveloped in a cloud of ammonia released from the cannery. As you can tell, the day started auspiciously. My retreat had been made to the comfort and wifi access of the lobby at the Grand Hotel, where I discovered

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-26857873266468781662009-05-08T14:28:00.001-04:002009-05-08T14:31:26.937-04:00

(written while still at sea earlier this year)A few thoughts upon reading the March 5, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone:1) On the cover and in the third picture in the article about her, Taylor Swift looks like Stevie Nicks (in a very good way). In the other pictures shot for the article, particularly the second one, she looks like Chris Crocker. Really.2) In her Q&A interview, Stevie Nicks looks

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-83241485972844086972009-05-08T11:06:00.005-04:002009-05-08T11:37:18.641-04:00

pipevine swallowtails (Battus philenor) sunning in dry creek bed; Short Mountain, TN.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-44323057271059116202009-05-08T11:04:00.000-04:002009-05-08T11:06:46.118-04:00

by a stream, Short Mountain, TN.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-17451457310219372222009-05-07T15:54:00.004-04:002009-05-07T15:58:27.500-04:00

I'm officially certified as a crab observer for ADF&G! They sent me a hat and a lollipop to prove it.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-1136902808597128042009-05-07T14:56:00.003-04:002009-05-07T15:01:12.619-04:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-63211582849243979032009-05-07T09:32:00.003-04:002009-05-07T14:04:20.744-04:00

This will sound disingenuous, but I don't normally watch the hills. Everyone says that, because even if you like watching the show it is impossible to not know that it is a horrible thing. Watching it is bad, that it exists is bad, that people produce something like this is bad. I've been unable to justify its existence at all, at least until last night. I may finally be able to make a (

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-67911777802311263632009-04-23T10:58:00.003-04:002009-04-23T11:13:18.118-04:00

I've just made two technological leaps, though both feel like unwilling concessions rather than great jumps forward.First, I joined SecondLife, the online digital world. This makes me feel like an uber geek, and not entirely in a good way. I don't have the time or patience for really getting into it, or at least those time when I would, like when I'm out at sea, I won't have internet access.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-1551671033328705222009-04-18T15:07:00.000-04:002009-04-18T15:07:00.363-04:00

taken on Feb 3, 2009, flying from Dutch Harbor to Anchorage.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-40494729840377177602009-04-17T10:59:00.000-04:002009-04-17T10:59:00.694-04:00

one side...and the other...

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-25559097384113413512009-04-16T10:16:00.000-04:002009-04-16T10:16:01.034-04:00

photo of a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-7937595900875552542009-04-15T20:11:00.002-04:002009-04-15T20:16:15.462-04:00

taken while climbing to the top of a mountain on Unalaska with Mary and Doug to go snowboarding. Ok, actually they were going to snow board, I was going to slide down in one of those plastic sled things that looks like a garbage can lid. Taken back in February.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-71395604601778253632009-04-15T15:15:00.003-04:002009-04-15T15:43:13.383-04:00

If you haven't already seen her, go now. Wow.I would normally never blog about anything that I see as a headline on MSN, but today needed some good news after getting off to a frustrating start. I read two descriptions of this performance before seeing it, and both of them drummed up the cynicism of the judges and audiences before Ms. Boyle starts singing. That is fair enough, since it is

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-84219655082157719282009-03-09T07:46:00.001-04:002009-03-09T08:25:43.195-04:00

So I finally watched Y Tu Mama Tambien. People always assume I've seen it and when it came out, all my friends saw it. But I've put off seeing it. I didn't intentionally avoid it in the theater, but I miss most things in the theater unless Ben drags me there. Not that I don't like going to see movies, I do; but it just usually isn't what I'll chose to do unless someone else tips the decision

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-5529944724051436792009-03-07T10:22:00.000-05:002009-03-07T10:22:00.933-05:00

turning over stonesis the first skilli was taught.i know thatsnakes and blackwidows wait beneath.that is whyrocks are rolled.we look fordangerous things totake our breath.that, and rolliepolies to makeus laugh.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-75730478791223679492009-03-05T10:02:00.000-05:002009-03-05T10:02:00.679-05:00

Language is meant to communicate, to get a point across. Perhaps also sometimes just to get something out, to express, to release some of that steam that builds up behind our eyes. We can be utilitarian in our language, try to say exactly what we mean in direct tones with simple meaning, but more often than not our feelings are more complicated than that. This is where we get into art and

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-39670533388497443492009-03-04T01:53:00.000-05:002009-03-04T01:53:00.151-05:00

Happy Birthday, Rhodesia!

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-11955715586618247242009-02-28T13:05:00.000-05:002009-02-28T13:05:00.657-05:00

I write to think. As I subject thoughts to the textual exercise, I'm able to hone down ideas and get to sharp crisp points and shiny bright edges. Until I start writing, I'll get caught in loops and trip over ideas and things stay in a big gloppy mess.More and more, and perhaps somewhat disturbingly, I write to converse. Is talking to yourself any less ridiculous when you write it down?

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-9362139773477299442009-02-26T22:24:00.003-05:002009-02-26T22:25:52.677-05:00

in an attempt to be two places at once and break my bad habit of glutting this blog with tons of reading and then going through silent droughts, I'm scheduling delayed posting while I out at sea this trip of things which I wrote during the last trip. Hope you enjoy...

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-36961381928665039512009-02-26T22:18:00.002-05:002009-02-26T22:22:08.800-05:00

Most of what I've heard about this movie before is from Kearney, because he is from Nashville and has talked about loving it and growing up with people talking about it and knowing people who were extras in it. He recently told me of being confronted with his early perceptions being a little askew. When he had seen it before, he had associated most closely with Opal, the journalist from the BBC

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-51438829917288793362009-02-26T22:16:00.001-05:002009-02-26T22:18:32.785-05:00

I just watched Robert Altman's Nashville. Ok, so everyone else on the planet has seen this movie already, but I have a special knack for not having seen all the things that everyone else has seen. I'm slowly catching up on my quota of pop cultural touchstone movies in my time in floating prisons.Prior to this, the only Altman movie that I know I've seen (I'm sure somewhere along the way I've

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-38440918766813568372009-02-15T22:21:00.001-05:002009-02-15T22:28:07.018-05:00

Finally headed out.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-87220004772504138102009-02-14T18:37:00.003-05:002009-02-14T18:50:58.481-05:00

(This was written on a boat quite some time ago, I believe right before coming back to New York last summer, so it isn't exactly indicative of my current mind set -I am much less melancholy- but I like the ending. I don't think I've posted it before -couldn't find it in a quick search- and thought it might be an appropriate Valentine's Day post. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!)if any sentence

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-73173775055726093012009-02-07T22:16:00.003-05:002009-02-07T22:41:29.522-05:00

I keep telling this to myself. It is one of those horrible aphorism thrown about by busybody aunts who chide any complaint and encourage guilt, but I might be one of those people kind of people deep down. I don't particularly encourage guilt; I'm more in the camp of perpetual re-analysis for results and reshaping future actions accordingly, but none of the handwringing over episodes that one

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-78026101007550380002009-02-02T10:28:00.002-05:002009-02-02T11:57:49.395-05:00

...but the best thing about being trapped on a boat is all the books I get to read when there is no phone that can ring, no email that can be checked, no happy hour calling my name.And I promise to write more this go round.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-23364232593438751582009-01-20T13:36:00.003-05:002009-01-20T16:10:09.013-05:00

I almost titled this "and so it ends...", but sided with forward momentum and letting this be the capital letter at the beginning of something new rather than just punctuation at the end of our sentence under bush. We have a new president!A few quick thoughts, having tried to watch it online while doing some work. I got to see most of it, just not always synched up with the sound. I did

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-59303930445792215412009-01-16T15:55:00.003-05:002009-01-16T17:27:53.590-05:00

My feet are slowly beginning to thaw. I know chucks aren't the right footgear for winter cold, but so far this season they hadn't been so bad and I put on thick wool socks this morning. This was not enough.Our apartment is generally way too cool but today I just couldn't get warm in there. Our heat never really warms things up much, but with the extra cold outside it really isn't doing the job

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-31559517732201391082009-01-10T13:45:00.002-05:002009-01-16T17:37:38.564-05:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-15762036287908592892009-01-06T11:19:00.000-05:002009-01-08T11:20:12.657-05:00

(Originally written back in May)YouTube - Happy DanceOn a whim, I decided to look at William Gibson's blog, which I hadn't glanced at in more than a year. Following a cryptic link about the coolest thing in second life, I suddenly find myself introduced to Amanda Baggs."I made the mistake of doing this sort of thing in front of a psychologist." "He called it an 'inappropriate emotional display'

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-91692746496711803852009-01-06T00:19:00.003-05:002009-01-08T10:40:43.790-05:00

While in Sweden earlier this year on a business trip, my father was taught a simple yet useful trick for turning an ordinary log into a sort of stove/lantern/torch. Turn the log up on end, saw several criss-crossing cuts lengthwise taking care not to cut all the way to the bottom, add a little diesel fuel to the center, light and enjoy! He calls them "Swedish candles" and was told they were

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-49285264135704265992008-12-29T17:18:00.001-05:002009-01-08T10:43:31.273-05:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-92142789335134700482008-12-29T17:16:00.003-05:002009-01-08T10:43:09.490-05:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-25048453178368800502008-12-29T17:16:00.002-05:002009-01-08T10:42:00.527-05:00

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-78135178337526992092008-12-27T16:05:00.002-05:002008-12-27T16:12:20.387-05:00

Of all the places in my parents house, why is it that my bed is the universal choice of place to bed down for all the various cats we have had down through the years. And even if I close the door, they always find a way to get in. At least this year, Okra (my brother's cat) is a much better cuddler than Waleena (my sister's cat) ever was.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-87889930455455306162008-12-18T15:16:00.002-05:002008-12-18T15:20:54.255-05:00

(written early last year, during my second trip in Hawaii)Ok, so I may have softened a little on the fountainhead. Yes, I still think it is mostly pompous rape/cuckoldry fantasy done up in flimsy drag as radical philosophy. But it can be a reasonably readable book when it isn't busy monologuing and explaining everything.If you haven't noticed, I've been kind of hard on this book from the start.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-57425273993491069262008-12-18T15:08:00.002-05:002008-12-18T15:13:05.225-05:00

(written early last year, on my second trip in Hawaii)I don't know if I am going to make it. I really don't. I'll put down a book because I think it is wasting my time or I'm just not in the right frame of mind to digest it at the moment; normally not a problem. But this isn't just a book which sucks, this is a book which sucks and has a rampant following of people who felt led to adolescent

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-30928068183012643412008-12-18T15:00:00.003-05:002008-12-18T15:08:50.859-05:00

(written early last year, on my second trip in Hawaii)On my first trip, I headed to sea with far too few books. I didn't think this when I left; the weight of the books was a ridiculous addition to an already cumbersome collection of junk. But you never realize how quickly you can read books when you take away other forms of distraction. Suddenly held tight on a boat where only one other

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-82504150968205581162008-12-18T14:56:00.002-05:002008-12-18T15:00:53.273-05:00

I've been away at sea for a few months so I've been a little quieter than I would like. And my laptop cord bit the dust early into the trip so I have less written word to share now that I'm back on land but I'm putting up what I've got. I'm also going to put up some back log, things written in the further distant path but which never made it up here for one reason or another. Hopefully amongst

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-72448934535445089622008-12-18T14:40:00.002-05:002008-12-18T14:44:50.110-05:00

(also written at sea, sometime in October)If I could walk up on deck and take flight, would I? Where would my wings take me?I want to say back to you, straight to New York as fast as I can fly. I'd fight the frigid winds and work my way across a continent back into your arms, the arms I'm missing so vividly right now. But we live in the time of choices. Choice and ability are the blessings of

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-21394751068560019672008-12-18T13:50:00.003-05:002008-12-18T14:39:06.805-05:00

(written earlier in the fall, somewhere at sea)"It will not be enough to say I love you. I know you have heard it before."I love you. Those words were not worn out two thousand six hundred years ago. Are they worn out now? Perhaps, but not by repetition, but by strain." from Art & Lies by Jeanette WintersonOn a whole, I didn't enjoy Art & Lies as much as I had other Jeanette Winterson

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-25568753363466258972008-12-18T13:46:00.001-05:002008-12-18T13:48:58.048-05:00

(Written sometime in October, somewhere in the Bering Sea)I might try my hand again at fiction in November. Why then? Not exactly sure, but it seems a good month for such an undertaking. November has always been my ill-placed month of rebirth. October scours me clean and in November I rise anew. Why these months over any others? Wouldn't it makes sense for my rebirth to be at New Year's,

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-19017359509199411462008-12-18T13:41:00.000-05:002008-12-18T13:43:20.156-05:00

(this was written in early October)Fishing in the Bering Sea is not like fishing long-line off Hawaii. It isn't the weather that marks the greatest difference; it is the isolation or lack of it. Dutch Harbor itself feels cut off from the world because it is small and the people there are mainly there for one reason: fishing or somehow supporting or profiting off the fishing fleet. And internet

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-48248062485466958132008-12-18T11:11:00.002-05:002008-12-18T12:35:02.108-05:00

I'm back from the provinces, however temporarily. Much to write about and hard to decide where to start, but before I scramble through a backlog of impressions from Alaska and crab fishing, I'm struck by an annoying bit of news that keeps popping up in headlines and irritating the shit out of me (and what is this blog for if not for griping about current events?).It seems that richard warren is

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-70236363157102597582008-11-23T16:59:00.001-05:002008-11-23T17:02:55.700-05:00

on land briefly, and back out to sea one more time before a much needed break.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-50780439650663698892008-11-08T16:54:00.002-05:002008-11-08T17:05:23.134-05:00

Shortly after leaving land the last time, my computer cord decided to go kaput. So no solitaire, no watching movies in my bunk, and most tragically no writing. So my blog output, already sparse, will for the time being be even more limited. Power cables are hard to come by in backwater locals such as this. Hopefully there will be one waiting for me when I return.The upside of this is that I

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-70916424397615048012008-10-24T07:15:00.000-04:002008-10-24T07:17:31.059-04:00

I haven't actually written that much about politics this election cycle. This is surprising only if you happened to have read this blog back in the beginning, before the last election. It originally was mostly politics. And not particularly demure political commentary at that. I started writing with hopes of expanding in to thoughts about all kinds of topics, but the first couple of years

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-34599572673303975342008-10-24T07:05:00.000-04:002008-10-24T07:08:09.760-04:00

Just got finished watching The Last Mimzy. Not to give too much away, but the movie is basically about a couple of kids who do drugs. Their parents freak out, then their science teacher and his girlfriend start doing drugs too, but they can't really handle the shit like the kids. Their parents finally start tripping, but by this time the kids have stolen a van and started hitchhiking so they

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-57549048132891810692008-10-24T06:20:00.001-04:002008-10-24T07:05:34.049-04:00

Fishing in the Bering Sea is not like fishing long-line off Hawaii. It isn't the weather that marks the greatest difference; it is the isolation or lack of it. Dutch Harbor itself feels cut off from the world because it is small and the people there are mainly there for one reason: fishing or somehow supporting or profiting off the fishing fleet. And internet access is slow and not so easy to

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7051160.post-86854926519896487272008-10-23T16:34:00.002-04:002008-10-23T16:48:50.885-04:00

...but only for a short while, to be counted in hours, part of which must be spent working. My time at sea was lovely and I am in one piece and smiling.Not sure if I'll get to post any of the stuff I wrote at sea (pending getting my computer near a wifi connection), but wanted to put out just a little note that I am still alive.

d.e.g.noreply@blogger.com0