WRITING: Thrilled to Announce…

Posted on March 31, 2009 by susan

…the publication of Steve Ersinghaus‘ new hypertext Poem, That Night, in the 10th Anniversary issue of  Drunken Boat.

Congratulations to a fine poet and friend.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: Stimulus

Posted on March 31, 2009 by susan

Basically I don’t believe in stimulus packages because under the current economy, most folks either use it to pay bills or to save it in case of potential need. And, via taxes, we’re going to have to pay it back in the future anyway as the government sinks itself into debt.

This newest idea is even stranger and less likely to stimulate anyone to buy a steak instead of hamburger much less grow back a stable global economy (yes, global, since most of what we buy isn’t produced in the U.S.A. any more).  As explained by this CNN Money article this morning,

“As a rough guide, singles eligible for the credit might get between $10 to $15 per paycheck if paid weekly; for those married filing jointly, they’re likely to see an extra $15 to $20.”

And this:

“Lower-income workers may not make enough money to have taxes withheld once their exemptions are taken into account. So they won’t see any extra cash in their paychecks. But they may claim their full credit when they file their 2009 tax returns next year.”

Besides the fact that it’s a drop in the bucket when a waterfall is needed, it also seems to be yet another waste of taxpayer money. While most of us could always use that little bit extra, if we’re still fortunate enough to have a job, it’s not a necessary extra right now. It seems to me that the people who truly need the money are the ones who just lost their jobs and I’d just as soon forego the $15 to insure that someone who’s having trouble paying his mortgage on unemployment compensation or about to lose that benefit has the appropriate help from the government taxpayers instead.

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REALITY?: Gaming Perks

Posted on March 30, 2009 by susan

NOTE: I sincerely apologize to Jeremy Szanton, for my commentary, now deleted, about his father’s death. My (mis)information was based on what I’d heard fifty years ago as a child and I sincerely regret any distress this must have caused him and his family.

So, “The finding raises the prospect that people with amblyopia, which affects contrast perception, could be treated with games. A trial has begun to test that theory.” So states an article in New Scientist.

I was a child with “lazy eye” and still today, can make my right eye wander off on its own by concentrated effort. But I was raised in a different era; threatened by my pediatrician, Dr. Szanton, with the prospect of an eyepatch, I did my eye-strengthening exercises. Eventually, the lazy eye was under control.

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REALITY?: Skillet Night

Posted on March 27, 2009 by susan

At least once a week I don’t have a clue what I’m making for dinner until it’s time to start it. That’s when I start opening the refrigerator, the freezer, cabinet doors and take a run down the cellar to check the shelves and come up with either one of two meals: soup or something in a skillet. Tonight’s looked good enough to photograph and tasted much better:

032709r

Large shrimp (from my younger days, these are what I would call small, and those tiny canned shrimp I’d’ve called krill) started it off with garlic in hot Fra Diavalo oil, cumin, ginger, dill, and oyster sauce. Then some mushrooms, a can of oysters, and some shredded cabbage last minute just before the sauce is thickened. Served over rice with saffron flavoring, it was yummy.

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: How to be unpolitically correct and still be president

Posted on March 27, 2009 by susan

032709caI love this, from the BBC News:

“It is a crisis caused and encouraged by the irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes,” the president said, “who before the crisis appeared to know everything, but are now showing that they know nothing.”

Well there ya go. Now we know who to blame for the fall of the global economy.

(Couldn’t resist including his photo, taken from wikipedia. He’s such a big brown-eyed teddy bear.)

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REALITY?: Well if it isn’t one thing, it’s another…

Posted on March 27, 2009 by susan

Interesting article in the New Scientist that intimates that if the global warming don’t get ya, a plasma storm will.  Interesting article here: Space Storm Alert: 90 Seconds from Catastrophe.

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WRITING: Tunxis Writers Festival (Correction)

Posted on March 27, 2009 by susan

Evidently, despite what the website notes and information received, the 6th Annual Tunxis Writers Festival is open to the public and it looks to be an interesting and informative day for writers. Here’s the schedule:

Tunxis Community College – 271 Scott Swamp Road – Farmington, CT

Wednesday, April 8

8:00 am – 9:00 pm

6th Annual Writers Festival

During this all day event, we’re proud to offer an amazing slate of speakers who will talk about the challenges and rewards of writing and publishing in today’s market.

8:00-8:30            Continental Breakfast

8:30-8:45            Opening Comments by Dr. Cathryn Addy, President Tunxis Community College

8:45-9:45            Gilbert Gigliotti

Professor and Chair of the English Department at CCSU, and author of A Storied Singer: Frank Sinatra as Literary Conceit and the editor of Sinatra: But Buddy I’m a Kind of Poem and the forthcoming Ava Gardner: Touches of Venus.

10:15-11:20        Denis Horgan

Veteran newspaper columnist, blogger, editor and author of fiction and non-fiction, including Sharks in the Bathtub, Flotsam:  A Life in Debris, and The Dawn of Days

11:50-1:00          Joel Derfner.

Author of Swish, My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever.  Harvard graduate with a degree in linguistics, his work for the musical theater has been produced in London, New York, and various cities in between.

1:25-2:30            Poetry Slam – Open to anyone who would like to read their poetry

3:20-4:30            Jan Coffey

James A. McGoldrick and Nikoo K. Coffey McGoldrick write under the pennames of Jan Coffey, May McGoldrick, and Nicole Cody.  Their books include The Puppet Master, Trust Me Once, Twice Burned, The Deadliest Strain, The Project, Silent Waters, Thistle and the Rose, Tess and the Highlander, Marriage of Minds.

5:10-6:20           Frances Gilbert

Gillian Collins writes books for young children under the penname of Frances Gilbert.  Some of her books include Goodnight World Outside, Elephant Blue (poetry), Celeste and Regine in the Rainforest,  Turtle on a Summers Day,  a math poems book A World of Numbers.  Recently completed a novel for adults entitled Where Is She Now?

6:40-7:40            Linda Garmon

Four-time Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, and director of documentaries. Her films, including Coma, Secret of the Wild Child, and The Truth About Cancer have appeared on several PBS series, such as NOVA and the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, as well as on ABC.

7:45-9:00            Regina Barreca.

Professor of English at UConn, is the bestselling author of They Used to Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted , Perfect Husbands (and Other Fairy Tales), Sweet Revenge: The Wicked Delights of Getting Even, Untamed and Unabashed: Essays on Women and Humor in British Literature, Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful and Babes in Boyland: A Personal History of Coeducation in The Ivy League.  She is also a columnist for The Hartford Courant.

Location: Various locations around Tunxis. Pick up a program guide when you arrive.

For more information, contact Patrice Hamilton at phamilton@txcc.commnet.edu or 860.255.3753

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REALITY?: White House Spam?

Posted on March 26, 2009 by susan

Missed the high tech online town hall movement today with the questions for President Obama coming from folks just like you and me so I started reading the reports of it and stopped at this:

“And with more than 100,000 questions submitted to the White House Web site for the forum, it gave the administration a significant number of e-mail addresses for future outreach and the next campaign.”

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LITERATURE: The Unconsoled – Story

Posted on March 26, 2009 by susan

This is sort of Twilight Zone-ish in that something’s going on that the town all knows about and is plotting for while the narrator is rather oblvious to the situation.

Even before Jakob Kanitz had finished speaking, a low assenting murmur had started up and more than one person had pushed reproachfully the shoulder of the young councillor–by this point shamefacedly shuffly his feet. Jakob Kanitz’s departure from the stage had been followed by a few seconds of awkward silence. Then, steadily, conversation had broken out around the room, with everywhere people discussing in serious but calm tones what should be done once Brodsky arrived. (p 129)

The reader is by now aware that the town’s life more than livelihood is, by tradition, dependent upon a singularly exceptional musician. Evidently they have made mistakes in some of their choices, and all must be replaced eventually by nature’s own course. These people are wined and dined and fine-tuned by at least a contingent of officials during their period of reign.

Yeah, that’s Twilight Zone if not Stephen King and the Corn Queen.

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POETRY: Goodbye

Posted on March 26, 2009 by susan

How do you say goodbye in Spanish?
Seeking from the rolling r’s
a pillow for the words,
syllables that trill and spill
like petals falling
from a rose.

How do you say goodbye en español?
or for that matter,
French?

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WRITING: Update on Writers Conference

Posted on March 25, 2009 by susan

Usually I check links immediately but it was taken right off the flyer–unfortunately, it was wrong and I’ve corrected it in the post and here, for the Wesleyan Writers Conference.

In checking, I happened to notice that there’s some nice diversity of genre: graphic novel, weblogs, digital media, and ‘new forms of story.’

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REALITY?: Connections

Posted on March 25, 2009 by susan

With the advent of social networking and late flu season, I recall with a smile a great little company I worked for many years ago. Bob, Nancy, and I–and sporadically a manager if he could survive us (we drove two of them out of their minds)–worked in the advertising department. This was separated from Sales by a doorway where the V.P. of Marketing, the sales manager, and a few secretaries had their offices.  Mary was from Sales, but she was located in our area and rightfully one of ‘us.’ We kept putting the separating door up on its hinges every morning and every night, the V.P. would have someone take it down. Obviously, since we put it up in the morning and maintenance worked at night, we were the ultimate victors.

During one Christmas season one of our outside sales staff was stricken with Hepatitis and aside from the seriousness of that bad fortune, it became the talk of the office and suddenly everybody on the other side of the door was loudly proclaiming their worry since they were at the vice president’s party (to which we were obviously not invited), making lab appointments and taking off to their doctors for the next week.

We, of course, felt badly. Not for them as much as for ourselves since we stuck out like sore thumbs for not being possibly afflicted. So we made up our own cover. For two days we anxiously discussed our concern and upcoming test results for syphilis.

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HYPERTEXT & WRITING: Relative?

Posted on March 25, 2009 by susan

Very disappointed to see that not only is hypertext or any other form of new media not represented at the Tunxis Writers Festival this year, but that the public is not being offered the ability to attend this community college function. Odd, at a college that’s ahead of many in stepping over the edge into the New Media field by offering two courses devoted to New Media, and many others such as Digital Animation that apply.

Maybe this all goes back to Dene Grigar’s essay on how hypertext, et al, is presented at the academic level, Electronic Literature, Where is It?, and whether it is a discipline unto itself or if its relationship to Literature, etc. is undeniable.

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EDUCATION: Follow the Yellow Brick Road…back.

Posted on March 24, 2009 by susan

With the economy turning things upside down and the remedies themselves changing the playing field, many folks find themselves switching plans and directions out of necessity. From today’s msnbc, “Experts expect fewer manufacturing jobs, more health care work”:

This summer, Swank hopes to complete his Ph.D. in organizational management and leadership, shutter the metalworking shop he has run for 20 years and, if things go according to plan, take a teaching job.

I can’t help but hope that more of the stimulus money goes towards production of product though. Instead of forcing people, many who have decades of experience and skill in their fields, to compete with a younger more technically savvy work force, focusing on keeping factory skills inside the U.S. borders would be a major step in the right direction. And while many jobs transfer into health care administration, education, and construction, it’s not always a simple fact. Engineers with expertise in the design of  cars and airplanes are not automatically qualified to start building bridges and roadways, just as an Algebra instructor wouldn’t be expected to do as great a job in teaching Shakespeare.

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WRITING: Writers Conference

Posted on March 24, 2009 by susan

Got the flyer in the mail the other day on the Wesleyan Writers Conference which is scheduled for June 14th-19th this summer. It appears that there are a couple of new speakers and instructors and I’m sure it will be another exciting affair for writers to mingle, learn, get critique from experts, and keep up on the happenings in today’s world of writing.

For more information, visit the Wesleyan Conference website.

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