Jump the shark

American Horror Story jumped the shark.
Poor Addy was hit by a car, and was even
locked in a closet of mirrors. I have to say,
I did find that scene hilarious.

The pilot was pretty creepy, but in the midst
of creepiness, the red headed twins deliver the
killer line: "We've got bats."

Everyone dies, and Tate cries way too much
for a serial killer. Burn Face wants to be an
actor and young Spock's partner is so unfaithful.

Constance is raising a little Dexter, how original, but
can I see more of sexy nurse, before she loses her eye?
And did you know that Fonzie actually jumped a shark?

Likes/ Dislikes of December

Likes: Sour Patch Candy Canes, the Karen O/ Trent Rez cover of "Immigrant Song" new singles by Shearwater and the Bowerbirds, The Tree of Life, the soundtrack to Tree of Life, ice skating at Millenium Park with JLP, Barry Hannah, Jim Goar's The Louisiana Purchase, my review of the LP, Danny's Reading Series, Adam Fell, Four Roses Whiskey, pool, John Danks' extension, D. Rose's extension, D. Rose's floater to beat the Lakers on Christmas Eve, Pujols and Wilson going to the Angels instead of the Yankees, the Marlins actually spending money, Revolution Brewery, nice weather for Christmas, the Dark Knight Rises trailer, The Hobbit trailer, getting cash as gifts for Christmas, white cheddar cheese, white cheddar mac and cheese, broccoli/cheddar soup, crown roast pork, pajama pants, Merrell shoes, Portlandia, Terriers on Netflix instants, watching the Constant and Greatest Hits on the Kindle Fire I got for my mom; remembering how great Lost was, how Desmond and Penny probably were the greatest couple in the history of television and Charlie was pretty awesome too, Justified's third season premiering in January and Archer's as well, Hell on Wheels, American Horror Story jumping the shark, neighbors

Dislikes: too fresh Sour patch candy canes, listening to the Karen O/Trent Rez cover too much, Tree of Life confusing me, Mark Buehrle going to the Marlins, Pujols and Wilson going to the Angels, no snow on Christmas,   watching the Dark Knight Trailer way too much (at least 50x), getting cash as gifts for Christmas. re-watching Terriers on Netflix and still not being able to comprehend how it was canceled, American Horror Story jumping the shark, my mom not liking the Kindle Fire, neighbors

Shot/shitgun

There is a shotgun on the wall (double barreled) 

and when it goes off, two flags will fall out

and they will read: Peyton Manning and audible

There is a shotgun on the wall

that is plastered to the wall and has a button

that when pressed, plays Take Me Home, Country Roads.

There is a shotgun on the wall

that you take down and set on your lap

and hide marbles and jawbreakers in, while listening to John Denver.   

There is a shotgun on the wall

no, above the door, and it's so long

that you have to use your toe to pull the trigger. 

Karen and Trent

Remember the first time you heard Immigrant Song (my first listening was while watching School of Rock) and were like, damn that's an awesome song? Well listening to the Karen O, Trent Reznor cover for Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is that moment but 10x better.

Bury you burdens....

There is a beautiful juxtaposition realized from listening to William Elliot Whitmore's Field Songs on the CTA. Whitemore's smoky voice trembles over a banjo and six string, and tells of stories of sorrow and regret, and the scenes outside of CTA windows tell the same. The recordings of sparrows in the background that bookend all the songs on the album oddly sync with the whisks of passing cars on the Dan Ryan. Maybe it is because I know where to look for the the desperate, homeless, in this White city, but the characters Whitemore presents in his songs are as big shouldered as our own.

Thoughts... from Lost Panoramas

Lost Panoramas is a book that explores the reversing of the Chicago River. Around that time, there was huge amounts of flooding downstate, wiping out entire towns and farms. Insurance men sent out engineers to take pictures, to access the damage (and those pictures make up some of the book). I want to write a fictional short story about this. A story about a farmer who has lost everything and is not to happy to see an engineer working for a insurance company. Not happy at all. Feeling scorned. Feeling like taking pictures of his own. I need to get my hands on Lost Panoramas and really do some research.

They made a fake Paris

with all the lights and blackened out windows,

and I need to find out what Potemkin means.

What happens to all our fake selves?

The tour guide, the thief, the pinball packager,

could all be waiting at the Gare du Nord.

Bullet ridden tickets in their hands

waiting in the combustion and tea light

where they’re off to, real or not, on the tips of their tongues.

hello tumblr

So I created this:

http://www.tumblr.com/dashboard

More quotes, links, etc. Hopefully

Lilies of the Valley

Breaking Bad's season finale ended with the camera focusing on the the pot of Lilies of the Valley in Walt's backyard, the same plant/berries Walt used to poison Brock and set off the chain events that led to Gus Fringe looking like Two Face (and adjusting his tie ) before dying. Vince Gilligan is brilliant. So is the cast. Breakin Bad is the best drama on television, bar none.

On the radio...

http://www.filedropper.com/srprogram20111007095516

Hopefully this file is accessible. It is the recording of the three pieces I got to read, along with three other DePaul undergrads: Alex, Nick and Rachel. I three pieces I read were Bookmarks, (which is in the forthcoming issue of MAKE), Missed Belt Loops and The Burning of the Bat.

Bookmarks will be featured in this snazzy magazine with its uber-awesome cover:

Listen. Enjoy. Buy the issue. Come to the release party (details t.b.a).

Waiting for Kirsten

Jens is coming

Monday, Lincoln Hall

a poem inspired by Waiting for Kirsten

I wish I could draw

a swastika in a cappuccino

or a man made of leaves or

a boy carried away by cheerleaders

 

But when I draw, my suns look like wax letter seals

and my freckles look like shadows of birds

passing by

and my eyebrows look like comets

and my comets look like eyebrows

and I borrowed that image from Jens, but

he borrowed from Berman, so it's okay

There's only now, there isn't then, so just breathe it in.

Okkervil River played at the Vic last night and tore the house down. It was my first time at the Vic (and seeing OR) and I arrived when the doors opened. I sat around for an hour, and then watched the Felice Brothers try their best as an opening act. Then came Will Sheff and the band. They started, fittingly with Wake and Be Fine, with a screen of the larger than life praying dogs, that are on the cover of I am Very Far, hanging behind them. The set list was as follows: (verified by eyegunk.wordpress)

 
1. Wake and Be Fine
2. For Real
3. Rider
4. Black*
5. Piratess
6. Song Of Our So-Called Friend
7. John Allyn Smith Sails*
8. We Need a Myth
9. The Valley
10. No Key, No Plan (acoustic duo with Patrick Pestorius)
11. So Come Back, I Am Waiting
12. Westfall*
13. Your Past Life as a Blast
14. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
15. Lost Coastlines*
16. Unless It’s Kicks (no encore, but they played through)

The great thing about the show was the mixing of new songs with old ones, and they played all my favorites(*)[Except Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel 1979, which is a difficult title to shout out if requesting]. Out of the four, Westfall is probably my favorite OR song, and it was so reassuring to hear everyone in the crowd not only sing along to "Evil don't look like everything" but all the other lyrics as well. Westfall is my favorite song, but with its subject matter, I have always felt strange knowing its my favorite. I've really grown to enjoy songs, or stories, or television shows that make me shiver ("And when I killed her, it was so easy that I wanted to do it again.") and Westfall is a perfect song example of that. Everyone also sang along to John Allyn Smith Sails, which is another a great sing-along to song, and in my opinion better than The Hold Steady's Stuck Between Stations. The things I love about John Allyn Smith Sails are that it is an accurate and chilling glimpse of John Berryman's life, the structure of the song harkens back to the Beach Boys' Sloop John B., and how that can be traced back to a Carl Sandburg collection of folk songs.

OR took a break about mid way, and only Will and Patrick were left on the stage. They played an acoustic version of No Key, No Plan and Patrick did his best to replace the lyrics Jonathan Meiburg sang so beautifully for the album (and then again for Lost Coastlines), but it was when Will sang the lyrics "I'm doing what I really love and getting paid for it" that I could not help but feel thankful for it being true, and wanting that in my future as well. Then, he sang the final lyrics, "There's only now, there isn't then, so breathe it in" and I felt more connected to a singer-song writer than ever before.

The penultimate song was Lost Coastlines, and I've never had so much fun singing la la la la.... For the final two songs, Will had the everyone in the crowd clapping and singing, and when he wasn't leading us on, he was jamming on his guitar like rock and roll stars should (the tech/roadie guy repeatedly had to come out and plug in Will's guitar). Also, twice, Will knocked down his microphone and both times the pianist caught in the coolest of fashion). Will jumped and jammed and got on the floor like how I imagine I would if I were in his shoes (I actually remember performing a dance skit with my Cub Scout group for a ceremony and we had an air guitar solo and during warm-ups I was told by Den mother not to hop around on one foot, and spin in circles, while playing air guitar, and instead just stand there pretending to shred like Slash or Hendrix, which her son was doing. Hopping around on one leg, and spinning in circle, was natural to me, and I feel that Will probably did that when he was 10. My former best friend also has video proof of this.) Anyway, Will performed like it was his last songs he'd ever sing, and the results were better than great. He started the show by apologizing for not being in Chicago for so long, and after the show he twittered that last night was the best show of tour and he'd be back soon. I'm so happy I went and I can't wait to see them again.

la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la.......

Boner Poem

Boner poem

Our relationship was becoming a garden.
By the end of summer everything was wilting
and I wanted to set it ablaze. She kept on telling
me about the pleasure she would get from squinting
at the sun and how it would become a sparkler
and I just wanted her to shut up.

I told her about this sad Stuart Dybek story, about this
character who lost his left arm, and he wondered if he were to have
a heart attack if he would be forewarned. I thought she would
agree, but then she asked "Who is Stuart Dybek"? Then I thought
about if I were to become a eunuch would I still have that feeling
of morning wood?

Likes/ Dislikes of August

Likes: Oberon, chicken nuggets, the new album by Beirut (The Rip Tide), listening to Mr. November by The National, the lyrics from that song: I'm the new blue blood, I'm the great white hope & I used to be carried in the arms of cheerleaders, Breaking Bad, Moose Drool, Stella Artois, swimming in Lake Michigan, riding my bike along LSD, EVERYTHING RAVAGED, EVERYTHING BURNED BY WELLS TOWER, especially the stories The Brown Coast and Executors of Important Energies and I haven't even got to reread On the Show yet, the Sox hanging in there, Buerhrle's defense (clockwork), Konkero hitting as usual on (one!) leg, Razzles (first candy, then gum!), Winesburg, Ohio, that path along the river where I took a picture of (what I think are) a falcon and a heron, seeing deer standing feet away while riding home from the store, home-made chex mix, the little I've read from Underworld, those Levi's commercials that have okay music, but make me feel hopeful for my generation and rebellious at the same time, Wilfred (that episode with the mom from Malcolm in the Middle), 30 Rock going to be 'GN in September

Dislikes: not cooked all the way chicken nuggets that bled fat and look they're dripping pimple puss, the lyrics:
I'm the great white hope (I feel a tinge of awkwardness when I sing it in my mock Matt Beringer voice in my head), only one more season of Breaking Bad, the Sox teasing me, Adam Dunn, those Levi's commercials that make me feel hopeful, and rebellious at the same time, but show few jeans in the actual commercial, getting a flat while riding down to the Lake, only swimming in the Lake once, too much rain, internet being out for a few days, not being able to use my labtop, the summer winding down, Starling Castro not paying attention during games, the Bears' O-line, Razzles (not really candy, and not good chewing gum)

Call of the Night

Call of the Night

I heard a flock of geese, too late into the night, while I was in a bed of too many sheets. Then, there was sound of traffic in the distance, only heard when the city lets its trains rest. The cats weren’t fucking. That was a relief. It’s a howling of the wind kind of sound, the traffic sound. It’s the same sound as when you ride those spinning tea cups at a carnival and the sounds of the murmuring crowd, the methodical cranking of the Ferris wheel, a banjo somewhere, and that laugh that makes you shiver, all seem to fade in and out when you twist and spin. Or it sounds like when you’re riding your bike and you get caught behind a street cleaner. Or when you ride in the woods and you hear a plane overheard and you’re reminded that you’re never far from a city. Then you pass a woman, sitting on a stump, crying into her cordless and you wonder if on the other end of the line it’s just the sound of traffic hung in the night.  

Captain, Captain, Oh my Captain

I saw this blurb in the Red Eye today, about how Paul Konerko is a better hitter on one knee than most players on two (Adam Dunn, cough cough). Since being hit directly in the knee cap about a week and a half ago, Konerko has been limited to DHing, which mean Dunn and Lillibridge (gulp) have had to play first, and in no way are they as near as good of firstbasemen as Paulie. Still, with one bad knee, Konerko will lead this team, as he always has. Konerko, the captain who doesn't wear the "C" on his jersey, leads the Sox who are only 4 games out with enough games against the Indians and Tiger (and them playing themselves currently) and give us hope for games in October. All of this has reminded me of Joesph's Drogos' 'So a Wounded Deer Leaps the Highest' blog post for MAKE. In the post Drogos writes about Ron Kittle, former Sox catcher, who during his career struggled with back problems (part of which led him to retire early). So, every at-bat, he would swing for the fences, and he sure could hit it far (onto the roof of Old Comiskey). Also, in the article, Drogos posts Tony Fitzpatrick's collage for the '05 Series Champs (which hangs in my room). In it Joe Crede is rounding third, and next to his right hand, Fitzpatrick writes: line drives find him like autumn bullets, bad back be damned… Joe is this city rounding third, going home.

I think there is a tradition of toughness that has defined Sox players from Kittle to Crede to Konerko. The Sox marketing guys hit it on a commercial (which is good, but their ones with A.J. are the best) that shows a tired runner in a desert. He is about to crawl when he sees Konerko, who is holding a portable DVD player. He presses play, and the video of Konerko getting hit in the jaw and then getting up and going to first, is seen (Konerko then homered in his next at-bat). The tired runner is inspired, and starts running again. Konerko  watches him run off, and turns around to see another tired runner. Konerko begins to repeat what he did and the screen cuts to the Sox slogan: All in. Konerko has always been like this, all in, even when injured. Hell, he played almost entire seasons with only one good thumb. He rarely misses games though. One of my earliest blog posts (which I wrote and days later the Times had a similar article) was about how Konerko may be the great offensive Sox player of all time, maybe the best. He could pass Frank Thomas in a number of offensive categories. With that, I argue that Konerko is a potential Hall of Famer. Thomas definitely is. Konerko won't have as many home runs as Thomas (he will be near a little over 500 most likely by the time he retires) but Konerko is a better fielder than Thomas ever was. And I think the way voters of Hall of Fame cast their ballots will change because of steroids, and many players will be left out, and Konerko is most likely squeaky clean as can be. I think Chicagoans my age are forced to believe the city is a Bears town and always will be. I disagree. I have no loyalty to the '85 Bears. Yes, they did what they did, but the Bears have sucked since. My fondest baseball memory is Paulie hitting his grandslam off Lidge in the Series, and I think it is the most iconic (even moreso than MJ hitting his game winning three, because they had titles already and it wasn't a century in the making). Hopefully Konerko will keep on hitting and Quentin and Ramirez will step up as well- the pitching has been fine. I want to see Konerko in October again, because even if he is injured, he will be all in, looking for the curveball. 

AT THE SAME MOMENT

This photo inspired this:

At the same moment...

Cheryl is sprinkling  Cherrios into her toilet for Bobby,

Ms. Carlson is trimming the edges of her lawn with a steak knife.

Karen is letting wax engulf a wine bottle, by candlelight in her grandma's bathroom,

Steve is cracking a egg into turned-over soil in his backyard.

Jean is telling the cook to start two orders before the truckers sit in their booth,

Raymond writes a science fiction comic about a haunted shoe box. 

Carved your name across three counties, ground it in with bloody hides, their broken necks will line the ditch, till you stop it...stop this madness

I've had Neko Case's 'This Tornado Loves You' stuck in my head for the past week or so. I always thought the lyrics were called your name across three counties, not carved. I think it works either way, but lately the lyrics have reminded me of this photograph my friend's father took:

The photo and song inspired the beginnings of a poem:

Let's be God or a V of geese, and look down
at the wake of a tornado and see if anything
was written in the path of its destruction.

I'm one of those music listeners who constantly listens to the same set of songs for weeks, and sometimes I think I see connections between songs and images, and sometimes songs and stories. I think I want write about those connections, but I fear they only make sense in my head.

Last Wednesday I rode down with a friend to the lake to watch the fireworks and we stopped and took this shot:

There were no Frankenstein cars across the street (A man in one of my workshops wrote a story about this exact factory/shop and how in the parking lot across the street there were half Buicks, Half Cadillacs and other creations, molded and welded together.

It was such a cool night, and it is nice to stand in this doorway and feel your face become flushed and your arm hairs tinge.

I just listened to the new Beirut album, Rip Tide. It felt vintage Beirut, but over so quickly. I wanted more. I always struggled to evaluate an album until I've listened to it both through headphones and speakers.

I've been burning through Mad Men lately; I'm almost a third of the way into the third season. I has gotten each season. Still, after watching the last 2 episodes of Breaking Bad, shit is going to hit the fan and in a fashion that I believe will always trump Mad Men.

Don Draper: Pros and Cons

Pros:                                               Cons:

Drinks while working                       Cheats on his wife while at "work"
Reads Frank O'Hara                       Abandoned his family (brother)
Watches foreign films                       Took identity of fellow dead soldier
Knows how to wear a suit                Hides his poor upbringing
Doesn't hit his children                      Is an almost absentee father
Knows how to hold a cigarette         Smokes about two packs per day

I don't often

I don't go out to eat often,
because I always end up
leaving my paycheck and
social security number for
pretty waitresses.

I don't ride my bicycle
often, because when I do
my mouth is always open
and fills up with fireflies.

I don't take baths often,
but when I do, I listen to
Chopin, underwater. And
after, I go out and people
try to chit chat with me, but
I respond, "I have water in my
ears" but it is really just Chopin.