Thanks for the reminder, Fandango

My showtime was 8:30.

That's okay, Fandango. I remembered all by myself and got to the theater at 6:30.

Just a question: who in the world orders so many movie tickets online that they need a reminder?

"Wait. What? I bought a movie ticket? That's right! My life is such a non-stop, coke-fueled, snow-boarding adventure, that I totally forgot I had planned to unwind tonight with Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip. Glad I got this reminder."

Clover Volume 9 now available

Last month I announced that I had two poems published in Clover, A Literary Rag (I love how the title features a comma and a modifier). That issue is now for sale on the Independent Writer's Studio Website! Click here (and scroll down to the bottom of the page) to pick one up.

Your purchase supports the fine work Mary Gillilan is doing at the Independent Writer's Studio in Bellingham, WA and beyond. Of course, you also get to read my poems.

Two of my poems were just published

So, I am pleased to announce that the journal Clover, A Literary Rag has just published two of my poems in its 9th volume--the summer 2015 issue.

Thanks to Mary Gillilan for giving "Shoveling the Walk" and "Cold Furnace" a warm place to call home as they make their first appearance in the world.

Clover is part of the Independent Writers' Studio in Bellingham, Washington. You can support Mary's efforts and see my work: subscribe.

You can also order issues via PayPal, but issue 9 isn't available yet.

If the 1980s had a tabletop card game, RESISTOR_ would be it

My friend's tabletop card game, RESISTOR_: Hacking on the brink of nuclear destruction comes to its close on Kickstarter in just a few hours. If you haven't heard about it yet, here's the promo video:

It's been a great run for Nicole and her partner Anthony, but it's not over yet. They met their goal early, and buzz about the game has been great, so they are setting a mystery prize-goal-thingee at a level four times their initial goal. Can they do it?

As I thought about this post, I realized that if there's a story here, it's in these three points:

great games are made by women but few know this,

great games can be simple,

great games don't get to be famous unless there's a groundswell of support from friends, friends of friends, and strangers--all saying, "Huh. That looks cool. I'm going to support it by buying a copy."

I was one of those early sponsors who supported RESISTOR during its first day. Word spread quickly via facebook, twitter, vine, instagram and online communication, and I thought about how much easier it is to connect with like-minded hobbyists and enthusiasts now as compared to the 1980s (the deacde in which I like to imagine these supercomputers battling it out). If you were lucky, you had access to compuserve or usenet. Most of the time, the newsletter arriving via the post office was the way enthusiasts kept in contact over vast distances. Maybe that's the point here:

Perhaps someday RESISTOR will have a digital version that we can play online--who knows, maybe we'll be reading a review by Chris Grant over at Polygon--but for now this game, that has set itself in the early days of the digitally networked world, that uses so many of the tropes that lay the groundwork for our current world in which we meet without really meeting, asks us to be in the same room to play it. It's wonderfully ironic.

I really hope RESISTOR reaches its new goal and Nicole unlocks the mystery at 40K. Heck, I hope the 705 backers turns into 7000 backers. I can't wait to see what Nicole and Anthony have planned.

I'm looking ahead to a few months from now, to the first time(s) that we all sit down to play this. I think that part of the magic of that first time will be this: all of the people that came together online to support this game, will be able to come together IRL.

And we'll be pretending to be computers trying to hack into each other. I love it.










 

The one where I tell you about poet Jill Khoury

My email gets backed-logged. If you know me personally, you know this truth. Then, some mornings, I sit down with a big mug of coffee and commit to reading every email. That's when I discover wonderful news buried in the bottom of a weekly newsletter from a company I often ignore (but shouldn't). One name among a list of recently published poets: Jill Khoury. The very cool Jill Khoury has had some poems accepted in the past week.

Who is Jill Khoury you ask? She's an old acquaintance of mine from college. Her words always carried a directness that I appreciated. She didn't take shit, yet she was kind enough to spend time listening to me jabber on those few times she was unlucky enough to run into me during my more desperate days. I've been watching her work appear here and there for the past few years, and I am excited to see her read in Minneapolis for AWP. Look for her work soon in Portland Review, Quaint, and SiDEKiCK. Look for her first full-length collection from Sundress Publications in 2016.

Sundress has a bio for Khoury on their authors page.

Here's her organized and helpful website.

These posts at Stephanae V. McCoy's Bold Blind Beauty impress me with their truth and honesty.

But what about the poems? That's the best part. Try these here and here -- and I enjoy this amusing one here.

Hire a Poet for Your Next Function

Eternally optimistic, I am not surprised that some enterprising folks are bringing poetry to the masses--and finally making money doing it.

In a Fast Company article published today with the irresistible clickbait title referencing "$225 an hour," author Elizabeth Segran describes The Haiku Guys and their "gigs." Weddings, birthdays, corporate events, you name it--they show up and work with the guests to write memorable haikus. Maybe it's a fad. So many activities at weddings and parties come and go, but members Lisa Markuson, Erick Szentmiklosy, and Daniel Zaltsman seem to have a few more tricks up their collective performance sleeves.

Yes, I would say this falls under the category of performance art--it's just not the kind of performance art mocked in popular media. And I love it--especially because it engages the audience (empowers, even?) and celebrates writing as communication tool and memento--not just part of an artifact that only has value when analyzed and dissected.

My only question, where are the Sonnet Dames?

Obviously there's room for growth in this field.

Beat the winter chill with handmade candles

As most know, the winter has been especially harsh on east coast residents this year. Boston has been buried, and while New York, Philly, Baltimore, and DC haven't had the New England snow totals, the relentless onslaught of freezing rain and annoying snow storms have made even the mightiest optimists feel gloomy. My solution has been to light candles that have been lovingly made by my brother.

He uses local beeswax and his background as an artist and researcher to create these amazing talismans against the numbing effects of this season. They smell beautiful. They make great gifts. They will lift your spirits. If you're interested in learning how candles can do this, visit his site.

Nothing like an afternoon coffee break with candlelight.