"I'm going to go back there someday"

Tonight (Thursday)
My brother Brian is the featured poet at the "The Ship" (Vernon Hotel, Kelley Square, Worcester, Ma.) starting at 8pm.

Tomorow (Friday)
I will be once again visiting WPI for their Friday Night Open Gaming (Octawedge, WPI, Worcester) starts at aprox 7pm.

Sunday
I will possibly go to Poets Asylum (Java Hut, Webster Square, Worcester, Ma.) starts between 7pm and 8pm. This week's feature is Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz.


I also need to find time this weekend to do:

• Laundry


• Visit Bank


• Christmas Shopping


• Practice Habitrail Named Klein


• Watch Dungeon & Dragons cartoon, DVD boxed set that chaoticgoodchic got me as an early Christmas Gift (she insisted that I open it early).



What's everyone elses plans?

I went to a Poetry reading last night. I had two reasons to go actually. I had decided to read my Doggerel Poem at the open mike, especially because the person it is about (Sean) would be there. It turned out not only was he there, after hearing my poem, the host had Sean read next. After he read Sean thanked me.

The second reason I was going was that Taylor Mali was the Feature of the evening. (He wrote What Teachers Make.) I was not disappointed; His piece on “Academic Poets” had the whole room in stitches. He also did Like Lilly Like Wilson.

It started on Friday when The IT dept. had an event in Boston. We went on a Duck Tour of the city & the river, then a tour of Fenway Park. Because of the event I was able to get home early.

Then Friday night I went to Phonix Rising Games to pick up a new game I had pre-ordered Cutthroat Caverns, and then I took it to Friday Night Open Gaming at WPI. It is a hack & slash game using cards instead of dice. We got in one game of it (It took 2 hours including teaching the rules) I also got in a game of Settlers.

I got home about 1 am and slept till 5:30am, when I had to get up to do a couple of loads of laundry.

After laundry I headed to Medford to help xuth move. There were roughly a dozen people there who helped with the move at one point or another. Some I know, some I barely know, and some I have never met before (I’m not going to even try listing names).

Once there was a full load on the rental truck, we went over to his new address about 2 miles away in Cambridge. We ate lunch, and then started unloading. At about 3:30 I decided had reached my limit and went to the MASSFILC filk circle which was about 3 blocks away from Xath’s new address.

The filk circle started slow, but ended up one of the largest housefilks I had been to. I am sure part of the reason was this MASSFILC meeting was their election of officers. Joe Kesselman stepped down as president and victorthecook was elected by acclaim. Also announced at the meeting happyfunpaul is the Interfilk guest at Conchord 2008.

I brought 1 new song and 1 new poem to perform at the filk circle. I ended up doing both early before the crowd arrived. The poem did a bit better than the song. Later in the evening someone played a seasonal song, and I thought of the perfect follower, but I didn’t have it prepared; so I went online, looked up the words, plugged my headset into the PC and listened to the recording (I have all my filk CD’s backed up on my PC). I then performed the song and it was not bad. A couple of people even joined in. This brings me up 8 song/poems I feel comfortable performing in circle.

Sunday I crashed, I had hoped to make some progress on my paintings, but I had misplaced some of my tools (I spotted them this morning as I was leaving the house.)

In some ways I feel like this weekend was practice for Pythonacon next weekend.

Futons are lonely

But last evening I slept

With windows open

My youngest brother is living the Bohemian lifestyle.

He lives in a house in Boston (J.P.) with 7 other guys. Each one is a poet, musician, painter, or a combination of the above. A couple of them work at a gourmet food shop (Formaggio Kitchen) in Cambridge, some of the others work for local restaurants; so they have employers who will feed them when money is tight. On Friday nights they have performance/parties at their house.

Brian (my brother) is The Poet of the group. He has been doing poetry readings, and poetry slams for a little over a year now. Last Wednesday he won a place on the Cantab Lounge 2007 Poetry Slam team which will compete in the nationals in August. So far he has read his poems in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Nevada, Texas, and Vancouver B.C.

I was there to watch him compete Wednesday night. He warned me that one of his poems was about watching drug abuse destroy some of his friends. However his other poems, which touched on moments in his life that I was actually there, were much more significant to me.

As many of you are well aware, my youngest brother Brian is currently in Vancouver B.C. competing in the 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam.

On Wednesday the iWPS had 2 "Last Chance Slams" for final qualifications

On Thursday at 2pm they had the "Bout Draw" where competitors were matched against each other at random in preliminary rounds (there are 72 poets competing).

Thursday night they held Bouts 1 thru 6

And so far they have posted Nothing Whatsoever on the site.

I can't even find out who won the "Last Chance Slams" on Wednesday. ^&*(!@#$

Wondering who he is up against, and how he did, helped make yesterday a very frustrating birthday.

Trudging through hip deep snow,
Every step faced with the question;
Do I go on, or give up and go back?

Snow slips into my borrowed boots,
Every step they threaten to slide off
Will they stay with me, or be lost under the snow?

I come across a cleared path
Every step feels effortless now
Inspiration rarely appears when I’m standing still.

I keep talking about my brother Brian, and his poetry.

The reason I do this is that he is really good.

While I admit I am biased, other people seem to agree with me because last night HE WON the Cantab Lounge Finals, to represent Boston at the Individual World Poetry Slam competition in Vancouver B.C. next month.

Sunday I decided that I needed to deflate my ego a bit. I went to a local coffeehouse that runs a Poetry Slam. This was my 1st time slamming, and only the 3rd time I had read one of my poems in public.

I did hear 1 person say "wow" after I finished, but my scores were terrible.

On the other side of the coin: This Saturday my brother Brian is in the finals for a chance to represent Boston in the Individual World Poetry Slam 2007 in Vancouver, B.C.

The Finals are at the Middle East Nightclub in Cambridge if anyone is interested.

Saturday December 2nd. Doors are at 7. Showcase including Regie Gibson, Jme, Sou MacMillan, and Caroline Harvey starts at 8, and SLAM starts at 9pm. Tickets are $12

I truely appreciate advice and feedback. Even stuff I don't agree with, or that I am not ready to hear, lets me know that people care enough to share their opinion/feelings/experiences.

I have now reached the point where people are recommending books. So far I have had recommended to me Neale Donald Walsh on Relationships by Neale Donald Walsh & The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. I'm typically not much for "self-help" books, but I may look into those once I finish the one that has been waiting for me 2 years now.

It is (  'The Invitation' by Oriah Mountain Dreamer )

I was very impressed with the poem, and even more impressed by the real and pratical writing style of the author. The meditations are meant to help people live more thoughtfully, more intimately with themselves, others, and the world. I read the first couple of meditations, then chickened out. The author mentions a couple of times that living more fully brings changes into our lives, and we cannot control what those changes may be. I though about what "living more fully" might be like, then I though about what I had to lose. My biggest fear was that by changing the way I live my life, I might alienate my wife, and I did not want to lose her. So I put the book down.

I cannot say if continuing the book two years ago might have saved my marriage, or ended it sooner, or made no difference at all.

Today I completed the third meditation.

Read at your own risk.

( Having a broken leg sucks )

After reading some of the great writing of chaoticgoodchic & cadhla and others, I felt I had to include something of my own. Poetry is not my usual medium, but while visiting my brother who was competing in a Poetry Slam in Cambridge, these words came to me. (Yes, it was a recent event.)

( The Reading )



(On a separate note; my brother won the Spring Slam championship at the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, Ma. and is a member of their 2006 Poetry Slam team.)