Last night's meeting

The meeting went well. I had to step out for a few minutes to set some chairs up in our meeting room and those in attendance worked on a couple of group poems.

Unititled #1

I read a book I didn't enjoy
so I went to the store and bought a toy
but on my way back I saw a boy...
and jumped for joy
and said, "my, you're a pretty boy, aren't you?"
but he was ugly, so it wasn't true
but, feeling kind, I smiled and said, "You look blue."
A delightful grin crossed his his lips and he spoke,
"Why yes, I believe I am...
and I'm feeling a little green, too."
"You're green because you're hungry," I said,
"would you like some soup?"
"No," he replied with a gleam in his eye,
"I'm hungy for you!"

The smile never fading from my lips, "Well then, here I am for you."

Untitled #2

Straightening pictures, reading stories
writing books, laughing out loud
punching girls, punching boys
I love writers club.

Dancing to tones, singing to songs
goofing off, always off subject
alliteration and digression.

Locking ourselves in cupboards,
cubboards of inspiration
questinable inspiration
but joyful nonetheless.

Ah, the joyful wonders of insanity
because everyone here is insane
(there's no excuse)
except Ed
(although we doubt that at times).

Meeting this week

This is the monthly reminder that our monthly meeting is right around the corner. Don't forget we are meeting this Thursday at 6 pm. That will be Thursday, September 28th at six pm. I'll be there...will you?

Reading reading reading

I've been reading a collection of Harry Turtledove short stories called "Counting up, Counting down" for the last few days. My favorite story by far has been one called "After the last elf is dead." It's set in a world much like Middle Earth and it's a "what if" story. As in, what if the Dark Lord wins? Good fun.

We haven't discussed that too much on here. Anyone doing any fun reading that's not school work?

Photography Contest

By the way, gang, there's a free online photography conest sponsored by a friend of a friend that gives away actual prizes. It's called The Everyman Photo Contest and it is what it says it is. It is open to anyone that is not a professional photographer. I recommend giving it a shot. It really is a lot of fun and it's free and you get your photographs posted on a professionally designed webpage.

Martha Gellhorn

Have any of you guys ever heard of this lady? There's a biography that came out recently that I am going to read some day. Fascinating lady. Here's an excerpt from an interview with the woman that edited a recently published book of Gellhorn's letters. "People thought of her that way a lot, and it made her very, very angry. If someone had the temerity or foolishness to bring it up, she would just get up and leave the room. She used to say, "I was with him for eight years, and married for four. I've lived a lot of other lives." I was telling someone recently I've written about Martha Gellhorn, and it seemed to draw a blank. I said, 'She was a writer and a war correspondent.' Then, with huge reluctance, I said, 'She was also married to Ernest Hemingway,' and the person said, 'Ah, of course.' And I could just see Martha sending a rope down from above."

Q: What is it about a mouse's brain and the universe?

A: They are strangely similar. I thought you guys might get a kick out of that. I would think that picture would appeal to the writers, drawers and math whizzes.

"New" Tolkien

According to this story Christopher Tolkien has finished a work by his father and it's going to come out soon. I'm not too crazy about projects like this. Except for the Silmarillion I have avoided all the posthumous releases of Tolkien. In general, I am not a big fan of any writer finishing another writer's work or writing new stories in another's universe. Although when the main character's in Robert Heinlein's "Number of the Beast" briefly stayed Lewis Carroll's Wonderland I thought is was wonderful. A double standard? No, I think not, more of a homage. Anyone have an opinion on this?

Just thinking

This is my week for my evaluation here at work and every year we have to come up with goals. I thought that maybe, just maybe we could start some kind of a literary website that we would be the editors of. Mind you, this is in the very early just-thinking-about-it stage but I wanted to see what you guys thought of it. This would be even something our long distance members could join in with us. Is it an old idea that has run its course online? Would it be too much work? Shoot me some early thoughts on this.

Flight Delayed
You stole my heart
With one innocent Grand Gesture
Before disappearing
Into an infinite plane.

I've never used so many math terms
Until I had to make you understand.
Even now I must look them up,
Though the connections are clear.

Pi equals Pie equals Poe equals Darkness
Equals Me plus You equals Love.
The equation is simple.
Do you care/dare/swear to solve it?

Your plane has doubled back
And deposited you at the beginning;
But now I myself have travelled off
Without ever moving on.

I shall return
(And hope you do the same)
When desperation and cold winds chill the heart
And only the Holly and the Ivy are green.

Never mind the presents
With bows and hearts hung high;
You're the real reason
I'm counting the days to Christmas.



The events in this poem are purely hypothetical, and should not be taken to represent obsessions the author may or may not have.

ETA: I just realised what the title could be taken as, considering the date. I did not mean it that way, but if it adds meaning for you, go for it.

Howdy

The October meeting has been moved up a week. We are going to meet on Thursday, October 19th instead of the 26th. The board of elections is holding their early voting the following week and we can't meet in the room because they will have voting machines locked in there and that is top secret stuff and we're not allowed near it. We are doing the same thing in November since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth week of that month. Our meeting date in November is the 16th. September is unchanged. We will be meeting on the fourth Thursday as usual and that date is the 28th.

Crikey

One thing you can say about the passing of the Crocodile Hunter is that at least he died doing what he loved: harassing animals in the wild.