Ded Space

Ways to celebrate poets!

2011-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

From poets.org!

30 Ways to Celebrate

	Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day The idea is simple: select a poem you love, carry it with you, then share it with co-workers, family, and friends.

	Read a book of poetry "Poetry is a response to the daily necessity of getting the world right."

	Memorize a poem "Getting a poem or prose passage truly 'by heart' implies getting it by mind and memory and understanding and delight."

	Revisit a poem "America is a country of second acts, so today, why not brush the dust off these classics and give them a fresh read?"

	Put poetry in an unexpected place "Books should be brought to the doorstep like electricity, or like milk in England: they should be considered utilities."

	Bring a poem to your place of worship "We define poetry as the unofficial view of being, and bringing the art of language in contact with your spiritual practices can deepen both."

	Attend a poetry reading "Readings have been occurring for decades around the world in universities, bookstores, cafes, corner pubs, and coffeehouses."

	Play Exquisite Corpse "Each participant is unaware of what the others have written, thus producing a surprising—sometimes absurd—yet often beautiful poem."

	Read a poem at an open mic "It's a great way to meet other writers in your area and find out about your local writing community."

	Support literary organizations "Many national and local literary organizations offer programs that reach out to the general public to broaden the recognition of poets and their work."

	Listen on your commute "Often, hearing an author read their own work can clarify questions surrounding their work's tone."

	Subscribe to a literary magazine "Full of surprising and challenging poetry, short fiction, interviews, and reviews, literary journals are at the forefront of contemporary poetry."

	Start a notebook on Poets.org "Poets.org lets users build their own personal portable online commonplace book out of the materials on our site."

	Put a poem in a letter"It's always a treat to get a letter, but finding a poem in the envelope makes the experience extra special."

	Watch a poetry movie"What better time than National Poetry Month to gather some friends, watch a poetry-related movie, and perhaps discuss some of the poet's work after the film?"

	Take a poem out to lunch "Adding a poem to lunch puts some poetry in your day and gives you something great to read while you eat."

	Put a poem on the pavement "Go one step beyond hopscotch squares and write a poem in chalk on your sidewalk."

	Recite a poem to family and friends "You can use holidays or birthdays as an opportunity to celebrate with a poem that is dear to you, or one that reminds you of the season."

	Organize a poetry reading "When looking for a venue, consider your local library, coffee shop, bookstore, art gallery, bar or performance space."

	Promote public support for poetry"Every year, Congress decides how much money will be given to the National Endowment for the Arts to be distributed all across America."

	Start a poetry reading group "Select books that would engage discussion and not intimidate the reader new to poetry."

	Read interviews and literary criticism "Reading reviews can also be a helpful exercise and lend direction to your future reading."

	Buy a book of poems for your library "Many libraries have undergone or are facing severe cuts in funding. These cuts are often made manifest on library shelves."

	Start a commonplace book "Since the Renaissance, devoted readers have been copying their favorite poems and quotations into notebooks to form their own personal anthologies called commonplace books."

	Integrate poetry with technology "Many email programs allow you to create personalized signatures that are automatically added to the end of every email you send."


	Sign up for a poetry class or workshop "Colleges and arts centers often make individual courses in literature and writing available to the general public."

	Write a letter to a poet "Let the poets who you are reading know that you appreciate their work by sending them a letter."

	Visit a poetry landmark "Visiting physical spaces associated with a favorite writer is a memorable way to pay homage to their life and work."

Wisconsin Our Egypt?

2011-03-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/09/wisconsin-gop-plan-advance-anti-union_n_833796.html

Republicans can rejoice, their cost cutting measures have at least in the short term succeeded.

Apparently it's a good idea to remove rights of workers to bargain for their wages.

Although not all rights were stripped in the ram a jamma bill passage, unions were tossed out with fewer powers.

But heres' teh thing, it get the unions battle for wages, and that the wages they are currently represent in the Madison crisis pertain to the public sector, which means tax payers.....and budgets. Yet when do we balance the '400 people earn more than half of America' vs. giving people the right negotiate better wages.

To obad we couldn't have had a better dialogue about it.....

How do you hide 75K people?

2011-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Funny how little attention this has received from the media. Sure, just a bunch of jobs on the line, and heck, Americans protest/picket all the time.

But when you get 20-70K (I don't know what the real numbers are, but it's huge), you'd think someone would take notice?

Thank goodnesses for social media or millions of people wouldn't be interested in some exceptionally ludicrous actions by money hungry Republicans.

Back to Rhetoric

2011-02-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

I'm still hearing more and mroe people whine about being 'attacked' for rhetoric.

Conservatives are picking up steam with their bitching about liberals attacking them for being the 'cause' of the Arizona shooting.

The vast majority of Democrats don't believe there's blame for Republicans (if I can break it down in this fashion.)

To play the victim in this time of tragedy when you (conservatives) have in their very DNA foundations of violence is a bit asinine.

Can we please move on to see how we can be better in our conversations/disagreements and less about playing victim?

that's how we'll get better, not by crying wolf.

Spending, Debt, Economy. More or less?

2011-02-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

As I was reading some tidbits on the economy just after the SOTU I started hearing more from liberal groups on the need to spend more.

In some people's minds it's important to spend more money to increase the output of the economy before reigning back spending.

Those same folks think spending in these times is more important, critical if you will, then reducing the debt.

Maybe I'm just a bit more conservative in my economics, but America is literally at a crisis, we need to REDUCE SPENDING!

This will hopefully come in a variety of forms from reduced spending in the military, to efficiencies in governement (reorganization).

We need to save, spend less, and cut back.

The market will correct itself (plus there's plenty of arguments stating that the existing bailout didn't work as we had hoped). Throwing more money out the window isn't the answer.

Tighten your belt, stop living in excess, and, I dunno, start a business that employs a bunch of people.... that's ag ood start to help.

But don't go out and rack more debt.

Bankruptcy Stats Point to Economy in the Future and the Past

2011-01-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Obama is getting it from Conservatives (not th ebright ones mind you). They are lampooning him for not doing enough to save/help the economy. It's important to inform current policy on the economy, but it's quite another to expect a miracle.

Here's what I'm thinking after taking a look at some bankruptcy stats the other day for the state of California.

Bankruptcy stats do two things, they show the past and the future.

The show the past, as in the data is a reflection of the health of the economy today as a result of everything that's been going on prior.

BUt they also point to the future, filing stats are an indicator of problems to come.

So take for example the period between 2007-2010, or even before. If you chart data for say San Diego you notice that there was 5-10% increase every quarter every month years prior to the 2008 economic collapse.

People were having major troubles with their homes years before the crash occurred. The stats reflect that in the number of filings.

However, the numbesr didn't slow (no recovery yet). Only now, end of 2010, are the numbers tapering off, but Chapter 7 and 13 filings (what you and I would file for) are still hitting record highs.

Check out this graph:

All this to say that to expect Obama to fix 8 years of Bush problems in two years is asking a bit much. But, what do see, that in fact in two years we ARE seeing improvement, and by 2011 end we'll likely see a reversal of bankruptcy claims (although that could be that nobody has a house anymore......)

Let's keep things in perspective and honestly asess what's working in our economy before throwing ideas under the bus.

Bankruptcy stats from San Diego Bankruptcy Attorney C. Chen.

Was the Arizona Massacre a Result of Conservative Rhetoric?

2011-01-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

The Arizona massacre gave America a stark reminder: despite our differences, we should be able to disagree through our words, not through heinous and evil acts against our public servants.

Only an equally odious individual would condone such attacks--attacks on the very fabric on our nation.

I remember watching TV as the evenst that day unfolded. I remember quite clearly the sheriff's press conference where he first commented on the the 'vitriol' in political discourse.

I was a bit shocked to hear that type of candid response.

He was right. In a way.

Politicians and policy makers are too busy firing increasingly pathetic remakrs against each other. Sure, conservatives have the scales tipped in their favour when it comes to the volume of violent metaphors, but liberals aren't excluded.

But did political rhetoric really cause the attacks? Many are asking the same question.

Yes.

Yes, they did because the terrorist who did this got his ideas from somewhere.

Do we blame 'conservatives'?

No.

I doubt any politician or policy is to blame. Perhaps a role somewhere down the line, but in reality, it's too easy to blame angry people who really have no connection to the event .

It does make us ask a tough question. How far do we have to go with our words before we notice a bit more humility in our speech may transform our nation over threats and condescending word wars?

Beginnings

2011-01-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

We're about to embark on a journey. The political climates in North America, particularly in the United States, has changed vastly in the past decade. The previous Bush Administration did well to create a climate where conservatives of all shapes and sizes felt their America was only America with big guns, lots of wars, no fags, and no healthcare.

Anybody who disagreed was/is a socialist.

Today, despite a two party system that essentially revolves around the center of the political spectrum, the divide feels like it's never been wider.

Join this blog on a journey through the political spectrum and let's muse about so-called 'liberal' leanings.

Cause as we all know, healthcare for all is evil <-- sarcasm.

You Betch

2008-11-17T14:24:00.000-08:00

Mccain Fails

2008-10-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Roger Simon at Politico: Pissy McCrankypants needed a miracle. He didn't get one.

Instead, the American public heard angry attacks from McCain.

Sometimes McCain attacked directly, and sometimes he attacked sarcastically, but he never stopped attacking. And he never rattled Obama.

“I admire so much Sen. Obama’s eloquence,” McCain sneered. “Sen. Obama, who has never traveled south of our border.” (This from a man whose running mate got her first passport last year.)

But McCain didn’t just attack, he also defended, including those people who attend his rallies and those of Sarah Palin who have shouted nasty and threatening things when Obama’s name is mentioned.

“Let me say categorically that I am proud of the people who come to my rallies,” McCain said. “I am not going to stand for anybody saying that the people who come to our rallies are anything other than patriotic citizens.”

Obama responded to all this — what else? — coolly.

“I don’t mind being attacked for the next three weeks,” Obama said. “What the American people can’t afford is four more years of failed economic policies.”

For McCain, the biggest impact of the debates was visual: In the first debate he refused to look at Obama, in the second debate McCain appeared to careen around the stage and in this last debate McCain would scribble furiously with his Sharpie as Obama was talking or else smirk in response to what Obama was saying.

Like a petulant, spoiled little brat. Just the qualities we need in a preznit!

No chemistry, no trust, no chance, no how

2008-10-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Highly regarded NBC Political Director: "Looks like Cindypills' pharmacist will be extra busy real soon"

Commenting on a new joint interview with John McCain and Sarah Palin, NBC News' Chuck Todd described the Republican ticket as lacking cohesion, chemistry, and trust.
But they look great!

Todd, who was remarking on the interview conducted by NBC's Brian Williams, speculated that the candidates had come to the realization that "they are losing" the campaign, and guessed that McCain may have begun to hold his vice presidential choice responsible for his dwindling White House chances.

Since blaming the media and most of America hasn't gone over so well.

"When you see the two of them together, the chemistry is just not there. You do wonder, is John McCain starting to blame her for things? Blaming himself? Is she blaming him?" asked Todd. "And maybe they don't feel they can win right now, so they are missing that intensity. That was the thing that struck me more than anything. You almost wonder why they wanted the two of them sitting next to each other."

Funny, McInsane called her his "soulmate" not all that long ago. How fickle. Fickle and erratic.

McInsane's pandering and fearmongering major turnoffs, sez conservative paper

2008-10-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sullivan reports that the "real America" Idaho Statesman 'is the latest right-leaning paper to endorse Obama. One critical reason? When picking a running mate,' Obama did not choose an inexperienced, vicious airhead from North Bumfuck who jumped into the national political scene lying her ignorant, hateful ass off.

The Idaho Statesman on the Obama statesmanship:

[W]e cannot dismiss what we have seen and heard during the long job interview that is a presidential campaign. Obama has earned our trust and our support.

When picking a running mate, Obama made a solid choice, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. Biden gives an Obama administration a seasoned hand on foreign policy and a 36-year Capitol Hill veteran. For all the seductive campaign rhetoric about the value of an "outsider," the reality is that Obama is helped by having a running mate who can deliver results.

McCain countered with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who energized the GOP's conservative base and wowed many Americans with her speech at the Republican convention. Since then, though, the [repulsive, knuckledragging ignoramus] has not convincingly shown she is ready for the White House.

Though she is ready for a position on a Faux Nooze morning show.

McCain made a splashy but impulsive pick designed to court voters. Obama made a smart pick designed to build an effective governing team.

The editorial also goes on to say that while McThuselah certainly has experience, Sen. Obama offers something more. Something that doesn't involve kissing Drinky the Disasterhole's stupid chimpy ass for the past eight years.

[T]he Illinois Democrat has shown American voters something more subtle, but something more important. He has demonstrated the superior intellect and the calm command our nation needs now.

This is incredible. We may actually be seeing the start of people* finally saying "we have had enough."