Sunday 30 January 2011

My Year in Lists Part 3

Things I have found during a recent sweep/straightening of the corners of my bedroom, near the end of 2010/beginning 2011:

4 Stacks of American Education Services, Citibank and American Student Loan Services letters of varying relevance, addressed to the old Stanwood address.

2 of the same, but addressed to my current address in Seattle.

3 broadsides of "Genus, Species and Flavour"

7 chapbooks: readers copies of the first three, a misprint of "TWWCHNT: New Revised Standard" and three Ourosboros.

A handwrittend Shane Guthrie piece about condos (yes!)

A stack of photos from the first three months at Ty Beck.

A cd jewel case to Goodness' 1995 self-titled debut album.

3 different scraps of paper with unexplaned british phone numbers.

about 7 different copies of "When Saying Mean Things About Strangers."

Phone numbers from two different ex-girlfriends, acquired prior to our dating.

about 17 differnt crumpled up bank statements from the last two years.

Postcards from three different New York art galleries.

Chapters 1-26 of a book my Dad wrote and lent me, separately stapled and all out of order (read, enjoyed, feedback pending)

a stack of unopened letters from DSHS.

w-2a from Richard Hugo House, Vera Project and North Seattle Community College.

5 drafts of Vera Project's Powersharing Statement Language.

Notes from an interview with Trevor, intern at Vera Project, about the DJ/electronic scene in Seattle (barely legible)

A burned copy of Mastodon's "Leviathan" album (scratched)

Three unfinished Mix CDs, titles scribbled out.

9 different hastily-scribbled setlists for past poetry readings.

9,384 dust bunnies (not very bunny like)

A photo of the one time Phil Woodward came to IOI in 1999, staring at Shane in disbelief.

1 flyer for dianetics.

1 Visitor information card from St James Catholic Church (visited once)

Handwritten lyrics to "It's a Laugh" by Hall and Oates

A copy of "Big Machine" by Victor Lavalle (read, enjoyed)

A copy of "Financial Lives of the Poets" by Jess Walters (unread, probably will sell)

The last flattering photo taken of me, taken July '11 at Bimbo's cantina with Leigh, Emily, Alex and Bryan; I was looking away from the camera and sort of almost smiling. It's all downhill from there.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

My Year In Lists Part 2.

Without a doubt the finest films of 2010 were:

3-- The Duel. This adaptation of Chekhov's tale blends atmosphere and romance in a re-telling to compete with the best Shakespeare adaptations.
2-- Winter's Bone. This tale of crime and family in south-Missouri meth country builds tension throughout and features amazing understated performances that lend an authenticity to what could have been an excercise in stereotypes.
1-- Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. Debbie Gibson shines in this eco-fable wherein Mankind's great fears are unleashed upon it. Thrills abound, but never detract from the underlying metaphor. Oscars for sure.

Tuesday 11 January 2011

My Year in Lists Part 1

List number one isn't so much a list. It's sort of a list. But not entirely. That's the sort of day i'm having, so, dear reader, fuckin' deal with it.
I tallied the total and over the course of 2010, I did 14 readings. Which is like, one and an eight per month. Or something. Granted, two were at residencies where I lived (one at Warm Beach house on the deck, one here in brighton) and a couple were at Gusta's Your Hands Your Mouth readings in B'ham.
Still, that's still a solid amount, especially considering I didn't do any tours or have any new shit I was trying to make people buy. This is sort of a form of bragging, but it is also a way of feeling less generally unaccomplished in the face of various successes (both deserved and un-) around me. I tend to hold it's better to compare yourself against yourself than others. Because there's always someone doing better.
The last reading I did in 2010 was at the Lights Of Christmas coffee shop. Trying to explain the worlds-collide nature of having performance poetry at a christmas-light display in North Snohomish County is too much for right here (and would rely on way too many simplifications) but I successfully wrote some borderline-uplifting stuff that I don't hate and people dug the reading.

other than that my fave readings were: Portland: Beer and Cookies Cabaret. . . oh man. so many chocolate chip cookies and sessions lager and a film about robots and comedians and country music. Eva Suter can throw an art party.
Swansea: The Crunch . . . need I say more?
Seattle, U-District: New Crompton w/Deerseekingheadlights, My Printer Broke We broadcast this on chatroulette and there was dissonant sludgefolk and sweet noise and songs about cats.


There are way more that roughly tie these, but I don't want to screw the economy of reading-status with inflation.

The other thing I did artistically, and perhaps most significantly, was start to visual art in an official way again. Also, verb words. Look at the pics here.

maybe next year there will be some longass post about a new book (or at least chapbook) that someone else is putting out (a goal of mine) or Conspiracy Agogo's east coast tour or my new found life as a regional-humour standup. The future, like they say, unwrit.