Monday, December 29, 2008

'Iolani School Orchestra at Saint Bart's

Today I took my daughters to hear the 'Iolani School Orchestra perform at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City.




The highlight for me was the inclusion of the traditional Hawaiian song 'Ulili E. Nothing like seeing a beautiful hula performed in New York at the end of December.

It was a brief, thirty-minute performance, but the highlight of my day.

Here it is, a little dark, but lovely none the less:



Indignation


I haven't read as much as I would have wanted to this year, especially in light of the dissolution of a book club to which I belonged.

However, I recently picked up Philip Roth's most recent novel Indignation, which I zipped through in less than two days.

I strongly recommend it.

Despite being 230 pages, the smaller size of the book stretches it out from a novella to a novel.

Roth is a gifted storyteller and, his haunting tale of a young Jewish man coming of age in the middle of the 20th century is certainly memorable.

Not to mention the plot element that emerges 60 pages in that causes the narrative to be seen from a whole new perspective.

I strongly recommend this tale that reminds us, repeatedly, that the smallest of decisions can have momentous effects.

***

Read Michiko Kakutani's review (spoiler alert) in The New York Times here.






Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Cool Stuff People Send Me: Christmas Eve Edition

This comes courtesy of my sister Lehua in Hawai'i:








Happy Holidays everyone!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Happy Birthday, Eddie Vedder

This is just an awesome little clip, with Eddie and Pete Townshend from an appearance on Letterman in 1999, performing "Heart to Hang Onto":

Monday, December 22, 2008

iCommute

Got on the N train at 34th Street and rev up the commuting soundtrack, starting with "Iko Iko" by The Dixie Cups.

A guy next to me reading Death in Paradise by Robert B. Parker.

At 14th Street, the next song comes on, "Roadrunner" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Great New York song.

Next up, "In convertendo - Qui seminont in lecrimis" by Rameau from a classical piano masterworks mix.

As we leave Canal and head toward the Manhattan Bridge, Bruce Springsteen singing "The River". Serious deja vu.

Meanwhile a woman sits near me reading a hardcover, Family Tree, by Barbara Delinsky.

The train crosses the bridge, pausing before we head under Brooklyn.

Ah, the familiar opening chords to Sammy Hagar's "Heavy Metal". Some of the worst rhyming in hard rock history, pairing "contacts being made" with "barricade". The nifty pop rock chords make up for the cheesy lyrics. Then again, this is coming from the man who popularized the phrase "I can't drive/fifty-five".

"My First Night Without You" by Cyndi Lauper? How did that get on my iPod?

Note to self: delete this song from iTunes. Sorry, Cyndi.

Between Pacific/Atlantic and 36th, I get some obscure Michael Stipe song "Hotel (L'Hotel Particulier)" from Monsieur Gainsbourg: Revisited. The recording is so low, I can barely discern the song. I will be deleting that one, aussi.

Next is "Son of a Bitch" by the German metal band Accept, who are most known for their song "Balls to the Wall". Their album Restless and Wild is pretty good. However, there is something pathetically nostalgic about bands who sing songs in English, even though it's not their first language.

I make the connection to the R waiting at 59th Street as a beautiful rendition of "We're Going to Be Friends" by The White Stripes fills my earbuds.





At Bay Ridge Avenue, I get a seat. "Breakdown" by Agent Orange clangs in my ears. Two more stops.

At 86th Street, I get my final song of the ride: "Hey Hey What Can I Do" from the Led Zeppelin box set. Great tune.

And that was my Subway soundtrack for the afternoon commute today.


No Need to Read Beyond the First Sentence....

Lonely Man Jumps Into Polar Bear's Cage in Berlin

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 22, 2008
Filed at 3:22 p.m. ET

BERLIN (AP) -- A man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed
polar bear Knut on Monday, but officials were able to keep the animal
away from the intruder by distracting him with a leg of beef, police
said.


Friday, December 19, 2008

Another Nail in the Coffin of Innocence

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/nyregion/19santa.html?hp


Yes, It Works


This is a found item that I dare not touch. But I spotted this envelope on West 12th Street back on November 23 and never posted it.

Interpret it as you will. The possibilities are endless.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Looking Beyond the Message*


This was found last Saturday in the same HSBC parking lot as the last card in my 52-Card Pickup game.

It was written on the back of one of those doctor appointment reminder cards.

Aside from the stunning alliterative qualities of the note, it has very little significance of a found item.

Sure, brackets. Bring them in. Why not? Everyone needs brackets.

But why the asterisk at the end?

It's a one-item list. No need to differentiate between the brackets and other items. Or the act of bringing them in, and other tasks.

I question whether this added punctuation mark glyph was scribbled consciously or unconsciously. A scan of the asterisk's Wikipedia entry doesn't help.

These are the things that keep me up at night*.

*Not really

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Saturday, December 13, 2008

BillyBlog Plays 52-Card Pickup (Paris in the Parking Lot)

I found these cards last Saturday, December 6, in the HSBC parking lot at the corner of 92nd and 3rd, in Brooklyn:


They are from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Here we have the 8 of Diamonds (the card whose back you see is the 6 of Clubs, previously found in this adventure).

The following cards have been found previously:

The Two of Hearts and the Queen of Spades (November 1, 2008)

The King of Spades (October 26, 2008)

The Ace of Spades (September 22, 2008)

The Jack of Diamonds (September 18, 2008)

The Six of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and Eight of Clubs (August 10, 2008)

The Six of Clubs (July 21, 2008)

The Seven of Hearts and The King of Diamonds (April 24, 2008)

The Three of Clubs (March 29, 2008)

The King of Hearts
and the Three of Spades
(February 28 and March 25, 2008)

The Ace of Diamonds (July 7, 2008)

The Jack of Hearts and Five of Hearts (July 19, 2008)

View the whole set here.

And here's the scorecard with the latest addition:

Hearts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Diamonds: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Clubs: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Spades: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace

Friday, December 05, 2008

Social Justice

On the West 4th Street train platform, I waited.

I waited with other people.

I watched an older woman in a fur coat attempt to throw a folded
newspaper section into a nearby garbage can.

She missed.

Or, more accurately, she hit the can, but it bounced off the top and
landed on the ground.

Time slowed to a crawl.

I detected in her a movement away from the trash can as she looked at
the discarded paper at the base of the receptacle. Her body language
indicated that she did not feel like stooping to pick up the paper and
attempting to redeposit it in the bin.

But then, mid-movement, she noticed I was watching this unfold with
interest, and her body movement altered and she did what I thought she
was not going to do.

She picked up the paper and successfully dropped it into the trash.

I am convinced that my observation of the event altered its outcome.

I realize that I have given this incident perhaps one hundred times
more thought than the woman has given.

Nonetheless, it was fascinating to me, regardless of its lack of
importance in the grand scheme of things, and I felt compelled to
share the experience here.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Did I Really Just Read That?

From today's New York Times:

"After complaints from residents, Santa Monica officers are breaking up unauthorized exercising on traffic medians".

The full article here.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Two More Nurse Novels from the Vestibule

I have found two more "nurse" novels in the vestibule and, amazingly, they were all written by different people. The first is "an Arlene Hale Nurse Romance," Community Nurse:


I love the expressions in the cover art:


The back cover gives a nice synopsis, and I love that last line:


Maybe I'm transfixed by this, because it was published the year I was born, 1967?

How about this gem from Helene Chambers Schellenberg:


Again, the cover art is what draws me in...look at these expressions:


And, oh, their off-duty hours!


Is it any wonder that women were (and often still are) under the impression that they couldn't have both career and marriage? This one is from 1968.

Plus, here's a whole list of nurse books. I wonder how many are left, undiscovered, in the vestibule?

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Random Poem of the Day

I'm taking a quick breather at the Brooklyn Heights branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

I'm going to walk over to the poetry section and pick a book and find a poem to share.

Here we go....

Hmmm. This being the Business Library, there are only 2 titles in all of poetry (Call #811).

I pick Sam Hamill and skip August Kleinzahler. I find a short one, from page 96 in Destination Zero:

Sheep to Slaughter

Like a sacred cow on the Ganges,
I feel the years turn to meat and metaphysics.
I cannot understand. I look out at the world
and everything I see slides by
in a haze, or I go down on my knees
for prayer or sleep and shadows rise up
like icons. You, too,
chew on the same old questions -
our classical cud and useless benedictions.
Tender and un accountable.
The untouchable touches us.
What is beautiful alters.


Time Capsule: Off to Israel!

I threw this up on Facebook, but figured I'd share here too. From the June 1983 issue of Hawaii Jewish News:






From the front page, here's a detail from the photo:


That's a 15-year old me. The first and last time a Judas Priest Screaming for Vengeance
concert shirt appeared in The Hawaii Jewish News.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Vestibule Literature


My landlord has some furniture in the vestibule of our building. One piece is filled with books. I'll look at books anywhere. Once in a while I find a beauty:


You can actually see more of Peggy O'More's "Nurse" titles here. Apparently, she was a prolific and top-selling profferer of nurse tales.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

BillyBlog Plays 52-Card Pickup (Moo)



I found these cards, from two separate, yet related, decks, on November 1st near the corner of Ft. Hamilton Parkway and 86th Street in Brooklyn. I'm not sure what the letters on the backs of the card mean. Could they be Greek (Mu, Omicron, Omicron)? Or Russian? I don't know. I guess it'll just have to remain a moostery.

The following cards have been found previously:

The King of Spades (October 26, 2008)

The Ace of Spades (September 22, 2008)

The Jack of Diamonds (September 18, 2008)

The Six of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and Eight of Clubs (August 10, 2008)

The Six of Clubs (July 21, 2008)

The Seven of Hearts and The King of Diamonds (April 24, 2008)

The Three of Clubs (March 29, 2008)

The King of Hearts
and the Three of Spades.

(February 28 and March 25, 2008)

The Ace of Diamonds
(July 7, 2008)

The Jack of Hearts and Five of Hearts
(July 19, 2008)

View the whole set here.

And here's the scorecard with the latest additions:

Hearts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Diamonds: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Clubs: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Spades: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace

Monday, November 17, 2008

Get Well Beans

Arriving in the mail today to "perk" me up:


Courtesy of my mom on the Big Island, who just couldn't resist the logo:


Plus. coffee is welcome and appreciated in our home any day of the year!

You can check out their Kona coffee here

Inguinal Hernia Repair

Well, you may see a flurry of small blogposts in the days to come as I recuperate from inguinal hernia repair surgery last Friday at Maimonides Medical Center. I am feeling just dandy and it went swimmingly, especially since I had the same surgery on the right side a few years back and knew what to expect.

Like last time, I didn't even need to fill my pain prescription, and have made do with over-the-counter ibuprofen. Thanks to my surgeon, Dr. Shahabuddin Ahmad, for doing such a nice job.

Although I didn't live-blog the procedure (they knocked me out, thank goodness), I feel obligated, for the curious readers, to send you here, one of countless YouTube links that shows, in graphic detail, a hernia repair operation. Really, don't watch if you've recently ingested food. It's icky.

I don't have a lot of insight to share, other than some advice to potential hernia operation candidates. Of course, I'm no expert, but two very different experiences in the past few years give me semi-expert status. And, based on the history on my maternal grandfather's side of the family, this may very well not be my last foray into hernia repair.

Pointer 1: If you live in a climate that has actual seasons, avoid scheduling your hernia repair (if possible) between the months of December through March. If it's cold outside, it's psychologically cold inside.

Pointer 2: When they're asking you, as they prep you for the procedure, if you'd like to use the bathroom before you go into the operating room, politely decline. Worse thing that can happen is you urinate in the o.r., and if you're asleep, you won't even know you did it. You'll see why later.

Pointer 3: Remember to ask for tea.

When you're in the recovery area, you're stuck there until you urinate for them. On my first trip, the January weather, the chill in the room, and the performance anxiety kept me there for hours until I was able to satisfactorily micturate. I remember this other patient coming in, and leaving in ten minutes. I had been drinking water and apple juice. He asked for tea. I remembered this and after two cups of tea (plus it combats any possible chill), I was peeing like a spider monkey at the zoo.

I arrived at Maimo (as it is affectionately called) at 7:00 AM, and was home by 1:00 PM. Even my beloved bride would praise the more positive experience that this surgical venture was, compared to my previous excursion.

That's it for me now.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

And Another Train of Thought: Samuel Eliot Morison



First spotted on the Q train (November 7, 2008):


"America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else; when discovered it was not wanted; and most of the exploration for the next fifty years was done in the hope of getting through or around it. America was named after a man who discovered no part of the New World. History is like that, very chancy."

Samuel Eliot Morrison (1887-1976) The Oxford History of the American People (1965), Ch. 2 "The European Discovery of America."



Saturday, November 08, 2008

New Train of Thought: Isaac Newton


First spotted on the R train....

"I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

--Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Memories of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton (1855), ed. David Brewer



Thursday, November 06, 2008

A hodgepodge of stuff

I'm on an R train to work.

This is what's going on.

One of the free a.m. papers, Metro, boasts the headline "Yes They Did".

The BilliPod is playing "Subterraneans," live Nine Inch Nails, with David Bowie, from a gig in St. Louis on October 11, 1995.

I am in Bloglimbo, with tattoos vanishing from the landscape. Next in my ear buds is "Kiss" by Prince, from the album Parade.

A woman standing near me is reading a hardcover by Alice Sebold (can't make out the title).

At 59th Street, there's no N train, so I remain seated on the R. The N pulls in, the guy next to me jumps up, and the Sebold reader sits, revealing she is reading The Lovely Bones.

Prince gives way to "Tell Him" by The Exciters, from the soundtrack of The Big Chill.

Another headline: "A Tough Time to be a Young Republican". I think, "or an old one, too."

Another woman sitting next to me is reading a book by Gwyn Hyman Rubio ("Yes ma'am," he said, rubbing his square chest...). The title is Icy Sparks.

Don Henley is singing "The Boys of Summer" from Building the Perfect Beast.

The train is packed and I know Melanie had problems commuting in this morning, with someone pulling the emergency brake on the train ahead of her in the tunnel. I wonder if I am experiencing the effects of that an hour or two later. Thursdays I go in late as I walk Shayna to school.

Interesting "It Beats 4 U" by the wonderful My Morning Jacket. I switch at 36th Street and get on a D train. I'm standing but I was astute enough to get in at the last car where I am not crushed.

A woman here is reading a small green bible (Hebrews 3:4).

The BilliPod is playing "Bad Night" by Public Image Ltd.

A guy has a baseball cap that says "Rushin' River Outfitters Wilderness Wear".

A blind man drinks coffee that smells good. It smells like Denny's.

I don't do this often, but I entertain myself (and hopefully my readers) when I do.

Interesting. Rare that the earbuds spew country music, but here's Garth Brooks singing "Friends in Low Places".

At Pacific Street, we fill up a little more. I am now standing near someone reading a foreign language paper. I am trying to decide if it's Russian, Greek, or Polish, and I am leaning toward Polish. Strike that, Russian. The fine print that said "Russian Daily" tipped me off.

Ah, now a flashback to Ozzfest 2007: "S.O.M" by a killer band called Static-X.

The guy behind me is reading The New Yorker. I miss that magazine, which I read religiously for a dozen years or so. I just ran out of time to read it.

The BilliPod is making up for the Garth Brooks by cleansing itself with metal, another Static X song called "Pieces". Rare to get back-to-back songs from the same artist on a 12,000+ track shuffle.

I'm on the Manhattan Bridge now.

Metallica covering The Ramones' "53rd and 3rd" from the We're a Happy Family tribute album.

Getting on the D means I will be doing a little banking this morning before reporting to work.

Leaving Grand Street, Mark Mothersbaugh's "Hardest Geometry Problem in the World" from the Rushmore soundtrack.

Straight into "Good Day Sunshine" by The Beatles. Perfect song for a misty, overcast, autumn day.

Leaving Broadway-Lafayette. Will be getting off next at West 4th Street and switching for an 8th Ave train.

Now, "Let it Bleed" by The Rolling Stones.

At West 4th I wait less than a minute for an A train. I actually snag a seat next to a young woman wearing an Obama "Hope" pin. People elsewhere in the country would not believe how many Obama pins we see here on a daily basis.

And she's reading his book "Dreams from My Father".


"Love Me Two Times" by The Doors.

Getting off next stop at 34th Street. "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" by Dr. Dre carries me out of the subway.

Standing in line at HSBC, we go from Dre to Twin Peaks - Angelo Badalamenti's "Dance of the Dream Man (Instrumental)".

It's 8:58 (I started at 8:04) and since it is not raining, I won't cut through Penn Station, but walk around it, up 33rd Street to 7th Ave. The top of the Empire State Building is shrouded in clouds.

"In Trance" is playing. Very early Scorpions. Klaus Meine sounds like a woman.

The New York Post's headline is "BAMELOT".

Front Page

I am in the building, just a few minutes late, but hitting the bank shaved 15 minutes off of my lunch break.

Soundtrack for entering the office: Lucinda Williams' cover of the blues staple "Disgusted". The perfect song for starting work.

Thanks for accompanying me on my commute.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Yes We Did


I generally avoid political discussion here, not because I am apathetic (far from it), but because I do not wish to alienate readers who may share different political beliefs.

But, as those who know me may expect, I'm giddy with excitement this morning as I can see the end of the road for the Bush Administration, and the bright, shining path welcoming beacon of the Obama presidency. Not mentioning my happiness here on BillyBlog would be a grave omission.

The last two elections were disheartening and discouraging to me, but they occurred prior to my becoming a blogger, so I never used this forum to spout, grouse, vent, or gloat.

The urge to gloat is tremendous, but I shall resist.

I am happy for the future of this country, as well as for the future of my daughters, who I feel have just gained a reprieve on what I feel had become a looming threat to the rights they will possess as young women coming of age in America.

I will leave you with a link to the blog of my friend Jeff Chang, here.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

BillyBlog Plays 52-Card Pickup: King of Spades



Found on the corner of 5th Avenue and 90th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn:



The following cards have been found previously:

The Ace of Spades (September 22, 2008)

The Jack of Diamonds (September 18, 2008)

The Six of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and Eight of Clubs (August 10, 2008)

The Six of Clubs (July 21, 2008)

The Seven of Hearts and The King of Diamonds (April 24, 2008)

The Three of Clubs (March 29, 2008)

The King of Hearts
and the Three of Spades.

(February 28 and March 25, 2008)

The Ace of Diamonds
(July 7, 2008)

The Jack of Hearts and Five of Hearts
(July 19, 2008)

View the whole set here.

And here's the scorecard with the latest addition:

Hearts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Diamonds: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Clubs: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Spades: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Rare Rainbow Spotted in Brooklyn


I caught this at Dyker Beach Park prior to Shayna's soccer game. Not only are rainbows rare in Brooklyn, they are insanely bizarre arcing over autumnal trees. Crazy weather indeed.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Out of the Mouths of Babes (Bi-partisan Edition)

We were watching the Today Show and Brian Williams was showing an excerpt of his interview with Sarah Palin and John McCain.

McCain is tooting Palin's horn and refers to her as the "most famous governor in America".

Shayna says, "Isn't Arnold Schwarzenegger a governor?"

I say, "Yes, of California."

She says, "Well, he's more famous than Sarah Palin".

Can't argue that 9-year old's logic.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Overdue Return of the Gratuitous Soccer Dad Post



Many of you (or few of you, for all I know) may have been wondering about the absence of Gratuitous Soccer Dad Posts. Well, Shayna moved up to the Bantam League, and has been playing with 4th, 5th and 6th graders.

And it has not been pretty.

They are 0-3-1, scoring 4 goals in 4 games, three of which came in the tie when they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.

So the highlights have been few and far between. I'm not impressed with the coaching, but I don't think it's fair to be critical when a) I'm not willing to be a coach myself, and b) I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm only basing my feelings on my observations of other coaches (i.e. ones with winning records). Our coach is at least nice and doesn't yell at the kids like other s.o.b.s

Update: Sunday's game was a heartbreaker. Shayna's Gold team went up to a quick 2-0 lead over a Green team that hadn't lost yet. It was exciting. We were giddy on the sidelines whereas the red-faced parents of our opponents screamed at their players in a way sadly typical of grown-ups who have instilled in their children too much importance on winning.

Then I became one of those parents who blames the officials. Green came back with two goals courtesy of questionable penalty calls. Shayna was the unfortunate goalkeeper that missed the shots that evened the score. She was hampered by playing on the big field with the biggest nets.

However, she was fresh for the second half and she led the assault on the green defense that dominated and resulted in Gold reclaiming the lead.

Then, the officials called another penalty which we are still trying to figure out. The penalty kick was good and the score was tied. The battle ensued in the fourth quarter and it looked like we would be playing to another tie.

Yet, despite the fact that all the other games in the park had ended and the nets had been dismantled, we played on. Shayna was mauled in the box by a Green player (there's DNA evidence on the back of her jersey to prove it), but the calls kept falling to our opponents.

At this point, we suspected the worst. The refs were keeping the game going until someone scored, and the Green team eventually prevailed. Several us started chanting at the refs that they could blow the whistle to end the game now, and, they did so within 30 seconds of the kick at mid-field.

The Green side erupted in spasms of glee (and the little twerps all got brownies- which would have undoubtedly been tossed in the trash had they not finagled a win). We grumbled, feeling a bit like poor losers, yet justifiably so. It was the first time I wanted to throw pies in the faces
of the opposition's parents.

So the Gold team is 0-4-1, but coming off of our best game yet. We might not make the playoffs, but we'll make our opponents work for their wins.

That previously was written around the end of September....

Even further update, bringing us current: Yesterday (October 11), Shayna scored her first goal of the season, with Good Luck Charm Grandma Diane from Hawaii in attendance. Then her teammate Omar "The Magician" added a hat trick, giving Gold their first win of the year, shutting out the Navy Blue team 4-0. Shayna played goalkeeper in quarter 3 and made 1 save.
Their record is 1-6-1.

They have three games to go. We'll keep you posted.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Production Note

I finally updated my post from a Barbara Guest tribute reading from April. Yeah, like 4 and a half months ago.
Check it out here.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

BillyBlog Plays 52-Card Pickup (The Ace of Spades, The Ace of Spades)

Found on September 22, 2008 on the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge,


The following cards have been found previously:

The Jack of Diamonds (September 18, 2008)

The Six of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, and Eight of Clubs (August 10, 2008)

The Six of Clubs (July 21, 2008)

The Seven of Hearts and The King of Diamonds (April 24, 2008)

The Three of Clubs (March 29, 2008)

The King of Hearts
and the Three of Spades.

(February 28 and March 25, 2008)

The Ace of Diamonds
(July 7, 2008)

The Jack of Hearts and Five of Hearts
(July 19, 2008)

View the whole set here.

And here's the scorecard with the latest addition:

Hearts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Diamonds: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Clubs: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace
Spades: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, Ace

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Hayden Carruth, 1921-2008


Hayden Carruth passed away on Monday at the age of 87. I attended an 80th birthday tribute to him in 2001. It's documented here on BillyBlog. I had a funny interaction with him via the mail, due to my inability to get him to sign a poster at that reading. See the awesome Poetry in Motion poster and the story behind it here.

The New York Times obituary can be read here.

And a poem to remember him by:



SCRAMBLED EGGS AND WHISKEY

Scrambled eggs and whiskey
in the false-dawn light. Chicago,
a sweet town, bleak, God knows,
but sweet. Sometimes. And
weren't we fine tonight?
When Hank set up that limping
treble roll behind me
my horn just growled and I
thought my heart would burst.
And Brad M. pressing with the
soft stick and Joe-Anne
singing low. Here we are now
in the White Tower, leaning
on one another, too tired
to go home. But don't say a word,
don't tell a soul, they wouldn't
understand, they couldn't, never
in a million years, how fine,
how magnificent we were
in that old club tonight.