Jolee Cohen Reading "!! That So Called Sister!!"

!! That So Called Sister !!

She'd whine and whine
and beg and beg
and cry and cry
and he'd say no
and she would say why.
He would say because
and she would say because why
and because she was annoying him
he would let her do
what she wanted to do
and that got on my
nerve. That girl,
that annoying girl,
crying and crying
begging and begging
whining and whining
that so called sister.


Jolee reading "!! That SoCalled Sister !!" at The Community Bookstore in Park Slope, Brooklyn on January 27, 2009.

A Pre-Anniversary Reunion, Of Sorts

BillyBlog's first "official" post was of my two shining angels, three years ago. Trot down memory lane here. And two years ago here. And then last year, here.

Jolee is a seventh-grader. Shayna is a fourth-grade something.

My, how they grow!

End of August Update (A Series of Interconnected Words)

Yeah, sure, BillyBlog has been trudging along. Just like BillyBlog killed my journal (which exists in its papery world like a wispy wraith), so, too, BillyBlog seems like the lost child of my thought process, Tattoosday having nearly eclipsed it in significance.

But there are still many of you loyal readers who check back every so often to see if I've scribbled anything new.

If you've visited during the summer, you may have followed my ambitious 41-day consecutive bike trek in honor of my 41st birthday, from July 3 to August 12, 2008.

Well, a funny thing happened. I kept riding. Melanie gets some credit here, she convinced me not to stop. So, as of today, I have extended my consecutive day streak of riding the Raleigh to 60 days. And today on the sixtieth day, I passed 505 miles. In other words, I have ridden enough since my birthday to pedal past Cleveland.

What else is new?

Shayna's new favorite show is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She had her first Fall soccer practice on Friday and her first game in the new Bantam division of the 68th Precinct Youth Council soccer league will be next Saturday. Hopefully, we'll have some new GSD (Gratuitous Soccer Dad) posts in the months to come.

Jolee is about to start Seventh grade. 'Nuff said.

And we are approaching the three-year anniversary of BillyBlog (disregard those back-dated posts).

Jolee Shines

Jolee often gets the short end of the stick in the blogging world. At least the BillyBlogging world. I mentioned earlier this week that all her drama videos got stalled in post-production and never made it to the blogosphere. Her sister Shayna often gets mad props for her soccer prowess because, well, it's a little more dramatic. And easier to post then a dozen ensemble chorus pieces.

Still, she made her Mum and me proud last night during the Spring Music & Art Festival for the Academy for the Arts and Humanities at the Christa McAuliffe School (I.S. 187) in Brooklyn. Jolee was part of the 6th Grade Chorus, singing, among other songs, "Seasons of Love" from Rent. The clip is below. There are solos by Jolee and her friend Tai, and , despite a small microphone problem, they both sang beautifully.

Poetry Wednesday: Move Over Charles Simic, Here Comes Jolee

Last night I passed up the opportunity to hear the new U.S. Poet Laureate, Charles Simic, reading, and instead attended a reading for some up-and-coming literary stars. Jolee, eldest spawn of BillyBlog, just participated in her first public reading.

For close to a year, Jolee has been an active member in "Ridge Girls," a program in our neighborhood to foster creative writing skills in young ladies in our neighborhood. The free program, sponsored by the New York Council for the Arts, I believe, has been a great creative outlet for Jolee, and she had three pieces published in the anthology which was unveiled last night.



Here's a YouTube clip of Jolee reading two of her poems, followed by scans of the text from the anthology. Sorry for the poor quality of the audio. Whether you're an adult reading at a coffee bar competing with the bean grinder, or a tween premiering published work with a bunch of young kids in the room, it's hard to avoid the noise of the disinterested.





I am a proud poet/parent indeed.

On a side note, this is BillyBlog's 1000th post! Hurrah!