I Fall in Love with Difficult People
I fall in love with difficult people.
I can't help it. Anyone who is easily
angered, easily bothered, quick to fight,
quick to hold a grudge, I find
utterly fascinating, charming.
I Want Someone to See What is Good in Me
Some say we are all sinners
I don’t believe in sin
Don’t believe in God either
But Laawwdd I know I’m not perfect
though I try to be
every day as I struggle to get out of bed
make my way
get through the day
On Aggressive Countering: NPR, Kessler, and Challenging the Garbage
Often I’m reminded of this quote from Yeats’ “The Second Coming”: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity.”
The smart people will ponder and contemplate and collect information and second guess themselves and hold their tongues while the stupid people dominate the public conversation.
Freedom and Truth
I'd rather be truthful than cheerful.
I'd rather have a monkey on my back than be one
Voting Feels Like Date Rape
“You should have known he was a liar and a manipulator.
How stupid are you?
Can’t you tell a liar and a manipulator and a charmer
when you see one?”
Too Much Fun
Passed out early this morning
with a stranger's (new friend's?)
cum on my face,
after drinking too much whiskey,
talking too much,
staying out until
the wee hours of the morning.
Know Your Rights
It’s a free country, right? It’s a free country, right?
I can do whatever I want, be whatever I want,
say whatever I want, shoot whomever I want,
live wherever I want, die however I want.
It’s a free country, right? It’s a free country, right?
Chicago Pride
The 49th annual Chicago Pride Parade is tomorrow, Sunday, June 24. The parade starts at noon at Broadway and Montrose. The international theme is "REMEMBER the PAST, CREATE the FUTURE.”
Dad
You called me "rebel with a cause.”
#MyChicagoBookstore Adventures on Independent Bookstore Day, Part 3
I swear I do not binge-shop all the time. But in a sense it’s a good thing, because it means I found a lot of books that were interesting to me. It’s good to be interested in something. Also, they have super good deals and discounts at Open Books. And their sales support their literacy programs.
#MyChicagoBookstore Adventures on Independent Bookstore Day — Part 2
Usually I wouldn’t spend so much time and money on a shopping spree. I don’t usually go on shopping sprees at all. But how much do sports tickets cost? How much do poets make compared to people who play on professional sports teams? With all the people supporting sports and bars and sports bars, maybe it’s alright that I spent a little on books in bookstores. Maybe poetry needs its fans to give it some love and team spirit like those other sports get.
#MyChicagoBookstore Adventures on Independent Bookstore Day — Part 1
I bought my books, after pulling out a random piece of paper with the amount of the discount I would get. I got my #MyChicagoBookstore passport and got that stamped. Of course I brought my own bags to wrap and carry my books in. I took a moment to get myself get organized and think about my plan of attack and then left Volumes to walk to my next destination.
What’s Really Bothering Me About These School Shootings
I identify with that anger.
I don’t think anyone knew how really deeply angry and miserable I was throughout my entire childhood and adolescence.
And it was so hard to get free of that environment.
That back and forth between the two prisons of home and school.
Lean Cuisine Brings Both Liberation and Sadness
So convenient. I don’t like to cook.
So why should I have to? It takes
time and planning and organization
and executive functioning.
I forget to eat all the time.
I’ve got other things to do
and think about. Takes five
minutes in the microwave.
Dinner is quick. Grab a fork
and go back to looking
at the computer while I eat.
Dexter is My Soul Mate
I’m in love with Dexter
what a sense of social (or is it personal?) justice
but that’s not what it’s really about
Anger and Empathy
I remember when I was very little, maybe three or four, my mother said to me, “What am I going to do with you?” I told her she could put me down the garbage chute. I imagined that was where the Sesame Street monsters lived. I thought I could live with them and that’s where I would belong. I also wanted to solve the problem for her.
Spock and Valerie Solanas Meet for a Coffee Date at the Big Starbucks in the Sky
Valerie, to Spock: One concern I have is your allegiance to logic and rationality, which, while admirable in itself, has traditionally and nominally been used to silence and stupefy females. Males accuse females of being irrational and emotional in order to delegitimize the experience of females and deny the relevance of their emotions, when in fact, emotions—especially anger, hatred, and love — are perfectly logical.
Quixotic Femme
I couldn’t turn my back
and I couldn’t fix it
Story of my life
lame excuse
Quixotic tale
striving for virtue
in a sewer
Do the best you can
Clean up the mess
Show up the next day
Clean up again
To a Woman Approaching Her First Spring as a Fifty-Year-Old
So you just turnedfifty,
the big five-0!
Say it softly.
You don’t want your nosy neighbors
to know.
Excerpt from an Anger Journal
Even if your angry interpretation of the situation is morally and factually correct, maybe you need to add more details and information to the angry story you are telling.
How do you want to be defined? By one action? By some opinion that could evolve? By a mistake, regrettable only with hindsight? Or by the sum of your parts? Okay, do that for other people. Start the trend.