Saturday, March 31, 2007

podcast update

Just finished the rough cut of the podcast for tomorrow. It will be, remarkably, one of the longest I have done in many months...31 minutes, including 6 poems, 2 song-poems and some strong words about the state of modern poetry.

Hey, I have the crown, I am entitled to my pontificates once in a while. Be thankful I don't believe in the death sentence.

By the way, wrapped up this week my duties as a judge for the Txas Panhandle Writer's Association Frontiers in Writing (FiW) Convention's poetry chapbook contest. I don't think I have read that much poetry at one time (except when editing THE COMPLEAT PANTHER CYCLES) in my life.

Friday, March 30, 2007

singing with the band?

I received a very pleasant and surprising invitation, just recently (today in fact) to join Fairmont's best band, Sugarcamp, onstage at Bunny's in Fairmont, whilst they record their concert.

Just a few numbers...including the chance to join in on the chorus of "Gloria"...which any rock poet god would give his left nut to do. Oops, already did that.

Alas, my schedule renders it unlikely...but if you happen to be in or near Fairmont, West Virginia, tomorrow, Saturday, March 31st...drop by Bunny's (they're in the book, do I have to do everything for you?) and maybe...maybe...I'll be there.

If not, you still get to see the heroes of Sugarcamp in an archival performance.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ahead of schedule

The video is done and on YouTube: DARFUR (Jesus Wept) is my political, theological and sociological statement regarding the richest, most powerful society in the history of the world that is too busy diverting itself with wargames against imagined enemies, justified in the blood and suffering of citizens here and abroad, while real crimes against humanity take place in the Darfur region of the Sudan. You can click here to view it, go to YouTube to see it, or I will be posting it as a MySpace video later.



The images are all, I have been lead to believe, public domain images. If anyone discovers otherwise, please drop me a line so I can sort any problems out. I think this is a bigger issue than someone's toes being stepped on, and I certainly am not doing this for money.

The song itself is on my CD NEMICORN, available at the City of Legends Bookstore or at Lulu.com.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Huerta has moved into the city

Interested in some work by an exciting new poetess? Then you should swing by my website, The City of Legends and check out the new section devoted to Huerta, the remarkable young poet I discovered in a dumpster (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

NPM scheduling

Just a few more days until National Poetry Month. Yes, I do not seem to be touring or making many, if any, personal appearances, this time around. That's okay. The last few years have been okay, and before that, when I lived in Diamondhead, Mississippi and Salinas, California, I was kept jumping this time of the year. I miss the busy schedule, but it gives me more time to focus on my recordings, including my videos, which leads me to the following announcement:

I will be podcasting a major show on the night of March 31st, the day before NPM starts, as well as releasing my most ambitious video yet, based on my song "DARFUR (Jesus Wept)". It will be posted to Youtube and MySpace and I think you will find it a step more sophisticated than the previous ones...and that's good.

No one, as of yet, as found the misspoken moment in last week's podcast. Shame on you.

A new poet will be joining the city in the next few days, more on her (yes, "her", you think I'd share my planet with a guy?) later.

Was I the only one who thought that Sanjaya looked like a six-foot tall penis named Bob with his haircut last night? Yeah, and kudos to anyone who can identify that image from a film.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

OFAC watch list (pdf)

I used to work for a company named Teletech, which has as one of its largest clients Bank of America, for whom they provide customer service agents...hundreds of them.

My job was to train new hires (who are specifically told not to say they do not work for B of A, as that may undermine confidence) in their basic jobs as well as doing uptainings on such topics as "Anti-Money Laundering" and "Customer Verfiication Procedures". It is a tough job being a CSR (customer service representative) as, on top of all the irate, sometimes self-immolative customers out there, there is also the complexity of external controls and regulations.

One of the things we discussed in "anti-money laundering" training is OFAC, the Federal government's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is tasked with making sure we know who we are not supposed to be doing business with, as these people or organizations are known to assist terrorists or drug smugglers. We always had a fun time teaching about the list, as over-zealous blocking parameters on our internet access sometimes kept us from viewing the list of individuals, countries and organizations OFAC maintains. Maybe they have that link working by now, but I digress.

Here's the link, currently in the news, to the OFAC listing of the thousands of people, groups and countries we are not supposed to do business with here in the United States. It is in the news as some businesses are abusing the list to deny people with similar names to individuals on the list basic services.

I think the list is of value and necessary, we just don't need amateur sleuths taking away our civil liberties in an atmosphere of paranoia.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Wild Jasmin

A little but of erotic whimsy today, posted by permission.

Wild Jasmin

great legs
nice rack
want to get you in the sack

dark eyes
warm lips
I dream of diving in your hips


William F. DeVault. all right reserved.

New podcast, free book

The new podcast is up From Out of the City for March 25, 2007.

Give it a listen, I will give a free autographed copy of one of my books to the person who first identifies a misspoken statement in the podcast, which includes "The Unicorns" and "sleep", which is the new song from the band.

Enjoi!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The Unicorns, redux


The Unicorns.

One of my most oft quoted and cited poems. Written long ago. I recall when I wrote it, not just the historical frame, but the actual moment when I sat down at my girlfriend's typewriter and pecked it out, in her study. I think I still have the original of it, somewhere (if it did not perish with my coffin in Hurricane Katrina).

"Please come awhile. remain and play" The object of my affection is invited.

"The unicorns won't come today." I have left my innocence behind.

"The faeries and their virtued kin shall stay away, to paint my sin with ancient red and angry fire." Fantastic creatures only visit the pure and virtuous, I am crossing that line.

"Please come to me and linger, please." Don't just show up, remain with me.

"I do not mock, I dare not tease." I am earnest in my entreaties.

"Just bring with you an honest smile..." I fear insincerity.

"...and share with me, for all the while, a love of life and true desire." Let us be lovers and share our lives in full.

"The unicorns no longer guard the meadow just beyond my yard." I have placed aside my childhood.

"They snort with shame and true disdain upon a hope of ages' pain..." They are angry and scornful at my rejection of them.

"...and brand me, by my pride, a liar." They insult me and accuse me of being a bad person, because I am content in my passion for my lover.

Remarkable here...I did not have to reference my books or files to write the poem out here. Having written as many poems as I have (what is it now, maybe 13-14 thousand poems?) I can recite so few, they jumble in my head and soul. This one, written so long ago, sticks with me like memories of a first kiss.

Bible literacy

Excellent article in this week's TIME magazine about Bible literacy, The Case for Teaching the Bible. It is a topic I can go on for days about, but I won't, just taking a moment here.

As a Christian, I have read the Bible, cover to cover, in more than one translation. The sad thing is, that makes me an oddity. Most Christians I know, be they Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist or some other denomination (or non-denominational) have not. Oh, they may have taken a course or two that over a period of several weeks hammers homes a ook here or a them there, but to actually sit down and read the entire thing? We're too busy checking our horoscope or watching Judge Judy to be bothered.

I see the Bible being, daily, abused as a source of pithy quotes, underlying purposes and extreme idolatry by politicians, lay people, ministers and individuals who seem more than willing to pick and choose which parts to follow. I guess the two favourites nowadays seem to be the issues of war and peace and that of abortion (a topic that is never mentioned in either the Old Testament (God's covenant with his nation Israel and the people thereof) or the New Testament (God's revision of the covenant for all people, predicated on the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus). As a Christian (a Quaker, specifically) I cannot support war (or capital punishment) as both violate Jesus' direct teachings on the topic. That many who claim to be Chistians do support war, often quoting from the Old Testament to back their beliefs, is an abomination.

The masses get suckered everyday by politicians and ministers who will twist and invoke the teachings in the Bible. I have had people quote excerpts of Polonius' speech to his son in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to me and claim they are quoting from the Bible. They get really bent out of shape when I correct them. I see entire pseudo-denominations rise up around notions of nationalism or material gains (God wants you to be rich! WTF?) and to sell the product they will perch on a single twisted verse, lacking context and frame.

As essential as the scriptures are to Western civilization I see nothing wrong with classes on Bible literacy being available in our schools. Whether the students are atheists, Christians, Jewish or Bible-curious they might benefit from knowing more than what is thrown at them by leaders of both the secular and the spiritual world, seeking to pick and choose carefully their quotations, content that so few people have actually really looked inside the Temple of Western culture.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

The Russians, rewritten

With deep, deep respect to Sting, this is my humble rewrite of the lyrics of his song "The Russians" that turns it to a greater threat to the survival of the human race, global warming.

The truth is, no matter how many people whose salaries (and campaign contributions) depend on denying the truth, we are risking the lives and quality of life for our children and their children if we lack the moral, ethical and spiritual fiber to act and act aggressively.

"The Voters" (with a deep gratitude to Sting and Prokofiev)

In all our lands underneath the sun
We have brought a fate from which we cannot run
Our world is changing and we must turn back
Or destroy our planet on an arrogant tack
Mister Bush he says 'There is nothing to fear"
But his lies are plain and his loyalties clear
History will judge us by what we do
Let the voters love their children too

How can I save my little boys
From Halliburton's fiscal joys?
There is no monopoly on common sense
On either side of the political fence
Science makes our guilt so clear
If we wait too long extinction we fear
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the voters love their children too

Denial will not change our fate
And we pray to our God we are not too late
Shall arrogance be our legacy
When our lands are cleansed of every lake and tree
Mister Inhofe says he rejects the truth
As the greenhouse gases damn our youth
It's inconvenient but it's true
I pray the voters love their children too

We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me and you
Is if the voters love their children too

That's it, thank you for reading. There are many issues in the political marketplace. Peace. War. Abortion. Education. The economy. But all of these are meaningless if we don't have a world to lay these upon.

Join me in encouraging Al Gore to run for President in 2008 (I love ya, Hillary and Barack, but we're talking the survival of the human race).

And I do love my children. I am old enough I may not be around when the worst of times comes, but I accept the fact that I owe a debt to future generations, we all do.

By the way, a great resource link for climate change information (real science!) is to be found www.realclimate.org.

Namaste.

sleep

It has been a while since I posted new poetry. So here is one I just composed while prepping tomorrow night's podcast. It is the lyric for a new piece of music by myself and the Gods of Love, entitled "sleep". We actually composed the music first, then I looped it and have been sitting here for half an hour as it suffocates me, invoking and evoking emotional resonances...and this is what emerged.

sleep

sleep
and let the silence signify
your release of the pain
the pain that stains
your day with sorrowed tomorrows
both rotten and misbegotten
defiled by the taste of vinegar
in a skewed worldview.

sleep
and let loose the crippling grip
you think you have to maintain
to make your way
up a ladder you imagined
as you were told a street of gold
was for you if you believed it
like tales of faeries.

sleep
remember an ember of dreams
fanned hot enough to burn
away the day
of a loneliness we would bless
with a sanctified acceptance
of the remorse'd course that pours
from the guilty pores.

sleep
so I may step into your bed
into your head from miles away
and lay with you
bleeding your weary tears to ease
the sacred ache of ancient need
I was born to bear from your heart
as penance for love.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.
The painting is "Woman Sleeping" by Tamara Lempicka (1935)

Some poetry blogs worth exploring

Some blogs I've recently tripped over in my travels that I think you should explore...

The Techno Babe is a personal blog with some real poetic insights to life, well worth the visit.

Julie Carter blog. Ms. Carter is a poet from Ohio who has a strong voice and a way with the words.

32 Poems Magazine's blog. Just what I said...

Trevor Hampel wrote a nice piece on his writing blog, lately, about poetry and literature blogs.

I'll post more later, I am diverting myself via roaming about, kicking over rocks.

Saturday morning and media literacy

Saturday, hm? Yeah, guess so.

Have a lot of writing and other creative projects to finish this weekend, I'll be giving more details and a progress report later today, for now I have some personal business to attend to.

Monday I have some pretty critical decisions to make, but for now I am buffering the stress with creative catharsis. I have also been reading text books. Yes, I know, that's strange. But I have always appreciated the higher info-to-effort ratio in a text book or almanac than in a novel.

My current book I'm plowing through? "Introduction to Mass Communications: Media Literacy and Culture (Third Edition)" by Stanley J. Baran of Bryant College, published in 2004 by McGraw-Hill. Interesting perspectives on many things, including his view of the publishing industry, which so closely coincides with my own as to be a bit spooky (he points out that the publishing industry is not really about the virtue or literary merit of the material published, even in the most prestigious publishing houses, as they have been co-opted by corporate profit mentality). He even says kind things about the POD publishers (while pointing out that many of the larger ones are owned by mainstream publishers and bookstore chains, perhaps creating a "farm team" aspect to the POD houses). I even learned about the Dogme film movement.

I have decided I need to increase my media literacy to help understand the marketing angle of my books, as it has always been a failure of mine: To not understand how to sell things. It's a critical flaw in me, in a competitive capitalist economy, that I can't motivate myself to subvert people's wills to buy something they may not need. This creates a generalized inhibition against any form of marketing...self limiting, to say the least. I can't even pimp myself, dammit.

Friday, March 23, 2007

invocato

Busy weekend. Lots planned, the question will be the execution. Stamina is there. Focus may be an issue.

We shall see. I have set myself a goal of several key projects completed in time to be discussed in Sunday night's podcast.

Sorry I have been...inattentive. To paraphrase Ani DiFranco, "I got distracted".

Thursday, March 22, 2007

bloggus citatum

Again the amazing New Jersey Goddess herself, Nordette Adams, rises to the top...

in a recent interview with Julia Louis-Dreyfus conducted by Lisa Stone, co-founder of BlogHer.com, the video of which is available on CBS.com, my dear friend is referenced and cited...

her post about this is...

The New Jersey Goddess

...congrats, Nordette!

John Edwards' domestic violence joke

I was just watching the John and Elizabeth Edwards press conference concerning the return of her cancer and the impact it will have on his Presidential campaign. I was heartened by their drive and attitude and the political animal in me sees this as largely a plus to the popular awareness and perception of these two remarkable people.

Then, he did it.

John Edwards pulled a Dan Quayle probably more Quayle-ish than I had ever before seen.

In the midst of explaining how she cracked a rib moving some boxes, leading her to see her doctor, Elizabeth was interrupted by her husband who gestured with his fist and joked "I was beating her".

I felt my jaw drop.

The political capital he had just gained seemed to drain away as even a whiff of a joke of spousal abuse is so unfunny to so many people.

I do not believe for a moment that John Edwards is capable of spousal abuse...but that joke will be replayed with glee by political commentators and opponents, salivating over the fresh blood in the water.

It is sorrowful to see a campaign run on fresh and youthful energy begin its end in a simple faux pas, but there it is.

1984 Anti-Hillary Ad Creator Revealed

My good friend Nordette Adams brings to my attention on her blog the fact that the person responsible for the anti-Hillary "1984" attack video that invokes Barack Obama has been unveiled. The details are laid out here:

Hillary 1984 Creator Identified

In a nutshell, he's worked for a firm, Blue State Digital that is working with the Obama's campaign on the technology side. Note I say "worked". Depending on whom you talk to he either quit just ahead of the axe or was fired yesterday as his identity was about to be disclosed by huffingtonpost.com.

Their full, official statement is enclosed here:

"Statement from Thomas Gensemer, Managing Director, Blue State Digital

This afternoon, an employee at our firm, Phillip de Vellis, received a call from Arianna Huffington of "The Huffington Post" regarding the "1984" video currently circulating online. Initially, de Vellis refused to respond to her requests. He has since acknowledged to Blue State Digital that he was the creator of the video.

Pursuant to company policy regarding outside political work or commentary on behalf of our clients or otherwise, Mr. de Vellis has been terminated from Blue State Digital effective immediately.

Blue State Digital is under contract with the Obama Campaign for technology pursuits including software development and hosting. Additionally, one of our founding partners is on leave from the company to work directly for the campaign at headquarters.

However, Blue State Digital is not currently engaged in any relationship with the Obama Campaign for creative or non-technical services.

Mr. de Vellis created this video on his own time. It was done without the knowledge of management, and was in no way tied to his work at the firm or our formal engagement [on technology pursuits] with the Obama campaign.

I have spoken with David Plouffe, Sen. Obama's campaign manager, to inform him of this action and am appreciative of his understanding and ongoing support of our work.

We wish Mr. de Vellis well in his future endeavors.

For more information contact Thomas Gensemer at thomas [at] bluestatedigital.com "

I think we have here the classic lack of realization of the cascade and reactive effect of our actions. The gentleman may have thought he was making a statement that will aid his candidate of choice (Obama) and hurt the candidate in his path (Clinton), but the truth is that every cute idea is not a strategically or tactically good one and this one creates a mosh pit wherein both candidates are ultimately undermined.

Of course, we may never know this gentleman's real motives or intent, or if this was just a bumbling attempt with a bit of techno-flair (hey, I coined another word!). Time may tell whether or not he and his video end up being a boon or a bone to the skull of the Obama campaign.

Welcome to 2008. 1984 never came.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

The Arabesque Review and the idiots we let into power

I figure there will be enough blgs tonight pontificating ont he arrogant ignorance of the members of Congress and the Senate too involved int heir own little power trips to save our children and our children's children from the folly of our self-manufactured climate crisis, in the wake of Al "The Prophet" Gore's visit to Capitol Hill this day.

Instead I will do a small service to my fellow authors and let them know that The Arabesque Review is putting out a call for submissions.

Celebrating the International Poetry Day, the Arabesques Review is now accepting submissions for two upcoming special issues:

Vol 03, Issue 02 Contemporary Women Literature

>>> Submissions Deadline: April 30, 2007

Vol 03, Issue 03 Globalization

>>> Submissions Deadline: June 30, 2007

To submit to them, go to http://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/

Their submission guidelines are available online at http://www.arabesquespress.org/journal/guidelines.asp

Good luck!

Videology

I have been talking to people, gathering opinion and taking my own counsel, and I think I am near to determining my next few video projects.

The criteria is broad, but intimate: The project has to speak to me and through me, it has to lend itself to expression and invoke a vision that I can be proud of.

The current big dogs, most likely to be made in the near term into videos, are:

DARFUR (Jesus Wept). This internationally well-received piece, on my CD "NEMICORN", would be a great opportunity to hammer home the political and sociological (as well as theological) statement. I see a series of images invoking the human catastrophe of this painful crisis.

From Out of the City. From my CD "The Last Romantic Verb", this reading has a certain arcane darkness to it. It could be fun to imagine.

The Faerie (Strange but Beautiful). From "NEMICORN". If I can find the right woman for the video, maybe. I am haunted by the beauty of this piece. The images would have to live up to it. I see a series of video images of a beautiful woman, perhaps depicted as a series of memories of a lost love. A shame I am not still on good terms with my second wife, she would have been incredible for this.

A Passion, Unrelenting. From "NEMICORN". Done perhaps as a performance piece? It could be interesting. Low key and intimate, passionate.

Brisant Revelations. From "NEMICORN". If I want something thunderous and rocking, this could be. Done as a concept performance piece, perhaps. Perhaps. I like the idea.

CENTAUR. Yes, not released yet on a CD, but it was very well-received on MySpace. So, maybe. We shall see.

Of course, none of this precludes a new reading, specifically for a video. Something minimalist, just the poet and his words?

You never know. But I would like to have at least one or two more videos done before National Poetry Month starts in April.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Video plans and where is David Letterman?

I'm starting to evaluate both what pieces to make next into videos, but also what form they should take. I know I want to do one that is a performance piece...but I also like working with images.

I have several friends who are photographers, artists and models...

If there is a particular piece, either from the existing CDs or still not yet recorded (hey, I have a few bazillion poems, some have not yet gotten their studio time).

I think this could be fun. I am even considering doing a video where I put out a call to friends and readers to send me clip sof them all reading the same poem, then I cut and splice a montage, transitioning from one reader (or even lip-syncher) to the next! It could be fun.

Ummmm...I just flipped over to Letterman...why is Adam Sandler hosting?

Is Cheney stepping aside?

I encountered a rumour the other day, fueled by speculation and web gossip, but also with an historical and political foundation to the political strategy it exposes:

Is the White House going to shuffle Cheney?

In other words, will the White House bow to political will and remove an even more despised Vice President than an unpopular and lame duck President, in hopes of annointing a successor and attempting to give the Republican Party a chance in 2008 to hang onto the White House? It is conceivable, given Cheney's medical history, that there will be a move to have him step down for medical reasons, clearing the way for Bush, in consultation with his party, to select someone they can lend at least part of the powers of incumbency to for the President Race of 2008.

It would be placing the party ahead of the people and certainly create an instant "heir apparent", but if it is to be done, it needs to be done within the next six months or so to be effective and not completely transparent. Smart political observers see many problems with both Giuliani and McCain, problems that render them dangerous to the party in 2008: McCain has a raft of labels that Bush's mean-spirited campaign of 2000 saddled him with, while Giuliani has a troubled marital past that may alienate the evangelical middle-America base.

The party has become a victim of the debt that the short term gains the selling of its soul to slick and amoral political operatives like Karl Rove as it comes due.

We shall see if Cheney hangs on for another, of if again party expediency changes the history of the United States.

Monday, March 19, 2007

USA Today blog quotes Nordette!

This just in from my old friend Nordette Adams!

"1984 anti-Hillary Clinton video and Barack Obama blog post quoted.

"On Deadline," a blog at national newspaper USA Today for "breaking news and must-read stories" quoted one of my Confessions of a Jersey Goddess blog posts about the "1984" anti-Hillary YouTube video. It quoted this post:

http://jerseygoddess.blogspot.com/2007/03/hillary-1984-ad-at-youtube-bugs-me.html

You may read the "On Deadline" blog at USA Today at this link:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/03/hillary_1984_vi.html"

Outstanding, Nord!

the lawlessness of flawlessness

Well, the video went up at MySpace and YouTube yesterday. Phew. See my previous post for the link to MySpace and the imbedded form...

Now to wrap the podcast for this week and promote it (a fairly arduous process) sometime today. My, what a productive weekend.

Good feedback on the video, so far. Is it perfect? No...but I have worked hard to supress my natural perfectionist streak. It was such a pain when I was young, as I would write or paint something, then tinker with it until it was a mess, try to tweak this and that to make it better. It was a slow train coming, but eventually I was able to press myself into the "live feed" artistic mold, demanding the emotional purity of things as raw as possible.

You sometimes get a prettier picture or poem by retakes, but you never get a more true or earnest result. It also has forced me to hone my skills so that my first draft is good. And I have no use for artifice, false embellishment of memory. Yes, I appreciate a lover who goes to the effort of polishing her appearance for the occasion, but sooner or later you will see her in the morning, her hair rumpled, her makeup gone or scrambled, her expression caught unawares, framed by the sheets. I want to know that person. Repeatedly. Sigh.

But, anyway...if you have seen the video for "Right Set of Lips", let me know what you think...and pass it along to friends, the link to it (if you don't want to or can't watch the imbedded form here on my blog is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRc9b1u4gNg).

Have a great day...I have to get back in the studio.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The video is up and...the video? what video?

Yeah, I know. Just the latest vector on my path towards total world domination.

I have completed the video for the piece "Right Set of Lips", which is available on both YouTube:



and at MySpace at 'Right Set of Lips' video.

A decent first try, with the ease of familiarity now aiding me in my next video, perhaps something more dynamic, like a performance piece?

Yeah, that would be nice. I claim my next wedge of the digital renaissance. Bwahahahahaha!

The Tower is Fixed

Yes, I have been lazy, distracted and inexact. What can I say? Under my ethos and theology, I am required to apologize, once, then move on.

So, I am sorry.

Now for the penance.

Oh, you aren't sure what I'm talking about? Let me explain. I have not been good about updating the official RADIO CITY OF LEGENDS webpage, where you can listen to all my podcasts (and then some), as well as works by Nordette Adams and Daniel S. McTaggart (with more to come).

For those of you unfamilar with my podcast, entitled "Fom Out of the City", it is a show of poetry I have been podcasting for more than a year to listeners and readers around the world. Sometimes there are interviews with or readings by other poets including "Poets for Human Rights" founded Larry Jaffe and the remarkable Dave Taub, sometimes readings just by myself and often poetry-music fusions by my band "The Gods of Love".

But, in recent months I have been lazy and sloppy, allowing Apple's iTunes Music Store to carry the burden of syndication instead of keeping the live page updated for the occasional browser. That ends today...

I have just added more than 2 1/2 hours of the shows...bringing us up to date...and when I add this week's show, later tonight or early tomorrow, I'll make sure to update things...just for you, the listeners.

So there is my apology, my explanation of what I did wrong and how I am fixing it.

I hope you enjoy the shows.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Bob Dylan

Continuing my series of clips of musical artists who have influenced me and both my poetry and my poetic-music fusions:

Bob Dylan, "Just Like a Woman". The master folk poet who made the leap to popular music and influenced just about every artist since.



That's what a real minstrel, a true troubadour, aspires to. Thanks to YouTube for the access.

Gore, Interrupted

I used to train CSRs (Customer Service Representatives) for Bank of America. One of the things we taught was: In your closing, if your customer cuts you off before you finish your closing, you get full Quality Assurance credit for delivering the full and complete closing.



So I am accepting this joke of his at the Academy Awards this year as Al Gore's entry into the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election chase. The orchestra's cutoff doesn't count.

I, at this time, will hope for a Gore/Clinton ticket (Al Gore and Hillary Clinton). I think Al needs to accept the fact that the survival of the human race may well depend on his getting the most focused leverage possible, and the Presidency is the place to have that power. In some ways, having the bumpkin Pretendent (Bush) backroom hijack the Presidency for 8 years was a good thing, so that Al's inconvenient truth of our impending global crisis wasn't derailed by 9/11.

Perhaps. But in any case, GORE IN 2008.

We look at Darfur, a cause I have been associated with, and we see that the precipitating event behind the genocide was the drought of the early stages of this ecological crisis. Now, multiple that a thousandfold as India, Pakistan and China (three populous nuclear powers) face droughts. We have a problem that all the obfuscating in the world won't stop.

We have to fight for survival on a level greater than ever before in human history. We need leaders who aren't so stupid, so bought and paid for, so arrogant, that they can accept the reality and work for a sane and survivable future.

Friday, March 16, 2007

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Knife Edge (1970)

An underappreciated masterpiece, in my humble opinion, from 1970. I've decided to start posting active video links to musical performances by artists who have influenced me:



Truly remarkable.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

The middle man

Recently someone hurled the epithet at me that several of my books have been "self-published. Guilty as charged. Had a made a secret of this?

I like the control that self-publishing gives me. Total control. From the cover illustration to the selection of poems. It is heady and necessary, to me.

Aeons ago a school newspaper editor edited a poem of mine, reversing the first two lines because she said it made them "more proper newspaper form". I got in her face about it. Three ways to see what anger lies within: Mess with my children, insult a muse, edit my works. There are dragons in the deep and I sometimes forget to hold fast their tethers when those conditions occur. I can get pretty ugly.

After the dance of approval on the cover for "from an unexpected quarter" I swore I would not relinquish control or approval again. You are not getting me, filtered through some editor's vision (how many novels are so heavily rewritten by the editor that they are no longer the voice of the author?).

I also hold to my rights, giving them out as golden apples as it pleases me to please others. A handful of muses have found themselves with the rights to works written of and for them. It is the least I can do for all they have given me.

Where am I going with this? I keep getting inquiries from an online service called "Associated Content"...I know people who post there. They get paid for their works, people buy content from them and they make a few bucks. It is tempting.

But then you read the "Terms and Conditions" and most of the way down the page you hit this:

"By submitting any User Content through or to the AC Network, including on any User Tools or User Pages, but excluding any User Content you submit on AC Blogs, you hereby irrevocably grant to AC, its affiliates and distributors, a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, and fully sub-licensable license, to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publicly perform, publicly display, create derivative works from, transfer, transmit and distribute on the AC Network, in connection with promotion or elsewhere, such User Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate the User Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when you submit a text, video, images , AC may modify the format, content and display of such User Content. The foregoing grants shall include the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such User Content, including but not limited to rights under copyright, trademark, service mark or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction. With respect to User Content you Post for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of AC Blogs, You grant AC the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such User Content on the AC Network or on any media. You agree that the foregoing grant of rights by you to AC and its affiliates is provided without any the entitlement of payment of fees or consideration. "

Layman's terms: You keep your copyrights. But they don't have to honor them. They can use your works, even sell your works (to the degree that does not deny you your right of ownership) with no compensation to you. If they found a publisher that wanted to put out a book of your works...they could sell it and keep the money. If someone wants to argue the point, I would love to be proven wrong, but we already have a society, an economy, where the innovators, the inventors, the artists, get less than the businessmen who sell them.

Look at Microsoft. Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world. He didn't invent the software you use. He just owns the company and whether or not the people who actually innovate and develop these systems and applications are appropriately rewarded, he gets richer. The middle man benefits.

I'm not saying AC is a bad bunch of people. I am just saying that before you post away your rights on a picture or a poem, read the terms and conditions. I am obsessive about that, it has kept me out of a bad situation more than once. Think of it as a pre-nuptial (I could have used one of those...twice) for the marriage of creativity and commerce.

But think.

five slots at MySpace

I just added BoDog to my friends list at MySpace. Well, actually the band's list. Why? Because that gives your band an additional song slot for your listeners...

So, if you're a fan...or want to try something a bit unusual...drop by William F. DeVault and the Gods of Love at MySpace and give a free listen to:

32fps2
The Faerie (Strange but Beautiful)
Pondering the Riddle
DARFUR (Jesus Wept)

and...returning for an encore...

Wild and Defiled

It was a tough decision and I'll probably change my mind later and shift the selections, but for now...enjoi.
And thanks to BoDog for the gesture.

Major shout out to Patti Smith for her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. As a rock poet, she is one of the best we've seen, and it acknowledges the occasional triumph of quality and content of lyric over falsetto dance brigades and icing glazed pablum. To quote Sheryl Crow "all our popstars look like porn"...we don't sell music or words anymore, we sell image.

Patti hearkens us back to that and I'll be dedicating this upcoming week's podcast to her..

Hypocrisy in the time of global warming

I am a Christian. And a Liberal.

In part because I beleive the two to be inseparable. Show me a person who claims to be Christian and is not emracing the "L" word and I will show you someone who needs to spend some serious time in prayerful consideration of the hypocrisy of their views.

Yes, you can pick and choose verses from the Bible (usually the Old Testament) to back Conservative issues. Doing the same hunt-and-peck validations, you can find scriptural support for almost every sin and crime you can imagine. I'm not looking for a convenient religion, I'm looking for an honest one that embraces the truth and the will of God.

Having been a member of the Southern Baptists when that dominant denomination made its turn to the right in some bizarre attempt to exchange God for a kingdom of booksales and political conquest here on Earth, I am not shocked by the recent rift amongst Evangelicals over Global Warming. As typified in this story Global Warming Gap Among Evangelicals Widens, we have individuals like Donald Wildmon and James Dobson who, for the most part, demonstrate a Paris Hiltonesque desire to keep their names in the headlines and seek to find cause to threaten the human race by rejecting a call for stewardship that hearkens back to the Garden of Eden charge placed on Man by God, in order to preserve their right to have talk shows and solicit contributions from their mislead flocks.

It is disturbing but not wholly unexpected. Me, I'll follow my conscience and the will of God and the safety and survival of my neighbors, in accordance with the wishes and commands of Jesus Christ.

And hope that there exists still the moral will to do the "right" thing for the human race and the planet.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

the city is adjusted

I just did a minor redesign of the front end of my site (The City of Legends). No, it is not the second coming, but if you want to check it out, see a few hundred poems and listen to hours of my recordings while reading about my books (all in proper honor of National Poetry Month, coming up in just a few weeks) go ahead.

Sheeps giving me the creeps

During a break in the action, I toddled over to check out recently posted movie trailers. Found one for a film I have to see this summer:

Black Sheep

Here's the trailer: Black Sheep trailer

The creature effect are by Weta, Peter Jackson's people, and the story involves genetic experimentation that turns the 40 million sheep in New Zealand into raving carnivores, killed crazed-flesh eating sheeps. Yes, I know, it sounds like a Monty Python sketch...but see for yourself.

See?

Wedenesday morning update

I am alive. Moody and irritable, but that is due to the snail's pace of the job search. People take 2-5 times as long to get back to me as they say they will. I have a low tolerance for delays.

Going to fill my time, having completed my morning sweep of the job boards and reminder emails, by organizing my stuff and getting my boots repaired (I considered doing the boot repair myself, but thought better of it).

I am restless.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

My Way

"Mistakes, I've made a few. But then again, too few to mention..."

Words from the Paul Anka song "My Way", popularized by Frank Sinatra. Yeah, we all make mistakes. I have a few thousand skeletons in my closet. But then, again, most of them have been not malicious, just errors in judgement, and I've been able to extract some learning of value from each "oops".

Tomorrow is a grim anniversary, the 9th anniversary of my second marriage. I have had so many people ask me to declare that event a mistake. Sorry. I can't. Whether in truth I did what I did out of real passion or affection, or a misguided attempt to save someone from a downward spiral that nearly killed them, I can't say that, on the whole, I am sorry for the good that came out of those years.

I made some good friends, helped a lot of people, dealt with some issues I needed to deal with and found elements of truth that had been hiding from me all this time. All good things.

So, quit sitting around griping about your mistakes...look at the upswings, the gains, from these stumbles.

And do it your way.

Monday, March 12, 2007

awaking to the sound of distant...telephone

for the record...Daylight Savings Time plays hob with my body's clock.

But, I will live.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Sliding through the Ides

The new podcast, unofficially entitled 'Sliding through the Ides', is now up and available!

The poetry selections included in this week's show are:

My Life
The Dance of Decades
FAITH
There Must Be a Season
City of Angels

Yes, I know I should post them all here, but is your mouse so old and tired that you cannot just click over to my site at cityoflegends.com, slide down to the archival City and look them up? I didn't think so.

The theme this week is all about change and life and grappling with the obstacles and epiphanies life puts in your path. My daughter once tried to corner me into saying my first marriage was a mistake. I had to strongly disagree with her, as out of that union came some good times, some good experiences, and my beloved children. Should I wish them away?

No.

Sometimes we are called upon to "give up. give out. give in to the inevitable" as I say in "City of Angels". Guess what? Not in my character, sorry. You can have my soul, my dreams, my prayers and my free will when you peel my cold, dead hands from around my pen.

Until then, shut up and enjoy the ride. I never said I was a quitter.

The Death of Richard Jeni

Word is just in of the death of comedian Richard Jeni. He was a funny, funny guy. Initial reports are "an apparent suicide" but we have all seen cases where that has been recanted later, so I'll just say goodbye to a manic, charming man whose wit entertained me.

Congrats to "300", the intense and stylized adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic graphic-novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. It won the weekend with a runaway box office tally well above even the most optimistic predications! It is now the third largest opening ever for an "R" rated film, finish just behind obne of the "Matrix" franchise and "The Passion of the Christ".

This is one of those weeks where I will be passing through the fire...I should be in better shape, on many levels, come Friday than I am today, and I am braced for the trials I will be facing. I'll explain them all in more detail later...I still have a podcast to worry about tonight!

NPM and me

I am starting to realize I have not made enough plans for National Poetry Month...so I am casting out a few lines. If you have a podcast, ezine, radio show or other venue needing a guest, a piece or an article during April 2007 (National Poetry Month) it makes sense for me to raise my hand.

I will also make myself available for some public appearances in schools, etc. Money is nice, but not a prerequisite...West Virginia, Virginia, DC and Maryland are all valid areas for me to consider...maybe even some Pennsylvania...if you have a group, a book store or a school...let me know, I'm going to try and schedule as many events as I can...first come first served.

Otherwise, an unremarkable day...doing a lot of yardwork and preparing for some interviews later in the week. I will be putting out a new podcast tonight.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

snarl

Nothing quite like being awakend at 3 in the morning by long distance drunk dialers who then, after you hang up and turn off your cell phone, proceed to leave eight (8) rambling messages.

Charming.

Am I back in high school?

Writing today. Maybe I will go see "300" later.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Phonecasting.com?

I just received an email from Phonecasting.com, including my login and password and welcoming me for signing up.

The problem is, I never signed up for such a service or with a company of that name. Here's the letter:

"Welcome and many thanks for joining PhoneCasting.com!
We are delighted to welcome you aboard. We just wanted you to know we are working hard to provide you with high quality phonecasting solutions. With PhoneCasting you can listen to great audio programs and even create your own. We are even working to establish ways for you to have financial sponsorship of shows you produce with our patent pending ADCASTING service.

Here are you login credentials. Please write them down.

Your Username is: XXXXXXXXXXX (I X'd this out, why invite further identity theft?)
Your Password is: xxxxxx (see above)

Let us know if you have any ideas on how we can make the phonecasting.com sight and services better.
If you have any need for extra help or just general questions don't hesitate to ask.
Create your own phonecasts and podcasts with the PhoneCasting Studio in browser recorder or by phone!
Organize your podcasts and phonecasts from your dashboard!
Monetize your content and phonecasts
Track your podcasts and phonecasts when listeners dial in download or stream with our award winning podstats tools!
Send to Friends by email
Manage your profile and content from your admin dashboard
Subscribe to your favorite podcasts!
Manage your subscriptions!
Receive email and sms alerts when new episodes of your favorite shows are available and More!"


Maybe I am senile, but I just do not recall these people. Anyone else get such a mystery letter, or did someone sign me up without telling me (thereby borrowing my identity, which is, last time I checked, a crime?)

Thoughts? Questions? Answers? Really good jokes?

Friday and I live and love and hope and dream and speak

Did you realize this is my 1,700th post to this blog? Wow.

Yes, I know I still have to post the remaining seven meme tag victims...I'll get to it this weekend. It has just been a crazy week, trust me.

Heard from Chan the other day, always good to hear her voice, especially since so many of the "can't live without" me friends who I left behind in Morgantown seem to have cut me off. Tag is still in touch, fortunately...he better be, as we are launching our own publishing imprint later this year. Yeah, that is still on track.

The coming Poetry Year (February 14, 2007-February 13, 2008) has a lot to be done during it. I will still be touring this summer. I will still be at FiW in Amaraillo in June. I have a half dozen books in the final gestational stages...which ones will pop out this year (including the tidied-up "101 GREAT EROTIC POEMS") is still anyone's guess. Man plans, God gets a wry, mischievous smile and laughs.

This summer, after I get settled into my new digs, I also plan to engage, in honor of my old friend Pete Rosa, in a social experiment in online dating. I will select an online dating service, most likely Yahoo personals, and go out with the ten highest-rated matches I can convince to go out with me. And document the results. Who knows? Maybe Abstra is just a mouse-click away! No, I am not being unfaithful to Jaz. I adore the woman, and she has a great fondness for me, but she will never see me as anything other than a good friend...and I am not that consumed by the need to enagage in futile gestures. Eventually I will allow my heart to travel to a place of comfort and shelter and warmth. I can only penance my past mistakes so many times, so many miles, so many years. To feel again the invincibility I felt in Brigit's embrace.

I was, as much of America, shocked by some of the results from last night's "American Idol"...but every year we get a few like that. I can tell you this, if some smart record company signs Sabrina, I'll buy her CD. She'll outsell Taylor Hicks, and I like the guy. I was not shocked to see Antonella Barba go. She seems competent, and I am sure in time, if she's smart about it, she'll land on her feet. I do agree that the producers are backed a bit into a corner when this is contrasted with the Frenchie fiasco. I see their point, but it is one Occam would have gone mad trying to bisect.

The job search is interesting. You would think someone out there would have already tagged someone with my track record as a successful proposal writer and proposal manager for at least a contract gig. Remind me to maintain my network better in the future.

Okay...looking over my project tickler file...so you know, in various stages of completion: Six volumes of poetry, two novels, three screenplays, two nonfiction books and two CDs. Think how much more I would be producing if I was inspired of a muse, not just in abstract, but in the flesh. I miss the intimacy. Perhaps this is my final exile? It would be nice.

I was approached last week by a writer working on the Benedum Foundation newsletter for word on my plans to speak in West Virginia schools during National Poetry Month. I really didn't have the heart to tell her that despite being named one of 50 Outstanding Creative Artists from West Virginia by the AEI, having spoken before the West Virginia Board of Education and having been invited to speak in schools in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Iowa, Colorado and probably several places I can't even recall anymore and that, after EJ sent out, over the past three years, hundreds of emails to teachers and administrators at schools (including my alma mater) letting them know I was available, I have never, even once, been approached to read at a school in West Virginia.

I have considered it a curiosity. Sometimes a point of, even, grief. But I have been embraced too many places to dwell too long or profoundly on that rejection. I knew I was a bad fit, they just underscored it. I survived.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Some people got to have it...

In case you are not one of the several people who have pointed out what I already know, I am no longer residing in West Virginia. While my long term desire is undoubtably to return to California, I am for the time being settling back into the bedroom communities of suburban Washington DC and seeking to return to my former life as a very successful proposal writer and manager (I know my way around a verb or two).

It will take a little time, and I do miss several friends I made in Morgantown and the surrounding area, as well as my family links, but my boys live in this area, and the money here is from 3 to 5 times higher than I can get in Morgantown. So it is a no-brainer.

Don't worry, I still plan to do some events in West Virginia, but my shoes started getting shiny again and people started treating me with that thinly veiled sense of panic usually present when one encounters a Martian in their backyard. So I packed up my show and took it on the road.

As my old friend Stan Lee is fond of saying, "Excelsior". (It means "Upwards!")

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

slowing down the Juggernaut

Somebody distract him while I wrestle the pen away from him. The man is just too charged at this point.

Project Summary: "Cathechism". Book and accompanying CD of poems. Target date: August 16, 2007.

Yeah, just got it.

Jaz, hit him with a club or something. He needs to get a hobby like world domination (hold it, already has that one) or a perky blonde.

Now wouldn't that complicate things? Yes, but he diverts so much of himself into his romances, he has little energy left for loading me down with impossible editorial tasks.

I am back and actually recommending...

Missed me? Well, you should have. But here are my first three entries into the hell that is "meme tag"! If anyone less than Nordette had asked me to do this, I would have said "No!".

I am supposed to tag ten others...but I am, admittedly, more wired to than wired from...add to that the fact that most of the people I would attach to are already in the "been meme'd" category...but here's the first few:

Billy Jones, the Blogging Poet . Billy is a solid poet who has embraced the blogosphere with great energy and vision. He's worth a visit!

Ms Peach has a lively poetry-oriented blog...and her occasional comments on my blog are entertaining.

Ah, Mari, my little sister of the spirit. How your "Body of the Golden Erotic" poetry and photo blog just adds to your mystique!

I should tell EJ to compile a list for me. Yeah, that would make it simpler. Hey, EJ...

Latest news in our Ann(dy) Coulter watch: She hasn't yet blamed the Jews for the Holocaust, tried to assassinate the Pope or been caught servicing a pack of stray dogs. But the day is young. She is running out of incredibly stupid things to say and do.

Monday, March 05, 2007

The 10 Random Facts Meme

Okay, I know I'm about a week late, but I have been tagged by the delightful Nordette Adams, and thus will (finally) do my "10 Random Things About Me" meme exercise. Thanks to Nord for tagging me and thanks to those poor souls I am about to tag at in my next entry (i tis tough finding ten people who haven't already been tagged).

Random facts about me:

#1: I love chicken livers. No, seriously. I really do. Favourite food. I like them better than chocolate or strawberry shortcake or baby carrots, all which place high on my list.

#2: When I lived in Los Angeles, my favourite bar band to go see was Billy Vera and the Beaters. It got to the point he started recognizing me as a regular. My good friend, ace drummer Dave Demeter, actually introduced us once.

#3: I used to collect "Premiere Magazine". I can't explain it, I just did. Had all of them until one day a girlfriend, when I was at work, cut them all up to make a collage of her favourite movie stars on my bedroom wall. I'm not kidding. I must've loved her a lot.

#4: I think Tim Thomerson is the funniest comedian I have ever seen. His stand up shtick was brilliant, hyperkinetic and bold. That he quit standup to become a B-movie actor always rankled me, but it is his career, not mine.

#5: Odd little thing: Every woman I have ever kissed (I mean really kissed) is Caucasian. Not that I do not find women of other ethnic groups attractive, on the contrary...I have had major crushes on women of every race, creed, colour and political persusasion. It just has shaken out that way. Very strange, considering the crowds I have run with and the places I have been.

#6: I used to have a large collection of old, valuable books. All but my 1876 edition of "The Complete Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley" now reside, to the best of my knowledge, in a coffin at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. How's that for strange? The coffin was made for a magic show of mine, more than 30 years ago, by my best friend. I had planned to, one day, be buried in it. I am still somewhat miffed to have lost it after I had carried it back and forth across these United States for those many years.

#7: My favourite cartoon character of all time remains Daffy Duck.

#8: I believe that most emotional and mental conditions that people medicate for can better be handled through cognitive therapy. Prescribing medications that affect how your brain works based on unsubstantiable diagnoses seems unwholesome.

#9: I prefer cats to dogs.

#10: I have all my wisdom teeth. How's that for odd?

Okay...now for the poor victims, the ten who will take the challenge and blog their little hearts out! (next entry)

32fps2 at MySpace

Oh yeah, the man's alive.

New song up on MySpace at

William F. Devault and the Gods of Love

It's a longer piece, about five minutes, and the lyrics don't kick in until after it is half done...it is built on his poem "Thirty Two Feet Per Second Per Second". Dark, introspective, and decidedly not mellow in the orchestration.

I don't know if he is done for this session or not...if so, he did good. If not? We can only wait and see.

invoking the focus

There's a lot wrong with the world. Hatred. Hunger. Disease. War. And those who profit or take pleasure in these things.

But me, I'm just one voice. Maybe a bit louder than the average, thanks to my books, blogs, podcast and poetry. But still, just one voice.

And this one voice, for today, is going to forget about Anna Nicole Smith, Ann(dy) Coulter, Pretendent Bush, Global Warming, Darfur, ignorance, National Poetry Month, the War in Iraq, the Great Consonant Shift, tonight's episode of Heroes, rising rates of autism, the seeming cancellation of "Studio 60", drug addiction in our middle schools, teen violence, the sorry state of race relations in America, the New York City Council, the Walter Reed Scandal and the McCartney divorce.

I'm about to flip the switch to bring up the console at Studio C, to complete the song I have been sweating blood, brain cells and stomach lining for this past week. Time to call the dragon, William Invocatus is in the house.

See you when I emerge. Hold my calls. Thirty seconds to cue.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Ann(dy)

Andy Kaufman is back.

He calls himself Ann Coulter, now.

That's the only explanation for someone so twisted they have to be a parody, sort of like Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report".

You see, I've figured it out, Ann(dy). This is a put on, a media game to make you some money. Like Hugh Hefner, you don't care about the poor schmucks who believe the stereotypes you reinforce, you laugh (if perhaps cruelly) all the way to the bank, but you do have a healthy bank account.

So, let's give credit where credit is due...under the deranged glare and cheap dye job, we're looking at a master performance artist, someone trying desperately to show us just how repugnant stereotyping, self-righteous, jingoistic Neanderthals can be. Perhaps Ann(dy) even thinks no one is taking her seriously, that we are all clued into the joke.

I mean, is it possible for someone to be that hateful, disingenuous and vituperative? I mean, really. Someone that stupid would have problems being toilet trained. Just not possible.

It's a joke, guys. Andy is back. Let's all sing a rousing chorus of "Man in the Moon" and let her go mud-wrestle audience members.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Saturday and the flavour of darkness

It is Saturday.

Yeah!

Well, okay, not such a big deal. Another day older and deeper in debt, you know? But most people celebrate Saturday as an escape from the responsibility of their 9-5, M-F job. Losers. Your work is a part of your identity. If you resent what you do, you are resenting a part of yourself. The part that largely funds the other aspects of your life. Sort of dumb, eh? Integrate. Compartmentalization is a coping mechnism of inadequacy.

I am still working on the new song, tweaking the darkness I am calling. I had a close friend the other day talk about her darkness. I always want to laugh at people who make an issue of their darkness, as most have no sense of it beyond some posed pretense learned off the cover of an album and in bad song lyrics.

You want real stygian, intense, dark, infinite blackness? I don't know if I can translate it as well as it deserves, but I am spending some time there, touching, tasting, smelling, feeling, listening to the world beyond shadows. Summoning it to the tips of my tongue and fingers, the better to unleash it like a hoarse scream of self-immolation.

Or really good sex.

Friday, March 02, 2007

New York: What next, book burning?

Well people, in a world where we already have so many laws in place that are never enforced and that are either so outdated or so politically manifest against common sense, we have the latest and greatest: New York City has banned the 'N-Word'.

It's not that I don't find "that word" offensive. I do. That's the point. It is offensive, but no more than a handful of other words. As a writer, it chills me when a government sees itself able to declare a word or written work as illegal. It speaks to a mindset of social engineering. Of totalitarianism that is so much more offenseive than some redneck idiots who rail against the Taliban but fly a Confederate battle-flag, the symbol of the greatest treasonous betrayal of the United States, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

We live in a backwards world, where politically-correct speech is subversive and deleterious to our moral fiber. I have worked in places where you can get in more trouble for saying "There are people having sex in the hall" than for actually having sex in the hall. The words frighten people. The power of the words frighten people. But if you are afraid of a gun, creating a greater sense of uncertainty by not letting people talk about it makes it more dangerous. Empowering it is foolish.

Laws that are hastily or ignorantly made are counterproductive. I am sure the New York City Council members were all voting out of fear that they'd lose votes in the next election if they didn't vote for this measure. No sense of right or wrong or the echoes to posterity of this vote, merely a panicked grab for voter base. We outlaw something, we add to its cachet. We need social pressure, not legislated brownshirting.

We need to take the power back from this word, and others like it. We need to judge people by their actions and their hearts, not a word. I realize a lazy person can use a verbiage test to simplify the pigeon-holing required in this overwhelmingly complex media-based society, but all you have to do is look at the political headline sof the day to see how stupid we have become: John McCain is being wrist-slapped for using the word "wasted" for the young men and women who have died protecting George Bush's machismo-fueled lies in Iraq. It's okay to kill our sons and daughters, not okay to say the killer is wasting lives.

We have become a nation, and perhaps a world, thanks to craven media moguls and gutless politicans, of people who run from words and waste the political will to deal with real issues of poverty, education, world hunger, war and global warming. Shame on us and shame on the New York City Council for their cowardice and ignorance in the face of real issues. No wonder the third world hates us so much, we are preening buffoons, more concerned with what words we endorse than dealing with any real issues.

Chris Rock has some pithy things to say about the vote and the measure in the article. Damn, Chris always impresses the hell out of me. Read the article. Talk about it. Don't empower the ignorance.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Business serves mediocrity

Well, demonstrating that having a new coach, a rough season and a quarterback who has played face-tag with the pavement isn't enough, the Pittsburgh Steelers have cut Joey Porter, saying it was a business decision.

Aigh!

lord of poetry, leaping

So much to do, so little of me. Not much to say, rght now. I have jumped off a high cliff with no precise means or plan of landing, just accepting the notion that the leap was necessary.

Typical. But not really. Usually I have only leapt when I was leaping to something specific. This is an act of faith.

Faith is powerful. We shall see just how powerful.

Copyright © William F. DeVault | All Rights Reserved