Happy Thanksgiving

(Cover by N.C. Wyeth)

Home


I didn't know I was grateful
for such late-autumn
bent-up cornfields

yellow in the after-harvest
sun before the
cold plow turns it all over

into never.
I didn't know
I would enter this music

that translates the world
back into dirt fields
that have always called to me

as if I were a thing
come from the dirt,
like a tuber,

or like a needful boy. End
Lonely days, I believe. End the exiled
and unraveling strangeness.

Bruce Weigl

I will not make it back to see the family in New England for Thanksgiving so the sentiment of the poem is more for the last time I was back in Connecticut two years ago. This year it will be spent in my adopted home with friends here in Iowa. I would like to send out best wishes to all those spending the holiday with their loved ones and families. I hope to see you all sooner than later.

Boston Spaceships

Robert Pollard's latest post Guided By Voices project. I think he also has another band with a record coming out soon and likely a couple of solo records. He puts almost as many records as Joyce Carol Oates writes books. This video is one of four submitted by fans. The rest are at the Boston Spaceships site.

Iowa City Named World City of Literature

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world's third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
"This is at once a celebration of the literary riches and resources of Iowa City and a spur to action," said University of Iowa International Writing Program Director Christopher Merrill, who led the UI Writing University committee that submitted the city's proposal. "We look forward to working with our new partners in the Creative Cities network -- to forging dynamic relationships with writers, artists and others committed to the life of discovery. This is a great day for Iowa City."
Iowa City joins Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia, as UNESCO Cities of Literature.

Here is a link to a video of Marvin Bell reading his poem, "Writers in Cafe", that accompanied the application. Also a pdf of the poem.

Pedroia wins AL MVP award

Congrats Dustin. He just missed sending the Red Sox to back to back World Series.

“And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks"

William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac. Photo by Ginsberg 1953

This book is mostly a curiosity long known to exist but withheld from publication for numerous reasons including the wishes of Lucien Carr himself. All the principles are dead so now it comes out. After reading the first half I wouldn't recommend it for any one's holiday shopping list but for fans it's worth checking out just to see their early styles.

"Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. "

Another music mix site, Mixwit. I have only played around with it for a few minutes after running across Bob Mould's latest DJ Mix. I was trying to make a mini-mix of current faves; the new Lucinda Williams duet with Elvis Costello Jailhouse Tears, a Loudon Wainwright track since he is town tonight, and a cool song by Teitur, Catherine the Waitress. Not sure about how the whole thing works but I love the part about designing your own tapes and you tube like linkage.

Veteran's Day (Belated)

American Life in Poetry: Column 189


On Swearing

In Normandy, at Point Du Hoc,
where some Rangers died,
Dad pointed to an old man
20 feet closer to the edge than us,
asking if I could see
the medal the man held
like a rosary.
As we approached the cliff
the man's swearing, each bulleted
syllable, sifted back
toward us in the ocean wind.
I turned away,
but my shoulder was held still
by my father's hand,
and I looked up at him
as he looked at the man.


In celebration of Veteran's Day, here is a telling poem by Gary Dop, a Minnesota poet. The veterans of World War II, now old, are dying by the thousands. Here's one still with us, standing at Normandy, remembering. -Ted Kooser

I did not get to post in time for Veteran's Day yesterday so here is the ALP column for this week and thanks to all veterans of the past and to those of the future who are currently serving. It was a good day for war movies yesterday as I flipped back and forth between The Bridge On the River Kwai and The Guns of Navarone, followed later with long stretches of Midway.

More Good News...

Photo Credit: David Scrivner/The Daily Iowan. Iowa sophomore Daniel Murray kicks the winning field goal for the Hawkeyes from 31 yards out on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008. Murray's field goal put Iowa ahead of Penn. State 24-23 with one second left in the game

A nice turn of events this week. I did not brave the weather to see the game in person but enjoyed it from the comfort of a cozy sofa while reading the DeMille potboiler.

'Nuff said. (I won't mention the weather today in consideration of those trapped indoors.)

One of Saturn's moons, Enceladus. (Photo from NASA site. More at Boston Globe here.)

I wish I had my camera with me to capture how perfect it is outside today here in Iowa City. There are long lines here at the library lobby for the early voting stations. This along with the weather seem to bode well for Election Day tomorrow. (Knock on wood.)

I finished Tony Horwitz's book this morning and again still highly recommend it. Check out the website for the book. He also includes a thorough section on notes and an extensive bibliography for further reading. American Journeys is one of the online sites he mentions as one of the best compilations by and about explorers.

I am off to find another book and head outdoors.

Chicago Ten

My weekend was fairly sedate. I ended up going to the Sarah Vowell reading at the Englert on Friday night and she was funny as anticipated. I enjoyed the book especially since part of it talks about the area in Southeastern Connecticut where I grew up and where my immediate family still lives. It would have been nice to have my copy autographed but crowd was too large so we chose Indian food over a long line of gushing fans and book store owners with twenty copies of each her books. I am continuing the early American theme with the Horwitz book, A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World.

I caught the above documentary on PBS and the animated portions created from transcripts of the trail perfectly captured the circus like atmosphere. I recommend seeing it. Saturday night I got talked into playing poker at the local American Legion by a friend who had to cancel at the last minute. I stuck around anyways but didn't win anything in the tournament. I did have some fun drinking cheap beer and playing for small stakes with other tourney washouts.

Music wise I am currently cranking up the latest Lucinda Williams album. Very good and a return to form circa Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. The new record Little Honey includes guest musicians include Charlie Louvin, Elvis Costello, Matthew Sweet, Susanna Hofs and others.

Some Reservations

Photo by Melanie Dunea

From the book featured at right that I found on the new book shelf at library. After reading the introduction by Bourdain and seeing his picture I could not resist the book. (Bourdain's recipe included in the book is for bone marrow and salad). A local cook recently loaned me a copy of Don't Try This At Home: Culinary Castrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs, a lot of the chefs are included in both books so it was good to put faces to names (among other body parts).

Bob Mould- Sound on Sound

A clip from Bob Mould solo show. These images were being screened behind him as he played. Glad someone posted this. I meant link to this last week but I seem to be getting worse about timely posting. Must try harder or fail better as the man said.

Avett Brothers

Saw this on a few music blogs. Bartender at the Dublin turned me on to these guys. The Silver Jews are at Picador tonight. Thinking about going if it's not too expensive.

"Watching"

photo ©2008 leah bennetti from File Magazine

Ah, Fall! This is the exact time of year to be in Maine. Not sure where this picture was taken but Maine is where I would like to be. Baxter State Park... I have rambled about this before.

The Golden Years

All I do these drawn-out days
is sit in my kitchen at Pheasant Ridge
where there are no pheasants to be seen
and last time I looked, no ridge.

I could drive over to Quail Falls
and spend the day there playing bridge,
but the lack of a falls and the absence of quail
would only remind me of Pheasant Ridge.

I know a widow at Fox Run
and another with a condo at Smokey Ledge.
One of them smokes, and neither can run,
so I’ll stick to the pledge I made to Midge.

Who frightened the fox and bulldozed the ledge?
I ask in my kitchen at Pheasant Ridge.

by Billy Collins

Sigur Rós

Muzzle of Bees had a Sigur Rós post with more videos and mp3s. I just experienced listening to their latest album cranked up while going through a car wash. It felt like a stoner move.

"Feelin' Minnesota..."

I ganked the picture of the Minneapolis Sculpture Gardens off of Wikipedia. We didn't actually go here on this trip. Also this was coincidentally a postcard I just mailed to Doolittle back in New England. I'll see if I get some photos tonight.

At the last minute I got pulled into a road trip to Minnesota. We stopped off at mutual friend's house here in Rochester last night and are heading into the Twin Cities to see the band Sigur Ros tonight. Should be fun even if I don't know the music all that well. This will be a short turn around as my friend has to fly out of Iowa tomorrow so we head back right after show. Not looking forward to that drive.

Spain- On the Road Again

I left house today to return books and videos to library after watching the Red Sox win, all but clinching a playoff spot. I also wanted to avoid the updates crawling across the bottom of the television screen indicating that the Patriots were being drubbed by the heretofore hapless Dolphins. To add ineptitude to insult, I find myself mired in last place in my inaugural fantasy football season and it doesn't look like I will be climbing out of the cellar this week or in the near future.

Spain would be a good place to escape to. The clip above is from a show on PBS I lucked into finding. It was the first episode of a new series with Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, Gweneth Paltrow. and Claudia Bassols eating there way around Spain. (Guest appearances by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.) I enjoyed it and look forward to the rest of the series. He is promoting a companion cookbook. Batali, not Quixote.

Speaking of Spain, I am also hooked on the cooking/travelogue series by Chef José Andrés, Made in Spain. I really want the soundtrack! I should ask the public library to order them.

North Korea

High-level North Korean officials take part in a mass meeting celebrating the country's 60th birthday in this picture distributed by North Korea's official news agency KCNA in Pyongyang September 8, 2008. The portrait in the huge North Korean national flag is the state founder and "Great Leader" Kim-Il Sung. The right side letters read, "Celebrate 60th birthday". North Korea's foundation day falls on September 9, 2008. (REUTERS/KCNA)

I saw this link from Boston Globe's website on the photography blog Conscientious. I would love to visit North Korea and it's been almost twenty years since I was stationed in South Korea it would be great to return as a civilian.

Sarah Vowell's book led to me check out the Broadway recording of the musical she referred to in the preface that I quoted. (Assassins!). I also found a DVD copy of 1776 which Vowell attended at Ford's Theater which she prefaces by saying,"Going to Ford's Theater to watch the play is like going to Hooters for the food.'' But then she gets hooked on the musical despite her obsession with Lincoln's seat.