Distribution Automatique

Saturday, May 22

Kasey Silem Mohammad {click here} reports on the death, and possible murder, of his developmentally disabled brother.
"Wednesday, May 12th, at 10:19 in the morning, my 54-year-old brother Harry Hicks was discovered lying unconscious in the road next to his bicycle by two motorists at the corner of Magnolia and Roseburg in Modesto, California..."
A memorial fund is in the planning stage.
Jon Kessler *Global Village Idiot*
through June 5 at Deitch Projects
76 Grand Street
12-6 Tuesday through Saturday
Recent shows include an exhibition
of his work in collaboration with
Paul Auster at The Hermes Forum, Tokyo
**
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy
through May 30th
Experiments of the 20's
(includes two 5 minute films)
International Center of
Photography
1133 Avenue of the Americas
Blogging and Narcissism: The French Connection

Blogs : expositions de relations sociales déjà établies
Continuite {click here}
via Media TIC Blog {click here}
  Dans le cadre de son travail de recherche sur les blogs bretons, le chercheur Olivier Trédan propose un nouvel article sur le phénomène des blogs : Continuité entre blogs et pages personnelles ; extrait :
" (...) Dans cette continuité, la pratique du blog est clairement tournée vers l'exposition de relations sociales, l'amitié notamment. La publicisation de l'intime pose également la question de la porosité et de l'articulation entre espaces public et privé, entre la mise en visibilité et en scène de l'intime et dissimulation de la personne. De nombreux auteurs (Robert Sennett, Les tyrannies de l'intimité) y ont vu une perte de substance de l'espace public, de l'esprit civique, induite par le triomphe de Narcisse. Pour d'autres (Dominique Mehl), le public et le privé sont en constante interaction. De cet enchevêtrement, de ces aller-retours constant entre soi et l'autre, naît le débat social."
Rappel : si vous possédez un blog et que vous vous trouvez en Bretagne, vous êtes invité à répondre au questionnaire concocté par l'Equipe de Recherche Marsouin à cette adresse.
JLR -- 18:11
Votre Commentaire ? (0)
Our VERY rough translation:
"In presenting his research on the continuity between personal pages and blogging,
researcher Olivier Tredon recently published an article on the phenomenon of blogging":
"In this continuity, the practice of blogging has clearly turned towards the exposition of social relations, notably personal closeness. The publicizing of intimacy poses both the question of the porosity of intimacy, the articulation between private and public spaces, between deprived public spaces, the framing of exposure and the fictionalizing of the person. Numerous authors, (Robert Sennet, the tyranny of intimacy) have seen seen in this a piercing of the public space, of civic spirit, indicated by the triumph of Narcissus. For others (Dominique Mehl), the public and private are in constant interaction.From this tangle, from these constant return tickets between oneself and the Other, the social debate is born."

Babelfish translation:
Within the framework of his research task on the Breton blogs, the researcher Olivier Trédan proposes a new article on the phenomenon of the blogs: Continuity between blogs and personal pages; extract:

" (...) In this continuity, the practice of the blog is clearly turned towards l'exposition of social relations, l'amitié in particular. The publicisation of l'intime also raises the question of porosity and l articulation between spaces deprived public and, the setting of visibility and in scene of l'intime and dissimulation of the person. Many authors (Robert Sennett, tyrannies of l intimity) there saw a loss of substance of l'espace public, l'esprit civic, induced by the triumph of Narcisse. For d'autres (Domenica Mehl), the public and the private one are in constant interaction. From this tangle, from these constant return tickets between oneself and l'autre, is born the debate social." Recall: if you have a blog and that you are in Brittany, you are invited to answer the questionnaire concocté by l'Equipe of Research Porpoise at this address. JLR -- 18:11





For The Love of Books and Writing

"'ANTHONY CODRUS URCEUS, a most learned and
unfortunate Italian, born 1446, was a striking
instance' (says his biographer)'of the miseries
men bring upon themselves by setting their
affections unreasonably to trifles. This learned
man lived at Forli, and had an apartment
in the palace. His room was so very dark, that
he was forced to use a candle in the day time;
and one day, going abroad without putting it
out, his library was set on fire, and some
papers which he had prepared for the press were
burned. The instant he was informed of this ill
news, he was affected even to madness. He ran
furiously to the palace, and, stopping at the
door of his apartment, he cried aloud:
'Christ Jesus! what mighty crime have I committed?
whom of your followers have I ever injured that
you thus rage with inexpiable hatred against
me?' Then turning himself to an image of the
Virgin Mary near at hand, 'Virgin" (says he)
'hear what I have to say, for I speak in earnest,
and with a composed spirit. If I shall happen
to address you in my dying moments, I humbly
entreat you not to hear me, nor receive me
into heaven, for I am determined to spend all
eternity in hell.' Those who heard these
blasphemous expressions endeavored to comfort
him, but all to no purpose; for the society
of mankind no longer supportble to him, he
left the city, and retired, like a savage,
to the deep solitude of a wood. Some say that
he was murdered there by ruffians; others that
he died at Bologna, in 1500, after much
contrition and penitence."

William Hazlitt
"On Means and Ends"
Essay VII
"Mind and Motive"
from *Winterslow-
Essays and Characters
Written There*
first published
1839

Friday, May 21

Tympan comments on *Free Radicals: American Poets Before Their First Books.*{click here}"The title suggests a catch-them-while-you-can, next-big-thing tone to the project, a tone Ron generally adopts himself. But--as came up in Ron's comment boxes--does this make too much of the holy grail that is the First Book?..."
Some Questions on Reading Poetry- right now on Crag Hill's Poetry Scorecard {click here}

Thursday, May 20

David Markson's newly published book *Vanishing Point*
is available (in a signed,
slightly discounted paperback edition) at the Strand
Book Kiosk on 5th Avenue E. 60th Street.
Markson's amazing previous books
include *Reader's Block* and *This Is Not A Novel*.

The Elegant Variation on David Markson {click here}
Karl Merleau-Marcuse takes issue with Tim Peterson {click here}
Caterina {click here} considers the importance of "freedom from the past"
We like to call this: "having a good forgettery".

Wednesday, May 19

Creativity Good for your Health {click here}

via Poetry Hut Blog {click here}
New poem right now on
xzentrick libretti {click here}
Thinking lately about the constant feeling of impending apocalypse,
the anxious impression of time running out, & how, if someone knew
they had only very little time left, how they might want to focus on
& cherish every particle of experience...
*****************************************
notebook (poem): circa 1990

To A Poem

Yet how long can I delay?
As long as the delights of life
Bid me reach for knowledge and pleasure,
Book, conversation, pipe, meal,
Thought, meditation, dream, plan,
Memory, friend, child, touch of a warm cup,
Night, day, sun, film, poem, hand,
Scrapbook, disorganized drawer of papers, trinket,
Memorabilia, telephone, application form, checkbook,
Record player, nap, walk, run, magazine,
Newspaper, reverie, look out the window, at painting,
At dust on sill, at the plants, listen to the water
Running in the kitchen, hear car siren, bug buzzing in the
Bedroom, finger old collages, remember old friends,
Think of new friend, long shower,
Ruminate on bowl, dream of small victories leaning
Back on recliner, think of faces I have seen,
The children I talk to, the therapy I've given and received,
Go to poetry reading, to work, think about the future,
Think of things I've learned, wonder about certain moments
Whose meanings are not yet clear, things I've not yet learned,
Her worries, his worries, my worries, the cracked cup in
The cupboard, Gorby's government, Bush's evasiveness, fascism,
Communism, Poetry Project, Sun and Moon, Arkady Dragomaschenko,
Ilya Kutik, *Poetics Journal*, The Ear Inn, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E,
M/E/A/N/I/N/G, Columbus Avenue, apartment rents and prices, how the
Plants are doing, the kitty in the window across the street,
Drugs in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and on, the homeless, the subway, having
Children, self-confidence, the diary form, collaboration, letters, bills,
Where all my notebooks are, look through all my books for a
Missing book, should I alphabetize my entire book collection,
Write to Norman Fischer, Jeanne Lance, David Bromige, Michael
Amnasan and Jessica Grim, think about learning to be kinder to younger poets,
Start that new tape project, call Charles, plan to call my
Brother,listen to a poetry reading, type a manuscript,
Read Marjorie Perloff's book, Maryann Caw's translation of
Breton, think about French, about France, about French music,
Poetry, poets, the Galerie Lelong, *Avec*, Paul Auster's anthology,
Roussel, Debussy, the Seine, the same, the insane, taxes,
Death, Walt Whitman, the broken trees, salads, noises,
Porgy and Bess, pain, suffering, horrible racism, vicious
Sexism, time, space, colds, schools, clouds, rain,
Endless sunshine in L.A., the sea, freedom, coffee,
Chicken Paprikash, Woody Allen, the AIDS crisis, freedom
To abort, the World, the Shaman, Rothenberg's Shamanism,
Harner's heallings, psychoanalysis, Freud and free association,
Abstract expressionism, Chuck Berry, garage sales, crowded
Closets, jazz, impressionistic music, improvisation, doors,
Tranquility, excitement, shadows, Canasta, Hermes, Pan,
Clytemnestra, Central Park & Stephen-Paul Martin,
Weight gain & loss, fishing, *Roof*, feminism, dyslexia,
Howard Fox, Japan, Catholicism, Jewish Orthodox Cantos,
Ezra Pound's Cantos, Hugh Kenner, Vito Acconci, Eva Hesse,
Suicide, Bridge, racism in Manhattan, Dinkins, Koch,
The Board of Ed, Social Work, classes for the handicapped,
Psychology, Third World debt, fingers, clavicles, Telemann,
Ravel, Bartok, pizzicato, dice, lotto,
Marrakech, the Person, Thought, The Dark, the helpless,
Poverty in Harlem, Celan, Emily Dickenson, George-Therese
Dickenson, Bruce Andrews' *Sonnets*, Ed Friedman's kindness,
Embarassment, shyness, sophisticatin, grace,
The dated quality of qualities, naming, signifies, neatness,
The morning, the evening, sunset on the sea, fear, anxiety,
Enslavement, responsibility for history, the news, the archives,
Descriptions, loss, accounts, sensibility, sausage, time,
Brakes scraping in the distance, hunger, confusion, similes,
Choice, fatuous comments, mimic voices in the memory,
Whistle a tune, make a collage, remember an insult,
Think about the self, justice, reasonable explanations,
Envy & hatred, my own & others, make love, walk at
Sunrise, think of night, the humidity, thunder, wisdom,
Laughter, talk, sound, the street lamp, burgeoning,
Populations, wit, the 17th Century, the 21st Century,
Cummunication disorders, dreams, curry, disease,
Undersize people, oversize people, financial disasters,
Shelley Hirsch, Ravi Shankar, the Wiz, cartoon music,
films by Abigail Child, horse races, think tanks, card
Sharks

Tuesday, May 18

Mappemunde {click here} and p-ramblings {click here} on poetry and the attentional process.

Also, on the topic of "wandering attention" an interview with W.G.Sebald
via wood s lot {click here}
Interview with Sebald {click here}
"Conversation is like a game at tennis,
or any other game of skill. A person shines
in one company who makes no figure in
another- just as a tolerably good cricketer,
who might be an acquisition to a country
club, would have his wicket struck down
at the first bowl at *Lords-ground*. The
same person is frequently dull at one time
and brilliant at another: sometimes those
who are most silent at the beginning of an
entertainment are most loquacious at the end.
There is a *run in the luck* both in cards
and conversation. Some people are good
speakers but bad hearers: these are put out,
unless they have all the talk to themselves.
Some are best in a *tete-a-tete*; others
in mixed company. Some persons talk well on
a set subject, who can hardly answer a common
question, still less pay a compliment or make
a *repartee*. Conversation may be divided
into the *personal* or the *didactic*: the
one resembles the style of a lecture, the
other that of a comedy. There are as many who
fail in conversation from aiming too high a
standard of excellence, and wishing only to
utter oracles or *jeux-d'esprit*, as there are
who expose themselves from having no standard
at all, and saying whatever comes into their
heads. Pendants and gossips compose the largest
class. Numbers talk on without paying any
attention to the effect they produce upon their
audience: some few take no part in the discourse
but by assenting to everything that is said, and
these are not the worst companions in the world.
An outcry is sometimes raised against dull
people, as if it were any fault of theirs. The
most brilliant performers very soon grow dull,
and we like people to begin as they end. There
is then no disappointment nor false excitement.
The great ingredient in society is good-will. He
who is pleased with what he himself has to say,
and listens in his turn with patience and
good-humour, is wise and witty enough for us. We
do not covet those parties where one wit dares
not go, because another is expected. How
delectable must the encounters of such pretenders
be to one another. How edifying to the bye-standers."

William Hazlitt
*Trifles Light As Air* # VIII.
*The Atlas* September 27 & October 4, 1829

Monday, May 17

Breaking News As Reported By Technorati {click here}
Michael Moore's new film tops them all!
notebook: 7/18/90

First try

Morning humdrum. Day residue. The night breathes
down my neck. Reading- humiliation. Awkward
revelation-chili, pasta and nectarines. Sine wave-elation
and sadness-feelings are not clinical-"like- get
a backbone!" Feelings wasted and mandarins. Some wave.
There is a system- without a system- I mean an
old fashioned one. In pajamas- a hymnal- breathe
thrice. Then running- unaware of night- in the thick of
it I'm sick of it- memories. Not a struggle- a salad-
with thinking in it. Enlarge. Faster- faster- I mean,
go slow. There is a universe around this- foxy- hesitant-
air-tight- liquid- liquid- exalted. What's for
lunch? Did you say, "launch?" Nervous, excited, steady,
as a clam. Who said that? Who said what? Say hi
to Norman Fischer (a sea captain).
Whacky, and necessary, wisdom right now on
incertain plume {click here}
{Saturday, May 15, 2004}
...surely, the morality of bicycles exceeds the sense pedestrians have in common...
plumed @ 5:59 PM
for want of an apple, the arrow strikes the head
plumed @ 9:39 PM
*************************************
The Freeway Blogger {click here}
via Equanimity {click here}


New poem right now on Tympan {click here}

Sunday, May 16

notebook: 8/9/87

Follow out all of your desires, only to
come back to the same place. But now
that place is in more places.

Aesthetic sublimation of the fear of
death into plumbing its desires.

The lightest of things- like insects,
like birds, like joy- can be
easily crushed. The heaviest of things-
stones, sorrows- these stay- and tend
to hold their shape.

Art teaches us how to bring the dead to life.

The poem may occur in a place which is greatly
dissimilar from the world made apparent to the
senses. But wherever it is, one fine day there
or nearby you will meet its poet.

Satie on the radio. Girl rolling and
rolling in the foamy sea- black hair and
red bathingsuit.
12:49 a.m.
The lightning storm
continues. I just happened
to come across this!

Gasps (Eileen Tabios) {click here}
notebook (poem): circa 1986

D.C.

then
i
realized
it
wasn't
a
question
of
history
repeating
itself

just
an
old
movie
cranked
up
to
begin
again

the
crooked
man
at
the
top
his
wife
more
ruthless
than
he
is
innocent
children
with
dolls
in
their
hands
are
shot
the acerbic
poet
shakes
his
head