car key and computer chip with heat sink

sunnyvale, CA

bo3b with cheap head magnifier

sunnyvale, CA

conversation of the moment

young mixed asian woman: "what's that smell?"

middle aged white man: "it's marijuana."

asian: "how do you know?"

man: "i did it a couple of times. (pauses) i'm a teacher."

-- computer recycling outlet; sunnyvale, CA

quote of the moment

"video games ruined my life.
good thing i have two extra lives."

-- t-shirt

and the winner is ...

this from the arts council of silicon valley. this means that you, dear reader, get inside information that hasn't been released to the public at large yet.

***

dear b1,

thank you for applying for the position of santa clara county poet laureate. i regret to inform you that you were not chosen to receive this award. the title of 2009 santa clara county poet laureate will be bestowed on nils peterson at the santa clara board of supervisors meeting on tuesday, march 24.

although you were not selected, this in no way diminishes our appreciation of your talent, commitment to the art form, and your contributions to the artistic vitality of this community. on behalf of the arts council, the santa clara county board of supervisors, santa clara county library and the panelists, i sincerely thank you for your application.

we wish you success as you continue writing and inspiring the community.

sincerely,
diem jones
director of programs

trivium of the moment

age of the average cruise passenger: 46

quote of the moment

"pope's condom stance under fire"

-- international herald tribune headline

quote of the moment

"don imus says he's battling stage two prostrate cancer"

-- y! news headline

TV screen just changing state

doesn't fit on #24HoTV, but good here.

24HoTV returns

i'll be participating in 24HoTV2 with special K this weekend. catch it all at 24HoTV.com or follow the hash tag #24HoTV on twitter.

quote of the moment

"TOO MANY SUICIDES ARE NOT ENOUGH"

-- section heading in, "suicide: survivors"

a swing and a miss

well,

i wasn't selected to be interviewed for the poet laureate of santa clara county which means that's not happening. i'm disappointed and two things gnaw a bit on me.

is this a haiku prejudice? (snooty poetry types hate haiku.)

why is it if you search on "santa clara county poet laureate" (using either google's regular search or 'blog search) you find only me talking about it from an entrants-point-of-view. could it be that the poet laureate of the silicon valley doesn't actually talk about their poetic work online?


thank you, dear reader, for your support,
b1

sunset

barstow, CA

mile 1000

barstow, CA

An Open Letter to the Silicon Valley Arts Council

Hi there,

If you're reading this it means you actually took the time to chase a link either from my resume, my MLA list or the choka. No matter how you got here, I truly appreciate your efforts.

Your submission requirements seemed strict enough that I didn't include a cover letter with everything else I passed you. I didn't want words like these to throw off my chances of being selected. (In fact, I became so paranoid as I was putting together my submission package that I didn't print my entry on my super-great 100% cotton 24# bond when you said 20# 'or similar' -- and instead bought some much lower class 25% cotton 20.)

I spent a HUGE amount of time culling my poetry to give you a feeling for both my free-verse and my haiku -- trying to give as much emotive range as is reasonably possible. Overall it's a nice set and it'll be interesting to see if the Council is versed enough to know who Inger Christensen is, or the significance of a heteronymic palindromic poem.

I think it really boils down to what you're looking for in a poet laureate (PL).

If you want a world-calibre poet, or a snooty type that looks dismissively at their audience over their reading glasses as they "present," I'm a terrible choice. I bet you already know that.

However, if you're looking for someone who can present poetry in a wide range of both style and emotion (on extremely small notice), can fully engage an audience, and will do stand-out work as far as the overriding project goes, it's very possible I'm your best choice. (Assuming, of course, that you don't have a prejudice against publication on the Internet or my haiku submitted as samples).

I'd love to be the PL. I mean really love it. I'd be vigorous, timely, prolific, thoughtful and enthusiastic. I'd get the poets of the valley crawling out of the woodwork and would kick my own form of expression up two levels.

I tend not keep score in life the way many others do. If I did, I would have been rich long ago (and you probably wouldn't be reading my application right now) . For me, this would be the single greatest honor and accomplishment of my life. I'm completely serious about that. It's the absolute cherry topping what, to this point, has been a great life sundae.

Even if I'm not chosen, I *love* the fact that my county is not only contemplating, but doing this. It's both awesome and inspiring.

I don't envy the decision you have to make, nor the crazy process you'll all have to agree on to do it.

You absolutely have my respect and support,
b1

PS This entry written at 32,000', 2/14, on my hiptop, but post-dated to remain on top until judgement day.

mile 700

sloan, NV

mile 600

manix, CA

haiku of the moment

staccatto silenced
ace hardware now one voice less
good day, paul harvey

mile 500

rancho cucamonga, CA

quote of the moment

"why are we commercial free? because jesus thinks commercials are
whack."

-- snippet heard on a radio set to "scan;" pasadena, CA

haiku of the moment

LA sun shower
roscoe's chicken-n-waffles
a bright, glowing day

mile 400

santa clarita, CA

quote of the moment

"no, that guy's from new york. new yorkers don't know how to do
anything. well, that's not true. they can do some things. like hail
cabs, for example."

-- entropy dave

art deco ceiling ...

SF, CA
m.

wooden bear vs. steel deer, who wins?

mile 300

goleta, CA

haiku of the moment

chirp in the distance
disconcerting in the dark
first frog of spring calls

mile 200

pismo beach, CA

mile 100

king city, CA

mile 0

santa clara, CA

haiku of the moment

bombings in the night
assassins in the palace
mourn guinea-bissau