So I've been in the new place for what....5 months already and all I have made for food was ramen noodles and coffee. Reheated some pizza from the joint down the street a few times. This has been expensive and I need to get back the culinary pleasures.

Why have I waited so long? Well besides laziness cuz I want food immediately after I get home from work, and I'm too tired some days after work and I don't have the time I used to to plan shop chop and cook, I am have had some reservations about my kitchen. I was enamoured with having a gas stove for the first time in my life, but that got in the way of seeing the other difficulties like space to put all my kitchen stuff, working triangle distances, and that the handyman my landlord uses is not the fastest snail in finishing work up that started before I moved in.

Well, I bit the bullet and just stopped the excuses, shopped, and cooked.
The first thing I made was my tried and true rice pilaf with turkey breast. It is simple to make, it keeps well, and I can make enough to be lunch for the rest of the week. Things were awkward, but I didn't think much of it.
Then I tried something new that I saw on Rachel Ray on cable in the hotel when I was in Texas. I made turkey cacciatore burgers on portobello buns. As you can see, it came out great, tasted better, but a royal pain in the ass with my kitchen design.
I will make this again but I don't think I'm going to renew my lease, unless the kitchen gets a major overhaul. I have my priorities. Only 7 months to go.

Lately, I have been subjected to an unbridled bashing of my chosen political party. Every problem that can be thought of, from the Iraqi war to the revival of bellbottom jeans has been blamed on the GOP. With ex-expatriate Smiths coming back to depressing old home, I expect some more earfuls of rants.

Folks, the root cause is not one party or the other. The shit has been flying from the fan no matter it was an elephant flipping the switch or and ass. Conservative does not mean republican, as neither does liberal means democrat. Some of the most conservative people I ever met were Southern Dems in North Carolina in the late 70's. Nixon had to deal with a Dem Congress, Carter had a Dem congress, etc. Tammany Hall was Democrat as was the the first Chicago Mayor Daley. Boys and Girls, check out the politicians, not their affliation.

Thanks to John Ettorre for posting this Abe Lincoln quote. These are the roots of the Republic how I was brought up. I even played A.L., beard and all, in a school play. It is up to "real" republicans, republicans that hold onto the ideals of the party that will save it and the country. Same goes to democrats. Dems, you need me and if I (like Diogenes)can find a true democrat, I need him.

Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
-President Abraham Lincoln.

Wise up, People. It ain't the party, its the party guests, and they aren't sharing the hors d'oeuvres. If you can find a quote or example of someone that epitomizes the ideals of the democratic party, send it to me.

Hey Cleveland! Instead of the complicated machinations of industry revival, high tech stimulation, and healthcare marketing, how bout planting some trees on that brown field.

Amazing accomplishment with short term rewards and a very long term view, "replace rain forests in another 10,000 years." Visit www.plant-trees.org

Thanks to S.A. Griffin, Poet extraordinaire of L.A., for bringing this to my attention.

I'm on the road for work again this week. This time For Texas Sweep Part Deux. I used to live in Dallas and couldn't wait to leave. Having to come back twice is not at the top of my happy list. Fortunately, I'm traveling with two colleagues that keep things light and pretty fun. However, last night in Waco, we had an experience that shook us up pretty bad.

After dinner, we decided to get a few beers. In the midst of silly Texas teasing and redneck jokes, we opened the door of the rental car and heard a loud pop like a backfire from some rusty pickup. I was about to comment on how timely the backfire was, when we saw a guy across the street unload a shotgun into the door of an apartment. We popped back into the car and scooted out the back driveway. Here is the link to this morning papers story.

Over a few huge 24 ouncers of Shiner Bock at a bar/restaurant near the hotel, the three of us couldn't agree on the details about the shooter, the number of shots, whether he ran or walked away, not even what he was shooting at. We figured we would only confuse matters if we tried to tell the story.

Some more evidence on why I don't like it here. Yee Ha!

At last weeks Lit Cafe Poetry nite, after I stopped getting self-conscience and stopped trying to be Nick, The energy in the room rose to fantastic heights and we pulled in 21 open mic readers including a few virgins. In closing the evening, I was so unaware of myself, so into what occurred during the evening, I surprised myself with these words tumbling out of my mouth.

GO
hug your significant other.
GO
hug a stranger.
GO
hug your enemy.

Save the world.

First thought, best thought. Unrehearsed, unscripted, just pure wishes to all that made an amazing evening. Some of the best lines I ever came up with, I don't even believe that I said it.

Barely recovered from Lit poetry nite, but there is more. Come hear me and others tonite for music and words after the Tremont Arts & Culture Festival.

================================

Saturday, SEPTEMBER 15, 2007

VISIBLE VOICE BOOKS
1023 Kenilworth Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113

(In the Tremont neighborhood)

Phone: 216.961.0084
Time: 7-10 p.m.
Cost: Free
Etc: byob, coffee/tea available

"An evening of words and sound at Visible Voice Books"

Performances by:

- J.S. MAKKOS - (poetry)
- MICHELLE KRIVANEK - (poetry)
- TED FLYNN - (solo banjo & voice)
- MATTHEW WASCOVICH (solo guitar & voice)
- ALLISUN HOVATOR (poetry)
- STEVE GOLDBERG (poetry)
- INFINITE NUMBER OF SOUNDS (electronics & film)
- MIKE OCAMPO (solo bass & voice)
- JESSICA WOBIG (poetry)

================================

(Didya notice that Mark Kuhar of DeepCleveland mentioned the Lit and VVB in his inteview in CoolCleveland? Thanks, Mar.)

... with all the Bush-pushing patriotism that surrounded the fifth anniversary of 9/11. It made me sick to be an American and embarrassed for my party that used to represent the sorrowful reluctant use of force. I couldn't let my memory of my dear lost friends be abused like that. So I skipped.

At retreat last week, the text we were studying "Wheel of Sharp Weapons" written by Dharmarakshita over 1000 years ago, had a verse that I had trouble getting by.

(59) With comparative ease, we develop new friendships,
Yet since we are callous, not one of them lasts.
-from Alex Berzin poetic translation 1973

So this year, six years too late, I honor and cherish my old friendships. To Glen Wall and Dennis Buckley, dear chums of my youth, companions during the difficult adolescent years, teammates, and drinking buddies, lost in the calamity from generations-old global hatreds, I wish you a good rebirth and I'm sorry for my neglect.

Many thanks to Dr. Traenkner for doing a banner for our upcoming, incoming, forthcoming poetry nite at the Literary Cafe, THE place to see, hear, and create wild worthy word wanderings. We both have had our heads in the salads of making lettuce to survive our materialistic society, giving the Man his due. Myself shuffling to Buffalo this past week and Nick off to the Northwest rains of Oregon this week.

But we have our priorities right. We have NO FEAR, cuz we have poetry and we work to bring it to you with the Literary Cafe 2nd Thursday Extravaganzas. We do it no matter what the obstacle, for YOU loyal and fairweather patrons of our not quite humble venue.

This month we have the FEARless JE Stanley, who learned to overcome fear as a CPA, CMA and on again/off again guitarist in the grayscale suburban wilderness of Northeastern Ohio. A member of The Deep Cleveland Tribe of Poetry as well as the Cleveland Speculators, he is the author of the book, Dark Intervals (vanZeno Press), the chapbook Dissonance (deep cleveland press) and the short collection, Ink (Gypsy Lips Press). A a frequent contributor to both the deep cleveland junkmail oracle and Sein und Werden, his work has also appeared or is forthcoming in 103: The Journal of the Image Warehouse, Amaze, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, ChiZine, The Ghazal Page, MoonLit, Prism Quarterly, Star*Line, Stray Dog, Three-Chord Poems: The Poetry of Rock & Roll and numerous other publications.

Also facing down the spectre of appearing is Anna Marie Jones. I first heard her at a fundraiser for MeetTheBloggers and she made a helluva impression. Anna is a CSU graduate student, a spiritual life coach, and the founder of Up The Steps. A native of Cleveland she has been writing since the age of 10. Social and political issues fuel her poetry as well as concepts of spirituality and philosophy. She describes her poetry as therapeutic, hostile, reverent and real.

The evening has all the makings of a great evening of courage, heroism, and most of all NO FEAR. So don't be afraid to show at 9:30pm. The Literary Cafe is at 1031 Literary Road in the historical Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. (Anna Marie's picture by Adam Harvey)

I'm going to Jewel Heart in Ann Arbor for this long weekend. I can say that I will miss the super cool technology that has been misused into flying weapons and making a racket in my little corner of Cleveland. (I'm talking about the Air show folks).

I will be on retreat to take teachings from Gelek Rimpoche on the classic Mahayana text, "Wheel of Sharp Weapons". Berzin's literal translation is "The Throwning Star Weapon." My bare understanding is that it is how to make the lemonade out of life's lemons.

It beats the hell out of killing someone til they comply.....its also much quieter.

(Somebody came to the Salamon poetry reading at the Lit last night and announced the PEACE RALLY at the Free Stamp. Go!)

Been a fan of Uncle Albert for quite awhile. Apparently he was of me as well. Great minds....