TFE's Monday Poem - Life after death

Soft Day for it

Butter wouldn’t melt

Between her black lips

Her nose and moustache mucky

She curls up innocent

It’s too late now.....

The hole is dug

The day is nice and soft

For digging

A Phrase for the next big dinner party

So recently I was corresponding with an aquaintance of mine, and we were discussing poetry - since I know people who are into that kind of thing in real life as well as online. He mentioned that most of his latest poetic efforts had been in camera.

Now, I love learning new things, and so was delighted to find that this phrase doesn't in fact mean anything related to youtube, nor did I assume it would, nor did I ask my friend to send on links of himself performing on youtube. No - just by the context alone, I was able to infer that the phrase in camera had more to do with being off camera than on.

Here's the full explanation:

In camera (Latin: "in a chamber")^[1] is a legal term meaning "in private".^[1] It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.

In camera describes court cases (or portions thereof) to which the public and press are not admitted.^[1] In camera is the opposite of trial in open court where all the parties and witnesses testify in a public courtroom, and attorneys make their arguments in public to the trier of fact.

Anyway, as I say I like learning new words, and I know I should be embracing new ways of saying things, - but this new phrase (to me anyway - I know it's probably actually centuries old) seems designed to confuse - purpose built for that moment when you say to someone "Oh we're having our next big dinner party in camera" and they say "Cool live online? that's brilliant" and then you get to use your pithiest pithy look on them and say "I mean in the sense that it's in private".

So now I've shown you mine - can you give me any other - possibly life threatening in high brow circle - phrases in case I ever find myself there?? for example does "In the bath" actually mean "dirty and stressed out"?!?

Myself and herself like to sit in the sun staring poetically into the distance while pondering such things...

Kalle Ryan and Son on the Radio

This week I have another two-some in studio - this time a father and son act who are taking on the theme of "Family"

Kalle Ryan has had his poems and plays published in New York and Utah. He has written regularly for the local press in Ireland. He can often be seen and heard performing humorous and political poetry in Dublin city. Together with Enda Roche he runs the hugely successful monthly "brownbread mixtape" gig at the stag's head pub. And recently he and his wife Jessica have become parents to the coolest little dude called Casper.
Casper Ryan is 3 months old and is not yet published. He is loud and vocal like his dad, and cute and happy like his mother. His favourite things to do are sleeping, puking and eating. Not necessarily in that order. He intends to play rugby for Ireland one day.

Kalle is a great and energetic performer, and this promises to be a most touching and exciting show - complete with the first ever sound poem to appear on the Scrapbook. Be sure to be tuned in - as always 4pm on Liffey Sound - link on the right there.

Wednesday Whinge

Today I'm having a little whinge because I can't be everywhere doing everything at once.

Sadly I have yet to master the art of bilocation or even tri or quadruple location... so I can't do all of the following but I can tell you to go in my place, represent me, and so then it's kinda like I was there...

Tonight in Dubland city there are 3 great free in events going on - one with free wine...

They are
1. The Irish Writers' Centre - next in the Lonely Voices Introductions Series - another batch of 4 bright eyed talents will read their stories to an eager crowd... (this is the free wine one!!! - if such things interest you)
2. The Last Wednesday Series - 7 Towers monthly gig downstairs at Cassidy's - this one is for the dedicated poetry fan - poems poems poems all night, a serious variety and wealth of talent, and a friendly crowd.
and last, but by no means least
3. The Brown Bread Mixtape - Upstairs in the Stag's Head - a mixed bag of comedy, music and poetry - all tied together with a theme - this month it's "Do you speak my language" - this, like all mixtapes, is a lovingly prepared night, and the atmosphere is energetic and fun. Here's another sample of same - my music inspired poem performed at the last one.

Anyway - the reason I'm giving all of those a miss is because I'll be heading into town tomorrow night for another Poetry Divas gig! And while I hate missing all these other fantastic things - it's hard to justify spending any more time out talking about writing, reading out stuff I've already written and listening to other people's writing - when I already spend about 5 times more time doing that than actually writing new things as it stands........ - not a good ratio.

So yes, if you don't end up going tonight to any/all of the above - and even if you do, you can call into town tomorrow where we will be to be found doing our thing at the newly opened Centre for Creative Practises at their Lit-jam session. 5 euro in.

It's personal

So... in new news - I've been nominated - well actually this blog has been nominated - as part of the irish blogger awards - it's pretty exciting really, there's an award ceremony and everything, but only if you get through a few rounds of judging - but there's only 88 or so other blogs in my category, so I'll surely get through to the last 5 or so.

Speaking of the category - I didn't know, and perhaps you don't know this either but this is actually a Personal blog. I thought it was fashion (see yesterday's post), literature (see poems in shops), journalism (see the slippy pole reports), sport (see the Gaa dinner dance report), politics (see my attendance in person at a real live political thingume yoke), avant garde - adventures in experimentalism , or maybe even business (see Kleeneze article) .... but no, it's personal - due to the copious amounts of smushiness I guess, or the intimate portrayal of life as a person...

And anyone who says this is just a cheap attempt to show off my range of variousness in blogdom is way off the mark there, way off.

Thanks anyway to whomever took the time to nominate me. I appreciate it muchly.

If you wanna check out the competition aka my new sworn enemies - see here....

http://awards.ie/blogawards/

Fashion icon

So anyway - we found a use for those pink curtains, discarded from the psychotic pink room...


Most attractive I think you'll agree, also doubles as a doggy straight jacket for her to do houdini impressions in forming an escape.
I have bored everyone I know, literally to tears with tales of her, shouting over the wall to the neighbours, the way she's way ahead of the other dogs in understanding instructions at school, she's just slightly more selective in choosing the time for humouring them v's doing her own thing.
How has she changed our lives? There's now three very different areas of the house, rooms she's allowed in, rooms she's allowed in with supervision, rooms she's never allowed in. There's also a much quicker dish washing process, where we now have to do dishes straight away, or she'll start licking them for us. There's alot more running around the back garden and rediscovery of items from her point of view, for example showing her the exercise ball (which is never really used) resulted in a giddy fit of barking and tearing around the garden in excitement (A BALL AS BIG AS ME?!!! A BALL SO BIG!! AS BIG AS...!!! OH MY...) to the extent that we had to put the ball back in the shed in hopes that she wouldn't actually jump all the way out of the garden. There's alot more walking. There's looking forward to getting up in the morning for the warm and happy welcome downstairs, the sport she gets out of playing with mushrooms and raisins. There's laughing at her contented snores and sleepy yelps from the bean bag after she's had her evening walk... ah so far, so good...

TFE's monday exercise

This weeks challenge set by the poetry meister was to empty our pockets, and write a detached piece about ourselves.... Unfortunately my pockets contained nothing at all,,, so I just ended up taking the pockety theme - ish... sure see what ye think.

Return

The dress was smooth and seamless

So underneath she wore

A pair of combat jeans and held

Her life stuffed in their pockets.

Books, juice pouches, just one coin,

A half jam sandwich,

Dog model from the mantle -

Up the muck hill – a legend climb

Remote, soared far above it

Surveyed the world from high on air

Until – jam sandwich gone and juices drunk

She slunk her cold arms home, and sighed

No-one had missed her there

Aiden O'Reilly on the Radio

Is it that time already?

Yes - another Sunday another fantastic guest on the Sunday Scrapbook. This week it's Aiden O'Reilly, a really great short story writer that some of you might know from the Stoneybatter Files.

Aiden O’Reilly is a short story writer and a novelist. In the last 15 years he has worked throughout Europe at everything from being a mathematics lecturer to being a building-site worker. He returned to Ireland a few years ago, and since then his work has appeared in The Stinging Fly, 3am magazine, The Sunday Tribune and The Dublin Review. In November 2008, Aiden won the prestigious McLaverty Prize, awarded bi-annually for short stories. On March 6th Aiden will be reading from his story ‘Self-Assembly’ at the lovely Nighthawks Arts night, Cobalt Café on Georges Street.
For our listening pleasure - he is reading two of his fantastic stories this Sunday, and giving us his insights into the magic of the short story - with his theme of "The Doors of Perception"

Tune in - 4pm Liffey Sound - 96.4 FM!! See ye then then!

Antidote

So, astute readers (Hi Mam!) might remember this picture which went up last June - it came from my diary of ten years previous to that, and is an illustration from that entry which was the birthplace of one of my many many poems... That very poem I bring to you now, to listen to, available only when you click here...
It's not a love poem, so is kind of here as an antidote to the smushiness displayed here recently, it comes again thanks to the lovely brown bread mix tape people who made such lovely recordings on that infamous night of the wibbly voice, live at the Stag's head.
Another lovely night was the Glór Sessions last night, as always warmly MC'd by the great Stephen James Smith where us Poetry Divas had a most enjoyable night sharing our stuff with another one of the most generous crowds in town. (Not that they gave us anything, just that they were extra nice, which is nice) of course the free lollipops went down a treat as always. There's always great talent on show there, but the highlight for me was Keith Armstrong, a hilarious and captivating performer - he was a delight.

A love poem for the bus

So this is in honour of TFE's marvellous bus being back on the road, am getting in early, like alot of others... Anyways, it's slushy - you've been warned.

Daffodil Variation

Once I bottled in tight fist hands

Golden light – a white warm day

Whisps of soft, excited strands

A gentle face that smiled that way

I kept it close, locked in deep down

That moment, that contented yawn.

That morning smooth as spacious skies

Shivered inside seeing you from afar

Feelings in the gut, wrenching, surprising,

Their strength arrests, a stop and stare,

and marvel at softness of neck, and warmth anew

Feelin happy dances thinkin of you

Anyway - enough Smush - click here for another poem - another from the "Live at the Stag's Head" album. - this one mentions the dog in Marley & Me, so thought I'd share it, following on from recent adventures with a certain mutt. Watch out for wibbles as always.

In other news - the Divas will be playing tomorrow night, their first live appearance of 2010, at Stephen James Smith's fabby doo Glór sessions. Looking forward to it greatly, just have to go and dig out those pink wings. Maybe see ye there then.