Accept no substitutes

Author: Paul (Page 106 of 147)

Rule of Sevens so far

I’ve six poems written and five of those published for the series I’ve been working on based on the number seven. Since each of the six corresponds in some ways, often obliquely, with each of the seven days in Genesis’ first creation story, I could take the seventh day off for rest.

Here’s how it looks so far:

The Creation of Heaven in NandO

As I posted here on Thursday this week, I sold one more of my Rule of Seven poems, The Creation of Heaven, to the News and Observer Sunday Journal. It’s out now. The online version doesn’t reflect the stanza breaks correction (make that at all) and the small bit of prose info doesn’t show (instead you get “an error occurred while processing this directive]” I hope that gets fixed as the day goes on).
I had wondered if I needed to completely reconceive this poem and had started to several times. I gave myself several odd rules that are different from those that I used in the other Rule poems and I wasn’t sure that it worked. Seeing in printed makes me feel a little better now.
Off to pick up the paper version.

Here’s a net version with the right line and stanza breaks.

Ocracoke discovered

Yikes! Our favorite secret is a front page NYTimes Travel section feature. Does this mean more people will be on the Island complaining about the slow service at the eateries? (Really are you in a hurry? There is no where to go which is sorta the point.) More people asking “What do you do here?” (Really do you have to be entertained? Doing nothing is sorta the point.)

But worse the writer stays in the same little place on Silver Lake where we stay often and have rooms reserved for Thanksgiving. The picture the Times published is our favorite view. Several of the places she eats are our favs as well (Howard’s, Pelican, Ocracoke Coffee Company, Fig Tree, Cafe Atlantic), but several secrets are better kept and I’m keeping them myself.

The Times automatic indexer managed to link Rudy Austin’s last name to a city in Texas. His father took me over to Portsmouth Island way back in the 1970s.

Andy Oram on UNC Symposium

The O’Reilly Net top story (at this instant) is Andy Oram’s report from the UNC Symposium on Intellectual Property, Creativity and the Innovation Process, titled: Autumn Symposium Rakes Over Copyright and Patent Law

The teaser goes:

Andy Oram looks at the states of copyright, fair use, patent law, and more, as seen through the eyes of attendees at the recent Symposium on Intellectual Property, Creativity, and the Innovation Process. The conference attracted the likes of Marybeth Peters–register of copyrights, IP law critic James Boyle, open source advocate Chris DiBona, and EFF rep Cory Doctorow, to name a few of the people there who’ve planted stakes in the ground of this seeming turf war.

Triangle Bloggers Blast – Tuesday

Mister Sugar writes on blogtogether to remind us of the Triangle Bloggers Blast:

Who: Bloggers, podcasters and anyone who wants to socialize with us.

What: A reception at the new WUNC studios and a happy hour with free drinks.

Where: American Tobacco Historic District, Durham (across from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park)

1. Start at new WUNC studios for tour, talk about podcasting and reception with catered food. Short welcome messages from Joan Siefert Rose and Keith Weston of WUNC, Michael Goodmon of ATHD, Stephen Fraser of Lulu.
2. Then move next door to Tyler’s Speakeasy for drinks and socializing. Short welcome messages from John Conway of WRAL.com and Henry Copeland of blogads.

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 7-9 p.m.

Why: Why not? Let’s meet and greet each other, talk about blogging, or not, and share a few drinks.

How: Sponsors and supporters include: Blogads, WRAL.com, Lulu.com, ibiblio.org, mistersugar.com, WUNC, ATHD and podcastercon.

Poem Intro for NandO

No one has ever seen a life giant squid begins one article But that turns out not to be exactly true. The tales of the Kracken go a long ways back into prehistory, but those who read those stories thought the creature described was too fantastic to have ever lived. Still sightings of the giants continued to be reported and pieces of the animal continue to be found.

These are not passive or shy creatures. According to marinebio.org and other sources, “In 1965, a Soviet whaler watched a battle between a squid and a 40 ton sperm whale. In the case of this battle, neither was victorious. The strangled whale was found floating in the sea with the squid’s tentacles wrapped around the whale’s throat. The squid’s severed head was found in the whale’s stomach.”

I am still trying to imagine anything choking a whale by the neck.

Just recently Japanese scientists were able to film an Architeuthis in the dark depths of the sea. Visit here to see them for yourself.

Jones on Blooker in NandO

In what appears to be a play to get an article mentioning me in every section of the News and Observer during the months of October and November, I just completed an interview with Roger van der Horst about the Blooker prize.

I talked about Charles Dickens as the most respected English serial novelist and about Julie and Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny appartment kitchen by Julia Powell as an example of a good blook. Wil Wheaton’s Just a Geek personal memoir and Chris Anderson’s Long Tail a book on economics and technology that is forthcoming are two others.

However I expect and hope to be surprised by what we will be reading among the finalists. Blooks create an open environment for writing — one that as a poet I would not likely participate in although I have been publishing a potential chapbook project in the News and Observer a poem at a time — that allows interaction with readers as critics as well as enforcing a discipline of regular writing that new writers need. The form also allows for digressive and unusual inclusions which could make for some new styles of writing.

That said I expect to be reading good writing. Good sentences and paragraphs. Well-told tales. The stuff you would expect in any book prize finalist.

I am holding off on several sections of the News and Observer. The Obits for example.

Jones poem in Sunday N and O

While I was in DC, I somehow managed to sell a poem in Raleigh. The Creation of Heaven, which has a giant squid and a whale in it, will be in the Sunday Journal section of the News and Observer. I’ll add a link once Sunday has come. Now I will have published 5 of the 6 Rule of Seven poems in NandO. Each poem has seven stanzas of seven lines each of which have seven syllables. There’s more than that but that the framework.

Day trip to DC – new MSFT on services

Why I didn’t type anything much today: I left on the 7 o’clock plane to DC and am just home at 10:30. I did catch this most interesting (and probably most blogged about) set of links from Dave Winer who was selected to leak a Bill Gates memo on Microsoft’s new direction (hint web services and things like Google maps that other may use to innovate and build) lead by the newly more powerful Ray Ozzie. Ray Ozzie’s followup email, The Internet Services Disruption, is also on Dave’s site — this is a more important read than even Gates’ memo. There is a lot of harping on how wonderful and successful .Net is which sorta makes you wonder what planet they are living on, but beyond that…

Jones taped for 22

Ric Swiner and Brian his camera came by and we did a little chat outside Manning Hall about filesharing systems. I explained how bittorrent has many legal uses just like your car or Brian’s camera — even though folks can use any of those things for evil. I explained briefly how Grokster was found in violation of the law but that BitTorrent should not be. Grokster was even marketed as an inducement to illegal behaviors while BitTorrent is a content neutral protocol (I was simplier than that).

In no way did I advovate illegal behavior or illegal sharing, but I did point out examples of legal behaviors using BitTorrent.

Probably I’ll be on a few seconds. But I’ll likely not be watching tonight; it’s election night in Chapel Hill and I leave for DC early tomorrow morning.

Jones on WLFL WB 22 on p2p

I got a frantic series of calls during a meeting (a day of meetings but that’s a sadder story) on my cell. Finally I went out in the hall to at least listen to the voice mail. A producer from WLFL WB 22 (got all that) wanted an expert on p2p, copyright, and file trading. I am listed on the UNC experts pages as knowing about technology and copyright. Since I did put together the panel (and part of the audience/attendees) for the UNC Symposium on Intellectual Property, Creativity and the Innovation Process last week and I paid attention to what the folks were saying, I guess I am.
The story they want to do is about Grokster being shutdown. Okay. But “Have you heard of this other thing out there that’s even worse? BitTorrent?” Err. It’s not worse, only worse if you wanted to be anonymous. It uses a tracker that remembers who had been trading. And we use it for legal downloads at torrent.ibiblio.org. “I guess you are an expert. Ric Swiner will come by at 11:30 tomorrow and we’ll talk with you.”
I do a lot of this but if you have suggestions and advice, do sent it my way.

McGuinn at Country Music Class in NandO

I asked Roger McGuinn if he would come to town a little early for the UNC Symposium on Intellectual Property, Creativity and the Innovation Process and talk to/play a bit for Joselyn Neal’s History of Country Music class. There are about 200 students in the class which meets in a large auditorium (Hanes Art). Naturally the word got out a little and a bunch more folks showed up which was fine. The class went very well and all had a great time.
The News and Observer (Anne Blythe writing) did a good story with pictures that was on the cover of the City & State section and jumped to the center of the University section.

Confederate Goliath: Tonight at 10 on UNC-TV

Edward Tyndall’s documentary airs tonight at 10 on UNC-TV

Confederate Goliath, produced by Edward Tyndall and Kenneth Price, chronicles the battles to capture Fort Fisher and close the port of Wilmington, NC during the American Civil War.

Late in 1864 and again in January of 1865 Federal troops attacked Fort Fisher with a massive naval armada and a large contingent of ground troops. Fort Fisher was the largest earthen fort in the Western Hemisphere at the time of the attacks. The campaigns to capture the fort boasted the heaviest naval bombardments seen during the Civil War. The fort fell during the second battle but only after brutal hand-to-hand fighting that lasted into the night. With the fall of Fort Fisher, the port of Wilmington, NC was effectively closed and the supply line to Robert E. Lee’s Army in Virginia was cut. Lee surrendered his army three months later and the American Civil War came to a close.

Matzoh Ball Gumbo Blog

Food and culture expert, Marcie Ferris has a blog based on her book, Matzoh Ball Gumbo.

My favorite review quote:

“It may sound trivial, but no doubt the invention of Crisco was the answer to the prayers of some Jewish women in the South. . . . The miracle of Crisco is just one of the fascinating facts presented in Matzoh Ball Gumbo. . . . Ferris . . . tell[s] the history of the Jewish South from a cook’s perspective.”—Raleigh News & Observer

Upcoming on November 9th from 6-8:30 PM is a Southern Season Cooking Class here in Chapel Hill, NC with a promising dinner menu of Matzoh Ball Gumbo and creole matzoh balls, Temple Israel Brisket; Simmered Black-Eyed Peas and Tomatoes; Rosh Hashanah Jam Cake and Pecan Kugel. Call 919-913-1241 to participate or sign up online.

Voting Day – early

Sally and I went down to the dedication of the Unsung Founders Monument this morning. On the way we stopped by for early voting. There was no waiting. Well, almost no waiting. We ended up chatting with my former collegue Bert Dempsey and his wife Molly as we all walked in. Bert who travels quite a bit with his tech company says that early voting has allowed him to participate in elections like never before. Even at that, we were in the 700s of those who voted early in this election.

400th anniversary of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

On 1604 on November 5, a man was found hiding in a woodpile in the basement of the House of Lords. With him, were 36 barrels of gunpowder — dry and ready. Guy Fawkes had intended to blow up the building at the start of the session of Parliment. The Guardian explains in an interactive (sorta) brief feature.
It’s too dry for bonfires here in Chapel Hill; our English friend John Ager has been looking for one and having no luck. There is a rumor that somewhere in Carrboro there will be a burning.

Triangle Blogger Bash – Nov 15

MisterSugar writes to invite is all to:

Triangle Bloggers Bash
A social event for Triangle-area bloggers to meet and greet each other at Durham’s American Tobacco Historic District.


Who

Bloggers, podcasters and anyone who wants to socialize with us.

What
A reception at the new WUNC studios and a happy hour with free drinks.

Where
American Tobacco Historic District, Durham (across from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park)

* Start at new WUNC studios for tour, talk about podcasting and reception with catered food. Short welcome messages from Joan Siefert Rose and Keith Westin of WUNC, Michael Goodmon of ATHD, Stephen Fraser of Lulu. Then move next door to Tyler’s Speakeasy for drinks and socializing. Short welcome messages from John Conway of WRAL.com and Henry Copeland of blogads.

When
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 7-9 p.m.

[more at link above]

Note: ibiblio is one of the sponsors of this event.

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