Maximum Go in the Resulting Hogshead

Friday, May 13, 2005

Gone . . .

. . . to Woods Hole.

Back in a week.

You're in charge.

I expect to find everything as I left it.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

From Janet Roitman's Fiscal Disobedience:

(Excerpt from an interview with a coupeur de route who claims to be a fisherman.)

R: The thief is a man of confidence -- I mean the ex-thief -- because he knows the secrets of the thieves. The person who employs me knows everything about me -- or almost everything. If you make an effort, you can weigh in as a partner. I need to change my life, the boss needs to have someone who is attached to him. I'm not the only one in this situation. We're numerous, each with his own story, his past. We go here and there to undertake precise tasks at the service of our patron. I think that my boss -- or my bosses -- are aware of this, since they've never sent me to Maroua. You know, if you delve a little into the lives of people here, you might unveil incredible stories.

S: What is the cement that binds relations between patrons and employees in a context of, as you say, illofficial business?

R: No, I don't say that; there are always words like that. I told you before that there is confidence. You can't entrust your assets to someone if you don't have confidence.

S: OK, but I don't understand how you can have implicit confidence in someone you don't know and, moreover, was a thief!

R: What could be more normal than to entrust your illegal activities to hardened people!

Monday, May 09, 2005

A good cry and a good lie

OK. OK. I'm a bit late on this one. I should have known all this already. But whatever.

I just took a break from reading to watch Finding Neverland, which I found quite moving (with the help of a little wine). I mean, yeah, ok, I admit it, it got to me, man. I felt it. Right. I cried during Spiderman II (and I know I'm not the only one). And that was on an airplane!*

Good grief. So, anyway. I decided to google the Peter character's real-life counterpart and see if he ever wrote anything, and if he kept "believing" (actually, quite predictably, the whole "believe" thing was my least favorite part of the film). Well, I was right to be suspicious. No happy ending at all. Turns out there's a lot more to the story than the movie lets on. Long story short, Peter threw himself in front of a London tube train.

See for yourself: Mirror.co.uk - News - All News Archive - TRAGIC STORY BEHIND PETER PAN

*Uh. And about that Spiderman crying thing: It's just that one scene, you know? Where Spiderman saves all those people on that train, right? And, man oh man, is he worn out! And he falls forward, but the crowd catches him. His suit is all torn up, you know, from the exertion I guess, and they unmask him to find he's just a kid! And they're like, he's just a kid! Right. But you knew that all along, but hadn't given them credit for not knowing all that time. You forgot that your emotional stance on the Spiderman issue came from being in the know. But why should you know? You're no better than they are. But they rally for him, like you thought they never would. Suddenly they are you, and you are they (or you is them, or you are what you is, or you is what you am, or something like that). People. Good people. Man. That just gets to me. That just gets me right here. Thank you, Spiderman, you are my hero.

**There is no **, but where's Foetry when major league sports clearly needs them?

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Two lines from a dream

Some say the Moon is wrapped in silk.
Antoine, I say it's seal's skin.

I spoke those lines while ranting in a dream. Antoine Wilson appeared then, wearing scuba gear. So, naturally, Antoine and I went scuba diving to photograph marine life (I think, I mean, we had cameras). Then Antoine left, said he was headed for Berlin, and I lost my camera.

Anyway. In the dream these two lines seemed to rhyme. I said them over the phone today to Antoine and couldn't get them to. They didn't sound right. Now that I've written them out, I see it. S I L K. SeaL sKin. I don't think there is a name for that kind of rhyme. I don't think it is a rhyme. Then again, I was a biology major before my MFA and a history PhD student after. One of you jokers with a lit PhD should ought to be able to answer that one. Or not. I don't care. I still like it. Lots.

You know what's really weird? Just before I told Antoine these lines over the phone he told me he was headed to Berlin! Good grief. What is my problem. I do know where my camera is at least.

: Name: Matthew Shindell; Location: San Diego, California, United States

Matthew Shindell used to live and write in Phoenix, Arizona. He now lives and writes in La Jolla, California.

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The Poetry Postcard Project:

Stay tuned to this blog for updates on the status of the Poetry Postcard Project.

Go to the Poetry Postcard Project website to see the project and find out how to participate.

Where are my poems?

Read a PDF of my chapbook, Were something to happen it would be both funny and interesting. Copies of this limited edition chapbook are no longer available.

American Letters and Commentary Issue 17 - "Hoo Ta Ta, Hoo Ta"

American Poetry Review July/August 2004 - "It sounds like a saxophone tugging across a field"

Black Warrior Review v30n2 - "Sidekick"

FENCE v6n2 - "Drinking with the Ventriloquist's Dummy" & "Parable of the Boy inside the Deer"

Hayden's Ferry Review #25 - "The Willow"

Hayden's Ferry Review #35 - "The Monkey's Skull: Where Do Good Newsmen Come From?" & "Made Easy"

Jubilat 7 - "But Emerson Says, 'The body is a metre. The eye appreciates finer differences than art can expose."

The Melic Review - "In Short, a Pleasant Day :: The Man Arrives, Hooray!" "The Same Words :: Order of Harpoons," & "A Birdâ€™s Head Rolls Into Two Baskets :: Walkie-Talkie"

No Tell Motel - "Order of Harpoons :: Digitalia :: Dobre Vecher" 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Read my discussion of the poem here.

Northwest Review - "Clink" & "Bear-Caught"

Octopus 4 - "About the Author," "Four Star General" &
"The Day :: Born :: The Red Door"

Pleiades 24:2 - "Speech of Artificio, a Character in My New Play" & "Inc."

Tarpaulin Sky v2n2&3 -
"Two Jokes About Bears"

Unpleasant Event Schedule - "He Called Her Forest (or was it Forest?)" & "The Brain Full of Bourbon (concerning the doctor and the simulation of Switzerland)"

Gone . . .

From Janet Roitman's Fiscal Disobedience:

A good cry and a good lie

Two lines from a dream

About Me