Poem : The Depth

The Depth

Atop this vast frozen pond laying above the deepest depth,

Imprisoned by its cold bond of ice seeping into the flesh.

The wind shows no mercy here drawing away my own air,

From my lungs it disappears leaving me in bitter despair.

The barren trees reach for me but what cover can they provide,

With weather-worn arms empty and wary roots to far astride.

Through its limbs the wind still blows and the curious sun still shines,

Watching the ice as it flows through my veins and from my eyes.

Soon the sun will desert my sight and give way to the winter moon,

And on comes a severe night to bring about my frozen ruin.

Numbness climbs from feet to brow leaving deadness on my face,

But I feel more here and now than I did in your warm embrace.

Book Review: Self-Made Man

"Self-Made Man" by Norah Vincent takes the reader into the secret world of men. Vincent transforms herself into a male alter-ego, Ned, in order to infiltrate various male dominated areas. She uses her disguise to observe the way men communicate with each other and females. Through Ned, she takes the reader on a journey to see the comical friendships of the bowling league, the primal displays at the strip club, and even an insider look at the almost impossible feat of dating (and how impossible women can be!).

Vincent introduces her book not as a scientific study that can be applied to all American men but only her perceptions influenced by what she experienced. Her writing is believable and opens eyes to a world that women have never truly seen. Not only does she introduce a new male perspective but also raises the issue if can be gender defined as social. What is the definition of manliness? Is is defined in DNA or because of what is socially acceptable? This is a very interesting read for how the world sees men and should be read by everyone who questions of the social restriction of gender.

ISBN-13: 9780143038702

Shelf Life rating of: 4

Salem State: Banning Smokers in 2011

The most feared word in a smoker’s vocabulary: smoke-free. Beginning in September 2011, Salem State University is becoming a smoke-free campus. Not only are cigarettes banned, but also chewing AND smokeless tobacco products. Stanley P Cahill, the executive vice president of Salem State, said that the school was “influenced by a survey of attitudes about smoking on campus” (boston.com). Most complaints from students were that they were exposed repetitively to secondhand smoke and were bothered by it. Their complaints of the smoke are understandable but then why are smokeless tobacco products banned? Without smoke, there’s no secondhand. The American Association of Public Heath Physicians supports smokeless tobacco products. In a letter to the FDA, the AAPHP reveals that “It should be possible to save the lives of 4 million or more of the 8 million adult American smokers who will otherwise die of a cigarette-related illness over the next twenty years. This could be done by making smokers aware of selected smokeless tobacco products (including but not limited to snus and electronic cigarettes) that promise to reduce the risk of tobacco-related illness by 99% or better for smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit.”

Being a smoker and a student of Salem State, I am not looking forward to this ban. The first question that came to mind was “Do I have any money to buy the e-cigarettes” but then remembered the ban included smokeless products. The second question was “Do I want to quit” which was answered with a “no.” Students are adults and have the right to smoke. This problem leaves me (and other smokers) with two solutions. I could sneak around campus like a criminal (not preferred) or I could walk off campus lines.

I can see my future very clearly. The snow piles on the ground and the plows create monstrous snow banks. My class has ended and I have fifteen minutes of freedom. I emerge from the building, looking out at the picturesque New England winter scene. I bundle up and make the long pilgrimage beyond school lines. Others join me with the same anticipation; we can almost smell the promise land. We desperately search for the invisible boundary that divides the school from the real world. It is there, we can see it. The minutes are ticking by and we only have moments. We gather in a circle, huddling like lost children, as we light our cigarettes. Our chilled cheeks are greeted by the warmth of lighters and matches. We turn and look back at the school buildings, towering over us, looking down upon us. Why should we feel shame? We are free, we will not quit! We will return to this spot day after day. Smokers will unite and rise above! The Marlboro Martyrs. The Parliament Patriots. The Winston Warriors. We shall stand together...Well, lets not get too carried away.

I suggest a compromise. Is there a way the 25 feet rule can be better enforced? Could there be an area designated for smokers on each campus that is easily accessible and clearly marked? Smokers have to compromise as well. We have to adhere to the rules and remember to be courteous while smoking. Smokers should avoid main traffic areas, especially during those 15 minutes when students are traveling to their next class. Smokers should also throw out the finished cigarette in the trash (there are trash barrels and cigarette receptacles everywhere). There is no reason why smokers and nonsmokers cannot share the same campus in harmony.

Links of interest:
Salem State to ban tobacco on campus
Don't Write Off Current Smokers - AAPHP

Book Review: Holidays on Ice

"Holidays on Ice" by David Sedaris is a hilarious collection of essays about the holiday season. SantaLand Diaries, the first essay, is about David's mirthful experience as an elf (named Crumpet) at Macy's. In a few short pages, David shows the readers how corrupted and unpleasant holidays have become in a laugh at loud way. For instance, when asked by a parent to tell one of the children that if they are bad they will get coal in their stocking, Crumpet aptly replies that "Santa no longer traffics in coal. Instead, if you're bad he comes to your house and steals things." His wit and sharp humor cuts through every page as he not only tells you of his experience but pulls you into it.

This book is a great gift for anyone for the holidays (because who wants another scented candle?). If they aren't readers, get the book on CD. When listened to, it sounds more like a stand-up comedy special than a book! Sedaris' voice makes the material ten times as funny because of his tone and emphasis. If your not giving it as a gift, treat yourself. Find a cozy spot by the fake fire, watch the lack of snow flutter outside the window, sip your spiked hot chocolate and let Sedaris help forget about your holiday troubles by laughing at his.

Rating: 5! This will stay on your bookshelf (or music library) forever!




ISBN-13: 9780316078917

Book Review : Street Magic

"Street Magic" by Caitlin Kittredge introduces us to a underground world called the Black where magic is real and death is around every corner. Pete (Petunia) age 16, saw the apparent death of punk rocker Jack Winter during an invocation gone wrong. Years later after becoming a copper in London, children begin disappearing and Pete is on the case. The kidnapper continues to allude her until an old friend from her past seems to rise from the dead to help her. Jack Winter is not the same person he was before, now he is known as the ruthless Crow Mage with a nasty drug habit to suppress the voices of the dead. As Pete forces him to detox to help her find the missing children, she also begins to the unravel the magic secrets of her past.

The language in this novel is very gritty and very British which really brings the characters to life. The constant love/hate relationship that evolves between Pete and Jack is realistic and entertaining to follow. My only beef with the novel is that it is too secretive. I was getting annoyed whenever Pete asked a question and was only answered by "You mean you don't know?" and it made we want to scream "OF COURSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW, GIVE HER A HINT!" The lack of information that was revealed made me feel lost and the wrap up happened way too quick without much explanation. I love the characters, the idea, and the language but the plot formation killed it for me. Still, it doesn't put me off of the series. If anything, it hooked me in to find out more about Jack and Pete so I will definitely be giving the sequel, Demon Bound, a read.

Rating:

Poem : Unmasked (aka The Botox Poem)

Unmasked (aka The Botox Poem)

The waiting room is frozen in silence
except for her manicured nails tapping
on the cold metal chairs that are designed
primarily to be uncomfortable.
A fan clicks impatiently as each
of its vanes tries to escape their caged prison.
A man in a white coat walks in the room
and smiles so wide and the room
is blinded by his vain attempt to impress.
The woman shyly smiles but not enough
to wrinkle her brow, to show her crows feet.
Her mother, now sixty, is plagued
with imperfections and purple spider veins
that web around every inch of her skin.
The woman shivers at the thought
of aging, her skin folding like old worn sheets.
She wants to stay young forever, her
skin tightly woven like fine silk, smooth to touch.
He pulls out a needle and injects it
into her pale forehead, middle of the brow.
Her face goes numb and she no longer
senses that she has a face. How graceful.

Poem : Knit One, Purl Two

KNIT ONE, PURL TWO

Starting with a knot looped on a size eight
metal needle, I begin to knit.
The yarn is a thick wool that makes me itch
but my mother loved the feeling of wool.
I remember her sitting beside me
knitting with the same needles and yarn
smiling when I asked if she would teach me.
Knit one, purl two and I pull the string tight
as I loop it around the needle.
“Not too tight” she says as I hurry through
“The needle will get stuck” and she was right.
I unravel the skein so the yarn is loose
enough to work with. Knit one, purl two
and continue until the row is done.
The wool is green, her favorite color,
the green of fresh grass and new beginnings.
She said it was a color full of life.
Start a new row by flipping the needles.
Knit one, purl two and repeat until
the row is complete, then flip the needle.
I never finished one of my projects
but I feel that I will finish this one.
“Pay attention or you will drop a stitch”
her soft voice whispers in my memory.
She was always there to pick up all
the lost stitches and I quicken my pace.
As soon as I remembered her words
I dropped a stitch and watched it all unravel.
I look to my side, where she would have sat,
eyes searching for the answer before
it all falls apart. I try to grab the lost
Stitch but I miss and it sinks deeper,
pulling apart all the rows I have knit.
“Don’t be sad” she used to say “You can just
start over. The next one will better.”
Starting with a knot looped on a size eight
metal needle, I begin to knit.

Creative Writing : A Drive Amongst the Stars

This is an old creative writing assignment from about 2 years ago. The assignment : embrace run-on sentences.


A Drive Amongst the Stars

Its times like these when I drive around late at night letting the moon light my way and looking up to the stars to direct me where to go even though my destination is completely unknown and always has been since I started these lonely drives a few years ago but the stars never lead me anywhere new and I never seem to move even though the stars only shift slightly in the sky yet they appear to cover more miles than I ever could because every time I look up in the sky, the big dipper has dropped to give room for the little dipper and it is crazy to think that these spoons have reached heights that I could never touch but tonight I drive faster in an attempt to beat the stars until the sun suddenly rises and it dawns on me that the stars weren’t the ones moving at all.

Book Review: The Bookman

SteamPunk strikes back! Victorian London, realistic machines, and ... Lizards? The Bookman by Lavie Tidhard brings a new spin on the steampunk genre. The story follows Orphan, a boy poet who's life changes when bombs implanted in books destroy his semi-perfect life and his love. The Bookman has returned, a terrorist who is armed with exploding books to overthrow the Lizards (yes, walking, talking reptiles!) who have taken over all high ranking positions in England. Tidhar paints a world where talking lizards and human machines are just another part of a hum-drum normal life. Orphan is chosen to find and reveal the secrets that the Bookman holds. The country is on the verge of a revolution and Orphan has been given the task to save them all...but what makes him so special?

This story starts off slow but then it makes you run with it. You meet Victorian authors who aid and hinder Orphan's journey to catch the Bookman. The story line of bringing down Parliament and the Lizards echoes the plight of Guy Fawkes, Remember Remember the 5th of November! If you like steampunk, step outside the box into a more hard sci-fi take. I was hesitant about this book considering I prefer urban fantasy (Lizards in charge seems alittle out there and weird) but if I can accept vampires and werewolves...why not Lizards? Give the lizards a chance and delve into a world of mechanical mystery.

ISBN-13: 9780857660343

Book Review : Nekropolis

Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner is the first in the Matt Richter Series. The story is told by Matt Richter, a zombie, who is a private detective new to the world of Nekropolis. While I am not one to like books that stray too far from reality, Nekropolis is an interesting world that is separate from earth. It is filled with beings of the supernatural including vampires, warlocks, lykes, and more. When a magical item is stolen from the vaults of one of the vampire overlords, Richter is hired to recover it before the renewal ceremony that keeps Nekropolis alive. Richter is not only working against time but against himself, he's falling apart and the preserving spells are no longer working. He has to race through the five realms, find the item, and save the world...before he decomposes for good.

I would categorize this book a urban fantasy with a detective twist. It has the wit and humor of Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher and the mystery and speed of the Nightside series by Simon R. Green. Matt Richter is joined by an interesting cast of characters that including an insane but punctual cab driver, a memory eating librarian, and a alluring half-breed vampire. I would recommend this book to those who like sci-fi detectives or those who are looking for something different.

ISBN-13: 9780857660138

Poem: By Panic

To give it a name gives it power,
To understand it will unleash it.
Heart beating fast, there's no calming it,
Face flushed and hands to heavy to move.
Guttural gasps for vanished air,
I could breathe before but never again.
The sweat pouring from my reddened brow,
Tells me that it is over, the end.
I wish I never knew the reason,
The cause, the final diagnosis.
Without it maybe I could have lived,
Not normal but uninterrupted,
Without this cruel new understanding,
That I will be utterly consumed.

Shameless Plug

After much hesitation, I finally submitted one of my pieces to Red Skies, Salem State's e-zine. So if you wish, you may read my prose piece "Night Fisherman" which was written during my trip to Martha's Vineyard. While your there, support the e-zine and read the other features!