I’ve been meaning to mention for ages now that I have a poem in the latest issue of the Chicago poetry journal After Hours … and I’ll be reading it in public this Friday night.
I’ve always been really bad about actually submitting my poems for publication — I always think, here I am fussing around […]

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This one:
I guess all I’m really saying
is how I think you’re wrong here
and some things are worth the chaos
that they come along with
— Trembling Blue Stars, “Letter Never Sent” (which has a bridge worthy of Neil Finn)
 

(First installment in a possible recurring series … feel free to share your own favorite tear-jerking lyrics in the […]

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This is brilliant. Peter Smith at the Huffington Post has a proposal for renaming the new I-35W bridge in Minneapolis that will replace the one that collapsed: “For a while there, back when the Republicans held the White House and both houses of Congress, they were naming things after Ronald Reagan everywhere. Airports. Aircraft carriers. […]

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As a sort of spiritual antidote to the horrible Michael Vicks dogfighting story, here’s a lovely poem by Chicago poet Yvonne Zipter (shared here with her permission). It’s from Yvonne’s most recent chapbook, Like Some Bookie God, which came out last year.
A Canine Metaphysics
In his meditative moments —
nose to the air or head resting
on […]

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I haven’t done one of these Chicago Fringe scene reports in a while, so here’s what’s on my radar this week:

The Neo-Futurists’ annual festival It Came From The Neo-Futurarium VI: Curse of The Neo-Futurarium, consisting of staged readings of various camp-ready old films, kicks off this Thursday, June 21 at 8pm. The first installment is […]

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Those who know me know it takes a lot to get me to venture into the uncharted here-be-dragons-ness that is the “-land” part of Chicagoland.
But this coming Monday night, June 11, Nina Corwin and Al DeGenova have done me the immense honor of booking me as the featured poet for their highly regarded poetry and […]

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It’s springtime, so naturally Chicago’s fancy is turning toward divorce and debauchery. Oops, I meant to say, fabulous fringe performance, music, and poetry readings!

This week the Poetry Center of Chicago is presenting a reading by legendary beat poet Diane di Prima, author of 35 books of poetry and prose, including Pieces of a Song, Loba, […]

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Sunday was always potluck day where I grew up, so I hereby present to you this glorious covered casserole of links I didn’t get around to posting this week. With a few fresh ones stirred in, just to keep you guessing.

Retired general compares Bush to a deserter: “By vetoing this bill and failing to […]

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A meditation for Earth Day from Carl Sagan.

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Continuing the brand-new tradition of breaking news about The Partly Dave Show here on Ocelopotamus first, I can now confirm the full lineup for our upcoming show, and fill you in on why we’re doing it and what’s so goll-dang special about it.
Here’s the deal: the shadowy white-coated figures at The Partly Dave Show’s underwater […]

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The History Boys is finally being released on DVD this coming Tuesday, April 17.
According to this review, the DVD comes with a solid curriculum of extras:
Writer Alan Bennett and director Nicholas Hynter share an informative track addressing the changes made to the play but, sadly, do not discuss the interesting cast in personal detail. […]

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What’s going on in Chicago this coming week? Almost too much for one imaginary tree-climbing pachyderm to blog. But here are a few highlights:

On Monday night, the world’s best acoustic pop-punk outfit, John Pierson’s band Even in Blackouts, will be playing a basement concert in John’s own basement! It’s at [address redacted now that the […]

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Mike Scott, singer, songwriter, and bandleader of The Waterboys, has a thoughtful and entertaining piece in The Guardian recounting his experiences trying to correct errors in the band’s entry on Wikipedia.
Meanwhile, the Waterboys have a new album coming out in April! It’s called Book of Lightning and you can hear samples of a couple […]

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I was at the Landmark shop in Andersonville yesterday, and the nice lady behind the counter asked me to guess how many jellybeans were inside the glass human head and write my answer on a slip of paper. I guessed 425. No wait, 450! 17,034! A zillion! Oh my heavens, the pressure.
I seem to […]

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