Weekly Word

Oh hi! Grab a seat right there on that bean-bag, or perhaps the stool, or would you like a pillow? Great, now that we're all comfortable, it's time for THE WEEKLY WORD.

WARNING: the purpose of poetry is to make you feel, so you may feel a emotion or to, but it's NORMAL, DO NOT PANIC.

This weeks word is an amalgam of superduper sick poetry.

Up first: William Carlos Williams poem, “This is Just to Say”

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Next, we swoon to e.e. cummings love poem, “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in”. You may also recognize the poem from the book Tuesday With Morrie by Mitch Albom when a woman recites it at his celebration of life, before he died.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Lastly, I leave you with the sad, slightly weird, villanelle by Dylan Thomas about his father dying called, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”. Please notice the repeated refrain, “Do not go gentle into that good night/rage, rage against the dying of the light” and how the meaning of each line changes every time it's repeated, especially in the end when the two join back up as a couplet.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

HOMEWORK: Post at least two lines of poetry of a friends wall.

Until next time lovers.

DiGiorno Supreme Pizza vs. DiGiorno Ultimate Toppings Supreme Pizza

One night Nolan and I headed to our nearest Safeway for a late night dinner generated by a grueling band practice. The plan was perfect, split a sixer of delicious beers and decimate our hunger with the only thing we knew that could, DiGiorno pizza. We each grabbed a DiGiorno Supreme (yes a whole one for each of us, leftovers the next day duhhhhh) but then something caught my eye. A DiGiorno pizza in a new box that claimed to have 25% more toppings. Yes you may have seen it or heard its name whispered on the streets but for me it was a first. Instantly my curiosity was peaked although I remained more than skeptical. The price of the pie was only a mere dollar more, but can you really trust what the box claims. Only a fraction increase with an added quarter of the toppings!? It's madness! Nolan and I decided that we had to investigate for the masses, for you the people. In this tight economy buyers must remain informed about their frozen pizza selection and cannot be falling into the advertising games and gimmicks played by corporate America. So follow along for a side-by-side comparison and consider yourself informed!

Here to the left is the regular DiGornio Supreme pizza with an adequate amount of toppings. There isn't much real estate that is left uncovered leaving little to complain about.

Now to the right is the DiGiorno Ultimate Topping Supreme Pizza and those toppings are piled high! This pie varies by removing the olives and substituting red peppers, a far more favorable topping in my opinion. The sausages alone look like they have been bulked up on steroids and 25% more might be on the shy side. If the toppings were spread out evenly it would be easier to see that no sliver of cheese would be uncovered.


And then the classic side-by-side shot

Alright friends, there you have it. The behemoth Ultimate Topping wins the battle and for the extra change that you could scrounge up on the floor of your car, Nolan and I concur, it's a no brainer!

Weekly Word

This weeks word goes out to Mr. Stephen King. Sure, we've all seen IT, or Misery or The Shining. And they are good, don't get me wrong. But, what you may not know, is that King earned his teaching license and taught for a short stint. Couple other fun facts, he got hit by a car, struggled with drugs and alcohol, and (the reason for this week's word), he also wrote a serious, book of literature called Different Seasons, which is made up of four novellas.

This collection is made of up of four novellas titled, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body and The Breathing Method. As you can guess, the first novella was made into the movie The Shawshank Redemption. Apt Pupil is also a movie bearing the same title, and The Body was made into a great movie which we all know and love called, Stand By Me.

So, if you liked any of those movies, please go pick up the collection called Different Seasons and enjoy them again, but with richer detail. And remember, novellas are short novels, typically about a hundred pages at most, so they are quick and easy reads. Enjoy!

As always, please suggest anything that has to do with writing or reading to be discussed in the Weekly Word at facebook.com/IAmTheMonsterMusic

Weekly Word-6/14

Hello readers and movers and shakers,

This weeks Weekly Word is about a little band from Michigan called La Dispute. If you know me, you know I love the La. They've released 5 EPs/Splits and 2 LPs, entitled Vancouver (their 1st) and Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair. Both are very good (check out Future Wars from Vancouver and Newer Storms For Older Lovers from SATBOFTRBVAA for a taste of their sound)

That being said, THIS word is going to draw attention to their unsung EPs (extra credit for the person who names that band reference) entitle Here, Hear I, II and III. All of these EPs have four songs a piece, aptly titled one-twelve, and all feature spoken word poetry over some form of music, with the first two EPs all being vocal covers and III being original poems. The music brilliantly changes based upon the content of the poem, for example, the music for track Three, which is a vocal cover of Edgar Allan Poe's poem Annabell, the music feature a piano and light drumming, perfectly accenting the themes of the poem.

Contrasting starkly is track Five, which is a vocal conglomeration of three Charles Bukowski poems. Jordan Dryer (La Dispute's sole singer) mixes in spoken word poetry and singing as well as slight screaming. Underneath this amalgam is a smooth jazz-based song. Piano, guitar, bass, trumpets, tambourine all make an appearance in the track.

That concludes our first weekly word. Please, suggest anything from books, poetry, music, movies, essay, etc. to be discussed and shared.

Your homework for this week is to go to http://ladisputemusic.com/lyrics_stream.html and memorize two lines to repeat to someone by next Wednesday (also, all their songs can be streamed for free from that site)