It's a Wonderful Life!

On Christmas morning, Tammy snuck a present onto my desk which turned out to be a mix CD with the following poem:

Merry Happy

I know your eyes in the morning
sun. Every streetlight reveals

the picture in reverse. I've been thinking
out loud again & again

& again & again. Feel the city
breaking. If I could touch your body

before this river becomes an ocean.
And fall on my face on somebody's

new mown-lawn. Come on baby
I'm tired of talking. Dancing at discos,

eating cheese on toast. Was it suddenly
I was lost in the lakes and the shapes

that your body makes? You've been
as constant as a Northern Star. The brightest

light that shines. Feeling your sweet
face, buckets of moonbeams

in my hands. That's where it's at.
I think there's something

you should know: Summer nights
and my radio. That's all we need, baby.

This poem (which rocks!) is actually a cento, which is a poem comprised of lines from the mix CD she made me. Here are the songs on the CD:

1. "Stayin' Alive," by Bee Gees
2. "Faith (Remastered 2006)," by George Michael
3. "A Little Less Conversation (JXL Radio Edit Remix)," by Junkie XL
4. "Merry Happy," by Kate Nash
5. "Pumpkin Soup," by Kate Nash
6. "How Deep Is Your Love," by The Bird and the Bee
7. "Again & Again," by The Bird and the Bee
8. "Lasso," by Phoenix
9. "Your Rocky Spine," by Great Lake Swimmers
10. "Freedom! '90 (Remastered 2006)," by George Michael
11. "Daydream," by The Lovin' Spoonful
12. "That's Where It's At," by Sam Cooke
13. "Nightswimming," by R.E.M.
14. "Right Down the Line," by Gerry Rafferty
15. "Summer Nights," by Van Halen
16. "Pretty Persuasion," by R.E.M.
17. "Let Go," by Frou Frou
18. "Buckets of Rain," by Wendy Bucklew
19. "Let's Do It Again," by The Staple Singers
20. "Little Ghost," by The White Stripes

An awesome mix! And while I was listening to this awesome mix (for like the 3rd time) on my way up to grab the boys in Ohio, I decided to write a response poem for Tammy's birthday, which is on December 29.

I can watch a sun set

You, I cannot judge. I know all the games you play,
because I play them too. You can tell by the way I use

my walk. The fear of getting caught, the recklessness
of water. Forever is a long, long time when you've lost

your way. Heaven knows I was just a young boy, and
the mountains said I could find you here. You said it,

and you wrote it down: You might overlook your heart
beating fast and knowing time will pass but hoping

that it lasts. Goddamn, I've been dreaming since I woke
up today. Don't you know I like the smile on your

fingertips, the way you move your hips, that cool way
you look at me? I'm the only one that sees you.

Leave your things behind, your confusion. You know the door
to my very soul. This is my way of telling you

this is stupid and perfect. I just want your kiss,
sweet love in the midnight. The moon is low tonight.

*****

Since Christmas was last week, I figured now was the perfect time to unleash my Top 10 Christmas Movie/Special list. After all, we're all getting together tonight at my father-in-law's house to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve. We're a little late and a little on time.

Here's my Top 10:

10. Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas. Sentimental favorite with awesome music.

9. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This is my favorite of the Rankin/Bass specials, but I love them all, whether it's The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, The Year Without a Santa Claus, or even the wacky Rudolph's Shiny New Year (a good one for tonight actually).

8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. So many great scenes in this movie and quotes: "Don't throw me down, Clark."; "Merry Christmas! Shitter was full."; and my favorite "Squirrel!"

7. Miracle on 34th Street. This is one of the classics. A man who may or may not be Santa Claus. And it has Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood.

6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Any Christmas special narrated by Boris Karloff has to be special, right? Well, this one is.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Everyone knows what a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree looks like, and Linus Van Pelt gives a great speech on what Christmas is all about. Plus, this is a Christmas special in which not one gift is given (though many are requested and desired) outside of a Merry Christmas.

4. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens wrote the essential Christmas story. How many versions of this story exist now? As far as movies go, I love nearly every version, including that cool 3D one that's in theaters now. If you haven't checked it out yet, the Mr. Magoo cartoon version is actually very exceptional.

3. A Christmas Story. Even after this movie played on our television for 24 straight hours, I still love this tale about Ralphie and his coveted Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot, range model air rifle. From decoding radio commercials about Ovaltine to receiving major awards (aka, electric sex in the front window), nothing says Christmas like this movie...well, except I like these other two movies just a tad more.

2. Love Actually. Actually, most (maybe all) Christmas movie/special lists exclude this movie, though I'm not sure why. Maybe because it has an R rating. But if you're in the mood for an adult Christmas movie, this is a great one. Multiple plot lines, lots of love, and an ending that makes me tear up.

1. It's a Wonderful Life! The. Best. Movie. Ever. Made. Not only is this a wonderful Christmas movie; this is a wonderful story on how to live one's life. George Bailey always does the right thing, and even when times turn darkest, he thinks of the welfare of others above his own. And then, he gets the mind-sobering gift of seeing what the world would be like without him.

Two bonus Christmas movies: Die Hard and Gremlins.

*****

Since it's New Year's Eve, here's my favorite New Year's Eve movie: When Harry Met Sally.

*****

Great news: I'm going to be the Featured Poet over at The Academy of American Poets discussion forum in January. I'll be answering poetry-related questions on the following topics from 1-2 p.m. on Wednesdays there:

Week 1 (1/6): Writing
Week 2 (1/13): Revising
Week 3 (1/20): Publishing
Week 4 (1/27): Marketing & Other Topics

Check it out by going to the www.poets.org site on the dates above or post a question anytime during the month, and I'll pop in to answer it.

Bring on 2010!

Okay, it's that time of year many people (myself included) look back and forward to figure out what went right (or wrong) and what to change or attempt next. I'm going to look back in a future post on this blog, since there's still a week left for anything to happen. In this post, I'm going to look forward.

Here are some goals I'd like to accomplish in 2010:

1. Write at least one poem every day of 2010. I already write more than 100 poems each year for the Poetic Asides blog, but I plan to write and share a poem a day on this blog.
2. Get a collection of poems published. This goal may be very difficult to accomplish, and who knows? I may even go the self-publishing route if all else fails. But this is my big goal.
3. Get back into the shape I was in around May. As some of you may know, May is when I was in the best shape I'd been since college. It's also when I lost consciousness, quit breathing, turned crayon blue, and nearly died--for unspecified reasons (the cardiologists thought it was my brain; the neurologists thought it was my heart). Much of the second half of 2009 has been a struggle for me as I've suffered a depression of sorts wondering "what if this" and "what if that," but the great thing about the New Year is that it gets me in the mood to move on and forget the past.
4. Run a few road races. I wanted to do this in 2009 but only ended up running the Peachtree Road Race (10k on July 4th in the ATL). That was fun, and I want to have more fun running races in 2010.
5. Improve the quality of Writer's Market and Poet's Market for the 2011 editions. This is always a goal. With a new database that's entering it's first full production cycle, I think this is possible. Plus, I think I've got some great articles assigned for the front of the books.
6. Spend less time working. I often felt guilty if I was only working 50 hours a week in 2009 and often ended up working as much as 60 or 70 hours a week (and sometimes still feeling guilty when I put in those hours). That's not healthy, so 2010 will be spent trying to be more productive in less time.
7. Create a website. I admit that I often know the best way to do things, but that I'm sometimes slow to adopt my own very good advice. I should've created a personal website years ago, but 2010 will work better than 2011, I guess.
8. Write fiction. This (and not poetry) used to be my strong suit. I won cash prizes in college and would spend hours upon hours each day typing and outlining stories, figuring out characters, etc. I have several story ideas stuffed in the back of my current composition notebook that I use for my poetry. I need to write these stories down in 2010.
9. Create a bookazine on getting published for Writer's Digest. This is an assignment and a goal. I'm pretty excited about putting it together and am sure it'll be the best bookazine on getting published ever released. More details as they come.
10. Travel more. Tammy and I recently had to abort a trip to Tennessee to visit my mother and grandmother in Dandridge. We ended up in a pizza shop in historic Marietta, Georgia, where we read our horoscopes in a local paper. Tammy's said to look into more education in 2010; mine said to travel. Good idea.

Knowing me, I may add to this list later, but this seems like a good starting point.

*****

I've been interviewed twice recently by these folks:

• Didi Menendez
• Paul Grimsley

Interviews are always fun, whether I'm interviewing or being interviewed. Thanks to Didi and Paul!

*****

Finally, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Unmanly Music: A Countdown (of sorts)

Raise your hand if you like Lady Gaga! Well, I do. (My current faves are "Paparazzi" and "Just Dance".)

Tammy told me this weekend how much she loves that I'm not afraid to like unmanly music. She claims it's because I'm secure in my manhood. I'd agree with that assessment, and, of course, it helps that I'm bigger than most men. So, who's going to say anything if I like breaking it down to Queen's "I Want to Break Free."

Here's a Top 10 list (in no particular order) of unmanly music that I like:

1. "Stayin' Alive" Bee Gees. Sure, the subject of this song may be a little edgy, but listen to their voices. It's like thinking Mike Tyson is this bulldog in the boxing ring, but then he opens his mouth and sounds completely ludicrous.
2. "Dancing Queen" Abba. Dancing? Queen? How about this lyric, "You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only 17." Yeah, I don't think too many manly men are going to be caught in public dancing to this. But still, it's catchy.
3. "Don't Feel Like Dancin'" Scissor Sisters. Actually, men seem to hide from songs with dancing in the title as if they're vampires and dancing songs are sunlight. Most manly men need at least a few brewskies in 'em before they can even think about the dance floor, but I can't help but dance whenever I hear this song.
4. "Xanadu" Olivia Newton John & ELO. Let's face it. Boys are allowed to hang around skating rinks, but men better be there with their children. Actually, they ought to be dropping off their children and running off to watch football or work on their cars, mess around in the shop, mow their lawns, etc. Gosh, I love this song!
5. "Careless Whisper" Wham! Straight men can't like Wham! or George Michael, right? It's some kind of algebra problem, right? Right? Well, I never was good at algebra, and I love this song. And for that matter, I love...
6. "Faith" George Michael. "I gotta have faith, faith, faith--Baby!" Yeah, this song is so freaking catchy and not manly.
7. "Hollaback Girl" Gwen Stefani. I like this song because I'm a sucker for a good beat, and "I ain't no hollaback girl." Is it me, or is this list getting less and less and less and less...
8. "Summer Love" Justin Timberlake. Timberlake is like the modern day Bee Gees multiplied by the sum of Wham! and Olivia Newton John. I mean, he was in a band called Nsync, right? But yo, "I can't wait to fall in love with you; you can't wait to fall in love with me; this just can't be summer love."
9. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper. Yeah, you don't hear this song often in the weight room (wedged between Metallica and AC/DC). Most men don't like songs with dancing in the title, but they loathe song titles that include girls.
10. "Material Girl" Madonna. Another "girl" song, but darn it, I've always loved this song. And quick confession: I can still remember standing in the kitchen and singing along with Madonna as a boy and telling my mom that I was going to sing like Madonna when I got older. She, of course, told me I would not. And she was right.

*****

I had a great weekend. Tammy and I got out to a Christmas festival in Duluth. This one booth sells some awesome brunswick stew. (If you've never had this stew before, then you're really missing out. I was until being introduced to it last December.) We also got over to a used bookstore and watched a lot of football (both college and NFL).

Speaking of which, my fantasy football team missed the playoffs in our keeper league for the first time ever. Oh well. I knew my streak of making the playoffs would have to end eventually.

*****

Speaking of manly activities, I worked on my poetry quite a bit this weekend: writing, revising, and submitting.

I also started a new hashtag on Twitter: #poetweet

I'm going to start tweeting short poems on Twitter whenever the mood strikes and include the #poetweet hashtag. If you're into poetry, I encourage you to do the same.

2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge Shelter

Since the server for WritersDigest.com and its blogs (including Poetic Asides) keeps crashing and wiping out all the Poetic Asides poems and comments, I thought I'd set up this temporary shelter for our poetry and poetic discussion until the storm passes. I'm pretty sure Blogger will hold up.

Today is the final day of the 2009 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, and the prompt asked for poems about something that will stick with you (or someone or something else). Memorable poems.

Here's the one I wrote for the day:

"The world will worry for you"

Forget speaking in code; forget
telling it slant; here is what happened:

I rose to answer the phone, and then,
lost consciousness. As I lay there,

my breathing grew labored before
stopping altogether. My skin turned

crayon blue; my eyes stayed open.
This is how I've always pictured

my Uncle James when he died alone
on his land in the middle of nowhere.

I still remember grandmother crying out,
"No, no, no," on Easter evening

when my grandfather called. I could
have been found this way, but

Tammy breathed in my mouth, spoke
to my unresponding face. She would not

quit even as I turned less and less
alive. Later that night, grandfather

told us how they found James laying
on his porch with his door open:

"He looked horrible. He looked like
he was in pain." And this is what I can

tell you: I did not feel any pain,
any worry, until I came back to life.

*****

Feel free to add your own poems, comments, etc., below. And if you feel like subscribing to yet one more blog, I'd be honored if you subscribed to this one. Keep poeming!

10 Universal Lessons Learned From Parenting

(This post was written last night, but Charter's consistently inconsistent service kept cutting out on me. I was too tired to keep trying to post last night. Some time references may be in relation to last night, not this morning.)

So, I am at the end of my week-long Thanksgiving vacation as I know it (and I feel fine, though I wouldn't complain if I still had an extra day or two left). I went up and grabbed my two boys in Ohio and had them down here in Georgia all week. So, yes, for the first time since school started back up, our house was filled with 4 boys (5 if you count me).

As with our summer periods together as a full family unit, this week was fun, and it wore me out. Plus, I gathered some universal lessons of parenting that can be applied to everything from dating to business (even writing and publishing). Here they are:

1. Take care of yourself. Before you can help others, you need to be in tip-top shape. So, remember to eat and sleep and give yourself at least a little relaxation time.
2. Don't make promises unless you really (really really) know you can keep them. A broken promise, whether to a child or an adult, is often on the same level (or just a notch below) an outright lie. Don't make promises or commitments unless you absolutely know you can keep them. And if for some reason you can't, admit to it immediately and apologize sincerely.
3. Give warnings when things are about to change. For my boys, I always give warnings, whether it's in regards to leaving the playground or getting out of the bathtub. What this does for children (and adults) is give them time to prepare for and accept change. In fact, there are even times when my boys are ready to leave before I am.
4. Don't play favorites. I have four boys. They all want my attention most of the time; they all want different things; they all want to watch different shows on TV; they all want to be my favorite; they all want to be first; and so on. My job is to make sure that they all feel special without feeling that one of them is more special than all the others. Favoritism leads to resentment and hurt feelings. Avoid it at all costs.
5. Lead by example. If I just tell my boys to brush their teeth, they're bound to just argue with me, throw fits, etc. But if I grab my toothbrush and say, "It's time to brush our teeth; daddy is brushing his teeth, too," then I almost always get them all brushing without complaint.
6. Don't overcommit. Many optimists (myself included) have a hard time with this one, which ultimately circles back to not making promises you can't keep. I might want to do eight things tomorrow, but in reality, I only have time to do two or three. If I overcommit, I could end up stressing myself out while disappointing others. It's always best to underpromise and overdeliver.
7. Say "no" and stick to it. Most people want to please other people, but we also need to draw lines in the sand. If it's before lunchtime, I'm not going to let my boys have candy. No matter how they whine, argue, fight, etc. It's not going to happen. I want my boys to be happy, but they're not getting candy before lunch. (This rule applicable to all relationships, not just the father-son variety.)
8. Show your appreciation. When my boys follow the rules, I reward them with compliments (not candy or toys). When my boys are polite and say "thank you," "please," and "bless you," I reward them with praise. Sometimes, for no particular reason at all, I say, "I love you." All people want to feel appreciated. Always remember this.
9. Be consistent. Look at my candy rule in #7. Look at how I always give warnings in #3. People (both children and adults) respond well to consistency. If they know what to expect, they can adapt easier.
10. Challenge them. Baby Will is walking already (at 11 months). As a result, he falls. A lot. I try not to rush to him whenever he does, because I want to give him the opportunity to pick himself up and start walking again (which he often does). When the older boys ask me a question, I challenge them to give me an answer first. Sometimes, they're right; sometimes, they're not. But people like to feel challenged; and even better are those times when they rise to the challenge.

*****

Holiday first: On Friday (day after Thanksgiving), Tammy, the boys, and I all went to one of those tree farms where you can cut down your own Christmas tree. It was a lot of fun and very easy. Tammy and I kept it a secret until we got to the place, and the boys thought it was super cool.

*****

Recent update: On Saturday morning, I took Ben and Jonah back up to Ohio. Before I dropped them off at their house, we met up with my mom, my new sister-in-law, and both of my brothers at this awesome Dayton pizza chain called Marion's Pizza. I got to sleep around 11-ish and then woke up at 2:45 a.m., flying down I-75 back home to Georgia so that I could make it to the Foster make-up-Thanksgiving jamboree, which was a lot of fun.

*****

Observation #1: Bumper stickers make people targets and are often ridiculous.

For instance, today (on the way back to Georgia), I read the following bumper sticker: KIDS THAT HUNT AND FISH DON'T STEAL AND DEAL. This is ludicrous and completely false. I know at least two people from Ohio who hunt and fish and still manage to find time to steal and deal drugs.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against people who hunt and fish, but this bumper sticker makes it sound like people who carry fishing poles and guns on their shoulders are somehow nobler than the rest of us lost souls (who apparently are out stealing and dealing).

Why couldn't the bumper sticker read "I LOVE HUNTING AND FISHING" or "MY FAMILY LOVES TO HUNT AND FISH"? That would seem a lot less insulting to my intelligence and more supportive of the enterprise of hunting and fishing. Ignorant bumper stickers only divide.

*****

Observation #2: Week-long vacations pass way too fast.

*****

Other random stuff:

• The November PAD Chapbook Challenge is nearly finished for 2009 at my Poetic Asides blog. It's been a fun, though technologically challenging, month.
• I wrote up some tips on using Twitter at my WD Community blog. Click here to check those out.
• Tennessee opened a few more rest areas this month along I-75. May only be of importance to me, but so be it.

The future of publishing is a tsunami

The water is drawing away from us as we watch a giant wave on the horizon. It looks small from a distance, but as it approaches we realize something major is on the verge of happening and that the way things used to be will be no more. This is how I feel about the future of publishing.

From the reports and news filing in externally to the conversations I've had internally, the publishing business is about to change rapidly and dramatically. And no, I'm not saying it will be the end of books or good writing. I'm not saying writers will be wiped off the face of the earth like dinosaurs and card catalogs. But things will change and soon.

Here are some predictions:

1. Content delivery will change. We've already seen this as companies replace print catalogs with newsletters and e-mail blasts. Some magazines have already closed up shop in print to focus on their websites.
2. Submission methods will change. Most editors already accept submissions via e-mail. More are moving toward online submissions forms. Eventually, writers won't have to worry about the price of postage going up every year (outside of the "old school" practice of mailing cards for holidays and birthdays).
3. Roles will change. Editors are becoming marketers as much as quality assurance experts; agents are becoming editors as much as career consultants; writers are more and more being asked to build platforms and develop an audience before acceptance.
4. Titles will change. Writers are turning into content providers. Publishing companies are turning into media companies. Magazines are turning into websites.
5. Balance of power will change. I'm not sure how, who will be most affected, what the resulting landscape will be, but I do know the time is ripe for some companies/individuals to rise up while others slowly fade away or burn quickly across the publishing mesosphere.

Basically, everything will change.

*****

If you're a writer who wants to take action, here are some recent posts I've made to my blog on the Writer's Digest Community site:

• Simple Free Guide to Building Your Writing Platform
• Problem Solving 101 for Writers

While there, you could also check out Jane Friedman's The Future of Publishing group. She's really got a better handle on the whole future of publishing than anyone I know.

*****

I submitted six poems to RATTLE tonight. It's been a long time since I've made the time to submit my work, but I can only sit on poems with titles like "The Robots" and "Yes, Daddy is like a minivan" for so long.

Also, I've now made it through 10 days of the November PAD Chapbook Challenge at my Poetic Asides blog. I am very, very happy with the poems I've written so far and look forward to what I might create the rest of the month.

Here are the 10 prompts so far:

1. Write a poem in which you (or something) enters something new.
2. Write a poem in which you look at something from a different angle.
3. Write a positive poem or a negative poem (Two for Tuesday prompt).
4. Take phrase "Maybe (blank)," replace blank with word or phrase, make title of your poem, and write poem.
5. Write a growth poem.
6. Write a poem with (or about) someone (or something) covered.
7. Pick a plant, make that title of your poem, and write poem.
8. Take the phrase "Should (blank)," replace blank with word or phrase, make title of your poem, and write poem.
9. Write a slippery poem.
10. Write a love or anti-love poem (Two for Tuesday prompt).

*****

Outside of an intermittent Internet connection today, I don't have much bothering me at the moment--unlike Baby Will, who now suddenly has four teeth in his mouth. Poor little guy!

Here's hoping things are super cool in your neck of the woods!

Five Things You Don't Need To Know About Me

Number 1: Will's first tooth has broken through on the top front side of his mouth.

Number 2: Will can now walk without holding onto anything, though he does still prefer using walls and chairs for support and balance.

Number 3: Reese's 6th birthday is Saturday. We're going to have a family get together at the park with Reese's favorite pizza: Little Ceasar's.

Number 4: My novel for NaNoWriMo is continuing to make great progress, though I'm still falling behind as far as word count each and every day. Oh well. I can't do everything in November, right?

Number 5: My poem, "Solving the World's Problems," is in OCHO #27. Plus, my mug is even one of the faces featured on the cover of the issue. Click here to check it out.

Bonus: I'm 5 for 5 on the November PAD Chapbook Challenge. With the poems I've been writing lately, I may even try getting a little Poetic Asides chapbook together of my own poetry. I need something to keep me busy in December, eh?