Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Poetry Feature
Marylisa DeDomenicis at Pratt's Hill of Beans followed by open mic.
Thursday, July 31, 7:00 p.m.
6106 Black Horse Pike Suite B-4
Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
(609) 407-9500 (Pratt's)
609-816-5589 (Raymond Tyler, Host)
Miss obsessed with death.
I can't believe July is an inch from over.
And I can't believe I wasn't more excited than I was about seeing Bruce with the East Street Band on Sunday night.
I got the tickets for Joe for Christmas. Well, for us. We saw him solo, in an acoustic setting with about 3,500 other people a few years ago but because they were recording he requested no clapping, no dancing, no singing along. It was rather eerie, for a concert, but it was Bruce, so we played along and were certainly entertained, to say the least. Just quietly so. Anyway, ever since then, Joe's told me I haven't had the true Bruce experience until I've seen him in a large arena with the E Street Band and a roaring crowd. He'd already seen them twice that way (Jersey Boy).
So after a thunderstorm that even Bruce described as being "of biblical proportions" we inched along at 25 miles an hour in Sunday night tourist traffic with everyone else who had to wait for the storm to pass to get on the road. Bruce was late, too, so we only missed a few minutes.
There is no short and sweet of it.
I was nine when my dad first started collecting Bruce records. (Yes, that's right, records.) He was the first artist whose lyrics intrigued me. I remember waiting for his albums just so I could read the words that went along with the music, which was more narratively lyrical than any other musician's work I'd yet known. I modeled one of my first serious poems (read: not about a boy I thought was cute) after his style of writing and I guess I considered myself a poet from that moment on.
Still, that was so long ago that I thought I was over him, you know?
Not.
If one of those planes that kept flying overhead during the concert had dropped a bomb I would have died in a state of euphoria. We have to go some way. I've decided that's how I want to go. In the middle of some concert with 55,000 people singing along with the band - then poof! Nothing. I can't imagine a better way. No one would have to worry about where to sprinkle my ashes or if green burials are legal where I live.
I only wish my dad could have been there, too.
Show began at 8:37 p.m.
Setlist:
1 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Lonesome Day
4. No Surrender
5. Adam Raised a Cain
6. Spirit in the Night
7. Summertime Blues (As the song started, Bruce took signs with requests on them from the audience).
8. Brilliant Disguise (Nice duo with Patti Scialfa).
9. Atlantic City
10. Growin' Up (request by a 10-year, old named Rosie)
11. Janey Don't You Lose Heart (a sign held up by the person standing in the pit)
12. I'll Work for Your Love (by request)
13. Youngstown (Awesome guitar work here by Nils Lofgren).
14. Murder Incorporated (and awesome guitar work here by Bruce and Steve Van Zandt).
15. The Promised Land
16. Livin' in the Future
17. Mary's Place
18. Workin' on the Highway
19. Tunnel of Love (With Patti Scialfa - this was sexy).
20. The Rising
21. Last to Die
22. Long Walk Home
23. Badlands !!
Encores:
24. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
25. Jungleland
26. Born to Run
27. Bobby Jean
28. Dancing in the Dark
29. American Land
30. Rosalita
Show ended at 11:49 p.m.
And I can't believe I wasn't more excited than I was about seeing Bruce with the East Street Band on Sunday night.
I got the tickets for Joe for Christmas. Well, for us. We saw him solo, in an acoustic setting with about 3,500 other people a few years ago but because they were recording he requested no clapping, no dancing, no singing along. It was rather eerie, for a concert, but it was Bruce, so we played along and were certainly entertained, to say the least. Just quietly so. Anyway, ever since then, Joe's told me I haven't had the true Bruce experience until I've seen him in a large arena with the E Street Band and a roaring crowd. He'd already seen them twice that way (Jersey Boy).
So after a thunderstorm that even Bruce described as being "of biblical proportions" we inched along at 25 miles an hour in Sunday night tourist traffic with everyone else who had to wait for the storm to pass to get on the road. Bruce was late, too, so we only missed a few minutes.
There is no short and sweet of it.
I was nine when my dad first started collecting Bruce records. (Yes, that's right, records.) He was the first artist whose lyrics intrigued me. I remember waiting for his albums just so I could read the words that went along with the music, which was more narratively lyrical than any other musician's work I'd yet known. I modeled one of my first serious poems (read: not about a boy I thought was cute) after his style of writing and I guess I considered myself a poet from that moment on.
Still, that was so long ago that I thought I was over him, you know?
Not.
If one of those planes that kept flying overhead during the concert had dropped a bomb I would have died in a state of euphoria. We have to go some way. I've decided that's how I want to go. In the middle of some concert with 55,000 people singing along with the band - then poof! Nothing. I can't imagine a better way. No one would have to worry about where to sprinkle my ashes or if green burials are legal where I live.
I only wish my dad could have been there, too.
Show began at 8:37 p.m.
Setlist:
1 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Lonesome Day
4. No Surrender
5. Adam Raised a Cain
6. Spirit in the Night
7. Summertime Blues (As the song started, Bruce took signs with requests on them from the audience).
8. Brilliant Disguise (Nice duo with Patti Scialfa).
9. Atlantic City
10. Growin' Up (request by a 10-year, old named Rosie)
11. Janey Don't You Lose Heart (a sign held up by the person standing in the pit)
12. I'll Work for Your Love (by request)
13. Youngstown (Awesome guitar work here by Nils Lofgren).
14. Murder Incorporated (and awesome guitar work here by Bruce and Steve Van Zandt).
15. The Promised Land
16. Livin' in the Future
17. Mary's Place
18. Workin' on the Highway
19. Tunnel of Love (With Patti Scialfa - this was sexy).
20. The Rising
21. Last to Die
22. Long Walk Home
23. Badlands !!
Encores:
24. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
25. Jungleland
26. Born to Run
27. Bobby Jean
28. Dancing in the Dark
29. American Land
30. Rosalita
Show ended at 11:49 p.m.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
For Provenance
For Provenance
You wouldn't have known it from the way my mother dressed me, but I was a bit of a tom-boy when young, always rough-housing with the boys, playing football, skateboarding down giant hills (from the top of Mead Street down to Hankock!), dirt-bike riding etc. Some of my favorite places to be were in the fields and wooded areas under downed trees or climbing hills and scouting the local coal fields. Not to mention the local "watering holes," reservoirs, dams, lakes etc.
My mommy dressed me pretty and taught me how to behave, but my daddy had a need for speed and a love of nature that was too contagious to tame.
Maybe this is why I've never moved to the city, though it's been calling me all my life. I'd miss my yard too much. It's a lot of all I've ever wanted.
84 and counting
The squirrels always steal the cherries before they've had a chance to ripen. The peaches are divine, usually healthy - I don't spray. And the plums are perfect, but the tree doesn't bear every year; not sure why, may be just a matter of cross-pollination. Just a little dust on the roses and food for all. Last year I used bat dung. Mmm.
When we first moved in, besides the trees, there were two lilac bushes, three azaleas, the honeysuckle, ivy, a few tulips and the Hibiscus. There were also 6 weeds that had grown into tall trees with tap-roots at least 6 feet deep that had to be dug up. The weeds are almost always more aggressive and vigorous than what's been intentionally planted.
Here's what's in our yard now (that is, the bank's yard); I may have forgotten a few things, and I didn't list all the trees:
Grape Hyacinths, Muscari Armeniacum
Tulips, various
Dutch Iris, Purple Sensation (naturalizing)
Daffodil, Narcissi, Mount Hood (White, naturalizing)
Daffodil, Large Cupped Carlton (Yellow)
Scarlet Meidiland Rose (Meikrotal, clusters, 3)
Red Meidiland Rose (Meineble, yellow center)
Floribunda Rose, Iceberg (White)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Garden Party (peach)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Kordes Perfecta (coral)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Heirloom (magenta, fragrant)
Rosa x, "Nearly Wild Rose" (pink)
Bourbon Rose, Zepherine Drouhin (1868, antique climber)
Rose "Meicoublan" White Meidiland (groundcover)
Rhododendron Roseum Elegans (Purple)
Azalea Satsuki Hybrid, Gumpo White (2)
Azalea, Girard's Crimson (2)
Azalea, pink, vintage (2)
Lilacs, purple, Syringa Vulgaris (2)
Wild Yellow Honeysuckle, Lonicera semprvirens (2)
Red Tatarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)
Echinacea (Purple Coneflower, perennial, also drops new seeds!)
Coreopsis (tall, reseeding)
Daylillies, Hemerocalle (Naturalizing)
Daylillies, Hemerocalle, Azucena Anteada (Crimson Pirate)
Thyme, Silver, Thymus vulgaris "Argenteus" (perennial, can be divided)
Winter Thyme, Thymus Hyemalis (perennial, can be divided)
Oregano (perennial, can be divided)
Russian Sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia (perennial)
Lamb's Ears, Stachys Byzantina (S. lanata, spreads)
Silver Lavender Cotton (Santolina incana "Nana")
Showy Pink Primrose, Oenothera Speciosa
Lilly-of-the-Valley, Convallaria majalis
Myrtle, Vinca Minor (spreading evergreen groundcover, purple blooms)
Ajuga reptans, Carpet Bugle (semi-evergreen spreading)
Weigela florida "Pink Princess (pink blooming shrub)
Flowering Quince, Texas Scarlet (3)
Crape Myrtle (3)
Purpleleaf Plum (Prunus Thundercloud, Plum tree)
Bing Cherry, Cerezo Enano "Bing" (Dwarf cherry tree)
Thornless Red Everbearing Raspberry
Hydrangea, Hyd. macrophylla "Glory Blue"
Barberry, Berberis thunbergii, Royal Burgundy (8-10)
Juniper, Sea Green (7)
Green Beauty Boxwood (Hedge)
Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis "Globosa" (4?)
Dense Yew, Taxus x media "Densiformis"
Dwarf Juniper, Procumbens "Nana"
Spiny Greek Juniper, Juniperus excelsa "Stricta"
Dwarf Japanese Barberry (3), Crimson Pygmy
Winter Gem Boxwood
Euonymus, Emerald Gaiety (6)
Willowleaf Holly (Hedge)
Flowering Quince, Cameo
German Iris, Purple
Iris, Burgundy
Iris, Yellow and Purple
Clematis, Peveril Pearl (pink)
Clematis, white
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry
Lavender, Munstead Lavandula
Dianthus, Floral Lace violet
Dianthus, Picotee
Fountain Grass, Pennistetum Alopecuroides
Maiden Grass, Miscantus "Gracillimus"
Salvia, Blue Queen
Lemon Balm, Melissa Officinalis
Spearmint
Peach Tree
Yew, Dark Green Spreading
Dwarf Mugho Pine, Pinus mugo pumilio
Mums, various
Juniper, Andorra
Cosmos (annual)
Impatiens (annual)
Liatrus spicata, Blazing Star
Phlox paniculata, Summer Phlox
Hibiscus syriacus, Rose of Sharon, Rose Mallow
Ivy
Barberry
Centranthus ruber, Red Valerian
Pink Primrose, Primula
Lathyrus, Sweet Pea
Lest I forget them: Dandelions, Chickweed, Virginia creeper and other various weeds
Before I sat down, I thought to myself: I think I'll make a list of what's bloomed/blooming/planted in my yard.
When I finished, I was amazed. It doesn't seem like that much...
I hope someone loves it when I'm gone.
You wouldn't have known it from the way my mother dressed me, but I was a bit of a tom-boy when young, always rough-housing with the boys, playing football, skateboarding down giant hills (from the top of Mead Street down to Hankock!), dirt-bike riding etc. Some of my favorite places to be were in the fields and wooded areas under downed trees or climbing hills and scouting the local coal fields. Not to mention the local "watering holes," reservoirs, dams, lakes etc.
My mommy dressed me pretty and taught me how to behave, but my daddy had a need for speed and a love of nature that was too contagious to tame.
Maybe this is why I've never moved to the city, though it's been calling me all my life. I'd miss my yard too much. It's a lot of all I've ever wanted.
84 and counting
The squirrels always steal the cherries before they've had a chance to ripen. The peaches are divine, usually healthy - I don't spray. And the plums are perfect, but the tree doesn't bear every year; not sure why, may be just a matter of cross-pollination. Just a little dust on the roses and food for all. Last year I used bat dung. Mmm.
When we first moved in, besides the trees, there were two lilac bushes, three azaleas, the honeysuckle, ivy, a few tulips and the Hibiscus. There were also 6 weeds that had grown into tall trees with tap-roots at least 6 feet deep that had to be dug up. The weeds are almost always more aggressive and vigorous than what's been intentionally planted.
Here's what's in our yard now (that is, the bank's yard); I may have forgotten a few things, and I didn't list all the trees:
Grape Hyacinths, Muscari Armeniacum
Tulips, various
Dutch Iris, Purple Sensation (naturalizing)
Daffodil, Narcissi, Mount Hood (White, naturalizing)
Daffodil, Large Cupped Carlton (Yellow)
Scarlet Meidiland Rose (Meikrotal, clusters, 3)
Red Meidiland Rose (Meineble, yellow center)
Floribunda Rose, Iceberg (White)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Garden Party (peach)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Kordes Perfecta (coral)
Hybrid Tea Rose, Heirloom (magenta, fragrant)
Rosa x, "Nearly Wild Rose" (pink)
Bourbon Rose, Zepherine Drouhin (1868, antique climber)
Rose "Meicoublan" White Meidiland (groundcover)
Rhododendron Roseum Elegans (Purple)
Azalea Satsuki Hybrid, Gumpo White (2)
Azalea, Girard's Crimson (2)
Azalea, pink, vintage (2)
Lilacs, purple, Syringa Vulgaris (2)
Wild Yellow Honeysuckle, Lonicera semprvirens (2)
Red Tatarian Honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)
Echinacea (Purple Coneflower, perennial, also drops new seeds!)
Coreopsis (tall, reseeding)
Daylillies, Hemerocalle (Naturalizing)
Daylillies, Hemerocalle, Azucena Anteada (Crimson Pirate)
Thyme, Silver, Thymus vulgaris "Argenteus" (perennial, can be divided)
Winter Thyme, Thymus Hyemalis (perennial, can be divided)
Oregano (perennial, can be divided)
Russian Sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia (perennial)
Lamb's Ears, Stachys Byzantina (S. lanata, spreads)
Silver Lavender Cotton (Santolina incana "Nana")
Showy Pink Primrose, Oenothera Speciosa
Lilly-of-the-Valley, Convallaria majalis
Myrtle, Vinca Minor (spreading evergreen groundcover, purple blooms)
Ajuga reptans, Carpet Bugle (semi-evergreen spreading)
Weigela florida "Pink Princess (pink blooming shrub)
Flowering Quince, Texas Scarlet (3)
Crape Myrtle (3)
Purpleleaf Plum (Prunus Thundercloud, Plum tree)
Bing Cherry, Cerezo Enano "Bing" (Dwarf cherry tree)
Thornless Red Everbearing Raspberry
Hydrangea, Hyd. macrophylla "Glory Blue"
Barberry, Berberis thunbergii, Royal Burgundy (8-10)
Juniper, Sea Green (7)
Green Beauty Boxwood (Hedge)
Arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis "Globosa" (4?)
Dense Yew, Taxus x media "Densiformis"
Dwarf Juniper, Procumbens "Nana"
Spiny Greek Juniper, Juniperus excelsa "Stricta"
Dwarf Japanese Barberry (3), Crimson Pygmy
Winter Gem Boxwood
Euonymus, Emerald Gaiety (6)
Willowleaf Holly (Hedge)
Flowering Quince, Cameo
German Iris, Purple
Iris, Burgundy
Iris, Yellow and Purple
Clematis, Peveril Pearl (pink)
Clematis, white
Purpleleaf Sand Cherry
Lavender, Munstead Lavandula
Dianthus, Floral Lace violet
Dianthus, Picotee
Fountain Grass, Pennistetum Alopecuroides
Maiden Grass, Miscantus "Gracillimus"
Salvia, Blue Queen
Lemon Balm, Melissa Officinalis
Spearmint
Peach Tree
Yew, Dark Green Spreading
Dwarf Mugho Pine, Pinus mugo pumilio
Mums, various
Juniper, Andorra
Cosmos (annual)
Impatiens (annual)
Liatrus spicata, Blazing Star
Phlox paniculata, Summer Phlox
Hibiscus syriacus, Rose of Sharon, Rose Mallow
Ivy
Barberry
Centranthus ruber, Red Valerian
Pink Primrose, Primula
Lathyrus, Sweet Pea
Lest I forget them: Dandelions, Chickweed, Virginia creeper and other various weeds
Before I sat down, I thought to myself: I think I'll make a list of what's bloomed/blooming/planted in my yard.
When I finished, I was amazed. It doesn't seem like that much...
I hope someone loves it when I'm gone.
Friday, June 27, 2008
The dialogue in my head, lately, ricochets. That's not the same as being scatter-brained, instants of losing incidents, incidents of losing instants.
Thoughts aren't lost, but like a silver ball that bounces off tiny pillars wrapped with wires that send out signals to a larger machine that keeps track, my thoughts bounce off of one another. I can feel myself trying to keep track of the ball, trying to move the ball toward the pillars without "tilting" the larger machine, throwing it off balance, losing the points I've racked up toward winning another game, or simply sustaining.
To control the ball without over-controlling the ball.
The game, I guess, it the thinking game. There is a difference though, my pillars, my thoughts, my silver ball of a brain that ricochets from thought to thought and must be kept from falling to the bottom of a slanted surface where it will be lost, is contained in a space restrained only by the limits of my time here, and it remains un-walled until my time here is done. Not only does it remain unrestrained, bound only by my death, which it hasn't met and cannot predict, there are new thoughts forming constantly and they in turn create opportunities for my brain to make new connections.
So my brain is this ever expanding game that I partake in but am not wholly in control of, although I like to believe that I am. There is momentum that builds in thoughts I try to steer, to maneuver. When I try to write them down they continue to move, to ricochet. I have some say in how they move from the mind to the page to the mind again. (They are never still.) I have some influence, I create some force, but I mostly follow the ricochet of the ball.
Thoughts aren't lost, but like a silver ball that bounces off tiny pillars wrapped with wires that send out signals to a larger machine that keeps track, my thoughts bounce off of one another. I can feel myself trying to keep track of the ball, trying to move the ball toward the pillars without "tilting" the larger machine, throwing it off balance, losing the points I've racked up toward winning another game, or simply sustaining.
To control the ball without over-controlling the ball.
The game, I guess, it the thinking game. There is a difference though, my pillars, my thoughts, my silver ball of a brain that ricochets from thought to thought and must be kept from falling to the bottom of a slanted surface where it will be lost, is contained in a space restrained only by the limits of my time here, and it remains un-walled until my time here is done. Not only does it remain unrestrained, bound only by my death, which it hasn't met and cannot predict, there are new thoughts forming constantly and they in turn create opportunities for my brain to make new connections.
So my brain is this ever expanding game that I partake in but am not wholly in control of, although I like to believe that I am. There is momentum that builds in thoughts I try to steer, to maneuver. When I try to write them down they continue to move, to ricochet. I have some say in how they move from the mind to the page to the mind again. (They are never still.) I have some influence, I create some force, but I mostly follow the ricochet of the ball.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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