geographies: Mona Park

wednesday newstrip

Nuns embezzled 'substantial' funds from Catholic school to bankroll Vegas gambling trips, church officials say · livestream of video game films Sydney man allegedly hitting partner · Pilgrim Fathers land at New Plymouth, MA, to found Plymouth Colony, with John Carver as Governor · scientists have concluded that kids who spend seven hours or more a day on smartphones or tablets are prematurely thinning their brain cortex · Roger the ripped kangaroo dies aged 12 after 'lovely long life.'

dispensations of the dance

wednesday newstrip

Eiffel Tower, Louvre to close after US Marines jet fighter collides with refueling tanker off Japanese coast · Donald Trump announces The Snapdragon 8cx as UN ambassador · unknown treasure trove of planets found hiding in Golden Globes nominations · volcanic eruptions that depleted ocean oxygen may have set off the Great Dying · endangered Hawaiian monk seals face new challenge: eels stuck up their noses · why our school sport system is not completely broken: girl, 10, forced to walk 8 kilometers to school after dad hears she bullied another student.

hoist

geographies: Campaspe

wednesday newstrip

Experts estimate that there are more than 1.6 million young Americans going abroad on short missions for weeks or months every year to promote Christianity · hernia mesh concerns grow among men as more patients report surgery complications · Fallout 76 players banned for life after saying they plan to 'eliminate all gays' · Egyptian actress Rania Youssef has been charged with public obscenity & faces five years in jail if convicted — all because she wore a sheer dress that revealed her legs · HIV in Australia on the rise in heterosexuals · Chinese Government says it has shut down controversial human gene-editing project.

system attic

wednesday newstrip

Multi-millionaire crushed to death by tractor driven by his pet dog · T.®ump's move to bar transgender troops, called 'disgusting' & 'cowardly' · Red Dead Redemption 2 is launching cowboys into orbit — Bitcoin crashes through $US4000 · scientists discover the brain still functions once your heart stops meaning you will KNOW you are dead · Russia is going to investigate whether the moon landings actually happened · buying Affetto, the expressive android, could be a cheaper option than refreshing your old Apple or Samsung smartphone.

geographies: Keebah

wednesday newstrip

DoNuts T.®ump says he is thankful for making 'tremendous difference' to US on Thanksgiving · as in previous years, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Day went unnoticed with no government or private institution even bothering to perform the ritual of arranging any event · co-ordinator of carp herpes program quits amid doubts over the plan · the billionaire founder & boss of gambling company Bet365 has paid herself a record-breaking amount for the chief executive of a British company, taking home $279 million in 2017 · "Whatever happened to Global Warming?" tweets the P.HuckWit · dolphins amaze researchers with teamwork skills.

wednesday newstrip

The KGB agent, the frogmen, & the hit: The Artifact subreddit is melting down over Valve’s monetization structure · DoNuts T.®ump says he does not want to hear tape of 'vicious' murder of Jamal Khashoggi, reveals he once tried to take his own life by swallowing 200 aspirin pills · US-China clash at regional meeting leads to scientists finding first-ever Oregon dinosaur bone · "No, no, I have a strong opinion. I want a great climate. We're going to have that, & we're going to go through this every year" T.®ump told reporters in Pleasure Paradise · ex-Pram Minister ToeKnee Assbit calls on current Premmy Skoot Sorry_Son to move Australia’s embassy in Kathmandu to Jerusalem · Elon Musk’s Earth-changing plan — 11th child dies in adenovirus outbreak in New Jersey.

geographies: Carstairs

                                                                 it was quite some time before the train arrived

street seen

wednesday newstrip

Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee dies aged 95. White House defends T.®ump's cemetery no-show · fighting in Yemen city of Hodeidah reaches residential streets. Australian Premmy Monster Skoot Sorry_Son backs T.®ump’s trade plays · Australian men earn 21.3% more than their female colleagues, review finds · Apple issues fatwa against the use of vaccines to repair problem iPhones & Macbooks after customers complain of annoying tech issues · Emily Ratajkowski’s nipple pops out of tiniest string bikini ever as the CDC warns of deadly turkey salmonella outbreak just in time for Thanksgiving.

meanwhile, on the y axis

dreadnoughted

wednesday newstrip

T.®ump faces a big test in the midterms & it has brought all his worst traits to the fore —measles warning issued for Sydney's south · Apple will stop revealing how many iPhones it sells after electronic fault leaves 774 criminals & remandees unmonitored for 24 hours · teen pizza delivery driver dies after being hit by own car — 5 things to do this weekend that will boost your mental health · US court gives young activists go ahead to sue DoNuts T.®ump over climate change · "When words stop meaning anything, when truth doesn't matter, when people can just lie with abandon, democracy can't work" said Barack Obama.

geographies: Taroom

Otoliths issue fifty-one is now live

Otoliths issue fifty-one, the southern spring issue, has just gone live.

Once again it contains an wide-ranging mix of text & visual poems, reviews, photographs, collages, prose pieces — long & short — paintings, & a few combinations of those forms. Included in the issue is work by Nico Vassilakis, Alyson Miller, David A. Welch, Brandstifter, Texas Fontanella, David Lohrey, Nick Nelson, Jake Berry, Jeff Bagato, Jim Leftwich, Steve Dalachinsky, Dylan Harris, Sven Heuchert, David Felix, Sanjeev Sethi, Seth Howard, Daniel de Culla, Richard Kostelanetz, Mark Cunningham, Cecelia Chapman, Maralena Howard, Peter Bakowski & Ken Bolton, Jürgen Schneider, dan raphael, JD Rage, John W. Sexton, Elaine Woo, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, John M. Bennett, Thomas M. Cassidy, osvaldo cibils, Gregory Kimbrell, Carol Stetser, Stephen C. Middleton, Volodymyr Bilyk, Brad Vogler, Howie Good, Olivier Schopfer, Lynn Strongin, Eileen R. Tabios, Olchar Lindsann, Sacha Archer, Andrew Topel, Billy Mavreas, Jami Macarty, Ficus strangulensis, Christopher Barnes, Brendan Slater, Joel Chace, J.J. Campbell, Francisco Aprile, Crank Sturgeon, Daniel f Bradley, Vernon Frazer, Bob Heman, Jake Marmer, Jim Meirose, Joe Balaz, John Levy, Mike Callaghan, Clara B. Jones, Rich Murphy, Jack Galmitz, hiromi suzuki, Kirk Marshall, Bill Wolak, Yoko Danno, Obododimma Oha, Sean Singer, Isabel Gómez de Diego, Timothy Pilgrim, Kyle Hemmings, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, Tom Beckett, Joshua Medsker, Toby Fitch, Willie Smith, Michael Gottlieb, Jeff Harrison, Susan Gangel, gobscure, Joseph Buehler, Jim McCrary, Tim Murphy, Xe M. Sánchez, Gareth Morgan, Keith Nunes, Andrew Brenza, Marilyn Stablein, Tom Montag, Tony Beyer, Dawn Nelson Wardrope, Michael O'Brien, Anna Cates, Pete Spence, Siham Karami, Stephen Nelson, AG Davis, Jesse Glass, Erik Fuhrer, Marcia Arrieta, Owen Bullock, Edward Kulemin, Miro Sandev, Gavin Yates, David Kjellin, Joyce Parkes, Michael Orr, Connor Stratman, Tim Youngs, Michael Brandonisio, Natsuko Hirata, Jake Goetz, Meryl Stuart Phair, Tess Ridgway, J. D. Nelson, Martin Edmond, Katrinka Moore, Penelope Weiss, John Pursch, Shloka Shankar, Olivia Macassey, nick-e melville, & Cherie Hunter Day.

wednesday newstrip

How to break free from the chains of Apple’s ecosystem — China building boom uncovers buried dinosaurs · poor uptake on inaugural Fly My Sky flight from Auckland to Whangārei but dogs sniffing out human disease could lead to new biosensor technology · kiss goodbye to the e-scooter craze — Caitlyn Jenner rocks a white swimsuit on her 69th birthday · in the wake of a call for retractions of dozens of papers from a high-profile Harvard University heart stem cell research lab, federal officials today announced they are pausing a clinical trial based on research in this field · a third of Australia's foreign workers paid less than half minimum wage.

updated

Today the
postman brought
me an
invitation from
Torquemada
to attend the
Inquisition. Specified
dress. Either
full Inquistorial regalia &
bring a bag, or
sackcloth & ashes
& come as you
are. That's the trouble
since T.®ump assumed
the Papacy. No
middle of the road
to walk down
anymore.

wednesday newstrip

Windows 10's dumpster-fire update just got worse: Russia warns of retaliation · Red Dead Redemption 2 PC spotted in the wild: migrant caravan swells to 5,000, resumes march from Mexico to US · 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Camille Grammer marries, confirming she wasn't real after all · 'Headless chicken monster' caught on film for the first time: Afghan election day plunges into chaos · T.®ump takes a dump on 1987 Gorbachev-Reagan nuclear missile treaty, now fighting for life after being hit by a kangaroo.

bsd

Now available

from the gradient books storefront at Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/shop/mark-young/the-word-factory/paperback/product-23828391.html

"A strange mix, a miscellany as the subtitle says. Some pieces written during & about the George W. Bush presidency; the Allegrezza translations; prose works that investigate the landscape where the writing takes place; poems that don't fit elsewhere. All put together to try & hold up a night sky, to give it faint stars & distant constellations. Reason puts these works outside the canon. The Doppler effect brings some of them in & measures the distance others are away from it. The heart stretches to encompass them all."

wednesday newstrip

Kanye Gone West supports DoNuts T.®ump: 'We are both dragon energy' · ISS crew make emergency landing after Soyuz rocket malfunctions during lunch · mouse pups with same-sex parents born using stem cells & gene editing · Wall Street shares extend their losses for a second week · Me(ga)l(om)ania T.®ump: 'I'm the most bullied person on the world' · what will happen if Ranger & Amarok become twins? · an Israeli court has ordered two New Zealanders to pay damages for allegedly persuading Lorde to cancel her concert in Israel · Google Maps search ends in divorce.

the landscape in between

Just three years have passed

since this was recorded

but already seems
an age
ago.

wednesday newstrip

Microsoft forced to pull Windows 10 October 2018 update as users report files contracting vascular dementia · Brett Kavanaugh sworn in as US Senate approves Supreme Court nomination despite sexual misconduct allegations. Fate worse than death that seems to have touched most of us · big city life stinks, it's time to consider life in small town New Zealand. Property for sale in Red Beach includes World War II bunker · the Nauru government is ending a mental health service for refugees detained on behalf of the Australian government · first evidence of Moon outside our solar system: a rock casually used as a doorstop for decades is actually a $100,000 meteorite · Me(ga)l(om)ania T.®ump reveals she sometimes confiscates DoNuts' phone to keep him off Twitter.

geographies: Iyah

colonic

Turtle Man

& that's a University of New Mexico cap, not a MAGAzine, on top of my head.

wednesday newstrip

DoNuts T.®ump is insisting he has evidence that China respects his 'very, very loud brayin’ · on The Bachelor Australia: no jail for teen who hacked his way into Apple's secure systems · a US Marine Corps veteran who teaches people to be mentally strong says the biggest killer of success is that New York City cats are terrible at catching rats · Pixel 3 is getting a massive Google Lens upgrade — one trait psychopaths have in common · it’s important to know what plants could potentially have negative effects on our furry companions.

Today the
postman brought
me an empty
envelope
on the back of
which was printed

THE COMPLETE VERI-
FIABLE SPEECHES
OF DONALD TRUMP.

Just that, nothing else.

The surface of the sea

wednesday newstrip

Ticked-off Canadian crabs are waging war on the United States & scientists are powerless to stop them: ‘Wettest we’ve seen from the standpoint of water’ says DoNuts T.®ump · NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Smashes All 3DMark Benchmark Records With a 2.4 GHz GPU and 17 Gbps Memory OC on LN2. But a warning: penis measurements with iOS 12 AR may not be accurate · four people shot & injured, one critically wounded by police at software company in Wisconsin · Perth Zoo investigates missing meerkitten, feared stolen or taken by bird · microplastics are getting into mosquitoes & contaminating new food chains · fossilized fat confirms an Ediacaran fossil is Earth's oldest known animal · police have named the woman who killed herself after fatally shooting three people, & injuring three others, at a warehouse in Maryland.

McDesme Store

geographies: Cape Upstart

wednesday newstrip

New drug hope for balding people: $100k reward to catch strawberry saboteur · study suggests BPA-free plastics are just as harmful to health: Lombok declares malaria emergency · engineers say goodbye to society-changing Delta 2 rocket: Apple magically makes the notch disappear · Police shoot armed man at Queanbeyan service station, plummets 300 meters to death · young boy found dead in effluent pond: China's 'sissy pants' phenomenon · one-in-two New Zealand, Australian men at risk of cancer — highest rate in world: mummified ice age wolf pup can offer 50,000 year insights.

Today the
postman brought
me two feet of
pipe. "Right,"
he said, & left.

garrulous

geographies: Clermont

wednesday newstrip

Two small asteroids are buzzing earth this weekend. See one live tonight! Kanye West announces plans for 2024 presidential run · Tesla shares fall after Elon Musk smokes weed, drinks whisky, & tells T.®ump to tell Apple to shift plants to US during interview · drinking young people’s blood could be the secret to long-lasting health, scientists claim · placebo buttons: Australian pedestrians press for no reason at traffic lights · cringe-worthy phone call exposes the real DoNuts T.®ump drinking young people’s blood.

on the road to oblivion

the struggling okapi

wednesday newstrip

Legendary rock band U2 pulls plug on concert when Bono appears ‘visibly distressed’ after Meghan Markle accidentally let her nickname for Prince Harry slip · Russia space agency announces a terminator-style kill-bot is about to start wreaking carnage on the Great Barrier Reef · Mexican city tells police to ‘look the other way’ when Japan attempts to land on an asteroid · sex in public increases dementia risk by 70% · the bishop who officiated at Aretha Franklin’s funeral apologized Friday to Ariana Grande for how he touched her onstage · Former President George W. Bush gallantly delivered a small piece of candy into the hand of former First Lady Michelle Obama during the memorial service for Arizona Sen. John McCain on Saturday.

from the San Francisco Public Library

on the 15^th anniversary of the invention of the hay(na)ku by Eileen R. Tabios.

geographies: Daintree

wednesday newstrip

NASA’s asteroid-sampling spacecraft spies its target for the first time: 11 people located from illegal vessel in Queensland's Daintree, more believed to be on the run · Vegan festival gets chop as meat lobby threatens to fire up the barbie: Melbourne African community comes together after vigilante Facebook posts · NASA found 'definitive evidence' that a tiny bone fragment found in a Siberian Cave belonged to a young girl whose mother was Neanderthal & whose father was a Denisovan · the durian often invokes a love or hate relationship — some people have literally killed to get their hands on the fruit police said after a ride-sharing passenger in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou was raped & killed by a driver · sex, lies & tabloids: hush payments to women spell danger for T.®ump.

wednesday newstrip

The brand new Netflix romantic comedy we can’t stop talking about — a young single mother who fled Syria following the deaths of two ISIS terrorist husbands hopes to one day create a new life in Australia · messages have leaked over the internet, revealing Meghan Markle’s family ‘in talks’ to star in Kardashian-style reality TV show. DoNuts T®ump says he has “nothing to hide” · It’s like a patient coming out of a coma. You might be paying for iPhone app subscriptions you're not using — here's how to cancel them · Curiosity finds strange object on the surface of Mars — Elton Musk’s rather large manhood · flooding in southern Indian state kills more than 350, displaces 800,000. British woman rescued off Croatian coast 10 hours after.

assimilation

Looking out

In the morning,
after the rain, she
listened to a couple

of Aretha Franklin
tracks & then got
ready to go out.

r.i.p.

geographies: Croppa Creek

wednesday newstrip

Evolution is getting a rethink after Kim Jong-un rocks a casual white T-shirt & farmer’s hat at staged photo op · could probiotics cause 'brain fog' and bloating? US prosecutors have charged Republican congressman Chris Collins of not paying child support · Brad Pitt slams Angelina Jolie as ‘manipulative’ after she accused him of insider trading relating to a drug trial at an Australian pharmaceutical company · US hits Russia with sanctions after US invaded by savage tick that sucks animals dry, spawns without mating · scientists take a closer look at Earth’s first animals after UK nerve agent attack · New Zealand bans foreigners buying homes as rich snap up sites to prepare for APOCALYPSE.

geographies: Gidya

rendered, unto Caesar

From the complaints log on a scam caller phone number

At 3 o'clock in the morning Who are you and why are you stupid SMS?

If it is me, I will kill and send me an SMS in the middle of the night.

Just read the manual. I do not even know the meaning of call center lines, firewalls or static IP. "There is a modem, it shines shiny." Okay, my PBX and CTI are all shining.

There was a talk on the water server. I was told you sent me fax before, but where did you send me fax?

Personal career Seminar of DODA is a young woman, a newcomer.

As soon as I called the phone, I suddenly said "I will become a john vine", so I became frightened and hung up the phone.

Suddenly call me and guide me to the atmosphere that I signed up for the word craftsman and contact the consumer center that will send you the document saying I contracted at a later date and correspondence I want the fraud group of this kind to catch really quickly.

I forgot my opponent's name (company name). When the electricity charges used by customers are switched to ~ our service .... It was a phone call from a "press selling service company" that says to say that. Since I did not want to be a partner, I turned down early, turned off the phone, registered as a nuisance phone.

I came while I was at work. I have something to help with this site.

wednesday newstrip

How can NASA return to the Moon? By making everything reusable, chief says · US health institute is warning people to stop reusing & washing condoms · Canada telescope picks new radio signal from distant planet, scientists puzzled over source though Windows 10 patch expert begs Microsoft: 'Please fix uptick in botched updates' · Stonehenge: Origins of those who built world-famous monument revealed by groundbreaking scientific research that people who abstain from alcohol in middle age may be at heightened risk of dementia later in life · condom manufacturer Durex has recalled some of its products sold in Australia over fears they could split, leading to Foodora, the food delivery service fighting a landmark test case on the rights of workers, announcing it will exit the Australian market at the end of the month.

Today the
postman brought
me a bag of beans
& a notice of claim
by the executors
of the estate of
the late Ray Charles,
alleging breach of

copyright by my
using without per-
mission a phrase
from a song he
was the first to
have a hit with.

wednesday newstrip

Issue #50 of Otoliths is now up

The fiftieth issue of Otoliths has just gone live. I'm proud of the achievement, but the credit for the getting here must go to the contributors to the journal, more than a thousand individuals across the issues.

Sadly, some are no longer with us — Robert Gauldie, kari edwards, Marthe Reed, Ira Cohen, Carol Novack, Bob Grumman, Michelle Greenblatt, Rochelle Ratner, Karl Young, David Mitchell, David Meltzer, Thomas Lowe (Tom) Taylor, Ed Baker, Halvard Johnson, Randall Brock, Christopher Mulrooney, Spencer Selby, Philip Byron Oakes, Jill Chan. So, to honor them & acknowledge their part in this journey over the last 12+ years, I have included in this issue a selection of their works from earlier issues.

In addition to that substantial offering, there's a variety of new work from Andre Bagoo, David Lohrey, Cecelia Chapman, Nicholas Bon, Annabelle Ballard, Kyle Hemmings, Mariana Rodríguez, Gustave Morin, Seth Howard, Raymond Farr, John M. Bennett, Jim Leftwich, Sanjeev Sethi, Michael Minassian, Andrew K. Peterson, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, J.J. Campbell, David Greenslade, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Richard Kostelanetz, Michael Prihoda, Carlyle Baker, Adam Fieled, Lakey Comess, Olivier Schopfer, Claudia Serea, Carol Stetser, AG Davis, Steve Dalachinsky, Jake Berry, Jack Foley, Daniel de Culla, Clara B. Jones, David Baptiste Chirot, John McCluskey, Willie Smith, Doren Robbins, Pearl Button, Meeah Williams, Thomas Fink & Tom Beckett, Jack Galmitz, Devon Balwit, Tom Montag, Kellyn Elson, Mary Kasimor, Jesse Glass, Federico Federici, Daniel f Bradley, M.J. Iuppa, Tim Rogers, Andrew Taylor, Sheila E. Murphy, Texas Fontanella, osvaldo cibils, Joe Balaz, Heath Brougher, Erik Fuhrer, Kevin Tosca, Alyssa Trivett, Jim Meirose, Bob Heman, Penelope Weiss, Drew B. David, Linc Madison, Nicholas J.A., Tony Beyer, J. D. Nelson, Michael Brandonisio, Edward Wells, hiromi suzuki, Michael O'Brien, Pam Brown, Elaine Woo, & 61 "AsEmIc Pieces" — 60 inside & one on the cover — by Alberto Vitacchio, plus, from the 1970s, six more newspaper columns from Kenneth Rexroth.

The print parts are, hopefully, not that far away.

reticence

wednesday newstrip

Iranian president warns DoNuts T®ump of 'mother of all wars' over anti-Iran policy · FBI documents used to wiretap former T®ump campaign adviser in Russia probe released · the Palestinian Authority claimed on Saturday that the Palestinians have managed to “incapacitate” US President DoNuts T®ump’s yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East, which has been referred to as the “ultimate deal” or the “deal of the century” · Michael Cohen privately questions T®ump's fitness to be president. DoNuts T®ump does the same · a Russian asbestos company placed a seal with the face of President DoNuts T®ump on their product with the note "Approved by DoNuts T®ump, 45th President of the United States" · scientists discover 99-million year old snake 'frozen in time' inside amber, note its resemblance to a certain unnamed American precedent.

Now that DoNuts T®ump

has re-aroused the enmity of the north side of the 38th parallel, it must be time to re-refer to this striking & insightful piece, one of many wonderful items from YØUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES.

geographies: Gin Gin

Impressions of Duluth

wednesday newstrip

US could lose its access to the International Space Station for nearly a year following third-degree burns from coming into contact with giant hogweed · US Justice League has announced charges against 12 senior level Russian officials for hacking the Democratic National Commitee & Hilarity Clit_on’s emails during the 2016 presidential election · 'It was complete madness': fights break out as families queue for Build-A-Bear 'Pay Your Age Day' · DoNuts T®ump gives interview in which he criticizes Theresa Maypole, then dismisses UK newspaper publication as 'fake news' · supporters of the precedent were out in force in London on Saturday, at a rally outside the new US Embassy in London, with speakers from UKIP, the Football Lads Alliance, & For Britain all in attendance · rat triggers blackout at Australian ballet.

geographies: Finch Hatton

Bollywood Boogie-Woogie

word placement

Headline #1

Truckie not Emmanuel Xiberras guilty over fatal Sydney crash

Headline #2

Truck driver not guilty of grandmother ‘rubbish bag on road’ death

wednesday newstrip

Coles announces huge backflip over single-use plastic bag ban · LG patent reveals full-screen foldable phone concept with clamshell design · rhino poachers eaten by lions in South Africa · new wasp species with a giant stinger discovered in Amazonia · Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will allow protesters to fly a six meter high blimp portraying US President DoNuts T®ump as an orange, snarling baby over UK Parliament during the President's upcoming visit, it has been announced · Environmental Destruction Agency chief Scat Prunetit finds God in a lump of coal as he resigns: "I believe you are serving as President today because of God's providence. I believe that same providence brought me into your service. My desire in service to you has always been to bless you as you make important decisions for the American people."

lite kite flite

fingers / reach to / touch the sea

wednesday newstrip

Australian astronomers ponder mounting evidence microbial life may ‘hitch-hike’ between planets & the stars as Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement gives DoNuts T®ump a new opportunity to shape America · ex Orwellstralian Pram Minister John HowHard warns footage showing officers violently attacking prisoners inside a Western Australian prison shows how China could use its expats to grow influence in Australia & the region · French President Emmanuel Macron reinstates national service for all 16-year-olds, puts forward as example of possible outcomes Millennial beating veteran Democrat in shock New York victory · Leonardo DiCaprio shares first look at Charles Manson-inspired 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' in which Apple & Samsung finally settle their years-long smartphone patents squabble · Spice Girls reunion tour is happening: Mum shares sickening photo to warn of common playground mistake.

malachite

wednesday newstrip

Advisers tell DoNuts T®ump he doesn't display enough gall, so he consents to a gall bladder operation. As a result, approval rating in Alabama falls less that it has in other states · International Space Station's orbit carries it over the Wheat House. T®ump orders his newly formed Starship Troopers to shoot it down so it can't spy on his weiner. Approval rating drops 31 points in New Mexico when satellite shots of his weiner surface anyway · mother-of-five needed correction eye surgical procedure after being it told it was safe to look at satellite images of a Weimaraner's T®umpette without wearing sunglasses. DoNuts sales collapse in Oklahoma · was Pythagorean theory used to build WeinerGate in Florida? US Press Secretary Colonelle Sanders says so before she was kicked out of eatery for wearing flipflops. dePressed Secretary flips, approval rating flops.

the beast walks in snow

Lady Guinevere's hay(na)ku of love

The
beat of
my knight's heart
is the pulse
of my
daze.
 

emblematic

wednesday newstrip

Investigations reveal Australian soldiers allegedly killed a man, took his prosthetic leg, & used it as a drinking vessel · Iyanka T®ump & Jarred Cushioner made over $82m outside White House roles last year · some of Africa's oldest & biggest baobab trees — a few dating all the way back to the ancient Greeks & some as wide as a bus is long — have died or are dying & may have fallen victim to climate change, researchers have speculated · DoNuts T®ump adviser apologizes for saying there's a 'special place in hell' for Justin Trudeau · remote California ghost town on sale · the Singapore summit was, without question, a triumph for Kim Jong Un & his North Korean regime.

songlines

the muses

wednesday newstrip

New Zealand scientists are breeding sheep to fart & burp less · Kim Jong-un ‘begged for summit with T®ump on his knees’ according to Ruby Jewel-leilani who, at the time, was also down on his knees giving the precedent a blowjob · broccoli coffee: scientists hope powdered veg can improve diets, cut down crop waste · Facebook confirms data sharing with Chinese companies including Huawei · Sydney Harbor Bridge disappears: mystery dinosaur skeleton sells for $3 million at Paris auction.

I remarked on this

in the days of Bush. Even more appropriate when I re-remarked on it last year. As the days go by, that last paragraph becomes more & more appropriate for our times.

“The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even a mob with him by the force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second or third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.

“The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their hearts desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

—H.L. Mencken, The Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920

wednesday newstrip

What’s new in the latest Apple iphone update? — 'don't roast marshmallows over a volcano', warns US geological survey · frozen Pluto has wind-blown dunes made of methane sand · most of your vitamin supplements really are useless, says huge new study · ancient reptile fossil Megachirella pushes origin of lizards back 75 million years · ‘I am not a racist’: Roseanne Barr goes on the attack again, with Michelle Obama in her sights · DoNuts T®ump says North Korea meetings 'very positive,' but don't waste your money · poo has been mysteriously raining from the sky in Canada, leaving cars “inundated” with excrement, repulsed drivers say.

La Sagrada Familia II

Norman Mailer was never politically correct, but he was correct, politically

"Lyndon Johnson was first preceptor of the key that politics-is-property so you never give something away for nothing. Convention politics is therefore not the art of the possible so much as the art of what is possible when you are dealing with property holders. A delegate's vote is his holding — he will give it up without return no more than a man will sign over his house entire to a worthy cause.

"Such property relations are to be witnessed for every political sinecure in the land - judgeships, jobs, contracts, promises — it comes down to chairs in offices, and words negotiable like bonds.

"Politics at national level can still be comprehended by politics-as-property provided one remembers that moral integrity (or the public impression of such) in a high politician is also property, since it brings power and / or emoluments to him. Indeed a high politician — which is to say a statesman or a leader — has no political substance unless he is the servant of ideological institutions or interests and the available moral passions of the electorate. A politician picks and chooses among moral properties. If he is quick-witted, unscrupulous, and does not mind a life of constant anxiety, he will hasten — there is a great competition for things valuable in politics — to pick up properties wherever he can, even if they are rival holdings. To the extent a politician is his own man, attached to his own search for his own spiritual truth — which is to say willing to end in any unpalatable position to which the character of his truth could lead him — then he is ill-equipped for the game of politics. Politics is property. You pick up as much as you can, pay the minimum for the holding, extract the maximum, and combine where you may."

Norman Mailer; Miami and the Siege of Chicago (1968)

geographies: Duaringa

wednesday newstrip

Giant flatworms invading France have been ignored for almost 20 years · researchers find rice grown in the high carbon dioxide environments expected in the next 50 years may be less nutritious · North Korean official slams 'ignorant & stupid' Pence remarks, suggests he might be the oldest object in the solar system · a Queensland senator has raised eyebrows in Parliament after claiming that racism is virtually non-existent in Australia · NFL mandates anthem respect: Stand up, or stay in the locker room. Decision called “unpatriotic” · eight hours in, Dark Souls remastered captures the heart of the original but T®ump backers fear he's deserting them · anorexic mother-of-one who pretended she had cancer to disguise her 800-a-day laxative pill habit dies after being admitted to hospital weighing just 35kg.

The expanding network

: I lose my grip & begin to drift :
: get a hamster &/or a tropical fish :

Many people are new to this process.

Are there any Finnish males
whose names begin with S?

geographies: Anabranch

wednesday newstrip

A very hungry black hole has been found in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, gorging on stars & launching a plume of ash 9100 meters into the sky · some evangelicals believe the transfer of the US embassy & the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will help bring about the so-called Rapture · are octopuses alien? New theory argues Earth was 'seeded' by interstellar genetic code · a Brisbane pub goer hurled abuse at Prom Minister Malcontent Turnipballs after the prim manistereotype got served before he did · Google sells the future, powered by your personal data.

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