Maybe / I didn't / write like her

but my mother's support was a strong influence in my early writing days. & my first poems were probably composed on the same typewriter that she used to write the submission version of this sonnet twenty years earlier.

 

wednesday newstrip

Australia considering more than 100 fossil fuel projects that could produce the equivalent of 5% of current global industrial emissions · a small telescope past Saturn could solve some mysteries of the universe better than giant telescopes near Earth · Doug, an ugly 'self-sown' New Zealand potato the size of a small dog, could be world's biggest · NASA to deflect asteroid in test of 'planetary defense' · Elden Ring gameplay trailer shows enormous map, multiplayer, stealth, crafting, & a talkative Pot Boy · no toilet for returning Elongated Muskrat's SpaceX crew, stuck using nappies · ‘no excuse’, say irate shoppers as Tesla car runs out of battery, blocks car park in London mall for 3 hours · only two per cent of Great Barrier Reef has escaped bleaching due to global warming.

(about-to-be) really smashed avocado

(photo from ABC Australia)
 

Today the post-
woman brought
me a walking
stick. Now all I
need are a back
fence, a fruit-
filled apple tree
just inside it but
not too far out
of reach for the
young kids of 
the neighbor-
hood. Those who
can remember 
the past are also
condemned to re-
peat it. I never did
like Santayana.

wednesday newstrip

Pair walk away with 45 rare wines, one worth $500k, in brazen Spanish theft · scientists astounded as 'new hidden world' discovered inside Earth's core · fully vaccinated people can pass on the Delta variant at home, including to other vaccinated people, a study finds — but unvaccinated people are still at most risk · man in 'Joker' costume stabs 17 people on Tokyo train, starts fire · French President Emmanuel Ō accuses Australian Pram Minister Scat SorrySon of lying about sudden termination of 90 billion dollar submarine contract · from a 'class divide' to 'intergenerational theft', Australia's real estate frenzy leaves many behind.

The new issue of Otoliths is now online

Issue sixty-three, the southern spring issue of Otoliths, is now live.

 

As always, there's a wide range of material from a wide range of contributors — Harvey Huddleston, Rémi Forte, Kenneth M Cale, Sanjeev Sethi, Andrew K. Peterson, Michael Orr, Thomas Fink, Texas Fontanella, Scott MacLeod, tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, Eric Hoffman, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Keith Walker, Jazmine Blu, Jim Leftwich, Mark DeCarteret, Ira Joel Haber, Rp Verlaine, Christian ALLE, hiromi suzuki, Jack Galmitz, Timothy Pilgrim, Gloria Frym, Juan Pablo Mobili, Susan diRende, John Bradley, Volodymyr Bilyk, Bill Wolak, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Marco Giovenale, Ernesto Priego, Rus Khomutoff, Michael Gould, Heath Brougher, Doug Bolling, David Miller, Dale Jensen, Andrew Topel, Judith Skillman, Pete Spence, Joanna Walkden Harris, David Lohrey, John M. Bennett, Joseph V. Milford, Vernon Frazer, Kenneth Rexroth, Lynn Strongin, C. Mehrl Bennett, Christopher Barnes, Jim Meirose, John Martone, Cecelia Chapman, Carol Stetser, Dave Reid, Réka Nyitrai, Richard Kostelanetz, Piet Nieuwland, Paul Dickey, Rachel Chitofu, Jimmy Crouse, Clay Thistleton, Elaine Woo, Clara B. Jones, Angela Caporaso, Penelope Weiss, Joel Chace, dan raphael, Tony Beyer, Jon Kemsley, Austin Miles, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Paul Shumaker, Robinson, Adam Roussopoulos, gobscure, Joe Balaz, Joshua Martin, Elmedin Kadric, Rich Murphy, Jeff Harrison, Scott Metz, Karl Kempton, Hugh Tribbey, Mark Pirie, Scott Helmes, Sheila E. Murphy, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, Clive Gresswell, Jeff Bagato, Jen Schneider, Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad, John Levy, Adriána Kóbor, nick nelson, bofa xesjum, Bob Lucky, Eric Mohrman, Owen Bullock, Raha.M, Jeff Adams, Ian Gibbins, Mike Ferguson, Rosella Quintini, Stephen Mead, Joanne Bechtel, Matthew Anderson, Marilyn Stablein, Peter Yovu, Julia Vaughan, Bob Heman, József Bíró, Linda M. Walker, Kell Nelson, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Isabel Gómez de Diego, Daniel de Culla, Michael Brandonisio, Kit Kennedy, Kerfe Roig, Andrea Astolfi, Harry Reid, J. D. Nelson, Marcia Arrieta, Jess Burnquist, Guy R. Beining, Mark DuCharme, Cherie Hunter Day, Carol Shillibeer, Carla Bertola, & sian vate.

wednesday newstrip

New Zealand city council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service · China denies media reports it tested nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, claims it was a space bot · first dinosaur era crab discovered – fully preserved in 100-million-year-old amber · ‘We need him to deliver’: BidenMyTime faces wrath of disappointed supporters · Buckingham Palace under fire for not revealing Queen's hospital visit sooner · NZ's canned wine exports set for multimillion-dollar growth as Wairarapa winemakers expand into the US · humanitarian catastrophe looms for Afghanistan if major powers deny Taliban rule, Pakistan warns · Greece recovers Picasso, Mondrian paintings stolen from gallery in 2012.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a pair of
elevator shoes 
that took me
straight to the 
top floor. Pity 
about the 
music that 
came with them.

Recently, at Series Magritte

Le Sabbat

He refused to work
on the Sabbath, which
is why the lights are
all turned off — the moon
gives me enough light
to find my way around —

& the painting is left
upside down — I won't
work but that doesn't 
stop my mind from
turning over, so putting 
things in unusual places 
often helps as a sort of 
associative trigger when
the next day comes around — 

& for any person passing
by, an upturned apple is
still an apple — I stole
that idea from Gertrude
Stein who I later paid back
by painting rose after rose 
after rose — but no one

has decreed that magic
can't be done on this day — 
I deliberately put that half-
full glass of wine there so
that when it hangs upside-
down with no spillage, what
else can it be but magical?

It's a long time

 

since I was #1 at anything.

wednesday newstrip

Australian companies are selling munitions & military technology to war-torn African countries under a Defence Department plan that critics have branded "grotesque" & unethical · Spelunky world record holder busted as a cheater · Netflix trans employees & allies plan walkout in protest at Dave Chappelle special · South African champion swimmer alleges former Australian coach sexually assaulted him as a teenager · researchers discover large rift in Arctic’s last bastion of thick sea ice — polar bears could vanish by the end of the century · Prince William blasts space race billionaires finding 'new place to live' before repairing Earth · William Shatner slams Prince William for anti-space remarks · the Queen condemns ‘really irritating’ world leaders for snubbing Glasgow climate talks.

New selected poems of Mark Young is now out

Songs to Come for the Salamander; Selected Poems 2013-2021: selected & introduced by Thomas Fink has just been co-published by Sandy Press & Meritage Press.

 

Mark Young
Songs to Come for the Salamander; Selected Poems 2013-2021:
selected & introduced by Thomas Fink
Sandy Press & Meritage Press, 2021
396 pages
$27.75 USD
ISBN: 978-1-7368160-4-2
Available through Amazon

Chosen by Thomas Fink from the 29 books of text poetry by Mark Young published since 2013, Songs to Come for the Salamander is a companion piece to the 2008 Pelican Dreaming, also selected & edited by Thomas Fink, & the 600-page 2013 The Codicils, which Young describes as nine books in one. It again highlights the variety, sly humor, & concern for social & political issues that the author is internationally known for. Many of his regular tropes — "A line from . . .," "Today the Postwo/man," & geographies are included, but they are only a small part of this delightful sampling from the 2500 or so poems from Young that have appeared in the nine years this selection covers.

"Some readers might assume that particular, highly pessimistic generalizations in Young’s poems are actually Mark Young presenting his sense of doom. The little ditty "democracy" registers the claim that "no-one// knows the/ words to" the "song" (the concept of democracy) even though "every-/ one sings" it, and "since violence is learned" tells us that "tolerance is no/ longer available, is replaced by trauma." Although nothing in the poems—not even such affirmations of aesthetic transport as "Constant Craving," which speaks of music "that acts as/ axis to steady everything around"—makes one identify the poet as a bright-eyed optimist, various moments in the work display too much respect for the complexity of cause and effect, limitations of human perception, the transience of trends, and sudden appearances of the unexpected to place sustained credence in large generalizations and foregone conclusions."
— from the Introduction by Thomas Fink.

Recent books by Mark Young from Sandy Press.

The Sasquatch Walks Among Us
Sorties

Today the post-
woman brought
me an original 
oil painting 
of Washington 
Irving Crossing 
The Delaware. 
                        "What
are you on about?" 
she snapped when 
I questioned
its provenance.

wednesday newstrip

PCIe 5.0 high-power connector for next-gen graphics cards to deliver up to 600w to GPUs · Foo Fighters frontman & former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl opens up about life & loss in new memoir · roundworms melt down their organs to squirt milk from their vulvas for their young · Tyson Fury confirms dominance of heavyweight division with trilogy fight for the ages · Australian Pram Minister Scat SorrySon's quarantine barbecue 'curry night' sparks outrage · Far Cry 6 developer interview: ‘Revolution is violent, but not humorless’ · ‘Authoritarian-style’ law would allow Australia to use secret evidence to deport migrants.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a bacon & 
egg burger with 
aioli dressing. It 
wasn't what I 
wanted — I'd
actually asked
for the Gettysburg
Address — but
I didn't complain.
Hunger causes us
to compromise 
sometimes.

wednesday newstrip

Taliban bans shaving beards in Afghanistan's Helmand province, barbers report shift back to conservative cuts · COVID-19 pandemic has triggered greatest declines in life expectancy since World War II · gigantic comet approaching from outer Solar System may be the largest ever seen · Elon Muskrat ridicules President BidenMyTime after SpaceX completes its first all-civil mission · Drifblim carries people away, never to be seen again · UK extends truck driver visa program to ease pressure at the pump as fuel crisis persists · Martin Shkreli became the 'world's most hated man' as new documentary aims to understand how · orchid hunting is growing in popularity but there are fears the flowers are being 'loved to death.'

geographies: Nhill

 

Today the post-
woman brought
me a postcard
from André 
Breton who
writes that he
has changed
his family name
to Rieu, & is
making a motza
taking the mickey
out of the
musical world.

wednesday newstrip

Worms share memories with others by swapping RNA, wild study reveals · Bob Enyart, anti-vaxxer pastor & homophobic anti-abortion radio host, dies of COVID · Queensland police hunting driver behind burnout gender reveal on Logan street · NSW Health forced to clarify side effects of COVID-19 vaccine after Nicki Minaj’s ‘swollen testicles’ tweet · ‘rainbow colors & legs for days’: Australian fly species named after drag star RuPaul · US President Joe Bidenmytime appeared to forget Australian Prom Minister Scat SorrySon's name while announcing America & Britain will help Australia build a nuclear-powered submarine fleet · fossil found by schoolkids in New Zealand's Kawhia Harbour is new species of extinct giant penguin.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a Stillson
wrench. I'm
still trying 
to come to 
grips with it.

wednesday newstrip

Western US faces future of prolonged drought even with stringent emissions control · Test cricket match between Australia & Afghanistan likely to be cancelled after Taliban says it will ban women from playing · new imaging reveals hidden Ice Age landscapes buried deep in the North Sea · America's 'forever prisoner' has spent two decades in custody for planning the 9/11 attacks. But it's not clear he was involved · a huge, unknown Cambrian bug fossil has been found in the eerie Burgess Shale · Virginia Confederate general Robert E Lee statue removed in Richmond after Supreme Court court decision · THE ULTIMATE SURFER’S "QUEEN BITCH" ANASTASIA ASHLEY ON SHOW’S WILD BEHIND-THE-SCENES BACCHANAL, THE NEAR MASS DROWNING, & PERSISTENT CANCELLATION RUMORS! · UK 'cut climate pledges' to clinch Australia trade deal · shape-shifting animals tell the story of climate change, review finds.

wednesday newstrip

Scientists watch bacteria fix broken DNA in real time to see exactly how it's done · Playstation has backflipped on the Horizon Forbidden West PS5 upgrade but future game upgrades will cost · ever wondered why Mercedes-Benz alloy wheels are called ‘manhole covers?’ · as the Taliban overran Afghanistan, Australia told asylum seekers they should expect to be returned there · Cardi B & Offset announce birth of their second child · Hubble discovers hydrogen-burning white dwarfs enjoying slow aging · manhunt for Palestinian prisoners who 'used rusty spoon' to tunnel out of Israel's high-security Gilboa jail.

geographies: Edenhope

 

Today the post-
woman brought
me a room to put 
the elephant in.

wednesday newstrip

A quarter of Sun-like stars eat their own planets, according to new research · new 'flushability' standard will help to end 'fatbergs' from clogging our sewerage network · cannibal toads eat so many of their young, they're speeding up evolution · Highway collapses & alligator attacks in aftermath of Hurricane Ida · the ancients in Italy made an amazing set of tools from elephant bones · Fire Emblem Switch fans, here’s your next tactics RPG obsession, Dark Deity · Pass The Fkn Popcorn ‘Cos Kourt & Travis Just Responded To Younes & Scott’s Savage DMs On IG · China is cracking down on 'effeminate' men, private tutors & gaming · ‘unintended consequences:’ banks warn of rising costs if forced to fund coal.

something a little different to my normal fare

wednesday newstrip

KanYe West full-on doxxed Drake’s address & group chat after hearing a diss track aimed at him · astronomers discover the Usain Bolt of asteroids blazing around Sun · rising number of breakthrough Delta infections among fully vaccinated · porn legend Ron Jeremy indicted on more than 30 sex charges · T.®ump’s border wall reportedly in severe disrepair in Arizona · female hummingbirds look like males to evade harassment · COVID-19: one person shows up at anti-lockdown protest in Auckland, New Zealand · LED streetlights partly responsible for insect decline.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a mass-mailed—
but individually ad-
dressed & personally 
signed in blue ink—
"letter" from the 
Postal Service 
Director herself 
asking me to part-
icipate in an online 
survey about min-
imizing fiscal outlay
by reducing mail 
deliveries to every 
other day of the 
week. Today the
postwoman wore a
black tee on which,
in blue, the message:
morituri te salutant.
  

geographies: Patchewollock

 

wednesday newstrip

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s new dlc adds cavalry units that keep kicking my ass · an organism that moves, eats, & learns without a bubble, mouth, legs, or brain trends on social networks · giant lair of bones, including human, discovered in gruesome Saudi Arabian cave · bat pups babble & bat moms use baby talk, hinting at the evolution of human language · Hidradenitis suppurativa: discontinuation of adalimumab prior to surgery is not necessary · N. Z. Covid 19 response Minister Chris Hipkins' amusing slip up, tells Kiwis to socially distance when you 'spread your legs' · Owen Wilson Revealed He Received A "Strike 1" Text Possibly From Kevin Feige After He Let It Slip That His "Loki" Character, Mobius, Had A Mustache, And I Want Someone To Check In On Tom Holland Stat · China's rover continues search for signs of life on Mars · DoNuts T.®ump was booed at a rally on Saturday in Alabama after telling supporters they should get vaccinated.

Today the post-
woman brought
me an unsigned
ransom note
threatening to 
destroy the world 
unless I came up 
& across with $10
billion in in-
consequential 
bills. "Such is life,"
I thought & threw
it in the trash. Ex-
istentialism does
have an upside.

wednesday newstrip

Federal parliament sittings in limbo after Canberra plunged into lockdown · Poly Network cryptocurrency hack sees hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Ethereum, other coins stolen · Taliban going door to door for girls as young as 12 to make them ‘sex slaves’ · fossil tusk reveals travels of woolly mammoth across Alaska 17,000 years ago during the ice age · GTA 5 should run at 4K 60fps on PS5, but will it? · study finds novel approach to attenuate mitochondrial dysfunction that drives diet-induced obesity · illegible note sees would-be robber flee bank empty-handed · only slight chance of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth: NASA.

geographies: Rupanyup

 

video Q

 

wednesday newstrip

Health experts call for reform as data suggests woodfired heaters are responsible for more premature deaths than thought · endangered Tuataras' super-speedy sperm could boost conservation efforts · astronomers find dancing cosmic 'ghosts' spawned by the wild weather of black holes · UN condemns Zimbabwe child marriages after 14-year-old girl forced to wed dies after giving birth · Taliban's hold on Afghanistan tightens as foreign troops withdraw · police & the army conducting COVID-19 compliance patrols in Sydney · 'biblical catastrophe': fires rampage through forests in Greece · NASA opens applications for year-long Mars simulation · Back 4 Blood beta players think they hear zombies yelling the N-word · Princess Diana's giant lace collar is back.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a cartouche.
"What's this?" I
asked.

                                she said.

geographies: Underbool

 

The print parts of Otoliths issue sixty-two are now available

The print parts of Otoliths issue sixty-two are now available from The Otoliths Storefront at Lulu. Details are below. Lulu generally runs a promotional discount from Monday to Friday. This week's discount is 10% & the discount code is BEACH10.

Part One
395 pages, b & w
Price: $US19.45
Direct link: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/mark-young/otoliths-issue-sixty-two-part-one/paperback/product-vn8wm4.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Part One of Otoliths sixty-two contains fiction & non-fiction, vispo, reviews, translations, essays, & poetry from Pat Nolan, Sanjeev Sethi, Lisa Creech Bledsoe, Alan Catlin, Cameron Dean Gibson, Jim Leftwich, Christopher Barnes, Dave Drayton, Jimmy Crouse, Carol Shillibeer, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Paul Dickey, Peycho Kanev, Clara B. Jones, Vernon Frazer, Joshua Martin, Eric Hoffman, Lynn Strongin, Craig Cotter, Michael Reich, Michael Spring, Jack Galmitz, Harvey Huddleston, Joseph Buehler, Joanna Walkden Harris & Pete Spence, Mark Rutter, Linda King, Nathan Anderson, Stephen C. Middleton, Richard J. Fleming, Lawrence R. Smith, Louise Landes Levi, Marcus Liljedahl, Charles Freeland, Robert van Vliet, Coleman Edward Dues, M.J. Iuppa, Mark Pirie, Anna Cates, Clive Gresswell, Norman Abjorensen, dan raphael, S. K. Kelen, Texas Fontanella & Brandstifter, Scott MacLeod, Jen Schneider, Mark Cunningham, John Levy, Sheila E. Murphy, Owen Bullock, Réka Nyitrai, Jordan Stempleman, Keith Polette, Stu Hatton, Thomas Osatchoff, Charles Wilkinson, Bob Lucky, Nicholas Alexander Hayes, Charles Borkhuis, Jeff Harrison, bart plantenga, Dominique Hamon, John M. Bennett, Penelope Weiss, Mary Kasimor, Jake Reeds, Keith Nunes, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Michael J. Leach, Pam Brown, Daniel f Bradley, Tony Beyer, Nathan Whiting, Gavin Lucky, J. D. Nelson, R L Swihart, Mark Danowsky, Keith Higginbotham, Carla Sarett, Michael Brandonisio, Bob Heman, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Tim Wright, Charlotte Jung, & Karl Kempton.

Part Two
295 pages, full color
Price: $US41.45
Direct Link: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/mark-young/otoliths-issue-sixty-two-part-two/paperback/product-pm6wgn.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Part Two of Otoliths sixty-two, the full color part, contains paintings, collages, drawings, mailart, anti-manifestos, photographs, text poetry, asemics, & vispo from Adam Roussopoulos & John M. Bennett, Cecelia Chapman & Randee Silv, David Harrison Horton, AG Davis, Andrew Topel, Cecelia Chapman & Jeff Crouch, John Vieira, Elaine Woo, Texas Fontanella, Rosella Quintini, hiromi suzuki, Scott Helmes, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Carol Stetser, Pamela Miller, Liminalism, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, Jim Leftwich & Jeff Crouch, Kathup Tsering, Pete Spence, Judith Skillman, harry k stammer, John McCluskey, Daniel de Culla, Michelle Moloney King, John Levy, Dave Read, Jim Leftwich, corinne delmonico, Isabel Gómez de Diego, C. Mehrl Bennett & John M. Bennett, Mindaugas Žuromskas & John M. Bennett, John M. Bennett & Robert Jones, John M. Bennett, Guy R. Beining, Jeff Bagato, Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad, Richard Magahiz, Marilyn Stablein, Diana Magallón, David Greenslade, Gian Luigi Braggio, Cecelia Chapman + Jeff Crouch + John M. Bennett + Jim Leftwich, Cecelia Chapman, Marcia Arrieta, & Alex Caldiero.

Part Three
67 pages, full color
Price: $US10.95
Direct Link: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/alberto-vitacchio/otoliths-issue-sixty-two-part-three-nowon-by-alberto-vitacchio/paperback/product-vn8wj4.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Part Three of Otoliths sixty-two is noWon, Alberto Vitacchio's text & manipulated-photo philosophical essay / travelogue / love letter that spans both sides of the Atlantic in a wonderful demonstration of the breadth & depth of Vitacchio's vision.

wednesday newstrip

It Looks Like The Full Big Brother VIP Cast Is Out & The Only POC Is A Fkn Former Trump Advisor · remains of giant vampire bat from 100,000 years ago found in Argentinian cave · space photos show intense drying of California mountains · Sky News Australia banned from YouTube for seven days over Covid misinformation · New Zealand is importing coal by the shipload · changes to the Sage icon in Final Fantasy XIV to help those with trypophobia · Army to hit Sydney streets as New South Wales COVID-19 cases rise · thousands of people in vegetative state believed to be conscious · Twitter launches competition to find biases in its image algorithm.

The latest issue of Otoliths is now live

 

Issue sixty-two of Otoliths, the southern winter 2021 issue, has just gone live. It's another lively issue with a mix of short story, review, photography, poetry, painting, & collage in a variety of styles, by an outstanding list of contributors, often in collaboration, from around the globe — Adam Roussopoulos, John M. Bennett, Pat Nolan, Cecelia Chapman, Randee Silv, David Harrison Horton, Sanjeev Sethi, AG Davis, Lisa Creech Bledsoe, Andrew Topel, Alan Catlin, Jeff Crouch, John Vieira, Cameron Dean Gibson, Elaine Woo, Jim Leftwich, Christopher Barnes, Texas Fontanella, Dave Drayton, Rosella Quintini, hiromi suzuki, Jimmy Crouse, Carol Shillibeer, Scott Helmes, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Paul Dickey, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Peycho Kanev, Carol Stetser, Clara B. Jones, Vernon Frazer, Joshua Martin, Pamela Miller, Eric Hoffman, Liminalism, Alberto Vitacchio, Lynn Strongin, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, Craig Cotter, Michael Reich, Michael Spring, Jack Galmitz, Harvey Huddleston, Joseph Buehler, Joanna Walkden Harris, Pete Spence, Mark Rutter, Linda King, Nathan Anderson, Kathup Tsering, Stephen C. Middleton, Richard J. Fleming, Lawrence R. Smith, Louise Landes Levi, Marcus Liljedahl, Charles Freeland, Robert van Vliet, Coleman Edward Dues, Mark Pirie, Anna Cates, Clive Gresswell, Judith Skillman, Norman Abjorensen, dan raphael, S. K. Kelen, harry k stammer, Brandstifter, M.J. Iuppa, John McCluskey, Scott MacLeod, Jen Schneider, Daniel de Culla, Mark Cunningham, Dave Read, John Levy, Sheila E. Murphy, Owen Bullock, Réka Nyitrai, Jordan Stempleman, Keith Polette, corinne delmonico, Stu Hatton, Thomas Osatchoff, Charles Wilkinson, Bob Lucky, Nicholas Alexander Hayes, Isabel Gómez de Diego, Charles Borkhuis, Michelle Moloney King, Jeff Harrison, bart plantenga, Dominique Hamon, C. Mehrl Bennett, Mindaugas Žuromskas, Robert Jones, Penelope Weiss, Guy R. Beining, Mary Kasimor, Jake Reeds, Keith Nunes, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Michael J. Leach, Jeff Bagato, Pam Brown, Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad, Daniel f Bradley, Tony Beyer, Nathan Whiting, Gavin Lucky, Richard Magahiz, J. D. Nelson, Marilyn Stablein, R L Swihart, David Greenslade, Mark Danowsky, Keith Higginbotham, Gian Luigi Braggio, Diana Magallón, Carla Sarett, Michael Brandonisio, Marcia Arrieta, Alex Caldiero, Bob Heman, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Tim Wright, Charlotte Jung, & Karl Kempton.

wednesday newstrip

We now have precise math to describe how black holes reflect the Universe · UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid tests positive to coronavirus · jumping spiders seem to have a cognitive ability only previously found in vertebrates · military game fan leaks classified docs to win forum argument · UK woman banned from defecating & urinating in public after 25-year ‘poo-bombing’ campaign · wild sulfur-crested cockatoos in Australia are teaching each other how to break into trash bins · Kanye West blasted by fans for charging $50 for chicken tenders at album launch party · invasive insect fall armyworm on the march, but scientists fight back with an oozing virus & an egg-attacking wasp.

Today the post-
woman brought
me an asteroid
belt. Pity I've
got no suit/able
trousers to
wear it with.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a brochure
from EARWAX—
extinct animal 
resurrection with 
academic expertise—
suggesting that if 
I donated both
money & a sample 
of my DNA they 
might be able 
to bring back 
the Amazonian 
smilodon. I de-
clined. Now if it 
had have been 
the mastodon . . .

geographies: St. Arnaud

 

wednesday newstrip

Nintendo: unopened copy of Super Mario 64 from 1996 sells for $2.24 million · fungal leather production could mean change of tack for equestrians · UFO chaser claims photo taken from International Space Station shows aliens circling above Earth · unvaccinated Belgian woman contracted two COVID variants simultaneously · meet the baby Juicero you didn’t know you needed · Jackass star attacked by shark during stunt gone wrong · United States citizens, companies buying up New Zealand land for farming, forestry, wine-making · teardrop star reveals hidden supernova doom.

geographies: Kyneton

 

Today the post-
woman brought
me The Shorter
Oxford English
Dictionary. Such
generosity! I was
lost for words.

wednesday newstrip

Capitol rioters who deleted social media posts of their involvement may have further incriminated themselves · some 53 per cent of Republicans believe DoNuts T.®ump won last year's election & blame his loss on illegal voting; one-quarter of the overall public agreed, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed · US switched off the lights & left Bagram airbase without telling the Afghans · Ukrainian female troops march in heels, sparking outrage about 'medieval mindset' · blazing fire on ocean surface due to gas leak extinguished in Gulf of Mexico · cyber attack on US businesses through Kaseya software to be investigated for Russia links · male dragonflies lose their 'bling' in hotter climates.

Now out from sandy press

The Sasquatch that walks among us has a wide-ranging wardrobe, ranging from the stylish to the stochastic. Poems about places that may never have existed, or if they did are described in a way that makes them unrecognizable. Poems about people who did exist, but never thought the thoughts that are ascribed to them here. Poems that the Sasquatch themself has inscribed on the walls of the modern-day forest they have come out in.

The Sasquatch Walks Among Us
sandy press, California
ISBN: 978-1-7368160-2-8
direct URL: at Amazon.
$US14.95

 

Blurbs

These are poems conscious of mortality’s fate. What results is music as would be played, not in but by, dusk. Thus, wryness, anger of the type refusing to go gentle in the night, acceptance, humor, irony, and more until “the noise / divides & / the song /breaks through.” They form a read so compelling that instead of “reading out of books,” you “read things into them.” Specifically, you read your life into these poems so that you can only hope your life will have contained enough of what creates the lyric: “A light moves on the north sky line … & a world is covered with jade,” or “the moon got in / under his finger- / nails like a fragment of / a Bach cantata.” — Eileen R. Tabios

Almost all of Mark Young's poems in The Sasquatch Walks Among Us comment on current culture, society, and politics fairly directly, doing so with varying levels of wryness, dismay, and humor. This variety in attitude and emotional response makes for a consistently engaging reading experience, enhanced by a great variety of forms and perspectives in the book, including prose poems, centos, sonnets, tercets, doublets, and quatrains in various combinations, and many mixed forms. There are also some poems that use wordplay, such as the almost Lettristic “Quick!”, which riffs on the letters A and I.

In a previous book, Sorties, (sandy press, 2021), a book of essays and commentary, Young describes his influences as: “No poetry”. His writing in The Sasquatch... certainly reflects this attitude, especially in the condensed prose-like diction of many of the pieces, an enhancement of prose which is not prose at all, really. “Cento I”, part of a series interspersed throughout the book, based on Pound's Cantos, is a good example of something quite different: it is a carefully constructed, and beautiful, sonnet which shows a deep familiarity with the formal aspects and sound patterns of poetry. “No poetry” is, however, a useful frame of mind to ignore so-called influences in order to write more freely and independently, which Young certainly does extremely well. Perhaps influence is the wrong word for the experience of writing out from a swarm, or an atmosphere, a deep culture of many voices of poetry, writing against them, inside them, and writing through their swarming. It is a complex evolution within a changing context. In another poem, “Strut”, he expresses dismay at the commercialization of some poetry; Ginsberg used in a fashion show, for example. I can only say that I suspect there is little danger of Young's poetry, or that of the vast majority of poets he publishes in his essential journal Otoliths, being used that way. Which is a very good thing indeed. The Sasquatch... is a wonderful book, which challenges the mind, the emotions, and one's sense of beauty again and again. — John M. Bennett

wednesday newstrip

Mysterious mineral only ever seen in meteorites inexplicably found in sediment near the Dead Sea · Queensland Premier & the state’s Health Minister have blasted the Australian Pram Minister Scat SorrySon's Federal Feudal government over the bungled international border policy · black holes gobbling up neutron stars confirmed as source of gravitational waves for first time · mouth closing device to fight obesity causes scandal · hundreds dead as record-breaking heat wave hits Canada & United States · Apple releases beta versions of iOS15, iPadOS 15, & WatchOS 8 · intact beetle found in 230 million-year-old lizard dung.

geographies: Zumsteins

 

wednesday newstrip

Genshin Impact: Kazuha story quest release date, time, & leaks revealed · Antarctic lake disappears after ice shelf fractures · a 2023 deadline to phase out the use of plastic fruit stickers has come as a surprise to New Zealand's fruit-growing & packaging industry · outspoken Hole singer Courtney Love has sledged “rude” teen star Olivia Rodrigo in a series of social media posts, accusing her of copying her work · classified British defence papers found at bus stop · 'Dragon man' skull forces researchers to rethink human evolution · ‘fool’s gold’ contains a newly discovered type of real gold.

a note on mosquitoes

Only
the female
sucks the blood.

The male feeds
on plant 
juices.

wednesday newstrip

Crayfish take more risks while on antidepressants, study shows · physicists bring human-scale object to near standstill, reaching a quantum state · David Eagleman: ‘The working of the brain resembles drug dealers in Albuquerque’ · English Heritage reject Enid Blyton for coin commemoration, calling her a "racist, sexist, homophobe" · could horse-derived antibody therapy be effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern? · massive icebergs once made epic trek all the way from Canada to Florida · 'Great failure': health expert slams handling of Australia's vaccine rollout · China's Mars rover took a selfie.

wednesday newstrip

Man looking for shark teeth in a Florida river survives an alligator bite to his head · no, DoNuts T.®ump didn’t wear his pants backwards · calls for Australia to reclaim Cocos (Keeling) Islands' internet domain, which has become a haven for child sex abuse · ex-Giant Bomb duders’ new project is already blowing up on Patreon · tiny creatures survive after being frozen for 24,000 years in Siberian tundra · the Dead Sea is disappearing, leaving behind a landscape shattered by sinkholes · Fastly blames global website outage on software bug that was accidentally triggered by customer · Siloscape malware escapes Windows containers to backdoor Kubernetes clusters.

geographies: Parachilna

 

Oh / the things / that one finds!

This poem was written nearly sixty years ago. No idea who made this video, which is recent, know nothing about it. The poem has appeared in a number of anthologies over the years, including one from the Caribbean.

Varnishing Point

 

wednesday newstrip

Clever maker with hand tremors turned a smartphone gimbal into a soldering iron stabilizer · China watches on as a herd of elephants wanders from town to town, causing over $1 million in damage · cop sacked over groin wax wins in appeal · bomb-sniffing rat retires after award-winning Cambodian career · Knockout City doesn’t show your overall stats, which is a bummer · the World's oldest water lies deep below Canada & is 2 billion years old · New Zealand dairy worker had fatal fall while doing a trick on his farm bike · Facebook suspends former US Prissygent DoNuts T.®ump's accounts for two years.

geographies: Little Topar

 

wednesday newstrip

People in the US state of Texas will soon be allowed to carry handguns without a licence · Greenland's melting ice sheet is unleashing an astonishing amount of mercury into the nation's rivers & fjords · the Australian Federal Court has ruled that the Environment Minister Ley-z Sussan has a legal duty not to cause harm to young people of Australia by exacerbating climate change when approving coal mining projects · Sri Lanka faces 'worst beach pollution' in history from burning ship · global car manufacturer says Australia is failing to lure electric vehicle importers · Israeli soldiers have shot & killed a Palestinian during a protest in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said.

geographies: Tooleybuc

 

Spamelot Phishalot

I am being bombarded with spam, phishing spam. Nothing like the Nigerian scam emails, this stuff is sophisticated. Good graphics, 99% correct spelling; a number of click-on links; & with complex sender addresses that seem to indicate advanced programming & redirection abilities. I'm getting 30 to 40 a day. I can't block them because they're already identified by Gmail as spam. All I can do is report them as phishing messages.

A few samples of the sender addresses:

ABC Ethereum i39u9aiqhonxhjj@mjzgobktbvg23xpkp.us via mtnubdevpf849twe9z.94l4kzb071qhf8d.stataschool.gr.com

China Crypto wmm2awbl8jt43s7@durzrgtoozsg49chfnwbn.us via 653977295hi228366.2npjqfng3myshr6308k4slndczsoo10wxmdczze2--------------.ec2-208.67.249.123.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.pyramid.systemshows.com

NESPRESSO UTZM2CAH.BV0ZYGCR@uwpttovjzxnqkhbyliie.us via bwuryj.53034-------.bzq-84-110-57-121.cablep.bezeqint.net

NESPRESSO G6O2CLP4.YSZ2LPNE@dxumfgvafloaguhdwsia.us via agdgon.62319-------.constantly.assistancewartime.com

China Crypto Bonus99-nooreply6F1QUVW...@6f1quvwqggmpmy5.us via mendiparc.bounabil18.earthosting.eu.org

Ethereum Invest J1B9HTO8.XIYNDZJH@fqoaeokirwniinxfrsri.us via malolajs.14mlo.foya.earthosting.eu.org

Ethereum Invest 6OU9HQV8.FCF9PZDQ@wdjjjicjdrwlzxsugvjw.us via malolajs.14mlo.foya.earthosting.eu.org

China Coin 7956@ro1zd4djeqrzxn7.us via sqnxqodmqwxqcmrkedmp.yj1ryikyt8fijxn.sxmvwjo14yqpz5nu1f.worldof.drivercycle.com

A few samples of the visuals :

Note the common address to write to if you want to unsubscribe. That's this place.

It's up for sale for $2.5 million if you want to buy it. I think it's empty.

Somebody who's obviously being subjected to the same bombardment as myself has tweeted: "As far as I can tell, that address is either a walk-in shipping/courier service, or maybe a hotel. (It's a weird block that's hard to navigate on streetview.) Clearly just an address harvested from somewhere that doesn't actually mean anything/an attempt at appearing legit."

I have a theory about these emails. It's to do with cryptocurrency mining. Since I can't discern any logic in plastering my email with a plethora of annoying & repetitive messages, I'm forced to believe that, possibly buried in that sender address, is an ongoing mining operation. Will continue to believe that unless someone comes up with an alternative theory.

wednesday newstrip

Australian Pram Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prem Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prim Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prom Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prum Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Pram Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prem Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prim Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prom Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference. Australian Prum Minister Scat I'mtheshallowone is holding a news conference.

wednesday newstrip

In emptiness of space, Voyager I detects plasma ‘hum’ · clever modder upgrades an old wacom into a pricier drawing tablet with $100 worth of parts · Ecstasy better at treating PTSD than traditional anti-depressants – study · Bill Gates told golf buddies that his marriage was ‘loveless’ · what 2,000-year-old poo says about our gut bugs · Federal Environment department tried to bury research that found huge underspend on Australian threatened species · Elongated Muskrat sends Bitcoin tumbling after pulling out of Tesla deal · freshly made plutonium from outer space found on ocean floor · for CBC, a dog story is more important than Israel’s apartheid · American business magazine Fortune has named New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern the world's greatest leader.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a life-sized
re-enactment of 
the first crossing
of the Atlantic 
Ocean by a pedal- 
powered liferaft. I
almost drowned.

seen in the carpark

 

The print parts of Otoliths issue sixty-one are now available

The print parts of Otoliths issue sixty-one are now available from The Otoliths Storefront at Lulu. Details are below. Lulu generally runs a promotional discount from Monday to Friday. This week's discount is 10% & the discount code is BOOKS10.

Part One
386 pages, b&w
Price: $US19.75
Direct Link: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/mark-young/otoliths-issue-sixty-one-part-one/paperback/product-v289p6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Part One of Otoliths sixty-one contains fiction & non-fiction, vispo, reviews, translations, essays, & poetry from Sanjeev Sethi, Olchar E. Lindsann, Louise Landes Levi, Linda M. Walker, John Bradley, Andrew Topel, Clive Gresswell, Heller Levinson, Jack Galmitz, Patrick Cahill, Paul Dickey, C.S. Fuqua, Clara B. Jones, Nicholas Alexander Hayes, Anna Cates, Jim Meirose, Joann Renee Boswell, William Doreski, Tony Rauch, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, Ian Ganassi, GTimothy Gordon, Adam Fieled, Gavin Lucky, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, Ron Riekki, Cameron Love, Lynn Strongin, Mary Corbin, Jim Leftwich, Karl Bachmann, Dennis Hinrichsen, Nina Živančević, Charles Freeland, Hazel Smith, Peter J. King, Mark DuCharme, Mary Cresswell, Kenneth Rexroth, Bob Lucky, Heath Brougher, Nathan Whiting, John Levy, Jake Goetz, Tony Beyer, Simon Perchik, John M. Bennett, Hugh Tribbey, S. K. Kelen, Jeff Harrison, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Richard Kostelanetz, Timothy Pilgrim, Paul Ilechko, Martin Edmond, J. D. Nelson, John Sweet, Megan Wildhood, Aysegul Yildirim, Bob Kotyk, Michael Neal Morris, Elmedin Kadric, Randee Silv, Eric Hoffman, David Lohrey, Sheila E. Murphy, Keith Nunes, M.J. Iuppa, John J. Trause, Michael J. Leach, Tom Beckett, Alison J Barton, Mark Pirie, Penelope Weiss, Keith Polette, Bob Heman, Hrishikesh Srinivas, Paul Pfleuger Jr, Jane Simpson, Alex Glynne, & Javant Biarujia.

Part Two
278 pages, full color
Price: $US39.75
Direct Link: https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/mark-young/otoliths-issue-sixty-one-part-two/paperback/product-qq6dr7.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Part Two of Otoliths sixty-one, the full color part, contains paintings, collages, drawings, photographs, essays, memoirs, asemics, & vispo from Laurent Grison, Brandstifter & Texas Fontanella, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Sarah-Jane Crowson, Doren Robbins, Elaine Woo, Judith Skillman, Cecelia Chapman & Jeff Crouch, hiromi suzuki, Bart Plantenga, Pete Spence, David Miller, Cecelia Chapman, Jim George, Guy R. Beining, John McCluskey, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Greg Hill, Josie / Jocelyn Deane, Isabel Gómez de Diego, Dave Read, Remi Seamon, Texas Fontanella, John M. Bennett & Adam Roussopoulos, George Myers Jr, Daniel f Bradley, Rosella Quintini, Sreemanti Sengupta & Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, John Gallas, Daniel de Culla, Carol Stetser, Mike Callaghan, John M. Bennett, harry k stammer, Jeff Bagato, Magdelawit Tesfaye, Sophia Archontis, jeremy witherington, Diana Magallón, Olivier Schopfer, Keith Higginbotham, Marilyn Stablein, Fotis Begetis & Jack Galmitz, Katrinka Moore, Sam Langer, Michael Brandonisio, Cherie Hunter Day, & Stephen Nelson.

wednesday newstrip

The mystery of white dwarfs with intense magnetic fields could finally be solved · almost two-thirds of Australians think the Covid vaccine rollout is not going well, survey suggests · falling 21-tonne Chinese rocket 'garbage' could have landed anywhere from Denmark to Australia, but apparently came down in the Indian Ocean · new method shows that tau forms small aggregates as part of the body's normal physiology · Game of Thrones prequel, House of Dr. Agony, releases first photos · World baffled by Australia’s escalation with China · South Carolina adds firing squad to execution methods after running out of lethal-injection drugs.

Today the post-
woman brought
me an abacus.
"Does it still
work?" I asked.
"I wouldn't count
on it," she replied.

from the Manet archives

The Balcony

 

from the Magritte archives

Perspective II: Manet's Balcony

Whether it be
fête or
theater

or just

sitting
on the balcony
watching
the funeral
parade pass
by

Manet
insisted

his family
always dress
to reflect the
occasion.

Today the post-
woman brought
me a split infini-
tive. I ran out to 
quickly collect it.

geographies: Barcaldine

 

wednesday newstrip

David Beckham’s branding business makes $85,000 every single day · Sky News commentator claims "China 'relish' in Australia 'rotting' because of woke culture" · "staggering": 25,000 barrels of waste found at toxic dump site in Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles coast · an Australian wannabe politician has been ordered to pay $1.5 million to Universal Music after losing a copyright fight over his use of the Twisted Sister anthem We're Not Gonna Take It in a string of political advertisements before the 2019 federal election · 'wolf packs' of predatory bacteria lurk in our soil, & they play a crucial role · Louis Vuitton plane-shaped bag ridiculed for costing more than an actual plane.

The latest issue of Otoliths has gone live

To ease the transition from Walpurgisnacht to May Day, issue sixty-one of Otoliths, the southern autumn 2021 issue, has just gone live. As always, there's an eclectic — comes from being a one-person band — & exciting — comes from having an outstanding & ever-widening contributor base — mix on offer.

 

In this issue you'll find paintings, drawings, music, essays, vispo, fiction, fact, poetry, photography, & vispo, from Laurent Grison, Sanjeev Sethi, Olchar E. Lindsann, Brandstifter & Texas Fontanella, Louise Landes Levi, Linda M. Walker, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, John Bradley, Sarah-Jane Crowson, Doren Robbins, Andrew Topel, Clive Gresswell, Elaine Woo, Heller Levinson, Judith Skillman, Jack Galmitz, Patrick Cahill, Cecelia Chapman & Jeff Crouch, Paul Dickey, C.S. Fuqua, Clara B. Jones, Nicholas Alexander Hayes, Anna Cates, Jim Meirose, Joann Renee Boswell, hiromi suzuki, William Doreski, Bart Plantenga, Tony Rauch, Pete Spence, Ryan Quinn Flanagan, David Miller, Ian Ganassi, Cecelia Chapman, GTimothy Gordon, Adam Fieled, Jim George, Gavin Lucky, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, Guy R. Beining, Ron Riekki, John McCluskey, Cameron Lowe, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Greg Hill, Lynn Strongin, Mary Corbin, Josie/Jocelyn Deane, Isabel Gómez de Diego, Jim Leftwich, Dave Read, Remi Seamon, Karl Bachmann, Dennis Hinrichsen, Nina Živančević, Texas Fontanella, Charles Freeland, John M. Bennett & Adam Roussopoulos, Hazel Smith, George Myers, Jr., Daniel F Bradley, Peter J. King, Rosella Quintini, Mark DuCharme, Sreemanti Sengupta & Snigdhendu Bhattacharya, Mary Cresswell, Kenneth Rexroth, John Gallas, Bob Lucky, Heath Brougher, Daniel de Culla, Nathan Whiting, Carol Stetser, Mike Callaghan, John Levy, Jake Goetz, Tony Beyer, Simon Perchik, John M. Bennett, Hugh Tribbey, S. K. Kelen, harry k stammer, Jeff Bagato, Jeff Harrison, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Richard Kostelanetz, Tim Pilgrim, Paul Ilechko, Martin Edmond, J. D. Nelson, John Sweet, Megan Wildhood, Aysegul Yildirim, Magdelawit Tesfaye, Bob Kotyk, Elmedin Kadric, Michael Neal Morris, Randee Silv, Eric Hoffman, David Lohrey, Sophia Archontis, Sheila E. Murphy, Keith Nunes, M.J. Iuppa, jeremy witherington, John J. Trause, Michael J. Leach, Tom Beckett, Alison J Barton, Diana Magallón, Mark Pirie, Penelope Weiss, Olivier Schopfer, Keith Polette, Keith Higginbotham, Marilyn Stablein, Bob Heman, Hrishikesh Srinivas, Fotis Begetis & Jack Galmitz, Katrinka Moore, Sam Langer, Paul Pfleuger, Jr, Michael Brandonisio, Jane Simpson, Cherie Hunter Day, Alex Glynne, Javant Biarujia, & Stephen Nelson.

&, as always, enjoy.

wednesday newstrip

Essential poll: fewer than 50% of over-50s Australians willing to get Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines · climate change has now invisibly shifted Earth's axis, new data reveal · Russia has started making its own AMD B450 motherboards · countries are racing to send medical supplies, vaccine components to India as COVID-19 'storm' cripples nation · global supply issues & shipping delays hit the New Zealand family cat's dinner plate · Australian Prom Minister Scat notSorryi'mtheSonofgod warns that identity politics is an "evil thing" & social media can be "used by the evil one" · Brutish Pram Minister Bore us nowyourJohnny'sgone accused of saying he’d rather see 'bodies pile high in their thousands' than order 3rd lockdown.

Today the post-
woman brought
me an audio re-

cording of the
love that dare not
speak its name.

wednesday newstrip

Australian Federal Government’s 'confusing' new education campaign uses tacos & milkshakes to explain consent · Amazon cancels Lord of the Rings MMO, in latest blow to gaming division · tarantula’s pervasiveness traced back to the cretaceous period · we finally have a complete view of the resonance dust ring of Venus · US police: FedEx shooter legally bought guns used in shooting · Byron Bay goes to war with Netflix over 'hot Instagrammer' reality series · high-profile Norwegian conspiracy theorist who said COVID-19 was a hoax dies from the virus after hosting illegal house parties.

Recently, from Luna Bisonte Prods

Mark Young
The Toast
Luna Bisonte Prods
ISBN: 9781938521751
$US12.00
100 pages
Can be bought from Lulu here

 

Maybe it’s because “A railroad line runs im-/mediately behind the/parietal lobe.” Or maybe it’s because “Phallic ritual is a/literary genre that blends/aspects of natural rubber/& cognitive therapy…” I don’t know, but Mark Young’s poetry opens out into a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk, a total art work, limning our present moment. His work is at once intellectually engaging and truly entertaining. No small feat. I’m a fan. — Tom Beckett

geographies: Payard's Lagoon

 

Today the post-
woman brought
me a birthday 
card from the 
Marquis de 
Sade. Not for 
me, I told her, 
two houses up 
the road. I ran 
to retrieve it 
the minute she 
was out of sight.

wednesday newstrip

Graphene-like boron is stabilized by hydrogen, paving the way for practical applications · Putrid Dustbin becomes SittingonDefence Minister in Australian Federal Cabinet reshuffle · Army intel analyst tried to lure teen with chicken & condoms · pro-T.®ump women’s group says Matt Gaetz will speak at rally evem though there are child sex-trafficking allegations against him · Derek Chauvin murder trial hears George Floyd allegedly said 'I ain't do no drugs' in arrest rather than 'I ate too many drugs' · 5200 Tons of extraterrestrial dust rain down on Earth every single year · World COVID-19 vaccine rankings shows Australia languishing at back of the queue.

          Today the post-
                       woman brought
              me a pterodactyl.
                    I'd actually asked
               for some pommes 
                    de terre au gratin;
            but these days
                 you take what 
            you can get, & 
                  are grateful for it.

GarGoogle's idea of entertainment?

 

TEN TITLES from THE TOAST

 

now out from Sandy Press

 

List price = $US14.95
Available through Amazon.

& a blurb:

Mark Young’s Sorties

A sortie is a military manouevre, ‘an attack made by troops coming out from a position of defence.’ In Mark Young’s prose, the citadel is the home, or else the inside of his head; while the sorties are mounted against the land and city scapes of Rockhampton in Queensland, where Young lived in the earlier years of the 21st century. Or against the past. It wouldn’t be right to say he takes no prisoners. Birds are his constant companions, however; and the past, while certainly over, is sometimes close behind. These are intelligent, humorous, precise and well-informed observations, largely autobiographical, but delivered without any attempt at the construction of a narrative or of a unitary self. Mark Young, who gave up playing the double bass because he couldn’t fit the instrument into a taxi before or after a gig, now makes use of the keyboard, with its black and white registers, colored all over, to entertain, to perplex and to delight.

— Martin Edmond, author of Luca Antara, Isinglass, and many other books.

A PDF preview of sorties is available on the sandy press website.

wednesday newstrip

OpTic Chicago bounce back with win over Seattle Surge in 2021 Call of Duty League Stage 2 group play · scientists finally know how an ancient reptile lived with such an absurdly long neck · Myanmar's military junta killed 43 children in past two months, Save the Children says · Australian Pram Minister Scat SorrySon's efforts to engage with women are more 'me' than mea culpa · string theorist Michio Kaku: 'Reaching out to aliens is a terrible idea' · Amazon apologizes for denying US employees sometimes need to pee in bottles · 533 million Facebook users' phone numbers & personal data have been leaked online.

The Night Owl

wednesday newstrip

Indigenous entrepreneurs urged to verify their business to weed out 'black-cladding' · DoNuts T.®ump is planning a return to social media on his own platform · Egyptian feminist, activist Nawal Saadawi dies at 89 · Apple discontinues iMac Pro, along with 512GB & 1TB SSD 21.5-inch 4K iMacs. New iMacs soon? · melting glaciers contribute to Alaska earthquakes, cause land to rise at 1.5 inches per year · Suez Canal blocked after massive container ship gets stuck sideways · octopuses dream in "GIFs,' new experiment suggests · NASA gives all clear: Earth safe from the particularly menacing Apophis asteroid for 100 years.

geographies: Boulia

 

Out from SOd Press

 

Downloadable from here.

wednesday newstrip

Space travel & sperm bank on the moon necessary to keep world going, according to scientists · Lamela rabona against Arsenal ‘one of best goals in EPL history’ · NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU appears on Geekbench with 2,048 CUDA cores & 4 GB of VRAM · ancient Aboriginal technology unearthed in rare bone discovery on Ngarrindjeri country · 'unrealistic': doctors slam government over Covid vaccine booking website as GPs inundated · billions of lightning bolts may have jump-started life on Earth, study suggests · 'you can't escape the smell': mouse plague grows to biblical proportions across eastern Australia.

geographies: Forsayth

 

wednesday newstrip

Ancient Earth really was a serene water world, new evidence confirms · Australian aphrodisiac honey from Phoenix palm creates buzz in Middle East · don’t click on those Resident Evil Village early access emails · we finally know what's going on with that weird, long, recurring cloud on Mars · Australian Federal Minister for Homophobic Affairs, Putrid Dustbin, has proposed a Surveillance Bill that could be used to target everyone from Black Lives Matter campaigners to underage kids illegally downloading movies, critics have warned · China tells UN Australia's offshore detention centers violate human rights, don't have adequate conditions.

from Series Magritte

The Secret Life I


 

By day he was the stereo-
typically mild-mannered 
man, un petit bourgeois from 
curve of bowler hat to the 
wingtips down below. Too
immersed in Max Weber to 
consider Nietzsche as a role
model, but still had dreams 

to find a life in the theater.
Finally achieved; but too
shaped by bureaucracy to 
even be a lowly spear carrier. 
Instead is typecast, stage dec-
oration, a mute piece of wood. 

wednesday newstrip

Arrest made after woman pays $2000 for new iPhone but receives apple-flavored yogurt instead · Gatorade created a wearable patch that tells you how much Gatorade to drink · Great Barrier Reef home to giant donut-shaped structures with unique animal & plant communities · Adidas converts its classic Samba sneaker into a clipless cycling shoe · Japanese billionaire seeks crew for ‘fun’ trip around the Moon · enjoy it while it lasts: dropping oxygen will eventually suffocate most life on Earth · World’s first ever tweet by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey up for auction · Oklahoma wants to return $2 million worth of unused hydroxy-chloroquine.

after Camus

 

wednesday newstrip

Woman pleads guilty to biting off man’s tongue before a seagull flew off with it · vampire squid fossil 'lost' during the Hungarian Revolution rediscovered · Yungblud’s Life On Mars cover was played as NASA’s rover landed on the planet · oldest-known Australian rock art is 17,300-year-old kangaroo in the Kimberley, wasp nests show · with gold-colored T.®ump statue, conservatives show fealty to former president · Facebook’s new app Bars will let you rap over premade beats · New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern announces week-long COVID-19 lockdown after new case detected · DoNuts T.®ump misreads prompt, tells his audience he's "got the runs again." They mishear & cheer.

geographies: Havilah