wednesday newstrip

'Great friends' Australia, NZ vow closer defense ties · a 46-year-old decided to run bare-chested in the annual Sydney City2Surf, displaying the scars of her double mastectomy to break the stigma around choosing not to get breast reconstruction & to live without breasts · T.®ump secretly authorizes military action against Latin American cartels, NYT reports · Deputy Australian Prime Minister Marles insists Australia 'not supplying weapons to Israel' but critics argue 'parts of weapons are weapons' · tens of thousands protest in Israel over plan to escalate war on Gaza · London police arrest 466 people as pro-Palestinian protesters defy new law · DoNuts T.®ump has ordered the official White House portrait of former President Barack Obama to be relocated once again — this time to a "hidden" staircase out of view of visitors.

recently, at Series Magritte

L'éternité (2)

Dante, Christ, &
a wheel of butter
in the middle. I
doubt that any of
these would keep
me happy for
eternity, not unless
there was something 
else to go with them.

Though I must admit
I sense something 
miraculous in the
line-up. Given that
the two busts are
somewhat crusty
with age, how does
the butter manage
to stay so fresh?

wednesday newstrip

The Lamborghini Temerario revs to 10,000 and loves to slide · "this proves we’ve been lied to:" alien-like world discovered beneath Antarctica fuels explosive rift between scientists & truth-seekers · Koenigsegg Jesko attack drags supercharged Hayabusa, bike pops 140-mph wheelie for the win · radioactive wasp nest found at site where US once made nuclear bombs · an outraged Aussie has lashed out at the expensive prices at op shops, with many claiming they have ditched the charity stores for good & gone to Kmart or Target · Australia will recognize a Palestinian state, it is only a matter of when & how · New York mass shooter was targeting NFL offices — but took the wrong elevator · a world class website documenting New Zealand's history could be allowed to wither & die with cuts confirmed at the Ministry for Culture & Heritage.

from the archives

I am feeling my age, I am feeling / of an age. Watched I am curious – Yellow on public tv last night, Zabriskie Point on cable this morning. Saw them both on their first release, a couple of years apart, thirty five years ago. I am curious – Yellow in an "art cinema," Zabriskie Point, thanks to the success of Antonioni’s earlier Blowup, in general release.

Both polemics. Both so dated now. Strange fashion statements. Suits & talkfests in one, afros & action in the other. Yellow seems so stilted, redeemed only by the interview with Olof Palme (later assassinated), the brief clip of the always emotion-provoking Martin Luther King Jr. (also assassinated later) & a snippet of Yevtushenko reading "Babi Yar." Zabriskie Point is corny, saved only by its eclectic score & the beauty of Death Valley.

& yet both are illustrations of how we, at the time, thought we could change the world. That we didn’t succeed is painfully obvious as you read the papers, watch the news. Sometimes I think we didn’t go far enough, became content with having pushed the boundaries a little to provide a comfort zone. Pliable enough for a while, but now growing brittle, & under more threat than ever before.

11/29/2004

What part

of
     NO
don’t you
under-
stand? 

N?

No,
O.

fandangle

that’s
when he
ended up





     dancing
     with the
     gypsy girl.

wednesday newstrip

Breaks forbidden, food instead of pay: one-third of young Australian workers exploited by employers, study shows · Sesame Street’s Elmo X account overrun with offensive messages, hacker claims West Australian connection · DoNuts T.®ump says he has Club World Cup trophy & Chelsea was awarded replica · utilities urge people not to tip fats, oils or grease down drains — Sydney Water is making clear that includes milk · Queensland cotton farmer John Norman has been sentenced to 9.5 years in prison, with a three-year non-parole period, for his role in an $8.7 million water fraud · 'an insult:' Malaysians slam nomination of 'alpha-male' Nick Adams as US ambassador · the big, beautiful, orange one looks to be in solid shape. & we ain’t talking about the blow-hard in the White House. Bitcoin smashes to new high.

wednesday newstrip

According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research, just 7 per cent of reported cases of sexual assault in the state in 2018, the most recent data set available, resulted in a conviction. Just 15 per cent of reported cases to police resulted in a criminal charge, meaning the vast majority of reports resulted in no charges · in deadly Texas floods, one town, Comfort, had what some didn't: a wailing warning siren. No one died in Comfort · Australian government & NotJustAnyahoo incite hysteria over murky "antisemitic" incident · Matt Cameron departs Pearl Jam after 27 years as drummer · US lobby groups urge tariff retaliation against Australia’s 'socialized medicine' · Russian courts issue 101 convictions of LGBTQ+ extremism · after eight weeks of trial & a week of deliberation, a supreme court jury found Victorian woman Erin Patterson guilty of three counts of murder & one of attempted murder after three guests died & one almost died after eating her homemade beef wellington lunch containing death cap mushrooms · 'brought terror to the community': Federal agents stormed MacArthur Park while kids were playing. Jimmy Webb was not amused.

wednesday fake newstrip

U.S. President DoNuts T.®ump said he would bomb Norway if he is not awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize · former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said, "If we elect T.®ump, we will be at war within six months" · at least twice in June, the president has wrongly claimed that the U.S. "brought in $88 billion" from tariffs in "two months" when the correct figure was closer to $40 billion · former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has received a monthly payment of $122,000 from the General Services Administration since 2009 · mysterious sinkholes appeared in Lake Superior in June 2025 · authorities in Dayton, Ohio, fined & put on house arrest a 17-year-old high school student named Kameron Price for hacking into the city's traffic control system to make the stoplights sync up · Niagara Falls turned blood red for 10 minutes on the morning of June 22, 2025, the same day that the U.S. dropped "buster bombs" on Iran nuclear facilities · Dolly Parton announced her refusal to celebrate Pride Month.

the unrewarded followers

 

wednesday newstrip

NATO chief calls T.®ump 'daddy' · Sean 'Diddy' Combs' attorneys end their defense case after only 20 minutes · RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel to review long-approved jabs for children · T.®ump says Iranian nuclear capabilites 'obliterated' despite comments to the contrary from UN watchdog · former Austalian P.M. ToeKnee AssBit tells rightwing Advance supporters that bequeathing money to group will 'protect' Australian values · Mississippi man who spent nearly 50 years on death row executed · Zohran Mamdani declares historic victory in New York City mayoral primary after Cuomo concedes · wealth of top 1% surges by over $52.4tn in the past 10 years – enough to end poverty 22 times over, Oxfam finds · 'Witch-hunt': T.®ump calls for cancellation of Notjustanyahoo’s corruption trial · Wagyu embryos, semen, & cattle recovered after alleged fraud in NSW · Venice protesters (& their inflatable crocodiles) claim victory as Jeff Bezos changes wedding venue.

After listening to the head of NATO fawning over Trump hay(na)ku

It's
time to
move to Mars.

wednesday newstrip

Pakistan to nominate DoNuts T.®ump for Nobel peace prize · the US has struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, joining Israel's air campaign · tech tycoon’s superyacht Bayesian hauled up from the seabed after last year's tragedy which is still puzzling experts · former Israeli negotiator says Beenjammin' Notjustanyahoo is leading DoNuts T.®ump 'by the nose' · Australian man left with $130,000 hospital bill after suffering stroke in Japan · at least eight people have been killed when a hot-air balloon carrying 21 passengers caught fire & plummeted to the ground in southern Brazil · Australian Health authority hands down lifetime ban for testosterone salesman whose conduct operating three online testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) clinics had "posed a risk to public safety" · chaos, violence, & war become the norm as the US empire collapses. The US is now the main agent of global chaos. How should Australia’s policymakers respond?

Middle East hay(na)ku

Remember
those "weapons
of mass destruction?"

wednesday newstrip

Bromance over: Muskrat accuses T.®ump of being in Epstein files. Tesla loses $152 billion in market cap · the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert for a widely sold ground beef product due to possible contamination with E. coli · on June 5, at a Deutsche Bank conference in Paris, Procter & Gamble Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten announced that it will be laying off up to 7000 employees within the next two years · 'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart railed White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt over her emblematic cross, which Stewart said "The more she lies, the bigger her cross gets. … It’s like some sort weird Pinocchio cross." The next day, the cross was gone · the US Supreme Court unanimously blocked a lawsuit filed by Mexico against American gun manufacturers · CNN doubles down that Israel did open fire at aid site despite denial of previous claims · 30 Hooters restaurants abruptly closed amid bankruptcy struggle.

wednesday newstrip

Did RFK Jr.’s crew use AI to write error-filled MAHA — Make America Healthy Again — report? · Police have recovered 365 pieces of stolen pounamu after intercepting a vehicle on the Jackson River in South Westland on Wednesday, following a tip-off from the public. Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio chairman Paul Madgwick thanked police, saying the theft of greenstone had been an ongoing issue in remote areas · Pete Hogsbreath calls on Asia to boost military spending in face of 'imminent' threat from China · Australia’s trade minister says T.®ump plan to double steel & aluminium tariffs to 50% 'not the act of a friend' · people hit by cars, run over, 7 cops hurt at 'incredibly reckless' street racer meet attended by 1000 people in Levin, New Zealand on the anniversary of an illegal gathering that turned violent a year ago & there had been rumors a crowd would return · Elongated Muskrat's farewell at the White House has been overshadowed by a black eye, problems at Tesla, & allegations of drug use · New Zealand Cabinet minister Chris Bishop says he should have kept his comments to himself after saying "what a load of crap" during a performance at Thursday night's Aotearoa Music Awards in Auckland.

wednesday newstrip

Disney dumps Venezuelan cast members as the 'House of Mouse' aligns with T.®ump · Australian OnlyFans star Annie Knight hospitalized after sleeping with 583 men in six hours · T.®ump falsely claims Australia being 'inundated' by white South Africans fleeing 'genocide' · court to decide if Tasmanian supermarket discriminated by not allowing alpaca service animal into store · played by Vladimir Putain, a 'weary' DoNuts T.®ump could walk away from Ukraine · Nine Perfect Strangers season two review – not even Nicole Kidman’s new wig makes this worth watching · pro-doping Enhanced Games to debut in Las Vegas with T.®ump Jr. backing · Kim Jong-un furious as North Korea warship partly 'crushed' in launch gone wrong.

Gut Plastic

plastic from a shearwater's stomach
photo: Neal Haddaway. Australian Broadcasting Corporation

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-15/birds-crunch-full-plastic-losing-war-waste/105221266

wednesday newstrip

Cannes bans red carpet nudity over celebrity craze for ‘the naked dress’ · stars frock up for exclusive party at Justin Hemmes’ Sydney harborside mansion with host's pregnant partner Madeline Holtznagel showing off her growing baby bump in a daring sheer dress complete with a thigh-high split · Charli XCX's hooded black naked dress totally frees the nip at the 2025 BRIT Awards · in a world of naked dresses, did Bianca Censori & Kanye West's 2025 Grammys stunt take it too far? · on Oscar's night, more celebrities tried the nearly naked look · Zoë Kravitz bares her butt cheeks in NSFW dress at Vanity Fair party · fashionistas bare all in 'cheeky' new trend: 'cracks as accessories' · there was no shortage of naked & barely-there dresses at the 2025 Met Gala · models bare butt cracks at Milan Fashion Week & style gurus are outraged: 'I do not want to live in that world.'

wednesday newstrip

Children may have been doused in petrol by their mother before triple fatal house fire in Toowoomba, Queensland · Denmark summons US diplomat over reports of increased intelligence gathering in Greenland · grandmother charged after two young grandsons found 'suffocated to death' in Coonabarabran, NSW · DoNuts T.®ump sparked widespread outrage Thursday by abruptly firing Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden with a two-sentence email sent by the White House's deputy director of presidential personnel. "The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids," the conservative advocacy group, the American Accountability Foundation, said on its X account earlier on Thursday, just hours before the firing was made public. · police have seized what they say is more than half a billion dollars' worth of cocaine on a boat off the New South Wales Mid North Coast. Officers allege they found more than 1,000 bricks of cocaine, weighing just over a tonne in total · Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as brutal aid blockade threatens mass starvation reports the United Nations; The United States defended Israel on Wednesday at the International Court of Justice.

wednesday newstrip

A young Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer, who has yet to obtain his undergraduate degree, has been tasked with using artificial intelligence to rewrite the entire Department of Housing & Urban Development’s rules & regulations · Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Catholic Bishops are 'controlled by Satan' during social media meltdown · a video clip shows former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, just two days before being fired, being left standing on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews as DoNuts T.®ump left for an event in Michigan · T.®ump has signed an executive order to open both US & international waters to deep-sea mining, ignoring a global treaty that controls the high seas · Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has reprised his misleading claims about vaccines, including that the measles jab contains cells from aborted foetuses, at the same time that the country is battling one of its worst outbreaks of the infection in 25 years.

wednesday newstrip

A man is expected to be charged for offensive behaviour after a group including an alleged neo-Nazi booed & heckled a welcome to country at Melbourne’s main Anzac Day dawn ceremony · a Sydney radio station has been using an AI-generated host for about six months without disclosing it — & was not legally obliged to · the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, has condemned a heckler who interrupted an Anzac Day service in Perth this morning. The person disrupted a welcome to country at the Kings Park dawn service, shouting obscenities · possum comes off second best as snake enjoys long weekend lunch · water in a central Auckland fountain was dyed red early this morning in what appeared to be a protest coinciding with Anzac Day · a group of Australian Ford car salesmen had timed vehicle races & did "donuts" on a pristine Otago, N.Z. beach, believing they were allowed to · two struck by lightning as storms disrupt Brisbane Anzac Day ceremony.

wenesday newstrip

T.®ump administration is working to end habitat protections for endangered animals, environmental groups say · a whistleblower accuses Elongated Muskrat & DOGE of being at the origin of a major security breach · Israel's investigation into Hamas' Nova festival massacre leaves families of victims with more questions than answers · Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) says T.®ump administration paid El Salvador $15 million to detain prisoners · 'he's a fake': T.®ump hits back at US Senator Van Hollen for visit with Abrego Garcia · speaking to reporters at Dulles airport in Washington on Friday afternoon, the senator Chris Van Hollen just accused the government of El Salvador of creating the hoax he called “Margarita-gate”, by placing a pair of cocktail glasses on the table between himself & Kilmar Ábrego García as they met the night before, to make it look as though they were enjoying drinks · US will abandon Russia-Ukraine peace efforts if no progress soon, T.®ump & Rubberio say · Elongated Muskrat’s unofficial “department of government efficiency” & the T.®ump administration have spared the jobs of US Department of Transportation employees who provide support services for spacecraft launches by Musk’s companies, SpaceX & Starlink – a revelation that raises a new round of conflict-of-interest questions around Doge · thousands of records on the assassination of Robert F Kennedy released · https://www.whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-origins-of-covid-19/.

wednesday newstrip

'The penguins won': critics roast T.®ump over latest trade-war reversal · Pam Bondi Beach demands Supreme Court 'swiftly constrain' judges’ power to overrule T.®ump admin · homeless residents living in Moreton Bay park in Brisbane have tents, belongings bulldozed & dumped by council rangers · Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 155 Chinese nationals fighting with Russia in Ukraine · 'Breaks promises': T.®ump Education pick accused of 'overextending' her federal authority · Florida teacher is fired after calling student by their preferred name · Trans pilot launches lawsuit against right-wing influencer over false claim regarding DC plane crash · US Naval Academy library yanks Maya Angelou's memoir — & keeps Mein Kampf.

wednesday newstrip

‘Nowhere on Earth is safe’: T.®ump imposes tariffs on uninhabited — apart from penguins —islands near Antarctica · DoNuts T.®ump's big denial as markets continue to bleed: 'Oil Prices Are Down, There Is NO INFLATION' · T.®ump has Australia’s generic medicines in his sights. & no-one’s talking about it · US admiral at NATO fired as part of what appears to be an expanding national security purge of top officials by the T.®ump administration · Interior Secretary Dog Bumrug & his senior staff have reportedly used his position leading the agency to make a series of bizarre demands on his aides to use the agency’s industrial ovens to cook him chocolate chip cookies, instructed political appointees to work as servers for a multi-course meal, & ordered a U.S. Park Police helicopter for personal transport · Democrats in Congress demanded answers from the Pentagon on reported book bans at the service’s elite academies, a new policy that is meant to remove “woke” ideology from the elite colleges.

wednesday newstrip

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO, was sent questions from T.®ump administration asking if it is taking ‘appropriate measures’ against gender ideology · Interior Secretary Dog Bumrug told Fox News host that he "certainly" believes there’s room on Mount Rushmore for President T.®ump’s face, in an interview that aired on Saturday · despite being prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment from standing for election again, President T.®ump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House during an interview with NBC News · quake disaster has exposed a T.®ump-sized void on the world stage. China is stepping in · a Paris court has convicted French far-right leader Marine Le Pen of embezzling money from the European parliament · Iran has reacted with outrage after DoNuts T.®ump said the country will be bombed if it does not accept US demands to constrain its nuclear program.

wednesday newstrip

One of Elongated Muskrat’s own AI chatbots has identified him as being one of the largest spreaders of misinformation on X · T.®ump orders the "most lethal machine ever built," the Boeing F-47 fighter jet · the Australian Opposition Coalition's top economic spokesperson is unable to confirm the size of the opposition's planned public service & migration cuts, the taxpayer cost of building nuclear power plants, or how it would limit government spending · as trust in the US collapses, leaders in Australia & around the world are frantically recalibrating · Israel orders troops to 'seize more territory' in Gaza & threatens to annex land · Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, one of the world’s fastest growing social media platforms, made a bold & widely applauded statement when she took to the stage at SXSW wearing a simple, black T-shirt with the phrase: "Mundus sine caesaribus," Latin for "a world without Caesars," clearly a dig at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who wore a shirt of the same color & typeface while delivering his keynote at the Meta Connect conference last September – only his shirt said: "aut Zuck aut nihil," a play on the ancient Latin phrase, "aut Caesar aut nihil" which translates to "either Caesar or nothing" · "Courageous, angry, passionate: "rallies around Australia honor the memory of women killed by male violence & demand urgent action.

wednesday newstrip aka bring on the T.®umpenproletariat

Following T.®ump's mass pardon of Jan. 6 insurrectionists, there is a new team in the White House whose job it is to "focus on clemency grants that underscore the president’s own grievances about what he sees as the political weaponization of the justice system" · T.®ump's CDC plans major study relitigating vaccination-autism conspiracy theory: report · possibility of T.®ump nominating a Fox host for Supreme Court is 'not a lunatic thought' · T.®ump signed a day-one executive order titled, "Restoring Freedom of Speech & Ending Federal Censorship," that stated, "Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society." Now a purge of so-called woke initiatives revealed by the N.Y. Times includes a list of banned words that came with that order – from phrases like "sense of belonging," "all-inclusive" & "at risk" – to more innocuous terms like "women," "institutional," & "systemic" · T.®ump pick for Pentagon says selling submarines to Australia would be 'crazy' if Taiwan tensions flare · Yes, T.®ump paid for a full-page newspaper ad criticizing US foreign policy in 1987. "Let's not let our great country be laughed at anymore," reads an open letter penned by T.®ump.

from The Pope's Easter message

"Now that postmodernism’s been (with a wink) flushed, can we, for a moment, glance back wistfully to that cinema of more naïve possibilities, before the insular film school homilies of 'queer cinema' swamped us, when post-new wave sex & politics anarchically mixed in ignorance of our contemporary Sundance straightjackets of liberal visibility politics, body image conventionalism, festival entertainment, & jury-prize prostitution? Such films were made not by technofetishistically schooled 'filmmakers' but by renaissance theater artists like Terayama & Arrabal, who would deride with a magnanimous grin all foisted philistine pigeonholes. But prepare for disillusionment, too, for these artists were blissfully ignorant of more than just the watery liberalism we now cringingly sip like gelid, day-old, decaf."

wednesday newstrip

Elongated Muskrat’s SpaceX Starship explodes, debris streaks through Florida skies · Ukraine war briefing: US-Ukraine talks to take place in Saudi Arabia in the next week, Zelenskyy says · Muskrat can’t fire employees, T.®ump reportedly tells cabinet secretaries · "Small & weak countries will get burnt first, & the international order & rules will be under severe shock," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "Major countries should undertake their international obligations … & not seek to profit from & bully the weak" · rattled markets, negative polls: some say T.®ump’s honeymoon is over · 'shadowy, unelected figures': analyst says DOGE is the very thing 'it claims to fear most' · a century-old shipwreck has resurfaced on the east coast of Australia, unearthed by Cyclone Alfred's wild weather over 130 years after it was first swallowed by the sea in another cyclone in the 1800s.

Some recent books

Mark Young
The Hit List
52 pages
b&w free downloadable pdf
Scud Editions
url: https://scudlit.blogspot.com/p/editions.html

A collection of around 55 recent poems.

*

harry k stammer, Mark Cunningham, & Mark Young
Gravel
66 pages
poetry & visuals
full color
paperback ($US15.00)& Kindle($US5.00)
Sandy Press
url: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DY56DHV7

Gravel. Might have been called that because it was like walking over it in bare feet to get three grumpy old men to agree on how this book should be put together — identifiers or anonymous; interspersed small offerings or a three-tiered cake; with or without an intro?

Or? Call it that because it's a word with other, quite divergent, words built in & easily accessed — rave, ave, grave, Ravel — & that's before discarding the original order.

Or? Each of the pieces, as denoted by the poet's name, being inserted into the document in a random way, like gravel on a path. The point here is to cross each author's approach in a way that does or doesn’t affect the how of how the pieces relate to each other. Does this matter in terms of how a reader understands each alone & at the same time how a reader may understand the whole & the poetry within the total work?

Or? What is there to introduce? The Pisan Cantos and Zukofsky's A made do without introductions, if I recall. Maybe when you’re famous—or post-famous, so that people need to be told how important you are. Were. Is that “you” plural? Or, as with Aram Saroyan’s Complete Minimal Poems, you can have a blurb with more words in it than most of the books included. Then you can get somebody to write an introduction to tell us who the blurb writer, Vito Acconci, is. Was. Who will introduce the introducer?

Or? The only true blurb would be along the lines of: "If you read this book and get irritated as hell & say to yourself, 'Anybody could do that,' then you're got the real spirit of the book."

Take all of the above, & it's no wonder they invited me in to compose the introduction. All suggestions will be welcomed. Keep watching this space.

— Kasimir Malevich, February 1915 2025, Red Square

*

Mark Young
Some Unrecorded Voyages of Vasco da Gama
88 pages
poetry & visuals
full color
paperback ($US24.75)
Otoliths
url: https://www.lulu.com/shop/mark-young/some-unrecorded-voyages-of-vasco-da-gama/paperback/product-e748z2j.html?page=1&pageSize=4

My first poem in the geographies series appeared on my gamma ways blog at the beginning of 2009. I feel that the best description of my intent comes from Sam Lohmann who published some in an issue of the journal Peaches & Bats that he was editing at the time: "These pieces by Mark Young have a disturbing and comic speed, and seem, as a group, to get at some essential weirdness of the 'global' info-capitalist culture we're all trying to survive and live in."

I began the visual geographies just under a couple of years later. At first they tended to be poems on a background, but gradually transformed into digital manipulations of images from places I looked up on the web. As time went on, I refined those locations to Australia & New Zealand, sometimes with a word or two added; but the intent was the same for the visuals as for the poems — the world is something different to what it's claimed to be.

There have been five standalone collections of geographies over the years, mainly in chapbook or pdf format, plus a significant tranche in the wide-ranging 600-page collection, The Codicils, that came out from Otoliths in 2013. This new collection, Some Unrecorded Voyages of Vasco da Gama, contains a number of visuals &, probably, the final geographies poems.

— Mark Young

*

Mark Young
Closed Environment
24 pages
b&w free & downloadable
Neo-Mimeo Editions, from Nualláin House
url: https://nuallainhousepublishers.com/2025/03/03/closed-environment/

"Neo-Mimeo endeavors to return to the fast and cheap no frills esthetic of mimeo in a non-scrolling digital slideshow left to right reading format. The texts are replicated in the limited typewriter font styles then available, generally Courier or Prestige, but in a larger point size (16 vs.12) to accommodate readability on the small screen. The bold text presentation alludes to the often over inked stencils in mimeo production. Each Neo-Mimeo poetry selection, like many original mimeo books, is limited to approximately 20 pages. A pdf file of Neo-Mimeo titles is available for those who wish to produce their own hard copy; staples not included."

— Pat Nolan

*

Mark Young
The Complete Post Person Poems
138 pages
b&w (paperback), full color (Kindle)
(paperback) $US12.50 (Kindle) $US6.25
Sandy Press
url: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZHXYYH7

One never knows what's going to turn up in Mark's mail. I've even turned up — all 6'7" of me — in the postbag. Every page holds a surprise. Mark delivers! —Tom Beckett

In The Complete Post Person Poems, Mark Young delivers “the can” or rather, cans "of worms/ I’d always/ wanted to open.” Master builder/decorator of “a room to put/ the elephant in,” Young helps us achieve some measure of “Gunk Control” through an ironic, fiercely punny wit that is replete with cogent historical and current allusions and accounts of wild misprisions. His “melodious thunks” provide superb rejoinders to the “polemic/ pandemic” that assails the globe. —Thomas Fink

In The Complete Post Person Poems intellectual Tom-Foolery via the official postal system has at it at full speed! — Cathy M. Bennett

All writers have a fraught relationship with the postal service. Mark Young’s remedy is The Complete Post Person Poems, a uniquely multifaceted otherworldly disco ball showering kaleidoscopic colors down onto poetry’s dance floor. Shake that thang. —Pat Nolan

The Complete Post Person Poems does nothing less than bring the world to you. How lucky we are to receive Mark Young's mail. —Brad Liening

After reading this book, I will never think of aubergines in the same way again. Now I must realize: I don't even know what an aubergine is. And the author makes me feel funny about my subscription to the Conspiracy Theory Quarterly. I think he did this on purpose. He is dangerous and no one should read this book. —Mark Cunningham

Mark Young picks a thread in a ball of golden wool and gives it a pull and it never ends. Magic everywhere. —John Geraets

Chance and its output, notably infinite shades of humor, when examined and relished, teach even beyond experience, offering as a bonus “a room to put the elephant in.” —Sheila E. Murphy

Mark Young has given the meaning of a postman's "meaning" in meaning a delivery god. Send and ye shall receive. — harry k stammer

Mark Young IS the Complete Post Person, delivering to us all the news we need to read, to reread, to remember. For these poems we will remember. Here he's given us back so much of our world – the terrible and the terrific – and for that we need to say: thank you, Mark. —Michael Gottlieb

Don’t
call me
biased for concluding

the Hay(na)ku created
its best
poem

because its postman
delivered with
sensitivity
—Eileen R. Tabios

*

& a note for those of you who have a Kindle Unlimited membership. The Magritte Poems, which was released late last year, is now available for no charge as part of that membership.

wenesday newstrip

More than 100 Russian officials, lawmakers, & law enforcement officers accused of corruption & serious crimes have avoided prison sentences by joining the war in Ukraine, according to a new investigation by the BBC Russian Service · a restaurant owner in Japan did not take kindly to being given a bad review by two diners — putting a bounty on their heads · DoNuts T.®ump has proposed what he seemed to consider a new idea: a program to let wealthy foreigners pay $5 million for citizenship. "We're gonna be selling a gold card," he said. "You have a green card, this is a gold card" · influencer brothers Andrew & Tristan Tate, who are charged with human trafficking in Romania, have left for the US after authorities lifted travel restrictions imposed as part of the case, an official says · almost one in five trans & non-binary New Zealanders were threatened with physical violence because of their gender identity in the past four years · The White House says it will now decide which media organizations will participate in the press pool that covers Prissygent DoNuts T.®ump.

wednesday newstrip

An April 2023 train derailment in rural Maine that spilt hundreds of gallons of fuel & left three workers in hospital was caused by beavers, state officials said · humpback whale swallows & then spits out kayaker off Chile coast · goat bitten by red-bellied black snake given $3k worth of antivenom · US sends Israel 2,000-pound bombs that can 'pancake' buildings · despite DOGE budget cut crusade, T.®ump has already spent $10.7 million of taxpayer money on golf trips · 'good luck with that': CNN made FOIA request about DOGE only to learn FOIA staff was fired · Chinese warships sail within 150 nautical miles of Sydney, issue a live fire drill warning & forcing commercial flights to be diverted in the Tasman Sea without informing the Australian military · contempt for this national disinformation campaign notwithstanding, if the polls are correct – &, as usual, reporters have their doubts – then enough voters are buying it & Australia may well end up with Opposition Leader Putrid Dustbinn as its next prime minister.

Annie Lennox singing Joni Mitchell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2NfgLlJ6zQ"

What more

is there

to say?

wednesday newstrip

Israeli police have raided a Palestinian-owned bookstore in East Jerusalem, detaining its owners & confiscating books about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict · fans were left outraged amid "poor communication" after a sold-out Bryan Adams concert in Perth was canceled hours after it was scheduled to start due to a build up of fat, grease, & rags in the sewerage system, known as a fatberg · T.®ump orders DOJ to pause prosecutions of Americans who bribe foreign officials: report · Georgia Republican Rep. introduces bill to rename Greenland Red White & Blue Land · 'An act of betrayal': Japan to maximise nuclear power 14 years after Fukushima disaster · Sydney nurses stood down after claiming they would kill Israeli patients in social media video · DoNuts T.®ump trade adviser says Australia 'killing aluminium market' in blow to tariff exemption hopes.

More unsavory news noise from the T.®ump pits

AI-generated T.®ump and Muskrat video dupes MAGA faithful into buying fake Golden Eagles coins · T.®ump is the second most unpopular new president in decades. Who was the most unpopular? Why T.®ump of course, in 2017 · 'Delay, whine, lie, blather, wince, repeat': T.®ump question time stuns onlookers · DoNuts T.®ump & Been Jammin' Notjustanyahoo held a joint press conference during the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to the White House. By working together, Notjustanyahoo said, the two leaders could "strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace, achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength, & let the U.S. take over the Gaza Strip & get rid of the Palestinians to somewhere else" · T.®ump's administration is preparing an executive order to begin dismantling the Education Department – while acknowledging the president lacks the authority to kill the agency entirely. T.®ump vowed during the election campaign to end what he called 'wokeness' & 'indoctrination' at the agency · in late night Truth Social rant, DoNuts T.®ump has accused Senate Democrats of deliberately delaying the confirmation of his nominees to top cabinet positions, angrily insisting, without evidence, that his political rivals are intentionally sabotaging his new administration & laughing about doing so behind the scenes · some of the 8,000 migrants arrested under the T.®ump administration's deportation crackdown have already been released back into the U.S., according to a report.

A poem from the Bureau of Meteorology

Significant rainfall may develop over 
the weekend about the Herbert & 
Lower Burdekin & the Cassowary Coast, 
with a monsoon trough in place, rich 

tropical moisture & onshore flow ex-
pected to strengthen. Enhanced rainfall 
due to widespread showers & isolated 
embedded thunderstorms is possible 

from tonight & throughout the week-
end, with extremely wet soils & river 
catchments leading to a higher than 
normal vulnerability to flash flooding.

Source:

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST

Severe Weather Warning
for HEAVY RAINFALL
6.05 p.m., 2/7/2025

recently, at Series Magritte

Le Regard Mental


Look at 
the build-
                 ing. Think. How do I
                 reach the roof? & which 
                                                         roof should
                                                         I aim for? & 
                  if I do 
                  reach a
               roof, will the entire 
               structure remain up-
               right or will it tumble 
                                                      over
                                                      once 
                                my weight threatens 
                                to send it off balance? 
                                Houses upon houses
                                in this one spot. How 
     is the rest of the street likely to look?

wednesday newstrip

T.®ump moves to stop Bush-era AIDS relief program that saved millions of lives · Britons are being put off buying Tesla cars because of Elongated Muskrat’s behavior, new research has revealed · social media influencer manufactured symptoms that caused one-year-old to need brain surgery, Brisbane court hears. The woman, 34, is accused of torturing an infant & posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following & solicit donations · Grace Tame, former Australian of the Year, makes statement at PM’s Australian of the Year function with 'Fuck Murdoch' T-shirt · T.®ump offers public servants seven months pay to resign · Caroline Kennedy warns senators that her cousin RFK Jr is a 'predator' · Google Maps will rename Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America in US · China's chatbot juggernaut DeepSeek could mark the end of US supremacy in AI.

wednesday newstrip

Taranaki Maunga, a mountain in New Zealand, will now have the rights of a human being under legislation to be passed by parliament · DoNuts T.®ump ends security deal for Anthony Fauci, says he'd feel no responsibility if harm befell him · Australian eSafety organization 'saddened' to learn UK teen who killed three girls at dance class searched for an Australian stabbing video it unsuccessfully fought Elongated Muskrat to remove from X · T.®ump describes North Korea leader Kim Jong Un as a "smart guy" in an interview on Fox News · Bonnie Blue sex event erupts as Mum pulls son out of queue: ‘put your clothes on’ · Potent Hogsbreath, the former Fox News personality & rightwing commentator who has said women should not serve in combat roles, recommended the military purge generals, & faced allegations of sexual assault & alcoholism, has been confirmed as secretary of defense in the Senate by a tie-breaking vote from Vice-insistent JD Vance · Sky News presenter calls for Opposition leader Putrid Dustbin to ‘Make Australia Great Again’ · woman in Sydney intensive care with suspected botulism linked to unregulated anti-wrinkle injection.

Australia Invasion Day

Always was, always will be

Aboriginal land

wednesday newstrip

The UN says Australia violated human rights law, but it’s unlikely to change the way refugees are treated · 2024 is declared Earth’s hottest on record · Meta ends diversity & inclusion programs, Suckerbug blasts Biden · Kiwi couple were duped after the Australian hotel booking they made through Agoda led them to a shopping center devoid of accomodation · drug-eating rats raid police evidence room in Houston filled with mushrooms, cocaine, & marijuana · DoNuts T.®ump has appointed Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight as special Hollywood ambassadors · the midair explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket took over social media with space watchers ridiculing the Elongated Muskrat-owned company’s rebranding of the incident as "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" · Jaffa Bejesus' Blue Origin successfully launches New Glenn rocket for the first time · China vowed on Tuesday to continue participating in two cornerstone multinational arrangements — the World Health Organisation & Paris climate accord — after newly sworn-in US President DoNuts T.®ump ordered withdrawals from them.

Otoliths at an exorbitant price

which I have nothing to do with.

https://bookswholesale.myshopify.com/products/otoliths-issue-sixty-six-part-two?srsltid=AfmBOoqZVIiL-X1HzEv7hZBbX07i7sq6VE-Nkc9QYoHhWcexpdPHruix

The T.®ump pits: newstrip 15 1 25

President-elect Elongated Muskrat seeks to install himself as global dictator – & 'so far it's working': expert · T.®ump says he's going to rename Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America': Mexico's president tells T.®ump it's the U.S. that should be renamed · DoNuts T.®ump was reportedly planning to dodge a televised town hall hosted by Fox News last year, until an insider at the network fed him questions ahead of time · Justin Trudeau shuts down T.®ump 's idea of Canada joining the U.S. · the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen on Tuesday launched a new project aimed at tracking the incoming T.®ump / Muskrat administration's approach to corporate crime, an effort the watchdog said is particularly urgent given that many of the companies currently under federal investigation have connections to the presidents-elect · DoNuts T.®ump jnr goes window-shopping for his dad in Greenland · Danish king changes coat of arms amid row with T.®ump over Greenland.

wednesday newstrip

President-elect Elongated Muskrat has changed his name to "Kekius Maximus" on X, the social media platform he owns, signaling support for a type of cryptocurrency · Kremlin supporters tout T.®ump takeover threats on Canada, Greenland, & the Panama Canal as aiding Putin’s expansionist goals · without providing evidence, DoNuts T.®ump linked the truck driven into a New Orleans New Year crowd fatal attack to illegal immigration. The FBI, however, said the suspect was an American citizen from Texas · Tesla Cybertruck fire outside T.®ump hotel in Las Vegas leaves one dead, others injured · FBI says it has made 'largest seizure of explosives' in its history after raid on US farm · two men who went hunting for Bigfoot found dead in forest.

Today the post-
woman brought
me some ephemera—

at least that's
what the customs
declaration on the

now empty box
said was sup-
posed to be in it.

wednesday newstrip

Man accused of attacking TV reporter & yelling ‘This is Trump’s America now’ · festival-goer overdoses on first day of Victorian pill-testing trial · T.®ump sides with Elongated Muskrat in MAGA immigration feud over H-1B visas. Muskrat had vowed to go to "war" on the issue & told one critic on X to go "fuck yourself in the face" · scientists are hoping to grow plants on the moon to feed astronauts · Professor Geoffrey Hinton, the 'Godfather of AI,' shortens odds new tech will wipe out human race · Putain apologizes for Azerbaijani plane crash, but won't say if it was shot down · Aussie construction giant collapses leaving 1,300 apartments worth an eye-watering $1.5billion unfinished · hui, protests, kotahitanga, and a new Kuini — a historic year for Māoridom.

from the archives

Diogenes reborn 

I did not always live in
a barrel, said the famous 
philosopher, adjusting his 
position just a little though 
enough to show his better 
side. I used to live in a 
trailer park. Then someone
told me about reality tv
& webcams & the internet
& how there was this
vast audience out there
fascinated by the trivial 
things of life. Thought
about it for a while; finally 
decided what the fuck! 
Needed a gimmick so 
came up with this. I reach
more people this way. & 
besides, with the artificial
lighting I’ve set up, I no 
longer have to worry 
about someone getting 
between me & the sun.

     11/16/2004

wednesday newstrip

T.®ump-backed lawmaker roasted after apparently mistaking Star Wars prop for captured drone · Madison school shooter pictured on her father’s Facebook page with shotgun at firing range just months before her deadly rampage · 'army of MAGA enforcers' prepares to 'strong-arm' Republicans who resist T.®ump’s agenda · taking acetaminophen, a.k.a. paracetamol, one of the most globally recognized, widely-used painkillers, for a prolonged period, increases the risk of serious complications in older folks, according to a new study · Elongated Muskrat asks ex-T.®ump aides to snitch on federal staff who should be 'blacklisted' · urgent warning issued as new Covid wave hits Western Australia · Chief of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, & Biological Defence forces killed in Moscow by bomb in electric scooter · Impossible Foods has issued a recall on approximately 552,643 pounds of its plant-based ground sausage products nationwide, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced. The recall involves concerns over potential contamination with metal fragments.

Clickbait / should be / — at least — bearlievable

 

wednesday newstrip

Hundreds more jobs are poised to go at Health New Zealand under proposals to be laid out to staff on Friday. The two units facing the latest cuts are the 1000-strong procurement supply unit & 500-strong planning, funding & outcomes unit · Meta outage for Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, & WhatsApp impacting users worldwide · 'USA is a threat': Canadians slam 'bully' T.®ump’s 'arrogant' mockery of 'Governor Trudeau' · a Netherlands-flagged cargo ship has been temporarily banned from entering Australian ports due to safety fears over its storage of ammonium nitrate · in recent months, Israel has bombed Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, central Beirut, & now Syria · energy experts have warned that the cost of building nuclear power plants in Australia could be more than double the figure the CSIRO has suggested, based on international experience · cow suffered for months after New Zealand woman tried DIY cancer removal.

yet another variant

 

wednesday newstrip

'It must stop now: ' Amnesty accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza · Bitcoin soars past $100K as T.®ump nominates pro-crypto Atkin as next SEC chair · South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol now 'a dead man walking' after martial law fiasco · over the next fortnight, two planetary-scale atmospheric waves will run into each other to the north of Australia, increasing the likelihood of heavy rain, thunderstorms, & tropical cyclone activity · Canadian man leaps onto polar bear to defend wife during attack · Australian Federal Government’s support for UN resolution calling for end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza to blame for Melbourne synagogue fire, says BeenJammin' NotJustAnyYahoo · too young for TikTok, old enough for jail — how a meaner Australia treats its kids · uterus transplant recipient's son was bitten by a funnel-web spider in their northern NSW home but survived after anti-venom treatment.

another variant

 

wednesday newstrip

Australian police officer convicted of manslaughter in Taser death of a 95-year-old woman with dementia & a walking frame · woman accidentally threw out hard drive containing ex's access to £618 million Bitcoin fortune · Sydney risks blackouts as heat soars & coal power plants falter · a convicted murderer who stabbed a mother-of-three to death over $50 has been granted release from a Victorian prison to undergo IVF treatment · cryptocurrency entrepreneur who bought banana art for $9.5 million eats the fruit publically in Hong Kong · Carolina Prime Pet, Inc, announced on Friday it is recalling 400 bags of 16-ounce Hollywood Feed Carolina Made Chicken Chips dog food that may contain salmonella · recall for cucumbers as dozens fall sick with salmonella in 26 states · JD Vance depicts himself as 'Trump’s wife' in Thanksgiving post.

A variant to Doom

 

Now out from Otoliths — "peut-être le Messie" by Márton Koppány

Now out from Otoliths.

Márton Koppány
"peut-être le Messie"
full color
56 pages
ISBN: 978-0-6455483-4-1
$US26.75
URL: https://www.lulu.com/shop/m%C3%A1rton-kopp%C3%A1ny/peut-%C3%AAtre-le-messie/paperback/product-rmvdnmm.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Lulu have a 30% Black Friday – Cyber Monday discount running until midnight on Monday. Discount code is HOLIDAY30.

*

Márton Koppány notes in his introduction: "Lately I've been playing with putting together pieces from distant periods. Some recurring topics are: question marks, clouds, ellipses. They overlap, but ellipses outnumber everything else. Any triad can be considered an ellipsis, and occasionally different (or seemingly different) numbers like 1, 2 and 4 serve the same idea even better, because they are elliptical only elliptically."

His ellipses take many forms — buttons, stones, letters, fish, et al — though I profess my favorite among his ellipses is actually invisible.

I am writing this in a room which used to be a verandah until, before our time here, a cyclone blew the wooden louvers & their surrounds in — out? — & that once open space has since been replaced by windows & fiberboard — three windows, three pieces of fiberboard. Perched at the intersection of the dado rail that runs along two of the walls of the room, there is a signed postcard-sized print of a singular piece of vispo, a lounge chair with only one leg but still remaining perfectly upright.

It is called Ellipsis No. 5, & is, coincidentally, the first piece in "peut-être le Messie." "Perhaps the Messiah" is a wide-ranging title, an ellipsis incorporating the millennia between the canonical gospel of St. Luke & the work of Isidore Isou, a Romanian-born French poet, founder of Lettrisme, author of L'Agrégation d'un nom et d'un messie.

Márton Koppány's book is also wide-ranging — perhaps not temporally, but rather attitudinally. I have previously remarked on the ". . . humor, minimalism, satire, genius, art, politics, its multi-faceted et ceteras" of Koppány's work. This selection of his ellipses evidences every one of those individual characteristics as well as the incredible gestalt when they are combined.

   —   Mark Young

wednesday newstrip

SpaceX's Starship will fly Lunar Outpost's rover to the moon · after DoNuts T.®ump’s Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors & influencers for key roles · clinical tests confirm DermaAngel as the top choice for pimple patches with Australia set to take on the T-Beauty trend · Fox hosts, cable news regulars, & entertainment pros: T.®ump is casting a made-for-TV Cabinet · more than 150 people have been arrested in Newcastle for allegedly defying directions by New South Wales Police during an anti-fossil fuel protest at the world's largest coal port · President-elect T.®ump is encouraging a Florida legislator who celebrated the killing of an American citizen by the Israeli military to run for Congress · Kiwi workers lose jobs as billion-dollar firm quietly shifts production to USA. Celebrity-backed supplement AG1 is marketed online as ‘made in New Zealand’, but a podcast investigation reveals it’s mostly made at a super-factory in Utah.

Recently sold at Christies for $US121 million

René Magritte's L’empire des lumières.

Noisy birds silence 
the trees. Someone 
is reading as they 
sleep. Against the blue 
the house has braced 
for night. Entrance is 
gained through a door 
in the roof. The pond 
is full of stars. A street- 
lamp echoes. The sky 
is empty. Only clouds.

Instead / of the / usual wednesday newstrip

a theory, that

DoNuts Tr(I)umphant has no intention of following through on his MAGA claim. Instead, it would appear as if, incensed by the fact that he didn't win re-election in 2020, he's embarked on an opposite campaign, to turn the country into a dystopian wilderness.

Take a look at his proposed cabinet picks. Start with the best-known names, Elongated Muskrat & RooFracK. The Muskrat will co-chair a new newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an entity DoNuts Tramp has indicated will operate outside the confines of government. His co-chair, Vivisection Ravasmarmy, has made it known that the dismantling of the Department of Education will be the initial priority. RooFracK has accepted an appointment to be secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, a perfect fit for one of the nation’s most prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, who has frequently spread false conspiracy theories about the safety & efficacy of vaccines.

Amongst other nominees: Tulsi Gabbard who "has a consistent habit of trusting 'foreign propaganda' over the very people she would lead as America's spymaster, making her wholly unqualified to be director of national intelligence" as Josh Rogin, foreign policy columnist for The Washington Post wrote; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who, purportedly, had sex with an underage girl, but was never charged, for attorney general; & the day after DoNuts Tromp selected Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, who does not have senior military or national security experience, to oversee the Pentagon & the U.S. military command, it was revealed that Hegseth was investigated for sexual assault in California in 2017.

The litany goes on. To quote ex-RNC chair Michael Steele: "DoNuts T.®ump is leveling up a menagerie of misfits, people that he knows are not competent, capable, or intelligent enough to do the jobs that he is giving them."

As someone recently noted, DoNuts T.®ump might finally achieve his lifelong dream of actually being the smartest person in the room.

God Bless Save America.

wednesday newstrip

Forty-three monkeys escape from research facility in South Carolina · "tar balls" found recently on Sydney beaches show traces of human faeces, methamphetamine, & PFAS: new analysis · tears, joy, & fear on the streets of DC after T.®amp's victory · lost emperor penguin lands in Australian town thousands of miles away from icy Antarctica home, the farthest north the bird has ever been found · Texas campus in uproar after protesters hold signs declaring ‘women are property’ on quad after T.®emp victory · experts urge people to stay indoors & hydrated as heatwave rolls across much of Australia · Zach Bryan’s ex, Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia, claims the singer offered her $18 million to stay silent on break-up · men charged in foiled Iranian plot to assassinate T.®imp.

Is the world about to plunge to its

?

Scheherazade at the speed of light

The two plays
one novel
&

five
chapters of
autobiography that I

wrote overnight wouldn't
fit in
this

space
so I'm
leaving it empty.

wednesday newstrip

Climate crisis: October saw record floods & rains across the globe · "She's a radical war hawk," said DoNits T.®amp of Liz Cheney. "Let's put her with a rifle standing there, with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face" · Ms Cheney's riposte: "This is how dictators destroy free nations," she wrote on X. "They threaten those who speak against them with death. We cannot entrust our country & our freedom to a petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant" · Queensland's Truth-Telling & Healing inquiry to pause its work plan as new right-wing State Premier David Crisafuilli stands by plan to stop process · on the eve of New Zealand’s Māori language celebration week, the country’s right-wing political leaders ordered public agencies to stop affirmative action policies for Māori people, who are disadvantaged on almost every metric · Cassius, the world's largest crocodile in captivity, dies in Far North Queensland.

wednesday newstrip

Western Australia man diagnosed with scurvy · at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers now inside Russia on the way to Ukraine, US says · DoNuts T.®ump prefers the "dictator approach" to running a country, & openly wished he had "Hitler's generals" when he was US president, his former White House chief of staff says · Türkiye's interior minister says five people have been killed & 22 others injured in what he describes as a "terrorist attack" in central Türkiye · Iran recruiting Israeli citizens to spy against their government, with social media the key to luring them in · gas industry in damage control as landmark study finds LNG 'worse than coal' for the climate · New Zealand still complicit in global shark fin trade.

wednesday newstrip

Republican nominee DoNuts T.®ump has requested a military plane to use during the final weeks of the campaign, citing concerns that Iran is trying to kill him · a 65-year-old female sergeant is under investigation by Victoria Police, following allegations she performed a Nazi salute in front of police recruits · British woman who killed her parents & lived with their bodies for four years is sentenced to life · Sydney’s Coogee beach closed after mysterious black 'tar balls' wash ashore · Northern Territory's new conservative government passes legislation to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10, in first week of parliament · Police say babies in Indonesia are being sold for as little as $AU1,450 · man falls into sewage tank in rural Ōtaki: 20 minutes later, Vivian St in Wellington flooded.

wednesday newstrip

Australian Opposition leader Putrid Dustbin attacks Prime Minister for including calls for ceasefire & de-escalation in motion reflecting on 7 October · Bunnings Australia shoppers go wild over $15 item for transforming dirty grout: 'Holy grail' · T.®ump spoke with Putain at least seven times since leaving White House, Bob Woodward reports · McDonald's Australia brings back beloved $2.50 menu item after three years · Evangelicals for Harris claim Franklin Graham is threatening to sue them · classic Aussie phrase — 'mate' — offending people in 2024 · Notjustanyahoo says Israel has killed late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's successors · T.®ump stuns social media as he dances along to YMCA at the end of speech about October 7 attacks.

A couple of new books

Mark Young
The Magritte Poems
Sandy Press
ISBN: 979-8-9898666-3-2
Amazon URL: https://a.co/d/65ZzzPr
648 pages
Paperback: $US24.99
Kindle: $US12.00

This is a book 21 years in the making. The first Series Magritte poem — three words, three lines — was composed on the front step of a motel room at Yarra Glen, about 50 kilometers from Melbourne. It appeared on the As/Is blog in — I think — November 2003, was followed by another twenty or so at the same blog, & then, in March 2004, the following post appeared at my then main blog, Pelican Dreaming:

I have decided to start a blog for my Series Magritte poems. The URL is https://seriesmagritte.blogspot.com.

As I write this, there are 547 poems up at Series Magritte. I have included all of them in this book. Interspersed among them are a number of other poems — the Florence Foucault centos, composed of extracts from Michel Foucault's book on Magritte, This Is Not a Pipe, & the 1860 The Ladies’ Book of Etiquette, by Florence Hartley, some of which actually appeared under the pseudonym of Florence Foucault, & also included are other of my poems that reference Magritte, including one that dates back to 1974. My admiration for René Magritte goes back a long way!

This is a collected, not a selected, so it may be uneven in quality. I would also have liked to include some of the Magritte paintings that inspired the poems, but that would undoubtedly have raised copyright issues as well as ending up as a seriously expensive tome. I have no intention of stopping writing Magritte poems, but I've decided to bring a dotted line to the venture so that I can see what it looks & feels like in book form. For those that don’t like the heft of such things, there is also a Kindle edition which Amazon warns may take a while to download.

I want to thank Javant Biarujia for his introduction, which is up at Sandy Press, & Sheila E. Murphy for her blurb which can be found on the Amazon page. Their words are more than I deserve.

I also want to thank Bill Allegrezza & Jukka-Pekka Kervinen for publishing earlier selections of my Magritte poems. I want to thank harry k stammer for publishing this collection & for doing the covers of some of the aforementioned smaller books. Lastly, I'd like to pay tribute to René Magritte for making the invisible visible.

There's also a recently published collection of my non-Magritte poems.

Alkaline Pageantry
Serious Publications
Lulu URL: https://www.lulu.com/shop/mark-young/alkaline-pageantry/paperback/product-rmenkpq.html?page=1&pageSize=4
76 pages
$US4.82

Alkaline Pageantry is the latest collection of poems by Mark Young that reflect — like much of his previous work — the insanity & inanity of the modern world. 'Give me a seagull with a / positronic brain & I'll / give you the next leader / of the modern world.' The poems come from the last six years, before, during, & after Covid; touch on the duplicity of world leaders; use search engines as a creative tool; deploy humor as a weapon to lay waste to civilization as it’s currently presented. 'Sorry, / nothing / matched your / search terms. Please / try / again with / a different fish.'

wednesday newstrip

DoNuts T.®ump encourages Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear sites · the NSW Education Standards Authority has announced that teaching of the Aboriginal past prior to European arrival will be excluded from the Year 7–10 syllabus as of 2027 · A-list star ‘horrified’ as alleged Diddy sex tape gets pushed to media outlets: ‘he feels like he was victimized years ago’ · Sydney woman allegedly killed & dismembered husband in ‘bizarre’ murder case, police say · a scorned Canadian wife has opened up about how she ate her dead husband’s ashes after finding out about his string of affairs · a year into the Israel-Gaza war, the Middle East is on the verge of chaos. How does it end?

wednesday newstrip

T.®ump praises Russia's military record in argument to stop funding Ukraine's fight · Murk Suckerbug says Meta AI has nearly 500 million users · fatal stabbing of Japanese schoolboy in China sparks debate on the country's patriotic education · Israeli politicians across spectrum praise assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah · Just Stop Oil protestors arrested after Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers splashed with soup · Australian Broadcasting Corporation crew becomes subject of Russian criminal investigation for crossing border from Ukraine · thousands attended Auckland's Eden Park in an attempt to reclaim the Guinness World Record for the largest haka. The attempt was successful, decisively beating the previous official record of 4028, inexplicably held by France since 2014.

wednesday newstrip

Tupperware files for bankruptcy as its colorful containers lose relevance · ex-porn star tells cops in 2018 he’s Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ alleged sex slave in resurfaced video · sugar prices surge as Brazil's drought & fires tighten global supply · man arrested in Italy nearly 50 years after two Melbourne women found dead in their home · Israel struck a building in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil & at least 30 other people, & wounding 66 · a US Secret Service probe found communication gaps & complacency before the July assassination attempt on DoNuts T.®ump · can mouth-taping lead to a better night's sleep? · former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed a 'monster,' victims' lawyers say · US public schools banned 10,000 books in most recent academic year.

wednesday newstrip

Leader of the Australian Federal Opposition, Putrid Dustbin, to take axe to green groups, turbocharge mining, if his coalition wins the next election · thousands of protesters disrupt Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition, an industry-only trade expo for the defense sector, in Melbourne's CBD · the arrest of Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church changes the political landscape of the Philippines · Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters says he has become father of baby girl born ‘outside my marriage’ · Australian breaker Raygun is currently ranked number one in the world · an estimated 67 million viewers across 17 networks watched the Trump-Harris debate according to Nielsen data · Bungie says Destiny 2's future lies in "unusual formats," like "roguelikes or survival shooters."

wednesday newstrip

During his visit to Indonesia, the Pope may have subtly hinted how sin can enter 'through the pocket' · investor who risked it all on Black Myth: Wukong now minting millions · Putain, with a wry smile, says Russia backs Kamala Harris in US election · Hollywood legend Michael Keaton is going back to using his real name, Michael Keaton Douglas · China to build first-ever thorium molten salt nuclear power station in Gobi Desert · Aotearoa New Zealand's next Māori monarch named as Kiingi Tuheitia is buried, placed beside generations of family · Japan may join US marines in northern Australia, strengthening military ties · thousands of Australians are being asked to pay membership fees to general practitioner (GP) clinics to access bulk-billed medical care.

wednesday newstrip

“The growth of Parkinson’s across the world has been called a pandemic — it’s the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease,” a visiting neurologist tells a crowd of potato farmers. “Many people are under the misunderstanding that it’s a genetic condition. But for the most part, it appears to be mostly environmental.” · Australia's 3G network is shutting down · Surcharges — which cost Australians about $960 million a year, according to a March analysis of Reserve Bank of Australia data by the ABC — are becoming increasingly common across Australia. Some retailers add them to cover the cost of processing a transaction. Surcharges are banned in the United States, Canada, Europe, & Britain · neighbor of nudist resort couple arrested after duo's disappearance · The Pacific Islands Forum has removed references to Taiwan from a communiqué issued on Friday after the region’s annual leaders meeting, after complaints by China’s envoy · Army confirms T.®ump staff 'pushed' Arlington cemetery worker · New Zealand's Māori King Tuheitia dies at 69 after heart surgery.

An introduction; though when finished will be an afterword.

During my trawling through past posts & pages for 100 Titles From Tom Beckett, I rediscovered a January 2013 entry on Tom’s l’amour fou blog. He posted:

Anyway, in a section of Appearances that I'm working on now I list titles of imaginary songs that appear on an imaginary jukebox in an imaginary bar called the Cave, a very special club house for the legendary performance art group Vaudeville without Organs.

A jukebox is a treasure trove of information about the sort of establishment it exists within. Herewith a list, alphabetically sorted, of a few of the song titles in the Cave’s jukebox,

followed by a list of a list of sixteen titles, & a closing message:

Mark, you're welcome to any of these titles if you're looking for some.

I can’t claim not to have seen this post since, in the comments box, is the following:

(from) mark young January 2, 2013 at 2:52 AM
You been a peepin at my wurlitzer again!

Jukeboxes are a shared pleasure. On my side, I’ve lost track of how many times — posts & poems — I’ve referred to those songs that rise unbidden to the surface of what I call my juxebox of the mind. In what is admittedly a very belated response, I’ve begun pushing the buttons on this refound Wurlitzer to see what wonders we can wring from it.

Starting tomorrow, the first poem in the series. The remainder will follow at irregular intervals.

wednesday newstrip

Dying Light: The Beast has way more guns than we expected · Olympic breakdancing controversy ignores sport's cultural roots · ISIL claims responsibility for stabbing attack in Germany’s Solingen · Transgender woman's exclusion from female-only app was unlawful, Australian Federal judge finds · Lily Allen branded an 'awful person' by fans after returning rescue dog · NASA unveils plan to return stranded Boeing Starliner crew to Earth · almost 70,000 Japanese people will die alone this year & with the populaiton rapidly aging it could become much worse · Jackson Hole gathering reveals fresh concern for central bankers · first prisoner swap since Ukraine incursion into Russia sees 115 prisoners released on each side.

wednesday newstrip

A charity in New Zealand has mistakenly distributed pineapple sweets laced with a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine · Israeli leaders condemn settler attacks in West Bank in rare rebuke of violence · Google just released the newest version of its AI image generator · Tasmanian paramedic sacked after callout to woman with ping pong ball stuck in body · Chinese experts have called on Beijing to begin preparations to take over Taiwan "as soon as possible" in the face of a potential DoNuts T.®ump presidency · first case of polio confirmed in a 10-month-old child in Gaza, Palestinian health officials say · brawl erupts in Turkish parliament during debate — leaves at least two lawmakers injured · woman posed as three different people in brazen plot to extort millions from Elvis Presley's family & auction off Graceland.

geographies : Manangatang

She left the train at a station whose name now escapes her ;

wednesday newstrip

Israel's far-right finance minister suggests that the starvation of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians "might be just & moral" · New Zealand unlikely to have megaquake, but dangers exist — seismologist · around 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike on school in Gaza, local authorities say · DoNuts T.®ump's campaign says some of its internal communications were hacked, blaming the Iranian government without providing direct evidence · pro-Israeli lobby group United Democracy Project spent more than $14 million on TV advertising targeting the primary of one Democrat Israel critic in Congress & $8 million on another Congress member's primary & succeeded in having them replaced as candidates in the next election · Winda Woppa locals stunned by 'devastating' coastal erosion at Jimmy's Beach.

The Camembert of Time (an early draft from 20 years ago)

To demonstrate the persistence of memory Dali took an ice cube out of the freezer & closed his fingers over it. When he opened them there was a small pool of water in his palm. He said: you remember the piece of ice. I feel its retained coldness & recall some frames from a movie I made with Buñuel. A man’s hand. A hole in it. Ants.

Time is plastic, just like these watches. Why we remember some things & not others is because they come closer to us. The cliffs of Catalonia are static but the ants will eat away at them & eventually they’ll decay. I lie here, unable to remember what I looked like. The painting is about the impermanence of memory, & yet most people who’ve seen it always seem to remember what it looked like.

wednesday newstrip

Iran vows 'severe' revenge after announcing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by short-range projectile · Windows 11 24H2 WDDM 3.2 ships with big upgrades for GPU, NPU as Microsoft bets on Copilot · US deploying F-22s to Middle East as Iran seeks revenge on Israel · T.®ump pulls out of debate with K.Harrismatic, wants them to face off on Fox News instead · most chatbots inherently 'left-leaning,' but have capacity to 'learn' bias, study finds · beyond the elation, Putain's prisoner swap has ominous implications · AI is already straining electricity systems – & we’re just at the beginning.