nps 2005 roomie, ed garcia, has updated his website. aight! he also updated some pics including this one from chicago nationals.

a bit historic as this is the first time i kidnapped lovella (the headlocking would begin just a few moths later)

also in the pic is jerome from tejas, a pinoy brother that was hella cool at nats but then disappeared from the radar.

maria, ed, rich & seve (on lookout patrol) are also in the house which was a chi town greasy spoon servin some mad cheap fries & assorted grease items. as this was the time before gout was a major issue, all i could say was “pass the chili dog with celery salt, pickle & onions!”

on the outside i was having a ball but mah soul was all kinds of fucked up which is the only explanation i have for the Sean Penn like scowl on my face.

today has me up in the hudson valley enjoying my present company and some fine fine brasillian cuisine which included grilled chicken, sweet corn, lettuce, eggs, bacon & cheese on one mutha of a sandwich!

love ya like dano loves a wrestling match

* sleep is overrated. in “la bamba” ritchie valens meets el curandero and is told that the waking world is a hoax and the only things that count are the dreams that speak to us in the night. werd

* check out jeremiah alexis’s short synonymUS film (Aurally Spoken) over at Current TV. you have to log on to view it but its well worth the 30 seconds. if ya like it, give it the greenlight. film available here

* as the glow of ‘burque fades i am seriously questioning my continued involvement in slam. the fact that i cant stand to be called a slam poet hasnt changed a bit despite actually hearing some good to great poems at nats and some group pieces that were more than just extended comedic skits. soon the individual competition at NPS will be phased out and we can all look forward to more group pieces which (in this observers opinion) means we can also look forward to less poetry. aint nothing wrong with group pieces but i like em much better when they are on a real stage and called theatre versus being put on a slam stage and called high art.

* magdalena gomez has an interview over at the ny latino journal

RKM: Did you grow up speaking both, Spanish and English?

MG: Yes. I grew up having an opinion. But I grew up voiceless. Not only voiceless but punished for having a voice, having an opinion. I was not allowed to choose my own clothes. I was not allowed to be with friends. I was held hostage. I had no social life. I was the school geek and I had to learn to physically defend myself because of that. I knew the importance of the voice, that’s where the body comes in, because my interior world was the only place where I could live. So I made sure that I stayed sane. My mother was a physical abuser, my father was a verbal abuser and he was withholding of love. So I needed to create a place where I felt loved, where I felt important, where I wasn’t alone anymore.

the rest of the interview can be found here

* crazy WDRE flashback: The The’s “Dusk” with personal faves Love Is Stronger Than Death, Dogs of Lust & Slow Emotion Replay

You’ve gotta work out your own salvation.
With no explanation to this Earth we fall
On hands & knees we crawl
And we look up to the stars
And we reach out & pray
To a deaf, dumb & blind God who never explains.

* current wish list of books:

Tony Hoagland’s Donkey Gospel
Li-Young Lee’s The City in Which I Love You
Cornelius Eady’s Victims of the Latest Dance Craze
Sharon Olds’ The Dead and the Living
Carolyn Forché’s The Country Between Us
&
Ai’s Killing Floor

* welcome grisel acosta to blog land and check her out over at writetoright.blogspot.com

love ya like the dude loves bowling

much to profe’s chagrin, i ham it up big time for the camera and
* strike the hulk hogan ring pose *

and dats a shoot, brudher!

in the role of king leonidas and his soldiers… ob
in the role of the persian army… the mountain of work before me
and my desk is doubling as the pass at thermopylae

still, i am a very very fated man living in dual time zones
a natural insmoniac’s (semi)ideal existence

if you have ever thought well of me, come by the nuyo tonight for synonymUS
if you dont like me, come through and boo me at the nuyo tonight
talk about a win-win situation!

song in my head: Simply Red’s “Stars”

I wanna fall from the stars
Straight into your arms
I, I feel you
I hope you comprehend