01 May 2003 - 4:59 p.m. Why the hell do I do this? Otherwise, I wouldn't speak at all. Why do I like hearing poetry? It reminds me how flat a TV screen really is. Why does poetry matter to me? It gives people an opportunity to be more than a disappointment. What do I expect from poems? From poets? I expect nothing. Who is my audience? Someone who likes abstract expressionist paintings, understands calculus and laughs at fart jokes. What do I love/hate most in a poem? In a poet? I love surprises. I hate cliches. What is my usual subject matter? Stuff that happens, viewed through a kaleidoscope or the rear-view mirror of a speeding get-away car. What words work best for me as my raw material – big ones, little ones, complex ones, rhyming ones? Descriptive and specific words. What does this poem tell me about myself? It tells me that I am much happier than I feel. What would someone think of me after hearing or reading this poem? I once heard that someone said of me, "he seems so calm and quiet, but he gets on stage and goes fuckin' crazy." What would my favorite poet think of this poem? I would love it. Where would I like to be with my poetry next year? In five years? I would like to win an individual championship at Nationals. Will I always be a poet? I will always be an artist. Which poem of mine is my favorite, and why? I have a poem which I call a manifesto. It has gained the title "Fuck it!" It is male, sarcastic, loud and perfect. Which poem would I like to burn and never have anybody see? I don't think I have one of those yet. Which poem would I like to write that I haven’t yet? (Writing suggestion: write it now.) Something which could compare favorably in some tiny way to Once in a Lifetime by The Talking Heads Which poem of mine changed me the most? A poem called Maximum Advertising Potential, Aaahh! It has helped me define what is important. (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 3:46 p.m. What's this? What's this? Tim Burton is producing a new stop-motion movie. This is good. (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 3:28 p.m. The sky is burning blue. Peacock-propane cerulean with stained-glass power. And I am covered in pollen, burning brown, tipped with green; creaking quietly in a soft, warm wind. My skin holds tiny charges, photosynthetic time-bombs shaking with anticipation, waiting. . . waitiing. . . for the rain to light the fuse. Give me a hot thunderstorm, and I will explode like a forest. (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 3:08 p.m. I feel so good today. It's such a subtle difference, but such an important one. No caffeine and a cup of St' John's Wort tea in the morning. I gotta get something to mix with the tea though, 'cause man, it ain't appetizing. You know how fresh-cut grass smells? Well, translate that into a flavor, and that's what the tea tastes like. Maybe I'll get some dried ginger or something. (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 2:44 p.m. I dreamt that I had a studio on the third floor of a triple decker house. The floor was separated into two studios, and each was served by a different staircase. I hadn't been there for a long time, and all my supplies and paintings were gathering dust or wrapped in kraft paper. There was a computer that I had left on. It had been running for months doing nothig. When I turned the monitor on there were error messages on the screen. It looked like the Mac I have set up in my basement as a server, but it had vents and air-scoops all over it. The studio was big with a smooth, gray floor like a concrete skim-coat. The walls were white. I looked around at all the stuff piled up in there and left. I remember dreams much more often when I don't have caffeine. (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 12:11 p.m. Apple just released the most successful online music store of all time. There were 275,000 songs bought on the first eighteen hours at $.99 apiece. Add to this the fact that the service is only available to Mac users running Mac OS X in the United States, and you see just how big this is. How did Wall Street react? Their stock price is down $.18. ????? (OK, I looked a little closer and over all the stock is up over $1 since the announcement, so I take it back.) (0) Comments?

01 May 2003 - 10:42 a.m. I think I may have listened to too much Monty Python. I've heard it all too many times, and find myself skipping to the few sketches I haven't heard quite as often. What a sad day for a nerd. (0) Comments?