new billy collins

Ballistics

When I came across the high-speed photograph
of a bullet that had just pierced a book-
the pages exploding with the velocity-

I forgot all about the marvels of photography
and began to wonder which book
the photographer had selected for the shot.

Many novels spring to mind
including those of Raymond Chandler
where an extra bullet would hardly be noticed.

Nonfiction offered too many choices-
a history of Scottish lighthouses,
a biograhy of Joan of Arc and so forth.

Or it could be an anthology of medieval literature,
the bullet having just beheaded Sir Gawain
and scattered the band of assorted pilgrims.

but later, as I was drifting off to sleep,
I realized that the executed book
was a recent collection of poems written
by someone of whom I was not fond
and that the bullet must have passed through
his writing with little resistance

at twenty-eight hundred feet per second,
through the poems about his childhood
and the ones about the dreary state of the world,

and then through the author’s photograph,
through the beard, the round glasses,
and that special poet’s hat he loves to wear.

"It's nothing," returned Mrs Chick. "It's merely change of weather. We must expect change."

A little Charles Dickens to welcome the cold weather. Winter is here to stay, I'm afraid.

A few things:

1. I really like the last story on this episode of 'This American Life.' It's Anne Lamott reading her story, 'Knocking on Heaven's Door.' Let it buffer for a little while and then start listening at 38:55. It'll make you laugh and it's a really touching story. I had forgotten how much I like her until I heard this.

2. I just started "The Hour I First Believed" by Wally Lamb. It's his first book in 10 years and I've been looking forward to it for a while. And it's really good. Broken people living broken lives, which is classic Wally Lamb. Not feel good books, but you get sucked in quickly.

3. This is my new hat. Maria says I look like all the high schoolers in Vancouver...but I don't care. I bought it at this little boutique a few blocks from my apartment on Sunday afternoon (right after Kate and I had brunch at 'The Golden Nugget Pancake House', which is just as classy as it sounds). I like it. And it's really warm. And I just kind of want to be a hippie.
4. My hair is disgusting and needs to be cut and colored yesterday. Hence the hat. I'll call tomorrow and make an appointment for next week when I'm in GR for Thanksgiving. If you're going to be there, we should hang out. :)

5. I want a tattoo. I don't know what or where.

transition towns

I've heard about the idea of Transition Towns a few times in the past couple months. And the more I hear about them, the more I like them and want to live in one.

The Transition concept is a relatively recent movement, but it's not really a new idea at all--it's all about getting back to the basics. Started in Totnes, England in 2005, Transition Towns is a project that seeks to equip communities with the tools and systems necessary to deal with the rising problems of climate change and energy consumption. The main goal is to work toward energy independence.

What I love about Transition Towns is how they are working to reach their goal. The communities are encouraged to work toward sustainable living by reducing energy usage and increasing their self-reliance. So they have community gardens to grow fruits and vegetables, businesses swap their unneeded items/waste, community members are encouraged to buy their dairy and meat from local farmers.

In Totnes, they've gone so far as to make their own local currency. While residents are still able to use the normal British pound, the Totnes pound is redeemable in most of the locally run shops. The local store owners then turn around and use what they receive to do their own shopping within the town. It keeps the money within the town, within their own economic community, which totally increases their self-reliance. If the residents are able to reach a point where everything they need for their daily lives can be bought at a store within walking/biking distance of their home with a local currency that has no value outside the city limits, the community can become self-sufficient on many levels.

And while it gets back to the basics, it's not like these people are reverting and living in some kind of nonmodernized society. They are simply being more intentional about how and where they are spending their time and money.

vote

i just did. absentee style.

pure michigan.

These ads are all.over.the.place in Chicago. On TV, on the radio, on billboards and the sides of buses. I know they are cheesy and over-the-top and a little ridiculous, but I totally love them.

Giant Pool of Money

In case you're a little confused about the economic 'crisis' that's going on right now and want some clarification as to how the U.S. got itself into this mess, listen to this. It'll take you an hour. But it's fascinating and informative and entertaining. I recommend it.