"No more presidents and all the wars will end." --White Lion

2007

A New Year
Starts with new words
And us.

A thought,
A prayer,
A good deed. (Unseen.)
Well wish.
Compassion.
Poetry.

The living disease
(stone sour callous)
will
Never
Take
Our gift

Or our
Hearts.

More food for thought from Godin: The You Tube President.

"...Much less caring
For others haunts us
No one can make another
Promise to us.

You find it strange how
The darkness calms us
Alone at home and hopeless.

Drown in the life
We've left behind us." --Mushroomhead

"You don't want my love, no no, you wanna sati-satisfaction." --Guns 'N Roses

GNR's acoustic version of You're Crazy far out rocks the electric one. Acoustic metal...whodda thunk it?

Currently enjoying John Wagner's graphic novel A History of Violence:



I saw the movie several months ago. The amazing cheerleader sequence is still available at historyofviolence.com. The story is the ultimate in machismo testosterone redemption fantasy. Unless there's something I'm missing. A good discussion can be found here.

Though I joke about drinking beer a lot, I really don't. I've always feared becoming an alcoholic. I noticed as I did indulge last night, drinking to excess eradicates the symptoms of my anxiety disorder including the physical pain. Maybe that explains why I'm related to so many lushes.

Had another thought about Calliope Nerve Media last night. What if I could get some books together and offer them via LuLu including books by other authors and a Calliope compilation?

Calliope Nerve Media...

Has a nice ring to it. I like it.

How great it would be to run a publishing company. I could publish chaps, books, comics, martial arts books, websites...the possiblilties are endless. Now, how do I do it?

I keep having these dreams that I should be teaching martial arts, getting my education done, and working for myself.

Dreams give us hope but why do they never tell us how?

"Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nit wit. You can't fire me I quit, since I don't fit in" --Hermy the Elf (Rudolph)

Got off at ten a.m. this morning which didn't make for much of a X-mas Eve but sometimes you take what you can get. Got five hours of sleep and then went to the mother-in-law's. Came back, got the kids in bed, and watched a couple of shows on DVR while I worked out.

I'm even a little sore from the exercise, which is a good thing. Body and mind always feel better afterwards.

Had a dream last night that I was a bartender by night and martial arts teacher by "day". Now that might not be a bad idea. :)

As I'm compiling ideas for books, I'm thinking I'd love to write about mixed martial arts too. Or even create a website devoted to it. Just thinking out loud there, but you never know.

Tomorrow my Mom and my father-in-law will come over and we'll watch the kids open their stuff, Kalisa will make breakfast, and then later it's back over to my mother-in-law's for more presents, etc and in my case ...beer. :) Tuesday, my family comes over for pizza and presents and in my case ...more beer. There's a trend here, don't you think. :)

The new year is fast upon us and I want it to be filled with goodness and hope which are still out there. In my case, I only need look at the kids to see both.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

"I can't give everything this world will expect from me." -- Soil

"Life is too long for me." --Awakening

Sad news as I check my email box before bed this morning. Home town liberal radio host Joe Finan has passed away. He will be sorely missed. I may not have always agreed with him but I sure appreciated his insight, style, and talent. His show definitely helped me change my mind on more than a few topics over the years.

It's been another one of those weeks as life just dredges on. Not looking forward to anything lately. But I didn't log in here to whine, only to say, "I can't give everything this world will expect from me."

But who the heck am I talking too?

Other than myself.

"...ever been kidnapped
by a poet
if i were a poet
i'd kidnap you
put you in my phrases and meter..."

--Yolande Cornelia

Had a good couple of days. The weather has been beautiful, it's not often we get fifty degree highs in December. On Monday, I walked out the back door and went where my feet took me. I walked to the bank, McDonald's, the barber, and the post office. And yes, I stopped and smelled the roses. Well not roses but I did take a few minutes to take in my surroundings and breathe the fresh air.

Mailed out issue six of Calliope Nerve and got enough material in to finish issue seven. (Need to print more copies of six, I ran out of my initial print run which is a good thing!) Even Scott sent me a nice little gem for issue seven. Also hammered out four pages for my next White Rabbit Fall! per-zine.

Yesterday enjoyed some comics, bought the kids some Pumpkin ice cream (man I love that stuff), and took my wife out to lunch. Retirement would suit me just fine. I love my time away from work.

And this morning I came across the words at the top of this post during my daily internet trawl. Calliope, she whispers in my ear that she needs to live again. The muse is yours. The muse is mine. Time for poetry.

"...out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry." --W.B. Yeats

Calliope Nerve Part VI: Word Slinger featuring Billy Jno Hope author of The Thirty Third Witness is available now and free of charge.

The Threat

by the nano
genetics disintegrate
past twenty-five sunsets
twilight stumbles
out of obscurity
into dawn's
most contemptuous disregard
of mortality

--Billy Jno Hope

Other authors include Raymond Farr, J.D. Nelson, James Dilworth, and me, I'm Nobius Black.

Calliope Nerve features poetry, short lit, and odd bits in a wide range of styles. Back issues are available. To order this issue send your snail mail address to nobius at gmail dot com. Email for submission info. (We are always looking for talent.) Internet link trades, advertising, and print flyer trades available.

To support Calliope order you Amazon products via my web log: White Rabbit - *BLACK HOLE*.

Name your muse! Calliope Nerve.

"What defines a great antagonist? A great antagonist is an individual who fans despise enough to pay good money to come and see get their ass kicked in person." --J.R.

Stab Drama

My knife feelings sharp.
--cut inside every time--

but lack Ginsu to
Stab Drama
Spear Truth
Remove obstacles
(pray for my runaway mind)

Or slice watermelon
with ease....

"If you love me accept my bones." --Melissa Lebruin


Black Hole Alice

Who feeds our Hive?

Black Hole Alice
Never made it
Falling in.

Automatic thrill
Warhol Girl
Neon soup can soul.

shallow...
shallow...
shallow...

I turned her
Into Poetry.
It was much better
Than watching her

--die.--

"And this bequest of wings was but a book." --Emily Dickinson

"The way I learned to love things was to crush them." --James Hetfield

Untitled

The last piece
Best cut
Of Heart remaining

Is Yours.

I
point
my
Angel

and Fire.

"Waiter! Excuse me but there's a poet in my soup." --Nobius Black

"And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?" --Lewis Carroll

Word Flesh

From the dust
The mind
And the word

Form.

Truly

New Ways to Speak

A Performance for
God.

"...out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry." --W.B. Yeats

Finished reading issue 159 of the APA last night. Strong entries by all and Scott even franked issue one of his Works and Plays. Nice.

It's chilly outside, at about seventeen and wind chill in areas around here will drop to fifteen below over the next couple of days as the first strong Alberta Clipper of the season trods through. I'll take advantage of the cold to do some writing.

Jerome is having shoulder problems again so it was just Mike, Steve, and I at class last night. Hopefully we can score a few more students soon. I think it's the weather, because a few of my joints are sore from class last night.

Comic fans check out: Pull Box Online. It's I-Tunes for comic lovers.

Got an email from a logistics and freight brokering company they want to set up an interview. As soon as my wife gets back, I'll set up the appointment, need to see what she has planned for tomorrow.

The washer took a tank so we're running over to family's house or the laundromat to wash clothes. What a pain. But Christmas is nearly done (payment wise) so I can get a new washer soon, and then get a new starter and exhaust into the station wagon. It's always something, but like I said yesterday, "it's how I know I'm alive."

Other than that, I'm making enchiladas tonight for dinner (one of my specialties). But Marinda is sick so can't invite over any company to enjoy.

The list for my wife this year (less the gymnastics mats we can't afford):

Mushroomhead CD: Saviour Sorrow

Slaves on Dope CD: Metafour

Manmade God CD : Manmade God (contains the track "Safe Passage")

Tori Amos CD: Strange Little Girls (contains the Slayer cover song "Reign in Blood".)

Tori Amos CD: The Librarian-- the best of Tori Amos

Megadeth CD: Back to the Start--Greatest Hits

Lacuna Coil CD that contains the track "Heaven's a Lie" --they only have two albums but can't find the name

The Melvin's CD: Houdini or Houdini Live (Same album one is live and one is not)

The Melvin's CD: Hostile Ambient Takeover

Slayer CD: Christ Illusion

Shadow of the Giant : book by Orson Scott Card

Xenocide/Children of the Mind: both books by Orson Scott Card (last two in the Ender's Game series)

Halford CD: Live Insurrection

Metallica CD: S and M

Angels and Visitations book by Neil Gaiman

Burning Chrome book by William Gibson

Disturbed CD: Music as a Weapon

Chevelle CD: Wonder What's Next

Pro-Pain CD: Prophets of Doom

Any S.O.D. CD but preferably the one with Hatetank.

Anthrax CD: Sound of White Noise

Legends in Exile trade paperback (graphic novel) by Bill Willingham

Strapping Young Lad CD: The New Black

In Flames CD: Clayman