Below are the 11 most recent journal entries recorded in nidjhat's LiveJournal:

Saturday, January 31st, 2009
2:19 am	Ode on a 1935 James Whale Film [OK, just had to do this since hallawayjoe posted the source material. This may well be my best poem anyway, at least, according to doctorgogol.]Thou still unravished Bride of FrankensteinThou monster child of science and our timeCadaverous Eve who hates her patchwork AdamMade by mad, intelligent design.What legends haunt the edges of your storyOf deities or mortals, or of both?Your fathers toast a world of gods and monstersYou'll populate after you pledge your troth.Praetorius, wanting everlasting glory,Unveils homunculi in canisters.Young Henry Frankenstein, so easily ledHas caught hubris from his far-reaching mentor,Forsakes his bride to resurrect the dead(Praetorius so obviously resents her).She and the dead girl with electric hairScream through the film. The male monster speaks.In grunted words, he asks for SacramentsOf bread and wine. It's that and friends he seeks.But wanders the countryside giving folks a scareAnd killing them by tragic accident.Ah, happy, happy plans that go astray!We reach for what we want and grasp disaster,Like Icarus who fell into the sea.The misunderstood monster and his masterLay waste to truth and beauty, they are damned.The monster does not want to stay alive."We belong dead," he says, and he will win.It's Germany in 1935.The monster takes a torch in his dead handAnd the great fire of history begins. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
10:31 pm	What's the recipe for that evil fasting concoction? Hey, anyone out there remember that maple syrup and cayenne pepper mix that's supposed to detoxify you of everything bad you've ingested in your whole life? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
8:12 pm	Independence Day Resolutions Why limit resolutions to the New Year? Why not make them whenever you feel galvanized into changing your life? Anyway, I've made some, mostly revolving around the themes of being good rather than feeling good. Long-term contentment and mental health versus momentary pleasure. Not to say that I didn't have fun this weekend. First Friday was small, due to the heat, but I still managed to run into about 30 of my friends there. Some of the folks from the Katherine Gianaclis Park for the Arts were at SEAT for a pie-eating contest. (Sadly, the KGPA will be joining Cafs Copioh, Enigma and Roma on the list of "cool places that closed" at the end of the summer). In keeping with the theme of cool artistic things coming to an end, doctorgogol had his last stint as "poet for hire" and is writing me a sestina. karinotvery will be receiving one also. Sunday afternoon, cateland threw a small yet splendid poolside bash at the White House. There were interesting conversations and good things to eat. Later that day, doctorgogol commenced the first chapter of his month-long Leaving Las Vegas party. There was something in the sangria that made me feel like dancing. man_or_manque showed me how to fake not having two left feet when it comes to actually dancing with someone, rather than just twitching and writhing by myself on the dance floor. (I did a bit of that as well). I decided that my "six weeks or more in a foreign country" experience will be backpacking through Europe nine months to a year from now. Why limit myself to one country when there's an entire continent of them to explore? Why not just make this entire post full of rhetorical questions? (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
4:46 pm	What I am thinking about at this exact moment How fun doctorgogol's party is...wish you were here, if you aren't. (Comment on this)
Monday, January 26th, 2009
2:57 pm	Googlism: I am... meredith is also developing a very weird sense of humormeredith is both ordinary and legendarymeredith is unable to curb a natural impulse to investigatemeredith is afraid that she's finally having that corporate nervous breakdownmeredith is not full blood sidhemeredith is to use small tackle and fish slowlymeredith is beautifulmeredith is on a missionmeredith is lead scientist of the ars cotton germplasm/genetics research team at the jamie whitten delta states research center in stonevillemeredith is a pianist and also likes actingmeredith is always at the centre of any local issuemeredith is just one of my favorite actresses cuz i think she is really believable and i like watching her in moviesmeredith is showing who is in chargemeredith is not going to help ivan if it offends mr blakemeredith is by no means limited to one messagemeredith is not alonemeredith is extensively quotedmeredith is a novelist whom many readers have discovered with excitementmeredith is onmeredith is a shoomeredith is in da housemeredith is the 1 (Comment on this)
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
8:58 am	Fun, yet cynical Had a fun day yesterday. Took a thrilling but too-brief ride on the back of skidspoppe's motorcycle to see Ronn Lucas, who is hilarious and does a "kid-friendly adult humor show" at 3pm every day except Friday at the Rio. Then we hung out with him for a couple hours. I got to sleep early so I will be all set for a night of revelry at First Friday. I just read Josh's column. I haven't seen my fellow Flint native Michael Moore's last few films, including Fahrenheit 9/11 (for which Ray Bradbury, in a spasm of ironic self-righteousness, is suing, claiming copyright infringement, but that's another story). I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, cateland's point is well-taken that our generation has never had the opportunity to really be proud to be part of the great cultural experiment that is America. I was jolted awake by the realization that such pride was once an authentic quality based on authentic things, not just a sort of nationalistic pep rally mentality as it seems to be today. That had never even occurred to me before. That *is* sad, isn't it?There's an anthropologist (I think Duchamel's his name) who pioneered the concept that part of everyone's personality is culturally constructed, and it seems that cynicism is built into me and other 20-and-30-somethings like an alloy. One of my first memories is of watching Nixon on TV with my parents and how the expressions on their faces were so bitter. I knew he was a bad man before I knew he was the president. And then the supposedly good man, Jimmy Carter, couldn't accomplish anything. And on and on. Can anyone blame us for having grown up clannish and suspicious?The danger and complexity of this world is burdensome and numbing. Good comedy is a good antidote, though. (Comment on this)
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
6:51 am	Dave Barry on The Da Vinci Code This is funny:http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/9024288.htm?1cI really *wanted* to like The Da Vinci Code, but maybe I've been reading about paganism, Gnosticism and conspiracy theories for too long. None of the "secrets" were really all that profound to me. And I found the writing style really clumsy. It had none of the wit of Robert Anton Wilson, for example. And it took itself way too seriously. And the characters were so stock and predictable.I know some highly intelligent people who really loved this book, and in fact was outnumbered by them at a party this past Sunday. "It's really true, you know," one of them said. "You can tell the person sitting next to Jesus in The Last Supper is a woman." Oh, really? Even with much of the paint faded and worn away in the original 506-year-old painting? It could be a woman, but then again, it could just be a guy with long hair. Like Jesus'.The people I was hanging out with all seemed to believe that the pre-Christian world was matriarchal and full of goddess-worshipers, but as nice an idea as that feminist Arcadia is, it simply isn't supported by archaeological research.Sure, there were female deities, but women did not occupy positions of power then, and there was no pan-European "witch cult" as that 1970s or 80s author (whose name I can't remember at the moment and am too lazy to look up) claimed. I just can't believe how seriously people are taking this book. I mean, come on. It's fiction! Has "reality TV" warped us so much that we can no longer distinguish the difference? It seems like most of the criticism of the book has come from conservative factions who are threatened by it, as though the author is trying to prove his claims are real, rather than fancifully derived from conspiracy theories. I think conspiracy theories are fun. I enjoy folklore. That's what they are. Some may be true, but most probably aren't. (One of my professors once told me, "just because it's folklore doesn't mean it's not true). My reaction to the information overload of all this stuff is just to stay skeptical and enjoy it. If it's well-written. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
3:17 am	Random thoughts Mathematically, the term "complexity" refers to the transition point between order and chaos where elements of both are experienced. I think that's a perfect metaphor for life...especially my own. The transitional stage.It sure fits better than the Newtonian model. Classical physics would have us put matter in a box until it reaches equilibrium. Complexity theory would have us think outside the box. Nothing in my life fits into a socially proscribed box right now. And if I tried to make it do so, I would fuck it up. I'd rather just surf the quantum foam. (Yes, it is an actual term for the frothy stuff at the primary level of matter and energy where order and chaos ceaselessly duel in a struggle that creates everything). I've caught the wave...the water's fine.... (Comment on this)
Saturday, January 17th, 2009
3:34 pm	Perseverating on perseverance I'm re-reading an unfinished novel I started writing in college. It's not bad for a kid, actually, and I'm a little bummed that I never finished it back then. I would finish it now, but everybody and their brother has a novel about slipping in between parallel worlds and meeting fairies...and I know damn well I can't top Phillip Pullman. Oh well. The juvenilia file grows and grows. I have much sorting out to do of many things--fiction, poetry, and other less tangible bits of baggage. All things I don't need and no one else needs to have inflicted on them.I am cautiously optimistic about the whole endeavor. I still believe in possibilities... even impossibilities. I'm not dead yet!So, today's theme is PERSEVERANCE. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."But..."If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."I've come to the conclusion that one has to strike a balance between "trying" and going with the flow. In life as well as writing. If you show up for the muse, or fate, or whatever you call the subconscious current that puts you in the zone, eventually it'll show up too. And it helps to show up in different places, at different times, wearing different hats, to circumvent that little insanity problem.Right now I'd like to show up for my muse at a seaside caf at twilight, wearing a cloche, but for now I'll have to settle for my desk, late afternoon, with a banana clip.I sure hope she'll show. (Comment on this)
Friday, January 16th, 2009
1:08 pm	The Midweek Cuckoos OK, whoever gets that geeky pun wins a prize. I don't know what yet. I thought it sounded better--and fit better--than the midweek blahs, because at the moment I am more jittery than laissez-faire because I've just had my fourth cup of coffee. Have been up late lately and it's finally catching up with me!I'm very excited. I finished the first draft of my poetry manuscript for my MFA program. I've given it to a few people for commentary. "Shockingly compressed," has been the word so far. For people familiar with my open mic stuff I guess one-and-two-liners are a bit disconcerting. Disconcerting can be a good thing, though. I hope in this case it was.And now, for a complete about-face, I will return to my first love...the novel. To gear up, I've started reading fiction again, beginning with Last Call by Tim Powers. I've been thinking about getting around to reading this book for years as it has been recommended to me by many people. I'm glad I'm doing it now that I'm in Vegas, since it's set here. Can't say much about it since I'm only on page 10. So far so good.It's kind of funny. I didn't realize how prolific a writer I've been until I started sorting through all my writing files. For the past three weeks, my living room floor (and I only have two rooms) has been covered with piles of semi-sorted writing. I've found some pretty interesting things I'd forgotten about, such as a 1996 attempt to write "libertarian porn" (which I destroyed, so don't even ask). I'm at the point in life where I'm not currently generating new ideas, but I'm revising old ones for a while, things in which my reach exceeded my grasp a few years ago. Yes, being in the MFA program did help me grow as a writer. (A word of caution to those who are in one or thinking about it: the biggest danger of a writing workshop isn't the ego-slaughtering that goes on in it, it's the subconscious' tendency to form a voice indistinguishable from that of one's classmates or teacher. I saw it happen a lot, and resisting that was very good for my work). Now all I have to do is pick something to work on and finish it. (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
8:21 am	New poetry Trickster Womans Iconography of Lies and ChicaneryScheherezade was the Arab who invented zero.Lucy Ricardo had nine red tails to match her red hair.There is a reason you never saw Cinderella and her fairy godmother in the same place at the same time.The moon can show no more than a slitand appear an entirely different body.There are more nerves than there are atoms in the universeunder the clitoral hoodwink.(When I showed this to a friend, he said, "clitorally hoodwinked? Is that like being cock-blocked?")Oh no. It is so much more than that. (Comment on this)