Christmas shopping

Yay! The husband and I got it all done this morning — we were pretty desperate and everything looked good. At least, we insisted they were good. Like whosis when he/she created the world.

30:30 update:

Still there... though a lot of times I've considered dropping out and taking a nice looooooooong holiday. But, as the husband would say, I am perennially on vacation.

Poems list to date (round VI) —

11. Envy Made Me Shave Body Parts
12. Portrait of Anselma and Marianne as Minor Saints
13. Please Meet My Navel
14. Aftermath [sonnenizio on a line from Ros Barber]
15. Please Don't Put Dinosaurs in My Poem
16. My SimCity Llama Has a Cold
17. Taste
18. Plate VI: Black Ink on White
     (re-titled: The Bomb Explodes and the Faces of People
     I Know Are Blown Apart)
19. Breakage [sonnenizio on a line from Jean Cassou]
20. The Body at Rest

First night photo:

We attended the 20th wedding anniversary of some friends near Venice. This is a nightview of the Ponte della Libertà (Bridge of Liberty) taken with an exposure time of 6 seconds.

21 Stars, Flutter, and a Dead Horse

Blah. I'm running shamelessly late — with e-mail and also blog-wise... haven't yet done my blog-rounds yet. Eek. Suffering some really bad muse days — which means I waste more than half the day bursting my poor brain, pustule-like, for ink.

The amount of mail has been rather —uh— overwhelming, too.

Recent publication:

• The December 2006 issue of Nthposition is now online with poems by Elizabeth Kirschner, Tim Liardet, Dave Lordan, Len Sousa, Rufo Quintavalle, Ryk Mcintyre, Wayne Smith, Marlene Rosen and Carol Jenkins. The weed has four poems here —

On tiles
All perfectly abandoned
About your parrot
A driving student restarts the car

So-called weed is particularly happy that the parrot it stole has found a home. A weed, as everyone knows, can love a parrot like its first drink of the day.

Recent rejection/acceptances:

• Since people might be interested in the response time, Poetry London sent a form letter apology. This is a market that's like way over my drinking experience and grocery list — but it never hurts to try.

      Postmarked date: 4 August 2006
      Date received: 16 December 2006

• Tickled pinkish that 21 Stars Review wants my Dear Dog/God— poem in their 4th issue. Just gotta love this 'zine! Delicious mix of the bizarre, quirky, raving mad and serious. I'm blissful that my letter has found its place with them.

      Submission date: 20 November 2006
      Reply date: 14 December 2006

• Flutter accepted three poems for the January 2007 issue: Two Days After Epiphany, Answers to questions and In The Underground. Neat 'zine this — lovely poetry and an announcements page where you can send news of your latest book/chapbook.

      Submission date: 5 December 2006
      Reply date: 14 December 2006

• A bit of mixed news here. Good news is that Dead Horse Review (don't you just *love* that name?) wants my poem, A Driving Student Reconstructs the Three-Point Turn for their third issue. Bad news is that it will be their last. Boooohooo! I just enjoy this 'zine like a swimming pool and am rather sad it's going on hiatus. Here's to hoping it won't be for a long time.

      Submission date: 25 October 2006
      Reply date: 17 December 2006

Based on their website, they seem to be still accepting work. I think it was this submission note that I found so irresistible:

Kindly title your email "submission" and the response e-mail will most probably be titled "dominance."

Magma, Eclectica, BluePrintReview, Feathertale et al.

Yikes. Things seem to be moving fast... the winter issues of the following 'zines have gone online:

• Feathertale updated its poetry section yesterday which includes my Supermarket Tabloid Sestina Challenge poem, Headlines Sestina.

• BluePrintReview has published my poem, Probe in their 9th issue — I owe the line breaks to the wonderful editor, Doro.

      Submission date: 28 November 2006
      Reply date: 4 December 2006

• My review of Valerie Fox's book, The Rorschach Factory (Straw Gate Books, 2006) is now up in the Winter 2006-07 issue of Per Contra.

Recent acceptances:

• I'm delighted to share that Magma will be publishing my two poems: Tusk and A Day, Perhaps, Like No Other in their 37th issue, due out in March 2007.

It's my third attempt with this neat UK-based print journal, so I was quite thrilled to have finally gotten a thumbs up for a change. Their next issue theme is Isolation — deadline sometime around February. Do check them out!

      Submission date: 3 September 2006
      Reply date: 10 December 2006

• I'll be appearing for the —erm— 10th time in Eclectica (Jan-Feb 2007). The poetry editor has accepted two poems: Caregiver and Sonnenizio on a Line from Wendy Cope (yes, *that* one about the abusive myna bird called Sharon who drank like a sponge).

      Submission date: 26 November 2006
      Reply date: 12 December 2006

Morning light:

Woke up early this morning to take some pictures in the park some blocks down the road. Our teacher said between 8 - 10 am are the best possible hours for taking good shots. Then it's all downhill from then on. Like with my driving, I still have no idea what the hell I'm doing and what all those little numbers on my camera are for.

Six Little Things and Envoi

Just wanted to send a to everyone who sent their condolences. Have pulled myself together and resumed Count Olaf's villainous laugh for personal purposes.

Recent acceptances:

• The Six Little Things editor has accepted my poem, tiny, tiny foreign objects for the —ta-dah!— tiny tiny objects issue due online on 21 December. Really thrilled by this because I've never considered myself a prose poem writer and it's a gorgeous 'zine — I went through the archives like forest fire.

      Submission date: 9 November 2006
      Reply date: 5 December 2006

• Just discovered the other day that Envoi has changed hands and is now under Cinnamon Press. This is a great UK-based print journal and what's even greater is that they are now accepting e-mail submissions! That alone made me sip some wine before dinner. Hic.

The editor, Jan Fortune-Wood — who happens to be the Coffee House Poetry editor, too — said really nice things about my poems a year ago... so on a hunch I sent her some stuff last night and she replied in less than 24 hours that my poems:

— Georgia O'Keeffe on My Lips
— Sonnenizio on a Line from Vernon Scannell
— Surviving Grandfather
— Stargazing and Rhinestones

will be in Issue 147. WOW! I've been so blown away that I had to hang on to —erm— the bottle for support. Giggle glad rags and geese.

      Submission date: 9 December 2006
      Reply date: 10 December 2006

30:30 update:

Still hanging in there. Just dangling. Perhaps even sagging, bankrupt-wise.

Poems list to date —

1. A Photography Student Interrupts a Mosquito
2. In the Garden [sonnenizio on a line from Sarah Law]
3. How Did Her Garden Grow
4. Eve
5. Georgia O'Keeffe on My Lips
6. Open House [sonnenizio on a line from Sarah Law]
7. In Memoriam [sonnenizio on a line from Jarman]
8. Cordon Bleu
9. Superman Was a White-Collar Worker
10. And God Said Let There Be Economy Class Passengers—

Bye-bye Ginger

My mom called this morning to say that my darling Ginger passed away. After four days of struggle, the vet finally put her to sleep. There wasn't anything really wrong with her except for old age — she stopped eating and just laid herself to rest. She was 11 years old.

Really hate not being there to cuddle with her one last time. Have put together a few photos from the good old days to cheer me up.


Here she is at 3 months — with her favorite floor mats, which also doubled as urinals. Being in charge of her toilet-training, I kept it our secret.


This is one of my favorite pics — her "wanna play?" look just disarms me.


This was taken exactly 9 years before yesterday... with her puppies only two weeks old. Because of a blood infection, she couldn't breastfeed them and the whole family took turns in bottle-feeding them every two-three hours. She was rather apprehensive and I tried to make sure she spent some time with her pups — despite the vet's advice.


Wheeeeee! It's our wedding day! She saw me clowning around in my sis-in-law's bridal gown and decided to join the fun. Being drunk on champagne, I said I do, of course.


Here she is in a photo taken from last year. Bye-bye, baby!

Poems in flashquake

The Winter 2006-2007 issue of flashquake is now up — with poetry by Lisa M. Bradley, Peg Duthie, Tomika Fisher (editor's pick), Ily Goldfinger (editor's pick), Meridith Gresher, Jaime Voss, Mary E. Whitsell and someone better known for stealing buckets and adopting villainous laughter instead of children.
Two poems here: Why Do I Show My Body? and Pianoforte

Have discovered that the whole issue #68 of The Frogmore Papers has been made available online. Really thrilled by this because — well, print magazines do have their limitations. Lots of poetry (mine included, with someone else's typo on my title) but more importantly, Matthew Shoard's ticklish flash, Lindsay Shits can now be savored wholly and not as an excerpt.

Crummiest beginner's shot ever:

Finished round V in 30:30

Yay! Round V is over and I'll be starting round VI today.

Have gotten more or less into the hang of writing every day again. I rather equate it with walking the dog... the dog [god] likes it and I benefit from the exercise. Some days I'd have preferred to play with my Sims 2 Pets, other days I'd have wished I owned a fast wagon so I can throw the dog [god] off it. The rest of the time, I'm just grateful to be walking the slobbery dog [god] and for the sun/rain/pigeon droppings on my shoulders.

Poems list to date —

19. Plate II: Black and Red Ink on White
20. Plate I: Black Ink on White
21. Sonnenizio on a Line from Wendy Cope
22. After the Fire
23. Paul of the Wrong Number
24. Self-Portrait with Stolen Wristwatch
25. Sonnenizio on a Line from Sarah Law
26. Plate III: Black and Red Ink on White
27. So What If You Love Your Migraine Like a Second Coming
28. Plate IV: Black Ink on White
29. The Macro Lens Feeds, in Part, on Human Skin
30. Sonnenizio on a Line from Vernon Scannell

The drinks are on me, literally:

Found out a few days ago that I've become Feathertale's Supermarket Tabloid Sestina Challenge Queen. Tee hee tweet tweet! I'm so thrilled a moving rollercoaster ride looks cheap and drab beside me! I'm jumping so high that I can feel the buttocks of angels on my head! Ha ha hardhat and panty holes!

Headlines Sestina was, naturally, first drafted in 30:30

That said, here are the boring details —

      Submission date: 29 September 2006
      Acceptance date: 3 November 2006
      Winning notification: 28 November 2006

On average, they've got a one-month response time. Have already bounced back twice with prose, so thought it was time I tried with a gunfire of poetry. My fiction-writing skills suck. Boo hoo hoodlum!

Count Olaf after The Grim Grotto:

For some strange reason, Lemony Snicket (the author) stripped Count Olaf of his award-wheezing villainous laugh in The Penultimate Peril (Book the 12th). The story of the Baudelaire orphans is sad... but I felt this loss as if the anvil tied to my braids fell and killed off my pretty pink toenails. Because of the author's lack of interest in further propagating villainous laughter [which, according to the 2 o'clock news, prevents winter flu], I've no choice but to cackle Count Olaf's evil laugh in the middle of Christmas shopping mobs and fellow poet bloggers' blogs. Bwuaaahaaaa epidemic!

Bare Root Review and zafusy

Issue #3 of Bare Root Review is now online with works by Ashley Boles, Joe Bryant, Nancy Cluts, Richard Fein, Cassie McCain, H.A. Wetzler, J.W. Young and yours truly — even though my poem title states I'm elsewhere.

Have also got a minimalist poem on zafusy. It's so tiny that it's been taken for missing.

Not sure if the editors send out rejection notes. I just got an acceptance e-mail yesterday saying that missing can now be found on Page Two.

      Submission date: 6 September 2006
      Reply date: 26 November 2006

The best evil laughter in the world:

I was reading Lemony Snicket's "The Grim Grotto" (Book the Eleventh) over the weekend when I doubled up in snickers and delight. Thought I'd share the culprit — which I've tagged as "Count Olaf's Patent-Pending Wicked Laughter: No Villain Can Live at Home Without It." Here are some selected wicked laughs:

      Count Olaf... opened his mouth and began his new villainous laugh, which included new wheezes, bonus snarls, and an assortment of strange syllables the Baudelaires had never heard.

      "Ha ha ha heepa-heepa ho!" he cried. "Tee hee tort tort tort! Hot cha ha ha! Sniggle hee! Ha, if I do say so myself!"

* * * * * * * * * *

      "I'm happier than a pig eating bacon!" Count Olaf cried. "I'm tickled pinker than a sunburned Caucasian! I'm higher in spirits than a brand-new graveyard! I'm so happy-go-lucky that lucky people are going to beat me with sticks out of pure, unbridled jealousy! Ha ha jicama!"

* * * * * * * * * *

      "Guard the orphans, Triangle Eyes," Count Olaf said. "Although I don't think you orphans really need to be guarded. After all, there's nowhere to go! Tee hee traction!"

      "Giggle giggle gaudy!" Carmelita cried, leading the way out of the Main Hall.

      "Ha ha hair trigger"" Esmé screamed, following her.

      "Tee hee tonsillectomy!" Count Olaf shrieked, walking behind his girlfriend.

Snicker snickersnee hee hee henchmen! Isn't that the most admirable piece of literature ever?

Poems in Blackmail Press

On kind invitation from the editor, I have seven poems in issue 17 of Blackmail Press. It's my first time in a New Zealand venue so I'm quite thrilled with this honor.

Also noticed that they published a tribute issue to Richard Zola, who passed away last year. First came across his poetry in 3rd Muse Journal way back in 2002 — love it so much that I translated some for the Niederngasse Italian. Here's a favorite poem from his website:

if you're watching you will know

a street at 4am
frost is phosphorous on trees
a broken bench
subways and suspended bridges
fading graffiti
offices empty of secretaries and complainants
a sloping car park
spaces marked in white
and an embroidered muslim hat
hanging from railings
all of this is open to the sky
and no hand soothes

Photography classes:

Sick of my despicably under-/over-exposed picture-taking abilities, I've decided to take some lessons (10) at the public uni. First one was last Tuesday night. Am planning to go shopping for an SLR camera over the weekend. Any suggestions for a beginner? I was looking at the Canon 350D yesterday when the husband sneaked up behind me and said, "Not that. Everyone I know says it sucks." Oh dear. What to get, what to get now?

flashquake and hanging objects

Am thrilled to learn that flashquake has accepted two rather oldish poems for their Winter issue.

      Submission date: 23 October 2006
      Reply date: 16 November 2006

Pianoforte, a poem on CFIDS, is from the defunct Lean Season manuscript while Why Do I Show My Body? dates way back to the 5x5 challenge at Blueline (we were asked to insert 5 adjectives, 5 place names, 5 numbers, 5 nouns and 5 verbs in a single poem). Sure brings back memories. Had the time of my life doing that mind-teaser. Moon Over Uluru Grill is another one from that challenge. It made me realize I've been doing these 30-day poem thingee — off-and-on — for nearly two years now. Yikes. No wonder I'm not hearing voices.

30:30 update:

Double yikes. Am more than halfway there — didn't even realize it. Have been sorely distracted by Lemony Snicket's books on the Baudelaire children. Am on Book the Eighth now — only five more to go. In the meantime, I've learned how to use such words/phrases like "superlative," "gargantuan" and "small potatoes" to my best advantage.

Poems list to date —

10. My Gorilla Costume Says Hello
11. Everyone Has a Right To a Gorilla Costume
12. His Creepy Gorilla Suit
13. Birdcage
14. I'm Only as Half-Drunk as You Think I Am
15. Treeless
16. I Don't Hear Voices (part 1)
17. I Don't Hear Voices (part 2)
18. Sonnenizio on a Line from Barber

There's a sonnenizio craze going on — started, as usual, by the dangerously contagious McClain. And had a bit of sticky obsession with gorilla suits there — nothing which a glass or two of wine couldn't shake off, of course.

Some funny links on aging:

• Groovin' Granny [a.k.a. Do your boobs hang low?]

• The Hang Low Song [a.k.a. Does it ALL hang low? ]

Hope everyone gets some kicks out of these! I just floored on the roll and laughed dyeing myself silly... or whatever.

Blog renovation & days of books

Yay! Have finally gotten this damn blog template to work with only a paltry knowledge of CSS scripts. Took me all day just to bend it to my will and —er— my diminished visual capacity. Discovered a whole sea of these cool buggers through a link at Rohith's blog. They're actually easy to use — I'm just a masochist who likes dabbling with alien languages. Check them out!

Chapbook acceptance:

Am thrilled to announce that Rubicon Press will be publishing my chapbook, 26 Secret Love Poems sometime in late spring 2007.

Think I already mentioned this small press to people but hesitated in sending anyone over since I still hadn't heard from them. Now that I have, if anyone is seeking a nice print publisher for their chapbook, this seems a wonderful venue. Very lovely, professional manners. The response time was rather long, but there was a birth in-between. Things might be faster now.

      Date mailed: 25 June 2006
      E-mailed reply: 11 November 2006

Anthology publication:

Wheeeeeeee!!! Just found out that Velvet Avalanche: a collection of erotic poetry (edited by Donna M. Hill) is hot off the press!

It is 232 pages and features 76 contributing poets, 3 contributing artists in total. If anyone is interested in ordering or looking over the cover page and contributors, please me know and I'll e-mail them over.

Included in the e-mail announcement was praise for its quality, its smooth spine, its whiteness of paper and even its perfect thickness. Which I guess shows what reading tons of erotic poems can do to the word preferences of an editor.

Recent publication:

My poems, Juice and Bathroom are now up in Clean Sheets. I don't even need to mention where I first drafted these.

Juked and Tiptonned

I'm delighted to discover that I'm sharing space with Sarah in juked. Hiya, girl!

Am also with a couple of 30:30 regulars, namely Charyl (hah! they're beginning to get her name wrong, too) and Sharon (dressed up as Ann), in the latest issue of Tipton Poetry Journal. A Driving Instructor's First Water Bottle is actually my first driving instructor poem — based on my previous student life.

And now that I've brought the attention to driving....
I'm rather peachy pleased to announce that last Monday I broke my speed record of 45 kph! I've gone on to a daring 60 kph and not once felt queasy.

The goal is to reach at least 80 kph so I can use the freeway without being a public nuisance.

30:30 update:

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack! Have gotten into the rhythm, too... I think. No longer banging my head on the keyboard or smashing my toes against table legs to get out the daily poem... not writing really well, but my mind's occupied with —er— other things. Like a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Yummy. And listening, thanks to the Mat Hatter (a person who wears floor mats for a living), to Emily Haines's A Maid Needs a Maid... which I'm humming to myself as A Mate Needs a Mate or else A Maid Knits a Mate. With music, the possibilities are endless.

Poems list to date —

1. All Saints' Day (reverted to orig. title, Day of the Dead)
2. Celebrating the therapist
3. Sunday Morning Mass
4. structure: a study
5. Black Ink on White #5
6. Please Meet My Breasts
7. tiny, tiny foreign objects
8. Geography Lessons
9. I'm Not Supposed To Wear This Gorilla Costume

Thanks to Kevin Doran, I've discovered his blog — where he posts response times of hundreds of 'zines!!! Click here to view the looooooooong list. Thanks for the nod... and I'm nodding —well— more like kowtowing back. The list is impressive.