super

Gideon: If you say that word again, I'm throwing you in jail.

Me: What word?

Gideon: "Son, stop doing that."


Gideon woke up with a belly ache last night.

Maybe because he drank 8 vanilla milks yesterday.

He's drinking another one right now.

Moderation is today's topic.

That and how people make boogies.

This week Gideon is an otter.

Last week he was a beaver.

For those of you playing at home.

Whatever you do, don't call him a monkey.

He will freak on your ass.

No Tells is all freaking poetry book lists-- during November and December.

Countdown to Rebeccamas

This evening I read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Gideon. This was his first time hearing it so I got to relive all the disbelief and shock that some asshole would actually try to steal Christmas. Earlier this week we collected pine cones to make Rebeccamas ornaments and we finally got around to putting the potpourri into little mesh bags. As far as I'm concerned, it still smells like rose farts, but Gideon and Chris disagree. 2 against 1, so it makes it into the gift baskets. I take pride in our home being a democratic crappy-craft gulag. On Saturday we saw the 3-D Christmas Carol (we all liked it) and I bought tickets to see The Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center. It's nice to have someone around who can hold his end of a conversation about Rebeccamas. You know, in a way that's not weird.

Oh, I purchased pink tree lights to honor the impending arrival of my niece. I bought those in October.

Poem Channeling

Click to enlarge (and click again if necessary)

Tonight's Card

Slay a Dragon: Long ago, map makers sketched dragons on maps as a sign to sailors that they would be entering unknown territory at their own risk. Some sailors took this sign literally and were afraid to venture on. Others saw the dragons as a sign of opportunity, a door to virgin territory. Similarly, each of us has a mental map of the world complete with dragons. Where does fear hold you back? What dragons can you slay?

* * *

"You are a fear prisoner. Yes, you are a product of fear."
--Patrick Swayze's character, Jim Cunninham, in Donnie Darko

I recorded two dreams with dragons. In July 2009 I dreamed I was overlooking Kim Jong Il's swimming pool. It had large waves, dragon fire and was open to the public.

In October 2008 I dreamed that to escape home invaders I entered a passageway beneath a house. I became aware that this was a descent into my unconsciousness. Blocking my way was a ferocious lady dragon. Luckily there was a guy with me holding a brain floating in a bowl of water. Once I fed the dragon the brain, she became gentle and friendly. But she wouldn't let me pass. Not until we talked about some of my old poems. I didn't want to have any of it. I just wanted to move past and on to the unconscious stuff I was interested in. Then I woke up (in the dream) in a dorm room at AWP.

Ugh, I refuse to confront something so my punishment is AWP. In dorm room, no less. Guess that was the lady dragon's way of saying "very well, more suffering and school for you!"

Tonight's Card

Pause for a Bit: Poet Doug King on the value of incubating: "Learn to pause . . . or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you." Allow the Muse to whisper in your ear. What problems are you working on that benefit from a pause?

Tonight's Card

Ask a Fool: That's what Renaissance kings did to break out the groupthink environment their "yes-men" advisors created. It was the fool's job to parody any proposal under discussion to make it appear in a fresh light. He might extol the trivial, trifle the exalted, or reverse the common perception of a situation. Example: "If a man is sitting backwards on a horse, why do we assume that is is the man who is backwards and not the horse?" Result: he dislodged people's assumptions. What would the fool say about your idea?

Gideon's favorite movie is Ghostbusters. We watched it back in the spring and he still talks about it.

His favorite song is "Ghostbusters," the Ghostbusters theme song by Ray Parker Jr.

We spent a lot of time talking about Ghostbusters this week. Probably an unnatural amount of time. Gideon's been staying at home, recovering from h1n1. Don't worry, he's been a brave little piggie and mostly recuperated. Although Sunday night and all day Monday were another story considering his 103 fever. Ever since his appendectomy I become kind of a wreck whenever he gets sick. But he's much better now.

Obviously I haven't spent much time pondering dreams and creativity and whatnot. I hope to get back to that tonight.

Bustin makes me feel good!