Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Celebrate

Picked up a miserable computer virus yesterday.  We got it rooted out, you know, without losing my data and programs and all.  So I am happy. 

(Oh and had a "chat" with a nice guy that lives on my street.  And a friend visited just to check on my computer.  A couple of other good chats.  Including one with the watch-repair guy.  So I now have nice straps and batteries on my old watches.  And almost went to watch Maami.  And ate TFC.  And other fun got crammed into this amazing day off. )

Well, to celebrate having my computer back, here are some drawings from the vault :) 
The first is dated April 2012.  What was I thinking? 

Jankara Market

The second, Rufus Wainwright, is from December 2011.  I will stop blabbing about Rufus for a bit.  I hear he's getting married, let me check...TOMORROW, omg.
Rufus Wainwright

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Poems of/for Rufus

Just dumped this on the internet.  And how are you?

Poems of/for Rufus 1:
Wrote this mostly at Union Station in 2001. The summer I found Rufus Wainwright's 'Poses' and fell in love. Oh my God, by Greek song I was turned completely on.
Enjoy:
http://www.lifelib.blogspot.com/p/books.html



RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

To my new love with Elvis’ sideburns
And Sahala’s cheekbones
And the black leather jacket:

Your heart beats out a snore, a drone,
What’s the word – a sonorous?
Tune that melts me, joins me to you.

Like you,
I want to sing about places and
Scrappy girls’ asses.

@

I fell for you – you came over me
And made me bob my head in recognition,
Association, identification.

Maybe you’re no Techie
But you must KNOW Yale,
Or Howard, or Julliard – surely.

Because you are not another
Happy white boy with a guitar –
You’re a trickster!

You belt out on the key of B flat to
Taunt me. I go off key.
You draw your “ah” for, like, five bars
As I fumble and lose count.

@

You wear the stupid black leather jacket
And place yourself next to Pete Yorn
At Olsson’s.

But you’re not one of them.
You’re Sahala: part Indonesian, part Swedish.
You’re part preppie, part bum.
Bourgie boy, silver spoon and all.

@

And you trick me into paying for
This portfolio, as it were;
This…beautiful sampler
Of your art.
It’s just art – just a job –
To you.

You made me love you, Rufus Baby.
Together we’ll wreak havoc, you and me!

(in Comrade, 2010)


Poems of/for Rufus 2:
I was writing a ton of ten-line poems a couple of years ago. Of course I wouldn't know what to write without Rufus, and a few of the poems are inspired by him indirectly. He introduced me to Jeff Buckley, Viktor & Rolf, ... reintroduced Edith Piaf...
But then I wrote this one about his mother and he, because well of course I think I know the family.
But isn't "Martha" heart-rending? And in those days too, "Dinner at Eight". And by Martha BMFA but not quite the same Cancerian wallowing in pain of Mr. Wainwright.
I hope he likes this,


KATE'S SONG FOR BABY

In that: my weather-worn trunk
With its cracks and warts
Would grant me such a
Fresh salmon-rose bud – you.

You will grow surrounded by
Lies. Tales of good spirits,
Good things; like Adam in the garden
You will believe everything.

Your daddy is not perfect.
You will be perfecter.

(coming soon at http://www.lifelib.blogspot.com/p/books.html )

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Writing sucks: Love/Hate

It's the unofficial novel-writing (or novella-extension) month in town, since the writers' groups noticed a manuscript contest offered by Kwani? Literary Trust, deadline next month.
I bet the contest has inspired many like me to quickly finish up their novels.

An actual reward for African writing? 
Pass me some of that loving.
It seems Kwani announced back in April with a minimum length of 60,000 words.
SIX-TY THOUZ...!
Then they lowered the minimum to 45,000 words, moved the deadline from August 20th to September 17th, and won my attention :) 

I had a new 25,000 word sort-of manuscript when I first saw the announcement.  Part of it is mentioned here, re: anthology. I was going to finish it last month to around 30,000, but then I thought, there may never be another major African reward for African writing, so BabyGirl why not try to almost reach 40,000 so you can maybe enter the contest.

Well, I'm doing that now and it's really bloody hard work.  I wish the doggone thing would write itself.  I look forward to not working on another novel for at least another year.  It will be short stories all the way: done in two thousand words, lol

Seriously though, this book is becoming better as I extend it.
Worried first about diluting the writing I had so carefully built up, but instead it's becoming more complete and potentially satisfying to the reader.
Think: 

Many people hate ambiguity within the novel, which I do for fun in poetry and which I had in the early drafts.   
Example: 
Did the terrorist meet the clerk or was it just another new dad?  
What do YOU think - it could be either way.  
It's your story - just tell me the answer.    

Also, most people hate it when you just "stop in the middle of the story" like short story writers love to do.  That is why so many stories end in weddings or proposals, death and finality.
Examples: 
Tell me the ogre was banished to eternal prison and will never be able to kidnap little children again.  
Or 
Her husband finally died of cancer so he asked and she said yes and then he kissed her.  Curtains! The End.  

Well, I'm fixing things up to suit a dumb brilliant but impatient reader, and exhausted excited that my first storybook will be finished in about three weeks. 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

I love Rufus in the summer when it sizzles

Why oh why do I love Rufus?
My internet is fast - it's all relative, and 10 - 100 times faster than last month when I was a jangle of pissed-off-customer-nerves is pretty good.

Soooo I've got Rufus music.  I LOVE Out of The Game of course - it's Rufus! 
To be honest, it's only now I finally got the entire Lulu album too.  

Could this be the end of internet-poverty in my corner of the 3rd world?  Oh yeah.

Friday, August 10, 2012

I miss Yemen

Incidentally, here's the word-of-the-day on my igoogle dashboard: