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  • GRDM, Week 3 — Chat thread

    Hi,
    Here’s an experiment — I enjoy the banter, but I don’t want it to keep us from actually talking about the book. If we had threaded comments, we could prolly do both together, but in this one-big-stew approach, I’m not sure. So howzabout we use this entry as the bantery and chat thread… And then I’ll post another entry in a sec right above this one that folks can use for more book-related posts. We’ll see over the course o’ the week if this approach works.
    (In the spirit of eternal warmth and generosity, chat and book comments both count toward mugness….)

  • Building a flock

    They’re building a flock of geese
    out by the base.
    For six months now
    they’ve been working on it,
    piece by piece
    sun, wind, rain.
    First came the bones.
    Then the organs, the muscles.
    Fat and flesh.
    Last week they put on
    a soft undercoat of feathers.
    Then beaks.
    (Honk.)
    And I was like:
    “wow, these really are starting to look
    like geese.”

  • The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 3

    Well, we started this venture with an astounding 35 or so folks out the gate. And inevitably, people are beginning to tumble off the trail. (Well, we wouldn’t call it a deathmarch if it was easy….)
    At this rate, by my calculations, -5 people will finish the journey. But what’s math, right? A poor predictor of the human soul.
    March on you valiant page turners, though thy arms ache to pluck mysteries from thy sagging bookshelf, though thy very retina begin to shake and swell, march on!
    Around 20-25 people appear to be head down, still making progress, some commenting on these threads, and others reading along offline but opting to forsake much coveted Grand Poobah status. I respect that. And I will toast them when the march is done, with fine champagne in a sturdy mug.
    For now, you’ve found the spot to comment on pages 113-167 plus or minus.
    Next week: Let’s meet up at page 226 (263 in Bantam), a section that ends with the phrase “…with a war on….” (Sorry for the spoiler…)
    See you there, -CV

  • x-post: and the Ridley Scott and the monkey and the Monday of it all

    We’re getting back into the weekly swing of things over on Monkey Vortex Radio Theater. This Monkey Vortex Monday, it’s Letters, an insta-parody produced by our rapid reponse team, and featuring Eileen Dahl, Bleu Smith, K. Smith, and yers truly.

  • Frogs

    I remember frogs --
feeding them, caring for them
pressing that spot on
the base of their spines...
    Small frogs, caught by the creek
cupped for a moment, captive, fluttering
released
open-hand.
    Huge store-bought bullfrogs
kept in shaded back-of-garage aquariums.
    I don't remember naming them.
But I do remember
holding them close
looking down
    their slimy skin
soaking up
against my shirt
    and it wasn't gross at all.

  • He was a fine mouse, and other laments

    Put it in a box and bury it
    by the side of the house
    with a few friends, a eulogy.
    Soft voices and a
    turning embrace.
    Gone, like our grandmothers
    and grandfathers. And not
    coming back.
    No matter how young we are inside.
    How frolicking. How ready
    to go to the circus.
    But it’s gone. Long gone.
    Giddy-up gone.
    And we never took
    a still moment
    to say
    goodbye.

  • Mouth-feel

    Saying the word “doodle” out loud —
    “Doodle.”
    “Doodle.” —
    makes me feel
    three months more young, light, and lean
    three months less gassy and gray.
    Noodle
    Poodle.
    Streudel.
    “Doodle.”

  • The Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 2

    Welcome to the end of week 2! This is the place to comment on (roughly) pp 50-113 (p/v). That said, as last week rolled on, a lot of people dropped comments past the mark, to keep up with what they were reading that day. I thought that went great. So in the course of this week, feel free to comment on page 120, 130… Just use a little restraint on spoilers for later sections.
    There was some confusion amongst prize-peoples regarding the first two weeks. In the spirit of loving-kindness that is the GRDM, we’re gonna count both of those two weeks as one, meaning if you commented Week 0, but not Week 1, you’re still a candidate for potential “Grand Poobah” status. Those who haven’t commented yet, don’t give up — highly regarded “Poobah” and “Big Poobah” status are still well within reach!
    Hope everyone’s holding up OK. Me, it’s work, and I’m about 12 pages behind. But hell, that’s still about 94 pages farther than I’ve ever gotten before. Mainly I’ve been surprised how much fun there’s been along the way. More like a Hallucinatory Death Dance than a Deathmarch, methinks…
    Next Tuesday: Let’s meet back up at page 167 ((195 in the Bantam edition) a week from today — it’s the section that ends: “Is God really Jewish?”
    See you there, -CV

  • x-post: and the Bobba Bebba of the monkey

    After nearly a month on hiatus, Monkey Vortex Radio Theater is back with Bobba Bebba, our most ambitious piece involving an alien watching earth TV from their spaceship yet! With script by yers truly…. Give it a listen and let us know whatcha think.

  • Gravity’s Rainbow Deathmarch, Week 1, thread 2

    I’d like to try opening a new thread on Week 1 of GRDM — we have 26 comments on the first thread and it might help us to start fresh every 20 or so comments.
    So if you’ve got a comment to add on the first batch (or so) of GR pages, please starting posting those comments on this entry.
    And if you want to read what’s already been said in the last three days, you can find the first piece of this thread right here.
    Thanks. Rainbow on, -CV