j'ever see this charity? "Poets In Need is a non-profit organization providing emergency assistance to poets who have an established presence in the literary community as innovators in the field and a substantive body of published work." so they must have a reader on staff who determines the innovation and established presence of anyone hoping for some help. bad poets need not apply, SoQ need not apply, non networking hermits need not apply. publish or die perhaps has a stronger meaning here. it seems like an effort to keep the best part of the gene pool going: the excellent poets. any charity one might do is selective, I understand that. I quibble with the aesthetic necessity here. sorry we can't help you with your cancer treatment but you're a trite poet.. file under That'll Learn Ya.

Art Showing, Allen Bramhall

for those in the Boston area who can find Jamaica Plain next saturday between 4 and 6 pm, I'm giving a showing of my visual works. the pictures below were taken while setting it up. there will be some 100 works displayed, and refreshments.

the particulars:

Pond Circle Gallery
53 Pond Circle
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Pond Circle is off the Jamaica Way, just a few miles from Fenway Park. Mapquest knows how to locate the gallery. I will probably read at the showing as well.

I hope you--and you, and you--can attend.

Allen

Erin came home this afternoon. he's still sick, but can take antibiotics by mouth rather than intravenously. I realize this autobiographicality may be the worst of blogs but there's not much possibility in writing about anything else. my reading the past 9 days has been Down Spooky by Shanna Compton, and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I've indicated here earlier that I'm down with Spooky. Stephenson's pretty good. it was recommended by Erin's friend and his friend's father, and they gave me a copy. I like it better than what I've read by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson (maybe 3 novels between them). Stephenson's characters have a warmth that I find lacking in the other 2, and a bouncier humour. I'd love to get back into reading novels. where novels fail for me is to the degree they simplify life into structured resolutions. I definitely don't want to watch any sitcoms, thanks. King of Queens is, I confess, oddly likeable, but I've had enough. that Ray Romano show is thoroughly unlikeable, but sometimes succeeds despite. Bill Cosby is fascinating in its good-for-you ickiness, but I believe his success made Tom Werner rich enough to place the Red Sox securely into the category of fat cats and World Series winners. Steve Hervey show is mild, comely crap. I like watching the secondary characters (played by tertiary actors) fuss about in the poorly conceived "bits" they are imprisoned by. I did a little writing, sitting near a window overlooking the Concord River.

additional showing

additional showing, originally uploaded by allen_bramhall.

more showing

more showing, originally uploaded by allen_bramhall.

we learned yesterday that the doctors were more concerned about Erin than we knew. when his pediatrician 1st saw him, he said he was about to just write the antibiotic prescription, but something told him to look further, thus the x-ray. they have since tested Erin for things like Legionnaire's Disease. that Beth and I haven't shown symptoms suggests something airborne, not the usual pneumonia. his fever has finally abated, and his oxygen saturation levels (Erin has been on oxygen) are getting good. but he still faces more hospital time. rough row to hie. sunday his iv needed to be changed. for whatever reason, people have trouble locating Erin's vein. the nurse called the staff emt, because emts do the procedure all the time. man, were I ever to use the term lickety-split it would be to describe how quickly the iv was set. we watched another Jackie Chan movie, The Medallion. which is JC plus a cross between The Matrix and those world without physics martial arts movies now somewhat common. we watched a little of Kill Bill. I saw just the last part of vol 1 and the beginning of vol 2. Beth saw what I saw of vol 1 and all of vol 2. Erin fell asleep during vol 2. straight out of manga/anime land. I found the swordplay wearisome, and the cartoon hipness more precious than anything. I'm not convinced by the cool, and I think if you're to enjoy Tarentino, you need to accept that coolness. I'm glad I don't watch much tv anymore. I've always tried to pay attention, look underneath a bit, but you are still drawn into something numbing. when Erin's leg was broken, the bill of fare tended toward the Disney Channel, with heavy hitters like Hilary Duff and I don't remember what. you slip into a television rhythm, and then the day is done. I've written little lately.

Erin still at hospital. he was much improved yesterday morning, but then dipped. I've already mentioned that the on call pediatrician claimed to have seen Erin after he'd had the lung sample done. Erin, Beth and the nurse who helped transport never saw this doctor. possibly she was confusing having seen him in the morning, long before the procedure. a 2nd pediatrician talked to us about it, repeating the 1st doctor's claim, clearly more ready to believe her colleague than the three people who were there. the hierarchy must live. one saw/sees that with the Catholic Church. all those molested children and the greater issue for the church is maintaining the structure of the church. it's a cover your ass strategy, which is pretty fetid. and it's not like we begrudge the triage that goes on. the 1st doctor either lied about seeing Erin or was confused. the 2nd doctor chose not to listen to us. it's pretty dismaying. we just want to bring Erin home.

blue rose

blue rose, originally uploaded by allen_bramhall.