Best of 2012

A poem about Las Vegas comprises a collection of aphorism which illustrate the Buddhist notion of Dharma, or moral system. Found in an old copy of The Dhammapada that wandered back into the living room here. was at http://www.xtranormal.com/xtraplayr/13741376/oh-let-us-live-in-joy.

What can I say about this year except that there was an election that seemed to set the tone for every living moment? I could not stomach the news shows, but woke up at 5 am on the day after the election to find out my candidate had won by a decent margin. That same morning the contrarian crew did not admit it was fair, and we were left pretty much where we started, on one level at least. I continue to get my father’s money’s worth out of a class I took at Marquette that drove home the notion of circular or mythical time, versus progressive ( as in La Follett, Christian dairy co-ops, or milk) time. As I get older, I see things “at a remove”.

In terms of poetry, they were like jokes in old vaudeville. There was the one about Dr Ransils' garage, which owed a bit to Gene Autry' The Phantom Empire and A Beautiful Mind. There must be some chance that an alternate world is happening in the basement or in a cave. There was the one about a trip to Las Vegas (Oh let us live in joy), see above.  There was the one about Christmas in New York in 1972, which kind of captures a basic thing that’s always been going on inside of me (that will not let me just be). Penny in the River covers same space (NYC 1972), inspired by James Wolcott’s memoir (which Jake gave me, which I have been putting off finishing and reviewing).

Poetry 1972 2012

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/04/dr-ransils-garage_07.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-1972.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/06/penny-in-river.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/poem-oh-let-us-live-in-joy.html

The mash that is media in 2012 was kind of cool. In the sunny middle of the year I played with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker (which disappointed me mightily on the job, when I discovered this software was not scalable. Did a take on Spysmasher (among the greatest of serials),  the last Shuttle flight ( coupled with riff on Freddie King’s I’m tore down – almost level with the ground),  and Blimp pilot blues, which is a blues, but also a blimp trip (something I have been pursuing since 1967).

Rich Media 2012

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/05/spysmasher-zoetrope-4.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/05/im-tore-down-almost-level-with-ground.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/07/blimp-pilot-blues.html

Had the fun experience this week to read a critique I did of Miami disco music in 1975. Lo! I still write the same! Must have osmosified Time Magazine drone pattern in my yout... Wrote set pieces about various in  prose. An obit on Bob Watt. He deserved my best effort. A trip to Fenway with Jeff Hull. A bonk on the Louisville Jug Band scene, writ for the departing co-worker Barney Beal.

Prose 2012

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/07/bob-watt-inferior-poet-passes.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/09/take-me-out-to-morass.html

http://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2012/12/beedle-ee-bum-8more-miles-to-louisville.html

Looking ahead to 2013

What about 2013? I guess if I had it to do over I would have liked to have better covered space and technology advances; that and, say, the phenomenon of feedback. Maybe with that, and if I finally finish a poem on News, the whole Moon Traveller notion will become a bit more clear. As Leroy Carr said: “Nobody knows where the blues comes from, everybody’s glad when the blues they go.” To that I’d add: When the world is upside down, standing on your head is a valid approach. (Took pic below at Harvard-Cornell game. Feel like it could have gone into Garage in 1967. Times change and dont change.