Postcards from the Imagination

Rather than mope about being alone this Christmas, I bought myself a really neat present. Several months ago when I struggling, I had to sell my Palm TX on eBay. This week, I went back to eBay and found both the PDA and a wireless keyboard in like-new condition for a fraction of the retail price. This little package folds up to about the size of two 3"x5" Moleskine notebooks.

It's WiFi-ready, synchs with Outlook, plays MP3s, and comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a web browser. Using the wireless feature and a free service from Avvenu, I can instantly access any file on my laptop AND stream my entire iTunes library. If I happen to be out of range of a hotspot (rare given where I live and work), an inexpensive SD memory card will hold as much music as my old iPod Nano. I can blog with it, quickly transfer and post photos from a digital camera, and access the entire OED at the tap of the stylus. But what I'm most excited about is the ability to write poems or take notes when and wherever I'm feeling inspired. I've been doing that the old fashioned way for the past couple months, but for anything longer than a few sentences, I prefer to type. With this, I can use to the stylus for sketching and brief notes or unfold the keyboard for lengthier thoughts.

The last time I was in NYC, I wanted to go somewhere I hadn't planned on going. Within 5 minutes of hatching the thought, I was able to find a hotspot, google the address, plug it into the MTA's trip planner, figure out which train I needed, and be on my way.

I know some poets find technology loathsome, but to me it all depends on use. As a means of keeping workers tethered to the job 24/7, I think it's oppressive. Owning the technology and deciding for oneself how to use it, however, can be liberating. Rather than worry about forgetting to do things or losing track of time, I can schedule reminders and focus on the things I really want to think about. Imagine it this way, I have neither £500 per annum nor a room of my own in which to work (not to mention a Dorothy Wordsworth), but I do have a PDA.

Posted by Ginger at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you or someone you know is need of a good book on sobriety, please consider this new release (McGraw-Hill, 2007) by Kelly Madigan Erlandson, a fellow poet and professional drug & alcohol counselor:

"Already hailed as "a thoughtful and comprehensive guide to those early, crucial days of sobriety," this groundbreaking new book is different from anything else on the market. As an alcohol and drug counselor for more than 20 years who has helped thousands into recovery, the author does not focus on trying to diagnose the problem; instead, she compassionately guides you through the first 30 days of sobriety--the most crucial part of recovery.

She gives you practical, day-by-day advice for becoming and staying sober--from removing alcohol and alcohol-related items from your house to picking the recovery program that fits your needs."

Those of you who've been reading here for a while, or who know me personally, know that my father has been in a nursing home for the past several years after suffering brain damage due to alcoholism. He was only 51 years-old when a near total loss of short-term memory rendered him permanently incapable of taking care of himeself. Even those of us who lived with him for years didn't see that coming. So, if you're wrestling this particular demon and want out, get the book. If you're worried about a loved one but don't know how they'll react (or do) send it as an anonymous Christmas gift. Quit gossiping about that guy your office who smells like Eau de Last Night's Binge and be his Secret Santa instead. Finally, spread the word wherever you think it might get a copy into the hands of someone who needs it.

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I'd invent a keychain gizmo that could receive, store, and send receipt data to and from any register, at any place people shop. These little slips of paper drive me crazy. The fancy version could plug into a USB port and synch with financial software for easy expense tracking.

And now that I've found the receipt for the pair of slippers I need to exchange--apparently I was in denial about my daughter's feet being the same size as my own--I'm off to buy supplies for my next project, including 2 big boxes of tampons, maxi pads, latex gloves, craft paper, tissue paper, and tape. Good thing I live in Artsyfartsyville, else someone might look at me strange.

Posted by Ginger at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Digital mock-up of collage on canvas panel

Click to see a larger image with legible text. These pieces are from my final portfolio (in progress) for a course called The Art of the Historical Avant-Garde.

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Gotta love that the university ran out of dorms and decided to put a few hundred undergrads in family housing this year...

"Hello Residents,

There is a tradition here at Cornell for undergraduate students to yell at midnight before finals begin.  This will be happening tonight at midnight, so if you hear loud screaming, please do not be alarmed.  Hopefully you and your family will not be disturbed by this tradition.

Thank you for your understanding."

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Maintenance came earlier and did a bunch of work--replaced the thermostat, fixed some wiring, turned the boiler up, and vented a pipe--but it remains mysteriously cold in here. They left at 3pm on the idea that it might take a few hours for the place to warm up, but they promised to come back tomorrow in case it didn't. The good news is that it hasn't gotten any colder since last night.

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Ithaca City Schools were closed today. The National Weather Service issued a lake effect snow warning and predicted white out conditions, but most of the snow missed us completely. Boy am I glad I'm not doing shitty temp work anymore. Nothing sucks like having to call out when the view from your boss's window says otherwise. Has it really been six months since I left all that behind? I guess it has! :-)

Posted by Ginger at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the past few days my thermostat gets to 66 degrees and stops, no matter how high I set it. And that's 66 degrees on an innermost wall in front of a closet. The other three sides of the apartment are exterior facing and made of cinder block. With the white paint and icy surface temp they're very igloo chic. On the other side of them, the current wind chill temp is 11 9 degrees & it's snowing. I tried to warm up with a cup of coffee, but the ceramic mug keeps cooling my drink off.

As is often the case, things could be worse. Growing up we had a furnace that was so bad my mother had to call the health department to have it condemned in order to force our landlord to replace it. To supplement the clunker, she used to turn the oven on and keep its door cracked. I hate to be a natural resource devouring Earth-killer, but I may need to do the same periodically until maintenance can take a look at my thermostat.

In other news, I received a signed copy of Kevin A. González's chapbook The Night Tito Trinidad KO'ed Ricardo Mayorga in the mail today (w/thanks to Eduardo!) The opening poem, "Flat American Waltz," begins:

Beneath the cracked roof of the bus shelter,
where a school of cigarette butts gathers

to worship the thin lines of the sidewalk,
a man is muttering a cliché as deep

as the best metaphor you could conjure
for America...

I just know something important is not going to get done tonight because I'm reading this instead. Damn! 

Posted by Ginger at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Dinner, courtesy of my daughter & Tyler Florence. For her Family & Consumer Science class, J. had to find a recipe, make a shopping list, prepare a family dinner, and write a report about it. Her homework was delicious. One of the best meals I've had in months.

Posted by Ginger at 09:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Malawi hovered for years at the brink of famine. After a disastrous corn harvest in 2005, almost five million of its 13 million people needed emergency food aid.

But this year, a nation that has perennially extended a begging bowl to the world is instead feeding its hungry neighbors...

Farmers explain Malawi’s extraordinary turnaround — one with broad implications for hunger-fighting methods across Africa — with one word: fertilizer.

Over the past 20 years, the World Bank and some rich nations Malawi depends on for aid have periodically pressed this small, landlocked country to adhere to free market policies and cut back or eliminate fertilizer subsidies, even as the United States and Europe extensively subsidized their own farmers. But after the 2005 harvest, the worst in a decade, Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawi’s newly elected president, decided to follow what the West practiced, not what it preached." (The New York Times, "Ending Famine, Simply by Ignoring the Experts")

Posted by Ginger at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)