Stephanie's blog

Thanks to my homegirl E, I'm now obsessed with the FedEx arrow.  I can't stop starting at it whenever I see a FedEx truck on the road. 

(Not great for my driving.  Must obey traffic, not arrow.)

She pointed readers of her blog to a great interview with the FedEx logo designer.

I was a writing major in college (heh) and as a result took my fair share of creative writing classes.  One of the exercises that I loved the most was searching for found poetry - unintentional acts of poetic genius.

In my online travels yesterday, I ran across a page about an amusement park in Japan that offers a sky cycle.

The Google auto-translation made me smile.  Pure found poetry:

When you row, the body moving, we fear!
It may become firm, is---Courage is shaken, squeezing!
We would like to close the eye, when with so it does, excess we fear,…
Going to there, returning turning, if it is not densely, it does not end

If you read nothing else, at least look at the picture captions.

What were you doing one year ago today?
Submitted by CassandraMorgan.

A year ago today, I was probably crying into a Super Value Meal, chain smoking, denying that I would ever feel OK again. 

About two weeks prior, I had been unceremoniously ejected from (in retrospect) a debilitating relationship, in which I had completely lost sight of who I was.

One year later, I'm the person that I wanted to be the whole time (and I met someone that loves me for it who I absolutely love in return and who makes me feel like a sexy, funny, smart, righteous love ninja). 

I haven't had the honest-to-god stomach flu in years, and I forgot how hard it can be on the body.  Thankfully, mine appeared to be of the 24-hour variety, so at least I'm not still wallowing with abdominal pain (fingers crossed).  A few oddly good things came out of it, though --

1. I read a fantastic book, The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty. (in my books sidebar)

2. I slept and slept and slept and slept.

3. J is my hero, with chicken soup, ginger ale, crackers and brownies.

4. I think I can now fit into my bridesmaids dress.

Two-handed touchscreen computing.  W00t!

What's the most famous movie you've never seen? 
Submitted by Mike.

The Godfather (and all of its sequels). People whose opinions I respect tell me that it's great, so I have no doubt.  It's just never seemed that interesting to me . . . no idea why. 

What are five books that changed your life? 
Inspired by Ms. Genevieve.  

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -  I read it for the first time when I was 12, and I reread it at least once a year.  It's passionate and rich, and is amazing in its ability to offer me something new each time I read it.  It continues to teach me a great deal about love, relationships, friendships, desire, and truth.

2. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon - One of the tighest pieces of fiction I've ever read, it helped shape my writing by teaching me the importance of point-of-view in fiction.

3. Our Bodies, Ourselves and The Joy of Sex - My parents and I never had "the conversation" until right before I went to college, so as a nerdy teen obsessed with reading, I went to the library and checked out books.  In retrospect, a little strange, perhaps.  But I think both works offered me a healthy perspective on sexuality and human relations.

4. Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey by Hayden Carruth - HC is the most underrated American poet.  He's clear, witty, dark, vague, inspiring, difficult, emotional, passive, intense, light, funny and sardonic at the same time.  I found that book at a time when I was stuggling to find my own poetic voice and understand what my writing meant to me.  It was a massive comfort.

5. Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney and The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn  - Two of the most amazing collections of poetry that I read while studying in the UK.  They both focus on life's phases, and remind me of the time that I spent abroad - again, helped me find a voice.

(OK, so that's really seven, but I was an English major.)

Kevin Bacon and pals have launched something pretty spiffy: Six Degrees.  It's social networking, but with a greater purpose - you become your own "celebrity" for the causes that you care about. 

Nice to see that Mr. Footloose has a sense of humor, and can parlay a silly game into something good.

Read more about Six Degrees.

(Notably, I remember a start-up web service back in the late 90's/early 2000s called Six Degrees.  If you signed up, they were supposed to send you a free CD.  I'm still waiting on it.  Apparently, they're still online at www.sixdegrees.com but nothing is there . . . another victim of the dot-bomb era?)

J and I were discussing last night making the State of the Union into a drinking game.  Drink for each time W says:

• terror/war on terror/terrorism
• bipartisan
• cooperation
• new era
• saddam hussein
• september THE 11th
• north korea

I'm open to additional suggestions.

Am I the only person who thinks that Second Life is L-A-M-E?

Apparently not.