Comedian breaks bad, or does he?

Today, I read a joke on Twitter posted by a graphic designer & Twitter comic by the name of Sean Tejarachi, who goes by the Twitter handle @ShittingtonUK. Although I don't follow him, he was named one the 25 funniest people on Twitter by Rolling Stone magazine, and the hilarious Patton Oswalt often retweets him.

Unfortunately, the joke, about former First Lady Barbara Bush just wasn't funny. I amongst several other folks replied to the tweet that we didn't think the joke was funny. Sean apparently didn't like that and ranted at several folks. Further he engaged in a strange back and forth with me about the quality of the joke and my supposed lack of qualifications for judging the joke.

Simultaneously, Patton Oswalt engaged a fellow professional comedian on Twitter in a round of silly insults, which riled up a bunch of their followers. At this point it occurred to me that perhaps Sean, who I have never met or interacted with previously, was engaging in a mock fight with me to rile up his followers.

Either way, he certainly didn't hurt my feelings, and I am left to either feel bad for him that he can't take a mild critique, or impressed that he feels confident enough to engage in a potentially acrimonious encounter with an unknown person on Twitter, however genteel and respectful I turn out to be.

Good luck Sean, & I look forward to future funny jokes.

Lesser of Two

Almost white.

Fuzzy blurring of

Clouds meeting ground.

Almost white.

Hard to see clearly,

No illumination.

Some winter dressed

Gnarled, naked 

Branches.

Almost white.

Almost silence.

Crackling limbs 

Snap, break, fall.

Lonely landscape.

~KEValkenaar

A Pantoum-There is a fan inside my head

There is a fan inside my head

There is a fan inside my head

No on/off switch no plug to pull

Blowing everything out

I can’t keep anything in.

No on/off switch no plug to pull

Air blows coolingly

I can’t keep anything in.

The breeze just takes it away.

Air blows coolingly

From ear to ear

The breeze just takes it away

What was that again?

From ear to ear

Only empty space inside

What was that again?

I hear the whooshing of the fan.

Only empty space inside

Blowing every thought out.

I hear the whooshing of the fan

There is a fan inside my head.

~KEValkenaar

Author's Note:

I normally write free verse, free form poetry, basically I abhor restrictions when I am writing. Yes, I am that person who likes to break the rules of Grammar. Always intentional, of course. Wink,wink,nod. Yes, that IS my story and I’m sticking to it. Anyways...

Every once in a while I challenge myself to write with structure, so that’s when I flip through my copy of The Teachers and Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms, edited by Ron Padgett, and pick one poetic form to explore or blow up.

Now Pantoums may be rhymed but, of course, I don’t do rhymes. Not because I think I’m better than rhymes, just the exact opposite. I can not make any rhymes beyond simple Cat/hat/sat/mat. Believe me, I’ve tried rhyming couplets. Oh, so sad are the couplets I’ve tried to rhyme. Besides, what I love about this form is contextual exploration of repeated lines.  So go look up Pantoum. Then go write one. That’s my challenge to you. Send it to me; I just might post it.

~K

Time-Lapse Lifeline

Here is the first post from my partner:

Time-Lapse Lifeline

Open minded;

Open the door!

O, poor welfare girl!

Pig in a pram

Seersucker beach bods

So in a blue funk

Interrupted always

Inspiration

Is a virus

Someday stories

Shifting focus

Hole puncher

Cold deserts

Too much running

From freaks in sheeps’ clothing

In my front yard

Eating all my muffins

Where is my key?

~KEValkenaar

New Works Festival 2013

Next Saturday, January 26, 2013, the short play I am directing at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Newburyport, MA, premieres in the New Works Festival 2013.  Follow the link below for more info and to purchase tickets.  Seats are going fast!

http://www.firehouse.org/L3-shows-theater-NewWorks.html

The Power of Two & More

Recently, I looked up from my large pile of "important" things I do at work, and I realized that it was already 2013, and that I had not posted anything to this blog for approximately a year.  Pesky work getting in the way of the fun stuff!  Always on the look out for more opportunities to post, I had a lovely conversation with my wife, who was looking for an outlet for her writing.  An idea was born.  Shortly, she will begin posting to this blog as well, which will hopefully encourage me to increase my output.

If this works out, my wife and I may end up inviting friends and acquaintances to contribute their writings as well.  This could be the start of something big.  Or at least mathematically not small.

Keep reading!