DanielNester

Just up on Monkeybicycle: "Iliad Gag Reel."

2009-07-03T09:45:00.000-04:00

The "Illiad Gag Reel," inspired by such classic blooper reels as this one from 1981's The Cannonball Run and of course Homer's work, is just up on the website for Monkeybicycle, one of my favorite literary magazines.

Check it out here.

Hilarious documentary on Wildwood, NJ, my ancestral homeland.

2009-07-02T17:26:00.001-04:00

Via FourFour and Jezebel.

Jackson Browne and "These Days": covers, chords, etc.

2009-07-02T12:08:00.005-04:00

I've grown to love Jackson Browne's "These Days," a track most people know through the version recorded by Nico and seen in this scene in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums.

It's a simple song that runs down five chords: C, B, Am, G, and then F. I play it on my acoustic with the capo on the fifth fret.

C B Am G F
Well I've been out walkin'
C B Am G F
And I don't do that much talking, these days
C G
These days.
F
These days I seem to think a lot
C G
About the things that I forgot to do, for you

C B Am G F
And all the times I had a chance to

The song has a history way past that Wes Anderson movie. A lot of people have covered it. It's outlined pretty well in the song's Wikipedia entry.

Here's a version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

One that follows the Nico version.

Glenn Campbell's version.

This version is the reason I started this post. It seems he doesn't perform this arrangement much more.

Can't find the Paul Westerberg version online. Off to my iTunes I go.

A mini-commonplace.

2009-07-01T20:23:00.005-04:00

If you must take care that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone--from Kenko's Essays in Idleness, translated Donald Keene

We must resist the critic's habit, as strong now as ever it was, of dividing poets into teams and making them play against each other--alas, poor critic, having to referee a match in which the players are constantly fraternizing, exchanging jerseys, running in the wrong direction and turning the rules to anarchy!--C. Day Lewis, from The Poetic Image. Boston: Jonathan Cape, 1963, p. 30

We've got perception--Timothy Dansereau

I tried very hard not to have a theme.--Melanie G.

Best of the June Twitter posts.

2009-07-01T10:12:00.004-04:00

I keep my Twitter account private (i.e., "protected") because I don't want everyone to see everything I post; I would like at least one online space where I feel like I can be an idiot. Believe you me: I am protecting me from you.

But there's a couple of Tweets I've posted I think could be posted to the world and benefit society in some way.*

Some conclusions I can draw from looking at these again: I shamelessly navel-gaze; I have a fixation on Mia Michaels, the loopy choreography from So You Think You Can Dance? (abbreviated as #SYTYCD here); I re-tweet, or RT, my @Adagia_Project a lot, and I think poets who went to Iowa and become self-proclaimed memoir-essay experts are Tartuffian idiots.

OK. Here's some tweetage from the month of June. If you like this, tell me: I'll do it next month, too.

Think post Jay Bennett Wilco has been overrated, by the way. And "America's Radiohead" is faint praise. [Gets off soapbox]

New Wilco sounds like Traveling Wilburys, complete with faux George Harrison guitar and Jeff Lyne vocal 25 minutes ago from web

Love love love Merritt Weaver as Zoey in Nurse Jackie http://bit.ly/1anz5W

Takeaway Indian from new Delmar Shalimar; what pregnant wife wants, pregnant wife gets! http://www.goshalimar.com/

RT @pankmagazine Helpful tip: if you're going to send 15 tweets in a row, what you're looking for is a blog.

John Deacon could be dead. We wouldn't know. People haven't seen him for years.

Interior of book has come in from designers.

We made our own shelf-talkers, mock Staff Recommendations, and whoopee cushion coupons 6:21 PM Jun 26th from web

you get another blurb from someone you really wanted I guess 6:19 PM Jun 26th from web

what happens when a guy you had second thoughts about blurbing your book in the first place passes on blurbing? 6:18 PM Jun 26th from web

Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, p.2: State of Shock demo http://bit.ly/13S2io 6:11 PM Jun 26th from web

Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, p.1: There Must Be More To Life Than This demo http://bit.ly/PldSl 6:10 PM Jun 26th from web

I think I need this: http://www.kushsupport.com/ 6:26 PM Jun 24th from web

File under WTF: Zachary Quinto falls walking dog w/ guy dressed as steak. Throws hissyfit: http://tinyurl.com/mxa8ak

Spin's "Purple Rain: The Oral History" will be used in my oral history class this semester! Super. 5:47 AM Jun 24th from web

Soooo looking forward to reading the Roger Troutman article here: http://waxpoetics.com/issue...5:45 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @arthurmagazine Attention technology-will-save-us-in-the-end people! Where's my biodegradable cel phone? Compostable computer? Etc 4:38 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @Brendacopeland Margaritas make you feel the way you ought to feel without margaritas. 2:37 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 17. The horrible inside. Also included with this offer. 5:06 PM Jun 23rd from web

Ed McMahon RIP http://bit.ly/2ZMjq #EdMcMahonRIP 5:04 PM Jun 23rd from web

RT @Adagia_Project 14. Double up, anchor down, share faults.6:18 PM Jun 20th from web

Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, and Peter Gabriel sing "Red Rain": http://bit.ly/OODpz 7:33 PM Jun 19th from web

@SavvyVerseWit http://bit.ly/Sye08 7:00 PM Jun 19th from web in reply to SavvyVerseWit

Why isn't King's X the biggest rock band in the WORLD? 6:42 PM Jun 19th from web

So far so good: No Richard Marx. #SYTYCD5:59 AM Jun 19th from web

Mia Michaels opening routine has created gas bubble #SYTYCD 5:48 AM Jun 19th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 10. Fromunda. 10:25 PM Jun 18th from web

RT @specksnyder Show this to students, foment a little revolution. Reading: "Right to Research" http://bit.ly/PFeop. 5:59 AM Jun 18th from web

Wow. A very, very young Brian May, before the curls grew out: http://brianmay.com/brian/l... 5:20 AM Jun 18th from web

@timesunionlive Am DVRing so am a bit behind everyone. All we can do is hope. But Richard Marx? Richard Marx. 5:10 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to timesunionlive

@pankmagazine I will come to wherever you are in Michigan and take you off the Hot Tamale Train.

Mia Michaels must DIE! #SYTYCD5:06 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to pankmagazine

Richard Marx? Richard. Marx. #SYTYCD 4:55 AM Jun 18th from web

No Mia Michaels. Not yet. Life is good. #SYTYCD 4:54 AM Jun 18th from web

RT @specksnyder Reading: "Literary Magazines: The Big List", http://bit.ly/MYNFF. 6:29 PM Jun 17th from web

Playing reissue CD by Hammond organist great Jackie Davis, aka Porterhouse from Caddyshack. Who knew? http://tinyurl.com/kwub94 11:47 PM Jun 16th from web

Clive Thompson in Wired: "Books have been held hostage offline for far too long." http://tinyurl.com/qlm892 5:45 PM Jun 15th from web

RT @largeheartedboy Authors signing Kindles http://bit.ly/14LHA3 4:30 PM Jun 15th from web

Katy Perry doing Queen's Don't Stop Me Now: http://bit.ly/AVmMh 4:22 AM Jun 15th from web

And Brian May with Katy Perry and band, also from BrianMay.com: http://bit.ly/Z0EL2 4:19 AM Jun 15th from web

Brian May and Katy Perry meet backstage--a wonderbra picture from http://bit.ly/DGtY8 4:18 AM Jun 15th from web

my mom just told me she was once "kissed by a Righteous Brother." Which one? "The tall one, of course!" 4:49 AM Jun 14th from web

Sea Isle City is beautiful this morning. Nephews and I won several whoopie cushions playing skee ball, official sport of boardwalks. 4:12 PM Jun 13th from web

Shappy Seasholtz's Zombie Stand-Up and Whale Song for My Bastard Son on Pank: http://www.pankmagazine.com... 12:31 AM Jun 13th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 8. As the dodo hums, asswipe.6:10 PM Jun 12th from web

RT @chrispetterson it'll take you a minute to realize this isn't from @TheOnion: http://bit.ly/z6tTo 6:54 AM Jun 12th from web

RT @chaiteaisgood Thou shalt not use a public restroom stall with no lock. I am speaking from experience here...#11thcommandment5:55 AM Jun 12th from web

The wait is over. Per Gessle announces Roxette Reunion on SIRIUS XM Radio http://bit.ly/mJUJz 4:16 AM Jun 12th from web

Collaborative poem written by nephews and I, read by my mother, for Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://tinyurl.com/nkvsuu 2:50 AM Jun 12th from web

RT pankmagazine FYI: When u say you'll only let us put yr work online if we publish you in the print issue, yr work will be declined, unread 9:29 PM Jun 11th from web

RT @timesunion Passerby yells at billionaire Tom Golisano as he fielded questions about funding NY Senate takeover http://bit.ly/18YL2C 7:33 AM Jun 11th from web

If you wish, you may follow my 12-year-old nephew Charlie's tweetage, even though he's a douchebag: @chaiteaisgood 6:17 AM Jun 11th from web

My nephews just told me about the environmentally friendly Google, called Blackle; heard of it? http://blackle.com/

But first, an old poem of mine I posted up on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://tinyurl.com/lc882f 5:34 AM Jun 11th from web

poem by yours truly on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: “Found Poem: Gene Simmons Impersonator": http://tinyurl.com/lq8wlm

Two books, vastly different, by my friends that I think deserve your kind attention: http://tinyurl.com/ldrn59 7:35 PM Jun 9th from web

Tony Sciuto's debut LP 1980's Island Nights, features Toto members Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro; here's a cut:http://tinyurl.com/lx5qlp 7:32 PM Jun 9th from web

Co-writer of "Last Sound Love Makes" is Tony Sciuto, formerly of Little River Band: http://www.tonysciuto.net/

This Don Johnson song, IMHO, is one guitar pedal away from a cut off of Replacement's Pleased to Meet Me: http://tinyurl.com/l9998a 7:03 PM Jun 9th from web

Old poem of mine up on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: “Mick Jagger Is Not Afraid And Neither Should You Be": http://tinyurl.com/lwblwd 5:04 PM Jun 9th from web

RT @htmlgiant Bennett Cerf asks, Do you have a restless urge to write? - http://tinyurl.com/lhcmntless 3:12 AM Jun 9th from web

@tarabetts I am playing Carl Carlton's "She's a Bad Mama Jama" on an 8-track boombox as we speak. 12:35 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to tarabetts

@lnorthrup I bought a Oh Hell No from you! I love them. Is there a link to other samples for me to peruse, browse, review? 12:34 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to lnorthrup

Guest blogging this week at Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://linebreak.org/blog/ 12:14 AM Jun 9th from web

RT @Lefsetz Gizmodo and other tech blogs update automatically, NYTimes does not. Mainstream media is inept, destroying itself. 10:29 PM Jun 8th from web

#musicmonday Little Boots' covers Freddie Mercury's Love Kills from Giorgio Moroder's oft-reviled Metropolis: http://tinyurl.com/mlvatb 8:15 PM Jun 8th from web

@RandyHernandez Character? WhachootalkinboutWillis? 7:35 PM Jun 8th from web in reply to RandyHernandez

@jedediahberry Small Beer's $1 warehouse clearance sale ends Wednesday. Grab 'em while you can: http://is.gd/TcMA 7:19 PM Jun 8th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 4. Not important now? Not important to your parents. 6:29 PM Jun 8th from web

RT @R_Nash Wordnik beta now open. @FakeErinMcKean wearing alphabetical-print clothing to celebrate. http://www.wordnik.com 6:28 PM Jun 8th from web

Trustafarians begin to work for living, says Times: http://bit.ly/6Dnyz 4:35 PM Jun 8th from web

Why the FREAK won't Journey get back together? Unbelievable. They're our musical lingua franca #Tonys 5:38 AM Jun 8th from web

Went to Albany Flea today. It's there every Sunday. There's cool stuff there, cool vibe. You should check it out! http://albanyflea.com/ 3:06 AM Jun 8th from web

Bound for Hell, Or Glory? David Carradine and the Feistiest Film Panel Ever http://bit.ly/12qDxB 6:54 AM Jun 7th from mobile web

RT @timesunion New owner for Bob & Ron's: Bob & Ron's Fish Fry on Central Avenue has been sold. http://bit.ly/12s1t2

RT @Adagia_Project 3. Every important word should end with the suffix “Turner Overdrive.” 11:34 PM Jun 5th from web

Honor Moore's "Remembering [translator] Paul Schmidt," He was married to Stockard Channing? Who knew? http://tinyurl.com/l5egfl [PDF] 6:52 PM Jun 5th from web

@gatewaygroupie Have a cassette player in my 2003 Volvo, oddly. Got Street Talk cassette for shits & giggles. Make no mistake: I have the CD. 6:16 PM Jun 5th from web in reply to gatewaygroupie

@thebookslut So, what if I were to say to you that I was listening to--and enjoying--Steve Perry's solo album Street Talk? On cassette? 6:10 PM Jun 5th from web in reply to thebookslut

Jimmy Fallon's Dave Matthews GPS: http://bit.ly/tajXk 5:39 PM Jun 5th from web

Put last-minute manuscript additions in; book sent to design people; release date November, with copies in stores in October. 5:32 PM Jun 5th from web

Mia Michaels must die. As well as Lil' C. #sytycd 6:30 AM Jun 5th from web

@pankmagazine Many of those same writers are Pushcart Prize nominees. 4:53 AM Jun 5th from web in reply to pankmagazine

I still get Rip Torn and Rip Taylor mixed up. 4:43 AM Jun 5th from web

Q: How many Iowa poets who switch to essays does it take the fun out of writing? A: Not many. But they're multiplying. 9:06 PM Jun 4th from web

Onion: Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Crap That Doesn’t Even Work (NSFW): http://tinyurl.com/bap7bk 8:26 PM Jun 4th from web

Another reason Upstate NY rocks: flea markets! One Sat: Another Sun: http://www.albanyflea.com/ 8:19 PM Jun 4th from web

RT @timesunionarts Latest arts news: Saint Rose alumni art exhibit honors educator Karene Faul http://tinyurl.com/q3k79b 5:07 PM Jun 4th from web

The lean, mean Newsweek takes on Oprah's junk medicine. Maybe I should subscribe. @Lefsetz letters about it, too. http://tinyurl.com/p2jocq 6:45 AM Jun 4th from web

Mia Michaels is back! In all her I-choreographed-Celine Dion glory! sytycd 5:35 AM Jun 4th from web

RT @kingsthings this just in from the water cooler... we need more water! 5:30 AM Jun 4th from web

Did BEA ever make it onto Twitter's Trending Topics? Is that, too, a sign of the Armageddon? 5:25 AM Jun 4th from web

Got Hotel Amerika's Trans Genre issue. Haven't updated website in forever. Trust me, this one looks good. http://hotelamerika.net 12:44 AM Jun 4th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 1. All friends become your enemies. 5:31 PM Jun 3rd from web

Make sure you follow http://twitter.com/failbettercom, a super literary magazine. 4:17 AM Jun 3rd from web

@RandyHernandez If I were Salinger I'd be suing people's vital organs off. But there's gotta be some leeway as far as parody's concerned. 3:44 AM Jun 3rd from web in reply to RandyHernandez

follow the @Adagia_Project to get a bit of perverted wisdom every morning. 10:51 PM Jun 2nd from web

My Google alerts alighted with success of Daniel Nestor, my Canadian tennis pro alter-ego, who has advanced to the French Open semifinals 7:35 PM Jun 2nd from web

Sherman Alexie sees Kindle-reading woman, and wants to punch her. Noice. http://www.nytimes.com/2009... 10:22 PM Jun 1st from web

@The_Rumpus Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the User Generated Submission License Agreement: http://twitpic.com/6eluj 10:03 PM Jun 1st from web

Murray Hill song: http://bit.ly/4n5IV 9:13 PM Jun 1st from web

Forgot to tell publishers I write reviews when I visited booths. Hard to shift self-promotion modes from writer to reviewer. #BEA09 8:11 PM Jun 1st from web

RT @Michael_Schiavo Big. Star. Box. Set. Why I love Rhino. http://bit.ly/VZRSl

dinner in chelsea with miriam and maisie before we drive back up to albany. i get to see my honey and my munchkin. yay!1:56 AM Jun 1st from web

at housing works for clmp's fab magathon fair #bea09 10:36 PM May 31st from web

met new editor and counterpoint berkeley peops, gave out whhopie cushions to librarians and booksellers. success. #bea09 8:25 AM May 31st from web

mcsweeney's/rumpus/smith event jessica anthony superb, then pgw party 7:28 AM May 31st from web

i miss oren's coffee! bea096:39 PM May 30th from txt

Stop by Counterpoint/Soft Skull booth #4437 and hear How to Be Inappropriate spiel I wrote my pitch on back of an envelope. I'm ready #BEA09 5:35 PM May 30th from web

gave out four whoopee cushions last night. good practice for today 5:29 PM May 30th from web

at cow girl hall of fame...after beatweetup i guess 7:00 AM May 30th from txt

[This user's updates are protected.]

*It's better than writing about how experimental/disruptive/flarf/post avant poetry can save the world.

Scanned images from Bananas magazine.

2009-07-01T08:42:00.001-04:00

You win these in a contest. Somebody put these in sleeves!

I think the joke is that the girl can't figure out how to blowdry her hair.

I think those last two speak for themselves.

MP3: Humpy Bong's only 45 single (i.e., Tim Staffell from Smile et al.).

2009-06-30T09:59:00.004-04:00

About five years ago, I found a copy of this on eBay and promptly bought it: the 45 single of "Don't You Be Too Long."

The song shouldn't sound really that familiar, but the name of the band is sort of a punch line in Queen fan circles: it's Humpy Bong. Started by Colin Peterson, ex-drummer for the Bee Gees, around 1970, Tim Staffell, the bassist and lead singer of the pre-Queen band Smile (with Roger Taylor and Brian May), joined the group after that band broke up in 1970. Or he jumped ship. Not sure.

Don't know about Smile? An official CD of the Smile recordings finally came out a couple years ago. They were a power trio a la Cream or the Experience, and were really good, and I'm sure mindblowing for their time. It was just one of these things in the business.

Anyway, Humpy Bong went on Top of the Pops appearance--not sure if Staffell took part in that--and everything and then fizzled out. I would love to see footage of that appearance; alas, YouTub has yet to produce one.

Back when I was trolling for Humpy Bongs, one eBay auction for the a promo single was for $100. I found another copy for 18 pounds (about $33), and and here's mp3 of A-side and B-side.

The music is pretty good! It's fun, poppy, very of its time.

"Don't Be Too Long" [mp3]
"All Right Till Then" [mp3]

If you download it, drop me a line, and tell me what you think!

Scanned images from Bananas magazine.

2009-06-30T08:36:00.000-04:00

That's from a poster.

[Insert caption funny to a 12-year-old here.]

I think this panel speaks for itself.

Is that Bruno Kirby on the left?

48 random tracks from iTunes library.

2009-06-29T14:00:00.001-04:00

Lucretia Mac Evil Blood, Sweat & Tears Mojo Music Guide Vol. 2 - Roots Of Hip Hop
He Puts On His Coat And Leaves Jason Moran Artist In Residence
Lyin' Down the Middle [*] Dillard & Clark The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark Plus
Mystery Apples In Stereo Velocity Of Sound
Little Willie Leapes - First Miles Davis First Miles
'A' Bomb In Wardour Street The Jam Direction, Reaction, Creation
Betrayal Featuring Scarface Gang Starr feat. Scarface Moment Of Truth
Salt Lane Rock Cedric Im Brooks The Light Of Saba
Bought And Sold Neko Case Furnace Room Lullaby
Wild Wood Paul Weller Modern Classics
Bird Gerhl Antony & The Johnsons I Am A Bird Now
Here, There & Everywhere (Version 2) The Beatles Alternate Revolver
Arundel Papa M Live From A Shark Cage
Black Velvet Swell Maps Trip to Marineville
5th December 1978 Scritti Politti Peel Session
People Get Ready The Housemartins London 0 Hull 4
John Cage / Sonata IV (prepared piano) John Cage - Steffen Schleiermacher Complete Piano Music Vol.1, CD 3
Mapa Ornette Coleman Beauty Is A Rare Thing - (Disc 6 of 6) - Complete Atlantic Recordings
Want To See My Baby Lowell Fulson Sinner´s Prayer
Homosapien Pete Shelley Best of Pete Shelley
(I Know) I'm Losing You The Temptations Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 (Disc 3)
Alone and Forsaken Hank Williams The Ultimate Collection Disc 2
Where Did My Spring Go The Kinks The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (Rarities) - Deluxe Edition (disc3)
Stand In Line Midnight Oil Head Injuries
Papa Don't Take No Mess James Brown Make It Funky - The Big Payback: 1971-1975 (Disc 2)
Track 29 The Jerky Boys Jerky Boys 3
Mensaje Agustin Lara 40 Temas Originales (Disc 1)
The Day Is Blue Taylor Mali Icarus Airlines
Tie Your Mother Down Lemmy Kilmister, Ted Nugent, Bob Kulick, Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge Dragon Attack - A Tribute To Queen
Visionary Hüsker Dü Warehouse: Songs and Stories
Summer War Billboard Top 100 of 1976
Airplane Glue Lenny Bruce The Lenny Bruce Originals Volume 2
You Really Got Me The Kinks Well Respected Kinks
Angel The Fatback Band
Sweet Tasting Hours The Go-Betweens Spring Hill Fair (Bonus Disc)
Ska Jam Tommy McCook & The Supersonics Trojan Ska Box Set Volume 2 [Disc 3]
Je T'Aime, Moi Non Plus Serge Gainsbourg Great Jewish Music: Serge Gainsbourg
Here Pavement Slanted And Enchanted: Luxe And Redux (Disc 1)
Cut 'N Dried Bettie Serveert Log 22
Sweet Little Girl Stevie Wonder Music Of My Mind
Return To Fantasy Uriah Heep The Best Of
Beef Bologna Fear Live...For The Record
You've Got Another Thing Comin' Judas Priest Living After Midnight
Dinner Lady Arms The Darkness One Way Ticket To Hell...And Back
Authority Song John Mellencamp The Best That I Could Do
Needle To The Groove Mantronix The Best Of 1985-1999
Everytime You Cry The Outfield Play Deep
I Love Livin In The City Fear No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion

Notes on Karaoke + Poetry = Fun from 2004

2009-06-29T08:06:00.005-04:00

Logo by the super wonderful Charlie Orr.

I think this was for a panel talk at an Associated Writing Programs convention I never went to. I forget. Anyway, here are some notes I had prepared--er, over-prepared--for that talk.

According to my notes, this was for a panels called "From the Ground Up: Poetry Communities Outside Academia."

1. What is Karaoke + Poetry = Fun?
Karaoke + Poetry = Fun, or KPF, is a reading series in which poets read poems and sing a karaoke song. The format has evolved generally to a poet walking on stage, having already selected the song they are going to sing [pass out songbook].

They read their poem, and the song begins. The poet might say something before the song begins, perhaps relating the song to either their own life or the poem the poet has just read. Then they sing the song.

I started the series when I realized a venue I was setting up a reading that had a full-fledged karaoke setup.

The idea of combining karaoke and poetry came from my own nervousness before poetry readings. When I noticed that I had that same energy when I would go to a karaoke bar before my turn came to sing a song, I thought what would it be like to combine the two, lighten up the poetry proceedings and see what it would be like if poets released a nervous energy or had some other performance to worry about when they were also reading their poetry.

Of course it was also meant to be a joke. Of course the idea that it would be ridiculous to combine poetry and karaoke would be preposterous, low-brow, idiotic, nuts. All those things. Part of my intention was also to loosen up non-performance-oriented poets, show them in a different light. Jenny Boully, for instance, read a love poem, and then brought down the house her version of "Me and Bobby McGee." It was great to hear her make those connections.

2. Why Do I Do KPF?
Because it's fun. Because I like to be with other poets and see them sing. Because karaoke is the great equalizer. Because it's an icebreaker.

Because I personally like to see what poets pick for their songs--I get to know them better, and so does the audience, when we see what song they sing, how they sing it. Because poetry is regarded as a super-serious, formal-diction-speech thing that this is perhaps a more in-your-face defiance of the establishment than even writing critical articles shunning big bad academia.

Because poetry gets boring and the short format is better in these trying times. Because, as Yeats writes in "Sailing to Byzantium,"

Nor is there singing school but studying
monuments of its own significance;

Because poems are closer to song.

Because I think poets should address the world around them, and what better way than singing Britney Spears or Elvis Presley?

3. KPF's Value to the Community
Wherever there are poets drinking, there is a community.
Wherever poets drink and read poems, there is a community.
Wherever poets drink and read poems and sing karaoke, there is a community.

Seriously, when KPF first started, I didn't know what would happen. I know that part of my motiviation was to basically have a karaoke party, which means everyone gets embarrassed and runk.

What I didn't expect, however, was that poets would be cheering other poets on when they sang, helping them along with their songs. Maybe these poets were in different niches in their poety lives--a slam poet, an academic poet, a experimental poet, narrative-lyrical poet--but in their KPF singing lives, they were all part of the same event.

I suppose I should say that my curator job for KPF is far more eclectic then most reading series--in part because I like to think of myself as an eclectic guy, and in part because, even now, it is hard to find poets who are willing to put themselves up on stage and not be afraid to make fun of themselves.

But the first night we did KPF, I didn't expect the support and hootin' and hollerin' poets would give other poets. And it was a way for poets to meet each other from the various camps. In New York City, there are just so many poets, you could live within a fairly vibrant community of like-minded poets. I think what KPF does on a community level is expand that with the notion of fun and song.

4. Definition of the KPF Audience and Participants
KPF has taken place at three venues [it's since happened many times, too many to mention, both in the city and upstate]. It began at an old bathhouse in Brooklyn, that has been converted to a theater space. The black box theater setting was spare, and we brought our own food and liquor.

The curating of that place was very much ad hoc, even moreso than recently--it was a group email in which a poet was offered a reading. Now, if anyone knows anything about poets, is that they rarely turn down a gig. This was the first time poets begged out of the reading--they were too nervous or they wanted to know who else was reading.

The second venue was a one-off gig in Williamsburg, hosted and curated my current co-host, slam poet Regie Cabico. The third and most recent venue is the Bowery Poetry Club, and in its current incarnation, the setting is very much showbiz: theirs is a professional PA system, a full bar, and more performance poets sign up right on the sport. For me, it's been a challenge to balance between the needs of the perhaps more karaoke-shy non-performance poets and the unshy and often scenery-chewing performance poets. This is a new challenge, and it's on the hosting level where there’s a figuring out the order.

I guess I should say too that it's at BoPo where the format has evolved into the "one poem, one song" format. The first two times, it was like a 5-minute reading--anywhere from 1-5 poems. I think it worked better that way, allowing for some silence to fill the room before and after the songs.

At BoPo, the needs are different: the show has to move, there's lighting and mixing, and there has to be lots of breaks so people can get drinks. Some things have been lost, but others gained--we've lost the cabaret intimacy of the first two shows, which is better for the poetry, and we've gained the showbiz flash and rapid-fire reading, which I think is better as a party and for the community.

5. Being Under the Wire
KPF is something that's fun, and academia is not about fun. It's a business. People who are better at explaining this can do so, but I don't think it's an accident that I can count the teaching poets-- tenure-track or adjunct--who have participated in KPF can be counted on one hand [this is still the case].

And I'm including myself. The poetry community, I think, has expanded way beyond academia in the years I've been around, thanks to the internet and the present horrible state of the academic job market. Poets are now more than OK with not being academics, since it is impossible to find jobs and if they were found you would lose a community like at KPF.

6. The Value of Disassociation
I love the fact there's no affiliations to speak about when I speak about KPF. The series is in many ways the exact opposite of academia--there's no shame, there's fun, and there's no money to be made.

Rarely is the KPF poet who makes diva-like demands, as is the case in other reading series. No one has asked to be paid, for example. I make sure get have discounted drinks. There's a value there of not being part of an institution, although if I may speak freely, the twice-a-month format of recent months has sort of institutionalized KPF to the point where I feel uncomfortable with it.

Part of the initial appeal of KPF was that it happened in an infrequent and disorganized way. Making the series a regular occurrence, to put it in advertising terms, dilutes the brand. And I am sure if this was part of some writing program it would be worse.

Having said all that, some of the best readings for KPF have been the ones in which creative writing departments have participated. Recently we had an NYU versus City College night. It was a competition in which poets from both programs represented their teams. There was judging and cheering. We introduced the teams with an anthem, specifying their height and hometown. My guess is that because the event is so un-academic--and because, frankly, graduate students know how to drink—the poets love and appreciate it even more.

Plus, there's that sense of community in a grad writing program, which is arguably the best part of going to writing school.

7. Last Words
Combining Karaoke and Poetry is an aesthetic statement for me. In my own work, I write about music and pop culture, and I've always thought that it is crucial that this kind of subject matter be placed into poems. That poems are fun. KPF works from the same premise.

MP3: Pete Drake and His Talking Guitar's version of "Blue Velvet."

2009-06-29T06:53:00.000-04:00

I don't think I ever posted that I had uploaded this: the magnificent Pete Drake and his Talking Guitar and his version of "Blue Velvet."

Pete Drake's Forever

Above is a performance of Pete Drake's #1 hit, "Forever." This video is beyond anything one would think of as kitsch or camp; it's freaking sublime. Punkadyne Labs posted this video some time ago. His wife said, looking at it, "This is where David Lynch got his ideas."

That got me thinkging that had an album where Drake does that song with the namesake of the famous Lynch best film. Enjoy!

"Blue Velvet" [mp3]

Teaser for an upcoming Daily Beast article.

2009-06-26T16:58:00.004-04:00

I do too much research. Which is another way of saying I overthink sometimes when I am on an assignment for an article or I am writing an email or Twitter post. So when I am finished with a project, I have all these files and xeroxes and folders, full of related by extraneous information.

I'll tell you what my next article is about later, but here's some screen shots from my research, from the New York Times.

Rest in peace.

2009-06-25T20:36:00.003-04:00

Miriam on the beach in Sea Isle City, NJ.

2009-06-24T09:28:00.001-04:00

Miriam on the beach in Sea Isle City, NJ., originally uploaded by danielnester.

Just out in Indiana Review: Cousin Mike excerpts.

2009-06-24T08:14:00.000-04:00

A compilation of some of the lists I put together for Cousin Mike: A Memoir are excerpted in Indiana Review's Summer 2009 issue, just released on the newsstands of your finer bookstores.

Overkills.

2009-06-18T10:52:00.002-04:00

Dollar Store Show: coming in July.

2009-06-17T12:54:00.002-04:00

Just added to the Readings page:

Wednesday, July 15
The Dollar Store Show's Summer Tour
Reading: Zach Dodson, Amelia Gray, Mary Hamilton, Jac Jemc, Caroline Picard, Patrick Somerville
Featuring: Collie Collen, Shane Jones, Daniel Nester
7pm
Valentine's
17 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY

Also:
Sunday, October 4
Polestar Poetry Series
other readers tba
5pm
Downstairs at Cake Shop
152 Ludlow (b/w Stanton and Rivington)
New York, NY

There's also some other events a-brewing for the How to Be Inappropriate tour and launch events. So stay tuned.

Overheard questions and comments by nephews while viewing Tim Burton's Willie Wonka.

2009-06-13T17:02:00.004-04:00

Sorry. I wasn't listening the first time.
The girl who chews gum all the time puts it in her hair.
I wonder if it gets stuck there.
Is that a heil Willy Wonka kinda thing?
I don't understand why the mom and the daughter wear blue jump suits.
The mom seems fake.
Mom, isn't that headgear like you used to have when you had braces?
You don't like listening, do you?

The Ballad of El Chappo.

2009-06-13T16:54:00.003-04:00

How will I ever find five millions dollars?
I have a great idea: I'll find a drug lord
who was in the paper. His name is El
Chappo. Shrimp, or camorones, as
they say down Mexico way. El Chappo is
the most feared man and reviled hombre
in all of Juarez, especially when he stands
in the blinding hot sun, as he overlooks
his drug fields with maniacal glee.

Five million dollars is an awful lot of money,
muy dinero. If I find this guy, I will be the
opposite of him. I will take him out for seafood
and buy him drinks. Danger: shrimp causes
severe bloating.

--written by Charlie, Johnny, Meri, Maisie, and me.

This is what I rock out to when nobody's looking.

2009-06-13T07:56:00.001-04:00

My nephew Timmy presents: The idiot who has never seen a camera.

2009-06-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

The continuing adventures of Cheesenut, the obese Great Dane, reincarnated as a duck-billed platypus.

2009-06-11T21:46:00.004-04:00

It was another rainy evening in a small Tasmanian village. Cheesnut shivered, and wrapped the flea-infested wool blanket and tightened it around his shoulders. Cheesenut had to pee very bad, and walked to the pond to let it all out.

He heard a Russian-accented man's voice emerging from the woods. Cheesenut's prostate tightened in shock. He turned to the Russian gentleman.

"Good day, comrade," he said. "Tell me about your dealings in the pond." Cheesenut's lucky charms still felt weird. "Didn't you bring your wife to this horrible, dank place?"

Ketel One handed Cheesenut a black briefcase and quickly walked away. He opened the case and found many, many Euros, Pesos, and American Dollars. All this money made his prostate loosen back to its normal state.

Just then, a crack of a bullwhip sounded across the trail. Donned in a fur cap and full-length coat emerged Ketel One's wife: a Russian Indiana Jones Lady named Stolichnaya.

Stolichnaya looked like she was high. She was familiar to Cheesenut. He had loved her many years ago. But after the way she had treated him, his love had turned to a cold, venomous hatred. He forgot that he did love her, but at his birthday he remembered he did love her when he ordered her as a prostitute.

"Vodka hooker?" Cheesnut exclaimed in his own clumsy Russian. "And now I see that you, my former love, is back again to take my money away?"

"I'll put it on your bill," Stolichnaya said coyly.

A bird passed by.

"You can keep the money," she said, "but you must also keep me, for I know you still love me."

The bird circled around again, and pecked out Cheesenut's eyes.

His eyes soon popped up again, and he needed glasses.

And they broke into deep love.
--a collaborative story written by Timmy, Johnny, Charlie (my nephews) , Meri (my sister) Patti (my mom), Maisie and Dan (that's me)

Review questions.

1. How could a duck-billed platypus wear glasses because it does not have ears?
2. Does a duck-billed platypus have a prostate?
3. Why would Stolichnaya go into "deep love" with a platypus?
4. When would a duck-billed platypus have an opportunity to order a prostitute?
5. Was Stolichnaya and Ketel One human beings, or other kinds of creatures? Explain.
6. Is this story a romance or a tragedy?
7. Does this story make sense?

Bob's Economic Adventure: A Cautionary Tale.

2009-06-10T22:11:00.003-04:00

One day there was a person named Bob McFarthead. He was 86 years old and washed windows for money for food for his dog. His dog was an obese Great Dane that watched TV all day, and knew how to use a remote. Every day, Bob drank cheese coffee and washed his own windows.

"Today is going to be different for me," Bob said, "since Cheesenut is about to kick the bucket and I can wash windows on my own."

After he had spoken, he let out a fart, and his dog nearly died. So he called President Obama because he needed a bailout package. Of course, stupid Barack Obama thought he needed something to bail him out of jail. So Bob was mad and he threatened to throw a bunch of eggs at the White House and turn it yellow.

The Secret Service, who were listening to this conversation, figured out that Mr. McFarthead was a threat to national security, and set out for his house that day. So they got in cars loaded with large weapons. They used the weapons to protect Mr. McFarthead, since many people at this point hated him.

After five days of this, he got sick of being antisocial, and decided to sneak away from his house. He escaped to Germany and ate a lot of schnitzel.

"Gee," McFarthead said to himself, "I forgot my dog."

So he went all the way back home and it took a couple of days. The dog was so happy to see him, mostly because he smelled like a hot dog from Germany. From all of the excitement seeing his owner, the dog died. "Oh crap," McFarthead said to himself, "I came all the way here for NOTHING."

A huge Death Star emerged from the horizon and blasted a laser beam at his house. Turns out, his house was filled with so many windows, an incredible array of lights resulted from the Death Star's lasers.

Now he had nothing but lights all around him as a result of his windows blowing up. And no more windows to wash.

"Crap," Bob thought, "I need a new job."

--a collaborative story written by Timmy, Johnny, Charlie (my nephews) , Patti (my mom), and Dan (that's me)

Sneak peek at the title of the "farticle" I wrote, coming out in the peer-reviewed journal called HUMOR.

2009-06-10T08:36:00.001-04:00

Two family photos from last weekend.

2009-06-08T21:46:00.003-04:00

So Maisie, Miriam and I were attending a little soire book party thing for the release Douglas Rothchild's Theogeny--a super book, by the way, one that I will talk about a bit over on the Linebreak blog, where I am guest-writing this week--and who other than Dan Wilcox offers to take our picture. And here's a couple of them, taken at our table at The Lark Tavern.

Those are new glasses, by the way. And Miriam spilled some juice on her pants.