Thursday, October 31, 2013

What I'm Up To: White Cloud Worlds



ok, normally this is my job, advertising events, but fortunately Paul Tobin from White Cloud Worlds did most of the heavy work including this part of the flier - so instead I've been running around in circles and accomplishing...who knows...

At least the launch for Baby Teeth went off without a hitch (well done to Dan Rabbarts, Eileen Mueller, and a whole tonne of other people)  Now it's wait and see how this all pans out, looking forward to the Opening, expecting lots of the artists, and quite afew Weta people - so if you want an invite now's the time to ask (Rona Gallery 562 8062) and of course the life drawing demonstration will be fun.  Gino's also threatened to break out the movie makeup on the 10th during the signing which will be seriously cool!!!!



Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday Poem: The Hero - Movement 2: Last Stand

The Hero

 Movement 2: Last Stand



Atop the bodies
Strewn akimbo
Awkward arms stretched out
in
Broken pleas for mercy

He stands

He falls

Pleas for mercy
Broken arms stretched out
Awkward
Akimbo
Strewn
Atop the bodies

A.J. Ponder

Another cheery little number, the final in the series might turn up next week - heck it probably will and if you're still with me after that maybe, maybe something with some laughs.  Of course if rallying dirges are your thing, The Hero - Movement 1: Corpse Road is lying in wait in this little linky here http://anafflictionofpoetry.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/tuesday-poem-hero-first-movement.html

Here I am ten oclock on a Monday night wondering if I should trust to a timer - and why not?  Let's see if I can convince the blog Tuesday is a good day to post.  After all it is the best possible day to catch all the Tuesday Poets at their watering hole right here at the Tuesday Poem.

Also my short story, "Friends" finds a home "Baby Teeth" -
a remarkably horrible, and occasionally funny collection of stories by well known authors in the Speculative Fiction community.

October 30, 2013 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Quality Hotel
223 Cuba Street
Te Aro,Wellington 6011
New Zealand

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Tuesday Poem: The Hero - Movement 1: Corpse Road



The Hero

 Movement 1: Corpse Road



This is your song
Death
This is the ruin
Of a ruined land
Hot and fetid as the breath of summer along corpse road

The stink
Overwhelming
Death moves on
To where legend breaks through reality
And the tune he sings
Is valiant
Victorious

A.J. Ponder

Hi peeps, not going to try anything fancy this week, like timing the post - because last week it kind of didn't go as planned.  Nevertheless this poem is yet another failed attempt at a horror poem for an anthology - not because I don't like it but because it decided not to fit the theme.  Never mind - the poem is quite fun (in a macabre way) and even better, it has 2 more movements to look forward to.  Next week's was actually the movement I finished - because it did something remarkable/odd as I wrote it, turning in on itself.  Anyway it will be interesting to know if I like it as much next week as I do this.

Of course I'd love to wish everybody a great week, and hope that whatever you do, you are successful - even if it's just successful at having fun :)  And talking about fun, why not check out some of the really great poems up on the Tuesday Blog? 





Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Tuesday Poem: Crashing - oh and randomly...cats

Everything Falls


Everything is bouyant-
until it falls

Every twig and and every branch
even the Great Tree
clutching the entire Earth in its roots
will eventually fall,
crashing to the
swamp below

The birds winging their way
across oceans,
continents,
the great divide
are strong
until gravity claims them
 

Everything rots
even empires
when their slaves
rise...
...and fall

A.J. Ponder

Happy Tuesday everybody, cross fingers for us, my son and I are having a little detour to the hospital for a test he's already failed because - well, because doctors are doctors. I'd argue he doesn't need it, hell I already did, but what do I know about medicine? - I can only read scientific papers - and the doctors? - well they haven't even corrected the cortisol chart on this page http://www.labdxtest.com/labdxtest/view/Davis-Lab-and-Diagnostic-Tests/425200/all/cortisol_and_challenge_tests which last time I looked still hadn't corrected (because apparently it's in the texts!).  I mean how hard is it to figure that 10x27.6 does not equal 28?

Maybe my uncle is right, if you have a tricky health problem, you're better off seeing a vet -

No, no - he's definitely a cat.  Been a bit off his food lately...don't worry about the lack of hair, he's a sphynx, Felis humanis sapisphynx to be exact - and yes - I guess he is pretty big for a cat...

Have a great day, poems are everywhere, but it's always worth dropping by the Tuesday poetry Blog for more.

And BTW, anyone else seen "Gravity"? it's everything the hype says it is - including not that great at phsyics - but who cares? ;)

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Tuesday Poem: Circle of Life II (Snakes in the Henhouse)

Too long
we left the snakes in charge of the henhouse.
Pimped out,
and fat on eggs
they're complaining
about the service
as they hold us to ransom,
their bloated bodies
clogging the feed trough.

Too long
they've turned us against each other

as they tear down
our perches
and foul our nest.

In the name of liberty we are given cages
in the name of freedom our wings our clipped
in the name of greed we are denied the necessities of life

I'm tired of chickenshit and platitudes
the she'll be right pecking order of social disdain.

When will we break down this pyramid of want?

When will we be free?

A.J. Ponder

Part of the Circle of Life series
The Circle of Life III (2016) 

Warning: Read no further: Go straight to cheer yourself up and visit the lovely folk at the Tuesday Poem hub.  For some reason I felt compelled to write the below to go with the poem, and have not yet found the wherewithal to delete it.



It seems lately that there are signs the world is going crazy, and people turn to find scapegoats down the pecking order.  It is easy to blame those who cannot speak up for themselves. (Apparently in Australia that includes over 50% of the population) But while money is tight, surely fiscal responsibility shouldn't mean, "not spending money." It should mean creating a better outcome at less cost.  So, given the poor cannot look after themselves, or they would not indeed be poor, then it is someone else's responsibility to help, not in an ad hoc way, but with universal care.  To that end surely it is not controversial to expect our government to spend taxes, not on obscene salaries for the rich, or their well connected mates, but...

on schools
on ensuring everyone is living in housing that will keep them (and their communities) healthy
on a health system that is proactive instead of retroactive
on creating a better interface between govt organisations and the people they are supposed to serve
on making the world a better place by protecting our environment and that of the planet in which we all must live.