Poem for Monday

From Paterson Book IV

a cavity aching
toward fission; a hollow,
a woman waiting to be filled

- a luminosity of elements, the
current leaping!
Pitchblende from Austria, the
valence of Uranium inexplicably
increased. Curie, the man, gave up
his work to buttress her.

But she is pregnant!
Poor Joseph,

the Italians say.

Glory to God in the highest
and on earth, peace, goodwill to
men!

Believe it or not.

A dissonance
in the valence of Uranium
led to the discovery [dissonance = juxtaposing, anti-metaphor]

Dissonance
(if you are interested)
leads to discovery

- to dissect away
the block and leave
a separate metal:

hydrogen
the flame, helium the
pregnant ash

William Carlos Williams

Haunted Heap No More

Haunted Heap abandoned we've taken refuge in new Walla digs. A powerful charm conjured should keep Wickidity far at bay. The required ingredients? Mercury and Sasquatch fur, eye of Chupacabra extracted with a butterfly antenna, mountain laurel seeds, the needles of a San Pedro cactus and a bit of Armillaria ostoyae. Haunted no longer.

Zelda del West

Santa's Gone All Nuts Again

Lulu, please keep in mind that this is just a silly song. Santa is well known to be quite harmless. Just dance to this catchy tune while you ready the hot cider.

Witch Watch Walla Walla Confirms Wickidity Activity up Walla Walla Way

Yes, you read that right folks. For those of you in West Texas, particularly the residents of Nowhere, this can only come as welcome witch update. For residents of Walla Walla, however, this is a dark day indeed. Lo those many years with the Wicked Witch in exile out West Texas way, Walla Walla normalcy flourished. Now, however we have confirmed for sure an enchantment that has the area snagged in a strangeness. What can it mean? We'll certainly find out.

You Are What You Eat

A thought provoking video about the importance of proper nutrition. Lulu should probably take notes.

Something Scary

We've been observing radio (internet) silence for a bit, in order to ascertain whether a wicked presence has, indeed, settled into the Walla Walla scene. Unfortunately, goings on around the local cemetery would seem to indicate that we have probably been pursued here by one Wicked Witch whose name is now uncertain. The above video rather nicely explains the sort of thing that's happening, which is the very same sort of thing that used to happen back in the middle of Nowhere, West Texas. Never mind, though. We expect very soon to have the true account of the Witch's deeds available for the reading public and there should be enough outrage generated by the revelations therein to drive the Witch back into hiding. At least we hope so. Stay tuned.

And So it Goes

It continues to unfold across the hive mind of the electronic universe, that strange sorcery unleashed when escape velocity was achieved and a new constellation willed into being. Don't worry denizens of planet earth: the Wickidity is well under control.

The magic of cybernetics is double and casts its spell like an enchanted two-way mirror. On one side, we find dominant uses of cybernetics as a commanding tool of power. Here, high-speed digital technologies wash over the imaginations of those they enchant, suggestively altering our senses and captivating our networked minds. But while capable of reshaping memory and even the contours of perception, digital sorcery of this sort is not cybernetics' sole or sealed destiny. On the other side of its magical mirror lies cybernetics' potential as a multifaceted pathway for life-sustaining connections, resonance, healing, requisite variation, and transformative change... This represents a form of code drift -- the suspension of clear and distinct boundaries between our modern selves and the world; and the replacement of such boundaries by ghostly streams of digitalized contact between beings in natural magical communication with each other. At issue here is the technological transmission of fascinating streams of affect and connection, vibrant streams of contact once banished to the subterranean haunts, deviant margins, and delirious poetic dreamscapes of modernity.

From Digital Magic, Cybernetic Sorcery: On the Politics of Fascination and Fear, by Stephen Pfol