David Blaine's Blog

For my birthday a friend, Beto Palaio, published my poem, Ode to a Bad Example, translated into Portuguese beside the English, at his blog, Academia Posmodern de Letras.  Thank you Beto! What a sweet gift.

Thanks for visiting my web page. Here you'll find links to the places that have my work.  I will also share the work of others when I find myself being pulled into it, and providing I can get permission.
Hopefully this can also become a place to share ideas about writing, particularly poetry, although, almost anything could be interpreted as poetry.

I am available to read my work and discuss poetry with students or anyone else interested, as individuals or groups, and I'm able to travel a reasonable distance to do so.

I live in Michigan, about one hundred miles north of Detroit. I always appreciate hearing from someone who has taken the time to read my work. An E-Mail can be sent by following the link on the right to my full profile.

"The Box" by David Blaine. Poem Featured in Issue 55 of Rattle Magazine, Tribute to Civil Servants.

Here are some ways to get better meals for less money.  It takes effort but your family will love
the results.




Learn
to cook from scratch.  The cost of
processing foods into ready-to-eat is expensive and the ingredients are
not always wholesome.  If you don’t
know how to prepare whole foods, such as rice, potatoes, noodles, dried
beans, etc, then learn.  You're on the internet, right?





Learn
how to best prepare the less expensive cuts of meat and poultry. 
Cuts like round roast can be prepared using moist heat (pot roasts,
stews) and will be as tender as more expensive cuts when cooked that
way.  Larger chickens can best be
prepared as chicken and dumplings or chicken noodle soup for the same
reason.





Look
for discounts on expired food.  The dates are not dates the food spoils on, they are dates the food should be sold by.  If you use them soon
there is nothing wrong with them. 
Obviously this doesn’t apply to dairy or similar fresh foods which
might spoil.  But things like
breakfast cereals are certainly good past their “sell by” date.  If you see meat, fish or poultry in the
case on or past the sell by date, and it still looks fresh, ask the
butcher for a discount.  Freeze
what you won’t eat right away.





Buy
in bulk.  You’re going to use it
all, eventually.  Why buy small
shakers of something like garlic powder when you can buy a huge one for
just a little more than the small shakers?  Can’t find them in the grocery?  Look for retail outlets of the food service suppliers.  In Michigan that’s Aldi, Sysco or
Gordons.  You can also try Sams
Club or Cosco but will need to buy a membership for those two. You can
actually buy a gallon of mustard for just a couple of dollars.  Which leads us to…





Share
or buy co-operatively.  If you can
organize a group of neighbors to buy together, you can really save a lot.  Imagine splitting that gallon of
mustard 4 to six ways.  You’d each
be able to fill three or four empty mustard bottles for about fifty cents.  You can also do that with large bags of
noodles, flour, sugar, rice, salad dressings, bar-b-que sauce, pancake
syrup, and many, many more items. 
Again, look into the commercial food services that have retail
stores near you.





Learn
the secret of top chefs.  Chefs
don’t pick a recipe and then go out to buy what they need, they look at
what’s in season, or what’s on sale, and then they choose the recipes that
use those ingredients.  So if
chicken thighs are on sale this week, make chicken and dumplings, chicken
soup, b-b-q chicken, but not pot roast. 
An example of this would be buying a turkey when they are on sale,
just before Thanksgiving. 





Learn
to use the services in a grocery. 
Remember that sale on turkeys? 
If you buy a larger turkey the butcher can saw it in half, right
down the center, and re-wrap it for you. 
Freeze one half.  You might
ask for this same service in produce. 
Are you shopping for a group? 
Ask for that watermelon to be split and wrapped as two or more
pieces.





Find
a day old bread store.  The bread
isn’t really stale.  Even if it is,
it still makes great toast, French Toast, stuffing and croutons.  You didn’t know you could make croutons? 
Bought more than you can use? 
Bread will freeze just fine. 






Learn to can or freeze.  Then you can buy a whole bushel of
tomatoes for a few dollars and have canned tomatoes all winter for pennies
a jar.  You can watch videos or
read about canning on the internet, but if you know someone who cans, ask
if you can help them for a couple of hours.  You’ll learn all the tricks and short cuts that way!  Jars can be expensive, so keep an eye
out for canning jars at yard sales and re-sale shops. 





If
you’re going to learn to can, and you have space to grow a small garden, these two things go hand in hand.  Grow foods you like to eat.  Tomatoes, green beans, corn, carrots,
and green peppers can all be either canned or frozen for use in cooking later.  You can also keep potatoes or onions
for several months after harvest. 
Just store them in a cool, dry place.  Again, a good way to learn to garden is to ask a neighbor,
friend or relative if you can help them with their garden.  Keep an eye out at yard sales and
re-sale shops for garden tools like rakes and hoes.





Check
for coupons, but, remember that the store brand may be cheaper, even with
the coupon savings on the national brand. 
You’ve got to do your homework and detective work to get the best
buy.







Think
about left-overs when planning meals. 
Some recipes create tomorrow’s lunch at the same time.  You can make chicken and dumplings and
keep half the chicken for sandwiches the next day.  Just make extra dumplings to make the
first meal more filling.

Yesterday the Sanilac County Historical Society conducted an event called "House in Mourning" at their museum.  It included a cemetery walk where I served as a volunteer.  I read the following poem at the grave of three sailors who drowned in a storm on Lake Huron.  This year is the 100th anniversary of The Storm of 1913. In one week in November eight ships and over 200 sailors were lost on Lake Huron alone.


How My Man Came to Leave
Some men work the factory floor;
some men work at a trade. But here men go down to the sea in ships,
our husbands, brothers,
and sons.
They tell you it’s to put food on the table,
they tell themselves that too.
But there is a pull beyond earning a living.
The lake is a temptress,
smiling,
beguiling. In summer she’s a sirenin shimmering sapphires.A sailor’s seduction ensues.Through the Summer a sailor's
enthralled with this mistress.
His home and his family
in memory dim.
But Autumn brings a new look to the lake.
Still attractive, dignified,
but portending a change,
foretelling a graceless aging
                                                                                                                 too soon coming.
By November the lake has become
a bitter old wench, angry, short tempered.
She senses her suitors are longing to leave her,to abandon herbeneath the coming ice.
But unwilling to die old and lonely,
one week in November
during the season of ’13,
Old Dame Huron reached up her icy arms,
heaved her mighty breath,

and snapped eight ships.
More than two-hundred lovers she took to bed,
never to wake.
Few were left to tell the fate
of their ship and of their brothers.

On shore, 
I soon learn the news
I do not wish to hear.

My sailor has abandoned me
to lie forever by the side
of that Jezebel,
Huron.

A welcome slideshow to The Sanilac County Historic Village and Museum.

Today I received an e-mail from someone asking where he could get his poems published.  This is a pretty common question when poets are just starting out, so I took the time to reply, and decided to share it with everyone as an open letter.

My ideas aren't necessarily the best, or complete, so please feel to add your own suggestions to Paul in the comments afterwards.  Thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hello Paul,

I'm not certain where you came by my e-mail address, but I would be glad to suggest some ways to get your poetry published.

First, find markets that are actually looking for poetry submissions.  The easiest way is to Google "calls for poetry submissions" or "calls for poetry manuscripts."  This will bring up the names of many 'markets,' which could be either print or online publications seeking poems.

Another way to find markets is to search 'Dutrope Digest'.  Google that name; it's an online directory of publishers looking for many types of submissions.  Duotrope used to be free, but now they have a subscription fee.  They do offer a free trial period though.

Another really good way to find publications for your submissions is to buy or borrow a copy of 'Poet's Market', an annual book that lists everyplace known to accept poetry.  The reason this is such a good resource is that they not only tell you the publications, they tell you how to contact them, who the editor is, how many poems they receive each year, how many they actually accept, if they pay or not, and much, much more.  For example, they might tell you that 'Ahab's Whale' accepts nautical themed poems only, by e mail only.  They might want an attachment in ten point Times New Roman font, or they may want the work in 8 point Arial Font, pasted into the body of the email.  They may only accept poems from June to September, or they may take them year round.  All that type of info is provided in 'Poet's Market', and it is critical, because many times if you don't follow their guidelines exactly, editors just delete your submission, or throw it in the trash if it's snail mailed in. 

There are a few things that are critical if you're going to submit for publication.  First, read the publication you are submitting to.  If it's online that shouldn't be too hard.  If it's in print, check the bookstore shelves or go to the library.  It's important you know what kind of work the magazine uses, and that your submissions will fit in.  No sense sending that avant-garde poem about domestic violence to Ahab's Whale if they only print nautical work, right?  My first submission was to 'Poetry Midwest' and the rejection note came back simply, "We don't publish religious poetry."  I didn't think my work was religious, but I got the point, I hadn't read the magazine.  I only sent to them because I was from the Midwest.  Another critical thing is, don't submit if you're not ready to receive brutal rejection.  A friend, who is a very accomplished poet, with many, many publication credits, recently got a note that said, "Fuck this submission."  While most editors are kinder, any rejection stings.

When you are first starting out I'd suggest you avoid contests.  Especially avoid contests that require a fee. The chances of winning a contest are slim, and it should be obvious that the prizes are paid for by the people who enter and don't win.  

I wish you luck and encourage you to jump in, and stick with it.  I still remember my first acceptance, and the modest check that came with it!  Cheers.

An Unscientific Look at American Politics

(Or, how’s it look from there, with your head up yourkeester?)

As most of you have heard by now, the sky is falling.  Again. Yup, the old fiscal cliff routine is being rehashed as the Budget Sequester. It’s awful, just ask any politician. If you ask the Democrats they’ll tell you the Republicans are killing this country, and if you ask the Republicans,well you know the drill. 
I just figure we are all adults, at least those of us whovote,and we should perhaps take a look ourselves.
The sequester, which is supposed to be the nuclear optionto balance our budget, is going to trim spending over thenextnine years.  Theamount we’ll see cut this year is about eightyfive billion dollars, half from defense and half fromnon-defensespending.  Thatreduces the budget for defense by about eight percentand the non-defense spending gets cut five or six percent.
Wow.  Read thatagain.  Eight percent and sixpercent.  I know a lotof people who have seen their incomes reduced by more thaneightpercent since the big crash in 2008.  A lot of Americans are working less hours, and/or at jobs with lower pay.  Some haven’t found work yet.  I wonder howcome they haven’t just curled up and died, you know,the way the politicians say that our country will, if wehave to have thesehorrible budget cuts.
If my budget were cut by eight percent, I’d have to gowithout popcornwhen I took my wife to the movies.  You know, that doesn’t sound likeArmageddon to me, how about you? 
There are a lot of things Americans would like theirrepresentatives to cut.Whenever you write to your rep asking for something likethis, you usually get a reply that runs along the lines of, “Dear John,Foreign Aid is actually less than one percent of the federal  budget, so even though no one likesforeign aid, cutting it won’t help anything.”   OK, raise your hand if you’veheard that before. Uh huh, thought so. 
Well, eight percent minus one percent is seven percent, andif we could findhalf a dozen more of those unimportant things that won’tmake any difference, because they’re less than one percent, well, you do themath.  I know, this is oneof those times when “you do the math” actually involvesmath.
But you should be OK with that, because remember, you are anadult.  You vote.Right?  I don’t knowhow you vote, but I’ll tell you, one really smart cat once said“Never re-elect anyone.” I don’t know his name, but I think I’m going to listen to him at the next election.

An Unscientific Look at American Politics

(Or, how’s it look from there, with your head up your keester?)
As most of you have heard by now, the sky is falling.  Again. Yup, the old fiscal cliff routine is being rehashed as the Budget Sequester.  It’s awful, just ask any politician. If you ask the Democrats they’ll tell you the Republicans are killing this country, and if you ask the Republicans, well you know the drill. 
I just figure we are all adults, at least those of us who vote,and we should perhaps take a look ourselves.
The sequester, which is supposed to be the nuclear optionto balance our budget, is going to trim spending over the nextnine years.  The amount we’ll see cut this year is about eightyfive billion dollars, half from defense and half from non-defensespending.  That reduces the budget for defense by about eight percentand the non-defense spending gets cut five or six percent.
Wow.  Read that again.  Eight percent and six percent.  I know a lotof people who have seen their incomes reduced by more than eightpercent since the big crash in 2008.  A lot of Americans are working less hours, and/or at jobs with lower pay.  Some haven’t found work yet.  I wonder how come they haven’t just curled up and died, you know,the way the politicians say that our country will, if we have to have thesehorrible budget cuts.
If my budget were cut by eight percent, I’d have to go without popcornwhen I took my wife to the movies.  You know, that doesn’t sound likeArmageddon to me, how about you? 
There are a lot of things Americans would like their representatives to cut.Whenever you write to your rep asking for something like this, you usually get a reply that runs along the lines of, “Dear John, Foreign Aid is actually less than one percent of the federal  budget, so even though no one likesforeign aid, cutting it won’t help anything.”   OK, raise your hand if you’veheard that before.  Uh huh, thought so. 
Well, eight percent minus one percent is seven percent, and if we could findhalf a dozen more of those unimportant things that won’t make any difference, because they’re less than one percent, well, you do the math.  I know, this is oneof those times when “you do the math” actually involves math.
But you should be OK with that, because remember, you are an adult.  You vote.Right?  I don’t know how you vote, but I’ll tell you, one really smart cat once said“Never re-elect anyone.”  I don’t know his name, but I think I’m going to listen to him at the next election.

An Unscientific Look at American Politics






(Or, how’s it look from there, with your head up your
keester?)




As most of you have heard by now, the sky is falling.  Again. Yup, the old fiscal cliff routine is being rehashed as the Budget Sequester. 
It’s awful, just ask any politician. If you ask the Democrats they’ll tell you the Republicans are killing this country, and if you ask the Republicans,
well you know the drill. 




I just figure we are all adults, at least those of us who
vote,

and we should perhaps take a look ourselves.




The sequester, which is supposed to be the nuclear option

to balance our budget, is going to trim spending over the
next

nine years.  The
amount we’ll see cut this year is about eighty

five billion dollars, half from defense and half from
non-defense

spending.  That
reduces the budget for defense by about eight percent

and the non-defense spending gets cut five or six percent.




Wow.  Read that
again.  Eight percent and six
percent.  I know a lot

of people who have seen their incomes reduced by more than
eight

percent since the big crash in 2008.  A lot of Americans are working

less hours, and/or at jobs with lower pay.  Some haven’t found work

yet.  I wonder how
come they haven’t just curled up and died, you know,

the way the politicians say that our country will, if we
have to have these

horrible budget cuts.




If my budget were cut by eight percent, I’d have to go
without popcorn

when I took my wife to the movies.  You know, that doesn’t sound like

Armageddon to me, how about you? 




There are a lot of things Americans would like their
representatives to cut.

Whenever you write to your rep asking for something like
this, you usually

get a reply that runs along the lines of, “Dear John,
Foreign Aid is actually

less than one percent of the federal  budget, so even though no one likes

foreign aid, cutting it won’t help anything.”   OK, raise your hand if you’ve

heard that before. 
Uh huh, thought so. 




Well, eight percent minus one percent is seven percent, and
if we could find

half a dozen more of those unimportant things that won’t
make any difference,

because they’re less than one percent, well, you do the
math.  I know, this is one

of those times when “you do the math” actually involves
math.




But you should be OK with that, because remember, you are an
adult.  You vote.

Right?  I don’t know
how you vote, but I’ll tell you, one really smart cat once said

“Never re-elect anyone.” 
I don’t know his name, but I think I’m going to listen

to him at the next election.