Reading Recommendation (Poetry)

A book that I have been really excited about is simply called Carver: a life in poems, by Marilyn Nelson. Basically it charts the life of George Washington Carver in gloriously constructed poems. The book is slim but powerful. If you are a fan of Michael Ondaatje's Collected Works of Billy the Kid (one of my all time favorite books), Carver is similar in style and structure.

You may find it in a "Young Adult" area of your library, 811 N428C. That is, unless some intrepid reader has already snatched it. Which they should.

p.s. Don't be put off by the "young adult" classification. It doesn't diminish this book's brilliance.

GET YOU KEYBOARDS A'CLACKIN'!!!

High School Seniors listen up! The Washington Regional Transplant Community is sponsoring an essay contest. First prize is a $5000 Scholarship!
Second Prize is a $3000 Scholarship!

Big Money towards your educations! All it's going to costs you is a 1000 word persuasive essay about organ and tissue donation. That is roughly 2 pages typed. I know you guys type 1600 pages into your MySpace pages every afternoon. So I don't want any excuses.

Follow the above link for details.

Required Reading Is Flippin' AWESOME!

I am reading a little 150 - something year old book right now called Moby Dick. It is pretty amazing because chapters that you really shouldn't be interested in, like the chapter I just finished about rope, are totally engrossing. I also like Ishmael's conclusion that whales are indeed fish, regardless of what others have claimed. Ishmael, the narrator, also goes on and on about the accurate and inaccurate; the good and bad depictions of whales, and whaling in paintings, etchings, engravings, and woodworking. There's a chapter for each of these subjects. Sometimes two.

On a related note the BEEB (BBC) website has a little item about whales, whaling, ecology, and Moby D. I do detect an ecological undercurrent in Moby Dick. Though, it could be because ecology/sustainability is on everyone's mind right now.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Constitution of America...

Tomorrow is Constitution Day! You can celebrate with the DC Public Library and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton at 6:30 pm in the Great Hall of the Martin Luther King Library. Details are here.

You might want to sharpen your knowledge of our Nation's Constitution, in which case you may visit the Constitution via Cornell Law. Another option is to call up Barack Obama. He was a professor of Constitutional Law. Just saying.

Another option is the "Charters of Freedom" at the National Archives website, where you may view the Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, and The Bill of Rights.

Jazzmatazz

Holy Cow! The Real McCoy is going to be performing at the 4th Annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival this year! This is really exciting!

Monty Alexander, who I saw perform at the National Gallery of Art a few years ago, is playing along with Christian McBride, Taj Mahal, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. This is, like, an A-List lineup through and through.

For the full (A-List) lineup and some listening visit dejazzfest.

Frederick Douglass Oratorical Contest

This Just In!

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is hosting an oratorical Contest on Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9am-12pm with an 11 am performance and discussion with Kevin McIlvaine.

Contact the FRDO for details.

Today You Should be Voting

Today is voting day here in DC for something like 9 of 13 council seats! Get out there!

On the national scene, incase you haven't seen it already, there is a letter regarding Sarah Palin written by Anne Kilkenny. Ms. Kilkenny is a censorship fighting librarian from Wasilla, Alaska. The letter surfaced last Friday and is illuminating.

And finally...

There is a mural going up on the side of what used to be "Martin Luther King Jr. Grocery" near the intersection of Howard Rd. and MLK Jr. Ave. I have yet again been caught without my camera, but that's okay... the mural isn't quite finished yet. I'll put a picture up when they finish it. It's shaping up really nicely!

Belated Congratulations Sandwich!

My friend over at Watha T so graciously informed the blogoshpere that the sandwich had a birthday on August 20 th. Its 245 th. In fact August was National Sandwich month. I celebrated with a sandwich of course, but didn't even realize I was celebrating. I was just having lunch.

This date will be forever marked on my calender from now on. August 20, 1762. Don't forget.

A Bug's Strife

You may have missed this last Friday, but the NPR show "Science Friday" broadcast a story about how flies are so good at evading our deadly attacks.

There is even super slo-mo video demonstrating their movements in preparation for, and during flight. It's really pretty gross. In a hypnotic way.