This Morning

Sparks beneath plow truck as it passed on the left,

Heat of hands pushing polls into snow,

Beautiful, ominous, marble slate sky,

Crackly orange leaves hanging on old oak trees,

Breath in the chest by the top of the slope,

Toward untouchable expanse of mountain and lake,

And quietude in the thick of it.

More on what books are

 More book notes from Johanna Drucker's "The Century of Artist's Books"

"The book's ability to functon as a conceptual space. This is done either by presenting a conceptual piece or by using the book conceptually to duplicate a function normally served by a real space of performance or exhibition" (309)

Miles Deloster: "Television" 1981 "a blend of history, creative writing, documentary evidence and original insight"

"In works like Sol LeWitt's book 'Brick Wall' sequence is mainly a matter of time, which makes the temporal extension of the work into an experience of reading" (258)

'Maximilliana - Max Ernst and Iliazd "Maximilliana is a veritable catalogue of the possibilities of invented and conventional writing. Iliazd takes typography into many constellations and configurations to produce an effect of astronomical phenomena under observation" (231)

"Dieter Roth's book production was the outgrowth of experimental work in graphic design combined with concrete poetry" (73)

This book lists so many books that I need to go find and look at...

"Its sequential regularity and its stable finitude. Order and binding, relation and containment; these are the basic principles of the book whether amplified, resisted, or transgressed." (218)

"The vision becomes a book which is able to pass into the world with the fewest obstacles between conception and production, production and distribution." (88)

That quickness between vision and conception...

"The mobility of the book is one of its most unique characteristics, as well as its capacity to be preserved through that mobility (imagine a painting which had passed from hand to hand, been carried on the subway for two weeks, and then ended up in the pocket of an airline seat only to be rediscovered and enjoyed again.) (88)

Coincidences

I asked Mom for a book to read. While searching the living room, she exclaimed, "Oh, Hildegard of Bingen. That's where that book went." I didn't think anything of it other than, oh, good she's found a book she's been looking for. But what about a book for me to read? A few minutes later, from her bedroom, she calls out, "Have you read Deepak Chopra's 'The Spontaneous Fullfilment of Desire?'" I told her I hadn't and she said I should because its along the same lines of what I've been talking about recently. Seeing the word 'Desire' on the title, I ask "You mean about relationships?" Mom laughs. "No, I wasn't thinking of that, though it could help." 

I began reading the book and quickly realized its about coincidences. On the 4th page there is a quote by the 12th century saint,Hildegard of Bingen. Well, that's a coincidence right there - the second time I've heard that name tonight, never having known it before in my life. And now Mom is re-reading that book right now.

Looking back on the day, as the book requests, I recall another coincidence. I ran into my brother's ex-girlfriend from high school. She must be the 10th person I've talked to within the last month who just did or is going to teach english in another country. In Bree's case, she just returned from a year in South Korea. Apparently there are no training courses required, anyone can go and they pay for your return plane ticket, food and accommodation. Hmmmm.

Out of Place or In Place?

Today, on my walk through the blueberry barrens, I noticed a pair of sneakers, shoe laces knotted together, suspended high up on a telephone wire. 

Medicine

Fresh haddock fried in Indian spices and cornmeal.

Baby spinach frozen from the summer garden.

Grated raw beets with ginger and lemon juice.

Home made 1/2 buckwheat, 1/2 spelt bread with hint of molasses and raisins,

spread with thin layer of honey.

Well water. 

First meal home.

clothes, cats, and Moser

My sister has taken my pants, the silk ones Erika gave me from Guatemala with intricate batik patterning and hung them on her rocking chair for room decoration. She stuck a cantaloupe colored sweater in my closet that she doesn't want anymore. Mom found an acrylic painting I did in a high school art class and left it on my dresser. The pants I forgot in August are still sitting on the back of the washing machine. 

The cats are new. Two are fairly wild. They only come for food and they flee when they see us. The 3rd was someone's pet. Tortoise-shell with painted egyptian eyes. She meows to come in from the snow, but Pop's allergic so Mom is trying to find her a real home. The cats all came this winter because their owners left them. People are abandoning not only cats around the state, but horses too because they can't afford them anymore. When I owned horses, hay was $1 bale, grain $8 bag. Now hay is $4 + a bale and grain $16 + a bag.

Moser is new. Mom bought him in October. He's sooooo cute. Welsh corgi. Black, brown and white. White stockings. Brown eyebrows. Big head and ears. Long back. No bark. Such a respectful, quiet small dog. He rings a bell on the floor when he wants to go out. I like him very much.

cars and politics

Driving with my aunt Laurie today (she took me to get my 2nd ever massage thank you thank you thank you!)...the black mercedes in front of us had a bumper sticker reading "I'm for McCain because he's not a socialist" Laurie said shaking her head "Thats a $65,000 car. I feel like bumping into it."

Speaking of cars and politics, I watched meet the press at the gym this morning (because I don't have a t.v. and my mom informed me Obama was on) There was a toyota commercial at the end of the interview I thought very beautiful. Its the one where a hybrid car is built from earth, straw, wood, leaves amidst a New Zealand looking setting, peaceful, pretty music... with the scene filmed as if moving in a circle and then the car is unbuilt with all its parts vanishing in sunlight and storms to a voice saying something like, "the best way to impact the environment is to have as little impact as possible." Can you imagine seeing that commercial even 5 years ago?