Benjibopper

Environmentalists have gotten their politics backward. For too long they have demanded that Americans Wake Up! rather than encouraging them to dream." --Nordhaus & Shellenberger.



Geez, it took two of them to come to the conclusion of a sausage?

Dream?

Yes.

But act.

Run for something.

Become an Obama and try to stop the B.S.
 

Of a sausage? I think not. Few have gone this route. Even linguist George Lakoff just keyed into it a few years ago. N&S are themselves environmentalists, which is perhaps what gives their words here power. They write a lot of Martin Luther King Jr. and how he inspired, and gave hope rather than fear.

Myself, I think it takes a bit of both. A one-two Malcom X-Martin Luther King Jr punch is a deft combo. But let's not forget, we still haven't reached the promised land, 40 years after the dream was announced.

We can't wait 40 years to shape a more sustainable way to live.
 

Did Ivan mention that the rhythm was perfect?

I think he certainly did! ;)

This has perfect rhythm and a nice bounce to its flow. It has slam appeal, I think. Its a reader for sure.
 

Consumerism is the dread beast we flail the sword at Ben...sometimes we hit the mark and then the light of reality comes bleeding through.
 

The joys of shopping, eh?

I really do hate the consumerism of this time of year.
It really has become a pure glutfest.
 

Eric: I'm not sure he did, but you sure did. Can a white boy have rhythm after all?

You know there is only one piece I ever wrote with spoken word in mind, and I have yet to perform it. Maybe I'll make an audio of that and post it here sometime.

TWM: you have quite a way with images, my friend.

Crushed: indeed. sometimes I fall prey to that dread beast, as TWM put it. such nice, shiny shiny things. precious.
 

You're right, Benji.

This poem sounds great spoken.
I was a bit worried about it scanning on the printed page. I read it out loud. Sounded good.

About your story that you just mentioned on my blog:

think you might enjoy a story i just wrote about two teminal cancer patients: one a clean-living pacifist whose husband beat her, the other a very angry bitter bukowski type who loves Christmas ham, booze and smokes. one wants to die soon and the other wants to drag it on as long as possible. neither gets their wish.

Save for the mild grammatical flub in the last line above-- "neither gets their wish"--(always the teacher)--I would like to see the story.
Where can I find it?
 

Ivan: I'll email it to you.

[re: the grammatical choice, there really is no accepted solution is there? I suppose the grammatically correct form is 'his' but they are not both hes, creating a strange inaccuracy. oh English, you cruel cruel master. i should just start using the gender neutral finnish 'han'.]
 

It's acually han solo.

Singular.

Egad. Now we come to sexual practices of astronauts!
 

Great poem! I enjoyed it lots... How are you doing fellow writer?:)
 

Where's Jesus when you need him, eh?

I like the idea that we might get all our ecological shit together just in time for a whacking great meteor to thump into the Earth and shatter us into the annals of galactic history.

I wonder what difference the environmental state of the planet will have if it makes it as far as collapsing into the sun.

What will the knock-on effect be for whatever comes afterwards?
 

wow, u summerized my feelings for christmas and malls in a twisted parallel world kinda way...
 

Oh, the angst of the season!
I've quit it,,,,,and feel so GOOD about it!
Only toys for the kid,,,
after all, Christmas IS about one (previous) kid, and we can make merry about that.
 

Ivan, you saucy old dumpster diver you!

Leon, thanks for your visit and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Toast: not sure about the state of the environment, but if we keep living like this we humans won't last that long. and those final years will suck, a lot. as for jesus, the rumours of his second coming were perhaps exagerated? but he did well while he was here. you can't blame him for what's happened since. will obama be as radical as jesus? i doubt it, but time will tell.

who said, 'we never knew how high he was until he fell?'

CD: it's the northern country thing - we're connected in a twisted parallel kinda way.

Babs: good on ya! the truth is that, like jesus' second coming, my angst over the holidays has been greatly exagerated. by me. i like xmas shopping as long as i avoid the malls and don't get too obsessive about it.
 

yikes ..
i avoid all malls during this time ..
wallie world too ..
"Snow proof warehouse boots dragging,
eyelids blinking slow
at the product kaleidoscope."
...yap, that's exactly me when i have to go christmas shopping ..
 

Foam: yep, i suspect it's that way over much of our continent at this time of year.