Eric Arvin's Blog, page 45
October 4, 2011
Autumn Poetry
"Autumn jazz and dad"
the taste and smell of memory (breathe deep and speak) are
the senses of autumn; the taste can be bitter, but the smell
(breathe it in) is grilled hot dogs, football leather, pumpkin
and patchwork pies in puddles; autumn is a relief from
constrictions, and everything - even a tree - will exhale
[he said he would live forever; he and god had always known it
the chainsaw goes back for seconds and thirds, and you
and your brothers are there; it's the same every autumn
the bitter taste of sawdust and resentment; oh my god,
he'll live forever, even as his hair turns a strange silver]
autumn falls into a sigh, big and laudable; leaves change to become
paper-money, worthy of exchange; night breezes are drugs - euphoric
and like angel-water (breathe that in at least); and slowly,
seeming to be suddenly, it's a melancholy moon and cornstalks turn to
gold when touched by the headlights; looks like jazz - you need to hear some jazz
[when winter drifted in you were so busy pondering on the disappearance
of paper-money and angel water that you forgot,
forgot to listen to the beauty of footsteps - his heavy feet on the
kitchen tile, until he collapsed on the bedroom floor and couldn't
live forever anymore, proving god and the world wrong]
the headlights strum the cornstalks making imperfect jazz, filling that need
silent jazz: rustle-rustle-rustle-hushhhh, you can hear a voice sway
through this harmony; he is whispering (and god is whispering), nothing
to forgive - and you...breeeeeathe; you in rhythm with the
cornstalks' jazz; autumn smells of pumpkins and tastes of molasses
...and silence is so accurate.
- Eric Arvin
the taste and smell of memory (breathe deep and speak) are
the senses of autumn; the taste can be bitter, but the smell
(breathe it in) is grilled hot dogs, football leather, pumpkin
and patchwork pies in puddles; autumn is a relief from
constrictions, and everything - even a tree - will exhale
[he said he would live forever; he and god had always known it
the chainsaw goes back for seconds and thirds, and you
and your brothers are there; it's the same every autumn
the bitter taste of sawdust and resentment; oh my god,
he'll live forever, even as his hair turns a strange silver]
autumn falls into a sigh, big and laudable; leaves change to become
paper-money, worthy of exchange; night breezes are drugs - euphoric
and like angel-water (breathe that in at least); and slowly,
seeming to be suddenly, it's a melancholy moon and cornstalks turn to
gold when touched by the headlights; looks like jazz - you need to hear some jazz
[when winter drifted in you were so busy pondering on the disappearance
of paper-money and angel water that you forgot,
forgot to listen to the beauty of footsteps - his heavy feet on the
kitchen tile, until he collapsed on the bedroom floor and couldn't
live forever anymore, proving god and the world wrong]
the headlights strum the cornstalks making imperfect jazz, filling that need
silent jazz: rustle-rustle-rustle-hushhhh, you can hear a voice sway
through this harmony; he is whispering (and god is whispering), nothing
to forgive - and you...breeeeeathe; you in rhythm with the
cornstalks' jazz; autumn smells of pumpkins and tastes of molasses
...and silence is so accurate.
- Eric Arvin
October 3, 2011
October 2, 2011
Where We Dwell
Last year at this time I was recuperating in a care facility from that deadly bout of pneumonia. I was released on October 4th, which is this Tuesday. This is the only year I have decided to mark the event on my calendar. Not because I want to pretend it didn't happen, but because in the past I've had the tendency to dwell. I'm trying to get beyond that.
I decided last year not to notice the tragedies in my life with such flair, though the mental bookmark will always be there. Looking back at my calendars I can see "such-and-such happened last year" or "this-and-that happened in 1998", and most of these notes aren't for particularly happy occurrences. Life-changing? Yes. Happy? No.
The thing I have been asking myself is what have I learned from these speed bumps on life's highway. If we are indeed spirits having a human experience, what was I supposed to gather from a brain surgery or my father dying the day after Christmas my senior year in high school? Was everything that I found so difficult to get through while growing up - the bullies, the religion, the religious bullies - meant to toughen me up for what I've had to experience now? If that's so, then, DAMN, what's NOW toughening me up for? Or are these just bricks repeatedly being hurled at my thick skull for a lesson I'm just not learning? (There's a problem here. I've taken those bricks and built me a sturdy wall with them.)
Or is it none of the above? That's the scariest prospect, isn't it? There's no reason for anything and everything is just as clear-cut and dull as some would have me believe. And there are times I can almost see their thinking. But then, I always see too the patterns disguised as coincidence and I become myself again. And I remember how, when I was so ill last year at this time, I knew - I KNEW- there was "other." I knew that the body and the consciousness were two different things. That we can separate it even further still into the Mind, the Body, and the Soul. That these three things, by some random and chaotic cosmic whirler, came together this once, but will never be back together in the same combination again. At least, not in this space of existence.
Well, would you look at that. I seemed to have learned something after all.
I decided last year not to notice the tragedies in my life with such flair, though the mental bookmark will always be there. Looking back at my calendars I can see "such-and-such happened last year" or "this-and-that happened in 1998", and most of these notes aren't for particularly happy occurrences. Life-changing? Yes. Happy? No.
The thing I have been asking myself is what have I learned from these speed bumps on life's highway. If we are indeed spirits having a human experience, what was I supposed to gather from a brain surgery or my father dying the day after Christmas my senior year in high school? Was everything that I found so difficult to get through while growing up - the bullies, the religion, the religious bullies - meant to toughen me up for what I've had to experience now? If that's so, then, DAMN, what's NOW toughening me up for? Or are these just bricks repeatedly being hurled at my thick skull for a lesson I'm just not learning? (There's a problem here. I've taken those bricks and built me a sturdy wall with them.)
Or is it none of the above? That's the scariest prospect, isn't it? There's no reason for anything and everything is just as clear-cut and dull as some would have me believe. And there are times I can almost see their thinking. But then, I always see too the patterns disguised as coincidence and I become myself again. And I remember how, when I was so ill last year at this time, I knew - I KNEW- there was "other." I knew that the body and the consciousness were two different things. That we can separate it even further still into the Mind, the Body, and the Soul. That these three things, by some random and chaotic cosmic whirler, came together this once, but will never be back together in the same combination again. At least, not in this space of existence.
Well, would you look at that. I seemed to have learned something after all.
Soundcheck Sessions: Dawes, A Little Bit Of Everything
Stunning songwriting here.
October 1, 2011
Untreed Reads Sale!
There are some great sales going on over at Untreed Reads this month. I got this message and thought I'd share:
OCTOBER HORROR SALE (Untreed Reads/Amazon/Kobo)
Naturally, October is the perfect time to showcase all of our great horror stories. We are reducing the price on all horror novels, novellas and short stories for the entire month. In fact...these went on sale today! Here's what the pricing structure looks like for the sale:
$0.99 remains the same.
$1.50 becomes $0.99
$1.99 becomes $1.25
$2.99 becomes $1.75
$4.99 becomes $2.99
So discounts will be anywhere from 34 - 40% off for the most part.
But that's not all! In order to keep up with the demand over at Amazon, we are also running this sale there for the month.
But that's STILL not all! We've negotiated with Kobo to get all of the horror titles featured not only on their domestic and international homepages, but also in their domestic and international newsletters.
Remember that PDF is available pretty much exclusively at The Untreed Reads Store, and is still one of the most popular formats around. We can fulfill PDF, EPUB and Kindle formats (for devices only) through the Untreed Reads Store.
GAY AND LESBIAN HISTORY MONTH/NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY (Untreed Reads Store/RainbowEbooks.com)
30% off all LGBT fiction and nonfiction
MYSTERY SERIES WEEK: OCTOBER 2ND - 8TH (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off Beth Mathison's Mobsters series
30% off Wade J. McMahan's Richard Dick series
WORLD SPACE WEEK: OCTOBER 4TH - OCTOBER 10TH (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off all Science Fiction
TEEN READ WEEK/FREEDOM FROM BULLIES WEEK: OCTOBER 16TH - OCTOBER 22ND (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off all Juvenile and YA titles
25% off When Your Child Is Being Bullied by J.E. DiMarco and M.K. Newman
OCTOBER HORROR SALE (Untreed Reads/Amazon/Kobo)
Naturally, October is the perfect time to showcase all of our great horror stories. We are reducing the price on all horror novels, novellas and short stories for the entire month. In fact...these went on sale today! Here's what the pricing structure looks like for the sale:
$0.99 remains the same.
$1.50 becomes $0.99
$1.99 becomes $1.25
$2.99 becomes $1.75
$4.99 becomes $2.99
So discounts will be anywhere from 34 - 40% off for the most part.
But that's not all! In order to keep up with the demand over at Amazon, we are also running this sale there for the month.
But that's STILL not all! We've negotiated with Kobo to get all of the horror titles featured not only on their domestic and international homepages, but also in their domestic and international newsletters.
Remember that PDF is available pretty much exclusively at The Untreed Reads Store, and is still one of the most popular formats around. We can fulfill PDF, EPUB and Kindle formats (for devices only) through the Untreed Reads Store.
GAY AND LESBIAN HISTORY MONTH/NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY (Untreed Reads Store/RainbowEbooks.com)
30% off all LGBT fiction and nonfiction
MYSTERY SERIES WEEK: OCTOBER 2ND - 8TH (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off Beth Mathison's Mobsters series
30% off Wade J. McMahan's Richard Dick series
WORLD SPACE WEEK: OCTOBER 4TH - OCTOBER 10TH (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off all Science Fiction
TEEN READ WEEK/FREEDOM FROM BULLIES WEEK: OCTOBER 16TH - OCTOBER 22ND (Untreed Reads Store Only)
30% off all Juvenile and YA titles
25% off When Your Child Is Being Bullied by J.E. DiMarco and M.K. Newman
September 30, 2011
Banner Night
Notice the beautiful new banner my friend, the ultra talented Charlie Esquiaqui, designed for me. Earlier today I put out a call for my artist friends. I think it's time to retire Absolutbleu's wonderful piece he did for me. At least for a while. Thanks Abs, and thank you, Charlie, for this new thing of gorgeousness!
Frank Turner - Glory Hallelujah
Quickly becoming a favorite of mine. He's got quite a Billy Bragg vibe to him, both in sound and themes.
Woodwork
Let's all take a moment to admire those dimples above.
5 Songs for the Halloween List
"Dirty Night Clowns" by Chris Garneau
"Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)" by Stevie Nicks
"Fire at the Pageant" by The Felice Brothers (Zombies!!)
"Ghost Woman Blues" by The Low Anthem
"Damn These Vampires" by The Mountain Goats
"Moonlight (A Vampire's Dream)" by Stevie Nicks
"Fire at the Pageant" by The Felice Brothers (Zombies!!)
"Ghost Woman Blues" by The Low Anthem
"Damn These Vampires" by The Mountain Goats
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