broadside update and a little about adoption

i received the 50 broadsides from 10 Point Press today, and i must tell you: they are unbelievable. really. the paper is thick and textured. the art is marvelous. the poem, well...it is my poem after all, so you can only imagine... :)

these broadsides are on sale for $5 each from 10 Point Press and will sell out quickly. they are already halfway there, so reserve your copy today. i'll be sending them back to Ireland very soon.


some of you may already know, others may not, but the wife and i have been trying to get pregnant for just over 9 months now. no dice. i know they say you can't really consider yourself having difficulty if you've been trying for less than a year, but we have extenuating circumstances with Julee's health such that she's on Lovenox shots twice a day (in her belly) and it's getting quite old for her. we've decided we're not going to proceed with artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization or even surrogacy. instead, we've taken a loan out and will be purchasing a baby from Ethiopia sometime next year.
anyway, just thought i'd let you guys know. we've been accepted by the adoption agency, have secured the loan and will be going through the myriad classes and many hours of home study. yea, us.

FURTHER UPDATE: in my haste i forgot to mention that i received my copy of Hosho McCreesh's broadside from 10 Point Press, and it's fucking phenomenal. the poem is typical McCreesh (i.e. beautiful and poignant) and the design is spot on. gorgeous work. i'm looking forward to the others, and to framing them all.

Dear George W. Bush

Dear George W. Bush,

Fuck you!

Sincerely,
justin.barrett

there's crazy, then there's batshit crazy

so, this lunatic thinks that Barack Obama is really not the son of his professed father, Barack Obama, Sr., but the lovechild of Malcolm X.

i gotta tell you, i just don't see. in the photo on the left, above, Malcolm X looks more like Denzel Washington to me.

i should be jaded by now, but i can still be amazed at the stupidity of people sometimes.

essay

i have an essay on Barack Obama featured at Along the Knife's Edge. check it out, join into the debate in the comments, or come back here and let me know what you think. also, keep your eyes on AtKE for future work from yours truly and other writers.

Baracktober

with an amazing month, it appears Barack Obama is poised to win this election by a landslide. come Tuesday night, we'll have ourselves a new President-elect. then, it's just waiting until January!

but, it really is spectacular what a tremendous rise Obama has taken since his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention 4 years ago in Boston. this was the first time i'd ever heard of the guy, and he delivered a fantastic speech that gave me goosebumps. the speech is classic and contains all the things we've come to expect from an Obama speech: well-written; progressive messages of hope and change and the future; plenty of rhetoric; and an intellectual spirit we've been missing for the last 8 years.
from a relative unknown to President. amazing. with his grassroots efforts, his ubiquitous ground game, with the new voter registrations (i guess you could say he Baracked the Vote...i know, groan!), he put together one of the best presidential campaigns in recent memory. definitely better than the bungled campaign McCain and his staff duct-taped and woodglued together.

we're on the cusp of an historic day. i don't know about you guys, but i plan to take the day off, watch the exit polls trickle in, and wait for the moment they call it (which i predict won't be very long into the evening).

final Electoral College prediction:
Obama -- 378
McCain -- 160

lit update

Ten Point Press has announced the release of five gorgeous broadsides in their inaugural release: Hosho McCreesh's broadside THE BEAUTIFUL FIRE.

check the website for future updates and releases, including one from yours truly to be released in the very near future.

i have two pieces featured in the new online journal, Along the Knife's Edge. another, more serious, piece on Barack Obama will be posted soon. I'll update. Along the Knife's Edge is a new non-fiction journal looking for work in the vein of Harper's or The Onion. Serious or humorous. check them out.

lastly, my next chapbook, a part of the Pocket Protector series for Propaganda Press, will soon be released. i've heard it is compiled and ready to print. it'll sell for $3 and there will be special deals and other goodies associated with it. i'll update when i hear more.

the Nerve is back....and a killer website

just received notice that has been accepted to appear in the next issue of Nerve Cowboy! hot damn....it's been awhile, and it's great to be back. huzzah, suckas!
not sure if i mentioned it earlier, but i don't think i did, but two poems were taken by leah angstman, one each for the next two issues of poeisis.

also, check this shit out. fucking killer website. if you're at work, i'd wait. no boobies or anything like that, but there is profanity. but, then again, i just said fuck three sentences ago, and shit four ago...plus, i just said both in this sentence, so....fuck shit.

fake-breasted barbies + douchebags + obnoxious behavior =

deer widow weekend at Wendover, Nevada.

the wife and i spent the weekend with some good friends in Wendover, NV; and it just so happened to be deer widow weekend there. for those who don't know, deer widow weekend is the weekend of the first day that deer hunting is allowed. all the men go out to murder some animals, and the women drive to Wendover, about and hour and a half from Salt Lake City, to get drunk, act as obnoxious as possible, and to get picked up by douchebag men who don't hunt for deer, but for married women. it's has a long tradition.

anyway, it was deer widow weekend and it was a douchebag convention for sure. jesus, i haven't seen so many Armani Exchange t-shirts or spiked, bleached hair in my life. and more fake breasts this side of Los Angeles.

regardless, we had a good time. the people-watching was top notch. and spending time with good friends is always a treat.
come around Wendover this time next year if you really want to see what i mean. it was a trip.

jealous?

don't be.

it did snow last night, the first snow of the season. this good, i suppose, if you're a skier or other winter outdoor enthusiast.

the bad news is our furnace wasn't clicking on and it's been frigid in the house the last few nights. that night, we had a 6 inch pile of blankets on the bed and it was still chilly. unfortunately, i know nothing about furnaces so we called a guy to come out and look at it.

and

it exploded. no shit. the furnace exploded. nearly killed the guy.

why would a furnace explode, you ask? well, let me tell you (sit back and enjoy this):
our houses here in our beautiful community are literally 7 feet apart from each other. our east wall and our neighbor's west wall form our neighbor's back yard (actually side yard as there is no back yard...and calling it a yard is misleading, it's more of a smallish play area with fences on the north and south end). anyway, this time last year we had a similar problem and it turned out our neighbor's kids (there are 7, so take a pick as to which ones (and the house is only a 3 bedroom but don't ask me how they are situated)) stuffed a big rubber ball down the vent pipe (which is uncovered, and on our east wall) which caused the fumes to back up and the furnace to quit and our carbon monoxide detector to go off (yay!). i told the mother, then, that this was dangerous and to please tell her kids to not do this. PLEASE!!!

guess what?

just guess....i'll give you some time.

well, if you guessed that the same thing happened again, you'll be both wrong and right. the vent pipe was stuffed, but this time with 3 feet of rocks, sticks and pinecones (seriously, you should've seen the amount of crap that jettisoned from the pipe when the furnace guy pulled on it, it was ridiculous)...anyway, it was so stuffed that the fumes built up and the furnace exploded.

we were lucky. the furnace guy was supremely lucky. if he had been any closer he would've had a face full of fireball and maybe worse. he also said this could've exploded the house as it is a gas furnace. i don't know much, but i know an exploding house is general a bad thing.

so, i told the father this time (who is a moron on the highest order, and was out on their white-trash trampoline jumping with his children and acting like an imbecile (okay, he wasn't acting)) and he was like, "oh my" and "oh sheesh" and other non-profane exclamations of surprise...then i heard him tell his kids and they were like, "i didn't do that" and he said "i didn't mean you specifically, but in general just don't stuff things down that pipe"...it appears the mother didn't do anything when i told her last year. maybe she only told 6 of the 7 kids. it's hard with so many kids to make sure you teach them all the right way to act. i mean, with a role model like their mouth breathing father, can you really blame them?

yes, a little.

fucking assholes.

so, $600 dollars later...or, to be more precise, on Wednesday it'll cost us $600. that means 3 more days without heat. fucking awesome!

and, of course, i'm such a non-confrontational pussy that i didn't demand they pay for it. and now i hate myself for not demanding it...double whammy.

anyway, it did snow last night. those pictures are from our bedroom windows. not much, mind you, but it's like 60 degrees in the house right now. i can't feel my fingers, but typing with gloves is impossible.

oh, and before you ask, yes, we are getting a grate put over the pipe, but it will still have holes in it to vent the fumes and i bet you this happens again next year. hopefully, though, no one will die from it. fingers crossed.

UPDATE:
here are some photos of the fated exploded furnace. luckily the cover was already off or it would've been blown across the room. the motor was blown out, though, and a piece of it shattered. also, you i took a photo of the rocks and pinecones and sticks that were stuffed in the PVC pipe venting the furnace. the technician had to cut the pipe to remove the detritus, as you can see:



we won't be able to get it repaired until Thursday, but luckily it's only in the 20s overnight. Jesus! this morning it was 59 degrees when we woke up (that's Fahrenheit for you Europeans, or approximately 15 degrees Celsius). now THAT'S cold!

reviews are in

two reviews of my newest chapbook, [untitled], released by Propaganda Press appeared on the interwebs recently.

first, Jeff Fleming, venerable editor of the new (and fantastic) new short poem journal nibble wrote a great review. thanks for the kind words, good sir.

second,  Poet Hound published a rave review as well. and thank you, too, Paula, for your constant support. look for more reviews of other books at both of these fine outlets.

copies of my book are still available for $8 (shipping to the US included, $3 extra overseas) from Propaganda Press. click on the title of book above!

autumn is here

we took a little car ride up Immigration Canyon on the northeast side of Salt Lake City, the canyon the Mormon settlers traveled down on their way west.
the leaves were in various states of change, the air was crisp and cool after a torrential downpour yesterday, and the drive was beautiful.
here are some picture i took with my cellphone:



i love days like this: the weather perfect after months of summer and before the wickedness of winter, the wife and i enjoying each other's company driving through beautiful mountain canyons.

i hope we have a few more days like this left, but judging from the snow that dusted the peaks last night, i'm afraid we've 3 weeks at the most. just means we'll have to enjoy them as best we can.

our trip to Albion Basin, a poetry update and an Oscar nominated horror clip

last weekend, the wife and i went up to Albion Basin at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon to have a little picnic and to do some hiking. we were hoping the leaves would be changing, but we were a few weeks too early. and, we were a month too late to see the spectacular wildflower displays Albion Basin is known for.
anyway, here are some photos i took while up there. nothing too spectacular:





i also received word that three of my poems: Adagio for a Scared Little Girl, On Art and War, and Turning in for the Night will be published in the newest issue of Literary Mary to be released soon.

also, my newest chapbook, [untitled] is still available from Propaganda Press for $7 (shipping included within the US, $3 extra outside the US). check it out, won'tcha.


the scariest thing ever? yeah, i think so:

in the mail today

i received the third issue of nibble, in which one of my poems -- interstate accident -- appears. issue three is just as good as the previous two (which is pretty damn good). if you haven't subscribed or submitted to nibble, do so today.

also in the mail today was a copy of Gerald Locklin's newest chapbook, The Plot of Il Travatore and other poems, published by Kamini Press. i was lucky enough to pick up one of the special 25 copies to be signed by Locklin, and to include a special watercolor by Henry Denander tipped in. it's a great book full of the witty and profound poems Locklin is known for. pick up a copy.

and somehow i'm...

supposed to give a shit about these rich bastards who gambled with our economy, lost their ass, and are now unable to afford their affluent, rich bastard life styles. well, boo fucking hoo. welcome to our lives. only, guess what? your gambling made our lives just that much harder.

there are 946 BILLIONAIRES in the world today. 73% (694) of them live in the United States. according to Forbes, this is a 20% increase over last year. this is sick. in a time where simple medical insurance eludes billions around the globe, where unemployment rates and homelessness rates are rising in our country, the ultra/super rich are getting richer and the income gap is widening. these new billionaires aren't members of the middle class suddenly becoming filthy rich, it's millionaires bilking their poorer countrymen and getting even richer; it's our current administration giving them tax breaks and making it easier for their companies to do whatever, wherever and whenever they want. what's a trillion dollars bailout for transgressions amongst friends, eh?

how many millionaires are there? it's too gross to say. but, the number is higher than the entire population of New York City, the very city that houses Wall Street -- where most of these bastards commit their crimes. i suspect there are a quit a few less millionaires now.
well, welcome to penury, you assholes. we've saved you a seat on our 14-year old couch in the living room of our 1200 sq. ft. home.
don't mind the smell, it's merely our futures rotting away.

by the way, where's my fucking bailout? promise it won't cost nearly as much as a $1,000,000,000,000. i wonder how much universal healthcare would cost? or college education for any graduating senior who wants it, or technical school training? a trillion dollars is a lot of money.

approaching autumn

i love this time of year: the days shorten, the evenings and early mornings are cool, coworkers bring to work fruit and vegetables from their gardens for all to enjoy. soon, the air will have a crispness to it, a clean smell left over after summer's sear. soon, sweaters and long sleeve shirts will be needed. soon, winter will be here.

for some reason, too, i tend to write more during autumn and spring. not sure if it's the lack of sunlight, the temperate weather, the sadness inherent in winter's arrival, or the brightness in summer's. perhaps it's the fact that spring and autumn are inflection points between summer and winter. whatever it is, i'm thankful to live in a place where there are four distinct seasons. having lived in Florida for 10 years, i can appreciate the quickening of spring and the frailty of autumn.

but autumn is my favorite: with the changing leaves, the harvests, the welcome coolness in the evenings, and football. what is there not to love about it? even daylight saving time ends and we get to adjust our clocks back an hour, thus gaining an extra hour of sleep (or, if you're really industrious, an extra hour to do whatever else you want to do).

in fact, we're going to enjoy this time of year with a little excursion up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Albion Basin to hike, picnic and take in the breathtaking scenery with friends. i'll take some pictures (hopefully, the spectacular Albion Basin wildflowers are still out) and if they're any good i'll post them here.

books

three books arriving by mail in two days. does it get any better?

yesterday, i receive a copy of In Gambler's Blood by christopher cunningham, a spectacular series of poems playing out a single hand of poker from start to finish. amazing. visit Kendra Steiner Editions for more information. $4.

today, i received a copy of For All These Wretched, Beautiful, & Insightful Things So Uselessly & Carelessly Destroyed... by Hosho McCreesh. this is Hosho's 7th book/chapbook and it's as great as all the others. 20 poems by the master. check out sunnyoutside for more information. $10.

also today, i received my copy of my latest chapbook, [untitled], published by Propaganda Press. orders are currently being shipped and the early prognosis is good. please visit Propaganda Press for more information. $7.

support your small press and order all the above books today!

Kendra Steiner Editions
sunnyoutside
Propaganda Press

?

i wonder if because Mt. McKinley, the highest point in the US, is in Alaska that makes Gov. Palin an expert on space, too? maybe NASA could use her vast reservoir of knowledge?
or because Alaska has more shoreline than any other state if that makes her a marine biologist, too?

just wondering.

new wordles

i was tooling around with the wordle application and made 4 more. just for fun.

The Declaration of Independence:


The US Constitution:


The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln:


The Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln:

[untitled]

i'm very proud to say my newest chapbook, [untitled], published by Propaganda Press, has just been announced for release. here is the publisher's press release:

[untitled]
by justin.barrett
$7.00 [includes shipping to USA]

justin.barrett's newest poetry collection, [untitled], is now available from Propaganda Press. Sixty pages of new material - most of it never before published - [untitled] is a raw and unfiltered look inside justin's life; personal, emotional, loving, questioning. From the metaphoric uses of science to explain loves lost and found to the analytical probing of William Carlos Williams and the red wheelbarrow, this book is a tight collective of simple recollections, moments of details jotted down as they were fleeting, preserved in a cornerstone of justin's mind and a splotch of ink on paper. The poems are at once beautiful and sorrowful, honest and dream-like, sexy and bashful, personal and universal, introspective and outright loud; the apparent paradox of which makes this collection a necessary guide and companion to the contradictions of the everyday.

This book is available from Propaganda Press for $7, which includes shipping to the US. All authors receive and set their own royalties on our press, so the purchase of this book goes to support justin directly. You can purchase this book by sending well-concealed cash, check, or money order made out to Alternating Current, PO Box 398058, Cambridge MA 02139 USA; or you can send us a direct Paypal payment using the email address alt.current@gmail.com. The book will also be available on our website once that is up and running; we apologize for the purchasing inconvenience while the new site is being built.

Please do not ask for comped or traded copies of the book, as this is an unaffordable request that hurts both the author and our press. If you are willing to review this book or get the material in local stores, libraries, or zine collections, please contact us.

here's a photo of the cover, photograph taken by yours truly:

i'm very proud of this book and i think it will go over quite well. lots of poems, some older, some brand-spanking-new. please contact Propaganda Press and purchase a copy. those of you who normally receive one of my author's copies...i'm sorry but i don't receive any this time; you'll have to purchase one. i hope you do!

***as a little extra incentive, leah from Propaganda Press informs me that for a limited time, as long as supplies last, you'll receive an extra chapbook of poetry from the back catalog when you order one of my books. bonus!***

UPDATE: please note that shipping to the US is included in the $7 purchase price. orders shipping outside the US will need to add $3 extra. sorry.

the truth about taxes

Obama will likely lower your taxes. McCain likely will raise them.

by how much you say? go here to find out.

the difference for me was over $2200. And, unlike rich bastards who already have more money than they know what to do with, i'll actually spend mine on bills (which will help the economy...call it trickle UP economics).