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).

word clouds

here's something fun: word clouds for the Obama and McCain nomination speeches. Click the word clouds to see a larger version.

first, Obama's speech:


now, McCain's speech:


and just for shits and giggles, here's the word cloud from that nutcase Giuliani's speech from the RNC:


i doctored Giuliani's speech a little, as you probably guessed. i removed some 9-11 references to help the shape of the word cloud. ;)

check out wordle to create your own. it's fun and there are a variety of fonts, themes and such to use.
here are two i made for the GPP:

share this

this needs to be shared.
the republican spin machine is in full force and the fucking liars, crooks, general miscreants and douchebags are at it again.
but, leave it up to Mr. John Stewart to call them on it.



assholes.
oh, and Rove...Wasilla is the 5th largest city in Alaska, not the 2nd. Douche!
and does anyone else want to punch pinhead William O'Reilly in the mouth? fucking waste. makes the irish look bad.

football, poetry and politics

god damn, it's great college football season is back. GO GATORS!

i've received, and returned, the proof of my latest chapbook, [untitled], to be released by Propaganda Press very shortly. i'm very proud of this book and excited for it's release. i'll post the pertinent information here when it's released.

apparently, and this is brand new information, John McCain was a prisoner of war. did anyone else know this?
man, it might be smart for him to start using that in his campaign; like whenever he can: as excuses for his many mistakes and gaffes, as rebuttals to any questions on his ineffectual and outdated policies, as filler during speeches, as proof he's able to lead this country into war.

new books

the last post mentioned a potential chapbook to come out very soon. well, it has been confirmed. 34 poems, titled [untitled] and will be released by Alternating Current anon. price to be determined.
the Pocket Protector mini-chapbook with them will be out later, December, and will be titled Nowhere, Utah. it'll sell for $3 and is available for pre-order at the above website.
i'll update when they get released.

also, leah angstman, the publisher behind Alternating Currents, has posted a poem titled on poet justin.barrett on her blog. it's flattering having another poet write a poem inspired by reading your work. thanks, leah. :)

NOTE: see the comments section of the August 10th post (Poetry Stuff) below for more information regarding ordering, the Pocket Protector mini-chapbook series, and other stuff by leah and Alternating Current!

real quick

have two new poems up for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure) at His Cock Is Money. there are a variety of styles present in this newly released blog/journal.

there is also some news i will be reporting soon about some new chapbooks to be released by yours truly, probably next month or so. definitely one, but possibly more in the future.

also, don't forget to order your copies of the fantastic broadsides from Ten Point Press. they will be releasing VERY SOON and you WILL be stunned by their beauty. STUNNED!

and, i've not mentioned it in a long while, but the Guerilla Poetics Project is still going strong and we're over 400 logged and registered finds. check it out! all the hip kids are members. don't be the last person on your block to join...

poetry stuff

the second issue of nibble arrived yesterday, and it's every bit as good as the first. great poetry by christopher cunningham, Father Luke, Richard Krech, Christopher Robin, yours truly and many more. great stuff.

i also was recently invited to submit work for a chapbook in Alternating Current' chapbook series title Pocket Protectors. It's a very small chapbook of poems. i've submitted my stuff and will update here when i find out when it'll be published, and how to obtain a copy.

fingers crossed: why i hope we don't find life on Mars

humans have sent many probes towards Mars, some succeeding, some not. the main reason for most of these missions, at least of late, is to find life on Mars, or the evidence that life once existed there. other reasons include looking for water, in the form of ice, and to see if it really is feasible for humans to one day inhabit it.

though the discovery of life on Mars, or the evidence that life once existed on Mars, would be heralded in the newspapers and by most scientists, it could very well be a death knell for humankind (and is certainly something i hope never happens). why?

the Great Filter is why.

10 years ago, Robin Hanson wrote a very compelling article titled, The Great Filter -- Are We Almost Past It?, we he theorizes that life continues, evolutionarily, to fill each ecological niche, and with consciousness and technological advances, humans have done the same. the ultimate end being extra-terrestrial colonization. however, if this colonization is the result of life, and life is so abundant in our universe (as it is typically hypothesized to be), then where are they?
this Great Silence must be explained. one explanation is something called the Great Filter: either one or many very improbable steps that the evolutionary path must take to go from the building blocks of life to colonization.

the crux of the issue is this: if we find NO life anywhere else, it's likely that we've already made it through the Great Filter, having been VERY lucky and fortunate to have done so (obviously). but, BUT, if we do find life elsewhere, no matter how simple, and if we don't encounter any other sentient beings who've colonized other planets, then it's likely we've yet to reach the Great Filter.

it's a very sobering read.
two other articles about the same thing are here and here. (NOTE: the last one is a pdf of Nick Bostrom's great article that appeared in the MIT Technology Review.)

so, here's to hoping Spirit, Opportunity and Phoenix find nothing more than ice, iron oxide dust and basaltic rock.

a shameless plug

in the last post i mentioned 10pt Press and their first 5 broadsides, of which i am proud and honored to be one.
the broadside of my poem (Marriage, as Still Life) is designed and ready to be printed (and it's shit hot!) for an August/September release. Sean Lynch of 10pt Press is taking pre-shipment orders already, and for $5 a broadside (one that is beautiful enough to be framed and hung on your wall, even in your living room where it will look totally awesome), it's a steal. so, please, if you're into my stuff, and you want to own a geniune art object, head over to the website, check out the teaser previews (which show a small part of just how amazing these fuckers are going to look), and send Mr. Lynch an email reserving a copy for yourself. There are only 50 being printed, so they won't be around for too long.

and, while you're at it, reserve a copy of the other 4 (by Tony O'Neill, Christopher Cunningham, Hosho McCreesh, and Brian McGettrick), they promise to be just as scintillating and just as gorgeous. my order for one of each is already in.

/end plug

blinkers and motorcycles and bicycles, oh my (oh, and a poetry update)

i can't believe i didn't discuss this in my previous driving rants, but what the fuck is up with people not knowing how to use a blinker? or even what their purpose is? blinkers (or directionals, for you Europeans among us) are not an afterthought clicked on as you're making your turn, or a compulsory movement you make while you're already in your turning lane.
blinkers are to warn other people what you are about to do, so they don't suddenly ram you with their car. far too many people use blinkers as if they facilitate the turn or something. if you're already in the fucking turning lane, what's the point? put it on before you brake and get into the turning lane.
seriously, people who misuse blinkers piss me off more than those who don't use them at all. if you're willing to use the damn thing, use it properly for christ's sake!

motorcycles. have you suddenly noticed more motorcycles out on the road recently. well, apparently these things get better mileage, which means this sudden increase is a direct result of the rising gas prices. that wouldn't be so bad except controlling a motorcycle isn't easy, and isn't for everyone. with all these morons trading in their Hummers and F-150s for Harleys, without really knowing how to drive the fucking thing, we know have an interstate full of halfwit motorcycle riders (most without helmets, as that's only an optional accessory here in Utah). they're making it even more dangerous to drive on the highways, which is pretty fucking amazing.

well, what can i possibly have against bicycles? nothing, really, except there're more of those, too. and there's a small segment of bicycle riders (i.e. the director of HR for my company...ahem) who REFUSE to use the goddamn bike lane made specifically for them and ride on the edge of the car lane. what the fuck? one of these days: oops, the sun was in my eyes and my side view mirror just caught him. what, i was doing 80 in a 20? and witnesses say i swerved towards him? i don't know about all that, officer, but he was in my lane...
get over into your little, fucking lane, okay guy? christ! i'm bigger than you and the goofy fucking helmet isn't going to save your ass. (seriously, i have nothing against bikes and i'd ride to work if i didn't live so far from work, it's just some people ruin all the fun for everyone else).

poetry updates:
received good news from Jeff Fleming of nibble that two poems have been accepted for future issues. one for issue #2 and one for issue #3. hot damn. glad as hell to be in future issues of this promising new journal.

i also have been selected as one of 5 poets to be included amongst the inaugural releases of the new 10pt Press, out of Ireland. they will be broadsides designed by the ultra-talented Sean Lynch. the other 4 poets are Brian McGettrick, Hosho McCreesh, Christopher Cunningham and Tony O'Neill. a small glimpse of the O'Neill and McCreesh broadsides are available on the website, and i've seen the first draft of mine. all are AMAZING. words cannot describe the beauty these broadside will display. i'm proud as fuck to be included in this project, and with such amazing poets as Chris, Brian, Hosho and Tony!

UPDATE: Sean has posted a teaser pic of the broadside on the 10pt Press website. check it out. the thing just purrs, my friend. sexy as hell. is Lynch a madman genius? the verdict is still out, but i wouldn't bet against it! i know he's half of that, at least. ;)
i've already reserved a copy of all the other broadsides, and i recommend you do the same as these things aren't going to be available for too long. with an Aug/Sept release for them, and only 50 copies printed, most might be sold before they even ship!

some litrachure stuff

it's been a long while since i've updated this thing with anything literary.
well, here goes.

the inaugural issue of nibble arrive in my mailbox today, and it's a fabulous little journal. nibble, published by Jeff Fleming (of CannedPhlegm and Cranial Tempest of yore) out of Oakland, is a journal of short poems. i'm a huge fan and big proponent of the short poem, so this journal was right up my alley. many great poems lie between the pages of this magazine, including one by yours truly. :) pick up an issue or, better yet, support them with a subscription.

and that's it.
oh wait, i have a submission out to Nerve Cowboy, but that's about all. it goes slow here.

i picked up a new typewriter as my other two were shot and repairing them ain't cheap. so, i bought a new one (and by "new" i mean i bought in on eBay and it's new to me). it works great and hopefully will for a long while. maybe this will spark a new era in my writing: one in which i actually write. i'll call it my productive period.

what else?
i just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. my wife read it years ago and said i would like it. i put in on my pile and finally got to it. good book. i understand he made up some shit, some of which were important plot points, but fuck it. yeah, so what, it's an alleged "memoir" but fuck it. we all make shit up, and we have since writing began. do we truly believe Herodotus's history of the ancient land? so, he embellished. fuck it. whatever. it's an entertaining read. the thing that got to me more than the fabrications were the odd stylistic choices in his writing: the strange, misplaced "whoms"...the random capitalizations...the run-on sentences, the need to detail every part of the action (he opened the car door and took out his keys and sat down on the seat and inserted the key and started the car and depressed the accelerator and drove off), and the lack of quotations for speech. all that shit pissed me off more than the outright lies. you had to know reading it that this shit was false, right?

anyhow. whatever. good book. next up: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. another book my wife recommended. hmmm...

driving redux, and a bit about science

it appears my driving post from a little bit ago did no good at all. it's as if very few people actually read my blog. that can't be.

well, regardless, people are still driving as retarded as ever. and with the increase in gas prices, we've got morons accelerating slower when a red light turns green, or on an interstate on-ramp, or refusing to get anywhere near speed limit (all in the hopes of squeezing a few more miles per gallon out of their Hummers or Suburbans).

i know it'll never change, but it still pisses me off having to negotiate around these dipshits every day.

science.

as most of you know, i work as a scientist. my official title is Scientist III. i studied science in college and have a fairly firm grasp on the scientific method and what it entails. what gets me is how little science is thought of in the general public, to non-scientists (especially politicians). i don't understand this, but it definitely exists. and, i'm not talking about those moonbat creationists who refuse to believe in the soundness of evolutionary biology. i'm talking about the everyday people who work as accountants and waitresses and bus drivers.

i get the sense that most people think science is little changed from early Greek society, when it was in the realm of philosophy, to be debated and argued and discussed; each person with a different "scientific" view of the world. trust me, it's not. nor are we in our basements trying to conjure the final alchemical formula to change lead into gold (or at least we only do that during our spare time).

science is a strict discipline of measuring, formulating, observing, theorizing, gathering more data, fine tuning theories and always (ALWAYS) updating current thought to whatever data we currently have. Newton was right until Einstein came along. it doesn't make Newton wrong, just less precise. Linneaus was all we had until Darwin. and current science builds on the previous work of scientists who've come before us.

so, what does all this mean? it means science is the best "guess" (and by guess i mean best theory based on facts as we know them now) as to how the world works; be it evolution, global warming, quantum physics or the theory of plate tectonics. there might be a discovery later that changes our current thoughts, but it WILL be fact-based.

ignoring science because it seems a little weird (quantum physics) or doesn't jive with your current (religious) world view (evolution) or is politically charged (global warming) is foolish. you do so at your own risk (and in some cases, at the risk of everyone you love). pretty much every major advancement we have seen as a species could be attributed directly to science.

we do i rant about this? i'm just sick and tired of hearing politicians and religious leaders and, well, damn near everyone else bemoan the evil that is science. without science, we wouldn't have tvs, refrigerators, cars, or airplanes. without science, we'd still die from simple bacterial infections and would have a life expectancy somewhere around 40. without science, we would still be worshipping gods and revere men who wear funny hats (oh, wait...). without science, we would still be in the Dark Ages. some people find that comforting, i find it frightening.

thanks, science; we love you!