The Wussy Boy Chronicles!

this just makes me happy

2008-05-14T22:21:25Z

a poster i am working on for michael p. whalen

2008-05-14T21:06:30Z

stare with me to aluminium

2008-05-14T20:50:45Z

a quote from ghandi

2008-05-14T06:10:14Z

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

look at what someone made of my poem!

2008-05-13T21:34:49Z

one more design with more bullet holes

2008-05-13T19:46:18Z

a slightly different take on the book cover

2008-05-13T07:01:25Z

do you think the addition of the "missed" bullet holes makes for a better design over the clean bullseye? or do you think they just clutter up the design?

working on a new collection of work

2008-05-12T21:36:59Z

here's the cover idea i was thinking about. i wanted to tie it visually to the cover of my first book while establishing its own identity to avoid confusion between the two. what do you think?

the new book will have things i've written that were not included in the "greatest hits" collection because they were too short, too long, or too controversial. it has some short stories, a bunch of haiku, and even three mini-plays.

working on working it out

2008-05-12T20:56:04Z

i am finding it very hard to remain motivated lately. i have been trying to keep lists of things to do, and i have lots of cool things to do and lots of time with which to do them, but i am just struggling with motivation and feeling poopy and directionless. and then i drink an energy drink, take a shower, change my t-shirt, and maybe go ride around on my scooter for a while and listen to the breeze, empty myself, sheets in the wind, billow me, and everything is erased and i am blank again and i could do this for a whole life and accomplish nothing, so i turn around and kick my ass to get something done, and then i get distracted, waste the time i've been given, spend an entire day making a nine inch nails mix cd.

i can't sleep.

probably these damned energy drinks.

a new mixtape for you - NineInchNails

2008-05-12T00:53:48Z

i just made this today. it's a continuous mix that's just long enough to fill one CD, so check it out and let me know what you think.

fuck it

2008-05-11T22:32:41Z

i'm growing my beard back.

today

2008-05-11T17:58:33Z

check out my new kicks

2008-05-10T21:06:00Z

so, you can go onto the converse website and design your own chuck taylor's, right?

so, i did. these are mah new kicks. whattya think?

i like to cook

2008-05-10T19:55:10Z

so, i've been trying to actively change my diet and cook more healthy foods for myself instead of always eating out, which is way too expensive and bad bad bad for you.

i've been digging fish a lot lately.

i figure the thing about fish is not so much cooking it until it's done, but making sure it's not all dried out in the process, so i've been experimenting with stuff to make my fish moist and taste-goody.

like the tilapia i just made. i took the frozen fillet and rubbed it all down with extra virgin olive oil, which is a good oil, as opposed to a bad oil like corn or "vegetable" oil or something. i rubbed it all over the frozen fillet front and back, then i pressed four cloves of garlic and patted it evenly all over front and back. i cut two limes in half and squeezed their juice all over that.

then i sprinkled the fillet with freshly crushed sea salt, red and black and white pepper, and this seasoning mix stuff i have in a grinder that you can grind over stuff (it's called "monterey chicken," but i use it for all kinds of stuff.)

and then came the new stuff i am trying: slivers of shallots and a layer of sliced mushrooms. both of these things give off a lot of liquid as they cook, but it takes several minutes before that happens, so i figured they would start giving up their juice just as the fish needed it most. plus, they would be drizzling their tasty goodness all over the fish and mixing with the olive oil and the salt and pepper and seasonings.

i baked it at 400 F and checked it every now and then, squeezing more lime juice each time.

it was SOOOOOOO good and tasty and moist and good. i cooked it until the thickest part was flaky and no longer translucent, and it was a little crunchy at the tips. perfect, just perfect, and perfectly lo-fat and lo-carb just like my body needs.

and that's all. i just thought i'd share. i am going to try this with pork loin, lean steak, and chicken breast, too. it's good stuff. i like to cook. i like to eat, too.

anyone wanna have a potluck game night?

article from the mississippi press

2008-05-09T11:35:23Z

Poetry champ performs for Moss Point students
Friday, May 09, 2008
By AMBER CRAIG

MOSS POINT -- Big Poppa E is passionate about poetry, politics and underdogs, but nothing fires him up like talking about Pluto.

"I write poetry about things that really move me, and one thing that really moves me is givin' it up for the person who doesn't have a voice," he told students during a Thursday performance at Moss Point High School.

Then the poet read a piece about Pluto's downgrade from planet to "dwarf planet" status and compared it to "weird" kids who have undiscovered potential.

The 1999 National Poetry Slam champion took the stage in front of hundreds of students. Big Poppa E has performed three times on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and is the author of multiple chapbooks featuring his poetry.

A poetry slam is a competition in which poets read or recite work and are ranked by judges, typically pulled from the audience.

BPE's poems Thursday addressed issues ranging from life's character-building struggles to bitter relationships to writer's block.

He told students that high school can be particularly difficult because although parents and teachers pull young people one way, "You want to be yourself and want to define yourself," and it's sometimes difficult to balance the two sides.

During the 45-minute performance, the tone often switched from passionate to comedic, as Big Poppa E threw out jokes and read some of his short poetry addressed to an ex-girlfriend in the midst of commentary about the need for political change.

He said he writes one poem every day, even if he's not feeling inspired.

"They ask me if I get blocked, and I get this all the time," BPE said before reading a short poem about writer's block.

Big Poppa E visited Moss Point High School because of a student's message left on a slam poetry Web site.

Cheris Smith completed a senior project this year about slam poetry. Smith taught poetry techniques to Gautier Elementary School students and organized a poetry slam last week at Moss Point High School.

"I like writing poetry, and I thought it would be something good to bring to the children," Smith said.

BPE spent the day teaching poetry workshops at the high school and capped off the evening by performing at the school's senior project banquet.

The winner of last week's poetry slam, Victoria Landrum, performed her winning piece Thursday in front of the school. Landrum, who began writing poetry as an elementary school student, said her peers could benefit from the emotional release of writing their feelings down on paper.

"Instead of them doing drugs or other stuff, they need to just write it out," Landrum said.

deep south mississippi

2008-05-09T05:37:39Z

i just finished a day of workshops at a small high school in coastal mississippi in a low-income area still reeling from three years of post-katrina neglect, and i am exhausted and amazed and inspired and hoarse and satisfied and a little bit lonely and sad but mostly content.

the day opened with a small class of learning-disabled kids who were so warm and welcoming and happy to have someone visit their classroom and talk with them without talking down to them (they had so many stories to tell) and ended with a big assembly for the whole school that was roof-shaking and raucous (especially when i invoked the name of barack obama and dedicated a langston hughes poem to him.)

in between, there were five periods of 42-minute classes, some regular grade level kids, some top-level college prep kids, some squirmy, some attentive. it was hard work and a joy and took a toll on my voice, but it was so so so amazing.

the last thing i did happened after school at a senior awards ceremony, and i was called up as the last speaker before a very well-dressed meeting hall full of kids and parents and townfolk and pastors and administrators and teachers and such, and i was just bowled over by the warm welcome and the kind and supportive words everyone gave these kids. i don't remember what i said. i cried. something about being proud. something about a village raising a kid. something about representing for mississippi when i leave. it worked whatever it was.

i was really moved.

the reason i am here is because i needed some extra slam gigs, so i went to the poetryslam.com website to look for quickie $50 feature gigs, and i saw this one listing for mississippi, and it ended up being this high school senior who was doing a poetry slam for her senior project, and it wasn't a regularly-scheduled slam at all, it was just a one-time thing, and she just registered the slam on the website on a whim. when she got my email asking for a feature, she was like, "uhm, i'm in high school. this is just for my project. but i've seen you on youtube. let me see if my teacher will fly you here."

five emails later, they had the funding for a plane ticket and $500 and we had a full day of workshops and performances. wow, that was an excellent email. that student's name is cheris, and she did a wonderful job putting the whole thing together. she even made little posters and little tickets.

there was even a big ol' tree in the front of the school, and between sets i would climb into its upstretched palm in the very tippy-tops and sway with the bend of the limbs in the wind. it was so peaceful, just the sound of the moving air and the ting-ting of the flag pole rope.

i had such rewarding time. there's nothing like the sound of 500 high school kids screaming as you cut down a heckler with a well-placed yo momma joke to let you know that you've broken past any barriers of connection and earned at least five minutes reprieve from their doubt about this whole poetry thing.

i am now in new orleans at the house of a friend of the teacher who brought me here. my flight leaves at 8 a.m. i am on a futon. i am tired. i am a little sad. a little lonely. but content.

pretty much.

if i don't think too much.

of course it's night and thinking too much is all i do.

and now i'm writing about thinking too much, which is making me think more.

great... where's my ipod...

this sunday is my birfday.

2008-05-08T04:20:59Z

how you like me now?

2008-05-04T20:42:07Z

check out the "ge" logo at the center of the ON switch... aww yeah... thanks to george for the suggestion!

is this design better for the new CD?

2008-05-04T07:56:38Z

here's the idea for the new cd... what do you think?

and just in case you did not see it, this is the other cd i just came out with.

working on the new website

2008-05-04T01:37:50Z

anyone wanna see "iron man" tonight?

2008-05-03T19:14:32Z

so, which CD design do you like better?

2008-05-02T20:23:46Z

my entry in the nine inch nails "ghosts film festival"

2008-05-02T02:45:48Z

so my man trent reznor is having this youtube sponsored film festival where anyone is welcome to use any track off his latest joint "ghosts I-IV" and make a video for it. i think it's a neat way to encourage interaction between artist and fan, plus it's a great way to publicize the album with no cost.

here's my first one... maybe there will be more to come...

whoa... my new album is on iTUNES!

2008-04-29T18:28:55Z

say, lovely peoples on the internets, i just discovered that my new cd is now being sold on itunes, which is really cool.

so... i was wondering... if you use itunes... can you log into your account and find my album and post some nice things about me and the album? it would really be cool if there were some reviews, and if you did, i would give you hugs.

thank you!

another new video from michigan state university

2008-04-28T21:12:02Z

i decided to go mic-less on this one and to move around and actively engage the audience without being rooted to the space around the mic stand, so i move in and out of the frame for this piece, which sucks, but i didn't have anyone to operate the camera, so there you go.

the performance and sound quality are good, though, as is the reaction from the audience at the end, so what the hell, i will include it here. tell me what you think. it's an old poem from 1998, but it's still a good one.