Act Like a Man

Eddie stayed sceptical. He stretched, threw up his head, yawned, and tested the air with his sensitive nose. A trapped turbulence, as if the wind had solidified. He helped her to her feet. "Come, darling," he said. "Come." "You of all people," the Void communicated. Scanned him with his quick black eyes. The only thing she could make out in the dark was the gravel forecourt in front of the house. "You ain't talking to me." He called her back to pay for the cognac. He closed his book and drew out a bleating kid. the cultural context in which it was offered, the phrase "act like a man".



An online collaborative found poetry experiment, composed of the first line from page 50 (up to the full stop or end of line, whichever came first) in books taken from the shelves of 11 poets around the world. Submitted by Winston Plowes.

Contributors and sources: Winston Plowes, The Five People You Meet in Heaven; Andrea Reiser Perkins, Sequoia; Sonja Johanson, The Future of Ice; Sarah Nichols, 'O City of Broken Dreams'; Catherine Nichols, Valis; Sherry Steiner, Midnight Cowboy; Laurie Kolp, Inkheart; Jenni B.Baker, The Sound and the Fury; Beth Ayer, The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Sheila Sondik, The Whispering Muse; Mildred Achoch, Raising a modern-day knight.

Madiba

I have walked that long road to freedom.
I have tried not to falter;
I have made missteps along the way.
But I have discovered the secret
that after climbing a great hill,
one only finds that
there are many more hills to climb.

I have taken a moment.

I learned that courage
was not the absence of fear,
but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not
he who does not feel afraid,
but he who conquers that fear.



Taken from a CNN article, "Mandela in his own words", 26th June 2008. Submitted by Angi Holden.

Those Things Omitted in Masses for the Dead

the Altar is not incensed at the Introit
and the Subdeacon does not kiss
the hand of the Celebrant
nor is the Subdeacon blessed

the Deacon does not request the Blessing
nor does he kiss the hand of the Celebrant
nor are the lights held at the Gospel
nor is the incense carried

the book is not incensed
nor the Celebrant at the end
nor is the book brought to be kissed
the Subdeacon does not hold the Paten

the ministers
when handing something to the Celebrant
do not kiss his hand
nor do they kiss that which they hand to him

the breast is not struck



From the Rubrics of the Missale Romanum 1962, section XIII. Submitted by Dale Wisely.

Hostage etiquette

You can ask them for basic questions like –
toilet, drinking, eating
In case of failure, do not mind
You can try again later.
In any case you do not have to threaten terrorists
phrases such as ‘You will still all be killed’
‘Soon comes your end’
This could cause psychological disruption
and the worst consequences.
Do not humiliate the terrorists.
Do not take weapons thrown by the terrorists.
Often the terrorists hide among the hostages.
Therefore all are suspected.
Always remember
if you are ready
calmly and confidently
to resist to the misfortune,
it will never HAPPEN to you.



Taken from a list of instructions found in a Ykaterinburg hotel, as described in the Financial Times article, A grim warning in the Russian regions, 3rd December 2013. Submitted by Grace Andreacchi.

What I'm drinking

Last month, I was invigorated
by an 11 a.m. restorative Vieux Carre
at the Courosel Bar
in New Orleans.
Fill a shaker with ice and add
a dash each of Benedictine,
Peychaud's and Angostura bitters
and a shot each of rye whiskey,
cognac and Punt e Mes. Shake,
then strain into a glass
filled with fresh ice and garnish
with an Amarena cherry --
then let the late-morning voodoo
do its work.



Taken from an interview with Mario Batali in The New York Times Magazine, December 1, 2013. Submitted by J. R. Solonche.

Backspace

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What happens when you accidentally leave a keylogger tracking your keystrokes while you compose a Facebook message. March 2012. Submitted by Jacob Dodson.

In no great hurry

In order to build
a career
and be
successful,

one has to be
determined.
One has to be
ambitious.

A window
covered
with raindrops

interests me
more.

Seeing is
a neglected
enterprise.



Taken from the New York Times article, Saul Leiter, Photographer Who Captured New York’s Palette, Dies at 89, The New York Times, 27th November 2013. Submitted by Howie Good.

Melody pitfalls

I KNOW – I Can Write a Hit
I – KNOW – I Can Write a Hit
I Know I CAN – Write a Hit
I Know I Can WRITE a Hit
I Know I Can WRITE a HIT



Straight from The Top 5 Melody Pitfalls—and How to Avoid Them, BMI, 25 November 2013. Submitted by Mark Dzula.

Curriculum

Traumatic images,
queer looks,
dangerous texts.

African slave trade: introduction to proof.


Environmental disasters,
face of the land:
terrorism, intelligence and war--


Games and simulations,
advanced taxation,
cyberinfrastructure (the language of medicine)

Shakespeare the dramatist
(art of dying)
Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler.


discrete mathematics: prostitution and vice
major issues in criminal justice.

American deaf history,
human centered requirements,
special populations -- thinking about making


power and influence,
options and futures,
boundary
value
problems.


sounds of protest,
vibrations and waves:

introduction to intelligent systems.



Course titles from the course catalog of Rochester Institute of Technology. Submitted by Rebecca Charry Roje.

Taxi driver

I like
to imagine myself
as the lion of the road,
prowling
the streets
for prey.

In the pecking order,
taxi drivers
rank pretty
highly;

pedestrians
are like chickens,
cyclists
are the monkeys

and buses
are wildebeests,
grinding along
in packs.



From What I'm really thinking: the taxi driver, Guardian Weekend, 16 November 2013. Submitted by Ailsa Holland.

Definitions

Extremely elderly Benedictine monk
Irrational predilection for performing surgery
Of, like or pertaining to lava
One who habitually enters many competitions

Local judge among miners
Provisional name for a plant whose flowers are unknown
Expression of joy among Arab women
Muscle by which the testicles are suspended

Government by superior firepower or by cannons
Part of a bullfighting arena where the bull makes his stand
Ancient syrupy medicine that is licked off a spoon
Doctrine that the wicked are utterly destroyed after death



Some definitions from The Phrontistery, a free online dictionary of obscure words. Submitted by Howie Good.

Praise Yeezus.

And it works.

It works because it's beautiful
You either like it or you don't
There’s no reason why it's beautiful.

Either it moves you too,
Or it doesn't,
And that's that.

It's all the same shit,
It’s all music —
If you like sound, listen.



Taken from a review by Lou Reed of Kanye West's album, "Yeezus", published by The Talkhouse on July, 2 2013. Submitted by Charles Githua.