Sunday Afternoon as Oil Pours into the Gulf

Across a small suburban lawn
a very large man is riding
a very large tractor mower
with a bin so the clippings
won't have to be raked

while his young son is driving
his miniature Hummer
around and around the cull-du-sac

and my large ass is planted
in a chair in the house,
AC blasting,
scanning the internet
for photos of the horror,
and feeling sick
as I view them.

- by Elliott batTzedek


Used by permission.

Elliott batTzedek is finishing the MFAs in Poetry and Poetry in Translation at Drew University. She works as a literacy program designer, adjunct graduate school faculty, general gadfly in the face of the powerful, and co-leader of Fringes, a poetry-based, feminist, non-zionist havurah in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared recently in Poetica, Poemeleon, Trivia, Naugatuck River Review, and Sinister Wisdom.

batTzedek attended Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness 2008 and 2010.

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Today, So Far...

I have gone for a run around the park, done some housework, tried my hand at vegan baking (peanut butter and banana cookies), and had a shower and braided my hair. I've also contemplated different ways necromancy might be worked, dreamed that I went back in time to destroy the Apostle Paul for the good of all humanity (apparently I was a fire mage, and I incinerated him with the power of my mind), and I critiqued dance technique for a student. I discovered a song that makes me want to make up another dance performance.

I still want to do more housework, practice my sumi-e, and do some writing before the day is up. And listen to more of my audio book....

It's been a while since I've done a link dump, so here you go!

Don't Kill the Oxford Comma: The Oxford comma is the only way lists make sense to me. When you read a list aloud, a breath is taken before the last part, so the comma just belongs there. Also, leaving the comma out groups those last two items together as one. Here's an example where the comma completely changes the meaning of the sentence:

My favourite collaborations are by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Trent Reznor and Tori Amos, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and Laverne and Shirley.

vs.

My favourite collaborations are by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Trent Reznor and Tori Amos, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and Laverne and Shirley.

The former implies Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Laverne, and Shirley all collaborated together, which is a bit of a mind boggler, I must say.

What Most Women Do WRONG!!: An excellent read for any woman who wants to get in shape, lose weight, or "tone."

How to Talk to Little Girls: This is also applicable to little boys, of course.

This Guy is My New Hero: Apocryphal, but hilarious! Excellent zinger.

Body may have been in pool for days: I just can't fathom (heh) how this is possible. Especially with lifeguards on duty.

This video is really cool! Be sure to check it out:

Two more in the series, and the band's videos also contain elements of the story. Delicious!