At the Art Festival at Ist Pres. Church in Pissmarg (Edwinton) Nort Dakota
Larry Woiwode and Rick Watson—The Dakota Double Endurance Tour
New poems and old set to music and re-told by Rick and Larry, Music by Rick, along with one of Rick’s
Terra Cita songs—(look for terra cita out on Disk this fall—COyote Lofi/21 Springfield Ave/Minot, ND/58703) Two new books from Larry: out this fall, one book of essays, one a kids story—be there at 3 pm , Ist Pres, Bismarck, Saturday Sept. 10th
Hard Forged—Down in The Flood
The Iraq Veteran falls asleep, passes out, as he tries to order at the Hardees’s Drive through—the drive through worker dials 911—The Border Patrol responds with the police—they surround the car, guns drawn—when the veteran doesn’t move or respond to repeated demands, they do a frontal assault—the radio in the veteran’s care is playing “God Only Knows Where I’d Without You”—It rained 2 inches last night and the whole town smells like a fish cleaning station—this month is the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and most people still know what the three numbers mean; if they ever did; most people don’t know what the three numbers cost: Like the old funky song says, “Unpaid bills, Afghanistan hills”*
*The Police, “Bombs Away”
I am almost a grandfather—this is the child my adopted guitar player—Josh Barnes—many of you know him well—
“Minot was hoping for an ark, but instead…they were sent the Black Eyed Peas”
Max Patzner (photo taker above) and I will be putting together a Minot flood book with some great writing and photographs in the near future. We will keep you posted.
An amazing ND based critique of the abuse of oil development that neither Dems nor Repubs will care for—biting and true
As the ND State Legislature ignores its real work while Devils Lake floods, we look like fools over nick name legislation that will not help one citizen, Lakota or otherwise; they diddle with well-intentioned school Bullying legislation, try to help a booming oil economy go out of control with poor safety supervision (water use and quality, and seeping toxic “fracking” chemicals) and idiot tax breaks; to top off the session, they move to disembowel the State’s historically successful education system; we are left to ponder. Meanwhile America stumbles and risks falling behind the rest of the world; our Japanese friends stew in the agony of quake, tsunami, radiation contamination of food, air, earth and sea; Europe slips into economic confusion; Russia lashes out, desperate to be a world power; our friends the Saudi’s seek to punish America for our role in Egypt; and the Chinese breath down our necks—Asia’s new economic juggernaut. It was Japan in the 20th century. Solutions? Republicans ask us to sacrifice the poor, education, health care and the retired elderly while they propose tax breaks for the upper brackets, private and corporate. The Democrat’s alternative? Not much better. Death of the American Dream comes by degrees, and the government, without a budget, prepares to take a vacation. The Middle Class working folks pay the bills and sink deeper into bitterness and debt. Need a New Deal? Like Steve Earl says, “Come back woody Guthrie.” Any body want to cheer me up by showing me what a “Democratically ordered” “Republican form of government” might look like?
Wicked!
I was taught and learned by the age of 16 To assume that rock stars, actor pinups, Fashion models and centerfolds Were all about power, possession, beauty And sex, yes praise it; Sex! I bought that Judeo-Christian Freudian sap: A medicine cabinet voyeur—voyageur, all me, The bug-eyed, sweaty, pinup basement Juiced up slick palmed pervert boy— It occurs to me now that my focus has changed, Centered and sighted by you my love, You and the simple desire to see all creation The way the eye’s that spoke the Word Brought it fourth and made it to be seen— This lust, so human, is mostly created By idiots preaching against the bars of The cage that holds their twisted child’s desire, Air brushed digital flesh, silicone and wires— The fallen angels learned of sin by Giving our innocent eyes and hands a name: Wicked!
