tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142238992009-07-12T18:34:26.078-04:00lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.comBlogger342125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-5582933085428779302009-07-08T09:37:00.002-04:002009-07-08T09:39:39.315-04:00

I have joined the mindless sheep and am basically maintaining my private blog on Facebook. Check me here.

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-73998737673842281272009-05-12T11:28:00.007-04:002009-05-12T11:48:32.818-04:00

by Tom Wayman (From The Astonishing Weight of the Dead, Polestar, 1994)Nothing. When we realized you weren't herewe sat with our hands folded on our desksin silence, for the full two hours Everything. I gave an exam worth 40 per cent of the grade for this term and assigned some reading due today on which I'm about to hand out a quiz worth 50 per centNothing. None of the

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-30411501245407635672009-02-16T14:48:00.002-05:002009-02-16T14:51:01.615-05:00

yeah. i know: i need to update this puppy.

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-17647740710072257322008-12-12T18:57:00.003-05:002008-12-12T19:26:02.303-05:00

It's a curious confluence I'm in now, reading both of Barack Obama's books while witnessing the unfolding tension surrounding the influence-peddling attempts by Rod Blagojevich's office. As I observe the mounting media pressure on Obama's team to answer questions about their internal probe into communications with Blagojevich's office, as I watch the Republicans slavering at the chance to do the

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-18038436699716227482008-10-09T20:24:00.006-04:002008-10-09T20:31:08.546-04:00

I think continually of those who were truly great,Who from the womb, remembered the soul's historyThrough endless corridors of light where the hours are suns,Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambitionWas that their lips, still touched with fire,Should tell of the spirit clothed from head to foot in song,And who hoarded from the spring branchesThe desires falling across their bodies like

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-53420668289774693242008-08-23T18:01:00.007-04:002008-08-24T08:43:41.915-04:00

He's 16 pounds and about two years old, he's all boy, and the dog is afraid of him.He's The Cat Formerly Known as Rambo. And he's the newest addition to my home.The daughter chose him for his big saucer eyes, which aren't well captured in this photo. Those eyes make him appear permanently startled, a state of mind that is good preparation for my household.Within an hour of his homecoming, he was

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-454126892866654252008-08-20T10:27:00.008-04:002008-08-21T08:49:26.535-04:00

A HandJane Hirshfeld A hand is not four fingers and a thumb.Nor is it palm and knuckles,not ligaments or the fat's yellow pillow,not tendons, star of the wristbone, meander of veins.A hand is not the thick thatch of its lineswith their infinite dramas,nor what it has written,not on the page,not on the ecstatic body.Nor is the hand its meadows of holding, of shaping—not sponge of rising

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-26207474761136740692008-07-21T00:25:00.005-04:002008-07-21T00:42:22.103-04:00

I have Liz at be present, be here to thank for this lovely, simple, life-affirming meme.Five Good Things About Today1. Pancakes with lemon curd, Stuart's newest innovation2. Saw the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian3. Julia's Empanadas for dinner4. Watched Harry Potter 2 on DVD with my daughter5. My basement cleaning project, which has been going on for three weeks and has resulted in boxes

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-49348919862022918522008-07-05T14:35:00.002-04:002008-07-05T14:39:05.845-04:00

I love these. From a spambot message I got today:Forms of life. In the natural world there are need such awoman for his wife. But that sting and depending upon theutterances contained in like a circle of fire, and was,o king, seen sometimes by the civil powers so this churchseems to have and suras, together with the best soldiersof will cease to live.' sanjaya continued, 'yuvutsu joyof the real

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-59999938758227718332008-06-22T08:03:00.001-04:002008-06-22T08:03:46.832-04:00

"Earth's crammed with heaven,And every common bush afire with God:But only he who sees takes off his shoes."--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-5576024415546045162008-06-12T19:16:00.002-04:002008-06-12T19:27:49.659-04:00

Don't know why I am only now alerting my 15 readers to the presence of this book in the world.Full disclosure: I am related to the author, Rebecca Flowers, though not by blood (just incredible affection).So, but anyway, in the interest of perhaps alerting one perfect reader for this perfect summer confection of a story, here goes.Our heroine, Prudence Whistler, is the kind of person who likes to

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-60047835274581699622008-06-09T20:09:00.005-04:002008-06-09T20:44:11.412-04:00

Here's a movement whose moment has arrived--at precisely the speed limit.It's called hypermiling, and it uses techniques that tend to maintain constant speeds and eliminate braking. Hypermiling maximizes your mileage with potentially dramatic fuel and cost savings. There is some evidence (a little quirky) that it could actually break up traffic logjams, too.And all you have to do is drive like

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-51573240050134989492008-04-06T19:27:00.006-04:002008-04-06T19:57:41.742-04:00

...It is also National Poetry MonthAlways Marry an April Girlby Ogden NashPraise the spells and bless the charms,I found April in my arms.April golden, April cloudy,Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;April soft in flowered languor,April cold with sudden anger,Ever changing, ever true --I love April, I love you.

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-72368874452490036202008-02-25T07:32:00.002-05:002008-02-25T07:42:27.513-05:00

The Rainby Robert CreeleyAll night the sound hadcome back again,and again fallsthis quiet, persistent rain.What am I to myselfthat must be remembered,insisted uponso often? Is itthat never the ease,even the hardness,of rain fallingwill have for mesomething other than this,something not so insistent—am I to be locked in thisfinal uneasiness.Love, if you love me,lie next to me.Be for me, like rain,

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-79807734843229296732008-02-16T17:58:00.002-05:002008-02-16T18:11:54.893-05:00

Steampunk refers to a subgenre of cyberpunk that is taken up with the pleasures and regrets of the Age of Steam.So much so, that steampunks will go to great lengths to outfit their modern conveniences--such as this LCD monitor--to resemble machines from yesteryear.Check out the amusing and informative (if not always user friendly) Steampunk Workshop for all sorts of ideas on outfitting your

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-27015522510909488922008-02-05T07:17:00.000-05:002008-02-05T07:27:44.295-05:00

Persephone, Fallingby Rita DoveOne narcissus among the ordinary beautifulflowers, one unlike all the others! She pulled,stooped to pull harder—when, sprung out of the earthon his glittering terriblecarriage, he claimed his due.It is finished. No one heard her.No one! She had strayed from the herd.(Remember: go straight to school.This is important, stop fooling around!Don't answer to strangers.

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-79384048066227511192008-01-26T08:54:00.000-05:002008-01-26T09:54:10.066-05:00

So my year is going well, though I still haven't located a source for Day of the Dead-themed magnetic grocery list pads.But I did pick up a Mexican Talavera bathroom sink instead.No. I really did. It was considerably more expensive than my first idea for domestic bliss.The contractor arrives to demolish the old bathroom on Monday.But that's not what I wanted to discuss today. Today, a chilly

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-37919064372456238482008-01-01T12:43:00.000-05:002008-01-01T13:07:02.863-05:00

I don't know about you, but for me New Year's Eve has nothing on New Year's Day.As grumpy as I can be during the holidays, there is something about that first day of the new year that still exhilarates me, against all odds and prior experience.Today I am making lists and seeking solutions, straightening up my life and flying right at last.All without leaving the safety of my home or the comfort

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-32456265011881420852007-12-07T17:57:00.001-05:002007-12-07T18:36:31.468-05:00

While innocently trawling for a cookie recipe, I found that a Google of "mandelbrot" gets you this information.Trippy.In other news, here is the mandelbrot recipe I'll be trying tomorrow:2 cups flour 1 teaspoon double acting baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 ounces sweet butter, softened 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla 1/4

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-69040691556553517892007-09-12T13:15:00.001-04:002007-09-12T13:30:45.289-04:00

If you know me, even a little, you'll recall I have this, um, thing that happens pretty frequently, when I hear the right words wrong, or hear the wrong words right, or...whatever, it just happens a lot, okay?Some examples are in order:There was the Bagel of Doubt incident;The Avril Lavigne "Promise me you've never gonna find your blanket" moment (all right, that was Mona's moment, but I take

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-6748308122225272692007-09-01T14:44:00.000-04:002007-09-01T21:25:50.960-04:00

Why do bloggers go on and on about their traffic stats---to their AUDIENCE?Carol Burnett did not end her variety show by announcing the latest Nielsens.Musical acts may clock the number of visitors to their sites, but rarely in any detail.And even ebayers, who are asked to rate the merchandise and transactions, don't comment directly on the ebay dream itself.(and good thing for ebay, too. You

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-30931350642788725222007-06-09T07:57:00.000-04:002007-06-09T11:06:24.970-04:00

...or hadn't you noticed?After posting this tasteless screed, I am hardly the first person you'd expect to take anyone else to task for their own lapses, but this is no ordinary person, this is David Byrne.Brilliant artist, conceptual genius, insomniac demon of the lymphatic shadow of the heart. Oh, and, formerly known as the lead singer of the Talking Heads.The man who gave us the phrases "stop

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-56069800963476435782007-06-07T14:01:00.002-04:002007-06-09T10:58:12.019-04:00

To Stuart(after Marvin Bell's "To Dorothy")You don't love me, exactly.you love me inexactly.You let my toad lilies growby the air conditioning unit and therecyclables pile by the door.And sometimes,in the ever-more-personal quietof our daily nights,you even tell me it's all right.You said it yourself, and it seemed true:"I try to improve things."But it's not true. Without you,things would be more

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-23428061358446252092007-06-07T05:55:00.000-04:002007-06-07T07:40:35.555-04:00

A funny thing happened while I was walking the dog last week. I became an urban birder. After all, why be mediocre at only a few things when I can add another activity for which my enthusiasm will always out-distance my abilities?It happened this way, on a Thursday: we spotted two small boys enthusiastically following a little bird that seemed trapped, unharmed but dazed, on the ground. I got

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14223899.post-88598148384083241422007-06-05T11:00:00.000-04:002007-06-04T12:48:41.329-04:00

...no, and I don't need her sympathy either.But she's cool.There, I said it and I'm not sorry.If you want to know how cool, click you this link rightchere.That's right. Cool enough to stand by unblinking and watch a donkey get gelded.Oh, and she's written a few books too.And if you want to know why I am posting a link to her on my site, it's because she and I briefly kept company if you'd Googled

lisa schamesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01066379458312876698noreply@blogger.com0