This page contains all entries posted to Manufactured Environments in June 2007.

30 Poems in 30 Days: An Ode to the Day (30/30)

30 June 2007

An Ode to the Day
by Daniel R Stout

It’s 5 a.m.
and the birds
sing their song –
an ode, it is,
to the day.
The house
lay quiet.
It is too soon
to tell
what the day
will hold,
but know
there is harmony
in the woods
close to the
source spring
of nature.
Soon the others
will stir –
with breakfast,
with coffee,
and the house
will be lively.
Dogs walked,
showers taken,
the day will begin.
Life is so easy
sometimes,
that it makes up
for difficult days.
Another day
is beginning,
and for that
I am thankful.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: I got my iPhone today (29/30)

29 June 2007

I got my iPhone today
by Daniel R Stout

I got my iPhone today.
I opened up the box
and the pod was inside.
I carefully slide my hand
into the pod –
and I must say
there was a lot of goo –
but I couldn’t get
the iPhone out.
It felt like it was tugging
back at me
so I crawled into the pod
and it’s nice and warm
in here. I realized that
it is just the chrysalis
of the butterfly yet
to appear.
The iPhone stayed dormant
with me for several weeks
but finally
the pod broke open.
The iPhone spread its wings
with the joy of haemolymph
coursing through.
I grabbed onto one of the
iPhone’s legs and we drifted
with the wind.
Life is better now – with the iPhone.
We go from field to field
drinking the dew
and pollinating the flowers.
It’s a good life
and I know
that I shall be happy.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · apple · butterfly · iphone · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: 100% Natural (28/30)

28 June 2007

100% Natural
by Daniel R Stout

In the test tube
genes mix and swirl
the parents
decide by proxy
the attributes
and proclivities
of this
their child
to be.
Hundreds
of choices.
Default
configurations
are cheapest,
but who wants
another Brad?
Fish gills?
Canine teeth?
All available
but it costs extra
and despite
hundreds
of thousands
of successful
hatchings
there’s a certain
freakishness
about
interspecies
cross-pollination.
But 100% natural
genetic material
can’t be denied.
It’s the quality
that counts.

Tags: 100% natural · 30 poems in 30 days · interspecies · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The din of revolution (27/30)

27 June 2007

The din of revolution
by Daniel R Stout

I heard the din
of revolution
on the street below.
The mob swayed
and flowed.
The sound of
glass breaking
punctured
the air.
Where are the
death squads
from the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms?
Shouldn’t they be
assassinating every
last illegal immigrant?
I spit out my chew
and take a swig of Jack.
I raise my shotgun
to the window ledge.
The streetlights streak in
leaving trails of vibrancy
across the Confederate
flag on the wall.
I take one shot. Then two.
Didn’t hit a damn thing.
The throng below doesn’t seem
to notice regardless.
I will pray for the souls
of Dick Trickle,
Dick Cheney
and Dick Van Dyke
because if it weren’t
for dicks like me
there wouldn’t
be sense in the world.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The Smoke Billows (26/30)

26 June 2007

The Smoke Billows
by Daniel R Stout

The smoke billows
off the stage.
Industrial fans turn
as the lights begin to strobe.
In the belly
of the venue
far below the sidewalks,
an interview.
Jean-Luc De Meyer
talks impassively
with the lilt
of French
in his voice.
Dan the reporter
records the words
onto tape.
Above, the troupe
of adventurers
wait for the
sound check
to begin.
Holly takes a photo.
Faust stomps his boots.
Kari sits wide-eyed,
taking it all in.
A bass line emerges.
Then the drums.
Jean-Luc growls
into the microphone.
A snapshot of
a time, a place.
A beginning, really,
a hint of the future.
And now, a memory.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · the smoke billows

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Walt Mossberg weighs in on the iPhone: A slam dunk

Apple can officially start printing their own money. Walt Mossberg has released his views on the world yet again, and from the lips of Walt it’s clear: the iPhone is a slam dunk. You can read his full review of the iPhone.

Mr. Mossberg has been an institution at the Wall Street Journal for a long time. He’s arguably the most important tech journalist working today. His views on products can make or break. Walt also has a soft spot for anything Apple, which is unusual amongst tech reporters.

The sentence that really caught my attention is in the second paragraph, in which he states:

Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.

Note the terminology. He doesn’t call it a cell phone or even a smart phone but rather a computer that fits in your hand.

And as every Apple shareholder has been singing this year, “We’re in the money!”

Hey, Brandon, I called this one, no? It was pretty clear a couple of weeks ago already what Walt was going to say. It would be a very positive review with some quibbles. That’s just Walt’s style when it comes to Apple gear. He can find a few things to improve, but he likes it. And so will you.

Update: Walt was very deliberate about using the term handheld computer. He even used that as the headline on his review as it appears over on the D: All Things Digital conference website.

Tags: apple · iphone · money · shareholders · walt mossberg

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I can’t be your [Facebook] friend, Robert Scoble!

Recently tech blogger Robert Scoble announced that he was on Facebook. I’ve read Robert’s blog for a long time and commented once in a while. Maybe even a couple of times he’s linked back here. Anyway, I’ve been on Facebook for a while, so I added Mr. Scoble to my friends. The one of many nice things about Facebook is that it’s built around real human networks – such as where you went to school, where you live, and who you work for (although danah boyd has some thoughts on that). Robert was outside of that realm, but I thought it might be interesting.

Mr. Scoble accepted my invitiation, and I got a chance to peek at his profile. Most of the usual stuff, but I did notice that he was adding friends at a superstar rate.

The News Feed is a great feature – it lets you know what your friends are up to in a Facebook sort of way. Most of my friends though aren’t terribly geeky and don’t “live online.” They have updates maybe once or twice a day. Robert is an Internet star, and rightly so, but his gravitational pull in the social networking world is too strong. After adding Robert as a friend, I found my News Feed littered with the announcements of the dozens of new friends Robert had added that day and his many activites. It was becoming tough if not impossible to sort out what my real friends and acquaintances were up to.

And that, Robert, is why I can’t be your Facebook friend. Your supermassive black hole was sucking all the light from my galaxy.

Tags: facebook · news feed · robert scoble

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Questions (25/30)

25 June 2007

Questions
by Daniel R Stout

Questions
deserve
answers.
The pupils
raise plenty
and
the teacher
responds
in her way.
Educating,
enticing,
broadening
the learning
of children
until the concept
is understood.
Teaching is,
because
teachers do.
Now the
teacher
asks the questions
and do
the students
respond?
Learning is
their journey
for now
and
forever.
The young
of heart
learn
like children
and
stay
inquisitive.
Open the door
and let
the world in.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · teaching

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30 Poems in 30 Days: 24 Times (24/30)

24 June 2007

24 Times
by Daniel R Stout

24 times I hoped for God
24 times I prayed for a new tomorrow
24 times I hoped for the sun
24 times I wrote a poem
24 times I listened to the night
24 times I died a thousand deaths
24 times I drained the blood in my veins
24 times I looked at the sky
24 times the frustration mounted
24 times the music surmounted
24 times dirt filled my soul
24 times I had hope
24 times it felt impossible
24 times it felt impassable
24 times I conquered all
24 times I stood on a mountaintop
24 times it all seemed
worth it.

Tags: 24 times · 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Side effects (23/30)

23 June 2007

Side effects
by Daniel R Stout

Headache
Infection
Asthenia
Back pain
Chest Pain
Dizziness
Somnolence
Insomnia
Libido Decreased
Rhinitis
Pharyngitis
Cough Increased
Sinusitis
Diarrhea
Nausea
Tooth Disorder
Abnormal Ejaculation
Blurred vision
and
Persistent painful penile erection unrelated to sexual activity
that can lead to permanent impotence.
Gee, doctor, I said I only wanted to pee better.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · side effects

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The Morning Mist (22/30)

22 June 2007

The Morning Mist
by Daniel R Stout

The sun sets earlier each night.
If this continues, we’ll be
living with owls soon.
Sometimes my mind
can’t tell the difference
between the morning
and evening. Have I been up
all day or all night?
I think it’s all night
because even though
my head is buzzing
for lack of sleep,
there’s something
fresh
in the air.
I can smell the grass
as the dew evaporates.
I’m lying on my back
in a field
I’ve never been to.
I think I was looking
at the stars
but now I’m
not sure how I got here.
A ghost came in the mail
the other day.
I opened up the envelope
and remembered
that letters are for the fall
when the air is damp
and cold, not this,
this summer when
day turns to night and to day
again.
It’s hard to know
where I am
when these droplets
of the past
fall on my forehead
and then evaporate
into the morning mist.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · the morning mist

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Love (21/30)

21 June 2007

Love
by Daniel R Stout

My tears leave black stains
on the carpet.
My blood mixes with the tears
making a painting
in magenta
on the floor.
My mind is not
perfectly logical.
Emotion pours through
the delta waves
of my meditation
on death.
Emotion corrupts
everything it touches.
“What is this?” she asks.
“What of it?” I say.
I’m caught between
these polarities,
searching for logic
but finding the beat
of my heart
everywhere I turn.
She’s thinking surreal thoughts
as she looks below.
Where is this blood
coming from? I wonder.
It is this heart that bleeds
for a time
when emotion fell away
and the crisp spin of logic
whirled about my head.
“I can’t,” I say.
“Can’t what?”
I look at the ground and
spelled out in blood
and tears
is a word:
Love.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · love · poem · poetry

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Plasma Pong: A lesson in computational fluid dynamics

I don’t often link to games, but Plasma Pong is some exceptional student work. From the readme:

Plasma Pong is a variant of the popular PONG game, with a high tech twist - it uses computational fluid dynamics to drive the environment. As the game starts you will have to duke it out against the opposing paddle, using the fluid as your weapon. To do this you can shoot plasma out of the paddle to push the fluid around, which in turn pushes the ball around. Another weapon at your disposal is the ability to suction fluid back into your paddle.

You can play single-player or multiplayer. It’s available for Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista at PlasmaPong.com. To see the game in action, check out this YouTube video.

The game was written by Steve Taylor, a student at George Mason University. Nice work, man.

Tags: computational fluid dynamics · plasma pong · pong

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Two-thirds of the way through

With tonight’s poem Have you ever been? I’m two-thirds of the way through my 30 Poems in 30 Days experiment. It’s been a fun project to do, and it has gotten the creative juices flowing as I had hoped. I’ve written on a variety of topics – technology, love, nature, music. I hope to write a wrap-up in 10 days when the project completes. And if there have been any that have been your favorites, feel free to send that along.

In other news, I upgraded the blog to Movable Type 4.0 beta 3. They’re gradually fixing problems and getting the application on firmer ground. Now that I’ve used WordPress for some projects, I can really appreciate now how much superior Movable Type is. It’s a powerful tool with an especially rich templating language. If you want finesse and control over your online publishing, MT is the best. I’m gradually getting used to the radical differences in the user interface over versions 3.35 and below. It’s organized in fairly different ways, which make sense. I’ve been using Movable Type since February 2003, and have been very happy with it. I’m glad too that it has gone back to being a free application. It’s even going the open source route.

In other other news, I’m totally digging the new Björk album Volta. There’s a lot to like there. I usually don’t associate her songs with turn-it-up-and-jam kind of stuff, but the song Declare Independence fairly rocks! [Note to Faust: Can you make this the next Daniel R Stout Rockin’ Song of the Show for the next Freeform Faust show on KWLC?]

Tags: bjork · movable type · mt4.0b3 · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Have you ever been? (20/30)

20 June 2007

Have you ever been?
by Daniel R Stout

Spinning, spinning, spinning
The turntable skips a beat
Feet stop moving
A cry rises up,
“Hang the DJ! / Hang the DJ!”

Running, running, running
iPod strapped to arm
The runner disappears into the fog
Balearic beats urging on
“Back to life / back to reality”

Stomping, stomping, stomping
Boots hit the floor in unison
Sacha controls the sampler
Percussive MIDI with piezo mics
“We need a revolution / to rip the system”

Flashing, flashing, flashing
Stobe lights blind the dancer
Eyes closed, the beat continues
Sounds of sonar on the submarine
“It’s in my brain now / helter skelter.”

Driving, driving, driving
Further away from the city
Passing through nameless suburbs
The volume turned low
“Beautiful McMansions on a hill / that overlook a highway.”

Standing, standing, standing
Feet at rest
The beats are done
Quiet ruminations of the night
“Have you ever been / to Electric Ladyland?”

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · music · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The Way (19/30)

19 June 2007

The Way
by Daniel R Stout

Technology has replaced
religion as the cornerstone
of people’s lives.
Technology saves the lives
of sinners who don’t know
how to spend money.
It’s googlelust for the latest.
Instead of the asceticism
of piety,
technology exudes
the prophecy of more is more.
Who will save your soul?
Dell or Apple?
It’s a religious decision
of operating systems and
corporate cultures
but don’t deceive yourself
and say it is
philosophical
because this steady
diet of iPhones
and HDTV is corrupting
your soul
to the perversion
of consumerism.
Your life is in service
to the companies
that make
technology.
Your saint, Bill Gates.
Your saint, Steve Jobs.
The religion of technology
is false hope
that life is better
with devices
that kill the air
and burn the water.
That emptiness
in your soul
comes from
the dependence
of Modern Man
on the tools
of a technological age
to communicate.
Turn off the iMac
and go outside
and talk to people
face-to-face.
It will hurt
at first
but you will
be happier
that way.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · apple · dell · iphone · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The scent of her skin (18/30)

18 June 2007

The scent of her skin
by Daniel R Stout

Lilies of the Valley
have the scent
of her skin.
I run my hands
through her hair,
shorter now that
it is summer.
She is sitting,
watching the sun
struggle its way
into the sky.
I collect the dew
for her to drink.
The prairie grasses
are long and hearty.
Insects are silent
in the morning,
but the birds rejoice.
A new day with my love
and plenty of time
to spend in tight
embraces.
Planning the day
there is time
for much
but the morning
will pass
and then we will
have to hurry to
get everything
done
before we sit
here again
with a cup of
coffee
and the birds
and sun
to keep us
company.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · lilies of the valley · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The soul is an empty vessel (17/30)

17 June 2007

The soul is an empty vessel
by Daniel R Stout

The pain of life
bears down,
crushing souls
in the process.
Helplessness
sets in with the
dieing sun.
The sting of
wounds
inflicted by the
passage of time
and forked tongues.
Hope lies far off, distant
and invisible.
The cruelty of humanity
tears away at the
humanity in the soul.
Are people a positive
or a negative?
Crying makes no difference
for no one hears.
The soul is an
empty vessel — full
during childhood
then drained with rapidity
as an adult.
The damage of years past
written in lines across
the face.
The exterior
is weathered
and the interior
is hollow.
Bring a glass and pour
into the void.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · souls

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Placing the seed (16/30)

16 June 2007

Placing the seed
by Daniel R Stout

Harmony flows
through life
and in the simplest
of tasks the ethos
of life in balance
can be expressed.
Her emotions feel
evenly spaced
like the bushes
behind her house.
Sculpted life
and pureness
of thought,
she crafts
the implement
with her hands
to break
the surface
of the dirt
and place a seed
in the cavity.
She experiences
wholeness
as new life grows
between her fingers
and reaches
for the sun.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · wholeness

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Tune In And Never Tune Out (15/30)

15 June 2007

Tune In And Never Tune Out
by Daniel R Stout

The beats burn my skin.
Life at 160 BPM concludes
with people on the floor,
twitching,
from overstimulation.
We’ve been here all night
and now it’s 5 a.m.
What’s left of my brain
has been refried like so
many beans on a diet
of eurobeat and
thee infinite.
There are no answers
to life
in this warehouse tonight.
It’s just the thump of the subwoofers
and the bleary-eyed kids
searching for an escape
from the clouds
that hang permanently over
the suburbs now.
They flood into the city
from the McMansions.
And now the chill-out comes —
5 a.m. —
with its beats rolling downstream
out to sea.
I suddenly wish I could see
a sea gull. I think they’re all
dead
like the kids convulsing
from their epileptic drug-induced
catatonia. Remove the beats
from these altered landscapes
and what do they lose?
It’s the format that’s flawed.
Instead of escaping, we’ve come
here to jump closer in — to be nearer
that maelstrom of the ear. We reject
these neo-hippies
and though we may
tune in,
we never
tune out.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · beats · poems · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: A Sushi Dinner (14/30)

14 June 2007

A Sushi Dinner
by Daniel R Stout

I hope you are done soon
eating your sushi dinner
It’s coming to the end of June
and you will be much thinner.

A healthy diet of rice and fish
is good for the soul and palette
So go now and order a dish
and get yourself a side salad.

But in Iowa aren’t you worried
that the fish will no longer be fresh?
The shippers have tried and hurried
but the catch has turned to rotting flesh.

It continues to get later
your food has not yet arrived
Does the restaurant there cater
to the dead and uncircumcised?

And soon we will not talk
for to bed I must go
I’ve watched the phone like a hawk
but for now I will forgo.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · fish · poem · poetry · rice · sushi

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30 Poems in 30 Days: What if Linux and Windows had a wedding (13/30)

13 June 2007

What if Linux and Windows had a wedding
by Daniel R Stout

What if Linux and Windows had a wedding
and all the companies were in attendance
that night there would be a bedding
and the developers would have independence

The union would likely produce
a Frankenstein child of great intelligence
but Microsoft would be obtuse
and issue press releases on its kin’s developments

But the child of Linux and Windows
would be born with a strong willpower
it would sleep at night on soft pillows
but eat the spawn of Mac OS X, so sour!

The marriage, it would probably last
because operating systems are so easy going
in the end, they’d have to forget the past
so the fanboys would give up their trolling

And so I must end this tortured poem
for perhaps my mind feels lazy
my mouth it barely gives a drone
and Linux and Windows drive me crazy

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · children · frankenstein · linux · poem · poetry · windows

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30 Poems in 30 Days: A New Word (12/30)

12 June 2007

A New Word
by Daniel R Stout

Lexicographers are debating
whether it pays
to print dictionaries.
Needed perhaps in schools
and libraries
but the dictionary
is the perfect case
for database retrieval.
Plug in a word
and receive a definition.
Simple it seems.
But what they’re missing
is the ability to browse.
Paging through the annals
of language
is a delight.
Finding a new word
a happy event.
But what will happen
to vocabulary
when the dictionary
only talks when asked.
The lexicographers
need to find
new ways to browse
these electronic tomes
so children can revel
in the richness
of the lexicon.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · dictionaries · poem · poetry · words

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Hip-hop for Angels (11/30)

11 June 2007

Hip-hop for Angels
by Daniel R Stout

There’s something wrong
with the socket on my wrist.
When I plug in for the night,
I hear music.
I think it’s the wiring
in my arm that’s picking it up.
But it’s not
the usual technoclash
that radio stations play
around here.
It’s like Cocteau Twins
mixed with Portishead
mixed with Enya.
I call it ‘hip-hop for angels.’
I’ve never heard anything
like it, and it’s just this
weird feedback I hear
when I’m recharging my
cardiac batteries.
In an age that is so programmed —
my heart rate
is controlled by microprocessors —
it’s weird to be getting phantoms.
Does anyone else hear this?
I don’t dare search the web
because the googlement will know.
I’ve heard they harvest
batteries from the still-living
bodies of unlicensed searchers
and sell the flesh for cattle feed.
This music haunts me
during the night.
I haven’t slept in weeks
and I’m afraid someone
will hear the music
and turn me in.
Maybe it’s just in my head,
but it’s hard to tell.
The glycosides seem to help
with the augmentation surgery
I had done on my internal organs,
but I’m wondering
if they’re making
me crazy.
Is it just a symptom
of a larger neuroses?
This morning
when I got up
I went to the piano
and played a riff
I heard last night
and it seemed so
right, like this
was the right time
for burrowing into
the ground
and making
music
that no one else
can hear.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · angels · hip-hop · poem · poetry

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Classic Entries

I did a little work this weekend around the blog, and I thought I’d point out a couple of new features. The first one is the Classic Entries page. Faust and I put together a list of some of our favorite entries from Manufactured Environments for your perusal. Sometimes old entries get buried, and I thought it would be good to highlight some of those old classics. You can click the link or you’ll find a link at the top of the page over on the left under “archives.” Of course, the original archive page 2000 to 2007 is still there if you want to go deep sea diving.

Another change on the blog is a little more subtle. It appears at the bottom of the front page of Manufactured Environments. Right above the Creative Commons license is a link to Page Two. The front page has the 17 most current entries, and page two has the next 17 — the one’s that are still sort of recent but have fallen off the front page. I even added a Page Three for the next 17. So now you can easily look at more recent entries without having to delve into the archives.

Tags: archives · blogging · classic entries · entries · page two

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Apple’s Safari browser on Windows: First Report

Apple today released a beta version of their Safari browser for Windows. It’s apparently a very beta beta. The screen above is what Safari is showing on my Windows XP SP2 box. Not a whole lot — it’s a blank screen with some ads. The menu bar is invisible but you can select the menu items which bring up empty drop-downs. Well, since this current one is completely unusable, I think I’ll wait for the next beta. Good idea though, in theory.

Update: Apparently other people are having the same problem. It appears to happen on machines that have a lot of fonts installed. It’s a problem handling the fonts. I found a solution here.

Tags: apple · beta · blank · error · problems · safari · web browser

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The Gentle Lift of Air (10/30)

10 June 2007

The Gentle Lift of Air
by Daniel R Stout

Turning back the clock
is harder than it sounds.
Year in to year out
the body renews and decays
the ebb of life’s tide
pulls us back out to sea.
There is a place where
people live long and
in fact
never die.
It’s in California somewhere.
But for mortals, millions
living now
will die soon.
Why must that be?
Will people of the future
all move to that California
town to live forever
or will we be confined to
the prison of life?
A butterfly’s wings beat
and the breeze blows it along.
We are the butterflies floating in the
breeze of time — moving us through
stage after stage —
birth, school, work, death and beyond.
Tomorrow will arrive in due time
but for now enjoy the gentle lift
of air as we drift towards the water.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poems · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Dark Ecstasy (9/30)

9 June 2007

Dark Ecstasy
by Daniel R Stout

The glare of the screen
reflects in her eyes.
She crys.
The distance of love
is painful.
Far apart she is
with her beloved.
She peels the days
off the calendar
individually,
waiting
for the day
of their reunion.
Strange people
in this strange city
look at her
through the corners
of their eyes.
Why must I be alone?
she wonders.
But he waits for her too,
anticipating her return.
She envies the two birds
sitting on window sill.
They have each other,
she thinks.
But the warmth
in her heart is also
the warmth in his heart.
Two hearts conjoined.
For now they are apart
but soon the dark
ecstasy of airplanes
will bring them together.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · dark ecstasy · poem · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: They say it’s your birthday (Limbs) (8/30)

8 June 2007

They say it’s your birthday (Limbs)
by Daniel R Stout

Pretty soon they’ll stop taking
off people’s limbs because of
war injuries and start removing
limbs because the artificial ones
will be better.
Artificial limbs think
for themselves, and push the
boundaries of humanity.
Fake will be preferred to flesh.
The Age of Supermen will set
off alarms at the airport.
“Sorry, sir, that’s my arm.”
The supermen with arms and
legs of steel will have to be
wheeled through airport
security on a wheelchair.
Their limbs resigned to bins
rolling through the x-ray scanner.
“Fight for the rights of our supermen,”
banners will read.
Old-timers will remember
their flesh with disgust.
“That was before I could punch a hole
through a brick wall,”
135-year-old Grandpa Dan recalls.
Artificial limbs bring
waves of well being
to those that wear them, and soon
we shall all know the feeling.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · artificial limbs · poem · poetry · supermen

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30 Poems in 30 Days: Will the sky be blue? (7/30)

7 June 2007

Will the sky be blue?
by Daniel R Stout

The reports appear on the screen.
Thunderstorms imminent … hail expected …
Tornadoes possible.
The phone rings.
“Hail,” says Grandfather. “The size of baseballs.”
The windows are open, and the breeze picks up.
The sky divides itself – half optimistic, half stormy.
Weather comes and weather goes.
Beautiful to watch, from the comfort of the porch.
The intensity of Nature to be on display.
It’s a long time coming. The arrival of the storm
takes hours. It builds over that time,
and bursts finally onto the sky.
The rain starts pouring. Lightning flashes
like someone dancing with a sparkler.
When will it peak? It is beauty
without danger. Ears strain to hear the sirens,
but none can be heard.
Lightning is a part of life, like walking or talking.
A storm is a reminder that we are not islands,
from moist soil grows plants that are eaten.
The rain provides for the harvest.
But here on the edge of the City, people
watch the sky and wonder
not if the corn will grow
but if the sky
will be blue tomorrow.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · poem · poetry · sky blue

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30 Poems in 30 Days: A brick through glass (6/30)

6 June 2007

A brick through glass
by Daniel R Stout

There’s a space
between night and dawn
when evil rolls out and
people are fearful.
The timid and the regular
are long asleep – not caring
what excitements the night
may bring.
Others are awake by accident.
They stew in the
all-night coffee shops waiting
for sunlight or a tinge of drowsiness
whichever first may come.
But that space between night
is dangerous.
Evil is predictable,
and entirely surprising.
A car parked
on the side of the road
is its prey tonight.
That car is my car.
I am elsewhere, near, distracted.
And evil rears its head
and throws itself through
the windshield.
Tomorrow, the police officer
will look at the broken glass.
And he will say, “There have been
many reports this morning.”
Evil lurks,
and scours the city for prey.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · broken glass · evil · poem · poetry

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Please excuse our mess

This morning I upgraded us to the new beta version of Movable Type. It’s MT 4.0 beta #1. Overall, let me just say what’s on my mind, WOW! The completely redesigned interface is awesome! It’s beautiful and sophisticated in that certain Movable Type way. I like the new functionality — I’ve been wanting Pages for a long time and am very glad to see that included in the many updated features. It’ll take a little while to get totally comfortable with all of the changes — it’s the biggest change in Movable Type since I started using it in February 2003.

That said, there are a few rough edges in the new beta. I’ve submitted a few bug reports today. I haven’t seen yet if comments work, but it looks like most things are working. Searching the blog works, but viewing our tags doesn’t yet. So it’s a work in progress. But overall, this upgrade is huge, and I must say, freely available! Check out MovableType.org for more.

Tags: movable type · mt · mt4.0b1

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30 Poems in 30 Days: My iPhone died today (5/30)

5 June 2007

My iPhone died today
by Daniel R Stout

My iPhone died today,
and for that I am glad.
I don’t need
its habit of ringing
at inappropriate times.
The world is in order
and I am at peace
with no cell phone.
I strike a hundred balances,
I gain a yogic centrism,
I am, and will be.
Take this technotrash
and throw it on the
rubbish heap of history.
I only hope
the ringing in my ears
will go away.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · apple · iphone · poetry · rubbish

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30 Poems in 30 Days: A chance to survive (4/30)

4 June 2007

A chance to survive
by Daniel R Stout

The wood tick crawls along
my leg, looking for a place
to suck my blood.
Nature seems in balance
in this small place
in the field by the trees.
The birds cry out as a hawk
looms above.
The wild turkeys at the edge
of the field run
when we come into sight.
The air of the forest
seeps into the lungs,
deeply and crisply.
But balance is in the
microcosm. And even that
is an illusion. The ticks
are running riot,
poisoning their hosts.
The temperature is hot
for a spring day.
The fish in the pond
have all died.
Do we heed the message?
The atmosphere is burning,
and it is time to act.
The love of life runs
through our veins. Is there
still a chance to survive?

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · nature · poems · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: True Love (3/30)

3 June 2007

True Love
by Daniel R Stout

True love waits
by the elevator.
She is going down ten floors
to the streets
of the city.
I walk towards the elevator
and notice her smile.
It is welcoming.
“What took so long?”
she asks.
“I was just…thinking,”
I say, and it is true.
We’ve been waiting for
each other,
in different ways, but our goal
was the same.
She waits
by the elevator.
I lock the door of the apartment,
and we descend to the sidewalk.
She has me, and I have her.
And that is
true love.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · city · elevator · poem · poetry · true love

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30 Poems in 30 Days: A Dormant Muscle (2/30)

2 June 2007

A Dormant Muscle
by Daniel R Stout

My throat burns with a hundred
unasked questions.
My mouth is mute before a hundred
and one strangers.
Two hundred words I could speak
right now
if my tongue would loosen
itself from shackles.
I am dying to speak.
I am haunted by the words that
come stillborn like a baby
frozen by death’s clutch.
I want communication
I want the flow on my lips
spewing and churning
until word after word
I start to make sense
and I see the smile in the eyes
of those who listen.
This frigidness of the orifice
envelops my soul in a cold
detachment that spreads
through my limbs causing
a stiffness that people sense
and repulse.
This muscle lies dormant
behind my teeth
and I wish to God
that I could make it move.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · a dormant muscle · poems · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: The Freedom of Liberation (1/30)

1 June 2007

The Freedom of Liberation
by Daniel R Stout

We’re holding court
in a booth
at the back of the tavern.
Friends listen closely,
and enemies even closer.
We two sit in opposition
to the many.
There is no other passage
through life except to reveal
ourselves in contrast to
prevailing wisdom.
The eight or nine or ten
gathered here soak sweetly
in our words.
Your sunshine and my thunder
carry the winds of change
into the minds of the willing.
Changing a mind is like
hopping a train that takes us
to destinations on a new course.
This night is but one among many
and we shall see many more, I hope
and we will blow apart the tatters
of this status quo
and live in the freedom of liberation.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · freedom · liberation · poems · poetry

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30 Poems in 30 Days: My Glorious Song (0/30)

31 May 2007: I started a day early to get the creative juices flowing. Here is poem no. 0 of 30.

My Glorious Song
by Daniel R Stout

I’ve spent days
walking
on beaches that never ended.
I’ve looked into
a woman’s eyes
and said, “No.”
I dig deep wells
and fall into them.
Where is the hope?
I still believe,
and for that
I bless the stars.
Because even tho
I lie beneath a thousand
stony fields
I am that giant of the earth
working for the day
that my glorious song
will be heard
by the multitudes.

Tags: 30 poems in 30 days · creativity · poems · poetry · writing

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Two down, 28 to go

The 30 Poems in 30 Days idea is starting out well. I produced a poem late Friday, and a second poem tonight. It takes a certain amount of time to pull it out, and I reserve the right to later edit my work. I haven’t totally worked out how I’m going to post them on the internet. If I had a lot of time, I could post them to the podcasts blog and record myself reading the poems. If that appears to be a time sink, I may just post the text to Manufactured Environments. Of course I’d like the widest audience for these poems, so indeed I may post them here.

I had been writing some poetry lately, which I haven’t done for a while. I suddenly remembered how much I enjoy this type of activity so it only seems natural to want to do a whole bunch more of it.

Tags: poems · poetry · writing

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