Notes from a Genius

"A Day in the Life of Kindergarten" Exhausted.

Books I've Read This Summer 1. Alice in Wonderland A classic story of a girl and plenty of metaphors 2. Zeitoun- Dave Eggers A great post-Hurrican Katrina story told autobiographically through Eggers writing. An Arab family gets displaced and faces racism in America post-9/11 3. Talking to Girls about Duran Duran- Rob Sheffield Adolescent love explained through a love of 80s music 4. I Saw You (Missed Connections in a Graphic Novel) excellent and entertaining. If you don't browse the missed connections section of craigslist.com you should 5. Townie- Andre Dubus III excellent memoir of a man who grew up fighting in order to survive, until he discovered that "the pen is mightier than the sword" literally 6. Kitchen Confidential- Bourdain a great look into the kitchen of restaurants. makes you think before ordering 7. Life of Pi great, quick read in the same vein as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, at least I think so. 8.

"Red Light Special On Demand" Her golden skin burned Under the glowing, fluorescent red light That claimed she was the special I watched her writhe I watched her dance Awkwardly I watched her eyes Glazed-over And Uncompromising Her hair tussled with each whip And her hips swayed Left, right, right, left She tried hard to be enticing But the vacant look in her eyes And painted-on face Made it difficult to arouse Other than sneaking suspicions I took in every inch of her over-developed body I could tell she went to great lengths At the presentation All for naught She was a student of the glitter factory And make-up advertisements Taken far too seriously Time better spent On the art of dancing Instead of on enhancing For it is in how the woman moves That moves a man to spend Such a timeless structured form of seduction And she just cannot grasp it I begin to feel sorry for this girl Up on stage In n

"Blasphemy" I don't write because I want to I write because I need to These words spill from me Like the blood (turned to wine) That ushered from Christ's wounds When he was speared in his side As he was left up on his cross Like a fucking display I only wonder If something as magnificent Will happen to me When the words I put to paper Are read and absorbed Like Christ's blood When it soaked through the dirt Below his holy feet I only pray my name Won't be dragged through the mud As onlookers and bystanders scream, "Blasphemy! Blasphemer! Blasphemy!" Go get your guns Line me up Stand me up against the wall Gather all women and children As the men aim their arrows and spears And make a martyr out of me When asked for any last words I will turn my head towards the sky And pray "Forgive them, for they know not what they do" My final words Cut like a stone They'll bury