The Steinach Operation: July 2006

Rose Metal Press Calls for Submissions

Check out what Kathy and Abby are up to and what they want you to send them.

Christopher Salerno on MiPO

Hear him read "What if Marvelous Marvin Hagler:" and "Foot" at MiPOesias.

And buy his book Whirligig.

The So and So rides again!

Go here for pix.

Poems from REDIVIDER on VERSE DAILY

Check out this Bob Hicok poem and this Molly Bendall poem.

Happy July 5th to me.

First day back and the old cube looks pretty much the same. Great.

Z, sometimes that corn field sounds pretty good.

I do like my job. I help edit/write the teacher's edition for 3rd-6th grade Reading textbooks. I just got spoiled by being outside for the last 96 straight hours, that's all.

The playlist that keeps Cube #3442 a-rockin'?

The Silver Jews American Water
Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Pavement Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Guided By Voices Earthquake Glue
The Stokes First Impressions of Earth
Arcade Fire Funeral
Spoon Kill the Moonlight
Pixies Surfa Rosa
Modest Mouse The Moon and Antarctica
The New Pornographers Twin Cinema
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

But here's what I freakin' saw on my way home! A wild freakin' turkey!

This is actually not the first time I've seen these guys just wondering around Boston/Cambridge. Weird. Totally threw me off.

So I did some research (and when I say that I nearly always mean "Googled"). Turns out that Boston's Emerald Necklace (not a ZZ Top song, but a string of green spaces designed by Olmstead...founder of landscape architecture...did Central Park...you might've heard of it) attracts some species one wouldn't normally associate with an urban area. Here's some more on wild turkeys in Boston:

Eastern Wild Turkey

In the recent past there were few, if any, wild turkeys existing in New England. They were re-introduced into New England in the 1960’s and successfully grew to a flock of sustainable numbers. These large birds have popped up in several Boston City parks in recent years. While not as robust as their white-feathered domestic relatives, wild turkeys can weigh in at 15 to 23 pounds. They are great runners as well as very strong flyers. The turkey’s eyesight is second to none. They mostly move in tight flocks ranging from just a few to upwards of fifty birds. Aside from the well-known “gobble-gobble” call of the turkey, other sounds often made will include clucks, perts, putts, cackles, and purrs. The turkey’s main predators include the great horned owl, the coyote, and the bobcat. The mature males are called “toms”, the females are “hens” and the immature male and female birds are called “jakes” and “jenns”.

My Very First Blog. How cute.

Here's What I've Been Doing On My Summer (Non)Vacation...

I've been (slowly) getting my manuscrap together...but sadly I haven't been painting.

We've been grillin' our asses off. Tonight A and I tried nectarines. It's delish...you should try it. Baste with butter, sprinkle with sugar, grill, and voila! Just add vanilla ice cream.

I've also been biking (I biked once...drove the other time) out to the community farm we belong to (my fave are the perennials).

My landlord bought the house in the '80s...think these curtains came with? They're in the stairwell, believe me.

We've gotten ourselves into a little bocce with some friends...

...and have been spending some q.t. with our cats M and P (no, we DO NOT live in a retirement village).

What I've been reading (Ted Berrigan's Collected, Adam Clay's Canoe, Spicer's Collected, Legit. Dangers, Cate Marvin's World's Tallest Disaster, Tomaz Salamun's The Book For My Brother, Harvard Review, etc.).