The Junk Drawer

I consider myself something of a connoisseur of euphemism and double talk. Politicians and military folk in particular provide plenty of examples of imprecise or euphemistic or jargon-laden speech ultimately signifying nothing. They just have so much truth to obscure, they quickly become adept at the ponderous turn of a bad phrase.

One of my recent favorites is the so-called “incentives package” the United States and Europe is offering Iran, in order for it to stop developing nuclear technology. In the ordinary world, an “incentives package” is rightfully called a bribe.

(Read on …)

The Librarian of Congress has appointed a new poet laureate, Donald Hall.  I was hoping there would be some sort of official appointment ceremony today, which I could attend, but I can’t find any information about it.

Here is the Washington Post story on the poet, Set to Verse: Donald Hall is New Poet Laureate.  And here is the Library of Congress official announcement, Librarian of Congress Appoints Donald Hall New Poet Laureate.

Here’s a clip from the Post story:

Other poets and critics cite a complex, book-length poem called “The One Day” — published in 1988 but composed over 17 years — as Hall’s greatest achievement.

“In a sense, it is the last masterpiece of American modernism,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia, noting that as such, it is unlike the bulk of Hall’s generally more accessible work. David Lehman, reviewing “The One Day” in The Washington Post, called it “loud, sweeping, multitudinous, an act of the imperial imagination,” and cited a climactic line suggestive of the poet’s fundamental take on life:

“Work, love, build a house and die. But build a house.”

I’m going to check out this book-length poem, The One Day it’s only 67 pages long, which technically, I think, means that it is novella length rather than book length…but who’s counting pages?  Oh, I guess I am…

I post a lot of photos on Flickr. A lot. Some I edit down later. And I’m often surprised by the things people mark as favorites; the same Yosemite shot that is easily shot by every tourist, for example. Nothing special, unless you’ve never been there, and haven’t seen these same shots before.

The interesting thing about Flickr is that it’s so much more than a place to store your photos. There’s an entire community of people posting in groups and commenting on each other’s photos (sometimes nastily). It’s an interesting way to meet people, or find some really stunning photos and be inspired to take some of your own.

It’s fun to see that people have favorited a particular shot of yours, even if you don’t like it as much. It’s also nice to get comments. I often randomly comment on photos if they catch my eye. It also helps bring people to my photos, so they can comment or perhaps make me a new contact.

As part of this networking, occasionally someone might ask to use a photo. Because I mark them all as creative commons, that means that I allow anyone to use them for free, as long as they meet certain criteria. Like crediting my work, or at least asking my permisison first. I’ve had a cat picture used as part of a blog entry, another couple of cat pictures have been posted to a photo map.

Sometimes it’s a surprise. I googled myself to find that my photos had ended up somewhere I hadn’t expected them, on a travel site, but hey, they’re creative commons. Fine.

A couple of months ago, someone contacted me to use a photo I’d taken in Ventura, Calif. He was planning to use it for something with a shoe company’s web site leading up to the World Cup. I agreed, and he said he’d send a link when he was finished.

I saw it just the other day, and was surprised by the use. I didn’t know what to expect, but it ended up being used in a promotional blog. My journalistic nerves are jangled a little, but in the end, I know it’s an advertising site, so I guess it’s OK.

And it’s somewhat gratifying in a narcissistic sense, even if no one knows that it’s really my photo or that it’s in California and not Tunisia.