Still recovering from a long weekend...

-> My new favorite song: Harder to Breathe, Maroon 5. Also, I bought the Nappy Roots' new CD, Wooden Leather, and, after the first listen, it sounds like another winner.

-> Taylor's Teacher, Teacher was a lot of fun. A little unfocused and uneven in its tone but I think it stakes out interesting ground for him and has a lot of potential. Not as self-indulgent as some other one-person shows I've seen and has a couple of really powerful moments. He's got rights-of first-refusal on further commentary.

-> Kids and pictures are a tough combination. We went to Picture People yesterday to get Isaac and India's birthday pictures taken - she turns 1 on Saturday; Isaac, 3 on 10/24 - and between Isaac's reluctance to smile (must get that from me) and India's refusal to sit still, it was a crazy experience. Salomé and I jumping up and down behind the camera trying to get their attention, yelling and waving props and generally acting like fools. The things you do for your kids! Ended up with great pictures of Isaac and the two of them together but India's solo shots weren't so good.

-> When growth is the goal, change is inevitable. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. PSI needs to decide whether they have to shit, pee or just fart, and then do so or get off the pot. It might help for them to realize that their continued existence has little bearing on the future of poetry and focus on the one thing they can influence and nurture: the slam COMMUNITY.

-> Brooks Bollinger. Paging Brooks Bollinger. I mean, really. Why the hell not?