Yeah, Sounds About Right

I Am A: Chaotic Good Half-Elf Ranger Thief


Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.


Race:
Half-Elves are a cross between a human and an elf. They are smaller, like their elven ancestors, but have a much shorter lifespan. They are sometimes looked down upon as half-breeds, but this is rare. They have both the curious drive of humans and the patience of elves.


Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.


Secondary Class:
Thieves are the most roguish of the classes. They are sneaky and nimble-fingered, and have skills with traps and locks. While not all use these skills for burglary, that is a common occupation of this class.


Deity:
Solonor Thelandria is the Chaotic Good elven god of archery and the hunt. He is also known as the Keen Eye, the Great Archer, and the Forest Hunter. His followers respect nature, and only hunt when needed, but are quick to defend the forest from intruders. Their favorite weapon is the bow, and they tend to be extremely talented with it. Solonor Thelandria's symbol is an arrow with green fletchings.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Anniversary Time!

Wow! Three years and eight years, respectively. Crazy shit!

ACENTOS THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Tuesday, March 28th @ 7:00pm
featuring TRIO CON CUATRO,
plus a Showcase of past features from the series' three year run,
With a special performance by SAHELI

Our anniversary fiesta promises to be off all chains possible! Come check out a special presentation of the premier Latino and Latina poetic voices from the first three years of Acentos, including Rachel McKibbens, Carlos Andrés Gómez, John Rodriguez, Mahina Movement, and many more! You'll also be treated to a special set by the amazing voices of Saheli...after which, we'll top off the evening with the Llanera-Soul rhythms of Trio Con Cuatro.

Preceded as always by the Uptown's best Open Mic, and featuring DJ Geko Jones on the 1's and 2's, all in our brand new theater space at the Bruckner! Come through and join our familia for an unforgettable anniversary celebration.

And don't forget: the start time is 7pm SHARP!

ACENTOS @ The Bruckner Bar & Grill
1 Bruckner Boulevard (Corner of 3rd Ave)
6 Train to 138th Street Station
Hosted by Rich Villar
FREE! ($5 Suggested Donation)
www.louderarts.com/acentos

Coming from Manhattan: Exit by the last car on the 6. Take the exit to your left, go up the stairs to your right to exit at Lincoln Avenue. Walk down Lincoln about 5 blocks to Bruckner Blvd, turn right on Bruckner past the bike shop, the Bruckner Bar & Grill is on the corner. For more directions, please call 718.665.2001
________________

louderARTS: the reading series
celebrates EIGHT YEARS of poetry and performance
at 13 Bar/Lounge (35 E. 13th St., Union Square)

Monday, April 3, 2006
7 p.m.
$5 ($4 for students)

featuring KIMIKO HAHN and THOMAS SAYERS ELLIS

… with showcase poets including Patrick Rosal, Patricia Smith, Bassey Ikpi, Tara Betts, Samantha Raheem, Roger Bonair-Agard, Lynne Procope, Marty McConnell, Laura Moran, Emily Kagan, Rich Villar, Mara Jebsen, Oscar Bermeo, Abena Koomson, Elana Bell, Matthew Charles Siegel, Scot Williams, Raymond Daniel Medina, music by Rebecca Hart and more.

Since 1998, louderARTS has provided a nurturing and challenging community for NYC artists, showcased established and emerging poets, and set a standard for excellence in fusing the written and spoken word.

Kimiko Hahn is the author of seven books, "We Stand Our Ground," "Air Pocket," "Earshot," "The Unbearable Heart," "Volatile," "Mosquito and Ant," and "The Artist's Daughter." She received an American Book Award, an Association of Asian American Studies Literature Award, a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award, and a Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. She is a recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and teaches in the English Department at Queens College/CUNY.

Thomas Sayers Ellis is the author of "The Good Junk" (1996), published in Take Three #1 (Graywolf 1996), as well as "The Genuine Negro Hero," (Kent State University Press, 2001); "The Maverick Room" (Graywolf 2005) and the forthcoming "Song On" (WinteRed Press 2005). An Associate Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) and a faculty member of The Lesley University low-residency M.F.A program. He co-founded The Dark Room Collective, and he has received fellowships from The Fine Arts Work Center, Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony. Mr. Ellis is a contributing editor of Callaloo literary magazine.

louderARTS' Monday reading series includes seven formats: SLAM, Pinion, louderEDGE, Raise the Red Tent, GrooveNation, OUTloud, and UPPERCASE. Each format incorporates an open mic and seeks to shape or expand the audience's understanding of poetry and the world in which we seek to create it.

For more information on louderARTS: the reading series, please visit www.louderARTS.com, or email curator @ louderARTS.com.

Days Like These

So, Monday was a double dose of fun as Isaac's school called Salomé to let her know he was complaining about an earache which turned out to be the very early stage of an ear infection. Poor kid's had so many, he knew it right away; even the doctor said she might not have noticed it if not looking for it specifically. Later that night, in the parking lot of the Rite Aid where Salomé was picking up his prescription, I happened to look into India's school bag to check her communication notebook -- where her teachers and Salomé and I communicate about her progress -- and found a note about the rash on her ear, which we thought was eczema, asking whether or not it was ringworm. Folded into the notebook was a letter from the school warning about a ringworm outbreak and letting us know that any kid with ringworm would need a doctor's note clearing them to return.

Thank goodness for Dr. Julie! Having a pediatrician for a friend has gotten us out of a jam more times than I can count, and this time, at 7pm Monday night, she was able to check India's ear, write a prescription and a doctor's note, and limit her to only missing a day of school.

That was yesterday, which meant we got to sleep in while Isaac returned to school -- catching the ear infection that quickly meant he was good to go -- and Salomé went to work. I had to pick up her prescription at 10am, so we hung out relaxing for a couple of hours, did a little water painting and talking about animals, before getting dressed and heading out for a couple of hours. Snuck in an oil change and a car wash while we were out before returning home to a shitload of email that I still haven't caught up on.

Six months in to editing Buzzscope and I'm thisclose to stepping down. When it's fun, it's great, but more and more, it's becoming Work, which isn't fun. The redesign/relaunch still hasn't happened and content hasn't been posting as regularly as I'd like since there's one guy who handles all of that and he's been swamped. Some of our contributors are better than others about deadlines, and the amount of editing I have to do varies greatly, too. Late submissions + sloppy submissions make Guy an angry boy.

It's my fault, really, for once again jumping into something with both feet that I don't have full control over. Yes, I'm a control freak, that's not news, but when things break down and the causes are beyond my control, it gets frustrating. Especially when it's not really anyone's fault, per se. Shit happens, no one's getting paid for working on the site, so it's hard to be mad at anyone who chooses not to make it a priority. I'm getting to that point, where I now just go to bed instead of pushing through editing something that may not run on time anyway, and that's not fair to our contributors, especially the one's who get their stuff to me on time.

I also feel like I've crossed the line a bit and am more "connected" than I really want to be, privy to some of the more unpleasant aspects of an industry that eats its young and feeling increasingly frustrated and cynical about it all. It's like a kid tugging on Santa's beard too hard only to realize he's sitting on drunk Uncle Bob's lap and all of the fantasies he had about Christmas were lies. Not that extreme, of course, but yeah, frustration, disappointment, and a bit of boredom, which is the kiss of death.

It's the internet's fault, I think. Access to information is a great thing, but too much of anything can be, well, too much. And I'm an information addict so the internet is like a 24/7 open bar where I can rationalize the drinking as learning to bartend.

It's one of the reasons I blog here so infrequently these days. I don't really have anything interesting to say that Salomé's not saying better than I would, and the internet doesn't need yet another "Today really sucked..." blog.

So, yeah...yesterday didn't suck because India and I got to hang out, and we picked up Isaac a little early from after-school and he was pleasantly surprised to see his sister, which always brings a smile to my face. All things considered, we're doing a pretty good job raising them, which is a good bit of news in the midst of the other depressing, angsty shit we're going through.

Today, I'm back at work, still digesting the fact that my boss handed in an open-ended resignation last week, not to take another job elsewhere, but because she's burned out. Being a Director of Marketing who spends the majority of her time cutting budgets each month in order to maintain a profit margin, instead of, you know, marketing stuff, will certainly do that to you. The worst part is, what should totally be an opportunity for me to step up is reason #273 to get the hell out of dodge, as there's no way in hell I want her job as it currently exists, and am in no mood for the inevitable clusterfuck reorganization that looms on the horizon.

Apologies if this rambled as much as I think it did, but I don't have time to reread it. I figure at this point, if you're still checking this blog, it's because you're a friend who's emails I've not answered recently and are simply trying to stay in touch. Bless you for your tenacity!

PS: As much as I think Kevin Covais making it to the Top 12 was an embarassment for American Idol in an otherwise surprisingly strong season, there's a part of me that wants to see Ace Young voted off first. That falsetto of his makes me wince, and he's more boy band material than solo star. Also, what the hell was Paula on last night?

Is that Spring around the corner?

Yikes, I can't believe it's been a month since I last blogged! Here, at least.

Lots of things happening but I haven't really had the time or desire to blog about them. The kids are doing well; Salomé and I are once again in full-angst mode over our living and working situations; and I've reached a little bit louder-levels of busy with the comic book stuff.

The weather's finally improving and I can sense the winter blahs starting to fade a bit. Been a rough few months and the feeling that spring was taking forever to come was like a dark cloud hanging over everything. We hit the Bronx Zoo on Saturday for a much-needed day out, and then went crazy at the Mall with a little unplanned shopping therapy. Not unlike a night out drinking, it's fun in the moment, but damn the hangover when the receipts are added up later! All good, though; the simple fact that we could do it at all is a plus, considering this time four years ago we were on the verge of going extremely broke.

On the "big things changing" front, one door officially closed a couple of weeks ago; the second, and most favorite, seems to have closed, though I don't know for sure yet; and the third, my second favorite, feels like it might happen, details pending. Can't say more than that at this point.

Last night's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition reminded me how much I envy people of faith. The power of Guyism -- the belief that I can only rely on myself to get by, which sometimes leads to brief but severe moments of depression -- pales in comparison to that of other, more stable religions. I totally understand the need to believe in something greater than one's self, but my logical brain simply won't allow it.

In lieu of anything of substance, I leave you with this, swiped from Salomé, who is doing much better at the blogging thing than I am these days:

1. Would you say that you are good at keeping in touch with people?
Not in the least. I'm quite horrible at it, actually.

2. Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: email, telephone, snail mail, blog comments or meeting in person? Why?
Definitely email, though in light of the answer above, it's not ideal. In person, as long as it's someone I feel like talking to, is best.

3. Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it?
I tend to avoid IM as I'm usually working when I'm online and don't have the time to chat. GMail's adding chat has made that a bit more difficult recently.

4. Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away?
See next answer.

5. Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person or do you believe that "absence makes the heart grow fonder"?
Totally "out of sight, out of mind." And you don't even have to be out of sight for all that long. That said, I do make an attempt to touch base with my best friends now and then, whether they are near or far.