June 30th, 2005
Fresh Cut Earth

the retired butcher
Joe Eschbach

scoffing at the box
mocking the preacher
and the hymns

saying

wen I go
juste dig me a hoele
mit de backhoe
und tro me in
like dey dit mit de soltiers

later

standing from his wheelchair
to place a rose
on his friend's casket

trembling
nearly slipping on the wet grass
almost
falling in the grave

the rest of the mourners

shaking
gape mouthed

somewhere between
laughing
and weeping openly

June 29th, 2005
King of the Dusters

I wonder if it's tough to stand up in front of hundreds of millions of people and say this about the enemy, knowing full well that it applies to you, too.

"... they respect no laws of warfare or morality. They take innocent lives ..."

Bush addressed his nation tonight about the war in Iraq. He never mentioned the weapons of mass destruction, though he made a pretty clear link to 9/11. And freedom. And Evil. And terrorists. And liberty.

I like to think that I'm a pretty good bullshitter. In fact, you might say that I take some pride in it. So, it is with some trepidation that I say: George, you're a much better bullshitter than I am.

On the speech:

IHT | NY Times | CBC | Aljazeera | CNN (transcription)

In other news, the Canuckistanis quietly legalized same-sex marriage. We're only the third country in the world to do so, after Belgium and the Netherlands. Check it out. So now, if you're gay and crazy enough to get married, you can do so.

I must say, I heartily approve. Frankly, I can't wait to be the best man at a lesbian wedding. If we can get the marijuana legalized, we'll really be cooking.

June 28th, 2005
Magazine Hut

If you want to read a hot article on performance poetry, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of July's AlbertaViews. It features Dawn Carter, Gail Sobat, Mark Kozub and Mingus Tourette. The other three poets speak eloquently about writing and presenting on stage. Naturally, I talk about getting drunk, punching people in the face and sleeping with audience member's wives.

Sometimes, while being interviewed, I'm a complete fucktard.

Oh well. When my mom called to read it to me over the phone, she said 'at least the photo looks good'. Yup, nothing like hearing your mother read your 'fornication quote' back to you. Though old ladies have subscriptions, AlbertaViews is actually a pretty good magazine. I like their mandate - Driving Social Issues, Politics and Culture. We could use more of that in this fucking one-horse province.

The article is written by the inimitable Minister Faust, author of The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad. In reality, the draft of the article I read was quite good. My favourite turn-of-phrase was Faust's comparison of my reading style to a 'combine over a rose garden'. On Friday night, I ended up watching him read with Wayne Arthurson, and bullshitting afterwards. Writers are good conversation. It was much better than getting drunk and staring at the carpet. Faust is getting married right away - so check out his bro-log before he puts it on summer honeymoon hiatus. And go shoplift some magazines.

And - to Shawn Button, if you're out there, happy 30th birthday pal.

June 27th, 2005
Now Available...

For the first time ever, Mingus Tourette's nunt is available at a Chapters bookstore near you. That is, if you live in Southern Edmonton.

As of June 25th, the book will be featured on the 'Books with Buzz' shelf at the South Point store on Gateway Boulevard and 32nd Ave. It should also be available in the poetry section. Obviously, my publisher is ecstatic. We have never had the book in a Chapters store, which represents over 70% of the country's market. Also, we've never had it face out on a feature shelf in any bookstore. It's pretty fucking exciting for us. There has even been talk about readings and getting the book into the Chapters system on a western Canadian basis, which would be point blank amazing.

So - if you've been waiting for the book to pick up that extra bit of market credibility before you popped down your hard-earned dollars for it, now is the hour. Tell your mother and grandmother that they need to go down to the store and buy the pink book with the gasmasked nun. Seriously. Spread the love. Recommend it to the people in your life who need to be nunticized.

Also, our thanks to the two Chapters folks who liked the book and got it into the store. And to Per Sannes, for pitching it. It is hugely appreciated. Let's hope the fucker sells.

And yes, Vic, it is a good thing that I didn't burn the rest of them. But the summer is young, and I'm not getting any saner.





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Copyright © 2006 Mingus Tourette