Me? A Published Poet?

Yeah, okay, it's not The New Yorker, but it's a start.

The Swarthmore Literary Review. Scroll down to "The Kimono." That's mine.

K.

Scattered Thoughts: Stressful Times

-- Going to China on Monday. And holy crap, I am not ready.

-- "Graduation" today. Okay, so I don't technically graduate until August, but I do walk across that stage today, wearing tons of bling.

-- I'm worried about my grades. I didn't do so well this semester. :(

-- Stepped on my glasses yesterday. Feeling pretty shitty about that.

-- One bright stop-- that interview in New York went really well. I hesitate to mention what the exact company is for legal and jinx-ing reasons, but it's terribly exciting.

Boo-urns. Have a great few weeks, everybody!

K.

Entertained By So Little

Possibly one of the finest sentences I have ever concocted for a college paper:

"Indeed, based on the reports of Addison and Steele, the streets must have been fairly frothing with giggling confections of silk and curled hair, wafting past more domesticated women on the breezes made by their own vibrating fans."

Verily, I am a beast.

K.

Song Lists for My Own Entertainment

Having sort of made a commitment to at least do some lists this month, I decided to go through the 94 songs on my "To Hell With Alphabetical Order" playlist on my iPod and categorize some of them. So here they are... top five in no particular order.

Sexy songs

Hello Again --Neil Diamond
I'd Love You to Want Me --Lobo
Slow Dancing --Johnny Rivers
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' --Journey
My Doorbell --White Stripes

Uplifting Songs

Forever Young --Rod Stewart
We're All in This Together --Ben Lee
Beautiful World --Colin Hay
Merry-Go-Round --Antje Duvekot
New Soul --Yael Naim

Songs that have been my ringtones

Travelin' Band --CCR
Get Rhythm --Johnny Cash
Call on Me --Eric Prydz
Don't Stop Believing --Journey
Uhm, I don't have a fifth. I fail.

Songs that make me laugh every time

Mystery --Hugh Laurie
Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road --Loudon Wainwright III
Hey Jude --Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry
Everyone's a Little Bit Racist --Avenue Q
Long-Legged Guitar-Pickin' Man --Johnny Cash and June Carter

Songs for depression

Schadenfreude -Avenue Q
Teenage Wasteland --The Who
Sunshine (Go Away Today) --Jonathan Edwards
Operator --Jim Croce
It Don't Come Easy --Ringo Starr
Keep on Trying --Poco

Songs that make me do silly dances

Ramblin' Man --Allman Brothers Band
Sweet Transvestite --Rocky Horror Picture Show
My Maria --B. W. Stevenson
Don't Stop Believing --Journey
Girls Just Want to Have Fun --Cindy Lauper

Songs that transport me somewhere else

Back in the USSR --The Beatles
Hold On --Wilson Phillips
I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker --Sandi Thom
Rehab --Amy Winehouse
I've Been Everywhere --Johnny Cash

Songs that explain me

Cool Change --Little River Band
It Sucks to Be Me --Avenue Q
Beautiful World --Colin Hay
Doctor My Eyes --Jackson Browne
Get Rhythm --Johnny Cash

K.

Does This Make Me Famous By Association?

The screenshot is tiny, but that circled girl is a brother from my chapter of Phi Sigma Pi, a real peach of a girl with Broadway ambitions. The actual trailer for M. Night's newest movie is here. The scene is in the very beginning. Movie looks terrible, but I love this girl, so I will be going to see it.

Oh, and this is my 200th post. It's been an obscenely long time coming.

K.

To the Fruit Flies in my Drain

This was my last day of poetry class and I must admit, I was seriously disappointed. That was the only class that I looked forward to this semester. As soon as we got rid of those grad students (who were smarter and way more talented than we were), we became free to just write, to make fun of ourselves, to experiment. After class ended, a girl that I became friends with and I stayed in the classroom, just talking. We eventually ended up at a coffee shop for about an hour and a half. I don't know why we hadn't done that before.

Anyway, here is the last poem I wrote during class. It's just a free-writing and was supposed to be an ode, so it's kind of silly.

To the Fruit Flies in my Drain

You're a flicker in my eye,
the blink of a dark star on the spacious
white of my ceiling.
Great red eyes-- a gene experiment
in my own leased laboratory.
I've seen you soar out from my sink,
minuscule angels from a drainpipe
nursery, bent on flying
whoknowswhere.
You've perched on my eyelids
as I read,
snuggle on my pillow
as I sleep,
lounge in the misty sauna,
as I shower.
O, my little squatters,
my illegal aliens,
the least you could do is pay half of the rent.

Ah, they have to go!

K.

When Stupid Trivia is Awesome

(Ooh, bad language ahead.)

During Poetry Workshop today, our professor assigned our fourth and final poem. The goal was to adopt another persona and write from that point of view. For an example, she gave us the story of Medusa and Athena and instructed us to write from Medusa's point of view.

For those who don't know the story, Medusa was once one of the most beautiful women in the land and soon attracted the attentions of Poseidon, god of the seas. The two did some naughty things in Athena's temple, sending the goddess into a rage. In revenge, she turned Medusa into the monster we all know today.

Here's what I wrote:

"The Mistress of the Western Gates," they call me.
A term of appeasement used only when my eyes are open
and my hair is alive.
Asleep, I am the monster, the horror,
the hated of the Lady of Wisdom.
Athena, that gray-eyed bitch, who guards her virtue
with lance and shield, must surely have gazed in jealousy
as I was loved by the King of Tides.
The thought that she chokes down her ambrosia alone,
with only her flea-bitten owl for company,
keeps my vitals pulsing and my teeth sharp.

Hard for you to believe, I'm sure, but I was quite a dork back in the day. I used to spend quite a bit of time reading Greek myths and studying up on Greek gods. Athena, for her interesting patronage of both wisdom and war, was my absolute favorite. So when it came time to write this, I had a ton of trivia to pull out. I felt a little bad about it-- it takes a lot of studying to know that Athena was gray-eyed or one of the three goddesses who didn't procreate with freakin' everything around them.

One of those few times dumb knowledge comes in handy.

K.

PS. Happy NaBloPoMo to y'all. And happy NaNoWriMo as well!

You Poor People

There are several things that I wanted to write, but I've found that my brain refuses to concentrate. I can see myself writing something incredibly ridiculous (and perhaps I already have), so I'm just going to post a super rough draft of a poem from my Poetry Workshop 1 class.

We were supposed to create a poem using the specialized language of some animal. That may sound odd, but you're essentially supposed to use the language and point of view of whatever animal you chose to focus on. Also, we were supposed to include anaphora (in this case, a repetitive invocation).

I chose to honor the common mallard. So, here it is.

Pleading for the Mallard

Let the mallard remain ignorant of his undistinguished features.
He blends into the verdant forest of heads, the fertile soil of bodies.
Since his fledgling years, trailing his mother like a strand of weed
caught on a heron’s leg, he’s only concerned himself with the bouquet
of marsh mud and the fluid pressure between his toes.

Let the mallard remain ignorant of his lack of grace.
Compared to the strides of the egret, his waddle is clumsy;
compared to the flight of the eagle, his hold on the sky is precarious.
But his plump body rolls with the waves as he tips,
feet paddling the air, to harvest the bottom-dwelling grasses.

Let the mallard remain ignorant of his place in the universe.
He doesn’t know that his curly-tailed brethren
dabble around city parks, across oceans,
and in golf course water hazards.
Cattailed shores and briny pools form his continents and seas.

Yep, there it is. Still in rough draft form, but feel free to critique.

Hopefully, I'll never have to offend your eyes with my horrendous poetry again. :)

K.

The Kimono Collection Get an Airing-Out

It might be my stomach virus's doing, but I feel compelled to post about something near and dear to my heart: my kimono collection.

I'm not Japanese by any stretch of the imagination, but something about these graceful garments has captivated me. Therefore, as I'm too weak to do much else, I'll put up some of the pictures of my little collection. It requires, unfortunately, that reader uses his/her imagination since my house is in no way a photographer's paradise.

So, we begin!



Though technically not a kimono, this haori is by far the most "useful" to me of the bunch. It's traditionally used as a kimono overcoat, but I wear it to synagogue to cover my shoulders.



A detail from the haori. It's the design that really made me fall in love with this piece. The colors, the trailing ribbons, the way the fans are situated-- very appealing.



Next, my tomesode. Tomesode are worn by married women to formal occasions, such as weddings. I believe that I got this particular kimono because I really wanted a tomesode and this one was cheap on Ebay. Being a student of very little means, I can't be incredibly choosy. No matter, it's simple and I like it.



Detail of the tomesode's embroidery. I believe that it's a lion, but it could be a Korean dog. Whatever the animal, the green color is beautiful.



Here's a rather fetching furisode that has been, unfortunately, been hung rather haphazardly on the wall. It's also unfortunate that the picture had to feature my ancient paper weight of a computer; the hanger is too high for me to reach. Furisode, by the way, is Japanese for "swinging sleeves" and is worn only by young, unmarried women. It is said that in order to attract a husband, women would wear sleeves long enough to flutter when they walked in order to catch a man's eye.



The final kimono in my collection is an uchikake, a wedding kimono. This picture doesn't really get across just how massive this thing really is; it's the width and length of a single twin bed. The hem of the garment is stuffed with cotton, lending to the kimono's surprising weight. My mother is convinced that I will get married in this kimono, but I doubt I would even be able to lug the thing down the aisle.



This is the only obi I own, but I guess that's a good thing as it costs about as much as a really nice kimono on eBay. The length of silk is doubled over on itself, so it's actually about as long as I am tall. It's kind of an obnoxious orange color that doesn't match any of the kimonos I own, but the crane is nice.

So that's the extent of my collection currently, but I am expecting a large box of random kimonos in the near future. If I'm satisfied with them, I'll take pictures.

If you have an interest in kimono and would like to learn more, there are several books I would recommend.

The Book of Kimono by Nario Yamanaka-- My first book on kimono. Some very nice pictures with short explanations dealing with the history of the clothing and how to wear it.

Kimono: Fashioning Culture by Liza Dalby-- I highly recommend this book. Dalby was the first Western woman to become a geisha and, as an anthropologist, has written a brilliant and entertaining history of the kimono.

Kimono by Paul Van Riel-- Not big on information, but has tons of full-color pictures.

I would also say that eBay is a fantastic source for very nice vintage kimonos.

Anyway, thanks for hanging in there with me!

K.

PS. Update: The Llara Brook count is now up to 958 on Google and has (somehow) made it on to WilliamShatner.com.

One Hundred Things About Me

I'll admit it: I'm a talker. I'll chatter on about world events, school, and the superiority of a regular spoon over a soup spoon. Knowledge-- or lack thereof-- of a particular subject doesn't stop me either. Rattling on and on about nothing is a quite a talent of mine.

However, one subject with shut my mouth tighter than a sprung bear trap: Me. Ask me about myself and I will immediately clam up, hemming and hawing until the asker simply gives up. It's not that I don't have things to say or that I'm ashamed of myself. My mind simply goes blank.

This became quite a problem when I was being interviewed by Phi Sigma Pi initiates.

"Tell me about yourself," they would say.

"Err," I would reply cheerfully. And that would be the end of that.

After about seventeen such encounters, I decided that something must be done. So I sat down and made a list of 100 things about myself. Not secrets or anything, just things that people might be interested to know. I did this just to prove to myself that I can find something to say about myself.

I include this list in my blog because, if there are any regular readers out there, they might find that some of the items that I put in the list explain the way I think. Or not. Whatever. :)

Anyway, feel free to reply. They always make me smile. With further ado, I present...

100 Things About Me

1. My father's nickname for me is "Pumpkin."
2. If asked what my favorite movie is, I will always say The Blues Brothers.
3. I've been going to/working at the same Jew camp for ten years.
4. I honestly couldn't tell you what my favorite book is.
5. Secretly, I admire my little brother.
6. I have no idea what I'm going to do when I "grow up."
7. I still consider myself a kid.
8. I write better at night.
9. When I buy a house, I want it to be near a large body of water.
10. I'm teaching myself how to play the harmonica.
11. I absolutely cannot stand math.
12. I have trouble making up my mind about things.
13. I am convinced that Uncle John's Bathroom Reader is never wrong.
14. My favorite playlist on my Ipod is 136 songs long. I have only reached the end twice.
15. I played the marimba--badly-- for three years in high school.
16. I played the flute--even worse-- for six years before that.
17. I love to imitate Tim Curry's voice while singing "Sweet Transvestite" from Rocky Horror Picture Show.
18. The Billy Joel concert I went to with my mother is the best thing that has happened to me this year.
19. I'm a natural blonde.
20. I can't bend all of my toes, but I can pick up things with them.
21. I took Tae Kwon Do for five years.
22. I collect vintage kimonos.
23. People think I'm a goody-two-shoes.
24. People are surprised when they find out that "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is my ringtone.
25. The blue that Israelis paint their doors with in Sfat is my favorite color.
26. I had a parakeet (budgie) named Schmaltz for eight years. I still miss him.
27. I blush very easily.
28. I went to Israel on a Birthright Oranim trip.
29. I've become a less picky eater these last few years.
30. I adore sketch comedy (Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, SNL, etc.).
31. I inherited my dorky dancing style from my father.
32. Creating things with my hands makes me incredibly happy.
33. After college, I would like to join the IDF.
34. I have no cousins.
35. I always giggle when I'm trying to lie.
36. Countries I've visited: Israel, Canada, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.
37. I'm one-fourth Scottish, one-fourth German, and half Lithuanian.
38. I think that any time before 11 AM is un-G-dly early.
39. I will watch crappy movies just to see actors that I like.
40. There are about three songs written in the last five years on my 136-song playlist.
41. I listen to the blues, oldies, folk, and classic rock.
42. My dream job would be one that lets me travel.
43. When life gets too tough for me, I watch "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" to assure me that the world is just as crazy as I think it is.
44. I look forward to blogging each day.
45. I go to art museums just to see Italian religious paintings. The ones with the Virgin Mary are my favorites.
46. I've never been very interested in dating.
47. I accidentally walked on to the set of Rocky VI when coming out of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
48. I've got pictures of Sly Stallone from that encounter.
49. I'm a very tactile- and scent-oriented person.
50. I love the smell salt marsh grass.
51. I used to be afraid that Nazis would get me.
52. My goal is to get to Australia to see the wild parakeets.
53. I'd like to swim with the dolphins someday.
54. I am pro-Israel, pro-choice, and pro-stem cell research.
55. I put myself down as an Independent so I wouldn't get Democrats and Republicans calling me at all hours of the day.
56. Sometimes I zone out and miss whole lectures in class.
57. According to LivingWaters.com, I have broke every single one of the Ten Commandments.
58. I had a private celebration the day Yasser Arafat died.
59. I used to hate Ariel Sharon, but now I'm just confused.
60. However, I did cry when Sharon went into his coma.
61. I can't stand religious people who are self-righteous.
62. My real name is Kathryn.
63. Nobody can spell my last name.
64. I believe that there is a special place in hell for people who try to convert me.
65. I love to sing, but I don't do it very well.
66. I like to go to Catholic mass when I can't get to synagogue.
67. My parents are convinced that I will become a rabbi one day. Uhh.
68. I envy Philip Roth's writing style.
69. I enjoy going to events in Washington, D.C.
70. When I get extremely frustrated with something, I refuse to have anything to do with it for several weeks.
71. As much as I dislike President Bush, I think that he would fun to sit with it at a dinner party...
72. ...plus, I think his dogs are adorable.
73. Politicians make me feel all icky.
74. I was voted third most likely to become a politician in my senior class. Oh G-d!
75. I have a secret fantasy of being in a Broadway show.
76. I love strawberry cheesecake-flavored Hawaiian ices topped with marshmallow.
77. I find that dancing with drunk people is exhilarating.
78. Being a daughter of a cop has endowed me with a strong guilt complex.
79. I have never done illegal drugs.
80. I get chest pains from Vicodine and codeine.
81. I'm an agnostic.
82. For many of my friends, I am the first Jew they have ever met.
83. I plan to be Jewish for the rest of my life.
84. I bristle every time someone condemns mixed marriages.
85. I find accents sexy.
86. Sometimes I wish I had curly hair.
87. I once tried to teach myself Scottish Gaelic.
88. Whenever and wherever I hear the song "Cotton-Eye Joe," I will drop what I am doing and perform the corresponding line dance.
89. I swear that all of my favorite songs describe me in some way.
90. I was the only Jew in my elementary school.
91. I swam in the US Maccabi Games for four years.
92. I was invited to swim at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.
93. I quit swimming because I was no longer having any fun.
94. Sometimes I don't feel worthy of anything I have.
95. I mentally correct people's grammar...
96. ... Then I feel like a total moron when I get something wrong.
97. I am a Red Cross certified swimming instructor and lifeguard.
98. I still sleep with the same stuffed bunny that I've had since I was a baby.
99. Certain songs and movies make me cry uncontrollably.
100. I have realized that there are too many things about me to fit within 100 points.

K.