2003-09-01 - 5:27 p.m.

So if poetry is the point, they why shouldn't poetry get the points? As much as I enjoy Ryk's humorous first piece, it was not poetry, nor was Bobby's work. The event is called, "Poetry Slam," not "Hip-Hop, Humor, and Spoken Word Slam."

Which leads to the question, What is Poetry? Well, poetry is a rhythmic performance art, usually using various literary constructions. Bobby's pieces, Ryk's first piece, and Tim's last weren't poetry. They were spoken word diatribes/humor routines/imagery. That's not poetry and in a Poetry slam, not doing poetry should be penalized. Disagree with me? Fuck you, I had the board last night.

Poetry is like obscenity. I know when I hear it.

Mad props go out to Ryk for changing gears for the second piece. That was poetry and I really enjoyed it. Ryk's versatility was excellent and the change of pace was very good to hear. I think Ryk and, maybe, Tim were the only two to really change up between a round; that was great to hear.

Also, last night I really liked the work of Chris and Aaron more than, say, Christian's work, mainly because Chris and Aaron could be understood at all time (at least from where I was sitting) whereas Christian would not stop SHOUTING INTO THE MIKE! It blew my mind how Christian could follow Tony and not step away from the mike to do his loud, repetitive, first piece.

More people need to learn how to use the mike. Alex was the only person in the slam who knew the right distance from the mike. Everyone else was too far away, or too close; I was more annoyed by the people who were too close to the mike. Perhaps the host offered some suggestions on mike distance before the next open mike.

Getting up on stage should not automatically earn you a seven or eight. It shouldn't automatically earn you a six, maybe a five, if the judge is generous. Shouting, flapping your arms around, talking about sex, and just generally being energetic should not automatically earn you extra points. There is a pretty broad spectrum of scores between 0 and 10, and judges are doing the poets, the venue and themselves a disservice by not fully exploiting that range. If two poets get up and one does a good piece and the other does a really good (although not perfect) piece, is that pretty shown by giving the first one a 9.7 and the 2nd a 10? Or is it superior to give one an 8.8 and the next a 9.4? Which sends the better signal?

I guess a lot of people suffered in the slam because I was listening to Shane's CD that day and Beethoven is a 10, and it is really hard to come close to Beethoven.

I judged Bobby pretty harshly last night, but I think he deserved it. The stuff he was doing was straight from the heart, but it was not poetry as much as ranting and a humor act. That one about being a lesbian was in bad taste as well. That's not to say that Bobby's message of treating each other w/o labels is bad or is not coming across, just that the delivery method should probably be changed up. It is great to have Bobby on stage, and I think that as he progresses and writes more he will improve a great deal. I hope he will.

My head hurts. It really, really fucking hurts. Why do I get migraines on holidays?

I'm over at my parents' house right now, my father threw his back out, helping me move, my mother feels tired for no reason and had a migraine, and my neck hurts right along with my head.

Ouch.

I hope I don't feel like this tomorrow at work. Fucking 2,000 calls are expected tomorrow:

"Hi, I was driving through the Fast Lane and it told me to call you,"

"Ok, let me bring up your account here... you need to have the tag replaced. It is no longer working."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, it has not been working for the last 3 months."

"But it is has worked fine! I haven't had any problems, and you have been billing me."

Slapping my head, I rejoin, "It has not worked for 3 months, we have been taking a picture of your car as you drive through and showing you a Call Fast Lane light. You need to have your tag replaced."

"Well, if it has not been working, how do you know what to charge me?"

"We bill you for the length of the turnpike from the interchange you exit at."

"WHAT?!? That is OUTRAGEOUS! How can you get away with billing me more than I have used?"

Here I think, well, you have violated the terms of service by not calling us after a call fast lane light but I say, "Don't worry, we can have those tolls adjusted. Just stop using the transponder and have it replaced. Don't use the Fast Lane."

"I CAN'T USE THE FAST LANE?!? Don't you know how my life revolves around the Fast Lane? Don't you see that without this little box, I would completely fall apart? What kind of bastard are you? What is wrong with this state? * Let me speak to your supervisor!"

And on, and on, and on.

I was "asked" to come early to work tomorrow to put in some OT. I probably will, I have a few bills to pay. All the same, I feel pretty crummy about the prospect right now.

Fuck people.

-Jesse

*- No one seems to refer to Mass. properly as a Commonwealth.