Author Archive

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Another awesome night of poetry. Any of the 8 people competing would have represented Saint Paul and given them a great chance to repeat as champions.

“6 is 9″ aka Kharri finished the highest. He is the Muhammad Ali of competitors. He’ll beat anyone, anywhere, anytime … and they’ll enjoy it!

The rest of the team in no particular order (forgive any spelling errors):

• Sierra DeMuldar
• Sam Cook
• Shane Holly
• Guante

Awesome show at the Artists’ Quarter!

Haven’t been writing in my blog lately. I don’t think anyone even noticed!

Thought I would share a story I wrote a few years ago. It was rather panned by many of my writing pals and I mostly agree with them. Still, flaws and all I share with you this true story. The names were changed to protect both the guilty and the innocent.

Bob, the Egg and I

I have spent a week not listening to news or sports talk radio. Last Sunday the Vikings did it again — they broke their fans hearts. I fell victim to their spell once again. And for the fifth straight time, the Vikings lost an NFC championship game. As was true in 1998, they had a better team but lost anyway. I don’t think a heart-breaking defeat is going to help them get a new stadium built on the taxpayer’s dime.

I’ve spent some time in the past week doing Saint Paul Winter Carnival things like visiting the ice sculptures at Rice Park. Check out some of the photos! Yesterday there was a live band to cheer up anyone suffering from the winter blues. Last night fireworks lit up the Saint Paul skyline after a raucous parade.

I expect February to be a busy month. I’ll be creating videos to promote and explain the concepts involved in SEO and how SmallBusSEO.net can address specific business needs.

I’ve some internal debate about whether or not to put Social Networking Today dot com up for sale. I’ll likely make a decision about that in the next few weeks.

More soon! I won’t be a stranger. Check out a couple of the ice sculpture photos.

Thinking about something Colonel Potter said when ringing in the new year. The quote goes something like “Happy New Year. May it be a damn sight better than the last one.”

That will be my wish for 2010. May it be better than 2009.

I’ve been turning the corner as best as I’ve been able as 2009 becomes 2010. I’ve watched a couple of interesting shows recently that have altered some ways of thinking.

I watched Patti Smith in Dream of Life which was mind-bending in lots of ways. I like watching artists live their lives and think their thoughts out loud. Anyway, after her husband died, Allen Ginsberg wrote her something like, “Bury the dead but then go on with your celebration of life.” The gist being that it wasn’t good to get tangled into trying to hold onto a past that is gone.

Seems like a worthwhile philosophy for me to pursue. I can’t change what happened. I can’t change what was. I can be responsible for what is.

Then I watched Neil Young as the focus of an American Masters show. He has persistantly followed his own muse. Never getting bogged down with past success and trying to stay with the music people liked on his last album. He said something like “I already made that album. Why would I want to do that again?”

Moving on. Moving forward. Embracing the unknown even through fear.

Oh yeah, many talented people are afraid to step up and get onto the stage. But they do it anyway.

According to a December 10, 2009 post at the City Pages website, Steve Renner was convicted of “underreporting his income” by nearly 1.5 million dollars. I don’t know if this translates into being “tax fraud?” It appears the IRS was involved. There was a more detailed article at TwinCities.com but those articles disappear after a few weeks.

The City Pages website lists him as “Bluesman Stevie Renner” but I knew him as the owner/promoter of “inetGlobal” which was/is an MLM or Network Marketing company. He seemed to be involved in other companies like “Cash Cards International” and I thought I traced him at one time into an online Gold business.

I got out and away from him and his companies a little over a year ago. I had just committed myself to promoting the concept he originally promoted to me which was providing resources to and showing people how to begin a successful online business. (I still think it’s a brilliant concept!) Then I heard from a colleague that Steve Renner had been indicted for tax evasion and I knew it was time to cut my losses and get away from him.

I managed to get out of inetGlobal without losing green money but I did lose one hell of a lot of time – and wasted time is wasted money.

Because of how the company was set up it seemed impossible to get out without leaving some money behind — and I was forced to do that. My official exit came when I refused to sign some sort of after the fact agreement that, in my words, the company could do whatever it wanted, we needed to follow the rules of the company, and the company could change the rules anytime they wanted to.

There is so much I could write about my experience with Steve Renner and his enterprises — but perhaps I’ll save that for a novel, where a knowledgeable attorney could read it to make sure I didn’t cross any libelous lines.

Too much BS for me Mr. Renner. I don’t need to pile on and say something nasty, but apparently I will anyway,  I’m not going to shed any tears if you hear a cell door clang shut behind you in the near future.

Listened to Twenty Twenty (aka Mr 2020) at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/vision-quest-radio today. Those of you who are  interested in 30 minutes a day of insights this is a great source. Check it out!

Spoke with my brother Jean Paul today and that’s always good. We’re traveling down similar paths at the moment so we brainstorm, cogitate and support each other. There are always some breadcrumbs left to follow up with. I think there might be some interesting developments on the horizon.

Two inspiring dudes.

Thought I would seek out some YouTube videos of some of the poets who appeared in Monday’s poetry slam in Saint Paul at the Artist’s Quarter. And I found some of the performers there. Here they are. Enjoy.

The first is Wonder Dave performing “Vagina”

Performing “Sexy”

Sam Cook performs “Greg”

Ezra performs “Fuck the Goonies”

Inky performs (?)

Went to the Poetry Slam at the Artist’s Quarter in Saint Paul last night. It was as awesome as ever. I was asked to be one of the judges and took Guante, the emcee’s advice, by writing down the performers and the scores I gave them. I do think it helped me be consistent in judging the performances.

The performers at the Saint Paul Poetry Slam were Ezra, Jen, Wonder Dave, Collin, Sam Cook, Rob, Chad Word, Style Spawn, 6 is 9, and Inky. (Sorry for any misspellings.) I’m using my jottings to identify the poems/theme that I wrote next to the scores.

In Order of the Performances

Ezra did a poem about a rancher named Gay. Really well done and written. Unfortunately he fell to the first performance curse where the first performers tend to score lower while the judges figure it all out. My scoring was 9.3

Jen performed Shirt, Star Wars and Weight. Jen has a good stage presence and delivery. Unfortunately I see her repeating these poems way too often and I deducted for that. My scoring was 8.9, 9.0, 9.0

Wonder Dave was great and in his prime and came in third place. He has unique poems and delivery. He performed  Obama, sexy and love. I liked Obama because he was able to demand integrity from a politician – and one he voted for – in a thought filled here are the facts kind of way. Love was seeing love from a sort of everyday perspective that requires insight. Wonder Dave keeps his poems real and allows a connection to the audience. Scoring was 9.8, 9.5, 9.6

Collin came in second place. He performed Flag, love one liners, MS. Never seen him before. I think he came all the way from Texas to perform. He was good and scored well. Nice persona and presence. I lowered his scores because I thought his first poem with the Confederate Flag theme was not well informed and seemed to be a bit pandering to the audience. Yeah we don’t approve of slavery or torture or murder – tell me something I don’t know! Then his last performance was harder to understand with fast and loud talking and a bit frantic to the point of distraction. Don’t get me wrong with my critique, he was still very good. My scoring was 8.7, 9.3, 9.1

Sam Cook performed girl in mirror and 4 year old. Sam is a seasoned veteran of slams and I frequently enjoy his political poems. He did well but didn’t knock his poems out of the park. Scores were 9.0, 8.9

Rob was new to me and had a great night. From Milwaukee he was able to incorporate intimate personal revelations and details and even some vulnerability which as a memoir writer I enjoy. He performed mix tape, sex and Minneapolis. Scores were 8.9, 9.2, 9.3

Chad Word performed Yorik. He writes some great stuff and this poem was no exception. His performance could use more force and practice. Score 8.3

Style Spawn performed. I haven’t seen him for a year and a half! He is absolutely unique in writing and performance. I learned in his earlier performances to close my eyes and listen to the words and rhythm of his work. His performances and poetry can take you on a journey if you let it. He speaks softly, with rhythm, with a slow beat that is hypnotizing. His poems are something that would make Jon Anderson of Yes proud. Unfortunately, he was too good for the room and scored low. Score 9.3

Six is Nine, or is that 6 is 9 was the “winner.” If you haven’t heard or seen him I would encourage you to do so. He has a nearly perfect combination of presence, delivery and material. He’s creative, funny and inventive. I’ve seen him perform for a couple of years with only a rare duplication of previous material. His Peter Pan-Captain Hook piece was funny, brilliant and creepy! The scores he received from me were: 9.6, 9.4, 9.4

Inky performed stalks and road. She has a wonderful stage presence and a nice delivery. I think stalks has potential to be great. I get confused when I’m being told a story as to whether it’s fact or fiction and as an audience member I want to know. If it’s fact it needs to become more human and if it’s fiction I think it should be more dramatic and unapologetic. She lost her place during the stalk performance and my score was lower for that reason. In retrospect I think she should be rewarded more than others who take paper on stage with them. Scores: 8.7, 9.0

Two things you might not know. The National Poetry Slam competition takes place in Saint Paul this year. And the Saint Paul team won the National Poetry Slam competition last year.

Enjoying the view of ice skaters in Rice Park from eighteen stories up tonight.

After one of the warmest Novembers on record it’s become quite cold in early December. Not just cold but cold with a wind which makes it extra chilly on exposed skin. Still, it’s refreshing to step out into the outdoors.

We’ve seen some white snow around here the past few days but it’s been nothing more than a dusting. Enough to make things seem even more wintery.

My roommate is getting over his bout the flu. Tonight I’m feeling like I’m coming down with something. I’ve felt this before but have been able to fight it off successfully. Hope my good health continues through the flu season here.

Bored yet?

Okay, it’s not my best post but it’ll have to do.

Pixar’s “Up” is coming to pay per view next week. It’s one of Pixar’s better movies and that is really saying something. Might have to watch it again. It is so very sweet and seems appropriate for the holiday season.