More Podcast Ruminations

Chatting with a podcaster who has repeatedly suggested I should consider creating one has indeed gotten me thinking about it.

I've held back up to now because of my lack of technical know-how and lack of equipment, but even more because I couldn't think of a focus. My interests are all over - poetry, political commentary, faith, short stories, music, Chesterton, history, story-telling, and so on. Do I record me singing original songs? Reciting original poetry? Reading some of my satire or editorial pieces? Talking about Church teachings? Sharing stories about St. Francis and other saints and holy people? Talking about books or the arts? Telling folk tales? Inflicting dad jokes? 

But he pointed out that might be the point of the podcast: I'm an eclectic individual with varied interests.

Hmm.

I looked up some haiku podcasts. Some are really intimidating, combining video and music. But some just had voice and images. I immediately thought of the Godzilla haiku/image I created a couple of years ago. And I take a lot of pictures. What if I combined some of my photos and poems to create pieces? I could do two or three of them in short podcasts. 

I even mused what I could call my poetic pieces - post them on Thursdays and call them something like "Versedays"?  And if I told stories on Tuesdays call them "Tuesday Tales"? 

And then do other things on other days?

I also wondered what I might call a podcats. I used to have a column in college called "The Pregnant Pause."  Maybe just "The Pause"? My old story-telling name, "Tunes-n-Tales"? How about "Just Saying"? Or could there be something inspired by Chesterton. 

Something to mull over.

I need to listen to some podcasts to see what they do and how they do it.  

On the other hand, is this all just an exercise in ego? 

Hmm again.

At least I can start to compile images and link them to my poetry. I can easily start to take pictures to fit with poems I've written. 

More Godzillas in the works! 

Pax et bonum

Recent Reads

In recent days my fiction reading has had added focuses. 

I read The Dry Wood by Carykk Houselander and One Poor Scruple by Josephine Wood after reading about an effort to make forgotten Catholic women writers better known. And I read Come Rack! Come Rope! by Father Robert Hugh Benson because I was asked to play a small part in a play version of the book.

Reading Houselander and Wood was inspired by an article in the September/October issue of the Saint Austin Review, "Celebrating Catholic Women Writers," a Joseph Pearce interview of Trevor Lipscombe. The interview was about a Catholic University Press series intended to republish novels written by Catholic women in the twentieth century. I subsequently ordered the two books, which were among the books discussed.

I enjoyed both books, but preferred Houselander's. I found the characters and the issues addressed in the story - the death of a holy priest and popular calls for his canonization, church politics, a sick child that had become a community focus, and so on - more interesting. Lipscombe said The Dry Wood was the "finest Catholic-themed novel" he'd read since Brideshead Revisited. High praise, but I can see why he thinks that.

Wood's book was not bad, but it was more of a Jane Austen type book with a focus on romance and marriage, but with a very Catholic overlay. Again, good book, just less interesting to me. Others might thoroughly enjoy it.

Of the three books, I enjoyed Father Benson's the most. I had been thinking of reading it anyway, but was prompted to do s immediately when I was contacted by the local Chesterton Academy's theater people. They are doing a play version of the novel, and they were looking for a couple of adults to play small parts in support of the students. I had directed plays with one of the theater people before, and a number of the students in the play are students I taught and directed at my former school. So I welcome the chance.

As for the book, given its historical setting - the persecution of Catholics under Bloody Bess - I was immediately drawn in. And I liked how he not only mixed in historical figures, but also how he handled the conflicts, the family divisions, and the choices people made.

I recommend all three books.

Pax et bonum

Starting to Think of Next Year's Reading

I've been thinking lately of what I will read next year, so I've started compiling a list.

So far:

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, and Have His Carcase - by Dorothy Sayers

A Dickens novel (Little Dorrit or Our Mutual Friend)

Lord of the Rings (reread)

Kristin Lavransdatter 

Apologia  Pro Vita Sua (reread)

Bio/Study of Newman

The Poet and the Lunatics (Chesterton)

Some Mystery novels

Some Encyclicals

The two Sayers books would complete my effort to read all of her Lord Peter novels.

I'm leaning toward Little Dorrit of the Dickens novels

Among the encyclicals (I hope to read at least 2) would be Pope Francis's newest encyclical, DILEXIT NOS (ON THE HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE OF THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST) 

As for the mysteries, some Civil War era one, or maybe some about Scotland or Ireland.

More to come!

Pax et bonum

Some Local Pro-life Pictures

Pax et bonum

A Christmas Blessing

A Christmas Blessing

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever.

Pax et bonum

Memorial Service Pictures

Pax et bonum

Science Fiction and Horror Poetry

Over the years I have published a number of science fiction and horror poems. They are mostly haiku/senryu, thought there are other forms mixed in. Yes, the haiku are not classic/true haiku, but they are still fun to write and read. 

The list so far:

A doctor from South Aldersgate (limerick) Weird Tales August/September 2006

alien banquet - Random Planets 2019

apocalypse comes – Scifaikuest  AUG 2021 PRINT

at his sentencing - Scifaikuest November 2023

blind date takes - Scifaikuest November 2023 

Clouds shrouding (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023

Halloween costume (werewolf) – Scifaikuest online, February 2023

Last words (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023

“life form” (cinquain) in Scifaikuest May 2018

mining rights sold” Random Planets 2019

mining rights sold  Rochester Area Haiku Group 2020 Members’ Anthology

mirror with a painting (vampire teen) – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022)

New colonist (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023 

on the asteroid - Scifaikuest February 2019

researcher turns on - Scifaikuest November 2023

Robot’s valentine - Scifaikuest, February 2017

snow on snow on snow – Scifaikuest AUG 2021 ONLINE

Supernova - Scifaikuest – online – February 2017

the calculations Scifaikuest AUG 2021 ONLINE

The thirsting (saturne) - Scifaikuest February 2023 

through the rubble - Scifaikuest  AUG 2021 PRINT

time travel mishap – Scifaikuest online, February 2023

trying to recall - Skifaikuest February 2019 

     trying to recall – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022) 

two moons (cinquain) – Random Planets 2019

watching as the clone – Failed Haiku Volume 7 Issue 74 (February 2022) 

There are a couple of more scheduled for publication in Scifaikuest in February 2026 - yes, they are working that far out!

And I'm about to submit some more.

Pax et bonum

Gogyohka - he leaned in

I've some across a form of poetry that could lend itself to science fiction poetry: The gogyohka.

It's a relatively new poetry form based on Tanka poetry.
It has five lines.
Each line of consists of one phrase with a line-break after each phrase or breath.
There are no restraints on numbers of words or syllables.
The theme unrestricted.

The form was created early in the 20th Century, but didn't get a name until 1983!

My first attempt at a science fiction one:

he leaned in

to smell the roses

only to learn

they weren't roses

and they were hungry 

I might try more.

Pax et bonum

Peanut the Squirrel, RIP

Pax et bonum