33 Associates

I'm cleaning out all of the clutter but I couldn't just bring myself to delete 33 Associates entirely. This was the grand experiment wherein I opened magical instant publishing to all comers. A total of two people volunteered to participate. If either of these people ask me to take down either of their two entries each I will of course do so, otherwise, they can live here until the world ends, or Google goes belly up - whichever comes first.

Poems from the Past by Ruth Hamlow

ETHNOECCENTRIC

I wake up
in India
lying on someone else's iron bedstead
on someone else's bed of nails.
I go fire-walking
with complete faith
in the imperviousness of my flesh.
I lay my feet on petals of red coals.
Rosebuds blossom between my toes.
I begin to notice
that life walks
in the body
of some sacred cow
chewed like a cud
swallowed and digested
four times
fertilizing the tired earth
lighting cook fires
growing shapeless with time
ground down to a powder
a dust that millions of pilgrims
walk on
journeying to any
roadside shrine.

PAST LIVES

The lovesick novice
fanatic acolyte
penning the unsent
unread letter
in the flowered journal
velum leaves
dropping
where I tore those pages away.
The white-dress
posy-and-poem recluse.
The suicide
wrapped in her negligee
of see-through confessions.
The virgin virago
agnostic atheist pagan
drunken feminist
gin-and-tonic connoisseur
bloody barstool
vegetarian
plotting the ultimate
revenge fantasy
to win him back.
The temptress
astride her own power
two-fisted high priestess
sacrificing her own heart
to the idol
with feet of clay.
The midnight poet
autoerotic sensualist
fondling words
scattered across
the mile wide bed
cold comfort
three hours
until dawn.

TiVo and Commercial Skipping (commentary by Jack Wiley)

The beauty of recording TV is being able to skip the
commercials. There is a rumor that such activity will
become criminal though. As such rumors go, they
spread like crazy on the Internet. People "pass it
on" without actually reading anything.

First, Replay TV, like TiVo used to have a 30 second
commercial skip feature. The company was sued by
broadcasters and decided to remove the feature. This
lawsuit was only against the company, not the users of
Replay TV. It is still not a crime to FFWD.

There is a bill in Congress called the Intellectual
Property Protection Act (hr 2391). This one bill is
actually composed of eight different bills. Some of
the bills deal with piracy and file sharing. For
example it would be a criminal offense to bootleg a
movie (record a movie at the theater.) Another part
is called the Family Video Act and is designed to
protect people from watching the whole movie.

For example, if you are at home and want to skip a
portion of objectionable material, you may do so
without being a criminal assuming that you are doing
so with your legal copy. Manufacturers may also
produce censored copies of movies, where the
objectionable portion is removed or "made
imperceptible." This would be similar to buying a CD
at Walmart where the explicit language has been dubbed
over.

The reason that this got out of hand is that Senator
John McCain put a hold on the bill, and issued a
statement saying:

"I fear that the very exemption designed to achieve
this laudable goal simultaneously creates an
implication that certain basic practices that
consumers have enjoyed for years -- like
fast-forwarding through advertisements -- would
constitute criminal copyright infringement."

There is nothing in the bill that specifically targets
commercial skipping as criminal. In fact it would have
to be a BIG stretch to imply that. The bill proposal
uses this language:

"the making of limited portions of audio or video
content of a motion picture imperceptible by or for
the owner or other lawful possessor of an authorized
copy of that motion picture in the course of viewing
of that work for private use in a household..."

In other words it says you are not a criminal if you
skip any part of the MOVIE. That could imply that you
are a criminal if you skip anything that is NOT the
movie. Like I said, its a big stretch.

All the hype out there on the Internet has been
promoting this bill as that of a "police state" where
FFWDing your DVDs would be a crime. This idea is
almost an urban legend since the Internet has
converted a "potential implication" into a "probable infraction."

On Demand Video (commentary by Jack Wiley)

The worst part about TV is the commercials. The
second worst part is having to wait for a specified
time in order to watch a show. Now that most TV shows
are available on DVD, both of these problems can go
away, provided that you are willing to wait.

Imagine Growing up with no commercials on TV. The
goal of commercials is to convince you that you are
inadequate as you are, and their product can make you
better. This is especially true with children's toy
commercials. They make toys look way better than they
really are.

With a DVD library we can watch most TV shows older
than one year. We can watch them in the correct
order, and without commercials. We can share with our
families the classics from our childhood like:
Battlestar Galactica, The Dukes of Hazzard, The
A-Team, Knight Rider, and Star Trek. We can also
revisit serials that we may have missed such as Dallas
and Twin Peaks. Some classic shows are commonplace on
cable however they are actually cut down to allow more
time for commercials.

The main problem with serial shows is that they are
difficult to understand after missing an episode. A
modern serial is the show "24." Every episode is a
cliffhanger so the viewers will come back. All you
have to do is wait a year and the whole season will be
on DVD. Then you can watch it at your own pace. And
with episodes 42 min. long the time savings is
considerable. Screaming kids? Just hit Pause.

Poetry by Ruth Hamlow

BETRAYAL

Aroused
from its long hibernation
the lake opens
a wide blue eye
to meet
the unblinking gaze
of a clear sky.
After four days
of warm nights
lulled by the muted rush
of running water
I awaken
painfully curled
against the cold.
Reluctant
I pull out the winter coat
the cap and gloves
finally rejecting
their meager protection
as useless.
As I leave
I turn to see
the lake
laid out below me
a pale drowned man
the vibrant eye
closed
by the impassive hand
of winter.
Grief stricken
I am suddenly uncertain
of day and date
as if time
were moving backward
or had stopped
as motionless
as the stilled waves
frozen in their rippling return
to shore.

WINTER AGAIN

I am lying in bed
cataloging
my aches
with perverse enjoyment
undecided
if the pain
under my eyelids
might not be pleasurable.
My rough and
fickle lover
whines and hisses
outside.
He insinuates himself
through the minute cracks
around the pane
but I turn my back
to the window
refusing him admittance
beneath the covers.
Later
I will go out,
my body shrinking
in revolted anticipation
of the first slap
of wind and rain.
I walk
shivering
into his enveloping embrace.
Every nerve ending
is a brittle icicle
with a heart of fire
pumped out
from my protected core.
As I climb
the final hill
I tear off my cap and gloves
baring my stinging flesh
to the last frantic caresses.
Wrenched between
eagerness
and regret
I rush toward
the long-awaited release
of shelter
only to stop at the door
face uplifted
for the final dry kiss
of the first flakes
of snow.

MIDWINTER

I walk through
the dark apartment
turning on lights
as I go--
bedroom
bathroom
kitchen.
In the living room
I open the shades
to the implacable darkness
of a midwinter dawn.
Not enough light
to stumble through my
morning rituals.
Not enough jam
for the dry toast.
Not enough juice
for a full glass--
I drink it down
half-empty.
I walk to work
still in the dark.
The half-melted snow
isn’t enough
to cover nature’s naked frailties.
The grass
lies wet and matted
under a crust of salt and sand.
The river
is half-frozen
the open water
an oozing wound
in the dim halo
of a half-risen sun.