The Hollow Men » Winter

Surfacing and Resubmerging

Tobias — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:36:04 +0000

My apologies to all of my fine fellow Hollow Men. I am making a short reappearance, and then will probably not be on much over the next week. Steph’s finishing up her last semester of classes, and it makes it hard to do anything at the computer other than work. I look forward to getting back on and enjoying the pleasure of conversing with you all.

Until then, enjoy this, as spotted in a coffee shop:

Lindsborg Ice Storm

Pete — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:48:48 +0000

Poetry Post

Shotts — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 14:56:32 +0000

It IS National Poetry Month, so I shouldn’t let it get away without a current Poetry Post. This one from fellow Kansan Albert Goldbarth, who teaches at Wichita State University and who is the only poet to have twice won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry. This poem is from the “new” section in his recently published (by Graywolf, no less) The Kitchen Sink: New and Selected Poems 1972-2007. Enjoy. And happy National Poetry Month to you.

Human Beauty

If you write a poem about love …
the love is a bird,

the poem is an origami bird.
If you write a poem about death …

the death is a terrible fire,
the poem is an offering of paper cutout flames

you feed to the fire.
We can see, in these, the space between

our gestures and the power they address
—an insufficiency. And yet a kind of beauty,

a distinctly human beauty. When a winter storm
from out of nowhere hit New York one night

in 1892, the crew at a theater was caught
unloading props: a box

of paper snow for the Christmas scene got dropped
and broken open, and that flash of white

confetti was lost
inside what it was a praise of.

Public Service Announcement!

Tobias — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 04:57:49 +0000

I meant to post these before all of your New Year festivities. I fear by forgetting, I’ve done everyone a terrible wrong. I’m surprised they don’t make these articles mandatory reading in schools now-a-days. I posted them here, because you need to know!

Click on the thumbnails to read the full version.

Seriously, I didn’t realize things like this still existed…but when we visited Steph’s grandparents a couple of weeks ago, I found these in their local version of the “Mac Shopper.” Thoughts, reactions, guesses?

Music Thursday Live! in Eau Claire

Tobias — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:25:09 +0000

Michael Pritzl is going to be playing in Eau Claire tonight. He’s one of my favorite rock and rollers — and one of the few I’ve been listening to since high school. This is his Christmas tour, and he’ll be playing some of my favorites (less rock and roll, more festive). Go to the link above to hear some of the songs and find out more about the tour. If you can, listen to “Room In My Heart” on the MySpace page.

Ned, he may not be your cup of tea, but if you and Sara have a free night you should go see him. If you do, pass him a note to bring to Kansas City…he’ll be here on Saturday. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it or not.

It’s Already Music Thursday

Tobias — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:14:57 +0000

We’ve been blanketed in KC with snow today. It’s wonderful. Feel free to enjoy this week’s Music Thursday selections with a cup of hot chocolate. Although, I’m sure it’s still damn hot down in J.E.’s Texas — where hot chocolate might not be as pleasant.

By the way, I didn’t intend for last week’s mix to be considered a holiday album for the year. That very album is forthcoming when we all team up in McPherson, a mere 3 weeks from tomorrow (with the exception of clan Gannon). I am culling some of the best tracks over the course of Music Thursdays and will be including a few choice bits on the album. I am open to hearing which tracks you liked and which ones you didn’t. Feel free to add comments to this post with your votes for inclusion. Remember, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain

On now on to the monstrously colossal Thursday mix….

01 Eastern Stars | “They Know What to Do”
02 Architecture in Helsinki | “Wishbone (Franc Tetas Remix)”
03 Albert Hammond Jr. | “In Transit”
04 Califone | “Spider’s House”
05 Cut Chemist | “Metrorail Thru Space”
06 Cut Chemist | “The Garden”
07 Pinto | “I Belong to You”
08 Pinto | “Iron and Rust”
09 Joanna Newsom | “Monkey & Bear” (someone you love or hate…I love)
10 Tom Waits | “Road to Peace” (same notes as the previous track)
11 Scanners | “Lowlife (Radio Edit)”
12 My Morning Jacket | “Gideon (Live)”
13 My Morning Jacket | “Golden (Live)”
14 The Shins | “Phantom Limb”
15 Protokoll | “Sunken”
16 The Dears | “Whites Only Party”
17 The Jealous Girlfriends | “The Pink Wig to My Salieri”
18 The Watson Twins | “Shoot the Lights Out”
19 Mixel Pixel “You’re the Kind of Girl”
20 Explorer’s Club | “Don’t Forget the Sun” (easily the reincarnation of the Beach Boys)
21 Kool and the Gang | “Summer Madness” (last two songs are included to help combat the winter, which Jeff Shotts is probably already tired of)

Come one and all.

Pete — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:40:56 +0000

OK, here’s the deal: We have been negotiating this to some extent and realize that we will not be able to please everyone. We realize that not everyone will be able to work this into their schedules, as busy as they all are, but we would like very much to extend a welcome to the Peters’ abode for some holdiay cheer. The date: 12-23-06. The time: anytime after lunch. I believe we will have some kind of dinner celebration in the evening and maybe play some games or bocce or visit Coronado or the Lester Raymer studio or something during the afternoon. Please let me how many of you are available so we can start to plan. We may have some very special plans, but those are still in the works and may not pan out. In the event you are unavailable, I wish you the best; otherwise please RSVP. If anyone has suggestions which do not include changing said date and time please feel free to let me know. Tob, please feel free to edit, format, and generally spruce up this document as you like. cheers. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as can make it.