As many of you know i am a big Pearls before Swine fan and own all the books and am constantly inviting [slash harrassing] PBS creator Stephan Pastis to include the world's most famous stuffed dolphin in his strip. Usually just for laughs, but every now and then, Pastis nails something on the so-serious-it-punches-you-in-the-gut side of things and so when he tackles a pet peeve of mine, you know it's going to be good: As [...]
It had been another sleepless night for Michael, for the most part. Oh sure, there had been moments when he had drifted in and out of slumber, but the beasts awaiting him there had not made life any easier. Taunting him mercilessly with screeched out reminders of his shortcomings, spewed out revelations of the secret things only he knew about. The things no one else must ever know. Ever. Because Michael was a man of [...]
This was the 4th book launch i have done for 'i, church' and the first one in Durban. And what another incredible evening it was. Firstly, we decided to do a small change with this one and focus on the Q & A aspect of the evening which was a highlight for me from each of the previous launches. And as a bonus, i got the chance to preach at 3 Westville Baptist church services [...]
[Our prompt for today departs from such concerns, however. Today, rather than being casual, I challenge you to get rather classically formal, and compose a poem in Sapphics. These are quatrains whose first three lines have eleven syllables, and the fourth, just five. There is also a very strict meter that alternates trochees (a two-syllable foot, with the first syllable stressed, and the second unstressed) and dactyls (a three-syllable foot, with the first syllable stressed [...]
It started with great timing and a Facebook status i stumbled upon: Skillet play at Freedom Festival 27 april, Cape Town Ostrich farm. Want to win tickets from me?? Now to give this some perspective, Skillet have for the longest time been my bonus favourite band... for many years of my life i listed four bands as my top 4: U2, Coldplay, R.E.M., Tree63 and then Skillet was next in line. So understudy in case any of [...]
i know not everyone has the time or internet capacity to watch video clips online, but if you do then i encourage you to watch this one. It speaks directly into the Americaland conversation at the moment in terms of violence from police offers on black young men but also just a greater focus on the bias of society, and particularly white society when it comes to black young men. i believe it has a [...]
[And now for today’s prompt: Today I challenge you to write an abecedarian poem – a poem with a structure derived from the alphabet. There are a couple of ways of doing this. You could write a poem of 26 words, in which each word begins with a successive letter of the alphabet. You could write a poem of 26 lines, where each line begins with a successive letter.] Making sense of the letters in [...]
[Our prompt for the day (optional, as always) plays of our resources. Today, I challenge you to write a visual poem. If that’s not specific enough, perhaps you can try your hand at a calligram? That’s a poem or other text in which the words are arranged into a specific shape or image.] Waterless a drop of water might seem to be inconsequential but in these times of incessant drought even one single solitary drop [...]
[And now, without further ado, our prompt (optional as always) for Day Eight: today I challenge you to write a palinode. And what’s that? It’s a poem in which the poet retracts a statement made in an earlier poem.] It has always been you It has been claimed This by myself In previous Aubade, That coffee was The thing i dreamt of When in bed i laid However, when my wife it read She was [...]
Two steps forward and then one to the right. I stand and wait, watching... guarding... carefully listening to my own heavy breathing... I try to remain focused completely on the spaces around me, watching for you, zoning out of the chatter and in on any nearby movement that may be about to occur. This time you will not get by me. I am ready, alert, prepared for the inevitability of your attack. One thing in mind, [...]