A dog event not really for dogs

Halloween dog parade in McGolrick Park


Nukah with a monkey on his back


A dog in leiderhosen


Attack of the killer whale


Popeye


Fred dressed as a hot dog


I wonder if they each thought the other one looked more ridiculous


Wonder Woman


Pork Chop dressed up as a piglet.


Brooklyn dog owners turn out for Halloween.


Countdown to Pee Wee Herman on Broadway tonight!

Two Year Reignition Plus One Belated Birthday Poem

7F7F7F Area

Expanse, to sea it rows
In gray there is no space
Distance fills what was whole
For nothing to take place

Wite-Out night
Sailor’s knot (not color)
Yellow-cream white
Gray

Brown bear’s back is the night
Until murky water is poured
Black, white, black, white
Bruised, purple drew her royal sword

Wite-Out night
Sailor’s knot (not color)
Yellow-cream white
Gray

Swimming in a contused sky
A scrutinized horizon, eyes go blind
Gray: safe, content, shy
Mind eclipse the eclipsed mind

Wite-Out night
Sailor’s knot (not color)
Yellow-cream white
Gray

Double each body, an ark
If not gray, then blue
Morning bends back from dark
If not solitude, then two

Wite-Out night
Sailor’s knot (not color)
Yellow-cream white
Gray

Make our own fun

After a you-had-to-be-there-and-like-dogs-to-get-how-great-it-was morning at Prospect Park during off-leash hours with Jim and Kerry, Joe and I decided to give ourselves a Manhattan adventure.


Last night, each of us wrote five instructional activities on index cards for our adventure. Then we combined the cards without reading the other person's steps. Based on a complex mathematical equation determined by the number of people using laptop computers at our coffee shop, we started our endeavor two subway stops into Manhattan. Here's documentation of our super-fun time:

Please treat me like a New Yorker. Thank you.

Generalizations never work (ah, a generalization), but one thing I have observed about New Yorkers is that they are uncomfortable with politeness. Being polite means performing kindness, which is one step removed from just being kind when the situation calls for it. When a New Yorker is kind, it is because he/she is truly appreciative. (To avoid glorifying New York culture, I will say that there are many other ways that this city is illogical; most of the examples I can think of have to do with the exorbitant cost of living.)

The point is, if you are a sensitive person as I have been told a few times that I am, the littlest thing can hurt your feelings. In New York, there are fewer niceties that get in the way. I’m much less paranoid here because most of the time, people are saying what they mean and choosing to live the way they want.

There are so many learned illogical formalities that have no place in New York and that’s one reason why I love it here.

We need good things.

Out on the town with a mentor from graduate school this afternoon. It helps to have someone to talk to who has been in the literary scene and can answer my questions. Her forecast for literary fiction is bleak, but her company tipped the balance to make my day a positive one.

A perfect day to walk down from the Upper West Side to visit Joe at work. We made evening plans to continue creating our graphic novel.

Inspired by the It Gets Better project, I've decided to begin training to volunteer at a suicide hotline in New York. Winter is coming and I can imagine New York is going to need all hands on deck.

Strolling for a cure?

This morning we walked the perimeter of Central Park for breast cancer research.


I'm not sure how strolling around the park in a massive crowd is promoting breast cancer research, but after two days of sitting on the couch and watching television at Higgins' house, I really did need the exercise.


After five miles or so, we were happy to reach the finish line.

We can get through.

Please watch and share this powerful and moving video for the "It Gets Better" project by Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns.

Living the fancy life

We arrived at Higgins' house a little before seven this morning. The dogs are really happy to see each other and neither of them will rest for long before they need to wrestle again. It's fun to stay in a fancier part of Brooklyn with cable and furniture. We walked Nukah and Higgins to the quaint corner store to buy coffee and the neighborhood is so clean that we don't have to worry too much about the dogs eating off the street. I don't think I'd like to live here, but it sure is fun to visit. Currently I'm entranced by Totally 80's on VH1.