Cornjob was a doozy today. It hit 100 degrees. Nothing like cross-pollinating a thick field of 8 ft high, razor-sharp corn while wearing a sweat diaper. I shouldn't complain. I chose this and it is good for me--somehow. Here are this week's tunes that I sweated it out to:

Beulah When Your Heartstrings Break
Billy Bragg Worker's Playtime
The Futureheads Self-titled
Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights
Matt Sweeney/Bonnie Prince Billy Superwolf
Miighty Flashlight Self-Titled
Pavement Crooked Rain
Red House Painters Songs for a Blue Guitar
Red House Painters Ocean Beach
The Vaselines The Way of the Vaselines
Young MC Stone Cold Rhymin'

On for this weekend: Painting the living room, taking the sister and sister's boyfriend to Nacho Libre, reading #8 mannies, buying M some beers for his birthday, etc.

A and I and maybe G are going to treat ourselves to live Jazz tonight on the lawn on campus. Then I'll need to come back and take care of some po-biz. Lots on the po-biz plate. I'll update you soon.

The second Action Yes is up. I have 3 silly little things in there you could read if you're bored.

A and I are back and getting re-adjusted. I went immediately to the cornfields this morning and managed to overheat and leafcut the mountains right out of me. We both miss them already. We had a killer time. We hiked, floated, karaoked, tented, hung with B, campfired, and ate out. Here are some pics.




On Thursday's hike, we made it to the top of the Hyalite trail, up on top of it all. Our noses we're running and there was snow. We're not in shape or anything. We took a granola bar break about every 15 minutes. You can see G in that tree's shadow.


Me. Hyalite Valley south of Bozeman.


Here's that camping spot I was telling you about. We lucked out. In a folding chair around that fire ring on the left is where some of you got your chapbook submissions read. All of those passed to the next round.


A and G.


G.


A taking in the mountains on our way back home. We went through Teton National Park. This is the range just north of the Tetons.


Somewhere in Yellowstone. Taken from the car. I won't lie to you.


Lil' Buffalo in Yellowstone.


This is a very small chunk of the very large and desolate and wide open Wind River Indian Reservation. It is just east of the Tetons. Very few people live between the Tetons and Casper, WY. When I say very few people, I mean a few Native Americans on this reservation and maybe a smattering of cattle ranchers. It feels so good to be able to breathe out here, where no one else is. But I was a little upset crossing this reservation. There are only 2 billboards. One for the Army. And the other for a Holiday Inn about 100 miles away. It had three attractive white children with huge smiles. Great teeth. Gap-ish outfits. It said "Kids Stay Free". I wanted to spraypaint on it. Maybe the word "White" in front of "Kids."


There are the Tetons in the back. And a moose right in the center.


Z. My Series of Sneaks T.

A and I are in MT. We found a place to tent that is breathtaking--right on Hyalite lake. I'll show you pictures. We took G, our dog, on an 11 mile hike up this mountain that still has its top in tact (you should donate $ for M's b-day). We've eaten at our old haunts and rocked karaoke with B. I warmed it up with Modern English's Melt with You and brought it home with something the cowboys didn't understand, The Killers' Mr. Brightside (remember, my indie rock choices are limited in karaoke MT.) We got out of there before my last turn came up--Dolly Parton's Hard Candy Christmas. That one might have been painful.

Today, we float the mouth of the Missouri, which is much smaller up here than where you are. And tomorrow: another hike somewhere. Then back to the plains/cornfields.

For those of you that submitted mannies to #8, I read many of the 2nd rounders in the most beautiful spot in North America, in front of a fire as the night fell. This may have helped you into the next round.

We got a real kick out of last night's Clean Part. Paula Cisewski, Juliet Patterson, and Sarah Fox were all amazing readers--they all know their poems so well and how they should be read and their banter was spot on. These 3 work so well together, weaving in and out of each other's sets. You should hire them to do your next party.

Sarah and Paula stayed with A and I--they were excellent house guests, so clean and polite. I learned a lot from them about first books, po-biz nuances, etc. Making friends.

You want to see some pictures? I'll show you mine. And you can look at Mathias' too. I look smashing in those.



Paula, Sarah, and Rachel Moritz in Tugboat's alley. Loitering.


James, and new PhD student at Nebraska, Cody. On the right is Sarah, Rachel, and Juliet. Stella Artois and Rasberry Lambics between us all.


Juliet Patterson reading from The Truant Lover.


Paula Cisewski reading from Upon Arrival.


Sarah Fox and Paula reading from Because Why.

Ok. You've waited patiently enough. This is what I've been rocking this week on the cornjob Ipod:

Beastie Boys Check Your Head
CIV Set Your Goals
Dolly Parton Little Sparrow
Eagle*Seagull Eagle*Seagull
The Folk Implosion Dare to be Surprised
The Good Life Album of the Year
Hayden Elk-Lake Serenade
Hayden Skyscraper National Park
Neutral Milk Hotel On Avery Island
Pavement Slanted and Enchanted
Richard Buckner Since
Say Hi to Your Mom Numbers and Numbers
Superchunk Incidental Music 1991-1995
Texas is the Reason Do You Know Who You Are
White Stripes De Stijl
Woody Guthrie Hard Travelin'

And I found the ultimate and perfect and best album for working in the cornfields. This only took about one month to discover: Woody Guthrie's Hard Travelin'. It is so monumentally blue-collar/pro-union/working man/pro-ag-worker/down with Whitey/pro-America/pro-liberty. Thinning corn stalks, etc, with that in my ears makes for a very complete and authentically American experience.

While I'm at it, here's what we're rocking on Netflix:

At Home: (we just finished up a 6 month viewing of all 5 seasons of Six Feet Under)

The Yes Men
The Killing

In the Queue:
Pootie Tang
Young Frankenstein
Coffee and Cigarettes
Mulholland Drive
Mr. Show Season 1 and 2
The Boys of Baraka

Um, what else? Fantasy Baseball: 12th (out of 19) and falling fast.

Um, I'll be at Clean Part on Saturday and a party with the neighbors on Sunday. I can't wait to finally meet you at Clean Part. I'll post some pics of those festivities--then I've lined up a few old pics for you from one of my 1990's nostalgia photo boxes. So, that is what is ahead...for you...at the arc.

Jon Pack has approved or disapproved of the things I needed him to approve or disapprove of today (all the entries for June 12). This really helps. I was a bit on the fence about most of these things, but I am now cleared up.

It is obvious that Jon Pack approves of the Clean Part reading series. Just look at his rad t-shirt. I bet he'll come this Saturday night, all the way from New York. I don't care where you live--you should come too. Clean Part #5 y'all! Poetry from brilliant first-bookers: Paula Cisewski, Juliet Patterson, and Sarah Fox. 7pm. Tugboat.

I (and P and A) just got done painting two rooms in my house. We went with Summer's Tan in the dining Room and Shagreen in the new computer/daybed room (I wonder if my poems will have more green in them now). I hate the color wheel. I'll show you some pics as soon as I can find the camera.

Tony put up some fine personal pics. These make me quite nostalgic. I might have to follow his lead and put up a few of my own later in the week. Anyway, I have no excuses for the one of me. I'd like to say that all the hip guys were wearing their hair that way in '96, but I'm not so sure that is true. So if I were Jon Pack: Thumbs down to the bowl cut--thumbs way up to T and his family.

A few of you have been attempting to spin your musical influence into my cornjob Ipod playlists, but I will not buy what you are selling. While I understand that satanic (and Satan-free) Black Metal, as well as normal metal, can make for a delightful listen, it really has no place in the cornfield like, say, y'allternative. With that said, this week, some of my favorite punkrock has creeped into the mix. It isn't metal, but I can ho a row a lot faster listening to Minor Threat than Low. Here 'tis:

Action Patrol On Patrol
Bonnie Prince Billy I See a Darkness
Built to Spill The Normal Years
Butterglory Rat Tat Tat
Descendents Milo Goes to College
The Elected Sun, Sun, Sun
The Get Up Kids Four Minute Mile
Johnny Cash Folsom Live
Kissing Book Lines and Color
Lifetime Jersey's Best Dancers
Minor Threat Complete Discography
NoFx Liberal Animation
Promise Ring 30 Degrees Everywhere

But the battery ran out by mid-day and I had to resort to carrying on a conversation with my fellow co-workers. I'm not so sure they were too interested in talking to me. I asked them which would be the superior hypothetical new food invention, or the one that they'd rather eat: the donut burrito or the burrito donut. Well, which would you choose? I think the donut burrito would be a superior product. It would be called the Donito.

I wonder if Jon Pack would approve or disapprove of the Donito. Mathias has started a little bloggy blog where Jon Pack approves or disapproves of stuff. This is the new source of all of my opinions. Maybe it could be the new source of all of your opinions too. If so, the two of us could have a conversation but not really have anything to argue about, in a friendly manner.

Only 2 more days of teaching comp at the community college. Then the real summer begins. Full time corn. Digging deep into those Octopus #8 chapmannies (we're almost done with the first round actually). Reading some good books like my new Gabriel Pomerand Saint Ghetto of the Loans and my new Lidija Dimkovska Do Not Awaken Them with Hammers (I can't wait to get my hands on UDP's new Lewis Warsh). Writing down these strange poems in my head. Trip to Montana coming up. Clean Part #5 (Denny made a rad poster for it--I'll post it soon). Lakes. The dog. The dog at the lake. Yardwork. Eating meals on porches. Ahh.

Corn Job