"Mighty" Mike McGee's Electronic Place of Himself.
Typings of a well-traveled, talky, funny, hobo-poet.
Started a writing group tonight. It will commence at Barefoot Coffee in Santa Clara at 7:30pm on the last Tuesday of every month. Tonight we had nine writers and it went very, very well.
Want to write more? Need inspiration? Are you near Silicon Valley? Bring your favorite writing utensils, creative modes, willingness to share poetry aloud, maybe a snack to share, and cash to support the café. Will run at least an hour outdoors if weather permits.
Here are the writing prompts for tonight’s writing group, facilitated by yours truly.
PROMPT #1
Use this phrase as a jump point for a 5-line poem:
“In order to love life, I must love living and live love like losing it would look like I have no life left to live.”
Share & discuss.
PROMPT #2
Write a poem for up to 10 minutes from the perspective of a bacteria about to infect your body.
Share & discuss.
PROMPT #3
You have a phone number that allows you to make one 5 minute phone call to any dead person. Who do you call, what do you say?
Write for 10 minutes.
Share & discuss.
PROMPT #4
Write freely for 15 minutes while random Wikipedia articles are read aloud.
This entry was written by , posted on 29 September, 2010 at 12:25 AM, filed under Writing and tagged writing group, writing prompts. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
In thinking of reasons why a woman might not date me, I came up with this silly poem. This is my attempt to recharge the humorous poetry in my brain. This is fictitious, but I think it is a real sentiment. More to come…
HER CAT MUST BE AWESOME
© 2010 Mike McGee
She has to get home to feed her cat and I’m thinking, ‘Your cat is fine. It will survive a night without you.’
She says, “He can’t be alone overnight.”
I tell her I feel the same way all the time. And I actually have something to offer the world.
She says her cat’s special. It sounds like he’s saying ‘Reno’ when he meows.
“Reno?” I ask. As in “Reno, Nevada?”
“Yep.” She says emphatically. “Reno.”
“All the time? As in every time it meows?”
“No, only every once in a while, like when he’s really craving attention or needs to be brushed.”
“Oh.” I say. Oh.
I tell her that when I’m craving attention, I take my shirt off, exposing the Katherine Hepburn-shaped birthmark on my stomach and make it talk: ‘Hello, everybody! Got any more tequila?’
I just met you and I by now you must realize I am human and I have needs and I can love you, actually love you. I’m not jumping the gun here, but I am capable of real love, not this programmed feline, ‘you’re the keeper of the food, so I guess I’ll stick around,’ bullshit.
Does your cat have the ability to make a room laugh without it having anything to do with its own failure? Can it use a QWERTY keyboard? Does it understand how to code even a modicum of HTML? Can it Photoshop images of you to look like you have a handlebar mustache? I don’t thinks so!
I can do half of those things while I have soup cooking on the stove. See these thumbs!? Do you? DO YOU!!? These mean I win.
“You’re right.” She says coyly. And we boned right there at Taco Bell. Nine months later, we had 8 kittens.
They run my website now.
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Word to the nerd.
Bunny up.
This entry was written by , posted on 4 February, 2010 at 11:25 AM, filed under New Poems, Writing and tagged awesome, cat, funny, humor, poem, silly. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
ON MY DAILY POST CHALLENGE
First I’d like to denote that I don’t care if I post every day for 365 days or 450 days or 700 days. It doesn’t matter, as long as I keep going. So the number following the post title [2] will be the consecutive days posted. This is also why I won’t add a number count to second and third entries for one day. Maybe I could add a letter [2b] if I were to post again the same day. I don’t think it matters if I add the [*/365] to the count, and it saves me from having to type it for every post title. Once I actually get to 100 or 280 posts, that’s when I will really start to take notice that I’m accomplishing what I’ve set out to do. Every time I post, I feel good. I am going to have days where I just have nothing to write about. That’s not what happened on 2/1/2010, I just plum forgot to post and fell asleep before the day was over.
TO-DO LIST THIS MONTH
I’ve gotten one check so far from a school gig, and it clears this afternoon. I will pay some February bills and begin paying back the first several loans via PayPal. I get home on Sunday and have a few weeks off before I hit the road again. I will receive two more school checks this weekend and should be able to pay back all of the loans by 2/15/10. I am stoked.
1. Pay bills/some loans.
2. Begin a daily yoga regimen.
NOTE: Thanks for asking, Stefan, about my goal to lose weight. Two of the the most difficult eating habits to break that I’ve found are portions and timing. I rarely have much of an appetite in the morning, then I am hungry late into the night. I generally snack a bit until evening, then eat ONE very large meal at night, then continue snacking until I fall asleep. I believe I am mostly overweight due to the fact that I fall asleep with so many unused calories still being digested. It has nowhere to go. I am forcing myself a smart breakfast within one hour of waking and I am limiting my eating to sundown. The only snacks I will allow myself when it is dark out are a limited amount of nuts and vegetables. No full meals after dark. No more fast food. Limited breads. A short exercise program before bed and upon waking. I think this is a good start. I love food, I just need to eat it between sun up and sundown, then actually use the energy.
3. Write my children’s story, send to artist to begin project. It’s gonna be sweet!
4. Begin screenplay. Have 40 pages by March.
5. Compile poems and things for second book.
6. Plan tour with Ellis, Maziar, and hopefully Michael Roberts. Links for all of them can be found at my website.
7. Organize and prioritize all my projects for the year.
8. Book travel for March.
INTERNET AND ORGANIZATION
I am getting better with posting my performance dates. Having a date with the internet every day is helpful in compelling me to get more and more work done. I almost have to force myself to get online when I am on the road, then it all comes in waves and I become way more productive. The few friends I know who really use to-do lists seem to get work done a lot more efficiently and are much more focused individuals. I can see the benefits already. I am pretty organized, but why not be the most organized person I know. It’ll be tough since I do know Simone Beaubien. Few come close to her organization skills.
I have streamlined my website and have been using Eventful.com (click for my page) to get my performance dates online in a cohesive listing. Not only does it “calendarize” my dates and info, but it adds the dates to the common event listing for anyone to find. It also automates widgets for each performer, which are on my website, and fans can add a “demand” widget to their sites so others can click to demand a performer to come to their area. It lets me know weekly how many people want me to tour through their respective cities. I like it so far.
WIKI PROJECT
If you’ve done any amount of wiki editing, understand the protocols, coding and formats of a wiki, and are interested in a project I have started, please contact me and let me know, maybe with links to show what you’ve done in the past.
VIDEO LIST
I am looking to add every video of me online to my site. If you have time on your hands and like to search for things on the internet, would you mind posting the URL for any videos you find with me in them. My video page is here, so please don’t add the links already listed: http://www.mikemcgee.net/?page_id=35
———
Word to the nerd.
Bunny up.
This entry was written by , posted on 3 February, 2010 at 3:29 PM, filed under Personal Updates, Travel, Writing and tagged calendar, daily post challenge, eventful.com, organization, performance, to-do, video, wiki project. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
I should note that I have booked a feature at the Portland Poetry Slam in Oregon for this Sunday. If you’re nearby, spread the word.
POSTS
I have noticed that every day I am excited to post something, no matter what it is. The challenge lies mostly in remembering whether I’ve actually posted something new per day.
In the process of writing to my website, which auto-posts to my LiveJournal and to Facebook as well, I’ve also tapped into more of my other writings. I’ve written several new poems, and begun the processes on new short stories and screenplays. I’ve re-invigorated my interest in Twitter and the reading of posts and updates from most of my web contacts.
Another challenge I am a little worried about is my ability to post from the road, which I am doing right now. Posting from my desk is easy, because I am always on the internet and I get to poke-type a bit faster. Currently, my thumbs are very exercised. I just need to remember to post. So if you are a regular reader of any of my posts and notice that it is nearing midnight in your region and I have yet to post, don’t be afraid to drop me a reminder.
IN OTHER NEWS
This morning I flew to Akron, Ohio. Last week, Sierra DeMulder (fellow traveling poet) called me for assistance in getting to an airport in New England. Once settling on Boston Logan, and no longer needing my help, it turned out she booked the same flight I was on. We hung out at Logan, then she watched me eat a burrito this morning at the Charlotte airport. I love Charlotte. I saw her off to her Dallas-bound flight and proceeded to my Akron gate.
Tomorrow, I am off to Spokane, then getting picked up and motored to WSU Pullman. I’ve performed there before and excited to return. This time I am also hosting their slam and running a workshop. More schools should ask this of the poets they book. Poets: wanna ensure you’ll get more better paying gigs? Foster poetry and spoken word everywhere you go! Show them they should try what you do. You never know, you may influence and spark the next touring badass.
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Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 27 January, 2010 at 3:53 PM, filed under Travel, Writing and tagged daily post challege. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Had a great chat last night with my neighbor – and dear, dear friend – Tony Brown.
I’ve always had this view of my role in the spoken word/writing/poetry communities that I am privy and privileged to be a part of, that my style of work and my stage persona (if you will) is one of Spoken Word 101. I am a beginner’s guide to poetry and spoken word. I am a gateway drug into the world of poetry slam and performance poetry.
I hear often from fans, new and old, that my body of work was their first introduction to spoken word/poetry slam. Thanks to videos online and the sheer amount of mp3s that have circulated, along with my web presence and outlets like Indiefeed and Slam Idol, I have had a lot of promotion. I understand the accessibility of what I write and say. I want it to be that way. I want people of all ages and locales to be able to get even the tiniest grasp of what I need to convey, no matter the language of their ears.
Sometimes I ponder the value of my more serious work. I am a comedian who feels very detached from the stand-up comedy world. I am a comic who lacks a routine. I think there are a lot of us who’ve adhered to and been adopted by the poetry and spoken word universe. We’re lucky. I think there are still more out there who could use this environment and grow from it.
I think that I have been so wrapped up in “living the experience of being a poet” that I’ve forgotten my roots in humor. I will put aside ideas for funny poems in order to dwell on serious, heart wrenching, and sad writings, when my greatest strengths are in the funny work. It’s easy for me. It’s the one thing I can think of I can say that about.
Tony Brown really made me think about all of this. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since our conversation. It was so helpful and complimentary. While I sit and wonder what it takes to write the most in depth poetry possible, wondering how Mojgani does what he does, how McKibbens does what she does, Khary Jackson, Shira Erlichman, Brian Ellis, and all of the Browns, they may wonder how writers like me do what we do. Maybe.
I have to own what I do and do it better than I did yesterday. I started doing this in 1998 because Trenchard and Feff believed in me so much that they wouldn’t settle for me doing it socially anymore, that I had to do it all the time. I found a small niche in the San Jose Poetry Slam, then the Bay Area scene and I realized that not only was I welcome to keep on it, but that it was expected.
It’s hard sometimes when I follow a funny poem with something from my guts, and the audience laughs in the assumption that it’s more comedy. It’s a strange feeling, but I have dealt with it hundreds of times.
Tony mentioned the film Stardust Memories by Woody Allen, which I have yet to see, but it is about a filmmaker who wants to be taken seriously for his dramas, but he’s so much better at comedy. People dig his comedy.
Most comedians just want to be seen as artists since what they do is an art to them. I believe this even more now this morning. I am an artist. I am a funny artist and I will own this from now on.
Thanks so much, Tony. So very much.
Love,
McGeefer Sutherland
———
Word to the nerd. No, really.
This entry was written by , posted on 25 January, 2010 at 3:52 AM, filed under Personal Updates, Randomness, Writing and tagged art, artist, funny, humor. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Some of you still read magazines, no?
I need you to list all of your favorite ART/MUSIC/CULTURE magazines & publications. They can be online, but differentiate them. Especially the underrated and unheard of. You can list Playboy and Adbusters if you wanna.
So I need two lists. One WEB MAGS and the other PRINT MAGS.
Start compiling and then post them in COMMENTS.
Thanks a butt load!
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Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 22 January, 2010 at 7:25 AM, filed under Randomness, Writing and tagged magazines, print, webmags. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
This event is amazing. Simone Beaubien ids performing to great applause in my kitchen. She is outstanding.
Next KS will be Saturday, August 15, featuring David Perez and Lara Bozabalian. It looks to be as good as this one.
Wow. Kitchen poetry is spectacular.
DJ Muse is recording all of it. I am so glad. You won’t regret listening to it. So inspiring.
———
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 26 July, 2009 at 7:16 PM, filed under Writing and tagged my house, simone beaubien, spoken word. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
HOUSEMATE
I brought in a roommate to my house back in April. It made sense: I have two bedrooms, rent is cheap, and even cheaper with a second person added to the mix. I had my “hermit time” this winter. I got to live alone for four months. I liked it, but since I travel so much, it finally made sense to keep the place in use whenever I was on the road. It is in good use now. Her name is Melinda and she is one helluva new poet as well. She’s my homie and her being vegan is helping me eat less crap. Sort of. I would have a very hard time practicing veganism, but I can appreciate the values of it. I have always felt pescetarian in my own right, prefering seafood to red meat any day. I made vegan shepherd’s pie the other night and it ruled our faces.
KITCHEN SESSIONS
Being a lover of intimate poetry readings, I have wanted to hold something awesome in my house. I have always felt that some of the best audiences are small, familiar crowds–ones that get to sit very close, where no microphone is needed. I have performed spontaneously in hundreds of homes and apartments, but I have always wanted to host a regular night in my residence. When I brought this up to Melinda (who I am prone to call Minja), she was excited and all for it. When I head out on tour, she may run them.
Kitchen Sessions may become a monthly event. The format can be played with, but the crux of it will be focused on the invited, and likely, traveling feature. Someone not from Worcester. Since March, I have wanted Simone Beaubien to take on the first Kitchen Session. She is not only the super-organized slammaster for the Boston Cantab, but probably one of its best, and most under-appreciated poets. She really is a well-respected sweet nugget.
Since there are so many weekly events in Worcester, I couldn’t decide what night to hold KS regularly. Melinda hoped I would hold it on her nights off, Fridays or Sundays. Friday is always a weird day to hold poetry events, and Sundays are Poets’ Asylum, Worcester’s original open mic and slam. I asked Simone, and she was available on July 26. During our conversation, we realized that Poets’ Asylum usually ends around 9:00pm, giving ample time to hold another event right after. With PA’s venue being a “family cafe” there are limits on language, holding a KS right after PA will allow people to get their fill of fuck.
The first Kitchen Session will be hosted by Melinda and I at our house on Sunday, July 26, 2009 from approximately 9:30pm to 11:00pm.
We will invite three to four local poets to open the night with two new poems each (mandatorially new work!), then pass the kitchen over to Simone for the remaining time. This should give the featured poet up to an hour to bring out obscure works and really talk to the room.
I will make every attempt to webcast it on BlogTV or some equivalent streaming site. DJ Muse has offered to attempt a recording of the audio as well. This will take some work, but I am graciously accepting that offer.
There is no reason people cannot hold their own poetry house event. This is probably happening around the world, I just want to bring my kitchen to as many people as possible.
Considering the amount of venues that do AND could hold poetry events, versus the amount of HOMES that do AND could host poetry events, I believe homes win that battle. Imagine the beautiful intimacy of a poet spilling their guts, mingling with friends, then sleeping on the couch in the next room (if needed.)
If I ask everyone to bring a snack to share, a beverage to share, and $3 to $5 for the feature, then everyone’s full and the feature makes some cash.
My place ain’t huge, which is why I want to do this event. People will be free to move about the kitchen, and they should be able to hear the poet from the front porch to the livingroom without a microphone.
I won’t always be around to host these, which is why they’ll be monthly events at most, and probably never landing on the same day each month, but it feels good to have an event locked down and to debut it with such a strong feature. The scheduling will be a bit irregular, but when have I had a regular schedule since 2003?
Since my homie David Perez, one of my best friends (Team San Jo, what!?!), is dropping in for a visit after NPS in August, as is Lara Bozabailian from Toronto, I think Melinda and I have August locked up for Kitchen Session features. David and Lara don’t know this yet. I should tell them. Same with hosting Jack McCarthy in the fall. Oh, Jack, I love you so much…
With so many poets in my neighborhood, the local pool is so fantastic. There should be some wonderful things going on in my kitchen each month.
If you are sure to attend on July 26, please RSVP ASAP ROFLMAO CBS ABC JK TCB:
ILIKEMIKE at Google’s mail service, or send me a private Facebook message. Or talk to me tonight at Poets’ Asylum.
———
Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 12 July, 2009 at 6:26 AM, filed under Writing and tagged gathering, intimate, july, kitchen-sessions, performance, poetry, snacks, spoken word, webcast. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
HOMIES
So here I am, sitting in Providence, Rhode Island, ready for the GotPoetry Live! open mic to get under way. I am not surprised by how homesick I was for the U.S., Worcester and my house/bed. I was entirely surprised by how jet-lagged I was when I got home. 23 straight hours of flying, then waiting, flying, then waiting, another flight, then a bus, then a commuter rail. Having Tony Brown or Bill MacMillan pick me up at the train station in Worcester is always a good feeling. A sure sign that I am home and can smoke in the car.
I got home on Friday and spent a beautiful weekend trying to not sleep until 18:00. Last night, I fell asleep at 00:30 and woke up at 07:30. I am doing well, however, I am not in the mood to write about the tour just yet. But I am in a very, very writey mood. I have a number of new poems coming out of my huge noggin.
TECH SHIT
I just found a program called bbMetaBlog for BlackBerry bloggers to post from their mobile device. This is also a test. I have been looking for an app that will allow me to post to my WordPress-based site from my BB. If it works, all of MikeMcGee.net, Facebook and Twitter will be automated/accessible from my phone. Work, dammit!
EDIT: I gave up on bbMetaBlog, there’s some sort of miscommunication between my phone and the app, and there is NO clear online help for trouble shooting. It won’t work for me. But alas, I just discovered WordPress’s own BlackBerry blogging beta-ware. Lemme see…
http://blackberry.wordpress.org
If you’re reading this: SUCCESS!
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Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 7 July, 2009 at 4:48 PM, filed under Personal Updates, Travel, Writing. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Caught Amtrak yesterday morning from Boston to Newark International Airport. Waited for a few hours for my evening Air India flight. $280 one-way to Frankfurt.
The flight was quite rickety, a bit Greyhound-y in odor and decor, but I anticipated that much. I did not anticipate the complimentary and quite satisfying chicken dinner with steamed veggies. Air India: Not Great… Not Horrible… Cheap Enough To Go Again.
Blazed through German customs and baggage claim to meet my father and step-mother on the outside. Immediately picked up a German pay-as-you-go mobile phone. $10 for the phone. $20 in minutes. Should last throughout the Germany portion of this trip.
Ate lunch with my family at home. Looked up train schedules. Connected by text with Derrick Brown. Smoked too much with my dad. Talked un-enough. Joked around with everyone. Relearned some German history and language. Then ate delicious schnitzel and fried potatoes for dinner.
Must get some sleep in order to meet up with Derrick in Bern, Switzerland tomorrow. Today was restful. I made it here with a hitch, bump or serious delay.
So far, so awesome.
Here’s where we’ll be:
Cafe Kairo
June 11th
9pm
address: cafe kairo, dammweg 43, 3013 bern, switzerland
web: www.cafe-kairo.ch
KO’s Event
June 12th
7PM
(Landsberg Germany, more info to come)
Poetry Dead or Alive Show
June 13th
Theater am Schwanhof: Am Schwanhof 68-72, 35037 Marburg
Door Cover: 6 EURO
Age: 17+
Time: 20.00 o clock (24 hour clock)
June 14
Substanz poetry slam with ko and rayl, munich
Munich SUBSTANZ (Ruppertstr. 28, U3/U6 Poccistr.)
June 14
8PM
studio der schaubuhne
kurfurstendamm 153 10709 berlin
eintritt 13 euro, erm 8 euro
karten 030.890023
www.schabuehne.de
June 17
Poetry Slam Mainz
Venue: KUZ, Dagobertstraße 20b | 55116 Mainz
7:30pm
all ages
June 18
Late Night Special
VENUE: LOMO, Ballplatz 2, Mainz
COVER: 5-7 EUROS
18+
Paul Hoffman’s Show
June 19th
7:00pm
VENUE: Schulterblatt 73, 20357 Hamburg, Germany
18+
June 20th
Word Life
8PM
Cafe Euro, 72 John Street, Sheffield
18+
Cover: £5 on the door
The Waiting Room
June 21
7:30pm
Station Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton on Tees, (TS16 0BU)
UK
6 euros
June 22nd
AMSTERDAM SHOW
House show (TBA)
all ages
Glastonbury Festival
June 24th-26th
Glastonbury Festival
Worthy Farm, Nr. Pilton, Southwest
Cost: £175 (Festival ticket price)
“Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and
performing arts festival in the world and a template for all
the festivals that have come after it. The difference is
that Glastonbury has all the best aspects of being at a
Festival in one astonishing bundle.” (Glastonbury Festivals
Website). One of those aspects that sets Glastonbury apart
from other festivals is Poetry&Words. We will be there on
all three days, bringing you some absolutely fantabulous
poets – rappers, comic poets, spoken word artists .. the
weird, the wise and the wonderful … all will be here. Come
along and see us in the Theatre and Circus fields if you
want to be moved, entertained or just find a cool spot to
chill out in for a while!
http://www.myspace.com/glastonburypoetry
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Word to the nerd.
This entry was written by , posted on 10 June, 2009 at 2:20 PM, filed under Travel, Writing and tagged derrick brown, germany, tour, train, Travel. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.