tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38153693880015869502012-01-25T13:19:05.997-05:00Science, Politics, PoetryGlenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-3143522564114661722011-11-11T17:28:00.009-05:002011-11-12T13:36:46.244-05:00

I made this for the first time yesterday and was quite pleased with the result.Ingredients:1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into one-inch chunks.2 small onions or 1 medium3 cloves garlic, peeled, whole1 medium apple peeled, cored, and diced (I prefer Granny Smith or McIntosh, but any will do.)2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped2 leaves fresh sage3 cups milk plus more as needed (I

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-8350118014584477682011-07-14T08:55:00.002-04:002011-07-14T09:15:32.716-04:00

Mesclun Mix with Strawberries and Feta CheeseToss mesclun greens with a bottled vinaigretteSprinkle with crumbled feta cheeseAdd sliced fresh strawberriesLightly splash the strawberries with balsamic vinegarI tried a new salad idea last night. I've been growing mesclun greens indoors since May. They seem very happy at 75 degrees in a shallow tray by a sunny window. I've seen strawberries in

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-77988294006075297452011-06-13T15:00:00.002-04:002011-06-13T15:32:06.008-04:00

I just watched Never Let Me Go last night, a science fiction movie based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is the second movie I've seen based on his novels. The first was The Remains of the Day. The Remains of the Day features Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson as household servants in post-war England. They work "in service" and take great pride in their work. In "Never Let Me Go,"

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-89706233306896590902011-03-31T00:34:00.005-04:002011-03-31T01:22:08.510-04:00

My poem Simulacrum is now online at Referential Magazine, an online journal with an interesting twist - many of the works on the site refer to specific phrases or images of other works already on the site. I thought this poem about coffee went well with the coffee in another poem on the site, and the editor, Jessie Carty, liked my poem, so it's up now and it links from the word coffee in the

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-54437171226003098832010-09-18T00:02:00.004-04:002010-09-18T00:42:30.006-04:00

SPARKcon is an annual creative event involving music, dance, poetry, photography, and many other creative activities that takes place all around downtown Raleigh for one weekend this time each year.Tonight (Friday) I read at a reception for fashionSPARK at Mahler Gallery in Raleigh. I enjoyed great food from local restaurateurs and a very appreciative audience. I even had two fashion-related

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-17267787426836439292010-09-13T07:51:00.005-04:002010-09-13T11:46:16.431-04:00

My poem, "Infinitely Annoyed" is now online at Prime Number Magazine, issue 2.5.The poem makes reference to different orders of infinity (explained beside the poem at Prime Number) and I have Miss Shenuski to thank for this bit of knowledge. She taught math at my high school and was so offended at the idea of working one period each day as hall monitor that she volunteered to teach an extra

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-89082378145266188122010-04-06T12:15:00.004-04:002010-04-06T15:36:43.878-04:00

Hadrons collided.Measurements were collected.The Earth kept spinning.&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-17247504442338539152010-04-06T11:12:00.002-04:002010-04-06T11:24:15.448-04:00

April is National Poetry Month, a time to promote poetry. April is also National Sexually Transmitted Disease Month, a time to promote...well, lots of things. I'm participating in the Poem A Day challenge at the Poetic Asides blog. Every day there is a new prompt to inspire a poem. I'll post some of my efforts here.In response to the prompt for April 3, to write a poem titled "Partly ____",

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-49490302687575190292010-03-17T13:14:00.002-04:002010-03-17T13:40:50.368-04:00

Happy Saint Paddy's Day, everyone. Sláinte. I've been slothful in my posts of late. Apologies for that.I just got word that three poems have been accepted for publication in Main Street Rag, and will probably appear in print early next year. The three are Grandma's on Facebook, Paper, and Virtual/Reality. Since MSR only accepts previously unpublished poetry, they won't be showing up on the

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-19538951689796739702010-01-01T16:11:00.000-05:002010-01-01T16:12:31.223-05:00

Where I've been doing my writing the past two weeks, just a ten-minute drive from my mother's house:Some of my office mates:&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-11514395661163890892009-12-07T11:45:00.005-05:002009-12-07T12:12:52.339-05:00

Evidently I'm not the only one finding weirdness in Facebook's exhortations to bother your friends. The comic strip xkcd examines the topic today.This post revises an earlier draft of the poem. This revision includes a suggestion from another cousin, one who is active enough on Facebook that the big FB doesn't command me to bother him.Facebook Killed My CousinYou haven’t talked to Lynda

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-84396197356177257632009-12-06T12:02:00.005-05:002009-12-06T13:37:17.387-05:00

Every year during heating season I rig up my dryer so that it vents inside the house instead of outside. I just don't like wasting that heat and humidity when it could be making my house more comfortable and my gas bill a little bit lower.In order to vent the dryer inside, I disconnect the dryer's exhaust hose from the connection that leads to the outside vent and just let it blow into the house

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-11662489709026578172009-11-24T19:38:00.003-05:002009-11-24T19:48:33.506-05:00

A website with a selection of poems from poetrySPARK is online. This was part of the creative confab SPARKcon that took place in Raleigh back in September.Two of my poems are included, The Call of the Wild and Vegetarian Pacifism.All of the poems on the poetrySPARK site will be available in a printed anthology in early 2010. A reading will be scheduled to accompany the publication. Watch here

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-84906183466049853182009-11-15T17:04:00.002-05:002009-11-15T17:15:36.083-05:00

I'll be interviewed this Tuesday, for a full hour, on WCOM 103.5, Carrboro radio. It's also streamed online at wcomfm.org, and it may someday be available as a podcast. In The Artist's StudioTuesday, 11/17, 4 to 5 PM. WCOM 103.5We'll talk writing and cooking and I'll read some poetry. The host of the show is Molly Matlock, Executive Director of the Chatham County Arts Council.&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-54547075496282341422009-11-06T14:17:00.005-05:002009-11-06T14:40:44.533-05:00

All of last week Facebook was sending me messages about my cousin and telling me to do things to her. This week the Facebook news feed is picking on my sister. I'm concerned.Facebook Killed My CousinYou haven’t talked to Lynda lately.Facebook announces it on my news feedlike it’s simply factual, a tidbit of trivia,like it isn’t loaded up with innuendo,like You’re looking good today doesn’t

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-89583465598039610882009-10-25T22:44:00.003-04:002009-10-25T22:47:56.664-04:00

Hot pizza buffet,sneezing kids running around,I'm afraid to eat.&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-54330640024541512592009-10-05T22:35:00.008-04:002009-10-09T12:55:20.993-04:00

Over most of 2008 I watched the progress on that new building off I-40 at Page Road. Every time I drove past on my way to Raleigh a little more was built. Finally, earlier this year, the building topped off at about 10 stories, and the big red lighted O appeared on the top of the building. I wondered, what company is that? Could it be an Omni hotel, even though the Omni O doesn't look like

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-11142820396601964652009-08-18T23:43:00.006-04:002010-01-09T01:42:38.507-05:00

This is polished up a bit from the earlier draft. I'll be reading this and a few others at poetrySPARK in the humor program on September 19 in Raleigh.The Call of the WildFor Mark Sanford, Governor of South CarolinaIt is springtime and a young man’s fancy is seized by the call of nature, the call of the wild,a force beyond his control,a force he pretty much thinks about all the time,that in

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-67766017939186958132009-08-13T12:49:00.004-04:002009-08-13T13:19:01.816-04:00

This poem was published in the Spring 2009 issue of Main Street Rag. I've been waiting for MSR to fix the link to the table of contents for this issue, but it's been several months and it's still not fixed. You'll just have to trust me. The poem is in there.Death, Taxes, MuzakIt’s been a long time since rock ‘n’ rollscared middle-agers in Cadillacs,since sarcasm was understoodby Mercedes

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-37839811897167880372009-08-05T11:22:00.002-04:002009-08-05T11:33:07.127-04:00

A second poem inspired by Facebook. PokedI’ve never been poked before,and didn’t even know it was possible to do that,wasn’t aware of that specialpoking place down there near the bottom.But now I do since you cared enough to poke me.I had been thinking about you,looking at your page just last night.How wonderful it was to wake upto you poking me this morning.I’m thinking about you now,and your

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-11627284736176672842009-07-03T16:15:00.009-04:002009-07-03T17:10:46.006-04:00

It is springtime and a young man’s fancy – the fancy of a healthy, virile young manin the prime of his life – is seized by the call of nature, the call of the wild,a force beyond his control,a force he pretty much thinks about all the time,that in springtime shuts down all other thought,an urgent need that can be slaked by one thing only,by hiking the Appalachian Trail.No time for notice to

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-80639370356493208822009-06-23T14:17:00.005-04:002009-06-23T14:52:57.736-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I came out of the supermarket to find THREE vehicles idling in the fire lane in front of the store. I just don't understand the thought process that leads people to do this. I've waited in the car before while someone was in a store, and when I have, the car has always been parked in a parking space. Okay, maybe once or twice not in a proper space, but if not, then parked

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-71636602642437565112009-05-26T14:44:00.004-04:002009-05-26T15:00:56.912-04:00

I don't recall ever suffering from hay fever until I moved to North Carolina. There's about a three week period in spring when the pine trees paint the world yellow with pollen ("tree sperm" as friend R calls it). My symptoms are usually not too bad, and only occasionally do I need a hit of loratadine (i.e., generic Claritin). A few weeks ago we went through a period of a week with sunny

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-52795682631719040482009-05-16T00:53:00.003-04:002009-05-16T00:59:41.993-04:00

Yes, There is a Free LunchI have defriended you.Nothing personal, just like it really wasn’t all that personalto accept your invitation in the first place.I was promiscuous in my friending then,and since we had five friends in common,and despite having only a vague idea of who you were,I accepted.But now I have defriended you.I still don’t really know who you are,though I see your status updates

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-61323375962789512012009-02-24T22:22:00.000-05:002009-02-24T22:33:21.501-05:00

There's a local group that regularly meets to read poetry together, the Friday Noon Poets. They're a great bunch of people and they write or find a great assortment of poetry to read each week. I usually leave after the reading ends, with errands to run or other meetings to get to. But there's a group of people who sit there, like they're waiting for the others to leave...After The Reading Is

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-30188933253843389922008-12-16T12:32:00.000-05:002008-12-16T12:54:25.600-05:00

The West End Poets Weekend, sponsored by the Town of Carrboro, was a lot of fun. There was a big turnout with readings by about dozen poets, including several kids from local middle schools and high schools who wrote some amazing material. After much nervous preparation, my ten minutes of fame went well. People laughed in the right places and didn't laugh in any wrong places.The event is

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-46336192047983595012008-10-07T13:22:00.000-04:002008-10-07T14:16:57.701-04:00

Carrboro is sponsoring the West End Poets Weekend this Saturday, October 11. I've been given a 10-minute spot in the NC Poets block. The schedule is included at the link. Carrboro has been promoting local literary efforts through the Parks and Recreation Department and this is their biggest annual event. I'm excited to participate.And for the occasion, a poem about Carrboro.Daydream WindowThe

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-75028244887359358442008-05-31T16:27:00.001-04:002008-05-31T16:27:50.974-04:00

The Week in HaikuLike three out of fivewith three lost, Clinton goes on,says I win because!Won't let relief in,won't let Aung San Suu Kyi out,chase storm victims "home."&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-65252889409230393572008-05-30T19:14:00.000-04:002008-05-31T11:02:15.301-04:00

The Emetic of LoveL’amour,c’est un art of performance,c’est un act of pain,c’est un state of the mindthat one must grieve to prove one’s love,to cry for love,to be consumed by love,to suffer a French film of love,one more tormented nausea of love,just give me the emetic of loveand eject that Guantánamoof a DVD.&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-88565916186195716492008-05-23T18:01:00.000-04:002008-05-23T23:16:08.334-04:00

I have a confession. I've taught statistics to master's students in public administration and planning and given them, in a one-semester course, just enough to make them dangerous. (I've also seen far too many papers at professional conferences where college faculty didn't seem to understand what I'd expect master's students to know from a year-long stats sequence.)Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-81195487491632069272008-05-08T21:51:00.000-04:002008-05-08T21:57:52.260-04:00

SubmitIs that my command to you,to read my request,to translate to ones and zeroes,obediently performall I that have askedbefore humbly returning,ready to be commanded again?Or is that your pronouncement to me,that you will be backwith further instruction,that I will be assimilated into machine-convenientsyntax and thought,that I will dance while you fire error messages at my feet,until I scream

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-79248461158907364632008-04-25T16:08:00.001-04:002008-05-06T09:05:34.387-04:00

When I was little, my family and three others would rent a beach house together in the summer. The parents and the older kids would play a complicated rummy game together, and my cousin (let's call him B) would watch from the sidelines because he was too young. Every hand in the grown-up game had a different contract, and B invented his own game which must have been based on his impression of

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-91006747213084708832008-04-23T05:14:00.000-04:002008-04-23T05:23:21.215-04:00

The Week in HaikuThe Pope came to town,wore ornate medieval gownsand really tall hats.The Keystone State’s done,but the Democratic racewill go on and on.&&

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-84825463433894608162008-04-14T18:31:00.000-04:002008-04-25T16:23:07.539-04:00

I do most of my work from home. It's nice to get a change of venue once in a while, and my favorite places to do that are restaurants or coffee shops. I like to go mid to late afternoon when there are few if any customers and the operators don't mind my occupying a table for two hours. I like a table by a window with an interesting street view, something that facilitates pondering while I

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-13733625384069380012008-03-24T10:43:00.000-04:002008-03-24T16:58:49.797-04:00

The American death toll in Iraq is likely to pass 4000 soldiers in the next week. (Associated Press already estimates 4000 fatalities, including civilian employees.) It is sometimes easy to forget that these statistics are more than just numbers, easy to forget that each of those numbers represents a person, easy to lose sight of the individual lives lost and the grief of the families and

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-38619822019795463152007-11-15T23:10:00.000-05:002007-11-17T08:27:56.361-05:00

Another Fibonacci poem. While I was working as his TA, an econometrics professor once told me students had to see material three times before they would remember it. Ironically, he said that to me but once. And yet I (usually) remember.Learning CurveMath buildsfrom definition,from basic axiomto theorems of high complexity,ever grander, more elegant, cresting challenges more steep,the mind

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-67870821661865458552007-10-15T10:04:00.000-04:002007-11-15T23:45:18.213-05:00

The street theme continues. Over the past year I have written a collection of haikus about street names, all except one about streets and intersections in towns I’ve lived in, visited, or read on Interstate Highway exit signs. Here are several, along with the cities in which you can find the mentioned streets.Morgantown, West VirginaCheat Lake is one choiceat the Morgantown exit.I choose

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-72225159678508206182007-10-08T15:20:00.000-04:002007-10-13T14:11:30.141-04:00

In Pittsburgh drivers know what the stop line is for at an intersection. Many narrow city streets meet at tight intersections where buses and trucks need to take wide turns. Vehicles that stop beyond the stop line block part of the intersection and can cause gridlock while a bus making a left turn waits for the stop line scofflaw to back up behind the line. This can take a while if several

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-6864350129107730192007-10-03T23:32:00.000-04:002008-12-11T22:39:28.920-05:00

Fibonacci poems are based on the Fibonacci series. The series starts with 1, and then each element in the series is the sum of the two preceding numbers: 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55, etc. In Fibonacci poems, the lengths of the lines (in words) rise or fall in accord with the Fibonacci sequence. Once you get up to 21-word lines, it's hard to fit them into a page with normal formatting.

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-76623324930471927322007-10-01T01:44:00.000-04:002007-10-13T14:04:15.714-04:00

I used to think the purpose of cataloging was to clarify identification and facilitate discourse. For example, the Latin names for plants have saved me many a time when a plant's common name was shared among multiple species. But when I tried to find a Mozart composition based on a Köchel number, my beliefs about cataloging got turned upside down as things got more complicated rather than less.

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815369388001586950.post-2622372158682695282007-09-01T18:15:00.001-04:002007-10-13T14:10:26.578-04:00

The Labor Day weekend is considered the end of summer in the United States. To commemorate the occasion here are 10-word poems on the theme of summer. I don't believe this is an established poetry form; I misunderstood a 10-word challenge by a poetry group I belong to. Even if the form is accidental, I like the results. Not quite haiku, but similar in pithiness.Evening’s sticky languoroozes

Glenn Cassidynoreply@blogger.com0