May 2006 Archives

Week 10, no less, in which the identities of many marchers and their monkeys may be revealed -- and yes, Part II! Congrats to you not-so-few, you justly proud, you still-marching marchers. I'm really delighted with how many people are hanging in there and with the rich spate of comments from this past week. I'm sure some folks are a bit behind (I'm about 20 pages shy of the mark my own self), but, call me a delusional marcher errant, it feels like this remaining crew is gonna make it through.

Besides the Part II-ness of it all, I had a personal DM-related milestone this last week: suddenly both my kids are old enough that I can take them with me to the coffee shop for 20-30 minutes of mellow time -- just enough to read a chapter or two of the ole DQ, while they sip their lemonade and draw. And the days are long. And life is good.

Next Wednesday: Let's catch our breath at the end of Chapter XIII: (aka page 538, Grossman), where two squires appear to be loaded, and we're just about to learn -- finally! -- "what befell the Knight of the Wood and the Knight of the Sorrowful Face."

Do you believe you have bone inside you?

Have you bought stock
in the scam that
you're made of stone?

Why not skin? Solid through?
Why not dense-coiled hair
to prop your fading hips?

As if we have a pelvis inside us.

Tell me this: how did that stone
get in there? That stone called
"bone"?

And how come that stone isn't worn
by time
to a pebble?

Jeff Goldblum

This one, the fourth in a series of desktop-sized painterly images of individuals engaged with a glowing orb, set against a blue/textured frame, goes out to Kim and Zoro, whose comments today made me pause to reconsider the only-partly-realized genius and, yes, the big bag of pathos that is Jeff Goldblum.

in his red and black
"Incredibles" pajamas

with his arms propped
behind his head like
a catapult on safety.

His face is a bass note,
calm and confident

as if to say:

"I'm a super hero. And a bass note. I'm a catapult.
And I've got plots and plans aplenty."

Remember that scene in Close Encounters where Richard Dreyfus was compelled to make a mountain out of mashed potatoes? Something very similar happened to me not too long ago. Except instead of a potato mountain, I found myself forced to make a trifecta of images, each sized for a 1024 x 768 PC/Mac desktop. They featured Danny Kaye, Kurt Vonnegut, and Al Gore engaged with a glowing orb. And they were set in a bluish textured frame.

The experience left me shaken. I had so many questions. For example: Why is Danny Kaye wearing that outfit?

At first no answers came. And then I heard a voice as cool and reassuring as a Dairy Queen Flurry. It said:

"Now more than ever, Americans needs heroes. And if they can't have heroes, they should at least have Danny Kaye, Kurt Vonnegut, and Al Gore desktop images set in a bluish textured frame and featuring a glowing orb. Post these images on cecilvortex.com. Tell people they can click to see the full-sized image, or right-click to save an image out and use them as desktops. Then wait for our next transmission."

And so I did....

Danny Kaye

Kurt Vonnegut

Al Gore

Oh my stars and garters -- Week 9!, wherein both marchers errant and their faithful squires cavort, with strange and pleasing results. As Mr. Magoo pointed in last week's comments, we've hit a heckuva milestone by flipping past page 400 (Grossman). And you know what they say about Don Quixote: the last 540 pages are the easiest.

For me, this last patch wasn't quite up to the level of, say, the tale of Zoraida and the Captain, which was a pure page-turning treat. But I'm glad we've left that inn, at least for a stretch. It was starting to get kinda claustrophobic in there -- like some sort of 17th Century Bob's Big Boy, with an infinite number of wandering Dons and their flawless luvs supreme. It feels like most of the main threads have to come to some sort of resolution, leaving an appealingly open road for the second part of the book. Speaking of which...

Next Wednesday: ...to Part II and beyond! -- let's aim for the end of our second Chapter II (page 473 Grossman), where I'm glad to report that the three of them appear to be having "a most amusing conversation."

You're not the only one made uncomfortable
by these lens flares

twin pipes
that threaten, curl,
and shine.

They can wrench the wind out of a room.
Catch 5 quarters in mid-air. Each.

And when they sneeze
you turn away to miss a flash
against the back of that

prairie thunderstorm
cow skull.

Welcome to Week 8, which recounts the pleasing tale of the mugnet inclined, along with other strange events that occured along the way. This was a week of highs and lows for me. There was the high of finding out that Mr. Magoo finds me extremely hot. Followed almost immediately by the low of finding out that he thinks "So Called Bill" and "Jeff" are hot too. And then another low -- losing my book. And finally, the high of finding it again. I'm spinning, I am. I'm also a couple of chapters behind, and like a lot of folks, finding the plot sorta blending into itself. But then there's the Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha," just a short flip ahead. It calls to us! And so we march on!

Next Wednesday: let's hang our spurs at the end of Chapter XLIX, just before something Don Quixote appears to think is "really good!"

you shouldn't eat
so much of any one thing
that if they found out
that a really really

huge amount
of that one thing
kills people
you'd stop and say:

oh jeez

The "Patrick Swayze/North and South" web page is terrible. There are lots of good web pages out there, covering a wide variety of topics. So there's really no need for you to visit the "Patrick Swayze/North and South" web page.

Here's just one of the many terrible things about this web page. It says, and I quote: "In my opinion, 'Orry Main' will always be the character most closely associated with Patrick." Now that's just ridiculous. I can't even begin to tell you how ridiculous a statement that is, on so many levels.

Won't you join me in boycotting this terrible web page?

Thank you,
-Cecil

Am I the only one a bit put off by the panda craze that's been sweeping the nation, what with everyone and their brother buying panda bears and then bringing them with them *everywhere*?

I mean, come on! I'm not saying pandas aren't cute. I'm just saying, there's a time and there's a place. And when I go to the men's room at a baseball game, the last thing I want to see is some rube in an "I heart pandas!" baby-t, hosing down his cotton-candy covered new-best-friend and looking at me like *I'm* the crazy one.

Puhlease!

Week 7, in which our weary band of 'marchers may or may not end up attacking some skins of red wine, and other diverting adventures. I just finished the week's reading, with about an hour+ to spare (west coast time). And I will admit to much relief that this whole Don Fernando, Luscinda, Camila, Anselmo mishigas appears to have come to some sort of swirling resolution. Or at least a stable moment. And yes, as promised, we've found that place where all the misfortunes on earth reach their conclusion and we've got to love ourselves for that. Still, here's hoping the next section brings back the dwarves.

Next Wednesday: now that we've had a moment to catch our breath, let's pick the pace back up and aim for the end of Chapter XLII, where if you press your ear against the book, you may just hear that "the boy was singing."

At the coffee shop
a man long past down on his luck
head resting on a piece of paper

pen in one hand
but no words on the sheet.

Just 60 or 70 short lines
twitched in all directions.

A swarm of
"I mean no harm"
hand motions
for him to sleep inside.

Week 7, in which I'm quite lame and behind and largely off-web for various and sundry, but hoping to catch up and post the real thread shortly. Feel free to post toward mugnet on this placeholder. When I swap the real post in, the comments will remain......

Update: By popular demand (OK, two people, but still....) this is officially the 7th week stretch. A week for those behind to catch up and those caught up to get ahead. In terms of mugnet glory, comments are optional this week. Feel free to chat amongst yourselves :-) Next week, we dive back in with vigor!

-Cecil