Monthly Archives: February 2009

Air Hockey Website

I used to love playing air hockey.

I was quite good at air hockey.

I almost never lost a game.

I haven’t played in years.

Do people even play air hockey anymore?

For that matter, are there people who are curious about air hockey tables? Is there some guy Googling the term “ Sportcraft Air Hockey Table” right now? How much is there to know about air hockey tables anyway?

Different strokes, I guess, because if you are that guy who’s fascinated by air hockey there’s a website for you.

Some advice though: pictures might be better with naked women. Just a thought.

What is Poetry Good For?

Recently, Wendy Cope, a well-known British poet who was once considered to be one of the front-runners to be the next Poet Laureate in the U.K., came out against the Poet Laureate position. One of the reasons she gave for the criticism is that the Poet Laureate is expected to write poems for special occasions (and the royal family) and she doesn’t like writing poems “under pressure.”

While it’s my own preference not to have to write poems on predetermined topics, I understand the importance of being able to do this and how doing it is a big part of the larger poetic tradition. Listen, poetry began as part of the oral tradition — before written language and the evolution of other genres and media, poetry was the method for entertaining the public interest, passing along stories and information about notable events in human history. As written language evolved, so too did poetry, taking on a more official role in society as societies hardened into more definite class and power structures. As such, there have always been “court poets.” From the days of “Gilgamesh the King,” to Billy Collins’s 9/11 poem, “The Names,” poetry has had a definite function in society of recording important events in it’s own unique fashion.

While Cope makes an important point that one doesn’t need to have a Poet Laureate in order for poetry to fulfill this role and I, too, have often wondered from time to time if a the Laureate positions in both the U.S. and the U.K. are even necessary, it’s hard to deny the history of the poem and it’s role in society. Even if poetry is no longer as popular as the latest John Grisham thriller, it still holds a place in our world — maybe now more than ever. If nothing else, that the most powerful democracies in the western world still recognise this role, even if the Poet Laureate is only a bullshit ceremonial political appointment, is a sign that poetry is still important enough to have an official national poet. The Poet Laureate position may be “archaic” and “ridiculous,” the day they abolish the job, that’s when I’m really going to start to worry.

Cheap Ink Cartridge Solutions

If you are a writer like me (and if you’re reading Diary of a Mad Editor right now, you probably are a writer just like me), you go through tons of ink catridges. As such, buying cartridges retail doesn’t make a lot of sense. A brand name cartidge would likely cost a minimum of $25.00 for just one. Buying a generic no-name brand from an online store is a cheaper, smarter solution. One of those stores, Inkgrabber.com, a leading online seller of printer ink cartridges, toner cartridges, copier toner and fax cartridges sells cartridges for all the top brands for up to 92% off retail price.

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