An incomplete poem that I still sort-of like.

I got somewhere close to this far on it a while ago & then stopped. This is a reconstruction of the poem from memory, because I have it scribble-jotted somewhere and have no idea which notebook it's in now, or where that notebook is, exactly. But a facebook friend who always posts good stuff happened to link to an article that dredged up, if not the poem proper or entire, at least the impulse to do so. What impulse is that, pray tell? A quick examination of the labels will make all clear, I wot.


On my ill-advised trip
into the City,
I saw the
Tall Doll torn down;
to speak of her abuse
is to cast aside poesis.
Aside like her long grey gown
was cast,
yanked askance,
sculpted haunch and rather
too much leg for my comfort.
Torch tossed, tiara trailing
from stone hair flown wild.

No pain, just
Gallic Stoic
patience writ plain
on the flatcut planes
of a gaze sharp-angled.

Gaze intent, distance-bent,
awaiting just the next
hammerfall;
the Tall Doll
My own Dying Gaul
distressed, disrobed, dismantled;
after all the high-flown
talk, her tormentors' mob
in thrall to an ego and a mouth.


Well, there's more, if I ever find my notebook again. I'm glad that I felt prompted, somehow, to spew that out into the blogosphere. Maybe it'll do something now.

New Star Trek, No Takei, what a tribbling development

I rented the new Star Trek flik the other day. I don't get out much, and wasn't interested in seeing it in the theater, but for a buck at Redbox, I'll give it a whirl. I was instantly captivated by Zoë Saldaña's performance as Uhura.

As much as NIchelle Nichols brought to the original franchise, and subsequent installments, I think Uhura's is the most believable prequel transformation. The creepy guy from "Heroes" doing his turn as young Spock had merit, but lacked a certain je ne sais quois. Especially side-by-each onscreen with Nimoy, whom I was especially glad to see. But dammit, couldn't they have written a part in for Takei? Seriously? And while young Sulu was clearly there to kick ass & take names, the actor is Korean-American, and I can't shake the unsettling suspicion that the casting agency just snapped up the most photogenic Asian kid it could find, regardless of the cultural continuity of the original character. This shit is important to at least a small and ferocious contingent of fan-geekery, so maybe one day Hollywood will listen. I have no illusions that "Sulu was Japanese" will become the new "Han shot first," but crap already. It gets my hackles up to consider the sort of 'get me an Asian, any Asian will do' mentality that had to go into the process. Can you people think, just for a minute?
Well, at least we got Simon Pegg working his magic on the role of young Scotty. I wonder if there's a gag reel hidden away somewhere of Pegg and Nimoy doing a sweet duet on 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.' I'd pay full price to see that.