The Dandelife Blog

Gosh, I don’t know where I first heard this, but it was definitely when I was considering the important things in life like wine, women and song. I was a poet back then. Or so I fancied. Writing ornate lines with religious fervor. I suppose I was something of a situate, to be honest. I know it drove some of the girls crazy (those were fearless Kelly days) but it also drove some of the people who knew me best more than a little nuts. Being a Poet with a capital P is an occupation deserved only by the best people I know. Which is to say, the best Poets I know are also Saints.

That said, here’s what was said about the lot. Writers love the look of their own penmenship. Poets, the sounds of their own voices. Me? I never really liked how I sounded. If I were to describe it, I’d have to say, I sound like your typical white guy nerd. My handwriting, on the other hand, has always been, in a word, tiny. Purposefully understated, my coaches would say. My teachers? “To fucking small!” But I had some pride in the look of my penmenship. In college I developed an elongated style. The ascenders and descenders were elongated. My lower case t’s looked like proper crosses. My lower case j’s just long lower case i’s. I did it on purpose. I thought it gave my writing style even if the words I wrote didn’t.

As fate would have it, my poetry excelled. My prose didn’t. So I probably do have a natural tendency to have my self heard and not read.

That said, I’m trying to create a good format for my podcast. Yes, there. I said it. Podcast. The fad is huge. I cannot deny that I am a fan. And I cannot deny that I also have things to say. So here goes:

• News clippings from my favorite pubs from the week. Online, offline, both.
• A song review.
• A phone call with someone I want to talk to who is not necessarily related to me.
• Half-baked ideas.
• Something I learned in therapy.
• A short speech in arch tones about important things.
• An old book excerpt.
• An old movie review.
• Wine descriptions.