DanielNester.com

Friday, July 03, 2009

Just up on Monkeybicycle: "Iliad Gag Reel."

The "Illiad Gag Reel," inspired by such classic blooper reels as this one from 1981's The Cannonball Run and of course Homer's work, is just up on the website for Monkeybicycle, one of my favorite literary magazines.

Check it out here.

Labels: Creative Nonfiction, Monkeybicycle, Shameless self-promotion

# 9:45 AM

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Hilarious documentary on Wildwood, NJ, my ancestral homeland.

Via FourFour and Jezebel.

Labels: FourFour, Jezebel, New Jersey, Wildwood

# 5:26 PM

Jackson Browne and "These Days": covers, chords, etc.

I've grown to love Jackson Browne's "These Days," a track most people know through the version recorded by Nico and seen in this scene in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums.

It's a simple song that runs down five chords: C, B, Am, G, and then F. I play it on my acoustic with the capo on the fifth fret.

C B Am G F
Well I've been out walkin'
C B Am G F
And I don't do that much talking, these days
C G
These days.
F
These days I seem to think a lot
C G
About the things that I forgot to do, for you

C B Am G F
And all the times I had a chance to

The song has a history way past that Wes Anderson movie. A lot of people have covered it. It's outlined pretty well in the song's Wikipedia entry.

Here's a version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

One that follows the Nico version.

Glenn Campbell's version.

This version is the reason I started this post. It seems he doesn't perform this arrangement much more.

Can't find the Paul Westerberg version online. Off to my iTunes I go.

Labels: Jackson Browne, Nico, Nitty Bitty Dirt Band, These Days

# 12:08 PM

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

A mini-commonplace.

If you must take care that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone--from Kenko's Essays in Idleness, translated Donald Keene

We must resist the critic's habit, as strong now as ever it was, of dividing poets into teams and making them play against each other—alas, poor critic, having to referee a match in which the players are constantly fraternizing, exchanging jerseys, running in the wrong direction and turning the rules to anarchy!--C. Day Lewis, from The Poetic Image. Boston: Jonathan Cape, 1963, p. 30

"We've got perception"--Timothy Dansereau

"I tried very hard not to have a theme."--Melanie G.

Labels: C. Day Lewis, commonplace, Kenko

# 8:23 PM

Best of the June Twitter posts.

I keep my Twitter account private (i.e., "protected") because I don't want everyone to see everything I post; I would like at least one online space where I feel like I can be an idiot. Believe you me: I am protecting me from you.

But there's a couple of Tweets I've posted I think could be posted to the world and benefit society in some way.*

Some conclusions I can draw from looking at these again: I shamelessly navel-gaze; I have a fixation on Mia Michaels, the loopy choreography from So You Think You Can Dance? (abbreviated as #SYTYCD here); I re-tweet, or RT, my @Adagia_Project a lot, and I think poets who went to Iowa and become self-proclaimed memoir-essay experts are Tartuffian idiots.

OK. Here's some tweetage from the month of June. If you like this, tell me: I'll do it next month, too.

Think post Jay Bennett Wilco has been overrated, by the way. And "America's Radiohead" is faint praise. [Gets off soapbox]

New Wilco sounds like Traveling Wilburys, complete with faux George Harrison guitar and Jeff Lyne vocal 25 minutes ago from web

Love love love Merritt Weaver as Zoey in Nurse Jackie http://bit.ly/1anz5W

Takeaway Indian from new Delmar Shalimar; what pregnant wife wants, pregnant wife gets! http://www.goshalimar.com/

RT @pankmagazine Helpful tip: if you're going to send 15 tweets in a row, what you're looking for is a blog.

John Deacon could be dead. We wouldn't know. People haven't seen him for years.

Interior of book has come in from designers.

We made our own shelf-talkers, mock Staff Recommendations, and whoopee cushion coupons 6:21 PM Jun 26th from web

you get another blurb from someone you really wanted I guess 6:19 PM Jun 26th from web

what happens when a guy you had second thoughts about blurbing your book in the first place passes on blurbing? 6:18 PM Jun 26th from web

Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, p.2: State of Shock demo http://bit.ly/13S2io 6:11 PM Jun 26th from web

Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, p.1: There Must Be More To Life Than This demo http://bit.ly/PldSl 6:10 PM Jun 26th from web

I think I need this: http://www.kushsupport.com/ 6:26 PM Jun 24th from web

File under WTF: Zachary Quinto falls walking dog w/ guy dressed as steak. Throws hissyfit: http://tinyurl.com/mxa8ak

Spin's "Purple Rain: The Oral History" will be used in my oral history class this semester! Super. 5:47 AM Jun 24th from web

Soooo looking forward to reading the Roger Troutman article here: http://waxpoetics.com/issue...5:45 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @arthurmagazine Attention technology-will-save-us-in-the-end people! Where's my biodegradable cel phone? Compostable computer? Etc 4:38 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @Brendacopeland Margaritas make you feel the way you ought to feel without margaritas. 2:37 AM Jun 24th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 17. The horrible inside. Also included with this offer. 5:06 PM Jun 23rd from web

Ed McMahon RIP http://bit.ly/2ZMjq #EdMcMahonRIP 5:04 PM Jun 23rd from web

RT @Adagia_Project 14. Double up, anchor down, share faults.6:18 PM Jun 20th from web

Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, and Peter Gabriel sing "Red Rain": http://bit.ly/OODpz 7:33 PM Jun 19th from web

@SavvyVerseWit http://bit.ly/Sye08 7:00 PM Jun 19th from web in reply to SavvyVerseWit

Why isn't King's X the biggest rock band in the WORLD? 6:42 PM Jun 19th from web

So far so good: No Richard Marx. #SYTYCD5:59 AM Jun 19th from web

Mia Michaels opening routine has created gas bubble #SYTYCD 5:48 AM Jun 19th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 10. Fromunda. 10:25 PM Jun 18th from web

RT @specksnyder Show this to students, foment a little revolution. Reading: "Right to Research" http://bit.ly/PFeop. 5:59 AM Jun 18th from web

Wow. A very, very young Brian May, before the curls grew out: http://brianmay.com/brian/l... 5:20 AM Jun 18th from web

@timesunionlive Am DVRing so am a bit behind everyone. All we can do is hope. But Richard Marx? Richard Marx. 5:10 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to timesunionlive

@pankmagazine I will come to wherever you are in Michigan and take you off the Hot Tamale Train.

Mia Michaels must DIE! #SYTYCD5:06 AM Jun 18th from web in reply to pankmagazine

Richard Marx? Richard. Marx. #SYTYCD 4:55 AM Jun 18th from web

No Mia Michaels. Not yet. Life is good. #SYTYCD 4:54 AM Jun 18th from web

RT @specksnyder Reading: "Literary Magazines: The Big List", http://bit.ly/MYNFF. 6:29 PM Jun 17th from web

Playing reissue CD by Hammond organist great Jackie Davis, aka Porterhouse from Caddyshack. Who knew? http://tinyurl.com/kwub94 11:47 PM Jun 16th from web

Clive Thompson in Wired: "Books have been held hostage offline for far too long." http://tinyurl.com/qlm892 5:45 PM Jun 15th from web

RT @largeheartedboy Authors signing Kindles http://bit.ly/14LHA3 4:30 PM Jun 15th from web

Katy Perry doing Queen's Don't Stop Me Now: http://bit.ly/AVmMh 4:22 AM Jun 15th from web

And Brian May with Katy Perry and band, also from BrianMay.com: http://bit.ly/Z0EL2 4:19 AM Jun 15th from web

Brian May and Katy Perry meet backstage--a wonderbra picture from http://bit.ly/DGtY8 4:18 AM Jun 15th from web

my mom just told me she was once "kissed by a Righteous Brother." Which one? "The tall one, of course!" 4:49 AM Jun 14th from web

Sea Isle City is beautiful this morning. Nephews and I won several whoopie cushions playing skee ball, official sport of boardwalks. 4:12 PM Jun 13th from web

Shappy Seasholtz's Zombie Stand-Up and Whale Song for My Bastard Son on Pank: http://www.pankmagazine.com... 12:31 AM Jun 13th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 8. As the dodo hums, asswipe.6:10 PM Jun 12th from web

RT @chrispetterson it'll take you a minute to realize this isn't from @TheOnion: http://bit.ly/z6tTo 6:54 AM Jun 12th from web

RT @chaiteaisgood Thou shalt not use a public restroom stall with no lock. I am speaking from experience here...#11thcommandment5:55 AM Jun 12th from web

The wait is over. Per Gessle announces Roxette Reunion on SIRIUS XM Radio http://bit.ly/mJUJz 4:16 AM Jun 12th from web

Collaborative poem written by nephews and I, read by my mother, for Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://tinyurl.com/nkvsuu 2:50 AM Jun 12th from web

RT pankmagazine FYI: When u say you'll only let us put yr work online if we publish you in the print issue, yr work will be declined, unread 9:29 PM Jun 11th from web

RT @timesunion Passerby yells at billionaire Tom Golisano as he fielded questions about funding NY Senate takeover http://bit.ly/18YL2C 7:33 AM Jun 11th from web

If you wish, you may follow my 12-year-old nephew Charlie's tweetage, even though he's a douchebag: @chaiteaisgood 6:17 AM Jun 11th from web

My nephews just told me about the environmentally friendly Google, called Blackle; heard of it? http://blackle.com/

But first, an old poem of mine I posted up on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://tinyurl.com/lc882f 5:34 AM Jun 11th from web

poem by yours truly on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: “Found Poem: Gene Simmons Impersonator": http://tinyurl.com/lq8wlm

Two books, vastly different, by my friends that I think deserve your kind attention: http://tinyurl.com/ldrn59 7:35 PM Jun 9th from web

Tony Sciuto's debut LP 1980's Island Nights, features Toto members Steve Lukather and Jeff Porcaro; here's a cut:http://tinyurl.com/lx5qlp 7:32 PM Jun 9th from web

Co-writer of "Last Sound Love Makes" is Tony Sciuto, formerly of Little River Band: http://www.tonysciuto.net/

This Don Johnson song, IMHO, is one guitar pedal away from a cut off of Replacement's Pleased to Meet Me: http://tinyurl.com/l9998a 7:03 PM Jun 9th from web

Old poem of mine up on Linebreak's Unstressed blog: “Mick Jagger Is Not Afraid And Neither Should You Be": http://tinyurl.com/lwblwd 5:04 PM Jun 9th from web

RT @htmlgiant Bennett Cerf asks, Do you have a restless urge to write? - http://tinyurl.com/lhcmntless 3:12 AM Jun 9th from web

@tarabetts I am playing Carl Carlton's "She's a Bad Mama Jama" on an 8-track boombox as we speak. 12:35 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to tarabetts

@lnorthrup I bought a Oh Hell No from you! I love them. Is there a link to other samples for me to peruse, browse, review? 12:34 AM Jun 9th from web in reply to lnorthrup

Guest blogging this week at Linebreak's Unstressed blog: http://linebreak.org/blog/ 12:14 AM Jun 9th from web

RT @Lefsetz Gizmodo and other tech blogs update automatically, NYTimes does not. Mainstream media is inept, destroying itself. 10:29 PM Jun 8th from web

#musicmonday Little Boots' covers Freddie Mercury's Love Kills from Giorgio Moroder's oft-reviled Metropolis: http://tinyurl.com/mlvatb 8:15 PM Jun 8th from web

@RandyHernandez Character? WhachootalkinboutWillis? 7:35 PM Jun 8th from web in reply to RandyHernandez

@jedediahberry Small Beer's $1 warehouse clearance sale ends Wednesday. Grab 'em while you can: http://is.gd/TcMA 7:19 PM Jun 8th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 4. Not important now? Not important to your parents. 6:29 PM Jun 8th from web

RT @R_Nash Wordnik beta now open. @FakeErinMcKean wearing alphabetical-print clothing to celebrate. http://www.wordnik.com 6:28 PM Jun 8th from web

Trustafarians begin to work for living, says Times: http://bit.ly/6Dnyz 4:35 PM Jun 8th from web

Why the FREAK won't Journey get back together? Unbelievable. They're our musical lingua franca #Tonys 5:38 AM Jun 8th from web

Went to Albany Flea today. It's there every Sunday. There's cool stuff there, cool vibe. You should check it out! http://albanyflea.com/ 3:06 AM Jun 8th from web

Bound for Hell, Or Glory? David Carradine and the Feistiest Film Panel Ever http://bit.ly/12qDxB 6:54 AM Jun 7th from mobile web

RT @timesunion New owner for Bob & Ron's: Bob & Ron's Fish Fry on Central Avenue has been sold. http://bit.ly/12s1t2

RT @Adagia_Project 3. Every important word should end with the suffix “Turner Overdrive.” 11:34 PM Jun 5th from web

Honor Moore's "Remembering [translator] Paul Schmidt," He was married to Stockard Channing? Who knew? http://tinyurl.com/l5egfl [PDF] 6:52 PM Jun 5th from web

@gatewaygroupie Have a cassette player in my 2003 Volvo, oddly. Got Street Talk cassette for shits & giggles. Make no mistake: I have the CD. 6:16 PM Jun 5th from web in reply to gatewaygroupie

@thebookslut So, what if I were to say to you that I was listening to--and enjoying--Steve Perry's solo album Street Talk? On cassette? 6:10 PM Jun 5th from web in reply to thebookslut

Jimmy Fallon's Dave Matthews GPS: http://bit.ly/tajXk 5:39 PM Jun 5th from web

Put last-minute manuscript additions in; book sent to design people; release date November, with copies in stores in October. 5:32 PM Jun 5th from web

Mia Michaels must die. As well as Lil' C. #sytycd 6:30 AM Jun 5th from web

@pankmagazine Many of those same writers are Pushcart Prize nominees. 4:53 AM Jun 5th from web in reply to pankmagazine

I still get Rip Torn and Rip Taylor mixed up. 4:43 AM Jun 5th from web

Q: How many Iowa poets who switch to essays does it take the fun out of writing? A: Not many. But they're multiplying. 9:06 PM Jun 4th from web

Onion: Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Crap That Doesn’t Even Work (NSFW): http://tinyurl.com/bap7bk 8:26 PM Jun 4th from web

Another reason Upstate NY rocks: flea markets! One Sat: Another Sun: http://www.albanyflea.com/ 8:19 PM Jun 4th from web

RT @timesunionarts Latest arts news: Saint Rose alumni art exhibit honors educator Karene Faul http://tinyurl.com/q3k79b 5:07 PM Jun 4th from web

The lean, mean Newsweek takes on Oprah's junk medicine. Maybe I should subscribe. @Lefsetz letters about it, too. http://tinyurl.com/p2jocq 6:45 AM Jun 4th from web

Mia Michaels is back! In all her I-choreographed-Celine Dion glory! sytycd 5:35 AM Jun 4th from web

RT @kingsthings this just in from the water cooler... we need more water! 5:30 AM Jun 4th from web

Did BEA ever make it onto Twitter's Trending Topics? Is that, too, a sign of the Armageddon? 5:25 AM Jun 4th from web

Got Hotel Amerika's Trans Genre issue. Haven't updated website in forever. Trust me, this one looks good. http://hotelamerika.net 12:44 AM Jun 4th from web

RT @Adagia_Project 1. All friends become your enemies. 5:31 PM Jun 3rd from web

Make sure you follow http://twitter.com/failbettercom, a super literary magazine. 4:17 AM Jun 3rd from web

@RandyHernandez If I were Salinger I'd be suing people's vital organs off. But there's gotta be some leeway as far as parody's concerned. 3:44 AM Jun 3rd from web in reply to RandyHernandez

follow the @Adagia_Project to get a bit of perverted wisdom every morning. 10:51 PM Jun 2nd from web

My Google alerts alighted with success of Daniel Nestor, my Canadian tennis pro alter-ego, who has advanced to the French Open semifinals 7:35 PM Jun 2nd from web

Sherman Alexie sees Kindle-reading woman, and wants to punch her. Noice. http://www.nytimes.com/2009... 10:22 PM Jun 1st from web

@The_Rumpus Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the User Generated Submission License Agreement: http://twitpic.com/6eluj 10:03 PM Jun 1st from web

Murray Hill song: http://bit.ly/4n5IV 9:13 PM Jun 1st from web

Forgot to tell publishers I write reviews when I visited booths. Hard to shift self-promotion modes from writer to reviewer. #BEA09 8:11 PM Jun 1st from web

RT @Michael_Schiavo Big. Star. Box. Set. Why I love Rhino. http://bit.ly/VZRSl

dinner in chelsea with miriam and maisie before we drive back up to albany. i get to see my honey and my munchkin. yay!1:56 AM Jun 1st from web

at housing works for clmp's fab magathon fair #bea09 10:36 PM May 31st from web

met new editor and counterpoint berkeley peops, gave out whhopie cushions to librarians and booksellers. success. #bea09 8:25 AM May 31st from web

mcsweeney's/rumpus/smith event jessica anthony superb, then pgw party 7:28 AM May 31st from web

i miss oren's coffee! bea096:39 PM May 30th from txt

Stop by Counterpoint/Soft Skull booth #4437 and hear How to Be Inappropriate spiel I wrote my pitch on back of an envelope. I'm ready #BEA09 5:35 PM May 30th from web

gave out four whoopee cushions last night. good practice for today 5:29 PM May 30th from web

at cow girl hall of fame...after beatweetup i guess 7:00 AM May 30th from txt