by Julia Griffin “‘A very poor idea’: Julia Roberts rejected Richard Curtis’s proposed Notting Hill divorce sequel. [However,] Hugh Grant was happy to prove the lie of a happy ending for his ‘despicable’ character”—The Guardian When William and Anna tied the knot in Notting Hill,A world of women wept with joy. Myself, I’m weeping stillTo […]
by Julia Griffin “AI poetry rated better than poems written by humans, study showsFindings suggest non-expert poetry readers who participated preferred AI worksbecause they find them more straightforward and accessible”—The Guardian Asked to write a sonnet (subject unspecified), ChatGPT instantly obliged. Half of its sonnet appears below. It wrote the lines in roman font; the […]
by Julia Griffin “Italian officials said they had dismantled a Europe-wide network of forgers and dealers selling workspurported to be by A-list artists, mostly through auction houses.” … The carabinieri named the case“Operation Caryatid”—The New York Times Don’t tumble for talented twisters!This year, unashamed criminaliHave forged some artistic A-listers,Including both Banksy and Dali. Collectors were […]
by Julia Griffin “When drone footage of the complex of 732 castles appeared online a few years ago, they quickly became a viral phenomenon: there are dozens of YouTube videos marvelling at the cluster of Disney-like chateaux.Since then, the mystery of whether they will ever be finished has only deepened.”—The Guardian At Burj al Babas, […]
by Julia Griffin “Cockatoo rescued after ‘living on brioche’ for four weeks inside Sydney supermarket NSW environment minister hopes ‘Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow’ after successful capture by wildlife services” —The Guardian The Sydney supermarket cockatoo Flies free at last. All I can say is, Gosh; How has it kept itself so buoyant […]
Featured PoetAnna M. Evans Spotlight: Anna M. Evansby Nicole Caruso Garcia Book Reviewsby Barbara Loots Poems by…Robert ArchambeauNed BalboAl BasileBruce BennettJerome BettsJane BlanchardL.D. BlevinsElijah Perseus BlumovLida BushloperDan CampionJoshua CobenD.A. CooperBarbara Lydecker CranePat D’AmicoKatherine EdgrenKelly Scott FranklinDaniel GalefNicole Caruso GarciaMidge GoldbergJulia GriffinMax GutmannAndrew HudginsSteven KentPhilip KitcherAlyssa KoerperJohn LangdonJenna LeMartin B. MarguliesSusan McLeanChris O’CarrollAngela Alaimo O’DonnellD.A. PrinceJay […]
BACK | CONTENTS | NEXT Paragoner The departed’s misdeeds are all shedFrom a eulogy. Buried. Unsaid.As he’s laid to his rest,He is praised as the best.So you want be lauded? Drop dead. Eulogies for Sports Heroes (i)Diving in Hawaii, MortWent down long and came up short. (ii)Bill’s first hunt with Daddy’s gangReally ended with a […]
BACK | CONTENTS | NEXT Words My Mother Didn’t Know Starting with the obvious:iPad, cell phone, cannabis, Mitochondrial DNA—but science changes every day— sushi, pad thai, jasmine rice,almost any kind of spice, zipline, snowboard, kayaking,tongue or belly-button ring. Then, things she’d heard of, so she knew,but not imagined one could do: Go to Iceland, make […]
by Julia Griffin (After W.E. Henley) “Conkers cheating row as men’s champion found with steel chestnut: David Jakins [“King Conker”] says metal replica discovered in his pocket was only ‘for humour value’” —The Telegraph Out of the green, o’er-prickled case, As glossy as the noblest steed, It swings in might, till all give place To […]
by Julia Griffin For Mary “Wrinkles reveal whether elephants are left- or right-trunked, study finds … The team say a left-trunker—which scoops objects towards the left side of its body—has more wrinkles and longer whiskers on the left side of its trunk, with whiskers on the right worn down by more frequent contact with the […]
by Julia Griffin Oklahoma resident Kody Adams “accused of stealing ambulance to drive to stolen-car court hearing” —The Guardian One Mr. Adams stole a car, And so he had a stolen-car court hearing. Because the place was very far, And judgment hour was nearing, He had to steal an ambulance, Required because he stole a […]
by Julia Griffin “California zoo animals returned home after wildfire evacuation… The residents of the Big Bear Alpine zoo [include] rehabilitated animals that are unable to be released into the wild, many of which are elderly and have injuries. … [On Thursday, the director] loaded up an array of birds—cranes, hawks, barn owls and a […]
by Julia Griffin “New Hampshire governor helps choking competitor at lobster roll eating contest: Chris Sununu performs Heimlich maneuver on Christian Moreno, who recovered and went on to eat nine rolls” —The Guardian When Chris saved Chris, all lauded his compassionate acuity, But some pedantic types observed the headline’s ambiguity. You think (they said) the […]
by Julia Griffin “Harry Potter fans boo as King’s Cross ends ‘back to Hogwarts’ tradition Fans at London station left disappointed after fictional train’s departure not announced on public address system” —The Guardian There’s bitterness this morning at King’s Cross. A broomstick-toting crowd begins to boo, Disgusted by this unexpected loss: The Hogwarts train is […]
by Julia Griffin For Tam (After Gilbert and Sullivan) “A would-be burglar in Rome… became distracted after picking up a book about Homer’s Iliad on a bedside table. … News of the failed burglary attracted the attention of the book’s author, who told local media he wanted to send the man a copy so he […]