I Have the Power!

I'm back to spontaneous blogging and regular computer use, having received and installed my replacement power supply battery today. I think I'll go for a walk.

#verseday Power Outage

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, June 14. My topic this week, inspired by my current predicament, is power outage/blackout.

Write a poem about a power outage by noon Friday, June 15.

Performer Needed for The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly

My UPS battery hasn't shipped yet, so I'm still on limited computer time per day and scrambling to find a female reader for the June 18th 5-2 poem, Robert Cooperman's "Lily Bartell, About To Be Murdered..." (narrated by the character Lily).

Email g_so AT yahoo DOT com if interested, and I'll send you the poem to read. I would need your recording by Sunday, June 17th. You can either email me an audio file or call my dedicated voicemail to record. Also email me your bio, so I can credit the reader whose recording I choose as a Voice of The 5-2.

Thanks in advance for your help.

UPDATE: Nancy Scott has agreed to record the poem. If you're interested in recording future poems, please email me.

Sharapova Wins French Open to Earn Career Grand Slam

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Saturday, I caught the second half of the French Open women's final that saw Maria Sharapova complete a career Grand Slam in eight years (2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open, 2008 Australian Open, 2012 French Open).

This latest was a mismatch, scrappy but lighter-hitting Italian Sara Errani having beaten some of the best to earn her spot. Still, Sharapova's victory attests to her endurance, proving yet again she's more than looks.

Waiting for BackUPS

We had a three-minute power outage around ten A.M. yesterday. I was watching the French Open final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, but my computer was on as usual and went down right away, the battery in my uninterruptible power supply having served three and a half years.

As I wait for a new battery this week, I'll be offline several hours a day to limit the time I could be hit by power surges. I do have THE LOST ONES, Ace Atkins' sequel to THE RANGER, to finish reading. Also arriving are COVERT AFFAIRS Season 2 and WHITE COLLAR Season 3 on DVD.

At The 5-2: "Ed Gein" by Alec Cizak

This week, Indianapolis writer and Pulp Modern editor Alec Cizak's poem about Wisconsin killer and body snatcher Ed Gein.

I'm currently seeking a poem inspired by Raymond Chandler or Philip Marlowe for the week of Chandler's birthday, July 23-29. Submission deadline is July 1.

California Casualty Insurance has selected The 5-2 as a top Law Enforcement blog. If we win the June vote, California Casualty will make a $200 donation to the American Red Cross on our behalf.

If you're on Twitter, feel free to spread the word about The 5-2 and tweet your comments on 5-2 poetry to @PJPress

Finally, I'd like your opinions and suggestions on some 5-2 t-shirt designs. Feel free to e-mail me or use the Comment form below.

#verseday Video Games

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, June 7. My topic this week is video games.

Write a poem about a video game by noon Friday, June 8.