Sunday, June 25, 2006

Time to have an afternoon drink

Tom Orange is in Dana Point, and Mark and I are going to read with him and Catherine Daly at Beyond Baroque this Friday. Woo Hoo! I've never been to Venice--in Italy or California. I can't even refer to Venice without giggling, because the idea of Venice being a place two hours up the road from me seems silly. But obviously I'm looking forward to the reading and the visit. I like LA, so I'm happy to spend more time there.

It's June, it's sunny, I live in Southern California, Mexico lost to Argentina, and my neighbour is playing the maquerena. Another neighbour is polishing his red truck. Lester is practicing new sounds/words. I made bids for 8 freelance projects. The one I really want is doing design work for an online pet "boutique."

I have not sent out my chapbook for the Dusie Kollektiv. I typeset it, but I think it's too ambitous to print given my current resources. Maybe I should just make it digital, or do a pamphlet instead. I have a stack of all the fabulous chapbooks that people have sent. I read a few on the beach this morning before yoga. Susana, the editor of Dusie magazine, has been writing mini reviews at micawberesque. She also has one of the most fabulous profile pictures ever.

My blog energy is low because I'm working on a new creative project. I'm less social. Less social=less blog. I'm supposed to be putting together a book-length manuscript. Editing is not my favorite thing to do.

9 comments:

tmorange said...

lorraine i'm such a dope i forgot your birthday present at home, don't worry now you can look forward to getting something in the mail after i return to DC on the fourth...

t.

DUSIE said...

dear lorraine,-

i'm sorry the post aspect of this kollektiv adventure is paining you. it pains me too...i guess i just didn't realize we would have so many participants. but, here is what i suggest, do what you can do, of course make it digital, and send them out slowly...this is what several others are doing. i sent regular letter sized envelopes (all of which I made trying to be resourceful and not waste paper!) and still from Switz it cost nearly 100 francs! i could really relate at that moment to I think it was Jared Hayes who said, 'i finally got those sons of bitches out!' the whole postal experience was wacky as well, my requesting actual stamps!!! and helping the clerk affix all 40-odd stamps...having to declare EVERY SINGLE Piece!!! yikes...btw, i am broker than broke as well... but the return has been wonderful, so many fab fab projects to read and think about at the end of the day, so much 'cool' mail!!! hehehe, thanks again for being apart of all this! oh and happy birthday, belatedly...

K. Lorraine Graham said...

I think I'm going to reformat it as a pretty trifold, for now, and then send it out. I got so excited with all of the fabulous work in fabulous formats that I've been recieving--so maybe I was overly ambitious.

But yikes--it sounds as if your mail adventure was more of an investment than mine will be--I'm inspired!

shanna said...

pssst: to mail chaps internationally (from the US at least), just call them "documents" not "books." the dude at the postoffice actually hipped me to that. i guess he felt sorry for me having to fill out so much paperwork.

K. Lorraine Graham said...

Ooo--that certainly is useful information. Thanks Shanna!

DUSIE said...

well the whole document thing doesn't seem to be an option...i will check tho, thanks Shanna! i am in Switz where everything is so expensive...postcards and letters cost the same price 1.80 (to the US) CH Franken...so 100 francs is about 70-75 depending on the exchange...I had some packages with 500 grams which automatically equal 10. Francs...mailing in CH or Europe is cheap, and the declaration thing was done as a precaution because of the way my envelopes were homemade and funky looking and the postlady said to do that vs the risk of them being opened... so anyhoo, 40-odd packages, plus a few others with other things...adds up...we live close to the border, next time I will try the German post, everything in German is much cheaper we do a lot of grocery shopping there....anyhoo, L.,- I'm sure whatever you produce will be a beaut! (oh and very strange code word for me here...pubist!) or maybe that should sound like, pub-ist---

Jessica Smith said...

lainey I'm so jealous that you get to hang out with tom and catherine and that they get to hang out with you! what book-length MS? i wanna see it! cool that you're going to venice (hehe) i'm just going to talk about susana now as if she weren't here, she does have a rockin' profile pic, it looks like man ray

DUSIE said...

hehehe...I am actually a 'poem' here...well I at least modeled a poem dress...peacock on head and all...for a loy, niedecker, marianne moore, hd ...course...for a friend, it was a fun experience...and funny to walk around afterwards with the bird still on my head...

mike c said...

I've been to both Venices. One has Cajun Chicken Fettucini Alfredo the other doesn't. Maybe you could make a chapbook like Thomas Swiss?

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/swiss/directory.htm

(If you use Flash.)