Jay Hopler in my class!!!!!

So I really love my creative writing class. Today Jay Hopler came in and talked with us about writing and creating images. I'm sure you don't know who Jay Hopler is, I definatly didn't. Jay is a poet from SLC and I think DC, but I could be totally wrong. He writes these amazingly images that just grab you and refuse to let go. Below is a poem by him called Gardening. He told us the story behind the poem. He had gone into his family doctor and was told that everything he enjoyed eating he couldn't eat anymore and everything he enjoyed doing he couldn't do anymore. He was really depressed and the following poem came out. (Please note that I do not own this poem or anything associated with it. It is copywrited by Jay Hopler.)

Gardening

1/

What else is one to do — when one has so little and so little to look

Forward to? Today, I staked the tomatoes; tomorrow, it’s going to

rain.

2/

A cool, wet spring and everything rotten —.

3/

Forget about your bones,

This wet gets in the soul,



The spirit, whatever you

Want to call it, that pilot



Light we’re all so proud

Of, and makes you wish



Its sad dim flame would

Just hiss-out — the water-



Logged fronds of the tin

Palms dripping, the gate

Swinging, sodden, on its

Hinge.



4/

The thunder down its heavy leather

Lays and from the ruined garden by the lake a hazy murmuration

lifts into the rain-lit

Air, blurs into the mists that swirl there,

Then settles in thin wing-swept breaths

Back

Into the maidenhair —

5/



I have an idea, let’s all live forever!

6/

If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, maybe I’ll water the tea roses; maybe

I’ll weed something.

As soon as he read this one to us, I fell in love! He had a few others that he read to us and I was enthralled with him and his ability to create images. I want to be like that. I asked him when he knew he wanted to be a poet and not just a writer. His response was a little sad, but very honest. He was in college and set on being the next Steven King. He had always loved the horror genre and had his mind set that he was going to become a fiction/horror writer. There was one problem...he coudln't write fiction. His professor said somthing to that effect, but that he wasn't too bad at poetry, maybe he should try that instead.

I guess we should hunt down that professor and sing his/her praise! Because of that, Jay decided to go to poetry and what a treat! Everyone should go get his poetry and read it! Here is a link to his website. Please go check it out! http://www.jayhopler.com/

Biggest Loser!

I don't normally watch the show Biggest Loser, but I started watching last night and oh my gosh!!!! I am addicted!!!!!!!! I watched all four episodes yesterday and a few from the previous seasons. I can't believe the way they lose so much weight in such a quick amount of time. But I have to say, for anyone that is watching the Biggest Loser, I had decided which groups I really hate.

THE RED GROUP!

That couple is so amazingly b*tchie! The woman is so horrible. I mean, there is competitive, but then there is just vindictive and viscious! In this last week, the red team won the challange and so they were given three disadvantages to give to other teams. Now that is a hard choice to make because it's hard to give people a disadvantage, but the woman...she was horrible.

The three disadvantages;
No access to the gym
No elimination vote
2 lb disadvantage

They gave the no access to the gym to John, the guy that had the bad knee. That makes sense. The no elimination vote was given to Mike because there were a few people that had said some not so nice things about him the last week and they didn't want him to get back at them by eliminating them. That also makes sense. But then they gave the 2 lbs disadvantage to the green team and those two women are insane!

But the part that I really didn't like was when they got into a huge fight about it in the gym when the whole group met with Jillian and Bob. Both Jillian and Bob had this like shocked look on their faces. But it was the green team has this horrible habit of becoming defensive and very agressive. They both don't every show their emotions and they feel like showing the emotion of sadness or pain is weakness. But when they are pissed about something, they diffinatly show it!

So when it came down to the weight in, the green team went last. The red team had been immune because they had won the challenge. So when the green team got onto the scale and they had only lost 7 lbs, the women from the red team was literally Gloating! She is a total b*tch!

But I am still very addicted to the show and I love watching the amazing leaps and bounds that they make.