If you count made-for-HBO features, Bill Camp and Margaret Qualley have already been in three movies together, and I want this improbable team to continue.

OpenAI is now the enemy. If you continue using ChatGPT, you are, too. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/t...

Your bit of trivia for today… In Old Norse, Seth means Shit and Heg means Bag (of).

“You and I are naked nerves in winter, Sheathless in electric storms. If someone carried a canoe Or if we knew a common tongue...” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/shor... #poet #poetry

I entered work singing one of the most depressing songs* I know as if it were a joyous little ditty. I’ve no idea what that says about my mood. * Joseph Arthur - The Real You

Wow. After reading those brutal reviews, I cancelled my ticket to Scream 7 this weekend. Now I’m down to three movies. 😁

My favorite Elton John song? Come Down in Time Yeah, I know I’m the only one…

“The hens were scratching for a change. I left the porch to find The rooster limp and sprawled. He crawled despite a hundred bites. He never once had strayed. You don't get a poem today.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-po... #poet #poetry

“You're moved outside the room To hospital hallways Smelling antiseptic Just like every hospital hallway. After the doctor tells you You pray as if it might Unsettle scales to balance, Knowing she will never make it.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/grey... #poet #poetry

Abigail Spanberger is bobbing and weaving so much, I expected the sick hip hop beats to start up any minute. She narrowed her intense focus on issues mattering to most, speaking directly in real, everyday language. Great response.

I find it strange. When holding my phone and dozing off, my neck will relax and drop my head long before my hand will relax and drop my phone (if it ever does).

“I move the light to cut the night from you, A blade beneath the shoulder straps of lingerie. Alas, the shadows like my fingers Cling to you. They swallow you away.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/stra... #poet #poetry

O, how the gods taunt me…

“Saturday refuses waking. I hike about inside my town. The sidewalks are a lifeless organism, A circulation system, Capillaries pushing through the urban neighborhoods And arteries encircling the city, Never leaving. Veins always return.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/week... #poet #poetry

“The hours leading here were clumsy children Falling down the stairs, These seconds, spiderwebbing. I'm aware The world is leaking. I can see you see it. You and I, They've taken nearly everything From out our hands.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/shel... #poet #poetry

I’ve had several people tell me I’ve got the rizz in spades. Last night was the first time a woman told me she loved my energy I was putting off. Ah, 2026.

I am 6 foot 1 inch tall. Bizarrely, I’ve been this tall since I was thirteen. (Early puberty. I grew a beard and mustache in third grade.)

I don’t know what it says about me, but nearly all my exes are college professors or teachers.

It is 86°.

“The hours leading here were clumsy children Falling down the stairs, These seconds, spiderwebbing. I'm aware The world is leaking. I can see you see it. You and I, They've taken nearly everything From out our hands.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/shel... #poet #poetry

It is February 20, everybody’s still griping about the two (glorious, short) weeks of winter we experienced… …and today we’re hitting 80°. Regardless, happy Friday, friends!

They know he raped kids. Evangelicals ditched turning the other cheek for grabbing them by the pussy. They kicked Christ to the curb for their new lord and savior, keeping the name Jesus for tradition. Now, they can’t admit Trump’s crime. When you’ve crucify Jesus again, there’s no going back.

“Please select correctly. You think the tilt-o-whirl A slowing creature, But you're simply acclimated To the rush. The trick is to unfocus And relax…” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/even... #poet #poetry

The man who discovered Uranus (giggle) wanted to call it George.

I’m not sure suing social media for trying to make their products extremely appealing isn’t borderline ridiculous.

“You can skip the fancy appetizers You can pass the plate of canapés. Forgo the sour drinks; no one's the wiser. There's a pleasantness in the company. You've lived below the ground too long…” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/unde... #poet #poetry

“He received this favor once, Once before when love had torn him open. Once an older man showed him the route Across the ocean, down southern coastlines To the island where men retreat to lick their wounds…” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/conv... #poet #poetry

I will not comment on the rumors Kaja Kallas and I are dating.

I had another encounter with somebody learning I spent most of my life in Oklahoma being deeply disappointed I’ve no accent. I never had one. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Goodbye, Robert Duvall.

My theater films of the weekend: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die **** Cold Storage *** Wuthering Heights *** Crime 101 ** 1/2 The Moment **

I cannot emphasize how terrific Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die is, especially in an 80s midnight movie cult classic sort of way. Cold Storage isn’t *quite* as good, but it is still a lot of fun. What are the chances of 2 of these hitting the big screen the same week? Want more? See them now!

Hey, Sinners fans! Do you want to see director Ryan Coogler’s best film? AMC Theatres brings back Fruitvale Station Friday.

People still wonder how Trump became President again, but it is so simple. It wasn’t Musk or cheating. There is a lot of racism on the MAGA side, aided by gullibility. There is a lot of apathy on the other side, aided by an arrogant, incompetent DNC. That’s it.

It’s raining, so of course I’m in a Chinese restaurant, mourning the lack of poetry and individuality in this stagnant southern city.

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is the 80s cult classic you always wish you had seen in the theaters. See this now!

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’m hitting three movies today, and my hot date is me. 😁

It is a truth not realized frequently enough. The better the news source, the worse its art critics.

Holy crap. ICE just set up office in my city 1 1/2 miles from where I live and a block from my former residence. Go away, goons and thugs!

Homeland Security is gathering identifying information from social media companies on folks criticizing ICE. This is an outrage. This is our government terrorizing its own citizens, treating them like the enemy, when all along Trump and ICE are the enemy. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...

Everything ICE says is a lie. They are not serving America. They are invading America. They are the enemy.

I await…

“Today, The world's an open wound From severed legs, A broken glass of blood-red wine, A message on their phone You never should have left. You never should have left.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/shat... #poet #poetry

If you don’t get enough bad luck this Friday the 13th, don’t worry - There’s another one next month! (You might want to skip any winter camp plans you have, though…)

If her political affiliation is Conservative, I swipe left. If her political affiliation is Not Political, I swipe left.

“You empty everything To fill it past the brim and past Just like the unexpected sight of your beloved On cold and lonely winter nights, And yet, eventually you are putting in Too much for not enough.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/walk... #poet #poetry

I had this poster, a birthday present, on my wall throughout my twenties.

Aw, Bud Cort died. Those of us who discovered Harold and Maude in junior high are a touched group. And I was just listening to my Cat Stevens playlist earlier today entirely unawares…

“You poked until You cracked the speckled shell And pushed the brittle fragment Till it slanted and fell And you emerged Unfolding, Slick and raw and new.” thepoetryshack.blogspot.com/2026/02/wet-... #poet #poetry

It is a memory trip watching a television show in 2026 made in 2016 based on a novel I read in 1994.