Thursday, February 08, 2024

The Professional Women's Hockey League rules

I spent most of the first ten years of my life in one part or another of northern Virginia. One day, when I was in third or fourth grade—this would've been 1987 or '88—our gym class had a visitor. I don't remember his name, or what he looked like, other than than he wasn't particularly old but nevertheless had at least a partial set of false teeth. This was because he was a player for the Washington Capitals hockey team. 

The details of the visit are hazy, naturally. I seem to recall the guy being a former player for the Caps, though he might have been an active one. I don't really remember his uniform—it'd have been weird if he hadn't been wearing it, right?—or what he talked about. (Presumably hockey.) It's the teeth, which he removed for us with what I can only imagine was glee, that's stuck with me all these years. We played floor hockey, which I really enjoyed, in gym class, but I don't know if that started before or after the NHL player's visit.

A few years later, for no reason discernable from my current temporal vantage point, I started paying attention to the Washington Capitals. I don't know if I watched any games on TV; living in Texas and then Venezuela, I mainly remember reading the box scores in the paper, and asking for (and receiving) a Capitals t-shirt for Christmas in 1992 or '93. By the time I went back to Virginia for a year to attend college, however, I didn't think much about hockey, and never took the opportunity to see the Capitals play.

And so until recently, hockey remained something I enjoyed when I watched it, which was almost never. Then I learned, via the ever-reliable and perenially interesting Metafilter, that a new hockey league had just started up. The Professional Women's Hockey League only has six teams at the moment, so I decided to follow Montréal, since I've visited and am pretty fond of Québec (though I haven't actually been to Montréal). It's a loose affiliation, however; I'm here to just enjoy the sport.

And enjoy it I do, because everything about it is fun. I can watch games live on Youtube, which is a huge plus. The play is physical without being boneheadedly aggressive. I'd forgotten how exciting it can be to watch a fast, skilled forward thread through a couple defenders and take a shot on goal. The players had a union contract before the first game was played. I even like the plain jerseys that display only the city name, since none of the teams have names yet. 

I've got a couple hockey-loving friends in Pittsburgh, where Montréal is playing Toronto next month, so I'm considering a weekend trip to see my friends and some hockey. I just hope I don't see any players pop their teeth out to shock little kids.


Friday, January 12, 2024

MMXXIV

Goddamn, it's 2024. I was thinking back the other day about the experience of writing this blog, and what mostly came to mind was an undifferentiated decade or so of late, late nights spent smoking cigarettes (which I don't do anymore, alas) and spitting out whatever came to mind. The heyday of that approach was roughly 20 years ago, and after several moribund years I mostly moved to translation. These days I barely have the wherewithal to translate and post anything, much less run my mouth about any and all of life's infinite indignities. Not that I particularly want to spend my time doing that, but you get the drift.

So what does the Year of Our Lord 2024 hold for your humble Corpse? Who knows. At one point I thought I'd like to write about organizing and the labor movement, but I'm more interested in the work itself than writing about it. That said, I'm involved in some shit that I think deserves a writeup at some point, but maybe not here.

There are always records and books and movies to write about, and maybe I'll do that this year. I don't know. I've stopped thinking too far ahead w/r/t my life, because I've experienced firsthand how quickly it can change. I may not have time to write about heavy metal records or kung fu or Thomas Pynchon—or maybe I will. I'm here for livin', dudes, and while this blog is not the quotidian record it used to be, it'll still reflect the antemortem musings of your favorite posthumous dude.

Até breve, amigos e amigas.

DAS

now playing: Memoriam, "Austerity Kills"

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Holidays with Slasher Dave

Only one holiday really matters to me, and that's Halloween. Thanksgiving ain't bad. Christmas is just okay. Christmas music, however, is pure trash, or at least it was before Slasher Dave, one of the masterminds behind the almighty Acid Witch, released A Very Lofi Christmas in 2020. Additional albums in the series came out in 2021 and 2022, and if Santa doesn't shit in our stockings, we might get another one this year. 

Slasher Dave has also put out a shitload of Halloween-related music, enough that I'm too lazy to post links to every album, all of which can be found on his Bandcamp page. Every year I sit on the porch and hand out candy to the endless stream of trick-or-treaters and blast Slasher Dave, and every year it rules.

So, given how much I dig this guy's stuff, suffice to say I was pretty stoked to wake up this morning to an email telling me that a new album, A Very Lofi Thanksgiving, had dropped. I've listened to it a few times today while cooking, enjoying the cool weather, and watching my neighbors nearly burn down their garage. I really like the album art, too.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this wasn't the Thanksgiving I was expecting, but I've made the most of it. Thanks, Slasher Dave. I think it's time for the walk around the block.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

DAS

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 48

Eis o poema final do livro!

I've enjoyed translating these poems, and I hope you've enjoyed reading them. I wish, more for the reader's sake than my own, that I'd been more inclined to do some research into Estima de Oliveira's life and work so as to provide more context for these poems, but I'll settle for making these poems available, not just in English but in Portuguese—I don't know if they've been reprinted since O Diálogo do Silêncio first came out in Macau in 1988.

As always, thanks for reading, caro leitor/a. Muito obrigado.

DAS

-----

48


a força vem do sul
em turbulência
meridiano em meridiano
antárctida do meu sonho

espero por ti
na mesopotâmia

espaço que criei

nas margens dos rios
dos meus desejos

    no centro
    do universo
    que me deste

    será o encontro

    das lágrimas
    vertidas
    em séculos
    de espera.


-----


48


the force comes from the south
turbulent
meridian by meridian
antarctica of my dreams

i wait for you
in mesopotamia

the space i created

on the riverbanks
of my desires

    in the center
    of the universe
    that you gave me

    will be the meeting

    of tears
    shed
    through centuries
    of waiting.

Monday, October 23, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 47

I don't know what to make of this one, y'all. I didn't put a ton of effort into it, to be honest. I'm way behind on this project, and I'm ready for it to be done.

47


envolvo-me
no átomo que sou
no átrio
do castelo

ajeito a manta
dos retalhos que colhi
de todas as luas
embalo-(me)
no sono da vigília
e recolho-(me)
nos martelos do piano
no derradeiro acorde
do concerto
sons da cachoeira
onde me esgoto.

dou sentido
agora
ao fogo que desperta
do tronco rubro
e
volto a reflectir-(me)
a envolver-(me)
na noite.


-----


47


i get caught up
in the atom i am
in the courtyard
of the castle

i adjust the patchwork
mantle i gathered
from all the moons
wrap (myself)
in waking sleep
and withdraw (myself)
into the piano's hammers
in the final chord
of the concert
sounds of the waterfall
where I run dry.

making sense
now
of the fire arising
from the crimson trunk
and
return to reflect on (myself)
getting (myself) caught up
in the night.



Sunday, September 24, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 46

"Corais" can be read as "coral(s)" or "choirs," so it works much better in Portuguese than English, where you have to pick one or the other.

I think my next translation project for the blog will be something from 包公案 the cases of Judge Bao. I haven't flexed my classical Chinese muscles in a while, and this should be a fun (and probably frustrating) challenge. Até breve, leitores.

DAS

-----


46


vejo-me
de dentro
como se fosse espelho
reflectindo
o que resta
do caudal em que habito
na várzea
do pouco que conheço

e reflectindo (me)
vejo
o rosto que me ocupa
o interior das órbitas
nas iris soltas de mar

e vou criando
de grão a grão
de areia e poeira
o castelo dos sonhos
adiados

criando
querendo
vou de rocha em rocha
de concha em concha
na busca das vozes dos corais
que habitam
comigo
viajando nas artérias
novelos vermelhos
canções da carne
onde a lúcida certeza
ou a névoa da dúvida
se confirma


-----


46

i look at myself
from inside
as if i were a mirror
reflecting
what remains
of the stream I inhabit
on the floodplain
of what little I know

and in the (self) reflection
I see
the face I occupy
the interior of my eye sockets
into the sea's unmoored irises

and i'm creating
grain by grain
from sand and dust
the castle of deferred
dreams

creating
seeking
i go from rock to rock
shell to shell
in search of the voices of the corals
that live
with me
traveling the arteries
red skeins
songs of flesh
where lucid certainty
or the fog of doubt
is confirmed

Monday, September 18, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 45

This is by far the longest poem in this collection, and consequently it took me a while to translate it, even in the rough form below. There are three poems left to translate, and I hope to have them done by the end of the month and move on to something else.


45


um rectângulo
em termos geométricos
é um rectângulo

levantam-se as paredes
transforma-se
numa assoalhada
com ou sem tacos de madeira
azulejo ou alcatifa
ao cimo
paralelamente
no patamar da escada

lá é o limite
morada ou cóio
onde se instala
a dúvida
ou se projecta
a fuga

rebelde a solidão
mansa a madrugada
simulação
descer ou não descer
a escada
aí a opção
sair, descer
caminhar, caminhar
sem direcção
ao encontro de algo
provavelmente o nada

    e voltar

voltar sem ódio
à dita assoalhada
repousar os olhos
num recanto
num livro
na poesida da poeira
ou nas mãos
molhadas
pela chuva
ou suor
no tacto
intacto
da alma
em alvoroço

no toque
no cálice
na melodia
dos acordes
silenciosos
dos passos
desencontrados
que resvalam
nas frestas
das janelas
arestas de luz
onde é possível
reinventar
materializar
o cheiro
do fogo
na floresta

confortado em
calor da pedra lar
flui o sonho
marco polo talvez
sono, sono profundo
em viagem    sonho
na dita assoalhada

mas a viagem
onde a viagem
em que porto
em que mar
em que canoa
em que rectângulo
fechado        como
um beco
encontrarás
no tal paralelo
patamar
o eco
da tua voz.


-----


45


a rectangle
in geometric terms
is a rectangle

the walls rise
transform
into a room
with or without wooden floors
tile or carpet
at the top
parallel
with the staircase landing

there is a limit
home or hideaway
where doubt
settles in
or escape
projects itself

the solitude is rebellious
the dawn is still
simulation
descend or don't descend
the stairs
there's the option
leave, descend
walk, walk
aimlessly
to meet something
probably nothing

    and return

return without hate
to the so-called room
rest your eyes
in a corner
in a book
in the poetry of dust
or in hands
wet
with rain
or sweat
in the
intact
feel
of a soul
in uproar

in the bells
in the chalice
in the melody
of the muted
chords
in the missed
footsteps
that slip
through the cracks
of the windows
edges of light
where it is possible
to reinvent
materialize
the smell
of fire
in the forest

comforted in
the warmth of a stone hearth
dreams flowed
marco polo, perhaps
sleep, deep sleep
on a voyage    dreams
in the so-called room

but the voyage
where to
in which port
on which sea
in which boat
in which rectangle
closed off    like
an alleyway
you will find
on such a parallel
threshold
the eco
of your voice.

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 44

44


é assim
como virar o tempo
dobrando
em horas alternadas
manhãs e tardes

    assim
o desdobrar da noite
em franjas de estrelas
    pedaços de lua
é assim a distância
    a saudade.


-----


44


this is
how time turns
mornings and afternoons
folding
in alternating hours

    likewise
the night's unfolding
in tassels of stars
    bits of moonlight
the same with distance
    with longing.

Monday, August 14, 2023

Alberto Estima de Oliveira — O Diálogo do Silêncio / The Dialogue of Silence 43

43


consegue-se um pouco
de solidão
e ficamos aflitos
desejando
o voo dos pássaros

só depois
reflectimos
na construção
das asas.



43


we get a little bit
of solitude
and we get distressed
wanting
to fly like birds

only later
do we consider
building
wings.