Yo! How's your brain? (part 1)

A man went to a doctor and asked about a brain transplant. The doc
said he could have a lawyers brain for $500, a doctors brain for $1000
or a politician's brain for $50,000. The man asked why the brain of a
politician would cost so much. The doctor replied, "Do you know how many of them we have to kill to find a good one?"

Since you have navigated your way to this particularly obscure set of
coordinates, I will assume that your brain is--in fact--a good one.
But how can you be sure it will stay that way? Given the ravages of
age, social unrest, economic instability, and a diet heavily dependent
on HoHos and Ramen Noodles, is it even possible to preserve mental
clarity into the golden years? Ask yourself this the next time find
yourself pawing around in the 'junk drawer' and suddenly you realize
you don't know what it was you were looking for.

OK, I admit that was a scare tactic. It happens to everybody.

Now, what was I talking about?

Oh yes, Ramen Noodles. Don't hesitate to experiment! Try adding real
food. Parsley flakes, for instance.

Random Coordinates: Jay McPhillips

If you saw the movie "Smoke", you will recall Harvey Keitel's character telling one of his hapless confederates: "You know what? You need wit-therapy." If I recall correctly, that happened about 5 minutes into the film. 

Cut to: 

Scene: driving down a country road, cornfields to the left; wheat fields to the right; telephone poles recede into the distance, predicating a horizon lost in the haze 

Period: mid 1950's  

Action: 5 small, red, rectangular signs rapidly draw near, words come into focus.....

[It takes far]....[less time to learn]....[that Jay McPhillips]....[has wit to burn]....[Burma Shave]

No Wit-therapy needed by this guy. Jay is a congenial fellow with serious chops in the design business: big NYC ad agency right out of college; work appearing on buses and billboards and in Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, Details.  3 years at Comedy Central. And then, as other hopefuls clawed and scratched their way up the 'creative' ladder to assist in peddling Kibbles 'N Bits and hair goo, Jay--in serene, Benjamin Button-like fashion--worked his way down the food chain to arrive at a happier life in charming Doylestown, PA. 

I will never forget my first meeting with Jay. We were having a lively introductory conversation when I noticed that his Ivy League T-shirt spelled out 'HARVERD', which prompted a laughing jag that nearly sent me to the hospital. Jay has a unique and angular sense of humor which he blends freely with his prodigious artistic talent and productive capacity. Such an array of gems! "Art Minis" in styles ranging from the Impressionists to Jackson Pollack ("Compare with Name-brand Artists" "They're Fun-Sized"), the aforementioned t-shirts, rebus bumper stickers, and three books, including the very timely "Now Firing". 

I think he's worth a closer look, but hey, don't take my word for it....I'm just a former musician-artist-writer-marketeer-consultant-CEO guy. See for yourself at www.jaymcphillips.com.

Random Coordinates: Gregory Allan Turner

This evening I hold in my hand a pre-publication draft of 'Syntactic Passages,' a book that reveals the work of heretofore unknown poet, Gregory Allan Turner.   (It seems, in fact, that the extraordinary range and quality of Mr. Turner's poetic expression was heretofore unknown to even his closest friends--and perhaps even his family--for upwards of 30 years.) 

Some of the passages are deeply moving, some wild, others stunningly vivid, and some so darkly steeped in passion they catch the breath. 

Reading Mr. Turner's work was like encountering poetic cocaine. First a chill, then a thrill. Then amazement, mind racing, rapture, and wanting more and more until the suddenly the supply (once ample) is gone, and you know that you will have to come back for more, over, and over, and over again. 

Syntactic Passages will be published March 2009. Meanwhile, you can read some samples at http://www.cybersaurus.com/passages/. I suggest "Surplice of the Field" for a start -- and you can click the audio link to hear the author's reading.