International Pop Overthrow (or IPO, as it has affectionately become known) is a pop music festival which has been held for the past eight years in Los Angeles, and more recently in Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Nashville, San Francisco, and Liverpool, England (at the world famous Cavern Club)!

This year sees Liverpool's 5th and biggest IPO festival - a full 7 days of gigs by independent & unsigned bands from around the world using 4 stages and the whole event is FREE (on the last 3 days there are approx 60 gigs EACH day)

May 22-28, 2007

full listings at http://www.internationalpopoverthrow.com
also on Myspace



Poetry Events In May (updated)
From: ChicagoPoetry.com

**Wed May 9: The Poetry Center of Chicago presents
Diane di Prima, SAIC Ballroom, 112 S. Michigan
Ave, call (312) 899-1229 for tickets, $10, 6:30 PM.

**Fri May 11: The Discrete Reading Series presents
poets Kate Colby and Lisa Fishman, at Elastic Arts
Space, 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd fl, 8 PM, $5, BYOB.

**Sun May 13: Myopic Books, 1564 N. Milwaukee Ave,
2nd fl, presents a night of comedic poetry with
Aaron Belz, AD Jameson, Joyelle McSweeney, Gabriel
Gudding, and Daniel Borzutzky, 6 to 8 PM, free.

**Mon May 14: Molly Malone's, 7652 Madison Street,
Forest Park, 708-366-8073, presents featured poet
Frank Matagrano, with open mic, 7 PM sharp, $3-$5 donation.

**Tue May 15: The Cafe, 5115 N. Lincoln Ave,
presents featured poet Jacqui Wolk, with open mic,
8 PM sharp, free.

**Fri May 18: Mercury Cafe, 1505 W. Chicago Ave,
presents featured poet Erika Mikkalo, Laura
Lionelli, and Jacqui Wolk, with open mic, 7 – 9 PM sharp, free.

**Sat May 19: Puddin'head Press celebrates the
release of its new title, Where Images Become
Imbued With Time by Jared Smith, at Corosh, 1072
N. Milwaukee, 1 to 5 PM, free.

**Mon May 21: The Mental Graffiti Slam Finals at
Funky Buddha Lounge, 728 W. Grand, with host Dasha
Kelly, with slammers Robbie Q Telfer, Tristan, Tim
Stafford, Dan Vaughn, Dan Sullivan, Alvin Lau, JW
Baz, Emily Rose and Billy Tuggle, 7:30 PM.

**Mon May 21: Jaks Tap, 901 W. Jackson, Chicago,
presents featured poet Tom Curry, with open mic,
7:30 PM, free.

**Tue May 22: The Cafe, 5115 N. Lincoln Ave,
presents featured poet Emily Rose, with open mic,
8 PM sharp, free.

**Thu May 24: The Fourth Anniversary Urban Sandbox
show will also be the LAST show at the Ice
Factory, 526 N. Ashland, (until they find a new
venue), 8 PM sharp, $3.

**Fri May 25: Mercury Cafe, 1505 W. Chicago Ave,
presents featured poet John Biederman, Elizabeth
Harper and Shag, with open mic, 7 – 9 PM sharp, free.

**Tue May 29: The Cafe, 5115 N. Lincoln Ave,
presents the Poetry Wheel, 8 PM sharp, free.

**Tue May 29: Barnes and Noble in Orland Park, 160
Orland Park Place, 708-336-9092, will be holding a
poetry open mic. tonight at 7 PM, and the
bookstore is looking for poets who want to do
readings and signings in the future, contact
Michelle at shellyc8fa@aol.com for more info.

**Wed May 30: The Poetry Center of Chicago
presents Robert Bly at the SAIC Ballroom, 112 S.
Michigan Ave, 6:30 PM, $10.

**Mon June 4: Jaks Tap, 901 W. Jackson, Chicago,
presents featured poet Esteban Colon, with open
mic, 7:30 PM, free.

**Mon June 18: Jaks Tap, 901 W. Jackson, Chicago,
presents featured poet Charlie Newman, with open
mic, 7:30 PM, free.



My Dearest Friends,

My Mother died on a winters day. It was sunny, yet cold and very windy. The gusts were strong enough to blow the powdery snow up and create a glittery cape of ice that flew passed the window of the Columbine Manor. I was staring out this window waiting for answers... I don't even remember what the questions were.

The nurse whispered in my ear, "It's time."

As the family sat at the foot of the bed, I held my Mother's left hand and my brother held her right. Her fingers and hand were ice cold and lifeless. The CD player had just finished one of her favorite flute pieces, "Amazing Grace". The room was now in silence and as if we instinctively knew to, we waited for Her. There was such a rush going through my body.

There, I focused and counted on her labored breathing; just as the nurse had recommended me to do. Then, my Mother slightly arched her neck back and exhaled. She stopped at that very moment. Not as if in pain, but rather, as in closing. I want to thank her for allowing us, her family, the privilege to escort her on...

In her memory, I gift to you, two of my poems that I hope you will enjoy and share with others. Happy Mother's Day! Waide Riddle

Gold (1997)

I am so lucky. So fortunate. So blessed... to have a Mother such as you.
Gentle quiet. Soft silence. Let us listen... Let us feel...
Our Mother's love.
She is the bitter winters cold. The fire in summers heat.
The green in a tropical canyon.
A ruby. An emerald. A sapphire.
A sparkling gem in God's special treasures.
She is a universe of infinite color.
A moon glow on a field of fresh powdered snow... adrift...
A cosmic eclipse. A celestial birth.
A fountain of language. A guidance of interpretation.
Her smile is a daisy.
Her wit as pink as a buttercup.
Her patience, a morning glory.
Her discipline as solid as an oak.
Gentle quiet. Soft silence. Let us listen... Let us feel...
Our Mother's love.

Grandmother (1997)

* Certificate of Excellence: Achievement in Poetry 1997, Amherst Foundation.

Proud as an eagle that soars over the summer canyon.
As driven as the robin that nourishes her newborn.
Wise like the ole' owl atop the forest tree.
Thorough as the blue jay weaving a nest of strength against predators.
Courageous as the crow and raven, who never yield to intimidation.
Protector of her heritage from the hawks and vultures.
She is as tough as leather... yet... gentle as her rocking chair.
That's her leisure.
Crocheting... Humming...
Her face is lined with accomplished years. With respect. With honor.
She is teacher. Comforter. Saint.
She is Grandmother.

Have a beautiful Mother's Day!

Waide Riddle



Mother Night

James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)

ETERNITIES before the first-born day,
Or ere the first sun fledged his wings of flame,
Calm Night, the everlasting and the same,
A brooding mother over chaos lay.
And whirling suns shall blaze and then decay,
Shall run their fiery courses and then claim
The haven of the darkness whence they came;
Back to Nirvanic peace shall grope their way.

So when my feeble sun of life burns out,
And sounded is the hour for my long sleep,
I shall, full weary of the feverish light,
Welcome the darkness without fear or doubt,
And heavy-lidded, I shall softly creep
Into the quiet bosom of the Night.



"Today, like every other day" from the album "Songs of Rumi: a day in the Two Worlds." Music by Unjay Lyrics by Rumi trans Coleman Barks adapted Unjay ©2007 Unjay

Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.
Today, like every other day
Don't go back to your work
leave your study
Take down your guitar
Take down your drum

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground
kiss the ground

Out beyond ideas of right and wrong,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to say
Ideas don't make any sense.
We can't even think of "you" and "I"

The breeze at dawn has secrets to show you.
Would you like to see the moon split in half
with just one throw?

Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
They are going back and forth across the doorway
where the two worlds touch.
Don't go back to sleep.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.
Don't go back to sleep.
The door is round and open

Phoenix Mars Lander Set for August Launch A NASA spacecraft touched down on the coast of Florida after a brief 3-1/2 hour trip from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on Monday, but the spacecraft's next and final trip will be a 9-1/2 month journey to Mars. The spacecraft, the Phoenix Mars Lander, was delivered by its builder Lockheed Martin aboard an Air Force C-17 to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The vehicle will undergo three more months of testing and integration in preparation for its launch on a Delta II launch vehicle in early August. Phoenix is NASA's next mission to Mars and is the first mission of NASA's Mars Scout Program. Scheduled to arrive on Mars in May 2008, the spacecraft will land on the icy northern latitudes of Mars. During its 90-day primary mission, Phoenix will dig trenches with its robotic arm into the frozen layers of water below the surface. The spacecraft will use various on-board instruments to analyze the contents of the ice and soil - checking for the presence of organic compounds and other conditions favorable for life. "We've worked closely with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Arizona to design and build an amazing spacecraft," said Jim Crocker, vice president of Sensing and Exploration Systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver. "The Phoenix mission is thrilling as it will be the first spacecraft to land in the polar regions of Mars and will also be the first to touch water." The Phoenix spacecraft was previously known at the 2001 Mars Surveyor lander, before the mission was canceled in 2000 and the spacecraft was mothballed. In early 2006, the spacecraft started the assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) period of the now Phoenix mission. "It's taken a great deal of dedication and hard work to bring us to this moment," said Ed Sedivy, Phoenix program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "I'm proud that we have been able to get a well-tested Phoenix to the launch site ahead of schedule and maintain focus on ensuring mission success for our customer." The University of Arizona, Tucson, leads the Phoenix mission. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Phoenix Mars Lander for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Mathematicians Design Wormhole New calculations show how to make an electromagnetic "wormhole"—a tube that is invisible from the sides, allowing light to shine down the center unseen. The concept is a twist on a spherical cloak of invisibility proposed last year. Such a device would be made of metamaterial, a thicket of metal rings or other shapes that bends light in funny ways. A hollow shell of metamaterial could in principle channel light around its inner space without slowing the light down, rendering that hidey-hole invisible to the outside world. But the invisibility cuts both ways. If light does not enter, then whatever is in the cloak cannot see outside, says mathematician Allan Greenleaf of the University of Rochester. Building an invisible tunnel should be as hard—or easy, depending on your level of optimism—as making a spherical cloak, Greenleaf says. A Duke University team demonstrated an imperfect cloak last year that warps microwaves around a disk of concentric copper rings. But researchers are still struggling to build metamaterials that bend visible light.

Greenleaf's group speculates that wormholes could be used to pass metal objects into an MRI scanner or, by making a prickly sphere of them, create a 3-D video display. Of course, by the time invisibility becomes easy to achieve, modern technology will probably be a bit out of date. Via Scientific American Snake Coughs Up Entire Hippo In one of the stranges pieces of video footage ever captured, this snake is shown coughing up an entire hippo. A Foolproof Way To End Bank Account Phishing? F-Secure's Mikko Hypponen proposes an elegant solution to the problem of bank account phishing in the latest Foreign Policy magazine. Hypponen thinks banks should have exclusive use of a new top-level domain: .bank. 'Registering new domains under such a top-level domain could then be restricted to bona fide financial organizations. And the price for the domain wouldn't be just a few dollars: it could be something like $50,000 — making it prohibitively expensive to most copycats. Banks would love this. They would move their existing online banks under a more secure domain in no time." Computer security is a complex issue, and there is no simple cure-all. But one thing that continues to baffle me is the way we bank online. Think about the Web address of your bank. It probably ends in one of the common top-level domains: “.com” if you’re in the United States, or, depending on your home country, in something like “.uk,” “.de,” “.jp,” or “.ru.” Which is why Web sites with such names as “bankofamerica-online.com,” “lloydstsb-banking.com,” “hsbc-login.com,” or “paypalaccount.com” are so dangerous. They may look like the real thing, but they’re operated by criminals. And these rogue banking sites are popping up every day. Hosted on Web sites with misleading names that read like a real bank’s Web address, the domains are registered with fake contact information. These impostors then bombard consumers with “phishing” e-mails, luring them to these sites, where their financial information is stolen. How does this happen? At the moment, anyone willing to pay the fee of $5 or so can register any domain name they want, as long as the name is not already taken. So creating these look-alike pages is fast, easy, and cheap. Why do banks and other financial institutions operate under the public top-level domains, like .com? The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body that creates new top-level domains, should create a new, secure domain just for this reason—something like “.bank,” for example. Registering new domains under such a top-level domain could then be restricted to bona fide financial organizations. And the price for the domain wouldn’t be just a few dollars: It could be something like $50,000—making it prohibitively expensive to most copycats. Banks would love this. They would move their existing online banks under a more secure domain in no time. The creation of a new domain for a specific industry is not unprecedented: We’ve already done it for museums, with their restricted “.museum” top-level domain. If we can manage to protect storehouses of precious works of art from the Internet’s most shameless thieves, surely we can find a way to protect our money. Via Foreign Policy

From
Sundown Lounge No. 96