Vachel Lindsay’s The Congo

a rare moment of poetry with Renzie Baluyut.

A brief exchange with some old high school buddies on Facebook made me remember this one particular poem.

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

It was a piece our old freshmen class performed- and while the details of that interpretative performance seems rather blurry at this point (which was almost some 20 years ago), the surprising thing is that the words to the poem are still so deeply etched in my skull, I can still recite it (at least most parts) from memory.

It’s a little piece called “The Congo”, a rather well-known work attributed to the American Poet Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, and known for his use of the singing poetry/lyrical poetry style.

“The Congo” was written in 1914, and was considered groundbreaking for its time with its use of sound, rhythm and onomatopoeia.

Rereading it now, for the first time in several years, I can’t help but think it sort of stereotypes a particular race of people.  However, according to an entry on Wikipedia, this just isn’t the case.

It is ignorant to connect the poem The Congo to the racism prevalent in the United States of America College Literature at the turn of the 20th century, a racism pervasive even among those who — at least by the standards of the time — saw themselves as opposed to racism. “The Congo” was inspired by a sermon preached in October 1913 that detailed the drowning of a missionary in the Congo river, an event that captured world wide criticism. The poem addresses the Congo’s understandable tension of social transition wherein a relatively isolated and pastoral society is suddenly confronted by the industrialized world. That said, most contemporaries viewed Lindsay as an advocate for African-Americans (See John Chapman Ward: “Vachel Lindsay Is ‘Lying Low’”, 12 (1985): 233-45).

I also just realized that our old freshmen class’ interpretative performance of “The Congo” only made use of one act (Part I. Their Basic Savagery), when there are actually three acts in total.  It was quite interesting to read the entire work in its entirety.

So without further ado, here is Lindsay’s “The Congo”.

Enjoy!

=================================

The Congo: A Study of the Negro Race
by Vachel Lindsay

I. THEIR BASIC SAVAGERY

Fat black bucks in a wine-barrel room
Barrel house kings with feet unstable
Sagged and reeled and pounded on the table
Pounded on the table
Beat an empty barrel with the handle of a broom
Hard as they were able
Boom Boom Boom
With a silk umbrella and the handle of a broom
Boomalay Boomalay Boomalay Boom
Then I had religion; then I had a vision
I could not turn from their revel in derision
Then I saw the Congo, creeping through the black
Cutting through the forest with a golden track
Then along that riverbank
A thousand miles
Tattooed cannibals danced in files
Then I heard the boom of the blood lust song
And a thigh bone beating on a tin pan gong
And “Blood!” screamed the whistles and the fifes of the warriors
“Blood!” screamed the skull-faced lean witch doctors
Whirl ye the deadly voo-doo rattle
Harry the uplands
Steal all the cattle
Rattle-rattle rattle-rattle
Bing.
Boomalay, boomalay, boomalay boom
A roaring, epic, rag-time tune
From the mouth of the Congo
To the mountains of the Moon
Death is an elephant
Torch-eyed and horrible
Foam-flanked and terrible
Boom! Steal the pygmies!
Boom! Kill the Arabs!
Boom! Kill the white men!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Listen to the yell of Leopold’s ghost
Burning in hell for his hand maimed host
Hear how the demons chuckle and yell
Cutting his hands off down in hell
Listen to the creepy proclamation
Blown through the lairs of the forest nation
Blown past the white ants’ kill of clay
Blown past the marsh where the butterflies play
Be careful what you do!
Or Mumbo-jumbo, god of the Congo
And all the other
Gods of the Congo
Mumbo Jumbo will hoo-doo you
Mumbo Jumbo will hoo-doo you
Mumbo Jumbo will hoo-doo you

10 Tips for Effective Technical Writing

Writing doesn't have to be a stressful affair. Here are a few tips to make things easier for you.

Just the other day, I was helping out a friend put together a sales kit for potential clients.   She felt totally at a loss, since she hardly got support from her boss, who basically just asked her to pull something out of thin air by the end of the week.

As a media and marketing consultant for several clients, I’ve noticed that this is not an uncommon occurrence: junior execs suddenly being thrust into a technical writing role, and expected to deliver results.

While I have only recently hired myself out as a digital mercenary, I’ve been in the business of technical writing for almost 10 years, having done all kinds of operations manuals, sales reports, marketing presentations, concept papers and training materials.

I have to admit, I had to learn quickly on the job.  But it was a good thing, because it gave me the confidence to do what I’m doing now.  I feel that a lot of people can benefit from what I’ve learned over the years, which brings us to today’s topic.

It’s Called Repetitive Strain Injury, Man.

I’ve had the misfortune of not being able to type for more than a couple of weeks.  The doctors said it’s RSI, or Repetitive Strain Injury.  Or Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD).  Or Work related Upper Limb Disorder (WRULD).  Whatever it is, the joint area that connects my right pointy finger with the rest of the hand got all swollen up, and for a time, unbelievably painful, particularly with the smallest bit of movement.

Which meant that I was pretty much getting by with just the left hand for two weeks.  So it’s been ice packs and hot packs for me, and a lot of pain killers.

On the plus side, I’m just a little more proficient with navigating with a mouse using my left hand.

It’s actually pretty serious, particularly for people who spend a big chunk of their waking hours in front of a computer.  Surfing isn’t much of a problem.  It’s really those who type a lot, or play games a lot, or in my case, both.  Repetitive Strain Injuries can keep you from performing your job well, or if you’re a gamer, it can keep you away from that MMORPG you’ve been obsessively immersed in for days.

I do a lot of writing for clients (e.g. continually churning out articles and blurbs on a keyboard), on top of maintaining a number of blogs.  After three to four hours of non-stop keyboard-work, what do you suppose I do to take a break?  Play computer games!  Oh the tendons on my hand are just happy to do more button-mashing and mouse-clicking!

You take your hand’s well-being for granted until the pain slowly creeps in.  At first, it just feels a little tired.  So you go on with your work-play routine anyway.  Then you feel the joint stiffness.  Swelling starts building up.  After a day, the pain sets in- so bad that at this point, you can’t even move your mouse anymore, or type with both hands.  The swelling spreads to the surrounding areas.  It dies down after a while, but it still takes at least two weeks for you to get yourself back to two-hands-typing form.

Dealing With Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

1.  Prevention is key. Don’t wait for RSI to happen to you.  Or in my case, don’t let it happen again.  Take a few minutes break after an hour of keyboard-mashing.  Fifteen minutes every hour or hour-and-a-half should be alright.  And use those fifteen minutes to do something else- not by checking Facebook, or Plurk.  Really take time to walk away from the keyboard and recreate some other way.  Make a sandwich, read a book or plant an herb garden or something.

2.  Your state of well-being counts. Which means proper nutrition and lots of exercise.  Strengthen those arm muscles to improve circulation and endurance.  Drink lots of water.  Eat the right kind of food.

3.  Invest in more ergonomic keyboards, mice and other interfaces. There are lots of nice keyboards out there designed to keep the wrists in a more functional position while typing, as well as all kinds of gaming interfaces for those who play all day.  Adaptive technology enables the consumer to have access to a wide selection of special keyboards, mouse replacements and even pen tablet interfaces and speech recognition software.  Might be wise to consider these.  Heck, I know I would.

4.  Observe a good sitting work posture. Being conscious of your posture at work also plays a role in preventing Repetitive Strain Injury, or RSI (and a lot of other body pains for that matter).

5.  When things start to go downhill, consult a licensed medical professional.  The tendency of some people is to self-medicate.  Unless you’re a medical professional yourself, you shouldn’t go ahead and pop some pills for the pain.  Besides, there are a lot of available pain management protocols available for different kinds of Repetitive Strain Injuries, for different kinds of lifestyles.  Help your doctor figure out the best one for you.

So there you have it.  Hopefully it doesn’t happen to you- coz it’s really such a bitch to have, what with all the pain and discomfort.

Cheers, everyone!

10 Tips on Writing a Wedding Reception Script

So you’re about to do emcee work for a wedding reception- how exactly do you come up with a script for an occasion like this?

Putting together a wedding reception script isn’t all that hard, really. Bear in mind that as the evening’s master of ceremonies, you also have to play the part of a good host, and pretty much fill in everyone on what’s going on.

Here are a few tips on writing a wedding reception script.

1. Remember: this is the newlyweds’ big night, so the spotlight should really be on them, not on anybody else. Everybody else- family, friends, colleagues- can get their share of the limelight that evening, but special attention must be given to your couple every single time.

It's their night- so make it memorable and special!

2. Get with the Master Plan. Consult with the future husband-and-wife exactly how they want things to happen. If you are to set the tone for the wedding reception, you have to take your cues from them. Sitting down with them will enable you to find out exactly what’s important for them:

• Would they want it to be done and over with as quickly as possible?
• Would they want to have lots of ballroom dancing?
• Do they want to incorporate particular wedding traditions on top of, say, the wedding bouquet and garter tosses?
• Maybe they want their reception dinner completely untraditional- so what other fun stuff can you think of working in?

Whatever the future husband-and-wife wants, it is your mission to essentially carry out their wishes. After all, it is their night- you want it to be as memorable and magical as possible for the newlyweds, as well as for their friends and relatives.

3. Remember that you’re writing a wedding reception script. Which means that once you’ve worked out the general plan with the couple (and with the wedding planner/s, if need be), you’re now off to a PC or a laptop somewhere ready to work your magic.

No need to go verbose and all wordy. Keep it simple, short and sweet. In fact, get straight to the point.

Get a draft prepared well ahead of time, touching all the pertinent events of the reception according to the couple’s wishes. Submit the drafts to the couple (and the wedding planner/s, if need be) to get their input. If you’ve listened well and worked in their needs and wants, then you should do just fine.

The Money Dance is a great way to get relatives and friends pin some cash onto you. Who could say 'No' to some free cash?

4. The usual program flow:

• introduction of parents, principal and then secondary sponsors/wedding entourage
• introduction of the newlyweds
• dinner, as well as accompanying toasts and speeches
• traditional ceremonies, wrapped up by garter and bouquet tosses
• acknowledgments and thank you’s

Modify elements according to how the couple wants their wedding reception done. For example, the bride would probably want a bouquet toss, but something a more out-of-the-ordinary, like tossing out multiple smaller bouquets instead of just one, or incorporating more cultural traditions into the program.

Ask the couple if there would be family members giving speeches or preparing toasts, or even friends who might be singing, dancing or otherwise have something prepared for our newlyweds that evening.

Once you got everything, go right ahead and work those elements right into the script.

5. Get to know a little bit more about the couple’s family and friends. One of the more important things- pronouncing names. You’ll be introducing members of the wedding entourage, acknowledging the presence of guests who may have flown in from some faraway country, or calling them out for a speech or a toast.

You might know who they are, and your other relatives (or friends) probably also do, but remember that other half of the room might not, so introducing them properly to all guests present would work well for everyone.

My cousins flew all the way from Toronto just to be at my brother's wedding in the Philippines. Good times!

If anyone should know how certain names or surnames have to be pronounced, it’s the couple. So go ahead and ask questions if you have to. If all else fails, look the person up yourself and ask him/her how to pronounce their name or how they want to be introduced. It’s all part of the evening’s fun, meeting new people.

Mmm. Cake. I liked the idea of having smaller cakes prepared- little replicas of the original, bigger wedding cake, so guests can eat it on the spot or take it home with them.

6. Make the effort to get the story on the smaller details. Just enough detail to come up with the couple’s story.

Maybe you can find out why the bride wanted the motif for the day’s affair. Is there a story behind the wedding cake- say, any particular reason why the couple chose this specific design or make? Does the couple have a special song? There’s always lots of stories behind songs.

Maybe the couple has a bunch of pictures flashing up on screen- you can use those as well to tell the story of how the couple met, or how he proposed, or some other significant event in their relationship.

Play up the little things that are special to the newlyweds, share their story, and convey that same warm and fuzzy feeling to your guests at the reception. Work those into your script as well.

7. Print out at least three copies of your wedding reception script- one should go to the couple, another to the wedding planner (or program coordinator, or whatever equivalent), and one for you.

As for your copy, you may want to come up with easy-to-use cue cards. You are going to glance at them every now and then, as you go about your hosting duties for the evening, so keep them handy. Also have a pen with you to scribble down notes and maybe some last-minute changes.

8 . Yes, you’ll be reading off a script, but you don’t have to sound as if you’re reading it.

More importantly, you have to sound natural and as real as possible. The guests will be getting their cues from you, so your words have to radiate warmth, confidence and a sense of welcoming, but at the same time, deliver the appropriate level of formality for the affair at hand.

Make eye contact with your guests, inject just a little bit of personality, and be generally pleasant.

9. Even the best-made scripts are just guidelines. There may be some last-minute changes, or some sections you might have to do away with really quickly.

Regardless, you might have to make improvisations and maybe even have to adlib on the fly. Don’t forget to get all your cues from the newlyweds- if anything needs to be changed, it has to be on their say, and you must be prepared to do so at a drop of a hat.

Don’t worry about it- as long as you stick to the couple’s Master Plan (see #2), everything will be just fine.

Instead of having the couple move from table to table, why not have the guests come to them instead? That way, your couple can actually relax for a change, and you don't have to lug around your camera crew all over the place.

10. Bear in mind that you’re also playing the part of a secondary host, someone who would be welcoming guests and keeping them engaged while the newlyweds are attending to other friends and mandatory photoshoots.

So take ownership of your role in the whole affair. Be cordial, be pleasant, be sensitive to the needs of your guests and of your newlyweds. Almost like hosting a party at home, only with more formal clothing.

There you have it. I hope this helps.

I used to do a lot of wedding receptions and hosting gigs- mostly back in my earlier days of radio.

Hosting a wedding reception might be a little taxing, but they are lots of fun. It’s a big night, everyone’s all dressed up and in a festive mood, made even more memorable by the presence of family and friends- and particularly means so much more to the newlyweds.

Cristina and myself, just before sampling that wonderful bottle of wine at my brother's wedding. Cheers!

Cheers, everyone!

Press This

I Will Start Me A New Life

Well, nothing’s really wrong with the life I have at this point.  But there comes a time when an opportunity stares at you right in the face, and you just have to acknowledge it and take hold of it- simply because it’s just ripe with endless possibilities.

I am taking a trip to the United States once again (in May) to carve out a new life for myself (and for my fiancee).  I’d like to get some business done, check out how the properties are doing, maybe even continue my education, or at least pick up a new skillset or two.

And while I do have family there, the ultimate goal really is to be as independent as possible.  All these years of living on my own has actually done its job to give me that needed boost of confidence and a strong belief that I can handle this without breaking a sweat.

So everything now is geared towards preparing for that trip in May.  I’ve taken a more active effort in stepping up my activity online- because online assets can be managed anywhere in the world- so long as you have a trusty laptop and a decent internet connection.

For me, that means taking in more writing jobs, managing more blogs (clients’ and my own) , dabbling even more with internet marketing, and dipping my fingers into e-commerce as well.

I have to admit: for a while there, I was really iffy about relocating somewhere else, mainly because I saw my personal network of contacts, suppliers and business partners as a key strength, and something that couldn’t come into play if I move to, say, Los Angeles.  Now I realize that, that network of mine can still very much work out for me- if I look at it through entrepreneurs’ eyes.  Especially with the internet and the ease of travel and communication- you just have to look at it differently now.

With that, I start organizing my stuff, deciding which ones I take with me, ship out, store elsewhere, stash away for safekeeping, or just give away.  I’ve been converting all my songs, TV shows, games and movies into digital media- so I could take a couple of hard disks with me instead of a whole slew of CDs and DVDs.

So much needs to be done, but I’m happy I’m doing this.

Cheers, everyone!