Running Water dot Org

Oh. Right. It's still Winter.

Yesterday we were treated to a snow storm that dropped about six inches of snow. Eva helped her daddy shovel after he was done with work, and, when they came in for dinner, she told me she wasn't hungry because she had snow for supper.

Happy weekend, everyone! Stay warm.

Fabulous Grand Slam: No Qualifications Needed!

Check out the newest poster from Dathan Boardman! The Grand Slam is coming up fast and furious. There are no qualifiers because the Slam Crew is just too damn busy, but that means anything can happen on Thursday. It’ll be a powder keg of words and other explosive things. You bring the fire.

Fabulous Grand Slam 2006
Thursday, December 7, 2006
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
6:30 PM sign up
7:00 PM slam

Extras to include beefed-up* prizes and the 82nd annual Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament of unending glory. Bring your friends.

*Slam crew reserves the right to define “beefed up.”

New Poster...

This month's dirty poster was created by Dathan Boardman. Click the pic for a biggie.

New Poster for May!

This month's breathtaking poster was created by the equally breathtaking Dathan Boardman.

New Poster...

Once again, this month's spectacular poster was designed by the stunning Dathan Boardman. Click right on it for a bigger, more amazing version.

New Poster...

This month's poster designed by Dathan Boardman.

The Long, Lost Steve-O Trading Card!

Hey, everyone! When we commissioned Dale Karls to produce the totally awesome SuperPoet trading cards for the Fabulous Grand Slam, we forgot to have him make one for our spectacular CTV camera guy, Steve-O. In a heroic effort to right this wrong, Dale has created a limited edition,* downloadable Seve-O card! From Dale...

The Steve-O cards are designed so you can cut along the dotted line and fold down the middle.

Well, there you have it. You can get the card as a PDF (click here) or an image file (click here). Enjoy!

*By “limited edition,” we mean "you can print as many as you’d like." So it’s really not limited at all.

Slamtastic

Here's the Grand Slam report we posted to VolumeOne.org...

If you missed last Thursday’s Fabulous Grand Slam, you should be crying yourself to sleep every night. In fact, you should lie down right now and start crying, because you missed a damn good show. It’s hard to believe this was the fifth annual Grand Slam and that the Running Poetry Slam has been going strong for five years. That’s half a decade. That’s the entire life span of a squirrel of something. Anyway, it’s awesome.

And it’s the crowds of people that make it awesome. Check out the Grand Slam’s audience. The Acoustic Café was overflowing with people who actually chose to venture out on a chilly December night to listen to poetry. That’s pretty rare for a town our size, and it’s something that makes me proud to live here.

The poets were in top form, throwing down some killer verse in the first round. The judges were scoring pretty high all night long, but it was a struggle to pull off a perfect 10. By the last round, there were three Running Water regulars and a newcomer left to read. Here’s what happened:

First Place: Aryn Widule
Second Place: Eric Rasmussen
Third Place: Ian Jacoby
Fourth Place: Joanna Dane

Each of the top four poets received a package of prizes donated by local business and individuals. Aryn Widule (the top poet) went home with 100 dollars in cash—the proceeds from selling trading cards depicting the sixteen competing poets. And for the fifth year in a row, a lucky audience member went home as the champion of the prestigious Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament (action shot).

Keep watching CTV on Thursday nights at 10pm for a television broadcast of the Grand Slam.

Qualifier Slam #2

Well, the second Qualifier Slam was equally awesome. We’d like to say “thank you” to all the competing poets and all the people who came out to watch. Here are the rest of the Grand Slam poets...

•  McKinley Lukes
•  Jennifer Evers
•  Eric Zacher
•  Shelby O'Reilly
•  Dan McNeely
•  Jon Gadbois
•  Sara Bedard
•  L. Edgar Otto

The competition at these qualifiers has been outstanding. The Fabulous Grand Slam (12/1) is gonna be f-ing spectacular!

Qualifier Slam #1

Check it out! A web post! Last night’s Grand Slam Qualifier was one of the best slams we’ve had in months. Everyone was in a good mood, and the poets pulled out some highly competitive material. Also, Steve-o the CTV camera guy wore his nicest shirt, so obviously, things were a-rocking.

Anyway, these are the top eight poets from Qualifier #1 who will be competing in the Grand Slam on December 1st...

•  Eric Rasmussen
•  Ian Jacoby
•  Aryn Widule
•  Sami Giehl
•  Joanna Dane
•  Mario O’Brien
•  Natalie Singer
•  Drew Havener

Qualifier Slam #2 is tomorrow night (11/10). Be there.

Four on the Floor

Instead of a poetry slam, the Acoustic Café will be hosting a (non-slamtastic) poetry reading on the last Thursday of the month...

Four on the Floor
Thursday, October 27, 2005
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
7:00 PM
FREE
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Although there’s a good chance the readers will actually be on a stage (putting them about 8–10 inches above the aforementioned floor), the reading will feature four local writers reading their poetry, prose, and nonfiction in a non-traditional format. From the super official press release:

Four Eau Claire authors, Andrew Patrie (A Beautiful Accident), Eric Rasmussen (Running Water Poetry Slam Grand Slam Champion), Jason Splichal (Both Hands, The Disappeared), and Ken Szymanski (Blue Light Special), will kick off the 2005 Chippewa Valley Book Festival with this high-octane reading. Audiences will be treated to a fast-paced, tag-team delivery. Books will be available for purchase and signing after the show.

Oh, and in case you're interested—the press release mentions that the four readers are available for interviews. So, think of some questions.

No Slam In October!

Hey! Is anybody even reading this site anymore? Our web stats kind of tapered off, so we let things go for a while. But if you are reading (hi), here is something you should remember: there’s no slam in October. The slam schedule for the rest of 2005 is as follows...

Grand Slam Qualifier Slam #1*
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
6:30 PM sign-up
7:00 PM slam

Grand Slam Qualifier Slam #2*
Thursday, November 10, 2005
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
6:30 PM sign-up
7:00 PM slam

Fabulous Grand Slam 2005**
Thursday, December 1, 2005
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
7:00 PM slam

The Slam Crew is super excited about finishing 2005 with a bang. Bang with us, won’t you?

*The top eight poets from each qualifier slam move on to compete in the Fabulous Grand Slam. Which is awesome.
**The Grand Slam marks our 5-year anniversary. Also awesome.

Last Slam: Good Stuff, Good Stuff

Hey! How’s it going, buddy? Great, great. So, we had a slam last week. How was it, you ask? It was awesome! Thanks for asking...

The Acoustic Café was once again filled to the brim with a crowd of slam-lovin’ cats and kitties. Slam Crewman Rob Reid shook things up with a little sing-a-long right before round two. Steve-o the CTV camera man was back in action, recording everything. And that’s about it. Oh, wait—some people read poetry and we gave out prizes. Here’s how it went:

September Slam Winners
1st - Aryn “Didn’t Read A Poem About His Dog” Widule
2nd - Andrea “Works at the Dairy Queen” Nelson
3rd - Dan “I’m Lovin’ It” McNeely
4th - Ian “Seriously, I’m Not Racist” Jacoby

And there you have it. Remember, there’s no poetry slam in October. Instead, on October 27th, there’s gonna be a neat-o reading by four local writers. Details to come. Look out.

New Poster...

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(Click for a bigger version.)

This month's poster designed by Dathan Boardman.

Next Slam Close Enough to Taste(It's Kinda Fruity)

The Running Water Poetry Slam
Thursday, September 29, 2005
@ Acoustic Café
Downtown Eau Claire
6:30 PM sign-up
7:00 PM slam
8:30 PM popcorn party

The Slam Crew will be pissed if you miss this one, because it's the last "regular" slam of 2005. There will be no slam in October (check back for details), November will host the Grand Slam Qualifier Slams, and the actual Grand Slam will be held in early December. And that's it for 2005.

This Weekend: International Fall Festival

Hey everyone! Don't forget about the International Fall Festival going on Downtown this weekend. The Slam Crew will be on hand, taking the main stage to reenact great moments in Scandinavian military history. Just kidding! There were none. Just kidding again! Seriously, we won't be there.

But you should go because there'll be lots of cool stuff happening. There's music-n-dancing, arts-n-crafts, and food-n-food. Lot's of food. And a big parade with flags from other countries. And some super hot clog-dancing. We're totally not kidding.

It all starts tomorrow (Saturday) at 10am, and it all ends tomorrow (also Saturday) at 6pm. A lot of local businesses will have sidewalk shops set up, and you should get out there to support them. If you do, Junior Slam Cadet Ben Sasmurransy will be your servant for life. Think we're kidding?

Tonight: Higher Grounds Poetry Slam

Just a quick note: Chippewa Falls coffee shop Higher Grounds is starting up their enemy poetry slam once again, like it's some sort of real, live, actual place to read poetry. As if. Anyway, head on over there tonight and read some poems, why don't ya? It's at 7:30 PM.

P.S. The Slam Crew won't mind. Really.

Downtown Today: Hurricane Katrina Donation Collection

Everyone! They're collecting donations today for the Katrina refugee camp in Shreveport, LA. We realize that many of you have already done quite a bit to help those affected by Katrina and its aftermath. This is simply one more option. If you can't afford to buy a donation, there is still something you can do. From the website:

The bus is scheduled to be loaded starting at 9 am and continuing throughout the day on Wednesday, September 7. If you are interested in helping to sort, box, and load the bus give us a call or stop down to see where you can lend a hand. Of course, you can also help by spreading the word. Talk about donating with friends, relatives, co-workers, even the person in line next to you at the grocery store. We can use all the help we can get.

There you go. The collection is on Gibson Street off Graham Ave. in downtown Eau Claire. Call 715-552-8340 for more details.

Local Hurricane Relief Effort

Over the holiday weekend, Aaron of Just Local Foods sent VolumeOne.org the following...

We're spearheading a local relief effort culminating on Wednesday when we send a school bus filled with supplies down to Shreveport, LA [where many Katrina refugees are being housed]. We're collecting items at our warehouse in downtown Eau Claire. See our ad-hoc website and please help in any way you can—nothing is too small.

This is a terrific way to help out from way up here in Wisconsin. Here's a few more details:

Wednesday, Sept. 7 starting at 9am and throughout the day
On Gibson Street off Graham Ave. in downtown Eau Claire
Call 715-552-8340 for more details

Items that are desperately needed:

• school supplies
• adult incontinence pads
• baby diapers
• baby wipes
• electrical cords
• tools
• pre-paid phone cards
• gift cards to Wal-Mart and Target
• pet supplies
• rubbing Alcohol
• peroxide
• feminine products
• toiletries
• clothing
• and other obvious necessities

Check out the website.

Absolutely Crazy

Hi guys—in lieu of any actual slam news, we're posting this information from VolumeOne.org...

I'm sure you all know how dire the New Orleans situation is right now. I've been reading this blog by Michael Barnett, who is camped out with some fellow employees right in the middle of it all. They work for a run-of-the-mill internet provider, and (miraculously) they weathered the storm/flood and are able to keep operating their servers and connections, providing a degree of communication with people inside the city—something the police and National Guard are unable to do because they need to rescue people.

It may be the only blog currently written and hosted inside New Orleans. This means that Michael and his co-workers need to keep a diesel generator running, continually sweep the building for security, and keep a constant flow of information to the outside world. Michael's updates and pictures are real-time, first person accounts of what is happening down there. It provides a level of gravity you just can't find on friggin' Dateline.

Here is the blog. Here is an article about it. And once again, here is where to donate.