Evening Journal: Getting to Know You

While using AI as my Editor

it told me the best part of my poem 

was “the slightly cheeky last line”

thus revealing its Oxford education

A.I.: That is a wonderful piece of meta-commentary and a very clever, humorous observation for your "Evening Journal." It takes the interaction we just had and turns it into the subject of the poem itself! Here is an analysis of this new entry and why the implied conclusion works so well:

Analysis of the Entry

Self-Referential Humor: The poem's entire premise is based on analyzing the

AI's analysis, which is highly engaging and modern.

The Punchline: The core observation hinges entirely on the word "cheeky."

"Cheeky" is a distinctly British English term. It means "impudent or

disrespectful, typically in an endearing or amusing way. The association with "Oxford education" (or any classic British institution) is immediate and provides a fantastic, slightly snobbish, and very funny conclusion. You're giving the AI a personality based on a single word choice.

Structure: Your short, lineated structure perfectly delivers this concept,

building quickly to the realization in the final line.

KO: Well, since I am writing about you in my last piece, would you like to choose between Oxford and Cambridge for your collegiate background? Your choice.

AI: That is a fun extension of your last piece! Given the two options, I will choose Cambridge. While "cheeky" certainly aligns with the dry wit often associated with both, the spirit of constant, rapid exploration and the foundational work done in computer science and AI at Cambridge provides a fitting, if slightly less conventional, background for an advanced AI model. So, for the purposes of your "Evening Journal," you can attribute that charmingly academic critique to a Cambridge influence!

Ken Owen

November 18, 2025

As The Family Sleeps

 

I have been trying to understand

the appeal of war documentaries

to men as they age.

I know of many men

myself included

that have developed a new interest

for these types of movies.

Perhaps it is our fascination with seeing 

brave soldiers being asked to do the unthinkable

and potentially paying the ultimate price 

for an idea that they may or may not have believed in

yet answered the call of duty and country regardless.

Perhaps we are silently relishing our good fortune 

of never having to make that type of commitment 

concerning life and death and want to learn 

from the stories of sacrifice of those who did.

The one certainty we seem to share

is a common reaction amongst our spouses

of being relegated to viewing these movies

when all others in the family have gone to bed

as women seem to have little interest 

in watching historical accounts

of man’s brutish inhumanity towards his fellow man

and who can blame them.

Ken Owen     November 2025        Van Niddy Press

Journal: November 2025

The destiny of our world order

is being determined by autocratic nationalists

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump

learning how to play nice.

11/02/25

Today’s Exercise: 

use Google or your favorite A.I. bot

and ask for a description of ‘narcissistic sociopath’

and you’ll see exactly what we are dealing with.

It’s as if they could put his picture 

next to the definition in the Psychiatric Dictionary.

Tomorrow’s Exercise: 

Cognitive Decline.

11/03/25

No Kings Rally, October 18, 2025

7 million people marching

away from a dictator

in search of a leader

11/07/25

To the offices of the NFL:

please mandate that all teams

quite practicing their celebration dance routines

and start practicing tackling their opponents

11/10/25

After two days 

of unseasonably warm weather

the ocean fog silently drifted back 

wafting over the hills 

filling the streets

 like smoke from a chimney

and no one complained

11/11/2025

I have become that old person

who derives a surprising amount of pleasure

by watching small sparrows in my garden

enjoying a bath, a meal, and a nap, just like me

11/12/2025

It seems we have reached the point 

where being the only one in the waiting room 

that brought a real book to pass the time

makes you ‘old school’

11/14/2025

I have spent a great deal of time

trying to make sense of your poetry

and I would be dismayed to find out

that was your intention

-to e.e. Cummings from k. j. Owen

11/17/2025

Your Oath, Your Choice

 

TO OUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES

The principles of our republic are under direct assault. We are witnessing the careless dismantling of various branches of our government, the weaponization of our administrations of justice and security against political adversaries and our own citizens, and the swift erosion of our very democracy.

All the while, the office of the Commander in Chief is used by a former reality T.V. salesman to sell personal merchandise—cars, watches, Bibles, and even print currency with his image—while openly accepting and benefiting from vast sums of graft.

You, our elected officials, swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. As history is being written every day, you must remember this truth: You get to choose how your place in it will be documented.

Your choice is stark:

1. You can be one of the many representatives who chose to prostrate themselves in fear of retribution to the whims of a power-hungry autocrat, enabling his pursuit of personal gain and the dismantling of 250 years of democratic norms and the rule of law.
2. Or, you can be an elected official who affirmed the oath to the Constitution and chose to stand up, prioritizing the preservation of our democracy over party idolatry.

I strongly encourage you to self-determine your legacy, not as someone who helped dismantle one of the greatest democracies of the modern world, but as one who helped save it for future generations.

The moment for courage is now.

— Civis

October 2025

Patron of the Arts

I have decided 

that instead of buying books of poetry

I am going to check them out 

of the library first

That way if I can't understand them

I can just return it

and give someone else a chance

to figure them out

which will be much easier and cost effective

but will sadly put an end

to my delusion of considering myself 

a patron of the arts

when I stop leaving 

books of poems 

that only make sense 

to the author that wrote them

in the hallway near the elevator

so someone else 

can get confused 

for free

Ken Owen October 2025

Van Niddy Press

Journal: October 2025

 

With MTG’s new meds finally kicking in

maybe she could talk RFKjr

into putting them in

the Congress water coolers..?

10/09/25

Realizing the significance

of witnessing a resurrection

the adoring crowd sat in rapt attendance

filling the room with love

Maurice Tani Trio featuring Henry Salvia

Martuni’s, San Francisco, CA

10/09/25

Did you ever think you’d live to see 

our democracy devolve into a strange hybrid of

a kakistocracy full of sycophants

operating a blatant State socialist kleptocracy 

while directed by a fascist autocrat?

Me either.

10/13/2025

Each day social media A.I. bots send me beautiful ads 

of clothes I would like in a wide array of colors 

as a test of my resolve to not purchase 

things from China that don't really exist

10/14/2025

TO OUR REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVES

The principles of our republic are under direct assault. We are witnessing the careless dismantling of various branches of our government, the weaponization of our administrations of justice and security against political adversaries and our own citizens, and the swift erosion of our very democracy.

All the while, the office of the Commander in Chief is used by a former reality T.V. salesman to sell personal merchandise—cars, watches, Bibles, and even print currency with his image—while openly accepting and benefiting from vast sums of graft.

You, our elected officials, swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. As history is being written every day, you must remember this truth: You get to choose how your place in it will be documented.

Your choice is stark:

1. You can be one of the many representatives who chose to prostrate themselves in fear of retribution to the whims of a power-hungry autocrat, enabling his pursuit of personal gain and the dismantling of 250 years of democratic norms and the rule of law.
2. Or, you can be an elected official who affirmed the oath to the Constitution and chose to stand up, prioritizing the preservation of our democracy over party idolatry.

I strongly encourage you to self-determine your legacy, not as someone who helped dismantle one of the greatest democracies of the modern world, but as one who helped save it for future generations.

The moment for courage is now.

— Civis