"Thank you for writing." - Joseph Heller
"America needs your continued leadership, courage and passion." - Gary Hart
An occasionally thoughtful, often warped, sometimes poet. A chapbook of such poetry can be found here.
This applies only to my commentary. Any quoted work of other authors are not included in this license unless directly specified.
A Berkshire couple returned home to find their house had been set on fire by their 70-year-old tortoise.
…
Emma, who also has a dog and two baby tortoises, said: “We were out shopping when we got a call from the fire brigade saying that our tortoise had set the house on fire.
Today Victor Hugo is 206 years old.
Toys and Tragedy
In later years, they’ll tell you grandpapa
Adored his little darlings; for them did
His utmost just to pleasure them and mar
No moments with a frown or growl amid
Their rosy rompings; that he loved them so
(Though men have called him bitter, cold and stern,)
That in the famous winter when the snow
Covered poor Paris, he went, old and worn,
To buy them toys, despite the falling shells,
At which, like they, laughed Punch, with all his bells.
From L’Annee Terrible (The Terrible Year), Jan 1871
I’ve mentioned it before here several times. It’s my favorite bookstore here in St. Louis. The Book House.. I can’t visit without leaving with a book.
No, I didn’t go there this past weekend. However, this month’s Stlbloggers Blog Carnival asks for local paranormal events. And The Book House is haunted by at least one ghost.
We are located in a charming Historic Victorian House, built in 1865, about 15 minutes from downtown St. Louis where an eclectic mix of quality rare, out-of-print, new, and used books are tucked into nine rooms on three floors of winding staircases, filled with nooks and crannies and a dungeon we call the “Bargain Basement”. Our house is patrolled by two store cats Chaucer and Blake as well as at least one documented ghost.
That comes from the store website.
As legend has it, there is a small chamber on the second floor of the Book House in Rock Hill that was the favorite playroom of a little redheaded girl. It’s said she was the daughter of a nineteenth-century prostitute and may have drowned in a creek that once ran alongside the drafty farmhouse. Her restless spirit lives on, or so the story goes.
That’s from a June 2006 Riverfront Times article. That article’s main focus was the store’s pending closure. As I posted in October of 2006, the closure had been delayed “about a year or so.” We’re up to the “year or so” mark, and there are no hints on the website at least that it is pending.
I think perhaps the Ghost (whose name is apparently Valerie) not only helps patrons find books, but is helping the store stay alive.
Nader has announced he’s running again. I insist on taking the optimistic attitude and agree with Southern Beale’s analysis. He did so poorly in 2004 (0.38% of the popular vote) that there’s no reason to worry.
A humorous story about a boy and his pony.
I haven’t mentioned the “Great Animal Rebellion” for a while. I think this might fit in there somewhere.
The BBC is asking for ideas on how to update some metaphors.
The inspiration appears to be the declaration that a bridge in England will finally be painted after 100 years of painting. Since the task began, a job that takes so long one has to start over again immediately has been compared to ‘painting the Forth bridge.” But they’re predicting they won’t have to start again for at least 25 years, so it no longer applies.
(My favorite suggestion that was submitted by a reader was: looking for WMDs. Though that doesn’t fit exactly. “Fighting a War on Terrorism” would work, as I believe there will always be terrorists. “like deleting spam” is also a good update.)
Other phrases the BBC suggests needs updating:
Putting the Cart Before the Horse (reversing the natural order of things)
My suggestion: Put the comments before the blog post?
Sending Someone to Coventry (ignore them)
My suggestion: Sending someone to Siberia (perhaps outdated too)
throw a spanner in the works (deliberately sabotage)
My suggestion: Release a virus on the network
Spinning a yarn (tell a tale)
My suggestion: Creating work for Snopes
Giving a blank cheque
I’m not certain this is outdated yet. The BBC states that several British stores no longer accept checks. And many American stores won’t either. However, the banks do. A blank check still has the same power.
I think the Czech police should question David Copperfield and see where he’s been lately. There apparently have been bridge thefts in Russia as well recently, and I haven’t heard anything about Copperfield in the US for a few years. Maybe he’s traveling.
You get an important email intended for someone not yourself. Let’s say a travel itinerary. You look up the individual on the internet, and find out their real email address (similar to yours explaining the confusion.)
What would you do?
A) Reply back to the travel agency, inform them they made the mistake, and provide them with the correct address, and where you found it.
B) Forward the itinerary directly to the intended individual, so that they know the travel agency made a mistake.
C) A & B
D) Nothing
E) Something Else
Do you think what you would do might change after repeated instances?
Would it matter if the person was involved in politics whether or not they agreed with you?
Would it matter if the person was politically active in a foreign country?
Purely hypothetical, of course.
CasaChristy is trying to come up with her favorite ten songs of all time. She admits it’s a difficult task, and has set up some stringent standards.
I wondered if I could come up with my favorite ten poems of all time. I think I have come up with six I know belong on the list, and five of the six are in the public domain, and the other one is still under copyright, but there are still places I can link to it.
I think all of these poems would stand up to the repetition test - in that I could be asked every week to recite them at an open mic, and I would never tire of performing them. Nor would I tire of hearing someone else perform them. (Though Rosetti’s is a little long to perform, and I’d probably only perform a section of it.)
None of these are set to memory, but all but Rosetti’s (due to length) I am confident I could with a week’s notice.
In no particular order:
I’m trying hard not to pick two poems by the same author - arguably this isn’t fair if two poems by the same author are in my top ten. But it does help narrow down the choices.
I can’t choose between Yehuda Amichai’s
(Very different poems, and the second one has an anatomical part mentioned that might disturb some easily disturbable minds. Both poems are also still under copyright.)
Stolen from a fan-mailing-list I am on:
DEPENDS: Now with Inertial Dampeners and increased Structural Integrity!
Here’s a poem by Dorothy Parker that some may feel appropriate for today:
“One Perfect Rose”
A single flow’r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet–
One perfect rose.
I knew the language of the floweret;
“My fragile leaves,” it said, “his heart enclose.”
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it’s always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat it since the news is raising the issue once again.
I accept that Christians and Catholics believe I am going to Hell unless I convert, and thus would pray for my conversion.  This doesn’t offend me.  They can pray all they like. I’ll pray too for their return to the monotheism from which they have strayed. I hope this doesn’t offend them. (And the 3=1 is less problematic, in my mind, than the concept of an entity powerful enough to engage in an eternal battle with the Lord. This creates a duality very similar to Pagan dualities of the Sun and the Moon. Not that there is anything wrong with Pagan dualities, if you’re a Pagan. But if you claim not to be, you might wish to reconsider.) So you can pray for my enlightenment, and I’ll pray for yours.
As long as it remains at the personal prayer level, it’s OK. Â A waste of time, on both of our parts in all probability, but OK. As long as neither of us picks up a gun, or in any other way tries to force conversion.
Regarding Pope Benedict’s revision of the Latin Prayer for the Jews. I understand that Vatican II didn’t change the Latin, so this is actually moving the Latin closer to the vernacular. I’ve written before that I don’t like it when the English in our Hebrew prayerbooks is modified, but the Hebrew remains the same. In my opinion, the mistake was made when the Latin was kept the same with Vatican II. The ‘mistake’ still hasn’t been corrected, but ‘it’s closer.’ And it’s their religion. They can do with it what they like.
The below table comes straight from a Harris Poll
“If you thought he or she was otherwise well qualified, would you vote for any of the following who was running for President of the United States?”
Base: All adults
|
Would vote for (NET) |
Definitely would vote for |
Probably would vote for |
Would Not vote For (NET) |
Probably would not vote for |
Definitely would not vote for |
Not at All sure |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
| Someone under the age of 50 |
79 |
34 |
45 |
7 |
4 |
3 |
14 |
| A black person |
71 |
32 |
38 |
14 |
7 |
8 |
15 |
| A woman |
70 |
35 |
35 |
16 |
8 |
8 |
13 |
| A Baptist |
65 |
24 |
41 |
15 |
10 |
5 |
20 |
| A Hispanic |
61 |
27 |
35 |
24 |
13 |
11 |
15 |
| A Mormon |
48 |
18 |
30 |
31 |
17 |
15 |
21 |
| Someone over the age of 70 |
40 |
12 |
28 |
44 |
30 |
14 |
16 |
| A Muslim |
27 |
12 |
15 |
54 |
21 |
34 |
19 |
While I was at a friend’s house this past Saturday, she got a phone call from the campaign of one of the Democratic candidates. Not surprising.
However, in the past week, I have received five recorded phone calls from campaigns - all of them GOP. No live calls.
I’m sure it’s all district related. I live in the second congressional district, which is solidly Republican. And my particular neighborhood even more so.
It’s not like a phone call would have helped me make a decision. It’s just a depressing reminder about the neighborhood I live in.
DataBob captures an image illustrating a little local weather confusion. Look at the ‘current temperature’ and then read the ‘high’ for the day. Somehow 68 is higher than 74 in St. Louis. New math, I’m sure.
When you go to the polls tomorrow you may well be asked to sign a petition to get the “Missouri Civil Rights Initiative” on the November ballot.
I don’t really know how much this movement has been covered since my news sources are a bit skewed from most of society, but if you haven’t heard of the initiative you might be tempted to sign the petition without reading it…because you support Civil Rights.
One should never sign a petition based on the title or summary the person presenting the petition gives. Always read the full language.
Here’s the Kansas City Star EditorialÂ
A similar Michigan initiative was backed by the KKK.
As the Kansas City Star says:
“Supporters of the initiative mistakenly believe that affirmative action, an extension of the real civil rights movement, was not or is no longer necessary…Yes, many women and people of color have made political and economic gains in recent decades. The race for the Democratic nomination for president illustrates that perfectly. Yet studies show that disparities still exist in the workplace and in the awarding of contracts.”
There will come a day when Affirmative Action is no longer needed. That day is much closer than it was 40 years ago. It’s not here yet, though.
The superbowl party this year consisted of myself, PaganBoy, DogGirl, AnimeBoy, Friend of AnimeBoy (If she makes any more appearances, she’ll get a more creative name), AnimeGirl, 007, Kochleffel and the host RamFan. (I think he will prefer this nickname to any I’ve called him in the past.) I hope I didn’t forget anyone.
We all tried out GuitarBand prior to the game. I scored 51% on the easiest level, but I made it to the end of the song without getting booed offstage. I chose the Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I go Now? - as it was the only song on the playlist that I was familiar with in any shape or form. Amazingly, everyone let me stay after my performance. I don’t think they realized I was actually asking them the question.
Before the game, PaganBoy and RamFan made a $1 bet on the game. They both gave me their dollars to hold on to. PaganBoy bet that the Patriots wouldn’t cover the spread. So of course, he was the winner. RamFan said it was the happiest lost bet he ever made. However, neither reminded me that I had the money, so I walked out the door at the end of the night with two extra dollars. I’m kind of hopeful PaganBoy forgets to claim it. (Though I did send him an email, and he reads this blog, so he might remember.)
February is National National Awareness Month Awareness Month
Just wanted to make sure you were all aware of this.
Febrary 1 is also International Hug Someone Jewish Day. (Someone allegedly invented this holiday on their Facebook). Some people think it’s a little problematic unless the Jewish individual clearly wishes to be hugged. So if you see me at any point today, and want to know - yes, I like hugs.
