Happy Birthday, Mom!

Unbelievable.  The year is really scurrying along and it's Mom's Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!  Hope you somehow sense this on the other side.

While watching a PBS show it came to light something really neat happened on her birthday way back when.  I'd also seen that something historical happened on her birthday a bit more recently that still has resonance today.  So I thought it might be nice to do something different on this occasion and list a few events which happened at various times on her special day.  So here goes:

• 1777 - the Marquis de Lafayette arrives in the new "United States"
• 1805 - Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame) and a few companions of the company arrive at the Great Falls of the Missouri River (a series of waterfalls in North-Central Montana);  this was extremely significant, since not finding this would have put the success of the expedition in jeopardy
• 1866 - the 14th Amendment to U. S. Constitution passes Congress - a step towards equal rights
• 1910 - Charles Hamilton makes first one-day round trip NY to/from Phila. by air
• 1966 - The Supreme Court hands down the Miranda decision (you know, Miranda rights)
• 1967 - Thurgood Marshall nominated to SCOTUS
• 1971 - The New York Times published first installment of the Pentagon Papers 

Now those are some pretty cool events.  Well, Mom's a cool lady.

So have a really cool birthday, Mom!

What Can Poetry Do?

As I write this, I'm realizing there are actually two threads in my thinking.

The first thread started the other day when I had a thought as I tried to do some writing; the phrase 'poetic justice" was in my mind. I thought 'can poetry really help to achieve justice?' Can art really have that much power (discuss, please!)?

The second thread is semi-ongnoing. Don't we all - or maybe with some of the news going around now - shouldn't we all aspire to do something to help better the world or help others or serve our professions/avocations ---something like that?  You often hear folks talk about "giving back."  For example, Ballerina Misty Copland, first African American Principal Dancer with the American  Ballet Theater, does programs to get youth involved in dance. Other examples are certainly around us.  I frequently watch "Mysteries at the Museum", and my favorie stories are usually the ones where the central subject of the story wants to help folks somehow, like Garett Morgan, who created a breathing safety hood for firefighters and put his own life on the line to prove its efficacy.

So, since I write poetry, I wonder sometimes about serving this great art form.  I don't think I'm the one to lead a workshop (we have some fine local poets who do that) although I feel that is great service. Well, I DID help publicize a colleague's "Poetry Day" at college one year.  Can that count?

Now do you all believe in serendipity?  Not many minutes before starting to write this came the spark for this post. I was doing a totally unrelated search and found - what - this quote from JFK which related directly to the first thread.  Could hardly believe it:

"When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."

WOW,  just WOW.  It's worth remembering that JKF was the first U. S. president to have a poet do a poem in his inaugural program.  That poet was of course, Ropbert Frost; the poem was  "The Gift Outright."    In his thank you note to Frost, JFK wrote:  “It’s poetry and power all the way!”

Of course, JFK wasn't the only poet to appreciate poetry.  In a post on my other blog, I mentioned how John Adams did.  And of course, Clinton had our wonderful Maya Angelou do a poem for his first inaguration.  Other poets have read/recited at Clinton's second inagural and Obama's two inaugurals.  From what I've read, even though Robert Frost is also great, my nod goes to Ms. Angelou's poem.

But I digress. Again, what can poetry do?  Can poetry really have power?  Poet (and law student) Reginald Dwayne Betts thinks so.  He was recently on the Tavis Smiley program. In this interview he said he wanted to be a poet for the power where his poetry was.  He also said he had seen some people's lives changed by poetry.  Now THAT'S power.

And the great English poet, William Wordsworth, has been in my poetic thoughts, too.  In his Preface to Lyrical Ballads,  he wrote:  "In spite of difference of soil and climate, of language and manners, of laws and customs—in spite of things silently gone out of mind, and things violently destroyed, the Poet binds together by passion and knowledge the vast empire of human society, as it is spread over the whole earth, and over all time."  Pretty powerful stuff!

So what can poetry do?  It seems to me it has power to reach us with its expressions of all manners of the human condition.  And THAT can empower us in many ways, individually and collectively.

Now as far as what I can do for poetry? Hmmmmm.  I'm working on that one.  How about this: two variations of writing forms that could be exercises.

First, a cinquain. Here is a reference for the standard form and an alternate form.
I recently wrote a cinqain, but it ended up being my own take on the alternate form shown in the link.  My last line is 5 words that amplify or extend thoughts about the subject. (And my line 4 is a bit different from that 'alternative' set-up).  I don't know about anyone else, but I find writing exercises or prompts or whatnot seem to work best for me if I a) find them "a fun thing to try" and b) not let it hamstring my final work. Sometimes just doing a exercise to do some writing practice can spark something productive later.

Second, how about a variation on the Pilish poem?  This form is tailor made for mathies. The number of  letters in each word of the poem in order should match the corresponding digits in the famous irrational number, "pi".  My variation would be: Each LINE in order should have the same number of WORDS as the corresponding digit in "pi."  Disclosure: I haven't tried this yet.

OK, does that count as service?  And also in the spirit of service, some time ago I posted some writing prompts for poets and other authors.  Check them out!

Finally, it now occurs to me (days after originally posting this), that taking another  cue from JFK can pull the two threads of this post together: "Ask what Poetry can do for You AND ask what You can do for Poetry."

And it would be so appreciated if you use any of these exercises or prompts to just post a comment and let me know you found them of value. THANKS!

Internet Pet Peeves

Greetings.  I saw there have been page views, GREAT!  But it would be so lovely to get some more comments.  Hearing from actual readers would be soooo meaningful!

Anyway, on my mind now are some of my internet pet peeves:

• Having to sign in to leave a comment.   Hey, I know Blogger is really fussy now about either signing in with some id or having third party cookies enabled (I went through a mess when trying to reply on my other blog...)  Oh, yes, let's let more parties track us.  And WordPress --- they have a nerve - if you have a WP account and want to comment on a WP blog, they will demand you sign in EVEN IF YOU DON'T CHOOSE SIGN IN WITH WP!!!  What are they doing even sniffing you if you don't choose that option?  Shame on blogger and wp.  And other sites... sometimes I've seen a post or something I like but you have to login to comment.  Well, unless I'm already registered for some other reason , I WON'T!  Why should I register just to leave a comment???  I don't think so.  So sorry folks about the Blogger sign in, but it's not MY doing at all.

• Pop up boxes that cover the page and want you to sign up for a newsletter, e-mail posts or whatever.  I find these EXTREMELY annoying.  I generally don't sign up for these anyway, and these pop ups make me much less likely to do so.

• Auto-play video ads.  How annoying can you get?

•  Share button boxes that cover part of the text of the page.  I'm not against sharing, but buttons shouldn't interfere with reading the content.

• "Mobile Friendly" web design that doesn't work well for traditional pc's.  Oh gee, what about those of us who DON'T do the web on mobile devices?  Don't WE deserve functioning websites?  Anyway, I don't like mobile friendly designs.  Boring and often frustrating. 

• Social media as the gatekeeper.  I'm not much for social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram, google + and all.  But why should my voice be drowned out because I don't use them?   Why do companies and all pay attention to twitter hashtags but trying to get noticed without posting on facebook or twitter is increasingly hard?  Why should anyone be left out because of this?  I do value communication and connections; certainly I blog and use e-mail.  But some of the others raise just too many privacy concerns.  So why should I (or anyone) be left out because of our (I feel, very real) concerns)???

• Cookies and web tracking in general.  Enough already!  Don't tell me a site has to know all about me to let me use it.  Don't tell me cookies are NECESSARY.  They're just ways of funneling data to advertisers (and also the NSA and all).  So I'm sure there could be web designs without them, IF we'd insist on it and the techs really look to implement them.

So what about it?  Any more pet peeves?  

Pluto Travel Poster

Guess what! NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab has a series of free posters.  Quite a different concept for this series:  retro-feeling travel posters about some planets and other cosmic bodies.

But WHERE WAS PLUTO???  And some of the other planets in OUR Solar System? FOR SHAME for not including all of those but some others, a few of which I hadn't heard of.

So of course I had to try my hand at a travel poster for Pluto.  Now I don't have really great graphic design skills, but you know, I don't think this is too bad.

'My Original Graphic - Pluto Travel Poster'

Guess what else!  NASA just released photos of Pluto's Norh Pole region.  There are canyons!

So let me hear from you ---- any Plutophiles out there?

Timely Gift?

Hello -

Again I do see I've gotten a few page views.  But would LOVE some comments... love to hear from other real humans!!!  And please don't forget about my other blog, The View From Here... be sure to visit there as well (link on right, hint, hint :-)  )... and comments and encouragement would be MOST welcome.

I know I don't post here that often it seems, but here's something pretty neat I thought should be shared.  It was just this past Halloween when my neighbor called and said some neighborhood kids had been out throwing pumpkins and had dented my mailbox.  Indeed they had - and it was now also tilted it on its pedestal and it was getting ever harder for me to even open it.

A new mailbox was certainly indicated if not a real necessity.  Then I thought ---- "I have one in my garage," I told my neighbor.  He promised to check if it was still ok after quite some years.

You see, the prospective mailbox was given to my Mom by her nephew some years ago. Mom was grateful, of course, but since we already were using one, we just never switched.  And after my parents both passed away, I didn't either.

But guess what?  Maybe that gift was just waiting for the right time.  My neighbor cleaned it up a bit and --- it finally got installed today -  ummm I guess now it was yesterday (Saturday)!  It looks great.  Take away?  I guess we never really know sometimes when what we give or something we do might really be useful or bear fruit.  Another example, months later I got a wonderful e-mail from Dr. Frisby after sending her a message of support.  Dr. Frisby is the faculty member mentioned in this post from TVFH which has a link to her statement. Notice a link to Alexandra Franzen's site at the right?  She has a wonderful post there -  "It All Matters."  I receive her newsletter and believe it or not, the issue with that link in it came within no more than a day of receiving Dr. Frisby's e-mail (can you say synchronicity?)!

Anyway, what we give, do, say may blossom... whenever!

Reading List - Updated!

Greetings all -

I know, I know, I don't post here often.  I put most of my blogging into my other blog, The View From Here (feel free to visit there anytime!).  But it's nice to still have this here and to write about  - well whatever!


So I just thought I haven't written much about reading in quite sometime.  Truth is, I do a lot of reading online - news and articles.  Should do books more, but...

Anyway, there are some books I do want to get to:

First on the list is Tomlinson Hill by Chris Tomlinson.  I saw stories and coverage of it on PBS and C-Span BookTV.  It covers lives of both black and white residents of the named hill through generations.  One hook is that one set ot Tomlinsons today includes Ladanian Tomlinson, an all-time top NFL running back who I actually knew about!  Another hook was that author Chris said he had a section in the book about racism and how to deal with it.  Now THAT ought to be worth reading.

Another on the list it Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. It's been around a while now, but I only recently got a copy.  Tales of economic intrigue around the world - sounds like a winner.

Another on the list would be Licensed to Lie by Sidney Powell.  This is about corruption and abuses in the federal criminal justice system.  I saw her on C-Span (BookTV, I believe); she was impressive so I think this should be a good read.

Another is The Material Gene by Kelly Happe.  I also saw her on BookTV.  I left it on since there was nothing else I wanted on; I was very surprised that what she had to say was extremely interesting.  

Also, I should probably get to: Outrageous Acts and Ordinary Rebellions by Gloria Steinem.  Would you believe I bought this many years ago and still haven't read it?  She was on one of those C-Spans (probably BookTV again) promoting her latest book, My Life on the Road.  That sounds pretty good, too, but I thought before I shell out for that I should read the earlier one.  So I found where I'd "hidden it" - not the bookshelf I thought it was on - and now have it available for when I get to perusing it.  

Notice no fiction on this list?  I don't really read a lot of fiction.  Don't care much for dark or tragic fiction, so I steer clear of those (yup, I really do read the endings first!) I do like a romance novel sometimes - regency romances often.  They can sometimes be "cookie cutter" so I'm not wholesale into 'hey, let's get started reading the next one!'  But I do have a few novels around I haven't read so maybe one day...

And I can't forget:  there are also two WWII era memoirs I have and really should read.  One is Survival of a Spirit by Ms. Salier, a Holocaust Survivor, and the other is Beyond the Ouija Board written by Ms. Michaelis, the dear Mother of a former colleague.  That one is about her memories of occupied Belgium.  And I think there's another memoir that may be of the same era which a cousin gave me.  

Guess we should be thankful for a banquet of reading choices.  Why not share your reading list in comments?  Inquiring minds want to know!

UPDATE:

See this post on TVFH for another book I should add to my list.

It's Dad's Birthday!

Well, guess what!  It's time to wish my Dad a Happy Birthday ---- even if he's on the other side now.

So Happy Birthday, Dad - you're definitely not forgotten.  Keep praying for us --- we NEED it!  And could you help send some genealogical info?  Still some cool questions to answer ----- such as who would be the parents of that earliest Wilson ancestor I've found (James) - and who woule be those of his wife?

Anad I'll see if I can find a bit of cherry pie today (your fave!).

Take care and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Design!

My Original Graphic - "Open Fan Gray/Pink"

Quite some years ago now, I read a story by a woman who made an open fan design quilt. It was in Guideposts magazine, I believe.  It was a nice story and I did like the basic, simple, open fan design it mentioned.  It was somewhat similar to this graphic.  It finally occurred to me to try to just do a picture graphic to capture some of the essence of the design.  Enjoy!

Surprise?

I just saw I got some pageviews after quite sometime of not much going on.  Thanks for reading.  But I would love comments and ---- also please visit my other blog - The View From Here (there's a link on the right sidebar.  Would love to get readers and comments there for sure!

So please visit both blogs.  Know comments would be appreciated - and don't forget you can share posts :-)

The Queen Is Back

Dear Readers -

Of course, I love writing, and here's something I wrote for fun, I guess, but I like it.

The Queen is Back
(with a nod to Bernie and Elton)

Isabella, Fourteen Ninety-Two
And Candace/Amanitore of Acts 8, too
Nefertiti, Victoria, yeah, they had the knack,
But you ain’t seen nothin’, ‘ cause The Queen is back


We know that music has its Queen of Soul,
The Queen of Suspense is on a mystery roll
But there’s one more monarch here to be exact
Let’s make room ladies, ‘cause The Queen is back

     Oh, The Queen, oh The Queen, oh The Queen is back
     Regal bearing fully still intact
     Oh, The Queen, oh The Queen, back up on the throne
     Taking up the dynasty that is my own

I’m back in the realm at the top of my game,
“Her Majesty” a title which I here reclaim
Know I’m reigning again as a proven fact
So please curtsy, my subjects, ‘cause The Queen is back

     Oh, The Queen, oh The Queen, oh The Queen is back
     Regal bearing fully still intact
     Oh, The Queen, oh The Queen, back up on the throne
     Taking up the dynasty that is my own
     The Queen, The Queen, The Queen, The Queen is back
     The Queen, The Queen, The Queen, The Queen is back
     The Queen, The Queen, The Queen, The Queen is BACK!!!
 

I'm BAAAAK

If you also read my other blog, The View From Here (link to your right), you'll know I'm back to active blogging again.  

Not sure when I'll have new posts for this blog, but I'll try not to neglect it totally.

Changed the background on TVFH blog.  I'd really like to change the background on this one as well. However, I've had major problems getting one to fit the size limit Blogger has.  Any ideas???

Hiatus

Please see latest post at The View From Here  .

More Pluto!!!

credit: NASA/JHAPL/SRI

Just WOW!!!  All the fantastic pictures and discoveries coming from the New Horizons Mission are simply awesome.  That photo of Pluto backlit by the Sun taken as New Horizons, on the way from the Pluto encounter pointed back towards the PLANET (Oh my, wouldn't want to prejudice the poll results, now would I?) was breathtakingly gorgeous.  

BTW, notice the poll to your right.  You can vote, and I encourage all readers to do so.  The poll will stay open through Aug. 4. (Update: voting is now closed.)

And the graphic above is sharable (good for things like social media) and can be found at the NASA gallery for the "dwarf planets" (sigh!) which can be found at this link.

I've been reading lots of articles about the mission as well as oogling pictures.  Here are two I found especially interesting:

Interviews of Three NH Female Team Members
       It's great to hear from women scientists and these three are fantastic.  Turns out the NH team was 25% female.  As the article says, that shows quite some progress over the years.

Article Featuring the Tombaughs
        This article spotlights the two children of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh.  



Now, a few more poetic lines:


Pluto

He whispered to Lowell and Pickering
"Yes, fellows, I'm here!"
He waved to many astronomers
But it was Tombaugh who waved back
And a message he sent crossed billions of miles,
Calling New Horizons to explore;
They heard him say quite simply
"I'm ready for my close-up now."


Parting shots:  I am so with the sentiments of Alice Bowman: "...I can’t imagine anyone saying that Pluto is not worthy of planet status."  From what I've read, Alan Stern also feels we have a Planet here - as do quite a few other astronomers and related scientists.  As that opening graphic made my sentiments clear, I feel that no matter if the IAU doesn't see the light; Pluto will always be a PLANET in my heart!!! Take THAT, Mike Brown (whose book title I find loathsome). I did find something that might be more my cup of tea, however.  In the course of my reading, I came across mention of a book by Alan Boyle, titled The Case for Pluto.  I just may want to investigate more. 

Pluto lovers, unite!

New Horizons/Pluto

I think that everyone is absolutely fascinated, stunned and amazed by the images and information coming from the New Horizons flyby of Pluto.  It's certainly a fantastic achievement and all kudos to the team whose hard work and perseverance made this happen.

One of the first things which struck me was the name of the mission - New Horizons. That just also happens to be the name of a Moody Blues song as well!  I was wondering if the name was inspired by the song and unfortunately it wasn't.  Here is the story of how the mission got its name  - told by Alan Stern himself.  Still, the song (though not one of my favorite Moody songs) has that sort of exploratory vibe to it.

So here are some lines inspired by the Mission and a bit by that Moodies song:


New Horizons

Where is this place so far away
Beyond childlike gazes to the sky
Where constellations wait to be deciphered
And phases of the Moon pass by?
What will be found by this flying explorer,
Powered as if by will, dreams,
Prayers, and work through years
And billions of miles?
Where are we bound
On this journey of discovery,
Seeking a clear focus
On a world best seen before as merely a smudge?
What of this enigmatic object
That calls to us with a strange and cosmic magnetism
Which propels us, no, compels us
To learn more about our neighborhood?
So a mission is sent soaring still faster and farther,
With a discoverer's ashes,
The names of 435,000 Earth inhabitants on CD,
And seven more mementos (think of the total number)
Accompanying the scientific instrumentation
To New Horizons.

('my original graphic')

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Time to say "Happy Birthday" to a great lady, my Mother!  Since ladies don't usually care to have their ages divulged, I  won't do that; but will say that I hope she is having a fine birthday on the other side.

She was a wonderful Mother and role model.  Also, she was a gifted teacher (she taught me in both second and third grades!).  She was of course, a fine poet, and you can read here about the novel she wrote.  She was also a woman strongly connected to all of her family.

So with a prayer that she cosmically gets these wishes:  

Happy Birthday Mom - have a wonderful one!

Alphabetical Advice

Hello all -

Been a while since I posted here - but I haven't forgotten about this blog.  I'm always looking around the internet for writing prompts and inspirations.  One thing I saw in several places was to list advice with the first line each piece of advice beginning with each letter of the alphabet from A - Z.  Hadn't really tackled it before but this time I did so here goes:

Always have Faith
Build bridges to others
Calculate a new formula
Decide to spread Light
Envision the positive
Find a way
Get in the way (from Rep. John Lewis)
Hone your talents
Insatiably seek Knowledge
Join with others to progress
Know your rights
Learn Wisdom's ways
Mandate that Justice prevail
Never stop dreaming
Obey the Golden Rule
Practice Peace
Question everything
Remember Aretha's spelling lesson: R-E-S-P-E-C-T for you and me
Strive to be genuine
Think critically and independently
Use your unique voice
Value the Truth
Widen your horizons
eXercise common sense
Yes, you are needed
Zig-zag through Life's maze (inspired by my Father)

Hope you find this inspirational.

Just For Fun - Multiple Choice Questions!

Hello -

Haven't uploaded a full new post here in some time.  So here is one just for fun.  Some multiple choice questions.  Are there right or wrong answers? Maybe yes, maybe no :-)


1.  Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
      a) falling in love is a pretty foolish thing sometimes
      b) falling in love makes one foolish
      c) it's what fools do


2.  What Does it Take (To Win Your Love For Me)?
     a)  romance, romance, romance
     b) your heart on a silver platter
     c)  lots of chocolate

3.  Do You Know What I Mean?
     a) no, tell me
     b) absolutely, I think
     c) maybe if you draw me a picture

4.  Do You Want to Know A Secret?
     a) yes, I love being in an inner circle
     b) who else knows?
     c) sure, you can trust me never to tell

5.  Isn't Life Strange?
     a) it's stranger than fiction
     b) yes, it's like deja vu all over again
     c) in what way?

6.  Isn't It Time?
     a) no, that clock has stopped
     b) no, we're not ready yet
     c) yes, and what took so long?

7.  What's New Pussycat?
     a) I left a mouse for you by the back door
     b)  I want that new cat toy I just saw on tv
     c)  you won't believe what the neighbor's cat told me

Revisiting "A Modest Proposal"

Greetings!  New post at The View From Here which revisits a post originally published here:

   Revisiting "A Modest Proposal"

Anyone Home?

Please read post of same title at The View From Here.

Super Disappointment

I hadn't originally planned to blog this, but I finally felt venting might help me feel a bit better.  

What a bitter end to the season of my fave football team, the Seahawks.  I watched the game - well up until the last few seconds (after that final Seattle play), anyway.  But immediately thereafter, I switched channels, unable to stomach the postgame celebration of the Patriots.  Oh, and it didn't help that NBC kept showing Tom Brady on the sidelines every two seconds.

I know so many fans are asking, what was with that last play, anyway?  What WERE they thinking?  NPR has a good article on it and be sure to also read the article at the vox.com link they give.  Right play or not, it's a rotten shame it didn't work.  And I have to wonder - what in the world was their game plan?  Whatever it was, it was pretty flawed.  And the defense?  Supposedly a great one, but it didn't seem as though the D played well most of the game.  Seems to me there were a LOT of missed tackles.  So, Mr. Sherman, you're a gamer, can you somehow encourage your defensive teammates to up their game?  Then there's the offense.  What was the plan there?  I know you'd want to run Mr. Lynch a lot, he's excellent and also a gamer.  But maybe it would have been a good idea to run another back occasionally; keep the Pats having to worry about both of them. What about receivers?  It seems that Luke Willson was MIA.  He seems to be a pretty good one, but maybe he needs to really up his game.  And the offensive line?  Looks as though they could improve.  And Mr. R. Wilson - not a bad game, really, but it definitely wasn't his best.  Keep trying to up the ante, Mr. W., and maybe try to get better snyc going with those receivers.  

It was hard to believe that this team had any resemblance to the team that crushed Denver last year. It may be true that around mid-season it didn't even look like the Seahawks would make the playoffs, something not entirely unusual for returning champions.  Pretty cold comfort, though, when your team doesn't play its best in the Super Bowl and loses...

Especially when said team loses to... the Patriots.  The Partriots. Yes, they of 'deflategate.'  I thought the Pats were ok for a while, though I've never been a Tom Brady fan.  Combine that with the fact I really don't care for their head coach, and they've come to be one of my least favorite teams.  And that's what  makes this loss particularly galling. 

I do hope the Seahawks regroup and get ready to take up some unfinished business come September.  Remember, your fans will be watching you!