A Glimpse of the Eternal
By Ted Kooser
Just now,
a sparrow lighted
on a pine bough
right outside my window
and a puff
of yellow pollen
flew away.
What's amazing about this poem is that it accurately depicts a single, intense moment in just twenty one words. It's something that would obviously go unnoticed by the unobservant, making it's main point the emphasis on the importance of "seeing" rather than "looking". In just one sentence the author manages to vividly "freeze-frame" a simple, beautiful moment amidst the blur of ordinary occurrences.
I like to use it as a way to remind myself that there is something to appreciate anywhere at any given moment.
Maybe we could all use this piece as a reminder to take a moment to stop and see the world around us.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Limerick, Anyone?
I came across this article in the Newspaper a year or so ago, and it still remains one of my favorite articles for obvious reasons.
Enjoy.
Legalese Gets Too Long
TACOMA, Wash.- A
federal judge in Tacoma has
told a lawyer he needs to
make it snappy.
Judge Ronald Leighton
balked at a 465-page lawsuit
that made its way onto his
desk. He invoked a rarely
used rule that requires a
"short and plain statement"
of allegations.
The title of the
racketeering lawsuit filed
by attorney Dean
Browning Webb was eight
pages long.
The judge issued his order
in a limerick:
"Plaintiff has a great deal
to say,
But it seems he skipped
Rule 8(a).
His Complaint is too long,
Which renders it wrong,
Please rewrite and refile
today."
Enjoy.
Legalese Gets Too Long
TACOMA, Wash.- A
federal judge in Tacoma has
told a lawyer he needs to
make it snappy.
Judge Ronald Leighton
balked at a 465-page lawsuit
that made its way onto his
desk. He invoked a rarely
used rule that requires a
"short and plain statement"
of allegations.
The title of the
racketeering lawsuit filed
by attorney Dean
Browning Webb was eight
pages long.
The judge issued his order
in a limerick:
"Plaintiff has a great deal
to say,
But it seems he skipped
Rule 8(a).
His Complaint is too long,
Which renders it wrong,
Please rewrite and refile
today."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A New Way Of Looking At Poetry
Todd Boss is a new and successful poet from Wisconsin whose work I enjoy immensely. What I find most appealing about his writing is the everyday subjects that he uses in his poems. From trips to the super market to the simple observations of his children, his poems contain subjects that everyone can relate to. Even "Yellowrocket", the title of his new book of poetry, derives from a poem within the book about his family's old farm where he describes yellowrocket, a common weed that grows there. It's the perfect title for a book filled with everyday sort of poems. I encourage all of you to check out his book. He's very much like a present day Robert Frost, in my opinion.
I can continue to spend a whole entry discussing why I enjoy his poetry so much (which I could do without effort, I assure you), but that is not the point of this specific entry. Instead, I would like to bring to your attention a project that Todd and a few others have been working on for some time that has recently called upon some attention in the media. I've had the opportunity of sitting in on one of Todd's poetry readings on campus, and afterward he shared a few snippets of this project with the audience.
The project was designed to allow poetry to become more accessible to a wider audience via the internet. The original goal was to find a way to help solve the problem of individuals having to go out to buy a whole book or volume of poems to enjoy a poet's work. Todd and fellow designers of the project wanted to present the poems in a way that would be entertaining and enjoyable, rather than the usual "googleing" of a specific work that leads you to another website where you can read the poem word for word off of your computer screen. That's when they developed the idea to create a way for readers to listen to the poem, in addition to watching a complimentary visual. This was the basis of what is now known as "Motionpoems", short videos that include a visual set to a recorded reading of a specific poem by its author.
There was a release of twelve of these new Motionpoems in Minneapolis tonight, in hopes that Todd and other contributors would get some input from the general public on how to further improve the project.
Here is a link to an interview with Todd on
MPR
And one to his page on
Youtube
with some examples of Motionpoems.
I can continue to spend a whole entry discussing why I enjoy his poetry so much (which I could do without effort, I assure you), but that is not the point of this specific entry. Instead, I would like to bring to your attention a project that Todd and a few others have been working on for some time that has recently called upon some attention in the media. I've had the opportunity of sitting in on one of Todd's poetry readings on campus, and afterward he shared a few snippets of this project with the audience.
The project was designed to allow poetry to become more accessible to a wider audience via the internet. The original goal was to find a way to help solve the problem of individuals having to go out to buy a whole book or volume of poems to enjoy a poet's work. Todd and fellow designers of the project wanted to present the poems in a way that would be entertaining and enjoyable, rather than the usual "googleing" of a specific work that leads you to another website where you can read the poem word for word off of your computer screen. That's when they developed the idea to create a way for readers to listen to the poem, in addition to watching a complimentary visual. This was the basis of what is now known as "Motionpoems", short videos that include a visual set to a recorded reading of a specific poem by its author.
There was a release of twelve of these new Motionpoems in Minneapolis tonight, in hopes that Todd and other contributors would get some input from the general public on how to further improve the project.
Here is a link to an interview with Todd on
MPR
And one to his page on
Youtube
with some examples of Motionpoems.
If you're interested in his book, "Yellowrocket" or the author himself, I will provide a link to his homepage where you can also find his Motionpoems, reviews of his book, and information on the author.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The last six lines in particular.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"The Cross of Snow"
In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face--the face of one long dead--
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died, and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.
On a lighter note, I spent 8 hours washing dogs at my new job, and I loved every minute of it. I think it's one of the best jobs I've had so far.
When I'm not at work or school I find that I've been spending a lot of my spare time digging up plans to make snowshoes and moccasins for this winter. As for long term construction plans, I hope to make something like this to live in...
Well, I can dream, can't I?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Apple Tree Mapping.
Calvin and I have completed the apple press. We gave it a trial run at his parent's house while we were back at home for break, and found that it worked pretty well. It would be nice if we could get a bit more pressure, but for the simplicity of the design it works well. Once we figured out that it worked we went hunting for apples around Duluth. Unfortunately, our search proved unsuccessful after a disappointing attempt at locating an orchard that his parents used to got to. We also tried getting a few from the tree behind his brothers house, but they had all fallen to the ground and the deer go to them first. The remaining ones were on the tippy-top, out of reach from any ladder that we had access to.
The good news is that there were still apples on the tree by the school and we took his truck over there last night and filled the bed with as many apples as we could. We were able to gather something like close to 20 gallons. Afterward, we searched around for another tree, but had no luck finding any more. That's when we conjured up the the idea of apple tree mapping. It involves driving around town and finding all of the apple trees on boulevards and along parks and mapping their location so that we can easily find them next year, and at the same time, if we're lucky and they haven't already fallen off or gone bad, add to our collection this year.
I expect we will have to wait for all of the pressing next week though, because Cal forgot to pack the pressing board and bucket when we left his parent's house. Until then, we still need to purchase a cheap, old blender to act as a crusher, and some cheese cloth.
I'll try to have some pictures of the press up soon, it's just a matter of borrowing my sister's camera.
In the spirit of apple picking, I decided to share with you this poem by Robert Frost.
Monday, October 12, 2009
A lively, light read.
Alright, I'll be the first to admit that I'm a fan of 20th century classic fiction, and that I have a tendency to read mostly those kinds of books. A few months ago though, I made myself a promise:
Start reading different kinds of books.
It was last year in my Major British Writers class that I realized I hadn't read anything "just for fun" in quite some time. Required readings for class, which included epics like Beowulf and Paradise Lost, were quite the lofty reads (can you say allegory?). These particular pieces, combined with work from other classes left me with a pretty big work load. I certainly had no time to sit down and read books like War and Peace, and The Count of Monte Cristo just for the hell of it.
While working my new job at the library, my habit of sticking to this one genre also left me wondering what the books on my shelving cart were about, or who certain authors even were. My friends and co-workers would often mention really good books they've read that I would have never even considered reading. I was beginning to find out that I had boxed myself into a literary ignorance, and so I figured it was in my best interest (to use the ol' cliche) to expand my horizons.
There's nothing wrong with finding what's good or what works, and sticking to it. That's how I usually tend to do things. But if there's one piece of advice that I could give to anyone it would be to step outside that norm every once in a while.
You might be surprised.
I was.
The basis of my promise was to remember books that others had recommended to me, and actually try to read them. That's where this book comes in. My first experience stepping outside the world of classic fiction in probably years, I picked up the book The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I chose this book for two reasons: One, it seems to be directed more towards a female audience, which is something I certainly tend to steer away from, (forgive me, but I'm not the Brigit Jones's Diary or Nicholas Sparks type). Secondly, it was something a friend recommended to me a while ago that I just sort of politely agreed to "try to get around to reading", and immediately brushed off. I had forgotten about it until recently when I found it on the shelf at the library during work.
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank was surprisingly good. It's a coming of age novel where the young heroine, Jane Rosenal, winds her way through the many struggles of love, relationships, and work.
Now you're asking, So? It sounds like every other coming of age novel about a young girl. What's so great about it?
Well, hold on a bit longer. This book has an interesting little twist to it.
In many ways the book is like a modernized version of Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. It's the story of a young girl born with a romantic nature, and a hunger for beauty and truth, who learns to survive the struggles of life. Both are well written from the point of view of their heroins. However, here's what separates the stories.
Unlike the narrator of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, The author of The Girls Guide To Hunting and Fishing uses a writing style where it almost seems as if her narrator, Jane, is speaking out loud, like a transcription of her telling the story to another person. This perspective allows the lay out of events to be presented through a teenager's frame of reference that gives the narrative an ingenious kick. Brilliant and humorous, Jane provides readers with a dish of wit when necessary, and even when unnecessary. It's hard not to compare her uncanny first person point of view with that of Holden Caulfiled from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. This book gives the traditional classic fiction coming of age novel a lively, new spin that makes it clever and incredibly fun to read.
To sum it all up in one sentence,
This book is one part A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and two parts The Catcher in the Rye.
Start reading different kinds of books.
It was last year in my Major British Writers class that I realized I hadn't read anything "just for fun" in quite some time. Required readings for class, which included epics like Beowulf and Paradise Lost, were quite the lofty reads (can you say allegory?). These particular pieces, combined with work from other classes left me with a pretty big work load. I certainly had no time to sit down and read books like War and Peace, and The Count of Monte Cristo just for the hell of it.
While working my new job at the library, my habit of sticking to this one genre also left me wondering what the books on my shelving cart were about, or who certain authors even were. My friends and co-workers would often mention really good books they've read that I would have never even considered reading. I was beginning to find out that I had boxed myself into a literary ignorance, and so I figured it was in my best interest (to use the ol' cliche) to expand my horizons.
There's nothing wrong with finding what's good or what works, and sticking to it. That's how I usually tend to do things. But if there's one piece of advice that I could give to anyone it would be to step outside that norm every once in a while.
You might be surprised.
I was.
The basis of my promise was to remember books that others had recommended to me, and actually try to read them. That's where this book comes in. My first experience stepping outside the world of classic fiction in probably years, I picked up the book The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I chose this book for two reasons: One, it seems to be directed more towards a female audience, which is something I certainly tend to steer away from, (forgive me, but I'm not the Brigit Jones's Diary or Nicholas Sparks type). Secondly, it was something a friend recommended to me a while ago that I just sort of politely agreed to "try to get around to reading", and immediately brushed off. I had forgotten about it until recently when I found it on the shelf at the library during work.
The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank was surprisingly good. It's a coming of age novel where the young heroine, Jane Rosenal, winds her way through the many struggles of love, relationships, and work.
Now you're asking, So? It sounds like every other coming of age novel about a young girl. What's so great about it?
Well, hold on a bit longer. This book has an interesting little twist to it.
In many ways the book is like a modernized version of Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. It's the story of a young girl born with a romantic nature, and a hunger for beauty and truth, who learns to survive the struggles of life. Both are well written from the point of view of their heroins. However, here's what separates the stories.
Unlike the narrator of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, The author of The Girls Guide To Hunting and Fishing uses a writing style where it almost seems as if her narrator, Jane, is speaking out loud, like a transcription of her telling the story to another person. This perspective allows the lay out of events to be presented through a teenager's frame of reference that gives the narrative an ingenious kick. Brilliant and humorous, Jane provides readers with a dish of wit when necessary, and even when unnecessary. It's hard not to compare her uncanny first person point of view with that of Holden Caulfiled from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. This book gives the traditional classic fiction coming of age novel a lively, new spin that makes it clever and incredibly fun to read.
To sum it all up in one sentence,
This book is one part A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and two parts The Catcher in the Rye.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Blame Your Parents.
It's the old nature -vs- nurture debate. Who do we blame for the way we behave?
Well, Philip Larkin may just have the answer, or so he thinks.
This Be The Verse
Well, Philip Larkin may just have the answer, or so he thinks.
This Be The Verse
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
Okay, okay. So it's a but cynical, but I happen to enjoy cynicism.
I'm back at home for the weekend. I have a short break, so I decided to come back home to visit the family and some friends. The ride home was absolutely beautiful; I really miss autumn. In Moorhead gets cold too quickly. The weather on this side of the state seems to miss the transition between summer and winter, and completely skips over the fall. This week it went from something like 80 degrees, and dropped down to 40 degrees, and it looks like it's going to stay that way. Not to mention there are barely enough trees in the city to notice the leaves change color and when they do they just turn yellowish-brown, and then fall off. It's really disappointing. The thick, colorful blanket of leaves that the trees leave on the ground here makes me want to rake up a huge pile to jump in.
Anyway, here are some pictures that look much like what I saw on the way back home. I apologize for them not being the real deal, but I haven't bought a camera and I wasn't able to borrow my sister's for the trip home.
Anyway, here are some pictures that look much like what I saw on the way back home. I apologize for them not being the real deal, but I haven't bought a camera and I wasn't able to borrow my sister's for the trip home.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Insult your enimies with class.
Do it the good ol' Bill S. way...
Shakespearean Insults
Here are 125,000 Shakespearean Insults.To construct a Shakespearean insult, combine one word from each of the three columns below, and preface it with "Thou":
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 artless base-court apple-john bawdy bat-fowling baggage beslubbering beef-witted barnacle bootless beetle-headed bladder churlish boil-brained boar-pig cockered clapper-clawed bugbear clouted clay-brained bum-bailey craven common-kissing canker-blossom currish crook-pated clack-dish dankish dismal-dreaming clotpole dissembling dizzy-eyed coxcomb droning doghearted codpiece errant dread-bolted death-token fawning earth-vexing dewberry fobbing elf-skinned flap-dragon froward fat-kidneyed flax-wench frothy fen-sucked flirt-gill gleeking flap-mouthed foot-licker goatish fly-bitten fustilarian gorbellied folly-fallen giglet impertinent fool-born gudgeon infectious full-gorged haggard jarring guts-griping harpy loggerheaded half-faced hedge-pig lumpish hasty-witted horn-beast mammering hedge-born hugger-mugger mangled hell-hated joithead mewling idle-headed lewdster paunchy ill-breeding lout pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie puking knotty-pated malt-worm puny milk-livered mammet qualling motley-minded measle rank onion-eyed minnow reeky plume-plucked miscreant roguish pottle-deep moldwarp ruttish pox-marked mumble-news saucy reeling-ripe nut-hook spleeny rough-hewn pigeon-egg spongy rude-growing pignut surly rump-fed puttock tottering shard-borne pumpion unmuzzled sheep-biting ratsbane vain spur-galled scut venomed swag-bellied skainsmate villainous tardy-gaited strumpet warped tickle-brained varlet wayward toad-spotted vassal weedy unchin-snouted whey-face yeasty weather-bitten wagtail
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
This Has Remained One of My Favorite Poems For Quite Some Time Now.
| It's a short poem written in a simple, beautiful language. The smooth meter allows the words to flow into one another up to the last stanza where it seems as though the narrator begins to remember the scene where one memory calls upon another, and another. The visual imagery in this piece allows the reader to wind their way through this experience as if they were there themselves with the narrator a that moment. Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy WE stood by a pond that winter day, | |
| And the sun was white, as though chidden of God, | |
| And a few leaves lay on the starving sod, | |
| —They had fallen from an ash, and were gray. | |
| Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove | |
| Over tedious riddles solved years ago; | |
| And some words played between us to and fro— | |
| On which lost the more by our love. | |
| The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing | |
| Alive enough to have strength to die; | |
| And a grin of bitterness swept thereby | |
| Like an ominous bird a-wing…. | |
| Since then, keen lessons that love deceives, | |
| And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me | |
| Your face, and the God-curst sun, and a tree, | |
| And a pond edged with grayish leaves. In other news, Calvin and I made an attempt at building a box cider press. Though it seemed simple enough, the directions proved to be incredibly unhelpful and the pictures lacked enough detail to figure out how to make the board that does the pressing push downward. Choosing a box design was our biggest mistake, because the pressing board also has to be square and remain stationary inside the press. It's easier to make a cider press with a round pressing plate, because it can spin so you can simply build a frame with a nut mortised into the top board, run a threaded rod through it, and then use another board as a lever. A 5 gal. plastic pail would be used in this latter design, unlike the first one we tried building which is made entirely of wood. This can cause a number of problems, the major one being that if you're using a soft wood you'd have to seal it so the flavor of the pine, or whatever soft wood you're using, doesn't leak into the juice. Here's the link to the page where we go the idea for the first press First Design Like I said, the guy didn't really explain the construction all that well. Here's the one we're going to try making next. It seems a lot more promising. Second Design I'll try to have some pictures of the building process posted later on. And to end, this silly beret feline is a random little gem that I found on the internet today. It made me laugh, and I think maybe it will make you laugh too.  |
Why, You Ask?
Why another blog?
Well, because I've decided I want to have one that's a bit more "recreational", if I may use that term. It's sort of an experiment for developing a hobby of a sort. I do have another blog, but it's more of a personal page dedicated as a journal and most of its content I choose to keep private. This one, on the other hand, will be for your viewing pleasure, and will be primarily made up of, but no limited to: My favorite poems and works of literature, links to book reviews, and if I'm feeling bold, some of my own writing. I will not promise that this is the theme that I will concretely adhere to all of the time, because I do have a lot of other interests that I wouldn't mind documenting; However, it will make up the bulk of this blog.
With that said, I will end with a disclaimer.
This blog is informative, but also strongly based on my personal likes/dislikes/opinions.
Agree or disagree, leave constructive criticism, but please do not ridicule my writings should I choose to share some as I am an English major developing my skills, and do not have a lot of confidence in my work.
Enjoy.
Well, because I've decided I want to have one that's a bit more "recreational", if I may use that term. It's sort of an experiment for developing a hobby of a sort. I do have another blog, but it's more of a personal page dedicated as a journal and most of its content I choose to keep private. This one, on the other hand, will be for your viewing pleasure, and will be primarily made up of, but no limited to: My favorite poems and works of literature, links to book reviews, and if I'm feeling bold, some of my own writing. I will not promise that this is the theme that I will concretely adhere to all of the time, because I do have a lot of other interests that I wouldn't mind documenting; However, it will make up the bulk of this blog.
With that said, I will end with a disclaimer.
This blog is informative, but also strongly based on my personal likes/dislikes/opinions.
Agree or disagree, leave constructive criticism, but please do not ridicule my writings should I choose to share some as I am an English major developing my skills, and do not have a lot of confidence in my work.
Enjoy.
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