Bokeh
11-09-2009, 14:51Lit / Art / Music /PhotoPermalinkPlaying with a new lens for my Olympus E-520: a Rokinon 85mm 1.4.
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Someone's In The Background from the album Hearts And Flowers by Joan Armatrading.American Life in Poetry #226 (Travel-themed!)
24-08-2009, 08:17Cruising, Family / Misc. Personal, Lit / Art / Music /PhotoPermalinkOccasionally I post an issue of Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry column, when its featured poem particularly hits home with me. The following poem reminds me of the afternoon we spent whale watching with a group of folks who cruised Alaska with us on the Diamond Princess last May. We saw so many whales that afternoon! It was one of the highlights of our cruise, and it was wonderful to share the experience with so many others. If you have ever traveled in a group, the poem may touch a chord with you, too.
American Life in Poetry: Column 226
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Elizabeth Bishop, one of our greatest American poets, once wrote a long poem in which the sudden appearance of a moose on a highway creates a community among a group of strangers on a bus. Here Ronald Wallace, a Wisconsin poet, gives us a sighting with similar results.
Sustenance
Australia. Phillip Island. The Tasman Sea.
Dusk. The craggy coastline at low tide in fog.
Two thousand tourists milling in the stands
as one by one, and then in groups, the fairy penguins
mass up on the sand like so much sea wrack and
debris. And then, as on command, the improbable
parade begins: all day they've been out fishing
for their chicks, and now, somehow, they find them
squawking in their burrows in the dunes, one by one,
two by two, such comical solemnity, as wobbling by
they catch our eager eyes until we're squawking, too,
in English, French, and Japanese, Yiddish and Swahili,
like some happy wedding party brought to tears
by whatever in the ceremony repairs the rifts
between us. The rain stops. The fog lifts. Stars.
And we go home, less hungry, satisfied, to friends
and family, regurgitating all we've heard and seen.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Sustenance" from "For A Limited Time Only," by Ronald Wallace, (c) 2008. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. The poem first appeared in "Poetry Northwest," Vol. 41, no. 4, 2001. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
American Life in Poetry: Column 226
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Elizabeth Bishop, one of our greatest American poets, once wrote a long poem in which the sudden appearance of a moose on a highway creates a community among a group of strangers on a bus. Here Ronald Wallace, a Wisconsin poet, gives us a sighting with similar results.
Sustenance
Australia. Phillip Island. The Tasman Sea.
Dusk. The craggy coastline at low tide in fog.
Two thousand tourists milling in the stands
as one by one, and then in groups, the fairy penguins
mass up on the sand like so much sea wrack and
debris. And then, as on command, the improbable
parade begins: all day they've been out fishing
for their chicks, and now, somehow, they find them
squawking in their burrows in the dunes, one by one,
two by two, such comical solemnity, as wobbling by
they catch our eager eyes until we're squawking, too,
in English, French, and Japanese, Yiddish and Swahili,
like some happy wedding party brought to tears
by whatever in the ceremony repairs the rifts
between us. The rain stops. The fog lifts. Stars.
And we go home, less hungry, satisfied, to friends
and family, regurgitating all we've heard and seen.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Sustenance" from "For A Limited Time Only," by Ronald Wallace, (c) 2008. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press. The poem first appeared in "Poetry Northwest," Vol. 41, no. 4, 2001. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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Universal Traveler from the album Talkie Walkie by Air.A big improvement? You be the judge.
09-08-2009, 08:33Family / Misc. Personal, Real Estate, ShoppingPermalinkI love my new door!
BEFORE:
Our original door was much larger than a standard-sized door and had a big round doorknob the size of a grapefruit on the outside.
AFTER:
Target checks out the new door. The installer had to build a frame around the door because the old one was so big.
Here is a close-up view of the stained glass window in the door.
BEFORE:
Our original door was much larger than a standard-sized door and had a big round doorknob the size of a grapefruit on the outside.
AFTER:
Target checks out the new door. The installer had to build a frame around the door because the old one was so big.
Here is a close-up view of the stained glass window in the door.
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This House (Album Version) from the album Hoodoo by Alison Moyet.Evian Roller Babies
08-07-2009, 14:08Lit / Art / Music /Photo, Shopping, Web / Tech / BlogsPermalinkI feel as if I am always the last person on earth to learn about a cool commercial or video or performer or whatever. Has everyone else known about Evian Babies for a while??
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Have You Seen My Baby from the album Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman by Randy Newman.Comments (3)
Were they naughty instead of nice?
24-06-2009, 15:52Cruising, TravelPermalink
[Photo posted on TwitPic.com by PrincessCruises.]
Dan and I sailed on this ship a couple of weeks earlier and we were very lucky. The weather was beautiful throughout our trip with the exception of an hour or so in Ketchikan. So many people told us that Alaska is a must-see cruise destination and it is true!
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Heavy Cloud No Rain from the album Ten Summoner's Tales by Sting.American Life in Poetry: Column 220
09-06-2009, 17:21Lit / Art / Music /PhotoPermalinkAnother interesting poetry column from Ted Kooser:
American Life in Poetry: Column 220
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
One of the privileges of being U.S. Poet Laureate was to choose two poets each year to receive a $10,000 fellowship, funded by the Witter Bynner Foundation. Joseph Stroud, who lives in California, was one of my choices. This poem is representative of his clear-eyed, imaginative poetry.
Night in Day
The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2009 by Joseph Stroud, and reprinted from his recent book of poems, "Of This World: New and Selected Poems 1966-2006," Copper Canyon Press, 2009, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
American Life in Poetry: Column 220
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
One of the privileges of being U.S. Poet Laureate was to choose two poets each year to receive a $10,000 fellowship, funded by the Witter Bynner Foundation. Joseph Stroud, who lives in California, was one of my choices. This poem is representative of his clear-eyed, imaginative poetry.
Night in Day
The night never wants to end, to give itself over
to light. So it traps itself in things: obsidian, crows.
Even on summer solstice, the day of light's great
triumph, where fields of sunflowers guzzle in the sun--
we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2009 by Joseph Stroud, and reprinted from his recent book of poems, "Of This World: New and Selected Poems 1966-2006," Copper Canyon Press, 2009, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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Black Diamond from the album Winter Solstice On Ice by The Rippingtons Featuring Russ Freeman.American Life in Poetry: Column 214
05-06-2009, 19:23Lit / Art / Music /PhotoPermalinkIt's been a while since I posted one of former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's poetry columns, but this one struck a chord with me so I decided to share it.
American Life in Poetry: Column 214
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Sometimes I wonder at my wife's forbearance. She's heard me tell the same stories dozens of times, and she still politely laughs when she should. Here's a poem by Susan Browne, of California, that treats an oft-told story with great tenderness.
On Our Eleventh Anniversary
You're telling that story again about your childhood,
when you were five years old and rode your blue bicycle
from Copenhagen to Espergaerde, and it was night
and snowing by the time you arrived,
and your grandparents were so relieved to see you,
because all day no one knew where you were,
you had vanished. We sit at our patio table under a faded green
umbrella, drinking wine in California's blue autumn,
red stars of roses along the fence, trellising over the roof
of our ramshackle garage. Too soon the wine glasses will be empty,
our stories told, the house covered with pine needles the wind
has shaken from the trees. Other people will live here.
We will vanish like children who traveled far in the dark,
stars of snow in their hair, riding to enchanted Espergaerde.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2007 by Susan Browne, whose most recent book of poems is "Buddha's Dogs," Four Way Books, 2004. Poem reprinted from "Mississippi Review" Vol. 35, nos. 1-2, Spring 2007, and reprinted by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006
American Life in Poetry: Column 214
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006
Sometimes I wonder at my wife's forbearance. She's heard me tell the same stories dozens of times, and she still politely laughs when she should. Here's a poem by Susan Browne, of California, that treats an oft-told story with great tenderness.
On Our Eleventh Anniversary
You're telling that story again about your childhood,
when you were five years old and rode your blue bicycle
from Copenhagen to Espergaerde, and it was night
and snowing by the time you arrived,
and your grandparents were so relieved to see you,
because all day no one knew where you were,
you had vanished. We sit at our patio table under a faded green
umbrella, drinking wine in California's blue autumn,
red stars of roses along the fence, trellising over the roof
of our ramshackle garage. Too soon the wine glasses will be empty,
our stories told, the house covered with pine needles the wind
has shaken from the trees. Other people will live here.
We will vanish like children who traveled far in the dark,
stars of snow in their hair, riding to enchanted Espergaerde.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c)2007 by Susan Browne, whose most recent book of poems is "Buddha's Dogs," Four Way Books, 2004. Poem reprinted from "Mississippi Review" Vol. 35, nos. 1-2, Spring 2007, and reprinted by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright (c)2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006
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The Dreams Of Children from the album The Dreams of Children by Shadowfax.Comments (2)
