Saturday, January 31, 2004
" Words are the physicians of the mind diseased. "
--Aeschylus
OoooooooooooKaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay !
I'd be more inclined to say that " Words are the disease of a physicians mind "... ever try to read a prescription ? A "Ziggy" cartoon the other day in " The Sacramento Bee " shows Ziggy at his doctor's receptionist's window asking her to tell his doctor to write his next prescription more legibly, because when the ( female ? ) pharmacist read the last prescription she slapped Ziggy... or something to that effect.
I do find words cathartic, as I've babbled before... at least when using a computer keyboard with a screen as output. I used to agonize writing a note longhand, my soul wrenched with every pen-stroke. Now... WTF !!! ( pardon the vernacular )
My connection was dropped while on Da Boards in the wee hours, Saturday... Piffle !!!
Began a poem of epic proportion, well... long anyway. Currently 104 lines... however, most lines 1 or 2 or 3 words in length. A tragedy titled " Bowling "... more a personal reflection, an edification, an introspection, than sensation. Unless someone knew the passion I put into the game and work thereof and within and without, one would have no clue to what I'm babbling about... which suits me fine. ( What am I babbling about ? - I've no clue either ! ) I may include it as a white on white piece in the future... to further confound those who shall never read it ?... twisted !!! Yes, I am.
Revealed Intention
I breathe... and stop
Distraction that tease
you've found my desire
we make hot delicious love
past confusion gone
:Bobby Nichols 1-31-2004
Again, the poem submitted not as perfectly worded as I wish, but a good start... one does what one can with what available... or something. Time to start thinking of artwork and format for the poems created recently. I'm thinking a pastel tiled .gif with multiple poems on a page, since the poems are rather compact ( 20 words or less ). I'll make them all itsy-bitsy to torment the casual reader thrice-fold.
Friday I asked a grand matron ( in her mid 90's ) of here-abouts, with regard to the Mormons, and she intoned " Avoid them like the plague... they're no better than a cult. "... hmmmmmm...
Saturday evening: Met at the LDS church, alone with the Elders. Watched a video and discussed it. Interesting, more food for thought. I enjoy the discussions, the Elders so rapt.
RE:... In a related story... ( from previous posting ) from Parrotgeek7's subject on Da Boards: "Moon to Mars to ..ORK?? "... " additionally, the eight year old was then sued by the RIAA for downloading copywritten rover software after which John Aschroft proclaimed her an "imminent threat" and had her arrested and shipped to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, film at 11. "
Cracks me up !!! Hey ! parrotgeek7 !! ... MARGARITAS !!! Oodles-tay !!!
-- parrotgeek7
C'ya.
Friday, January 30, 2004
" One ought, everyday, to hear a song,
read a fine poem, and, if possible,
to speak a few reasonable words. "
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Received a response from an e-mail I had sent over a year ago after the New Year of 2003 from an old friend/co-worker/boss. Seems the e-mail was never forwarded properly internally.
The Mormon elders came by for a visit the other day... the crux of the discourse was faith. My devotions haven't changed, but the path is less clear... and I rue any change, nor will I take any change lightly... much thought and meditation and prayer needed.
Supplicant
My mind entreats
my poet's muse
desire
the very purest love
I myself need
acquire
:Bobby Nichols 1-29-2004
Eternity
Death...
The timeless dream
doth darkness cling
lest our spirit
love The Son
and be above
:Bobby Nichols 1-30-2004
Vista
Tree stands sentinel
o'er ancient layered mesas
'neath clouded slate sky
:Bobby Nichols 1-30-2004
Not entirely enthused with the first poem " Supplicant " above... a difficult set of 'jumbles' to choose from listed in the " Poetry in Motion " contest. Still, something I may be able to further work with. I did get two words to rhyme, LOL ! In the way I structured the poem, it may be read and interpreted in a number of ways. Again, good practice in the exercise.
The second poem " Eternity " had the first line "Death" somehow omitted in the entry... both versions viable, but is death easily implied without ?
The third blurb is my first Haiku ... actually second... I botched my first attempt with too many sylabibbles and then adapted from within... still learning !!!
... In a related story... The notorious hacker who gained control of the "Spirit" Mars rover was barred from using a computer for life.
The Japanese hacker, who had an intimate knowledge of the "C" programming language, blinded JPL from "Spirit's" sight as she ran the rover rampant over the Martian surface.
It is believed that the perpetrator would never have been caught had not her penchant for engraving Suki graffiti everywhere in the surrounding landscape with "Spirit's" rock cutting tools been discovered on JPL's regaining control of the Mars rover.
Go in peace, C'ya !!!
C'ya.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
" Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who
have minded beyond reason the opinions of others. "
--Virginia Woolf
Quiet this time of night/morning. The house cooling a bit. One of the dogs, Ralph - I think, barking at who knows what. The rest of the family bedded down... I expect Gail, anytime, for one of her many forays out of bed from pain or full bladder. The house cats and dogs also at their sleep. A little more time at the keyboard for me, maybe check Da Boards, perhaps some light reading in a bit. NPR, National Public Radio, playing classical music on my radio at low volume. A light chill motion of air finding its way about me. I've finished my latest poem:
Rope's End
The end unimaginative
lips ripening
more purple than heliotrope
my smile erased
I embrace the end
forgotten
:Bobby Nichols 1-28-2004
A bit of the "poetic noir" for my latest attempt ( at poetry, heh-heh ! ) for "Poetry in Motion "... a daily contest ( see sidebar ). The discipline of trying to write a poem once a day is proving quite alluring... fun actually.
Wood stove still smoking up the house. Time to clean the chimney ? May be interesting in the rain.
Good-bye !!!
C'ya.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
" Creativity means believing you have greatness. "
--Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Great !!!
BLOG bug in IE6 apparently fixed itself ? How nice !!!
Called Mom... had a nice visit. She and Bob are well, Mom being on anti-biotics for her COPD. I had a few questions regarding places and dates for her side of the family for a genealogy inquiry I'm giving to the elders from the Mormon Church, Latter Day Saints. I typed a quick Bio from Mom's facts. My grand-daughter Ashley, 3-years old, conversed with Mom for a bit with her gravelly little voice.
" Poetry in Motion "... a daily contest ( see sidebar )... my latest attempt:
Process Poetic
The poetry of
innermost thoughts
blossoms like a flower
found in chaos
to the poet
a dream manifest
:Bobby Nichols 1-27-2004
Updated AdAware on Gail's computer and scanned... only one bug from a Broderbund Children's CD to attend to... not bad !!! Added to Gail's e-mail blocked list... about 50 or so.
Fed the horses in the rain near dark. Gail had picked up some hay earlier from " Singing Springs Feed ". Dark about 5:30 p.m. PST nowadays. Rain still from a warm weather system. I'd hate to see my electric bill if we were to get a freeze, it's bad enough already.
Cleaned out the bottom of the wood stove flue. The smoke from the fire would inundate the house if one opened up the stove door to add wood. Messy chore !
Chrissy's SUV crapped out ( ignition ? ) while she was at work... had it towed from Placerville to home.
Pork ribs for the family for dinner, 'cept Gail's treating me to some beef ribs... my preference if we're to eat ribs. What a nice thought ! Had two pieces of fried chicken for lunch... my favorite too !
It's starting to rain hard... best to post now.
Adieu !!!
C'ya.
Weird... I can't view my BLOG all of a sudden in IE6... but Opera works fine ?
I've been using the BLOG more and more as my homepage to launch my surfing. Since I nearly always use IE6 this is a recent and annoying bug !
Guess I'll sleep on it and check the problem out later.
Anon !!!
C'ya.
C'ya.
Monday, January 26, 2004
"Be excellent to each other."
--from the movie:
" Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure "
Added
Devout
Patiently we keep true :Bobby Nichols 1-26-2004
" Poetry in Motion " a daily contest to my sidebar.
A jumble of many words or word fragments is given and one selects up to twenty to create a poem ( or in my case something poem-like )... my latest attempt:
our love for the Son
Heavenly reward found
God is lasting peace
Again, the title of the above poem wasn't part of the entry, but entered upon reflection. Given a few more different fragments/words I would have slightly changed the wording, but am satisfied just the same with the result. I may yet adjust the wording for another version for posting to the sidebar.
Just a note on how a poem is selected for the daily prize... each poem is time stamped and a number of poems are chosen by how close the entry time stamp is to a randomly generated time, and then further judged from there on merit.
" Seattle sunshine " Monday afternoon. We've had a few bouts of rain lately... all from relatively warm weather systems. Still a very moderate winter. Grandchildren David and Ashley indoors watching cartoons.
Gail... woke up shivering and wet... our water-bed has sprung yet another leak.
Posting early today... then going to feed the horses and then hit Da Boards and surf the internet... and then: who knows what...
Kone nomw !!!
C'ya.
... News Flash !!!
Today, March 3rd, 2005, Ex-President Bush was vindicated in his Bizzillion dollar quest to reach the moon Oberon orbiting the sun's 7th planet when the intrepid ship "Star of Texas" explorers found life for the first time outside our tiny planet !!!
While the world sung praise for Ex-President Bush's vision, this reporter did hear him mutter under his breath " Da**it, where's the WMD Saddam said we'd find up there ? "
;)
C'ya.
" The soul should always stand ajar.
Ready to welcome the ecstatic experience. "
--Emily Dickinson
Finished " The Inferno of Dante", by Robert Pinsky !!! A very tough read for me in this " Dante's Inferno 'new verse translation' ". I think I'll check for a dumbed-down version for reading, perhaps Project Gutenberg will have something. I will peruse Nicole, Robert's wife, Pinsky's notes and maybe Google a few notable characters alluded to in the book that I did not know.
" Poetry in Motion " a daily contest... a jumble of many words or word fragments is given... one selects up to twenty to create a poem, or in my case something poem-like... my attempt:
Onus
I consider'd great shame alone :Bobby Nichols 1-25-2004
our unborn scandal discover'd
Was desires enthusiasm but work
to one's own end ?
The title of the above poem wasn't part of the entry, but entered upon reflection. Too close... too close... too close... too close... too close... too close... too close... too close... too close... too close...
The two "Elders" from the Mormon Church dropped by Thursday and Saturday evening. Thursday, Gail chatted with them out in the cold, as did my daughter Chrissy when she arrived home. They were nice enough to help me with gathering some firewood for the evening. I brought them indoors and showed them my poem " Passings ". The words, I believe inspired by the Holy Spirit, still left behind in a September 12th BLOG session. I have yet to devise a proper art device to accompany the poem, but have long set Pachabel's Canon in "D" Major to the poem in an earlier attempt. The previous artwork was found to be copyrighted against web publishing, though not desktop use, so fair game to at least show in my home as an ensemble.
On Saturday we discussed many things including FLASH programs for the web and the LDS three-tiered plan for where man will dwell in the after-life ( other than hell )... euphemistically: the sun, the moon, and the stars... interesting discussions.
Bad day for Gail and I Friday... stressful and e v e r y t h i n g went wrong.
Sunday... woke up shivering and wet... our water-bed had sprung another leak. Tired and grumpy all day.
$$$ help from Chrissy and Richard re: electric bill !!!
Chrissy and Richard and David went to Arco Arena to watch the " Monster Trucks ", a favorite of my grandson David. Ashley stayed home with Gail.
Saalyzhaklan !!!
C'ya.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
" Learning is not attained by chance,
it must be sought for with ardor and
attended to with diligence. "
--Abigal Adams
... family lore has it my family is related to John and Abigal Adams on my Grandfather Nichols' side ( his Mother ). I have yet to make the genealogical connection... a link !
The before mentioned quote is from the calendar my niece Amy was nice enough to give me from her business " The Soto Insurance Agency ".
Dit, dit, dit, daaaaaaa !!!... Beethoven on NPR Sacramento ( National Public Radio ). Also Morse code for the letter "V", and, apparently, the horn-honking sequence a ham radio operator makes when one recognizes another 'ham' on the road by identifying their ham license plate. No, I'm not a 'ham' in that sense of the word.
Thursday... the van won't start. I, thinking that since there's frost everywhere believed it was merely too cold too start ( LOL, a chilly 35° Fahrenheit !!! ). I know Mom ! - you're probably near zero or below up there in Alaska . But, no... Gail finally managed to run out of gas. She has a 'thang' about leaving barely enough gas in her vehicle to get to the next gas station... and, of course, I'm always nagging her 'aboot' the fact ( for any Canadians amoungst... ).
Helped Larry a bit loading up his truck with the pile of junk from Wednesday that I had heaped.
Excellent time waster: played with the Shockwave puzzle I created and sent to my sister yesterday ( this morning ? ).
Perused Margaret Cho's BLOG... quite entertaining.
Gail's dog, " Poop ", ate my dictionary... at least part of the binding on the spine. Functional, but no longer aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I retook custody of my dictionary and purchased a $1 USD dictionary/thesaurus at the " Dollar Store " for Gail. A few weeks ago " Poop " managed to get to my wallet that I've had for years and years and chewed it all to perdition. The phrase " How to Wok a Dog " comes to mind...
Hei kona ra !!!
C'ya.
" As I was going up the stair,
I met a man who was not there,
he wasn't there again today,
I wish that man would go away. "
-- Hugh Mearns, poem "The Psychoed".
Da Boards... fed horses... e-mail... picked up a bunch of junk accumulating behind the house, and dumped in a pile in the driveway for now... cleaned up the "office" a bit... Da Boards... deleted extraneous bitsies on the desktop and moved others to folders to consolidate.
Tried a Shockwave Jig Saw Puzzle creating program that's free for a few more days. Sent one to my sister Debi... but attempts thereafter failed. Maybe I need to clean out my cache again ?
Talked to Mom on Monday for a bit... her MAC still not internetin'. Need to send her snail mails of my ars poetica ad nauseum, and verbiage platitudinous. A plethora of effluvia only a mother could love ;) She giggled at some of the anagrams I created for her birthday, politely... I must make more !!!
I'll downgrade the home situation to YELLOW alert status... Richard and Chrissy now considering to fix up my brother-in-law Kenny's abandoned trailer already on the property. Costs may run high for repairs, so we'll see. Kenny signed an informal release for Richard releasing all claim to the trailer... as a precaution.
Ashley, my 3-years old grand-daughter, has been using the 'hate' word or 'stupid' word to all and sundry if she doesn't get her way of late. She can throw a tantrum like nothing I've ever seen. Then it's 'I love you' if she gets her way.
C'ya when the (J-K) flip-flops !!!
C'ya.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
" Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life "
--Stevie Nicks, lyrics to "Landslide"... a link !!!, 1975
... is it really that old ?
Has it really been a week since I last posted ? Nah !
Kerry wins Iowa. I'm still pulling for Clark, who bypassed Iowa for N.H..
Immanent/emanant Episcopalian schism in the news... doesn't help my search for greater faith much.
Googled Mormon references... Da Boards... fed horses... updated anti-virus and spyware killers.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday... the grandkid's cartoon channel even alluded to the fact in a number of spots.
Cartoons: " Wands and wings / floaty crowny things "... " Fairly Odd Parents " - Cosmo's eyes are green and Wanda's are pink... and I swear Cosmo has had two distinctly different voices. And yes, Gary is still my favorite character in " Sponge Bob Square-pants "... FYI: Gary is an underwater snail that meows and can tie shoe-laces with his " mouth ".
A cryptic e-mail... a seemingly random series of $1 - $10 USD words both in the header and the body of an e-mail mis-sent to me ? My feeble analysis ( anagram and dictionary search ) yields a most strange portent:
HEADER:
woodworm descension steeple believer subtilie cleanly = [WORMY/HOLEY WOOD DISAGREEMENT IN TOWER OF CHURCH WORSHIPER searching TO BRING IN PURER STATE]
REMAINDER IN BODY:
ambiloquy places = [DOUBTFUL OR AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE IN A PASSAGE BEING READ]... LOL ! That's for sure !
refluent savoriness nozzle gueridon revamp malathion tridacna tauromachy beaconfire impurity = [RETURNING / PLEASANT FLAVOR / SPOUT FOR POURING LIQUID / STURDY ROUND TABLE / MAKE NEW / POISON USED TO CONTROL INSECTS / GIANT CLAMS / BULLFIGHTING / VISUAL SIGNAL / worthless material that should be removed ]
caldron effortless braced follows polyester = [POT USED TO BOIL / EASY / positioned so as to be ready for confrontation or danger / AS AGREED / SYNTHETIC CLOTH]
or = [Lord can feel frost (bird) ol' wolfs proselyte]... anagram?
razzia rearm begum buen laconian erbium bunko leisureiy garrulus mighty = [A plundering and destructive incursion / ARM AGAIN / a Muslim woman of high rank in India or Pakistan / BURN?GOOD? / a resident of Laconia / a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs with yttrium / SWINDLE / WHENEVER / JAYBIRD / having or showing great strength or force or intensity]
... maybe I just don't have the platen for the code à la L. Ron Hubbard's deca-ology ??? Wish I could make up this kind of stuff ! Nothing, of course, but an interesting exercise/diversion none the less. Pondering how to respond to sender ( actually a person [or person spoofing a person] found in a Google search from Glide Memorial Church in S.F. - most curious )... hmmmmmmmm .
My In-laws are selling their malamute puppies. I've taken some pictures and e-mailed them to one buyer. Need to re-do Candy's website since she lost hers when she switched from Earthlink to AOL.
Broke another chair I've been using when 'puting... I know I've gained weight since September in grand fashion... but sheeeesh !
" Office " a mess, still. Barely room for the kitty cats to hop about in search for snoozing spots.
Gonna' post this and then hit Da Boards one more time and knock off some more e-mail I've accumulated by inattention.
Holllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!... a link !
C'ya.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
" You study, you learn, but you guard the original naiveté. It has to be within you, as desire for drink is within the drunkard or love is within the lover. "
--Henri Matisse... a link !!!
... a Master with the brush... and a phrase.
January 13th... my Mom's birthday !!! Happy Birthday Mom !!!
Anagrams for Mom:
Matriarch... she's only chillin'
Hah ! Lyric Matron chilliness
N.Y. hero calls him liar, snitch
Holy schism can trill hernia
Harsh Mother... ill, cynical sin
Lily scan charms hither lion
Manic ostrich rashly in hell
Ah... missionary clench... thrill !
Techy harmonic shrill snail
I. no sly rath, sell chic in harm
Tiny chromic shell in ashlar
Flu ( Cold or flu ? ) got me down for a bit... Just recently felt up to hitting the 'puter...
Public Radio jazz station on the radio while I surf and blog... put on a pot of coffee 1:00 a.m.
One of my least liked activities is catching up on e-mail. Received some nice pictures of some of my nieces and nephews. Surfed Da Boards to catch up also.
Microsoft has announced an extension for Windows 98 support to June 30th, 2006. I still prefer my Win 98SE system to Gail's Win XP. Her computer is so bloody slow to do anything, especially online. Have I tweaked my computer for speed in the past, or is something bogging her computer down ?
Today installed SPYWAREBLASTER on Gail's computer and scanned for adware. Spywareblaster and AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy are much touted on Da Boards... I've just started using Spywareblaster, but have been using AdAware, Spybot Search & Destroy, AVG antivirus, and ZoneAlarm ( all freeware ) religiously in concert with defragging/scanning and cleaning out my cache as a preventative regimen to keep the ol' 'puter in tip-top shape.
$9 USD California State Super Lotto winner !!! $4.00 towards an overdue library book.
My latest library checkouts: "HTML VIRTUAL CLASSROOM" by Robert Fuller, published by McGraw Hill / Osborne... ISBN 0-07-219256-9
and "THE WORLD TREASURY OF SCIENCE FICTION" edited by David G. Hartwell, published by Little, Brown and Company. I'm still slogging through "THE INFERNO" and have been reading excerpts from "THE BOOK OF MORMON". Perused some art and poetry ( redundant ) magazines while at the library to fuel the soul.
Two "Elders" from the Mormon Church, ages 17 and 20, have been dropping by for spiritual discussions over the past two weeks. Thought provoking... opens many a can of worms in my mind I had once thought best to keep shelved.
http://oldpoetry.com/authors/Robert%20Nichols... A link to a poet to whom I have a resemblance in name, only.
Beoð ge gesunde !!!... a link !!!
C'ya.
... digg.com
