Were they naughty instead of nice?
[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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American Life in Poetry: Column 220
Another 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.
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American Life in Poetry: Column 214
It’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
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In our Pennsylvania backyard …
… we have deer and at least one fox. Folks who live (or winter) in Naples, Florida are entertained by the most interesting birds!
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Why I Want To Go To St. Maarten
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Since when do politicians …
… have to know what they are voting for …
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Offensive? You be the judge.
NBC was happy to take money from the makers of Doritos to show us an ad during the Super Bowl in which a man takes a bite out of a Dorito and a woman’s clothes fly off of her body.
They also took money for a GoDaddy.com ad in which a woman with huge, fake breasts rips her sweater open to show us what she paid for.
But NBC apparently felt that the following ad was too offensive for television.
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I know … bad hacker! bad!
… but I still laughed my @** off when I saw this!
You gotta love Austin!
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Is the honeymoon over?
From Politico.com:
Now that he’s in office, Obama’s approval ratings are starting to normalize, as partisan back-and-forth picks up.
Just a week ago [prior to his inauguration], Gallup found an astonishing 83 percent approval of how he has handled his transition, showing he had even won over most Republicans.
The Gallup Poll on Saturday released the first job-approval rating for President Obama, based on interviews during his first three full days in office: 68 percent.
The new job-approval figure puts him at the upper end of opening poll numbers for presidents, but doesn’t set a record.
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Evidence that the NAACP …
… has outlived any usefulness it ever had …
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I totally get this.
In fact, I’m thinking Dan and I should fly to Vegas and renew our vows … at the In-n-Out Burger on Tropicana.
Couple weds in fast-food style … in Taco Bell.
Customers continue to order tacos and burritos as vows are exchanged.
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I had company for lunch today.
iTunes is currently playing: Animals from the album Fear Of Music by Talking Heads.
Family / Misc. Personal | Comment (0)Laugh of the Day
From the L.A.Times:
Porn mogul Larry Flynt sues nephews over use of family name
By Victoria Kim and Andrew Blankstein
January 7, 2009
Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt has been called a lot of things over the years. But he insists that the Flynt name still stands for quality when it comes to adult entertainment.
So this week, he filed suit against two nephews who are using the family name for their own line of adult films. Flynt said he is going to court to protect his good name, saying that he is concerned that Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt might tarnish the Flynt franchise by producing lower-quality porn that the lawsuit calls “inferior products” and “knock-off goods.”
“To come into the adult entertainment business and use my name not only confuses people who buy my products, but if they’re not maintaining a certain quality, it could also hurt my name,” Larry Flynt told The Times on Tuesday.
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If I hadn’t seen this ad …
… with my own eyes I’d swear it had to be a joke. It isn’t bad enough that we are bombarded by rap music ringtones everywhere we go. Soon we will be assaulted by PERFUME emanating from laptop computers, too!
iTunes is currently playing: Girls Just Want to Have Fun from the album The Essential Cyndi Lauper by Cyndi Lauper.
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