March 27, 2005
Poems and more poems
The time for more public poetry is at hand with the soon-to-arrive National Poetry Month. Perhaps you favor love poems? Poets and Writers listed the 25 best (among those online: #1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 19). Or perhaps ballads with a beat? This was once considered the best example, but this offensive poem is even more famous. Of course, nonsense is good, as is alliteration. Eager to take your own turn? Try some complex forms. Double sestina, anyone?
Joe Jennings slideshow
From the land of the living, to the air and sky...
Paul Hester, Aussie drummer of such antipodean bands as Split Enz and Crowded House (as well as occasional television performer), has committed suicide at 46.
Pick a Card, Any Card
International signage. Gaian philosophy.
Psychedelic
illumination. Bohemian Cats.
Crones.
Radical Fairies. Though
the venerable Rider-Waite
(available in several
versions), Crowley's Thoth,
and the enduring Tarot de
Marseilles continue to dominate most people's idea of Tarot,
independent
decks featuring a
variety
of
themes breathe
new
life
into the historical Tarot.
No longer merely
a
fortune-teller's prop, Tarot is gaining popularity as a tool for
do-it-yourself
therapy. Even
skeptics, who once speculated the decks
were "used ... mainly in fortune telling" by
emotionally crippled adults, are reluctantly (and subtly) revising
their commentary on the cards.)
Massive review
sites post sample card images and
extensive reviews. Associations and
mailing lists
provide community, and authors give away
detailed "how to" courseware online. With thousands of decks
on
the
market -- incorporating
everything from the Life of Lord
Buddha to subtle jabs at
America's
Favorite Fool -- your deck (even your
virtual deck) is out
there.
Tom Waits ate my Easter candy
Tasmanian Tiger Extinct or Not
The Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine [Thylacinus cynocephalus], a marsupial, was thought to have become extinct when the last known animal died in captivity from exposure in 1936. There have been numerous alleged sightings since. A German tourist supposedly photographed one recently (free reg.). Now there's a reward out for producing a live specimen but with prohibitive conditions requiring a permit that won't be issued. The thylacine cloning project has just been abandoned because the pup (from 1866) was kept in alcohol and not formalin - degrading the DNA.
HP-01 calculator watch
"Time: elusive and immediate...limited yet infinite. Because time is important to you, Hewlett-Packard introduces the HP-01, a new dimension in time management and personal computation." Truly, such an important model number could only be bestowed upon the king of all early calculator watches. No less than three batteries were required (two for the LED display alone), and even HP's impressive engineering was unable to save the HP-01 from the curse of bulkiness; it did not sell well at the $650 price point. The HP-01 was discontinued in 1980, as inexpensive LCD calculator watches began flooding the market (don't lie, you know you had one).
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