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Showing posts from November, 2007

How We Operate

Calm down And get straight It's not our eyes (?) It's how we operate You're true You are I'd apologize but it won't go very far Please come here Come right on over And when we collide we'll see what gets left over A little joy A little sorrow And a little pride so we won't have to borrow Wherever you lead, I'll follow Turn me inside out and upside down And try to see things my way Turn a new page, tear the old one out And I'll try to see things your way Please come here Please come on over There is no line that you can't step right over Without you well I'm left hollow So can we decide to try a little joy tomorrow 'Cos baby tonight I'll follow Turn me inside out and upside down And try to see things my way Turn a new page, tear the old one out And I'll try to see things your way The way that we've been speaking now I swear that we'd be friends, I swear 'Cos all these little deals go down with Little consequences, we sh

Five Surprising Symptoms of Infidelity

An article for everyone, and anyone can write an article, no matter how unqulaified you may be. This author seems particularly clueless... about his own gender! Check this out: Everybody thinks they can spot a cheater a mile away. Adulterers, after all, have the same characteristics, right? Wandering eyes, secret cell phones, last name Sheen. If only it were that easy. Unfortunately, we live in a society where people fall out of their fidelity flight patterns and take off on their own different courses all the time, even though we desperately want to believe that our partners won't be unfaithful. That's why it's important to know some of the traits and sneaky signals that are common in people who tend to be unfaithful in the relationships. OK, I disagree with this. Already! Of course this is a "trait", in fact, it is built into the human genome. Fidelity and marriage are manmade concepts... not sure how the church got involved with this one, really - limited peopl

A.W.A.D. - Built-in Definite Articles

What does the 'lute' of a musician have in common with the Norwegian sea monster 'kraken' and 'lariat' of a cowboy? All three words come with a built-in definite article. The word lute is from Arabic al lud (the wood), kraken has the suffixed Norwegian definite article (-en), and lariat isfrom Spanish la reata (the rope). Words are buried civilizations. Begin digging and you come across layers of history. Passage of time muddies the original form of words and when we borrow them from another language, we don't realize that they're already hitched to an article before we add a new one. Well, you don't have to hop across languages or travel through time to see this kind of redundancy in action. We have the ATM machine and VAT tax and AC current in the English language. This week we feature five more words that come with a packaged definite article. lagniappe (lan-YAP, LAN-yap) noun An unexpected benefit, especially a small gift a customer receives with

The Space

On top of the world like a flag on a mountain Feeling so high you can feel so alone Unable to breathe at the height that you flew Staring on clouds with no view of below On top of a girl like a dream in a hotel Falling towards something out of control Unable to miss like the man in the tram Crashing your car in Amsterdam He did it without knowing, didn't feel a thing He just wrecked it and kept going The space around the stars Is something that you know A billion miles of darkness Left your feeling low The space around the stars Is something that you know Everything about you So perfectly restrained But everything inside you Bites you Everybody in the whole of the world Feels the same inside Everybody in the whole of the world Everyone is only everyone else Everybody's got to know Everybody lives and loves and laughs and cries And eats and sleeps and grows and dies Everybody in the whole of the world Is the same this time Is the same inside In the whole of the world

Yoga Truly Unbound

Last night I went to yoga and it was... ... INCREDIBLE! It was not just a regular class, it was beautiful! I like the instructor, John, but up until now the classes have been good. Not that there was anything wrong with that! But something last night was different. I have no idea what. Although I'm usually stiff and sore the next day but today I felt great. John teaches one type of yoga, but I must be confused with the names (not surprising, knowing me), but here are the different types: Ananda Yoga: Ananda Yoga classes focus on gentle postures designed to move the energy up to the brain and prepare the body for meditation. Classes also focus on proper body alignment and controlled breathing. Anusara Yoga is a relatively new form of yoga (1997), which pairs strict principles of alignment with a playful spirit. Postures can be challenging, but the real message of Anusara is to open your heart and strive to connect with the divine in yourself and others. Ashtanga (or Astanga) Yoga is

An Amazing Thing

Sometimes life hands you packages wrapped in ridiculous packaging. Yes, I say that a lot. But it is true. Kind of like the phrase I picked up from a BNL song: "It's not what you're sure of, it's what you don't know". A phrase with a wealth of meaning. Yesterday, there was an emergency at work. Nothing terrible, but still an emergency, and I had the fortune to run into Rich who pressed me into service without another thought. I had another fleeting thought - lunch - but clearly yet another roadblock existed between myself and the not far-off kitchen. Lunch would wait. Outside I became EMT [wench] and once I assessed the situation, took over and got positioned to do head/neck stabilization. The position was exceedingly awkward, but almost every car accident is awkward and demands finding new and creative ways to access the patient. It wasn't long but it seemed to be forever, holding the patient's head and asking questions and being reassuring and getting

Subdivisions

Sprawling on the fringes of the city In geometric order An insulated border In between the bright lights And the far unlit unknown Growing up it all seems so one-sided Opinions all provided The future pre-decided Detached and subdivided In the mass production zone Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone Subdivisions In the high school halls In the shopping malls Conform or be cast out Subdivisions In the basement bars In the backs of cars Be cool or be cast out Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth But the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth Drawn like moths we drift into the city The timeless old attraction Cruising for the action Lit up like a firefly Just to feel the living night Some will sell their dreams for small desires Or lose the race to rats Get caught in ticking traps And start to dream of somewhere To relax their restless flight Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights... Subdivisions In the high school h

Mercy Street

looking down on empty streets, all she can see are the dreams all made solid are the dreams all made real all of the buildings, all of those cars were once just a dream in somebody's head she pictures the broken glass, she pictures the steam she pictures a soul with no leak at the seam lets take the boat out wait until darkness let's take the boat out wait until darkness... comes nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey nowhere in the suburbs in the cold light of day there in the midst of it so alive and alone words support like bone dreaming of mercy st. wear your inside out dreaming of mercy in your daddy's arms again dreaming of mercy st. swear they moved that sign dreaming of mercy in your daddy's arms pulling out the papers from the drawers that slide smooth tugging at the darkness, word upon word confessing all the secret things in the warm velvet box to the priest-he's the doctor he can handle the shocks dreaming of the tenderness the tremble in the hi

Only The Good Die Young

Come out Virginia, don't let me me wait You Catholic girls start much too late But sooner or later it comes down to fate I might as well be the one They showed you a statue and told you to pray They built you a temple and locked you away But they never told you the price that you pay For things that you might have done Only the good die young You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud We might be laughing a bit too loud But that never hurt no one Come on Virginia show me a sign Send up a signal I'll throw you the line The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind Never lets in the sun And only the good die young You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation You got a brand new soul And a cross of gold But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information You didn't count on me When you were counting on your rosary They say there's a heaven for those who will wait Some say it's better b

Easter

A ghost of a mist was on the field The grey and the green together The noise of a distant farm machine Out of the first light came A tattered necklace of hedge end trees On the southern side of the hill Betrays where the border runs between Where Mary Dunoon's boy fell Easter here again, a time for the blind to see Easter, surely now can all of your hearts be free Out of the port of Liverpool Bound for the North of Ireland The wash of the spray and horsetail waves The roll of the sea below And Easter here again, a time for the blind to see Easter, surely now can all of your hearts be free What will you do? Make a stone of your heart? Will you set things right? When you tear them apart? Will you sleep at night? With the plough and the stars alight? What will you do? With the wire and the gun? That'll set things right When it's said and done? Will you sleep at night? Is there so much love to hide? Forgive, Forget Sing "Never again."

A Post A Day?

I'm suddenly thinking that I can make 365 posts for this year. I don't always have something to say and there are plenty of posts that are articles or song lyrics or pictorials. But they are still posts and qualify as me saying something - it just may not be in my words. At the outset of the year I was not posting much at all and had thought that I was way beyond the point of managing to make this worthwhile. But in September, October and this month, I have averaged a much higher amount of posts. I had 57 for September, 44 for October and currently 43 for November, not including this one and the one entitled "Thanksgiving Weekend", which should be complete tonight. Not bad. November has more to go because there should be one song's lyrics every day. There are no shortages of material there, just the time to do it. And there are a multitude of subjects to be commented upon, but it is staggering how little time there is in the day to do it. Not to mention that some

(Don't Fear) the Reaper

All our times have come Here but now they're gone Seasons don't fear the reaper Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain.. we can be like they are Come on baby...don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... Valentine is done Here but now they're gone Romeo and Juliet Are together in eternity... Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday... Like Romeo and Juliet 40,000 men and women everyday... Redefine happiness Another 40,000 coming everyday... We can be like they are Come on baby...don't fear the reaper Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper Baby I'm your man... Love of two is one Here but now they're gone Came the last night of sadness And it was clear she couldn't go on Then the door was open and the wind appeared The candles blew then disappeared The curtains flew then he appeared... saying

I Have the Touch

The time I like is the rush hour, cos I like the rush The pushing of the people - I like it all so much Such a mass of motion - do not know where it goes I move with the movement and ... I have the touch I'm waiting for ignition, I'm looking for a spark Any chance collision and I light up in the dark There you stand before me, all that fur and all that hair Oh, do I dare ... I have the touch Wanting contact I'm wanting contact I'm wanting contact with you Shake those hands, shake those hands Give me the thing I understand Shake those hands, shake those hands Shake those hands, shake those hands Any social occasion, it's hello, how do you do All those introductions, I never miss my cue So before a question, so before a doubt My hand moves out and ... I have the touch Wanting contact I'm wanting contact I'm wanting contact with you Shake those hands, shake those hands Give me the thing I understand Shake those hands, shake those hands Pull my chin, stroke my h

A.W.A.D. - Eponyms - Words Coined After Someone

Eponyms -- AWAD's perennial favorites -- make their appearance once again. If we featured nothing but eponyms every day it would be several years before we'd run out. There's a reason for their popularity: where else can you a find a whole story in just one word? And there's a reason for their abundance: it's often easiest to name something after its inventor. This week's selection features words named after people -- famous and infamous, real and fictional, well-known and obscure. pinchbeck (PINCH-bek) noun An alloy of zinc and copper, used as imitation gold in jewelry. adjective Counterfeit or spurious. [After watchmaker Christopher Pinchbeck (1670-1732), who invented it. It's ironic that today his name is a synonym for something counterfeit but in his time his fame was worldwide, not only as the inventor of this curious alloy but also as a maker of musical clocks and orreries*. The composition of this gold-like alloy was a closely-guarded secret but it di

An Interesting Survey

1. What time is it? 1354 2. What are your full names? Aislinge Kellogg 3. What are you most afraid of : Spiders 4. Place of birth? Manhattan, New York 5. Favourite food? Hawai'ian pizza 6. Your hair colour now? Reddish brown 7. Have you travelled? Yes 8. Do you scrunch or fold (toilet paper)? Fold 9. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes 10. Been in a car accident? Yes. 1 September 2001 11. BMW or Mercedes Benz Neither. Acura 12. Favourite day of the week? Monday 13. Favourite Restaurant? The Garlic Rose 14. Favourite Flower? None 15. Favourite sport to watch? Olympics, the ONLY sport I will watch 16. Favourite Drink? Hot tea 17. Favourite ice cream? Red Bean 18. Disney or Warner Brothers? Warner Brothers! 19. Favourite fast food restaurant? None 20. What colour is your bedroom carpet? Faded burgundy 21. How many times you failed your driver's test? Never 22. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Harry Trebilcox, my father 23. What

Iris

And I'd give up forever to touch you 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be And I don't want to go home right now And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life 'Cause sooner or later it's over I just don't want to miss you tonight And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming Or the moment of truth in your lies When everything feels like the movies And you bleed just to know you're alive And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you

The King of Sunset Town

A ragged man came shuffling through A puppet king on the 4th of June And butterflies from all around Settled on his paper crown A pretty sight it seemed to be An avenue of eternal peace But he said, "What is here can soon burn down..." "I'm the king of sunset town" Watch a big wheel turning round Some go up and some go down Some go thirsty some just drown "That's the law round here" Said the king of sunset town And in the night he comes to me And the square becomes a battlefield Of staring eyes that can't explain The insanity and the greater game Watch a big wheel turning round Some go up and some go down Some go thirsty some just drown "That's the law round here" Said the king of sunset town A ragged man came shuffling through The corridors of this white place And as he lay his body down I saw the scars that lined his face And injured souls came to his bed To hear the stories he would tell Of butterflies and summertimes And every

Way To Go, David & Dorita!

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Quality goods a magnet for museum's bazaar Ernst Lamothe Jr. Staff writer (November 19, 2007) — Several times Sunday, David Reyen turned his booth into a mobile dressing room. As he held out a large mirror at every angle, women modeled pieces of his hand-dyed silk and wool clothing that they had just purchased. David Reyen of Baldwinsville holds the mirror for Carol Graziano of Irondequoit as she tries on a capelet at the Rochester science museum's Holiday Bazaar. Reyen runs Reyen Design Studios with his wife, Dorita. "Clothing is just another word for costume. So we're here to help people pick what kind of costume they want to wear for any particular day," said Reyen of Baldwinsville, Onondaga County, who runs Reyen Design Studios with his wife, Dorita. With Christmas music softly playing the background, hundreds of people sifted through crafts, bought jewelry and tried on garments at the 37th annual Holiday Bazaar. Hosted by the Rochester Museum & Science Ce

A Change

Ten years living in a paperbag Feedback baby, he's a flipped out cat He's a platinum canary, drinkin' falstaff beer Mercedes rule, and a rented lear Botton feeder insincere Prophet lo-fi pioneer Sell the house and go to school Get a young girlfriend, daddy's jewel A change would do you good A change would do you good God's little gift is on the rag Poster girl posing in a fashion mag Canine, feline, Jekyll and Hyde Wear your fake fur on the inside Queen of south beach, aging blues Dinner's at six, wear your cement shoes I thought you were singing your heart out to me Your lips were syncing and now I see A change would do you good A change would do you good Chasing dragons with plastic swords Jack off Jimmy, everybody wants more Scully and angel on the kitchen floor And I'm calling Buddy on the ouija board I've been thinking 'bout catching a train Leave my phone machine by the radar range Hello it's me, I'm not at home If you'd like to rea

Every Day is a Winding Road

I hitched a ride with a vending machine repair man He says he's been down this road more than twice He was high on intellectualism I've never been there but the brochure looks nice Jump in, let's go Lay back, enjoy the show Everybody gets high, everybody gets low, These are the days when anything goes Everyday is a winding road I get a little bit closer Everyday is a faded sign I get a little bit closer to feeling fine He's got a daughter he calls Easter She was born on a Tuesday night I'm just wondering why I feel so all alone Why I'm a stranger in my own life Jump in, let's go Lay back, enjoy the show Everybody gets high, everybody gets low These are the days when anything goes Everyday is a winding road I get a little bit closer Everyday is a faded sign I get a little bit closer to feeling fine I've been living in a sea of anarchy I've been living on coffee and nicotine I've been wondering if all the things I've seen Were ever real, were e

Headlock

Distant flickering, greener scenery. This weather's bringing it all back again. Great adventures, faces and condensation. I'm going outside to take it all in. You say too late to start, got your heart in a headlock, I don't believe any of it. You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock, You know you're better than this. We're a different pair, do something out of step. Throw a stranger an unexpected smile...with big intention. Still posted at your station. Always on about the day it should have flied. You say too late to start, got your heart in a headlock, I don't believe any of it. You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock, You know you're better than this. Afraid to start, got your heart in a headlock, I don't believe any of it. You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock, You know you're better than this. Been walking, you've been hiding, And you look half dead half the time. Monitoring you, like machi

Pon De Replay

come mr. dj, song pon de replay come mr. dj, won't you turn the music up all the gyal pon the dance floor wantin some more what come mr. dj won't you turn the music up [verse:] It goes one by one, even two by two everybody on the floor let me show you how we do lets go dip it low then you bring it up slow wind it up one time wind it back once more [pre-hook:] run, run, run, run everybody move runlemme see you move and rock it til the grooves doneshake it til the moon becomes the sun (sun) everybody in the club give me a run (run) if you ready to move say it (yeah yeah) one time for your mind say it (yeah yeah) well i'm ready for ya come let me show ya you want to groove im'a show you how to move come come[hook x2:]come mr. dj song pon de replay come rr. dj won't you turn the music up all the gyal pon the dancefloor wantin some more what come mr. dj won't you turn the music up[b-sec x2:] hey mr.please mr. dj tell me if you hear me turn the music up [verse 2:] it

Absinthe

November 12, 2007 Connections Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN, NY Times Dear reader! Should this column impress you as being more than usually lyrical, recalling perhaps the imagery and elegance of poetry by Baudelaire or Verlaine; should it seem a bit decadent, redolent of Oscar Wilde’s withering hauteur; should it have a touch of madness or perversity, combining, say, the tastes of Toulouse-Lautrec with the passions of van Gogh; should it simply sound direct and forceful and knowing like one of Ernest Hemingway’s characters; should it do any or all of that, let me credit something that each of these figures fervently paid tribute to: the green fairy, the green goddess, the green muse, the glaucous witch, the queen of poisons. Absinthe. For this column was conceived under the influence of a green-colored, high-proof herbal liquor that was illegal in the United States for more than 95 years. And not just here, for when that mini-Prohibit

A History of Postal Codes!

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I was reading my 1958 Old Farmers Amanac by Robert B. Thomas (who is, of course, long dead, but still has his name on the front cover of every single one of these, all 215. Well, maybe it is 216, now. The 2008 Almanac came out in September. They have for a long time, too. That is not a recent change to the Almanac. What struck me was the adverts in it. Inside where all these cheesy adverts with weird drawings that are so hallmark of the 50s and the addresses were there. They all looked like this: Joseph Harris Co. 295 Moreston Farm Rochester 11, N.Y. Anything look strange about that address? Like the postal code is part of the town name, and not five to nine digits. I knew that the postal code system was not always in place, but I did not realise that as late as 1958 it wasn't in place! 1963, same thing - Chicago 10, Ill. 1964, 1966, ah-ha! 1967 - the addresses look like this: Alonzo O. Bliss Medical Co. Washington, D.C. 20013 Most states seemed to have adopted this system, but the

Don't Miss This Amazing Sight!

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The e-mail came from Bill Watson, a retired Buffalo science teacher who divides his time today between bird watching and astronomy. In astronomical circles, Watson is best known as a world class recorder of meteor showers, but his message this time called my attention to a remarkable comet whose sudden outburst has made it visible to the naked eye. This extraordinary solar phenomenon is called Comet Holmes or officially Comet 17P /1892 V1. Alan MacRobert of Sky and Telescope astronomy magazine called its appearance “an extraordinary event not to miss.” Despite our recent series of clear skies, I couldn’t follow up Watson’s suggestion until a few days ago. But then when I searched the sky, there was the comet, a kind of blurry smudge, quite distinct in appearance from the nearby twinkling stars. My eyes are not good and there is a great deal of light pollution in my neighborhood; even so, I could see it with naked eyes. With binoculars, I could then make out much greater detail. You too

Goodnight and Go

Say goodnight and go. Skipping beats, blushing cheeks I am struggling Daydreaming, bed scenes in the corner café And then I'm left in bits recovering tectonic tremblings You get me every time Why d'ya have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you Must you make me laugh so much It's bad enough we get along so well Say goodnight and go Follow you home, you've got your headphones on and you're dancing Got lucky, beautiful shot you taking everything off watch the curtains wide open Then you fall in the same routine flicking through the TV relaxed and reclining And you think you're alone... Why d'ya have to be so cute? It's impossible to ignore you Must you make me laugh so much It's bad enough we get along so well Say goodnight and go One of these days, you'll miss your train and come stay with me We'll have drinks and talk about things, any excuse to stay awake with you You'll sleep here, I'll sleep there, but then the heating ma