Poetry, For Example

I read a poem written by Anne Sexton that (in my far from expert opinion) should not be ignored by anyone, even those who do not usually read poetry; it should not be dismissed by self-described poetry critics or by pseudo-intellectuals who aspire to ruin that which they can neither appreciate nor even (truly) understand.

The Operation

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Tucson Weather Today

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Did You Know . . .?

The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan."

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HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day, November 11 in 1831, Nat Turner, the leader of a bloody slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia, was hanged in Jerusalem, the county seat. Turner, a slave and educated minister, believed that he was chosen by God to lead his people out of slavery. On August 21, 1831, he initiated his slave uprising by slaughtering Joseph Travis, his slave owner, and Travis' family. With seven followers, Turner set off across the countryside, hoping to rally hundreds of slaves to join his insurrection. Turner planned to capture the county armory at Jerusalem, Virginia, and then march 30 miles to Dismal Swamp, where his rebels would be able to elude their pursuers.

During the next two days and nights, Turner and 75 followers rampaged through Southampton County, killing about 60 whites. The state militia -- consisting of some 3,000 men -- crushed the rebellion. Only a few miles from Jerusalem, Turner and all his followers were dispersed, captured, or killed. Scores of African Americans were lynched, though many of them had not participated in the revolt. Turner himself was not captured until the end of October, and after confessing without regret to his role in the bloodshed, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. On November 11, he was hanged in Jerusalem.

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WORD FOR TODAY

poetry
noun
1.  the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.
2.  literary work in metrical form; verse.
3.  prose with poetic qualities.
4.  poetic qualities however manifested: the poetry of simple acts and things.

Poetry is a form of literary art which uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language -- such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre -- to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning.

Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke emotive responses.

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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio

(born November 11, 1974)

Leonardo DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator (2004).

DiCaprio started his career by appearing in the sitcom Growing Pains in the early 1990s. He made his film debut in the comedic sci-fi horror film Critters 3 (1991) and This Boy's Life (1993). DiCaprio obtained recognition for his subsequent work in supporting roles in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and Marvin's Room (1996), as well as leading roles in The Basketball Diaries (1995) and Romeo + Juliet (1996), before achieving international fame in James Cameron's Titanic (1997).

Since the 2000s, DiCaprio has been nominated for awards for his work in such films as Catch Me If You Can (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), Revolutionary Road (2008), Django Unchained (2012) and The Great Gatsby (2013). His films Shutter Island (2010) and Inception (2010) rank among the biggest commercial successes of his career. DiCaprio owns a production company named Appian Way Productions, whose productions include the films Gardener of Eden (2007) and Orphan (2009).

Demi Moore

(born November 11, 1962)

Demi Moore is an American actress, film producer, film director, former songwriter, and model. After making her acting debut in 1981, she appeared on the soap opera General Hospital and subsequently gained attention for her roles in Blame It on Rio (1984) and St. Elmo's Fire (1985). Her first film to become both a critical and commercial hit was About Last Night... (1986), which established her as a Hollywood star.

In 1990, Moore starred in Ghost, which was the highest-grossing film of that year and brought her a Golden Globe nomination. She had a string of additional box-office successes over the early 1990s with A Few Good Men (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), and Disclosure (1994). In 1996, Moore became the highest-paid actress in film history when she was paid a then-unprecedented fee of $12.5 million to star in Striptease. The high-profile disappointment of that film as well as her next, G.I. Jane (1997), was followed by a lengthy hiatus and significant downturn in Moore's acting career, although she has remained a subject of substantial media interest during the years since.

Jonathan Harshman Winters III

(Nov 11, 1925 - April 11, 2013)

Jonathan Winters was an American comedian, actor, author, and artist. With a career spanning more than six decades, Winters appeared in hundreds of television show episodes/series and films combined, including eccentric characters on The Steve Allen Show, The Garry Moore Show, The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters (1972–74), Mork & Mindy, Hee Haw, and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. He also voiced Grandpa Smurf on The Smurfs (1986–89) and Papa Smurf in The Smurfs (2011). Winters’ final feature film was The Smurfs 2 in 2013, which is dedicated to his memory.

Brittny Gastineau

(born November 11, 1982)

Brittny Gastineau is an American model, socialite, and reality television personality. In 2004, Gastineau landed a development deal with the E! Network and began production on a reality series which would also feature her mother Lisa Gastineau, the ex-wife of NFL defensive end Mark Gastineau. In 2005 the series, eventually dubbed The Gastineau Girls, premiered on February 15 and became a modest hit for The E! Network.

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A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.
--Robert Frost

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

What's Another Word For Thesaurus?

     

Tucson Weather Today


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While reading one of the February 28  entries in Taslima Nasreen's blog, No Country For Women, I clicked the link to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which I had heard of and have had parts of quoted to me, but had never read in its entirety.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest
Total cash prizes of $2,000 will be awarded, with a top prize of $1,000.
Deadline: April 1, 2013
NO ENTRY FEE

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Steven Wright, probably striving to be funny, once asked, "What's another word for Thesaurus?"

Well, according to an online list of synonyms for Thesaurus, they are: glossary, language reference book, lexicon, onomasticon, reference book, sourcebook, storehouse of words, terminology, treasury of words, vocabulary, and word list. Looking at each of these words yields the conclusion that not one of those words is an exact synonym but merely a close approximation of its meaning.

Oh well, as they say, "close enough for government work."

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HISTORICAL CLIP

On March 2, 1807 the U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."

Great Britain also banned the African slave trade in 1807, but the trade of African slaves to Brazil and Cuba continued until the 1860s. By 1865, some 12 million Africans had been shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, and more than one million of these individuals had died from mistreatment during the voyage. In addition, an unknown number of Africans died in slave wars and forced marches directly resulting from the Western Hemisphere's demand for African slaves.

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WORD FOR TODAY

archetype [AR-kuh-type]
noun
1. The original pattern or model of something; prototype.
2. An ideal or typical example of something.

According to Wikipedia an archetype is a universally understood symbol, term, statement, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. Archetypes are often used in myths and storytelling across different cultures. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior. In philosophy, archetypes have, since Plato, referred to ideal forms of the perceived or sensible objects or types.

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Dr. Seuss

 Born  March 2, 1904
Died   Sept. 24, 1991

Dr. Seuss (born Theodor Seuss Geisel) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone.

Geisel published 46 children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter. His most celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.

Laraine Newman

 Born Mar 2, 1952
Age: 60 years old

Laraine Newman is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast. is best known for being an original cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live, appearing on the show from its inception in 1975 through 1980. She originated the characters of Sheri the Valley Girl and Connie Conehead, among others.

Additionally, she made appearances on such programs as Laverne & Shirley, as Donut Rooter in Devo's We're All Devo VHS, According to Jim, St. Elsewhere, Amazing Stories, Friends, The Tick, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Histeria!, Wayside, Danny Phantom, CatDog, As Told By Ginger, Rugrats,  7th Heaven, The Flintstones, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Metalocalypse. Most recently she appeared in an episode of Entourage and Brothers & Sisters, provided voice work for WALL-E, Battle for Terra, Ponyo, Jungle Junction, Cars, Up!, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Barnyard, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Happily N'Ever After, Horton Hears a Who!, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, and Wreck-It Ralph. She made a guest voice appearance in SpongeBob SquarePants.

Desi Arnaz

 Born Mar 2, 1917
Died Dec 2, 1986

Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to whom he was married at the time.

Karen Carpenter

 Born Mar. 2, 1950
Died  Feb. 4, 1983

Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo Carpenters, commonly called The Carpenters. She is best known for her vocal performances of romantic ballads.

Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder which was little known at the time. She died at age 32 from heart failure caused by complications related to her illness. Carpenter's death led to increased visibility and awareness of eating disorders. Some of her best known numbers are Ticket to Ride, Close to You, and We've Only Just Begun.

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You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.
--Dr. Seuss
 

Liberty And Justice For All?

      
Tucson Weather Today
 

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Note: Rensselaer Adventures has some great snow and ice nature photos in its Monday entry.

Check it out

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Injustice, not justice, is rampant on Planet Earth.

More children, women, and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade: Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the property of an owner.

Trafficking in humans generates profits in excess of 32 billion dollars a year for those who, by force and deception, sell human lives into slavery and sexual bondage.

Nearly 2 million children are exploited in the commercial sex industry.

Pedophiles find that they can abuse children with impunity. The rights of women are violated on a massive scale worldwide.

See Injustice Today


In the United States, the most successful lawyers are paid millions (perhaps billions) of dollars for getting known perpetrators of crimes released by the courts through judicial bribery, outright perjury, and letter-of-the-law legal tricks.

Our legal system is known by most citizens to be unjust and needs overhauling desperately. People who have money to pay top lawyers get off for murder, while others who have incompetent court appointed lawyers, serve many years for lesser crimes.

In most cases, a politician or elected official will easily LIE to further his own agenda.


Wrongly Convicted Texan

A Texas man who was wrongfully imprisoned for nearly 25 years for his wife’s murder told a judge recently that neither he nor his legal team knew authorities were aware that his then 3-year-old son had witnessed the 1986 slaying and indicated it was a “monster” and not his father who committed the crime.

Michael Morton testified about what his son knew during the first day of a special court proceeding that will determine whether the ex-district attorney — now a judge — who prosecuted the murder case could face criminal charges for allegedly hiding evidence.

In this case, District Judge Louis Sturns, of Fort Worth, will hear evidence and decide whether Judge Ken Anderson acted improperly when he was district attorney for Williamson County. Sturns could refer the case for possible prosecution if he determines Anderson committed a crime.

Morton, 58, was released in October 2011 after new DNA tests showed he didn’t kill his wife, Christine, who was beaten to death in the couple’s north Austin home.

LINK


What do millions of students recite at the beginning of each school day?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and JUSTICE for all.

Yeah . . . right.

So, what's to be done about it?

Probably nothing. The Christian doctrine, in which most Americans claim to believe, teaches that true justice is in the Hand Of God, that all unrepentant sinners will feel His wrath at the time of judgment.

Nothing will be done. The people of Earth are all too happy to be able to pass the buck, and to kick the can down the road.

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HISTORICAL CLIP

Byron De La Beckwith, Jr. (November 9, 1920 – January 21, 2001) was an American white supremacist and Klansman from Greenwood, Mississippi, who was convicted in the 1994 state trial of assassinating the civil rights leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963. Two previous trials in 1964 on this charge had resulted in hung juries.

A 1994 state trial was held before a jury of eight black and four white jurors; it ended with De La Beckwith's conviction of first-degree murder for killing Medgar Evers.

He appealed the guilty verdict, but the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction in 1997. The court said the 31-year lapse between the murder and De La Beckwith's conviction did not deny him a fair trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

Byron De La Beckwith, Jr.

 

 

Wikipedia

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WORD FOR TODAY

justice
noun
1.
the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.
2.
rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason.
3.
the moral principle determining just conduct.
4.
conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct.
5.
the administering of deserved punishment or reward.

Statue at Shelby County Courthouse
located in Memphis, Tennessee

 

 

Wikipedia states: "The Western notion of justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion or equity. It is also the act of being just and/or fair."

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Eugene Roddenberry

 

Born Feb. 5, 1974
Age: 38 years old

Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter and producer. He was best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek.

As a freelance writer, Roddenberry wrote scripts for Highway Patrol, Have Gun–Will Travel, and other series, before creating and producing his own television program, The Lieutenant.

In 1964, Roddenberry created Star Trek, which premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons before being canceled. Syndication of Star Trek led to increasing popularity, and Roddenberry continued to create, produce, and consult on Star Trek films and the television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation until his death.

Red Buttons

 

Born Feb. 5, 1919
Died Jul 13, 2006

Red Buttons was an American comedian and actor.

In 1952, Buttons received his own variety series on television, "The Red Buttons Show," which ran for three years, and achieved high levels of success. In 1953, he recorded and had a two-sided hit with Strange Things Are Happening/The Ho Ho Song, with both sides/songs essentially being the same.

Buttons performed in numerous feature films, including the Africa adventure Hatari! with John Wayne, the war epic The Longest Day, the biopic Harlow, the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, the dance-marathon drama They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, the family comedy Pete's Dragon, the disaster film When Time Ran Out with Paul Newman and the age-reversal comedy 18 Again! with George Burns.

Stephen J. Cannell

 

Born: Feb 5, 1941
Died Sep 30, 2010

Stephen Joseph Cannell was an American television producer, writer, novelist and occasional actor, and the founder of Stephen J. Cannell Productions.

Cannell sold his first script to the Universal series It Takes a Thief in 1968. He was soon freelance writing for such other crime shows as Ironside and Columbo. He received his first full-time gig as the story editor of Jack Webb's police series Adam-12, then in its fourth season (1971–1972).

Cannell created or co-created nearly 40 television series, mostly crime dramas, including The Rockford Files, The Greatest American Hero, The A-Team, Wiseguy, 21 Jump Street, Silk Stalkings, and The Commish. In the process he had, by his own count, scripted more than 450 episodes, and produced or executive produced over 1,500 episodes.

Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.

 

Born: Feb. 5, 1900
Died July 14, 1965

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II was an American politician, noted for his intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory, and promotion of liberal causes in the Democratic Party. He served as the 31st Governor of Illinois, and received the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 1952 and 1956; both times he was defeated by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time in the election of 1960, but was defeated by Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. After his election, President Kennedy appointed Stevenson as the Ambassador to the United Nations; he served from 1961 to 1965.

The Writer's Almanac every day posts Poet's and Author's birthdays, with a short bio of each.

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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
--Martin Luther King, Jr.