Saturday, September 13, 2008

Classic Poetry: Topsy-Turvy World (William B. Rands)

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Guy Fawkes portrait, unknown artist
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If the butterfly courted the bee,

-----And the owl the porcupine;

If churches were built in the sea,

-----And three times one was nine;

If the pony rode his master,

-----If the buttercups ate the cows,

If the cats had the dire disaster

-----To be worried, sir, by the mouse;

If mamma, sir, sold the baby

-----To a gypsy for half a crown;

If a gentleman, sir, was a lady,—

-----The world would be Upside-down!

If any or all of these wonders

-----Should ever come about,

I should not consider them blunders,

-----For I should be Inside-out!


Chorus:

Ba-ba, black wool,

-----Have you any sheep?

Yes, sir, a packfull,

-----Creep, mouse, creep!

Four-and-twenty little maids

-----Hanging out the pie,

Out jump’d the honey-pot,

-----Guy Fawkes, Guy!

Cross latch, cross latch,

-----Sit and spin the fire;

When the pie was open’d,

-----The bird was on the brier!

A snark version of this poem can be found here.

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A Topsy-Turvy Project: How to Make an Ice-cream Cone Buckyball



alyceobvious says,

I make these Buckminster Fuller-inspired buckyballs from ice-cream cones, then deploy them in unexpected locations as a kind of biodegradable graffiti. This is a how-to video with original guitar composition by Julian Mock

(Please see JulianMock.com or iTunes for more info).

More odd works of ephemera at alycesantoro.com.

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Friday, September 12, 2008

Classic Poetry: Wasn't That a Mighty Storm? (Folk Song, Eric von Schmidt, 1931 -2007)

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"Wasn't That a Mighty Storm?" Performed by D. E. Mainer



jefferyb304

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(This poem refers to the category 4 hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900)

(Chorus)
Wasn't that a mighty storm
Wasn't that a mighty storm in the morning, well
Wasn't that a mighty storm That blew all the people all away


Path of the 1900 Category 4 Hurricane that Smashed into Galveston.
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You know the year of 1900
Children, many years ago
Death came howling on the ocean
Death calls, you got to go
Now Galveston had a seawall
To keep the water down, and a
High tide from the ocean
Spread the water over the town


(Chorus)


You know the trumpets give them warning
You'd better leave this place
Now, no one thought of leaving
'til death stared them in the face
And the trains they all were loaded
The people were all leaving town
The trestle gave way to the water
And the trains they went on down


(Chorus)


Rain it was a' falling
Thunder began to roll
Lightning flashed like hell fire
The wind began to blow
Death the cruel master
When the wind began to blow
Rode in on a team of horses
T cried, "Death, won't you let me go."


(Chorus)


Hey, now trees fell on the island
And the houses give away
Some they strained and drowned
Some died in most every way
And the sea began to rolling
And the ships they could not stand
And I heard a captain crying
"God save a drowning man."


(Chorus)


Death your hands are clammy
You got them on my knee
You come and took my mother
Won't you come back after me
And the flood it took my neighbor
Took my brother too
I thought I heard my father calling
And I watched my mother go


(Chorus)


You know the year of 1900
Children, many years ago
Death came howling on the ocean
Death calls, you got to go




(Chorus 2X)

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Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Destroys a Catholic Orphanage, Only 3 Survivors



Lonestar101

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Classic Poetry: The Wind In A Frolic (William Howitt, 1792 - 1879)

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William Howitt, 18 December 1792 – 3 March 1879) author from Heanor Derbyshire
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The wind one morning sprang up from sleep,
Saying, “Now for a frolic! now for a leap!
Now for a madcap, galloping chase!
I’ll make a commotion in every place!”
So it swept with a bustle right through a great town,
Creaking the signs, and scattering down
The shutters, and whisking, with merciless squalls,
Old women’s bonnets and gingerbread stalls.
There never was heard a much lustier shout
As the apples and oranges tumbled about;
And urchins, that stand with their thievish eyes
Forever on watch, ran off each with a prize.

Hurricane Ike, NASA, September 9, 2008
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Then away to the fields it went blustering and humming,
And the cattle all wondered whatever was coming.
It plucked by their tails the grave matronly cows,
And tossed the colts’ manes all about their brows,
Till offended at such a familiar salute,
They all turned their backs and stood silently mute.

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Dire warnings about Hurricane Ike (9/11)



ecthompson
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So on it went, capering and playing its pranks;
Whistling with reeds on the broad river banks;
Puffing the birds, as they sat on a spray,
Or the travelers grave on the king’s highway.
It was not too nice to bustle the bags
Of the beggar, and flutter his dirty rags.
’Twas so bold that it feared not to play its joke
With the doctor’s wig, and the gentleman’s cloak.
Through the forest it roared, and cried gayly, “Now,
You sturdy old oaks, I’ll make you bow!”
And it made them bow without more ado,
Or it cracked their great branches through and through.

Then it rushed like a monster o’er cottage and farm,
Striking their inmates with sudden alarm;
And they ran out like bees in a midsummer swarm.
There were dames with kerchiefs tied over their caps,
To see if their poultry were free from mishaps.
The turkeys they gobbled, the geese screamed aloud,
And the hens crept to roost in a terrified crowd;
There was rearing of ladders, and logs laying on,
Where the thatch from the roof threatened soon to be gone.
But the wind had passed on, and had met in a lane
With a schoolboy, who panted and struggled in vain,
For it tossed him, and twirled him, then passed, and he stood
With his hat in a pool and his shoe in the mud.
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For all our friends who have faced the ire of Hurricane Ike: be well.

Hurricane Ike on September 12, 2008, Photo Courtesy of NASA
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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Classic Poetry: A Hunting We Will Go (Anonymous, Traditional Folksong/Poem)

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The Magic of Living with Wolves



ToAddictedtoStayAway

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A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a fox and put him in a box
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a fish and put him on a dish
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a bear and cut his hair
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a pig and dance a little jig
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a giraffe and make him laugh
And then we'll let him go

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A snark version of this poem can be found here.

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A Man Among Wolves Trailer



twt2006

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Sunday, September 7, 2008

Classic Poetry--Solomon Grundy (Anonymous Nursery Rhyme)

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Solomon Grundy,

Born on a Monday,

Christened on Tuesday,

Married on Wednesday,

Took ill on Thursday,

Grew worse on Friday,

Died on Saturday,

Buried on Sunday.

That was the end of

Solomon Grundy.


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Solomon Grundy Animation



BebVers
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Classic Poetry: Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1830 - 1894)

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Christina Rossetti
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Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling

The wind is passing through.

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The trees bow down their heads to Gustav



ilovefroggie

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Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads

The wind is passing by.

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Fictional Representation of Ike



moshon2007

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For those who have suffered through Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and any other hurricanes.

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