Walt Kelly and his friends Pogo and Porkypine still say it best:
"Y'know, it seems to be me this is all backwards....
We, Ever'body, ought to keep our big mouths shut all the
whole year long so's we'd have time to think of two minutes worth of
somethin' to say on the eleventh day of November."
to all veterans and their families, thank you.
I can’t
imagine that this is my niece now. Grown up so fast ~ she just turned 2 last June
30 this year. Her haircut reminds me of Dora
the Explorer ~ But the cuteness remains ~ !
©Zacchi Anezka♥♥♥
The poppy is an uncomplicated creature. It has one color. It is not parasitic or solitary. It grows simply, and in groups, like schoolchildren.
But its symbolism is rich, with a magnitude that has spanned many countries, and many centuries. For such a little flower it carries meanings that are vast and weary; that are eternal and quiet in the earth.
In Greece and Rome the poppy meant sleep and death - worlds beneath the cold eyelid. Opium was extruded from its seeds and sleepy breaths colored ancient dens and palaces. Poppies decorated the tombstones of their dead, welcoming the lengthy sleep. In Persian literature, the poppy is called the eternal flower - for emotions unrelenting and without end; for loyalty without limit.
The poppy fields in The Wizard of Oz were billowing and fearsome, promising an everlasting sleep. In Egypt opium was daubed on the neck and wrists like a hypnotic perfume.
It wasn't until 1915 that the significance of the little red flower passed into Europe as well, when the ground was already red. Towards the end of the year a poem was published - a trifle sentimental, a little maudlin, as most affairs of the heart are - and its beginning is familiar:
"In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row...
The fragrant drops of blood growing amongst the white purity must have been a shocking sight to the soldier; in a poem it might be less awful but no less meaningful. The poppy had become a part of their spoiled landscape.
"That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below
1915 was a terrible year. Gallipoli - Ypres - Nueve Chapelle - Loos - The Battles of the Isonzo...the poppies must have shuddered in the stinging breeze.
"We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields
When the war was over, and the hardness and the bitternress had set in, the poppy had adopted another symbol - the four blasted years that had called the Edwardians in from their play, that had rubbed the gilt off the lily. Its brave, bloody image was burnt on the dying soldier's eyes.
On Veteran's Dan/Remembrance Day the popppy is worn, sewn into wreaths, displayed in houses (Aubrey does this): it is still held high.
"Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields"
My first computer was a TRS-80 Color Computer with a whopping 4K of RAM. It had a Motorola 6809E processor running at 0.89 MHz. I paid the list price of $399. And it could do little than play games and BASIC programs. But I did indeed program it alot. At some point I got a Color Computer 2 with 64K. I gave the original one to my niece. Mariser typed a term paper on the Color Computer 2 attached to a DECwriter II. Both eventually died. This example I traded a PDP11 board for just to have a Color Computer again.
In all, the Color Computer line (versions 1 through 3) never made it big time but actually stay on the market for over a decade (1980 to 1991). Sometime during the production run of version 2, the name went from TRS-80 to Tandy Color Computer. They were somewhat slow but did have color graphics and a bunch of accessories. The joysticks were unusual for two reasons. First they were analog potentiometers. IE they were analog as opposed to the Commodore and Atari directional only switch based units. And they did not auto return to center. Push it forward and it stayed forward.
Perhaps I should try finding a Color Computer 3 with drives some day.
before he became a caricature in Meet the parents and Meet the parents II, Robert DeNiro was actually very funny in the 'comedic thriller' Midnight Run. (NOTE: how do you know you are old? old old? when a movie you watched when first release is touted as a classic. teh ouch. if Midnight Run were a college students it'd be finally drinking legally)
whatever a 'comedic thriller' is supposed to be, this movie was it. cant' think of any other movie that qualifies.
and to think it almost became a-for-sure-train-wreck. check it
"one of the studio (Paramount) proposals for the role of Jonathan Mardukas was Robin Williams*, who agreed to audition <shudders> meanwhile, the director, Martin Brest, had auditioned and cast Charles Grodin in the role, which lead Paramount to drop out of the production and sell the rights to Universal."
* Robin Williams! ack, ack, ack.
besides being a 'comedic thriller' Midnight Run is also a 'buddy movie', a 'road movie', and others. it is also hilarious.
trailer
did you catch the bit about "fistophobia"? here's the entire exchange:
Jack Walsh: I can't keep you cuffed on a
commercial flight, and I gotta check my gun with my luggage, but you fuck with
me once and I'm gonna break your neck.
Jonathan Mardukas: I can't fly.
Jack Walsh: What?
Jonathan Mardukas: You heard me, I can't fly.
Jack Walsh: No, no, no. You're going to have
to do better than that, pal.
Jonathan Mardukas: No, I don't have to do better than
that, because it's the truth, I can't fly: I suffer from aviaphobia.
Jack Walsh: What does that mean?
Jonathan Mardukas: It means I can't fly. I also
suffer from acrophobia and claustrophobia.
Jack Walsh: I'll tell you what: if you don't
cooperate, you're gonna suffer from "fistophobia".
Mardukas must be faking, right? good thing Walsh saw right through that.
The mongoose lives in southern Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. They also live in some Caribbean and Hawaiian islands, although as an introduced species. Speaking of species, there are more than 30 species of mongoose and they can range from one to four feet long (think squirrel-sized to cat-sized). That's a lot of mongoose!
Daisy, you'll like this part: Mongooses mostly feed on insects, crabs, earthworms, LIZARDS, snakes, chickens, and rodents. They will also eat eggs and carrion.
Some mongoose species can be taught tricks, which of course made people want to domesticate them and keep them as pets, usually to keep down the population of vermin. They are, however, pretty destructive. This has been shown to be the case in the Hawaiian islands where they were brought in and now are responsible for having a significant negative effect on native fauna.
More interesting mongoose facts:
- Some species, such as the Indian mongoose, are popularly used to fight and kill venomous snakes, including cobras. They are capable of doing this because of their agility and cunning, and their thick coat.
- The helogale pervula (common dwarf mongoose) has the phylogenic
background that relates them closely to the family Hyeanidae (hyenas),
Viverridae (civets), and Felidae (lions).
- The mongoose emits a high pitched noise, commonly known as giggling,
when it mates. The giggling is also a form of courtship when this
animal is choosing a mate.
I can't top that last fact, so I'll just leave you with pictures.
Now punch it !!!
Then the quick step-step goes right here...
If not worth it, at least him costs it.
Another $2,000!!!
Him has to stay overnight 3 days and have surgery -- he has a stone so huge that there's no way any kitteh could pass it.
Poor boy. Poor us.
Is because I have that same wall clock. It's super fun. It takes people a while to realize it's a clock and then they think it's pretty darn cool.
Thanks, MomH for the great (years ago) Christmas gift!
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