Jimmy Pappas's Blog, page 8
January 3, 2019
Edward Lear
Edward Lear's A Book of Nonsense was published in 1846. That date needs to be taken into account for some of my comments.
All of the poems are limericks. Each one has a marvelous drawing above the poem. Here is an example of one of his limericks:
There was an Old Man of the Nile,
Who sharpened his nails with a file;
Till he cut off his thumbs,
And said calmly, "This comes—
Of sharpening one's nails with a file!"
One of the main problems I found was the repeat rhyming of the same word, in this case the word "file." That is a lazy man's rhyme pattern. After a while, it grated on me. Usually he just pretty much repeated the first line, like this example:
There was an Old Person of Rheims,
Who was troubled with horrible dreams;
So, to keep him awake,
They fed him with cake,
Which amused that Old Person of Rheims.
There are two poems in the collection that I found troubling. Funny that I have yet to find a reviewer who mentions them. The first one is misogynistic:
There was an Old Man on some rocks,
Who shut his wife up in a box;
When she said, "Let me out,"
He exclaimed, "Without doubt,
You will pass all your life in that box."
The second troubling poem for me is racist:
There was an Old Man of Jamaica,
Who suddenly married a Quaker;
But she cried out—"O lack!
I have married a black!"
Which distressed that Old Man of Jamaica.
Now my questions are: 1. Should I give this book to my grandchildren? 2. Should I explain what is wrong with those two poems? 3. Do I excuse the author because he wrote in a different time period?
All of the poems are limericks. Each one has a marvelous drawing above the poem. Here is an example of one of his limericks:
There was an Old Man of the Nile,
Who sharpened his nails with a file;
Till he cut off his thumbs,
And said calmly, "This comes—
Of sharpening one's nails with a file!"
One of the main problems I found was the repeat rhyming of the same word, in this case the word "file." That is a lazy man's rhyme pattern. After a while, it grated on me. Usually he just pretty much repeated the first line, like this example:
There was an Old Person of Rheims,
Who was troubled with horrible dreams;
So, to keep him awake,
They fed him with cake,
Which amused that Old Person of Rheims.
There are two poems in the collection that I found troubling. Funny that I have yet to find a reviewer who mentions them. The first one is misogynistic:
There was an Old Man on some rocks,
Who shut his wife up in a box;
When she said, "Let me out,"
He exclaimed, "Without doubt,
You will pass all your life in that box."
The second troubling poem for me is racist:
There was an Old Man of Jamaica,
Who suddenly married a Quaker;
But she cried out—"O lack!
I have married a black!"
Which distressed that Old Man of Jamaica.
Now my questions are: 1. Should I give this book to my grandchildren? 2. Should I explain what is wrong with those two poems? 3. Do I excuse the author because he wrote in a different time period?
December 27, 2018
Billy Cyr and Bubbles Napierata, Part 2
Billy Cyr and Bubbles Napierata, Part 2
I went to visit the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC, many years ago to see the names of my two high school friends and a friend from college. I wore my military jacket and hat. I tried to get in the mood. But nothing was as I expected.
For one thing, there were too many people milling about. Then there were field trips, including a large group of elementary school children. And the students were running around. I intended to get on a knee before the names, remember them, feel the emotions of the moment. It was just too noisy. I tried to overcome it by appreciating the joy in the young kids running. I also wondered about what the hell their teachers were doing.
I went up to the small building where you give names to find out where they are located on the Wall. When I said the name William Cyr, a female park ranger said to me, "Is he any relation to the stripper Willie Cyr?" In other words, that stripper's name would be pronounced "Will He See Her." I was a bit stunned at the inappropriateness of that joke here at the Vietnam War Memorial. I could have been Billy's brother or best friend. You just don't joke around at a place like that. It would be like someone working at a funeral home joking to the people walking in.
It struck me as a bit of a role reversal as well. The female park ranger made a joke about a stripper, and the male park ranger behind her shook his head in disgust. Not the way I would have expected it to happen.
I hate to lecture adults, so I kept quiet rather than explain to the woman that she was not behaving in an appropriate fashion. Then again the whole area was filled with kids running all over the place, so why not tell jokes. Nothing about that visit worked out the way I had hoped it would.
I went to visit the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC, many years ago to see the names of my two high school friends and a friend from college. I wore my military jacket and hat. I tried to get in the mood. But nothing was as I expected.
For one thing, there were too many people milling about. Then there were field trips, including a large group of elementary school children. And the students were running around. I intended to get on a knee before the names, remember them, feel the emotions of the moment. It was just too noisy. I tried to overcome it by appreciating the joy in the young kids running. I also wondered about what the hell their teachers were doing.
I went up to the small building where you give names to find out where they are located on the Wall. When I said the name William Cyr, a female park ranger said to me, "Is he any relation to the stripper Willie Cyr?" In other words, that stripper's name would be pronounced "Will He See Her." I was a bit stunned at the inappropriateness of that joke here at the Vietnam War Memorial. I could have been Billy's brother or best friend. You just don't joke around at a place like that. It would be like someone working at a funeral home joking to the people walking in.
It struck me as a bit of a role reversal as well. The female park ranger made a joke about a stripper, and the male park ranger behind her shook his head in disgust. Not the way I would have expected it to happen.
I hate to lecture adults, so I kept quiet rather than explain to the woman that she was not behaving in an appropriate fashion. Then again the whole area was filled with kids running all over the place, so why not tell jokes. Nothing about that visit worked out the way I had hoped it would.
December 23, 2018
Billy Cyr and Bubbles Napierata, Part 1
Billy Cyr and Bubbles Napierata, Part 1
William "Billy" Cyr, Norman "Bubbles" Napierata, and myself were all on the same Boys Club summer league basketball team back in the middle 1960s. We formed it ourselves with a few other guys whose names I can no longer remember. I mostly remember those two because both of their names are now on the Vietnam War Memorial.
I went on to college after high school. Billy and Bubbles did not; therefore, they were immediately subject to the draft, while I got a deferment. The intention of a draft is to be fair to everyone. Obviously, it was not.
One Sunday morning while was in college reading the Sunday Boston Globe newspaper, I noticed a pullout section called "The Massachusetts Dead in Vietnam." The faces of the dead were listed by town. I immediately checked on my hometown of Webster. There they were: the faces of both my friends, dead in combat in Vietnam.
The fact that two men from a small town basketball team would die in Vietnam and a third (myself) would eventually go to Vietnam shows just how much that war affected so many families.
Their deaths may have saved my own life. I realized I needed to take control of it. I could not sit around and wait to get drafted after I got out of college. I would join the Air Force and find a better way to go over rather than as a combat soldier.
William "Billy" Cyr, Norman "Bubbles" Napierata, and myself were all on the same Boys Club summer league basketball team back in the middle 1960s. We formed it ourselves with a few other guys whose names I can no longer remember. I mostly remember those two because both of their names are now on the Vietnam War Memorial.
I went on to college after high school. Billy and Bubbles did not; therefore, they were immediately subject to the draft, while I got a deferment. The intention of a draft is to be fair to everyone. Obviously, it was not.
One Sunday morning while was in college reading the Sunday Boston Globe newspaper, I noticed a pullout section called "The Massachusetts Dead in Vietnam." The faces of the dead were listed by town. I immediately checked on my hometown of Webster. There they were: the faces of both my friends, dead in combat in Vietnam.
The fact that two men from a small town basketball team would die in Vietnam and a third (myself) would eventually go to Vietnam shows just how much that war affected so many families.
Their deaths may have saved my own life. I realized I needed to take control of it. I could not sit around and wait to get drafted after I got out of college. I would join the Air Force and find a better way to go over rather than as a combat soldier.
December 20, 2018
Vietnam by the Numbers
Vietnam Wall Memorial by the Numbers
The total number of names on the Wall including those that were added in 2010: 58,267.
The number of sets of fathers and sons on the Wall: 3.
The number that were just 22 years old or younger: 39,996.
The number that were just 19 years old: 8,283.
The largest age group: 18 years old.
The number that were 18 years old: 33,103.
The number that were 17 years old: 12.
The number that were 16 years old: 5.
The number that were 15 years old: 1.
The fifteen year old's name was PFC Dan Bullock.
The number of soldiers killed on their first day in Vietnam: 997.
The number of soldiers killed on their last day in Vietnam: 1,448.
The number of sets of brothers on the Wall: 31.
The number of sets of parents who lost two of their sons: 31.
The number of names of soldiers on the Wall who attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia: 54.
The number of women on the Wall: 8.
The number of soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War: 244.
The number of Medal of Honor winners on the Wall: 153.
The number of names that the sparsely populated town with only 475 people in Beallsville, Ohio, had on the Wall: 6.
The state with the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation: West Virginia.
The number of West Virginians on the Wall: 711.
The day which had the most casualty deaths in a single day: January 31, 1968.
On January 31, 1968, the number of soldiers who died: 245.
The month which had the most casualty deaths in a single month: May 1968.
In May 1968, the number of casualty deaths: 2,415.
The total number of names on the Wall including those that were added in 2010: 58,267.
The number of sets of fathers and sons on the Wall: 3.
The number that were just 22 years old or younger: 39,996.
The number that were just 19 years old: 8,283.
The largest age group: 18 years old.
The number that were 18 years old: 33,103.
The number that were 17 years old: 12.
The number that were 16 years old: 5.
The number that were 15 years old: 1.
The fifteen year old's name was PFC Dan Bullock.
The number of soldiers killed on their first day in Vietnam: 997.
The number of soldiers killed on their last day in Vietnam: 1,448.
The number of sets of brothers on the Wall: 31.
The number of sets of parents who lost two of their sons: 31.
The number of names of soldiers on the Wall who attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia: 54.
The number of women on the Wall: 8.
The number of soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War: 244.
The number of Medal of Honor winners on the Wall: 153.
The number of names that the sparsely populated town with only 475 people in Beallsville, Ohio, had on the Wall: 6.
The state with the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation: West Virginia.
The number of West Virginians on the Wall: 711.
The day which had the most casualty deaths in a single day: January 31, 1968.
On January 31, 1968, the number of soldiers who died: 245.
The month which had the most casualty deaths in a single month: May 1968.
In May 1968, the number of casualty deaths: 2,415.
December 19, 2018
A White-Tailed Deer Visits Me on My Birthday
A White-Tailed Deer Visits Me on My Birthday
Late at night on the evening of my 72nd birthday, a white-tailed deer began foraging in the snow near my living room window. I called my wife over and we embraced while we observed the deer who looked right back at us. The doe's ears were turned in our direction and her eyes peered directly into our eyes. We sympathized with her on this cold night. We wished there was some way we could let animals know that our yard is a place of safety for them. It was a beautiful, romantic moment. I imagined the deer telling me, "Good luck with your blog. Don't slack off."
Late at night on the evening of my 72nd birthday, a white-tailed deer began foraging in the snow near my living room window. I called my wife over and we embraced while we observed the deer who looked right back at us. The doe's ears were turned in our direction and her eyes peered directly into our eyes. We sympathized with her on this cold night. We wished there was some way we could let animals know that our yard is a place of safety for them. It was a beautiful, romantic moment. I imagined the deer telling me, "Good luck with your blog. Don't slack off."
The Word of the Year 2018
The Word of the Year 2018
Here is a list of what word was selected as the Word of the Year by a few different organizations, including two from other countries. The measure they used was often the number of hits the word had compared to the previous year. See what you think:
1. Merriam Webster selected justice.
2. The Oxford Dictionaries selected toxic. By the way, in 2015 they selected the face with tears of joy emoji for the Word of the Year.
3. Dictionary.com chose misinformation.
4. The Cambridge Dictionary picked the new word nomophobia. The word is meant to describe "the stress and anxiety caused by being separated from your mobile device."
5. The Society for the German language selected Heißzeit, which means "Hot Age" as opposed to Ice Age.
6. The Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society chose wazawai/sai, which means "disaster."
Now it is your turn. Which of the following six words would you pick for the Word of the Year:
A. Justice
B. Toxic
C. Misinformation
D. Nomophobia
E. Hot Age
F. Disaster
Now compare your choice with my own:
Of all the six selections I have referred to here, for me the best choice is "misinformation." The use of "fake news" to alter people's opinions has changed the world. And not for the better.
Here is a list of what word was selected as the Word of the Year by a few different organizations, including two from other countries. The measure they used was often the number of hits the word had compared to the previous year. See what you think:
1. Merriam Webster selected justice.
2. The Oxford Dictionaries selected toxic. By the way, in 2015 they selected the face with tears of joy emoji for the Word of the Year.
3. Dictionary.com chose misinformation.
4. The Cambridge Dictionary picked the new word nomophobia. The word is meant to describe "the stress and anxiety caused by being separated from your mobile device."
5. The Society for the German language selected Heißzeit, which means "Hot Age" as opposed to Ice Age.
6. The Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society chose wazawai/sai, which means "disaster."
Now it is your turn. Which of the following six words would you pick for the Word of the Year:
A. Justice
B. Toxic
C. Misinformation
D. Nomophobia
E. Hot Age
F. Disaster
Now compare your choice with my own:
Of all the six selections I have referred to here, for me the best choice is "misinformation." The use of "fake news" to alter people's opinions has changed the world. And not for the better.
December 18, 2018
Haruki Murakami and the Quirky Detail
Haruki Murakami and the Quirky Detail
I love Haruki Murakami's fiction because he is so good at adding quirky details that always manage to keep me interested. It may be one of those tips any good writer or artist needs to think about.
In Murakami's story "Scheherazade" a woman asks a man, "Have you ever broken into an empty home?" Now, I don't know about you, but I have never broken into anyone's empty home. Nor do I intend to. So reading a question like that in a story should make me think, "That's ridiculous. Of course not. Why would I want to break into someone's empty home? I am not a criminal."
Now it is up to the author Murakami to change my attitude a bit. Or at least cast some doubt on it so that I am wrapped up in this woman's thought process. The character makes it seem like breaking into someone's empty home is something we all should have done at some time in our lives. How does she do that?
The male character, like me, is at a loss for words. He explains in shock that it is illegal. But the woman explains how she broke into a home once and became addicted to it. Think about it. When you do something like that, you have to be totally silent. No noise at all. No false movements. In other words, that peace and quiet you have been searching for? There it is.
She goes into the empty home and finds peace sitting alone on the floor. Who knew it could be so simple? I guess I have been looking in the wrong places. And it is done so matter-of-factly that I believe her.
There is something else there in that empty home. A life. You can look around. Check out the details. Look through the drawers. Skim the titles on the spines of books. Try to imagine the kind of person who lives there.
She always removes one tiny item and adds one item. Her first break-in she took a pencil and added a tampon. It was for a boy she had a crush on. She still imagines what must have happened when the mother found the tampon in the boy's room.
Now doesn't that sound fascinating? But a word of warning. Don't try this at home. It's only a story. Instead, try adding a quirky detail to your own writing. If you come up with one, let me know about it.
I love Haruki Murakami's fiction because he is so good at adding quirky details that always manage to keep me interested. It may be one of those tips any good writer or artist needs to think about.
In Murakami's story "Scheherazade" a woman asks a man, "Have you ever broken into an empty home?" Now, I don't know about you, but I have never broken into anyone's empty home. Nor do I intend to. So reading a question like that in a story should make me think, "That's ridiculous. Of course not. Why would I want to break into someone's empty home? I am not a criminal."
Now it is up to the author Murakami to change my attitude a bit. Or at least cast some doubt on it so that I am wrapped up in this woman's thought process. The character makes it seem like breaking into someone's empty home is something we all should have done at some time in our lives. How does she do that?
The male character, like me, is at a loss for words. He explains in shock that it is illegal. But the woman explains how she broke into a home once and became addicted to it. Think about it. When you do something like that, you have to be totally silent. No noise at all. No false movements. In other words, that peace and quiet you have been searching for? There it is.
She goes into the empty home and finds peace sitting alone on the floor. Who knew it could be so simple? I guess I have been looking in the wrong places. And it is done so matter-of-factly that I believe her.
There is something else there in that empty home. A life. You can look around. Check out the details. Look through the drawers. Skim the titles on the spines of books. Try to imagine the kind of person who lives there.
She always removes one tiny item and adds one item. Her first break-in she took a pencil and added a tampon. It was for a boy she had a crush on. She still imagines what must have happened when the mother found the tampon in the boy's room.
Now doesn't that sound fascinating? But a word of warning. Don't try this at home. It's only a story. Instead, try adding a quirky detail to your own writing. If you come up with one, let me know about it.
My Blog Begins
My Blog Begins
Today--December 18, 2018--is my 72nd birthday. I have decided to celebrate by starting a Goodreads blog. It remains to be seen what wisdom I can impart after all of those years.
Here is a list of some of the topics I will be writing about:
Poetry
Writing
Politics
Vietnam War
Humor
Science
Philosophy
Personal Stories
My Own Writing
Current Events
Literature
Language
With that wide open list I begin. I hope you will join me. I hope I can keep it up for a long while.
Today--December 18, 2018--is my 72nd birthday. I have decided to celebrate by starting a Goodreads blog. It remains to be seen what wisdom I can impart after all of those years.
Here is a list of some of the topics I will be writing about:
Poetry
Writing
Politics
Vietnam War
Humor
Science
Philosophy
Personal Stories
My Own Writing
Current Events
Literature
Language
With that wide open list I begin. I hope you will join me. I hope I can keep it up for a long while.
