Thursday, August 15, 2013
"Oh, no man knows through what wild centuries rove back the rose". (De LaMare)
.....I'm afraid that the 21st Century is running away from me. I'm a child of the 20th Century. The other day Rh+ laptop computer froze and we couldn't figure out how to shut it down, so failing everything else, we pulled the plug and after a few minutes plugged it back in again--but same result. So I told her either to call Comcast or call in a Geek to fix it, but she did nothing about it for a couple of days. But she was so anxious to read her email that she began frothing at the mouth like a Pit Bull. So, in desperation she plugged it back in again & a little message superimposed on the frozen web page said that an error had been discovered and that it would be fixed. And so, the laptop went about fixing it all by itself and in about 20 minutes there was her desktop all ready for her use! Was there a little Geek hiding in that machine, or a robot? Or a Smurf? Or Captain of the Enterprise.
.....21st Century stuff, that episode. But then there is Facebook and Twitter and Linkup or something of that nature; and Apps, and iPhones, and iPads and Flash Drives, and HD. Life is complicated enough with medication and doctors' bills and .09 interest on Savings accounts that do nothing to help you cope with high food costs & mortgages (although I have no mortgage) and $3.99 a gallon for gas. I was used to paying 5 cents for a hot dog with mustard and a Mission Orange. When someone young asks what plane I flew in WWII and I say, a B24 Liberator, they get glassy-eyed; when they ask if I won any medals and I mention the DFC, it means as much to them as Sequester means too me. In 1940s we had no such thing as a "sequester". Kids today never heard of a "record album" or black and white TV. A skate key is like a dinosaur to them. And when Orson Welles says "Rosebud" kids today think they smell a flower.
.....It's all too nerve-wracking to me. I'm cancelling my Facebook and Twitter accounts because when I go there, I have no idea what I'm doing and now I don't want anything to do with them. Anyway, right now I am writing a script for a musical I am showing next March. I never wrote a musical, though most everything else including a Sestina. You can try it, but you won't succeed. The Sunday Times crossword puzzle is easier; so is running a marathon or learning to eat broccoli. Unfortunately, while writing this musical, I must neglect my blog, although I'll turn to it now and then as a change of pace. I'm 89 though I can still think, but the 21st Century baffles me as well as it baffles Congress.
.....21st Century stuff, that episode. But then there is Facebook and Twitter and Linkup or something of that nature; and Apps, and iPhones, and iPads and Flash Drives, and HD. Life is complicated enough with medication and doctors' bills and .09 interest on Savings accounts that do nothing to help you cope with high food costs & mortgages (although I have no mortgage) and $3.99 a gallon for gas. I was used to paying 5 cents for a hot dog with mustard and a Mission Orange. When someone young asks what plane I flew in WWII and I say, a B24 Liberator, they get glassy-eyed; when they ask if I won any medals and I mention the DFC, it means as much to them as Sequester means too me. In 1940s we had no such thing as a "sequester". Kids today never heard of a "record album" or black and white TV. A skate key is like a dinosaur to them. And when Orson Welles says "Rosebud" kids today think they smell a flower.
.....It's all too nerve-wracking to me. I'm cancelling my Facebook and Twitter accounts because when I go there, I have no idea what I'm doing and now I don't want anything to do with them. Anyway, right now I am writing a script for a musical I am showing next March. I never wrote a musical, though most everything else including a Sestina. You can try it, but you won't succeed. The Sunday Times crossword puzzle is easier; so is running a marathon or learning to eat broccoli. Unfortunately, while writing this musical, I must neglect my blog, although I'll turn to it now and then as a change of pace. I'm 89 though I can still think, but the 21st Century baffles me as well as it baffles Congress.
I think that's a LOVELY story about Rh's computer!! It's so wonderful that the machine could fix itself! And I don't know what "sequester" is either, except as a verb meaning to get ones hands on someone else's property through legal process. Someone please enlighten me. And happy writing, Baron! Cuzzin Ruth
ReplyDeleteRuth, can't you create a sestina if you wanted to?
ReplyDeleteRuth, a "sequester" is something the US Government is going through right now because they can't agree on how to cut the deficit. the history goes as follows, about 2 years ago, Congress past "the deficit reduction act", Which President Obama signed into law. It stated that if Congress could not agree on how to cut the federal deficit, there would be automatic cuts triggered with 50 percent coming from the Defense Department.
ReplyDeleteWell for 2 years congress argued about what to do, and "kicked the can" down the road a couple of times, saying "with the extra time we will have a budget". but since neither the Republicans or Democrats want to seem like they are agreeing with the other side in any way, nothing got done.
So in January 2013 Sequestration kicked in. This meant that the automatic spending cuts started to take effect. for example, the US Navy canceled The carrier Truman's deployment in February, and grounded the Blue Angels flight demonstration team. they also stopped giving tours of the White House to visitors.
Unfortunately this is nothing but a shell game as both sides tries to show that the other side doesn't care about the American people.
just this past week before they went on a 5 week vacation, the Republican led House of Representatives voted for the 40th time to overturn The Affordable Health Care Act(Obamacare). They know that the Democratic led Senate won't put it up for a vote, but they did it anyway. meanwhile out of 12 Appropriations bills for the Government, they have only passed 4 of them. But they managed to give themselves another pay raise before they left.
Cousin Joel: your query is well put. I think I probably could write a sestina IF I WANTED TO. But since the form has never inspired me to poetic creation (although I've enjoyed reading the sestinas of others) I don't really want to. This makes the task difficult to the point of impossibility. I'm a dab hand at sonnets and villanelles, as you know, but in terms of established forms of orthometry, that's about it. Love, Cousin Ruth
ReplyDeleteCuzzin Jon - thank you for your explanation. And welcome back to the learned discussion room of the Baron's blog! I have recently been thinking about you, wondering why we hadn't heard from you in a while. Hope you are well and that there's nothing the matter with you! Best, Cuzzin Ruth
Well, I'm glad that problem is solved. And Jon you have broken the blog record of the lengthiest comment. Congratulations, and please pee in some cup so that we can test you for PED, "Performance Enhancing Drugs."
ReplyDeleteJR,you see? What did I tell you? In a way you can't succeed in writing a Sestina even if you don't want to. If you don't want to, is that "succeeding"?
ReplyDelete