November 30, 2008
15 Nanoseconds of Fame
A friend of mine shared that he appeared on Google Street View while mowing his lawn. Ironically, he's the sort of guy who only has the vaguest idea what Google is--his girlfriend's father discovered it and showed him--so I think he is still puzzling over just what this Google thing is all about.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 2:52 PM
The Rites of Autumn
One giant oak...
.. plus three sturdy maples...
... plus one rake and one pair of work gloves...
... equals 23 bags jammed with leaves.
Can I nap now?
Posted by Bill Trippe at 2:39 PM
November 27, 2008
OK
If you must shop, please start here.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 10:59 PM
November 25, 2008
Fences
American Life in Poetry: Column 192
By Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate, 2004-2006
Class, status, privilege; despite all our talk about equality, they're with us wherever we go. In this poem, Pat Mora, who grew up in a Spanish speaking home in El Paso, Texas, contrasts the lives of rich tourists with the less fortunate people who serve them. The titles of poems are often among the most important elements, and this one is loaded with implication.
Fences
Mouths full of laughter,
the turistas come to the tall hotel
with suitcases full of dollars.
Every morning my brother makes
the cool beach new for them.
With a wooden board he smooths
away all footprints.
I peek through the cactus fence
and watch the women rub oil
sweeter than honey into their arms and legs
while their children jump waves
or sip drinks from long straws,
coconut white, mango yellow.
Once my little sister
ran barefoot across the hot sand
for a taste.
My mother roared like the ocean,
"No. No. It's their beach.
It's their beach."
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 1991 by Pat Mora, whose most recent book of poetry is Adobe Odes, University of Arizona Press, 2007. Poem reprinted from Communion, Arte Publico Press, University of Houston, 1991, by permission of the writer and publisher. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 1:46 PM
November 19, 2008
Farewell, Coco
Sox trade Crisp for a bag of balls, er, a middle reliever. The online poll at that link suggests I am in the minority on the wisdom of the trade.
I like Crisp as a player. He brought speed and outfield defense to the Red Sox at a time they had little of either. Now they have Jacoby, Bay, and Drew for the outfield, all "plus" outfielders defensively, each with decent speed and Jacoby with exceptional speed. I also like Crisp as a person; he just always struck me as thoughtful and articulate. He also is still one of the leading sources of traffic for this website.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 1:44 PM
November 18, 2008
I've Said it Before
But if Ned Martin were still alive, he would have one word for today's news about Dustin Pedroia winning the AL MVP: Mercy!
People were certainly thinking about it, but I figured one of the Twins, Morneau or Mauer, would win it. But maybe the Twins falling short of the playoffs hurt their chances. As it turned out, the two Twins players got second and fourth while Pedroia and Youk got first and third.
The thing that jumped out at me was that Petey is the first AL MVP at second base since 1959, when Nellie Fox of the White Sox won it.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 2:44 PM
November 17, 2008
The Word of the Day is...
... Mochi.
Posted by Bill Trippe at 9:46 PM
November 6, 2008
Bad Blogger
Must write more.
In the meantime, you can go listen to Life on Mars Radio. As I type, we've got the O'Jays with "Love Train."
Posted by Bill Trippe at 8:31 PM