Fragmentary Blue was lovely to memorize. Now, on to this week's poem. This is for my daughter, Chelsea, who just graduated from high school and will be starting life's next big adventure soon. She's a bit of a worrier, this one, and has every reason not to be. Relax, child. You're doing well.
LIVING
by Unknown
To touch the cup with eager lips and taste, not drain it;
To woo and tempt and court a bliss--and not attain it;
To fondle and caress a joy, yet hold it lightly,
Lest it become necessity and cling too tightly;
To watch the sun set in the west without regretting;
To hail its advent in the east--the night forgetting;
To smother care in happiness and grief in laughter;
To hold the present close--not questioning hereafter;
To have enough to share--to know the joy of giving;
To thrill with all the sweets of life--is living.
June 20, 2011
June 17, 2011
One Muppet to Rule Them All
*Sorry about the spacing glitches. I tried to make this cleaner, but Blogger is being stubborn.
Some of you know I love Twitter. I've met an amazing, funny, talented group of people there, most of them writers. So what better way to spend a cold, blustery June morning, than hanging with my favorite Tweeps?
It all started with this, a simple Tweet about an exchange between me and my husband:
Some of you know I love Twitter. I've met an amazing, funny, talented group of people there, most of them writers. So what better way to spend a cold, blustery June morning, than hanging with my favorite Tweeps?
It all started with this, a simple Tweet about an exchange between me and my husband:
KristaLJensen
Funny, right? My husband is so supportive. I'm laughing on the inside.
And I got this:
I asked others:
This poster is awesome.
So is this one.
Would you like to see the full casting for Krista Jensen's (sorta rhymes with Jim Henson's) Muppet Lord of the Rings?
Me: I need to amp up my fantasyNO I'M NOT ASKING YOUR ADVICE. Hubs: Trolls. Giant Eagles. A magic ring. Muppets. #thisiswhyIdontask
Funny, right? My husband is so supportive. I'm laughing on the inside.
But then this happened:
Okay now I'm obsessing about a Muppet LOTR, with Kermit as Frodo and Fozzie as Sam. Sam the Eagle is Saruman. Crazy Harry is Wormtongue.
And I got this:
So I said this:
That king prawn needs a part. Pippin, I think. "What about elevensies, okay?"
And I got this:
Brucewriting bruce eschler
johncleaver Dan Wells
The Electric Mayhem excel at Lothlorien-style scenes: you show up, we sing and give you presents.
I'm thinking Sweetums as Gimli, because juxtaposition is very Muppet.
I asked others:
And got:
And much, much more!
Somewhere along the way, Dan Wells posted this:
I prefer Lew Zealand as Legolas. And @KristaLJensen, I expect a full blog post on this. I'm trying very hard not to steal it.
So here we are.
So here we are.
This poster is awesome.
So is this one.
Would you like to see the full casting for Krista Jensen's (sorta rhymes with Jim Henson's) Muppet Lord of the Rings?
Of course you would.
(In no particular order)
Frodo: Kermit the Frog. Who else? It isn't easy being him.
Samwise: Fozzie Bear. Loyal, and comical. Important traits to have under duress. Not to mention, directionally challenged.
Gandalf: Ian McKellan. Because really, he is Gandalf.
Aragorn: Viggo Mortensen, because he makes me melt.
Elrond: Beaker. Noble. Straight. Mysterious (difficult to understand).
Haldir: Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Why would we break up this duo? Everyone knows Haldir is Elrond's go to guy.
Eowyn: Miss Piggy. There was some debate about this, but I'm sticking with it. You'll see why in a minute. And, she gets to kick some serious Nazgul tail.
Saruman: Gonzo. Can't you just picture his hands out, fingers all crooked, eyes rolling to the back of his head?
Wormtongue: Beauregard. Feckless, bumbling, loveable. What?
Gollum: Serious debating on this key character. Sweetums? Rizzo? I went with Crazy Harry. Rob's right. The voice and over all creepiness wins him the part. Plus, he already talks in third person.
Sauron: Sam the Eagle. We did some switching around for this part. Nailed it. We won't tell Sam he's the bad guy, just big government.
Pippin: Pepe the King Prawn. I love Pepe. I love Pippin. It's meant to be, okay?
Merry: Animal. This, I must say, is brilliance. With Miss Piggy as Eowyn, the tension between these two "friends" is bound to be riotous. "E-O-WYN . . . E-O-WYN . . ." I guarantee you Merry is going to be thrown off that horse.
Orcs: The Chickens. C'mon, Gonzo is Saruman. You had to see this coming.
Legolas: Lew Zealand. "Throw the arrow away, and it comes back to me."
Gimli: Swedish Chef. "Un de tu de three de four, four did urks yip yip yip."
Uruk-hai: The Rats. They're RATS. I'd be up on the table.
Witch Kings: Statler and Waldorf. Too obvious? I think not.
Boramir: Bean the Bunny. Wouldn't see that coming, would you?
Faramir: Bobo the Bear. Because everyone likes him, and he and Bean could seriously be brothers.
Denethor: Rizzo the Rat. Rizzo can do crazy. Can't you just see him eating and eating, while Pepe--er--Pippin sings him a Spanish--er-- Celtic love song? I see Oscar potential here.
Lothlorien Elves: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Rob and Dan agreed on this one. How could I not give it to them? Groovy. Like, fer sher, really.
Galadriel: My first choice would be Madeline Kahn. What she would have done with this part I can only imagine. I miss her. My next choice would be Kristen Chenowith. Or Patrick Warburton. Yeah, that's right.
Bilbo: Robin. Kermy's little nephew. The ring's going to be heavy for him, anyway.
Galadriel: My first choice would be Madeline Kahn. What she would have done with this part I can only imagine. I miss her. My next choice would be Kristen Chenowith. Or Patrick Warburton. Yeah, that's right.
Bilbo: Robin. Kermy's little nephew. The ring's going to be heavy for him, anyway.
Eomer: Scooter, because he has to go somewhere.
Theoden: Ralph the Dog. At his piano throne.
And Arwen. Ah, Arwen, lovely and in love with Aragorn. This part goes to:
Sweetums.
Because this is my movie.
Please, post your comments and own ideas. You bow to no one.
June 13, 2011
Summer Poetry Challenge: Week 3
I did it! I passed off INVICTUS, by William Earnest Henley (who, by the way, makes a great shirt), and there was much clapping and cheering. Then I made my family clap and cheer, too.
They said next time I need to memorize something with rainbows and butterflies and no blood. *sigh*
So, my next poem is one I remember analyzing in high school, but not memorizing. Though not a rainbow (sorry, kids), it reflects how I feel after our L-O-N-G Wyoming winters, with high blue skies above, but only browns beneath.
Follow along with fellow Poetry Challenge participants over on Twitter using the hashtag #PoetrySummer
They said next time I need to memorize something with rainbows and butterflies and no blood. *sigh*
So, my next poem is one I remember analyzing in high school, but not memorizing. Though not a rainbow (sorry, kids), it reflects how I feel after our L-O-N-G Wyoming winters, with high blue skies above, but only browns beneath.
FRAGMENTARY BLUE
by Robert Frost
Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?
Since earth is earth, perhaps not heaven (as yet)--
Though some savants make earth include sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.
Follow along with fellow Poetry Challenge participants over on Twitter using the hashtag #PoetrySummer
June 6, 2011
Summer Poetry Challenge: WHY NOT?
Last week Dan Wells issued a challenge on his blog. Honestly, I thought it sounded fun, but I'm really busy. I mean, really busy. Busier than you. Busier than Dan Wells, or Sarah M. Eden, or Robison Wells . . . I'm busier than everyone.
NOT.
So when Marion Jensen, another writer I am NOT busier than, tweeted that he was considering accepting the Summer Poetry Challenge, I nodded. Yes. I, too, would consider accepting this challenge. And then Dan told me it was the shiz, so . . .
Starting last week, and proceeding through the summer, we’re memorizing one poem a week. That’s up to 12 poems. Want to join us? Here are the rules:
1. It must be a poem you don’t already have fully memorized, but it’s okay if you already have some of it memorized.
2. You must recite the entire poem, out loud, from memory, for at least one other person, on Sunday. That gives you slightly less than a full week for the first one, so pick something easy.
3. There are no length restrictions, but if all your poems are little quatrains or tiny nursery rhymes you’re cheating in spirit. Throw a few multi-stanza poems in there; you can do it.
4. No William Carlos Williams allowed. There will be zero tolerance on this point.
5. Everything is done completely on the honors system. If you say you did it, we believe you.
2. You must recite the entire poem, out loud, from memory, for at least one other person, on Sunday. That gives you slightly less than a full week for the first one, so pick something easy.
3. There are no length restrictions, but if all your poems are little quatrains or tiny nursery rhymes you’re cheating in spirit. Throw a few multi-stanza poems in there; you can do it.
4. No William Carlos Williams allowed. There will be zero tolerance on this point.
5. Everything is done completely on the honors system. If you say you did it, we believe you.
My first poem is a stirring declaration. Life has bowed me several times, and I've been afraid, but I'm thinking writing here. I want to write. And pretty much nothing is going to stop me.
Invictus
by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
"Ship At Sea Sunset" by Edward Moran |
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