Saturday, July 29, 2017

William Oldys: "On a Fly Drinking Out of His Cup"

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On a Fly Drinking Out of his Cup Busy, curious, thirsty fly! Drink with me and drink as I: Freely welcome to my cup, Couldst thou sip ...
26 comments:
Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Angus Wilson: Anglo-Saxon Attitudes

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Angus Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes a novel I have often thought that the full title of this novel should be Anglo-Saxon Attitudes: A P...
13 comments:
Monday, July 24, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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No. 227 In God's wildness lies the hope of the world--the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness.  The galling harness of civil...
11 comments:
Saturday, July 22, 2017

Paul Lawrence Dunbar: "The Mystery"

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THE MYSTERY I was not; now I am--a few days hence I shall not be; I fain would look before And after, but can neither do; some Power Or...
9 comments:
Thursday, July 20, 2017

Gregory Benford: "Nobody Lives on Burton Street"

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Gregory Benford "Nobody Lives on Burton Street" from The Best of Benford David Hartwell, editor   a short story first publish...
17 comments:
Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Three Films

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KWAIDAN: Kwaidan is a Japanese film with subtitles directed by Masaki Kobayashi.  The title comes from a collection of short Japanese tal...
6 comments:
Sunday, July 16, 2017

Myoe: On the virtues of tea

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An paean to tea Tea has the blessing of all deities Tea promotes filial piety Tea drives away all evil spirits Tea banishes drowsiness ...
13 comments:
Friday, July 14, 2017

Kenko: Essays in Idleness

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No. 88 "A certain man owned a copy of Wakan Roei Shu which, he claimed, was in the hand of Ono no Tofu.  Another man commented, '...
15 comments:
Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Simon Clark: The Night of the Triffids

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Simon Clark The Night of the Triffids 469 pages published in 2001 It's been twenty-five years since Bill Masen with his fa...
15 comments:
Sunday, July 9, 2017

Ray Bradbury: "The Parrot Who Met Papa"

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Ray Bradbury "The Parrot Who Met Papa" from Long After Midnight "The Parrot Who Met Papa" is the second story I ha...
11 comments:
Friday, July 7, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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No. 225 The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.   -- John Muir -- In His Own Words  This sounds strange t...
29 comments:
Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Frank Herbert: The Exploits of Jorj X. McKie, Saboteur Extraordinary

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Frank Herbert Whipping Star   a novel Once, long centuries past, con-sentients with a psychological compulsion to "do good" ha...
20 comments:
Monday, July 3, 2017

Carl Sandburg: "The Mist"

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THE MIST I am the mist, the impalpable mist, Back of the thing you seek. My arms are long, Long as the reach of time and space. Some...
7 comments:
Saturday, July 1, 2017

Edward FitzGerald's The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: the Final Quatrain

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  I've cheated a bit here, for this is a repeat of a previous post.  However, since this is the last post I will make on the Rubaiyat (a...
13 comments:
Friday, June 30, 2017

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Second Editiion, Quatrain CVII

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This is the second of two linked quatrains, the previous being Quatrain CVI, with a similar theme. Second Edition:  Quatrain CVII Bette...
Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Robert Frost's Invitation

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The Pasture I'm going out to clean the pasture spring; I'll only stop to rake the leaves away (And wait to watch the water clea...
19 comments:
Monday, June 26, 2017

A Minute Meditation

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We are most likely to get angry and excited in our opposition to some idea when we ourselves are not quite certain of our own position, an...
8 comments:
Wednesday, June 21, 2017

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: Second Edition, Quatrain CVI

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This is the first of several linked quatrains which express the same theme: the pain of human existence. Second Edition:  Quatrain CVI ...
12 comments:
Monday, June 19, 2017

Dylan Thomas's Cat: Do Not Go Peaceable to That Damn Vet

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Do Not Go Peaceable to That Damn Vet Do not go peaceable to that damn vet, A cat can always tell a trip is due, Hide, hide, when your ap...
11 comments:
Saturday, June 17, 2017

Ryokan's Irony?

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Done begging in a rundown village, I make my way home past green boulders. Late sun hides behind western peaks; pale moonlight shines on...
13 comments: