a rut

"...It is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive."

Good thinking, Edith Wharton. After almost 1100 posts, I think it's time to find a fresh trail for this blog. Or maybe I just need a break. We'll see...

A deep bow of gratitude to those of you who have hung in here with me. Hopefully, we'll join up together again down the road...

try haiku

TRY HAIKU IN YOUR HOME
RISK FREE FOR 90 DAYS

. . . . . . 

That's from an ad for the Big Ass Fan Company, which has a model called haiku. 

I couldn't make this up.

resist not

resist not
an ordinary Revelation

if Diamonds yield...

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day is 'pistillation,' which means pounding with a pestle.

Here is last week's sketch turned into a watercolor painting.

innovation

concentrating content
a potent
ground-breaking
innovation began
to hold sway

. . . . .


The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'Eisbock.'
Frozen beer. Go figure.

scribblemania

this Scribblemania
is proving Folly

Words must be Poetical,
change the clumsy
so that it sparkles

bring a life-preserver with you

 . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'neddy,' which,depending on your century and location within the UK, is either an ass, an idiot, a horse or a club.

This sketch was done of a view from a restaurant. The "house crayons" refers to the blue color in left window panes, done with a very waxy crayon on the table. Collage bits added after the fact.

mid-January
looking at the blue sky with
something like awe

awe

mid-January —
looking up at blue sky
with something like awe

. . . . . .

Hard to remember what 90 degrees and humidity was like just two short months ago...

tango

the tango —
even in a suburban food court
it stirs you

competition

competition cannot preserve value

treat the problem

the driving force behind the competition

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'oligopoly.'

B.I.G.

Kid's World —
Talk is B.I.G.
All Hip-hop 
& a pair of Nikes

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'benji.' That would be slang for a hundred dollar bill & not to be confused with a little movie dog.

sample

in Paris,
Art is the long standing right
to Sample perfect color, taste, smell
in the market

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'galactometer,' the tool you need if you want to measure the fat in milk.

ghostly music

A murmurous laughter of wind
arose, rustled on, and died away…
ghostly music

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'psithurisma,' which means whispering.

Nobody does onomatopoeia like the Greeks.

gate

oh, it's delightful
Life

every day
a Gate
to conscious Thought

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'niminy-piminy.'

walk

cloud shortened walk
The moon gave no light

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem is 'walk,' which I figured would have about 14 pages of citations. But no, this is the alternate sense of the noun, with only two Old English citations, meaning 'clouds,' as in "the moon is under walk." Glad that one got left in the dust; too much "wiðerweardnesse" as King Alfred wrote in the 9th century.

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires -
passion & pride in appearance
whilst entertaining real worry
. . . . . . .

I cracked up when I saw that the OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'Porteño,' an inhabitant of Buenos Aires.

This was more great street art in the San Telmo neighborhood of BA. I loved the keyboard painted on the gate. That is a real man standing by it, while the tango figures are oversized on the wall.

the poet's sphere

the wanderings
and transformations
of the soul
are the poet's sphere,
in which wholeness is linked to
love and creativity

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'psychopomp.' The definitions aren't what I expected: a conductor of souls to the place of the dead, and later a Jungian term for the link between the ego and unconscious. It would be a lot more fun to play around with an event's psychopomp and ceremony, or a Psychopomp and Circumstance march.

I was psyched and pumped when I saw that La Biela's little napkins took watercolor pretty darn well.

daily work

a Meaningful Future
is Daily work

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'adhocracy.'

travellin'

a Flash of New
the pure invigorating breeze of travellin'

I'm off.

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'monkery,' the way of life of a tramp. Even the Oxford lads can't figure out where that word came from.

crossword puzzles

A person who loves
dictionaries
couldn't cheat
on crossword puzzles
and be unashamed

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'nemophilist,' a person who loves woods or forests.

It's always cool to find a new self-descriptive word.

freesia

bright yellow freesia
kicks up the thermostat
ten degrees

banks

People will stand anything
so it is little wonder
that banks have grown fat
and worst of all is
It's too late to change things

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'sheeple,' which is people acting like sheep.

delight

the Best words
dusted off and brought out
when we wish to announce
particular delight

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'zhoosh,' meaning to make more stylish.

assumption

bringing to consciousness
a forgotten assumption -

real. change.

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'abreaction,' which is a psychiatric term dealing with remembering past traumas - and NOT what happens when you do crunches.

Always cool when you can see Mt. Baker, shimmering in the distance, from West Seattle.

January

January —
a daily victory over
growing temptation

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'gasconade,' to boast or brag.

observe

A New Year's gift;
give More to Life
Observe...

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'étrenne,' a New Year's gift. 

Mine was getting to see the fireworks at the Space Needle for the first time, with friends Ann and Mary.