BROWNBACK SUCKS

What’s up with Sam Brownback?
(another religious political hack!)
worried about a young girl’s tweet,
because she didn’t find him sweet,
he’s against gays, women, and freedom,
any threat to his misogynist kingdom,
I’m sure that he’s got a lot of fans,
all those damn Kansan Talibans!

ELSIE

Herewith a picture of the little kitty, which I named Elsie, that we captured near the Greek church. She was so hungry. I think one of the people here is going to take her to his ranch.

CATFISH

Watched a really amazing documentary called CATFISH, about how a young photographer in New York gets sucked into the elaborate Facebook fantasy of a middle-aged mother who passes herself off as several people, beginning with claiming to be a child prodigy in painting and eventually including a fake world populated by creative, beautiful, young people (one of which becomes the love interest of the photographer). Eventually his brother and a friend start producing a film about their relationship, but things really get interesting once they realize the ruse and start unraveling the real story, which is sad and fascinating in its own right. This woman (clearly slighted warped) gave up her dreams in her youth, and takes care of a large family in rural Michigan, which includes two physically and mentally-retarded boys (that she seems to do well with), as well as her daughter, but she loved her fantasy life and her fantasy romance with the young guy (which allowed her to dabble in the arts and feel special). Amazingly, she allowed the truth and story to be told through the documentary. It is a cautionary tale as well, about taking things online at face value.

MJB smile!

Near the end of Will Ferguson's Happiness, a group of men tracking down an author visit the local library, where one of them asks the librarian if she has read a certain book, whereupon: "I don't read," she said firmly. "Book-reading is for idle minds." Matthew Bruccoli, may he rest in peace, would have smiled widely at that statement, seeing as he often considered many librarians "book-dopes."

THE TROLLER

I can’t reveal what I really feel
as I troll through Goodreads and Book.
Here’s a nice face, in this social space,
but smart is much better than look.
Not ready for any, and there are so many,
and I enjoy speculating and dream,
that an older bookworm, with a heart warm
will think I’m as nice as I seem.
Seldom reach out, so filled with deep doubt,
To any potential cute reader,
though once in a while, a comment I’ll style,
but I’ll run before I ever meet her.

LYREALISM

There’s not much music in poetry now,
the poets have taken an austerity vow,
thread-bare lines, no rhythm or rhyme,
con-man words, artistic pantomime?
Lyricists shunned, unless rocking a mike,
It’s not what the Professors like!
Too confused by much now written,
Like abstract art, the critics smitten
by works that display very little skill,
I'd rather view Andrew Wyeth’s hill.

CAMPING ON MURRAY

Spent the weekend with the boys and scouts camping on property at Lake Murray, practically in the center of the lake on an island owned by the Turbevilles. Although it was a bit chilly and windy on Friday night, with the leaves rattling as if being struck by rain, it was a delightful and enjoyable trip. The boys mostly fished and did a little hiking and such, but they all seemed to have a wonderful time. A few rough patches with them, but when isn't there when you are talking about a diverse group of boys. Chimo did very well, as basically an honorary member of the troop, and hopefully he will be able to work toward his arrow of light (sounds like a video game, no?) despite the pack he joined suddenly discovering it had no other boys his age, and another pack denying him entry (because he didn't attend the school where the pack met). If he could do it, he'd join the older boys in a second and would be off and running. Chimo will be a great scout, I think; when he arrived he was right to it setting up his tent, and although he was shunted off in many of the activities, he found a lot of fun things to do. It will be interesting to see the dynamic once Joey & Chimo are in the troop together. On Friday a racoon ate his late-night dinner next to my tent. No one believed me, and even mocked me; then on Saturday one of the boys saw the racoon. I felt vindicated. You could hear quite a number of birds. I placed my tent away from the rest of the group, right along the edge of the lake, and the gentle lapping of waves against the rocks was wonderful and soothing. The campsite was a bit on an incline, and I often felt as if I were slipping toward a watery doom, but I managed. Mostly I relaxed and chatted with the adults. I also got to read a little bit (Ishiguro) and even fished a while with the boys a while. No one was particularly successful with the fish, though we did observe turles. I instructed one boy on how to use a rapala lure, and I managed to do some cooking instruction with two of the boys. And I even whipped up a nice sauteed medley of vegetables for the dinner (the food was very good). I hope the others liked it. Joey and others who will likely be attending the upcoming jamboree did some sort of planning. We made a quick visit to a really well-done Halloween display at a nearby mansion. I hurt a little in the hip, but felt pretty well overall, despite sleeping outside. I was pretty cozy on Saturday night, thanks to the gift of an additional blanket.