1010141235-00

Dispatch from “out of town.”

The lady in upper left says “I am.” To her left, the girl says “I was.” To her left, half a gargoyle says “I will be” and the other half says “I am.” To his left is some eldritch youngster saying, “Hey, good lookin’/Whacha got cookin’/Howzabout cookin’ sompin’ up like Me?” Capitalization of Me is significant.

“Compare and contrast” is a common strategy for writing an essay–at least it was when I was growing up. I liked the idea of adding “Concoct” because that’s a relatively new strategy, now being employed for the genetic modification of grain. Perhaps future generations of humans will be genetically modified, or computer-hybrided, or both. Time and toil will tell. I suspect in the near future there will be a “brain race” of hegemony-viers. I hope Goodness and Mercy are uploaded if so.

Here are the words to the triple acrostic:

Crepe and papier-mâché may form a scene bucolic
Offspring of an errant tom may come out calico
Many cosplayed Nerdfolk will be at the ComiCon
Patent leather wingtips were the rage in days of frolic
Aberration’s operators fool [or fuel] with Conoco
Remnants of an era past are waxing apostolic
Enter yelping–exit slurping on a root beer float
Ends will ofttimes turn upon the turning of a coat

A “Turncoat” is a traitor. There is no such word as “abberation” unless considered as an aberrant form of “aberration.” We are riverlike to the extent that we are never the same, even midsyllable.

A long time ago, Gahan Wilson drew a cartoon of two Asian monks or lamas hovering over a cauldron of stew. One has just tasted with a ladle. He says, “Enough yin. More yang.”

Similarly, the idle sketcher will start with a doodle and then the two sides of the brain wrestle over it. “Enough intuition. More logic.” Suddenly it is no longer a doodle but a start on something more. All too often for the impatient or attention-deficited, it doesn’t amount to anything.

I have stacks and stacks of such, and much more has been discarded. This one is on the bubble:

001

Next post will either have a completed version of this, or something completely different, or both. Depends on whether I run out of yang. [yinnish grin]

a piece of god was in one of the lounges in heaven, playing a video game, thumbs crazy on the controller, tongue out and being bit. the aspect He chose was the classic sistine chapel adam-sparking jehovah, robed, long hair and beard, but looking oddly like george clooney.

maria alicia, guardian angel of a teen ne’er-do-well, entered the lounge and took a seat next to Him on the couch. she grabbed a controller and joined in the game.

and God said, “you’ve come to quit, alice?”

“yes.”

“you think you’re doing more harm than good? you’ve–” both players shifted their bodies to the right in sympathy with the action on the screen. “you’ve concluded that what you are doing when you alter physics to save your boy’s life is . . . enabling behavior?”

“yes. he’s caught on that he’s being helped. it’s just making him feel more invulnerable.”

“alice, i’ll accept your notice–” BOOM! went the screen. sad music marked the loss of another “jehovah” life. sixteen remained. “–but i’d rather give you a promotion instead.”

“promotion? to what?”

“Still, Small Voice. you get to stop saving and start nagging.”

alice’s countenance brightened and her halo pulsed in a divine ripple. “sold!”

the angel and the aspect continued the video game, both happier.

001

Apologies to Brad Pitt for exploiting his name and face, albeit in a good cause.

Synopsized facts about “Who Killed the Electric Car?” may be found on Wikipedia, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F . It may seem that by now, eight years later, the point is moot, but we’re pumping more than ever out of the ground and into the sky.

“Jean-Luc” is a reference to the character Patrick Stewart played in the STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION omnibus. He was a starship captain who certified his orders with “make it so.”

Unforeseen Difficulty

Unto us an Engine framed, full bore & rectified
Now release we Inner Cowgrrr–yippy ki yi yi
Four-speed shift or automatic–really, what’s the diff
Oil & gasoline intoxicate–just take a whiff
Rolling on a highway beats a loll on the lanai
Eminent domain emissions make it so Jean-Luc
Sifting through us like a line of poorly-lit haiku
Even-handed citizens may want to take a Poll
Eco-minders balk if Greenpeace comes for their Renault
Never mind–y’all drive into the Sunset–say goodby

“You can’t see a thought, you can’t measure, weigh, nor taste it – but thoughts are the most real things in the Galaxy.” –Robert Heinlein

“It’s the thought that counts.” –folk “wisdom”

“The thought without action isn’t worth the non-paper it’s written on. It’s the thought-driven ACTION that counts.” –Me

002

I may not be able to see a thought, but I thought I’d try drawing one. [bemused sketchy smile]

cantankerously unobstreperous

curmudgeons may include him, her, and you
and dogs who howl and bay to fill the moon
not mentioning an undynamic duo
that carries on more frenzied than haboob
antagonism coexists with brothers
neanderthalic whims take to the street
kerfuffle ends, but soon will be another
euripedes was ofttimes indis-crete
rasputin took some hits, but none too deep
olivier became a drilling foe
upended abel’s brother was no keeper
soliloquizing hamlet sez hell/o
life reads as epic, wit reads like a senryu
you turn a scowl to grin–you pay your dues

001
Can you find the twelve curmudgeons in this sonnet?

Don’t bother, he said grumpily.

shame 100314

This image was taken on my phone camera, e-mailed to onewithclay@hotmail.com, photoedited on my Samsung laptop, and posted above. I love 21st Century tech. Normally I’d have scanned the page, but I’m not at home. That’s why it doesn’t look like the usual.

As for Shame, it unduly warps our feelings, our behavior, and our relationships. It’s a shame I can’t say more, but I’m late for lunch. [sad face]

This beautiful light display was on the ground by the truck Denise and I were getting out of, in the parking lot of the Cottonwood Recreation Center. I would have liked to have drawn this. Instead, it’s a Found Art Object. The concept of Found Art was originated by Marcel Duchamp most of a century ago.  Now I am one of its promulgators, and happy to be so.

hubcaplight 100214