Tanga Puzzles: April 30 - May 6

Here are the daily clues for the Tanga puzzles this week. To see the hint, highlight the space to the right of the date.

I don't give away answers here, just a small hint each day to help get you started or past a rough patch. If you want stronger hints, you can check the blog on the Tanga site itself, which is chock full of spoilers.

While I avoid giving away the answers on this page, be warned that there may be spoilers in the comments to this post, so open those with care.

Good luck!

April 30: You have to listen for the answer to this one.

May 1: Sound it out.

May 2: I'm afraid I had to mail it in on this one during my travels.

May 3: When you're getting all your answers in order, notice the 4 states.

May 4: This one was tough. Note that "left" doesn't mean remaining.

May 5: Too easy to clue, really. No really.

May 6: It's important to look back.

A Little Poetry for You: Rumi

It's Poetry Friday!

Again I've gone with a poem from the Knopf poem-a-day offerings. This one arrived on Tuesday, and as soon as I read

my heart
is a pen
in your hand

it is all
up to you
to write me happy or sad

I knew this one of those poems I wanted to store someplace safe to read and re-read.

Please... read the rest of "Only You" by Rumi. There's a brief bio of the poet along with the poem as well.

Words on Wednesday: Silly Words are Popular

I never realized how popular the topic of Silly Words would be, till I started looking at my blog stats.

So for anyone looking for more silly words, I offer the following. As before, you can click on the word to hear it pronounced. I've also included my comments...

SNUFFLE (reminds me of Aloysius Snuffleupagus)

JIGGLY (especially when you add -wiggly)

POLYGON (where'd she go?)

BRATWURST (better than worst brat)

TOUCAN (but can one?)

Tanga Puzzles: April 23 - April 29

Here are the daily clues for the Tanga puzzles this week. To see the hint, highlight the space to the right of the date.

I don't give away answers here, just a small hint each day to help get you started or past a rough patch. If you want stronger hints, you can check the blog on the Tanga site itself, which is chock full of spoilers.

While I avoid giving away the answers on this page, be warned that there may be spoilers in the comments to this post, so open those with care.

Good luck!

April 23: David Arnott's had a bit of a monopoly on Tanga this past week. This puzzle is the last in his series of 7, and it's pretty straightforward.

April 24: Use the question twice (differently).

April 25: Remember the origins of green and orange.

April 26: Key clue words are "holding" and "hand."

April 27: It's a puzzle-thon! 44 puzzles which will be posted 1 an hour through Sunday afternoon. I'll see if I can clue them sometime this weekend, but I might have trouble keeping up.

April 29: That's Tom Jones, and below him is the Phillipines, and to the right is the flag of Iran. Not much of a clue, but hopefully it saved you some legwork.

Apparently I Was Raised in the Midland without My Noticing

Actually, I grew up in Massachusetts, but on the left side of the state, where there is almost no accent.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Travelling

I'll be travelling for the next few days and unable to post from the road.

Back on Wednesday!

The Carnival has Come to Town

For oodles and oodles of posts about children's literature and related topics, do check out this month's Children's Literature Blog Carnival. Jen Robinson has done a fantastic job of organizing it so everything is very clear, easy to get to, and lots of fun!

I give you... Jen Robinson's production of...

The 13th Carnival of Children's Literature

A Little Poetry for You: Strand

It's Poetry Friday!

I've really enjoyed having a poem emailed to me every day this month from Knopf. What incredible selections they're making, and all poetry I've not seen before so it's a great opportunity to expand my poetic horizons.

Yesterday they sent me this poem from Mark Strand, and I loved it at first read. Then I saw there was an audio recording we could listen to, and I just knew it had to be my Poetry Friday selection for this week.

Man and Camel
by Mark Strand

On the eve of my fortieth birthday
I sat on the porch having a smoke
when out of the blue a man and a camel
happened by. Neither uttered a sound
at first, but as they drifted up the street
and out of town the two of them began to sing.
Yet what they sang is still a mystery to me—
the words were indistinct and the tune
too ornamental to recall. Into the desert
they went and as they went their voices
rose as one above the sifting sound
of windblown sand. The wonder of their singing,
its elusive blend of man and camel, seemed
an ideal image for all uncommon couples.

Go here for the rest of the poem.

Go here for the audio recording of the poem, which I think adds just the right amount of texture to something already quite wonderful.

Words on Wednesday: World Wide Words

I stumbled upon this weird words site for you today. That's right... I stumbled just for you. And now I have an 80's pop tune in my head... sigh.

World Wide Words

It's a good word site from the mind of Michael Quinion, author, Oxford English Dictionary consultant, and general word enthusiast. Here you can find weird words, fun phrases, current hot words or buzz words, questions from readers with fascinating answers from Quinion, and moremoremore.

It also has a "Surprise Me" feature that led me to these four excellent posts:

Whys and wherefores

Warm the cockles of your heart

Murphy's Law

At sixes and sevens

Lastly, and possibly most exciting (though I'll wait for another Wednesday to report back), this site has some cool links to other word sites, including one for Scots English, and one for regional American English. Maybe with that last one I can solve the mystery of "pop" vs. "soda." Or "hogie" vs. "hero" vs. "grinder." The possibilities!

A Poem by any Other Name...

Elaine Magliaro, poet, teacher, children's literature enthusiast, and now double-blogger. Though you can still find her regularly on the Blue Rose Girls blog, she has recently opened up shop with her new blog, Wild Rose Reader.

This month, being a poet with a very cooperative muse, Elaine has decided to write a new poem every day, and to offer the poem as a nod to a different blogger each day. Gail got a whale poem, Jone got a snake poem, Cloudscome got a series of haiku, etc. What a cool thing to do! And she posted her latest poem for me, which was very kind and fun to see.

I'm trying hard not to read too much into the fact that it's about a smelly skunk. (Did I forget something in my rush to get ready for work today?)

Congratulations on the new blog Elaine, and thanks for the kind words and the poem!

Lives in Letters: Postcard about those Goats

I'm sitting here with 6 postcards in hand, all sent to the same person, or perhaps to a father and son, between about 1925 and 1935. No time to post them all tonight, but I'll get them all up by next week so you can see how the story evolves. It's very interesting -- the recipient went from attorney, to city solicitor, to district attorney over the course of the postcards, and the messages, though addressed to this guy's place of work, have some fun irreverence in them.

"The day was perfect beginning with the goats..."

For tonight, I'm starting with this one from 1935. There's no need to post a picture, as this is one of those plain beige penny postcards from the post office. Anyway, the message paints a fun picture itself.

Postcard

Northampton, Mass.

May 19, 1935

Addressed to

Mr. Philip C.

Springfield, Mass.

Message:

May 18, 1935
12:01 A.M.

Dear Phil,
...We're terribly
sorry about rushing
off the way we
did but rules are
rules.
...The day was
perfect beginning
with the goats
and ending with
sweet dreams.
...Thanks again,
.............Margie + Esther

P.S. Two good-nights.

.............M. + E.

Notes:

I'm betting that Margie and Esther were rushing away to get back to their dorm at Smith College, before breaking curfew. Notice that Margie wrote the time as 12:01 -- they must have barely made it back. A few years later, in 1941, the women of Smith would get the curfew rules changed:

Smith was a safe haven, far from the war raging in Europe. Maids kept the dormitories clean and the beds made, and the King’s men (a reference to the maintenance staff headed by George King) kept the grass immaculate and the walkways cleared in winter. The prevailing issue for students was getting the college to loosen its curfew, an effort they won in October when the college granted “late permissions,” allowing first-year students to stay out as late as 1 a.m. on four Saturdays per semester.

For more about Smith College during that time, read the rest of the above passage here. Or see what was going on just a dozen years before.

So, about those goats... I wonder if Phil took the girls to the first ever Dairy Classic (now Livestock Classic) at Mass Aggie (now UMass)? There were certainly goats there! And perhaps the "sweet dreams" reference means they got ice cream at the Dairy Classic. Well, that's my theory, and I'm sticking to it!

Here's a vivid description of the fun to be had at the Livestock Classic:

A popular event at the Little International Livestock Show ... was the co-ed milking contest. In this event, sorority pledges, hand picked for their lack of experience, would compete to milk a cow and fill up a test tube in the shortest amount of time. The winner of the contest received the title of "Girl with the Most Pull on Campus."

Ummmm, yeah.... 'nuff said.

But tell me, when you think about the girls and the goats, which of these was Margie and which was Esther?

Okay, more about Phil, or Phil and his dad, next week. For now, sweet dreams.

Tanga Puzzles: April 16 - April 22

Here are the daily clues for the Tanga puzzles this week. To see the hint, highlight the space to the right of the date.

I don't give away answers here, just a small hint each day to help get you started or past a rough patch. If you want stronger hints, you can check the blog on the Tanga site itself, which is chock full of spoilers.

While I avoid giving away the answers on this page, be warned that there may be spoilers in the comments to this post, so open those with care.

Good luck!

April 16: You don't need the attributions to do this. They're wasted space.

April 17: Guess puzzle-maker David Jedediah Arnott begins his week-long puzzle offerings. No Jedediah isn't his real middle name. I just liked the sound of it. 12 pictures, 6 words to fill in on the right. You do the math and figure out what you're missing.

April 18: The title is enough of a clue for tonight.

April 19: Who says this puzzle's going to take you forever to solve? It's not so bad, really.

April 20: Quick! Follow the instructions!

April 21: Things are not what they should be in this puzzle.

April 22: There's no rulebook for this type of puzzle.

Sad Day in Virginia

How awful.

Shootings at Virginia Tech

Creative Writing: April Verse #2

Well, I'm honoring National Poetry Month quietly after all. A mere two weeks after I wrote my first April poem, I've written my second. Thank goodness I had a little E.M. Forster to inspire me today.

Late to the Party

“Only connect!” he said, and in one inspired moment
she inventories her life, her melancholy connections,
her splintered fragmented rent-asunder day-to-day.

She lives her prose. She eats and drinks her prose.
Her prose keeps the heat on, the lights on, gas in the car,
roof over head, you know. You know.

Her passion? Her passion’s been hiding out a long time --
biding its time, as the minutes days years drop away
almost without notice, like water shaken from an umbrella
by a woman arriving late to a party.

“Only connect!” he said, and now she’s late to the party,
a little soggy and disheveled, and wondering how long she’ll have to stay.

A Little Poetry for You: Chinese Book of Songs and a Moose

It's Poetry Friday! (and Friday the 13th, but we're trying to ignore that)

Liz has the round-up this week over at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

UPDATE: I'm adding a bonus poem today, one that just arrived in my email and struck me as incredibly beautiful. The poem is called "Moose in the Morning, Northern Maine," by Mona Van Duyn. Here's a small bit of it, the very bit that made me love the poem:

The world is warming and lightening
and mist on the pond
dissolves into bundles and ribbons.
At the end of my dock there comes clear,
bared by the gentle burning,
a monstrous hulk with thorny head,
up to his chest in the water,
mist wreathing round him.

Use this link to read the entire poem.


Here's my original PF post:

I don't have audio on this poem. But if you want to hear it, you could go out and rent the movie Crossing Delancey, which is how I know this poem. It is actually translated from the Chinese Book of Songs.

ripe plums are falling
now there are only five
may a fine lover come for me
while there is still time

ripe plums are falling
now there are only three
may a fine lover come for me
while there is still time

ripe plums are falling
i gather them in a shallow basket
may a fine lover come for me
tell me his name

Here's a brief write-up about this poem -- scroll to #17.

Here is a very different translation of the same poem -- scroll to #20.

Words on Wednesday: Winston Breen is Coming

Have you heard about Winston Breen?

Written by puzzle maker and blogger Eric Berlin (whose blog I visit all the time), The Puzzling World of Winston Breen will hit the stands in September. From all accounts it promises to be a lot of fun for anyone who loves children's books, words, and puzzles. I happen to love all three, so I'm completely intrigued.

Here's Winston's blog, which is well-stocked with puzzles to amuse, distract and challenge you.

Oh, and you can pre-order the book right here.

Why Ask if Shad Do it?

If you're in the New Jersey or eastern Pennsylvania area at the end of the month, be sure to check out Lambertville's annual non-fishy fish extravaganza... Shad Fest!

It's an art festival.

It's a street fair.

It's an homage to the shad harvest.



I'll be hanging out my fish tomorrow. No, I'm not kidding.

Click on the poster or the link above to see more details.

Harry Potter, the Final Obsession

The final Harry Potter book is due in stores on July 21.

My sailing trip this summer departs the morning of July 21.

Question: Should I call ahead to the little bookstore in Rockland, Maine and get them to reserve a copy for me, so that on the morning of July 21 when we have 20 minutes free before we sail, I can run to town, buy the book and then spend my first sailing day in emotional upheaval?

Or should I wait?

I think the answer is clear, but I'll take input.

Meantime, check out this fun Snape-musing from Kelly over at Big A little a.

Lives in Letters: Postcard - Girls in the Lighthouse

I'm happy to report that my mom is supporting my habit -- she hunted down over a dozen postcards for me, most of which are going to be lots of fun to post. Here's the first, from a part of Maine I'm pretty familiar with.

Postcard

Castine Light

Castine, Me.

August 5, 1912

Addressed to

Miss Bernice A-

Agawam, Mass.

.

Castine, Maine. Aug. 5th 1912.

There are two little girls that

now live in this house. They are

about ten and twelve years old. Their

father has been here for a good many years

stationed at a light on an island so

that the girls had never attended school

until last winter. They just love it and do

so much enjoy the winters in this very

quiet little town. It must seem lively

after living on a light house island. We

like it here ourselves. Lovingly,

Aunt Florence

Notes:

I can't help but be intrigued by a time when young boys only went to school in the winter because they were busy working the farm the rest of the year, or when young girls only went to school in the winter because they were living on a lighthouse island the rest of the year!

Castine is an incredibly interesting small town on Penobscot Bay in Maine. It was settled by Europeans before Plymouth; it changed hands and names many times over the following two centuries; it was a significant battleground during the Revolutionary War and saw the battle that earned Paul Revere his court martial. (Which by the way was the worst Naval disaster for America up to Pearl Harbor.) For over 60 years it has been the home of the Maine Maritime Academy. And it has become a vacation and retreat destination for many who think that Winters should be cold and Summers nights should be chilly. (Like me!)

Go here or go here for more details on the history of Castine.

Of course anyone who's spent time driving along the New England Coast (or many other coastlines, for that matter) has seen their share of lighthouses. But aside from being pretty, and having a the most wonderful soulful sound in the fog, what else makes lighthouses so interesting? Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the creation of lighthouses, with an added note from me:

Most of the lighthouses in the United States have been built and maintained by the Coast Guard since 1939, its predecessor the United States Lighthouse Service from 1910-1939 and its predecessor the United States Lighthouse Board from 1852-1910. Before the Lighthouse Board was established, local collectors of customs were responsible for lighthouses under Stephen Pleasonton. (NB, Pleasonton was Department of Treasury.)

If you're interested in great photography and information about the history of lighthouses, you might want to check out the American Lighthouse Foundation's bookstore. This book looks pretty cool:

For a little more information on this particular lighthouse, check out this page, and scroll down to Dice Head Light. Or better still, go directly to this page.

It seems a peculiar thing to raise a family at a lighthouse. I did some web searching to learn more about what that life was like, and found a few good descriptions that might help you understand about the two girls mentioned in the postcard.

First, this account of one family at a lighthouse on Rock Island, Michigan, explains the isolation, how some families chose to live apart, and the concept of "winter break."

The first two Betts children (Wm. Jr. and Jane) were born right at the lighthouse without the assistance of doctor, nurse, or neighbor, the next seven children were born on Washington Island. Records indicate Emily Betts, assistant keeper, and family continued to live at the Lighthouse during the navigational season. It is not clear in which year lighthouse families began living and using Washington Island as their primary residence. Then, children schooled during the year, with families joining the keeper on Rock Island during summer breaks, and the keeper joining his family on Washington Island when shipping stopped at the close of the navigational season - Dec. 15 through April 1.

On Thatcher Island, in Rockport, Massachusetts, they had a teacher on the island for a moment:

There were seven children living at Thacher in the early 1900s. The state refused to build a school on the island, but they finally agreed to pay a teacher to live there. The teacher, a young woman, didn't stay at the island very long. She met and subsequently married Edwin Tarr, son of the keeper and an assistant keeper himself. The couple moved to Boston where Edwin served as keeper of the Long Island Head Lighthouse. After that, most of the children boarded on the mainland during the week so they could attend school.

The kids on Nash Island, in Addison, Maine fared a little better:

For a while, there were enough children living on the island for a small school to be put in operation with a teacher from the mainland. When they reached high school age the children boarded and attended school in Jonesport.

I searched and searched but wasn't able to find out who the keeper was at this light in Castine in 1912. But I can imagine the two young girls, going completely and utterly stir-crazy for 7 months out of the year, and then suddenly set free in the "lively" town of Castine. They must have been so grateful just to go to school -- can you imagine?

Tanga Puzzles: April 9 - April 15

Here are the daily clues for the Tanga puzzles this week. To see the hint, highlight the space to the right of the date.

I don't give away answers here, just a small hint each day to help get you started or past a rough patch. If you want stronger hints, you can check the blog on the Tanga site itself, which is chock full of spoilers.

While I avoid giving away the answers on this page, be warned that there may be spoilers in the comments to this post, so open those with care.

Good luck!

April 9: The second season is the easiest to match to words on the left because the pattern is hidden to a lesser degree. The third is not onerous at all. From there you can guess the answer, and backsolve to get the other two seasons.

April 10: The hands of the clock indicate how to group pictures.

April 11: I got this with a guess, after someone sent a big hint from the heavens. No idea how much work it would have taken to solve the old-fashioned way. I was practically extinct by the time I even got to the guess!

April 12: Big clue. The tiles are from a catalog, so you can order more than one of any style you need.

April 13: Take a different approach to this one.

April 14: Keep your approach to this one as simple as you possibly can.

April 15: Pay attention to the colors. Also when intersections seem to broad, just go with it.

No Creative Writing

I was home for Easter this weekend, and on Saturday afternoon my mother said, "You didn't put anything up today." Meaning on the blog. I mumbled something about it being Saturday and went about the business of stuffing plastic eggs.

Late Saturday night, I was on my mom's computer when she poked her head around the corner and asked, "Did you post anything yet?" (Gee thanks Mom, no pressure or anything.) I patiently explained that it was Saturday, and that I didn't post on Saturday unless I did post on Saturday. Which made perfect sense at the time.

But the reality is that it's been a crazy week and I was literally at a loss for anything to post the last few days. And the only reason I'm posting this explanation is so that anyone who does wander here doesn't say, "Oh my god, is she ever going to post anything again?"

That means you, Mom.

A Little Poetry for You: Frost

It's Poetry Friday!

I'm running out for Easter weekend, so had to quickly fall back on my old favorite -- Robert Frost. The first time I read this poem I was shocked by the ending. I was young, and I didn't know poems could be sad before that.

"Out, Out --"
by Robert Frost

The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.

Go here for the rest of the poem. Click on the audio link to hear it read with a good New England accent.

Words on Wednesday: Silly Words from My Niece and Nephew

My niece and nephew are visiting, and I asked them to tell me their silly words this week.

Emily, age 9:

Sacajawea
sizzle
flurry
fad
commotion
gypsy
blog

Matthew, age 7:

no silly words, but he did tell me a blonde joke

Lives in Letters: Postcard from a Nun

This is a tough postcard to appreciate for it's picture -- black and white and pretty beat up. But there were things about the note I found appealing. One ironic thing is how the writer talks about the colors, which we have no way of appreciating visually. Luckily, Sister Gertrude throws in a little imagery to help out....

Postcard

Homer NY
October 11, 1933

Addressed to

Mr. & Mrs. Orville D. J-
Wilmette, Ill.

1933 Homer, N.Y.
Am here as Delegate from
our Church, left Attica this
morn at 7:45 arrived 9:45
77 miles. Will leave after the
meeting this afternoon. The
trees look beautiful as some
one termed it looks like Oriental
rugs. Had a wonderful ride
Sunday thru Boonville Gorge
to see foliage. All colors.
We are now having lunch.
Beautiful day. Love, Sister
Gertrude

Notes:

Until I saw this postcard, my only connection between Sister Gertrude and Homer was from this wonderful movie. Let me take a little tangent here and say if you haven't seen this, it's worth a Saturday afternoon. And now I'll get back to the postcard with "Ay-ay-men, Ay-men, Ay-men!" in my head.

.

So, when Sister Gertrude wrote that she left Attica, do you think she meant this Attica...

.

...Or this Attica?

.

Either was possible. The prison was built in 1931, a full two years before this postcard was sent. Sister Gertrude might have been on a prison tour, doing good works and all that.

.

Attica Prison, of course, has attained a pop culture status from the references in many movies (Dog Day Afternoon being the most famous) and television shows to the 1971 prison riots. But even before Attica opened its doors it was the rock star of prisons. Just check out the following from correctionhistory.org:

Shortly before it opened, Attica was hailed in the following article, which appeared in the New York Times on August 2, 1931:

ATTICA PRISON TO BE CONVICT'S PARADISE
Condemned by the Wickersham Commission for its maintenance of Auburn and Clinton prisons, New York State will have an answer to charges of inhuman penal conditions when the New York State Prison opens at Attica within the next few months with its full quota of 2,000 convicts. Said to be the last word in modern prison construction, the new unit in the State's penal system will do away with such traditions as convict bunks, mess hall lockstep, bull pens, and even locks and keys. In their places will be beds with springs and mattresses, a cafeteria with food under glass, recreation rooms and an automatic signal system by which convicts will notify guards of their presence in their cells. Doors will be operated by compressed air, sunlight will stream into cells and every prisoner will have an individual radio.

Perhaps because of the Depression economy, perhaps for other reasons as well, no Attica inmate has ever seen the institution described above.

.

The riots were a full 38 years after this postcard, but if you're interested in reading a little about them, you can check out wikipedia's article and their links.

.

The real issue I have with Sister Gertrude's account of her travels is that no map I've seen says you can get from Attica to Homer, NY in 77 miles. It's almost double that distance! I think she must have taken a little nap in the car, and nobody wanted to embarrass her by telling her how many miles they had really travelled.

.

October in this part of New York is really gorgeous ("like Oriental rugs"). Boonville Gorge, which is on the Black River Canal and not too far from the Erie Canal, has got to be one of the most picturesque places to take in the full foliage effect. Here's what the Boonville Chamber of Commerce has to say about the town itself. And here are a few wonderful pictures of the park.

.

Last thought... I wonder what Sister Gertrude was a delegate for? Any suggestions?

Tanga Puzzles: April 2 - April 8

Here are the daily clues for the Tanga puzzles this week. To see the hint, highlight the space to the right of the date.

I don't give away answers here, just a small hint each day to help get you started or past a rough patch. If you want stronger hints, you can check the blog on the Tanga site itself, which is chock full of spoilers.

While I avoid giving away the answers on this page, be warned that there may be spoilers in the comments to this post, so open those with care.

Good luck!

April 2: And they're off! Good start to the week.

April 3: Aaron picked a good one today.

April 4: Will a jolly man make a jolly visitor?

April 5: Well I got it but I don't know how I was supposed to get it. Anyone want to throw me a hint in the comments?

April 6: The title should serve as a good pointer.

April 7: The seventh hint was the one that gave me the theme. The fifth hint confirmed it. Both are gettable with quick google searches and a little synonym-think.

April 8: You need to know who these presidents are in order to get this.

I'm a Lie!

Actually, I'm a Lai.

I'm the lai, with no sort Of grave, solemn thought, And I Will never be caught By miseries sought, Nor sigh; Where battles are fought Or arguments brought, I fly. But only on days when I don't feel like being terza rima. What Poetry Form Are You?

Thanks Mary Lee!

Creative Writing: April Verse #1

April is National Poetry Month.

In honor of that, you can find poetry in all sorts of places. For instance, Knopf will email you a poem every day if you go here and sign up. Greg over at GottaBook has promised he will write a poem-a-day and share them on his blog.

Me? I make no promises. But I figure I was going to do some creative writing today anyhow, so I can at least say I've marked the day and given the (National Poetry) month a nod. We'll see how the next 29 days look when we get there.

What Kind of Fool

What kind of fool
hears birdsong in the moon,
sees tulips in the tidepools,
tastes berries in the breezes,
and feels unloved?
No spring fool.
No April Fool.

Silly Words Contest Winner!

Thanks to all who took part in the Silly Words contest. For the full list of words, and the links to all the contributors, see this post.

Here were my favorites to listen to:

Snickersnee
Harrumph
Gobsmacked
Pachycephalosaurus
Mycelium

My favorite use of the words came from Michele (who gets an entry into the contest for this):

I'm am so discombobulated that my flibbertigibbert brain forgot about this... Feel free to kick up a hullaballoo and a kerfuffle. Indubitably I should be disowned, made to eat guacamole with a sprocket, and to mollycoddle you by way of compensation. This tomfoolery will not bamboozle you into not thwacking me with a sasquatch, will it ? I've dropped my diphthong somewhere - I think it fell into my glockenspiel ! :shock:

There were 16 total entries, but only one winner. And that winner is...

Tim!

Here was Tim's entry:

Splurge - it sounds like a Batman sound effect gone wrong.
Polynomial - I just like the way it sounds.
Blurb - another sound effect gone wrong.

I encourage you to say "splurge" out loud several times in a row. It gets sillier every time you say it. Congratulations Tim, and thanks again to everyone who played!