Message Forum

Wobbly earth?

I thought it was just something that I ate the other day.

07/11/23 05:28 PM

#12856

Joseph D. McCarthy

Mike you asked for it.

VALENTINES DAY

On Valentine's Day

I think it would be very gay

To send to you

A valentine or two,

Or even a box of candy hearts,

Or maybe some delicious tarts.

A poem in a school publication by a twelve year old, in 1936.

07/11/23 05:46 PM

#12857

If only there was line at the end referring to farts, that would be a poem for the ages. You talk about your missed opportunities.....

And on matters every bit as significant: can you remember when we were kids and swiss cheese tasted like swiss cheese?

I can only get cheese like that at the deli - and even some of THAT, though pricey, does not taste like swiss cheese.

And no it's not my taste buds getting senile.

07/11/23 08:00 PM

#12858

Mike,

You say it's time

To make things rhyme.

And you say some cheese

Does not you please.

And to be sure

There is no cure.

But despite your rage

Taste buds do truly age.😥

Jim

07/11/23 11:09 PM

#12859

My logic's pretty cheesy.

Some say downright sleazy.

Makes some folks uneasy.

I'll try harder to pleasy.

07/12/23 11:54 AM

#12860

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

We are the children of the anthropocene.

Something to hang our hats on but not really.

There's new data out about the geological epoch that we belong to.

And now they are pretty concrete about the ending of the holocene, the previous geological epoch, which ":witnessed all of humanity's recorded history and the rise and fall of all its civilizations." it ceased to be in the 50s. It lasted for roughly 11,000 year before being replaced by an essentially different, fundamendally different, more unhospitable to life epoch.

That's us. That's our generation. We made the scene, lean and mean, in the anthropocene.

They determine this end of an epoch, a gauge of the earth's climate and overall flora/fauna/mineral composition, by the presence of different materials as recorded in geological strata and certain lakes.

For example one marker of the new epoch is the presence of plutonium traces - obviously from the a-bomb, among other fun inventions. That's our personal contribution to the planet's geological fingerprint. One of many core changes generated by modern civilization.

so our generation is the first to be associated with a geological epoch that is pretty much the end of the natural world as it existed before mankind mucked it up.

and you wonder why I'm in grouchy mood.

and occasionally make remarks that are crude.

I could have made this rhyme but I didn't have the time.

Just thought you'd want to hear the latest when it comes to geological slime.

07/12/23 12:43 PM

#12861

This little poem quite literally popped up on my internet search this morning.....I can't claim credit as it is from the Monty Python movie The Life of Brian:

Some things in life are bad

They can really make you mad

Other things just make you swear and curse

When you're chewing on life's gristle

Don't grumble, give a whistle

And this'll help things turn out for the best

Always look on the bright side of life

The article I was reading asked if this poem could be applied to America's current political and cultural landscape. Is there anyone optimistic that the U.S. is just in a phase that we will get through, that things will soon return to "normal", or "we don't grumble and just give a whistle"?

Or, are we watching the end of the American experiment in keeping with the adage that empires last no longer than 250 years before crumbling into chaos? I began wondering just how optimistic can we be about the future for our grandchildren? Is it even possible for us to dialogue about how we can redirect America's cultural decline while refraining from referring to political parties, ideologies and personalities?

Of one thing I am certain.....it is not as easy as "looking on the bright side of life". But pay no attention to me... as I have always been a "glass half-empty" person.

P.S. However, as a person of faith, who believes that God directs everyone and everything in the universe and there is nothing that happens that does not work for His good, I maintain hope......ALWAYS!

07/12/23 02:24 PM

#12862

MM:

we're certainly at a turning point.

But I'm not giving up on the joint.

07/12/23 03:31 PM

#12863

What concerns me most is the potential - and if that is present you can bet it will happen - to misuse artificial intelligence. Granted that AI can be a tool that could benefit many areas of life such as designing molecules that can attack and destroy pathogens without harming the host (humans), but imagine what uses it might have in the hands of the evil.

The earth is capable of recovering from many disasters - including climate ones - and has in its billions of years history. And I shall not get into a discussion about all the factors that affect climate change.

Finding things in the bottom of lakes or dirt or wherever, seems to me like paleontologists and archeologists finding evidence of ancient societies and evolutionary trends over the millennia. And maybe, just maybe, today's humans will be a part of that fossil record in the very distant future.

And, like MM, I believe that will be up to God.

Jim

07/13/23 07:41 AM

#12864

I'm not really worried about the bad AI could do

Apart from lame students cheating their way through

I'm preparing for my fall class even as we speak,

having come up with notions about things that I can tweak.

Students who are superficial

Suck more than intelligence artificial.

Blaming machines for the flaws of man

Makes no more sense than green eggs and ham.

07/13/23 10:20 PM

#12865

Can anyone help me relocate the title, author, and date to an old poem that begins with the lines;

"The president was Lincoln and the year was '61.

When Civil War twixt North and South in earnest had begun.

The causes of the War you know were mainly three,

---------------, ----------------, and Negro Slavery"

07/14/23 10:02 AM

#12866

You may have tried this already dave but an obvious strategy would be to go to a library, a good one, preferably at a college or university, and ask for research help.

I'd poke around on line for you but am on deadline.

you can also put phrases from the poem in a search engine and see if that turns something up.

I've already discovered that "the war 'twixt north and south" was quite common as a phrase once upon a time.

at the moment I'm hard at work researching "maus," which is one of the most significant pieces of literature of the 20th century. read it a long time ago now rediiscovering it. good lord - a "comic book" that won a pulitzer.

art spiegelman is going to be speaking down here in observation of our own library's 100th anniversary, hence the story i have to write.

07/14/23 06:45 PM

#12867

Dear Classmates,

For those of you who have not responded to the August 12th 75th Birthday party invitation, I would like to add an additional request to Janie's latest message.

Those of us who have to come from a distance already may have cancelled work plans for those days, and may have made travel reservations, or will be driving 13 hours to get there (as I do), it would really be appreciated if you would get your name in so we can go ahead and have this celebration.

Is that too much to ask?

Gimme an E !

(or an E with a Y in front and an S after it)

07/15/23 11:39 AM

#12868

Janie Albright (Blank)

Thanks, Dave! Couldn’t have said it better myself!

07/15/23 01:19 PM

#12869

Janie,

Unfortunately, I will not be able to be back in Columbus for the 12 August event. Wish I could be there as it sounds like a fun time!

Jim

07/15/23 04:14 PM	#12870
Thomas Dodsworth I will not be in Columbus For the 75th birthday party

07/16/23 07:19 AM

#12871

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

It is such a fun idea! I sure wish I could be there to celebrate our 75th Birthdays together but it won't be possible. Hopefully many of you can attend.

07/16/23 09:46 AM

#12872

1) I Belatedly discovered "the marvelous Mrs Maisel " and recommend the series to anybody who loves a fast paced wacky series based in nyc. Incredible script, acting, scenery, About a commediene in the 60s/70s who struggles with a crazy family and a male dominated profession. won all kinds of awards

2) Recently rediscovered Maus as Spiegelman is going to appear for a talk in orlando this season. The "comic book" that won a pulitzer. One of the key literary works of our generation. Decided to use it in my writing class this fall

3) So sorry I can't attend the 75th, As it happens I hit the mark in September and that would have made a great birthday present to do an aug/sept visit to classmates and family but just too much going on down here

4) Have fun everyone and know we are there in spirit, those of us who can't make it.

5) A summer in Florida is like living in an oven. Sheesh. Somebody please airmail me a crisp fall day and the scent of falling leaves.

6) wish I could post the entire story below, which ran in the atlantic monthly. It's absolutely true in my experience:

You’ve probably heard the saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” An awful phrase, I know, but it speaks to a common belief about older adulthood: that it’s a time of stagnation. A time when we’ve become so set in our ways that, whether we’re proud of them or not, we’re not likely to budge.

Psychologists used to follow the same line of thinking: After young adulthood, people tend to settle into themselves, and personality, though not immutable, usually becomes stabler as people age. And that’s true—until a certain point. More recent studies suggest that something unexpected happens to many people as they reach and pass their 60s: Their personality starts changing again.

07/16/23 03:46 PM

#12873

Joseph Gentilini

I am coming to the birthday party. joe

07/16/23 04:28 PM

#12874

Mike,

I read a study somehwere that most humans form their belief system by about the age of 14.

If that is true then;

Roy Rogers is still the King of the Cowboys,

Superman is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings with a single bound,

Gas at the Sunoco on Indianola and Blenheim should be $0.29 / gallon.

And - - I LIKE IKE.

Oh, and Brylcreem - A little dab'll do ya.

07/17/23 07:58 AM

#12875

Well I was woke by the time I was 12 Dave so that didn't apply to me.

I do remember running around as a kid with an I like Ike button on.

07/18/23 04:15 PM

#12876

Bored?

Got a few hours to waste?

And some loose jingle in your pocket?

(actually, more like 25 bucks with popcorn and a small coke)

Well if you don't like heart pounding, pulsating, background music, the "sickest" car chase scene ever filmed, impossibly realistic train wreck scenes made with mind boggling new technology, hair-raising escapes, jujitso moves that would win a gold medal in the Olympics, plot twists that will have you thinking it can't get any crazier,,,, oh, and did I mention the "sickest" (and possibly longest) car chase scene EVER!

Then don't go see Mission Impossible.

07/19/23 07:00 PM

#12877