WA2K Radio is now on the air

i had no inkling of C.I.'s ancestry. i'll just say,

omedeto gozaimasu,

like we say in my old country (and that's no figure of speech, Japan is indeed an old country)

Hey, yit. C.I. goes way back. My word, we're becoming the United Nations here on WA2K:

For C.I. (sorry that I can't do pictures)

Money Origami

Folding paper money (or "money origami") is my one true creative output. My best original designs include spiders, eyeglasses, sailboats, and framed portraits. I got started in high school when I learned how to make a ring out of a dollar bill. I generally make these items to leave as tips. A friend of mine keeps telling me "You should write a book...you could make a lot of money." My slogan is: "Everyone is good at something. Me, I'm good at spending money."

As I get time, I'll enter in the steps for creating a few of them:

often, listeners, haiku is also referred to as hokku.

Haiku by Basho

Within plum orchard,

Sturdy oak takes no notice

Of flowering blooms.

The moon glows the same:

It is the drifting cloud forms

Make it seem to change.

Yellow rose petals

Drop one-by-one in silence:

Roar of waterfall.

Haiku Poems by Richard Wright

I am nobody

A red sinking autumn sun

Took my name away

Make up you mind snail!

You are half inside your house

And halfway out!

In the falling snow

How's that?

here's a few by Gary Snyder, who incidentally won a Pulitzer for his Turtle Island

the boulder in the creek never moves
the water is always falling
together!

This morning:
floating face down in the water bucket
a drowned mouse.

leaning in the doorway whistling
a chipmunk popped out
listening

a butterfly
scared up from its flower
caught by the wind and swept over the cliffs

Skirt blown against her hips, thighs, knees
hair over her ears
climbing the steep hill in high-heeled shoes

Yit, those are beautiful. I especially like the butterfly haiku.

Well, John of the real kind, you need to alert C.I. to these tributes.

DO RE MI INFORMAL TRANSLATION
Do wa do, donatsu no do Do is the do sound of donatsu (donuts)
Re wa remon no re Re is the re sound of remon (lemon. There is no l sound in Japanese.)
Mi wa minna no mi Mi is the mi sound of minna (everyone)
Fa wa faito no fa Fa is the fa sound of faito (fight)
So wa aoi sora So is the so of sora (aoi/blue sora/sky)
Ra wa rappa no ra Ra is the ra from rappa (trumpet. There is no l sound in Japanese.)
Shi wa shiawase yo Shi is the shi from shiawase (happy. There is no ti sound in Japanese.)
Sa utaimasho Let's all sing

Well, waiting for C.I.--tapping foot.

arigato, Letty san! i haven't heard that, Do Re Mi no Uta (Song of do re mi), in decades.

I just heard it today, yit. Hey, buddy. Did you know there is someone else on A2K that is from turtle island? I think she is an amerind.

Well, while we wait for C.I. I'll just give the Browning poem away:

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Rabbi Ben Ezra


Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!''



The image is biblical; see Isaiah 64: 8.

That's only part of the poem, listeners. It was too long to say it all.

Thanks, Miss Letty, for the poem.

And to you an origami :

Ah, Francis. That is awesome! Right listeners? An elephant with an all seeing eye. You French always did have an eye for art. <smile>

Degas--Renoir--Monet-- Water lilies; ballerinas; secret places.

Merci, Francis.

Lovely, Bob. Let's just hope that he doesn't shrug. Noticed today that the earth is changing shape.

For some reason, folks. Frost comes to mind, no, not the rime.



When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-coloured
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground,
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm,
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows--
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father's trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having lashed across it open.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate wilfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better.
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree~
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

Yes, Robert. Earth is the right place for love.

Frost once observed that a poem should begin in delight and end in wisdom, much like a sonnet.

Hi Gang, Just dropped in after receiving a PM just moments ago. Thank you all! As with my 50th birthday, I'm celebrating with about 20 family and friends at a local Chinese restaurant for dinner this Saturday. Even my two brothers and sister are coming from Sacramento Valley. Probably the last birthday celebration for me, but hope to live for many years - if healthy in body and spirit. You guys are the "greatest!"

C.I., honey. You are quite welcome. We're all glad that you were born.

Happy Birthday! You're a silicon chip off the old block

Greatest?

"The people that took the test on the yellow paper scored higher than the people on the gray test, but the people who took the gray test scored higher than the people that took the test on the white paper. " :wink:

Happy birthday, Tak!

Funny, Francis. I didn't take that test. I never do well on stuff like that, so I like to keep a good image of myself.

Well, folks. Don't touch that dial. We'll be back with more music, poetry, tests, origami, art, and whatever.

Just saw Françoise Hardy lve singing on German tv.

So here's my "good night song" ... in English

Time's passing by
(Au fil des nuits et des journées)


the days and weeks just pass me by
and just like you I let them fly
time's growing tired, I'm growing old
time's passing by, or so I'm told

those days when you are feeling low
nowhere to run, nowhere to go
nights without love, no-one to hold
time's passing by, or so I'm told

but if someone would take my hand
perhaps they'd make me understand

someone would come like in a dream
to show me what I've never seen
to teach what I've never known
and tell me what a day can mean
but no-one comes to change the scene

my body's tired, I'm feeling cold
the nights grow long, the day is old
time's passing by, or so I'm told

The sun is still bright, a prelude to night. and I think about a song of yesterday:


Song: I Remember You Lyrics

Was it in Tahiti?
Were we on the Nile?
Long, long ago,
Say an hour or so
I recall that I saw your smile.


I remember you,
You're the one who made
My dreams come true
A few kisses ago.


I remember you,
You're the one who said
"I love you, too," I do.
Didn't you know?


I remember, too,
A distant bell,
And stars that fell like rain
Out of the blue.


When my life is through,
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all,
Then I shall tell them
I remember you.

Prelude to a kiss:

To a Kiss
Words & Music by Irving Gordon, Irving Mills & Duke Ellington
Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 1956


D DM7 D7 D6 D D6 D7 GM7 G6 Gm7 Gdim
If you hear a song in blue like a flower crying for the dew,

E7sus4 A9 A7/9 D DM7 B7 Em7
That was my heart ser - e - na - ding you,

A7sus4 A7+5 D
My prelude to a kiss.


D DM7 D7 D6 D D6 D7 GM7 G6 Gm7 Gdim
If you hear a song that grows from my tender sentimental woes

E7sus4 A9 A7/9 D DM7 B7 Em7
That was my heart trying to com - pose

A7+5 A7 D
A prelude to a kiss.


Bridge:

Gdim G G/B Am7 D7
Though it's just a sim - ple mel - o - dy

G Em7 Am7 D7
With noth - ing fan - cy, noth - ing much,

Am7 G E7 Am7 D7
You could turn it to a sym - pho - ny,

G A A-9 A9
A Shu - bert tune with a Ger - shwin touch.


A7/9 D DM7 D7 D6 D D6 D7 GM7 G6 Gm7 Gdim
Oh, how my love song gen -tly cries for the tenderness within your eyes;

E7sus4 A9 A7/9 D DM7 B7 Em7
My love is a pre - lude that nev - er dies,

A7 A7+5 A7 D
A prelude to a kiss.

There was an alternate title to that song, listeners. I think it was called "Music From Beyond the Moon."

Auf Wiedersehen, Walter. Wish I could find the words to that song.

Just drifting tonight.

Well, folks, Europe is asleep.

This is the last day of June, and there are only four days left until the fourth.

July 4, 1826

Requiem for an American President



The celebration of our Nation's 50th birthday was saddened this day in history by the death of our second president, John Adams. It was the eloquent Adams who had so persuasively defended Thomas Jefferson's DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE before the Continental Congress in 1776, ultimately leading to the birth of this new Nation. It may have been the last time Adams and Jefferson agreed on anything.

Jefferson's Declaration was born on June 7, 1776 when Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee laid before the Congress a resolution calling for the 13 colonies to be "free and independent states, absolved of all allegiance to the British crown." Moderates argued against the historic resolution, pointing out that the middle colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware were undecided about complete separation of the colonies from crown rule. By day's end there was little consensus, but members of the delegation appointed a five-man committee to draft a declaration of independence for consideration at the July 1st meeting.

The task of drafting the declaration should have fallen to elder statesman Benjamin Franklin, but his illness precluded a timely completion of the task. The task then should have fallen to Adams, who argued instead that Jefferson should write it. Jefferson at first attempted to defer to Adams until, in frustration, the Massachusetts delegate grudgingly stated, "You are 10 times the writer I am." Thus Jefferson prepared the draft with suggestions for revisions coming from both Franklin and Adams. The finished document was presented to the Second Continental Congress on June 28th. A poor speaker, Jefferson's written work impressed the Assembly, despite some reservations. The more eloquent Adams vigorously defended the work, which was adopted on July 2nd. That evening Adams wrote his thoughts on the new declaration to his wife, stating in part: "The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival."

Actually Adams was two days off. Editing of the document continued until it was formally approved by 12 of the 13 colonies on July 4th. (The New York delegation abstained from the vote, but approved the Declaration five days later.) On August 2nd the 53 delegates present signed the document, and the 3 absent members subsequently added their names. Among the 56 signers were both of the men most responsible for the Declaration's existence, Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

From that point forward the clashes between Adams and Jefferson were widely known. During Adam's two terms as vice president under George Washington, more than one conflict arose between him and Secretary of State Jefferson. As a Federalist, Adams found his political views quite at odds with the man who would become the leader of the rival Democratic-Republicans. When Washington left the Presidency the battle for a successor was bitterly fought between Vice President Adams and Secretary Jefferson. Adams defeated Jefferson by a 3 vote margin (71-68 electoral votes), becoming our second president. That bitter campaign was renewed in 1800 when Jefferson defeated Adams to become our third President. So intense was their rivalry that, on the day of Jefferson's inauguration Adams was carriage-bound out of the new Capitol City when the new president assumed office. (The recent death of his son in New York provided a convenient excuse not to attend the inauguration of the incoming president.)

Jefferson served two terms as President after defeating the incumbent Adams, then retired to his home in Monticello. Meanwhile from his retirement farm in Quincy, Massachusetts Adams began to write long and elaborate letters to his old adversary. A grudging admiration for each other may have developed in their later years. Nonetheless, Adams always proclaimed that, though Jefferson was 7 years younger than himself...

"I will out live Jefferson."

On his death bed on Independence Day, 1826 John Adams uttered his last words. They were "Thomas Jefferson survives."

It is rumored that upon Adam's death the messenger dispatched to carry the news to Jefferson's Virginia home actually passed a messenger dispatched from THAT site to Adam's home, also bearing sad tidings.

Just a few hours earlier Thomas Jefferson had passed away….both architects of the document that gave birth to this new Nation dead, 50 years to the day from the birth of the country they founded.



Footnote:

In 1831 James Monroe, our Nation's 5th President, also died on the 4th of July. In 1850 our 12th President, Zachary Taylor participated in July 4th activities at the Washington monument. It was a blistery day and the president became quite ill. He died five days later on July 9th.


I love my country, but it doesn't make me blind to her faults.

Thinking of songs that really define us.

I far prefer "America the Beautiful" by that school teacher.

and you?

By Vera Lynn?

(Auf wiedersehen, auf wiedersehen)
(We'll meet again, sweetheart)

This lovely day has flown my way
The time has come to part
We'll kiss again, like this again
Don't let the teardrops start
With love that's true, I'll wait for you
Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart

Auf wiedersehen
Auf wiedersehen
We'll meet again, sweetheart
This lovely day has flown away
The time has come to part
We'll kiss again, like this again
Don't let the teardrops start
With love that's true, I'll wait for you
Auf wiedersehen, sweetheart

How did you do that, Tico. Did a witch tell you?

It wasn't me, however.<smile>

Who is this Vera Lynn? I need to check her out. She seems to know more than Bing Crosby.

In honor of the man who knows stuff:



He did it before and he can do it again--and he will do it again.
We've got a heck of a job to do,
But you can bet that we'll see it thru.
He did it before and he can do it again--and we will do it again.
We're one for all and we're all for one,
They'll get a lickin' before we're done.
Millions of voices are ringing, singing as we march along.
He did it before and he can do it again--and we will do it again
We'll knock them over, and then
We'll get the guy in back of them.
He did it before, we'll do it again.

lyrics altered to salute Tico. <smile>