December 23, 2011







AWAY IN A MANGER
Joe Bongiorno












THE COLD WITHIN

Six humans trapped in happenstance
In dark and bitter cold,
Each one possessed a stick of wood,
Or so the story's told.

Their dying fire in need of logs
The first woman held hers back,
For of the faces around the fire,
She noticed one was black.

The next man looking across the way
Saw not one of his church,
And couldn't bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes
He gave his coat a hitch,
Why should his log be put to use,
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from sight,
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

The last man of this forlorn group
Did naught except for gain,
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

The logs held tight in death's still hands
Was proof of human sin,
They didn't die from the cold without,
They died from the cold within.









ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS OF EDO (TOKYO)

NUMBER EIGHTY-FOUR
Grandpa's Teahouse, Meguro (Meguro jijigachaya )
Here we have returned to the bluff overlooking the Meguro River that we visited three times in the "Spring" series.  This site is about midway between Chiyogaike Pond and the New Fuji.  As everywhere along this bluff, the view to Fuji across the fields below was wholly uninterrupted, and several of the figures here seem to be admiring the mountain's serene form.

This path leading down to the Meguro River survives today as Chayazaka, Teahouse Slope, now paved but still winding.  The name derives from a story that Hiroshige records in a similar view in his Ehon Edo miyage.  The third shogun, Iemitsu, stopped by here while hunting and was graciously served by an elderly couple at their small teahouse, which was thereafter known as Jijigachaya, or Grandpa's Teahouse.


















Mustard was formerly made up into balls with honey or vinegar and a little cinnamon, to keep until wanted, when they were mixed with more vinegar.  It was sold in balls until Mrs. Clements, of Durham, on July 10, 1720, invented the method of preparing mustard flour or powder, which long went under the name of "Durham Mustard."








Greyhounds come in a variety of colors including black, white, red, blue, fawn, or a combination of these colors, various shades of brindle and all of those colors broken with white.


ITALIAN GREYHOUNDS.  There is nothing unique to greyhounds that prevents them from getting along with other pets and children. In fact, greyhounds tend to be more gentle and more patient than many other breeds and prefer to avoid confrontation and conflict. Forever eager to please, these gentle giants enjoy peaceful coexistence.


The greyhound's devotion to his owner is legendary. Greyhounds are grateful for their new homes and reward their owners with never-ending affection.


Contrary to popular belief, greyhounds are not hyper and do not need an excessive amount of exercise. In fact, they would prefer to just curl up on a soft cushion (or better yet, your sofa) and take a long nap.














D IS FOR DUCK STAMPS

Duck stamps are issued annually by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as proof of payment of the fee for a Migratory Bird Hunting License. Proceeds from sale of the stamps are used to preserve wetlands. Technically a form of Revenue stamp (hence a Cinderella), these have been issued every year since 1934, and are a popular collecting sideline among stamp collectors, though they have no postal validity. Many consider them exemplary of the best work from the BEP, and the most handsome stamps produced in the US, since they are printed in relatively small quantities, so the quality remains high. Once applied to a license, these stamps must be signed to validate them! Each year's design is chosen through an open competition, an approach that has been used only a few times for US postage stamps - most notably for "The Prexies", our definitive series (of U.S. Presidents) from 1938 to 1954, whose initial design was chosen from designs submitted in a competition suggested by then-President FDR.

Below is a selection of the Duck stamps issued since 1934. Part of their appeal is that a complete collection, while not cheap, is within the reach of most collectors, especially if one is willing to settle for used copies of the older issues. Note that the year printed on the stamp is when it expires, and is always the year following that in which it was issued.


PART THREE

















   THAT I HAVE NOT READ ...
     BUT WOULD LIKE TO

Cather at her most matter-of-fact and, as a consequence, her most powerful.

She based this book on the life of Bishop Jean Baptiste L'Amy--she calls him Father Latour--the French-born Ohio cleric who was assigned by the church to rebuild the faith in New Mexico after the territory was annexed by the U.S. in 1831.

With an old friend, Father Vaillant, Latour sets out for Santa Fe. He will find the church there to be fragmented and corrupt, with priests taking wives and charging exorbitant fees to perform marriages.

Latour embarks on a decades-long effort to reform and reinvigorate the diocese. The style and structure of this book are strange, unemphatic, as if Cather had simply laid the scenes side by side in a tapestry.

She compared the book to a legend, in which no event is given much dramatic weight. If this sounds like a formula for boredom, it's not. Her serene language, with its immemorial simplicity, gives the story a weight mere drama could never provide.












Bora Gray Mullet and Camellia
Ando Hiroshige






This dessert item takes its name from an 16th century Italian marquis. While living in Paris, he created a perfume for scenting gloves. It became so popular that local pastrycooks started making an item to cash in on the popularity of this glove scent. Can you name this dessert item?



PASS YOUR MOUSE OVER THE QUESTION MARKS FOR THE ANSWER!








On a navy blue field is a sunflower, the state flower, the state seal, and the words "Kansas."  In the picture of the state seal are thirty-four stars representing the order of statehood. Above the stars is the motto "To the Stars Through Difficulties."

On the seal a sunrise overshadows a farmer plowing a field near his log cabin, a steamboat sailing the Kansas River, a wagontrain heading west and Native Americans hunting bison.


















Pencil sketching is an interesting and powerful element of design. To put it correctly, pencil sketching can be termed as "the mother of graphic arts."

The general perception about drawing pencil sketches is that it is either a part of initial training given to Fine Arts students or it's a good hobby for anyone who can draw well. What most of us don't know is that making pencil sketches is almost an inevitable part of design and a unique branch of art in itself.
TOBEY MAGUIRE