~ Book of Kells: NaPoWriMo: 30 New Poetry Prompts for National Poetry Month

~ Book of Kells: NaPoWriMo: 30 New Poetry Prompts for National Poetry Month

Getting ready for NaPoWriMo????

Or if you are just looking for a poetry prompt or two to get you started on a new poem here is a great list.

Kelli constantly has helpful insights to writing and publishing poetry so her blog is an excellent read anyway. Check it out.

You Go Chester Stranczek!

There are so many funny signs to choose from, but you've got to love this one.  I for one am always opposed to villages making excetions.

Under Construction

Please excuse my construction zone, I'm toying with changes to my template...  I'm not likely finished yet... still trying things and mulling them over.

Will your grandchildren be asking what a library is?

It would appear that libraries are a ripe target for municipalities that are trimming their budgets. Boston is often thought of as a literary city, but it is just one of several cities where libraries are feeling the pinch. In fact Boston may be closing some locations all-together. In Los Angeles, staffing cuts are said to be shortening the weekday hours of operation and shutting down completely on Sunday.

How many of us take libraries for granted? Honestly, I think a good deal of the time they are not occupying a significant front and center portion of my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever really stopped to consider what would happen if they were not there.

Students of course are highly dependent upon them. And I saw a figure that suggests that one third of Americans go online at libraries. Is that their only internet access? I suppose for many it is. Again, I probably take for granted that most have easy access in their own homes.

Could we see the day of privatized libraries with memberships? Or a time when the library we used had no walls, no visible librarians in the dark framed glasses? We entered our membership numbers online and uploaded reading and research material. That kind of change is probably not lurking just around the corner yet, but like many of the services that we’ve come to take for granted, the access we have to libraries is at risk of some change due to the monetary constraints of municipalities. A nation that at times seams loath to read if it isn’t required of them, stands much to lose from loss of public library access. How queer it seems that with all the modern marvels taking place around the world, keeping a library door open for the public may just too challenging for cities.

Friday Stuff

It’s Friday and if you want something to do tonight without leaving your home, Suzanne Frischkorn is having a Book Party for her new release, Girl on a Bridge. It’s virtual so the vine and cheese won’t be a problem if you are dieting. To attend, click here and be teleported to the site.     ~0~

ABBA fans (of which I’m one) could take some joy in their induction into the Rock’s Hall of Fame recently but as to rumors the group might reunite for a one show performance, well it seems highly unlikely. Off the cuff remarks by former band member Benny Andersson have been dismissed by the bands manager. The band when their separate ways in 1982 and in 2000 turned down a $1 billion offer to do a 100 concert world tour.

I would have been shocked to see this happen. I think half of the group would welcome the idea but the other two I don’t see coming around to the idea.  ~0~   

Protesting in verse: A Saudi woman criticizes Muslim clerics' in a TV poetry contest - latimes.com

 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It was a startling voice of protest at a startling venue. Covered head-to-toe in black, a Saudi woman lashed out at hard-line Muslim clerics' harsh religious edicts in verse on live TV at a popular Arabic version of "American Idol."

Well, not quite "American Idol": Contestants compete not in singing but in traditional Arabic poetry. Over the past episodes, poets sitting on an elaborate stage before a live audience have recited odes to the beauty of Bedouin life and the glories of their rulers or mourning the gap between rich and poor.

Then last week, Hissa Hilal, only her eyes visible through her black veil, delivered a blistering poem against Muslim preachers "who sit in the position of power" but are "frightening" people with their fatwas, or religious edicts, and "preying like a wolf" on those seeking peace.
Her poem got loud cheers from the audience and won her a place in the competition's finals, to be aired on Wednesday.
It also brought her death threats, posted on several Islamic militant Web sites

Full Story: Protesting in verse: A Saudi woman criticizes Muslim clerics' in a TV poetry contest - latimes.com

Technorati Tags: Saudi poet,woman critical of Muslim Clerics

American Patriots And Civic Minded People? I think not! These are Criminal Acts of Low Lifes.

The slashed gas line leading to a propane tank at the home of Bo Perriello was found Tuesday, one day after Tea Party activists * posted the address online and suggested that opponents of the reform bill should "express their thanks" to Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Va.

The FBI is working with local officials to investigate the incident.


Conservative activists* in Virginia posted the home address of Perriello's older brother — believing it to be the congressman's address — when suggesting in Web postings that those who disagreed with the Democratic lawmaker's vote should "drop by" to make their opposition clear.

The kind of people who would do this are criminal. Those who encourage this are accessories and just as bad. Grow up people. You seriously risk the life of other people and you show the rest of the world what a buffoon you are. What a way to shape American opinion.  *Replace activists above with anarchists and it pretty much explains who these people are.