L'aura del Campo

Corn and Stars

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███████          L'aura del campo           ███████

SUMMER: 3 Kamal (3 August)

'é a lua,  é a lua,  na quintana dos mortos'
♣    Federico García Lorca    ♣

Corn

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Much of the world outside of the tropics and arctics has had some staple grain crop: wheat, rice, oats, sorghum, millet, corn ... In the Americas it has been historically corn. For instance, tortillas are made from masa, ground corn. Here in Kansas we grow lots of it. All varieties from popcorn to feed corn for the cattle. Unfortunately, someone watered our corn yesterday and last night it rained and the poor corn has its arms and ears akimbo. Fortunately, most of the corn has already been picked. We had a mix of yellow and white kernels this year in our garden, but corn comes in many colors: reds, black, and purple among them. And all heights from 2' to 12'. Along with its two sisters: beans and squash, corn is what fed the Americas.

Next entry nuts? Not! But, some day we'll talk about nuts and my Swedish ancestors. Some say they were one and the same, AL !

████████ Sizzling? Think cool !
████████ Weather where I am: 75º, and cloudy.
████████ Weather in Daly City, CA: 66º and pleasant.
████████ Weather in Zimbabwe: 68º in Bulawayo.

IMAGES

At Aimée's in the rain:

Sound of wet tires; wet road; drip from the music shop's awning (not in tune); the coolness (temp dropped 25º); splashes in puddles; music from a bar, from cars; muted conversation; wet pants when I get up from sitting on the wall; lights glisten in the rain.

MY LIFE

I have spent most of the day inside, in an office. Should've gone out! It's not as hot and steamy as it has been.

Last night the rain was wonderfully refreshing. It was 102º and then it was 77º.

Nothing new about the garden, except the corn looking kinda wasted. No need to water today.

I lasted until almost 11 p.m. last night. I can read poetry and write in my journal at the coffeehouses. Coffee costs $1.18, $1.34, $1.45 where I usually go (one refill). Like I need the caffeine!

No hysteria yesterday, but this morning the front page had another murder. I knew the victim and had probably met her boyfriend before. Sigh.

POETRY? YOU CALL THIS POETRY?

Based on a funny thing said in writer's group. So-okay, if you have never had Neopolitan ice cream you might not gets this (I myself prefer spumoni):

Napolean's Ice Cream

The warfront lies along the divide
of chocolate - strawberry. The weapons:
words and spoons.
All fluster and all fury await the melt.
Pink and brown must never touch.
Bowls must choose just one.
Ask for two and be accused
of terrorism!
I wave the white flag,
speak in dove-like tongues,
then sneak off with my treat.
It's vanilla that I seek. [163.282]

BLOGVILLE

Today, I want to focus on one blogger. GG very happy has a very colorful down-under blog: "Invalid Item" . Very little is black and white, it's usually shades of green!

You are likely to find terryjroo, Megan , andrew and bymydesigns hanging out there and conversing back and forth, not quite a chat room, but similar! If she were president of the U.S. we'd be talking about her Green Room.

As a teacher, she's recently had to suffer name-calling (the dreaded 'b' word) and as a WDC personage she's been bitten by the anonymous rater (Here's a 1.0, suck mud) that all of us have experienced. Her retort is in these entries: "Invalid Entry"  and "Invalid Entry" .

Does this express it for you? Or do you have a different opinion? She has created an In & Out "Invalid Item"  to promote this.

** Image ID #1137275 Unavailable **

While you are there and enjoying her Aussie hospitality you may wish to ask her for some Tim Tams .

POETICS

Anything can be used for prompts. News articles among them. For example, anything scientific can be used for romantic love stories (because concrete objects work better than abstractions). This linked article speaks about how a brown dwarf has survived a red giant and will become engulfed by a white dwarf in another billion years. Consider the possibilities!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060802/sc_space/objectsurvivesbeingswallowedbyas...

So the poets task today is to use an unexpected prompt. To choose words and images well, and then to evoke an emotion.

Objects: brown dwarf, white dwarf, red giant, giant planet, gas.
Actions: going nova, being swallowed, puffing, siphon, vaporization, engulfment, expelled.
Neat ideas: wannabe star, cosmic catalyst, untethered planet, being swallowed by a star.
Emotion: romance (lust or love, happy or sad) or whatever comes to mind.
Form: any.

My quick sketch:

Brown Dwarf Speaks

And he farted,
all his gas passing by me
in a stellar blast.
What big red comic catalyst he thought he was!
My cosmic siphoning expelled his ass
to our solar system's edge
and then beyond.
In a puff his crimson light went out
and all that's left of him
is this small white dwarf.
Who's laughing now?
Who dares pass gas? [163.286]

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Ye are the stars of the heaven of understanding, the breeze that stirreth at the break of day, the soft-flowing waters upon which must depend the very life of all men...

Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice