Brevity is the soul of wit.

Saddam Look-Alike Considers Career Change
X Sells
Ladies And Gentlemen, You're Final Four
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Isn't poetry lovely?

W. B. Yeats

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Horse Shoe Haiku

Bushes aren't that smart
In that they lack grey matter.
Kinda makes you think...

We all need a little time to soak in the sun and our Free Will Horoscope:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): It's the Grunting Season, my dear. Your luck will multiply, and your alignment with cosmic rhythms will grow whenever you engage in activities that provoke your copious grunting. Bench-pressing? Hole digging? Pot washing? Floor mopping? APRIL FOOL! I totally lied. You didn't believe me, did you? In point of fact, Virgo, it's the Sighing Season. Your luck will multiply and your alignment with cosmic rhythms will grow whenever you engage in activities that provoke your copious sighing. Gazing at gorgeous sights? Thinking deeply about the big picture? Making love long and slow?

The sighing season? I can be assured that sighing will be taking place many times since I happen to be a heavy sigher. Definitely a good sign, wouldn't you think?

Even though there are certain things we can cheer about there are others that just can't be ignored. Although we find ourselves in the midst of a war, we have to remember to be positive. Even though Saddam Hussein is trying to look at the sunny side of his predicament, he has to be very scared of the impending attack. With soldiers like these, our troops can be sure to intimidate him into submission. If not, they can just blast some rock music and hope to drive him out.

Headlines.

Pax Americana?
When A Family Goes To War
Super Smash Soul Calibur
Oscar Winners
Oscar Review
Oscar Best And Worst
Major League Baseball Preview

Would you believe that I didn't post anything yesterday? I must be getting lazy.

Ozymandias
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Bowling for dollars? How about bowling for a Free Will Horoscope:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Many otherwise intelligent people cling to a perverse model of intimacy articulated by Norman Mailer. As reported in Leah Garchik's column in the San Francisco Chronicle, Mailer described marriage as "an excretory relationship, in which you take all the crap you hide from the world and dump it on the person closest to you. But the proviso is that you have to be willing to take theirs." If your approach to intimate communion has even a shred of this vulgar stupidity, Virgo, you're now in prime time to banish it from your repertoire forever. You'll attract uncanny luck and inspiration whenever you work in a way opposite to Mailer's; that is to say, when you train yourself to call up all the beauty you hide from the world and offer it up to the person closest to you.

Lovely, all I can really say.

Looking for love? Look no further. Seems people are finding love in the most interesting places nowadays. Better be careful and protect yourself lest you catch any diseases. Better hope that it's only a mild virus and nothing terribly serious. Could be a case of megolamania or maybe the result of playing too much gameboy. Whatever it is, you can be assured that no one's trying to spy your sickness. Or even take over your life while you're incapacitated. At any rate, you can be assured your fears are unwarranted. So be happy and keep looking for love.

This week's featured artist reaches back into the day when the comics spanned entire pages of newspaper instead of the small columns or strips they are today. One of these pioneers is George Herriman. Mr. Herriman is the mind behind one of the most lauded strips, Krazy Kat. Essentially, a surreal trip through Herriman's social commentary, Krazy Kat is an atypical cat-mouse-dog story masked beneath a strange love triangle of sorts. His characters were quite iconic in look, and the vast desert setting made the story all the more surreal. Bricks aplenty were thrown, syntax and grammar thrown out the window, and androgyny ruled the day. The absurdity of it all underlined Mr. Herriman's commentary as being allegorical in nature. For a more in depth look, read this look inside the mind of Herriman. Either that, or take a look at this image to get an idea of what Krazy Kat is all about.

I'm going to refrain from posting any relevant Iraq news because you've all heard it before. Same dance, different singer.

What can you do with 50 Cent? Listen to him talk smack for one thing.

Who's team will go all the way? Hopefully mine but seeing as we were upset last week, mental makeup is a question. Mostly, I just think they're happy to be through with finals before they have any worrying about Finals. If they're lucky, they'll even have a chance to go on this list.

I like romantic movies as much as the next guy. Sometimes I wish they'd be a little more original. So does Entertainment Weekly.

Anyone interested in this year's Academy Awards has a personal favorite. But I think someone out there is pretty deserving of an award. Good luck to him.

The start of the Friday literature brigade is upon us.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
by Randall Jarrell
From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from the dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

Keeping it short and sweet with a Free Will Horoscope:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):Darien is a 45-year-old woman who had a near-death experience when she was 26. "My NDE was exactly like a rebirth," she told me, "so I have wondered for many years whether I really have two charts, one for my original birth and one for my rebirth. And if so, which should take precedence?" I congratulated her on how lucky she is to have such a rich mystery to work with, and I urged her to treat both charts as equally true. I mention this, Virgo, because although you won't have anything as dramatic as an NDE in the coming weeks, you will most likely experience what amounts to a resurrection. You might consider having another astrological chart drawn up for the official moment of your relaunch.

Near Death Experiences tend to inspire people to take up religion or change their life in some fascinating way. Not being a total fan of astrology, I don't know if I should really take it to heart and prepare to celebrate my "relaunch."

If you liked French food before, you may like it even more now. A little too tongue in cheek for conservatives. It's like their sense of humor is now dependent on destroying things. Maybe they're angry because we have too much freedom of expression in our country. Like the right to download music, even if it's purposeful crap. Or maybe because some people just want to be heard. Whatever it is, they probably just want to prove they can party with the rest of america. And if not, they can just go out and party on Monday.

Since today was so busy, I'll be posting Wednesday's material on Thursday. For any of you that actually are keeping track of this blog on a daily basis (anyone, anyone?) I apologize. Otherwise, it's business as usual. Carry on.

Ah, the return of images. This time two to make up for the lack of image last week. I regret they aren't larger, but they sure are purty. Anyhow... Carlos Pacheco. Senor Pacheco is one of my personal favorites as a matter of fact. Not just because he happens to be a latin artist, but because I love the simplicity in storytelling, and inherent liveliness existing in his art. Every drawing is rife not just with solid storytelling and layout, but with a characterization that can't be taught overnight. While he currently isn't working on any major projects aside from the occasional prestige format book, Mr. Pacheco has worked on some high profile projects including Avengers Forever and The Fantastic Four. If his work schedule were more regular, I'd be hunting down what he does every month. For the moment, I'll just have to settle for what images I may find.

Quick quips with whippish whit.

Norah Jones Kicks Ass
Where's Julius?
Grant Morrison's On Crack
Selma Blair's On Fiyah
College Basketball, Not For The Meek

I'm growing increasingly lazy lately on Fridays. Well actually not really, because I'm working too much to get adequate links for you all to peruse. So instead, I'll strike the links for a while and attempt to find some form of distraction. Like poetry.

Kubla Khan
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree :
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round :
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree ;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh ! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover !
A savage place ! as holy and enchanted
As e'er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover !
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced :
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail :
And 'mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean :
And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war !
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves ;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice !
A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw :
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome ! those caves of ice !
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware ! Beware !
His flashing eyes, his floating hair !
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Where Were You Haiku
After a long night
Of casual hooking up
Face the walk of shame.

Cell 4 U Haiku
Technological
Sattelite-signaled marvel
That gives you cancer.

Italian Chew Haiku
Pepperoni and
Green peppers, mushrooms, olives
Chives makes good pizza.

Today is the first day of the rest of your Free Will Horoscope:

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):Empty your mind of everything it thinks it knows about where you belong, Virgo. Once you've created a wide open space, launch an inquiry into the nature of your true home. Here are some questions to guide you. (1) What's the first place you think of when you hear the word sanctuary? (2) What environments bring out the best in you? (3) Do you have what you might call power spots, and if so, what do they feel like? (4) What places on the planet captivate your imagination, even if you've never even seen them? (5) Is it possible there may be a future home that's a more meaningful version of home than the place where tradition comforts you?

Home is where the heart is right? Not where my power spots could be.

ABC had a semi-hit on their hands with The Bachelorette, but was foiled by Fox's smash, Joe Millionaire. Seems that the alphabet network will try and increase their chances of rating success by combining the two, with the twist that the new "Bachelor" just happens to really be a millionaire. If he's more than just a smile and a fat wallet, I think I'll be able to believe the girls on that show actually like him. Maybe he'll impress them with his sculptures (if he had that talent). Or maybe he'll be an owner of a sports team. If so, I hope it's not one of these teams. All in all, at least he has real skin.

So the majority of us went to college. A few of us were actually the first of our family to attend a facility of higher learning. Amazing as that may be, it's also amazing to note the distinct advantage certain children have because their parents went to a certain school. This study suggests that racism may somehow be involved. Perhaps that's why we have affirmative action. In any case, it's the merit of the student that should be important, above all else. Elitism and xenophobia are part of the reason why so many countries hate us. How depressing. Maybe I'll take in a show.

No image to publish today, but plenty can be found on the website of Neal Adams. Mr. Adams happens to be one of the pioneering artists of the modern age of comics. Having begun his work late in what could be considered the "Silver Age," Mr. Adams' realistic style was instantly eye-catching and signaled the movement from iconic to realistic in art styles. His defining work on many popular characters still resonates today in the modern renditions of Batman, Green Lantern, and even X-Men. Although the realism of past years has definitely faded, his style and dynamic page layouts still influence those artists who've become increasingly interpretive of their characters. I wish I had a good illustration to pique your interest, but one image alone cannot encompass what he is truly capable of.

Headlines people!

High-ranking Terrorist Figure Arrested
Death Of A Famous Sweater
Anna Wed Russian Rocket
Buffy Speaks Out
Madonna To Pen For Children
Real Life Face/Off
Frresh Fruit At McDonald's
Teen Punk Not So Punk?