The Lighter Side of JzB

Here you will find photos, poetry, and possibly some light-hearted foolishness. For the Heavier Side
of JzB
see my other blog,
Retirement Blues. (There be dragons!)

I claim copyright and reserve all rights for my original material of every type and genre.


Every day visits*
From Moose, Goose, and Orb Weaver
All seized by Haiku


"Why moose and goose?" you may ask. Back on 2/04/13 Pirate wrote a haiku with an elk in it, and I responded with
one with a moose and then included him every day. A few days later in comments Mystic asked "Where's the goose?"
So I started including her with this post on 2/07. A week later on the 14th, Mark Readfern
asked for and received a spider. The rest is history.

*Well, most days, anyway. Grant me a bit of poetic license.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Carpe Diem #210, Mijikayo (short night)

On the eve of June and throughout the coming month we will consider, in Kristjaan's words, "classical Japanese kigo (seasonwords), words with a reference to the season in which the haiku is written, of Summer."

Today's kigo is "short night" referring to the solstice, June 21, which marks the beginning of Summer, while providing the greatest duration of daylight of any day of the year, and so - of course - the shortest duration of night-time darkness.

See Kristjaan's post, linked at the bottom of this one, for relevant haiku by the classical masters.  Read on here for my humble attempts.




~ 1 ~

ancient men
recorded the shortest night
in a ring of stone

~ 2 ~

for insomniacs
even the shortest of nights
can last forever

~ 3 ~

after the sun sets
sleep fast my darling
morning comes too soon

~ 4 ~

far away tonight
above the arctic circle
there will be no night

~ 5 ~

on the shortest night
for those who sleep together
little time for sleep

~ 6 ~

moose slowly turns
from sunset through moon to dawn
while goose soars above

~ 7 ~

short night of waiting
matters little to spider
her trap is woven

 ____>()<____

Carpe Diem #210, Mijikayo (short night)

 

 

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Carpe Diem #209, Future




~ 1 ~

poor divination
on my part - wrote the future
post yesterday

~ 2 ~

all our best laid plans
are not within our control
but still we make them

~ 3 ~

here we are today
living yesterday's future
who knows what comes next

~ 4 ~

old man looks ahead
sees a future much shorter
than what's in the past

~ 5 ~

in the days to come
moose will ponder goose will soar
spider will spin tales

~::~::~ 

Carpe Diem #209, Future

 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Carpe Diem #208, Divination

WE'RE BAAAACK!!!

Did you see that coming?




~ 1 ~

men think they can read
god's plans and the future
in cards and stars - ha


~ 2 ~

the past is gone
present is fleeting - future
is a mystery


~ 3 ~

skeptic that i am
there have been moments when i
have known the future


~ 4 ~

moose and goose
look up to the stars but live
in the present


~ 5 ~

in divine circle
orb weaver sees her future
a nice bug for lunch

Carpe Diem #208

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Carpe Diem Special #38, Kyoshi Takahama's 'a gold bug'.

There will be episodes this Summer when posting will be 
spotty to non-existent.  
I managed to get in one more post
before the current hiatus.



Inspirational haiku

kogane-mushi nageutsu yami no fukasa kana

a gold bug -

I hurl into the darkness
and feeling the depth of night

~~:~~:~~

little sparks from the depth of my night

~ 1 ~

fireflies dancing
little bits of bright stardust
when the sun goes down


~ 2 ~

old man smiles watching
his grandchildren chase fireflies
on a summer night


~ 3 ~

firefly swarm
draws an unsuspecting man
to the fairy queen


~ 4 ~

moose is dingy brown
goose [when clean] is a bright white
but lightning bug GLOWS


~ 5 ~

does spider revel
in the warm glow cast by a
firefly in the web

>(:)<

Carpe Diem Special #38

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Carpe Diem #201, The Devil (XV) Tarot

There will be episodes this Summer when posting will be spotty to non-existent.  
One of them starts tomorrow.
I'll be back.



~ 1 ~

no androgynes here
male female horns and tails
chained to base nature


~ 2 ~

source of temptation
devil offers all I want
oh naked woman


~  3 ~

lucky moose and goose
live without evil notions
just follow nature

~ 4 ~

orb weaver spins
in a divine pattern that
bedevils the fly


~ Afterthought ~

is sin all so bad
without that delicious fall
there's no redemption


 ~ Afterthought 2 ~

god has made man to
think feel desire be jealous
yet blames the devil


~~::~~

Carpe Diem #201

Friday, May 17, 2013

Carpe Diem #198, The Hanged Man (XII) Tarot



In ancient times, people worshiped gods of violence: Mars, Baal, 
and Odin - who hung upside down for nine days . 

They pillaged and converted, or were converted, 

at the point of a sword.

Then Jesus came along preaching his message 

of peace, love, and tolerance.

Look across the great span of history and see how his sacrifice 

changed man's behavior.

Not so much.

~:~


~ 1 ~

sacrifice symbol
holy man suspended
but people still sin

~ 2 ~

blessed androgyne
your symbolic message
hangs in the balance

~ 3 ~

ego can take us
where all life is upside down
pride goes with the fall


~:~:~:~

Carpe Diem #198

Carpe Diem Special #37, Kyoshi Takahama's 'the night of Spring'


Inspirational haiku

the night of Spring -
an elbow-pillow
on the desk

I must admit to being utterly baffled by this

Kristjaan's is much more accessible

last moon of Spring
leaning on the windowsill
watching her beauty

My attempts

~ 1 ~

as spring time ends
there is one more chance
for a late frost

~ 2 ~
 
after the full moon
it's safe for us to plant
delicate crops


~ 3 ~

the night of spring
its darkness gives way to
the dawn of summer

~::~::~

Carpe Diem Special #37

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

CHINOOK

great king of salmon
though you grow in the ocean
river calls you home



Join the fun!

Carpe Diem's Oasis (May 2013)

Had great fun performing this last Friday

 In case it's not obvious, this is not my orchestra


~ 1 ~

is your oasis
filled with grass and bunnies
mine has a moose

~ 2 ~

mine has a moose
and the honking of a goose
watch out for spider

~ 3 ~

once i was depressed
playing brought comfort and peace
true story

~ 4 ~

silence is
not found in my oasis
we make joyful noise

~ 5 ~

music lifts me
calms my spirit soothes my soul
it's my oasis

~~~ )--iii---

  Carpe Diem's Oasis

~~:~~:~~  

P.S. If you're interested in my Cross Word Puzzle blogging, it can be found here.


Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Thomas Takaro

Theme: Hike through a vowel progression.  Five four-letter words of the form H_CK serve as the theme clues, where the successive clues use all the vowels, in alphabetical order, to fill in the blank.  The unusual feature here is that the theme relates to the clues, and not the answers.  An uncommon approach, but I think we've seen something like it before.  Maybe?

 17 A. Hack : TAXI DRIVER.  Or a political columnist, such as  .  .  . no, we won't go there.

 23 A. Heck : ANNOYED OATH.   I believe this is a euphemism for H-E-double hockey sticks.

 37 A. Hick : BACKWOODS NATIVE.  Like the Beverly Hill Billies

 45 A. Hock : EQUINE ANKLE.  Or bovine, or porcine, or anything pawned.

 57 A. Huck : BUDDY OF TOM.  Finn and Sawyer, respectively.

Hi, gang.  JazzBumpa here.  Let's see what the HECK is going on.

Across

1. Gem : JEWEL.  Precious stone.  Do you think she's a gem?

6. At least three : A FEW.  When do we get into several and many?

10. Early late-night host : PAAR.  Jack.  PAAR or PARR; I can never remember.   IIRC, he got in big trouble for making a toilet joke on TV.  Those were such innocent times.

14. Doctoral exams : ORALS.  For PhDs.

15. "__ Las Vegas" : VIVA.  Elvis movie and song.

16. Comstock __: Nevada silver deposit : LODE.  Recognized this right away.  Seems like I've always known this, but have no idea how or why.

19. Weapons, in Latin : ARMA.   Could this be where our words ARMS and ARMY come from?

20. Ocular woe : STYE.  I know it all too well.  Apply warm, moist compresses at the first sign, and you can avoid a lot of travail later

21. Abu Dhabi's fed. : U. A. E.  Their Federation is the United Arab Emirates.

22. Bit of tomfoolery : ANTIC.

26. Suitable for marriage : NUBILE.  According to the Free Dictionary, derived from the Latin  nbere, to take a husband.

30. Eat too much of, as junk food : O.D. ON.  Over Dose - We've seen this before

31. "I'm on __!" : A ROLL.  That's what the butter said.

32. More navy than teal, say : BLUER.  Shades of meaning.

34. Duck foot feature : WEB.  What would the actor who played the Detective from Dragnet say if the duck stepped on a spider's silken creation?

40. Radical '70s gp. : SLA.  The Symbionese Liberation Army operated from 1973-5 and kidnapped Patty Hearst.  I'm not sure if they had an actual radical ideology, or were just a bunch of opportunistic thugs.

41. Charlotte __: dessert : RUSSE.  A cold dessert of Bavarian cream set in a mold lined with ladyfingers.  Sounds yummy.

42. Columnist Abigail Van __ : BUREN. The pen name of Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips, who passed away in January at the age of 94.  In real life, she was the twin sister of Ann Landers, the pre-existing pen name taken over by Esther "Eppie" Pauline Friedman Lederer in 1955, following the death of the originator, Ruth Crowley .  Pauline's column started in 1956, and caused a long estrangement between the two twins.

43. Grief counselor's subject : LOSS.  I've been averaging about one funeral per month since last Fall.

44. Nobelist Camus : ALBERT.  French Nobel Prize winning absurdist author

50. Stalin era prison : GULAG.  We know this word because of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's non-fiction book, "The Gulag Archipelago," which won a Nobel Prize in 1970.   Back to back Nobility.

51. Common letters in an email address : AOLAmerica On Line

52. Tennis legend : ASHE.  Arthur.

56. Rice-A-__ : RONI.  The San Fransisco treat.

60. Depot postings, briefly : E.T.A.'s  Estimated Times of Arrival.

61. Sneaker brand : AVIA.

62. Long-legged flier : CRANE.







63. For whom the bell tolls : THEE.  John Donne told us this in a well known poem, which is actually an excerpt from this longer work.

64. Quaint "Listen!" : HARK.  Appropriate, though, when angels are singing.

65. Office cartridge contents : TONER.  For the laser printer

Down

1. Writes on one's palm, say : JOTS.  Can be handy at odd moments in interviews or speeches.

2. Q.E.D. word : ERAT.  The entire phrase is "quod erat demonstrandum," meaning "which had to be demonstrated".  Bit of an upgrade from "Eureka!" I suppose.

3. Like begonias : WAXY.  The leaves has a shiny appearance, as if waxed.

4. "A Jew Today" writer Wiesel : ELIE. He also wrote 56 other books, and gives the puzzle a Noble Prize Hat Trick.  Or is it a trifecta?

5. "Dropped" drug : LSD.  Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.  I never tried it.  Those who did were advised to "tune in, turn on and drop out."  Seems a bit nihilistic.  If the three-letter abbrv. looks a bit odd, that's because it actually comes from the German "Lysergsäure-diethylamid."  Säure is the German word for acid.

6. Like doves and hawks : AVIAN.  Relating to birds, not warfare

7. Danno's outfit, familiarly : FIVE-O.  From the TV show.

8. 25-Down resident, for a time : EVE.  She got into some sort of difficulty for inappropriate snacking and consorting with reptiles.  Snakes and snacks - never a good combination.

9. Wouk's "The Winds of __" : WAR.  Concerns WW II.

10. Set aside time for : PLAN ON. Saw a good quote today: "Expectations are future disappointments."

11. Vital blood vessel : AORTA.  If I tell you this is an artery, would you think me vain?

12. Fess up : ADMIT.  Back in grade school, the nuns called it "owning up."

13. Arrive at : REACH

18. Mystical old letter : RUNE.  These consisted mainly of straight segments suitable for inscribing in stone.  They were used in Germanic languages from around the 2nd century A. D. until gradually being replaced by the Latin alphabet from about 700 on.

22. Cute as a button : ADORABLE.   Like kittehs, I suppose.

23. Bad way to get it : ALL WRONG.  I've done that.

24. Brooklynese pronoun : YOUSE.  As in the phrase "YOUSE GUYSES."

25. Genesis place : EDEN.  It was nice while it lasted.  I always wondered if Eve didn't get a bum rap.

26. Takes into custody : NABS.

27. Russia's __ Mountains : URAL.  ARAL is the sea -- see?

28. Resort north of the Keys : BOCA Raton.  Doesn't "Rat's Mouth" sound so much nicer in Spanish?

29. Type : ILK.  Remeber the old days of ILK writers?  They didn't even have spel czek. Or did I stumble into some variety of ALL WRONG?

32. __ nova : BOSSA.  Literally, "New Trend."  A Brazilian aesthetic and musical movement from the 50's and 60's.

33. Church based in SLC, Utah : LDS. The Church of the Latter Day Saints is headquartered in Salt Lake City.

34. Speaker-to-stereo link : WIRE.

35. Always : EVER.

36. Crooked : BENT.

38. Yorkshire river : OUSE.  YOUSE guyses EVER been there?

39. Oleo holder : TUB.  The soft variety comes in a tub.

43. Get together (with) : LIAISE.  The noun form, LIAISON refers to communication, cooperation, working together, but also to adultery.

44. Get together (with) : ALLY. To unite or form a connection.  (But not in an alley.)  Here the noun and verb forms are spelt the same, but pronounced differently.  You alLY with an ALly.   Also, note the contiguous clechos.

45. Long-legged flier : EGRET.  A feathered friend to complete our second pair of clechos.  Also sounds like the name of a wilding girl who was kissed by fire.





46. Repeated, like Poe's raven : QUOTH.  "Nevermore."

47. Forearm bones : ULNAE.  Along with the femurs.  Funny thing is, at the elbow, they both join the humerus.

48. It's the pits : NADIR.  This means the lowest point of some sequence or trajectory.  Curiously, it came into English from Arabic around the 15th century.

49. "You press the button, we do the rest" camera company : KODAK.

52. High hair : AFRO.  Retro, except for Cornell West.

53. Slugger Musial : STAN The Man played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 until 1963, missing the 1945 season when he was drafted into the Navy.  On Sept. 11, 1963 he became a grandfather for the first time, and hit a home run in his first at-bat that day.  On September 29, the day of his retirement, he recorded two base hits, the same total as on his first day in the Majors, Sept 1, 1941.  Statistician Bill James rates him as the 10th greatest player of all time.

54. Use a whetstone on : HONE.  Sharpen.

55. 911 situation: Abbr. : EMER. Emergency.

57. Scrooge's scoff : BAH. Also, humbug!

58. Charlottesville sch. : U. VA.  University of Virginia.

59. Mo. for opals : OCT.   Opal is the birth stone for October.

Well, there you have it: quite a nice puzzle with an unusual feature, clechos, lots of prize winners, a fresh feel, and it's just a Z away from a pangram.

Cool regards!
JzB

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Carpe Diem #196, The Wheel of Fortune (X) Tarot


~ 1 ~

i'm no believer
tarot zodiac prayer
each tool can focus


~ 2 ~

the wheel of fortune
in it you might see god
i see just chaos


~ 3 ~

focus your spirit
bring the hermit to the wheel
seek wisdom inside


~ 4 ~

on the fortune card
goose would fit she has wings
draw them on the moose


~ 5 ~

spider sees the wheel
its great radiating orb
reminds her of home

~~~(:::)~~~

Carpe Diem #196

Monday, May 13, 2013

Carpe Diem #195, The Hermit (IX) Tarot


~ 1 ~

looking like gandalf
does the hermit in his cave
search for the balrog


~ 2 ~

search for the balrog
just in solitude can you
conquer your demons


~ 3 ~

conquer your demons
when the light of your knowledge
leads to true wisdom


~ 4 ~

Does he spout wisdom
or is he just an old fool
living in a cave


~ 5 ~

goose flies with the flock
moose wanders into the woods
tries to find himself


~ 6 ~

spider lives alone
instead of gaining wisdom
she still just eats bugs

~~~(:)~~~

Carpe Diem #195

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Carpe Diem #194, Strength (VIII) Tarot

We had a fine day.  Took my mom, my sister, and my lovely wife to lunch.  It's 150 mile round trip to see my mom.  Later, we had dinner at my step-son's house, and got to spend some time with three of our granddaughters.  It was all good, but I'm tired, and moose, goose and spider get a day off.  [To be completely honest, I don't know how to work them into today's prompt.]   Now, down to the little bit of business I can handle tonight.



 ~ 1 ~

blooms lion woman
together they symbolize
infinite strength

~ 2 ~

mary the maligned
early christian polemic
slanders jesus' friend

 ~~~:::~~~

Carpe Diem #194





Saturday, May 11, 2013

Carpe Diem #193, Mother's Day

Is my Mom beautiful, or what?


~ 1 ~

poor anna jarvis
mother's day got commercial
who would ever guess

~ 2 ~

today is a day
to think of your mom with love
just like every day

~ 3 ~

counting his blessings
old man gets another chance
to take mom to lunch

~ 4 ~

every one of us
has a mother to cherish
even moose and goose

~ 5 ~

spider remembers
when she saw her mother first
and how she escaped

~~ : ~~ : ~~

Carpe Diem #193


Carpe Diem Special #36, Kyoshi Takahama's 'Spring Breeze!'

Today's prompt reminded me that when I was a little kid, we had a 78 RPM RCA Victor Victrola, like this one.



Because this was one of my mom's phonograph records.  Her birthday is next Thursday.  She'll be 92, and she's still going strong.





inspirational haiku

Spring breeze !

on the hill I firmly stand
with the great resolve

difficult for me to wrap my head around
 this is the best i could do


~ 1 ~

when the wayward wind
wafts in tempting from the west
who yearns to wander

~ 2 ~

the mountain stands
with great stony resolve
in time the breeze wins

~ 3 ~

when the breeze blows
the old trombonist listens
and understands

~ 4 ~

in the spring breeze
cherry blossoms flutter down
splendor in the pink

~ 5 ~

in the spring breeze
goose soars like an eagle
moose has hay fever

~ 6 ~

what orb weaver knows
about the springtime breezes
mayfly never learns too late

~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~

Carpe Diem Special #36

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Carpe Diem #192, The Chariot (VII) Tarot

I guess some of you missed my humble offerings.  I am grateful and humbled by your consideration.  Sometimes life intervenes. I've had an over-full plate lately, and probably will for a few more weeks.  I'll participate when I can.  Thanks again for all your kind encouragement.  Carpe Diem is a great and supportive community.

JzB





 ~ 1 ~

if god's the driver
the chariot can swing low
and carry me home

~ 2 ~

your quest for wisdom
learn those difficult lessons
if you have the will

~ 3 ~
 
the charioteer
finds another universe
if string theory holds


~ 4 ~

brown moose and white goose
if they pull this chariot
which way would it go


~ 5 ~

is there a spider
among the arcane emblems
on the soldier's kilt


~ 6 ~
 
UPDATE - H/T to Cathy

the chariot soars
across possibilities
what a wild ride

~~~()~~~

Carpe Diem #192

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Carpe Diem #191, The Lovers (VI) Tarot




~ 1 ~

here we are two fools
man and woman naked
what could go wrong


~ 2 ~

god's high mystery
can it be revealed
in man's base instinct

 
~ 3 ~

the urge says thou shall
but the commandment says not
god's sense of humor


~ 4 ~

old man peruses
woman man lofty angel
which one would he chose


~ 5 ~

goose soars upward
to the angel - moose stays down
with naked people


~ 6 ~

one tree holds a snake
the other engulfed in flames
no place for spider

===>   )~~~

Carpe Diem #191

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Carpe Diem #185, The Fool (0) (Tarot)





~ 1 ~

can experience
teach this blithely tripping fool
a bit of wisdom

~ 2 ~

the fool steps into
the abyss - does (s)he fall
to life eternal

~ 3 ~

step into the void
divest yourself of ego
find your true self

~ 4 ~

is the old man
such a lost and forlorn fool
that he cannot learn

~ 5 ~

stepping past the edge
does the fool fly with the goose
or flop on the moose

~ 6 ~

watch where you're going
fool lest you stumble into
the orb weaver's trap

~ 7 ~

life lesson
sometimes when we fall
it's into love

~~~ 0 ~~~

Carpe Diem #185

 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Carpe Diem #184, Tarot (regular)


~ 1 ~

simple playing cards
not quite - filled with mystery
and symbolism

~ 2 ~

find the right entry
to what your spirit longs for
one door of many


[with a h/t to Maggie]

~ 3 ~

what is life
but a pack of delusions
here let me shuffle


[with a h/t to Mark]

~ 4 ~

like seeding rain clouds
tarot card nucleation
for inner thoughts


~~(:)~~ 


Carpe Diem #184