Friday, June 30, 2017

Headlines & Verse. Friday. June 30. 2017

ATHENS AWASH IN GARBAGE AS INFRASTRUCTURE CRUMBLES

In Athens the tourists wear masks
As garbage leaks out of large casks --
The Parthenon reeks
While many fine Greeks

In history pompously basks.




The Fed says our banks have good health,
Are safe for the storing of weath.
What they overlook
Is that the poor schnook
Who trusts them grows poorer by stealth.




A town in the Rockies agreed
They needed more tourists to breed.
They thought that appeals
with toilets on wheels
Would bring ‘em in with greater speed.




Thursday, June 29, 2017

Focus



“We need to put aside our cell phones and ponder about Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
M. Russell Ballard

A baby has a rattle that distracts it constantly.
A child will watch the TV set until it cannot see.
A teenager rides in a car until the wheels wear out.
Adults are on their cell phones like its water in a drought.

Distractions vary in their size and shape, and what they do --
But all of them are hurtful if they blur our Christian view.
Our Living God has sent His Son to save us from the pit --

This only should consume us as we stand, or run, or sit.

Headlines & Verse. Thursday. June 29. 2017


HAS THE 'ROBOCALYPSE' ARRIVED? INTERNATIONAL BANKERS PONDER THE SPECTRE OF MILLIONS LEFT UNEMPLOYED BY AI AND AUTOMATION


Computers are able to learn,
Which makes my blue collar to burn.
My skills as a clerk
Are not worth a jerk --

I can’t even sympathy earn . . .


RARE MINNESOTA BUTTERFLY IS MAKING A COMEBACK -- WHICH IS MORE THAN WE CAN SAY FOR SOME PRESIDENTS WE COULD NAME


When butterflies start to get rare,
You know something’s wrong with the air.
Or else all the weeds --
Like those ancient Medes --

Have vanished from history’s glare


.


Do money and cannabis mix?
Seems like there might be some tricks
To faithfully cope
When you’re full of dope
And want nothing but bowls of Trix.


GUN ADDLED MINNESOTA COUPLE COMMIT DEADLY YOUTUBE STUNT. NO CUTE KITTENS HERE . . .

A book as a bullet proof vest
Is not an idea at its best.
No matter the theme
A bullet will ream

A sizable hole in your chest



Wednesday, June 28, 2017

To Praise the Lord


And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
From the Book of Ether
Bringing light to darkness, quenching all our thirst,
Offering salvation -- we ought to praise God first.
Hold off on all the questions, delay our anguished pleas --
Accept His loving kindness on humble bended knees.
The heart was made for praising, the tongue should wag with joy --
Our curdled thoughts are enemas with care we should employ.
The mountains sing for gladness, though we choose not to hear;
The birds a festive chorus are ever bringing near.
The next time I start kneeling, with any kind of doubt,
O Lord make me a mute until with joy I learn to shout!

Headlines & Verse. Wednesday. June 28. 2017

EPA TO ROLL BACK CLEAN WATER REGULATIONS. AMERICANS SHOULD DRINK MORE BEER ANYWAYS. 


The EPA has turned its back
On keeping clean water on track.
Bureaucrat Pruitt
Says he won’t do it --

Replying “Let them drink cognac!”



TEN COMMANDMENTS MONUMENT GOES UP ON CAPITOL GROUNDS IN LITTLE ROCK: ATHEISTS SWEAR TO GOD THEY'LL HAVE IT REMOVED


In Little Rock God has his say,
Chiseled in granite to stay.
Lip service is fine,
But who can align

With all Ten Commandments each day?



RETIRING HOUSE MEMBER CHAFFETZ SAYS WASHINGTON HOUSING TOO EXPENSIVE FOR FRUGAL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS (HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT TRAILER PARKS, JASON?) 


Some Lawmakers don’t have a clue
That when their high rent has come due,
That they ought to yearn
Back home to return --

And STAY there until the moon’s blue.




MONTANA CONGRESSMAN DISCOVERS SECRET TO COLLECTING MASSIVE DONATIONS -- BEAT UP A REPORTER


If you want donations to peak,
Just smack some reporters each week.
Your voters will think
Reporters must stink --

And you’ll be as rich as a sheikh!




ALL THAT DENTAL WORK PAID OFF -- PRESIDENT IS WOWED BY IRISH REPORTER'S SMILE

There was a young writer named Perry
Whose twinkling smile was quite merry.
She charmed that old grump
We call Donald Trump --

Such influence just might be scary . . .

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Photo Essay: A Short Visit with Grand Children and some Durian

They arrived at 5:30 -- they were supposed to come visit me at 3. We were going to rearrange my pantry, work on a jigsaw puzzle, have hot dogs and beans for dinner, and then sample some Durian fruit I bought at the corner Asian Market. Three pieces of it cost me $11.50. But, like I say, they came at 5:30, and had to leave for a softball game at 6. Sarah's only explanation was: "Things got a little crazy, sorry." And you know what -- that's completely okay. Because I remember when she was my little girl,with a bunch of other little hellions, and being on time for anything was a distant ideal -- sort of like Camelot. So I fed 'em hot dogs and beans and I tasted the Durian in front of them out on the patio -- I bought the darn thing for grand son Ohen, cuz he heard me talking about it and begged me to get some for him to try. But one whiff and he refused to even look at it. The twerp. Then it was time for them to go. Here's a few of the photos I managed to snap, in-between serving them their supper and keeping them out of the jigsaw puzzle. This is family on the run. And it's still better than anything else in my world except maybe sex,  and anchovy pizza . . . 

Ah yes, gather round the goodie jar my little chickadees. I stock it with balloons, candy bars, packets of raisins, and bubble gum


My daughter is a texting addict, like all her generation. The only reason I forgive her for it is because she likes my stove top beans and puts lots of sauerkraut on her hot dog -- what a woman!


Grand daughter Brooke is all -- "What? Didn't we just get here? Why am I back in my #%**@* car seat again?" 



After I told grand son Ohen the possibly apocryphal story of how pink lemonade was invented at the circus, he decided not to have anymore. 



Grand son Lance gets this Jack Nicholson "The Shining" look sometimes -- I think he bears watching very closely . . . 


Ohen is already practicing his "Whatever!" face for when he becomes a teenager



I kinda thought I would take all night to create this photo essay, but it's only 6:35. I was hoping the kids would stay longer. I bought three boxes of TNT Pop Its for them to play with in the alley. I really don't know what to do with myself tonight. I don't want to work on the stupid jigsaw by myself. I tell myself I'm not sad about their so very short visit. I'll see them again soon -- I hope. But it's hard to know when, when I no longer have a car. But it's okay -- there's no resentment on my part. I gave Sarah the rest of the Durian to feed to her gonzo gourmet husband Jonny -- I swathed it in plastic wrap and then sealed it in a Glad freezer bag, assuring her it will not stink up her van.

It's going to stink up her van . . . 



Headlines & Verse. Tuesday. June 27. 2017

THE FOLLY OF SALVADOR DALI: HIS CORPSE TO UNDERGO MEDICAL QUESTIONING IN PATERNITY SUIT. 


A palm reader from old Madrid
Wanted a nice piece of quid
From Dali’s estate --
Because her mom’s gait

From virtue with Dali had slid.



If you’re fleeing from the Sudan
Don’t come here if you’ve got no clan.
The Justices say
We can’t let you stay --
You’ll be expelled like you was bran.



There once was a moose up in Boulder
Who felt that he got the cold shoulder.
“Why should they complain”
He tried to explain,
“When I’m good as any householder!”


ANOTHER GLOBAL CYBERATTACK RENDERS UKRAINE GOVERNEMENT AND ECONOMY HELPLESS -- SOME EXPERTS SAY IT'S COMING TO AMERICA NEXT!


When hackers attack I refuse
To come down with internet blues.
So let ‘em hijack --
They’ll find that I lack

Anything but IOU’s.


NEW LAW IN PHILIPPINES MAKES IT A FELONY TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM OFF-KEY

There was a young man of Manilla
Caught between Charybdis and Scylla.
As deaf as a post,
He sang like a ghost --

They skinned him just like a chinchilla.

Photo Essay: Bodies in Motion at the Provo Recreation Center

I sat in the lobby of the Rec Center after my Senior Aquatic Aerobics Class, too tired to walk home. So I recorded people coming and going -- with no background story or narrative. Without much focus. There is no meaning to these photographs -- unless you supply it yourself. But . . . who knows, maybe you're in one of them . . .








After a while, sitting there, the moving people became surreal to me. I was not interacting with them, just observing them. I was not wondering about their lives or thoughts -- to me they were just Alexander Calder mobiles. So . . . am I an artist or a madman?

Or merely a voyeur?

Body in Red and White



This woman made eye contact with me




Triptych: Man in Orange T Shirt









****************************************************************

Project title:  “What I Saw at the Circus”
Work in all mediums accepted.
Deadline:  December 29, 2017
There is no entry fee
All submissions become the property of the Provo Museum of Mail Art
All submissions will be on display at the Provo Museum of Mail Art for
approximately eight weeks after being received.
Please send electronic submissions to torkythai911@gmail.com
Please mail submissions to:
The Provo Museum of Mail Art
℅ Tim Torkildson
650 West 100 North  #115

Provo Utah 84601  USA