Today's Timerick: Russia-U.S. Talks Concluded With Posturing and Threats, but No Movement on Either Side (WSJ)

 

The Bear met with the Groundhog on a murky day last year;

they brought along some weasels and a stuffy brigadier. 

The Bear disliked the table and the Groundhog said the chairs

were scarcely ergonomic and were mussing up his hairs.

While shuffling their papers they sent out for Perrier,

and made sure that the video put them on full display.

They huddled with advisers and signed book deals by the score;

they bandied words with Oprah about some Crimean War.

And when the staff was ready and the room was hushed and still,

they glared at one another till the place filled up with krill.

While huffing and then puffing, with a growl or two for show,

these stubborn creatures made a job completely out of snow.

The media swooped in for quotes; the Bear and Badger beamed.

They all sat down to dinner -- of baloney lightly steamed.

Another conference was unnecessary, so they said;

for they had made their point now, having lots of good street cred.

The meeting broke up quickly, while the situation stayed

about the same as always -- just a dreary cavalcade.

Perhaps they'll meet again next year; perhaps the sun will chill.

Perhaps the world will self-destruct, or take another pill.

The Badger and the Bear remain unruffled by it all.

They're signing copies of their books down at the shopping mall.

And little children pray for peace; and many widows sigh --

and no one seems to care at all how many men will die.

A haiku for Amy. 愛する妻のための俳句

 

crocheting slippers --

open-toed because my feet

ache after walking.

かぎ針編みのスリッパ-

私の足が開いているのでつま先が開いています

歩いた後の痛み。

Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken' run through A.I.

 Here's the original:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Now here's the same thing, after it's been run through quillbot.com:

It was a golden wood, and I was disappointed that two paths forked rather than one, so I stood for a long time and peered down one as far as I could to where it curved in the undergrowth;


Then I grabbed the other, thinking it was just as fair, and possibly having a stronger claim, since it was grassy and needed wear; however, in truth, the passing traffic had worn both about the same, so I didn't mind taking it.


And both of them were equally wrong that morning.

There had been no dark footsteps among the leaves.

Oh, I forgot about the first one! I'll save it for another day!

Nevertheless, knowing how one path leads to another, I began to wonder whether I should ever return.


I'll be repeating this story with a sigh sometime in the far future:

In the middle of a forest, two paths split, and I chose the one that was less frequented by, and that has made all the difference.

An email from ecclesiastical authorities about vaccination and mask wearing. It's unequivocable.

 Dear sisters and brothers: 

As you know, we are experiencing a renewed surge in Covid illnesses here in Utah.  The Area Presidency has reached out to stake presidents with a message of love, concern and caution, for our stake members.  Given the rise in infections, they ask we refer all members to review and prayerfully consider the August 12, 2021 counsel from the First Presidency on mask wearing and vaccination, which states in part: “To limit exposure to these viruses, we urge the use of face masks in public meetings whenever social distancing is not possible. To provide personal protection from such severe infections, we urge individuals to be vaccinated. Available vaccines have proven to be both safe and effective.” 

There are no current plans to cancel Sunday meetings. However, beginning now, we ask all members to please wear a mask if you will be in the church buildings, attending meetings, interviews, youth activities, etc. until further notice.  (We recognize that some small children cannot handle wearing masks so adjust accordingly).  We also encourage 1) members to comply with local public health guidelines and act accordingly; 2) members use good judgment and care with the members in your wards and stakes; and 3) bishops and leaders ensure that Sunday meetings are available via broadcast.  Members, if you do not want to wear a mask, we ask that you attend your meetings virtually instead of in-person until the spread of infection diminishes.  

We also encourage all members to look to guidance from those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators as they strive to make decisions, especially when so many voices across the spectrum of opinion are clamoring for our attention:  we will find safety as we follow the voice of the prophet over any other.  We also remind members of our covenants to “be united in our commitment to the Savior Jesus Christ and His teachings. As His followers, we should treat one another and all of God’s children with respect, dignity, and love. No political or other affiliation should supersede that covenant and sacred responsibility.”  

Finally, next fast Sunday, February 6th, we ask all members in the stake to join in our stake fast.  Please pray for health and protection in our stake, relief for our health care workers, and that hospitals will not be overwhelmed at this time. We believe in a God of miracles and invite us all to join our faith in asking for them.  

Your brethren, 

 

Kevin Kolling, Stake President

Ruben Arredondo, 1st Counselor

Robert Strain, 2nd Counselor

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

And from my bishop:

Ward Family:

 

As stated in the stake presidency’s email earlier this week, “There are no current plans to cancel Sunday meetings. However, beginning now, we ask all members to please wear a mask if you will be in the church buildings, attending meetings, interviews, youth activities, etc. until further notice.  (We recognize that some small children cannot handle wearing masks so adjust accordingly).” Wearing masks in our meetings will allow us to continue to meet and be together.

 

The stake’s email continued, “Members, if you do not want to wear a mask, we ask that you attend your meetings virtually instead of in-person until the spread of infection diminishes.” That being said, priesthood holders are authorized to administer the sacrament in their own homes, and in the homes of those they minister to, in order to accommodate families that feel the need to stay home at this time.

 

If you are unable to attend in person, please join with us via YouTube Live. The broadcast will begin after the sacrament has been administered to the congregation, roughly 8:45AM-8:50AM. Below are the announcements that will be made during the meeting and the callings that were sustained the previous week. If the mask requirements are in place next week we will make 2nd hour meetings available via live stream for those who cannot attend with us.

 

---

Hamlet's Soliloquy run through AI.

 Here is the original:

HAMLET: To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep--
No more--and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep--
To sleep--perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th' unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprise of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action. -- Soft you now,
The fair Ophelia! -- Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.

 

Now we run it through quillbot.com, and get this:

HAMLET: To be, or not to be—that is the question: Whether it is nobler in the spirit to bear the slings and arrows of outrageous fate, or to raise arms against a sea of sorrows and by opposing them put an end to them.
To die, to sleep—no longer—and by sleeping, to claim that we have put an end to the anguish and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.
It's a happy ending that should be longed for.
To die, to slumber—to sleep—perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub, since what dreams may come in that sleep of death.

Must give us pause after we've drifted off this mortal coil.
There's the respect that causes such a lengthy life's catastrophe.

Who could withstand the whims and scorns of time, after all?

The oppressor is incorrect, and the proud man is contumely.

The agony of resentful love, the law's inaction

When he himself might manufacture his quietus With a naked bodkin, the insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes?
Who would fardels endure, to grunt and sweat under a dreary existence, if not for the fear of something after death, the unknown place, from whose bourn they could return?

No traveller returns, perplexes the will, and makes us prefer endure our own afflictions than go to unknown lands?

Thus guilt makes us all cowards, and thus the original colour of determination is sicklied o'er with the wan cast of thinking, and endeavor of vast pitch and importance is suffocated.

Their currents go astray in this respect, and activity loses its name.
— Soften up now, lovely Ophelia! —
In thy origins, Nymph

Please remember all of my misdeeds.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address run through AI.

 Here is Lincoln's original speech:

 

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

 

Now we run it through Quillbot.com, and this is what we get:

 

Our forefathers founded a new country on this continent four hundred and seven years ago, conceived in Liberty and devoted to the belief that all men are created equal.


Now we are in the midst of a major civil war, which will determine whether that country, or any other nation thus conceived and devoted, can survive for a long time.
We've met on a major battleground from that conflict.
We've decided to devote a section of the field as a last resting place for those who lost their life here so that this country may survive.
It is quite appropriate and right that we do so.


But, in a broader sense, we are unable to dedicate, consecrate, or hallow this place.
The valiant soldiers who fought here, both alive and dead, have sanctified it far beyond our meager ability to add or subtract.
What we say here will be forgotten quickly, but what they accomplished here will be remembered forever.
It is for us, the living, to commit ourselves here to the unfinished job that those who fought here have so valiantly progressed so far.
It is more important for us to be here dedicated to the great task ahead of us—that we take increased devotion to the cause for which these honored dead gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead will not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, will have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, will not perish from the earth. 

Haiku: 詩人は遅い昼食を食べます

 

This winter morning --

starlings on a stark black branch

dropping silent plumes.

この冬の朝-

真っ黒な枝にムクドリ

静かなプルームを落とします。

Drifting to deafness --

busy mouths are making words

that drain cold away.

難聴への漂流-

忙しい口が言葉を作っている

風邪をひきます。

Sharing a blanket

It likes her much more than me

I have the pillows.

毛布を共有する
私よりずっと彼女が好き
私は枕を持っています

Haiku: 鳥はいつ寝ますか？

 

why are the birds brown

in the cold white winter snow

when their songs are green?

なぜ鳥は茶色なのですか



寒い白い冬の雪の中で



彼らの歌が緑色のとき？

Today's Timerick: Bitcoin at the Bank: Mainstream Lenders Dabble in Crypto Outside the U.S. (WSJ)

 

Those sneaky bankers formulate

eating cake still on their plate.

They shun all bitcoin in the States,

but dabble with it in Kuwait.

Here at home they act so staid,

but overseas they're renegade!

Wild of hair and eye with greed,

it's like they've eaten jimsonweed. 

Their crypto-mania outstrips

their lust for sex and drugs and chips.

They gamble with the blockchain gang

to give each buck a bigger bang.

So if your banker should decide

to Zanzibar she soon will ride,

close your accounts and stuff the dough

into your bed or portmanteau.

For speculation is the bane

of bankers who appear quite sane;

investing in some cloudy scheme,

they'll give you whey and keep the cream!

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

Look to God and live/the scriptures promise those/who try this glad routine/in joy or deep sorrows/For there is One who lifts/our thoughts and actions when/we give him all our trust/and spurn the guile of men.

Haiku: 詩を書くには寒すぎる

 

Kids in chill fields,

lowing like cattle for hay --

stale bread is still cheap.

チルフィールドの子供たち、

干し草のために牛のように低くなる-

古くなったパンはまだ安いです。

The shearers gather.

The sheep continue grazing --

no end to green grass.

シアラーが集まります。
羊は放牧を続けます-
緑の草に終わりはありません。

cast iron bread bakes
in an old plain white oven --
beautiful gluten!
鋳鉄パン焼き
古い無地の白いオーブンで-
美しいグルテン！