May | 2012 | A Glass of Bubbly

Archive for May, 2012

The Broken

Posted in Internal Musings (poetry), Poetry, tagged Antony Gormley, Destruction, self image, stress, The Broken, Tyler Knott Gregson, Unwanted on May 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I am the broken,
the word
unspoken.
The record unplayed,
the cobweb
displayed.
The thought unwanted
the ghostly house
haunted.
The heart too chaste
with love
laid waste.

I am the broken
the story
unspoken.
The record unplayed
a self not
displayed.
The thought unwanted
memories forever
haunted.
The heart too chaste
will always be
laid waste.

I am the broken was the first line of a Haiku by Tyler Knott Gregson a friend of mine posted on Facebook today, and the line stuck with me. Somehow the broken sits right. Who is ever whole in this day and age?

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31 May: Did you know?

Posted in On This Day, tagged Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei), Big Ben, Brooke Shields, Castile-La Mancha Day (Spain), Clint Eastwood, Colin Farrell, fool's gold, Ford Model T, Genghis Khan, Godiva, Lea Thompson, Martin Frobisher, Nils Poppe, Ramses II, Shayetet 13, Walt Whitman, World No Tobacco Day (International), World War II on May 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Did you know that on this day in 1279 BC (that would be 3291 years ago – if my head’s working properly) Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt? Or that it was on this day in 1578 Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool’s gold, used to pave streets in London?

And on this day in 1678 the Godiva procession through Coventry begins, in 1859 the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time, in 1927 the last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles, in 1942 during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia and in 2012, in international waters, armed Shayetet 13 commandos, intending to force the flotilla to anchor at the Ashdod port, boarded ships trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, resulting in 9 civilian deaths.

Some birthdays you may want to remember on this day are Genghis Khan, Khagan of the Mongol Empire (1162-1227), Walt Whitman, American poet (1819-1892), Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (1908-2000), Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor (1930), Lea Thompson, American actress (1961), Brooke Shields, American actress and supermodel (1965) and Colin Farrell, Irish actor (1976).

Need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day? Why not join in the celebration of World No Tobacco Day (International), Castile–La Mancha Day (Castile–La Mancha) or the Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)?

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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30 May: Did you know?

Posted in On This Day, tagged Benny Goodman, Big Ben, Canary Islands Day (Canary Islands), Cologne, Goddess of Democracy, Hundred Years' War, Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago), Indianapolis 500, Joan of Arc, Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico), Marie Fredriksson, Peter Carl Fabergé, Ray Harroun, Roxette, Spanish Armada, Steven Gerrard, Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, World War II on May 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Did you know that on this day in 1431, during Hundred Years’ War in Rouen, France, 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. Because of this the Catholic Church remember this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc? Or that it was on this day in 1588 the last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel?

And on this day in 1859 Westminster’s Big Ben rang for the first time in London, in 1911 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race, in 1942 during World War II, 1000 British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany, in 1958 the remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and in 1989 during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 the 33-foot high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.

Some birthdays you may want to remember on this day are Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (1846-1920), Benny Goodman, American clarinetist and bandleader (1909-1986), Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer and songwriter (Roxette) (1958) and Steven Gerrard, English footballer (1980).

Need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day? Why not help celebrate Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago), Canary Islands Day (Canary Islands) or Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)?

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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House at Dusk

Posted in Poetry, Random Observations (poetry), tagged birds-eye view, Edward Hopper, Mag 119, perspective, Two voices, waiting on May 28, 2012| 4 Comments »

With a birds-eye view
from over the roof-tops
I aim at forever,
far away.

My eyes on the street
I am waiting for you
and hoping this time
forever you’ll stay.

With the wind in my wings
I turn into the sunset
my feathers glowing golden
on an evening in May.

Still waiting and hoping
I do not see you
as I gaze from my window
down the alleyway.

With a birds-eye view
from over the roof-tops
I aim at forever,
far away.

This painting by Edward Hopper, House at Dusk, is the prompt at Magpie Tales this week (Mag 119), and as it depicts a scenery from the weirdest angle I found it hard to find a voice for it. The only human seen in the scene is what looks to be a young boy in one of the windows, so I have awarded him the ‘2nd voice’, and to explain the weird perspective ‘my 1st voice’ turned out to be a bird. I don’t know if it works, but this is how the words fell.

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28 May: Did you know?

Posted in On This Day, tagged Amnesty International, Andrew Jackson, Carl Larsson, Chrysler Building, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Downfall of the Derg Day (Ethiopia), Franklin D Roosevelt, Golden Gate Bridge, Ian Fleming, Indian Removal Act, John Fogerty, Kylie Minogue, Leonardo da Vinci, Maeve Binchy, Mathias Rust, Peter Benenson, solar eclipse, Thales on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Did you know that on this day in 585 BC, a solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce? This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. Or that it was on this day in 1830 President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans?

And on this day in 1930 the Chrysler Building in New York City officially opens, in 1937 the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span, in 1952 the women of Greece are given the right to vote, in 1961 Peter Benenson‘s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rightsorganization Amnesty International, in 1987 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and will not be released until August 3, 1988 and in 1999 in Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci‘s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.

Some birthdays you may want to remember on this day are Carl Larsson, Swedish painter (1853-1919), Ian Fleming, English author (1908-1964), Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist (1940), John Fogerty, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (Creedence Clearwater Revival) (1945) and Kylie Minogue, Australian actress and singer (1968).

Need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this May Monday? Why not look into celebrating the Downfall of the Derg Day, a National Day (Ethiopia)?

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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27 May: Did you know?

Posted in On This Day, tagged Children's Day (Nigeria), Christopher Lee, Christopher Reeve, Dashiell Hammett, Dragon Quest, Ford, Giuseppe Garibaldi, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Jamie Oliver, Lisa Lopes, Mors Dag (Sweden), Mother's Day (Bolivia), Paul Gascoigne, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux, Slobodan Milosevic, Three Little Pigs, TLC, Walt Disney, Wild Bill Hickok on May 27, 2012| 1 Comment »

Did you know that it was on this day in 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian Unification? Or that it was on this day in 1907 bubonic plague breaks out in San Francisco, California?

And on this day in 1927 the Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A, in 1933 the Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?“, in 1986 the game credited as setting the template for role-playing video games, Dragon Quest is released in Japan, in 1995 in Culpeper, Virginia, actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition and in 1999 the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.

Some birthdays you may want to remember on this day are Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter (1837-1876), Dashiell Hammett, American author (1894-1961), Christopher Lee, English actor (1922), Siouxsie Sioux, English musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees) (1957), Paul Gascoigne, English footballer (1967), Lisa Lopes, American singer (TLC) (1971-2002) and Jamie Oliver, English chef and television personality (1975).

Need a reason to raise a glass of bubbly on this day? Perhaps you should look into the celebration of Children’s Day (Nigeria) or Mother’s Day or Día de la Madre (Bolivia)? Me I’ll be raising my glass for the world’s best mother today, as we’re celebrating Mother’s Day, or Mors Dag, here in Sweden.

For more information about historic events on this day, please go here.

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