And the winner is........

The New Yorker 1-31-11

Are you ready?

mowing you will never forget....

from Vulcan Weathervanes archives, 1980

In the parish hall

Staten Island PS 22, 5th grade chorus led by 'Mr. B'

Watch for this group at the upcoming academy awards. They will be presenting a special music feature in the show. We read about it in the current NY Times, and here is a video clip about it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/movies/awardsseason/20bagger.html?sq=ps%2022&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=3&adxnnlx=1295739809-gS2clV4ShIPuEQHDlx/RxQ

Because our son Lee is a 5th grade teacher at Houston in his first year with Teach for America, we are wanting to put this raccoon news posting in his hands. He reminds us of these kids' teacher, who they call 'Mr. B'. Lee is called 'Mr. D' by his kids.

Here's another clip of the PS 22 chorus on UTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5vrtZKvxWM

Hurray for teachers like these!

MONA ONCE AGAIN CHEATS GRIM REAPER

RETURNS HOME ALONG OLD MAN (FOX) RIVER

Mona, 1-14-11

Daring Mona the cat, age 20, spends today in her chair, resting from a harrowing yesterday at the small animal hospital. We took her in the AM, thinking this might be it for her, following a day and night of true moaning, with an impossibility of excreting liquids or solids. Gagging often, nothing much to vomit up. Therefore, she lay in her traveling box with no sign of caring. Thoroughly woeful. Death's-door City.

But then, in the presence of her vet with whom she is well familiar (many years of good old Dr. Amy), she became alert, standing nicely on the exam table, sparkly of eye. Downright frisky. At one point she lept down and jumped into her box, signaling her readiness to leave and return home.

"Let's give dear Mona another chance," said Dr. Amy, after not finding any major obstruction in her tract. "She's not ready to go just yet."

So after a day of enema and hydration procedures and observation at the clinic, we picked Mona up at 5:30 pm, paid a smaller bill than we expected, and happily headed home.

Our route took us down along the Fox River, and as we traveled, Mona began to hum Paul Robeson's 'Old Man River' inside her close-quarter carton. I know the song well, for it came out in the year of my birth, 1936. It is from the Broadway show, Kern and Hammerstein's Showboat.

Through the years, I've heard the song everywhere. It was appropriate that Mona would be moved do a celebratory rendition along the Fox, and although the quarters are a bit constricted in her carrying box, I believe I heard her doing one chorus of the otherwise somber song in soft-shoe. Yet, there is no gritty substance in there.

Play

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XlEzY4tMyg

Minnesota stained glass artist featured on PBS NewsHour, 1-10-11

Look and listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjdOWYXr9uo

Sarah Palin's motivational words:

Palin’s 'motivational' words:

:(This is from a Sarah Palin rally promo:)

" Saturday 06/12/10, 10:00 AM
Get on target for victory in November
Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office

Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly (Gifford's Tea Party opponent)

Dee bakes a Sunshine Cake

Actually, it's a Polish Three Kings Cake

for a churchly Epiphany soiree

at the 1st Congregational UCC church last evening.

Due to a splendid surfeit, although the event was extremely well attended,

some came home with us, for a short while.

Good to last morsel!

^.^

It put us in mind of Bing Crosby's song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grddVIAeBjs

Bus advertising

Read it and earn

Unhand me, sir

Old song lyric:

"When you're not with the girl you love

you love the girl you're with......."

That Sensenbrenner,

so overcome by the joy of the inaugural moment

he briefly forgot himself.

But shutter-savvy Gwendolyn did not!

(Priceless)

IN APHRODITE'S ARMS: A philosophical terrier narrates this homage to Marilyn Monroe

From New York Times Book Review

1-2-11

Click twice to enlarge

Simple pleasures

Thanks to Kevin Keadle's dangerously sharp serrated knife

bought from him a summer or two ago when he was

a knife peddler between college semesters,

we deftly sliced thin slices through

Gramaw's hefty steamed Yuletide fruit cake:

nuts, dates, cherries, limes

and all,

done without effort.

Easy-cutting, and a tasty delight!

"Cloaked in a vagueness"

In today's NY Times, the layout staffers again placed Verlyn Klinkelborg's editorial, Rural Life, in its customary place, at the bottom of the editorial column. Bringing up the rear with his fettlesome thoughts.
Klinkenborg's words have resonant merit, always. In today's piece he mentions of his forebears in Iowa in 1936, and the great snow of that year. I was born in Iowa, in 1936, in that great snow, and we safely made to a hospital before I emerged, thanks to good old Uncle Lee, who was on duty then, driving a Cedar Falls city snowplow. Uncle Lee cleared a path, in time.
It was the earliest time for me.

Perforce, cloaked in a vagueness.....

NYT rural writer,

Verlyn Klinkenborg

...............................

CORREXION AND APOLOGY:
In yesterday's post, the SRN goofed badly.The Leonard Pitt column intended to be rendered in readable form was truncated at the right margin, cutting off some of the words, and we did not catch it before hitting 'send'. Today, in the interest of space-saving and electron conservation, we attach a link for those who wanted to be able to read Pitts' piece. We deemed it more than good enough for the raccoon news:

http://www.truth-out.org/over-done-finished-out66424

...........................

It is Three Kings time.

We attach a link to pianist Pamela Howland's fine rendition.

Pamela is the sister of our inspired pastoral locutionist, interim Minister, Rev. Deborah Howland.

The facial similarity between the sisters is stunning and beautiful.

See what is meant by that. For those unfamiliar with said likeness, watch the video. Then, come to see and hear Rev. Howland at First Congregational UCC, 100 E broadway, Waukesha WI:

http://www.pamelahowland.com/cd_Merry_Little_Christmas_2.shtml

Fast away the new year passeth

At 1:11 am

1/1/11

I arose from my bed

to align myself with the

confluence of numbers

one,

but by the time I reached the keyboard

it was 1:15.......

~

See our son Lee's vimeo on TIME

of last year's issue when a senior at UW Madison:

click

http://vimeo.com/10917549

~

Then see Norb Blei's 1/1/11 New Years blog:

http://nbcoop.outlawpoetry.com/2010/12/31/closing-the-book-on-2010/