(Not actually disgruntled.)
This is my first stab at web2.0 poetry, as a followup to the High ASCII post.
> dude, u there? che's 4me.
< y u say? ura n00b!
> 1, che friended, drops invites.
< invites... sure. brb.
> 2, alwys acc, no spam reply.
< still in bud zone there, n00b.
> 3, phone: vm rb, no dnd nvr perma-hold.
< that's btr. ne w/w, follows, links?
> Well, always avail/acc count?
I lightboxed and meta'd.
hrm. it’s a stab at any rate.
Just a little blast from the past here. Some of you were around back in the Hayes Volksmodem and BBS days, and will remember this as well as I do.
FYI – a “wahka” is the decidedly “proper” (by popular vote) name for
the characters “>” and “< ". This is in spite of INFOCUS readers of
Denver who still refer to them as "Norkies". The Michigan crowd
apparently has corrupted the spelling to "waka".
To wit, it is -
------------------------------------------------------------
"...a poem we think is about the lowly wahka. Maybe. Well,
perhaps---we're really not sure what the poem actually is
about. Here it goes:"
<>!*”#
^@`$$-
!*’$_
%*<>#4
&)../
|{~~SYSTEM HALTED
Transliterated:
Waka waka bang splat tick tick hash,
Caret at back-tick dollar dollar dash,
Bang splat tick dollar under-score,
Percent splat waka waka number four,
Ampersand right-paren dot dot slash,
Vertical-bar curly-bracket tilde tilde CRASH.
original Leitner page
Fred Bremmer and Steve Kroese
I have been thinking back on this recently and was thinking that some new possibilities are possible nowadays with widespread PC usage, the internet, and all of our new web lingo. I’ll be posting a couple of attempts soon. If any of you want to take a whack, feel free to share.
The blacklight made your smile glow
as we walked though the makeshift tunnel
You asked me how I would know
when you might want or need a hand to hold
I handed you so long ago
a brass key into the new secure dingle
leading through the foundation
You suspected it unsound, un-tough chateau
I suspect that you’d never truly need that hand
Wanting now and then isn’t really so bad
I don’t think your foundaton is so strong either
I do hope, for your own sake, that it really holds.
The hero always retreats to his beginnings. The healing power of some solitude to sort things out, the call of the wasteland/forest/”being down home” allows for recharging of the body, the mind. the spirit.
You see this in ancient literature, like in the Arthurian legends, where Lancelot, who showed up originally from the deep woods, disappears to the deep woods to bolster himself up after things get hairy.
You see similar themes in European and American literature, as well as in popular literature. There are plenty of times where Superman retreats to his secret hideaway for a while, before coming back into the fray, stronger in resolve and in ability than ever before.
Is this part of the male psyche? This Robert Bly ideal of the male ego, this retreat-and-recreation makes perfect sense to men. If you can retreat to the mountain-top, the deep wood, the secret hideaway… preferably the place where you have spent a lot of time doing both nothing and everything, you can space things out without outside interference. It’s usually a place where you found affinities for things that led you to needed skill sets, a place where you might have developed many of your aptitudes.
We see it in literature, and in movies where the hero is someone that we –as men– identify with. Somehow, it’s against the rules in a lot of situations to break away, sort things out, bolster our selves, ego included. Ladies, I’m sorry to tell you, but we do not get anything out of talking about it. It works for you, but not for guys.
You can’t become an epic hero thatta way.
Labor Day is a holiday honoring working people. It is observed as a legal holiday on the first Monday in September throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Labor organizations sponsor various celebrations, but for most people it is a day of rest and recreation. The holiday also has become a symbol of the end of summer. In Australia, Labor Day is called Eight Hour Day, and it commemorates the successful struggle for a shorter working day. In Europe, Labor Day is observed on May 1.
–Santino, Jack. “Labor Day.” World Book Online Reference Center. 2006.
There are nearly 300 million Americans. Out of a work force of about half that number, 144.3 million are employed and 7.2 million are not, or about 4.8%, low in economic terms. And we Americans are perennially among the most productive workers in the world, meaning we continue to produce more per worker over time, rather than less, even as our population and the corresponding work force grow. Finally, studies here have shown that people with a sense of humor perform better at their jobs, and people who enjoy their work are more productive than those who don’t.
Steady ardour, slow and steady wins the race. my sure-footed, methodical steps may not be your pace It seems odd to you to stop and smell the flowers, but what you call a break turns out an opportunity plotting, planning, contemplating, the mind melds power of research, speculation, data, and a stronger adversary it makes me.
Bending along high paced glass
packets shooting through
states and countries, speeds amass
router to router seeking you;
the IP address in the header.
I have packets that make the mail
packets that make that sound
the stream of the 80’s guitar wail
And the plans for the robotic hound
I know the weather in your zipcode and that recipe your grandma sent
I have all the images and videos
all are ready for your entertainment.
