EarthMo 2023 - the Zombie apocalypse

 I think my ears have gone wacky!  At 7:25 am, I was blissfully listening to a piece of music on classical music on the radio station Iowa Public Radio 89.9 FM.  But when I later listened closely to hear who the composer and pianist were, I couldn't make out a word of what the announcer said.  It sounded like garble!  It sounded like a bunch of nonsense phrases spoken with no pauses.  What is weird it that the announcer, Iowa Public Radio's, Kevin O'Connor, came on after the next piece--Mozart's #7 Serenade-- and he was as clear and coherent as a bell.  Strange!  I went to IPR's songlists on the web but could not find the piece I was wondering about--probably too early to be posted.  So, I sent an e-mail request.   ---  

  Sunflower Sutra BY  ALLEN GINSBERG I walked on the banks of the tincan banana dock and sat down under the huge shade of a Southern Pacific locomotive to look at the sunset over the box house hills and cry. Jack Kerouac sat beside me on a busted rusty iron pole, companion, we thought the same thoughts of the soul, bleak and blue and sad-eyed, surrounded by the gnarled steel roots of trees of machinery. The oily water on the river mirrored the red sky, sun sank on top of final Frisco peaks, no fish in that stream, no hermit in those mounts, just ourselves rheumy-eyed and hung-over like old bums on the riverbank, tired and wily. Look at the Sunflower, he said, there was a dead gray shadow against the sky, big as a man, sitting dry on top of a pile of ancient sawdust— —I rushed up enchanted—it was my first sunflower, memories of Blake—my visions—Harlem and Hells of the Eastern rivers, bridges clanking Joes Greasy Sandwiches, dead baby carriages, black treadless tires forgotten and unretr

 Checking in.  Today I went on errands to get some things I needed.  I got some toothpaste, completely out, Q-tips, tartar sauce for fish sandwiches I am going to have this week, double A batteries, margarine, and some furniture coasters.  It seems like I got some other stuff but I can't think what the rest of the stuff was.  The weather was beautiful.  Looks like this week is going to be in the 80's.  I slept sort of late because I had a hard time getting to sleep.  The weekend was pretty fun.  I went to the World Food Fair downtown on Saturday and the Sister Soul Fest on Sunday.  The World Food Fair was in downtown Des Moines and had a ton of people.  The Sister Soul Fest was in a nearby park and was pretty mellow.  At the Food Fest I had Gelatto, rice and spring rolls, and a dumpling.  I brought something home that looks like a doughy bun and is supposed to have chicken in it.  At the Sister Soul Fest I bought some facial cream, a bracelet and a painting.  I think this is th

202308270531 This morning I grabbed my laptop and noticed it is much lighter.  This is one major clue that tells me somebody has been in my room and changed it out.  It probably happened when I went out for a walk last night.  Sometimes I notice the laptop is much heavier and other times much lighter.  Other things such as the display or the functionality lets me know they have been in to change out my laptop.  I'm not sure if is to copy the hard drive, alter the functionality, or collect the keystroke data. The display on my laptop screen is being used to ruin my eyesight.  First I discovered an unusually high glare coming from the screen that strained my eyes.  When I tried to alter the intensity it did not help.  I also noticed a blurriness and thought it was my eyes.  Later I realized that the screen was deliberately being altered so that the letters appeared blurry--another way to increase the strain on my eyes.  I discovered that if I increased or decreased the display settin

 AGAIN AND AGAIN  (mo) Woke up with a racing brain Oh Lord, It's happening again I went out to do some things And came back again and again I forgot my phone Then I forgot my pack Then I forgot another damn thing but I've forgotten what that was See the tape gone, know they've been here they love to let you know their near Don't know how and don't know when Just know they copied keys again Sleep awake sleep some more Make sure to secure the doors Too much sugar, too much stare my brain sedated by bluish glare Some things don't change then some things do We no longer fear the vicious flu No longer terrorized by things above though there is hate, there's also love Dropping off, throwing away clearing the room Lighter day by day, freer now then yesterday Brain freeze; awful heat, Poetry today, like the Beats! Breakfast pancakes light and sweet, freakish guy named William Blake Feeling lows, then bounce back Then undergo another hack Into my life it goes and goe

20230823 In general, I like my room.  I have it organized the way I like.  For the most part, it suits my needs.  It does have a few oddities. For one thing, the floor is very unlevel.  It slopes to the west, toward the room next to me, and it slopes to the north, toward the hallway outside my door.  If I lie with my head on the downward slope it gives me a little bit of a headache.  I can't place a pencil or sewing needle on my portable table because it will roll off.   My one-legged yoga postures like Palm Tree and Eagle are quite challenging. The other unusual thing about the flooring in my room is that it has SOFT SPOTS.   There are some areas where it feels like my foot might go through the floor if the carpet weren't there!  I guess part of the wood could have rotted in these areas.    What is a bit bizarre is that the soft areas seem to move around over time!  What was a soft area one week will become a rock hard surface area the next.  On a couple of occasions when lyin

 Ever have strange things happen to you?  A couple of days ago, my watches went sort of wacko.  Yes, I have two, one is my serious watch and one is my fun watch.   The serious watch  is black and has a chronograph, alarm, and the date and time display.  The other one is pretty and pink.   It has a pink/grey/white strap and a face with a bouquet of pink and white flowers painted on a black background.   Usually I wear one of these depending on my mood, but sometimes I wear both!  They keep good time even though I paid less than $10 for them at the Chinese novelty shop by the Greyhound bus depot a few months ago.  I bought them because I lost my Timex watch which I had had for years on the Trailways bus going from Des Moines to Iowa City.  How  you can lose a watch on a bus is beyond me.  But nobody turned it in so I had to replace it.   It was the morning I volunteered to work a morning shift at the Iowa State Fair--August 19, 2023-- and I was calculating what time I would have to leave

Today I rode the Ferris Wheel and the SkyRider at the Fair.  This year I discovered there are two SkyRiders, an East and a West.  I rode the East SkyRider with two friends last Wednesday on Senior Day at the Fair. Seniors got in for $12, rather than the normal adult entry price of $16.   Then on Thursday after the Wednesday Senior Day I went again to the fair this time by myself.  I rode the West SkyGlider.  I think the two SkyGliders are about the same length.  The East one goes from Pioneer Hall (near Gate 5) to  Ye Old Mill near Thrillville (aka the old Midway).  It is the one I have always ridden.  Then JW mentioned the west one.  The West one goes from Thrill Town  (kiddy rides) near Gate 10 to the Bill Riley Stage.  The East SkyGlide is pretty neat  because you go over several trees and feel a certain union with nature as you travel over the many treetops.  The West SkyGlide is neat also because you go over Thrill Town and can look at the neat rides that are designed for the kids

 202308190508 August 19, 2023  9th day of the Iowa State Fair ****************************************************** I encountered a hypnotist the other day: He said, "you are going to take the bus to Valley West Mall, and you are going to wander around until you discover, though it is only August, that a Halloween Store has opened up in the mall.   You will find yourself walking directly over to a wall of trick-or-treat masks for children and immediately spot a very unusual mask and you will buy it. And in stark contrast to you normal frugal behavior, you will dish out $25 for that mask because it is so beautiful."   ******************************************************   ---      

 August 15, 2023 8 am The weather outside is incredibly pleasant.  It's sunny, with a slight breeze, and the weather indicator on my laptop says its 60degreesF.  It's 8 am and Ive already had my breakfast, Ramen noodles with some leaves of fresh spinach dropped in it. THE MANY FACES OF MO  What, your out of Tofurkey? Absolutely no more bras. I'm going to ..count..to..ten. Pizza AND Ice Cream?! You want me to go cccc-aaamping?

 Today I watched a couple of my favorite movies and also some episodes of Mary Tyler Moore.  At the last minute I read the two chapters that we are on in Gil Fronsdale's book called "The Issue at Hand."  One chapter was about body awareness and the other was about handling our emotions.  We had a pleasant discussion.  I took a nap.  I did some internet research.  I ate a fish sandwhich for lunch and some Ramen noodles for supper.  For breakfast I ate the rest of my garlic honey pizza from Fong's Pizza.    I went to Fong's Pizza (223 4th Street) for lunch on Sunday and brought home three slices of leftover pizza.  Their pizza is very good fresh but next day mediocre.  I asked the waitress there what their most popular item was and she mentioned the crab rangoon pizza and the garlic honey pizza.  I decided to order the garlic honey.  I have been wanting to eat at Fong's for a long time so I stopped their on Sunday for lunch.  They did not have either of my two f

 Yesterday, I carried around one of Kay Ryan's books THE BEST OF IT.  (New York: Grove Press, 2010).  I was introduced to Kay Ryan several years ago when a lady from the Senior Center in Iowa City read a poem by her.  I think it was called The Elephant in the Room.  Kay Ryan writes very short poems.  In general they are much shorter than the ones my poetry group reads out loud.  You can watch Kay Ryan read some of her poetry on You Tube.  This is a treat--being able to see and hear a poet read their own work.  In general, they are pretty good readers. I like Kay Ryan because she writes about very common things that she has clearly spent time looking at studiously.  Alternatively, it could be that what seems like inane things to most people, must strike her profoundly and then she writes about it.  I'm drawn to Ryan's poetry because our minds are so very similar. If I wrote poetry it would be exactly like hers.   I also am entertained by the most inane things, that are not r

 It is the 2nd day of the Iowa State Fair.  The weather was warm--a typical August day--close to 90 degrees.  I rode the No 1 bus to the fairgrounds to pick up my volunteer packet.  I had no intention of attending the fair, just swung by to pick up my t-shirt and tickets.   Arrived at the fairgrounds around 11 am??  The place was buzzing, people walking toward the entry gates from every direction, arriving on foot, by bus, by car.  Traffic was jammed up.  Local residents along Grand Avenue located 0-5 blocks away had signs up advertising parking.  Some actually had tables set up and were trying to vend a product.   It was beginning to feel sweltering already.  I walked two blocks to the volunteer building and they had trouble finding my packet.  Eventually found it and then walked back to the bus stop.  Didn't want to wait in the heat and caught the bus going the same direction I came in on.  What a long bus ride.  I was bushed by the time I got back.  

 202308112158 It's just one person's set of experiences on this planet of ours.