The First Maddy

This light won't come on. Ah, now I see the problem. Unplugged by the cat.

When researching family history,
It’s best to be prepared,
To discover things that might,
Have been better left a mystery.

Buccaneers with treasure caves,
That could be what you came from.
Or maybe they were merchants,
Moving cargo ships of slaves.

The First Maddy in the nation,
Fought the Brits for Independence.
He was a patriotic fellow,
With his own cash crop plantation.

In short he was a slave owner,
As were many who came here,
At that time to make their fortunes,
In the Colonies, or the former.

Tobacco money made him rich.
And though first born in America.
James Maddy died crossing a river,
Proving karma is a bitch.

Hope

Hope and I, we’ve worked it out,
sort of struck ourselves a deal.
we know what it’s all about.
what’s a pipe dream, and what’s real.
I’ve agreed to not invest too much,
to not believe like I was blind.
Hope knows that sometimes it’s a crutch,
that’s a role it doesn’t mind,
but Hope will not be overstated,
not be cheapened or abused.
it will go on unabated,
if for a noble purpose used.
So Hope states clearly it will stay,
as long as I know how to see,
and if I work hard to find a way,
it never will abandon me.

Joy Will Find A Way

To everything perhaps a season,
That doesn’t mean a rhyme or reason,
Fate plays its hand without showing a card,
At times we’re ever so demanding,
In our need for understanding,
But the truth is sometimes life’s just bloody hard,
It’s also true it seldoms lasts,
And at some point rough times are past,
Though we know some day they’ll come back our way,
So raise your glasses with your friends,
Know that every road has bends,
And that in the end joy will find a way.

RHYTHM

You’ve always had a slightly different rhythm when we dance,
But I’d never take the chance to mention,
Not my intention to make it known,
Make you concious of this rhythm all your own,
It’s grown to be enough for me,
With occasional synchronicity a pleasant happenstance,
But when our rhythm’s out of synch,
I think that’s fine as well,
For now I’ve learned that when we dance,
I shouldn’t hold you oh so tight,
For I just might affect your sway,
And the gentle way you move,
With a rhythm all your own,
A rhythm known by me,
And loved.

Grain Of Salt

well-meaners, inbetweeners,
fence sitters, born-bitters,
cheerleaders, pack heeders,
naysayers, game players,
well wishers, sin fishers,
revenge seekers, future peekers,
thoughts there they’ll share,
some pious, all biased,
hear’em all, let’em fall,
no fault, but grain of salt,
it’s your choice, your voice,
so be smart, hear YOUR heart.

Word of the Day: pareidolia

Pareidolia is something that’s very common. So common, in fact, that you’ve probably seen countless examples of it. You knew what it was even if you didn’t know what it was called. Pareidolia is a type of false perception that helps us make sense of the world. It happens when our brains organise the completely random patterns seen by our eyes into things we can identify. This is why and indeed, how we “see” dragons in clouds, a man’s face on the Moon, and why the random burn marks on a grilled-cheese sandwich or a tortilla seem to resemble the Virgin Mary.

This is not something over which we have any control. Our brains are wired for it. Personally, I think it’s kind of weird and wonderful that we “see” human faces and familiar forms everywhere, but I’m left guessing as to the biological or evolutionary purpose of this ability. I’d like to think that there’s a reason for it but maybe it’s just a fluke. Still, it does provide a lot of entertainment value, particularly when people associate the things they think they see with the religious or the sacred. And it happens all the time. Here is a page from teh intarwebz with tons of examples. Some of them are pretty convincing, but others are really stretching it.

Finally here’s a very old photograph with some of the best pareidolia I’ve ever seen. The image of a Jesus-like face can clearly be seen next to the figure of the man in the middle left of the photograph. Look again and you’ll see that it’s actually a little girl sitting in her father’s lap.

Neat, huh?

Lazy Mexican Sunday

image

Sunday Corona at our local Mexican restaurant. That’s one thing I don’t envy about Europe, it’s the devil trying to find a half-way decent Mexican place there. For some strange reason Chinese food also sucks in Europe.