Prairie Home

It’s Saturday night,
The band is playing,
Who could ask for more?

A Prairie Home Companion is on,
Skits performed by ‘The Royal Academy of Radio Actors’,
About Guy Noir, the bumbling detective,
Dusty and Lefty, cowboy companions,
English Majors who speak well in their poorly paying jobs,
Rhubarb Pie that helps alleviate shame and humiliation,
And catchup with its natural mellowing agents.
‘The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band’ plays a variety of music.
Guest performances from the greats and the up-and-comings.
And don’t forget the news from Lake Wobegon.

 

This started out as a haiku, but I changed it when I realized “It’s Saturday night / A Prairie Home Companion/ Who could ask for more?” really wasn’t able to capture the nature of the show.  I don’t think the poem does an adequate job either, but feel it is closer.

Tiny Bowl

Tiny noodle bowl,
Twenty-five thousandth an inch,
That’s microscopic.

 

Some scientists in Japan decided to make a microscopic bowl out of carbon nanotubes.  Maybe they have too much time on their hands.

Cereal Killer

Cereal killer,
Killing cartoon characters,
No more kids’ breakfast.

 

I know that the ‘cereal killer’ joke has been done before, but it came up again in my family a few days ago and prompted this haiku.  I can picture of a pile of cut-up cartoon cereal characters with a pair of scissors by it.  Or a bloody version with knife (grasped in a hand) suspended next to it.

Pregnant Alley Cat

Pregnant alley cat
Where will you have your kittens?
When will you give birth?

 

OK, this is actually a little late, in that the cat already had her kittens on Memorial Day, but the haiku occurred to me later.  Some of the neighbors have kind of taken her in (they named her ‘Alley’); they feed her and stuff, but don’t let her into their house (their other cat doesn’t like her).  They even set up a place for her to have her kittens in (a pet carrier without the door).  It took a little persuasion for her to actually use it.  one of the neighbors had to keep putting her in it and massaging her belly and giving other encouragement, but once she had one of her kittens she stayed put.  She had four.  I haven’t seen them yet, but it’s really a bit early to do that.  Besides, I’ve seem other cats (and dogs) give birth, so I don’t think I’m missing much.  And the cat looks young so giving her some space and mostly leaving her alone is probably the best thing to do.

Yay China!

I just read this article about China and it makes me hopeful.  I have to admit, I thought the best we could hope for was for the Chinese government to have the families that lost children adopt the children who lost parents.  I’m glad that they are allowing those families to have another child.  I’m also heartened that they are allowing families that lost a legal child to register an illegal one (under 18) in place of the one they lost; or if they lost an illegal child they no longer have to pay the fine.  And I think it’s reasonable that they won’t pay back prior fines.  Regardless of how one might feel about the law, they were breaking it and knew there would be a fine for that.  I also like that if a family adopts one or more of the orphaned children that family will still be allowed to have a child of their own.

I wonder how much of this is exceptions to the rules and how much of it is explanations of the rules.  It could be that the government felt that the best way to explain was to use the media.  Not to mention, it also looks good.  Ultimately, it doesn’t matter that much to my why; I’m just glad that is it.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day
Is a time of reflection,
Soldiers remembered.

Towel Day

Happy Towel Day!
Wouldn’t DNA be proud,
If he were still here?

 

Towel Day was first celebrated two weeks (May 25^th) after the death of author Douglas Adams.  The idea for Towel Day comes from the ‘Guide’; it talks about how useful a towel is for a galactic hitchhiker.  So, make sure you wear a towel on Towel Day.

Handful of Nuts

A handful of nuts,
That’s what doctors recommend,
But what’s a handful?

 

I’ve heard that some doctors recommend eating a handful of nuts every day, but what is a handful?  My guess is that it’s about one-forth a cup, or a serving of nuts; but I could be wrong.  I think the idea is that a small amount of nuts is good but too many nuts is bad for people.  Something to do with the fat content, I think.

Three Words

Unbelievable
Pseudo-intellectual
Vocabulary.

 

I’m sure it’s been done, but I thought this would be fun.  The other extreme, using 17 one-syllable words, would be fun, too.

Brad Paisley Is Funny

The first time I heard of Brad Paisley it was for his song “Celebrity” and thought it was hilarious.  I don’t listen to a lot of radio except for a few shows I listen to on the weekend.  So, when I was listening to “A Prairie Home Companion” a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Brad Paisley again.  One of the songs he sang was “I’m Still a Guy”.  I loved it.  The contrast between the way girls see things and guys see them was beautifully written; and I’d say that his assessments are generally accurate.  Of course, some people won’t fit them, but the overall picture is good.  He even addresses that a little in the end of his song by talking about how “it’s hip to be feminized”.  So, anyway, like the title says, I think Brad Paisley is funny.