[big] In many ways, adults have hijacked Halloween — e.g., “google” Halloween +cancel>. We vote to center Halloween on children and having fun.
As a start, we’re going to feature Halloween and autumn haiku that have been selected in recent years in The Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition for Grades 7-12, which is sponsored by the Haiku Society of America:
Halloween
my feelings
behind a mask
……………………………………. Krista Dodds, age 16, Iowa, 1996
leaf pattern
arranged
rearranged by the wind
Bridget Leary, grade 12, Iowa, 1998
finding myself
between the willows—
autumn evening
Adam Rauch, grade 12, Pa., 1998
autumn afternoon
hole in the stone wall
a perfect frame
Nathaniel B. Gach, grade 12, Pa. 2000
walking
the pumpkin patch—
children’s faces aglow
Brooke Erschen, Grade 12, Iowa, 2001 
on an old
cemetery stone
my name
……………………………. James Isaak, grade 12, Iowa, 2002
autumn wind
rattles the glass—
a child’s breath
………………….. Travis Moore, Grade 8, N.Y.,2001
13th Halloween:
our baby says
it’s just for babies
…………………………………………………….. [Oct. 31, 2004)
one-breath pundit
-
- Overlawyered.com posts today on an important issue for children: we agree with the NYS
high court — “Letting Children Witness Abuse Not Ground for Taking Them“
- It must be post-sugar-trauma syndrome (yes, I delved into the candy early), but I agree with
Prof. Bainbridge today about, cats and dogs, crooked business, and needing to close his eyes after the election.
- Cliche Curse Recount: EEk! Lots of tv Talking Heads mentioned The Bambino today; and the weblogiverse is stuffed with “early/often” humor. Click to search “vote early” +often +blog>.
- One-day-late birthday greetings to one-year-old Benjamin Volokh!
- Did you know that the first jack-o-lanterns were made from turnips?
day before yesterday
yesterday, today…
mountain cuckoo
we make one more very specific plea to America’s media, in a desperate attempt to preserve
the sanity of the nation:
Please stop saying “vote early and often” or variations thereon
Your editor’s humble hope: by next Wednesday, we will no longer have to hear the
above-referenced phrase (which is attributed to Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson) AND
Prediction: deserved or not, with thousands of attorneys-at-election in high lawsuit alert, we will be hearing a lot more cursing at lawyers this week, and quoting of Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher (see Shakespeare and Lawyers), should litigation prevent an election decision by early Wednesday. (see our Election Day plea.)
Prediction: Coronation of a former ballet dancer in Phnon Penh does not foreshadow 
the re-coronation of a former male cheer leader along the Potomac.
Quixotic
Jim Moore is dreaming of a Boston
triple crown. We’d settle for the first two legs.
community’s sad history of lingusitic violence — amplifying upon the onomatopoetic “b-word.”
This being a violence-free zone, I shall not repeat their neanderthal neolisms here.
Even without elections, Master Issa seems to have faced similar problems in 19th Century Japan:
sing, cuckoo!
you’re just about curing
my headache
our ceremony
just a lot of noise
to the cuckoo
t-shirt clearance –
not buying the Boston curse
even for a dollah
[Oct. 30, 2004]
day before yesterday
yesterday, today…
mountain cuckoo
we make one more very specific plea to America’s media, in a desperate attempt to preserve
the sanity of the nation:
Please stop saying “vote early and often” or variations thereon
Your editor’s humble hope: by next Wednesday, we will no longer have to hear the
above-referenced phrase (which is attributed to Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson) AND
Prediction: deserved or not, with thousands of attorneys-at-election in high lawsuit alert, we will be hearing a lot more cursing at lawyers this week, and quoting of Shakespeare’s Dick the Butcher (see Shakespeare and Lawyers), should litigation prevent an election decision by early Wednesday. (see our Election Day plea.)
Prediction: Coronation of a former ballet dancer in Phnon Penh does not foreshadow
the re-coronation of a former male cheer leader along the Potomac.
Quixotic
Jim Moore is dreaming of a Boston
triple crown. We’d settle for the first two legs.
community’s sad history of lingusitic violence — amplifying upon the onomatopoetic “b-word.”
This being a violence-free zone, I shall not repeat their neanderthal neolisms here.
Even without elections, Master Issa seems to have faced similar problems in 19th Century Japan:
sing, cuckoo!
you’re just about curing
my headache
our ceremony
just a lot of noise
to the cuckoo
t-shirt clearance –
not buying the Boston curse
even for a dollah
[Oct. 30, 2004]
”[O]n two previous occasions all the major media combined their exit polling operations
into one organization that had spectacular failures. Now they are doing it again, except that they have re-
named their joint operation the “National Election Pool.” The American Antitrust Institute reiterates
its call for competition in the exit polling market, and again urges the antirust enforcers to investigate
whether the cooperating media organizations are violating the antitrust laws.”
(See our post-election update.)
sitting on her eggs
the chicken admires
the peony
the chicken stares
at the man…
a long day
- postscript (8 P.M.) Have you noticed that the Fool has not made it to his Forest much lately? It seems that “Real Life” has been keeping George Wallace from his fun/artsy Fool weblog, and from the insurance-oriented Declarations & Exclusions. Despite having clients to serve, George managed to find time to be interviewed by Insurance Journal, [Blogging the Insurance Law, Oct. 26, 2004] and the audio of the interview can be found here. George blows his own horn, here.
George “tells IJ why he started the blog, who reads it, and why his may just be the beginning of a trend in online insurance communication.” It’s an interesting conversation with a dulcet-toned, sagacious “fool.” One complaint: George keeps saying “blogs”, despite having eschewed the term for aesthetic purposes in cyberspace. He also calls Walter Olson a lawyer, but probably won’t have to fear a defamation suit from the litigatiphobic Olson.
”[O]n two previous occasions all the major media combined their exit polling operations
into one organization that had spectacular failures. Now they are doing it again, except that they have re-
named their joint operation the “National Election Pool.” The American Antitrust Institute reiterates
its call for competition in the exit polling market, and again urges the antirust enforcers to investigate
whether the cooperating media organizations are violating the antitrust laws.”
(See our post-election update.)
sitting on her eggs
the chicken admires
the peony
the chicken stares
at the man…
a long day
- postscript (8 P.M.) Have you noticed that the Fool has not made it to his Forest much lately? It seems that “Real Life” has been keeping George Wallace from his fun/artsy Fool weblog, and from the insurance-oriented Declarations & Exclusions. Despite having clients to serve, George managed to find time to be interviewed by Insurance Journal, [Blogging the Insurance Law, Oct. 26, 2004] and the audio of the interview can be found here. George blows his own horn, here.
George “tells IJ why he started the blog, who reads it, and why his may just be the beginning of a trend in online insurance communication.” It’s an interesting conversation with a dulcet-toned, sagacious “fool.” One complaint: George keeps saying “blogs”, despite having eschewed the term for aesthetic purposes in cyberspace. He also calls Walter Olson a lawyer, but probably won’t have to fear a defamation suit from the litigatiphobic Olson.
morning-glories–
coming down
with a cold and fever
AAI President Albert Foer discusses policy considerations that appear to flow from Dr. Scherer’s paper in a press release accompanying the Vaccine Shortage AAI Working Paper.
My old standby
Master Issa had no antitrust haiku for this post, but he did know a little
something about illness and cures:
the silkworm doctor
has so many patients…
little girl
first autumn morning–
a fever-curing
kind of sky
morning-glories–
coming down
with a cold and fever
AAI President Albert Foer discusses policy considerations that appear to flow from Dr. Scherer’s paper in a press release accompanying the Vaccine Shortage AAI Working Paper.
My old standby
Master Issa had no antitrust haiku for this post, but he did know a little
something about illness and cures:
the silkworm doctor
has so many patients…
little girl
first autumn morning–
a fever-curing
kind of sky
Forget law or politics, and even Halloween plans. Let’s spend a few quiet minutes
I am nobody:
A red sinking autumn sun
Took my name away
This still afternoon
Is full of autumn sunlight
And spring memories.
If pumpkins could talk,
I am sure they would be
Reactionary!
A skinny scarecrow
And its skinnier shadow
Fleeing a cold moon.
published in 1998, almost 40 years after the author’s death). A great haiku introduction or gift.
- Before being distracted by Richard Wright, I had planned to feature
scarecrow haiku today. You can find some of my favorite Issa’s scarecrow
poems at his Tea Party in the Sidebar.
Find scarecrow haiku by many poets in The Scare Crow: A Collection of Haiku
& Senryu (Leroy Kanterman, Ed., Hiroake Sato, translator, Red Moon Press, 1999)
candy for goblins
brought home too soon –
last-minute trip to buy more
[Oct. 28, 2004]
Forget law or politics, and even Halloween plans. Let’s spend a few quiet minutes
I am nobody:
A red sinking autumn sun
Took my name away
This still afternoon
Is full of autumn sunlight
And spring memories.
If pumpkins could talk,
I am sure they would be
Reactionary!
A skinny scarecrow
And its skinnier shadow
Fleeing a cold moon.
published in 1998, almost 40 years after the author’s death). A great haiku introduction or gift.
- Before being distracted by Richard Wright, I had planned to feature
scarecrow haiku today. You can find some of my favorite Issa’s scarecrow
poems at his Tea Party in the Sidebar.
Find scarecrow haiku by many poets in The Scare Crow: A Collection of Haiku
& Senryu (Leroy Kanterman, Ed., Hiroake Sato, translator, Red Moon Press, 1999)
candy for goblins
brought home too soon –
last-minute trip to buy more
[Oct. 28, 2004]
one-breath pundit
Whether they think they’re sending me a trick or a treat, I grow increasingly
weary with folk (many of them beloved friends and relatives) who hit the Forward icon to
send me email that spreads (1) fantastic rumors about the supposed sins of others —
usually with a political motivation, (2) health scares, (3) boycott schemes, or (4) sappy pop-
yesterday, it was misleading accusations about Starbucks maltreatment of American soldiers
recently it was silly “facts” about Theresa Heinz Kerry’s ownership of foreign
factories and outsourcing (actually the family trust owns but 4% of the Heinz Company)
Click here to read my plea last May to stop sending me such cyber b.s. (basically, anything that
says “send this to all your friends”). Today, I want to repeat that it is simply too easy to check
out such rumors — I go first to purporal.com – for responsble people to Forward them without
attempting to verify them. (See Virtual Chase on internet hoaxes.)
a nuisance–
even mountain cherry blossom
rumors fly
p.s. In the spirit of avoiding rumor-mongering, I will not speculate on the reasons for the settlement today of Bill O’Reilly’s sexual harassment lawsuit — nor even link to it. (But, don’t you just hate it when settlement papers are kept secret?)
one-breath pundit
Whether they think they’re sending me a trick or a treat, I grow increasingly
weary with folk (many of them beloved friends and relatives) who hit the Forward icon to
send me email that spreads (1) fantastic rumors about the supposed sins of others —
usually with a political motivation, (2) health scares, (3) boycott schemes, or (4) sappy pop-
yesterday, it was misleading accusations about Starbucks maltreatment of American soldiers
recently it was silly “facts” about Theresa Heinz Kerry’s ownership of foreign
factories and outsourcing (actually the family trust owns but 4% of the Heinz Company)
Click here to read my plea last May to stop sending me such cyber b.s. (basically, anything that
says “send this to all your friends”). Today, I want to repeat that it is simply too easy to check
out such rumors — I go first to purporal.com – for responsble people to Forward them without
attempting to verify them. (See Virtual Chase on internet hoaxes.)
a nuisance–
even mountain cherry blossom
rumors fly
p.s. In the spirit of avoiding rumor-mongering, I will not speculate on the reasons for the settlement today of Bill O’Reilly’s sexual harassment lawsuit — nor even link to it. (But, don’t you just hate it when settlement papers are kept secret?)
[larger image, by Lloyd Overcash]
eclipse tonight –
no cover
no rain date
clouds encircle
the full moon
– awaiting the hunter
pumpkin
floating on the river
Hunter’s Moon
so orange!
tawny, she corrects
– Blood Moon
out of the shadow
red
stockings
……………………………………………….. by dagosan:
audaciously
he critiques
the eclipse
……………… by Kobayashi Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue
see NASA post “total lunar eclipse” (Oct. 13, 2004)
one-breath pundit
Despite the wonder-full full eclipse last night, your Editor’s punditry circuits seem filled with campaign agita this morning. Rather than ruin the mood of this Eclipse Recap, I’m moving today’s deep-breath punditry inside the weblog. It features “Serious Catholic Voters,” Bainbridge’s Hobbits, Obama, and Hummers.
out of the shadow
red
Sox
wow, it’s orange!
tawny, she corrects
_ _ Blood Moon
“hunter’s moon sm”
In a working paper released today by the 
