Having spent the morning harvesting autumnal equinox haiku, I just
can’t get into the legal punditry frame of mind this afternoon. So,
instead, here are a few odd ends:
On the first day of Fall in 2003, we posted an email sent
by me to Scheherazade Fowler. The point was how important a small
gesture or event can be in the life of a legal neophyte (whether positive
or negative). Go tell someone what a good job he or she did today.
Don’t you love it when one of your pet prejudices proves to be
justified? Back on Sept. 11th, I noted my fear that Elijah Wood might
ruin the much-anticipated movie version of Jonathan Safran Foer‘s novel
Everything Is Illuminated. So far, reviews have not been kind to Liev
Schreiber’s treatment of the heralded debut novel. (e.g., see A.O. Scott, in
the NYT, and Jack Mathews’ treatment, in the New York Daily News, “Novel
had depth, but everything is eliminated,” Sept. 16, 2005). It appears that
Schreiber took out much of the novel’s soul. A large part of the problem seems
to be putting Elijah Wood in the role of the fictional Jonathan Safran Foer.
“EveryThingMovie” “Mr. Wood, perhaps trying to suggest watchfulness
“Wood’s owlish peepers, magnified behind large coke-bottle
glasses, are about all he brought to the role. Jonathan is about
the most passive protagonist you’re likely to see on the screen
for a while.” – Jack Mathews in the New York Daily News
“Wood’s Foer is an anemic straight-man caricature (hardly the
precocious nebbish Foer suggested himself to be)” – Michael
Atkinson in the Village Voice.
“Wood, whose mostly mute turn is defined by his black suit and
glasses, can only stare in stupefaction at Schreiber’s jittery mix
of broad laughs and sentiment. Audiences will share the feeling.
– Peter Travers at Rolling Stone
“With a slick helmet of hair and Harry Potter spectacles, Wood
is more alien than simply elitist New York intellectual in the role.”
I’m sure the other reviewers were just as scathing. In contrast to Wood’s
wooden visage, last night, I greatly enjoyed Billy Crudup’s portrayal of
Ned Kynaston in the 2004 film Stage Beauty. And, I was a bit envious
of the power held by Rupert Everett’s hoot of a King Charles II. As King,
Charles voided the ban on female performers on stage, and even banned
men from playing female roles. Were I king, I would surely ban Elijah
Wood from any movie that I am ever likely to want to see (at least until
he starts acting again). Since he hit puberty, he’s forgotten how to act.
What else would I do if I were absolute monarch? Ever hear of the
Someone queried What does a judge say in court> at Google. There were
almost 22 million in the Search. The #1 result was our post about an allegedly
rude judge from Ohio, Common Pleas Judge Deborah P. O’Neill. It was titled
The next two results: Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs and
Less surprising: There’s only one Google result for the query bocce advocate“>.
Ditto for Bocce Missionary“>. Guess who?
by dagosan
“duck pond”
the geese gang
have the most turf
[Sept. 22, 2005]
September 22, 2005
everything was eliminated
Comments Off on everything was eliminated
autumn begins, haiku continue
In 2005, September 22nd marks the autumnal equinox — when Fall begins
and night and day are nearly the same length. f/k/a is celebrating by
launching an Autumnal Equinox Haiku page, with haiku and senryu from
our Honored Guests and our Editor.
The good folk at “Universe in Motion” have put together an interesting
page of Autumnal Equinox information and tales. For example, they
remind us:
What’s going to happen? Not much really, so don’t wait up
until after midnight. It’s a little like an anniversary or a birthday.
While it is just a geometrical alignment, it is one that reminds
us about the passage of time, the motion of the Earth, and the
changing of the seasons. It marks the start of autumn.
What’s so special about it? There are a few special things you
can talk about [at school].
As summer wears on, the nights have been growing longer and
the days shorter. On this date, the night becomes longer than
the day! That’s just for us in the Northern Hemisphere. For our
friends in Australia [hi, Sarni!], it’s reversed. Spring has just begun
for them.
A minor point … if you look up the rising and setting time
of the Sun in the newspaper, it’ll look as if the day is still
a bit longer than the night. That’s mostly because “sunset”
and “sunrise” are defined by the top edge of the Sun, not the
middle of it, and the middle of the sun sets (rises) a few
minutes before (after) the edge does.
On this day, the Sun will begin to rise at the South Pole after six
months of darkness. It’s going to be daytime there for the next six
months! And yes, there are scientists who are living and working
down there now! They have a party to celebrate.
On this day, the Sun rises directly in the East, and sets directly in
the West..
On this day, the Sun passes straight overhead, at the “zenith” for
people on the equator, like in Kenya or Ecuador. When the Sun
passes straight overhead, there aren’t any shadows!
The equinoxes (there are two — the Vernal Equinox marks the first day
of spring) have a rich place in mythology and ancient traditions. Ancients
believed the gods guided the Sun across the sky, and so they paid
attention to the way that it moved. (of course, we [at least some of us]
now know that what’s really moving is us). They used a variety of tools to
watch that motion.
time to enjoy them (before Heating Degree Days and cost per therm become
part of our daily vocabulary).
Autumn Equinox…
the first car
of a northbound train
end of summer
the rain arrives
without thunder
autumn equinox
a red dragonfly
tilts its wings
p.s. Paul David Mena has captured a
traditional autumn experience at haikupoet.com.
