Musings of a Randomist

OUR LITTLE LIFE IS ROUNDED WITH A SLEEP From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (6 hours old)

Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is a very magical play. Prospero speaks these lines just after he remembers the plot against his life and sends the wedding masque away in order to deal with that pl… more

ARIADNE From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (7 hours old)

Have you ever been to the Greek island of Crete? If so, I hope you had the opportunity to visit Knossos to see the reconstructed Minoan palace, the reputed home of the Minotaur. I have visited it … more

EVEN DOGS DO IT From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (7 hours old)

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ELEGANCE From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (7 hours old)

I am returning to 'The Digital Camera Photographer Of The Year 2009 Contest' with this magnificent photograph of a dragonfly approaching a flowerhead. It must have been taken with a very fast s… more

THE TIME OF LOVERS IS SHORT From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (7 hours old)

Today's poem has nine verses and I feel it is overlong for posting here in its entirety. Many blog readers are impatient and they are deterred by Swinburne's longer poems - so I have selected jus… more

HAVE YOU CUT THE CORD YET? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (1 day old)

IS THE END IN SIGHT FOR FIXED-LINE PHONES? In the US, one in five homes is without a landline as more people cut the cord during the recession. Research conducted for the European Commissio… more

NOT FROM UNDER A GOOSEBERRY BUSH? From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (1 day old)

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WHAT IS LIFE? From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (1 day old)

I find this poem rather sad. Despite the romantic beginning, it is not, I think, about a lost love - but a sorrowful regret of life's missed opportunities. A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM Ta… more

TRISTAN AND ISOLDE From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (1 day old)

Here is a brilliant painting by Waterhouse. Aren't the colours wonderful? Tristan and Isolde Sharing the Potion John William Waterhous 1916 The tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde has … more

SOFT, SMALL AND SWEET From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (1 day old)

A CLASP OF HANDS Soft, small, and sweet as sunniest flowers That bask in heavenly heat When bud by bud breaks, breathes, and cowers, Soft, small, and sweet. A babe's hands open as to gr… more

WELL, I DID! From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (2 days old)

As many of you will know, I was born in 1933. In that same year the movie "Sitting Pretty", starring Ginger Rogers, came out of Hollywood. Of course I was too young to see the film at that tim… more

UPGRADE From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (2 days old)

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WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? . . . From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (2 days old)

AND DO YOU CARE WHO KNOWS? EVERY PHONE CALL, TEXT MESSAGE, EMAIL AND WEBSITE VISITED WILL BE STORED FOR A YEAR FOR MONITORING BY THE STATE. All telecoms companies and internet service providers wi… more

ESTHER From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (2 days old)

I am back to Waterhouse's portraits and this is of his wife, Esther, who was a talented artist in her own right. Esther Kenworthy Waterhouse Date: circa 1885 Medium: Oil on canvas Out of… more

PUT IN THE SICKLES AND REAP From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (2 days old)

This is one of Swinburne's longer poems. It is about gathering in the corn at harvest time. Or is it? I suggest that is a metaphor for war and the fight for survival. Tell me what you th… more

DEAR ANDY From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (3 days old)

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TWO-FINGERED SALUTE From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (3 days old)

Baby boy gives two-finger salute to the world... from inside the WOMB If Owen Skeffington grows up to show a lack of respect for authority, his parents can hardly complain that he didn't warn t… more

AESCULAPIUS From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (3 days old)

"A Sick Child brought into the Temple of Aesculapius" (1877) by John William Waterhouse Aesculapius In Greek mythology, Aesculapius, son of Apollo, (often referred to as the god of medicine or… more

B & W From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (3 days old)

Here is another poem from "The Poet Laureate of Harlem". Read a biography at: http://www.kansasheritage.org/crossingboundaries/page6e1.html I DREAM A WORLD I dream a world where man … more

CLEO From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (3 days old)

A long poem by Swinburne. I could have said it all in just five words "By God - She is beautiful". CLEOPATRA Her mouth is fragrant as a vine, A vine with birds in all its boughs; … more

LIKE ME From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (4 days old)

A couple of days ago I posted here "Hold Fast To Dreams", which was written by Langston Hughes, the African-American poet who was best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance - the flowerin… more

I LOVE MY COMPUTER From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (4 days old)

I am grateful to Alan for sending me a series of cartoons about that modern day blessing (?) - the computer. Here is the first. … more

DIGITAL CAMERA PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2009 From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (4 days old)

In the space of 20 weeks, the world’s biggest photo contest, Digital Camera magazine’s Photographer of the Year, received a massive 101,000 online entries from 126 countries. The overall £10,000 … more

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (4 days old)

Here is one of Waterhouse's last paintings. He had been suffering from cancer for some time, and in 1916 while he continued to work on The Enchanted Garden he was approaching the end of his journey… more

WHEN IT'S GONE, IT'S GONE From kendrive ^Pro in POEMS AND PROSE (4 days old)

DEAD LOVE Dead love, by treason slain, lies stark, White as a dead stark-stricken dove: None that pass by him pause to mark Dead love. His heart, that strained and yearned and strove A… more

The Jinx From studentteacher83 in It Shouldn't Happen to a Teacher (4 days old)

A few weeks ago in the Maths office we were discussing numerous teachers who were off due to illness or stress or whatever reason. Our head of Department told us all how thankful he was that we all tu… more

COME TO ME IN MY DREAMS From kendrive ^Pro in I SAY (5 days old)

LONGING Come to me in my dreams, and then By day I shall be well again! For then the night will more than pay The hopeless longing of the day. Come, as thou cam’st a thousand times, A me… more

THEY HAVE COME FORWARD From kendrive ^Pro in GRUMPY OLD MAN (5 days old)

Two lucky winners came forward yesterday to claim their share of a massive £90 million jackpot in Friday night's Euromillions draw. The pair of ticketholders will receive more than £45.5milli… more

SOMEWHAT OF A RARITY? From kendrive ^Pro in KENDRIVE (5 days old)

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APOLLO AND DAPHNE From kendrive ^Pro in ART FOR ART'S SAKE (5 days old)

Yesterday Waterhouse presented us with a wood nymph and today he brings us another tree figure - Daphne. The interesting story behind the painting is from ancient Greek mythology. John Wil… more