far and few between

'Growing Gold'

2008-12-15T18:25:00.001-05:00

Growing gold
Spreading wealth
Making good
If by stealth.
October 21, 2008

'What Does Love Mean?'

2008-10-10T18:51:00.000-04:00

When this question was posed to a group of children between 4 and 8 . .

"Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way."

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth."

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

"She's Singing Patsy Cline Again"

2008-10-07T18:47:00.002-04:00

She quit ever so briefly
She quit I think chiefly
Because I gave up the booze.

I quit comin' home late
Smellin' of whiskey
With vomit and puke on my shoes.

I quit leavin' her home 'lone
Drownin' in her tears
I quit being a public disgrace.

So she quit singin' that country
Our lives became tear-free
But now she's got smears on her face . .
October 3, 2008

Songs My Father Sang

2008-10-06T18:09:00.008-04:00

"Detour (There's a Muddy Road Ahead)" by Paul Westmoreland. He says he was overheard singing it below on a Navy ship by an officer who then commanded him to sing it to the entire crew up on deck.
"Old Black Joe" by Stephen C. Foster.
"Cool Water" by Bob Nolan.
"Goodnight, Irene" by Huddie Ledbetter (or "folk standard").
"Oh, Lonesome Me" by Don Gibson. He'd sing this in his brighter moments.
"Tom Dooley" by Thomas C. Land (or "traditional"/"author unknown"). He had a thing for the Kingston Trio, this being one of their popular hits.
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney). My Mother returned from Moscow for medical reasons and bought us a bunch of Beatles albums in the States. That was in 1969, likely, and The White Album had just been released. We learned every song backwards-and-forwards (harder to do with one of them). Inside the album came glossy photographs of each member of the group, which my brother posted outside our apartment. They were gone the next day, as might be expected, Beatles albums being highly sought-after behind the Iron Curtain.
"Delilah" by Les Reed and Barry Mason. I don't know how many times I actually heard him sing this song, but he told a story of asking the band at a Moscow restaurant to play it to no avail, despite exaggerated and overly-phonetic pronunciations of the title.
"Cold, Cold Heart" by Hank Williams. I always assumed he was singing to my mother on this one.
"Your Cheating Heart" by Hank Williams. Another song that sounded like it was aimed at my mother.
"(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" by Joe South. This was popular at the time of my parent's separation, so I assumed he related directly to the words Lynn Anderson was singing.
"Four Strong Winds" by Ian Tyson. He got drunk with his second wife, her sister Pat, and I think his brother Tom, somewhere in Europe--maybe Germany or Austria--and they recorded a version of this on tape to send to us three kids back in the States.
"Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. I always thought this was a workaholic's theme song, my father being a card-carrying member, but since I started listening to the words lately I see it's more about my way of doing things.
"Old Five and Dimers" by Waylon Jennings. From the album by the same name which my father and older brother used to introduce me to this towering Highwayman. I actually remember my brother singing it more than my father, but they both wore the tracks of that record out when drinking.

Magraw Gap Reunites

2008-09-25T18:26:00.000-04:00

Magraw Gap warms up at 2008 Watermelon Park Fest

"Into Your Eyes"

2008-09-22T18:29:00.004-04:00

I should not look
. . Into your eyes
It is not smart,
. . It is not wise.

It's not the truth
. . I can't disguise
Or gorgeous looks
. . That still surprise
It is the chance
. . I realize
The chance remains
. . Your eyes apprise
The stage is set
. . For an emprise.

I should not look
. . Into your eyes.
It is not smart,
. . It is not wise.
September 21, 2008

Tanka

2008-08-05T18:38:00.001-04:00

Love that should return
After long years so distant
Garden overgrown
Gangly weeds that strangle Hope
Must bring a confident hoe.
August 5, 2008

"Turn Up Your Patsy Cline"

2008-07-08T18:53:00.001-04:00

All the great songs have been written
. . So please don't listen to mine
If by Love you've been smitten
. . Just turn up your Patsy Cline.
June 16, 2008

"I Saw Elvis Flipping Burgers"

2008-05-22T18:11:00.005-04:00

I saw Elvis flipping burgers
..At the Corner burger store
I saw Edgar sipping absinthe
..While a crow shrieked 'Nevermore!'
I saw Thomas strum a fiddle
..Behind Sally Hemmings door
....Gee, I must be dreaming
....We're not in Kansas anymore.
April 19, 2008

New Stuff: 5/15/8

2008-05-15T17:28:00.009-04:00

You say I lost my mind
..That's nothing I don't know
In fact, I've said as much . .
April 23, 2008

I buried my cat today
I laid his soul to rest . .
January 8, 2008

AS YOU GO ABOUT YOUR DAY
One thing to consider
..As you go about your day
We sell to highest bidder
..Unless he's in the way.
May 5, 2008

SHE WINKED AT ME
Charlottesville,
..She winked at me
....She winked at me
......She winked at me.

She winked at me,
..and in that wink
....I caught a blink
Of how it used to be.
April 3, 2008

Little Grill Open Mic: 1.10.8

2008-01-15T18:20:00.000-05:00

The regularly-scheduled Thursday night open mic at the Little Grill Collective in Harrisonburg, Virginia went off like a pistol last week, January 10, 2008.

It was a real "ChrisFest", so dubbed by the M.C. Chris Howdyshell, with upwards of four Chrises performing--each of them more talented than the next.

I first read a poem translated from the Greek by Robert Herrick entitled 'The Wounded Cupid'. Then I did some of my own: 'Leaning on a Lamppost', 'I Asked the Willow Tree--Part I', 'As Long As It's Not Terrible', and 'When Love Comes Calling'

Googlegangers

2008-01-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

1) Michael J. Farrand, ASA, Principal

Mr. Farrand graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in Economics and a B.B.A. with emphasis in Finance. He later received an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. Mr. Farrand conducted research on the public equities market for professors at each institution. At Pepperdine, while serving as a graduate assistant, he also coordinated seminars on ethics and the public financial markets, instructed students in Finance, and conducted research and financial analysis for a medical consulting firm. He has been a guest lecturer on the subject of business valuation at Pepperdine University and the University of California at Los Angeles. He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers, Business Valuation discipline. source

2) Michael Farrand

director of sales and marketing--deli for Hormel, discusses how prepared foods merchandised in a chilled format can help retailers turn the deli department into a consumer destination for tonight's dinner. source

3) MICHAEL FARRAND

Women's Soccer Head Coach

44-87-8 (.345)
Eighth year at CWU
Point Loma Nazarene, 1984

The 2007 season marks year number eight for Michael Farrand as head women's soccer coach at Central Washington University. source

What is a Googleganger?

Randomly Selected

2007-12-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY PROMO
Headquarters: 60 Merriman Road Blackheath London SE3 8RZ England.

Dear Winner,

Ref. Number...... .BTL/491OXI/04
Batch Number...... 12/25/0304
Ticket Number..... 564 75600545-188
Serial Number......5388/02

This Email is to inform you that you emerged a winner of £2,500,000 on our online draws which was played on the 11th December, 2007.

Your e-mail address attached to ticket number 564 75600545-188 with serial number 5388/02 drew lucky numbers 7-14-18-31-45, which consequently won in the 2ND category, you have therefore been approved for a lump sum pay out of 2,500,000 GBP(Two Million, five hundred thousand Pounds Sterling).

You were randomly selected for the online version from world wide web sites through a computer drawn system extracted from over 100,000 companies. Please note that your lucky winning number falls within our booklet representative office in Europe as indicated in our play coupon.

In view of this, your £2,500,000.00 (Two million, five hundred thousand,Great Britain Pounds) would be released to you by our affiliate bank in London as soon as you establish contact.

To file for your claim, contact our fiduciary agent via the below details:

AGENT: Mr. Wilson Evans
Email: fiduciaryclaims.103@hotmail.com
Phone: +44 703 197 0562

Remember to quote your reference information in all correspondence. You are to keep all lotto information away from the general public especially your reference numbers.(This is important as a case of double claims will not be entertained). Members of the affiliate agencies are automatically not allowed to participate in this program.

You are hereby advised to send us the following;

1.Full names...................................
2.Residential address..........................
3.Phone number.................................
4.Fax number...................................
5.Occupation...................................
6.Sex..........................................
7.Age..........................................
8.Nationality..................................
9.Email Address................................
10.Batch number............................
11.Serial number.............................
12.Ref . number................................

Faithfully,
Woodgate Henry, Esq.
Zone Co-ordinator for BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY.
Sweepstakes International Program.

CONGRATULATIONS FROM THE MEMBERS AND STAFF OF BRITISH INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY HEADQUARTERS.

60 Merriman Road Blackheath London...

Automatic Confession

2007-12-11T10:48:00.000-05:00

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives

Keep Your Winning Confidential

2007-12-10T16:05:00.000-05:00

10TH GLOBAL INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY®.
ONLINE INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME,
AMSTERDAM,THE NETHERLANDS

To File for your Claim, kindly contact our Fiduciary Agent with the Information below:

NAME:MRS TERESA M. PABLO
E-MAIL:financialunit007@gmail.com

With the processing requirement(s)
FULL NAMES:_____________________WINNING NUMBERS:________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS:________________TELEPHONE/FAX NUMBERS:_____________
AGE:_____________________COUNTRY/NATIONALITY:__________
OCCUPATION:_______________REMARK:__________________

Your e-mail address was attached to Ticket Number:
023-0148-790-459
Serial Number 5368/05
We drew the Lucky Number: 29
The amount you luckily won is $850,000.00 and is yet to be claimed and you are getting the final NOTIFICATION as regards this E-mail.

You are qualified as one of the Draw Winner's that have been approved of a sum of
$850,000,00.(Eight Hundred And Fifty Thousand U.S. Dollars).

This Lottery Program is part of the Country's Programme to Fund the OLYMPIC GAMES in
2012 (The £1.5GBP Olympic Lottery Puzzle).

Other sums to be raised from the NATIONAL LOTTERY® would be from Ticket Sales, Marketing, Sponsorship and the Sales of Television Rights.

NOTE: You did not purchase any Ticket(s) for this endeavour, your E-mail was selected by our E.L.D.S.(e-lottery®) randomly. That is why you have been assigned with your Ticket and Serial Numbers to identify you.

Your $850,000.00. will be released to you by our Payment Officer in the UNITED KINGDOM.

For security reasons, you are advised to keep your winning confidential till your CLAIM is processed and your Money Remitted to you.This is part of our precautionary measure to avoid DOUBLE CLAIMING and unwarranted abuse of this Programme, as any discrepancies resulting from a breach of this confidentiality on the part of the winners will be covered solely by such winner as our staffs are bound by the oath of secrecy taken on employment.

Yours Faithfully,
JACK THOMAS(MR)
ONLINE CO-ORDINATOR
GLOBAL LOTTERY INTERNATIONAL.

Cyber.Scam 2000: Crash the Internet Seize Global Transit Rule the World

From Kofi Annan

2007-12-10T08:06:00.000-05:00

Attention:

How are you today? Hope all is well with you and family? You may not understand why this mail came to you.

We have been having a meeting for the passed 7 months which ended 2 days ago with the then secretary to the UNITED NATIONS.

This email is to all the people that have been scammed in any part of the world, the UNITED NATIONS have agreed to compensate them with the sum of US$ 100,000. This includes every foreign contractors that may have not received their contract sum, and people that have had an unfinished transaction or international businesses that failed due to Government problems etc.

We found your name in our list and that is why we are contacting you, this have been agreed upon and have been signed.

You are advised to contact Mr. Jim Ovia of ZENITH BANK NIGERIA PLC, as he is our representative in Nigeria, contact him immediately for your Cheque/International Bank Draft of USD $ 100,000. These funds are in a Bank Draft for security purposes; he will send it to you and you can clear it in any bank of your choice.

Therefore, you should send him your full name and telephone number/your correct mailing address where you want him to send the Draft to you.

Contact Mr. Jim Ovia immediately for your Cheque:
Person to Contact Mr. Jim Ovia
Email: jimovia171@gmail.com
Phone: +234 1 850 6325

Thanks and God bless you and your family. Hoping to hear from you as soon as you cash your Bank Draft.

Making the world a better place

Regards,

Mr. Kofi Annan
Former Secretary (UNITED NATIONS)
un_world4world@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: This is an e-mail I received, shown here as an example of what's happening out there in the Cyber World. Please do not respond.

"Rewards We Seek Accrue in Heaven"

2007-12-06T09:50:00.001-05:00

Hey there, red-headed Irishman
. . Headed to English church
Rewards we seek accrue in Heaven
. . Not from our social perch.

December 5, 2007

Pick Your Textbook Price

2007-12-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

BookThief.com: The TextBook Black Market

BookThief.com’s story is much like the other stories you’ve heard about dot com startups (cue the sad story music). We started with an idea—providing a way for students to list and sell their used textbooks at an affordable cost—and it grew into something bigger. We hope to become the ‘black market’ for everything college students need to find in their local community. All of the people who have contributed to BookThief.com were, or ARE, college students. We have felt your pain!

We’ve all been in a position where we were looking to buy a used textbook and the bookstore didn’t have any more used books, they only had new books. We’ve also made flyers and stapled them to bulletin boards around campus trying to sell a book we couldn’t sell back to the bookstore, or the bookstore only offered us a few dollars for something that we paid far more for. Some of us did this 20 years ago and some of us more recently, but our stories are profoundly similar. This is even more amazing when you think back to the when there was no Internet. There really was no way to ‘get the word out’ to everyone on campus at once. Here we are in the Internet age and still, no way to get the word out for every college student in America. UNTIL NOW!

We heard a story the other day that made us all sigh in frustration but one that gave us initiative to move forward with a Web site that could be used by all college students in the United States and Canada. A college student was telling us the other day that she was taking a final exam last semester only to see a classmate turn in his exam early. He had left the exam early to sell his textbook back to the bookstore. He got $75.00 back (after having paid $170), but this student finished her exam a half hour later and went to the same bookstore only to be offered $40 for the exact same textbook! Are students really leaving exams early or selling their textbooks back to the bookstore when they really need the textbook to study? We hope this was an isolated incident, but we know better.

We have all faced the problem of needing a small refrigerator, couch or loft, and couldn’t afford to buy something new. BookThief.com hopes to solve that problem as well. We want to put college students in touch with college students, locally. And, we want to do it with a little humor along the way otherwise we will all kill each other before this is done.

Jojo Farrand Sings

2007-12-05T09:43:00.000-05:00

Hope he's not too closely related.

My Favorite Memory

2007-12-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

The first time we met is a favorite mem'ry of mine.
They say time changes all it pertains to
But your memory is stronger than time.
I guess everything does change except what you choose to recall.

There's a million good daydreams to dream on
But, baby, you are My Favorite Mem'ry of all.

© 1981 by Merle Haggard.

Send a Card to a Soldier

2007-12-05T08:16:00.000-05:00

If you go to LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card, Xerox will print it, and it will be sent to a soldier currently serving in Iraq.

The cards are all drawn by grade-school kids across the country. You have to see them to believe them.

You can't pick out who gets your card, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How nice it would be if everyone sent just one.

Send a card. It's free and it only takes a second.

(And it might leave you crying like a child like it did me.)

Finally

2007-12-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

CEF (www.cef.fr) would like to notify you that you have been chosen by the board of trustees as one of the final recipients of a cash Grant-Donation for your own personal, educational, and business development. CEF, established 1977 by the Multi-Million groups and now supported by the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), United Nations Organization (UNO) and the European Union (EU) was conceived with the objective of human growth, educational, and community development.

In conjunction with the ECOWAS, UNO and the EU, We are giving out a yearly donation of US$850,000.00 each to 100 lucky recipients. These specific Donations/Grants will be awarded to 100 lucky international recipients worldwide, in different categories.

Based on the random selection exercise of internet websites and millions of supermarket cash invoices worldwide, you were selected amongst the lucky recipients to receive the award sum of US$850,000.00 as charity donations/aid. (Note that all beneficiaries email addresses were selected randomly from over 100,000 internet websites or a shop\'s cash invoice around your area in which you might have purchased something from).

You are required to contact the Executive Secretary below, for qualification documentation and processing of your claims. Please endeavor to quote your Qualification numbers (CEF-080-2998-2996) in all discussions.

Executive Secretary: Rev. Adrienne Fernande
Email: rev.adrfernannde@yahoo.fr

On behalf of the Board kindly, once again congratulations.

Regards.
Juan Fergo
Online Co-ordinator

The Amazing New Kindle

2007-12-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

Amazon Kindle is a revolutionary portable reader that wirelessly downloads books, newspapers, magazines and blogs to a crisp, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight.

Kindle customers, no matter where they are in the U.S., can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store and download new content — all without a PC or a WiFi hot spot. Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity so there are no monthly wireless bills and no service commitments for customers. The Kindle Store contains over 90,000 books that can be purchased and delivered wirelessly to Kindle, each in less than a minute. Customers can choose from hundreds of top newspapers, magazines and blogs and have their subscriptions auto-delivered wirelessly. All New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are $9.99, unless marked otherwise.

At 10.3 ounces, Kindle is lighter and thinner than a paperback book, carries two hundred books, and includes built-in access to The New Oxford American Dictionary and wireless access to the Earth’s biggest encyclopedia, Wikipedia.org.

'Those Were the Days'

2007-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours,
Think of all the great things we would do.

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way.

Then, the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If, by chance, I'd see you in the tavern,
We'd smile at one another and we'd say . .

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.

Just tonight, I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass, I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me?

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.

Through the door, there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh, my friend, we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts, the dreams are still the same.

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days.

© 1968 by Gene Raskin; as sung by Mary Hopkin.

Farrand Search

2007-11-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

A search on "Farrand" through Google's Blog Search uncovers some interesting things.

The Familiars

No family members appear at all. I don't even appear until several pages in, and then only for my free online screenwriting course. With all my blogging done via Google's own blogger.com, that's what I'm noted for in their blog search engine?

None of the Farrands I've become aware of more recently, such as singer-songwriter Jim Farrand, appears at all.

The Famous Ones

The Big Farrands we always heard about growing up, such as Max Farrand the Constitutional scholar (wonder what he'd have to say about my Constitutional redesign?). Or Beatrix Farrand the famous landscape designer. Or Livingston Farrand, brother to Max, who became successively president of Colorado University then Cornell.

These all do in fact appear rather prominently here and there.

The latter is referenced solely through the places named for him, i.e., Farrand Field and Farrand dorm at the university he presided over. In fact, mentions of those two spots overwhelm all other Farrand references.

The Nitpicker

A certain Phil Farrand has become famous for his Nitpicker's Guidefor Star Trek fans (not to mention X-filers).

The Guru

Thomas Ashley-Farrand has become known for his expertise in the area of Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing.He's a Vedic after all.

Female Athletes

There appears to be a Maggie Farrand playing field hockey for Georgetown University. Interesting as that's my alma mater (twice over). Her brother Andrew went there, too. Another female sports phenom of the Farrand moniker knocks in all the soccer goals somewhere out west.

Products

I became aware of Farrand organs when I first arrived in Texas 153 years ago. They had one cordoned off in a museum area in Nacogdoches. One appears to be for sale via blog for $150. They were made in Michigan, which plays in below.

What I could never have imagined, in a whole lifetime of imaginings, was that there could be such a thing as a Farrand birdbath. Perhaps it has something to do with Beatrix above.

Street Names

Seems to be a Farrand Road in Clio, Michigan where they want to locate some sort of "cultural awareness camp". Sounds gruesomely Marxian.