Heaven

On the End of Iliad

The father is our first noble disaster - Rowan Ricardo Phillips

“Only if there are angels in your head will you ever, possibly, see one,” - Mary Oliver

Scattered at Sea

'The Dead Woman's Telephone' poem in the book makes for a good example of a line for Ars Poetica. Its at once specific and general. It resonated with me when I was reading John Berger's line on archives being another way of dead people living.
'Thoughts of Tree at twilight' is how we look at things and think things. Even in 'Bon Courage' when poet Amy Gerstler tries to guides us through the imaginary woods like a docent in a museum, where you are welcome to linger but there's more to look too - but you are there.
'but the forest is our subject, not this young girl'
That sense of being in the poem is what you should read 'Scattered at Sea' for.
The little squiggles on the cover are cute.

berger's view on archives

The Best American Essays 2015

I randomly started reading The Best American Essays 2015. I liked the middle of the essay on recuperating and then I noted the essay name in mind 'Strange Days' and went back to it. I shared it with few friends. Articles have a nice way of interlinking things. After this essay, I could put all the recuperative literature that I read into one folder in my head. Then came the close brush with an accident in My Daughter and God which brings death, old age, life into clear focus. After the miscarriage in Difference maker, I had to find why the mood of the book is so heavy. The anthology has finally grown up. Later when I looked more into the details of the editor, I recognised the 'Thanksgiving in Mongolia' essay which explained the leaning of the book.
Its one thing reading the essays in the book, but finding the articles online along with the photos that go with it make it for an altered reading. I like going through the titles of the notable essays that didnt make it and catch a few of them.

Corduroy

My daughter picked this book from the library along with three others which we finished reading, but with this one, we were procrastinating because it seemed like too much text in a small book. The illustrations are cute, the story setting very heavy, transformational like the love of a bunny for a kid making him real or the creator giving life to toys kind of thing. How we got to reading this book finally was after seeing Corduroy Trick or Treat at  the mall where we were riding the turntable.

The end about the kid sewing was slightly unbelievable.

Kinetic design

1.
A Pot might look
beautiful at the
end of the
journey
of its making

But the form holds
itself as a proof of
the journey

of the rotation
nudges and pulls

****
To a poet A beautiful urn is supposed to equate beauty with truth. Truth of is so.

2. Time is the
next horizontal
line of thread
uniting the vertical
lake of threads
tying some dividing
others to form a
tapestry
(32:12)

3.  From a thick brush
the color bleeds onto
the nape of a
moving pot


(40:00)

Saguaro National Park, Sabino Canyon and Mt Lemmon

Usually trips are recalled in future even before happening, this time I was happy that I had a trip over the weekend.
I have been to saguaro National park before. Saguaro National Park East if we have to speak in proper terms. Thats the thing about trips, there's a charm to revisiting.
The last time I was there with a friend, we saw the open-air zoo, my first. So I hyped up my daughter's interest too in the trip with talks of that. 

Immediacy and tale

Sometimes we cant pinpoint when we understand the urgency of an action even after we have rolled the action. Such was the case with medical examination for immigration purposes. My sister said that she had somehow overlooked it. With me, I looked at it but dont think it registered in terms of schedule.
The doctor's offices open at some time. So you cant do anything before that.
Once I got the numbers dialling at a decent time. They were staggered redials as different offices open at different times.
Doctors are not at our beck and call especially in USA. They have appointments open that are not this week. The first doctor's office I contacted had an opening few weeks away that would only leave me with 7 days to the deadline of filing. In matters as these, the answer needs to be today. I called a friend who went through this process. He made two important points known to me. One that the company reimburses all this, which will become important when the other knob if time is not in our favour. Two that the company's on-site clinic covers it. Now this due to the lag of time, addened to the stress of scheduling. Another point was about the doctor he had been to, but anyway neither the dates nor the price worked out.
When I called the on-site clinic, the appointment was 2 days away and only for 1 person. I needed it for 2 and that day. I was told to check at the other location. The other location relayed a very important information about how the clinics are no longer able to do any of the checks that would be needed for the I-693. Thats some more time dump there.
Eventually I got an appointment for the same day for two people. The timing was such that I had to make it to the obgyn's office now to get the tetanus shot proof. HIPAA rule as they are, need a person in person if they are to release any medical records. when we made it to the obgyn office, a dear friend there told us that we were very close to lunch time. As I was filling the form, she called her colleague to release the information I needed. Luckily I had taken the I-693 sheet referring to vaccinations. she couldnt print anything as proof, but filled out the date the Tetanus vaccine was given. This was a very Bond's moment.
Then we headed for the medical examination. the reason why it had to be today was that it would need a follow up for TB test, which could result in the need of an Xray test. We ditched lunch, hoping the complex would have some lunch place. we were glad to be in AC. Being early gained us time as we went through all the tests and got ready for the remaining proof to be provided. When I had taken vaccinations earlier, I faxed the proof to graduate college but never kept a copy. I had to take MMR and Varicella (Chicken pox) again. When I called the onsite clinic, they were willing to give MMR but couldnt give Varicella. if they were on top of it, they could have informed that they needed to be taken together, if not we would have to wait another 4 weeks. It was again a stroke of luck, that the pharmacist at Walgreens warned us about it when we told him that we needed Varicella and would be getting MMR later in the week.
How obstacles present to us is interesting. But how they are resolved or thickened too is. My husband's name wouldnt go through insurance records as there was some jumble. Not even the jumbled one. HR was kind enough to resolve it right then and said they could take care of updating records later as it would not be done in 5 min or else it would have meant another trip.
After that when we reached home after a day's long work of calling, being somewhere, being poked, it seemed that it was a good idea to get it out of the way instead of letting time ooze in.
The follow up day it rained.
After all this immediacy, with doctor office assurance that they would take care of getting records from the walgreens, we checked in with them after their said time. They were mistakenly waiting for the Xray exam results which were already in. Still we got it all done in record time and so did the revoking of the eligibility date. they too must have similar immediacy an tale.

PS1: How you find things that could have helped you only after you dont need them

It is an O Henry thing that one of the letters that I needed to look at and tell the health benefits people that the names were swapped was received long time ago but never made it to me. maybe there should be some colour code for the real mail.

PS2: In pumping machines, there is a small funnel that is needed. One day it fell down, For the life of me, in the sparse room, I couldnt find where it went. Not under the table, not under the sink. where else? These things seem to have affinity to corners which we ignore. When the second one (now you why there are extras, not just covering for things breaking down, but for the magician act) too fell down, it joined the first.

Unlimited

Unlimited Haircuts Membership
Olive garden's Never ending pasta pass
Like Never say Never, Unlimited is not really Unlimited. Lesson from Vonage.

Why leaves change colors

reminds me of other questions
why some land is desert
where water evaporates more
why doesnt it rain more

A plumbing company logo
is phoenix in an inverted
drop

This months calendar
a water drop with the smile
of sun in background
makes an angel of the
drop

Magnifier Discovery Board

Magnifier Discovery Board

A coin, a stamp
a starfish and a tiny one
a feather, two marbles
a flower, few sunflower seeds
tiny sponge, some letters

The Prize

Its been five years since the beginning of the project which involves Zuckerberg's donation of 100 million dollars to reform Newark schools. The results are pouring in and more importantly, the questions - what happened to the money? Now that aint pretty. 20 million dollars to consultants, more than that to underperforming teachers as buyout, 50 percent of it to teacher contracts. Its this divvying that has been marked in the title with not much changes to the schools or students. Author Russakoff does a people centric story with coverage on all the honchos and the teachers too who bring about change in students in a positive way. Teachers who motivate students with an assessment of where they are and where they could be.
Now I am eager to know what happens to Intel's Oakland Initiative.

Assessing the 100 million upheaval of newarks public schools

His Gift to America

I have read Frida Diego: Art,Love and Life by Catherine Reef and enjoyed it. Having read Ida M Tarbell by Emily Arnold mcCully, I have realised that biographies meant for tweens is a good way of quickly learning about some great people. All I knew about Webster before reading this book 'Noah Webster: man of Many Words' was about his dictionary.
But after reading the book, I am wondering how some things are just the same - his insistence on standing up (stand up desks) while working, he wrote letters for funding his magnum opus promising a copy (early kickstarter). Goodreads shows that webster has 127 books. It also seems like his fascination with getting the words right connects to compiling facts. Its this naming that starts off encyclopedic works. Words and Encyclopedia are two of my favourite things for all the new stuff you learn from and through them.
The book has many illustrations. some reviewers have done a good job of recognising how the major dose of American History was needed to show the man as a work of his times.

One Red Paper Clip for Kids

I havent heard of the Japanese story Straw Millionaire until I read about this book. Antonio wants a guitarro but all he gets is a stick from his Papa which is what he got from his Papa before he got his guitarro.
Involving a perro (dog), pajaro (bird), burro (donkey), gato (cat), a groom, a wedding and a mariachi band, can Antonio fulfill his dreams of a guitarro for himself?
With an undercurrent of how is something going to be helpful in getting a guitar, Antonio finds himself helping others get warmth, satisfy hunger, reduce pain, save from drowning and so on. Such a lovely kid like the sweet brother in 'How much for the Doggie in he window' (soaking in the rain at his lemonade stand) has an incredible journey trading up.
The illustrations are soft and the texture, hols you to each section of it, inviting you to explore.

Oneredpaperclip

Realization

I never knew a time I couldnt read ;)

In an interview, the context of a time when luxury goods were rare to understand the coolness of Bond, made me appreciate how good questions raise news to history.

They Jangle

In pockets, lockers,
at the end of lanyards
on necks
in hands, in cars
on doors, in hands


Looking at the guy opening
the magazine stand to refill
it at Tempe Public Library