… you stepped away from rhyme with your newest post. Had to come here and check out what you meant by writing “differently.”

It’s true, most publications shy away from rhyme now. I think that it happened when so many poets began to rely on rhyme for rhyme’s sake. Too bad, because there are some writers who have mastered the skill without sounding forced.

Personally, I don’t rhyme and probably tend to shy away from work that does. I’ve been writing since I was five and can probably count on less than ten fingers how many of my poems rhyme. We’re all different that way.

I’ve enjoyed much of your work and it is great to have you around - old dinosaur … funny. Don’t you know that age is just a number? ;)

Best,
Ronda

Thank you, Rett. “Big dose of stubborn” oh, yeah. It’s prescribed as REBELLION…and also poor parenting, the combination of which could have proved fatal had I not made some huge personal changes in my life…I may not be typing to you right now.

Appreciate your comment.
Peace!
Kim (GreenBean)

I like your new avatar…the clouds and the reflection of the moon is wonderful…it looks so real!…what did you call this one?

if we cut back on our carbon and methane emissions? Not arguing, we both recognise the silliness of the extremists.
Do you honestly think the planet itself is not in danger?
cheers,
Jess T.

I believe we need to keep the controls we already have in place and I think we need to replant trees after they have cleared areas. Plant trees elsewhere to offset. Limiting Carbon emissions is really kind of out there. Trees, grass and even our bodies need a certain amount of CO to breathe correctly. The science they are using to gain control of us is faulty. The most glaring fault is that the amount of carbon doesn’t cause the temperature to go up, it goes up because of the temperature. Did you know that in the 1400’s a channel opened up all the way to the north pole. Most of what they are attributing to man is a natural accurence that happens in cycle. They discount that big ball of fire in the sky. Seriously though, we do need to take care of the place. Quit dumping raw sewage into the sea etc. Just use common sense. Jess, common sense would tell you that if you live in a fire prone area, then you need to clear brush to keep firebreaks in place. NOT in California, at least not until there is a fire that burns thousands of acres. Why? Naturalist far fringe. anyway Jess. I am glad that you listen and I listen. There is common ground somewhere that everyone must find. a balance of taking care of the planet and not being foolish about it.
Rett:
Nancy Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison.”
Churchill: “If I were your husband I would take it.”

Common sense as you say, should prevail.

Can’t help wondering if you are underestimating how much danger the planet is in. From the most verifiable information I have been able to get (and I am good at research) we are already in the shit and getting deeper, way beyond mere cyclic weather patterns. Sure there are going to be some outright dumb suggestions. Carbon trading seems like a cop-out. Hybrid cars are so energy expensive to produce they might not save back in the life of the car!

Still it can only help to try and reduce our dependence on oil, Big Evil Oil did open my eyes to a few things, and to take a good hard look at our “energy footprints” and to recycle thoughtfully.
cheers,
Jess T.

It is possible that I may be underestimating the effects, but I don’t think I am by much. I heartily agree we are over dependent on oil and need to look for other sources of power for our vehicles. Hydrogen technology is most likely our best bet IF we can find a way to make it CHEAPLY and not using more power than we get in return like we are doing with ethanol. The reason for my cyclic statements is historical data and scientific also. 600 years ago it was warm enough in England to have vineyards and a wine industry and Greenland was a lot warmer than now. There have been cases over the centuries when the Polar ice cap became thin enough to open channels almost to the pole but this was due to volcanic activity underwater and weather pattern changes which is happening right now. Also we are getting warming on mars and I doubt the two little solar powered rovers we put there a few years ago caused it. The biggest questions I have on all of this stuff is: How does the earth recover from the maximum tons of pollution spewed by volcanoes? We also have added heat and changing patterns from the movement and collisions of the tectonic plates of the continents as they are colliding along with the tidal waves. Our latest recommendations from the USA’s wonderfully controlling EPA that want to control each and every aspect of our life ESTIMATES that with total control over all emissions man made we could lower the temperature by 1/100 F of a degree in 40 years. Check out the studies in India and England and also, since you mentioned money, check out the money behind these groups that are saying we are in crisis. These same scientists back in the 60’s were saying we were headed for a new ice age which didn’t happen so why should I believe them now. Also, if you pay attention to average recorded temperatures you will find that the temperature has not climbed in the last 8 years. Two years ago these scientists released a study saying that increased pollution was causing warmer temperatures and a week later almost to the day the same group released a study saying the air was cleaner than the sixties which was letting in more sunlight and causing global warming. If you really pay attention to their findings they contradict their own selves.

All this said, do I believe we should be careful of the things we do to this planet? You damn right I do. I think it is disgusting some of the things we have done. We need to be developing solar energy, wind energy, wave energy and nuclear power plants for our electrical use and that would be a tremendous cut on the amount of oil we use in our everyday lives. Meanwhile we need to be finding, drilling and refining oil for world use and doing it in an environmentally safe way. We need to be clearing underbrush in fire prone areas and stop wasting millions of dollars and putting lives in jeopardy to fight the fires that result from thick underbrush in fire prone areas. We need to quit stripping the rain forests of their timber and need to be planting trees where we can. People need to face up to the fact that they cannot do without oil unless they want to give up everything they have practically. That is what I am trying to get across Jess. I am not for damaging the environment I am for common sense. We aren’t so different when you get down to it. We both want the best. Do you want to wreck the economy for the entire world or do you want to use a common sense approach. I think you are more like me than you think if you stop to really think about it. We both want the best, not only for our world,but for our country and our people.

Rett:
Whenever I meet and Atheist I think of…nothing at all.

we are not much in disagreement.
Must admit sometimes though it’s more fun to have a good old fashioned brawl, even a bit of juicy name calling, than to be moderate and sensible.

Guess I’ll have to save that for the bigots, of which there are plenty and you clearly are not.
cheers,
Jess

And you are absolutely right. There are plenty of bigots. And yep, it is fun to have a good ole brawl and cuss and stamp our feet. Trouble is, I’m getting too damned old for the fisticuffs. It takes too long to heal. *LOL*
Rett:
Whenever I meet and Atheist I think of…nothing at all.

Besides…your arms are too short to box with God…and if everything and everyone ain’t God, then nothing and no one is… ;-) (Hey I’m a card-carrying, fence- sitting advaitist.)

LOL.

Youse guys are A-ok with me…

Rhett (;-) I heartily agree with your assessment of the *global warming* issue. It’s balance we need…individually, collectively and globally. The question is always *how to?*.

It doesn’t take much to know that we have seriously injured the space ship Earth over the last 100 years or so with the advent of automobiles, manufacturing, nuclear testing, pollution and the throw-away society we have become. Has anyone looked into the effect of millions if not billions of tons of bombs exploding into the atmosphere, eventually collecting in water?

I’d love to see that issue before a select committee.. Perhaps we’d finally find a viable reason to end wars (chemical and biological warfare have already proven their results and no one knows how THAT scenario would end on a mass scale).

It seems there is evidence of water on Mars. Where there is/was water, there is/was life or potential for life. Now it is a wasteland. Can earth be far behind?

Especially if we end in a nuclear disaster. I’m counting on those ET’s who are conducting this *experiment* called humanity… (from ape to mankind) to make their presence known and say *enough* is *enough* one of these days.

LOL. Maybe not. ;-)

Peace Now. Love Always.

~Anna

We need to get moderation and we need to stop having nuclear bomb testing. The problem is, we can’t stop it w/o a fight and that’s bad. Spaceship earth needs to be cared for but wrecking the economy and going back to the stone age isn’t the way. We need to come up with a comprehensive policy that protects the environment and yet allows us to live our lives. This can’t be done by just hamstinging everything or letting business have wholesale slaughter of the world. Seriously though, When they can’t use a postage stamp size area compared to a football field that is out there. Do you remember how bad for the caribou herd the Alaska pipeline was going to be? Turns out it didn’t hurt the herds at all. They increased. Instead of having a knee jerk reaction to everything and bringing lawsuit after lawsuit to stop things we need to take a realistic approach. It shouldn’t take us 20 years or more to be able to get permission to build a refinery due to specious studies and lawsuit after lawsuit. It has gotten as ridiculous as the unrestrained building in the late 19th and early 20th century. We want to cut our dependence on oil, that is fine, but do it in a common sense approach. Build nuclear power plant, wind power plants, which take large amounts of land need to be considered in certain locales where the wind blows in a more or less constant breeze. Solar power plants which take even more acreage needs to be considered for desert area where sunlight is plentiful. Clean burning coal technology should be implemented where that makes sense. We can also harness the waves to generate power. The battery and hybrid technology doesn’t make a lot of sense unless a fuel cell can be designed to produce the power effectively at a low cost. I personally would like to see Hydrogen technology be made feasible for autos, but that is a way off yet in true feasibility. Oil and natural gas is not as evil as it seems at first glance. re: London, England before the advent of natural gas and oil. Filthy, dirty, people dying from the pollution of wood burning and coal. The romanticized old west was not so great either. The streets were usually filthy, muddy or filled with wet cow and horse dung that dried in the dry hot times and became airborne and made people sick just like rat droppings do today. That is why the life expectancy was so low. We have got to get some common sense in this world before we end up destroying ourselves whether it be wars or energy. Come on down E.T.’s We need Black Hole technology that will give us a clean, universal unlimited power source. Maybe they aren’t listening. *L*
Rett:
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Winston Churchill

The ugly truth is… we use war to solve problems… which has NEVER worked really on any level. Or we would be through that ring of fire, trial and tribulation.

In the Middle East a new generation of *terrorists* are growing up, angry and vengeful.. who could blame them if Fox tv et al were to show the real news.

The truth usually lies between two ends… we already know how certain things turn out… like our penchant to set up puppets, (witness Osama Bin Laden & Saddam Hussein, our *friendship* with the Shah of Iran who begot the pendulum swing with Ayatollah Khomeini.)

Yes. If the Prez would have made OUR independence from oil a priority, 8 years later… instead of Iraq? I do feel with the Iraqi people, I just wonder how much *better* their lives really are…

Ok. Off the soap box. Have a pleasant evening. And don’t forget to wear your aluminum foil hat. ;-)

Peace Now. Love Always.

Anna

p.s. A friend told me about a news report that the state of Texas has a good economy and lower gas prices… few foreclosures comparatively speaking…

How accurate a portrayal?

Growing up on the streets I learned you can’t walk away from a lot of stuff.. War does solve some problems such as Nazi Germany in World War II. If not for going to war then we would be speaking German and saying Seig Heil or speaking Japanese and bowing to the Emperor. Laden and Hussein were mistakes on our previous administrations part and the part of one congressman. The Shaw being deposed and the rise of Khomeini were the brainchild of the great despot supporter Jimmy Carter who has never met a Dictator he didn’t like, but enough of that. *putting my foil hat on*

Gas prices in Texas haven’t been extremely bad. We reached $3.97 a gallon briefly, but it is down in the lower $3.80 range now and predicted to go lower. The Gulf coast from Corpus Christi to around the New Orleans area account for about 70%+ of all the refinery capacity in the USA. We have the occasional problem of the oil companies not paying close enough attention to safety and people get killed which is a terrible tragedy. That is really not that bad a record when you consider they run at or near capacity most of the time with only brief or partial shut downs for maintenance. Hard to do when you can’t rely on other plants increasing production because they are at or near full capacity themselves. We desperately need more refineries.

Texas, especially this area is usually last to see what effects most of the rest of the country and by the same token is usually last to recover. I can get gas at Kroger’s for the lower $3.70’s with my discount card right now. Of course we do have a Hurricane headed to the lower Texas coast right now so we will get wind and rain off it since we are on the dirty side. My two brother’s living in Mississippi have been seeing gas prices about 5 to 7 cents higher and some friends in California have been seeing it anywhere from 50 cents to over a dollar higher. I don’t know what y’all are seeing where you are.
Rett:
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Winston Churchill

called “the value of human life”
the only line I have written is-
thpthth
a raspberry, fuck humans and jobs, life is more important than humans. There are several other species capable of attaining sentience.
I would rather die than destroy the planet.
It might be just that urgent.

Only consider this. Common sense might not be quick enough.
Given that we can’t populate without breaking the problem of lightspeed, we need to keep this planet alive, even at human, job and economic cost.

Jess

Go out to the nearest freeway with all of your friends that think the same way, Take a black piece of plastic, lay down and put it over all of you. Very quickly, all of you will have contributed your share to saving the environment and given the rest of us non-lemmings a chance. That makes more sense than what you are saying. That is meant with all due respect Jess.
Rett:
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Winston Churchill

“It’s not what you ride but that you ride”
Mark

you’re getting better and better doing these pictures…is he a fisherman?

watching a small boat out there to see if it makes it past the rocks, Thank you very much for commenting on the pic. BTW, I have been meaning to tell you I like yours and keep forgetting Part timers you know. Part of the time I remember, part of the time I don’t. *LOL* I have to ask if that is a candle? I was under the impression it was, but when I look close I can’t really tell for sure.
Rett:
“On life; Ah such a wondrous thing, beauty and love to behold and experience! On death; I can wait to see…” Rett 2008.

You look nothing like a Jesuit, you look like someone I would like to share a beer or other beverage with and argue to the early hours.
cheers,
Jess

Rett,
on your big shovels and the destruction of the old buildings, I seem to remember that in Ottawa they enclosed one of the old churches in a modern building, it was beautifully done and gave us some view to the point that there are some that like to see something preserved as a reminder of the stability we had then, in some ways.
If you go there it’s worth a look see, cant recall the street or name of the building though,
Yours Ian.T

I love to see the old building that had character preserved. I am a sucker for the beauty of the by-gone eras. I wouldn’t want to live back then, but I love their craftsmanship. Thanks Ian.
Rett:
“Life is like a beach. Salty, gritty, somewhat fishy and at other times, downright crabby!” Rett 2008.

Why is it when I submit a poem it never gets posted as new?
It’s got to be something I’m not doing?
Thanks,
Eddie

It could be your browser isn’t refreshing (reloading) the page like it should. I use Firefox so don’t mess with IE very much so am not sure on it. When you post your poem should appear in the stream right underneath the area reserved for Evolution unless someone is slightly behind you in posting. If it doesn’t, then refresh or reload your browser and see if it is there then. If it still isn’t doing it you might want to talk to Mark or Andrew about it. Hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Rett:
“Two things stand in the way of a liberal doing what he thinks is best for people. One, he doesn’t have enough power and two, we have too much freedom. If he figures out how to overcome either then we are in real trouble.” Rett

You’re an AEC member Rett, can you explain what you do as one?

~~~~~~~~~~~
Give me a
good reason
to put down
the pen!!

Forever Dead2theworld,
but now known as
xDARKxPURPLEx
~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I am one of a group of members on this site elected every 3 months to assist in the everyday operations, being available to members to answer questions, problems etc. The members are subject to change every 2-3 months according to whether they run or are elected. We kind of serve in a assist capacity to keep the sites everyday operations running on an even keel.
Respectfully,
Rett:
“Life is like a beach. Salty, gritty, somewhat fishy and at other times, downright crabby” Rett: 2008