VampireS Sumo

Three Poems for the Gate Keeper

1.

Just Visiting

The difference between

You and me

Is that I’m just visiting.

#1608 (1/12/2007)

2.

A Glance of Light

I grabbed a glance of light
Asked for faith and a year of life,
And somewhere in-between

Forgot to ask
For
Peace…
And tranquility.

#1606 (1/1220/07)

3.

Ship in a Bottle

Life has many surprises
Like a ship in a bottle
We often wonder how we got into
Such a spot…
World War III—will not be
Much Different.

#1607 (1-12-2007)

The Eyes of Chucctolomos
(Of the Mantaro Valley of Peru)

On a Hill over looking a village called Quilcas in little stone rounded huts carved into stone walled pastures—thereof…here is where the Wanka lived, families, side by side: in the center stands a small stone structure, it stands alone, with eyes, nose and mouth (looking down the hillside)!
From inside, I stood, looking out (through its stone eyes)—out beyond the Mantaro Rio below, below and beyond the village that guards these stone ruins, out beyond its grassy meadows, to its residing mountains: then I felt it looking back at me, as if…if, my glance bounced off those residing mountains, to tell me: ‘…time was not real.’

Notes: The legend, the folks told me of, linked to this site that is, is as follows: whoever goes into these structures will soon die of an illness or disease. I found for myself, the spirits that guard this archeological site were more concerned with folks distorting the site, and disrupting their quietness. I didn’t get the feeling they wanted to curse anyone, perhaps that is mans choice. The site dates to about 700 AD.

See Dennis’ web site: dennissiluk.tripod.com dennissiluk.tripod.com

I have uncovered some obscure and unusual words while looking back at the history of hats and headdress. Having recently finished reading THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN (by Simon Winchester, HarperCollins 1998) about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary, I thought it might be fun to explore the definitions and etymology of some of these ancient terms, most of which have all but disappeared from modern use. [I’ll breakup this project into three or four parts, so stay tuned.]

To qualify for inclusion below, the word must show up with a squiggly red line at Microsoft Word’s “spell check” tool. So here goes:
[Note: As I move into part three of this project, terms become less lost in antiquity. I have included a few words, albeit rarely used today that did show up “spell check”.]

Poke Bonnet

Now hist.

1. A bonnet with a projecting brim, fashionable esp. in the 19th cent.
1801 C. DIBDIN Song Smith in Mirth & Metre (1807) 62, I′ll hammer out songs by the staves if you please, Short as new-fashion’d sight, or as long as poke bonnets. 1820 F. MACDONOGH Hermit in London V. xcii. 35 Another street nuisance is your poke-bonnet ladies, who sometimes put out your eyes with these pent-house projections. 1837 E. BULWER-LYTTON Ernest Maltravers II. IV. vi. 67 A few ladies of middle age..wear..straw poke bonnets. 1858 R. S. SURTEES Ask Mamma ix, [A] lady..painted in one of the old poke bonnets of former days. 1884 Cent. Mag. 28 14 Eight or nine ladies, gentlemen, and children, in the poke-bonnets and high-collared coats of the year 1839. 1913 W. CATHER O Pioneers! I. i. 12 This city child was dressed in what was then called the ‘Kate Greenaway’ manner,..her poke bonnet, gave her the look of a quaint little woman. 1984 P. ALLEN Old Galleries of Cumbria (BNC) 18 Married women wore a cap, a blue linen apron.., neb shaped clogs with buckled shoes for better wear, a poke bonnet and cloak for outer wear.

2. spec. A bonnet of this kind traditionally worn by women members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the Salvation Army, etc. Hence: a wearer of this kind of bonnet.
1848 J. R. BARTLETT Dict. Americanisms s.v., Poke-bonnet, a long, straight bonnet, much worn by Quakers and Methodists. 1862 H. MARRYAT One Year in Sweden II. lvi. 264 We dined at a farmhouse.., the property of Anabaptists, a sect most numerous in Götland. There’s no mistaking the women by their downcast looks and black poke-bonnets. 1877 Sat. Rev. 12 May 577/2 At Croydon, Dorking, and other favourite haunts of Friends, the..broad-brimmed hats for the men, and close poke-bonnets for the women, may still be seen. 1899 St. James’ Gaz. 17 Aug. 11/2 Never reached by the Church,..or any other spiritual organisations, except possibly the ‘poke bonnets’ at the corners of the streets. 1902 E. BANKS Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 107 The poke bonnet and dark blue dress, which I thought I would not get until I had spent a few days investigating what was the best way to join the Army. 1945 Musical Q. 31 276 Amish women are easily identified by their poke bonnets, shawls, and a complete absence of ornament in their attire. 2000 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 14 May 36 A Pennsylvania Amish in a poke bonnet goes next, happy as a bug.

Gibus

f. Gibus the name of the first maker.]

An opera or crush hat. Also gibus-hat.
1848 THACKERAY Bk. Snobs xviii, With his gibus-hat and his little glazed pumps. a1854 E. FORBES Lit. Papers viii. (1855) 214 No man in a gibus ever commanded public awe or private respect. 1888 Daily Tel. 28 Apr. 5/2 The collapsible crush hat or Gibus.

[Note from Belinsky: Today a Gibus is more commonly known as a “Collapsible Top Hat”.]

Riding Casquette

[Fr.; fem. of casquet, dim. of casque CASQUE.]

A head dress resembling a casque.
1840 L. S. COSTELLO Summ. amongst Bocages II. 206 His long tresses were confined by an eastern-looking casquette.

[a. F. casque, ad. Sp. casco in same sense: see CASK n.]

1. A piece of armour to cover the head; a helmet. A term applied very loosely to all kinds of military head-pieces, and now only historical, poetical, or foreign. Formerly written CASK.
1580-1649 [see CASK n. 4]. 1696 PHILLIPS, Casque, a helmet. 1714 GAY Trivia III. 363 The fireman sweats beneath his crooked arms, A leathern casque his vent’rous head defends. 1791 COWPER Iliad III. 375 They shook them in a brazen casque. 1842 TENNYSON Galahad 1 My good blade carves the casques of men. 1877 Daily News 24 Dec. 5/4 The mitre-like casques of the Pauloff Guard regiment.

Manier Bandeau

[Fr.: OF. bandel, dim. form from bande BAND n.2; cf. BANDORE2.]

a. A narrow band or fillet worn by women to bind the hair, or as part of a head-dress. b. A bandage for the eyes.
1706 T. BETTERTON Amorous Widow I. 4 The fairest Hair, the beautiful’st Curls do not become your Forehead, so well as a Bando did. c1790 F. BURNEY Diary (1842) I. 98 (D.) That bandeau..was worn by every woman at court. a1847 MRS. SHERWOOD Lady of Manor III. xxi. 277 Just make up this bandeau for my hair. ?1858 C. MATHEWS Autobiog. (1879) I, In a laced night-cap with sky-blue bandeau. 1861 GEN. P. THOMPSON Audi Alt. III. clxi. 175 The Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Paul Louis said of fortune, sees under his bandeau. 1908 [see BARRETTE 2]. 1959 Sunday Times 5 Apr. 22/5 As small as it is possible to be and still be called a hat, a bandeau and bow are caught in a cage of veiling.

c. A strip of velvet or other material generally made up in a circular form to be stitched inside the lower part of the crown of a hat that is too large for the head.
1908 Daily Chron. 29 Jan. 4/7 With the right sort of ‘bandeau’..you need not wear a hatpin at all.

Sennit Straw

Naut.
[var. of SINNET.]

a. = SINNET. b. (See quot. 1858.)
1769 FALCONER Dict. Marine (1789), Sennit. 1858 SIMMONDS Dict. Trade, Sennit,..plaited straw or palm leaves, &c., of which grass hats are made. 1881 Chequered Career 92 These young gentlemen are to be seen..making sennet, the latter amusement being on a par with picking oakum.
attrib. and Comb. 1882 NARES Seamanship (ed. 6) 79 A sennit eye is worked in. c1898 J. CHALMERS in Lovett Life (1902) 146 The long sennit hawser kept on deck had been passed ashore to natives on the reef.

[Note from Belinsky: Today, a Sennit Straw is more commonly know as a “Boater” or “Skimmer” or “Sailor Straw”.]

Montero

Now hist.
[< Spanish montera MONTERA n., with alteration of the ending, prob. after earlier loans of Spanish words in -ero -EER1.

In forms, remodelled after -EER.]

1. A cap of a type formerly worn in Spain for hunting, having a spherical crown and (freq. fur-lined) flaps able to be drawn down to protect the ears and neck. Also montero cap.

Common esp. in the 17th cent.
1611 R. COTGRAVE Dict. French & Eng. Tongues s.v. Barbute, A riding hood; a Montero, or close hood, wherewith travellers preserve their faces and heads from frost-biting and weather-beating. 1622 R. HAWKINS Observ. Voiage S. Sea xiii. 28 Upon their heads they weare a Night-capp, vpon it a Montero, and a Hat over that. a1642 W. BEDELL in T. Fuller Abel Redevivus (1651) 69 Another..sent him..a Muntiro lined with rich Sables. 1694 P. A. MOTTEUX tr. Rabelais Wks. IV. xxx. (1737) 124 The Midriff, like a Mounteer-Cap. c1700 J. FRASER Chron. Frasers (1905) 164 The fellow..shot an arrow at him, which stuck fast in the tippet of his mountire cape which hung behind his back. 1703 Clarendon’s Hist. Rebellion II. IX. 516 [He] was taken in his Journey, having a Mountero on his head. 1762 L. STERNE Life Tristram Shandy VI. xxiv. 103 The Montero-cap was scarlet..and mounted all round with furr, except [etc.]. 1823 SCOTT Peveril III. xii. 298 A large montero cap, that enveloped his head. 1859 G. W. THORNBURY in Househ. Words 8 Jan. 134/1 The black cup-like rim of his montero. 1984 J. NUNN Fashion in Costume 1200-1980 63 The montero..was occasionally worn out-of-doors when travelling or hunting. 1999 Britannica Online (Version 99.1), Men [in colonial America] also wore the montero cap, which had a flap that could be turned down.

2. In extended use. Obs.
1820 W. IRVING Sketch Bk. II. 382 The cedar bird, with..its little monteiro cap of feathers.

Cadogan

[Said to be from the name of the 1st Earl Cadogan (died 1726). See Littré, and N. &amp Q. 7th Ser. IV. 467, 492.]

A mode of knotting the hair behind the head.
c1780 B′NESS D’OBERKIRCH Mem. (1852) II. ix, The duchess of Bourbon had introduced at the court of Montbéliard..[the fashion] of cadogans, hitherto worn only by gentlemen.

Postilion Hat

Now chiefly hist.
[< Middle French, French postillon person who rides a post-horse, postman, courier (1560 in Middle French), person who rides one of the horses in front of a coach (1680), small supplementary float on a fishing line (1868), basque imitating a postilion's coat in style (1869) and its probable etymon Italian postiglione guide or forerunner for the post, courier, driver of a post-coach (although this is app. first attested later than the French and English words: 1585) < posta POST n.3 -iglione, suffix (< -iglia -ILLA suffix -one: see -OON suffix). Cf. Spanish postillón (1552), Portuguese postilhão (1552), both prob. < Italian (in spite of the chronological difficulties), and also German Postillion, Postilion, Postillon courier (1572; now obs. in this sense), (now hist.) driver of a post-coach (1750 or earlier; < either Middle French or Italian).]

2. A person who rides a post-horse, a post-boy; (more generally) a courier, a swift messenger. Also fig. Now rare.
1616 J. BULLOKAR Eng. Expositor, Postilion, a speedy poste or messenger. 1645 J. HOWELL Epist. Ho-elianæ To Rdr. sig. A3, Those wing′d postillions that can flie, From the Anartic to the Artic skie. 1663 B. GERBIER Counsel to Builders 8 Postillions, hasten with the Packet-Maile to the Post Office. 1685 tr. B. Gracian Courtiers Oracle 160 These are the Postillions of life, who to the swift motion of time, add the rapidity of their own minds. 1708 London Gaz. No. 4464/6, The Postillion of Ghent is just now arrived, with Letters to Mr. de Caris. 1858 Harper’s Mag. Apr. 593/2 Mr. Atkinson left Moscow early in March, accompanied by a post-office postillion, who had orders to escort him to the Siberian frontier. 1908 Daily Chron. 28 May 5/3 The wife of the family cook was ‘love’s postillion’ between the Princess and Koczain.

3. A person who rides the (leading) nearside (left-hand side) horse drawing a coach or carriage, esp. when one pair only is used and there is no coachman. Also in extended use: an outrider for a carriage. Now chiefly hist.

COMPOUNDS

C2. Applied to fashion styles or clothing intended to imitate that of a postilion, as postilion-back, postilion-belt, etc. See also sense 5. Now rare.
1773 J. MINZIES Let. 12 June in F. Mason John Norton &amp Sons (1968) 330, 6 Postillion Caps. 1872 Young Englishwoman Dec. 651/2 A dress of olive-brown..had a basque bodice with a postilion back. 1886 Peterson’s Mag. Apr. 377/1 At the back, the jacket is laid in postillion-plaits. 1890 Cent. Dict., Postilion-belt, a leather belt with a large buckle, worn by ladies about 1860. 1904 Daily Chron. 2 Jan. 8/4 The postilion tabs at the back of the bodice. 1942 E. FERBER Saratoga Trunk vii. 147 The little gray shoulder cape of ottoman silk was edged with narrow black French lace and its postilion back made her small waist look still tinier.

Puggree

[a. Hind. pag a turban.]

1. A light turban or head-covering worn by inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent.
1665 SIR T. HERBERT Trav. (1677) 140 Eastern People..such.. as wear Turbans, Mandils, Dustars, and Puggarees. 1696 J. OVINGTON Voy. Suratt 314 With a Puggarie, or Turbant upon their Heads. 1698 FRYER Acc. E. India &amp; P. 93 A Green Vest and Puckery (or Turbat). 1845 SIR W. NAPIER Conq. Scinde II. i. 224 The Mohamedan Belooch always obeys him who wears the Puggree. 1893 W. FORBES-MITCHELL Remin. Gt. Mutiny 287 The latter wore voluminous thick puggries round their heads. 1930 Aberdeen Press &amp; Jrnl. 22 Apr. 5/2 He has no British officers and no uniform except a distinguishing kind of pagri (head-dress). 1930 Punch 1 Oct. 392/2 Mr Thompson should not allow this bee to find a permanent home in his pagri. 1974 ‘B. MATHER’ White Dacoit 18 Sowars straightened tunics and pagris.

2. A scarf of thin muslin or a silk veil wound round the crown of a sun-helmet or hat and falling down behind as a shade.
1859 DICKENS in All Year Round 30 July 332/1 A ‘Puggery’ is a long slip of white muslin which is bound round the hat and formed into a fantastic bow, with tails behind. 1866 Cornh. Mag. Dec. 741 A silk coat, a puggree, boots, and white cords, adorned the wealthier. 1885 Times 20 Feb. 6/1 Officers and men were attired in red serge tunics,..sun helmets and puggarees. 1901 B. SHAW Three Plays for Purit., Capt. Brassbound I. 215 He wears the sun helmet and pagri, the neutral-tinted spectacles, and the white canvas Spanish sand shoes.

3. attrib., as puggree-cloth.
1934 [see DRILL n.5]. 1978 ‘M. M. KAYE’ Far Pavilions vi. 98 She slept soundly..tied to him by a length of pagri (turban) cloth that prevented her from falling.

Hence pugg(a)reed a., covered with or wearing a puggree.
1881 MRS. C. PRAED Policy &amp; P. I. 13 A broad-brimmed puggareed hat. 1900 Daily News 1 Aug. 3/1 A graceful wave of his green, puggareed soft slouch hat.

Cabriolet

[a. F. cabriolet, deriv. of cabriole, so called from its elastic bounding motion.]

1. a. A light two-wheeled chaise drawn by one horse, having a large hood of wood or leather, and an ample apron to cover the lap and legs of the occupant. Contracted by 1830 to CAB, and in later times applied to any vehicle known by that name. Also, the top or open section of a carriage. b. A motor car with fixed sides and a folding top.

2. A bonnet or hat shaped like a cabriolet.
1771 H. WALPOLE Let. 31 July (1904) 63, I have bespoken two cabriolets for her, instead of six, because I think them very dear. 1923 Daily Mail 22 June 11 Cabriolet hats are in fashion again… With a cabriolet you must have ribbon streamers falling over one shoulder.

Marcel Wave

[< the name of François Marcel Grateau (1852-1936), French hairdresser who invented the method.]

I. Compounds.

1. marcel wave, a deep artificial wave in the hair produced by heated curling tongs also fig.
1895 in N. &amp; Q. (1941) 6 Sept. 129/1 (advt.) Experts in the Marcel and Last Vienna Wave. 1908 Smart Set Sept. 86/1 And when she ‘comes to’, her Marcelle wave is straight as a shad. 1909 ‘O. HENRY’ Roads of Destiny iv. 62 Man, what do you suppose she did? Loosened up like a Marcel wave in the surf at Coney. 1930 R. MACAULAY Staying with Relations xvi. 226 Little marcel waves lapped at the Eugenia′s white sides as she lay at anchor in the San José harbour. 1934 E. SITWELL Aspects Mod. Poetry i. 11 Mr. Austin Dobson, and his Marcel Waves, the wriggling, giggling horrors of his Triolets and other imitations of French forms. 1986 R. FRAME Long Weekend (1988) 121 Her thinning grey hair had been finger set in marcel waves.

2. marcel-waver, -waving; marcel-waved adj.
1923 Chambers′s Jrnl. Sept. 568/1 She could lie without turning one of her exquisitely *marcel-waved hairs. 1968 Times 30 Jan. 9/7 Your head is frizzed or Marcel-waved. 1974 Daily Tel. 7 Aug. 11/2 This drawing-room comedy of 1931 has been carefully resuscitated..with wind-up gramophone, a marcel-waved heroine and snip~snap jokes. 1989 Observer 12 Feb. 36/4 Montana’s models, with the occasional lock of hair stiffly Marcel waved or threaded with ribbon, looked like a party of Greek gods just back from a successful week at the health farm.

1908 ‘O. HENRY’ Gentle Grafter 62 A combination steak beater, shoe horn, *marcel waver. 1925 Daily Tel. 13 May 20/5 (advt.) Expert Marcel Waver and Manicurist.

1925 Daily Tel. 13 May 20/5 (advt.) *Marcel and water waving. 1932 L. GOLDING Magnolia St. III. iii. 508 They were masters of the latest methods of permanent marcel, water and finger waving. 1974 Observer 24 Nov. 29/6 There’s a lady in Wellington, New Zealand, who was still doing marcel waving from the first time round when it came back again. 1990 Hair Oct.-Nov. 10/1 Based on marcel waving, a perming technique called retro-wave creates this effect.

II. Simple uses.

3. = marcel wave, sense 1.
1921 H. C. WITWER Leather Pushers x. 268 I’m gonna shoot a fight today that will put a permanent marcel in their hair! 1926 Glasgow Herald 25 Sept. 9 It began to rain… Many a beautiful marcel was sacrificed to save a masterpiece of millinery. 1964 L. HAIRSTON in J. H. Clarke Harlem 285 The waves in my hair done unstrung… I..called Sonny for an appointment; I had to have a marcel! 1979 W. KENNEDY Ironweed vi. 178 Her dark-brown hair, cut short, was waved in a soft marcel.

Psyche Knot

[a. Gr. (in L. ps ch ) breath, f. to breathe, to blow, (later) to cool; hence, life (identified with or indicated by the breath); the animating principle in man and other living beings, the source of all vital activities, rational or irrational, the soul or spirit, in distinction from its material vehicle, the or body; sometimes considered as capable of persisting in a disembodied state after separation from the body at death.

In Mythology, personified as in 1c. By Plato and other philosophers extended to the anima mundi, conceived to animate the general system of the universe, as the soul animates the individual organism. By St. Paul (developing a current Jewish distinction between rua , , spirit or breath, and nephesh, , soul) used for the lower or merely natural life of man, shared with other animals, in contrast with the or spirit, conceived as a higher element due to divine influence supervening upon the original constitution of unregenerate human nature: see PSYCHIC a. 2, PSYCHICAL 2. (For this and other developments in pre-Christian Judaism, and the N.T. writings, see R. H. Charles, Hist. of the Doctrine of a Future Life, 1899.)]

1. The soul, or spirit, as distinguished from the body; the mind.
1658 SIR T. BROWNE Hydriot. iv. 61 Why the Psyche or soul of Tiresias is of the masculine gender. 1794 SULLIVAN View Nat. II. 279 The two essentials in the composition of all sublunary things were, by the ancient Greeks, termed psyche and hyle, that is, spiritus et materia, soul and body. 1877 tr. Virchow in Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) II. xv. 407 If I explain attraction and repulsion as exhibitions of mind, as psychical phenomena, I simply throw the Psyche out of the window, and the Psyche ceases to be a Psyche. 1879 LEWES Study Psychol. 73 The most accredited [ancient] thinkers not only detached Man from Nature, but the Mind from the Organism; they invented a Psyche as the source of all mental phenomena. 1888 New Princeton Rev. Mar. 272 Psychology is the science of the psyche or soul. 1896 P. GARDNER Sculptured Tombs Hellas 24 The psyche, to Homer, is not in the least like the Christian Soul, but is a shadowy double of the man, wanting alike in force and wisdom. 1905 E. J. DILLON in Contemp. Rev. Aug. 287 It is difficult to realise the position and to picture the psyche of Rozhdestvensky [the Russian admiral who fired on the North Sea fishing fleet].

b. The animating principle of the universe as a whole, the soul of the world or anima mundi.
1647 H. MORE Song of Soul Notes 138/2 Such is the entrance of Psyche into the body of the Vniverse, kindling and exciting the dead mist. 1678 CUDWORTH Intell. Syst. I. iv. §21. 388 This is taken by Plotinus to be the Eternal Psyche, that actively produceth All Things, in this Lower World, according to those Divine Ideas. Ibid. §23. 406 But in other places..he frequently asserts, above the Self~moving Psyche an Immovable and Standing Nous or Intellect, which was properly the Demiurgus.

c. In later Greek Mythol., personified as the beloved of Eros (Cupid or Love), and represented in works of art as having butterfly wings, or as a butterfly known in literature as the heroine of the story related in the Golden Ass of Apuleius. Hence attrib. in sense ‘like that of Psyche’, as in Psyche-knot (of hair), Psyche-mould, Psyche task.
1876 GEO. ELIOT Dan. Der. lxi, In the Psyche-mould of Mirah’s frame there rested a fervid quality of emotion sometimes rashly supposed to require the bulk of a Cleopatra. 1888 A. R. DIEHL Two Thousand Words 170 Psyche knot, the style of wearing the hair in a projecting coil in the middle of the back of the head. 1895 S. B. KENNEDY in Outing (U.S.) Oct. 8/2 Do you think this Psyche knot suits the special cut of my features? 1901 Westm. Gaz. 28 May 2/4 After many Psyche tasks Fate-encumbered now unravelled, Hoping there’s no more to do. 1904 Ibid. 30 Nov. 4/2, I am not quite sure I know what is ‘a Psyche knot’, which was what the lady’s jet-black hair was transformed to. 1968 J. UPDIKE Couples v. 404 Her hair was pinned up in a psyche knot.

Fred Belinsky
www.VillageHatShop.com

Fred Belinsky is the founder and president of The Village Hat Shop. The 4-store California chain is 27 years old. VillageHatShop.com VillageHatShop.com, launched in early 1997, was the first online hat seller. Belinsky also runs Berets.com Berets.com. Private label brands include Jaxon Hats, JaxonHats.com, and sur la tete, the women’s hat line. More of Belinsky’s articles can be seen at his HAT BLOG: Everthing Hats. VillageHatShop.com also publishes THE COWBOY HAT, an ezine featuring short fiction, essays, and poetry about the American West and the Mexican-American Border.

Have you ever walked by a piano and wondered “how can anyone make sense of all those keys?” If that’s you, then you’re going to love this.

Listen, 16 years ago I was in the same boat. You see, I was a guitar player and the thought of actually making music at the piano seemed way out there. In fact, the whole idea that anyone could make heads or tales of all those keys always amazed me.

But, I did enjoy the piano - especially the solo piano music of George Winston. I loved his music and wondered if I could create like that. I then started my journey of musical discovery. At that time, it led me to all my local libraries in the city of San Diego. I hit local libraries, college libraries… anywhere there were books on music.

And do you know what I discovered? Very little! That’s right.

There was a pitiful amount of information available on how to improvise and create your own music. Oh, there were books on how to compose. But most of these authors assumed you already knew counterpoint and other higher-level harmony knowledge taught at colleges.

What a disappointment!. But my luck was about to change. Just by chance, I happened upon a very slim volume at San Diego State University. I forget the name of the title (it was a long time ago) but basically, the book showed you how to play chord changes within a given framework. That framework was something called phrases. Four-bar phrases, eight-bar phrases, etc.

Anyway, playing chords within these phrases taught me how to improvise. How? Because it solved the problem of repetition and contrast! I didn’t have to think about when to change chords or where I would be playing them. The chord chart took care of that! Now all I had to do to improvise and create my own music was to come up with chord changes of my own.

Here’s the thing… learning how to play chords is the first step towards creative piano playing. But you also have to know what to do with these chords. The chord chart solves this problem and gives you a template upon which you can chart out your own unique arrangements!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html now and get a FREE piano lesson!

This poem speaks for itself. It was written during the Christmas season just before the one-year anniversary of my father’s death. Though a bit sad, it does remind us of what is truly important in life.

I’ll be home for Christmas, or so the story goes,
is repeated year after year.
Regardless of weather or holiday traffic,
you’ll find your way home clean and clear.

Christmas is one of the times we’re together,
we smile and we talk and we eat.
By the end of the day we’re all stuffed to the gills.
and have trouble even seeing our feet!

We always meet at the homeplace and sit ‘round the tree,
the tradition has gone on for years.
Catch up on the news and what’s happening with us,
and laugh ‘till our eyes fill with tears.

Then we open our presents and show what we got,
what the paper and bows have kept hid.
It’s the one time of year we can let down our guard,
and behave once again like a kid.

Sometimes we’ll do fireworks or rock on the porch,
the weather determines our play.
If the temp is too cold or the sky’s filled with rain,
there are other fun things done today.

Like talking some more, or drinking some Joe,
or thinking of times that are gone.
This day, it reminds us if we don’t stand together,
then we never will stand all alone.

Finally, late in the evening when all things wind down,
we load up our cars and we leave.
But the memories we make on each Christmas day,
are memories that we always will keep.

Now forward your thinking to Christmas that’s here,
this year is not like before.
For you slipped away in January past,
your presence is with us no more.

You won’t be home for Christmas, this year or the next,
only memories to share on this day.
And instead of the laughter and catching up on news,
we find words have become hard to say.

But we want to enjoy it, this time we’re together,
we want to inhale every sight.
We’re reminded how precious that each Christmas day is,
since the snuffing of your spirit’s light.

It seems sort of strange, and also so odd,
to act as if nothing has changed.
When we all must admit in our own unique way,
that our lives have now been rearranged.

We still talk and laugh, and share a great meal together,
all the turkey, the goodies and such.
Yet it all seems so different and somehow not right,
all these things that we once loved so much.

For you won’t be home this Christmas, that’s how it goes,
will be repeated now year after year.
And the things like weather and holiday traffic,
have nothing to do with the cheer.

You won’t be hindered, you cannot be delayed,
for you won’t even be here at all.
No matter our longing or even our wishing,
you won’t ever answer our call.

Can Christmas be the same as it has in years gone by?
Will the pain of your absence not cease?
We can only imagine and hope for the future,
that your life truly ended in peace.

So, while you won’t be home for Christmas, we will for sure,
in spite of the pain and our loss.
For the sadness we feel if we fail to connect,
will not justify the great cost.

Roland Cavanaugh is on staff at a large church serving as the Pastor of Congregational Care and Sr. Adults. He has self-published a book about his late father, “For As Long As I Can.” You can find ordering information amazon.com/gp/product/1597816515/ref=cm_plog_item_link/102-2861005-6918529? here.

Old movie posters were printed using the technique of lithography. In some cases, the posters were even hand painted. Each Hollywood studio had its own characteristic style of poster making. While some were extremely colorful, others were witty, some were bold, and others were subtle. Old movie posters were created as advertising tools. They were a means to attract people to the cinema. Thus, they were printed on normal, even inferior, quality paper. They were rented out to cinema halls, which were expected to return them once the movie left the theatres, or pass them along to the next cinema hall.

These posters were not considered a potential art form and were not preserved or maintained; therefore old movie posters are quite rare. In some cases, there are only a few posters remaining of a certain film, as cinema owners returned the posters for a price. This rarity makes them exclusive and expensive. Collectors might have to spend thousands of dollars for these posters.

However, collectors do not mind paying for these posters because of their value. They are rare and, thus, their resale is extremely profitable. As time passes, their value only increases, making their collection and dealership a very attractive proposition. They also have great aesthetic value and are visually appealing.

Old movie posters can be purchased through dealers or ordered online. It is advisable to learn a little about posters and their prices before purchasing. There are reliable price guides available for this purpose. Prices may depend on how old the posters are as well as on their condition. Most old movie posters might be slightly damaged, depending on their age. It is imperative to ensure the reliability of the dealer, as some of them might sell reproductions for the price of originals. The buyer is advised to look into these factors before buying an old movie poster.

z-Posters.com Posters provides detailed information on Posters, Nature Posters, Movie Posters, Art Posters and more. Posters is affiliated with e-MoviePosters.com Old Movie Posters.

If you listen to the news without the healthy defense of perspective, you can easily begin to think that the world is so crazy happiness is no longer possible or, at least, a highly irresponsible proclivity.

As you well know, from the time we wake up until the time we doze off, the news presents the most egregious outrages it can assemble, as if to demand of us, “With all this mayhem and other craziness going on, how can you dare to be happy?”

Since it would be a sorry world if nobody was happy, we began to think about how to manage the pleasant state and concluded you either have to be very stupid or very smart. Everybody in between is bound to be swamped with the world’s collected and concentrated agony.

Here’s why.

If you’re really just plain stupid, you probably don’t listen to the news much anyway. You long ago gave up on trying to keep up with things you hardly understand anyway.

On the other hand, if you’re even reasonably savvy, you discovered the enormous difference that almost always obtains between the news and your personal life. While bombs and lunatics are always starring in the news and most of the other media that attempt to monopolize your mind, you notice that your personal life is actually generally quite peaceful and, when the reverberations of the news dissipate, still alive with occasions for happiness.

Why, you even find that there are still splendid and, in much of the media, little-regarded values like sincerity, kindness, love and, yes, laughter.

Meanwhile, if you’re not too dumb or intelligent enough, you’re right there on the receiving end of all the outrages the news can whip into a frenzy to engage your rapt reactions and elicit your legion of laments. Result: sorrow, with any hope of happiness long abandoned. ‘

Of course, everyone who reads NewsLaugh is smart enough to keep the news in perspective. Or we wouldn’t have the capacity to laugh at it. Which means, happy or sad, at least we’re primarily responding to the events of our personal lives, instead of

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of

Recently the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, gave some advice to Hispanic immigrants. He told them to turn off the Spanish television programs, stop reading the Spanish newspapers and they will in turn learn English faster. That advice is actually the basic premise of any immersion foreign language program. Immerse yourself in the new language and you will learn it much faster.

In this case though, to learn Spanish you’d want to do exactly what the Hispanic immigrants were doing. Start watching Spanish television exclusively. Read Spanish newspapers or find them online to read. Go to Spanish sections of your town and listen. This will help you to learn proper pronunciation, accent and it will just sink into your head!

Along with doing those immersion activities I also recommend that you have a book or software program to follow. You could of course learn Spanish just by listening and speaking but you need to learn to read Spanish as well as learn to speak Spanish. So a book or program are vital as part of your learning to speak Spanish goal.

A book sounds great but there is a slight problem, there is no interactivity. You can’t learn a living language from a dead book! I would go with something that has audio as part of the package. Not only do you want audio tapes or cds as part of the Spanish program but you want to be able to interact with it as well. That will really help you learn Spanish quickly.

What rocketspanishreview.org/spanish-lessons/ Spanish lessons interactive software program do I recommend to rocketspanishreview.org learn Spanish? It costs less than $100 too! Follow the links to find out.

My husband is the one I write about below. There is nothing more beautiful to me than a sensitive soul and he is certainly one.

“The Writer”

He is the writer of beautiful songs
he strokes out my passions
from evening till dawn
he weaves through my memories
and the playground of life
settles my balance
and evens my tide.

I am an artist, I have a zillion mood swings, I feel everything deeply. Sometimes I let my moods go into “Darkness″ and feel that too. I maintain though that it is impossible to paint or sculpt emotions without feeling them intensely. Sometimes I must admit I need to stand back from the “Darkness″ lest it become my world.

“Darkness″

Uneven … the glow
a glow … supposed
a tool shown to mystery guests
and traveling pests.
Unraveled in harvested moons
your tunes
wrestled tunes
yet oh … my captured wounds.
I wrap them around cellophane hearts
a tour … be proud
somehow lost in a crowd
glasses high
toast to the note-cards
that sort out my mind against hypocrisies

I sort out my mind … in the end

PS
There are days of unregistered rhymes
and they seem to be advancing upon undying darkness.

From “Darkness” into the light I guess that is what the next poem tells. Ahhh the moods of an artist! One day eating chocolate and watching romantic movies to the next day feeling the dark side. Ahhh I love it! Feeling and seeing and putting it all down on canvas or forming images in clay. Without emotions we would be boring I think.

What Changes Us?

What makes us decide ‘one day’…. that ‘this day’ we will do better?

‘This day’ we will smile on everything as if we were seeing it for the first time.
‘This day’ we will take time out for our own selves.
‘This day′ we will climb that emotional mountain that seemed inconceivable ‘yesterday′.
‘This day’ we ‘will′ do what we had only ‘hoped’ we would do ‘before’.

‘This day’ we will FLY.

BE PROUD!

About the Author:

Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
Hawaii, United States

Aloha! I am a figurative artist and Illustrator. If you check out my website you will see that I am very prolific in oils. My paintings are collected worldwide. I also do sculpture; images available upon request. I have illustrated for Hay House Inc. , Neil Davidson, who was considered for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing, and several other publications. I also enjoy story writing and poetry. All of the paintings,stories and poems on my blogs and website are written by me.

Check out my website kathysart.com kathysart.com or one of my blogs at: kathysart.blogspot.com/ kathysart.blogspot.com/

Aloha

If you are considering Spanish as a second, third, or fourth language then you should consider the internet as a learning solution. If you learn to speak Spanish online then you are eliminating many hassles and cutting out certain middlemen. If you learn to speak Spanish online then you learn the language right from your own home, yet you get all of the benefits of a traditional school/college/university education, while saving time, money, and effort.

So, why should you learn to speak Spanish online?

There are certain key benefits to learning to speak Spanish online. Here are just a few of the more important ones:

1. If you learn to speak Spanish online you are learning from home - not a distant school room. You get the education you desire without the hassle of leaving the house. You don’t have to worry about signing up for classes, travel time, travel expenses, school-book expenses, class schedules, or any other hassles that come with the traditional school/university education. Some colleges (like the one I attended) charged $750 dollars per class! And that’s not even including the books, room and board, travel time and expense, and so on. Not to mention the always aggravating and certainly complicated process of registering for a class. At my old college I once stood in line at the registration office for 3 hours just to register for one stinkin’ class. So, to learn to speak Spanish online eliminates the hassles of traditional schooling.

2. Learn to speak Spanish online and you get to learn at your own pace and on your own time. Want to take a lesson at 2 a.m.? What about before work? During a lunch break? After afternoon soaps? After dinner? It’s up to you. With traditional school work you’re on the professor or the teachers time and schedule. What if you need to learn to speak the spanish language quickly? Forget that option if you take a class at a college. With a college course you’re looking at 9 – 12 weeks. If you learn to speak Spanish online you could do it as quickly as you’d like. If it’s a hobby? If you want to take your time? You don’t have a schedule to abide by. Simply learn at your own pace. What if there is something you do not understand? What if something about the course does not make sense to you? No problem, you can go back and redo the lesson, as often as it takes. You would definitely not be able to do this with traditional schooling that is set to a strict schedule.

And if you pick up something very quickly, you move right on to the next lesson.

3. Big one here…If you learn to speak Spanish online you get an excellent education for less. Traditional schooling is very expensive. $750 for me, per class, at my old college. Some local community colleges are cheaper, but they are still more expensive then most online language software courses. So, learn to speak Spanish online and you will save money, time, and effort. It’s that simple.

Now it can get a bit confusing when you actually go to look at different Spanish speak language software courses online. There are quite a few and they vary greatly in price. I’ll try to save you some time and effort by suggesting you look at the Learn to speak Spanish Online Rocket Spanish language software. The Learn to speak Spanish Online Rocket Spanish Language software is a proven system and they are well known for providing excellent Spanish courses. It is the one I eventually went with (after a huge amount of time spent researching) and it was incredibly effective. Plus its price is fantastic for the great material provided.

I hope this article has been very helpful to you in your quest to discover the Spanish language. I chose to learn to speak Spanish online because of the ease of use, effectiveness of the Learn to Speak Spanish Online Rocket Spanish Online software, and the convenience of being able to learn to speak Spanish online, from the comfort of my own home.

My name is Bill Allen. I am a College Professor and live in Dayton, Ohio. If you are seriously considering learning Spanish you should choose Rocket Spanish as your online language tool because it’s inexpensive compared to traditional schooling, it’s easy, and you can learn from the comfort of your own home. I’ve had great success with it and I know you will to. Click Here hardworkingcommunications.com/html/untitle✤.html www.hardworkingcommunications.com/html/untitle✤.html to learn more about Rocket Spanish

Music and romance have a long standing shared history that extends right through our culture. It is thought that the earliest examples of music, as with many art forms, were created for ritual purposes and one of the stock ritual form common to all human cultures is the marriage or union ritual. Music’s contribution to these early rituals would have been to bring the various participants closer together; rituals have primarily a social function, validating and concreting certain truths that uphold the social order, such as the creation of a family unit within the larger tribal context. The power of these rituals in early cultures is often greatly enhanced by the addition of a unifying influence such as repetitive rhythmic music, which helps to establish a common mood and set the emotional bar.

The use of music for rituals and rites of passage such as marriage has survived, albeit in somewhat more sedate form, into the modern day. Perhaps closer in spirit to the ancient tribal rituals, however, is the modern day nightclub environment in which, repetitive rhythmic music and mind altering substances are used to create an alternative reality in which the individual is subsumed by a larger, tribal mentality. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many people choose these venues as the place to carry out their own courtship rituals.

Of course, music has long had a more sophisticated and genteel relationship with romance. Whether you like it or not, love is one of the driving forces behind the production of great art throughout the ages, and music is no exception. From the beginnings of folk music, through the great romantic composers to the modern charts (look at the top 10 next time you get the chance and see how many love songs you can count) love and music enjoy a reciprocal relationship, each feeding the other inspiration, drive and momentum. From the rawest of rock music to the most sophisticated and delicately executed classical opus, from the basest of sexual instinct to the finest and most gently expressed romantic sentiment, for every stage of the romantic spectrum there is a corresponding musical counterpart.

Croydon J Hounslow works for