Monday, September 18, 2006

Come, Read With Me!

"Books"

By Eleanor Farjeon

What worlds of wonder are our books!
As one opens them and looks,
New ideas and people rise
In our fancies and our eyes.

The room we sit in melts away,
And we find ourselves at play
With some one who, before the end,
May become our chosen friend.

Or we sail along the page
To some other land or age.
Here's our body in the chair,
But our mind is over there.

Each book is a magic box
Which with a touch a child unlocks.
In between their outside covers
Books hold all things for their lovers.


Come Meet my new Friend, Eleanor Farjeon!:

“ELEANOR FARJEON (1881-1965) grew up in England in a house filled with books, and she and her brothers enjoyed reading stories to one another and writing their own. In America, Farjeon’s best-known work may be the hymn "Morning Has Broken," later recorded by Cat Stevens. Farjeon was pleased when The Little Bookroom won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Carnegie Medal, but she turned down another honor—Dame of the British Empire—explaining that she "did not wish to become different from the milkman." At her death, the Children’s Book Circle established the Eleanor Farjeon Award in her honor.” ~Amazon.com Editorial Reviews/About the Author

Morning Has Broken
As sung by Cat Stevens
lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall, on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where his feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day


Eleanor Farjeon is described as been small, shy and quiet, and she wore glasses from the age of eight. Her parents contributed much to her career as a writer and poet. She had a vigorous imaginary life, especially with her older brother Harry (who became a composer). Though very shy and emotionally immature into her thirties, she was well acquainted with a circle of talented artists, writers and musicians. Eleanor Farjeon was a writer and poet and playwright.©

Here, let me introduce you to Eleanor Farjeon’s Family:

Her father, Benjamin Leopold Farjeon was a successful writer and novelist©

Maggie (Jefferson) Farjeon, her mother, was the daughter of a well known American actor (his father and grandfather were also actors)©

She had three brothers: Harry Farjeon (who became a composer), Joseph Farjeon and Herbert Farjeon (who were writers); she was 2nd in rank in the family.©

And these are some of Eleanor Farjeon’s Friends, (She was a friend of many poets, etc.):

D.H. Lawrence, Walter de la Mare, Robert Frost, and his close friend Edward Thomas©

Eleanor Farjeon’s Bragging Rights:

©Awards Received:
Library Association Carnegie Medal of Great Britain, 1956
Hans Christian Anderson International Medal, 1956
Catholic Library Regina Medal of America, 1959
Children's Book Circle created the Eleanor Farjeon Award in her memory.
Piddock Day in NYC - a celebration based on one of her stories.


All About Eleanor Farjeon’s Work:

The stories and other writings of Eleanor Farjeon include for children: 30 works of fiction, most were collections of stories; three plays based on fairy tales, 33 publications of verse, and eight other books. Writings for adults included 11 novels, as well as plays, verse, and biography. Most are probably hard to find, though a number of her collections of stories were reprinted in the 1950's.©

(Please note the above text, marked © (about this wonderfully, delightful Author) were copied from Barry McWilliams - Eleanor Farjeon: A Story Writer. There you will find fantastic illustrations, many excellent links, especially links about Eleanor Farjeon’s Family and Friends.

The Reunion:

In 1955, The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon was originally published. In 2003, the New York Review of Books (New York Review Books ) reprinted this book. “In The Little Bookroom, Eleanor Farjeon mischievously tilts our workaday world to reveal its wonders and follies. Her selection of her favorite stories describes powerful—and sometimes exceedingly silly—monarchs, and commoners who are every bit their match; musicians and dancers who live for aft rather than earthly reward; and a goldfish who wishes to "marry the Moon, surpass the Sun, and possess the World." -Book Description

One of the many places The Little Bookroom can be purchased is at Powell’s Books, where ‘Your’ comments on Eleanor Farjeon’s book or many other books could give you a chance to win books from Powell’s Books.

Thanks for coming by ‘binding ink’ to read with me and making the acquaintance of our new Friend, Eleanor Farjeon.

Here's to the Kid in us All!

Saturday, September 16, 2006

An Appeal to Save Life on Earth

(In the LowCountry, SC) I was listening to the radio station; WJWJ-FM: 89.9, ETV Radio in partnership with Classical NPR News Station. “NPR (National Public Radio) is an internationally acclaimed producer and distributor of noncommercial news, talk, and entertainment programming.” NPR includes News, Politics & Society, Business, People & Places, Health & Science, Books, Music, Arts & Culture, Diversions, and Opinion. 'NPR.org provides years of archived show information', including many popular public radio programs; for instance Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, Weekend Edition Saturday, World Café, etc. and numerous other Programs. NPR also incorporates streaming Audio, Podcasting , and RSS News Feeds .

There is a simple form on NPRs’ website to find your local Radio Station or you can read the pdf version for a list of NPR Radio Stations in your area.

On September 8, 2006 I was listening to NPR radio broadcast, Talk of the Nation. Publicized as, “Biologist and Writer Edward O. Wilson talks about his new book The Creation. Wilson's appeal to preserve biodiversity is written in the form of letters to a Southern Baptist minister.”

NPR Transcripts Sample IRA FLATOW :

“IRA FLATOW, host: For the rest of the hour: science, religion and finding common ground. Is caring for the environment a matter of being a Democrat or a Republican, a liberal or a conservative, a Christian or a non believer? Can preserving biodiversity or finding global warming be something that all of us can work toward together?

My next guest thinks so – he certainly does, or more accurately he says we must work together. While admitting that he is a non believer,..”

(Some transcription by me from the actual broadcast):

Flatow: You seem to believe, based on what you write in your book, Everyone needs to spend time with nature. You write, Many people seem content to live entirely in this synthetic ecosystems. This in my mind is a conversion; it’s not in the human nature to be cattled and glorified in feed lines.

Wilson: Animals we raise in feed lots and take note that they seem to be contented, their not complaining very much. The animals raised in feed lots are very far from the full animal. They are not behaving; they are not working out their life cycle in the matters programmed into their brains and into the course of their developing physiology. ...Their is enough evidence that Human beings need nature, they need wild environments, they need at least pastoral environments, duplicating the early habitats of human beings in order to develop fully.

Here is the link to the complete audio boardcast or you can go to the NPR website.

From my research, I've learned; “Edward O. Wilson is a Professor and Curator of Entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. He has conducted field research throughout the world and written more than twenty books…” The New York Public Library

E. O. Wilson’s latest book is titled, “The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth’. Ira Flatow’s name for the broadcast is, “Bridging Science and Religion”. However; the ultimate question already asked by NYPL is, “ Can we come together with our differing religious and scientific viewpoints to ensure our continued survival as a planet”?

What is your answer?

Monday, September 11, 2006

September 11, A Moment of Silence For This Day

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.--- Max Ehrmann, 1927 from the poem Desiderata:

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Blogger in Beta - Beware!

Mystery solved! Thanks to Rhubard!

The foreign language I thought was in my Blog Post edit isn't bad! From Rhubard:

It's just standard "dummy text." Filler, if you will. See
Lipsum for more information.

Rhubard

Hey Readers, Rhubarb's sight has lots of "HELPFUL PICASA LINKS".


October 1, 2006

What the tee-total heck! I went into my layout - Add and Arrange Page Elements. Under Blog Post edit the post body has this:

Post Body
Lorem ipsum vim ut utroque mandamus intellegebat, ut eam omittam ancillae sadipscing, per et eius soluta veritus.

I hope that foreign language isn't saying anything bad or full of curse words! Does anyone know what it says? Or why it is in a foreign language?

Does anyone elses Blog Post edit say this?

September 27, 2006
The 404 errors continued sporadically, especially linking to individual posts. On Sun, 24 Sep 2006, I again went to Talk To Us and filled out the form. Although the problem was again resolved immediately; today-three days later, The Blogger Team was at least nice to e-mail me the following:

Thanks for letting us know about this bug with Blogger in beta. We'll look into it and hope to have it fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.

Also today, the test Comment I posted on my Blog, Saturday, September 23, 2006 finally arrived in my e-mail for my moderation. Well, at least we know that the ‘Blogger Team’ is working vigilantly on the glitches involved with the Blogger in Beta, while being courteous enough to acknowledge us Guinea Pigs.

No sooner then I posted this and went to view my blog, guess what! Yes:

The page cannot be found
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please try the following:

If you typed the page address in the Address bar, make sure that it is spelled correctly.

Open the bindingink.blogspot.com home page, and then look for links to the information you want.
Click the Back button to try another link.
Click Search to look for information on the Internet.



HTTP 404 - File not found
Internet Explorer
--------------------------------------------------------------------
BBB!

September 22, 2006 Blogger in beta Beware update:

Glitches continue as several 404 Errors are displayed. Have you gone to your Blog site only to find the 404 message? What are our Readers to think, we've abandoned them! When will Google ever resolve this!

Every time I see the 404 Error, I immediately go to Talk To Us and fill out the form. The problem is resolved within minutes. Only for the exact same issue to occur again and again!

Original Post (September 09, 2006):

We know wwww. However; are you familiar with the three b's? Well; after reading my below post, you'll understand why I call this new version, BBB (Blogger in Beta Beware):

Wow, what a stressful week! Some people under similar circumstances have said, if one more thing happens, I’m going to totally loose it. Unsure what that means; without a doubt, I was about to find out. For the straw that broke the camels’ back came at me from a bundle of hay spun in cow manure and left out in the pastures to bake in the hot sunlight for weeks. The straw pierced my last fragile nerve, however; guess what! I didn’t loose it! Someway instinctively, as if a matter of survival; I knew to just hang on. Because realistically, my familiar world wasn’t in fact ending; it just felt that way. Kinda like the kids’ poem Lion Hunt or various other versions Bear Hunt…:

“…Can't go under it
Can't go around it
Have to go through it…”

So what happened? The worse case scenario, an alert for all Readers, especially us Blog inkers. Blogger has a new version in the makings, currently available as Blogger in beta, combining all your Google accounts, e-mail, groups, Blog, etc. into one Google grasp. I read the information; basically all Blogger accounts will sooner or later, be switched over to the new version. In view of that, I decided to enroll now. Then out of the blue, I forgot my Password! I could not log in to my Blog! No, I didn’t have my password written down somewhere. How many of us really do that any how. Plus, if the password were written down, I without doubt would just as likely have problems remembering where I put that piece of paper. Besides, with the original Blogger, this had never been a problem. So I requested assistance from Blogger, only to receive this in my e-mail, “This account has already been switched to the new version of Blogger in beta. Please remember, to access your dashboard you will need to use your Google Account and password to sign in. If you need help with your Google Account password, please click on the following link: http://beta.blogger.com/forgot.g. Sincerely, The Blogger Team”.

Yikes! That didn’t sound good and sure enough, it wasn’t. According to Google password recovery procedures, “We've sent instructions to the secondary email address you provided during signup. If you don't have a secondary email address, or if you no longer have access to that account, please try the 'Forgot your password?' link again after five days. At that point, you'll be able to reset your password by answering the security question you provided when you created your account. To prevent someone from trying to break into an account you're actively using, the security question is only used for account recovery after an account has been idle for five days. The Gmail team cannot waive the five day requirement or access your password under any circumstances. If you're unable to answer your security question or access your secondary email account, we regret that the Gmail team cannot provide further assistance.”

What! I never provided a secondary e-mail address when I signed up for Gmail. In addition, what if that was my only e-mail account, why would I have a secondary e-mail address? Five day waiting period! Furthermore; I can’t remember my password and they want me to remember the answer to my Security question! The Gmail team regrets that they cannot provide further assistance, how about my regrets. My Blog gone forever! Death via absent mindedness, how devastating.

Preparing for the ultimate demise, I asked my Roommate to suggest a name for my new Blog. Answer, unbinding ink. Not funny. However; before retiring for the night I prayed, God please help me remember my password. I usually don't get small Prayers answered. Or as the saying goes, God answers all Prayers, if it seems like a Prayer wasn’t answered, then the reply was most likely, no. Well I at least asked. And I kid you not, right before waking up, I saw a vision of the last time I logged onto my Blog, Sept. 4. I knew my password! I got up - wrote it down, turned on the computer. I almost was like, well this isn't going to be the password either, who am I kidding. Oh us Doubting Toms, Pessimists. This was indeed my password! Could I take this as a sign that God means for me to write, or is at least supportive of my writing? Oh, good old serendipity! I’ll leave that for another posting. Meanwhile; I highly suggest, do have and always provide a secondary e-mail address! Do write your passwords down, some place secure and where you can find them quickly. After all, God is busy!

Wow, what a stressful week! Please, could a Reader pass me the ice cream! Thanks!

Known Issues for Blogger in Beta

The latest on what's still a problem, what's getting fixed, and what's been taken care of, direct from the Blogger team.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Oppodeldocho,Goosetherumfoodle... Who is this Famous Author?!?

Oppodeldoc,'Snob,'Rowdy-Dow,'the 'Lollipop,'the 'Goosetherumfoodle',Mr. Crab,Mr. Slyass,Mumblethumb,Fatquack,Mrs. Fibalittle,the "Owl,"the "Toad" and the "Mole". Which American legendary Author compiled these names?

“'Oppodeldoc,'–thus desecrating the greatness of the illustrious Roman emperor so named and 'Snob' is the nom de plume of Mr. Thingum Bob.” All originating in the Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq. (1850) by Edgar Allan Poe, of course.

Conceivably, many may better recognize this renowned Author via these lines:

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door;
Only this, and nothing more."

With that example; combined with the following, could Poe himself – not his works, be best described as macabre?


A Predicament
by Edgar Allan Poe
(1809-1849)

“My eyes, from the cruel pressure of the machine, were absolutely starting from their sockets. While I was thinking how I should possibly manage without them, one actually tumbled out of my head, and, rolling down the steep side of the steeple, lodged in the rain gutter which ran along the eaves of the main building. The loss of the eye was not so much as the insolent air of independence and contempt with which it regarded me after it was out. There it lay in the gutter just under my nose, and the airs it gave itself would have been ridiculous had they not been disgusting. Such a winking and blinking were never before seen. This behavior on the part of my eye in the gutter was not only irritating on account of its manifest insolence and shameful ingratitude, but was also exceedingly inconvenient on account of the sympathy which always exists between two eyes of the same head, however far apart. I was forced, in a manner, to wink and to blink, whether I would or not, in exact concert with the scoundrelly thing that lay just under my nose. I was presently relieved, however, by the dropping out of the other eye. In falling it took the same direction (possibly a concerted plot) as its fellow. Both rolled out of the gutter together, and in truth I was very glad to get rid of them.”

Macabre is "a term applied to a type of artistic or literary works, characterized by a grim or ghastly atmosphere. In these works, there is an emphasis on the details and symbols of death.” I might tend to agree with this description for Poe, except as a Writer, many of us can relate to the manuscript chaptered symbolic synonyms, the poetic dance by means of the pen betweenst romance and death. As well as an Artist with brush and canvas."~Wikipedia

Then how about describing Edgar Allan Poe as a Scientist?

Well, there is a website called Poe Decoder. “The Poe Decoder is a project started by a small group of Poe enthusiasts to make criticism and information on Poe and his work available on the Internet. The growing collection of essays in the Poe Decoder is written by qualified people with a great interest in Edgar Allan Poe. We want to provide you with accurate facts on one of the greatest American writers ever, and once and for all put an end to all the lies and rumors that surround his person.”

At Poe Decoder, is Juan Lartigue G.’s, Edgar Allan Poe and Science: A Cosmic Poet.
“The literary talent of Edgar Allan Poe is beyond dispute, but his activity in the scientific area (condensed in Eureka) has been sadly neglected or ignored. Only recently have some researchers undertaken the labor of re-evaluating it. This recent re-evaluation is long overdue, especially, those propositions related to Cosmology. This paper purposes extensions of those propositions, as well as additional commentary, relating, in particular, to Chemistry.”

In Eureka, Poe writes: "I design to speak of the Physical, Metaphysical and Mathematical—of the Material and Spiritual Universe: - of its Essence, its Origin, its Creation, its Present Condition and its Destiny" (Poe 1).

The publication by Juan Lartigue G. covers:

Decoding Eureka: Propositions previously discussed
1) On the Origin of the Universe
2) The Big Bang, the Expanding Universe and the Mind of God
3) Poe Anticipates Relativity
4) Poe Contemplates Other Universes
5) Poe Foresees Modern Cosmologists’ Black Holes and The Big Crunch
6) Successive Universes

Decoding Eureka: "New" Propositions
7) Extra-Solar Planets
8) The Non-Existence of the Material Ether
9) Chemical Affinity
10) Molecular Structure
11) Planetary Model of the Atom
12) A Strange Comparison


On my rummaging around to find one word to portray such an extraordinarily talented Author, I’ve also taken into consideration the mystery of his death. Did Poe die from drugs, alcohol, rabies???

According to a 1996 Releases - University of Maryland Medical News

“In an analysis almost 147 years after his death, doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center believe that writer Edgar Allan Poe may have died as a result of rabies, not from complications of alcoholism. Poe's medical case was reviewed by R. Michael Benitez, M.D., a cardiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. His review is published in the September 1996 issue of Maryland Medical Journal.”

"No one can say conclusively that Poe died of rabies, since there was no autopsy after his death," says Dr. Benitez, who is also an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "But the historical accounts of Poe's condition in the hospital a few days before his death point to a strong possibility that he had rabies."

Regardless of the ‘how’, isn’t it bizarre that Poe died as mad as he depicted himself to be in his writing? Still his legendary self lives on, even in music.


For example, Joan by Baez, Joan

Whence a Reviewer: Lawyeraau wrote:

“Edgar Allen Poe's poem "Annabel Lee", a lamentation about the death of a young woman, put to music and sung by Ms. Baez, is absolutely haunting and one of the best tracks on this cd. Her sweet, true soprano makes its poetic beauty soar and come to
life. It is an absolutely beautiful track and part of her early concert repertory. "North", a haunting poem about a search for a lost love, put to music and sung by Ms. Baez, is memorable.”

Several places on the net suggest Judy Collin also sung the song Annabel Lee.. However; I never found any supporting documents. Should anyone know a link to the CD, please let us know ~Thanks! Meanwhile; I did find some fantastic children’s’ songs and lullabies by Judy Collin! Baby’s Bedtime, 27 enchanting lullabies and Baby’s Morningtime, songs and poems sung by Judy Collin including The Pancake, The Violet, Twinkle Toes…

In conclusion, maybe there isn’t one word to depict Edgar Allan Poe. Perhaps the finest description is by Wikipedia:

“Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of the macabre, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to narrative forms of the emergent science fiction genre.”

Facebook

Featured Post

I Believe

I believe above is reserved for the Sun, Clouds, and doves Moon and Stars, planets like Mars And if I could stretch beyond the blue, per...