Month: December 2014
Angry Nursing Home Poem
Capitalism will leave you
penniless
sitting in dried poop
pressing a plastic button
press the button
“NURSE! NURSE FIRE FIRE FIRE!
nurse for a hundred dried poops
poor poor nurse
can’t call doctor for five hundred
went to school for this
poor poor nurse
press the button
while a smiling social worker
smiles sweetly at the family
and gives them all the right
answers
smile social worker
smile
be sure the team
cleans the dry poop
before the
ambulance arrives
based on true story………………..david michael jackson
Hafnium, poem from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series by Chicago poet Janet Kuypers
Hafnium
Janet Kuypers
(poem from the “Periodic Table of Poetry” series, #72, Hf)
6/27/14
I heard that the element Hafnium
is named after the literal Latin word hafnium,
which is Latin for Copenhagen,
the capital of Denmark.
And you know, I’ve been to Copenhagen,
and the one touristy thing we had to do
was go to the waterfront
to see the legendary statue
of the Mermaid on the rock,
and photograph it like every foreigner
before we left town.
So we walked to the water,
looked at the statue.
Not really sure
what’s so amazing about it;
it’s not that big,
I don’t even know the story behind it.
But everyone new to Copenhagen
should, for some reason,
check it out.
And the more I thought about it,
the more I realized that the element Hafnium
(named after the city where it was first isolated)
had a lot in common with that mermaid.
Because at first impression
(and when it was first discovered),
the element doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose.
Good thing, I suppose,
since it seems so rare
on this planet…
But as scientists looked at Hafnium more,
they realized it can form super-alloys,
which withstand very high temperatures
(which is great for parts for space vehicles),
Hafnium carbide has the highest melting point
of just two elements (and a Tungsten carbide
with Hafnium has the highest melting point).
But it’s scarcity makes Hafnium expensive –
because I heard that nuclear power plants
can pay a million dollars
just for the neutron absorbing Hafnium rods
So I guess it would make sense
why scientists consider Hafnium
as special as that little mermaid
at Copenhagen’s water’s edge.
Because things may seen benign at first,
but only when you search deeply
do you find their true value and beauty.
Togliatti Dog
You have to admire a place that honors a dog so much, the dog gets a statue. Togliatti, Russia. here’s the story:
At the crossing of the South Road and Lev Yashin street the Monument of loyalty is set up: a dog sits on the bronze pedestal. This modest monument has not appeared here accidentally, it was an absolutely real dog, which had been waiting for its owner’s car on the same place for 7 years. This dog’s story has become the city legend: the dog’s owners tragically had died in an auto accident, but the dog could not accept its loss and settled down on the roadside. With a joyful bark he greeted every car which was going by. The citizens called the dog “Constantine” what means “loyal, faithful”, and after its death the monument to dog’s faith and loyalty was established on this place. The pose of the dog expresses the expectation, it is looking into the distance, towards the road where it had been waiting for his owners for seven years.
…….Dandelion De La Rue
Try Win or Lose
To win is to try and fail also.
There is no real success except to try.
Trying is the success.
To lose is to not try.
Music Live16synth by Dave Jackson and Andy Derryberry
Stones River Country Club
Scene from the Greenway in Murfreesboro, Tennessee across the river. This and all greenways are a joy for the cities and this small Tennessee town has one of the best.
48″ x 36″ Linen on gallery wrapped stretchers
2014
David Michael Jackson
I’ve continued to work on this painting a bit since posting this, but it hasn’t changed much. It’s a perfect motif. The colors are orange and blue which is perfect for impressionism. The winter provides a look at beautiful Bermuda grass through the trees. The country club in the distance helps create depth and the reflection of the sky and trees, I find exciting.