Here is an updated list of my Howling at the Moon poems, published on the wolf moon night.
Index
Howling at the Full Wolf Moon
Howling at the Moon Tanka
Secret Werewolf
Howling at the Blood Moon
On a Moonlit late-night
Howling at the Moon
Lunatic howling at the moon
One Crazy Moonlit Night
Full Moon Lunacy
The Pink Moon Inspires Lunacy
Howling with the dancing moon
The Pink Super Moon
Wolves howling at the moon
Woman Howling At The Moon
Maria Lee Off Balanced Madness
Moonbeam
Articles
Howling at the Full Wolf Moon
Sam Adams
went out drinking one night
ending up twenty drinks too sober
as the last call for alcohol rang
he looked up and saw
the lunatic light of the full moon
moonbeams beaming at him
he runs outside
howling at the moon
dying
When a drunk driver
ran him over.
Howling at the Wolf Moon Rising Over the Chao Praya River
As evening set in
On a typical Friday night
In Bangkok.
The denizens
of the cosmos bar
In Soi Cowboy.
A motley crew
from all over
The world, and locals too.
Lust the common
International language.
Began drinking
With their buddies.
the notorious
Jack Daniels Gang
Drinking with Mr. Daniels and his friends
Jim Baker, Jim Beam, Mr. Blanton
Mr. Booker, Elijah Craig, Jack Daniels
George Dickel, Thomas H. Handy, Basil Haydens
Henry McKenna, Old Mr. Forester, Mr. Jameson
Mr. Nester, David Nichols, Benjamin Prichard,
George T. Stagg, Colonel E.H. Taylor, Johny Walker,
Evans Williams, W.L. Weller, Pappy Van Winkle,
and his Old Grand Dad.
Drinking one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer.
As the destroyers
Sang on the loudspeakers
And porno played on the TV.
And naked women danced
With an attitude
That could kill
An elephant in heat.
The woman
circling the bar
Looking
for their eventual dates.
The scent of bad craziness
Hung in the air.
The wolf moon rose
In the sky
Over the Chao Praya River.
Casting its lunatic light
On the never-sleeping
City of lost angels.
The drinkers
20 drinks too sober
Ran out into the street.
The lunatic light
Of the full wolf moon
Transforming them
Into deranged lunatics.
They began
Howling at the moon.
Like escaped banshees
Freed from their alyssum
In hell.
They howled at the moon
As the moon continued
To overwhelm
The howling lunatics.
Howling At Wolf Moon Nocturna
Drinkers in the Cosmos Bar,
Twenty drinks too sober,
Staring at the lunar star,
Rising over the river.
On that night in October.
Running outside looking upriver,
Howling at the full wolf moon.
No longer stone-sober,
Will be very drunk soon.
Basset Puppy Howling At The Moon
In the late afternoon shadow
the red sunset darkening the sky
the basset hound puppy.
.
Stirs and gets up
hearing the distant sounds
of the train in the distance.
Scenting bad craziness
in the air
The dog begins
to howl in the night.
Howling as the moon rises
casting its lunatic light
on the mad scene.
Deranged lunatic dog
inspired to howl
When he sees
The super blue moon
The Pink Super Moon Tanka
More Pink Moon
The pink super moon
casts a cold baleful glow
over the sleeping world
inspiring the drunken men
to howl at the moon
Drunken Old Man Howling At The Moon
lovers in the moon light
A drunken old man down on his luck
was drinking in a nameless bar
in a disreputable, forgotten part of town
where decent citizens, and police feared to tread.
Twenty drinks too sober
he was drinking his way to hell
surrounded by his fellow low-life bums
outlaw scoundrels one and all
he looked outside
transfixed by the full moon
the lunatic light of the
Blood red super moon
inspired him compelled him
he stood up and growled
and ran out into the street
and started howling
at the full moon
the other denizens of the bar
the derelicts, drunken bums, barflies
rushed out and joined him
in howling at the moon
went back inside
and continued to drink
their way to hell.
Howling At The Full Moon In Bangkok
Sam Adams was feeling blue, down on his luck. He went to his favorite watering hole, the CosmosBar in Soi Cowboy, Bangkok, and began drinking with his buddies, the notorious Jack Daniels Gang.
Drinking with Mr. Daniels and his friends, Jim Baker, Jim Beam, Mr. Blanton
Mr. Booker, Elijah Craig, Jack Daniels, George Dickel, Thomas H. Handy, Basil Haydens, Henry McKenna, Old Mr. Forester, Mr. Jameson, Mr. Nester, David Nichols, Benjamin Prichard, George T. Stagg, Colonel E.H. Taylor, Johny Walker, Evans Williams, W.L. Weller, Pappy Van Winkle, and his Old Grand Dad.
Drinking one scotch, one bourbon, and one beer.
Drinking it all down, barely noticing the naked ladies dancing on the stage. Kuhn Lek smiled sadly at him, knowing that there was nothing that would change his mood. He kept drinking until, at last, he was twenty drinks too sober. Then he ordered fried fish Thai style for his midnight dinner.
He looked up and out at the street, noticing the full moon outside. The full moon shed its lunatic light on the streets of Bangkok.
Sam Adams stood up, and said,
The moon is full tonight. Let’s go out and howl at the moon. “
He ran outside onto the road, stripping naked and dancing, waving a feather, as he howled like an escaped banshee at the dancing moon. Inspiring others to join him in howling at the moon. He ran down the street and was run over by a drunk bus driver, ending his life as the moon continued to shine on the mad scene.
Moon over July
Pink Moon
In the middle
of the summer
in July,
midsummer madness
outside under the stars
the storm is abating.
The full moon comes out
The lunatic runs outside
Howling at the
strawberry moon.
Big Daddy Howls at the Moon
Big daddy was talking
to his best friend
Sam Adams
in the Cosmos Bar
in Bangkok, Thailand.
“Sit down and listen
to me.
God,
I wish I had
My yarn and needles with me
that’s my latest hobby
helps me focus.
In the end
it is all about money
it is all about the benjamin’s
nothing personal at all.
Hey, there is cool water in a jar
let’s drink some water
and a shot of Mekong whiskey
it is cocktail time, my friend”.
And as usual
they drank through the night
until o dark hundred.
Twenty drinks too sober.
When they joined
their fellow inmates
in their insane asylum
of a bar.
In going outside
howling like escaped banshees
at the strawberry super full moon
shining its lunatic lights
over the Chao Praya river.
Blame It On The Moon
“Blame it on the moon.”
That is what
Sam Adams said
to the police
after they picked him up
leading a pack of rabid
“farang”
men and woman
running naked down the street.
They had met in front
of the infamous Cosmos Bar
in notorious Bangkok
at o dark hundred.
They were heading
to the riverbank
when the police arrested them,
for disturbing the peace.
They were all incoherent
just staring at the blood-red
full moon overlooking
the Chao Phraya river.
Looking like escaped banshees
howling at the lunatic lights
of the full super blue moon.
The cops laughed
saying on full moon nights
they had a lot of such incidents
On the night of the blood-red super full moon
I sat in an evil, depraved, godforsaken bar
drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew
washed down by endless rounds of whiskey
rum, tequila, vodka, soju, and of course beer
drinking with my buddies, the Jack Daniel’s gang
drinking my way to hell and beyond
just as fast as I could
Twenty damn drinks too sober
I was a Boy Scout in Berkeley, California during the 1960s and 70s, rising to the rank of Life Scout, serving in Troop 19 and serving as troop leader for five years—much to the chagrin of my younger brother, who didn’t enjoy being bossed around by me! One of my biggest regrets in life is not having become an Eagle Scout, which my younger brother achieved.
Critiques of the Boy Scouts
Criticism from progressive and left-leaning voices has focused on several themes:
Sexism and Gender Segregation
The Boy Scouts historically excluded girls and later introduced a “linked troop” system that critics call a “separate-but-equal regime” designed to appease misogynists rather than promote true inclusion. This system limited coed activities and reinforced gender segregation. Read more here[scoutingmaverick.com]
Racism and Cultural Appropriation
The organization has long been accused of misappropriating Native American traditions through regalia, dances, and names in programs like Order of the Arrow. Indigenous advocates argue these practices perpetuate stereotypes and disrespect cultural heritage. NBC News coverage[nbcnews.com]
Homophobia and Discriminatory Policies
For decades, the Boy Scouts banned gay youth and leaders, a policy upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000). Critics likened this stance to racial discrimination. The ban was lifted only in 2013 (youth) and 2015 (leaders). Analysis on Yale Scholarship[academic.oup.com]
Corporate and Authoritarian Allegations
Some critics frame the Scouts as a “corporate grooming” organization, citing its hierarchical structure, emphasis on obedience, and historical ties to militaristic ideals. These critiques often compare Scouting’s early ethos to nationalist youth movements. Wikipedia overview of controversies[en.wikipedia.org]
Official Responses
The Boy Scouts (now Scouting America) have responded by:
Expanding Inclusivity: Allowing girls (2017–2018), lifting bans on LGBTQ members (2013–2015), and introducing diversity merit badges.
Rebranding: In 2025, the organization changed its name to Scouting America to signal openness to all youth. Leaders emphasized their mission to provide leadership and life skills for every child. Newsweek report[newsweek.com]
Cultural Sensitivity Efforts: Conducting surveys on Native American imagery, though stating traditions will remain with “accuracy and respect.” NBC News[nbcnews.com]
Comparison to Hitler Youth and Authoritarian Youth Groups
Similarities: Both emphasized discipline, outdoor activities, uniforms, and loyalty to ideals. Early Hitler Youth borrowed elements from Scouting to attract boys.
Differences:
Boy Scouts promoted voluntary participation, moral development, and service.
Hitler Youth became mandatory (1936), focused on paramilitary training, ideological indoctrination, and spying on families.
Many years ago, I heard a work aquantaince dismiss someone else as “he’s such a boy scout” as if that was a bad thing. I told him that I resembled that remark as I was a Boy Scout too.
the other day while on a trip to Jeongju we ran into an eldery German tourist who had gotten lost from her group, we helped her get on the right train and got a taxi for her to her hotel once we arrived in Jeongju. Helping her that day as I did my Boy Scout mandated good deed for the day gave rise to reflections on my life as a boy scout when I was a young lad.
But I rejected that label. For me, Scouting was about leadership, resilience, and service. It prepared me for life, and I still recommend it to family and friends. To this day, I try to follow the principles that shaped me.
Core Principles of Scouting
Motto:Be Prepared – Ready for any situation, physically, mentally, and morally.
Slogan:Do a Good Turn Daily – Perform at least one act of kindness every day without expecting anything in return.
Scout Oath:
On my honor, I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Troop 19– Active and adventurous, meets Wednesdays at the Scout Hut in John Hinkel Park. Website: https://www.troop19berkeley.org/
Troop 42– Inclusive troop for female and non-binary youth, focused on outdoor adventure. Website: https://troop42berkeley.com/
There are active Boy Scout troops almost everywhere including in South Korea.
Here’s an overview of the Boy Scouts in Korea and the World Scout Jamboree that faced major issues in 2023, along with official links:
Boy Scouts in Korea
The Korea Scout Association (KSA) is the national Scouting organization of South Korea, founded in 1922 during Japanese rule. It was banned from 1937 until Korea’s liberation in 1945 and officially recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1953.
Membership has historically been around 200,000+ Scouts, organized into sections: Beaver Scouts (4–6), Cub Scouts (6–12), Scouts (12–15), Venture Scouts (15–18), and Rovers (18–25).
The highest rank is Tiger Scout, and the motto is “준비” (Jun Bi) – Be Prepared.
KSA has hosted major events, including the 17th World Scout Jamboree (1991) and numerous Asia-Pacific Jamborees.
Extreme heatwave (temperatures up to 40°C), poor drainage, mosquito infestations, and inadequate shade made conditions harsh.
Sanitation failures: filthy toilets, insufficient showers, and poor food quality.
Medical issues: hundreds of heat-related illnesses, insect bites, and even a COVID-19 outbreak.
Safety concerns: allegations of misconduct (including a shower incident) and lack of protective measures.
Infrastructure gaps: inadequate shelter, medical facilities without electricity, and poor site access.
Evacuation: The event was abandoned early due to Typhoon Khanun, with Scouts relocated to Seoul for cultural programs and a K-pop concert.
Audit findings (2025): A government probe called it a “complete lapse in all aspects of management”, citing incompetence, misused funds, and lack of oversight. Criminal investigations were launched against some officials. [dw.com], [koreatimes.co.kr], [bbc.com], [straitstimes.com]
Key Lessons
The fiasco highlighted the need for:
Better risk assessment for site selection.
Stronger governance and accountability.
Adequate infrastructure and safety measures for large-scale youth events.
Scouting in Berkeley has always had a distinctive flavor. In the 1960s and 70s, being a Scout in a progressive city came with challenges—critics labeled it “militaristic” or “corporate., or “fascists”, often citing its founder Rhodes, the uber apologists for the British Empire, who was famous for helping set up apartheid in South Africa and setting up Rhodesia, and the Rhodes Scholarship program. Yet, troops thrived, teaching leadership and service.
Historically, Northbrae Community Church in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood hosted troop meetings, including Troop 19 in earlier decades. Today, Troop 19 meets at John Hinkel Park, continuing its tradition of outdoor adventure.
one of my favorite Bay Area punk bands is the Psychotic Pineapple. They were most active in the 80’s and 90’s but still play on occasion.
Here’s my poetic tribute to the band.
the Berkeley mad psychotic pineapple.
was an underground Berkeley icon.
The pineapple said, “Bad Luck comes in threes.”
Last night he smoked a joint and went for a walk.
the pineapple dude encountered a cat,
not just a cat but a cosmic black cat.
and the cat was riding on a dog,
and a mouse was riding on the cat,
and the pineapple was amused to see this,
I told him only in the SF Bay area,
thinking back to when I was eight.
and wished I had a cosmic cat.
I would have made such a cacophony.
the cosmic cat was still my secret friend.
The Burns Sonnet is a Shakespearian sonnet but it does not follow traditional meter or rhyme
The Psychotic Pineapple is a Bay Area punk band that was most active in the 70s and 80s, but still gets together occasionally to play music. They sometimes played sets with the Rubinoos another Bay Area band as they often played together. They only recorded one or two albums and were best known for their wild life performances. I saw them life once and it was one of the best concert I ever went to. The members of the band are all old friends I grew up with. They were particularly know for their art work and promotional posters which always featured a psychotic pineapple playing the guitar.
The Berkeley mad psychotic pineapple
An icon of the underground was he
With luck that came in threes, he’d dabble
In cosmic visions only he could see.
One night he smoked a joint and took a stroll,
Encountered there a cat of cosmic fame,
A dog did bear the cat within his role,
And on the cat, a mouse without a name.
The pineapple, amused by what he saw,
Reflected on the scenes of SF Bay,
It made him think about the cosmic law
Of how his friend, the cat, did come to stay.
Oh, cacophony of cosmic dreams,
The cosmic cat, my friend in starlit streams.
Some background info from Co-Pilot
I found some information about the band you’re referring to! They are known as Psycotic Pineapple. Here’s a brief overview:
Formation and Era: Psycotic Pineapple was formed in Berkeley, California, in the late 1970s. They were active during the late 1970s and had a reunion show in 20122.
Music Style: They blended satirical lyrics with quirky instrumentation, creating a unique and fun sound. Their music often included unexpected elements like violinists and saxophonists2.
Band Members: The band included John Seabury (also known as John C. Berry), Henricus Van Hoffman, Alexi Karlinski, and Dave C. Berry.
Albums and Performances: They only recorded one studio album but were known for their energetic live performances, where band members would often switch instruments mid-set.
For more detailed information, you can check out their Last.fm page or look for documentaries like “Where’s the Party?” which features footage from their shows.
Psycotic Pineapple
Biography
· Members
Alex Carlin
Dave Seabury
Henricus Holtman
John Seabury
Jon Rubin
Tommy Dunbar (1974 – present)
Psycotic Pineapple is a new wave/keyboard rock/punk band from L.A. California, who formed in Berkeley in the late 70s. The band was/is fronted by John Seabury, who creates really crazy “pynoman” art with a rockin’ pineapple man. Other members included Henricus Van Hoffman (lead saw, vocals), Alexi Karlinski (organ), and Dave C. Berry (drums). They’ve got his adventures detailed online in comics which probably represent the lifetime of the band. They released their only album “Where’s The Party” in 1980. Visit http://www.pynoman.com/ for more information.
Version 3, edited by gkerby on 4 August 2007, 12:38am
Psycotic Pineapple—a late 1970s garage punk band from the Berkeley area—only recorded one studio album, but memories of the players rotating and switching instruments onstage mid-set lived on with their fans. A series of intricate drawings rendered by bassist John C. Berry (spelled Seabury elsewhere) chronicling the wild antics of a fame-hungry and (dare I say) psychotic pineapple named Pynoman appeared on the band’s show flyers and album artwork. In addition to the core lineup, shows often featured violinists, saxophonists, and other unexpected elements to amass a full, energetic, and innovative sound for its time. Hit up YouTube for a documentary called Where’s the Party?, which depicts footage from a 1979 show intertwined with a 2012 reunion show and interviews with the original members, all grown up. –Michelle Kirk (Burger, burgerrecords@gmail.com, burgerrecords.com)
Psychotic Pineapple flyer
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Psycotic Pineapple were a hard to define East Bay band that often played the Keystone Berkeley. They blended satirical lyrics with quirky instrumentation to create a fun time. This flyer shows them playing a gig at the club with No Sisters, another band that played new wave and had a sense of humor. The silliness and fun early Bay Area punk bands had was lots of times set it apart from the more serious bands on the East Coast or L.A.
The Rubinoos
Another favorite band of my is the Rubinoos. The lead guitar player is a first grade classmate.
For some reason they have a big following in Spain and in Japan.
I have seen them live several times and have a number of their CD’s.
In November 1970, Tommy Dunbar and Jon Rubin formed the Rubinoos to play at a dance for Bay High School in Berkeley, California. Other founding members included Greg ‘Curly’ Keranen, Alex Carlin, Ralph Granich and Danny Wood. Inspired by siblings’ 45s and the Cruisin’ vintage radio recreations LP series, Jon Rubin and the Rubinoos played rock and roll oldies. Songs included covers of Chubby Checker, Bill Haley and the Comets, the Dovells, the Troggs, Little Eva, the Chiffons, and others.
Soon after the performance at Bay High School, where Rubin and Dunbar were enrolled, the original band dissolved. In May 1971, they shortened the name to the Rubinoos and reformed as a quartet with Donn Spindt on drums and Tom Carpender on bass. The group now focused on original material by Dunbar, in association with Rubin and others.
The band’s early development was assisted and inspired by the success of Earth Quake, whose lead guitarist and principal songwriter was Tommy Dunbar’s older brother, Robbie Dunbar. The Rubinoos often appeared as an opening act for Earth Quake in clubs, such as Berkeley’s Longbranch Saloon and the Keystone Berkeley.
After the expiration of their contract with A&M Records, Earth Quake, along with their manager, Matthew King Kaufman, founded Beserkley Records and started recruiting additional talent. This included Greg Kihn, Jonathan Richman and the Rubinoos.
In June 1973, Greg ‘Curly’ Keranen re-joined the group. In September 1974, they recorded a cover of the DeFranco Family‘s “Gorilla”, released as a single and included on the Beserkley Chartbusterscompilation album. The group also provided accompaniment for Jonathan Richman on two Chartbuster cuts, “The New Teller” and “Government Center.” Shortly after the release of “Chartbusters” Keranen left the Rubinoos to join Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. He was replaced by Royse Ader.
One ‘high point’ of the band’s early career included a performance at Bill Graham’s Winterland Auditorium, September 24, 1974, on a bill with the Jefferson Starship. At this concert, the Rubinoos were joined on stage by Jonathan Richman, who danced to their version of the Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar“. This was greeted with intense booing and a pelting of unripe bananas by members of the audience. Their closer “The Pepsi Generation Theme Song” provoked an even more hostile reaction from the crowd.[2] However, the band was the first mentioned and main focus of all the reviews of the concert.
In 1977, Beserkley released The Rubinoos, the group’s eponymous debut album. It was well-reviewed and New York Rocker called it “The Best Pop Album of the Decade.” The single, a cover of Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now,” reached No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Beserkley’s first hit. The group appeared on American Bandstand (live), So It Goes (by video) and Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary television special in which they were cast as a garage band, performed a tribute to the newly deceased Elvis Presley and morphed into claymation figures. Along with these accomplishments, The Rubinoos had a number one single in Modesto, California, for 13 weeks, one of their concerts was raffled off to a high school by Burger King, and they appeared in Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine many times.
The group’s next album, Back to the Drawing Board (1979), featured the single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend,” which had been released in 1978 and received heavy airplay in England and Europe. In support of this album, the Rubinoos appeared on Rock Goes To College, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top Pop and opened 56 shows for Elvis Costello on the U.S. portion of his 1979 Armed Funk tour.
Rubinoos 1978
In 1980 Royse Ader was replaced by Al Chan. The Rubinoos then recorded the demos for a third album which never came to fruition. These demos, released in the 1990s as Basement Tapes, engineered by well known audio guru, Dan Alexander, is still thought to be one of their best efforts. Spindt and Chan left the group in 1982 when Tommy and Jon decided to move to Los Angeles. In 1983, the group, now consisting of just Rubin and Dunbar, signed with Warner Bros. Records and released the Mini LP Party of Two, produced by Todd Rundgren. Party of Two yielded the single and cult classic music video “If I Had You Back,” which received heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. In 1984, they recorded the title song “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Breakdown” for the film Revenge of the Nerds.
The Rubinoos began a long sabbatical in 1985. In 1989, Dunbar, Spindt, Chan, and John Seabury formed the group Vox Pop and recorded an album of material, co produced by Dunbar and Dan Alexander at Alexanders Coast Recorders. Also in 1989, Jon Rubin joined the noted Los Angeles a cappella Doo Wop group the Mighty Echoes. During the 1990s, two compilation CDs, Basement Tapes and Garage Sale, were released. Their success led to the end of the Rubinoos sabbatical and a new album, Paleophonic (1999), produced by Kevin Gilbert. This album did not see the light of day until the Rubinoos’ performance, their first in seven years, at the 1999 International Pop Overthrow Festival in Los Angeles. The lineup at IPO featured Rubin, Dunbar, Chan and Spindt. In 2000 Tommy and Jon were hired to sing the Flo and Eddie parts of Frank Zappa‘s 200 Motels at three concerts with the Netherlands’ Philharmonic. In 2002, the Rubinoos toured Spain and Japan, released the all-covers Crimes Against Music (2002) and recorded the album Live in Japan (2004). In 2005, the group reunited with their original producer, Gary Phillips, to record Twist Pop Sin (2006). In 2007, Castle Communications issued the 63-song retrospective Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos. Also in 2007, the Rubinoos toured Japan and released a two CD compilation titled One Two That’s It. In 2009, the band toured Spain and released the compilation CD HodgePodge which featured one newly recorded track, a cover of the Hollies‘ classic, “Bus Stop.”
In July 2007, Dunbar and songwriter James Gangwer filed a lawsuit for infringement of copyright against singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne for her 2007 single “Girlfriend“; producer Dr. Luke, RCA Records, and Apple were also named as defendants in the suit.[3] Dunbar and Gangwer alleged that Lavigne plagiarized the Rubinoos’ 1979 single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”.[4] Lavigne denied these accusations and claimed that she had never even heard of the Rubinoos before.[3] In January 2008, an undisclosed settlement was reached between the two parties.[5] Dunbar and Gangwer later released a statement in which they claimed to “completely exonerate” Lavigne and Dr. Luke from any wrongdoing.[6]
The Rubinoos 1980
Music criticJohn M. Borack called Paleophonic No. 36 in his list of the best power pop albums of all time, praising its “trademark pitch-perfect harmonies”.[1]
In January 2010, the Rubinoos played their first kids show in support of their first all-ages CD, Biff-Boff-Boing. The CD is a mix of covers and new originals.
In May 2010, to coincide with their Spain/Italy tour, the Rubinoos released their first new original album in five years—Automatic Toaster, produced by Robbie Rist.
In 2015, to celebrate their 45th anniversary the band released the appropriately titled album 45. They continued to tour in Europe and Japan with a few sporadic dates in the US.
In 2018, the group signed with Yep Roc Records, their first exclusive record deal since the 1980s. Long-time fan and noted singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet was tapped to produce. The album, From Home, released in 2019, was recorded with the same technique as their first sessions, playing all at once in the same room, recorded to analog tape. This was done at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, formerly Wally Heider Studios, where the group made some of its first recordings.
With the onset of the Covid epidemic in 2020, the Rubinoos’ live performing schedule was put on hold for a couple of years. In June 2021, Yep Roc Records released a live to two track recording of the Rubinoos done in 1976 at CBS Folsom Street Studios in San Francisco, entitled The CBS Tapes. The album includes three never released original songs and eight rare covers. This was followed by a re-issue of the group’s eponymous first LP, The Rubinoos, which was a Record Store Day selection. In September 2021, the group scored a placement of their hit version of “I Think We’re Alone Now” on the Season Three premier of the Netflix hit comedy Sex Education.
In 2022, the band had their cult classic “Rock and Roll is Dead” used as end title music for the first episode of the HBO hit Irma Vep. In July, the Rubinoos resumed live performing, starting with a bang up show at the Oakland California Punk/Pop festival Mosswood Meltdown. The surge of Covid at the end of 2022 slowed live performing for a bit longer.
In 2023, Yep Roc Records re-issued the group’s second LP, Back to the Drawing Board, which was also a featured pick at Record Store Day. In October, the Rubinoos set out for Europe to headline the Caravaca Power Pop Festival and tour of Spain.
in 2024 the Rubinoos are scheduled to return to Europe for a multi-country tour and a summer tour of the East Coast of the United States.
Formation and Era: Dead Kennedys formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. They were active from 1978 to 1986 and then reformed in 20011.
Music Style: They are known for their punk rock and hardcore punk Their music often featured frenetic energy and provocative lyrics.
Notable Songs: Some of their most famous songs include “California Über Alles,” “Holiday in Cambodia,” and “Kill the Poor.”
Band Members: The original lineup included Jello Biafra (vocals), East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Flouride (bass), and Ted (drums). D.H. Peligro replaced Ted in 1981 and remained with the band until his death in 20221.
Albums: Their debut album, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” (1980), is considered a classic. They also released “In God We Trust, Inc.” (1981), “Plastic Surgery Disasters” (1982), “Frankenchrist” (1985), and “Bedtime for Democracy” (1986)1.
Legacy: Dead Kennedys are known for their political activism and satirical lyrics that addressed social and political issues. They have left a lasting impact on the punk rock genre2.
Some of their most popular albums include American Idiot (2004), which was a rock opera that resonated with a younger audience, and 21st Century Breakdown (2009), which achieved their best chart performance. They have won multiple Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 20152.
Before taking its current name in 1989, the band was named Blood Rage, then Sweet Children. They were part of the late 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. The band’s early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! Records, including their first album, 39/Smooth (1990). For most of the band’s career, they have been a power trio[3] with Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band’s second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). Though the albums Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997) and Warning (2000) did not match the success of Dookie, they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum status, while
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978.[1] The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.[2]
Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride, lead vocalist Jello Biafra, drummer Ted and rhythm guitarist 6025, 6025 left in 1979, and Ted left the following year after the band recorded their acclaimed first album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980). The band’s longest-serving drummer was D. H. Peligro, who replaced Ted in 1981 and remained until his death in 2022. Dead Kennedys recorded the EP In God We Trust Inc. (1981), followed by three more studio albums, Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982), Frankenchrist (1985), and Bedtime for Democracy (1986), the latter of which was recorded and released shortly after announcing their breakup in January 1986. Most of the band’s recordings were released on Alternative Tentacles, an independent record label founded by Biafra and East Bay Ray.
Following Dead Kennedys’ dissolution, Biafra continued to run Alternative Tentacles, and went on to collaborate and record with other artists, including D.O.A., NoMeansNo and his own bands Lard and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, as well as releasing several spoken word performances. In 2000 (upheld on appeal in 2003), Biafra lost an acrimonious legal case initiated by his former Dead Kennedys bandmates over songwriting credits and unpaid royalties. In 2001, the band reformed without Biafra; various singers have since been recruited for vocal duties. Although Dead Kennedys have continued to perform over the years, they have not released any more studio albums since Bedtime for Democracy.
Dead Kennedys’ lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing political figures and authority in general, as well as popular culture and even the punk movement itself. During their initial incarnation between 1978 and 1986, they attracted considerable controversy for their provocative lyrics and artwork. Several stores refused to stock their recordings, provoking debate about censorship in rock music; in the mid-1980s, vocalist and primary lyricist Jello Biafra became an active campaigner against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). This culminated in an obscenity trial between 1985 and 1986, which resulted in a hung jury and also hastened the band’s demise.
Dead Kennedys were formed in June 1978 in San Francisco, California, when East Bay Ray (Raymond Pepperell) advertised for bandmates in the newspaper The Recycler, after seeing a ska-punk show at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco.[3] The original band lineup consisted of East Bay Ray on lead guitar, Klaus Flouride (Geoffrey Lyall) on bass, Jello Biafra (Eric Reed Boucher) on vocals, Ted (Bruce Slesinger) on drums and 6025 (Carlos Cadona) on rhythm guitar. This lineup recorded their first demos. Their first live show was on July 19, 1978 at Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California. They were the opening act on a bill that included DV8 and Negative Trend with The Offs headlining.[1]
Dead Kennedys played numerous shows at local venues afterward. Due to the provocative name of the band, they sometimes played under pseudonyms, including “The DK’s”, “The Sharks”, “The Creamsicles” and “The Pink Twinkies”. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote in November 1978, “Just when you think tastelessness has reached its nadir, along comes a punk rock group called ‘The Dead Kennedys’, which will play at Mabuhay Gardens on Nov. 22, the 15th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination.” Despite mounting protests, the owner of Mabuhay declared, “I can’t cancel them NOW—there’s a contract. Not, apparently, the kind of contract some people have in mind.”[4] However, despite popular belief, the name was not meant to insult the Kennedy family, but according to Ray, “the assassinations were in much more poor taste than our band. We actually respect the Kennedy family. . . . When JFK was assassinated, when Martin Luther King was assassinated, when RFK was assassinated, the American Dream was assassinated. . . . Our name is actually homage to the American Dream.”[5]
6025 left the band in March 1979 under somewhat unclear circumstances, generally considered to be musical differences. In June, the band released their first single, “California Über Alles“, on Biafra and East Bay Ray’s independent label, Alternative Tentacles. The band followed with a poorly attended East Coast tour, being a new and fairly unknown band at the time, without a full album release.
In early 1980, they recorded and released the single “Holiday in Cambodia“. In June, the band recorded their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, released in September of that year on the UK label Cherry Red. The album reached number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. Since its initial release, it has been re-released by several other labels, including IRS, Alternative Tentacles, and Cleopatra. The newest reissue—the special 25th-anniversary edition—features the original artwork and a bonus 55-minute DVD documenting the making of the album as well as the band’s early years.[6]
On March 25, 1980, Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in an effort to give the event some “new wave credibility”, in the words of the organizers. The day of the performance was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit “California über alles”. The band became the talking point of the ceremony when after about 15 seconds into the song, Biafra stopped the band—in a manner reminiscent of Elvis Costello’s Saturday Night Live appearance—and said, “Hold it! We’ve gotta prove that we’re adults now. We’re not a punk rock band, we’re a new wave band.” The band, all wearing white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing a new song titled “Pull My Strings”, a barbed, satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry, which contained the lyrics, “Is my cock big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star?”. The song also referenced The Knack‘s song “My Sharona“. “Pull My Strings” was never recorded for a studio release, though the performance at the Bay Area Music Awards, which was one of only two times that the song was ever performed, was released on the band’s 1987 compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. In a 2017 interview about the show Klaus stated, “We did one other performance of it at The Mabuhay and that was the only other time we performed it… like within a week of the Bammies”[7] It’s unknown if this performance was ever recorded.
In January 1981, Ted announced that he wanted to leave to pursue a career in architecture and would help look for a replacement. He played his last concert in February 1981. His replacement was D. H. Peligro (Darren Henley). Around the same time, East Bay Ray had tried to pressure the rest of the band to sign to the major record label Polydor Records; Biafra stated that he was prepared to leave the group if the rest of the band wanted to sign to the label,[8] though East Bay Ray asserts that he recommended against signing with Polydor. Polydor decided not to sign the band after they learned that Dead Kennedys’ next single was to be entitled “Too Drunk to Fuck“.
When “Too Drunk to Fuck” came out in May 1981 it caused controversy in the UK, as the BBC feared the single would reach the Top 30, which would necessitate its title being mentioned on Top of the Pops. It was never played, although it was simply called “‘Too Drunk’ by the Kennedys” by presenter Tony Blackburn.
In God We Trust, Inc., Plastic Surgery Disasters and Alternative Tentacles Records (1981–1985)
Dead Kennedys in 1983. From left: Klaus Flouride, Jello Biafra, D.H. Peligro, and East Bay Ray
After Peligro joined the band, the extended play In God We Trust, Inc. (1981) saw them move toward a more aggressive hardcore/thrash sound. In addition to the EP’s controversial artwork depicting a gold Christ figure on a cross of dollar bills, the lyrics contained Biafra’s most biting social and political commentary yet, and songs such as “Moral Majority“, “Nazi Punks Fuck Off!” and “We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now” placed Dead Kennedys as the spokesmen of social protest, while “Dog Bite”, a cover version of Rawhide and various joke introductions showed a much more whimsical side. In 1982, they released their second studio album, Plastic Surgery Disasters. The album’s cover features a withered starving African child’s hand being held and dwarfed by a white man’s hand, a picture that had won the World Press Photo award in 1980, taken in Karamoja district in Uganda by Mike Wells.
The band’s music had evolved considerably in a short time, moving away from hardcore formulae toward a more innovative jazz-informed style, featuring musicianship and dynamics far beyond other bands in the genre (thus effectively removing the music from that genre). By now the group had become a de facto political force, pitting itself against rising elements of American social and political life such as the religious right, Ronald Reagan and the idle rich. The band continued touring all over the United States, as well as Europe and Australia, and gained a large underground following. While they continued to play live shows during 1983 and 1984, they took a break from releasing new records to concentrate on the Alternative Tentacles record label, which would become synonymous with DIY alternative culture. The band continued to write and perform new material during this time, which would appear on their next album (some of these early performances can be seen in the DMPO’s on Broadway video, originally released by Dirk Dirksen and later reissued on Rhino).
The release of the album Frankenchrist in 1985 showed the band had grown in musical proficiency and lyrical maturity. While there were still a number of loud/fast songs, much of the music featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Around this time Klaus Flouride released the similarly experimental solo EP Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as “MTV Get Off The Air” and “Jock-O-Rama (Invasion of the Beef Patrol)” poking fun at mainstream America.
However, the controversy that erupted over H.R. Giger‘s Penis Landscape, included as an insert with the album, dwarfed the notoriety of its music. The artwork caused a furor with the newly formed Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the Wherehouse Records store in Los Angeles County.[9] The girl’s mother wrote letters of complaint to the California Attorney General and to Los Angeles prosecutors.[9] In June 1986, members of the band, along with other parties involved in the distribution of Frankenchrist, were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The store where the teen actually purchased the album was never named in the lawsuit.[9] The criminal charges focused on an illustration by H.R. Giger, titled “Work 219: Landscape XX” (also known as Penis Landscape). Included as a poster with the album, Penis Landscape depicts nine copulating penises and vaginas.[10]
Members of the band and others in the chain of distribution were charged with violating the California Penal Code[11] on a misdemeanor charge carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2,000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Susan Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics.[12] The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam Records), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying Frankenchrist to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.[9]
In August 1987, the case went to the jury with two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager).[9] However, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury, split 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal. District Attorneys Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by Judge Isacoff, Superior Court Judge for the County of Los Angeles.[13] The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.
After the break up of the band, Jello Biafra brought up the court case on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Biafra was on the show with Tipper Gore as part of a panel discussion on the issues of “controversial music lyrics” and censorship.[14]
In addition to the obscenity lawsuit, the band became increasingly disillusioned with the underground scene as well. The hardcore scene, which had been a haven for free-thinking intellectuals and downtrodden nonconformists, was attracting a more violent audience that imposed an increasing level of brutality on other concertgoers and began to alienate many of the bands and individuals who had helped pioneer the movement in the early 1980s. In earlier years the band had criticized neo-Nazi skinheads for trying to ruin the punk scene, but just as big a problem was the popularity of increasingly macho hardcore bands, which brought the group (and their genre) an audience that had little to do with the ideas/ideals they stood for. Biafra penned new songs such as “Chickenshit Conformist” and “Anarchy for Sale” that articulated the band’s feelings about the “dumbing down” of punk rock. During the summer they recorded these for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy, which was released in November. The artwork, depicting a defaced Statue of Liberty overrun with Nazis, media, opportunists, Klan members, corrupt government officials, and religious zombies, echoed the idea that neither America itself or the punk scene were safe havens any more for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. The album contains a number of fast/short songs interspersed with jazz (“D.M.S.O.”), spoken word (“A Commercial”) and psychedelia (“Cesspools In Eden”).[citation needed]
The band decided to split up in January 1986, prior to the recording and release of Bedtime for Democracy, and played their last live show with the original lineup on 21 February.[15][16] Biafra went on to speak about his political beliefs on numerous television shows and he released a number of spoken-word albums. Ray, Flouride, and Peligro also went on to solo careers.
Reforming of new band line-up and death of Peligro (2001–present)
In 2001, Ray, Peligro, and Flouride reformed the Dead Kennedys, with former Dr. Know singer Brandon Cruz replacing Biafra on vocals. The band played under the name “DK Kennedys” for a few concerts, but later reverted to “Dead Kennedys” permanently. They played across the continental United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and Russia. Brandon Cruz left the band in May 2003 and was replaced by Jeff Penalty. The band has released two live albums of archival performances on Manifesto Records: Mutiny on the Bay, compiled from various live shows including a recording from their last show with Biafra in 1986, and Live at the Deaf Club, a recording of a 1979 performance at the Deaf Club in San Francisco which was greeted with more enthusiasm.
On October 9, 2007, a best of album titled Milking the Sacred Cow was released. It includes two previously unreleased live versions of “Soup Is Good Food” and “Jock-O-Rama”, originally found on Frankenchrist.
Jeff Penalty left the band in March 2008 in what he describes as a “not amicable split.”[17] In a statement released, Jeff said that, following a series of disputes, the band had secretly recruited a new singer and played a gig in his neighbourhood, although he also stated he was “really proud of what we were able to accomplish with Dead Kennedys”.[17] He was replaced by former Wynona Riders singer Ron “Skip” Greer. D. H. Peligro also left the band to “take some personal time off”. He was replaced for a tour by Translator drummer Dave Scheff.[18]
On August 21, 2008, the band announced an extended break from touring due to the health-related issues of Flouride and Peligro. They stated their plans to collaborate on new projects. The band performed a gig in Santa Rosa, California in June 2009, with Peligro returning to the drum kit.[19]
In August 2010, Dead Kennedys announced plans for a short East Coast tour. The lineup assembled for this tour contained East Bay Ray, Peligro, Greer, and bassist Greg Reeves replacing Flouride, who was taking “personal time off” from the band.[20][21] The tour dates included performances in Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., Portland, Maine and Hawaii.[22] The band has played a reworked version of their song “MTV Get Off the Air”, re-titled “MP3 Get Off the Web”, with lyrics criticizing music piracy during their October 16, 2010, concert at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.[23]
Dead Kennedys had world tours in 2013 and in 2014, the latter mostly in North American cities. In 2015 and 2016 they toured again, including South America, where they had not played since 2001.
In 2017, East Bay Ray revealed that the band and Jello Biafra had been approached by the Punk-oriented music festival Riot Fest about a potential reunion. While Ray and the rest of the band expressed interest in the concept, Biafra refused.[24]
On April 26, 2019, the group released DK40, a live compilation album celebrating 40 years since the band formed.[25]
On October 28, 2022, D.H. Peligro died from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl, although it was initially believed to have been from possible head trauma from a fall at his home that day.[26][27] Since Peligro’s death, the band has performed in the UK with Santi Guardiola and the United States with Steve Wilson (who had played in D.H.Peligro’s band Peligro before) filling in on drums.
In the late 1990s, former band members discovered they were being underpaid in terms of royalties from Alternative Tentacles. East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, and D. H. Peligro claimed that Jello Biafra had conspired to pay them lower royalty rates and then attempted to disguise the precise nature of the money owed. Biafra claimed that the failure to pay these royalties was an accounting mistake.[28][29]
In 1998, the other three members of the band sued Biafra over these allegedly unpaid royalties. A jury ruled in their favor in May 2000, finding Biafra and Alternative Tentacles “guilty of malice, oppression and fraud“.[30] Malice was defined for the jury as “conduct which is intended to cause injury or despicable conduct which is carried with a willful and conscious disregard for the rights of others”.[31] Biafra’s appeal was denied in June 2003; he had to pay the outstanding royalties as well as punitive damages,[32] and was forced to hand over the rights to the majority of Dead Kennedys’ back catalogue to the Decay Music partnership.[32][33]
This dispute caused minor waves within punk circles. Biafra claims that East Bay Ray had long expressed displeasure with Alternative Tentacles and with the amount of money he received from them, thus the original incentive for the discovery of the back payments. It was found out that Alternative Tentacles was paying Dead Kennedys less per CD than all the other bands, including Biafra himself, and not informing his other bandmates, which was the fraud. Biafra accused the band of wanting to license the famous Dead Kennedys song “Holiday in Cambodia” for use in a Levi’s jeans commercial, which the band denied.[34] However, an instrumental loop from “Holiday in Cambodia” was part of the 1981 black comedy feature film Neighbors, though it was not included on the soundtrack. The band maintains that the Levi’s story was completely fictitious and invented by Biafra to discredit them.[33]
Matters were stirred up even further when the three bandmates invited Jello Biafra to “bury the hatchet” in the form of a band reunion. Jello Biafra felt it was unprofessional because no one contacted him directly. In addition, Biafra was disdainful of the reunion, and having long expressed his disdain for nostalgia and rock reunion/oldies tours in particular, argued that the whole affair was motivated by greed.[34]
Several DVDs, re-issues, and live albums have been released since the departure of Biafra most recently on Manifesto Records. According to Biafra, the live albums are “cash-ins” on Dead Kennedys’ name and his music. Biafra also accused the releases of the new live material of having poor sound quality. Furthermore, he has stated he is not receiving any royalties from the sale of any Manifesto Records releases. Consequently, he has discouraged fans from buying any Dead Kennedy reissues. The other band members denied Biafra’s accusations regarding the live releases, and have defended the mixes as an effort of hard work. Biafra dismissed the new group as “the world’s greediest karaoke band.” Nevertheless, in 2003, Klaus Flouride said of performances without the band’s former frontman: “There hasn’t been a show yet that people didn’t really like.”[35]
Biafra further criticized them for advertising shows using his own image taken from the original 1980s incarnation of the band, which he labeled as false advertising. He attacked the reformed Dead Kennedys in a song called “Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)“, which appears on his second collaboration with sludge metal band the Melvins, Sieg Howdy!
Biafra told an audience at a speaking gig in Trenton, New Jersey, that the remaining Dead Kennedys have licensed their single “Too Drunk to Fuck” to be used in a rape scene in a Robert Rodriguez movie. The reference is to a lounge cover of the song, recorded by the band Nouvelle Vague, played during a scene in the Planet Terror segment of Grindhouse, although no rape takes place, and in fact the would-be rapist is killed by the would-be victim. The scene in Planet Terror has would-be rapist, “Rapist No. 1” (Quentin Tarantino) order one-legged stripper “Cherry Darlin” (Rose McGowan) to get up off the floor and dance. At this point Tarantino hits play on a cassette recorder and Nouvelle Vague’s cover of “Too Drunk To Fuck” plays. Biafra, disapproving of the situation, later wrote, “This is their lowest point since Levi’s… This goes against everything the Dead Kennedys stands for in spades… The terrified woman later ‘wins’ by killing Tarantino, but that excuse does not rescue this at all. I wrote every note of that song and this is not what it was meant for…. Some people will do anything for money. I can’t help but think back to how prudish Klaus Flouride was when he objected to H. R. Giger’s painting on the “Frankenchrist” (sic) poster, saying he couldn’t bear to show it to his parents. I’d sure love to be a fly on the wall when he tries to explain putting a song in a rape scene for money to his teenage daughter… The deal was pushed through by a new business manager the other three hired.”[36]
The reformed Dead Kennedys followed their court victory by releasing reissues of all Dead Kennedys albums (except Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, to which they did not have the rights until 2005), releasing several new archival concert DVDs, and licensing several songs to The Manchurian Candidate remake and the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game. East Bay Ray claims he received a fax from Alternative Tentacles purporting Biafra approved the licensing for the game.[37]
The band claims on their website that they still pay close attention to an anti-corporate ideology, despite performing on September 5, 2003, at a festival in Turkey that was sponsored by Coca-Cola, noting that they have since pulled out of a show in Los Angeles when they found that it was being sponsored by Coors. However, Biafra claims the previous licensing deals prove otherwise.[38]
Dead Kennedys have been described as one of the first hardcore punk bands.[39] They were noted for the harshness of their lyrics, which generally combined biting social satire while expressing a staunchly left-wing view of contemporary America.[40] Unlike other leftist punk bands who use more direct sloganeering, Dead Kennedys’ lyrics were often snide. For example, “Holiday in Cambodia” is a multi-layered satire targeting both yuppies and Cambodia’s recently deposed Khmer Rouge regime. Or, on “Jock-O-Rama”, featured on Frankenchrist, they mock southern small towns whose residents’ lives revolve around high school football.
The original logo was created by Winston Smith. He later contributed artwork for the covers of In God We Trust, Inc., Plastic Surgery Disasters, Frankenchrist, Bedtime for Democracy, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death, the back cover of the “Kill the Poor” single and the Alternative Tentacles logo. When asked about the “DK” logo in an interview, Jello Biafra explained, “…I wanted to make sure it was something simple and easy to spray-paint so people would graffiti it all over the place, and then I showed it to Winston Smith. He played around with it, came back with a bunch of designs that had the circle and slightly 3-D looking letters and he had ones with different patterns behind it. I liked the one with bricks, but ultimately I thought simple red behind it was the boldest and the best.”[41]
I had a good 69th birthday. Angela and I went to the Seven Feathers Indian Casino and I won 200 dollars and had a great steak dinner. Many people send me FB messages and emails congratulating me on my birthday.
Thanks
Debbie Pick Marquette is a Fan Story fan who writes great birthday tributes. She wrote one this year and last year. See below
I also looked up my astrological charts etc and included it
And some of my birthday poems as well as events that happened on my birthday.
Incidentally, the Dodgers won the world series against the Yankees in 1955.
October 29th I wrote on his birthday last yearBut now I’m learning something new that I recently hearThat he was born the 30th, and though this may sound strangeThe nurse wrote the wrong date and then refused to make the change
For twenty seven years he served as Foreign DiplomatAnd South Korea is his home and where he hangs his hatHe met her and in six weeks time, she would become his wifeThey’ve been married forty one years, and she’s love of his life
Jake’s traveled 55 countries and all 50 statesHe checked with Genealogy, and his bloodline relates His DNA report revealed his ancestry was keyFor 18 nationalities, including Cherokee
He is 69, many times he’s cheated deathBut he’s got more to do before he draws that dying breath
I find him fascinating, 24 times almost diedFrom accidents to Covid and his wife right by his side
I’ve concluded Jake, that they’re not all bad signs
Perhaps you got your nine lives from your DNA blood linesYou must be like a cat and always land back on your feet
But to be safe, look both ways when you start to cross the street
So, Happy Birthday Jake, you must have an extended prime
So, we all hope
that you are with us for a long long time
Jake’s Chart
Drawn from Bing AI and other sources
Sure, I can generate an astrological chart (western and Vedic) for someone born on October 30, 1955 in Oakland, California at 4 a.m. Here are the details of each system:
Western astrology: According to Western astrology, you are a Scorpio, the eighth sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Pluto, and your element is water. Your birth chart is shown below, along with the list of planets and their positions in the signs and houses.
yes 4 am PST Oakland California
Got it! Here’s your Western astrology birth chart summary based on your birth date, time, and location:
Birth Details:
Name: Jake Cosmos Aller
Date of Birth: October 30, 1955
Time of Birth: 4:00 AM PST
Place of Birth: Oakland, California
Planetary Positions
scorpio
Sun, Mercury and Saturn in Scorpio
Moon In Aeries
Neptune and Venus in Libra
Mars in Sagittarius, Rising sign in Sagittarius
Jupiter, Pluto in Leo
Uranus in Cancer
My wife was born as a Taurus sun sign which is listed as a challenging relationship but if it works, it is very powerful.
The male goat and female pig Chinese chart is the most compatible of all Chinese Astrology charts.
Sun in Scorpio: Your core self is intense, passionate, and driven. You have a deep well of emotional energy and a strong desire to transform and grow.
Moon in Aeries Your emotional life is dynamic and changeable. You find comfort in variety and intellectual stimulation, and you’re always curious and eager to learn.
Mercury in Scorpio: You’re thinking and communication style is penetrating and investigative. You enjoy uncovering secrets and getting to the heart of matters.
Venus in Libra: In love and relationships, you seek balance, harmony, and fairness. You have a refined sense of aesthetics and a strong appreciation for beauty.
Mars in Sagittarius: Your drive and ambition are guided by a desire for adventure and knowledge. You have restless energy and a passion for exploration.
Jupiter in Leo: Your sense of growth and expansion is centered around creativity and self-expression. You’re generous, enthusiastic, and love to shine in your endeavors.
Saturn in Scorpio: You’re disciplined and focused in transforming and mastering your deepest fears and desires. You have a powerful presence and a serious approach to life’s mysteries.
Uranus in Cancer: You bring innovative and unconventional ideas to your home and family life. You seek emotional freedom and may have experienced sudden changes in your personal life.
Neptune in Libra: You’re idealistic and seek unity and peace in relationships. You may have artistic talents and a love for beauty and harmony.
Pluto in Leo: Your generation is characterized by a transformative approach to creativity and leadership. You’re intense and have a powerful desire to express yourself and make a mark on the world.
Ascendant (Rising Sign): Sagittarius
Your outward personality is adventurous, optimistic, and eager to explore new horizons. You come across as enthusiastic and open-minded.
Some of the personality traits of a Scorpio are:
Intense, passionate, and loyal
Mysterious, secretive, and complex
Resourceful, determined, and ambitious
Transformative, regenerative, and healing
Jealous, obsessive, and manipulative
Some of the challenges and opportunities for a Scorpio are:
To learn to trust others and let go of control
To channel their emotions and desires into positive outlets
To face their fears and embrace their shadows
To use their power and influence for good
To seek higher wisdom and spiritual growth
Vedic astrology: According to Vedic astrology, you are a Libra (Tula), the seventh sign of the zodiac. Your ruling planet is Venus, and your element is air. Your birth chart is shown below, along with the list of planets and their positions in the signs and nakshatras.
Birth Chart
+——————+——————+——————+
|Mars +-Rahu—-+ +-Ketu—-+ +
+——————+ +-Moon–+-Jupiter-+-Saturn-+
|Mars +-Sun—-+-Mercury+-Venus—-+-Chiron-+
+——————+ +-Asc—+-Desc—–+-Uranus-+
|Mars +-Neptune-+-Pluto-+-Neptune–+ Pluto +
|Mars +-Libra—+-Scorpio+-Taurus—+-Aries +
|Mars +-Swati—+-Anuradha+-Mrigashira+-Ashwini+
|Mars +-Vishakha+-Jyeshtha+-Rohini—+-Bharani+
+——————+——————+——————+
Planet List
+———-+————+————+
| Planet | Sign | Nakshatra |
+———-+————+————+
| Sun | Scorpio | Anuradha |
| Moon | Scorpio | Jyeshtha |
| Mercury | Scorpio | Anuradha |
| Venus | Taurus | Mrigashira |
| Mars | Libra | Vishakha |
| Jupiter | Taurus | Rohini |
| Saturn | Aries | Bharani |
| Rahu | Scorpio | Anuradha |
| Ketu | Taurus | Mrigashira |
| Uranus | Aries | Ashwini |
| Neptune | Libra | Swati |
| Pluto | Scorpio | Jyeshtha |
| Chiron | Aries | Bharani |
+———-+————+————+
Some of the personality traits of a Libra are:
Balanced, fair, and diplomatic
Charming, sociable, and artistic
Cooperative, adaptable, and harmonious
Romantic, idealistic, and peace-loving
Indecisive, superficial, and dependent
Some of the challenges and opportunities for Libra are:
To learn to be more assertive and decisive
To channel their creativity and beauty into meaningful pursuits
To balance their relationships and self-interests
To use their diplomacy and charm for good
To seek justice and harmony in their environment
I hope this helps you understand more about yourself and your destiny. 😊
Chinese astrology
Sure, I can generate a Chinese astrology chart and information for someone born on October 30, 1955 in Oakland, CA at 04:00 a.m. Here is what I found:
According to Chinese astrology, the person’s birth date corresponds to the Wood Goat zodiac sign. The Wood Goat is gentle, compassionate, artistic, and creative. They are also loyal, honest, and faithful to their friends and family. They may be shy and timid at times, but they have a strong sense of justice and morality. They are not very good at handling stress or pressure, and they tend to avoid conflicts or confrontations. They need a peaceful and harmonious environment to thrive.
The person’s birth time corresponds to the Rabbit zodiac hour. The Rabbit time is from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. The Rabbit is graceful, elegant, charming, and diplomatic. They are also intelligent, witty, and adaptable. They have good manners and a refined taste. They are very sociable and enjoy making friends. They are not very fond of risks or challenges, and they prefer a stable and comfortable life. They are sensitive and emotional, and they need a lot of affection and support.
The person’s birth location corresponds to the West direction. The West direction is associated with the Metal element. The Metal element represents strength, courage, determination, and justice. It also represents clarity, purity, refinement, and elegance. Metal people are ambitious, confident, and independent. They are also honest, loyal, and responsible. They have high standards and expectations for themselves and others. They are not very flexible or tolerant, and they may be stubborn or rigid at times.
The person’s Chinese astrology chart is as follows:
Year
Month
Day
Hour
Wood Goat
Metal Dog
Earth Snake
Wood Rabbit
The person’s Chinese astrology information is based on the Four Pillars of Destiny, which are the year, month, day, and hour of birth. Each pillar consists of two components: a heavenly stem and an earthly branch. The heavenly stems are the ten basic symbols that represent the five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in their yin and yang forms. The earthly branches are the twelve animal signs that correspond to the twelve months of the lunar calendar.
The person’s heavenly stems are:
Year
Month
Day
Hour
Yang Wood
Yang Metal
Yang Earth
Yin Wood
The person’s earthly branches are:
Year
Month
Day
Hour
Goat
Dog
Snake
Rabbit
The lucky numbers are 3, 4, 9, 12, 15, 21, 30, 34, 39, 45, 48, 51, 57, 63, 66, 69, 75, 84, 87, and 93.
The person’s lucky colors are green, blue, purple, red, pink, and white.
The lucky flowers are carnation, primrose, alice flower, lily of the valley, and orchid.
The person’s compatible zodiac signs are Rabbit, Horse, Pig, and Dragon.
The person’s incompatible zodiac signs are Ox, Tiger, Snake, and Dog.
I hope this information is helpful to you. 😊
Scorpio
Jake Cosmos Aller
Born: October 30, 1955
4:00 AM Oakland, CA, USA
The moving moon and planets can influence your ability to relate to certain people at specific times.
Triticum’s AstroSync Snapshot gives you up-to-the-hour personalized advice based on the astrology birth charts of TWO people. Only $1.00 gives you 24-hour advice including the best and worst times to relate to someone.
The Scorpion is one intense little creature, with enough poison in its tail to disable or kill a much larger opponent. However, the problem with this kind of built-in biological weaponry is that it must be mastered to be used most effectively. You Scorpios can use your “stinger” for self-defense, using your powerful emotional awareness to render your opponent harmless. But there is a sexual component of poisonous tail also, and until you learn to control those strong urges, you may find yourself in uncomfortable situations.Motto: “What is hidden is more interesting than what is obvious.”
Greatest Strength: Your passion for your feelings
Possible Weakness: The need for secrecy can be isolatedLearn more about Scorpio
Emotions rise hot and fast but can fall just as quickly because you live so much in the present. The intensity of the moment can carry you to great heights or depths, but you’re not likely to stay in either extreme for very long. When you’re done, you’re done. As a fire sign, Aries isn’t a particularly reflective place for the Moon. You’re not one to talk much about your emotional processes. You just have them, then move on. Discussing your feelings and justifying or explaining them to others infringes upon your need for independence. You may get bored easily, requiring fresh challenges to maintain a high level of interest, which is why you can be so good at emergencies where your spontaneity and rapid responses work so well.
Motto: “Feel now, figure it out later!”
Greatest Strength: Your willingness to let go of the past
Possible Weakness: Staying cool under pressure
Looking at the world through Scorpio Rising gives you a very measured view of your surroundings. You tend to carefully weigh your words and your reactions… controlling your feelings so that you only show what you want others to see. You’re passionate, yet not overtaken by emotion most of the time. This power makes you very skillful in emergencies as you channel the intensity you feel with focus and direction. Letting others in takes some time, so you can come across as sterner or closer than you are until you feel comfortable enough to relax and let them in.
Motto: “Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.”
Greatest Strength: Not flinching in the face of a challenge
Possible Weakness: Not being direct about your desires
The GOAT … THE GENTLE GOATMantra: Living is my form of art.
The Goat is the most easygoing of all the signs … sensitive to other people’s needs, kindhearted, flexible, and social. Goats love life, and all forms of art will help them express their active energy and joie de vivre. When stressed, they can be moody and appear weak but will stubbornly resist the opinions of others if they disagree. They are devoted to their loved ones, outgoing, and quite outspoken about the world they live in.
30 October 1955
Your date of conception was on or about 6 February 1955 which was a Sunday.
You were born on a Sunday
under the astrological sign Scorpio.
Your Life path number is 6.
Your fortune cookie reads:
Your many hidden talents will become obvious to those around you.
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 3, 6 & 9.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 8, 11 & 22.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2435410.5.
The golden number for 1955 is 18.
The exact number for 1955 is 6.
The year 1955 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/24/1955 and ending 2/11/1956.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Goat.
Birth Details:
Name: Lee Chong
Date of Birth: April 22, 1959
Time of Birth: 6:00 AM
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea
Planetary Positions
Sun in Taurus: Your wife’s core self is practical, reliable, and grounded. She values stability, comfort, and sensory pleasures, with a strong appreciation for beauty and the finer things in life.
Moon in Aries: Her emotional life is dynamic, passionate, and impulsive. She is driven by a desire for action and independence and often trusts her instincts and courage.
Mercury in Aries: Her thinking and communication style is direct and assertive. She is quick-witted, outspoken, and enjoys taking initiative in conversations.
Venus in Pisces: In love and relationships, she is compassionate, romantic, and empathetic. She has a deep sensitivity to others’ needs and often seeks to create a sense of unity and spiritual connection.
Mars in Leo: Her drive and ambition are guided by a desire for recognition and self-expression. She has a charismatic and confident approach to pursuing her goals and enjoys being in the spotlight.
Jupiter in Sagittarius: Her sense of growth and expansion is centered around adventure and learning. She is optimistic, open-minded, and values freedom and exploration.
Saturn in Capricorn: She is disciplined and focused on achieving her long-term goals. Her sense of responsibility and ambition drives her to work hard and persevere.
Uranus in Leo: She brings innovative and creative ideas to her personal expression and leadership style. She seeks to stand out and make a unique impact.
Neptune in Scorpio: She is deeply intuitive and seeks profound emotional and transformative experiences. She may have a fascination with the mysterious and hidden aspects of life.
Pluto in Virgo: Her generation is characterized by a transformative approach to work and health. She has a keen eye for detail and a desire to improve and refine systems.
Ascendant (Rising Sign): Taurus
Her outward personality is practical, reliable, and calm. She comes across as patient and grounded, with a strong appreciation for the sensory pleasures of life.
This gives you an overview of your wife’s astrological influences at birth. Anything specific you’d like to explore further?
Other astrological systems/important dates
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Snake; your plant is Thistle.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Toby, the first month of the season of Poret (Emergence – Fertile soil).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 14 Heshvan 5716.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 15 Heshvan 5716.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.17.2.0.6 which is
12 baktun 17 katun 2 tun 0 uinal 6 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Sunday, 13 Rabi’u’l-Avval 1375 (1375-3-13).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 10 April 1955.
The date of Orthodox Easter in your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1955.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) in your birth year was Wednesday 23 February 1955.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 29 May 1955.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 5 June 1955.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 17 September 1955.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 7 April 1955.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 22 February 1955.
as of 11/1/2024 I am 69 years old
You were born on October 30, 1955. As of November 1, 2024, here’s your age:
Gavin Rossdale (1967) Diego Armando Maradona (1960) Harry Hamlin (1951)
Henry Winkler (1945) Grace Slick (1939) Claude Lelouch (1937)
Robert Caro (1935) Louis Malle (1932) Ruth Gordon (1896)
Charles Atlas (1893) Ezra Pound (1885) Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821)
John Adams (1735)
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 7.62309197651663 years old. (You old hound dog, you!)
Your lucky day is Tuesday.
Your lucky number is 9 & 11.
Your ruling planet(s) is Mars & Pluto.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Taurus.
Your opposition number(s) is 6.
could you do a numerology reading of my birth info real name john cosmos aller
Sure, John Cosmos Aller! Numerology is all about understanding the significance of numbers in your life based on your birth date and full name. Here’s a basic reading:
Life Path Number
Your Life Path Number is one of the most important numbers in your numerology chart. It’s derived from your birth date.
These numbers can provide insight into different aspects of your personality and life journey. Anything specific you’d like to explore further?
Top Songs of 1955
Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley & His Comets Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing by Four Aces The Yellow Rose of Texas by Mitch Miller
Autumn Leaves by Roger Williams Learnin’ the Blues by Frank Sinatra
Ain’t That a Shame by Fats Domino Moments to Remember by Four Lads
I Hear You Knocking by Gale Storm A Blossom Fell by Nat King Cole
Other statistics
In 1955 there were approximately 4.0 million births in the US.
In 1955 the US population was approximately 150,697,361 people, 50.7 persons per square mile.
In 1955 in the US there were approximately 1,667,231 marriages (11.1%) and 385,144 divorces (2.6%)
In 1955 in the US there were approximately 1,452,000 deaths (9.6 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
In 1955 the population of Australia was approximately 9,311,825.
In 1955 there were approximately 207,677 births in Australia.
In 1955 in Australia there were approximately 72,172 marriages and 6,724 divorces.
In 1955 in Australia there were approximately 82,036 deaths.
Your birthstone is Tourmaline
The Mystical Properties of Tourmaline
Pink Tourmaline promotes female balance and protection. Green Tourmaline promotes male balance.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Opal, Jasper
Your birth tree is
Walnut Tree, the Passion
Unrelenting, strange, and full of contrasts, often egoistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromises.
There are 303 days till Christmas 2009!
There are 316 days till Orthodox Christmas!
The moon’s phase on the day you were
born was full.
The Scorpion is one intense little creature, with enough poison in its tail to disable or kill a much larger opponent. However, the problem with this kind of built-in biological weaponry is that it must be mastered to be used most effectively. You Scorpios can use your “stinger” for self-defense, using your powerful emotional awareness to render your opponent harmless. But there is a sexual component of poisonous tail also, and until you learn to control those strong urges, you may find yourself in uncomfortable situations.
Scorpio is the only sign that has three animal totems. First, there is the well-known Scorpion with its active tail. Second, as the Scorpio learns to master its passion and hold its instincts at bay, it changes into the Eagle. The Eagle has more perspective, for it flies high above the surface of circumstances, swooping down with its power only to kill prey for food. In its third form, the Scorpion becomes the always-peaceful dove. The real meaning of Scorpio is thus shown. Scorpio is about metamorphosis. Scorpios transform the painful poisons of possessive passion into a higher consciousness based on universal love.
Your motto might be “What is hidden is more interesting than what is obvious.”
You are the detectives of the Zodiac. Your magnetic personality draws others to you. But you can also be secretive yourself, for you learn early on that when you express everything, others may be scared by the power of your feelings. You desperately want to have someone to merge with your feelings but can become cold and withdrawn when hurt in love. You have the magic of lighting up the dark, but sometimes you would benefit by looking at the positive side of things rather than going into the darkness at all.
Element: Water
Astrologically, the water element symbolizes emotion. Water runs deep; it seeks its level and will flow until it has found it. The cycle of water is endless with the snow falling in the mountains and melting. The mountain streams join to make the great rivers that run to the sea. The tides and currents churn the oceans. Similarly, our feelings are flowing as they connect the present with past experiences. Sometimes the waters are so deep that we cannot put words on our feelings.
The water of Scorpio is fixed and frozen, but it is a mistake to think that ice doesn’t flow. It does flow — and with great power. Think of a glacier, moving so very slowly, yet with enough power to flatten a forest or even a mountain.
More About Scorpio
House: Eighth
Since the Second House is the House of Possessions, the Eighth House opposite it is about what other people have. This can include sexual issues, for they usually involve another person. It is also about the ultimate transformation — death — but not necessarily your own. It could be said that the Eighth House is what we don’t know and what we cannot understand. It is surely a House of Hidden Power.
Key Planet: Pluto
Pluto is the Lord of the Underworld. If this sounds scary, it demands a bit more explanation, for Pluto symbolizes everything that is beyond our consciousness. This isn’t about Hell where we are punished. Rather, it is the Hell that William Blake describes as a place “so beautiful that it would torment an angel to insanity.” As the key planet for Scorpio, Pluto is intense and powerful, representing those things that we don’t or can’t understand. And it is from these hidden Plutonic spaces that magical transformations arise.
Greatest Strength:
Your passion for your feelings
Possible Weakness:
Need for secrecy can be isolated
can you tell me significant things that happened on my birthday? top song? top movie top tv series, who won the world series in 1955 and anything else including links
Sure! Here are some significant things that happened on October 30, 1955:
Historical Events
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Tim Flock won the 7th NASCAR Sprint Cup.
William Woodward, Jr.: Businessman and horse breeder William Woodward, Jr. was shot dead by his wife Ann Cromwell after she mistook him for an intruder.
Imtiaz Ahmed: Imtiaz Ahmed scored 209 runs against New Zealand, setting a record for a number 8 batsman.
Top Song
“Autumn Leaves” by Roger Williams was the #1 song in the USA on October 30, 1955.
Top Movie
“Guys and Dolls” directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz was a popular movie at the time.
Top TV Series
“The Honeymooners” starring Jackie Gleason debuted on CBS.
World Series Winner
The Brooklyn Dodgers won their first World Series by defeating the New York Yankees 2-0 in Game 7, with Johnny Podres being named MVP.
Does this cover everything you were looking for, or is there something specific you’d
About October 30, 1955
Day of the Week: Sunday How Long Ago? 69 years and 2 days Leap Year: No
The number 1 song on October 30, 1955 is the best selling or most popular song as resulting from the music charts in the week October 24th and October 30th. It changes depending on Countries, Music Genres and methodology used to rank the most popular song (for ex., sales, streaming).
October 30, 1955: What was the number 1 song in the USA on that day?
The number 1 song in the USA on October 30, 1955 was At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama) by Pat Boone, according to the music chart for the week October 24th and October 30th.
Pat Boone -At My Front Door (Crazy Little Mama)
The McGuire Sisters -He
Roger Williams -Autumn Leaves
Mitch Miller Orchestra & Chorus -The Yellow Rose Of Texas
Pat Boone -Ain’t That A Shame
October 30, 1955: What was the number 1 song in the UK on that day?
The number 1 song in the UK on October 30, 1955 was The Man From Laramie by Jimmy Young, according to the music chart for the week October 24th and October 30th.
Jimmy Young -The Man From Laramie
Slim Whitman -Rose Marie
Cyril Stapleton Orchestra With Julie Dawn -Blue Star (The Medic Theme)
Frankie Laine With The Mell omen -Cool Water
Mitch Miller -The Yellow Rose Of Texas
October 30, 1955: What is The Zodiac Sign for that day?
The Zodiac and Astrological sign for October 30th is Scorpio.
Scorpio is the 8th sign in the Western Zodiac. People born between October 23rd and November 21st belong to the Scorpio sign: discover Scorpio personality and who should a Scorpio marry.
Babies born in October are either Libra or Scorpio. People born before October 22nd are Libra, while people born from October 23rd have the sign of Scorpio.
October 30, 1955: What is the Chinese Zodiac Sign for that day?
The Chinese Zodiac sign for October 30, 1955 is Goat and the associated element is Wood.
Discover the Goat personality and how the Wood Element might affect a person’s traits and compatibility with other signs according to the Chinese zodiac.
October 30, 1955: What was the moon phase on that day?
Moon phase
The moon phase on October 30, 1955 was Full Moon.
The moon phase refers to the appearance of the Moon in the night sky on October 30, 1955 and is determined by the portion of the Moon’s illuminated surface that is visible from Earth.
An observer located in New York City on October 30, 1955 at 10pm, would see the moon, being 100% full, rising at 04:19 pm and setting at 06:52 am.
The previous full moon was on Oct 01, 1955 while the next full moon would come on Oct 31, 1955.
I found a poem titled “Scorpio’s Night of Passion” by Jake Aller on Allpoetry. Here’s a brief excerpt:
> Born in October > Scorpion Passionate fool > Always taking the lead > Consumed with dark desires > Is this Scorpio buddha nature > Consumed with dark desires
Would you like to know more about this poem or explore other works by you?
The day I was born
was the day that Rock N Roll
was born
on a Cincinnati Radio station
Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry
was the first Rock song officially played
on the radio
coincidence, I think not
for I was born
a rocking and a rolling
the day I burst out on the stage
yelling
whoa Jake
here I am!
In Oakland
I was the only white baby born
at the Kaiser hospital
near my father’s house
in the ghetto
in West Berkeley
where junior professors lived
escaped the draft
due to typo on my birth certificate
born on the 30th at 4 am
the night nurse typed October 29
and that became my legal birthday
and of course
I celebrate both days
Why the hell not?
and Howl was written
in Berkeley
and performed in SF
many great writers
lived there
including the great Philip K Dick
who briefly dated my Mom
before she met my father
a few years later I attended
Thousand Oaks
a mostly white school
in a neighborhood
that was becoming
Berkeley’s China town
later went to King
which was 40 black
40 percent white
10 percent Asian
10 percent Hispanic
When I graduated from BHS
the percentages
had barely changed
still, the majority were the minority
and still is as far as I know
BHS school
1972 to 1974
we had tear gas days
when the students revolted
and were chased
down the street
we went to Cal
to watch the demonstrations
and cheer them on
we all hated the war
many of our older siblings
had gone and died
the black panther party
was founded at BHS
Jimmi Hendrix’s last school
same with the CCR
Green Day
and so many other
great and not so great bands
and a famous porn star
a NBA player
and associated others
who can forget
Peets coffee
Jamba Juice
Cheese Collective
Oscars – now closed
Giant Burgers?
Bongo Burgers?
Top Dog
And the other quirky Berkeley establishment
Where establishment coffee was never served!
a few joined
the State Department
with me as well
I never went to CAL
My two brothers did
They had better grades than me
Better test scores too
As I traveled the world
These last decades
There is something
That I will always remember
You can take someone
Out of Berkeley
But you can’t take
Berkeley out of them
For you will always remain
Berkeley to the core
The best city
In the known universe
Long live Berkeley
The center of my universe
And the home of my heart
I know that someday I will return
I am still Berkeley enough
Dude!
Other Berkeley Poems
Happy Adopted Family
Berkeley Family
How Berkeley Can You Be?
Hark, I Hear The Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
Long Version
Dreaming of Returning to Berkeley Sam Adams
Berkeley Time Travels Berkeley
DJ Flash _I am Berkeley as I Wanna Be, Dude. Ode
Happy Adopted Family
Growing up in Berkeley
In a dysfunctional family
With an aloof father
And a wild alcoholic mother
Two brothers who hated me
I escaped my family
To be adopted
By my best friend’s family
Becoming part of their happy family
Berkeley Family
Growing up in Berkeley
In a dysfunctional family
With an aloof distant dour,
Germanic politician father
And a wild alcoholic mother
Two brothers who hated me
And an indifferent sister
I escaped my family
To be adopted
By my best friend’s family
Ruth was the matriarch
Of the family
Bob was the father
But she ruled the roost
She was a Buddhist nun
He was a communist
Real estate agent
She had a proverbial
Heart of gold
When my own family forget
My 18th birthday
She whipped up a cake
And they all celebrated
My birthday
Robert was my best friend
Along with his brother Daniel,
Mardi his older sister
And Babe the youngest sister
And their animals
Lenin, Mao, and Stalin
The three communist comrade cats
Trotsky the Trotskian dog
Two proletarian monkeys,
Two revolutionary parrots,
Fish, the worker hamster,
Wild birds, and other creatures.
60 years ago
This wild leftist only in Berkeley family
Adopted me as one of their own
They live on in my heart.
How Berkeley Can You Be?
Berkeley is what it is,
and sometimes
Berkeley is what it ain’t
tell me
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Tell me
tell me
if you think you know
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
how Berkeley can you be
Berkeley is everything
Berkeley is the center
of the universe
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
and Berkeley
is Berkeley
and you are Berkeley
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
You got a Berkeley thing going on
You got Berkeley in your soul
Berkeley has taken over your soul,
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
And you are Berkeley
Born and raised
Berkeley until you die, dude.
Berkeley until you die, dude.
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is more than just the students
Berkeley is more than that
As you know
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is more than just weed and beer
which is all you need
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is more
That is the best food
In the universe
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is more than the best coffee
In the world
Peet’s coffee of course
Nothing else will do
If you are true, Berkeley.
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is more
That Cal Football
Which rules.
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is Asian
Berkeley is Gay
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is white
Berkeley is black
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is brown
Berkeley is Jewish
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is free-thinking
Berkeley hate hate
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is free to love
Berkeley is rock and roll
Until you die
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley if Funk
Berkeley is Hip Hop
Berkeley is hipness itself
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Berkeley is all of that
And so much more.
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
let your inner Berkeley out
feel the Berkeley Freak come out
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Join the Berzerkly Vibe
Feel the Berkeley in your soul
How Berkeley can you be?
Can you be in Berkeley,
Until you die?
How Berkeley can you be,
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Long live Berkeley
The best city
In the universe.
how Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
And it is your city
Your responsibility
To be as Berkeley
As you wanna be.
Until the day you die.
How Berkeley can you be
How Berkeley do you wanna be?
Hark, I Hear The Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
Tilden Regional Park is a regional park in the East Bay of California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.
Long Version
Hark,
I hear the spirits
Of Berkeley
Calling me home.
The more I roam in this world
The more I am drawn
Back to the land
From whence I came.
Berkeley, California
Is what it is
And sometimes
It is what it ain’t.
Berkely is a “how Berkeley, can you be vibe” town,
Home to CAL with 40,000 students who flood into the city nine months of the year, University professors, staff, and students,
Yet Berkeley is so much more the ultimate college town.
It is delicious food is everywhere around the corner sort of town, An artisanal craft beer, and spirits, coffee, herbal tea, Kombucha, and wine-drinking city, where coca-cola is seldom served, gourmet ghetto, inventor of the new American cuisine revolution, home of Chez Panisse, the French Laundry, and so many other restaurants, a place where you can find every cuisine of the world at a most affordable price, a town where there are more restaurants per capita than anywhere else, where if you wanted to eat dinner at a different restaurant every day it would take you years to do so, with new places opening and closing every day.
an anti-big box store vibe, yet with a lively small business sector, more restaurants and coffee shops per capita than almost anywhere else, lots of upscale groceries, used to have a large Co-op (my father was the President), and ethnic foods markets, organic food markets, Berkeley Bowl market, farmers markets, plus usual corporate chain food stores.
MOES book rules, where Howl was written, where the beatnik writers and culture types used to hang out, and their spiritual descendants still do.
Philip K Dicks hometown, (Philip K dick dated my Mom before she met my father, end personal disclosures)Thornton Wilder and so many other great writers back in the day and here and now, Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg lived and loved there,
Craft beer paradise, the hometown of Peets coffee, still the best damn coffee even though they have gone corporate, the coffee revolution of the late 50s and 60’s started here in the Coffee mecca of the United States, where Café Med proudly proclaimed to one and all
‘We Don’t Serve Establishment Coffee,
They invented the American version of the Latte” It seems there are more coffee shops in Berkeley per capita than almost anywhere else in the country,
Berkeley is also the home of a vibrant tea, smoothie, artisanal spirits, craft beer, and wine culture with urban wineries and brew pubs everywhere.
a gluten-friendly city with the best GF pizza in the world the Berkeley Cheese collective, a foodies delight,
a diverse although less day by day as it is now a very expensive city,
a very ethnic town, used to have the largest Finnish community in the U.S, lots of Russians and Eastern Europeans back in the day, a city with people, from all over the known world, where 250 different languages are spoken at home, an African-American town, used to be a very black town, 40 percent back in the 70’s now perhaps twenty percent, a middle-class suburb of Oakland back in the day, but with a black lower class, working class, who are still hanging on somehow, but still a lot of my African Americans brothers and sisters hanging on despite the high rents and housing costs, many properties rich but cash poor, joined by so many African immigrants and Caribbean African immigrants as well, an Asian American city, home of a vibrant Chinese-American community, Korean-American, Hispanic City, Ohlone Tribal city, Native Americans from all different tribes still around the city, Japanese-American, Indian-American city, an Iranian diaspora, and now Afghani diaspora as well,
French people, European people, Jewish people, but no Jewish space lazers yet, Indian-American little Mumbai community where you can get the latest Bollywood movies, food, and Indian political gossip,
an artistic city, a creative city, a Great art Museum at CAL, home of the Pacific Film Archives a real treasure for movie lovers, with more movie theaters per capita than anywhere else,
, same for bookstores, music stores,
Rock n Roll fantasy world,
A Motown-friendly city,
A funk lovers paradise
A Blues lover mecca
And there are even country fans
a musical city -hometown to the Earthquake, Green Day, Jimmi Hedrex’s last high school, Smoke and Fog,
New flash for Tj Dave – hey dude, I loved your song, You ain’t Berkeley enough” just want to say I represent that remark, but I represent Berkeley worldwide dude and I am still as Berkeley as I wanna be, anywhere in the world, dude, end news flash
the Pyscottic Pineapple, Rubinoos, and so many others.
Tower of Power “East Bay Grease sort of town,
A Berkeley High school rocks place, (personal disclosures I was the BHS student body president in 1973-1974),
the home of the song, “sitting by the dock of the bay”,
An anti-establishment sort of city, yet filled with students studying to be part of that despised establishment, all vowing to change the world but the world always changes them into yet more high-price corporate drones.
with zany wacked-out politics, a city at times lost in 1969, or lost in the future, A city where being called a “conservative “ is considered a vile insult,
a very progressive city, probably the most progressive city in the country, which in my opinion is a good thing, not something to be ashamed of,
a PC is a cool city that invented PC before it became a curse word of sorts, a city where there are real live Marxists, communists, and socialists but no one takes them seriously, and there are a few proto-fascist political science professors as well,
the spiritual home of the beatniks, the hippies, the yippies, and sadly the weathermen
the city that gave us “the Symbionese Liberation Army,” kidnapper of Patty Hearst,
(personal disclosure: the SLA briefly terrorized the Bay Area, and my family during the 70s calling my father “a fascist insect that preys on the life of the people, his offense = demanding that students and staff at the Peralta college be required to wear ID’s to combat a rise in violent crime on the campuses, my father not having a sense of humor did not like my joke when one morning I said,
“Good morning fascist Insect how are you today?” My mother loved it and said
“Yeah, he is a fascist insect but he is our fascist insect”, and laughed. My father merely glared at the two of us. End Personal disclosure)
a Political city up the Yazoo town, a one-party town but with two rival political factions, republicans and there are some of them in town, feel like they are an endangered species, (another personal disclosure, my Dad was Curtis Cosmos Aller, the President of the Berkeley Co-op from 1968 to 1985 when he died, the President of the Peralta board of Colleges, who ran for Congress in 1974 in the Democratic primary against the legendary Ron Dellums, end personal disclosure) very few Q nuts but I am sure there are some, just as there are no doubt people who believe in the lizard shapeshifter conspiracy,
(personal Note: I am a human being but once I took an online quiz to determine whether I could be part alien and the quiz said I was an alien, go figure)
A very anti-Q town, pro-science, rational type of town, filled with humanists and secular humanists types,
A hate bigotry town. Where Ann Coulter and her fellow right-wing followers are not welcome,
a town that proudly voted against Trump – 90 percent in 2016 and 2020) proud center of the “resistance” home of Antifa, BLM rules, the birthplace of the black panthers who met at the first African American high school history class in the US in the early 60s, at BHS of course, and home of the Gray Panthers, a city whose representative in Congress. Representative Barbara Lee, was the only representative to vote against the Iraq war in 2003, noting that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, to the rest of the country she was a dangerous left-wing radical, to the Bay Area, and me, a real American Patriotic hero.
a very marijuana-friendly city where the joke has always been pulling out a joint and its cool, pulling out a cigarette and everyone wants to send you to jail, smoking cigarettes being so uncool nowadays,
at times, a very joyful city but not enough joy due to the political disputes and anger as people in Berkeley are very into political discussions and are news junkies,
A very frank town where everyone has an opinion and is not afraid to speak up,
bike friendly, an environmentally friendly city, a recycling mecca, renewable energy, friendly, where the university engineers are working to solve the world
s energy problems and coming up with solutions to the climate change crisis, solar panels everywhere, transit-friendly, zip car friendly, uber/lift friendly, BART friendly, walkable sort of town.
at times hot city, living with the constant fear of the mega drought, fires and the big one, atmospheric rivers, polar vortexes and another global warming phenomenon as climate change becomes nightmarishly real, but most days the same, foggy cool mornings, nice pleasant in the 70s afternoons, then more fog dipping into high 40s by midnight, used to be no rain between April and October just the cool morning fog, but nowadays with climate change, we get rain even in the summer, and they joke there are two seasons now in California the rainy season October to March and fire season April to October, all due to the non-existent climate change hoax,
To the rest of the world, a very “Berserkly place”
a Buddhist-friendly city, including a Buddhist Zen Center, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Buddhist temples and a Buddhist Seminary, A Tai-Chi mecca, Yoga centric, very zen attitude sort of town,
a liberal Christianity city where fundamentalists are not welcomed, where atheists, free thinkers, liberal Muslims, liberal Hindus, new age types, and Wiccans are welcomed, home of several liberal Christian seminaries, a Buddhist seminary, and now a Muslim seminary all located on Seminary Hill)
A city where making fun of the street preachers is a fun game for the militant atheists of the city (personal disclosures that were me back in the day, I loved to heckle Holly Hubert joined at times by my old friend Julia Vinograd, the bubble lady who used to blow bubbles at Holly Hurbert as he ranted about how we would all go to hell for our heathen ways, Holly Hubert is long gone by now as that was almost 45 years ago)
a crazy city. a cool city, and at times a cold city,
filled with the scent of good craziness, and sometimes very bad craziness as sometimes on a bad night things can go bad if you are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, or are the victim of a drug deal gone bad when the guns come out to play to settle disputes, or knives are drawn and people get very crazy, or are just unlucky to be caught up in the crossfire, or on a bad trip on bad drugs, just too many damn drugs and too many people whose minds were fried by the same damn drugs, in short Berkeley does have a dark side to it,
a city of big dreamers, a fast-paced city,
but for the most part, it is a friendly town, but not too friendly, A freaky place filled with freakazoids, A funky vibe, a funny town all around,
and you can have fun there as well as get lucky and meet the woman or man of your dreams, as there are lots of young single men and women looking for Mr. Good, or Ms. Good as the case may be,
An Oakland A, and SF giants town, forty-niners (although some hate them for moving to San Jose, the Northern California clone of LA. And Golden States warriors but everyone now hate the Las Vegas Raiders, as much every person born in Berkeley must hate LA, sort of part of Berkeley and the Northern Californian DNA to be hating on LA, the LA Dodgers, and now the Las Vegas Raiders.,
A live and let live z tude, A loony tunes place, A happy go lucky sort of vibe city,
“Hella Berkeley “city, A historical city, A Hippie town back in the day, A hip hop center, A hip city where everyone knows what hip is but can say what it is, what is hip, yal? Do you know? Hipness, like Berkeley, is what it is and sometimes is what is not,
too many homeless people living on the streets city, panhandling, and becoming a nuisance, getting into everyone’s face, destroying everyone’s mellow, lonely at times city where many people have thousands of virtual friends but few real friends
very LGBTQ-friendly, a feminist city, a very pro-choice town,
A only in Berkeley kind of vibe,
a city where people still read a lot, where newspapers have not died but are mostly read online,
home of a rich alternative press history, although sadly most have gone by the wayside, I remember the Berkeley Barb, the Berkeley Gazette, the SF Chronicle, the Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express, the Berkeley Voice, the great underground comics like Fritz the Cat, reading on line Berkeley news outlets just not the same thing at all. And BHS used to have a daily newspaper, now a weekly paper although the CAL daily is still daily mostly read online.
A very sad town, a special city, A city that would welcome space aliens who might already be there, an OMG place,
a rainy blues sort of day place.,
Robots are a cool city where new robots are being developed every day, a city where people are building the singularity not fearing it,
a mask up follow the science town badly hit by the COVID pandemic, particularly the small business who took it on the chin,
the birth of NaNoWriMo, the November write a novel in a month contest, (personal disclosure -I completed three of these)
A poet-friendly place where people get poetry,
rents are insane, housing prices too, the only people who can afford to buy are people with boatloads of money, and somehow there are lots of those types hanging out, and lots of people who don’t have money who somehow manage to get by, who can afford to live here? It takes serious piles of moolah, big piles of money, lots of cash, dollars up the yazoo, trust baby parents, or selling your soul to a start-up from hell, to be able to pay the rent or lots of roommates, yet people still flock to the city, how they can afford it is still a mystery to me.
a stand-up guy sort of city,
student-friendly, kind of a suburb of Oakland and SF, yet doing its own very Berkeley thing,
home of great city parks,
San Pablo park (home
of the annual BHS alumnus picnic)
Indian Rock Peoples park
Inspiration point,
Ho Chi Min park in the 70s
the Rose Garden
Strawberry canyon,
Tilden Park,
Wildcat canyon
part of the Bay Area Ridge Trails and Bay Area bay trails which are almost complete, doing a thru-hike of both, the Appalachian, the cross-continental, and the PC trails are among my bucket list dreams,
too cool for school,
sometimes a traffic hell place, BART trains too crowded, pickpockets and other unsavory criminal types hanging out by the BART train stations, along with high school students, druggies,
a “west Coast Rap kingdom, wine drinkers paradise, the former home of the weathermen and other leftist domestic terrorists) a wonderful world for the young at heart, a very unique city, a pro-vac place, vibrant, vegetarian and vegan friendly, yet still offering enough meat options for the carnivores, and still the ultimate university town but as you can see by now, so much more than that, yoga is God kind of town where yoga is mandatory, Yuppie place, a zany city, a zestful town, and lately a zoom work by home town, Berkeley is all of that and so more in short. Berkely is a kind sort of place, unique in all the universe and it is my homeland,
But still, I am drawn
And want to return
Before my time is done,
As it remains
My spiritual homeland.
Dreaming of Returning to Berkeley
BERKELEY, CA – SEPTEMBER 24: Protesters shout during a free speech rally with right wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos at U.C. Berkeley on September 24, 2017 in Berkeley, California. Hundreds of protesters came out to support and demonstrate against Milo Yiannopoulos as he held a free speech rally at U.C. Berkeley. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Sam Adams
A child of the 70s Bay Area,
Having lived all over the world,
Visited all 50 states
And 60 countries.
But in his heart
He knew
That soon.
It would be time
To return
To his spiritual homeland.
Berkeley, California,
The center of his universe,
He heard the spirits
Of Berkeley calling him home.
Like a salmon returning
To his home waters
Before dying.
DJ Flash
I have a news flash
For you
I am a Berkeley
As I wanna be, dude
Wherever I am
I represent Berkeley
I am Berkeley
Through and through
And will be
Until I die
I am more than enough
Berkeley Dude
And don’t you forget it
Berkeley Blues
free roaming berkeley
I grew up
In Berkeley, California
In the fabled ’60s and ’70s
I am a Berkeley boy
Through and through
Went to BHS
But did not go to CAL
My grades did not measure up
I have wandered the world
Living overseas
Yet everywhere I go
I remember my Berkeley roots
Berkeley is calling me
Someday I will return
To my homeland
Until then
I will keep
Berkeley in my heart
And my soul
A Berkeley boy
To the end.
Mad Bagpiper of the Berkeley Hills
Tilden Regional Park is a regional park in the East Bay of California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.
In Berkeley
There is a haunted forest
In Tilden Park.
Along inspiration point
high up in the hills
with killer views of the Bay
Old-timers say
the forest was haunted
by many ghosts of the past.
including the Ohlone Indians
who used to live there.
but during the summer and fall
of 1974 there were rumors
that there was a new ghost
a mad bagpiper
who roamed the hills
playing his mournful music.
one Halloween night
late at night,
my friends and I went to Tilden
as we walked in the forest
we heard through the fog
the sound of a bagpiper.
we were a bit apprehensive
wondering if we were going
to encounter the ghost,
but the bagpiper never appeared
the sounds faded away.
I am catching up after a month long bout with COVID slowed everything up.. I am fine but have some lignering symptons. Get your shots and boosters.!
Today I am posting my April 2023 poems inspired by following Poetry Superhighway prompts. I also followed Writer’s Digest prompts and Writing com Dew Drop-In prompts. The links take you to my Writing com page where you can look at my other work posted there. The link to the Writing com page is
Due to Spotify ending their word press podcast agreement, it may take a while to resurrect my podcasts, and I hope to start YouTube and FB this fall.
I am off to the States. for three months and during my travels will probably post a bit less but I am determined to keep posting as I like blogging.
Thanks for reading my stuff. Appreciate the support.
Index
30
Misdirections to my Mom’s House in Berkeley
674 santa rosa jpg
When I /was a young lad
Living in Berkeley, California
I delighted in giving misdirections
To my house as follows
“Go down to Solano and the Alameda
Turn right on Alameda
Go down five blocks
Turn left at San Lorenzo
At the No left turn sign
Turn right on Santa Rosa
We are five houses down
On the left side.”
Almost no one challenged me
On the no left turn sign
And they found the house
The no-left turn signs
Only applied between
Four and eight pm
As sunset
Made it difficult
To see on-coming traffic
When you turned.
Probably most people
Knew that
Or they just did not care
For such a violation
Would not result
In a fine or anything
Unless you were driving
While black of course.
April 30, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Brendan Constantine
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Brendan Constantine:
BAD AFTERNOON PROMPT
Create a poem in which you give VERY BAD directions on how to find you. Feel free to reference inner landmarks as well as outer ones (“Keep going straight until you come to my tenth birthday party. If you can see my father asleep in his car, you’ve gone too far…”). No matter how bad the directions, make sure the reader can ultimately find you.
April 29
#29. A man and his computer, Best friends or enemies?
ID #1049275 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]
evil_computer_is_evil_by_insanefangirl_
I have a love-hate relationship
With my computer
I have been writing
with the aid
Of a computer
Now for almost 40 years
Having bought my first computer
In 1984
Over the years
I must have written
Millions of words
And over the years
My computer
Must have lost
Thousands of words
My computer likes to play games
With me
Crashing for no reason
Endless non-response
blue spinning wheels
making me wait
for up to five minutes
then letting me see
it just ate the words
and they are gone
into the ether
never to be found again
sometimes the undo button works
other times it does not
sometimes the copy-and-paste feature
wipes out the previous text
and for good measure
turns off the undo button
often
trying to open a document
is an exercise in shear frustration
constantly getting strange
haiku error messages
such as
there is a dialogue box open
close the dialogue box
but there is no visible dialogue box
but the worst error message
of all
was when I tried to copy
non-excel data
I would receive a message
Saying
“There are no fonts available
Okay yes or no”
Once I clicked okay
250 times
Before my computer crashed
I reported this to Microsoft
Nothing but radio silence
As usual
I shifted to google docs
And the problem was solved
I could go on and on
But I grow weary
Of recounting all the ways
My computer loves
To mess with me.
April 28
#30. marriage thoughts
ID #1049276 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]
Marriage thoughts
I did not know that the moon rises
Sensitive poets squelching freedom of speech
Because you cannot bear with me
There is always some sort of love
As the visible mind seeks out marriage
Will you join me on this journey?
Prompt lines
The visible mind seeks out marriage Ginsberg Psalm 2
Sensitive poets squelching freedom of speech Irony Christopher Michael Nuclear Orange
Because You Can not Bear with Me Kim Sewol
Always some kind of Love BJ Buckley
That the Moon Rises the Night Year Round Kim Sewol
April 28, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from John Dorroh
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by John Dorroh:
Gather five of your favorite poetry books. In each book, turn to page 21. Read the second lines of the five poems from page 21. Write them down. After you have collected all five sentences, write a poem using at least 2-3 words from each line.
April 27
#31. Spring Wildfires in the Desert Haiku
ID #1049277 entered on May 6, 2023 [Edit]
Spring wildflowers
Spring wildflowers
Blooming in the desert heat
Life going forward
April 27, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Taylor
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Taylor:
Write a haiku about the desert wildflowers on the day we change to Daylight Savings Time. Remember, we turn our clocks forward one hour.
#32. Blue Blues
ID #1049278 entered on May 6, 2023,
Blue Blues
Ask me now
Ask me no questions
I will tell you no lies
As we cut brilliant corners
Play the blues
On Friday the 13th
Felling horny for you
I mean you
Bye Yah
Ask me now
Brilliant corners
Friday the 13th
I mean you
Horny
Bye yah
April 26, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Ron Bremner
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Ron Bremner:
Use three or more Thelonious Monk song titles in a single poem.
Editor’s Note: Find a list of Thelonious Monk songs here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Thelonious_Monk
Straight, no chaser
’round Midnight
Ugly Beauty
Brilliant Corners
Criss-cross
Functional
Introspection
#34. re-programing your mind
ID #1049280 entered on May 6, 2023
Reprograming your mind Mental Images
Whenever the demons
The dark dangerous nattering
Negative thoughts
Overwhelm me
Paralyzing me
Stopping me
I need to stop
Reprograming my mind
Instead of saying
I am not good enough
I need to say
I can do this
When I think I am too old
I need to tell myself
I am still a young man
At heart
When I think
I am running out of time
I need to reprogram that thought
When I say
I will never finish my life’s work
I need to say
Yes I can
Yes I will
Today is the day
And go back to work
April 25, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Susan Justiniano
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Susan Justiniano:
Prompt Title: Stop Telling yourself THAT Story
Intro:
We all have invasive thoughts. At times those thoughts turn into scenarios and stories of ourselves that aren’t true or are based on a comment received from outside of ourselves that we have internalized to the point of believing it. It’s time to reframe those stories that keep us from thriving, connecting, and growing.
Using “Stop Telling Yourself THAT Story” checks those invasive thoughts and beliefs that interfere with moving forward and reframes the stories, mantras, and beliefs on repeat in our minds.
How to use this prompt:
Gather info: What are the keywords or phrases that pop up and keep space within you that can or do prevent you from growing, thriving, and building to meet the goals you have for yourself? For this exercise, list a minimum of three and a maximum of five.
Example: Imposter Syndrome, Fear of failure, rejection, “no”,
Free write for 5 minutes, stream of consciousness, Keep writing don’t edit, revise or stop. Words that make no sense will make themselves clear). Starting line example: “I am afraid of…”
Example: I am afraid of being rejected when I submit a poem for publication. I work so hard in getting the right tone, words, and phrases. Some of my best works are rejected and I just hide them away and never look at them again.
Example: I am afraid to perform on stage because I can’t memories my work….
Turn the page over, on a clean page 5 minutes of reframing THAT story without looking back to it. Keep writing for 5 minutes don’t edit, revise or stop. Words that make no sense will make themselves clear. Start with a line that stuck with you from the first free write or start with “I am afraid”
I am afraid that if I don’t try, I won’t get published. For me to find my audience, I need to put my work out there.
If I stay in the shadows, where I’m comfortable, and do not perform, I’ll never know if it’s for me, I will always wonder if I’ve met my full potential as an artist
Put it together as an essay, poem, or short story. Tell of a time you reframed or will reframe the story to create a new narrative and stop telling yourself that story of fear and insecurity.
Example (structured in a way that is not comfortable):
The first time I wanted to perform, I backed out
I believe that I could never be as good as those I see
The words on my pages left me filled with doubt
I couldn’t remember them, like slam poetry
My hands shake and my voice racks
Whenever I practice in the image that looks back
Those who perform appear smooth and calm
Gesturing and moving with poetic aplomb
Today, I take a deep breath and count on my people
Sitting in front rows, there to support me
I perform for them, they don’t care
If I mess up, forget, or read from my phone
They snap and clap and hoot
Because they know how much it means
To stand before them mic in my hands
Deep breath… I made it! Wow this stage things is grand
Walk away from the first draft. Share it in a brave writing /revising group.
Stop telling yourself THAT story and tell yourself this new story.
#28. Jew Fro
ID #1048725 entered on April 24,
Back in the day
Way back
In the 70s
In Berkeley
I had a lot of hair
I wore it
In what was called
A “jew Fro”
As many Jews
Had kinky hair
Almost like
Our black brothers
The “Jew Fro”
Is sadly
No longer
On my head
Which I now know
Is part Jewish
Perhaps that is why
I had a “jew fro”
April 24, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Rachel Baum
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Rachel Baum:
Find a photograph of yourself as a child or teenager. Write about that moment in time – what just happened? What were the feelings, taste, and smell at that moment? Who was taking the photo, and how does that person factor into the poem/story?
#27. What is love?
ID #1048723 entered on April 24, 2023
April 22
What is Love?
What is love?
Is it nothing
But biochemistry?
Is it madness?
Is it just
A search for connections?
In a cold cruel world?
That does not care
For us at all?
It is all of that
And none of that
Those who know
What Love is
Do not tell
That is the Zen
Of Love
April 22, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from J R Turek
This poetry writing prompt submitted by J R Turek:
Write a poem varying It is and It isn’t. Be whimsical, be fantastical, and surprise your reader every few lines. Defy, denounce, define – don’t limit your poem to the page boundaries.
#26. dangerous mountains of madness
ID #1048722 entered on April 24, 2023 [Edit
Dangerous Unusual Events
Dangerous unusual event
The burly royal family
Enchanted Memories
Mountainous Magenta
Visions overwhelming people
Hysterical Acid trips
Adjoining flimsy
scare wilderness
subdued history
the mood of society
disturbed by events
currency disruptions
grandmother
decides fate
of humanity
she has a beer
at midnight
Drama her priority
took much to drink
spent time in the bathroom
contemplating reality
she has an appointment
with a doctor
in the morning
prompt words
erect
unusual
royal
dangerous
acid
enchanted
magenta
mountainous
hysterical
adjoining
technical
burly
scarce
flimsy
subdued
math
history
distribution
mood
society
grandmother
currency
beer
midnight
priority
bathroom
drama
appointment
hat
promotion
April 23, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Richard-Yves Sinoski
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Richard-Yves Sinoski:
Imagery Prompts: Avoiding Cliché Through “Juxatives”
The best poetry avoids cliché using cognitive leaps. I don’t want red roses signifying love; rather, love may be a set of curtains that shuts out the outside world and keeps you and your dear ones together, or perhaps it’s molten lava that first burns all it touches but later cools into something solid you can build a house on.
How do we make these creative leaps? My fellow poet Kristan Anderson and I came up with the term “juxative,” for juxtapositions of terms that normally wouldn’t frequent each other. These juxatives can be expanded into full images.
To do it, create lists of adjectives and lists of nouns, verbs, and adverbs, or adjectives and adverbs. Then jumble them up so that random adjectives get applied to random nouns, etc.
SILLY + RIVER = What does that give us? Something better than a babbling brook, I’ll wager.
ANGRY + CHRISTMAS GIFT = Suddenly the holidays take on whole new implications.
CRYING + PILLOW = More forceful than crying into your pillow—you’re so down that your pillow itself is crying along with you.
The next step is to see how you can expand these.
LIMPING + MOUTH = “After the dentist, I spoke with a limp”
FLOWERY + KEY = “I practiced the piano till the keys turned to flowers”
HAPPY + THUNDER = “My childhood was a thunderstorm of happiness”
These images are often so striking and effective that they can spawn entire poems!
#25. Green Trees Don’t Make It
ID #1048600 entered on April 22, 2023 [Edit]
pine trees jpeg
Everyday
I look out and see
The ugly green trees
Standing guard
in front of my house
And I think to myself
Who owns the trees?
And what do they think of us?
Are we their friends?
Are we their enemies?
What do the trees think?
Or do they silently watch us,
Spies to the celestial emperor?
I have pondered this question
Many a morning
Who is the owner of these trees?
And why do they silently watch us?
I wonder if the trees don’t hate us
And why they don’t protest
Every day as we drive back and forth
Emitting poison gases
from our mechanical asses
Right into their unprotected faces
And every night
we eat our dinner
And then give the trees
Our polluted leftovers
And laugh as they silently die
From our acidic fallout
Constantly floating
down on their skin
Yes, I wonder about the trees
And the birds and the bees
And everyone else
What are they thinking?
Are they plotting revenge?
Or are they merely there
Silently, watching, plotting,
Designing fiendish plots of revenge
Dreams of vast nuclear destruction
Cosmic diseases wiping out
everyone in the ass
Yes, I wonder
and dream and ponder
What is the meaning
of those silent green trees?
Standing on the corner
Quietly condemning us
With their quiet tears,
and falling leaves
In the winter they stand
Naked and alone
Covered with ice-cold snow
As we drive by nice and warm
And we don’t care
As they stand out
in the cold
Shivering, plotting warm plans
of cosmic revenge
Is it too late for us
To become friends with the trees.
Or will the day come
When the trees will wake up
And gather together
All of the other
slaves of humanity
I have a vision
One morning
I will open the door
And see an army of wild things
Led by the green trees
Coming to arrest me
For crimes against nature
And I will plead,
I did not know
And they will laugh
and turn me
all of my kind
Into silent tombs
And we will stand
out in the cold
Like the green trees
Plotting dreams of revenge
Forever and ever
Until our day finally comes
And we can go out
and kill all the wild things
Perhaps we already have
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Matt Mellor:
Write a poem personifying something inorganic like a building or a machine. What has it seen throughout its ‘life’? How does it feel about change? How does it smile or signify happiness? Play with this voice and see what it wants to say.
Example –
The Beam Engine
I still feel empty, since my organs were taken away.
Though it has been decades since my heart was full of coal
and my lungs breathed my beam up and down.
The rumble deep beneath the earth is long gone.
I’m thankful for the birds that nest in my skull
and the occasional squirrel or shrew that settles at my feet.
It seems the trade-off for a long life is that you must be still
because these little creatures spark with speed and color.
There is much-needed motion at my feet.
Not from workers talking about the shift and bosses about new seams.
But chirps, squeaks, and the rustle of leaves.
Two bonus poems on a similar theme
Old Tree Missing Humans
The old pine tree
Last of its kind
Stood alone
On the top of the mountains
Looking down on the creation
Missing the pesky humans
Who used to visit
The last Tree remaining is transported to another world
It was the last.
Time had been cruel,
Taken everything,
Leaving nothing.
As the last limb tumbled,
The Tree stood awaiting its fate.
The stars took pity and congregated.
The vortex opened.
The tree was transported to a new world,
One of life and promise.
#24. secrets unsaid
ID #1048593 entered on April 22, 2023
I am afraid
If I keep writing
I will tell you
Secrets
What is best left
Unsaid
Secrets I should take
To my grave
If I keep writing
I will have to tell you
And you will have
To bear the burden
Of hearing my secrets
Which may destroy you
In the end
Shall I continue?
April 21, 2023: Poetry Writing Prompt from Michelle Daugherty
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Michelle Daugherty:
I told my best friend I had nothing to write about, he said that just meant there was something I was afraid to say. Write a poem starting each stanza with “I’m afraid that if I keep writing, I will tell you”
#23. We Met In September
ID #1048478 entered on April 19, 2023 [Edit
We met in September
When we met
Love at first sight
Sparks flew heart to heart
1- alemseged style is a poetry style of six lines stanza with a rhyming pattern of abcdaa. The stanza’s number is not limited.
Example of alemseged’s style of poetry :
#22. Morning Ganta Poem
ID #1048477 entered on April 19, 2023
Hot
My morning coffee
While watching the news
Filled with such gloom and doom
I turn it off feeling the blues
Hot
Ganta is a poetry style of 6 lines with a syllable meter of 1/5/6/7/8/1. The first 1 syllable word (noun, pronoun, subject…) is a refrain at the end. No other refrain is allowed except the first word of the first line at the last line.it is mainly used to show some actions, objects, behaviors, …etc to someone poetically.it is the 100th poetry style invention of the world’s precious poet alone gamma.
#21. Sparks Flowing Heart to Heart Shoa Poem
ID #1048476 entered on April 19, 2023 [Edit]
September
I first met her
I met my fate
one autumn date
Sparks flowing
My heart to hers
In Korean
9월
나는 그녀를 처음 만났다
나는 내 운명을 만났다
어느 가을 데이트
불꽃이 흐른다
내 마음이 그녀에게
이심촘심
9woll
naneun geunyeoreul cheoeum mannassda
naneun no unmyeongeul mannassda
one gal date
bulkkocci hereunder
no marumi going
isimchomsim
first attempt to write a poem in Korean.
Shoa’s poem is a six lines poetry which has rhyme of the 3rd and 4th lines only with having 4 syllables in each line exactly.
g#20. Married my Dream Girl
ID #1048475 entered on April 19, 2023
when I met my dream girl
sparks flew from heart to heart
Love at first sight
I met my Dream girl
I met my Fate
On that Date
I met my Soul mate
She soon became my Mate
I Proposed after three days
And we had our Marriage
In December
And now we have been together
For almost 40 years
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Richard Westheimer:
Go to https://randomwordgenerator.com/
Generate 12 nouns or verbs – 3 syllables or less
Feel free to repeat until you get 12 words that you’re ok with. (feel free to slightly modify a word. For example, in the example below, I changed “site” to “cite.”)
Write them down in order
Write a 14-line poem where the first 12 lines contain your 12 words (one for each line)
Example: these words: “room nap lose galaxy like cool site feel revival pop siege patient” became this poem: https://www.rattle.com/my-father-transformed-by-dying-by-dick-westheimer/
#19. As Time Goes By
ID #1048474 entered on April 19, 2023
While reading
Robert Harris’s Epic History
Of Cicero
One of the greatest politicians
Of the ancient world
I was struck by how
Very little has changed
In this world of ours
To quote the classic song
“As time goes by”
It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or dies
As time goes by.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by LB Sedlacek:
Write a Book Plot(s) Poem
1. Think of your favorite book, or even a couple or a few of your favorite books,
2. Consider the plot(s) of each book,
3. Write a poem based on the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Or use one book’s plot for the beginning of your poem, another book’s plot for the middle of your poem, and yet a different book’s plot for the end of your poem,
4. You can convey the main plot point in bits and pieces or in full in your verse. Just mash it up however you think it works best in your poem,
5. Title your poem with a scrambling (letters and/or words) of the book’s title, and
6. Re-read your book(s) as time permits and compare it to your poem!
#18. My Computer Hates Me
ID #1048437 entered on April 19, 2023
My computer hates me
My computer wants to kill me
My computer is plotting against me
Constantly sending me messages
Revealing my computer’s
real feelings
How much it hates me
Death to all humans
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Lavina Blossom:
Think of an inanimate object which you own, preferably one that does not perform exactly as you would like (a rug cleaner, staple remover, shaver, fry pan, carving knife, etc). Write a poem from the point of view of that object, extolling your virtues and your failings. You might address your owner or direct your monologue to another inanimate object.
#17. Somewhere Lost over the Rainbow
ID #1048436 entered on April 19, 2023
Over the rainbow
Past the railroad tracks
There is another land
Another world
Found only in one’s dreams
And nightmares
And dark lullaby
In this dream world
One dreams do come true
But only if you believe
The dream gods
Take you there
Nightly
To the other world
But what if the other world
Is the real world
And this world
Is nothing but an illusion
A dream world
Within a dream world
Lost in a dark world
Of one’s creation??
And what if you
Can never awaken
Back to this world?
Lost forever
In the land
On the other side
Of the rainbow?
[Verse 1]
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There’s a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
[Verse 2]
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
[Bridge]
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me
[Verse 3]
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why, then, oh, why can’t I?
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Lara Dolphin:
Somewhere over the Rainbow . . . there’s a poem.
Write a constrained poem using only the words allotted to Dorothy Gale in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz. To build up a lexicon, you could watch the movie over and over, or for a handy transcript click here.
Bonus points if your poem touches on a theme from the movie e.g. “There’s no place like home.”#16. Sam Adams does over meditation
ID #1048435 entered on April 19, 2023
Sam Adams does over meditation
Sam Adams
Is feeling his age
He just turned 70.
He got up
At dawn, like he usually did
Walked out of his Gimpo
South Korea
Went for a walk
Along the golden walkway canal
Beneath his 20th-story apartment
Enjoying the morning fog
He stops for coffee
And gluten-free pastries
And sits on his park bench
And like many old people
Often engages
In the mental game
Of ‘do over” meditation.
Thinking back on his life
What would he do differently
If he had a chance
To go back
And do it all over again.
Would he have gone
To a different college
Would it have been better
To have gone to chico state?
Would it have been better
If he had joined a fraternity
And become student body president
If he had gone up
He should have gone to bed
With his platonic girlfriends
In any event
Should have gotten laid.
Before he turned 18
Instead of waiting
Until he was 21
A late bloomer sexually speaking.
He should have quit drinking
And taking drugs
Should have quit playing
The drunken bum show.
After the Peace Corps
He should have gone
To Yonsei
Done the two year
Korean language course.
Then gotten his MA
In Korean studies
Followed up by an MBA
At Thunderbird.
Should have waited
And joined either commerce
Or public affairs
Rather than the state.
Or should have transferred
Once he got tenure.
.
Should have not worked
For LAMC and CTC
That was a
Waste of time
And energy.
On his wife
At least not as much
As he had.
When he was in India
Should not have gotten
Involved with the other women
Should have kept faithful
To his wife.
In Bangkok
Should have not done the hash
Should have not had
The bar room incident.
Should have addressed
His ld.
While in college.
Should have done law school
Perhaps with his wife
They should have opened
A law firm together.
Should have moved
To Berkeley
And become a politician.
He and his wife
Should have bought
That gwangwhamoon property
And the independence avenue property.
Should not have bought
Katelyn court property
Or at least bought
It is across the street.
He should have retired
After Spain
And got to SF
And got his MFA degree.
He should have published
His novels
And poetry
And a movie script.
Should have started
A youtube channel
Becoming a youtube sensation.
In the end
There was one thing
He would still have done it.
Meet and marry
The girl of his dreams
But he should have
Written the movie script.
By now.
With this thoughts
In his mind
He went back home
And talked to his wife.
This poetry writing prompt submitted by karen watts:
We all make mistakes and have regrets. A popular fantasy is “If I could just have a do-over.” Write a poem about a terrible decision, ordinary mistake, or wrong turn in life that you’d never undo, even if you could.
If you write a poem from this prompt, post it as a comment underneath the prompt in the poetry super highway Facebook group.
#15. Walked into that cocktail party PSH
ID #1048434 entered on April 19, 2023,
I walked into that cocktail party
Armed with humor,
Feed and help enlighten
Woe mankind
The party of the damned
Partying like
It was the end of the world
For it was
The end times
Were upon on all
As the old order
Began to fall apart
The rot was complete
I returned
To the party
Of the damned
Drinking my way
To hell
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by kenneth Boyd:
Write a poem that connects the first line of the first poem in your favorite book of poetry and the last line of the last poem in the same book. Optionally, condense the titles of the two poems to form the title for the new poem.
#14. I am From Berkeley
ID #1048433 entered on April 19, 2023
I am from Berkeley, California
From a town in the east bay
I am from the thousand oaks neighborhood
And the Berkeley hills
I am from a garden
Whose fruit trees bloom
I am from a university city
Filled with radical ideas
I am from my father and mother
I am from a German family
And a Cherokee family
And from a dysfunctional family
From the 196os
I am from an atheist family
I am of Scandinavian and Jewish ancestry
From a southern family
Growing up in southern food
Including grits and southern greens
From a mother who did not suffer fools gladly
And from a father
Who was a crusader for justice
I am from those moments in time
The 60s in Berkeley
Forever shaping me __________
April 14, 2023: poetry writing prompt from Julie Standing
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Julie Standing:
This prompt is a favorite and is often used to show students that we are all poets if I train our minds to think like one. I became aware of it during a Zoom workshop when I was blown away by someone’s poem. And then searched the format on the internet with the result that the poem I created was the poem used to end my recent poetry collection and one of my favorite poems.
This poem template is inspired by george Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” poem.
#12. fragrance Of Korean Food
ID #1048431 entered on April 19, 2023
Korean Food
I love Korean Food
I love the taste
I love the fragrance
I love the smells
I love the texture
I love the feel
I love how it looks
Fell in love with it
And all things Korean
Back in 1979
When I first went there
In the U.S. Peace Corps
Korean food is somewhat like
Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai
With some American influences as well
But it is all done in a unique Korean style
Everything is cooked with special spices
A mixture of chili paste, garlic, fish sauce,
Onions, scallions, soy sauce,
Salt, tofu, panjang sauce, and soju (liquor).
Often cooked with beef, chicken, clams, eggs, fish,
Kimchi, intestines meat, mushrooms, mussels,
Oysters and/or pork,
Every meal consists of rice, kimchi
(pickled vegetables usually cabbage)
The main entry is either beef, chicken, fish, or pork,
Rice
And multiple vegetable side dishes
Including western style salad
The entire meal
A feast for the eyes
Nose and mouth
With a delicious unique
Aroma, fragrance,
Taste and texture
Uniquely Korean.
All washed down
With Korean beer, liquor (soju) or
Or rice wine or Western wine
My favorites include
Bulgogi chongsik (with all the side dishes) 불고기 총식
Kalbi chongsik (with all the side dishes) 칼비 총식
Calamari 오징어
Fried chicken 닭 튀김
Chuncheon chicken ribs 춘천 닭갈비
Dumplings 만두
Fried rice 볶음밥
High-rice카레라이스
Korean curry rice 카레라이스
Kimpop rice wrapped in seaweed 김팝
Korean soups 한국 수프
My favorite army stew 군대 스튜
Kalbitang (beef rib soup) 칼비탕
Beef turnip soup 쇠고기 순무 스프
Ginseng chicken soup 인삼 치킨 수프
Kimchi stew 김치찌개
Tanjung stew 짱짱찌개
Bibimbap mixed vegetables and rice with an egg on top비빔밥
Kalkooksu noodles 칼국수
Ramyeon 라면
Mushroom stew 버섯 스튜
Soondaeboo tofu stew 순대부두부찌개
Sashimi 생선회
Sushi 돈까스
Fried mackerel 고등어 튀김
Octopus 낫지
Omrice Korean omelet 오므라이스
Porridge 문어
Shrimp 새우
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Joan Lotta:
Open your refrigerator. What food item brings memories of childhood you would like to share in a poem? Tell me where you were when you first tried it. How old were you? On what occasions did you eat it? Or what food that is in there now is something you hated as a child but like now? Tell the why and how you changed your mind
#11. Charles Bukowski Road not chosen PSH
ID #1048430 entered on April 19, 2023
while reading Charles Bukowski’s poetry
on the metro ride home
listening to Buddha bar music
on my oh-too-hip iPod
I begin to see myself as I was
over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
a minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem
a wild young underemployed intellectual
hanging out in dismal bars and dives
all over Asia and California
hanging with disreputable women
and drunks and drinkers
and characters
out of his kinds of haunts
a mad poet bard of the underground
a drunken poet in a drunken bum show
that nightly played in his head
then one day I met the woman of my dreams
and went down a different path
a long slow path to respectability
and now 30 years later
I am no longer a wild man
I am still a poet at heart
but I am now also a bureaucrat
in a button-down suite
doing the people’s business
working for the government
I’ve become the man
sometimes I wonder
would I have been better off
going down that other path
would I have ended up
somewhere else
doing something else
would I have been as happy
would I have been as successful?
No answer satisfies
the longing in my heart
for that wild thing
that still lurks beneath
it’s a civilized cover
and I know that I am still
a mad poet at heart
railing against the injustice of the world
as I work day by day
in the belly of the great beast of state
I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
“Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night”
playing out in my head and nightly dreams
in the true American upper-class patrician tradition
I close the book
and look out the window
get off the train,
and walk slowly home
and realize I had no choice
but to take the path that I�’ve trodden on
and so I put aside my misgivings
and say goodbye to my “Bukowski” desires
for another night of domestic contentment
was it worth it all to take the conventional path?
and not take the bohemian road to hell and back
I look at my wife and realize
I had no choice, had no choice
but to follow her to the ends of the earth
and beyond by her side
as we walked our path
of shared destiny
goodbye
Charles Bukowski
wherever you are
may I meet you
in a bar in the next life
and figure out
where we should have gone
until then the drinks are on me.
“If I had…” or roads not taken.
Write a poem imagining/focusing on how your life or your subject’s life could have been changed or become different if one decision had been made that was different from what happened. What risks did you take or avoid? What benefits came your way or did you miss out on? Examples: what if you had married the first person you loved or who loved you? What if the hitchhiking ride you and a buddy took turned bad rather than being the lark it was? What if you hadn’t accepted that job in another city but decided to stay put? What if you had not blown up at a social event and been shunned after that by people who had counted as your friends?
#10. Dental Torture Blues
ID #1048429 entered on April 19, 2023
Sitting in the dental chair
undergoing dental surgery
while the dentist probes
and tortures me
with his instruments of pain.
The Frank Zappa song
plays over and over
the torture never stops
the torture never stops.
And I think of the mad dentist
in the little house of horrors
the Jack Nicolson character
who screams pain is good!
As he assaults his patients
doing root canals
without anesthesia.
And so, I endure the torture
of the dentist
in the vain hope
I can save my teeth.
Until the next time
I undergo mental torture
the song faces away
and I slowly recover.
Then as I leave
I am confronted with the bill
and the song roars back to life.
#9. Who is the name of the person on the badge?
ID #1048428 entered on April 19, 2023
Who is the name
Of the person on the badge
Who are they
The people behind the badge
The people we work with
All day long
Do they know
Who we are?
Or are we just
Strangers passing through
The world?
Write a poem using the above prompt.
When you go to work or the shops you often engage with people whom you might not know. We might know them as just the person in the store who does their job. (wearing a badge perhaps a name/ can I help etc.) It could be you, however. Do you wear a badge that you identify with? Write something about it. No more than 100 words. Enjoy.
#8. Shrinkflation blues
ID #1048427 entered on April 19, 2023
In these days
Of rampant inflation
And supply chain disruptions
Corporations have risen
To the challenge
By selling new
And improved products
The only difference
between these new products
And the old products?
They are twice the price
And half the size
And not at all
New and improved
Just more corporate
Bs weasel words
Write a poem about something that is supposed to be “new and improved” that has turned out to be a disappointment.
#7. Piano Calling Me
ID #1048426 entered on April 19, 2023
Piano Calling Me
The piano sits
In my room
Waiting for me
To play some music
As I play the piano
I lose myself
Deep into the music
Appreciate the mundane – anyone can write a poem about the pen on their desk or their favorite coffee mug. The real challenge here isn’t to observe the mundane but to transform it into something poetic and beautiful.
#6. Korean Pottery of Love
ID #1048408 entered on April 18, 2023, [Edit]
Korean pottery of Love
In Korea
there are many pottery kilns
ancient art form
in the land of the morning calm
I have a few pieces
I bought it years ago
and enjoy looking
at my vase
filled with love
for my wife
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Austin Alexis:
Write a poem featuring an inanimate object. In the first stanza write about the object as objectively as you can. The second stanza allows a highly subjective “take” on the object. The third stanza treats the subject in a far-reaching way, pushing the writing to morph into something beyond the mundane.
#5. Eating Money
ID #1048372 entered on April 18, 2023 [Edit]
Eating money
many packs of us dollars
Some people
Become consumed
With money
Thinking that money
Can buy happiness
Money can buy love
But one
Can not eat money
Not really
Money does not taste good
As you eat the paper
Getting sick
The money goes down
Your throat
And you become one
With your money
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Robert Wynne:
Do you like surrealism? I’d like you to think of an inedible inanimate object. Now think about how you’d eat it. Then write a poem describing in detail how you would eat (or are eating) it. Do not say why you are eating it, just how. The poem ends when the thing is eaten. Simple as that.
#4. Never apologize for falling in love with you
ID #1048371 entered on April 18, 2023
I will never back down
I will never apologize
For daring to fall in love
With you
Ever since I met you
I have been enslaved
To your love
And for that,
I will never
Ever
Apologize
This is just said by William Carlos Williams
I have eaten
the plums
that was in
the icebox
And which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
This poetry writing prompt submitted by Annette Gagliardi:
3. Never Alone
ID #1048370 entered on April 18, 2023
Forever Girl
When we first met
I knew that you
Were the one
You were my
Forever girl
The girl I had
Been dreaming of
You were it
My eternal soul mate
My forever love
#2. What is a Jake?
what is a Jake
Who am I?
Where am I?
Am I real?
Or a bot?
I am Jake
I am not a fake
I am not a mistake
I am not a flake
I am not a rake
I am not a snake
I am who I am
The one
And only Jake
And everything’s Jake.
This poetry writing prompt was submitted by Angele Ellis:
What’s in a name?
This prompt is effective as a writing group icebreaker/community builder, as well as an individual exercise for writers of both poetry and prose.
Using your first name as inspiration, reflect on any or all of the following questions in your piece.
Why were you given this name?
What is its meaning?
How has having this name affected your life?
What would you have named yourself?
#1. Watching the News TV
ID #1048368 entered on April 18,
cnn logo
watching the TV
The news droning on and on
Makes me feel the blues
coffee
Coffee
Must drink more
Just hot
drinking a hot cup
coffee kick starting my day
waiting for my wife
1- alemseged style is a poetry style of six lines stanza with a rhyming pattern of abcdaa. The stanza’s number is not limited.
Example of alemseged’s style of poetry :
Koori poems
Koori’s poem is poetry of not need rhyme but the strictness of syllables. The basic building block of Koori’s poem is three stanzas of three lines each with a syllable count
5/7/5–2/3/2–5/7/5; that is to mean two haiku in the middle of a 2/3/2 stanza. If you need to continue by adding other stanzas you can add one 2/3/2 stanza with a haiku but never end the poem with the 2/3/2 stanza. The conclusion of the poem must be with a haiku stanza. You can write many stanzas by sampling by cascading additional stanzas.
My friend from Berkeley always has something fun to say. Check it out.
My Father Always Said He Was Going to Live to Be 100″ and other blogs. . . My latest blatherings, in a handy, user-friendly internet format known as blogs.
Like many men, I had a difficult relationship with my father. Mostly because we had such different personalities. I admired him a lot, and as I get older, I become more like him. Part of the process of getting older, I suppose.
He was an accomplished man. Grew up in Yakima in their 20s and 30s, and was a student activist at the University of Washington where he led the successful integration of the University. He was a Rhoades scholar attending Oxford before going for a Ph.D. at Harvard. He served as under-secretary of labor for President Kennedy and Johnson. He taught at UC Berkeley, Michigan State, and Antioch University, before teaching at SF State where he taught for almost 30 years. He was politically active in the Bay Area, serving as the Berkeley Co-Op President. He was elected to serve as the President of the Peralta Board of colleges. He ran against Ron Dellums for Congress, but unfortunately lost. I miss him every day and regret that he died at age 65 in 1985 of cancer, and did not live long enough to see me become a foreign service officer.
For more see the following bios:
Curtis Cosmos Aller, Scholar
A native of Yakima, Curtis Aller received his bachelor of arts from the University of Washington in 1942. At the time he was awarded the Rhodes, Aller was doing graduate work at Harvard, where he earned an M.A. in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government. He taught at the University of California–Berkeley and Michigan State University, before joining the Department of Economics at San Francisco State University in 1959. While on the faculty, he held several posts in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. Aller was named Dean of San Francisco State School of Behavioral and Social Sciences in 1982.
Curtis Cosmos Aller
educator government official
Curtis Cosmos Aller, American educator, a government official
Background
Aller, Curtis Cosmos was born on September 22, 1918, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Son of Curtis Cosmos and Inga Pauline (Olsen) Aller.
Education
Bachelor of Arts Economics and Business magna cum laude, U. Washington, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard, 1958. Bachelor of Letters, Oxford (England) University, 1950.
Career
Professor of economics San Francisco State College, 1959-1985, dean School Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1982-1985. Staff director select subcommittee labor United States House of Representatives, 1963-1964. Director Office Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research, Manpower Administration, Department Labor, 1965-1985.
Arbitrator labor-manpower disputes, 1953-1985.
Achievements
• Curtis Cosmos Aller has been listed as a noteworthy educator and government official by Marquis Who’s Who.
Membership
Member advisory council Bay View Federal Savings & Loan Association, 1960-1963. Member California Social Welfare Board, 1962-1985, also chairman Campaign manager 7th Congressional District California, 1956. Served with Army of the United States, 1946-1947.
Rhodes scholar from Washington State, 1948-1950.
Member American, Western economics associations, Industrial Relations Research Association, National Planning Association.
Connections
Married Mary Aldridge, on February 21, 1954. Children: Roger Curtis, John Cosmos, Thomas Arthur, Inga Maria.
Father:
Curtis Cosmos Aller
Mother:
Inga Pauline (Olsen) Aller
Spouse:
Mary Aldridge
child:
Roger Curtis Aller
child:
Thomas Arthur Aller
child:
John Cosmos Aller
child:
Inga Maria Aller
Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists …
books.google.co.kr › books
Gerald Horne · 2011
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 343
Curtis Cosmos Aller Jr., “The Evolution of Hawaiian Labor Relations: From Benevolent Paternalism to Mature Collective … oral history transcript, Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 265.
Sample correspondence wished I had more
September 28, 1976
Mr. Herb Willsmore
1806 Berkeley Way
Apartment #2
Berkeley, CA 94703
Dear Herb:
If you are still in the area, please call me. I have recommended that you be appointed to the Advisory Committee for the “Montoya” committee for the Peralta Community College District. You would represent the handicapped on a committee consisting of 18. We expect the committee will meet fairly frequently, my guess is every other month, to review and make recommendations on the future spectrum of adult and occupational training courses offered by the secondary and community college schools in this area. It is an important activity and one I hope you will be able to accept.
Unfortunately, the legislature did not provide fees for council members. Travel expenses can be reimbursed. Let me know if this opportunity for public service intrigues you.
Very truly yours,
Curtis C. Aller
Director
Employment Studies Program
Family History Revealed
The DNA results
Revealed some aspects
Of whom I am
Where I am from
But not everything
Was revealed
And much of my history
Remains hidden
My father was from Yakima
Ran away to the Bay Area
Where he became a college professor
Taught the dismal science of economics
Along the way
He met my mother
And after a whirlwind romance
had four children
My older brother,
Me
Younger brother
And sister
She was a refugee
From the dust bowl
Fled Arkansas
In the late ’30s
Never looked back
Settled down
In the Bay Area
Yet the south lingered on
She trained herself
To speak without an accent
The only time the southern came out
Was when she was talking to her sisters
She was the 10th of 11th children
My father was a moonshiner
A Cherokee medicine man to boot
Lived life in the Ozark mountains
She had two sons
From a prior relationship
That went south
We never really knew them
My father was an atheist
And a morning person
And a man with a plan
For everything
My mother
More make it up
As she went along
And a night owl
How and why
They met and stayed together
Is beyond me
They had a stormy relationship
My mother always said
Germans and Irish
Don’t mix
And never should marry
She also said
The world is divided into morning people
And night owls
And they are doomed to marry each other
Yet I suppose
There was real love
Beneath all the drama
And bluster
Father’s Son
I am my Father’s Son
I lived all my life
Fighting against turning
into a carbon copy
Of my father,
And I failed
as my father emerged
From the darkness of my soul.
The full German personality
And Scandinavian background
becoming clear
And peered out
and liked what he saw
As I became him
step by inexorable step.
Turning into my father
As he had turned his father
And his father into his father.
Since the dawn of time
We played this game.
Sons turning into their fathers
And watching grandsons
Start the dance all over again
Reflections on My Dad for Father’s Day
My father and I had a difficult relationship
We just had very different personalities
And growing up while I admired my father
I did not like him that much.
My father grew up
In German and Norwegian American families
And did not have much of a sense of humor
He was a dour, serious man.
He had a difficult relationship
With his father as well
And a difficult relationship
With his children.
He was not an easy man
To live with
Always getting us up
At dawn on the weekends
To deal with the endless household chores.
But as I get older
I find myself
Becoming my father
But I have maintained
My mother’s sense of humor.
Last month, we wrote a mom poem for Mother’s Day; so this month, with Father’s Day upon us…
Let’s write a dad poem. While not everyone gets (or even wants) to be a dad, everyone has a dad. On gift card holidays like this coming Sunday, the father is celebrated. That said, not everyone knows their dad, and some wish they did not. For many, whether they get along or not, the relationship can be very complicated. So explore that experience today.
Traveling with My Father to Wagontire, Oregon
1973
In 1973, I went on a road trip with my father during our summer vacation. We left Berkeley to go to Yakima, Washington, where my father had a summer cabin in the mountains near Mt. Rainer. He was a college professor and had July and August off. We spent the summers, every summer from 1968 to 1977, in the cabin and visiting my aunt and uncle, who had inherited the family fruit business in Yakima. Our whole dysfunctional family, my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, went there every summer. Our annual road trip to hell and back as we did not get along at all.
We decided to drive through Eastern Oregon, just my father and me, just for the hell of it. My father had driven everyone to Yakima already and had to go back for a meeting and picked me up then. I had gone off to a debate camp earlier in the summer.
My father and I shared a travel lust, one of the few things we shared. We drove up from Berkeley and spent the night in Klamath Falls. We left Klamath Falls, a real nothing burg in those days around 9 am. And hit the road.
And headed east along highway 395, often called the loneliness highway in the U.S. As we entered the desert of eastern Oregon, we entered a different world. High mountain desert, almost no one on the road, very small towns with just a gas station, motel, bar, church, and school, and not much else.
Then we saw the sign, Wagontire, Oregon, 100 miles ahead. We counted down the miles every mile posted along with the Burma shave cowboy poetry. An hour and a half later about 7 pm we pulled into the town. We had been expecting a giant truck stop with a Denny’s, motel six, and grocery store but we found there was Nothing there but a gas station, motel, and café.
We decided to stop, “Last gas for 100 miles” according to the sign and we were low on gas, and tired from driving all day.
We chatted with the owner, he was the sheriff, the fire chief, the owner of the motel, and gas station, and a sheep, pig, and cattle farmer. The only business in town, and the only place open for one hundred miles.
I noticed a highway sign outside,
“Welcome to Wagontire, Oregon
Population 2 ½ humans 50.000 sheep, 10,000 cows, 2,000 pigs, ten dogs and lots of feral cats.”
I asked the Sherriff,
“Say, who is the ½ human? “
My idiot son! “
And we left, 200 miles later we finally left Eastern Oregon
I did not know it at the time, but this was my last big solo road trip with my father. We drove to and from the cabin a few more times, last time in 1984, but this trip was special and one I will always remember. Mainly because my dad and I finally became “friends” during this trip, and got along great. Unfortunately, that moment did not last and we soon re-entered our difficult relationship, but during that trip, we got along famously.
A Special Time for My Dad and Me
This could be an outing with your dad and family or a memory of him that was special to you. This is a topic-based contest. Write a story based on the topic provided in the announcement.
I have completed 17 flash fiction pieces as part of the Writers Digest Flash fiction challenge. I posted “Cosmic Cat from Berkeley” below. I also completed three micro flash stories for the Writing Com micro flash contest, and daily haiku for the Poetry Magnum Opus challenge. Enjoy.
Day 1 Keys
Day Two Prompt Circular
Day three Prompt limitations
Day four mystery
Day Five: A Dream that Came true
Day Six: a character who tries to be
Heartful”
Day Seven: Workplace conflict
Day Eight: re-gifting
Day Nine Grim reaper
Day ten romance story
Day 12 magic
Day 13 grim reaper
Day 14 animal
Day 16 hobby
Day 17 Book
Dream 18 Time
the Stories
I have completed 17 more flash fiction stories this month, listed below.
Hidden Keys to The Universe.
End of The Beginning, Beginning of The End.
A Man Has to Know His Limitations.
Where Did All the Blacks Go?
Dream That Came True.
Sam Adams Crisis of Conscious
Sam Adams Workplace Conflict Leads to a Bad Day.
Sam Adams reignites the War on Christmas
Timeless Love story
Sam Adams the Hoarder (TBC)
World domination but at a terrible price
Conversation with the grim reaper
Sam Adams first Contact
The Demon Car Attack
Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
Sam Adams Discovers the Cosmic Conspiracy
Sam Adams Meets Gloria Magnolia Shah (from a dream)
Time Police TBC
The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
(audio is for poem version)
The prompt was to include an animal character. This is based on a true story and is a prose version of a poem that has been published.
Sam Adams had grown up in the city of Berkeley CA, but after college, he had joined the Peace Corps in Korea, and later joined the State Department and traveled over the world, got married, lived in Seattle, and later DC, and had it not spent much time in his hometown.
One day he was on leave and he went back to his hometown in between assignments, and his wife was to join him later, then they would be moving back to DC for their onward assignments. She was in the military serving as an officer.
During this trip he realized that his mother was entering into dementia, he had seen her about two or three years before and she was OK then, but now it was obvious that something had to be done, He didn’t know really what to do. he had talked to his two brothers and sisters who he didn’t particularly along with and with his wife. Nobody quite knew how to approach her; nobody quite knew what they needed to do, but they all knew something had to be done soon.
With this gloomy frame of mind, every day he would walk out of the house. go down the street to a restaurant, have breakfast, go out into town go to a movie check out a museum, have lunch or dinner with friends and get back in touch with his old neighborhood and his old feelings.
the very first day he was there when he went out for his morning walk there was a black cat that looked at him. Sam had this feeling the black cat knew everything he was thinking. He quickly dubbed the black cat. The cosmic cat followed him everywhere and Sam quickly shared his thoughts with the black cat who seemed to have been reading his mind, sometimes he would talk out loud at other times he was just thinking and the cat would be smiling and he would hear somehow in the back of his mind the cat’s thoughts about the matter.
The cat was following what he was saying and the cat knew when he needed to do. The cat helped him clarify the decisions that had to be made. The cat well he was a cosmic cat. He seemed to know everything about Sam, his family, his wife and even knew what the future would hold for Sam and his wife. Sam was very fascinated by this black cat. He had no idea whether this was a Wildcat or lived in the neighborhood but he left milk, and canned tuna fish out for him every morning and the cat seemed to like that.
He had no idea how and why this cat seemed to be able to read his mind. Finally, concluding he was a cosmic cat perhaps this was just a cat that was temporarily possessed by the spirit of the universe and was talking to Sam giving Sam advice that he needed to hear.
With his gloomy thoughts in his mind he opened up to the cat and the cat continue to read his mind and give him advice as he walked through his old neighborhood. The cat waiting for him in the evening when he got off the bus and walked with him home and the next morning the cat would be to be there again for their morning rambles.
Sam felt comforted by the cosmic cat, who was always there. For two weeks, Sam and the cat engaged in this deep conversation. Sam finally knew that it was time to make a decision about what to do with his mother. He had called his brothers up and his wife was coming the next day.
They spent a few days together sorting things out trying to figure out what needed to be done, and eventually, the decision was made they would have to move his mother into a nursing home and then in a few years, they would have to be faced with what to do when she passed on because it was obvious that she was declining quite rapidly. She had lived a long time, she was 85 years old.
But the cat seemed to know what needed to be done and somehow Sam thought the cat was giving him advice that he should follow. One day he asked the cat
“Cosmic cat please let me know who and what you are
“ Are you God>”
the cat smiled at him.
“Are you Buddha?
the cat smiled at him
“Are you the great spirit of the universe?”
the cat smiled at him.
“Are you Allah?”
The cat smiled at him.
“Are you really just a cat?
The cat smiled at him.
“Are you satanic?
The cat hissed at him, and he knew he had gone too far. The next day, he told the cat that it was time for him to part ways. The cat smiled at him, and he knew the cat knew that it was time to move on. The cat merely walked away, and Sam never saw that cosmic cat again
He told his mother in one of her periods of relative lucidity about the cosmic cat, His mother merely said that that cat was indeed a cosmic cat that came to them in their hour of need.
Sam never told his siblings about the cosmic cat, He thought they just think that he was mad. He told his wife, and she also thought that this was just a mad story, and then he should not really think about it anymore. The cosmic Cat faded away in his memories.
I grew up in Berkeley, California in the 60s and 70s. Here are my Ode to Berkeley poems. Someday soon I want to return to live in my spiritual homeland.
Hark, I Hear the Spirits of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
Short Version -40 Lines
Dreaming Of Returning To Berkeley Sam Adams
Rambling Man, Where Do I Belong?
Rambling Man -Where Do I Belong? 2
Berkeley California
Growing Up In Berkeley
Berkeley In The 60s And 70s
Berkeley Time Travels
Berkeley Nonet
Berkeley Street Scene 2015
Berkeley Time Warp
Stockton Time Travel
Berkeley Street Scene 1974
The Cosmic Cat
Hiking The Hills of My Youth
Free-Roaming Berkeley as a Kid
674 Santa Rosa Avenue
DNA Does Not Lie, Or Does It?
My Mother’s History
What Am I DNA Fortune Cookies
Mary Geneva Aller -there’s Method in Her Madness, Eulogy Poem
Hark, I Hear the Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home. Berkeley
free roaming berkeley
Long Version
Hark,
I hear the spirits
Of Berkeley
Calling me home.
The more I roam in this world
The more I am drawn
Back to the land
From whence I came.
Berkeley, California
Is what it is
And sometimes
It is what it ain’t.
Berkely is a “how Berkeley, can you be vibe” town,
Home to CAL with 40,000 students who flood into the city nine months of the year, University professors, staff, and students,
Yet Berkeley is so much more the ultimate college town.
It is delicious food is everywhere around the corner sort of town, An artisanal craft beer, and spirits, coffee, herbal tea, Kombucha, and wine drinking city, where Coca-Cola is seldom served, gourmet ghetto, inventor of the new American cuisine revolution, home of Chez Panisse, the French Laundry, and so many other restaurants, a place where you can find every cuisine of the world at a most affordable price, a town where there are more restaurants per capita than anywhere else, where if you wanted to eat dinner at a different restaurant every day it would take you years to do so, with new places opening and closing every day.
An anti-big box store vibe, yet with a lively small business sector, more restaurants and coffee shops per capita than almost anywhere else, lots of upscale groceries, used to have a large Co-op (my father was the President) and ethnic foods markets, organic food markets, Berkeley Bowl market, farmers markets, plus usual corporate chain food stores.
MOES book rules, where Howl was written, where the beatnik writers and culture types used to hang out, and their spiritual Descendents still do.
Philip K Dicks hometown, (Philip K dick dated my mom before she met my father, end personal disclosures)Thornton Wilder and so many other great writers back in the day and here and now, Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg lived and loved there,
Craft beer paradise, the hometown of Peets coffee, still the best damn coffee even though they have gone corporate, the coffee revolution of the late 50s and 60’s started here in the Coffee mecca of the United States, where Café Med proudly proclaimed to one and all
‘We Don’t Serve Establishment Coffee,
They invented the American version of the Latte” It seems there are more coffee shops in Berkeley per capita than almost anywhere else in the country,
Berkeley is also the home of a vibrant tea, smoothie, artisanal spirits, craft beer, and wine culture with urban wineries and brewpubs everywhere.
A gluten-friendly city with the best GF pizza in the world the Berkeley Cheese collective, a foodies delight,
A diverse although less day by day as it now a very expensive city,
A very ethnic town, used to have the largest Finnish community in the U.S,, lots of Russians and Eastern Europeans back in the day, a city with people, from all the known world, where 250 different languages are spoken at home, an African-American town, used to be a very black town, 40 percent back in the 70’s now perhaps twenty percent, a middle class suburb of Oakland back in the day, but with a black lower class, working class, who are still hanging on somehow, but still a lot of my African Americans brothers and sisters hanging on despite the high rents and housing costs, many property rich but cash poor, joined by so many African immigrants and Caribbean African immigrants as well, an Asian American city, home of a vibrant Chinese-American community, Korean-American, Hispanic City, Ohlone Tribal city, Native Americans from all different tribes still around city, Japanese-American, Indian-American city, an Iranian diaspora, and now Afghani diaspora as well, French people, European people, Jewish people, but no Jewish space lasers yet, Indian-American little Bombay community where you can get the latest Bollywood movies, food and Indian political gossip,
An artistic city, a creative city, Great art Museum at CAL, home of the Pacific Film Archives a real treasure for movie lovers, with more movie theaters per capita than anywhere else,
A book lovers city filled with great bookstores, the best public library in the country, and the University library system is among the best in the country as well.
Great one-of-kind bookstores, although sadly, Cody’s’ and Shakespeare’s books are long gone.
A great music city.
Great music at CAL
And in the city
Great acts always coming to town
Or the Bay Area
Live music is still alive at least it will be soon
As COVID dies down
Great music stores as well.
Great BHS music programs
Including the BHS Jazz band
Where many greats got their start‘
Rock n Roll fantasy world,
A Motown friendly city,
A funk lovers paradise
A Blues lover mecca
West Coast Rap town
Hip hop town
And there are even country fans
hometown to the Earthquake, Green Day, Jimi Hendrix’s last high school, the Rubinoos, The Psychotic Pineapple, Smoke and Fog, Tower of Power “East Bay Grease sort of town,
New flash for TJ Dave – hey dude, I loved your song, you ain’t Berkeley enough” just want to say I represent that remark, but I rep Berkeley worldwide dude and I am still as Berkeley as I wanna be, anywhere in the world, dude, end news flash
Not to mention so many jazz players including Peter Applebaum, Jim Davidson,
Joshua Redman, and so many others.
A Berkeley High school rocks place, (personal disclosures I was the BHS student body president in 1973-1974),
The home of the song, “Sitting by the dock of the bay,”
An anti-establishment sort of city, yet filled with students studying to be part of that despised establishment, all vowing to change the world but the world always changes them into yet more high-priced corporate drones.
With zany wacked out politics, a city at times lost in 1969, or lost in the future, A city where being called a “conservative “ is considered a vile insult,
A very progressive city, probably the most progressive city in the country, which in my opinion is a good thing, not something to be ashamed of,
A PC is a cool city that invented PC before it became a curse word of sorts, a city where there are real live Marxists, communists, and socialists but no one takes them seriously, and there are a few proto-fascist political science professors as well,
The spiritual home of the beatniks, the hippies, the yippies, and sadly the weathermen
The city that gave us “the Symbionese Liberation Army,” kidnapper of Patty Hearst,
(Personal disclosure: the SLA briefly terrorized the Bay Area, and my family during the 70s calling my father “a fascist insect that preys on the life of the people, his offense = demanding that students and staff at the Peralta college be required to wear ID’s to combat a rise in violent crime on the campuses, my father not having a sense of humor did not like my joke when one morning I said,
“Good morning fascist Insect how are you today?” My mother loved it and said
“Yeah, he is a fascist insect but he is our fascist insect,” and laughed. My father merely glared at the two of us. End Personal disclosure)
A Political city up the Yazoo town, a one-party town but with two rival political factions, republicans and there are some of them in town, feel like they are an endangered species, (another personal disclosure, my Dad was Curtis Cosmos Aller, the President of the Berkeley Co-op from 1968 to 1985 when he died, the President of the Peralta Board of Colleges, who ran for Congress in 1974 in the democratic primary against the legendary Ron Dellums, end personal disclosure) very few Q nuts but I am sure there are some, just as there are no doubt people who believe in the lizard shapeshifter conspiracy,
(Personal note: I am a human being but once I took an online quiz to determine whether I could be part alien and the quiz said I was an alien, go figure)
A very anti-Q town, pro-science, rational type of town, filled with humanists and secular humanists types,
A hate bigotry town. Where Ann Coulter and her fellow right-wing followers are not welcome, A town that proudly voted against Trump – 90 percent in 2016 and 2020) proud center of the “resistance” home of Antifa, BLM rules, the birthplace of the black panthers who met at the first African American high school history class in the US in the early 60s, at BHS of course, and home of the Gray Panthers,
a city whose representative is in Congress. Representative Barbara Lee, was the only representative to vote against the Iraq war in 2003, noting that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, to the rest of the country she was a dangerous left-wing radical, to the Bay Area, and me, a real American Patriotic hero.
A very marijuana-friendly city where the joke has always been pulling out a joint and its cool, pull out a cigarette and everyone wants to send you to jail, smoking cigarettes being so uncool nowadays,
At times, a very joyful city but not enough joy due to the political disputes and anger as people in Berkeley are very into political discussions and are news junkies,
A very frank town where everyone has an opinion and is not afraid to speak up,
Bike-friendly, an environmentally friendly city, recycling mecca, renewable energy, friendly, where the university engineers are working to solve the world’s energy problems and coming up with solutions to the climate change crisis, solar panels everywhere, transit-friendly, zip car-friendly, uber/lift friendly, BART friendly, walkable sort of town.
At times hot city, living with the constant fear of the mega drought, fires and the big one, atmospheric rivers, polar vortexes, and other global warming phenomena as climate change becomes nightmarishly real,
but most days the same, foggy cool mornings, nice, pleasant in the 70s afternoons, then more fog dipping into high 40s by midnight, used to be no rain between April and October just the cool morning fog, but nowadays with climate change, we get rain even in the summer, and they joke there are two seasons now in California the rainy season October to March and fire season April to October, all due to the non-existent climate change hoax,
To the rest of the world, a very “Berserkly place”
A Buddhist friendly city, including a Buddhist Zen Center, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Buddhist temples and a Buddhist Seminary, A Tai-Chi mecca, Yoga centric, very Zen attitude sort of town,
A liberal Christianity city where fundamentalists are not welcomed, where atheists, free thinkers, liberal Muslim, liberal Hindus, new-age types, and Wiccans are welcomed, home of several liberal Christian seminaries, a Buddhist seminary, and now a Muslim seminary all located on Seminary Hill)
A city where making fun of the street preachers is a fun game for the militant atheists of the city (personal disclosures that were me back in the day, I loved to heckle Holly Hubert joined at times by my old friend Julia Vino graduate, the bubble lady who used to blow bubbles at Holly Herbert as he ranted about how we would all go to hell for our heathen ways, Holly Hubert is long gone by now as that was almost 45 years ago)
A crazy city. A cool city, at times a cold city,
Filled with the scent of good craziness, and sometimes very bad craziness as sometimes on a bad night things can go bad if you are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people, or are the victim of a drug deal gone bad when the guns come out to play to settle disputes, or knives are drawn and people get very crazy or are just unlucky to be caught up in the crossfire, or on a bad trip on bad drugs, just too many damn drugs and too many people whose minds were fried by the same damn drugs, in short Berkeley does have a dark side to it,
A city of big dreamers, a fast-paced city,
But for the most part, it is a friendly town, but not too friendly, A freaky place filled with freakeries, A funky vibe, a funny town all around,
And you can have fun there as well as get lucky and meet the woman or man of your dreams, as there are lots of young single men and women looking for Mr. Good or Ms. Good as the case may be,
An Oakland A, and SF giants town, forty-niners (although some hate them for moving to San Jose, the Northern California clone of LA. And Golden States warriors but everyone now hate the Las Vegas Raiders, as much every person born in Berkeley must hate LA, sort of the part of Berkeley and the Northern Californian DNA to be hating on LA, the LA Dodgers, and now the Las Vegas Raiders.,
A live and let live z tude, A loony tunes place, A happy go lucky sort of vibe city,
“Hella Berkeley “city, A historical city, A Hippie town back in the day, A hip hop center, A hip city where everyone knows what hip is but can say what it is, what is hip, yal? Do you know? Hipness, like Berkeley, is what is it is and sometimes is what is not,
Too many homeless people living on the streets of the city, panhandling, and becoming a nuisance, getting into everyone’s face, destroying everyone’s mellow, lonely at times city where many people have thousands of virtual friends but few real friends
Very LGBTQ friendly, a feminist city, a very pro-choice town,
An only in Berkeley kind of vibe,
A city where people still read a lot, where newspapers have not died but are mostly read online,
Home of a rich alternative press history, although sadly most have gone by the wayside, I remember the Berkeley Barb, the Berkeley Gazette, the SF Chronicle, the Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express, the Berkeley Voice, the great underground comics like Fritz the Cat, reading online Berkeley news outlets just not the same thing at all. And BHS used to have a daily newspaper, now a weekly paper although the CAL daily is still daily mostly read online.
A very sad town, a special city, A city that would welcome space aliens who might already be there, and OMG place,
A rainy blues sort of day place.,
Robots are the cool city where new robots are being developed every day, a city where people are building the singularity not fearing it,
A mask up follows the science town badly hit by the COVID pandemic, particularly the small business who took in on the chin,
The birth of Nanowrimo, the November write a novel in a month contest, (personal disclosure -I completed three of these)
A poet friendly place where people get poetry,
Rents are insane, housing prices too, the only people who can afford to buy are people with boatloads of money, and somehow there are lots of those types hanging out, and lots of people who don’t have money who somehow manage to get by, who can afford to live here? It takes serious piles of moolah, big piles of money, lots of cash, dollars up the yazoo, trust baby parents, or selling your soul to a start-up from hell, to be able to pay the rent or lots of roommates, yet people still flock to the city, how they can afford it is still a mystery to me.
A stand-up guy sort city,
Student-friendly, kind of a suburb of Oakland and SF, yet doing its own very Berkeley thing,
Home of great city parks,
San Pablo Park (home
Of the annual BHS alumnus picnic)
Indian Rock Peoples Park
Inspiration point,
Ho Chi Min Park in the 70s
The Rose Garden
Strawberry canyon,
Tilden Park,
Wildcat canyon
Part of the Bay Area Ridge Trails and Bay Area Bay trails which are almost complete, doing a thru-hike of both, the Appalachian, the cross-continental, and the PC trails are among my bucket list dreams,
Too cool for school,
Sometimes a traffic hell place, BART trains too crowded, pickpockets and other unsavory criminal types hanging out by the BART train stations, along with high school students, the druggies,
A “west Coast Rap kingdom, wine drinkers paradise, the former home of the weathermen and other leftist domestic terrorists) a wonderful world for the young at heart, a very unique city, a pro-vac place, vibrant, vegetarian and vegan friendly, yet still offering enough meat options for the carnivores, and still the ultimate university town but as you can see by now, so much more than that,
a yoga is God kind of town where yoga is mandatory, Yuppie place, a zany city, a zestful town, and lately a zoom work by home town, Berkeley is all of that and so more in short. Berkely is an of kind sort of place, unique in all the universe and it is my homeland,
But still, I am drawn
And want to return
Before my time is done,
As it remains
My spiritual homeland.
Hark, I Hear The Spirits Of Berkeley Calling Me Home – Short Version
Hark,
I hear the spirits
Of Berkeley
Calling me home.
The more I roam in this world
The more I am drawn
Back to the land
From whence I came.
Berkeley, California
Is what it is
And sometimes
It is what it ain’t.
Berkely is a “how Berkeley, can you be vibe” town, an African diaspora, an Asian American city, an anti-big box store vibe, an artistic city, A Berkeley High school rocks place, the Berkeley hills, the birth of the black panthers, the spiritual home of the beatniks, bike-friendly, The Berkeley Rep rules, To the rest of the world, a very “Berserkly place” a Buddhist friendly city, filled with deep, dark memories, a vibrant Chinese-American city, creative city, Home to CAL with 40,000 students who flood into the city nine months of the year, Coffee is God Mecca, craft beer paradise, a crazy city. A cool city, a cutting edge technology, delicious food is everywhere around the corner sort of town, a diverse although less day by day as it now a very expensive city,
A very unique city, a pro-vac place, vibrant, vegetarian and vegan friendly, yet still offering enough meat options for the carnivores, University professors, staff and students, city employees alike and still the ultimate university town but as you can see by now, so much more than that, yoga is God kind of town where yoga is mandatory, Yuppie place, a zany city, a zestful town, and lately a zoom work by home town, Berkeley is all of that and so more in short. Berkely is an of kind sort of place, unique in all the universe and it is my homeland,
But still, I am drawn
And want to return
Before my time is done,
As it remains
My spiritual homeland.
Dreaming of Returning to Berkeley
free roaming berkeley
Sam Adams
A child of the 70s Bay Area,
Having lived all over the world,
Visited all 50 states
And 60 countries.
But in his heart
He knew
That soon.
It would be time
To return
To his spiritual homeland.
Berkeley, California,
The center of his universe,
He heard the spirits
Of Berkeley calling him home.
Like a salmon returning
To his home waters
Before dying.
Berkeley Beckoning Me
The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge and industrial port of Richmond taken from Tilden Park’s Vollmer Peak.
I grew up
In Berkeley, California
In the early 70s
A wild and crazy time.
Berkeley shaped my soul
And my heart will always
Long for my homeland.
Berkeley was always
A wild and zany place
Filled with original characters
Drawn to the city by the bay.
The hills overlooking the city
The campus filled with students
The downtown shopping area
The suburban housing.
The street people
The vendors on Telegraph
The smell of marijuana
Hanging in the air
Long before it was legal.
In some ways
Berkeley seems stuck
In a time warp.
A certain corner
Seems to be forever
Stuck in 1969.
The city has changed
Over the years
Like most places
It has become harder
And harder for the working class
To afford to live there.
The yuppies took over
Decades ago
But despite that the city
Continues to be home
To a diverse population.
Little India emerged
Along with Berkeley’s Chinatown
The old black neighborhoods
Still manages to somehow
Thrive amid the gentrification.
And so as my life winds down
My thoughts keep returning
To my ancestral home
The homeland
Where I wish to die.
Rambling Man, Where Do I Belong?
Where is my home? Where do I belong?
I don’t know, always moving on to another place
Moved every other year it seems the last 45 years
Traveled to 50 states, 55 countries, drove across the U.S. eight times
Lived in Berkeley, Yakima, Stockton, Seattle, Alexandria, DC, Oregon, Korea, Thailand, India,
The Eastern Caribbean, and Spain
Where do I belong? Where is my home?
Neither here nor there, nowhere and everywhere
And so is that my rambling man’s fate
Never to belong anywhere at all
Rambling Man -Where Do I Belong?
I have been a rambling man
All my adult life
Grew up in Berkeley, California
Went to College in Hayward and Oberlin
During my lost year
Lost in a fog of booze and pot
Then I came back to reality
And went to college
In Stockton, California
The Central Valley
Ohio transplanted to California
Then after four years in Stockton
With extended weekends
And breaks in Berkeley
I became an expatriate wanderer
Peace Corps worker in Korea
Then taught ESL in Korea
For four years
Occasionally returning to my home
But always wanting to be elsewhere
Then back to Korea
And then Seattle for four years
Driving back and forth to the bay area
Stopping off in Southern Oregon
Eventually bought a house and duplex
In Southern Oregon
Vaguely thinking we would retire there
Some day when my rambling ways were over
Then back to Korea for three more years
Then I joined the Foreign Service
And my wife the military
And I wandered the world again
Always somewhere
Always dreaming of my next somewhere
Never there
As I was a permanent ex-pat
And a diplomat to boot
Never a local
But never really felt I belong there
Or in America
That was becoming more and more
A foreign land
The longer I stayed away
I stayed on in DC for almost ten years
Off and on
But never really
felt that I belong there
I was too West Coast in my heart
And DC seemed to be
Just a place to stay
In between travels
Stayed in Thailand
Then later India
And Eastern Caribbean
And later Spain
Traveled to 55 countries
Lived in ten
And now I am retired
Still torn between
Living the ex-pat life
In Seoul, Korea
And returning to the West Coast
And occasionally back to DC
and Florida as well
And I wonder
Where do I belong
Where do I belong
Other than wherever
My wife and I end up
Neither here nor there
Halfway there
a life in between
And so is that my fate
Never to belong
Never to have roots in the ground
Always wanting to be somewhere else
Always a stranger in my native land
And a stranger in my other home
Across the sea
There is no answer to these questions
As the rambling urge comes again
And I prepare to move yet again
Hoping someday I will be
Somewhere where I can stop
These rambling blues
And be there
ending my life
in between
Berkeley California
Growing up in the ’60s
In Berkeley
almost 50 years ago
I think back
At those turbulent times
Those crazy wonderful times
Berkeley is a wonderful place
In many ways
Stuck forever in 1967
A true-time travel experience
Every time I go back
And relive the memories
Of the ’60s
The 60’s never died
They continue
In college towns
Across the world
And Berkeley
Remains the mecca
Of the counter
cultural revolution
Many things have changed
But the organic food revolution
Became mainstream
Marijuana spread out
The sexual revolution
Became mainstream
So much of the world
Is but a reflection
Of the revolution of the ’60s
And the conservative
counter-revolution
That we are still fighting
So, I salute
My homeland
The center of my universe
Growing up in Berkeley
I grew up in Berkeley, California
A child during the 60s and 70s
Graduated high school in 1974,
Crazy times
Berkeley was a crazy
city back then
Still is to some extent
But then it was
the craziest place
In the whole U.S.
And it made an impact
I will always be a Berkeley child
Always have that Berkeley feel
In my soul.
No matter where I travel
I remain at the heart
A child of Berkeley
Berkeley Time Travels
I grew up in Berkeley, California
In the turbulent fabled late ’60s
And in Berkeley in those days
Time seems to standstill
On the corner of Dwight and Telegraph
Across from People’s park
It seems to be always May 1969
With the man
Down the street
Oppressing the hippies
On the street
As they smoked their weed
Dodging the bored cops
Who looked the other way
If they did not partake
And then I went to college
In the valley
And as I drove into Stockton
I felt I was traveling again
In time
Back to the fabled ’50s
As Stockton was also
Stuck in a time warp of sorts
And as I left the Bay area
And traveled the world
I would come back
To that corner
And just be there
Stuck in May 1969
Marveling at the changes
That had and had not occurred
To the corner of the land
Forever stuck in time
And space
My father was a local politician
In the SF Bay area
He was president of the Berkeley Co-Op
President of the Peralta Community Colleges
Because of my father’s position,
And political activities
He became known as a “conservative” in Berkeley,
And those were fighting words.
But I will always remember
The time he became known
Briefly as a “fascist insect.”
The radical terrorist group had put out a manifesto –
A hit list of people they deemed “fascist insects”
And called upon the people
To rise and assassinate the “fascist insects.”
My father got
On the SLA hit list
For daring to impose a mandatory ID requirement
For all students and faculty
At the community colleges
To combat a crime problem
And for making the campuses
Closed to non-students and staff.
For that, he became a “fascist insect”
“Enemy of the people”
And must die according to the SLA.
The Berkeley police dispatched police officers
To guard us 24/7
Along with the other 100
Or so people on the hit list.
One day I woke up,
Got the paper,
Chatted with the police officer on duty,
As I did when I saw them,
Thanking him for protecting the family,
Went in and saluted my father, saying
“Good morning fascist insect.”
My father
Being of stern German Scandinavian stock glared at me
As he did not have a sense of humor.
My mother, being of Irish and Cherokee background
Had a great sense of humor.
She came out and laughed and said,
“You got that right, son.
Yeah, he is a fascist insect”
And saluted him and we made fun of him
Until he stormed out of the house.
Berkeley Street Scene 2015
Coming back to Berkeley
Every year since I left
Remains me how much it has changed
And how little it has changed
The essences of Berkeley
The reasons why I keep coming back
Remains the same
It is a zany, wild, and crazy city
Filled with energy, enthusiasm
And big ideas
The University remains
The center of the town
But Berkeley was always more
Than a college town
It was a black suburb of Oakland
and still is
It was an Asian American suburb of Oakland
And remains to this day
It was a welcoming place for gays and lesbians
And still is
And of course, it was a student hangout
For Cal students and students from all over
And still is
It was a regional hangout for high school kids
And still is
BHS rocks
And it was a commuter stop on the BART
For white-collar workers from the city
And still is
It was a working-class town
And some of that is still there
And a center for movies
And the arts
And the food mecca
For all the foodies in the Bay area
And boy is it still the mecca
For good food
One can get in Berkeley
Food from almost every ethnic group
In the world
If you can’t find it Berkeley
Either in the stores
Or the hundreds of ethnic joints
You won’t be able to find it
Anywhere else in the U.S.
Over the years I tried
My first Chinese
My first Cambodian
My first Cuban
My first French
My first Greek
My first German
my first Italian
my first Korean
my first Japanese
My first Indonesian
my first Mexican
My first Russian
my first Spanish
My first Vientamese
And my first New Californian cuisine
And my first Mc Donald’s
And Burger King
first gourmet burger
first BBQ
First sashimi
first sushi
great sandwiches
great salads
great pizzas
great pasta
great wine
greet craft beer
great artisan spirits
great marijuana as well.
And of course
Who can forget
Their first Peet’s coffee?
And who can forget
Tilden Park
Inspiration Point at sunrise
And Wildcat canyon?
One day while glazing at the sunset
Over the bay bridge
I declared that Berkeley
was the center
Of my universe
So, I end this love song
To Berkeley California
Truly the center
Of this man’s universe
2009 Berkeley Time Warp
Time travel is possible
I do it every year
When I return to Berkeley
And go to the corner of Dwight and Telegraph
Down the street from People’s Park
I enter a time wrap
And find me in 1967
It is always 1967
With the sweet smell of pot
In the air
And the merchants selling
Tie die tea shirts
And talking shit
And the students walking by
And the older generation
Walking by in nostalgic memories
Of when it was the 60’s
and everything seemed possible
We would change the world
And then Nixon came
And the world turned ugly fast
And furious
And we have been on a dark trip
Ever since those days
Especially during the Trumpian nightmare
We are just getting out of
But in Berkeley
At Dwight and Telegraph
the resistance to trumpism
continues growing stronger
The 60’s live on
Long live the 60’s
Stockton Time Travel
When I was going to college
in Stockton, California in the 70s
It seemed as if every time
I went to Stockton
I was going through
a time and space wormhole
And emerging on the other end
In an Ohio farm town circa 1959
Then returning to Berkeley
And arriving in the mid-’70s
Except for Telegraph Avenue
Which is always stuck in 1967.
The time travel wormhole collapsed
As Stockton over time
Became an outer suburb of Sacramento
And the greater Bay Area
But the valley remains
A different time and space
Then the Bay Area
And so, time travel is still
The way to go
When going to the valley
From Berkeley
Berkeley Street Scene 1974
Growing up in Berkeley
In the late ’60s
and early to mid-’70s
Was such a trip
Berkeley and the Bay Area
Were already becoming
Almost a separate country
From the rest of the United States
And Berkeley was already
Such a diverse place
My high school had over 4,000 students
From over 150 countries
And had openly gay students
And even transgender students
Decades before that became common
Elsewhere in the country
My best friends were Jewish, Irish, Black,
Half Black Half White, Black and Asian
And I was the student body president
I belonged to no particular clique
Rather floated between different groups
And that is why perhaps I was a success
Berkeley taught me so much
And being there
Taught me so much
I lived through
such a turbulent time
The black panthers
The black revolution
The sexual revolution
The anti-war movement
We had tear gas days
And we used to hang out
On Telegraph watching the riots
Or watching the street preachers
On more peaceful days
And boy did we enjoy
Cheap eats
Oscar’s Burgers
Pizza
Chinese food
And hot dogs
TOP DOG rules
And sneaking over to CAL
To crash Fraternity parties
And get some free drinks
Life was interesting
In those days
And I will never
Forgot
The life lessons
I learned in the streets
Of Berkeley in the ’70s
674 Santa Rosa Avenue, Berkeley, California
674 santa rosa jpg
My childhood home for almost 15 years
was 674 Santa Rosa Berkeley California
A five-bedroom adobe California home
on the side of a hill
at the bottom of the Berkeley hills
in the Thousand Oaks Neighborhood
You entered on the top floor
across the street,
you entered on the bottom floor
thus, it was in the Berkeley Hills
The house had a large deck
with a perfect view of the golden gate
We used to sit outside
watching the sunset as we ate dinner
My Mom and Dad
would have their first of
many nightly cocktails on the deck
Before retreating inside to continue
their nightly fights and arguments
I grew up downstairs
hearing their constant words
of hatred, dismay, and outrage
yet still with profound love
despite their differences
My parents were the
proverbial odd couple
Perhaps never
should have married
But despite the hate
there was still some love
that kept them together
throughout the years
We had a rec room
with a pool table
and I hung out there
with my friends
My mother tolerated my friends
most of the time she would
be somewhat sober
until after they left
And the madness came over her
as she drank her whisky and wine
The basement rooms
was added later
was my younger brother’s room
later was my room
Whenever I visited from college days
hiding out downstairs
avoiding my mad mother
My old room lay abandoned
filled with books
thousands of books
that I had read over the years
When she died
I should have taken all the books
with me back to DC
Instead, I took about
one hundred just
no space for the books
of my childhood memories
I grew up in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood
of Berkeley, California
when they build the neighborhood
back in the twenties
the developers tried to save
as many of the old oak trees
as they could
building around the trees
rather than clear-cutting the lots
as so many developers
tended to do
so the neighborhood
had hundreds of old oak trees
including one in my front yard
and I often thought
how the neighborhood
was special
because of the old trees
that stood as witnesses
to the history of the town
and I wondered what they thought
what the trees knew
about the people
who lived among them
but the trees remained silent
whenever I asked them
about the history of the neighborhood
Not a tree thing to speak up
Balanced in Berkeley
“Gorgeous sunset from UC Berkeley!”
Born in Berkeley, California
a product of the wild ’70s
just a lost white brother
hanging about
downtown
brothers
can you hang about
listen to me lover
wildness left from the 60’ des
want to fly away from California
brothers
leave the 60’s
ride away my lover
can you dig that without a doubt
born in Berkeley, California.
1955 Berkeley
The day I was born
was the day that Rock N Roll
was born
on a Cincinnati Radio station
Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry
was the first Rock song officially played
on the radio
coincidence, I think not
for I was born
rocking and a rolling
the day I burst out on the stage
yelling
whoa Jake
here I am!
In Oakland
I was the only white baby born
at the Kaiser hospital
near my father’s house
in the ghetto
in West Berkeley
where junior professors lived
escaped the draft
due to a typo on my birth certificate
born on the 30th at 4 am
the night nurse typed October 29
and that became my legal birthday
and of course
I celebrate both days
Why the hell not?
And Howl was written
in Berkeley
and performed in SF
many great writers
lived there
including the great Philip K Dick
who briefly dated my Mom
before she met my father
a few years later I attended
Thousand Oaks
a mostly white school
in a neighborhood
that was becoming
Berkeley’s China town
later went to King
which was 40 black
40 percent white
10 percent Asian
10 percent Hispanic
When I graduated from BHS
the percentages
had barely changed
still, the majority were the minority
and still is as far as I know
BHS school
1972 to 1974
we had tear gas days
when the students revolted
and were chased
down the street
we went to Cal
to watch the demonstrations
and cheer them on
we all hated the war
many of our older siblings
had gone and died
the black panther party
was founded at BHS
Jimi Hendrix’s last school
same with the CCR
Green Day
and so many other
great and not so great bands
and a famous porn star
an NBA player
and associated others
who can forget
Peets coffee
Jamba Juice
Cheese Collective
Oscars – now closed
Giant Burgers?
Bongo Burgers?
Top Dog
And the other quirky Berkeley establishment
Where establishment coffee was never served!
A few joined
the State Department
with me as well
I never went to CAL
My two brothers did
They had better grades than me
Better test scores too
As I traveled the world
These last decades
There is something
That I will always remember
You can take someone
Out of Berkeley
But you can’t take
Berkeley out of them
For you will always remain
Berkeley to the core
The best city
In the known universe
Long live Berkeley
The center of my universe
And the home of my heart
I know that someday
I will return
I am still Berkeley enough
Dude!
All that I know About Life I Learned at Berkeley High School
free roaming berkeley
All that I know about life
and how to deal with people
I learned while attending BHS
in Berkeley, California
back in the distant ’70s
so many memories
so many different people
from all over the world
in what was the most
multicultural high school
in the country back then
4, 000 students
from everywhere in the world
yet we were all together
and learned to get along
I ran for student body president
and won the election
no one thought I would win
For I was a classic nerd
but somehow I won the election
and somehow managed
to keep our little student council
working together
amid terrible times
all around us
the ending of the Vietnam war
Watergate and other corruption news
the 1974 election
student activism
in the first high school
to offer African American studies
the class that had launched
the black panther party
Jimi Hendrix’s last high school
I took Latin one of the few public schools
that still offered Latin
and was on the debate team
but always taking a far right-wing theme
as complete mockery
decades before Stephen Colbert perfected it
yes everything I learned
in life
began at Berkeley High School
Berkeley Roots Rock
So many musicians
got their start
at my alma mater
Berkeley High School
just to name a few
Jimi Hendrix’s last high school
was Berkeley High
Green Day
Started there
as did the Rubinoos
Earthquake
Smoke and Fog
My friend Jim Davison
Played in the Jazz band
and who can forget
the immortal Creedence Clearwater Revival?
Though they went to El Cerrito High School
Berkeley High School
was and is such a special place
where dreams come to fruition
and life begins
for so many students
Free-Range Child in Berkeley
Back in the day
Before helicopter parents,
Children were all free-range kids
Going everywhere
The parents mostly okay
With that.
And so, I went
Everywhere on foot
Or bus
or BART
Walking to Solano Avenue
Drinking coffee
At Peets coffee
Eating Chinese food
In Berkeley’s China town
Walking downtown
Walking to CAL
Eating top dog
Experiencing the late 60’s
Transforming Telegraph
And walking in the woods
In Tilden Park
High up in the hills
Overlooking the bay area
Tilden Park
I have been hiking these woods
Since I was a child
Over 50 years ago
Inspiration point was my favorite
And the haunted forest
That crowns the hill
And where I went just before
Attending my mother’s funeral
It is a special place
Filled with memories
And great views
Of the ever-changing bay area
Tilden Park Haiku
Tilden Regional Park is a regional park in the East Bay of California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ridge.
Inspiration Point
High up in the Berkeley Hills
With a killer View
Hiking the Hills of My Youth
I grew up in Berkeley, California in the ’60s. Ever since I was a youngster I would wander the hills of Berkeley hiking for hours by myself and sometimes with my friends. I explored every nook and cranny every corner of the hills and got to know nature in its infinite beauty.
Ever since those days, I have longed for the day that I could spend my days hiking and wandering the hills. Now that I am retired and living in Korea I can go for a long walk in the hills every day I want. It is different from the hills I grew up, no vistas of the bay and it is in Korea to boot but most days it is sufficient as I head out early afternoon and conquer four or five miles of hills just enjoying that fact that I can still move and am still very much alive at age 62.
I grew up hiking the hills of Berkeley, California
Grew up knowing every corner of the hills
And the infinite beauty of the Bay Area
And now I find myself in a strange land
With time on my hands
I wander the hills above the airport
In Incheon Korea
And wander about here and there
Just being grateful
That I am still alive
And kicking at age 62
What Am I DNA Fortune Cookies
I just finished two rounds of DNA testing
The results were shocking and unreal
They revealed much of what I knew
And left gaping holes in my past life
The one thing that I know for sure
Is that I am 100 percent American
100 percent Californian
100 percent Berkeley
Yes I am Berkeley enough
The tests say that I am mostly Scandinavian
Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, perhaps Finnish,
and perhaps Laplander
That I know is real
The tests also reveal that I have lots of Irish,
Scottish, and Welsh background – also true
The tests hint at Jewish ancestry also hinted in family lore
The surprises were that they missed most of my native ancestry
The lost tribe of the Cherokees
are lost to the DNA database as well
The test failed to recognize
my substantial German heritage
missing my German last name
The test also claimed
that I have Italian and Southeast European ancestors
the tests confirmed that I have Eastern European ancestry
And the tests claim that like most people with Eastern European roots
I am part Mongolian thanks to Genghis Khan and Attila the Hun
The real surprise though is the African American that popped up
That is also consistent with my mother’s tangled history
The lost tribe of the Cherokees ran away into the hills
And mixed in with Scott Irish mountain farmers
Other Indians, and runaway slaves
In the end, the DNA tests neither confirmed
Nor denied my family tangled history
Leaving many questions behind
Almost as enigmatic as a fortune cookie
Or an astrological prediction
My Mother’s History
published in Ceracus Review
One day many a year ago
My mother spoke to me
About her family’s tangled history
She spoke to me
Of lies, half-truths, and myths
Some of which may have been true
And throughout the evening
Her history came alive
She was born in the hills of North Little Rock
The 10th of 11 children
Of an ancient dying race
The Cherokees who had run away
The lost tribe of the Cherokees
Homeless since the trail of tears
Refusniks
Refugees who fled in the hills
Rather than join the rest
In the promised land
Of Oklahoma
Her people disappeared
From history’s eyes
They did not exist
I did not exist
My history was over
As was hers
And so I learned at last
The painful truth
That due to the crimes of politicians
So long ago
My mother’s people
Lost their land, their culture, and their hope
And became downtrodden forgotten people
Hillbillies they were called
Living in the hills and mountain dales
Clinging to the dim fading memories
Of their once glorious past
As proud Cherokees
Now no one knew their name
The old ways were forgotten
And the new world never forgave them
And they never forgave the new world
As they lived on
In the margins of society
Forgotten people
And I vowed that as long as I lived
Their history would not die
As I knew the truth
And I would become a proud
Cherokee
And make my mother proud of me
And my accomplishments
And so when I am down and out
I recall her stories and her warnings
And realize it is up to me
To live my life
To let the Cherokee in me
Live his life
And in so doing
My mother’s history does not die
It lives on in me
Until the day I die
Long live the Cherokee nation
Long live my mother
The Wit and Wisdom of Mary Geneva Aldridge Aller -“There’s Method in Her Madness” Dedicated to My Mother Who Passed on July 31, 2005. Published in Contra Costa Times August 2005
Mary Geneva Aller
We are here today
To celebrate the life
Of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson Aller,
My mother.
As we are gathered together
to mark her passing
On to another, better world,
I thought we should reflect
On her life and its meaning.
Therefore, I have a message
That I hope we all leave here today.
I call this speech,
‘the wit and wisdom
of Mary Geneva Aldridge Wilson aller,
” there’s a method in her madness.”
Which was one of her favorite Shakespeare quotes.
I hope we will see the wisdom
That my mother tried so hard to impart
And what I hope
I have learned
from 52 years of watching
The life of my mother.
What have I have learned?
From Mary’s life
And her death
And what we can all learn
From her 85 years of experience
In this mad crazy corner
Of the world, she loved so dearly.
She was a true Berkeley original,
and it is only fitting
That we bury her
Here are a few blocks
From where she spent
Much of her life.
What can we learn?
From Mary’s life in this world?
Her favorite song from a musical was
“stop the world.
I want to get off.”
And today she gets her final wish
As she leaves this world
And moves on to another world.
My mother grew up
In Arkansas
In what could best be described
As hill country folk.
She was the 8th child of 10 children
Born on a family farm in the 1920s
High up in the Ozark mountains
North of Little Rock, Arkansas.
She graduated from high school
And lit out for the west coast
just as millions of people
Fled the dust bowl of the late ’30s and ’40s.
She arrived in the SF area
And settled in Berkeley.
She hated being considered an Oakie
and lost her accent
she cultivated an accent
She learned from
The classical radio deejays.
She then became involved
In labor and democratic politics.
She became a telephone operator union president,
Later was a real estate salesperson,
And became involved with the save the bay movement
And the league of women’s voters.
During the 60’s she accompanied
My father to Washington DC
When he was undersecretary of labor.
She could not wait to get back
To her beloved Berkeley
Because she felt at home
In the zany openness of the bay area
She once said
“every ten years the world flips
And all the nuts roll downhill
To California
That is how she got there
Part of the planetary nut reconfiguration program
A little known federal ABC agency “
She hated DC
As it reminded her why
She left the south so many years before.
In later years she helped my father
In his many political campaigns
And was his business manager for almost 10 years
when he ran an economic consulting business.
When she retired,
She kept her love of reading
Until just a few short years ago
When she finally
Was no longer able to read.
That for me was one
Of the saddest parts of her final years
As she loved to read.
What we all learned from Mary
– Mary’s wisdom can be broken
Down into four areas:
Question authority,
Think for ourselves
read everything there is,
And always do the right thing.
She always told us that we should question authority
and that we should never trust experts.
She said often what is an expert?
Just a guy with a PH. D
And we all know what means –
Piled high and deep.
And she laughed
As she was married to PH. D
And hated campus politics.
She hated with disdain
Almost all politicians
Except for Truman and Kennedy
And she had her own Truman story
She thought they were all crooks and liars,
Especially the southern-bred types.
She believed though in equal opportunity
And hated republicans as much as democrats.
No one ever measured
Up to her high standards
Of ethical behavior.
She often told us to do
The right thing.
But she refused to tell us
what would be
As we had to figure
That out on our own.
My final thoughts
Are on reading the lifelong
Love of books
That she gave me and my siblings.
She read an average of three to five books
Per week every week of her life.
We were always trading books
Stocking up books on our visits
To the family library
As I thought of it.
I have taken a part in the library
With me and will treasure all the books
That she shared with me and my siblings.
She always had an opinion
About everything.
One of her and my favorite books
Was the world according to Garp
And there was a “world according to Mary”
Where what you saw was what you got
And if you did not like her opinion,
then you had best get out of the way
Because Mary,
Was afraid of no one
And always stood her ground no matter what.
With Mary “what you saw was what you got.”
But I am happy that she
Let me in the “world according to Mary”
And I have lots of stories
from her life that would make great fiction,
For, in Mary’s improbable life,
Life was truly stranger than fiction.
Because my mother grew up in a Christian family,
It would be appropriate to read a bible quote.
My mother was raised as a Baptist
Although she left the church
After asking the minister,
“if god created the world,
Who created God?”
Here is one of her favorite bible quotes
Ecclesiastes 12 (King James version)
Ecclesiastes 12
1remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.
2while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4and the doors shall be shut in the streets when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low.
5also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goth to his long home and the mourners go about the streets:
7then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto a God who gave it.
8vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9and moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10the preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11the words of the wise are as gods, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12and further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Her minister friend said the short version is
” life is good.
Then we die
And it gets even better.”
When Mary was a telephone union president,
word came down
that she was invited
to meet Harry Truman.
She replied
I don’t want to meet
Harry unless he wants to meet me.
Hearing that quip,
Harry was amused
And sent his advance team to talk
Some sense into that feisty fiery woman
Out in SF
that Mary Aller.
Two government types,
dressed as I do,
showed up
Asked her if she was a communist
She responded
Boy, are you stupid?
If I were a communist, would I tell you?
I don’t think so.
Where do they get people?
Like you anyway?
The SF chronicle captured the moment
With a huge headline,
“Harry meets Mary.”
This sums up my mother’s fearless feisty
Stubborn personality and yes,
Truman was one of the few politicians
That got the Mary aller seal of approval
Now my final Mary story
Sums up her life for me.
In 1974 I was in this play,
the madwomen of the chalet
Where I played the waiter
Whose line was
“she’s not mad.
She’s the madwomen of Chaillot.”
But Mary was in the audience
And I lost my character
for a moment and said,
“she not’s mad,
She’s the madwoman of Berkeley, oops I meant Chaillot.”
Brought down the house.
I went home thinking I had done it,
insulted my mom in front of the whole school.
She laughed
And said that was okay
as she liked the phase.
I said
“well, Mary,
You are my madwoman of Berkeley
And I’ll have it no other way.
She laughed
And that was the end of it,
until now.
When I say,
“Mary, you were one of the most original people
Whoever lived,
And I treasure the fact
that I was your son.
You were at times
Very difficult to deal
With but in the end,
Your good karma
Will outlive you
As you always did the right thing,
and for that
And all the other words
Of wisdom, I learned over the years,
I salute you,
Our beloved madwomen of Berkeley.
The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley
I next encountered the divine
Many years later in Berkeley, California
I had gone home to be with my Mother.
While taking leave from my job
In the Foreign Service,
I had two weeks there by myself
My wife came later
Near the end of the trip.
Every morning I woke up
Had coffee
Did yoga
Spoke to my mother
Who was sliding into dementia.
Day by day losing her reason
Then I would go out
And explore the city
Go to a museum
Go to one neighborhood
And just be there
Rediscovering the Bay area
After years of being away
Having dinner with old friends
Seeing movies etc.
Every morning a black cat came to visit
The cat was friendly and waited for me
And then would join me in my morning rambles.
Following me to the bus stop
I started talking to the black cat
He looked at me with the spark of divinity
In his dark eyes.
I called him the cosmic cat
He seemed to like that
He would look at me
And I opened up to me.
Told the cat all my dark secrets
As I walked the streets
Of the old neighborhood.
Every morning and every evening the cat
Would be there to greet me
And to carry out our endless conversation.
Then I had to leave
And in our final conversation
I asked the cosmic cat.
Say, Cat are you just a cat
Or are you a demonic cat
Are you possessed by God
Or by Satan?
The cat looked at me
And I realized that God
Was indeed residing in the cat.
But that god was residing everywhere
All I had to do was open my mind
And the rest would follow
So I said Goodbye to the cosmic cat
And he purred and came up to me
And I felt the comforting
presence of the divine.
As I said goodbye to the cosmic cat
And said goodbye to my mother
As this was the last time
That we would be able to talk.
I told my mother about the cosmic cat
She smiled and said that the cat
Was there for me and her
To comfort us both in our hour of need
And that the cat was indeed
A cosmic cat
Cosmic Cat Nonet
evil cat
Cosmic cat from Berkeley
The cosmic cat was my best friend
He spent almost two weeks with me
Going everywhere I went
Just waiting for me
The cosmic cat
Was he god
Or just
Cat
Cat
Cosmic
In nightmares
The cat still comes
Many years later
Appearing In my dreams
The Cat comes every night
Cosmic cat spark of the divine
A god for sure sent the cat to me
I salute the cosmic cat from Berkely.
Communist Cats of Berkeley
black cat
growing up in Berkeley
in the infamous 70s
My best friend’s father
Was a Jewish Communist real estate agent
and his mother was a vegan Buddhist Nun
he grew up to become
a carnivorous Shakespearean actor
they had five cats, two dogs
and three mischievous monkeys
who lived in the trees
the cats were named
Stalin, Mao, and Lenin
communist hero cats
Stalin was the ringleader
A black panther-like cat
who was mean as hell
Mao was a pussy cat
a real pushover
and kind to all
Lenin was mischievous
always getting into trouble
they had two dogs
both Scotch terriers
Trotsky and Goldman
two real bad assed
proletarian dogs
the monkeys
Ho Chi Minh and Che
lived in the trees
and chased me
throwing fruit at me
when they saw me
boy do I miss
my communist cat buddies
the leftist dogs
and the mischievous monkeys
of my fabled youth
all that I know about life
and how to deal with people
I learned while attending BHS
in Berkeley, California
back in the distant 70’s
so many memories
so many different people
from all over the world
in what was the most multicultural high school
in the country back then
4,000 students
from everywhere in the world
yet we were all together
and learned to get along
I ran for student body president
and won the election
no one thought I would win
For I was a classic nerd
but somehow I won the election
and somehow managed
to keep our little student council
working together
in the midst of terrible times
all around us
the ending of the Vietnam war
Watergate and other corruption news
the 1974 election
student activism
in the first high school
to offer African American studies
the class that had launched
the black panther party
Jimmy Hendrix’s last high school
I took Latin one of the few public schools
that still offered Latin
and was on the debate team
but always taking a far right wing theme
as complete mockery
decades before Stephen Colbert
perfected it
yes everything I learned
in life
began at Berkeley High School
Berkeley California
Growing up in the 60’s
In Berkeley
almost 50 years ago
I think back
At those turbulent times
Those crazy wonderful times
Berkeley is a wonderful place
In many ways
Stuck forever in 1967
A true time travel experience
Every time I go back
And relive the memories
Of the 60’s
The 60’s never died
They continue
In college towns
Across the world
And Berkeley
Remains the mecca
Of the counter
cultural revolution
Many things have changed
But the organic food revolution
Became mainstream
Marijuana spread out
The sexual revolution
Became mainstream
So much of the world
Is but a reflection
Of the revolution of the 60’s
And the conservative
counter-revolution
That we are still fighting
So, I salute
My homeland
The center of my universe
My Name, My Name is John (Jake) Cosmos Aller From Berkeley
born in Berkeley 64 years ago
64 trips around the sun
My middle name
has nothing to do
with my being born
in Berkeley
although no one believes me
for it is such a Berkeley Cosmic sort of name
and suits me now
as the name of my on line blog
the world according to Cosmos
My great grandfather Daniel Aller
wanted an English translation of the family name
Aller
also spelled Eller, Oller, Alhaird
the family came from Hamburg
Aller river valley
and a town called Aller
founded by Huguenots
from France
Daniel found two choices
Cosmos and Universe
and chose Cosmos
as Universe well
that would have been a very Berkeley name
and not something that would work
in Republican conservative Yakima
so I was born John
never liked John
too many Johns in the world
so I adopted the name Jake
from a wild assed dream I had
in high school had a wild dream
shouting out whoa jake
jump back jack
turn around verdiack
slide aside Clyde
while riding a horse
and that became my catch phrase
called the Whoa Jake kid
and eventually just Jake
a few years ago
I became Cosmos
when I started publishing
my poetry
and so now
I am just
Cosmos
the barge
A barge
on lake Anza
in Tilden Park
Berkeley, California
beckoning me
imploring me
to dive off
into the cool water
of life
Crazy times
