Dear Pink,

I enjoyed my 'po' very much, thank you, and cheerios to Bryan for setting us all
on our toes once again

and although I don't drink, I would love to sit in a saloon with you
anytime and discuss the seamy underpinnings of our degenerate society,
but I suppose this virtual saloon will have to do.

I have actually wondered at times how many of the regulars are into
the 'hol . . . wha'd'ya think?

( Kemlo is most suspect; even his spell checker doesn't cover for 'im)

anyway, to the question at hand:

I am interested in keeping a haiku diary.  I bought a beautifully
bound ten year diary, and I began keeping the details of daily life
there, but I find it's . . . well, it's not what I want to do.

But I spent $35 bucks on this thing and I'd like to use if for SOMETHING!  

So one thought I have is to write a simple haiku that describes the
essence of each day, if possible.  The thing is, I've never written a
word of poetry, let alone haiku.  So, I wonder if you have ever
dabbled?

One thing is certain: a limerick is not haiku!  

One could even say that a limerick is the opposite of haiku, with it's
galloping rhythms that come to a predictable and definitive halt, as opposed to
seventeen deftly structured syllables that leave one dangling  . . .  

and wondering what it all means ...

(maybe even suffering from mimouleipseikatiphobia!)

anyway, would you care to explore this subject?

I need a crash course in American English haiku!  (none of this furriner stuff)

If nothing else, please give this a try:  a haiku 'po' about our
friend Bryan of Hove

haiku very much,

ts of Orcatraz

* * *

haiku frustrates me
my thoughts always seem to need
one extra sylla

as requested, here's
a haiku of him of hove
and one for you too

I was feeling dim
Bryan hove into sight and
he Brighton'd the day

thank you timespacette
for enlivening GA
even without beer

here is some info
about how to write haiku
best regards from Pink

Toyomasu Family Blog: HAIKU for PEOPLE 
http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/#howtowritehaiku

Aha! Poetry: HAIKU TECHNIQUES
http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm

In the moonlight a worm..." The Nature of English Haiku
http://www.haiku.insouthsea.co.uk/english.htm

Pink, I have been travelling and also family/life challenged since
last veiwing GA; now Bryan informs me GA is to be no more!  tuning in
here from a friend's computer and I hadn't realized I had left you
hanging with this question .... so to tie up loose ends .... thanks so
much for this and all your wonderful playful wanderings on GA over
these brief years.  can't stay on long right now, so don't have time
to see what the latest is among the researchers .... where will they
go?  what wil they do?  any thots?  can you steer me in the direction
of some answers to these questions?  best of luck, cheerios, farewell!
ts

Bryan sleeps and things
go by, but they don't escape
the great Kemlo aye

I never claimed I was a poet...enjoy!

Wow ... this is SCARY!

I can't bear to look; and I cant't bear not to look.

Worried of Hove

hee hee hee . . . . . now the tables have turned! ! !

Pink that is absolutely wonderful 


Bryan perhaps for inspiration u should try this wonderful Scotch poet 

http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/

Kemlo

Congratulations, Kemlo, you are getting better.

On this occasion, you are only 3 years too late because, as you can
see, the Great McGonagall has already been well and truly done:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=208130

Please keep up the improvement!

Bryan
That is the most rediculoose slap down yet. 

Juas because u can remenber three years ago should not detract from
the poetical achievements of the Great Great McGonagall

Again Pinky, that is one of the most wonderful poems we have ever read.

KEMLOO

I drink wine and beer,
And sometimes I drink whiskey*.   
Water's what I fear.


Heiko: 5, 7, 5 syllables, rhyme is unimportant.
My august Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung has a daily cartoon strip
with a slack-jowled watchdog that often comments with a haiku.

Timespacette, no 'hol?
But charming, witty, sober,
A boon to us all.

Yeah, I like to make it rhyme, and have trouble limiting the last line
to just five syllables.  Just try it, you'll get better  - not that I
do.

*Alternate spelling:  whisky, depending on the bottle I find.

And ere one of you,
Pokes fun at old Myoarin,
Cheers, Prosit, Salut!

myoarin,

ah the rhyme

it's what separates East from West

we westerners can't seem to handle the sound of one hand clapping!

as for Kemlo and Bryan . . . settle down, would'ya?  

the virtual saloon is experiencing a virtual brawl!

think 'tea ceremony'

otherwise the Pink Muse may not be conjured

domo arigato, 

(she bows)

ts

* * *

Since clearly one of the most important parts of this conversation
might go on without comment, I figured I would jump in and save the
day.

Whiskey/Whisky, the term is originally from the Gaelic phrase uisce
beatha which translates to Water of Life. Clearly the Gaelic were
geniuses.

The Scottish folk weren't the first to create whiskey/whisky. Many
grain growing nations produced some form of this grain based alcohol.
However many consider Scotch Whisky to be the finest. The Scots
themselves prefer to call it simply Scotch, but this is a whole
seperate issue. Scots spell their beverage without an additional E, as
do Japan and Canada. There is no legal bindings for this, it is just a
known fact from these distillers.
Some excellent examples of Scottish Whisky are Highland Park,
Glenfiddich, Macallan and Laphroaig. As a determined researcher I have
tried these and several others, all are very fine, but I prefer
sipping whiskey made from sour mash myself.

American Whiskey or more preferably Tenessee Whiskey is spelled with
an E, as is Irish Whiskey, and this is an excellent way to determine
if you have found the correct bottle you seek. If it lacks the extra
E, you have Scotch, or you have mistakenly picked up something
Canadian or Japanese. The true whiskey drinker will tell you that it
can only be made in Ireland and Tennessee, and they are correct.
Tennessee Whiskey is actually closer to bourbon, based on the grains
of choice, however it is then put through a mandatory 10 ft maple
charcoal filtering system called the "Lincoln County Process". The
name is based on the original location of Jack Daniel's Distillery.
Good examples of Tennessee Whiskey would be Jack Daniels, and George
Dickel. Jack Daniels recently lowered their alcohol content which
resulted in a backlash from their normally blindly loyal fans, the
debate is fought daily on the internet as to whether this was a good
idea or not. George Dickel on the other hand has not changed and
remains in my mind one of the finer things in life. George Dickel
breaks tradition here and lables his bottle Whisky as he felt his
libations were in the same high quality as the finest of Scottish
Whiskies. I highly reccomend both Gentleman Jack (or the Oak Barrel
Series) if you are drinking Jack Daniels, and the #12 if you are
drinking George Dickel.

Irish Whiskey is made without peat which lends a smoother sweeter
final product, however the difference in the three (Scotch, Irish and
Tennessee) is amazing. As I mentioned I prefer the sour mashes, but
they are all excellent in their own way.

[-- Mother911-ga --]

To  timespacette
its not fair,  He started it,  he did!   he did!   he did!


NOT FAIR 

KMELO

a little Jack Daniel's with your tea, dear?

I personally prefer more Jack Daniels and less tea.

How did Kemlo know
that Pink would humble us all?  
Prescient he is.

Whisky or whiskey
It tastes not one bit better
for knowing all that.

A friend of mine kept an online haiku diary for a couple of years
before she dropped it earlier this year. Check it out.

http://home.earthlink.net/~memort/index.htm
Haiku Diary

Aim for two things in Anglicized haiku:

1) The masters of the haiku form practiced zazen--sitting meditaion.
Haiku are the compressed and pure imagery of nature--compressed into
three lines and purified of the observer. This last is the goal of
yoga accrding to Patanjali to whom the incomparable Yoga Sutras are
attributed. He said that when contemplative calm and focus on the
object of meditation were acheived, the subject would dissolve,
leaving a pure thought of the object. Stare at something in nature
that you love long enough until you forget youself and get the imagery
down later, editing your material into
2)three lines, which we can do something very interesting with. Line
one contains something in the vast distance or something of the
macrocosm. Line two contains something very near or something of the
microcosm. Line three contains a surprise: PLOP!

Here's one of mine--that doesn't adhere to the above formula--for the
incummin Autumn:

Leaves
decay into color and
Fall