Haiku du Jour » literature

May 7 “One Ringy Dingy”

rgdaniel — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:01:55 +0000

One ring to find them,

And in the darkness bind them.

Now Gollum has it…

World Exclusive: The Hunt For Gollum is a 40-minute fan film, inspired by the appendices of JRR Tolkein’s classic trilogy, ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and made for less than $5,000.

Watch the film in HD, only on Dailymotion.

Trailer 2 – The Hunt For Gollum [2]
by HuntForGollum

From Wikipedia:

The Hunt for Gollum is a fan film based on elements of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The film is a prequel to the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, and is based on passages in the novel’s appendices. Its visual style is inspired by Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, but the production is completely unofficial and unauthorized by the Tolkien estate or New Line Cinema, which produced Jackson’s film trilogy. The film was shot in high definition video. It was directed by Chris Bouchard.

The Hunt for Gollum debuted at the Sci-Fi-London film festival and on the internet, free to view, on 3 May 2009.

An Orc in 'The Hunt For Gollum'

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May 1 “Damn Darkness”

rgdaniel — Fri, 01 May 2009 04:01:22 +0000

Sometimes, late at night,

I like to light a candle

AND curse the darkness.

Some online sources attribute the expression that “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness” to Eleanor Roosevelt, when in fact it was said ABOUT her, by Adlai Stevenson at her memorial service.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt

It has also been attributed to Carl Sagan, who did make use of the expression in support of his 1995 masterpiece of skeptical thinking: “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark“.

The book is intended to explain the scientific method to laymen, and to encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. It explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science, and ideas that can be considered pseudoscience. Sagan states that when new ideas are offered for consideration, they should be tested by means of skeptical thinking, and should stand up to rigorous questioning.

Sagan presents a set of tools for skeptical thinking which he calls the “baloney detection kit”. Skeptical thinking consists both of constructing a reasoned argument and recognizing a fallacious or fraudulent one. In order to identify a fallacious argument, Sagan suggests the employment of such tools as independent confirmation of facts, quantification and the use of Occam’s razor. Sagan’s “baloney detection kit” also provides tools for detecting “the most common fallacies of logic and rhetoric”, such as argument from authority and statistics of small numbers. Through these tools, Sagan argues the benefits of a critical mind and the self-correcting nature of science can take place.

The phrase appears originally to be a Chinese proverb, perhaps by Confucius.

Apr 23 “Release the Hounds”

rgdaniel — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:01:03 +0000

I would cry havoc

And let loose the dogs of war,

But there’d be trouble…

YouTube video: “Pink Floyd -- Dogs of War (Live 1988)“

This quote, “Cry ‘Havoc!’ and let loose the dogs of war” is often removed from its context. The quote is from “Julius Caesar”, Act III, scene i.

After the assassination of Caesar in the Senate, Anthony enters and confronts the conspirators. He pretends to understand and forgive them (to save his own life and allow him to avenge his friend and mentor in the future). When Anthony is left alone in the Senate with the murdered body of Caesar he breaks down with grief and rage and asks forgiveness from the bleeding body, vowing vengeance against the conspirators:

Anthony:
“O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!
Over thy wounds now do I prophesy,--
Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips,
To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue--
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction shall be so in use
And dreadful objects so familiar
That mothers shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:
And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice
Cry ’Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.”

“Genetic Memories: Run with the Hunt” by rgdaniel

Apr 18 “Tilting”

rgdaniel — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:01:51 +0000

Lay down your burden,

the melancholy burden

of your sanity.

From Man of La Mancha:

He ponders the problem of how to make better a world where evil brings profit and virtue none at all; where fraud and deceit are mingled with truth and sincerity. He broods and broods and broods and broods and finally his brains dry up.

He lays down the melancholy burden of sanity and conceives the strangest project ever imagined…. to become a knight-errant, and sally forth into the world in search of adventures; to mount a crusade; to raise up the weak and those in need. No longer will he be plain Alonso Quijana, but a dauntless knight known as Don Quixote de La Mancha.

YouTube video: Impossible Dream (Gomer Pyle version)

Windmills in La Mancha, Spain: