The Cat Came Back The Very Same Way

This cat just returned from yet another trip through time, so he's looking a bit odd. He's the only animal in the universe known to have time traveled, and since he's composed mostly of thoughts, he's a very strange beast. We're pretty sure Lulu will enjoy his groove though.

This Day in UFO History- UFO Battle Over Nuremberg--1561

April 14th, 1561, the skies over Nuremberg, Germany were quite a sight. UFOs battled it out as astonished residents looked skyward. Or there might have been some tainted grain. Ergotism, a condition  caused by eating breads made with rye grain that has been tainted with a particular species of black mold, which is the original source of LSD, has been blamed for a number of weird mass hysterias, including the Salem witch trials. I can tell you this, however: witch sightings in these parts aren't from eating moldy bread. Whatever the cause, though, the Nuremberg case is interesting.

…the dreadful apparition filled the morning sky with cylindrical shapes from which emerged black, red, orange and blue-white spheres that darted about. Between the spheres, there were crosses with the color of blood. This frightful spectacle was witnessed by “numerous men and women.” Afterwards, a black, spear-like object appeared. The author of the Gazette warned that “the God-fearing will by no means discard these signs, but will take it to heart as a warning of their merciful Father in heaven, will mend their lives and faithfully beg God, that he avert His wrath, including the well-deserved punishment, on us, so that we may, temporarily here and perpetually there, live as His children.”

Tripping Westward

West of West Texas the tsunamis break on edge of the continent. The Beaver State awaits, yet something wicked that way wanders in our wake. It's true what they say; wherever you go, there you are. The shadow knows what it is you ultimately can't escape.

Night Music

At one the wind rose,
And with it the noise
Of the black poplars.

Long since had the living
By a thin twine
Been led into their dreams
Where lanterns shine
Under a still veil
Of falling streams;
Long since had the dead
Become untroubled
In the light soil.
There were no mouths
To drink of the wind,
Nor any eyes
To sharpen on the stars'
Wide heaven-holding,
Only the sound
Long sibilant-muscled trees
Were lifting up, the black poplars.

And in their blazing solitude
The stars sang in their sockets through
the night:
`Blow bright, blow bright
The coal of this unquickened world.'

Philip Larkin

Happy Birthday Billie Holiday-- Gloomy Sunday for a Thursday

Just because I happen to like the song. It was originally written in 1933 Hungary by Rezső Seress and titled Vége a Világnak which translates to End of the World. The speaker of the lyrics mourns a lost love and vows to end it all in order that they may be together again. Urban legends sprang up around the song alleging that it inspired hundreds of suicides, though these are probably just stories told for the amusement of the overly suggestible. The composer, Seress, did eventually commit suicide, but not until 1969. In the Holiday version a third verse was added to the song in which the suicidal speaker wakes to find it was all just a dream. This is possibly the most lame ending ever, whether for a song, a movie or a book. It's a cheat.

'Poem to Be Read at 3 A.M.'

Excepting the diner
On the outskirts
The town of Ladora
At 3 A.M.
Was dark but
For my headlights
And up in
One second story room
A single light.

Donald Justice

A Musical Saw Number From Hajime Sakita

We're tuning our saws for a little moonlight sonata out on the plains. The coyotes and chupas will accompany. Listen, Lulu, to the sound carried on the wind tonight. Maybe you'll hear a ghostly melody from West Texas. Just maybe.