Babelfishing Poetry: "Self-Proclaimed Squirrel"

Babelfishing Poetry: "Self-Proclaimed Squirrel"


Hello all!  So nice to see you. Come in and have a look around -- the kettle is on, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and take the weight off your feet.  I'm putting my feet up right now myself, because I've just got back from a trip to the ER for severe heart palpitations, which they said were called ventricular bigeminy.  I was having them intermittently since Sunday, and then constantly, without let-up, all day on Wednesday, leaving me feeling weak.  Even though the palpitations were continuing, testing showed I was not in immediate danger, so they sent me home with a referral to Cardiology.  So while I wait for that appointment, let's enjoy some Babelfishing poetry, where I take song lyrics, run them through an on-line translator such as (but not necessarily) Babelfish, rearrange the punctuation a bit, and wind up with a quirky kind of poem.

This week's feature is the pseudo-old-timey song (actually written in the 1970s by Chris Germain) "Squirrel Heads And Gravy" (listen to a version by The Sheets Family Band here).  Enjoy. 


Self-Proclaimed Squirrel

Take refuge in the flesh, thereby,
I call myself a squirrel.
Escape the meat, thus.
I'm a heavenly capital.


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Babelfishing Poetry: "Tears Are What You Ask"

Babelfishing Poetry: "Tears Are What You Ask"


Hello all!  Thank you for dropping by again, it's so nice to see you!  I hope, wherever you are, you're able to enjoy some nice spring weather (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least).  You are just in time for more Babelfishing poetry, where I take song lyrics, run them through an on-line translator such as (but not necessarily) Babelfish, randomize the punctuation a bit, and wind up with a quirky kind of poem.

Published in 1912, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" is our featured song this week (listen to Bing Crosby's very relaxed rendition here, or listen to Irish tenor John McCormack's version here, or or watch this clip from a Porky Pig cartoon of drunken cats and dogs singing the song here).  Enjoy. 


Tears Are What You Ask

In your eyes, tears are what you ask.
There is no name.
The problem is difficult for those who are stupid.
So why go bid the soldiers shoot?
But he saw the song with laughter like a noble light.
He was always smiling and smiling.
Other videos will be sent to me.

At the time Ariane was appointed, good morning was over.
The vocal sound of the angel who has arrived in the national anthem.
World-class pleasant prisoner.
Most fortunate man, I am finished.


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Oyster Point

Oyster Point


Here are pics from a visit to Oyster Point on Monday.


Boats in the marina.





A look at the office park across the inlet.





Sutro Tower in San Francisco is visible in the gap between the buildings.





Avian activity: crow, Canada goose, Clark's grebe, and greater scaup.











A Southwest jet takes off from San Francisco International Airport three miles away.





A view to the east across San Francisco Bay.




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Monday Movies: Nightfall/Lightrise Time-Lapse

Monday Movies: Nightfall/Lightrise Time-Lapse


Monday Movies: 20 seconds (more or less) of video from the world around me.

This week: Ten time-lapse seconds of nightfall and light rising from the parking garage below through openings in the foundation at the construction site next door, where they are building a 470-unit apartment building that will eventually block my view completely.  Enjoy.




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Babelfishing Poetry: "I Want To ChoghIj Your Hand Importantly"

Babelfishing Poetry: "I Want To ChoghIj Your Hand Importantly"


I hope you've all been fine and well? No upsets? No disasters? Civil uprisings?  No meteor strikes, tornadoes, floods, unexpected sinkholes, avalanches, mudslides, blizzards, hailstorms, lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, volcanoes, sandstorms, alien abductions, toxic spills, transit strikes, computer crashes, polar vorticies, landslides, gaping potholes, pandemics, solar flares?  I hope not, I really do.  Because that would be horrible, it really would.  So, assuming we're good to go, let's get ready for more Babelfishing poetry, where I take song lyrics, run them through an on-line translator such as (but not necessarily) Babelfish, poke and prod the punctuation a bit, and wind up with a quirky kind of poem.

This week it's George Gershwin's "Embraceable You" (listen to the inimitable Ella Fitzgerald's version here, or listen to Nat King Cole's impossibly smooth version here, or listen to Herbie Hancock's version here, or listen to Charlie Parker's cool rendition here).  Enjoy. 


I Want To ChoghIj Your Hand Importantly

Meet the blind man.
My heart is shivering;
the first, the only.
Zippo HIV.

I love you.
I want to choghIj your hand importantly.

The newborn child and mold.
Leave my mom to my mom.
Thailand.

Hello darling.
Well, then, can have bug, will destroy.


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Picchetti Ranch Preserve

Picchetti Ranch Preserve


Here are some pics from a visit to Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve on Monday.


California poppy and blackberry are in bloom.







One of the resident peacocks who live at the historic winery on the grounds.





Pretty birdie!





Golden yarrow is coming into bloom.





A wild turkey forages in the seasonal pond, dry now due to a prolonged drought.







Hawksbeard.





The Vista Trail leads through a grove of oaks to a hilltop viewpoint.





A view from the hilltop.





Fiddleneck, Fernald's iris, and Pacific ninebark are all in bloom.








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