Short walk.
Softly snow falls,
quiet, seeing.
A flake floats, hovering moment.
Changes the way
back, continues to descend.
Surfer skimming crystal.
Tender power, creation,
cutback along the crest.
Then on down.
Down down down
below the swell.
Crunches underboot.
Breathless moment
interrupted.
Rigs on the highway.
Distance of thousands,
far. But not so.
Sounds another dimension.
Gliding across waves,
a million miles across.
© 2019 Martin C. Fredricks IV
This early morning quiet / Many inches on the ground / Falling softly still, six-fifteen / Straight down, not a sound….
This early morning quiet
Many inches on the ground
Falling softly still, six-fifteen
Straight down, not a sound.
The sagging branches, wet white
Up north Dakota Territory
The way of it at thirty degrees
Another clean winter story.
Tip toe up and down
Whisper softly to each one
No school today, ice and snow
Maybe heaps before it’s done.
Really seriously can’t believe
Never happened before
Thank you, Jesus, and
Please send some more.
With advances in artificial intelligence and new feats of engineering, Robots continue to get smarter and better and more useful for humans. They also play soccer and develop press releases. Wait… What?
They’ve been rolling into our lives for years, performing tasks from the relatively mundane, like vacuuming floors, to the Jetsonish, like working as teachers’ aides in classrooms. With advances in artificial intelligence and new feats of engineering, Robots continue to get smarter and better and more useful for humans.
Robots also play soccer and develop press releases. Wait… What?
According to the experts, if robotics continues to advance at the current pace, it might not be long before bots will be able to score goals as effectively as Lionel Messi, and other machines will report the wins and losses.
It’s World Cup time again. People around the world are going nuts, painting their faces, taking holidays to watch their national teams play in Brasil. Through it all, I’ve been thinking again about why soccer isn’t more popular here. Two words: the flop.
The USA and Soccer – It’s Not That Complicated
Game Four of the NHL Western Conference Finals featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. 2010. Chicago is up three games to none. Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith takes a puck in the mouth and loses seven teeth. He’s out of the game for only seven minutes – one for each tooth – then heads back into the fray.
I’m still trying to come to terms with the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman, the most recent victim of self-inflicted drug overdose in Hollywood. The man was an amazing talent.
Social is making us unsociable.
I’m not talking about the fact that so many of us now spend hours and hours on social media, looking at and reacting to status updates from friends, getting our news 140 (or now 280 if you’re among the elite) characters at a time or watching video with slack jaws.
Snow is a given in the upper Midwest. We deal with it. Winter here brings one of the most satisfying opportunities to be a good neighbor. I learned it from my dad, and now I try to pass it – Why not go just 10 yards more?
There’s nothing like opening your garage door in the morning after a snowfall and seeing that your neighbors have already removed the snow from the sidewalks between their property line and your driveway. It’s a warm, friendly feeling.
Man knows more than he understands.
One thing I knew for sure after the satisfying meal at a local Chinese buffet – that was NOT a fortune. The missive was all too true, but it did not tell me what was going to happen to me tomorrow, next year or in a decade. It did not provide any hints as to what I might do to make the best happen. There was, in short, no foretelling of anything.
