Category Archives: Poetry

Poetry, Security

The Talk

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by Erlend Øye

And so I’m back and I am stuck here in the same room.
A thorough shuffle to the mail my first excuse
not to immediately face the day’s agenda.
Some very awkward words I need be telling you
of a feeling that in motion through I’ve carried
for it to be worn off upon return
that grew inside me like a credit taken
in a currency I could no longer earn.
No better way,
no other time,
no other call,
no better line,
as soon as now, within your room
it can’t go on,
I’m not in love with you.
My mouth has got a funny taste of metal,
a pencil line’s been drawn upon my face.
Weight has come to hang around my shoulders
for the knowledge of a doubt I can’t erase.
Hey boy you never finish what you’ve started
says the man I wanna be who I am not
who will sacrifice his part as easy lover
to never be the one who holds and drops

Poetry, Sailing, Security

Crossover Dreams and Rescue

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Rubén Blades in a NYT interview suggested it is best to self-motivate to survive:

That’s what I think the whole trick of saving oneself comes down to. If you’re going to swim, you don’t expect to be picked out of the water by a boat that may never come.

At this point I feel like I should translate the lyrics to Pedro Navaja.

It’s the story of a small gangster, of whom the song makes us a very successful portrait, who attacks a prostitute. In the aggression, the girl defends herself by shooting Pedro Navaja. They both die, while a drunk finds the bodies, searches them, and sets out again while singing out of tune what immediately becomes the chorus of the following ‘montuno’.

Instead, I think I will just say that swimming is not something that gets easier through collaboration. The more people in the water, the more they ultimately still have to save themselves or perhaps just one other — may the strongest swimmer survive. They may even interfere. A boat (e.g. technology-enhanced processes that can be leveraged by people trying to save themselves or others) is an entirely different story — may the strongest sailors provide value unto others and be justly rewarded for his/her collaborative efforts.

History, Poetry, Security

Chinese regulate dancing to avert “young love”

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Here is an amusing story that reminds me of the American movie Footloose. Crazy kids doing crazy expressive and touchy things can not be trusted to avert the disaster commonly known as falling-in-love. Xinhua’s English news feed provides details:

Parents with traditional values are alarmed at the prospect of boys and girls dancing hand in hand, believing the risk of their children falling in love and losing track of exam results would increase.

“Four students will be grouped together to perform the waltz and they will change partners regularly as soon as one song finishes. This way, the risk of young love will be lowered,” said Yang Guiren, an official in charge of art and physical education with the MOE [Ministry of Education].

Never mind Footloose, this reminds me of square dancing classes I was required to attend in grade school for “physical education”. All of these schemes sound positively ridiculous as everyone knows kids fall in love regardless of what they are doing. Glances through bulletproof glass, or even just secret messages ferreted through secured chambers by note or IM are the very nature of the resilience of young love. Instead, I would argue, MORE exposure to each other in regular doses is the surest cure for youthful adoration.

Is there a LARRY and CURLY to go along with the Chinese MOE? Will they ban poetry next to prohibit the messaging of young love?

Consider, for example, Chinese poems based on the story of the Magpie Bridge. Here is one by Qin Guan, translated by Professor Kylie Hsu:

Among the beautiful clouds,
Over the heavenly river,
Crosses the weaving maiden.
A night of rendezvous,
Across the autumn sky,
Surpasses joy on earth.
Moments of tender love and dream,
So sad to leave the magpie bridge.
Eternal love between us two,
Shall withstand the time apart.

The part of the Magpie Bridge story that seems suspect to me is the weaver “enjoyed her marriage so much”. Perhaps if the Heavenly Mother had left the bridge alone, the weaver would soon have settled back to earth to find her weaving more rewarding and increased productivity. Am I being too cynical?

Energy, Poetry, Security

Edinburgh bans SN07 from IDs

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This seems odd to me. What will regulators think of next? Will they ban actual snot?

The BBC explains the risk in an article humorously called “DVLA says ‘offensive’ SN07 number plates are snot allowed“.

The change means that cars registered in the capital are the only ones in Scotland not to begin with an S.

A DVLA spokesperson said the decision to change the plates was taken to avoid offending car buyers in the capital.

She added: “It is our policy that any registration mark that can be construed as being offensive to people will be suppressed.

“In this case, the SN07 marks would have been too similar to the word ‘snot’ and, as that could possibly offend some buyers, they were replaced with new TN07 registrations.”

Snot is really offensive to people? Another story by the BBC suggests the opposite, that poetry about snot is a good way to help children learn about health and medicine. Yes, poetry about snot:

North London GP Nick Krasner, has harnessed the fascination for all things “icky” to entertain and educate.

In ‘Oozing Medical Poems’ he tackles the issues of bugs, appendicitis and personal hygiene through 11 poems aimed at seven to 11-year-olds.

How offensive. Well, at least now plates from Scotland will be harder to identify. Wait, wasn’t that the point of the S?

Maybe they should have changed the N instead of the S? Is SP07 offensive to anyone? What about SC07?

Meanwhile, in American news, a federal judge has ruled that the state of Illinois is required to offer license plates with controversial political slogans:

A federal judge yesterday ordered state officials to offer license plates with the pro-adoption motto “Choose Life,” brushing aside claims that the slogan is really a thinly disguised anti-abortion message.

No, that’s not an anti-abortion plate. It’s an anti-war message. Maybe the pro-life lobby will push for a plate that says “If you’re running on gasoline, you just killed a marine.” Too controversial? To be clear the plate perhaps should read “choose life, unless it gets in the way of oil and pride, then shoot freely”.

Former state Sen. Patrick O’Malley, R-Palos Park, another sponsor, said in a telephone interview last night that it made no difference even if “Choose Life” did represent an anti-abortion slogan.

“Does that make it bad?” O’Malley said. “Whether it is or it isn’t you should still be allowed to express yourself.”

O’Malley clearly does not have a problem with SN07 on his ID. I guess he would also support the MPEACHW plate owner who is being asked by the state of South Dakota to surrender her personalized ID. The Rapid City Journal explains:

State law declares motor vehicle licenses plates to be the property of the state as long as the plates are valid. The law also allows personalized plates with as many as seven letters for an extra $25 fee. But it gives DMV officials the right to refuse to issue “any letter combination which carries connotations offensive to good taste and decency.�

Hillmer said MPEACHW meets that criterion. The plates never would have been issued if DMV officials had caught their meaning at the time Moriah applied, Hillmer said.

“This was one that we apparently missed when it came through originally, and we received a complaint from an individual that found it offensive,� she said, declining to identify the individual or provide the contents of the complaint. “I don’t think we ever would have issued it if we’d have picked up on what it was inferring.�

So there you have it. A manual process, perhaps a mere individual, sitting and looking at untold license plate applications and trying to decipher meanings to protect the public from harm. Is that person a trained linguist? A code analyst? Will computers be increasingly used to search a database for offensive patterns? The concept of a state-owned identity that can be personalized presents interesting cross-section of philosophy, security and technology.