Five Seven Five (Moke Haiku)

Haiku.
Simple in it's form,
Complicated by nature.
I hate poetry.
Okay, I don't enjoy using the word hate, so let's just say I have a strong dislike for poetry. I used the word hate cause it was only one syllable.
Dislike is strong too;
Impassive is more like it.
Who cares? I sure don't.
Maybe I just don't understand it. Yeah, that's it.
Why some are fascinated with and use poetry as a creative outlet is way beyond my simple intellect.
You'll never catch me
Composing a single line.
What a waste of time.
Whenever I think of poetry, one poem comes to mind: Who Has Seen the Wind by Christina Rossetti. You know that one:
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
etc, etc.
I mostly think of this poem while gasping for breath as I pedal into the wind. When I ask myself the question "who has seen the wind?" it is usually followed by an expletive laden answer.
I mean, I don't have to see it, I can freakin feel it!
My guess is Christina Rossetti wasn't a cyclist.
Poetry sucks wind
Yet people still enjoy it.
Why? No idea.
On the other hand, I really dig limericks. I mean there's some rhyming going on that tells a story, usually a humorous one. It also helps that oft limericks tend to be a bit naughty.
Irish poets rock.
They have a sense of humor
The whole world enjoys.
Hey dude, this is supposed to be a blog about cycling. Like, get it together!
Okay, okay, I'll get to the point:
Haiku, and the rhythms it produces, fits perfectly with the way mokes talk.
For you non island folk, mokes are usually guys that hang around pool halls and bus stops and their sole purpose in life seems to be to shake you down for your money.
That's probably a biased generalisation, but I'm sticking with it.
Anyway, the way mokes communicate, the tempo and pacing of their speech, fits the haiku mold perfectly.
So, submitted for your approval, I give you-
Moke haiku.
Written in great haste
With inebriated mind.
Check out the sidebar.
You'll never catch me writing no poetry.

Moke Haiku appearing on the front page are archived here:

Bradduh, wat is dis?
Das my whatchumacallit
Put em someplace else!

I wen get da kine
Wat kine you wen go out get?
Da regala kine.

Eh, my wave! My wave!
No drop in on me again.
I see you insigh!

Time fo eat o’what?
Mix plate at Rainbows Drive in
Shoots! I buy, you fly.

Puka pants, must stare
What brah, I owe you money?
Look away quickly.

The Information Super Highway

I've been spending time in the library.
Not by choice mind you, well, kinda sorta.
Anyways, what I've found is that I miss it. The library I mean.
One of the things I miss about school is going to the library and doing research. I miss searching the endless maze of shelves at Hamilton Library. I miss it for I would often get lost or distracted by other books that happened to catch my eye. Granted, most of those books were about art, but it was still fun to find books that were not related to the subject I was searching for.
I could have spent hours in Hamilton.
If they had served beer.
As a small person, I used to spend hours at the school and public libraries. I was a card carrying member. Never left home without it.
The only time students of today use the library is if they have to get on the computers. And do research on the computers. Or get pictures from the computers.
The internets have become their one stop shop for all things research related. Oh, and entertainment related also.
Hey! Kinda like The Flat Tire!
Most high school students today have no clue whatsoever on how to begin to start a research paper using a good ole book. They simply lack the skills.
One student wanted to know how to "skim" through a book.
Text books of course, are designed with sections that are boldfaced, have boxes where certain info is easily located, have definitions in the margins, and have most important information highlighted. Most books do not offer such user friendly options. You actually have to read them.
The "skimming" question left me a bit speechless. It was a skill I took for granted and I supposed everyone knew how to do it. I mean, it's one of those unconscious things that you don't really think about. There really isn't a step by step guide on how to skim through a book. Well, maybe there is and I don't know about it. I mean I never read a Cliff Note in my life.
The point is, most students today lack reading and information gathering skills. The fact that the two research paper formats I am familiar with, APA and MLA, allow internet references can't be a good thing. Especially if one is not correctly schooled in how to tell a good site from a bad one.
One of the things about a vast reference like Hamilton Library was having the ability to cross reference information. For an OCD anal guy like me, it was, comforting.
I kinda sorta like to know what I'm talking about, if you know what I mean.
What brought me to this was a street I pass by on the way to Libby Manapua, Peter Buck Street. I have this book at home:



Unfortunately, since it's at home I never get to use it. I usually end up forgetting what it is I wanted to look up.
So today, since I was in the library anyway and they thankfully had the book, I was able to find out why Peter Buck Street is, well, Peter Buck Street. Peter Buck was the director of the Bishop Museum from 1936 to 1951.
I don't know why, but I like knowing stuff like that.
I just thought I'd share, just in case you, the reader, were wondering who the hell Peter Buck was too.
For me, the real Information Super Highway still leads me to the library.