« July 2007 | Main | September 2007 »

August 30, 2007

After Much Waiting, The Haiku Contest Results

I do apologize for the waiting, but the first delay was an attempt to get more entries, the second to hear back from some truly extraordinary judges. I ended up receiving 6 entries and having an equal number of judges, whose judgment I truly value.

George is a writer who has recently begun a program of graduate studies and a thoughtful and lively new blog. Jacob is a writer and a poet and a sensitive thinker about issues of culture and faith. Tim, who is a member of my house church, generally has more creative projects going than this guy has plates spinning. He has a fun business (make sure you check out the gallery), which incorporates many of his talents, even it ain't all fun and games to man a booth at several weddings and a high school prom of a weekend. Louise, is a former student worker at the library I used to work at, an uber Kurt Vonnegut fan (she is truly in mourning), and now the very comptent editor of Lewis and Clark Community College's student newspaper, The Bridge. I have a distinct feeling that I am one day going to be saying about her "I knew her when..." Kirstin is a wonderful writer and the editor of catapult, to which I submit pieces upon occasion. And last, but certainly not least, Aaron is writer and poet, whom I am just getting to know and who runs an impressive poetry series at the Schlafly Tap Room, which I encourage you to attend if you are in the St. Louis area. Thank you to all of you judges for bringing such talent, judgment, and energy to this contest, and for taking the time to read haiku.

And now, without further preamble, the results....

Best Autumn Haiku

Heidi Harbin
Grey clouds, ominous
over golden, harvest fields-
a time to gather.

Runner Up: (tie) Heidi Vincent and Laura Wachsmuth

Best Winter Haiku: (tie)

Heidi Vincent
Frost buries the pane
chilly snap of a bough's branch
Winter takes its kill

Laura Wachsmuth
Throw a little snow
up into moon-lit branches
crow wings flood the night

Runner Up: Heidi Harbin

Grand Prize Winner: (tie)

Heidi Vincent and Laura Wachsmuth

Runner Up: Heidi Harbin

After six judges each assigning scores out of 10 to each haiku, Heidi Vincent and Laura received identical scores on their autumn and winter haiku respectively. They both scored a 94 out of a possible 120 points for the winning scores for their pairs of haiku. And to the commenter on a previous post who lamented the use of spreadsheets in judging, well I agree in principle that poetry should have no use for spreadsheets, yet it was the simplest way to quantify scores and try to fairly determine who received the most consistent recognition across a panel of diverse judges.

Congratulations to Heidies Harbin and Vincent and to Laura. And many thanks to each of you entrants who participated. I truly enjoyed reading your pieces which follow and conducting the contest. Here's hoping for even more entrants for Haiku Contest II to be held sometime in the dead of the coming winter for spring and summer haiku.

Ah, and the prizes. Well, in response to the tie, each winner will get a Toblerone or chocolate bar of her choice, and to the four extant prizes listed here and here, I am going to add this and this. Laura and Heidi V, you are just going to have to negotiate how to divide them.

And now on to the the point of all of this and to some lovely haiku...

Susan August
harvest peacekeeper -
scarecrow stands where the fields merge
to exchange their crops

waiting in the stream
dates from an old calendar -
ice is gathering

Heidi Harbin
Grey clouds, ominous
over golden, harvest fields-
a time to gather.

Discount-store fruit-cake
Mistletoe hid in pocket.
Christmas mis-givings.

Angela Heirendt
The bright heavens hold
Arms replete with painted leaves:
Rapturous embrace.

Hush of silent pond
Winter dusk sunlight descends
With sparkles of frost

Carol Lah
Eating toblerone
Leaves crunching under my feet
Cool breeze runs through hair

Rolling balls of snow
Sledding on rough icy hill
Toblerone on mind

Heidi Vincent
Winter shakes Autumn
And her leaves fall to her feet
She turns, blushing spring

Frost buries the pane
chilly snap of a bough's branch
Winter takes its kill

Laura Wachsmuth
Whisper autumn's here
A single leaf turns and falls
Red on withered green

Throw a little snow
up into moon-lit branches
crow wings flood the night

Posted by jackdas at 01:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 28, 2007

Piece

Even if one is in a bit of a creative slump and cannot really produce good writing, it does not mean that one cannot recognize such. Enjoy.

Posted by jackdas at 07:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 27, 2007

With Three Judges Reporting...

51
48
44
42
40
37
32

Posted by jackdas at 01:40 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 23, 2007

Haiku Contest: The Judging Has Begun

Well, it has begun. The haiku have been submitted to the judges, and the results will be announced early next week.

Here are several of my own following the rules of the contest and reflective of my spending some of my youth in small towns in St. Louis' Metro East. The challenge of haiku is to focus on one or several evocative images to create an entire picture. Every word can be important. For example, for the last word in the second line of poem two, I mulled over using "feel" or "take" or "drink" or "know" with each conveying a slightly different meaning. Pretty cool, huh. Well, enjoy, even if these are a tad dark.

how is such bounty
mixed with death, harvest queen, masks
candy in the streets

dark, frozen corn stalks
beneath a leaden sky, feel
the rabbit's warm blood

Posted by jackdas at 07:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 19, 2007

The Color of Rest is Green: A Vacation in 37 Pictures

It occus to me that I do not really write blog entries any more, a truth that I would like to remedy at some point in the future. I am not sure entirely all the whys and wherefores, but I am convinced they are not all positive. Still, until those posts come, here is a brief photolog of a whirlwind vacation that took me from St. Louis to Milwaukee (to see the Cards win 8-0) to Green Bay (to catch the end of the Packers practicing with the great Favre himself taking snaps) on Thursday; from Green Bay to Escanaba in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and back on Friday; and through Chicago (to spend the afternoon with Tanya and Heidi) and back to St. Louis on Saturday.

Needless to say it wasn't the most restful vacation, but it was full of wonderful sites. Including a lot of the great outdoors. And, my, it was great, indeed, and awesome and lovely. My host in Escananba, my friend Dan's step-father, said while I was talking to him about living in the U.P. that he has come to the conclusion that "The color of rest is green." And I think that is well worth quoting and true, unless of course you sandwich it between a great, great deal of traveling.

This past weekend was also a great culinary tour as well. Mmm, mmm.
Wednesday: St. Louis pulled pork barbeque at house church.
Thursday: Steak at the Texas Road House (with peanut hulls on the floor)
Friday: Whitefish, Perch, and Walleye platter at the Buck Inn (courtesy of my host)
Saturday: Chicago deep dish at My Pie Pizza on Clark Street and a fully loaded Chicago style hot dog.
Brilliant.

And adding to all the natural and culinary splendor was the opportunity to visit Goodwill in the U.P. Now you may think it rather silly to go six hundred miles to simply to hit a thrift store, but though they are very similar generally, it is interesting to see if there are any regional goods. For example, if I had more time to peruse, I could have tried on a pair of snow pants. As it was, I did not think I came away with anything uniquely regional, though I did get a blingerific green t-shirt. But when I got home, I saw that my $4.99 green, wide-slot toaster, had both English and French writing on it. Pretty cool, eh? The thrift-stores in Chicago along Clark street were surprisingly affordable, but, no, the real thrift stores of Chicago will have to be left for another day, when I can find an accomodating and knowledgeable native to help locate them in all their musty glory.

Finally, thanks, Dan, for helping provide me with such a thoughtful and well-planned vacation, and thanks, Heidi and Tanya, for the silly and fun afternoon in the city of broad shoulders.

OK, without further adieu, here are the 37 pics, which is a lot, but you must know, if you know me at all, that there are actually many more ;)

Posted by jackdas at 11:26 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 16, 2007

The Gel Series and Haiku Contest Notice

I am sure there are better things one could be doing when one is leaving for a trip at 6am the next morning, like packing, for example, or sleeping perhaps. But I saw this cool angular pattern of bubbles the other day after I had used some gel and as I packed it tonight I wanted to capture it for posterity. The first two shots are sink shots, the latter with some extra lighting.

Oh, and the haiku contest deadline is extended till next Wednesday. So, far we have only four entries, and with such great prizes on the line. Plus, I am going to be out of town for a whirlwind vacation, so that gives you haiku procrastinators some extra time. Come on now, we really have some quality judges in the wings, so lets get them a little more material to work on.

Posted by jackdas at 12:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 15, 2007

Orange Red

Posted by jackdas at 02:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

August 14, 2007

Waiting for Caspian

Rather impatiently I might add, not because I am certain that they are going to do a good job, but because I want to see if they do well enough to get to some of the other books which are far more film friendly in my mind.

At any rate, whilst vainly searching for a trailer, I found this fan trailer on Youtube. Now the quality of the visuals, of course, is not extraordinary, but I think most of ideas for the shots and sequencing are pretty good. Best of all the lines are delivered with such strength that they make the piece. Plus, the acting is pretty good too. Here it is. Enjoy. It all seems to me like some thing that young Wachsmuths and Badenochs (if you know them, I'm sure you're smiling) might put together, and that is a compliment in both directions.

It looks like PrinceCaspian is having fun learning to work with a camera and developing ideas in his head. I am not a film person, but it seems like there is potential here, if for no other reason than the effort these took to make, though I think there is more than that. See particularly "Love Thy Neighbor," "Freedom From Me," and "Wood and Lizards." The age on the profile says 37, so I am not sure if a father is shooting these or the principle actor, and that that is just a fake age.

Posted by jackdas at 01:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Get Those Haiku In...

Let's just say that currently we have more judges than entries, and that ain't a good thing. I'm a bit, er, nervous. Plus, we don't want to eat up Internet bandwidth if everyone sends them in at once, do we?

Posted by jackdas at 12:56 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

August 13, 2007

Wedding Number Five - The American Side

I don't think I have been to as many weddings of a summer as I have been to this summer. In addition to two friends having gotten married, three of my cousins' daughters have gotten married. At the beginning of the summer, the daughter of a cousin on my Mom's side of the family was the first. Then a few weeks ago it was the wedding reception of a cousin's daughter on my Dad's side of the family. This past weekend, to complete the symmetry, the sister of the first cousin's daugther got married.

Looking at the pictures from these last two wedding posts and knowing that I deeply appreciate and resonate with the aesthetics of each, but more deeply with the latter, should go a fair ways in helping you understand my outlook on my cultural heritage and the dance my blood cells do within my veins.

Actually, for this wedding I was asked to be the informal photographer for the reception. Eek! I have as yet to get an external flash and was very nervous about missing key moments. And, alas, a few did go flittering by in the banquet room darkness as my little flash recharged. My cousin-niece (in Pakistan, I would simply call her my niece), in response to my worried banter, was as gracious as she is lovely in the pictures below, and that's pretty darn gracious. Most of these shots I got just before she walked in (sometimes it pays to be a little late to things) and just after the wedding, respectfully staying out of the way the real photographer, which is an imminently sensible practice. Musn't interfere with the professionals doing their work.

Enjoy!

Posted by jackdas at 03:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 12, 2007

Contest, Part II...We've Got Judges

Here is where we put to the test the question of whether haiku contests are like baseball fields. I have built one; let us see if they will, indeed, come. As of yet we have four people whom I've asked who have said "Yes" to being judges, one strong maybe, and yours truly. That makes a potential of 5-6 judges total, which is good because it makes the judging all the more unbiased, and hopefully well-rounded. Alas, as of yet, I have no entries!

In case you were curious, here is how the judging will work. Each judge other than myself will get haiku with only a number on them, not knowing who has written them. They will assign each individual haiku a score from one to ten, so the top possible score for a pair from one judge is 20. I will add up the scores from all the judges and the pair of haiku with the highest aggregate score will be the winner. Also, there will be honorable mentions for the best autumn haiku and winter haiku respectively. All haiku will be published here for our enjoyment without scores or ranking (aside from the winner of course).

Here we go! Here we go! Get those submissions in by noon on Wednesday, August 15th. The prizes await, plus a bonus prize recently discovered whilst cleaning my office has been added. It is the 30 card set of post cards of Japanese scenes which is pictured above.

Posted by jackdas at 12:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Susans

Posted by jackdas at 12:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 08, 2007

A Contest

This was going to be a Facebook contest only, but I had to bring the blog into the fun. I don't want it to become the resentful older brother.

In response to the fantastic success of the elucidate the band name contest that just occured (on my Facebook page), I thought I would set up another one. Having just finished discussing haiku in a non-western lit class I was teaching, I thought that this was just the thing.

So, your assignment, should you choose to accept, is to write two haiku, one each for the upcoming autumn and winter seasons, preferably focused on these seasons in St. Louis, but that is not an absolute stipulation. Please send your haiku to neil.e.das@gmail.com by a week from today, August 15th. And the winner will be announced on Monday, August 20th. Judging will be done by me and at least one other esteemed judge in a impartial manner. All haiku will be posted here. And the winner, you ask, what does the winner get? Oh, just you wait.

First, though, even though this site indicates otherwise, the haiku for this contest must consist of three lines with 5-7-5 syllables respectively. Each haiku should have a kigo or seasonal word in it. And preferably there should be a cutting word, or pause after the second line, which sets up the ending. Here is the Wikipedia article on haiku.

Enough with the rules...what are the prizes? Well, the deserving winner will get to pick 3 out of the 4 items listed and pictured below.

*A rare complete copy of the second Ghetto Monk anthology consisting of essays, poems, reviews written by local authors and edited by Jeremy Huggins. This copy also includes the CD of original music that came with the publication. High quality all around.

*A cool, Asian looking red box (actally made in Poland) suitable for, well, storing loose change, though only a little, or jewelry or what not. And the cicada shells currently inside it can totally be optional.

*Pristine paperbacks of the first nine books in the A Series of Unfortunate Events book series by Lemony Snicket.

*A regular sized Toblerone.

OK, remember you only get your choice of 3 out of 4 prizes, so dream wisely, get writing, and tell your friends. And, yes, the prizes will be shipped (if necessary) anwhere in these united states.

Posted by jackdas at 09:21 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 06, 2007

Some Color From a Pakistani Wedding Reception

There were even more examples of lovely Pakistan dress than these but it was rather tricky to shoot these and maintain a level of propriety. Even these required a certain amount of surreptitiousness. Not so the shots of my cousin's radiant daughter below, who got to wear not one but two wedding dresses during the course of the evening. Please pardon the slight lack of focus.

Posted by jackdas at 11:54 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Bug

Posted by jackdas at 11:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Blue in Clayton

Posted by jackdas at 12:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 01, 2007

Bravia Advert II

I don't know if I ever posted a link to the second advertisement for Sony's Bravia television. This one is called "Paint" and involves carefully choreographed explosions of paint on and around a vacant apartment building in Glasgow. I still think I like the first advertisement, "Balls," better, I believe because of the wistful/melancholy song which serves as its soundtrack and because of the more random bouncing of balls, which is often captured in slow motion, but the second ad is truly amazing in its complexity and scale. Be sure to watch the "Behind the scenes" video. The new video can be accessed by clicking on the image above. Oh, be sure to and turn your sound up at the end of "Paint" for a lovely ending. To see the first video again you really must see the extended edition here.

Posted by jackdas at 01:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack