Daily Prompt: Release Me

Speechless (Michael Jackson song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The blog post that I was the most nervous to publish was My Thoughts on Michael Jackson’s Invincible Album. It was a post that I felt really bared my soul to one and all in the WordPress community. Although Mr. Jackson still retains a huge, posthumous fan following for his 40+ years of contributions to the music industry, I knew that there was also a large anti-Jackson camp who would seek to magnify his personal/family life as well as his rocky and highly sensationalized relationships with the press. Although I would not classify myself as an ardent Jackson fan, I do love his music for the most part, and I am quite the sensitive individual; the opinions of others do matter to me. So to mitigate the negativity that I imagined would arise from the publication of this post, I released

A Waterfall Haiku

Waterfall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A thunderous roar,
And milk white sprays that on rocks
Both tumble and froth.

Blue-Eyed Darner Dragonfly in the Backyard

A beautiful but not unexpected visitor to the backyard was this mini-helicopter (aka Blue-Eyed Darner). Everything that needed to be in focus, was in focus! Dragonflies are a colourful and welcome addition to our garden–they keep the flies and mosquitoes at bay.

With its quartet of gossamer-like wings and bright blue-and-black banded colouration, this Blue-eyed Darner looks unreal–even against the blue of the summer sky.

Daily Prompt: Learning Style

object. (Photo credit: Photo Extremist)

Even though I graduated from the halls of academia many years ago, I have not stopped learning. The most important lessons learned are in real life. My style of learning has evolved over the years, but me being me, it does not fit any one particular definition. I just can’t be pigeonholed or stereotyped.

I started off by subscribing to the school of thought that promotes learning by observing and doing. Not that my brain really gave me much choice in the matter. I could never synthesize, or engage in inductive reason, the way that great scientific minds like Hawking or Einstein could, in the seeming absence of clues. No groundshaking leaps of logic for me. To borrow a bit of hockey lingo, deduction

Finding Sensibility in a Dr. Seuss Book

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t recall mom or dad ever reading me bedtime stories. But by the age of 6, I do remember reading, in a rather halting voice, classic children’s tales like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and How to Eat Fried Worms to my classmates. It did beat nap times and messy fingerpainting sessions, hands down.

While authors Roald Dahl and Thomas Rockwell are memorable for titles like these, Dr Seuss has a special place in my heart, because he made life comprehensible to little ones in rhyming prose. He laid them out in nonsensical limericks, which were food for thought–even if (or maybe especially because) it was (m)uttered by whimsical creatures. A collection of inspirational quotes and practical advice, without the overt morality plays or covert guilt trips.