Well we only have a few days before the Xanga change. I guess it will either be Xanga on the WordPress platform or no Xanga. If no Xanga, I'm guessing most will be moving to a different blog site somewhere. Very early I signed up for the new Xanga.02 and I do hope they, I should say we, succeed in raising the capital to continue. It is very close to the goal. I think those of us left and still faithfully hanging on here will continue on with Xanga in what ever form it takes in the future. Regardless of the outcome, we all will continue to identify ourselves as "Xangans" (or should it be "Xangonians") not "X-Xangans" anymore than we could call ourselves X-Italians, X-Huguenots or X-Kansans.
           Over the years we have all acquired or created an identity because of this community we have been a part of. For some, perhaps the only identity they have ever had or cared to admit to, whether your blog had hundreds of subs, friends or footprints or whether you just enjoyed using Xanga as a personal journal with only an occasional visitor. Either way we have declared ourselves as individuals, free to move inside or if we wished outside of the box and Xanga has given us a place to express ourselves to the whole world or simply to record our thoughts privately in an interesting format that's available to us no matter were we are at. And probably more importantly we have all been able to expose ourselves to diversity, creativity and points of view that otherwise we would never be aware of.  All from the comfort of our own couch, motel room or fancy new mobile device. That is pretty awesome considering only a few years ago the only place we could do that was in a red spiral notebook, a letter to your folks and friends or if we were pissed off enough , a letter to the editor.
            To put it simply into perspective, it is fun here. I am sure none of us are here because we hate it. So let's keep having fun. 

DSS.

As a child my first encounter with human death was at the age of eight attending my grandfather's funeral. We lived on a farm at the time and seeing the death of animals of all sorts was already common even for a boy of my age. But now experiencing the thoughts all people have of death of a close family member, this was the first personal relationship I had lost and my mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.  And it was the first that I remember thinking of human death and realizing that someday I may experience it. Even at that age I was skeptical of the traditional explanations of heaven that my mother was telling me. Welcome to a bit of my childhood macabre and a night I spent peering from underneath my blankets and even then making up words for things I was trying to understand.  

There are none
None that burn the candle or stir the last dimming coals
that haven't listened for that noise or peered into the night shadows
listening for that hum and watching for the fleeting movement in the night
while holding breath and staring deeply with squint eyes
hoping it is not there but still anxious to have but a glimpse
as if seeing only briefly would make it less.
Beware the Doombroser.
One that no one has seen but all have felt.
Beware your wish to see that shadow or hear that hum.
For last visions seen and last breaths taken may follow. 
From under the protection of blankets we watch and listen
Minding mother's words of just asleep and gone to heaven
And remembering the smell of the scent of magnolias.

DSS

Among the 300 million that silently line the Avenue
We stand shoulder to shoulder but some feel alone
Our chests swell as the Flags pass
Hand on heart we only feel the beat of the parade drums
And hear the hooves of Horses with backward facing stirrups
pulling caissons draped with red white and blue
Carrying those as battle spent as the munitions it once held.
Passing the tears of widows and the salutes of little boys

Trump....Trump....Trump.trump.trump

Trump....Trump....Trump.trump.trump

The long parade of Liberty, hard fought, slowly passes.

DSS 


 
    

 At my location in Kansas, at 6:15 AM, the moon was just above moonset. The clouds were just beginning to clear. This is my best shot of todays Supermoon.

It did seem larger. And it was beautiful. But much detail was lost with the red haze. I will try again tonight, with a tripod timed exposure. But clouds are forecast again.

John

Old Distantshipsmoke posted this poem earlier this year in January. I think everyone has already read it. But today, at the apex of the Supermoon, I felt it appropriate to dust it off and expose it to a little moonlight one more time.      

Of the Tides

My head turns to thoughts of the Moon
The Full, the Crescent, the New
I think of the Moon's oblong Tide that rolls across our planet
Not stopping at the ocean's edge but continuing across plains, mountains and Man.
Tugging on water, granite and skull as it makes its way around Earth captured paths.
Raising and lowering
Stretching and shrinking
Day in and day out 
Performing a constant celestial massage on all things of this world.
Forming and changing shores, mountains and minds.
Bringing spring tides or slack waters

DSS.

Supermoon or Just Looks Big

        Ever since 2011, each year we now have the headlines of "Supermoon Tonight", so Sunday bring out the binoculars, telescopes and telephoto lens that  you haven't used since the last comet, moon, or planet astronomical event and get a good shot. 
        I look at it every year and frankly, I've never been able to tell the 12% size difference. And all of my pictures have turned out underexposed with only a bright spot in the middle the size of a thumbnail. I can't ponder it for long after I take the picture. I always have to hurriedly run back into the house to pee because my bare feet are cold. But someday, someday, I'm going to get that big Supermoon picture.
        The  supermoon is a full moon that is visible at the perigee of its orbit around our planet. The moon will be full and at its closest distance to the earth and will appear about 12% bigger than the moon at apogee, the furthest from us in its orbit. The moon's orbit is, like most orbits, elliptical. This actually happens sometime every month.  But this month, this year, it will be a full moon while it is so close. And it may be a few hundred or thousand kilometers closer than usual, I'm not sure. It is really no big deal and of course has been going on since the age of our earth - moon orbital relationship. Billions and Billions of years, as they say. It does have an affect on the ocean tides simply because the Moon and the Sun and the Earth are in alignment during a full moon and their gravitational forces add or subtract or whatever the hell the math is.
          Like most networks, newspapers and blogs, I'm really doing no research on this, but some blamed the earthquake in 2011(?) in Japan on a supermoon, which is probably not true, thus the headlines each year since. It seems newspapers, networks, and blogs, such as this one, like to pick up on these natural events and hype the facts to gain or keep listeners and readers. And that's possibly the reason I am now even writing about it. Not surprising, June 23rd will probably be a slow astronomical news day being so close to the summer solstice and all. First day of summer usually gets all of the publicity.
         So, if you are up to it, drag out the ol' camera gear, slap on the ol' 600mm telephoto, and grab a picture of the 2013 Supermoon.

Coming to us Sunday! Sunday! June 23rd, day or night on your side of the planet. Catch it!

(picture brought to you by NASA)

Such is the life of John

As I write, 1:05 AM Eastern time, the Earth is tilting to its greatest angle toward the Sun. Today there will be 24 hours of sunlight north of and within the Arctic Circle. The Sun will appear to rise and set at its most northern point on the horizon all across the Earth. Although we reference this mystery by watching the Sun, it is not our great star that is moving, tilting, almost wobbling through space, it is us, the Earth, that is speeding around the Sun  this first day of summer.  It is the start of astronomical summer in Earth’s northern hemisphere, winter for its southern occupants. Today is our summer solstice, first day of summer. And we can only observe it from our point of view from each of our own tiny spots on the Earth. If I was home, I could watch the sunrise this morning from my north windows. 

There are so many scientific facts and phenomenons surrounding this day, it makes my mind wonder more today than any other day, this longest day of the year. Since the beginning of tribal man there is evidence of celebrations on this day. So I know I am not wondering alone.

But if you were the Earth, how would you see this solstice from the Earth's point of view in space? I can only throw away the bare facts and understand it poetically. That is what poetry is for, to help us understand, understand the wonders of our slightly elliptical orbital existence in this solar system we call home. This yearly summer poem is my attempt to not explain the facts of this day but to only understand them.

Sunlight Through Windows

From the time I was no more than
a smoking, swirling ball of hot mud
my course was set.
Captured here by these unseen forces of the Sun 
so that I need not have to steer
Nor control my arrivals on the route
of each of my yearly destinations.

Slowly passing summer's beginning
never pausing or varying my track
Tilting more toward the sun
through the blackness of space
I travel the course without feeling,
the only sense of where I am is by 
following sunlight through windows.

Stellar light is cast upon me
I bask in it's depth and warmth
All that is depends on my movement
Even as I appear to change course
back to the outer reaches of where I began.
Unvarying, never pausing, always there 
As if I am spinning in deep grooves.

DSS

Months have passed with no word from you
You chose your book, the book you view
no said good byes, no scented note
no handshakes or good-byes were wrote
   
Now home is lost and you return,
to watch the blazing fires burn.
And sift through ashes and reminisce
proclaim your love for those you miss

The time's too late to reach and save
to pull your home from the grave
Too late to kiss, or to gently hug
The time to save ... was before the graves were dug.
 
DSS

     Reuben sandwich, he never could or would not think of the name of that delicacy.

      At first he really couldn't think of the sandwich's name. On Saturday evenings, before supper, when we were all wondering what would be quick to make and have that evening, even when we suspected he knew the correct name, he would call them Herman sandwiches. "What do you think of sending someone to the store for the makings of (pause) ah..ah..Herman Sandwiches?". For the rest of his life, we knew what he would always ask for at least once during family gatherings. Of course he was trying to think of Reuben Sandwiches. We would all say "Dad please! They are called Reuben!". And we would all laugh.
        It wasn't long that the whole family was calling them Hermans. Our newer generation knows them only as Hermans and have never heard the Reuben sandwich mentioned in their homes. That was the influence that our father had on our families. The great butcher of words. I have a little of that trait.

DSS

It is time to post again. I have procrastinated long enough.

     It is difficult to come up with a light hearted tale to share with you. I haven't taken any particularly memorable road trips if you don't count being bumped from my flight from Detroit to Chicago last week, which lead to an 15 hour exodus via Houston and Wichita. And forgive me if I fail to narrate the complete story of an insufficient amount of fuel on I-70 in the middle of Kansas . Yea, I ran out of gas. Enough said on that subject. That was right after the experience of being stranded in a snow storm for a couple days just a week earlier near Numbchuck, Missouri. At least that is what I thought the sign said through my frosted and ice covered windshield, no need to look the place up.
 
Not all of my travel has been like this. I have had a number of very successful travel experiences this year. Like the pleasant uneventful flight to Calgary, CA. Of course I will leave out the part of meeting with the Canadian Customs officers and discussing the renewal of my Visa and work permit. They did finally approve the renewal despite my feeble attempts at injecting a little American humor into the interrogation. My advice......, never inject American humor into conversations with any customs officers regardless of nationality. You are not a citizen. 

And I must say that I did have a pleasant drive to Sour Lake, Texas discounting the puzzlement, confusion and shear terror of finding myself on the High Five Interchange in Dallas, in the early evening, in the dark and in a thunderstorm. If you have never heard of this five level freeway interchange, it consists of 37 bridges with some reaching the height of 12 or 13 story buildings.  It made Popular Mechanics magazine as one of "The World's 18 Strangest Roadways". My advice is if you go through there make sure your Garmin GPS database is up to date and its traffic advisory function is operating and there is no ice on the road. I can't say too much about this, the Texans are very proud of it, as they should be. But I'm sure they have others in the metro area that are much more magnificent.

You may take from this that I am a truck driver. I assure you I'm not. I'm just a workin' stiff getting from  one project to another that involves a little travel. It really is fascinating work and you might say I am living the dream.

And the year is not quite half over yet.

Such is the life of John.

      Like a few of you, I was wondering about a user account on WordPress. So I wandered over there today and thought I'd create one.
      I've been on Xanga since 2007 and have had three different usernames. My original account, which was basically family, I quit posting regularly on due to a family troll, but I have been paying premium to keep it opened all of these years and occasionally post there for family affairs only. But now all of the family but me has gone to FB. 
      I created a second premium account as @distantshipsmoke which was very successful for a few years. It was a very high quality site and I believe I had subscriptions, friends and subscribers of the best writers, poets and bloggers on Xanga. I had it on and off of friends lock and always had it on signin lock but my family troll discovered it also and wedged her way in my circle of friends again. I loved that username and my peeps there, I really hated to but my crazy relative was making it unbearable for me to use so I totally closed down the account and my username was deleted from Xanga and made unusable there ever again.
       My third name @iamsurrounded I have had for a couple years, I have not advertised it much and intentionally have kept a very small profile and following. On this account I have watched as my friends one by one have migrated over to FB. Now I only have three or four faithful readers and commenters here on Xanga and I only reciprocate faithful to those 3 or 4 also.
        I have never gone over to FB. It is way too open and I could give a shit about any old high school friends and I certainly do not need to share my life with relatives, close or distant. I can email my close family, use the telephone and keep in touch with them without sharing everything with the whole fricking world. I would never dream of trying to keep track of my kids and their friends on FB. I refuse to become nosy or interfering into their lives. If I want to talk to them, I will call directly, send a card or drive the four hours to see them.
        Now back to my WordPress account. In trying to create it, all three of my Xanga usernames have been taken and are unavailable to me. So I haven't decided on a name yet. I do feel it is a platform that I would enjoy to express my poems, stories and political leanings.  
        
But please, if you see any of my old Xanga usernames there, it will not be me. I'm thinking my Xanga troll has grabbed a couple of them. All three were original enough that I doubt another human would by chance come up with them, maybe one but not all three.

So I guess if I decide to move to WordPress, I will be starting with a clean sheet and a new name.

In closing, I must say that I have really enjoyed you all here on Xanga and have considered it a privilege to be allowed to read so much of your original work and creations. I believe you have enhanced my life. Hopefully a few of my poems and wanderings have enhanced yours just a bit also. If Xanga does fold, to my dearest friends, I will be messaging my email address and Wordpress Username.

I guess we must stay tuned,

John, DSS and E.