CubbSpace

The (4,5) Crosswords

2009-07-17T01:58:00.002+05:30

Absolutely frustrated and exasperated with the abysmal quality of the Hindu crossword these days. Negative this post may be, but hey I got me a muse! :)

=====================

(4,5) CROSSWORDS

(ALL DOWN THOUGH) :(

=====================

1 Now in the abyss, just a good girl initially (4,5)

2 Gets confused: one Roman giant jag on Greek slopes(4,5)

3 Girl, clumsy moves ain't a jig (4,5)

4 One ganja git on steroids? Sort of (4,5)

5 Known for a half a jiff gag hints, endlessly confused (4,5)

6 Rhymher: clues neat are buggy, say 5D (4,5)

7 Always gets Aga TJ in karate dress, say gee! (4,5)

8 Respect tag for completely gaga, half nitwit? Hardly. (4,5)

9 Blasphemer in the Holy Grid (4,5)

Discards (only because I am not the answer :) )

-----------------------------------------------

Eskimo house without toilet messes up Agra monument profit (4,5)

Sings motley clue at Jain gig (4,5)

Crossword Blues

2009-07-08T01:41:00.004+05:30

Returned to doing crosswords today. Was reminded of this poem gathering dust in my vault, more than seven years I think. Thought this was occasion enough - also since now it's nearly two years since I put anything up here. Renaissance Post!

=================

CROSSWORD BLUES

=================

That morning I was out in the garden,

Body in chair, newspaper in hand

My mind none knows where

for it was lost in thought.

So many right, yet so many left.

So many acrosses, I was feeling down

Was it hell or inferno?

Ere come flying did this crow

Blacker than night

Darker even than the mind

of the grid-setter so cryptic.

Twinkle in eye, mischief brimming

the crow, he perched on the arm of my chair,,

looked through icily, said

“What have we here, boxes?

Light boxes, dark boxes,

Shaded boxes, numbered boxes

but filled, lettered ones so few.

It is, I see, that which Nature she abhors!

As to how to fill these blanks,

I’m sure, you have no clue!”

Thus spake the crow.

To these words offence I did take,

For though no master, I was no slouch

And I taught him the perilous

ways through the Holy Grid.

About how a tree was an unetched three

And how the ear was the sense organ of time

About how Al ever managed to operate the lever

And how confused fears made you feel safer.

Thus I explained to him at length

About clues- cryptic, quick, hidden

and other literal sorts you know

the rowdy, wordy anagrammic clues

and funny, punny homophones.

At this juncture,

I paused my lecture.

Not because my pupil was perplexed

rather `cos his were unflexed!

The insolent indolent crow,

he smiled a knowing smile

Not in the least awed

(I know) for now he guffawed

and then he cawed,

“Mere wordplay!

The CrossWord, tis but an eternal truth

The Beginning, cross words were heard

no sooner than God made woman.

Then so many battles, so many wars

when all people did was cross swords”

(How words could this get, I thought)

“And I believe Christ’s last utterings

are now to be had as the Cross-Words,

The End!”

Oh, the way he punned it

I knew he was no crow ordinary

Really, he was some pundit!

And then went flying did the crow.

There was nothing left to do

But to bid goodbye

and jot those immortal thoughts down.

For these crass words

I am not to blame.

(Though the excuse is lame)

These were but the crow’s words!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

The Poemism Crisis

2007-08-15T00:07:00.000+05:30

It is sad that poems do not attract as much attention as they used to. No, I do not mean to say that poets are a dying breed. Far from it. In fact, there has been a boom in `poem-production over the years. But increased supply does not imply increased demand, `economic’ally speaking.

The core of the problem is that every Tom (includes me!), Dick and Harry wants to churn out feel-good, heart-warming verse. Sadly the stuff that comes out is often nothing short of bone-chilling! Verse. Sorry. Worse, they insist that the world celebrate their works and acknowledge them as the Tom Keats, Dick Shelleys and the Harry Brownings of the present. The PLIMs (PLIM,in case you don’t know, stands for Poet Laureate In Making) are men whose enthusiasm can be dampened by nothing whatsoever. I bet a googol dollars that even on the eve of Doomsday, a PLIM somewhere will be penning the deliverance song to be sung on the Big Day so that his work be heard in heaven.

Writing poems is not a hobby. It is a passion. I caught the `poemism’ virus last year, or was it the other way around? I became a PLIM anyhow. The thought of being a poet, acknowledged by one and all exhilarated me. I imagined my anthology being published and its contents being incorporated in syllabi the world over. I even introduced similes, metaphors and aphorisms into my poems so that the erudite student could ponder over their contextual validity and so that the examiner could spring many a surprise on unwary students.

As the poemism virus tightened its grip over me, things became worse. All I thought was poems, all I talked was poems, but I could not write any! The situation now became “Poems, poems everywhere but not a verse to ink.” To think that I was a well of poetry and I had no bucket!

One great advantage of being a PLIM is that one never has to learn grammar. Those whose hearts have been wrenched by Wren and Martin will realize that this is true bliss. The true poet spurns grammar in the same way as an Alsatian looks at a poodle. For the PLIM, marks of punctuation are but avoidable irritants. But when in doubt, he puts an exclamation mark! - and if doubt persists, can a question mark be far behind?

The true PLIM never smiles. He goes around with a permanent frown. The sorrows of the world sit heavily on him. When his mind is not churning ideas, it is polishing words. He can never afford to relax because springs of inspiration swell up in his soul. You never know when you strike gold. The PLIM’s command over the language is so great that he considers the dictionary a mere inconvenience. He creates new words at will, for do not new ideas require new words? Using old words is definitely old fashion. The PLIM does not want to be understood In fact, he can never understand his own self. He only wants respect. And every night and morn, he consigns every critic to the seventh circle of hell, the latest block there, constructed especially for this abominable species.

For the PLIM, the postbox is the sign of hope and the postman, the sign of despair. His wonderful creations are sent with great hope to myriad editors and just when he hopes, at last some bright editor has dis`cover’ed his true genius, in comes the postman and throws in bundles of discarded hope. But the PLIM, like King Bruce of yore knows no despair and sets to work yet again. Once a PLIM, always a PLIM!

Verbose Monotony

2007-06-05T21:28:00.000+05:30

----------------------------------------------------
VERBOSE MONOTONY
Or what there could be in a name.
----------------------------------------------------

- I -

A man who never failed to please
Put you at ease, did John Verghese.
A man so true, a man so nice
But alas, logic was his vice.

"Hey John Verghese, 'geese' is plural
but you are just one, not many!"
A singular person in logic's noose
He changed his name, to John Vergoose.

"Hey John Vergoose, a goose is a she,
but you are male, not female!"
It was momentous, this question of gender
In a trice, he became John Vergander.

Now, there comes a time in a man's life
When he must get down and find a wife.
And John Vergander found repose
In the arms of the feminist Mary Bose.

"Hey John Vergander, post-wedlock
is it fair, that only the wife change name?"
Injustice, he always did oppose
He now calls himself John Verbose!

****************

- II -

On and on, one could eloquent harp
about the virtues of Matthew Polycarp.
A man so true, a man so nice
But again, logic was his vice.

"Matthew Polycarp, 'poly' means many
but you're just one, not one more!"
This singular man, he was rather sharp,
He changed his name, to Matthew Monocarp!

"Matthew Monocarp, a carp is a fish
but you are a man, or are you not?"
A specious issue of identity,
Thenceforth, he became Matthew Monoman.

Again, there comes a time in a man's life
When he must get down and find a wife.
So Matthew Monoman entered into matrimony
with a lovely young lady, Mary Antony.

"Matthew Monoman, post-wedlock,
is it fair ,that only the wife change name?"
Why must marriage be male hegemony?
Our man calls himself, Matthew Monotony!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

No Bars (Give In Give Up)

2007-01-15T16:57:00.000+05:30

--------------------------
NO BARS (GIVE IN,GIVE UP)
(Cubb)
--------------------------

What's the point of being away from home
If you don't misbehave.
Now's the time to do what you crave
And make some memories.

But momma said, "Don't keep bad company
And only do what's good for you."
Haven't you seen it all before?
Heard it all before?

C|
H|
O| Good and bad, it's all in the head
R| Doesn't really matter which way you go
U| But remember it's just you all the way
S| So never torture yourself, either way
0|
1|

C| Give in sometimes,
H| Gotta ride to get the thrill of the chase
O| Give up sometimes
R| Gotta stop when you're lost in the haze.
U| Live it up
S| When you wanna reach out for the stars
0| Let it down
2| Sometimes kiss the ground and smell the grass.

Choose your poison, what turns you on?
Do you know your self?
No bars here, you can do what you want
Go no holds barred.

Dive in to the pool now
Go right across the water
And as the dry drop oozes into you
Are you crying? Are you laughing?

C|
H|
O| Truth or lie, illusion's real
R| Reality's just a point of view
U| But draw the line, you're all alone
S| Make it balance, either way
0|
1|

C| Give in sometimes, (live it up)
H| Gotta chase to get a prize in the race.
O| Give up sometimes, (let it down)
R| Stuck in the maze, stop and find some ways.
U| Live it up, (give in sometimes)
S| When you wanna reach out for the stars
0| Let it down,(give it up sometimes)
2| Sometimes kiss the ground and smell the grass.

What now comes to you
Is that's what is true.
What's real?
It's just what you feel.
It's who you really are.

Job-Trotting

2006-10-27T18:12:00.000+05:30

JOB-TROTTING
----------------------
Like herds set loose out to graze
You ramble away on wayward ways
Forever seeking pastures greener.
But tell me, do you really know
Just how green should green be?
And just how much grass can you eat?

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Beauty With Brains

2006-06-30T12:45:00.000+05:30

Searching for beauty with brains.
A divine beauty witty
Or at least, an erudite Aphrodite.
Or so I fantasized.

But my poet's dream capsized
When I realized
That erudite
Doesn't rhyme quite
with Aphrodite!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

JUST-IN-CASE LEXICON

1. Aphrodite (pronounce afro-die-tee) - Goddess of love and beauty and daughter of Zeus in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Venus
2. Erudite - Having or showing profound knowledge

False Adage

2006-05-30T10:59:00.000+05:30

------------------
FALSE ADAGE
------------------
Does the fact that brevity
Is the soul of levity
Make this ditty
In any way witty?

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Alternate title: The Soul Of Wit

Word Splurge

2006-04-26T10:26:00.000+05:30

A peek into the creator's mind...when he feels he just has to write a poem only because he has learnt a couple of new (and similar) words, and wants to use them!
:-)

---------------------
WORD SPLURGE
---------------------

Er..Er...
I hesitate
Words to concatenate,
amalgamate and ostentate

Er..However
I have this urge
a creative urge
And it begins to surge.

I wonder whether
My inhibitions to expunge.
Make that lunge
and take the plunge.

No longer
a procrastinating Demivierge
I will emerge
my own demiurge.

- Thomas Jay Cubb

LEXICON
----------------
Demivierge - a young woman who takes part in sexual activity without ending her virginity
Demiurge - A subordinate deity, in some philosophies the creator of the universe

JUST-IN-CASE LEXICON
------------------------------
concatenate - Add by linking or joining so as to form a chain or series
amalgamate - To bring or combine together or with something else
ostentate - Display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
expunge - Remove by erasing or crossing out or as if by drawing a line
lunge - The act of moving forward suddenly
procrastinate - Postpone or delay needlessly

Fahrenheit 451 - Review

2006-03-16T11:23:00.000+05:30

Here's a review of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 that I posted on epinions.com

Diamond Is Carbon.
Apr 26 '04

Pros
*Powerful ideas *Compelling dialogue *Imaginative storyline

Cons
*Weak prose at times *A bit raw, lacks polish *Strong, but one-dimensional characters

The Bottom Line
A good read. Find some wisdom here. But it fades in comparison to other dystopia-novels like 1984 or Brave New World.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a gem of a book; but it has a few flawed edges that mar the brilliance. On more than one occasion, I was reminded of the Saddest Words of Man- What could have been and If only...

On to the story. F451's is a dystopic world in which books have been banned. There is even a Fire-Force whose duty is to burn books. Guy Montag, the protagonist, is a satisfied member of the Force, who enjoys his work. Meet Beatty, his know-it-all boss and the Mechanical Hound, the ruthless instrument of horror, that hunts down wrong-doers. It's a bad, bad world in which people betray their closest friends to the Force just to watch their house burning bright at night!

The seeds of unrest and doubt are planted in Montag when he gets influenced by Clarisse, a sweet young girl who still lives life the old-fashioned and happy way. Montag also meets Faber, an old professor, in a park. The professor quite literally becomes the Voice in Montag's head (He gets a radio-receiver implanted), and our hero becomes just the person he must not be. A lover of books!. Montag is torn between what now seems to him to be the truth and what he has stood for all his life.

Montag's crisis deepens with his ultra-materialistic wife Mildred dragging him down with her constant demands, his Mentor egging him on and his Boss tugging at him to return to the normal, routine life, all of which lead to interesting situations. The main characters are strong-as-rum and are also powerfully developed by the author.

The confrontations between Montag and Beatty form the highlights of the book. The conversations Montag has with the Professor, though good, are not as impressive.

Even though Bradbury is known primarily as a scienc-fiction writer , Fahrenheit 451 is more than just another sci-fi novel. It has substance: nourishing brain-food, in the form of original thoughts and delicious, albeit well-known quotes. A little learning is a dangerous thing/Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. F451 will help you findyour thinking cap - the philosophical interludes are written powerfully and of course, proverb-fully. Bradbury even has a sure-fire way to get through life all guns blazing! If you don't like them, burn them! These nuggets of wisdom are thought-provoking and entertaining.

Things go from the sublime to the ridiculous at times in Fahrenheit 451. But it is definitely worth its paper, even if only for those sublime parts, and there are many of those. Sci-fi writers have true, original and even brilliant ideas at times, but are often brutally so! They are perfectly capable of calling cute babies human-larvae! Or of calling diamonds glorified clarified carbon-blocks!

Metaphors mixed, readers vexed! Take, for example, the opening sequence of the novel. It describes the protagonist Montag's daily routine of burning books. The author describes the fireman's hose as "...the great python spitting its venomous kerosene..." The python-hose comparison is okay, even good. But... pythons spitting venom??? From wheat to corn! (Just in case you didn't know, pythons are not poisonous. Sorry, but that's just not how pythons kill!) Such segments abound.

The prophet in Bradbury shines through occasionally. His words about books becoming less popular and people getting addicted to TV ring alarmingly true.

Fahrenheit 451 is most often termed a wannabe-1984. Where Orwell's 1984 was a masterpiece, Fahrenheit 451, though pretty good cannot be placed in the same league because it has more than a few flaws. It has as much substance but lacks the style.

But all said, Fahrenheit 451 is a book that you would want to re-read. Some of the concepts are left abstract (purposefully?) and are worth chewing over. Or maybe ponder over some of those similes? There! Again I am reminded of those sad words...if only

Ending with some mandatory bits of trivia. As Bradbury reminds us in an Afterword, Faber is a maker of pencils and Montag is a paper-manufacturer! And Fahrenheit 451 is the temperature at which paper burns. Feel the mercury rising! All the way to 233 degrees Celsius...

Lizard

2006-02-01T15:49:00.000+05:30

Another poem on the lizard. Do I really like lizardsso much?

-------------------
THE LIZARD
-------------------

I play the waiting game
Patience’s my middle name
Eyes unblinking
Hope unsinking
I know the prey will come my way.

Not heeding the Medusa stare
Comes the fly with haughty air.
Turn to stone
Its flesh and bone
Soon I’ll have had my way.

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Notes
---------
1. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon who could turn you into stone with a look. The hero Perseus conquered her and cut off her head by looking at her reflection.
2. For my tongue has gone its way?

God Knows - Review

2006-01-16T10:02:00.000+05:30

Here's a review of Joseph Heller's God Knows that I posted on epinions.com

King David Catches 22!
May 31 '03

Pros
* Very humorous * Rich language * Fresh perspective

Cons
* Repetitive * Requires knowledge of the Bible * Not an easy read

The Bottom Line
I would recommend this book to anybody who appreciates innovative writing.

Review
Let me start off with a confession. I finished this book only on my 4th attempt. Initially, I had been put off by the theme as well as the plethora of Biblical names - Absalom, Jehoshaphath, for example. But deep inside of me, I had this feeling that there really was 'something' in the book. I had the book re-issued from the library many times over and finally, when I was through reading it, boy, was I glad I did!

Heller is at his inventive best in this book. Heller proves that he is not just a master storyteller but a master story-'re'teller as well. He takes the story of King David (yes, of the Bible!) and paraphrases it, as seen through David's eyes, with lots of spice thrown in for effect. Call it dollops of Biblical ice-cream with chocolate-sauce sex. As King David says in the book, I have the best story in the Bible. Heller just about manages to prove that.

God Knows looks at the Bible from a fresh, if contrary, perspective. In the book, Solomon is portrayed as a moronic mamma's-boy while David is a head-strong womanizer, at loggerheads with God. Bathsheba is the Adam-feminist bloomer-pioneer and Saul is a whimsical maniac.

The David of God Knows is a braggart and makes tall claims. David claims that he is the first everything - poet, musician and what not. He accuses Shakespeare of plagiarism and also stakes claim to Handel's Messiah. Every time he sneaks in an usage or idiom, Heller puts it as if David invented it. Preposterous claims, but one wonders : possibly true? David says that the Proverbs were actually all his and that Solomon really meant it when he ordered the baby to be cut in half to determine the actual mother!

It is always no-holds-barred from David to us. Whether it be about his relationship with his spouses or be it about the conflicts in his mind about what to do with his sinning offspring. David denies accusations of queerness with respect to his relationship with Jonathan, son of Saul whose love for him surpassed the love of a woman and also tries to justify his caprices as logical actions. All this endears him to the reader.

Treat yourself to nuggets of common wisdom. Like, "..there is wisdom in madness and strong probability of truth in all accusations for people are complete and everybody is capable of everything...". Or, "who gives up a life of opulence voluntarily?". And so many more. This is a book you would want to read and re-read.

As in all his other novels, I could catch autobiographical glimpses in Heller's protagonist, King David. The helplessness in old age, the infatuation with the nurse Abishag the Shunnamite and his obsession with his first major feat of killing Goliath all have parallels in Heller's life.

Heller shows his mastery over the language time and again. My strategy worked but my stratagem backfired. When it's adjectives, you have two..inevitably. The metaphors and similes are interesting Jewel of gold in a swine's snout? About Nathan the prophet: ... as vinegar to my teeth, as smoke to my eyes. Compared to him, Polonius was as silent as the Sphinx.

The humour is a key ingredient of the book. About Saul : He forgives and forgets. Then he forgets he's forgiven. Also advice to Solomon about the ephemeral nature about buildings: Man's erections are only temporary. Solomon's cryptic The apple never falls far from the tree is repeated to great effect. Bathsheba's persistence (Let's name him King.) and Joab's irreverence is also amusingly presented. David's dialogues with God are tragically comic. Comparisons between other Biblical characters and David are also highlights.

The storyline is well-known and can be had from the Bible. But it is the way in which the story is told that is most impressive. Heller is more at home explaining the character's thoughts than when explaining the plot though.

If you are a Heller fan, then this is a must-read. If you are not, then this will showcase Heller's versatility for you - prove that there's more to him than Catch-22. But be warned that this is not a novel in the conventional sense. It is a very novel novel.

This is a book that you would want to possess. Once you've read it, you'll want to go back to it. Hey, dust that Bible!

To The Book Borrower - II

2005-12-05T18:00:00.000+05:30

Again because nobody ever returns books they borrow...
You can read Part I by clicking on the following link - TTBB-I.

In the beginning, ownership is remembered. Then, slowly, it becomes an illusion. Finally, it comes to rest with the borrower!

---------------------------------------------
TO THE BOOK BORROWER - II
---------------------------------------------

This is Tom’s tome.
Used to be Tom’s tome?
Hey you, are you Tom’s tome’s tomb?

-Thomas Jay Cubb

Notes
-------
1. A Cryptic Explanation
L1 - Statement of possession
L2 - Statement post-prehension
L3 - Statement of new position (and possession)

2. Line three used to be Hey you, you's to be...? but changed it later on, because it made it too cryptic, defeating my intent behind writing it on the book!!

3. TTBB-I was more efficacious - with this, the reason was sometimes lost in the rime!

------------------------------------------
JUST-IN-CASE LEXICON
------------------------------------------
Tom - me, the owner of the book
Tome - a book
Tomb - the final resting place
----------------------------------------

To The Book Borrower - I

2005-11-10T16:37:00.000+05:30

Because nobody ever returns books they borrow... After some time it becomes the borrower's - why return it now, he has read it anyway! I used to write this in every book I bought.

-------------------------------------
TO THE BOOK BORROWER - I
-------------------------------------

This book is dearly mine,
And if you, my darling, borrow
Mind to return within weeks nine
For that is the mine-thine fine line.
Beyond which is bereavement, sorrow.

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Use Refuse

2005-10-11T15:55:00.000+05:30

USE REFUSE
--------------

The lizard uses its beloved tail,
To tickle itself, to scratch its head, to many avail.
But when in trouble, trapped by a nail
Coolly sheds it, with not so much as a wail.

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Notes/Commentary
--------------------
1. Alternate titles were Use-And-Throw and Disposable.
2. The spontaneous removal of a body is called autotomy.
3. Refuse is used in the sense of disposed stuff.
4. Moral: Favours done are very easily and quickly forgotten.

Cause And Effect (intro)

2005-10-07T14:14:00.000+05:30

------------------------------------
CAUSE AND EFFECT (intro)
------------------------------------
Opulence,
A life of ease.
Corpulence,
You are obese.

-Thomas Jay Cubb
-------------------------------

JUST-IN-CASE LEXICON
opulence = wealth as evidenced by sumptuous living
corpulence = the property of excessive fatness
Definitions sourced from WordWeb dictionary

Commentary
------------
This is an excerpt from my poem "Cause And Effect" which deals with the problem of being overweight and how to get rid of the extra flab. Its philosophical thread is how the cause and the effect are so easily (and so often!) mistaken by the casual observer as the other.

This snippet summarizes the cause-and-effect line of reasoning. The poem is shaped (literally) as a fat man on a diving-board; these four lines form the head of the person and of course the root of the problem!

The surest way to eliminate the effect is to remove the cause from the equation. Rather be fat than poor?

FFAT (Four Fingers And A Thumb)

2005-10-04T17:23:00.000+05:30

Here's a song I wrote in early 2004. Can be sung to the tune of generic rock and roll songs . This version has been stripped of scene-setter/mood-changer paras which I felt were obstacles to the free flow of the rock'n'roll rhythm.

Literary value? Well, it coins a new(!) proverb and also tells a story!
It is an autobiographical account of a band that never was. Does that make it fiction?

Read (sing) on ....

----------
FFAT
(Cubb)
-----------
Spending my days out on the beach
Dreaming dreams that were outta reach
Gotten tired of counting grains of sand
Why don't I start my rock'n roll band?

Tunes that buzz around in my head
Wonder can they earn me my bread?
Scores of new songs in my hand
But what's the name that I will call my band?

Whoever said that, "What's in a name?"
I tell you he really hasn't played the game
Abbreviations mean less appreciation.
Personal name gives one all the fame (and the blame!)

It's gotta have soul
It's gotta rock'n roll
Yeah, and it's gotta have meaning too.
That's the name of the game...

(chorus)
Don't you know that
Four fingers and a thumb
make the mighty hand
Four fingers and a thumb
make the mighty hand
That's the name that I will call my band
Four fingers and a thumb.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Times were good we could do no wrong.
People they throng just to hear our song.
Though the exec was a slippery eel
Finally managed to land us a deal.

(he said)
Guys you really don't fit the mould
Gotta beat the odds just to break even
(and we said)
We ain't clones of pop stars of old.
Platinum, gold just a question of when.

Songs I sang then in the studio
I hear them all now on the radio
Playing pool, drinking beer, we're having some fun
Rock show here, a concert there, we're out in the sun.

We're on a roll
We've beaten them all.
Beaten the odds and broken the records.
Wonder whether we've won the game?

(chorus)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Though the years have passed us by
The hand's still mighty and going strong.
Man, you oughta hear us
When we're on song...
...And that's always!

(chorus)
(repeat & fade to end)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

WASTE
----------
The discarded lines were

Maybe/Babe/You'll be seeing me singing on the shore
Maybe/Babe/You'll be seeing me singing on the show
Maybe/Babe/If you don't see me right on top for sure

at the end of each chorus.

and

[It's a long way/To the top/If you wanna rock'n roll
I got high hopes/But no ropes/to climb upon]

[It was a long way/To the top/We really did rock'n roll.
Gonna stay on/where we've got/ Just know that things will stay the same.]

just before the 'maybe-babe's.
-------------------------------------------------------

Quote
---------
Four fingers and a thumb make the mighty hand. - TJ

About A Word

2005-09-16T11:58:00.000+05:30

This is a poem about my favourite word: quinquennium, which means a period of five years. This is fresh from the Incubbator! Track its history there.

Not sure how much literary value it has; there is no theme as such, just some facts in verse. But if you are here for the wordplay, this is it.

-------------------
ABOUT A WORD
-------------------

English words starting with 'Q'
Are, queerly, but a quiescent few.
Query anyone, "Not many in queue".

A quixotic five-year quest (quite untrue),
Cupid's arrow struck me, a random lexicon view;
I had found the one most q-true-blue!

Quinquennium: It's quite my word favourite.
Quin-quenni-yum: Say it aloud and savour it.
Take my cue: over "half a decade", favour it.

Indeed the Queen Of Words. Aye aye, so true!
Not only does it start with a 'Q',
But it has one to spare too: two!

-Thomas Jay Cubb

Beauty And The Beast Holder

2005-09-14T14:43:00.000+05:30

Wise men and philosophers through the ages have disagreed on many things, but most seem to agree on one - "We become what we think about".

A man is what he thinks about all day long. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
A man's life is what his thoughts make of it. - Marcus Aurelius
As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. - The Bible

It is when we fill our minds with negativism that the world becomes evil. (The beast is within.) Everything we experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our mind.

Everything is a matter of perception; everything is relative, to you. You can choose to see a diamond or a rock. You choose the spectacles you wear - choose blue ones and the world is blue, choose green ones and the world is green.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder... Cliche! Cliche! ... If you don't have beautiful eyes, everything is ugly!

The Lime Sublime

2005-09-02T12:55:00.000+05:30

Here is an excerpt from my poem "Free Verse I - The Anthem", the first part in my Free Verse trilogy. The first four lines here are to set the background. The snippet, I suppose, can stand on its own.

-----------------------------------
ORANGE TROUBLE
(From Free Verse - I )
-----------------------------------

It is the poet’s struggle
To find the words to juggle
To make it a decent rhyme
On lines, each and every time.
.
.
.
If capture the poet’s heart does an orange
(Oh,that lime sublime!)
But alas, which has no rhyme!
How his feelings can he messenge?
Is his to be a still-born rime
For his hapless subject’s ‘crime’?
.
.
.
- Thomas Jay Cubb

PS Other words with no rhymes include : month, nothing, purple. Also check out the limerick by Jim Farrand at http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/~henkm/english/rhyme.html

Spin-Offs

2005-08-26T17:46:00.000+05:30

I need to get more organized as I realize that all of me may not be for all of you. CubbSpace is multidimensional, you see. Such arrogance! I hear you mutter. I was trying to put too many eggs in one basket.

Only stuff with some literary value will come in here from now on - snippets of prose or verse.

It's horses for courses, and so I've started different blogs for different topics.

CubbSpace
- http://cubbspace.blogspot.com/ -
My literary blog - expect funny stuff (I hope!)

oOzone
- http://oozone.blogspot.com/ -
My programming and OO design tech blog.

InCubbator
- http://incubbator.blogspot.com/ -
Watch my ideas get cooked here!

Oraclique
- http://oraclique.blogspot.com/ -
A trivia-oriented quizzing blog.

Choose your poison! Choose all of them if you will!

Twisted Beauty

2005-08-25T10:07:00.000+05:30

It takes a very literal
----be---------- nd----
------- nt--- mi--------
---------- of------------

To appreciate these beautiful
---------- t-------------------------
------------ u----------------------
---------- r-------------------------
------------ n-----------------------
---------- s-------------------------
------------ o-----------------------
---------- f-------------------------
------------ p-----------------------
---------- h-------------------------
------------ r-----------------------
---------- a-------------------------
------------ s-----------------------
---------- e.-------------------------

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Written in 2003. Very nearly landed me a job! The dashes are forced because without them, the page doesn't get displayed properly.

Introduction (Declaration Of Intent)

2005-08-24T18:00:00.000+05:30

This blog
Will be a log
Of my brainwaves
And self-raves
As and when
They ripen!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

Every Dog Has His Blog

2005-08-24T17:58:00.000+05:30

Publishing's gone to the dogs
Nowadays everybody just blogs.
Words and ideas the blogger bleeds
Nonsense spewing out at insane speeds
Who cares? Anyway, nobody reads!

- Thomas Jay Cubb

To Blog Or Not To Blog

2005-08-24T17:47:00.000+05:30

For months on end, I deliberated. Everyone was doing it, why wasn't I? The answer: because everyone was doing it! Any self-respecting author believes himself to be special, mould-breakingly so. Why be a drop in an ocean?

The blog is the last resort of the unpublished author.
Every dog has his blog.
Should I really stoop so low to conquer?

Maybe fears of being an open book, of having my brain-children dissected, decimated and appraised as worthless as well, (worst of all) being told that my grammar was all wrong... were the reasons that were stopping me.

Nothing was happening. No publishers coming in search of the golden child. No motivation to write either. My pen was getting rustier than a sword in this nuclear age....

So, finally, I've made the plunge. And I'm doing it at Cubb's pace, here on/in/at(?) Cubbspace.