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?
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Monday, January 16, 2006
God Knows - Review
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!
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!
Monday, December 05, 2005
To The Book Borrower - II
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
----------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------
Thursday, November 10, 2005
To The Book Borrower - I
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
-------------------------------------
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
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Use Refuse
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.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Cause And Effect (intro)
------------------------------------
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?
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?
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
FFAT (Four Fingers And A Thumb)
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
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
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