Friday Photo Fun - Something Influential

Something Influential

by Rachel Hoyt

A habit of which I am not very proud

though it's one that is praised by American crowds.

On the one hand, it's an important part of my health,

on the other it's a symbol of wastefulness and wealth.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Technorati Tags: Game, Abstract Photo, Rhyme, Humor, Guess, Poetry

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,

or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,
then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind
and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

After the answer is guessed, I will post a second, non-abstract photo...
and just in case you wanted to know,
the first is not a photoshopped version of the second -
they're shot using different techniques that to me beckon



It took more than a day, but Bryan figured out
that my use of plastic water bottles makes me want to pout.

Friday Photo Fun - Something Special

Something Special

by Rachel Hoyt

Recently discovered to be more closely related

to birds than previously shown through fossils we've dated.

Once used to make guitar picks,

Now, for other reasons, is hunted by hicks.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,
or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,
then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind
and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

After the answer is guessed, I will post a second, non-abstract photo,

and just in case you wanted to know,
the first is not a photoshopped version of the second -
they're shot using different techniques that to me beckon.

Wanda should not be sorry for knowing me well
and getting here early to guess correctly: turtle shell.

Technorati Tags: Game, Abstract Photo, Rhyme, Humor, Guess, Poetry

Friday Photo Fun - Something in Landscape

Something in Landscape

by Rachel Hoyt

They decorate the landscape around a music hall

named for a man who animated smiles for all.

It's color is calming, loving and lovely.

In 2005 it was California's 'it' tree.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,
or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,
then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind
and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

After the answer is guessed, I will post a second, non-abstract photo,

and just in case you wanted to know,
the first is not a photoshopped version of the second -
they're shot using different techniques that to me beckon.

Wanda wins again with her guess, Pink Trumpet Tree.
Without her plant knowledge we
might never see
the answer to this riddle ditty!

Technorati Tags: Game, Abstract Photo, Rhyme, Humor, Guess, Poetry

Friday Photo Fun - Something Swirled

Something Swirled

by Rachel Hoyt

Once thought to soothe throats -

A happily consumed medicine -

Now used to stir brews in hopes,

Childlike sweetness will sink in. 

What was this thing I swirled in my shot?
I await the most clever guesses you've got.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,

or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,
then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind
and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

 

 

Congrats to Wanda Plain and Simple and Pat Hatt for the win!

You've just read my thoughts better than my twin!!

Technorati Tags: Photo, Abstract, Rhyme, Riddle, Game, Poetry

Friday Photo Fun - Something Cream

Something Cream

by Rachel Hoyt

From the Emerald Isle it came,

To bolster men to plow the plain.

It's less nutritious when cooked quick.

Some like it thin and others thick.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

So, what is this cream thing?
I await the fun guesses you'll bring!

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,

or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,

then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind

and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

Technorati Tags: Riddle, Photo, Game, Rhyme, Abstract, Poetry

Friday Photo Fun was inspired by This Moment,
a tradition begun by
SJ of Samuel Michaels Photography and
Alejandro of Raising Amelie and Blognostics

Thursday Thoughts - Pinching and the Leprechaun Defense

Leprechaun-itis

by Rachel Hoyt

Learn how to draw a leprechaun at Andertoons.

Image © 2012 Rachel Hoyt. All rights reserved.

A fellow named Pat liked to pinch

And found sneaking it was a cinch

Around the office

If he was cautious

And no one saw his fancy flinch.

But after five years of wincing

About phantom finger pinching

The gals around work

Pledged to find the jerk

Causing dreadful derriere dimpling.

It didn't take long to see that

The most likely culprit was Pat.

So they turned him in,

To H.R. boss, Finn,

Who said he'd stop the pinching brat.

But the thing that no one foresaw,

The defense that left all in awe -

"Leprechaun-itis

makes me pinch like this.

Been doing it since birth. Ask my ma."

Poem "Leprechaun-itis" © 2012 Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.

So... why do we pinch people on St. Patrick's Day?
Click here for the reasons why we act that way.

Technorati Tags: Leprechaun, Pinch, St. Patrick's Day, Humor, Limerick, Poetry

Thursday Thoughts - Johnny Appleseed

Johnny's Seed

by Rachel Hoyt

Mr. Johnny Appleseed

didn't spread seeds randomly,

he planted crops, showed no greed,

traveled as a missionary...

Or so they say, but did you know

those apples mostly made hard cider -

liquor made them worthy to grow.

Prohibition was the divider...

As liquor became scarce and taboo

to many an alcoholic's dismay

Doctors began saying that you

should eat one apple per day.

A Swedenborgian vegetarian

who owned land but settled nowhere.

A never-been-married humanitarian

who showed animals and insects much care.

You would that think such a man

would have coined the phrase

but sometimes, try hard as we can,

dichotomies are thrown in the maze.

Do you think that Johnny drank

his apple a day all his years?

Or when told that drinking was rank,

did he quit and preach more) to his peers?

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.

 Technorati Tags: Johnny Appleseed, Apple a Day, Rhyme, Humor, News, Poetry

March 11th is Johnny Appleseed Day.

Will you celebrate the hard cider way

or by chewing apples to prevent tooth decay?

Friday Photo Fun - Something Green

Friday Photo Fun is when I share a randomly captured moment,

or perhaps a photo experiment with more purposeful intent,

then pair it with a rhyming riddle to exercise your mind

and teach you more weird facts to which you once were blind.

 

Something Green

In tests of speed and spawn, it's a superhero.

Things it can't do?  Seems like zero.

It's tall and lean, environmentally clean,

And most of all, it's serene.

© 2012 Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.


Technorati Tags: Green, Abstract, Photo, Riddle, Game, Poetry

Bottles of Bubbly

Image by Matt Banks via freedigitalphotos.net



As bottles and bottles of bubbly are being bought

to toast the new year and stock up local yachts,

I found myself curious about this sweet nectar

and decided to ask Google to be today's lector.

I already knew of the rule from the Treaty of Madrid,

but I learned a few things not known by most kids.

I (now) won't drink champagne from a short or wide glass.

It lets bubbles out faster and without them I'll pass.

I also now believe I could create a bottle-a-day-diet.

Only 9 grams of sugar! (Someone would try it.)

Did you know champagne can be used to entertain visually?

If you drop a raisin in, it will bounce... or so they tell me.

Madame Veuve Clicquot invented the riddling rack,

which pushed Champagne production into the fast track.

Many say Dom Perignon invented the French bubbly drink,

but that statement is not quite as true as they all think.

He was actually trying to prevent the bubbles from forming,

but fate wouldn't let them cease scrumptiously swarming.

Most of us couldn't fathom spending thirty-five grand

to buy the most expensive bottle found in the land.

We also couldn't afford to fill up the bathtub

with three-hundred-fifty bottles from the pub.

But each of us consumes millions of bubbles with one cheers,

that is, if you are drinking Champagne this New Years.

© 2011 - All Rights Reserved - Rachel Hoyt

Brought To By Wine.com, Purveyors of Fine Wine and Champagne

Technorati Tags: Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Rhyme, Humor, Facts, Poetry

Rubber-Band Regret

These rhymes were written for Mad-Kane's Limerick Off.

Click to read more funny entries.  I promise you won't scoff.

VERSION #1:

A guy who was frequently prone

to gain cash that others had blown

spent a small fortune on

rubber-bands, with a yawn.

"I'd invested if only I'd known."

© 2011 - All rights reserved - Rachel Hoyt

VERSION #2:
   

A guy who was frequently prone

to gain cash that others had blown

spent a small fortune on

rubber-bands, with a yawn.

"Esto me hace un papelón?"

© 2011 - All rights reserved - Rachel Hoyt

(Non-Rhyming Side Note: I changed the final line because I have always wanted to rhyme in Spanish and this seemed a great time to try it.  The translation is, roughly, "This makes me foolish?" or "This makes a fool out of me?")

Technorati Tags: Cash, Money, Rubber-Bands, Humor, Limerick, Poetry

Daylight Saving Time Rhyme

image by Paul via freedigitalphotos.net

I grew up in Arizona, scoffing Daylight Saving Time.

(That's right.  There's no "s".  I spelled that just fine.)

The "zonies" and Hopi opted out of the plan,

while the Navajo signed on as a time change fan.

Their tribe owns a donut shaped piece of my state.

I guess taking a bite out of both was my fate.

I now live in California and love to ride on the train,

but time change rules make taking Amtrack lame.

At 2:00 AM each fall the trains sit an hour on the line

because they can't leave earlier than the time on the sign.

I'm glad I've never ridden the train on "that night".

I bet the commotion would be quite a sight.

Growing up in the fifties would have been worse.

Time zones changed faster than a pirate can curse.

Back then, each individual locality could decide

the start and stop times to which they each would abide.

Iowa had 23 different DST "zones" one year.

Now THAT is the old school definition of queer.

It is still almost that crazy on our southernmost continent.

Each study team keeps time with the place from which they're sent.

When you live in a place that flips from constant light to darkness,

it's no doubt your sleep patterns will become a mess.

Plus, it's too cold and windy to visit your neighbors,

so you might as well keep time with those supporting your labors.

I wonder how many different time zones this rhyme will be read in?

Or if anyone will finish reading "before" they begin?
I hope all this time juggling is actually saving energy
because it causes many issues much easier to see.
In the spring we lose sleep, in the fall we gain darkness,
and in the process we create much much silliness.

© 2011 - all rights reserved - Rachel Hoyt


Don't forget to turn your clocks back this Sunday.
If you live in the U.S., November 6th is the day!

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Daylight Saving Time, Humor, Poem, Poetry

Celebrating Shel Silverstein

Image by Salvatore Vuono via freedigitalphotos.net

He was a rhymer of flax-golden tales,

'bout things as silly as biting your nails

but when he was young he dreamt of baseball

not writing for children - no, not at all.

He drew cartoons to "Take Ten" in the war.

When he got back, for Playboy he drew more.

He wrote and drew for them quite a long time,

then wrote for kids.  No one cared.  It was fine.

He was a singer and writer of songs,

a dreamer of dreams where rights reverse wrongs,

a recluse rock star who shared his talent,

with those who knew his lyrics were valiant.

He was and is and he always will be

a source of much inspiration for me.

Though not alive to celebrate today,

I'd like to wish Shel a Happy Birthday.

© Rachel Hoyt 2011.  All rights reserved.

for Shel Silverstein

September 25, 1930 - May 10, 1999

Technorati Tags: Birthday, Shel Silverstein, Rhyme, Humor, News, Poetry

This rhyme is being shared at the Poetry Pantry.
If you're visiting from there, please leave your links for me.

Smiley Sociology Study #8 - Rare Animals

Image © Rachel Hoyt.  All rights reserved.

I'm a bit late starting, but thought September would be

a great month for returning to my Smiley Sociology Studies.

This month I'd like to read posts about rare animals...

One that was kept as a pet by some late cannibals?

One that is only known to smarty pants like yourself?

One that can only be bought illegally with great wealth?

One which only exists one place, quite far from the city?

One which you'd mourn if it no longer lived to roam free?

Remember, your post need NOT be poetry.

Bloggers of all types may use Mister Linky.

I only ask that you stick to this month's chosen theme,

read others' post and leave comments (that aren't mean).

Next month, after I've analyzed all your posts,

I'll write my own rhyme and link to the entries I liked most.

If you don't already have a rare animal in mind,

do a search on Google and just see what you find!

Non rhyming directions for the poetry challenged:

(1) Create a new post about a rare animal or link to one that was already on your blog. Please note: your post does not need to be poetic or rhyming. All styles of blogs are welcome as long as their post is about rare animals.

(2) Please include a link back to the Smiley Sociology Study within your post to help spread the word about the link exchange. The more "data" / posts I have to peruse, the better pseudo sociological results I can produce!

(3) copy the link for that post and paste link into Mister Linky below.
Please link directly to the post you want to share, not to your home page.
I will delete your link from the study if I cannot find a rare animal themed post to link to directly.

(4) leave a comment here to let me know you've posted a link

(5) read links left by others and tell them (nicely) what you think

Smiley Sociology Study #6 - Weddings

Image by kongsky via freedigitalphotos.net

Another wedding season has officially begun

so I thought that (through my study) I would join in the fun.

Do you have a wedding memory that you would like to share?

Do you know a unique item that someone chose to wear?

How about a yummy morsel that you enjoyed nibbling on?

A fun activity to try or perhaps a special song?

An excellent location for a wedding to take place?

Whatever nuptial idea or memory brightens your face.

Write up your posts then link them in here.

Perhaps in my results rhyme your link will appear.

© Rachel Hoyt 2011.  All rights reserved.

Non rhyming directions for the poetry challenged:


(1) Create a new post about weddings or link to one that was already on your blog.  Please note:  your post does not need to be poetic.  All styles of blogs are welcome as long as their post is about weddings.

(2) Please include a link back to the Smiley Sociology Study within your post to help spread the word about the link exchange. The more "data" / posts I have to peruse, the better pseudo sociological results I can produce!

(3) copy the link for that post and paste link into Mister Linky below.

Please link directly to the post you want to share, not to your home page. 
I will delete your link from the study if I cannot find a post of wedding theme to link to directly.


(4) leave a comment here to let me know you've posted a link


(5) read links left by others and tell them (nicely) what you think

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Blogging, Wedding, Study

Rhyme Me a Smile Meme

My blog friend Rimly tagged me in a meme,

I didn't respond, but didn't mean to be mean.

It's just that I didn't really know what it was

and was caught up in my NaPoWriMo buzz.

I've learned since then it means writing about me.

Perhaps you're wondering if I'm really truly wacky?

What ideas and behaviors make up my culture?

Am I really just a silly news knowledge vulture?

I understand why you'd want to know if I'm crazy.

Who wants advice from someone who's mentally hazy?

Don't worry, no one's told me I'm legally insane,

nor have I ever injured or damaged my brain.

I'm certainly not graceful or indestructible though

and have sprained / broken many a finger and toe.

Thankfully, I've never damaged an arm, leg or eye,

 but I doubt I'll keep that record until the day I die.

I get stressed out, angry and depressed just like you
and find writing these rhymes is the "medicinal" thing to do.
The wacky news and blog stories I read for inspiration
are also a constant source of (possibly shallow) elation.

Sometimes I eat chocolate or nachos instead...
or a whole yummy loaf of cheesy garlic bread.
To distract me from food, I look to my friends
on our combined wackiness my happiness depends.

I like karaoke, poker, wine tasting and whiskey
and running 'round town in costume when frisky.
I'm addicted to 30 Rock but don't watch much TV.
Usually the boob tube's just background noise for me.

I get a bit of a thrill from breaking traditions and rules.
I once built a menorah with bottles, candles and skewers for tools.

The guest of honor got the first chance to shoot out the flames
then the pellet guns were passed to the other gents and dames.

So there you have it... a Rhyme Me a Smile Meme.
The final fact about me?  My favorite color is green.
I hope you enjoyed these rhyming personal fun facts
and that they gave you a chance to giggle and relax.

© Rachel Hoyt 2011.  All rights reserved.


My NaPoWriMo poem #26

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Blogging, NaPoWriMo, Humor, Meme, Poetry

Greenzilla's Earth Day Plea

Image by Idea Go via freedigitalphoto.net

I still believe that we've all got the need

to do some good - we know we should -

and I hope every enviro-dope today will cope

by reading Greenzilla's Earth Day pleading.

Why must we sometimes be so lazy

that we drop our soda pop and don't stop

to save the can?  Be a man - a recycling fan.

Just one could save hours of power for fun!

To really beat the cold and heat, conserving is neat.

One degree can store 10% for when you're needing more.

There will be some for everyone!  Oh how much fun

to share the love like handmade gloves... sort of.

It's not bull.  Landfills are full, so here's the rule:

Limit your waste with haste.  Make it your taste

to try to buy from the local guy.  Why?

Less packaging to each something will cling. 

Ca-ching!!! To Greenzilla, happy thoughts this will bring.

If you haven't gotten greener yet, but regret...

and your contempt has you feeling verklempt...

Make this Earth Day the one when you say,

"I must do more to stand up for... Mother Earth.  She's sore."

© Rachel Hoyt 2011.  All rights reserved. 

This rhyme is being shared in the Poetry Pantry.
Share your poetry there to get blog traffic for free.


My NaPoWriMo poem #24.

Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Blogging, NaPoWriMo, Humor, Earth Day, Poetry