Friday, July 26, 2024

When Opposites Unite

          When Opposites Unite

          To the tune of “Ballad of Inverness” or “Three Drunken Maidens”

 

 

Now, four-and-twenty opposites, they went to Inverness

And when it all was over, there were four-and-twenty less.

 

Chorus:

Have a ball with your partner when you’re up against the wall

The night was made to make it if you wanna be made at all.

 

Position and momentum, they would fill you full of doubt

When the one was concentrated, then the other one spread out

 

The questions and the answers, would their follies ever end?

For every time an answer came, a question rose again.

 

(Chorus.)

 

Now space and time were very fine, they truly made the night

For their fixin’ turned to mixin’ when they reached the speed of light

 

The local and the global, you could see them here and there

Right here they’re interacting, ‘cause the here is everywhere

 

(Chorus.)

 

Creation and destruction, they will satisfy your yen

If you haven’t made perfection, then you’d better start again

 

Now, true and false could really waltz, they sure were in the groove

You really don’t know dancing if you haven’t seen them move

 

(Chorus.)

 

Reality and fantasy were truly hot to trot

We tried to separate them, but we knew that we could not

 

Oh, yes and no were on the go, they sparkled like a gem

Their search was not exhaustive, but it sure exhausted them.

 

(Chorus.)

 

A toast to self and other, for they had the greatest fun

They dove into each other and they merged right into one.

 

Now, life and death will catch your breath, so don’t be so upset

If you think the show is nothing, then you ain’t seen nothing yet.

 

(Chorus.)

 

Oh, now the song is over, yet it’s also just begun;

If you can solve the riddle, even you can join the fun!

         

 

 

Thursday, July 25, 2024

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter

            To a traditional tune

 

 

Hush, little baby, button your lip

Papa’s gonna launch you a rocket ship;

And if that rocket ship blows up

Papa’s gonna hatch you a Martian pup;

And if that Martian pup should bite

Papa’s gonna sky you a satellite;

And if that satellite won’t beep

Papa’s gonna clone you a mutant sheep;

And if that mutant’s got no face

Papa’s gonna fly you to cyberspace;

And if that cyberspace gets hacked

Papa’s gonna twist you a tesseract;

And if that tesseract falls flat

Papa’s gonna breed you a supercat;

And if that supercat won’t talk

Papa’s gonna forge you a robot doc;

And if that robot doc’s got bugs

Papa’s gonna mix you some wonder drugs;

And if that mixture turns you green

Papa’s gonna wind you a time machine;

And if that time machine should trip

Papa’s gonna launch you a rocket ship!

 

 

 

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Dodging Two Bullets

Dodging Two Bullets

 

This country has dodged two bullets. One was the literal bullet that missed Trump, preserving his life for (I hope) defeat, dishonor, bankruptcy, conviction and long imprisonment. The other was when Biden stepped aside for the good of himself and the Republic. This earns him a seat on Mount Olympus, next to George Washington and Cincinnatus, both of whom walked away from power for the good of the nation.

          The debate proved that neither Biden nor Trump should be President. Biden is frail and perhaps senescent; Trump is a liar and perhaps psychotic. Both parties can and do make grave errors; the difference is that the D’s can error-correct but the R’s can only ‘double down’, i.e. error-accumulate. That’s the difference between enlightenment and tyranny.

          We are not out of trouble yet. The race remains too tight, though now narrowly in Kamala Harris’s favor. She is a dynamic campaigner with a powerful narrative: that she’s a prosecutor and Trump’s a perpetrator. She said, “I know his type.”

          The autocracy party will try racism, misogyny, and random insults. They will mention Willie Brown, but Trump is in no position to criticize anyone for scandal. They will do so anyhow, because their hypocrisy is not a glitch, nor a feature: it is their operating system. Besides, any mention of Willie Brown’s brown willie will reinforce her reputation among Black and Hispanic men.

          The autocrats will also deride her laugh, for it annoys them. What annoys me about Trump’s laugh is that he doesn’t have one, nor any sense of humor. That would require humility.