dream if bashō 30

dream if bashō
says shhhhhh!

but there is nothing

to hear and points

and you see

nothing to see

this flickering sunbeam

 

 

 

 

.

dream if bashō 29

dream if bashō
bows to the soldier
with great respect
to the prostitute
to the highwaymen
to the innkeeper
to cherry blossoms
even to you




.

dream if bashō 28

dream if bashō
at ends fire low
hole in sandal
hat and bag
even raincoat
so when night
is cold he knows it




.

dream if bashō 27

dream if bashō
disappears for
this moment
in a grove
of bamboo
when you find
a shy deer




.

Every world class museum is now safe enough to play baseball in!

My idea to Major League Baseball is almost done. I've been editing it, I have a few slides to add to the PowerPoint presentation. I'd like to start a new MLB franchise that could be very lucrative and interesting, drawing in a new demographic -- a more educated and affluent one. Major League Baseball in Museums. Baseball teams play the Louvre, for instance. The Louvre is huge! The museums could even have their own teams. Imagine, "The Louvre Smashers" -- or "The Hermitage Annihilators", or even, "Smithsonian Institution Shamblers". This could take off. Don't worry about the darn art! It's been getting hit and kicked for years. Most of the stuff is made out of stone and metal. And behind bullet proof glass.

We've entered a new era -- where every world class museum is now safe enough to play baseball in!

The NSA

The NSA burned down Bob's shed. The NSA slapped a kid and took his lunch money, and laughed. The NSA defiled graves, and insulted the groundskeepers at the non denominational cemetery. The NSA crank called Mrs. Ferlahey, who can't see that good, and she has a bad hip. The NSA made Bobby cry. The NSA hit Joanne. The NSA ran through a red light at noon on Cedar Street. The NSA bit Cory, and stole a Christmas tree from the Elks. The NSA got up late and was interested in robbing banks. The NSA threw away recyclable cans, and shot a BB gun in the air.


-----

Written down in a Secret Undisclosed Location
Far from the Prying Eyes of the Internet

dream if bashō 26

dream if bashō
feeling carefully
in mist with
a bendy stick
you see wet
cold ground
trees like trees



--

dream if bashō 25

dream if bashō
before a roaring
stream
things seized torn
churned into it
the water placid
at the edge





--

Wiki-Stub for the Game 'Valley of the Minotaur'

I see that someone has added a stub on Wikipedia for a game I helped co-create way back in the early 1980s -- 'Valley of the Minotaur'. LOL. My friend Nick Van Dyke was a budding programmer, he coded and designed it -- and I provided the map, content, descriptions, and many of the central characters and plot for the text-based game. To Nick's credit, he was a brilliant developer -- he had already created several games using a TSR-80 -- one was a turn based Star-Trek combat simulator which had a Romulan bird-of-prey that could cloak and de-cloak when it attacked!

Later, we collaborated on a second text based adventure project, 'Return to the Valley of the Minotaur', which was finished, but not published.

The writing and concepts were heavily influenced by popular text based exploration games of the day, including 'Microsoft's Adventure', 'Zork I' and 'II', as well as the maps from 'Wizardry'. There are many mythological influences, too -- I was reading Greek Mythology widely at the time. The minotaur 'boss' character came from a creative writing short-story, called 'Revenge of the Minotaur' I had submitted to one of my teachers in English. Other influences were Dungeons & Dragons, and some of the props from Dr. Who -- the Telephone booth in the game VoTM is a reflection of the Tardis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Minotaur

Nick and I had a great time making this game. I added to the article -- we'll see how it holds up. I might even have some of the hand written maps and descriptions in my files. I'll have to look and post them.

***

Update 6.27.14

I have the game -- my dad saved it and my mom found it. Thanks dad, thanks mom. New post with artwork.

dream if bashō 24

dream if bashō
is unafraid of a
red moon or
uncounted fields
that seem to hide
threats or
lonely sentinels






-

dream if bashō 23

dream if bashō
by an old hut
stands stock still
before a trembling
leaf and
blossoming
orchard




.

dream if bashō 22

dream if bashō
appearing so solidly

in a virgin field

of new fallen snow

his feet and yours

making tracks

that later will be gone

 

 

x

dream if bashō 21

dream if bashō
motions to the trickling
water so you see
how quickly
it races headlong
down into dust
to become mud




,

dream if bashō 20

dream if bashō
seemingly lost
in unfriendly country
finds undeniable joy
in unknowing
with feet to walk
and a place to be wandering




..

dream if bashō 19

dream if bashō
under the stars
bows to the earth
bows to you
bugs
in the weeds
going to and fro




*

dream if bashō 18

dream if bashō
is mistaken by you
as anything
like a thunderclap
or a ghost
or mud or lice
or even as bashō




_

dream if bashō 17

dream if bashō
sees the woes of
a robber
or the rage
of an innkeeper
blossoms shaken
loose rain down



:
.
_

dream if bashō 16

dream if bashō
regards two giddy
little sparrows
being watched
by a cat
chirping busy
no idea of peril




"