Two nights past, I recorded the O'Reilly Factor, mainly to listen to O'Reilly's interview with President Bush. However, it was something else mentioned in the episode that really summoned the Muse to my side.
While Bill O'Reilly, in my opinion, tends to be pretty open - concerned mainly with raw truth - he did have one opinion I did not agree with. He expressed that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, and not inborn (like, for example, race or biological gender). While it is a highly controversial issue that has yet to get a definite scientific answer (if it ever will), I do not think it is a lifestyle choice - I go with the "inborn" theory - that a person is "wired" that way from a very young age, and is destined to (or at the very least, predisposed to) becoming gay or bisexual.
In any case, one figure who was mentioned was Alan Turing - the World War II cryptographer who also happens to be considered (by many) the father of modern computing. From everything I've read, his story has many of the elements of classical tragedy - and if accounts of what was done to him are to be believed, they were (in my opinion) despicable and reprehensible acts.
Considering all he did for his country - and for the technology my generation and I so cherish - I was inspired to write a tributary poem to his memory.
Without further delay, Fenny F. presents, "The Legacy of the Lunar Rainbow:"
***
A Tribute to Alan Mathison Turing, Officer of the British Empire (1912-1954)
by Jeff R. (Fenny F.)
Written 10/18/2006; Original Web Release, First Edition 10/19/2006
"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." --Jesus (John 8:7)
Behind the mists of memory,
In that time called "World War II,"
There were Soldiers of the Light,
And Heroes 'Round the Moon,
Bulldogs pounding code,
Eagles who refused to die.
Like an Act of God,
The Pen became a Sword,
Knowledge sank the ships -
The Just saved by the Friendship
Of the Eagles of the Light,
And the Bulldogs 'Round the Moon.
While the medals began to flow
And the cities were rebuilt,
One hero would not be treated as such -
This was The Bulldog Amidst The Flowers.
Towards none did he harbor malice,
But fear hardened others' hearts nonetheless
Blinding them to what he'd done;
Like an old, tear-soaked tragedy
From a kingdom long since gone.
They made the Dog of Flowers suffer,
Until that one black day
He had to make it end,
This swordless hero left his mark upon us all:
Eagles, Bulldogs, all the people of the world, all just the same -
When he bit the Apple of Fate -
The fruit which should make us all remember
Our instinctive drive to sin.
When our Stones of Hate and Fear struck him down,
A Lunar Rainbow was cast all 'round the Earth,
A final tribute to the man:
A man who saved so many
With only the Pen
Never the Sword.
***
DISTRIBUTION AND ATTRIBUTION INFORMATION: If you wish to distribute this work, it is sufficient to copy it, in its entirety, when redistributing it (including the title, by-line, and version information at the beginning of the work; as well as this footer). This will include the by-line, which will suffice as the form of attribution to the author required by the Creative Commons Share-Alike Attribution 2.5 license. I, the author, do not care whether redistribution is done in electronic or printed form. And, if you're still reading this footer, thank you for caring about my wishes, and reading my work. =:o)
"Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?" --Robert F. Kennedy, possibly quoted or paraphrased from George Bernard Shaw (Wikiquote backing).
It's most likely that Kennedy was referring to invention/reform when he mentioned this - however, at least for me, it's just as inspirational for those things which only take shape on paper, canvas, tape, film, or in computer memory.
¶ 10/15/2006 02:36:00 PM 0 comments
When I read about the Firefox zero-day vulnerability hoax a couple of days ago, and particularly a comment that mentioned, "I smell FUD" (in reference to his opinion that it may have originated with Microsoft - sadly, I can't find the comment again to link to it) - this is what I thought of:
Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell the FUD of a billionaire! =:oD
Honestly (and seriously) though, I'm not trying to point the finger at Microsoft - hoaxes can come out of seemingly nowhere. There's a huge plethora of the crud - my favorite is the one about the alleged "terrible virus" based on Norton Utilities - I've sent this B.S. to my digital circular file at least four times over the years. =:oD As if Norton would be better than any other code... =xoD Tee hee. ¶ 10/13/2006 11:53:00 AM 0 comments
The second of the beautiful photographs my friend Hiram L. took.
One day last week, we had a lot of rain here in the Las Vegas area (at least by our standards! =;o) ). The media here covered the double rainbow that occurred - two rainbows visible in a short arc.
Well, Hiram got a picture of it as well.
Fenris Fox presents, Hiram L.'s "Double Rainbow:"
Click image for full-size version (1048x792, 203KB JPEG)
Gratis image hosting by Photobucket ¶ 10/08/2006 02:02:00 PM 2 comments
Some of the photos my friend Hiram L. take are simply stunning. While many people tend to think of the desert as being a barren, ugly place, there is beauty for those who are willing to look.
Hiram has captured some of that beauty in both this photograph, and the one I'll put up in a couple minutes.
Without further delay, Fenris Fox presents, Hiram L.'s "Desert Sunset:"
Click the photo for the full-size version (1408x1056, 136K JPEG)
Gratis image hosting by Photobucket ¶ 10/08/2006 01:45:00 PM 0 comments
