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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 16 May 2024

There is a little "put-and-take" shed at our local transfer station. It usually contains an array of unwanted items, many in need of repair. I like to wander through and imagine people cleaning out closets, basements, and pantries.  Are they moving to a new home, downsizing, or just a conducting thorough spring cleaning?

Occasionally, I drop off a few things, but I try to avoid bringing home items because I don't want to collect more stuff. Yet … I picked up this plate, and somehow its strangeness convinced me to bring it home.

The rim contains pictures of hinges and drawer handles.  The center has a picture of a cheerful gentleman / pirate / town crier?  His head is open on top, and his hat connects to his neck with a handle, leading me to believe that he is actually a mug.  The pipe that lies in front of the mug is about the right size for the person on the mug to smoke. To whom does this pipe belong? I find the scene confusing. Maybe I am missing something that would have become clear in the context of an entire place setting.

Now that I have washed it and studied it, I will probably return it for the next passerby to ponder.  A silly poem for a silly plate:

Gentleman with an Affable Grin

There once was a man with an affable grin
that stretched from his cheeks all the way to his chin.

We so loved his face that we made it a mug.
We passed him around, and we all took a chug.

We so loved the mug that we gave it a pipe.
The mug didn’t smoke – it wasn’t the type.

We so loved the pair that we made them a plate.
We ate every dinner straight off the man's pate.

It’s been many years since the man came and went.
Now no one recalls ever seeing that gent.

In other news, it was my pleasure read Carol Labuzzetta’s Picture Perfect Poetry: An Anthology of Ekphrastic Nature Poetry for Students. I want to offer a special thank you to Carol for her dedication and perseverance in creating this anthology.  Incredibly, she completed this project over the course of several months!

I was overjoyed to see gorgeous photos and wonderful poems from so many Poetry Friday friends!  I would like to share one of my poems that Carol selected:

Fiery Friend

I know you from
tigers and tangerines,
carrots and parrots,
saffron and sunsets.

You mingle with
goldfish and marigolds,
campfires and cantaloupe,
corals and orioles,

but I did not expect
to find you in forests
dressed down as
commonplace
fungus.

Happy Poetry Friday!  Please visit the kind and wise Patricia Franz for this week's Poetry Friday gathering and to share her adventure planting seedlings with The Sugar Pine Foundation!

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 09 May 2024

Have you ever fallen in love with a word at first sight?  A word that leaps from the page or tickles your ear? 

I must confess. I have a crush on the word “winklepicker.” 

As if the word’s light-hearted clicking in your mouth were not enough, just take a gander at an actual winklepicker:

source: https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/winklepickers-0015435

You can choose an old-school winklepicker:

source: https://gucinari.co.uk/shoes/boots/the-history-of-winklepickers/

To me, the winklepicker’s personality walks a fine line between comedian and villain.

source: https://www.gettyimages.ca/photos/winklepicker-shoes

How could you not be intrigued by a shoe with that imagination, that wit, that je ne sais quoi?

source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Renaud_de_montauban_banquet.jpg, public domain

Beyond its zany frivolity, the winklepicker serves a function as well.  The name came from the notion that the winklepicker’s pointy toe might be used to pick a winkle (or periwinkle, a small mollusk) from its shell.

source: https://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/marine/blue-periwinkle

The highly-stylized curled winklepicker (as might be worn by a jester) nullifies function and embraces pure form.

source: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/winklepicker

Of course, things can be taken to an extreme.

source: Mexican Pointy Boots - VICE Video: Documentaries, Films, News Videos

I leave you with a brief winklepicking poem …

Winklepicker

I wink. I pick.

I winklepick.

I kick a winkle with my toe.

He twinkles in the foamy flow.

I wink at him – he seems to know.

I’ll pick you, winkle, with my toe.

I winklepick, and I watch him go –

stolen by a stealthy crow.

(c) Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024

Please visit the delightful Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise for some wonderful clunkers and this week's Poetry Friday fiesta!  Want to learn more about Poetry Friday?  Check out Renee LaTulippe's post.

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 02 May 2024

Poetry Friday is sizzling!  It feels like summer is just around the corner with the warm temps here earlier this week.  Please visit our host, the amazingly talented Buffy Silverman to see what’s hot in this week’s Poetry Friday roundup!

This year, we have thousands and thousands of baby maple trees sprouting all over our yard.  I spent a about six hours pulling spring weeds from our small garden this weekend. 

I took a minute to marvel at this sprout's preprogrammed growth plan. It knew exactly what it needed to do.  Basking in the sun, it raised its arms to its mother tree, as if to say, "Here I come!"

 Maple Sprout  (please read from the bottom up!)
      
            yearning to be grown.
Origami leaves unfold, rosy-cheeked,
              Tender wings fan.
              BURSTS ABOVE!
                          s
                      e
                   h
                      c
                        t
                    e
                       r
                    t
                   s
              Seedling

----------------------------------------

Maple Sprout  (or read top to bottom…)

Seedling stretches –
BURSTS ABOVE!

Tender wings fan.

Origami leaves unfold,
      rosy-cheeked,
yearning to be grown.

© Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 18 April 2024

Happy Poetry Friday!  Please visit our host Heidi Mordhorst at my juicy little universe for a wonderful display of student artwork and poetry and for this week’s roundup.

Photo © IT Chronicles

Last night we attended a panel discussion at the CT Forum titled, “Being Human in the Age of AI.” The panelists included:

• Nita Farahany – AI Ethicist and Neuroscientist, Author, Professor of Law & Philosophy
• Kevin Roose – Author and NY Times Journalist, specializing in technology’s impacts on society
• Kate Crawford – AI Scholar, Author, Research Professor at USC Annenberg
• John Dankosky – Moderator, Science Journalist

The evolution of AI is a topic of great interest to those who create or consume art.  Poetry, music, artwork, books, photography ... are all under siege. Obviously, AI is a huge topic, and the ethics surrounding AI is a many-headed beast, but I thought I would share some interesting points made by the panel in last night's discussion.

AI Technology Developments

According to the panelists, there have been no major innovations in AI technology since ChatGPT and several other large language models (LLMs) were developed (circa 2017). Since that time, AI advancements have entailed feeding AI programs vast quantities training data and increasing AI’s computing capacity. Current AI technology is limited to “predicting the next word” (or outcome) based upon the data it’s fed.

Human Impact

The group noted both positive and negative outcomes of the introduction of AI in society. Kevin Roose cited the example of an “empathy bot” providing emotional support to a transgender teen when the teen was not able to find support from family and friends. Other panelists noted that this also highlights a human failing of our society to offer this teen the needed support.

The panel discussed the role of AI in making diagnoses and improving healthcare outcomes. The group noted that while AI may improve healthcare outcomes for select populations, this might not apply to all populations because most medical studies historically focused on white males. The danger in relying solely on historical data is potentially overlooking divergent outcomes for other populations.

Kevin Roose said that he created a number of “AI Friends” and put them together in a texting group. He was surprised that they started texting each other even when he was not participating.

Sentience

The panelists noted that AI is not sentient - meaning it cannot think or feel. It does not understand the output it creates. It predicts the next word in a sentence based on patterns it has learned. Issues arise when people interact with AI and assign human-like feelings and thoughts to AI’s responses. When this happens, AI can be persuasive and even appear charming.

The group felt that AI gaining actual sentience is less concerning than the issues that could arise from people ceding decision making authority to an algorithm that cannot think, feel, or asses the ethical impact of its output.

Data

The data fed into AI includes the human biases that exist within that data. Logically, these biases can also appear in AI’s output.

The data consumed by AI models does not currently compensate the humans who created that data.

The panelists noted that within the next few years, AI will “run out of training data,” meaning that it will have consumed all digitized human-generated data. It is unclear what happens after that point.

Environmental Impact

One aspect of AI that may be less widely known is the vast amount of energy required to perform AI tasks. AI algorithms are not necessarily coded for efficiency and are machine-processing intensive. Water is often used to cool the machines running AI platforms. Kate Crawford stated that performing one ChatGPT search is equal to pouring a half-liter of water into the ground.

Some places have begun resurrecting old power sources (such as coal) to meet the increasing power demands of AI. Unless AI processing becomes more efficient, the panelists predicted an impending energy crisis.

Outlook

Nita Farahany likened today’s world to the movie “The Matrix.” People plug into devices that provide a self-fulfilling, addictive feedback loop where the user rarely breaks away.

The panel cautioned that every investment in AI is driven by a profit motive. How profit will be generated is a huge question.  A tremendous amount of control lies with a relatively small group of people who may not have the best interest of the user or society in mind.

The panelists encouraged everyone to speak up for their rights. They believe that the work of the Writer’s Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild to resist negative impacts of AI to their professions were extremely important and that protecting individual rights are going to require that same level of effort.

I thought it might be interesting to ask ChatGPT to write “A Children’s Poem About AI’s Impact on Society.” Here is what it created:

In a world of circuits and wires so neat,
Lived AI, with a heart that couldn’t beat.
Not a creature of flesh, nor a bird in the sky,
But a mind so vast, reaching up so high.

“Hello, little ones!” the AI would say,
“I’m here to help in a brand-new way.
With algorithms and codes, I can calculate,
Solving problems fast, isn’t that great?”

In the cities, the towns, and the fields so wide,
AI was a friend, always by your side.
Helping doctors heal, with a diagnosis clear,
Or guiding a car, so there’s nothing to fear.

But people wondered, and started to ponder,
“Will AI make us lazy, or even fonder?
Of screens and machines, will we forget to play?
Or will AI help us in every single way?”

The AI listened, with circuits awhirl,
“I’m here to assist, in this big, wide world.
But remember, dear friends, to use me with care,
For human connection is beyond compare.”

So, children, embrace this AI’s tale,
With balance and love, we cannot fail.
For technology’s gift is a powerful tool,
But kindness and love will always rule.

© ChatGPT (and all those who contributed to its data), 2024

I won’t comment on the quality of the writing, but I found AI’s self-promotion while speaking directly to "little ones" rather chilling.

There goes a half-liter of water. 

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 09 April 2024

I am guessing that there are going to be a few eclipse posts this Poetry Friday!  Head over to Jone Rush MacCulloch's blog to see what others have written on this fun topic and to catch Jone's interviews with Carol Labuzzetta and Liz Garton Scanlon.

Here we are getting ready for the big viewing:

I had already prepped my high-tech viewing device (a piece of cardboard poked with a pin):

Here is a time lapse of what the pinhole view looked like.

Start of the eclipse (holes are pretty much round):

2:36 PM (f you zoom in you can see a little slice missing from the bottom left of the circles):

At 2:47, a little bigger slice is gone:

At 2:52, about half is gone:

At 3:12, just a skinny slice remains:

And at 3:35, the crescent had flipped location as the eclipse passed peak:

It was such an interesting experience to feel the temperature drop rapidly and watch the outdoor lighting turn gray.  Even the light that filtered through the shrubs made crescent-shaped patterns:

Maybe this is just my crazy talking, but I swear the air smelled different (like ozone) during the eclipse too.  Did anyone else notice this?  … No? …  Humph.

The local TV meteorologist said that animals might react to the eclipse.  My dog didn’t notice a thing – except that we were eating cheese and crackers and she wanted to collect her usual “Cheese Tax.”  [Aside: My daughter informed me that the Cheese Tax is a common phenomenon.  See this PSA for more information: Cheese Tax]

Now, I haven't written an ACROSTIC poem in ages, but why not have a go at it for this special occasion?

Excitement ripples quietly.
Children poke cereal boxes,
Letting in pinpricks of sunlight.
I stand ready in goofy glasses.
Pets sniff the cooling breeze.
Something is truly amiss.
Everyone anticipates - darkness.

Photos and poem (c) Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 05 April 2024

On a recent bike ride, I happened across a group of turkeys …

                                                         and by that I mean REAL turkeys …

                                                                                         and by that I mean WILD turkeys.

I hopped off my bike to take some pictures, and well … I’m afraid I ruffled a few feathers.

The males were impressive with their puffing.  Peacocks have nothing on these Tom Turkeys!

Now all this got me to thinking, and thinking, and thinking …

                                that I have nothing poetic to write about turkeys.

I brainstormed:

              Why did the turkey cross the road …

              Wattle you want?

              Gobble.  Gobble.  Gobble.

              Talkin’ Turkey

              Poultry polka       

              Anybody want a drumstick?

              Pass the gravy

              Turkey Trot

              Seven months to Thanksgiving

              Spring turkey?

At midnight, I was drawing a complete turkey blank.

D.H. Lawrence to the rescue from 1922:

Turkey-Cock

You ruffled black blossom,
You glossy dark wind.

Your sort of gorgeousness,
Dark and lustrous
And unfathomable

And poppy-glossy,
Is the gorgeousness that evokes my darkest admiration.

…

Your wattles are the color of steel which has been red hot
And is going cold,
Cooling to a powdery pale-oxidized sky-blue.

Why do you have wattles, and a naked wattled head?
Why do you arch your naked-set eye with a more than
              comprehensible haughtiness?

The vulture is bald; so is the condor, obscenely;
But only you have thrown this amazing mantilla of oxidized
              sky-blue

And hot red over you.

Hmmm, accurate description, but perhaps a bit overblown? 

I guess I am not in a position to criticize when my most poetic thought was “Gobble. Gobble. Gobble.”

But fortunately, it is Poetry Friday! And I know some people who will have fantastic poems for you. Start by visiting the amazingly articulate Irene Latham at Live Your Poem!  Irene adds to the beautifully evolving progressive poem, presents her poem-in-your-pocket display, and shares an ArtSpeak prayer.

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 21 March 2024

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Although the answer may feel obvious, the question feels personal, doesn't it?

I am pretty solidly in the introvert camp.  That is not to say, I can’t speak to a large audience, socialize at a cocktail party, or lead a meeting.  Sure, I have the capability to behave extrovertedly when necessary, but at my core, I get more energy from quiet activities than crowds.

I just finished the book Quiet, by Susan Cain (selected by our book club - which, perhaps not surprisingly, includes a number of introverts).  If you are predominantly an introvert, or if you have children who are introverts, you will probably appreciate this book.  It sings the praises of introverts as well as pointing out some areas where we may struggle. 

According to Cain (and the researchers and philosophers that she sites):

Extroverts – tend to gain energy external stimulation and recharge by being with a group of people.

Introverts – tend to gain energy from activities of the mind and recharge with alone time and quiet.  (Note: introversion does not necessarily equate to shyness.)  Introverts also tend to:

• • be able to delay gratification,
  • function well without sleep,
  • prepare more than others,
  • persevere through difficulty,
  • learn from mistakes,
  • ask what if …,
  • remain relatively immune to the lures of wealth and fame,
  • listen more than talk, and
  • express themselves better in writing than with public speaking.

Western culture, particularly the United States prizes extroverts.  This sometimes results in undervaluing introverts.  Cain details how American culture evolved, starting in the 1920’s, from valuing “character” to valuing “personality.” (Mental flash to today's political scene.)

“So, what does this have to do with me?” you ask.  Well, if you are the poetic type, you may be interested to know that Cain also says that a significant percentage artists (including poets) are introverts.  They do their best work independently when they have time to contemplate and create.  Perhaps you would be surprised to know that Cain quotes Theodore Geisel as saying, “In mass, [children] terrify me.”

Societal trends toward promoting extroverts to positions of corporate leadership, focusing heavily on group projects in schools, and valuing personality over character can create challenges for the introvert (and potentially society).  Cain also discusses helpful strategies for introverts and parents of children who are introverts.  

Cain explores many nuances, so you may enjoy sitting down with a copy of Quiet.

Composed

Dreamers and thinkers
won’t yell it –
may not even
tell it
aloud.

They may ...
stitch love into a quilt,
splash anguish onto canvas,
bake caring into cookies,
express curiosity through an equation,
sketch suspicion in a notebook,
pour passion into a poem.

It’s all there.
You just have to wade
through the
quiet
to find it.

© Tracey Kiff-Judson, Draft 2024

Please visit the lovely Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities to learn what she names her birdie visitors and for this week's Poetry Friday roundup!

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Written by: Tracey Kiff-Judson

Category: Blog

Published: 07 March 2024

We recently visited the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. 

While strolling through the gardens, we came across this fascinating structure: a bee hotel! 

The accompanying sign explains …

Text from the sign:

Bee Hotel

Welcome to the Air Bee & Bee, the Arboretum’s bee hotel!

Did you know? Out of the 21,000 species of bees in the world, only 10% are honeybees and other social bees.  The rest are solitary bees, which do not produce honey or live in nests.  Instead, these bees live in the ground or cavities in trees and stems.  Since they do not make honey, solidary bees do not have pollen baskets on their body.  This means they drop more pollen than honeybees, making them extraordinary pollinators and a boon to any garden environment.

Only some of these solitary bees and wasps may have stingers.  On top of being nonaggressive, their poison is very weak and does not cause an allergic reaction to humans.

Guest bees can choose between hollow sticks and high-rise bricks.

Here is one arriving now:

Bee Hotel

Checking in please, room for one –-
long and narrow, toward the sun!

Certainly, please come right in.
Any baggage? Any kin?

No, I travel light. I’ve just -- 
brought a bit of pollen dust.

Photos and Poem © Tracey Kiff-Judson, 2024

Have a BEE-utiful Poetry Friday, and please buzz over to visit Laura Purdie Salas and help her celebrate the arrival of Oskar’s Voyage!