Fa – the Green Dragon

A Place for the Odd Musings of an Expat Bristolian

Category Archives: Famous People


by Leave a comment

Humpty Trumpty visits the Queen

STORIES IN RHYME No. 32
Humpty Trumpty where have you been
Off to London to visit the Queen
Humpty Trumpty what did you do there
I hope that they were things that you can share

I know you’ll say her Highness was fab
But I hope you refrained from trying to grab
At one part of royalty you’ll never see
Swampking Donald’s the best you’ll ever be.

And if we look at more of your trips
We learned that in Melbourne you made a terrible slip
You talked about Sweden and their event seen on FOX
Events that were history you got from the box

Is it true you watch TV six hours a day?
That’s more than kids with their parents away!
The DEMs and now some of the GOP
Are beginning to ask “When will we see”?

A glimmer of truth come from you and your gang
Something that doesn’t land with a clang
The nation is weary of alternative facts
Your fabric of truth has too many cracks.

You’re making it up as you go along
Your fine-tuned machine is singing your song
The chorus however is allowing some leaks
Stuff you try to cover with tweets.

A month has gone by and your house is a mess
Even your guests feel under stress
At a recent luncheon with a New Jersey oaf
You ordered for him your tasty meat-loaf

You reveal yourself as one who controls
Not good in the long run for you in the polls
It’s a trait shown by demagogues of yore
It’ll see you dismissed to your Florida shore

The nation doesn’t need a pandering goof
Not someone who’s a few tiles short of a roof
We need a leader both honest and true
Who comes from a state which is both strong and blue

Note: This was written before Trump made his on again/off again visit to the UK. Then I mislaid the USB drive I saved it on. Today – found!


by 4 Comments

Three words from a haiku

I got my inspiration for this post from a Haiku posted by scooj,naturaladventures. It was titled C2H5OH and contained three words with really jumped out at me. I thought the posting was both clever and unusual so much so in fact that I kept thinking bout it for many hours. At about 10:00p.m. yesterday evening I was reading in bed. I think I must have dozed off for a few minutes. I woke up and looked for my notepad and wrote the following:
SALVATION
Salvation a present possession not merely an object of hope, note: Ignatius bishop of Antioch wrote these words in ca. 167
RUINATION (an anagram)
Ruination through urination, pissing away one’s total wealth
MODERATION
Moderation, that happy balance between too much and not enough


by 3 Comments

Who Invented Fish and Chips? (in newspaper)

For the past few weeks I have been digging in my spare time for papers, packed long ago and forgotten for a few years. I did mention some time ago that years ago I had written poetry about Fish and Chips. For those of you who are from the U.K. or have visited the british Isles this will be no mystery. However, for some, this may be new. Fish and Chips used to be a staple throughout the country, until perhaps the advent of Indian “take-out”. Anyway, be that as it may, here is a short piece I found which I wrote on June 10th, 2000.

For the Brits, you may remember advertising for England’s Glory matches.

Who Invented Fish and Chips (in newspaper)

Dr. Foster went to Gloucester

for some matches ran the story.

For a certain strike and steady flame,

he asked for England’s Glory.

But that story’s old folk lore,

it was Fish and Chips he went there for.

So back to Bristol on his horse,

There were no buses then of course (not even late ones).

But, from his quest he was prevented,

because Fish and Chips had not been invented.

So to his spouse he said “Right!”

Let’s make some Fish and Chips tonight.

But how? she said, “what is this dish?”

and “what are chips that go with fish?”

“Just watch this spud” the Doctor cried,

“soon he’ll be peeled and cut and fried”

“And what about the fish, does that not matter?”

“wife get some flour and water and make some batter!”

And with this mix, just like skin,

The dead fish in hot fat learnt how to swim.

The dead fish swam around and round,

until he turned a golden brown.

Too hot to eat, so, until later,

they laid him out on last night’s paper.

The Doctor said said he could not linger,

and began to delve with just a finger.

And just to get some more,

he found it better if he used four.

And Mrs. Foster said “I need some salt,

and soured cider with some malt,

and give me pepper by the peck.

This tastes so good so what the heck?’

So here ends this fishy story.

Fish and Chips were England’s Glory!

But there is a sequel to this ryhme

I’ve pondered it from time to time.

Because, Dr. Foster did not stop there,

he went to Oz (Australia) and invented beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


by 1 Comment

A Quote by Socrates and a Haiku

“The worst are those who having learned the alphabet, believe they have come into real knowledge.”

On Knowledge

A little knowledge

they say is quite dangerous

Ignorance ends here.

 

 


by 3 Comments

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT DONALD J. TRUMP part 4.

5.29.2017

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT DONALD J. TRUMP – 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Part 4) Moving on.

Donald Trump is not being noted as someone careful with the truth or about what he says. Together with his propensity for exaggeration, he seems to be extremely uninformed about some matters at hand. It is very apparent that Donald seems to have had no inkling as to what being the POTUS really means.

Take the matter of Syria. While at dinner at his private resort, Mar a Lago in Florida with the Chinese Premier Xi JinPing he decided to launch a missile attack. Some 60 cruise missiles (at great expense to the tax-payer) were launched against a Syrian airfield.  One or two would have sufficed since it was only intended as a shot across the bow so to speak.

This is a classic case of the difference between men and boys is in the price of their toys.  This was not a well-planned military offensive; this was more an after dinner fireworks display for his guest. He claims he did it for the horrible deaths that Syrian children had suffered as a result of a Sarin gas attack. A good line Donald but I think it was more a test to see if his commanders would actually carry out his orders. As an interesting aside, one can speculate that in doing so his commanders validated his reason for ordering the surprising attack. However, one is left with the thought; was this a case of I’m the POTUS and I can do this? I should add that it was reported that Premier Xi Jin ping was not impressed and put it down to Trump flexing his muscles.

Returning now to some of the people surrounding Donald Trump and occupying positions in the White House. Perhaps the best place to start would be the actual transition (team) if that’s what it could called.

At the very outset it is possible and correct to write that the transition from the President Obama administration to the Trump takeover was inept, unprofessional, sloppy and chaotic. A clear demonstration that Trump didn’t know what he didn’t know. Instead of listening and receiving advice from those in the know, he took a typical Trumpian approach redolent of bombast and ignorance almost like a marauding Viking chief, looting and pillaging a coastal villages in Ireland during the 830’s.

The dust still has not settled. Can you imagine that in their haste to occupy the center of power they did not even ask how to turn the lights on? It’s true! You can’t make this stuff up.

His transition leader was Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey. Christie incidentally was under investigation for a traffic snafu which occurred in retaliation against the mayor of Ft. Lee who failed to endorse him.

Mike Pence the Vice President elect took over and some semblance of order began to take hold. It is still unclear just what Donald Trump had in mind when making appointment. Many of his decisions were obviously based on that appointee’s loyalty and campaign participation and or contributions.

In other words it was more a distribution o the king’s largesse that a considered evaluation of experience, ability or talent. One can only characterize some of the appointments as bogus.


by 1 Comment

Tea with Socrates

Tearing off the page with my taoism scrawl, this was two pages further on my note-pad;

 

What fun it would be

if Socrates came to tea.

Questions, more and more


by 3 Comments

Observations about donald trump (Pt. 2)

5.27.20017

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT DONALD J. TRUMP – 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Part 2)

I know very little about Donald Trump personally. Most of what I know about him is derived from personal observation of him during his public appearances as reported on television news and biographical information and reports in the press.

Donald Trump was born in 1946. His father Fred Trump was a business man involved in real estate. It has been reported that upon his death, Donald Trump inherited a substantial amount of money which he has managed to parlay into several billion dollars over the years. Reports say that he managed to achieve this by surrounding himself with savvy people as well as through legal maneuvers which allowed him to declare and file for bankruptcy as the expense of his lawful creditors.

Donald Trump considers himself a shrewd, even smart business man, able to reach deals through negotiation. However, not many people have stepped forward to endorse that idea. And somewhat expectedly has not overwhelmingly demonstrated this skill during his first 126 days in office.

Coming to his campaign for election, one almost gets the impression that he was talked into announcing his candidacy for the office of POTUS. If that supposition were true, then the next obvious question one would ask oneself is this: who were the people and what were their motives for pushing his nomination forward?

And, while we ponder that last question, let us look at some of the people he has appointed to key positions and at the same time look at the people jockeying for prominence in the White House.

The most remarkable point of course is that not one of his appointees have any real experience either in government, diplomacy or foreign affairs from a political standpoint. And sadly while claiming that he was going to “drain the swamp” he had no real understanding about how the senate and the Congress and Washington DC for that matter, works His disdain for the career government staff reinforces the notion that he is both ignorant and that his underlying trait is that of a controlling person.  Donald Trump seems to be under the impression that as president, he now gets to call the shots. Perhaps it’s time for someone, a friend who cares for him and for our country, to take him behind the woodshed for a “Come to Jesus” talk.

 

more to follow tomorrow


by 4 Comments

Observations about Donald Trump (Pt.1)

5.26.20017

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT DONALD J. TRUMP – 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (Part 1)

This journal was started on May 26th, 2017 at the suggestion of Joseph Aronesty who was a former classmate of Donald Trump at Wharton College. I will write more about Joseph Aronesty in due course.

At the outset, I need to clarify that I am not a politician nor do I have a degree in political science. I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I am not a millionaire. What I am is a citizen of the United States of America, a tax-payer and a voter, holding views concerning the Constitution.  Some of the views I hold are simply that or, for want of a better word they are opinions and in some cases surmisal and or deductions.

As of today, 205 days have passed since Donald J. Trump was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election and 126 days since his inauguration as the 45th president of the United States of America.

This journal is about observations. It is not intended to reach any conclusions about subsequent events either during or after the election with regard to validity or legitimacy of his appointment but rather to query the bizarre manner in which Donald Trump conducted his campaign and his conduct since the election.

Donald Trump presents himself as a very strange person. His personality has no appeal to me and therefore I will say that from the very outset I did and still do not like him.

I think that what I found to be unappealing were his facial expressions when speaking, his hand gestures and simply the sound and tone of his voice. His manner of speaking usually with terms of hyperbole were weird. Who for example would describe the results of his plan to reform taxes as being beautiful and something that everyone would love.

The most difficult parts of his self-presentation for me however were simply some of the ideas he had and his rationale for promoting them. One quickly got the impression that he does not know what he does not know. In other words, he floated ideas without really knowing much about the subject at hand. A good example is the Affordable Care Act; referred to by the derogatory term Obamacare. When it failed to get support in Congress he asked – Healthcare is complicated, who knew? We’ll come back to this in due course. His constant use of hyperbole in his speech, referring to someone he had just met as a good man with whom I have a good relationship to beautiful health plans and horrible events all display a remarkable air of insincerity.

I will try to write more daily about my observations.