more darkness
more fireflies–
more darkness than fireflies
“galaxyN”
the nail sinking in–
my father’s hammer
in my hand
nowhere else
but the next flower —
afternoon butterfly
“more darkness” – breathmarks: haiku to read in the dark
“the nail sinking in– tug of the current (HSA Anthology 2004)
“nowhere else” – The Heron’s Nest (May 2004)
potluck
The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) loves to say they “$key small”
fight for the little guy. You can click here to sign up for their “Protecting
Your Rights” e-letter, where you’ll “read the stories of everyday Americans
who used the courts to stand up to negligence, malpractice, or greed.” But,
it seems, you better not be too everyday — a Crain’s Cleveland article
(June 13, 2005) says the $500,000 cap on medical malpractice punitive
damages has forced trial lawyers to “turn low- income clients away because
those individuals cannot generate enough in the way of economic damages,
which are not capped, to justify going to court.” If it quacks like a greedy
huckster and walks like a greedy huckster, folks, I’m betting it’s a greedy
shyster. [thanks to RiskProf for the pointer] See our prior post, where
skepticalEsq said:
Let me see if I understand this: Just when “fair verdicts” will be
especially hard and victims need devoted p/i lawyers more than
ever to fight for every penny they deserve, firms are deciding to
stop taking malpractice cases due to “financial considerations”
like “decreasing fees.” Seems to me, the Trial Lawyers’ Association
needs to do a little better spin control and pr training within its own
ranks, before the public starts to think that 25% of the first half million
dollars in non-economic damages is just too trifling an amount to attract
a good p/i lawyer. We wouldn’t want Americans to get unduly cynical
about their lawyers.
afterthought: Back on April 1, 2005, ethicalEsq, Prof. Yabut and Jack Cliente
went to Legal Consumer Heaven, where the ethics rules are actually applied to
lawyer fees. In the dream, ATLA Condemns the Standard Contingency Fee, and
Using a little Dave Barry humor, Prof. Bainbridge points to an article
confirming what we all knew: “42 states allow drivers to regularly exceed the speed
limit before they are stopped.” (Yahoo/AP, Survey: Most States Allow Speed Cushion ).
The article cites a 1999 study showing a 15% increase in highway deaths when the limits
were raised from 55 to 65 — speed really does kill. Also, as we reported on May 2nd,
“driving at 10 miles an hour above the 65 miles-per-hour limit increases fuel consumption
by 15 percent.” (See NYT, “Unmentioned Energy Fix: A 55 M.P.H. Speed Limit,” May
1, 2005) Hmm. Enforcing the speed laws, or dropping the speed limit back to 55, would
save a lot of lives and a lot of gasoline. As selfish as Americans are, do you think our
political leaders — perhaps with a push from both conservative Catholics and liberal
secularists — will ever have the courage to do the right thing? Is Robert K. Kaufman of
Boston University right that anything involving personal sacrifice is “off the table politically“?
Spam — such as here — is not welcome at this website. Mr. King, feel free to leave
Comments that are on-topic, but please use your own website to promote your pet
peeves. Of course, neither is any other kinds of comment spam welcome
(that means you, cialis sellers).
Weather Kvetsch: I’m not liking our string of 90-degree-very-humid days, here
in the NYS Capital Region. My body will deal with it. My psyche, however, is not
at all pleased with the delay in the firefly season, due to a cold and wet spring. Please
pass this message on to the Responsible Authorities.
planting a willow
will becomes nights
of fireflies
the dog sparkling
with fireflies
sound asleep
Click for more than 100 firefly haiku by Issa,
translated by David G. Lanoue
David:
You need to move south for June. We have had the best firefly season in quite a while. What is the difference between a firefly and a lightning bug anyway?
Comment by Martin — June 14, 2005 @ 6:07 pm
David:
You need to move south for June. We have had the best firefly season in quite a while. What is the difference between a firefly and a lightning bug anyway?
Comment by Martin — June 14, 2005 @ 6:07 pm
My friends in the D.C. Area told me over the weekend that the fireflies haven’t arrived there yet.
I’m not sure that I should be enabling your MIDS — mundane informational dependence syndrome — by answering a question that is so easily answered on the internet, but I’m a sucker for a chance to share information (after first clarifying it in my mind). Here’s what The American Heritage Dictionary says under “lighting bug
Growing up in Upstate New York, I’ve always called them fireflies. When I was visiting in DC at the end of June last year, I saw the most spectacular firefly displays of my life. I did have the “lightning bug” discussion with a woman from Georgia.
I was inspired back then to pen:
Comment by David Giacalone — June 14, 2005 @ 6:48 pm
My friends in the D.C. Area told me over the weekend that the fireflies haven’t arrived there yet.
I’m not sure that I should be enabling your MIDS — mundane informational dependence syndrome — by answering a question that is so easily answered on the internet, but I’m a sucker for a chance to share information (after first clarifying it in my mind). Here’s what The American Heritage Dictionary says under “lighting bug
Growing up in Upstate New York, I’ve always called them fireflies. When I was visiting in DC at the end of June last year, I saw the most spectacular firefly displays of my life. I did have the “lightning bug” discussion with a woman from Georgia.
I was inspired back then to pen:
Comment by David Giacalone — June 14, 2005 @ 6:48 pm
dave, have been off line at home due to many resposibilities. am writing this from work on my lunch break so no pressing matters to tend to right now. saw your piece in frogpond, good one at that. you’ve got a bright future in this haiku world. as for fireflies, well in michigan we call them fireflies. can’t recall too many people using lightning bugs.
a few new pieces from my neck of the woods.
ed
Comment by ed markowski — June 14, 2005 @ 7:50 pm
dave, have been off line at home due to many resposibilities. am writing this from work on my lunch break so no pressing matters to tend to right now. saw your piece in frogpond, good one at that. you’ve got a bright future in this haiku world. as for fireflies, well in michigan we call them fireflies. can’t recall too many people using lightning bugs.
a few new pieces from my neck of the woods.
ed
Comment by ed markowski — June 14, 2005 @ 7:50 pm
Hi, Ed, Thanks for checking in from your workplace. As usual, I appreciate your kind words about my haiku.
Your gift of poetry today is an excellent one and much appreciated. I couldn’t tell how you meant for them to be formatted, so I edited them into 3-lines each. I’m always amazed at how prolific you are, while I try my best to eke out one semi-presentable, tiny poem a day.
I’m going to shift today’s haiku from you to the homepage very soon — handful of clear, sharp images, and moments experienced, remembered, imagined.
Comment by David Giacalone — June 14, 2005 @ 10:28 pm
Hi, Ed, Thanks for checking in from your workplace. As usual, I appreciate your kind words about my haiku.
Your gift of poetry today is an excellent one and much appreciated. I couldn’t tell how you meant for them to be formatted, so I edited them into 3-lines each. I’m always amazed at how prolific you are, while I try my best to eke out one semi-presentable, tiny poem a day.
I’m going to shift today’s haiku from you to the homepage very soon — handful of clear, sharp images, and moments experienced, remembered, imagined.
Comment by David Giacalone — June 14, 2005 @ 10:28 pm
If you add up the number of hours lost to slower speed limits, they far exceed the number of hours lost to additional accidents from faster speed limits. I shouldn’t be slowed down because so many people don’t know how to drive. And if you’re concerned about gas mileage, get a Prius, like I did.
Comment by Ted — June 20, 2005 @ 5:38 pm
If you add up the number of hours lost to slower speed limits, they far exceed the number of hours lost to additional accidents from faster speed limits. I shouldn’t be slowed down because so many people don’t know how to drive. And if you’re concerned about gas mileage, get a Prius, like I did.
Comment by Ted — June 20, 2005 @ 5:38 pm
Hi, Ted. Just two questions: (1) How many hours are “lost” by the extra dead people? (2) In a land where only a relatively few chose fuel economy over ego-driven-hyperconsumption, why should society leave important issues like fuel dependency and fuel mileage to individual choice?
Comment by David Giacalone — June 20, 2005 @ 5:52 pm
Hi, Ted. Just two questions: (1) How many hours are “lost” by the extra dead people? (2) In a land where only a relatively few chose fuel economy over ego-driven-hyperconsumption, why should society leave important issues like fuel dependency and fuel mileage to individual choice?
Comment by David Giacalone — June 20, 2005 @ 5:52 pm