It's May 15th! Time to honor Horton (again)!

Today is May 15th, a date that evidently has significant implications to Dr. Seuss, for he mentions it at the beginning of Horton Hears a Who (featured in the image atop this entry) The Seven Lady Godivas and in If I Ran the Zoo. 

This past March, the latter of the aforementioned books along with five others (featured in an uncredited web-image below) were pulled from any re-publication in the future, due to accusations that they contain racist's  undertones.

But getting back to the date of May 15th, acccording to multiple sources, it was also the day that Seuss was elected as editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth school newspaper, The Jack-O'-Lantern.

As for me and May 15th, I have referenced it's connection with Horton hearing a who while being in the Jungle of Nool in a number of posts within this blog.

Remembering Theodor Seuss Geisel (Born ON THIS DAY IN 1904): Tuesday's Truths WK 207

Welcome to my 207th episode of my Tuesday's Truths series, which is coinciding with the day Dr. Seuss was born (117 years ago.) As I've mentioned in prior posts about this author/illustrator, my admiration for his storylines and his talents as an illustrator go hand in hand with my admiration for  his perseverance, which is evidenced in his getting his first book published. 

That book, as you may know, is And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and a photo of the book can be seen in the image entry. It was Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book published under the pen name Dr. Seuss. 

As I've mentioned in a number of posts here on Blogger, "at least 20 publishers rejected the book before Geisel ran into an old college classmate, who had just become juvenile editor at Vanguard Press. Vanguard agreed to publish the book, and it met with high praise from critics upon release."

Sadly today I learned that And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and other select Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published as some images in them are now considered to be racist. Reports of this latest news can be found in a number of places including The New York Post, as well as in The Associated Press, and in a clip from CNN.

This news is kind of hard to believe and I think any slurs towards any group were never part of Seuss's intent. Hopefully his legacy will be untarnished and people will focus on the joy and insights he brought to countless readers.

July 1, 2020

DR. SEUSS'S QUOTES ARE FEATURED IN MANY BLOG POSTS

Here we are, the midpoint of the year 2020, and given all the sadness as well as the anxiety brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, I wouldn't say the time has "flewn," for anyone located anywhere...

... but we are here...

...  and that is one thing to be thankful for, given the options; and that, dear reader is this week's Wednesday's Wisdom.

#ClapBecauseWeCare's 3 Month Anniversary (Saturday 6/27/2020)

GIUSEPPE AND TERESA AFTER PARTICIPATING ON 6/27/2020

I'd like to begin this entry by saying that three months ago yesterday (Saturday June 27th 2020) marked the date #ClapBecauseWeCare sessions began (3/27/2020) in NYC.

I initially learned about the tribute a few days after the fact and subsequently began participating on a nightly basis two days later on March 29th, 2020 so my three month anniversary of doing this is tomorrow. June 29, 2020.

As I've been discussing within a number of posts here on Blogger, my participation and cyber "coverage" of these tributes is a small way to pay homage to first responders, healthcare professionals and essential workers who are keep working tirelessly (through all kinds of weather) for everyone during this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

During the course of these nightly sessions, I've become aquatinted with a few people I'd never met, such as Giuseppe and Teresa, seen in the image atop this entry. They posed for me after the session last night which was the eighty-ninth one.

They're just like Horton!

IMAGE CREDIT

As has been my standard for a few years, on May the fifteenth, which is today, I find myself thinking of Horton, the Dr. Seuss character seen in the image atop this entry accompanied by text describing the fact that during the "heat of the day," while splashing about "in the cool of the pool," Horton heard  a small noise, and wanted to help.

In the event the narrative in the image is too pixelated to read, below is a copy of what it states:

On the 15th of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing . . . enjoying the jungle’s great joys . . .
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

The story then goes on to say:

So Horton stopped splashing. He looked towards the sound.
“That’s funny,” thought Horton. “There’s no one around.”
Then he heard it again! Just a very faint yelp
As if some tiny person were calling for help.
“I’ll help you,” said Horton. “But who are you? Where?”
He looked and he looked. He could see nothing there
But a small speck of dust blowing past though the air.

I thought of Horton during this evening's #ClapBecauseWeCare (a couple photos of our tribute can be seen in the following pictures) because healthcare professionals, first responders and essential workers, are like this Seuss character: they hear a cry and want to help.

A #CLAPBECAUSEWECAREPARTICIPANT

A #CLAPBECAUSEWECAREPARTICIPANT

As you can see in the latter of these two photos, the participant has a face-mask.  Wearing a face-mask is truly a sign of appreciation for our healthcare professionals, first responders and essential workers.

Dr. Seuss was born 116 years ago today!

Dr. Seuss was born 116 years ago on this day of March the 2nd. I have paid homage to his day of birth in prior posts here on Blogger and I've also referenced several of Seuss's quotations within a number of my blog entries, all of this can be referred to by clicking here.

In any event, on this day of Seuss's birth, I find myself thinking about his first book, which was titled, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (the book featured in the image atop this posting) and something I've addressed in prior posts here on Blogger.

According to a number of sources, including Wikipedia, "At least 20 publishers rejected the book before Geisel ran into an old college classmate, who had just become juvenile editor at Vanguard Press. Vanguard agreed to publish the book, and it met with high praise from critics upon release, though sales were not as impressive." 

Sunday's Sequel: Answering the Question, "How low can you go?"

In my Thanksgiving Eve entry here on  Blogger, I mentioned warnings that unusually high winds could prevail on Thanksgiving, causing the grounding of balloons who were set to "march" (fly) in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

And as I said in my subsequent entry which I published on the day after the official holiday (where I featured the Macy's balloon who is rendered in the likeness of Chase from Paw Print), "Indeed, there were VERY high winds, but the balloons were allowed to participate..."

I concluded my aforementioned entry by stating, "THE QUESTION OF THE DAY WAS: 'How low can you go?' Stay tuned for photo-ops (in subsequent entries) re the answer to this question!"

Now, two days after I published that entry, I'm still not sure how low a Macy's ballon can go, but I am able to give you a pictorial accounting of what happened in the case of several of them.

In the first picture atop this entry, Sinclair's Dinosaur, can be seen heading south down CPW during this year's parade.

It's May 15th again...

IMAGE CREDIT

... and on this date I always think of Horton and the Jungle of Nool (as evidenced in selected blog posts published on May 15 in 2012 and on May 15th in 2017 as well as on May15th in 2018). Bravo! Bravo! Well done, as always, Dr. Seuss!

December is here. Time has flewn again.

The Dr. Seuss quotation that is superimposed over views of my rooftop garden pretty much says it all regarding today's date! I've referenced the quote a number of times within my entries here on Blogger, including one that I published seven years ago today, where I included the same image which is atop this posting.

Talk about time flewing! In any event, within the aforementioned post, I discussed how it seems that on one given day, Juan V and I are winterizing my garden and before we know it, on another given day, we are de-winterizing  it!

Has the Mandarin has gotten out of Dodge?

I saw this You Tube video in my newsfeed and wanted to share it with you, dear reader, especially since I've blogged about the unusual avian visitor featured in this clip.

I'm very thankful that I got to see the now famous Mandarin duck while he was visiting Central Park, especially since it appears he is gone. If you'd like to read about my experiences seeing this duck pls chk out my blog posts where you will also find a number of photographs of this amazing bird.

Now in his likely permanent absence, I'm trying to heed the wisdom in a quote of Dr. Seuss, “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

ADDENDUM: Nearly a little over eight hours after publishing this entry, I'm happy to report that the video included here may have been unintentionally broadcasting fake news — or premature news — for I received a notification that the Mandarin duck has once again been seen spending time in Central Park!

"The time has flewn..."

I've shared this Dr. Seuss quote but it bears repeating, because after today, we only have twenty-nine days left until we reach the half-way mark for the half year eve for 2018.

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE JUNGLE of NOOL (Tuesday's Truths for WK 84)

On the 15th of May, in the jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
He was splashing . . . enjoying the jungle’s great joys . . .
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

So Horton stopped splashing. He looked towards the sound.
“That’s funny,” thought Horton. “There’s no one around.”
Then he heard it again! Just a very faint yelp
As if some tiny person were calling for help.
“I’ll help you,” said Horton. “But who are you? Where?”
He looked and he looked. He could see nothing there
But a small speck of dust blowing past though the air.

Ah, another Tuesday is upon us! And, if you follow this blog you know, that (ever since July 19, 2016) if it's Tuesday, I am publishing (today is the 91st one) a segment (blog entry) in my Tuesday's Truth's series. 

In my very early years on Blogger, on this day of the week, I published a different series which was called "If its Tuesday, it must be tumblr." 

Much of today's post was included in my May 15th 2012 blog post for that series but it bears repeating here as today is not just any Tuesday: Today, is May the 15th, an important day in the jungle of Nool, as evidenced in the text posted above written by Dr. Seuss, an author I have referred to a number of times here on Blogger.

And, if you aren't taking a trip to the jungle of Nool, here's a link to all of my posts on nybg's tumblr (that were written a number of years ago) they're really cool.

Learning Perseverance on Dr. Seuss's Birthday

Dr. Seuss was born 114 years ago on this day of March the 2nd. I have paid homage to his day of birth in prior posts here on Blogger and I've also referenced several of Seuss's quotations within a number of my blog entries, all of this can be referred to by clicking here.

In any event, on this day of Seuss's birth, I find myself thinking about his first book, which was titled, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (the book featured in the image atop this posting)

According to a number of sources, including Wikipedia, "At least 20 publishers rejected the book before Geisel ran into an old college classmate, who had just become juvenile editor at Vanguard Press. Vanguard agreed to publish the book, and it met with high praise from critics upon release, though sales were not as impressive." 

Knowing this fact re Seuss's initial experiences with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, has been somewhat helpful in my consoling Cam (the cardinal who is now a published author), whenever she is ready to throw up her wings in despair (as seen below where she is expressing her feelings from the floor of my urban garden) regarding how things are, or are not, progressing with her book series, Words In Our Beak.

CAM, THE NARRATOR OF "WIOB"

A photo of the hardcover format of volume one of her series can be seen in the next photograph.

SEE PRESS RELEASE

The picture was taken by Chris Deatherage, who is my web-site designer and the book's formatter.

While the book has received five star reviews from a few of those who have purchased it, I cannot seem to get certain people — in spite of their promise to do so — to write a review.

Additionally, I've been unable to get anyone who works in fields related to the reviewing of books, or who work in fields related to ornithology to review volume one of Cam's book.

This really frustrates Cam! However, I continue to remind her to focus on the progress that she has made with her book endeavors — in spite of the lack of notoriety she seems to believe is holding her back from ever being taken seriously as an author.

I'm truly amazed that in spite of all her obstacles Cam has completed volume two of her book series and that Chris Deatherage has a done a fantastic job in formatting it!

Please stay tuned for details, but meanwhile take a look at the cover (posted below) for volume two of Words In Our Beak.

SEE PRESS RELEASE

ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The digital versions of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold.

MY BOOK SERIES

Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books. Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

This Particular Friday's "FANTASTICK" Fact: "Deep in December it's nice to remember The fire of September that made you mellow."

Before the official onset of summer 2017, which was Wednesday, June 21, 2017, I told myself that I would make sure that I went to the beach once a week. There are many beaches near Manhattan and all of them are normally accessible by public transportation.

However, this summer getting to any beach via public transportation was impossible due to major construction on all railroad and subway stations. I wrote about the scenario in a previous post here on Blogger which you may refer to by clicking here.

I had also hoped to work around that transportation problem by tandem cycling to The Rockaways (a beach off the Atlantic Ocean) in the borough of Queens, but our plans were cancelled due to heavy rain.

And now September is here and I have not been to the beach. This fact brings the Dr. Seuss quote seen in the image atop this entry to my mind.

I do realize that one can still go to the beach in the fall. In fact, in bygone years, I cycled with my captain to the beach at Coney Island (in Brooklyn) during the month of October.

The Fifteenth Of May (among other things)

In honor of this date, of May the 15th, I'm giving a shout out to the  delightful Dr. Seuss's book known as Horton Hears A Who (pictured above); which, is a book I quoted in a prior entry here on Blogger in 2012. As you may know, this book begins with the following words:

"On the fifteenth of May
In the jungle of Nool
In the heat of the day
In the cool of the pool,
He was splashing... enjoying the jungle's great joys...
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise."

According to Seuss Blog, "the date at the beginning of Horton Hears a Who, May 15th, is mentioned, not only  in this book, but also in The Seven Lady Godivas and in If I Ran the Zoo. It was also the day that Seuss was elected as editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth school newspaper, The Jack-O’-Lantern."

As for the moral in Horton Hears A Who, the line, "A person's a person, no matter how small...," came to my mind this past weekend, after I noticed that the Continus Coggygria (Smoke Bush), (a shrub which I've had in my rooftop garden since 2006) had produced numerous flowers which can be seen in the following pictures.

Upon my seeing my Smokey Bush's flowers, I put on spin on Seuss's wisdom and proclaimed, a flower is a flower no matter how small.

One Reason that "April is the cruelest month."

The sweet dark-eyed junco seen in the images atop this entry where the creature seems to be eyeing me from atop the ledge which surrounds my rooftop garden, is one of the reasons that I think the poet, T.S. Eliot, may have been correct in saying, "April is the cruelest month."

As you may know, dear reader, that particular line comes from Eliot's poem, The Waste Land, which I've referred to in bygone years in entries here on Blogger. And indeed, April can be cruel for those who live in the United States, as that's when taxes are due.

But for me, the main reason this month is cruel, at least in the area where I live (NYC), is that it is the month when the dark-eyed juncoes, after spending every day in my garden since the prior November, leave town, and do not return again until the following November.

The pictures posted above as well as the one directly below,

were taken on the first of April, which the last time I saw a junco at my place. Not a nice April Fool's joke — this bird type usually stays until the middle of the month, but I had a feeling based on their behavior that they might leave earlier than is their standard.

And even though they have returned in November (sometimes they even do so in late October), for the past four and a half years, I always have a fear that they won't survive their journey and I might not see them again! In any event, the reason I had a feeling that the juncoes were going to leave early this year is that they spent the last two days of March doing some serious flora-ing in my garden.

March 2nd 2017

One hundred and thirteen years ago today, the author/illustrator, Dr. Seuss was born on this day of March the second. I have appreciated many of his writings as well as his illustrations, and I have written about his work here on Blogger, as well as on Facebook, and tumblr. Last year in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, I posted the same clip that is atop today's entry. Within last year's blog post, I also included some cool facts re how Seuss came to the use of rhyme within his works, as well as how he got his first book, And To Think It Saw it On Mulberry Street published. If you'd like to refer to that particular entry, please click here.

According to Holiday Insights (HI), other well known persons born on March 2nd include: Joel Roberts Poinsett (b 1779). (He wa)s an American Ambassador to Mexico brought Poinsettias to America; Desi Arnaz (b 1917). (He was most known as) "Ricky Ricardo" on "I Love Lucy;" Mikhail Gorbachev, (b 1931). (He was the) leader of USSR."  HI points out that Karen Carpenter, the singer, was also born on this day in 1950.

Throwback Thursday: The Week After T'giving

I generally don't use the term, "Throwback Thursday," but there is always a first time, and after all, today marks a week since the holiday known as Thanksgiving was celebrated. The video posted atop this blog post is one I found on You tube and it features one of the bands that marched down the streets of NYC in the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The view that can be seen here is from a vantage point that is much further south than from where I viewed the parade.

Remembering Dr. Seuss on His Birthday

One hundred and twelve years ago, #DrSeuss was born on this day of March the second. 
I have appreciated many of his writings as well as his illustrations, and I have written about his work here on Blogger as well as tumblr. But it is  #DrSeuss's perseverance with his first book, "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street," 

that keeps me going, as I try and promote — as well as sell —  the book I wrote with Cam, Words In Our Beak Volume One.

Honoring & Remembering the Service of Others Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris)

This past Wednesday was the twelfth anniversary of the 9-11-11 attacks and in bygone years I have dedicated blog posts (including ones here on Blogger) to those who lost lives in the attacks as well as to those who mourn losses as a result of that tragedy.

This year I acknowledged the anniversary on TLLG's FB Page as well as in an entry on hometalk. Both of the aforementioned posts included the photograph atop today's blogger entry. The image is of One World Trade Center (formerly known as The Freedom Tower), and it was taken by yours truly from a vantage point on the greenway along Manhattan's westside, slightly north of the Christopher Street entrance.

It is hard for me to believe that so much time has passed since that horrific day, but indeed time has passed and the construction taking place at the WTC site (including the building of One World Trade Center) is a physical indication of this fact.

During this year's 9-11-01 coverage, I heard the tail-end of a radio interview where the guests on the program were two brothers, who had lost someone in the attacks, and who were focusing their energy on efforts to promote the idea of September Eleventh being dedicated as a day to SERVE OTHERS, in memory of those both living and deceased, who served (by giving of their time and talents) to others on that fateful day and in the aftermath.

The position of these brothers is that while we still mourn the dead, and while we still feel for those who now have illnesses related to 9-11, a road to true healing is to also focus on how folks came together to help others in their time of need. 

One of the examples they cited was that of a man who came to NYC from Michigan — on a bus — to honor this year's 9-11 by helping folks (who were strangers to him) rebuild their homes (in Staten Island) which had been damaged as a result of a hurricane named Super Storm Sandy.

During the interview it was also brought up how service to others should not be limited to a one day dedication, nor does "service" need to always be in the form of a large gesture. Small gestures of service are essential too; and it is important to offer them as well as to honor them.

In my lifetime, I have been blessed by my interactions with a number of folks, and in today's entry, I'd like to acknowledge how my recent encounters with others have helped me to resolve (hopefully) an issue I am having feeding birds in my urban (NYC) garden; hence, my title for today's post: Heartfelt Thanks to Ms. Susan Grimstead of WBU-NJ (as well as Sarah, D. William, Robert and Chris).