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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by : Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting


Jewish World Review

Poetry in action

By Randy A. Salas


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) Have you ever taken an online personality quiz? Yes, they're just for fun, but surely you've wondered how accurate they are, even as they insist that you'd be a St. Bernard if you were a dog or Mr. Spock if you were a "Star Trek" character. The latest such quiz to be sent Web Search's way -- What Poetry Form Are You? -- provided perfect fodder for a column about April being National Poetry Month. I was in the middle of taking it when a bona-fide poet happened by the Web Search office. You can probably guess where this is going.

The setup

British poet Josephine Dickinson recently released her first U.S. book, "Silence Fell," published with the help of Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Galway Kinnell. The two writers appeared last week in the Twin Cities as part of Talking Volumes, which is co-sponsored by the Star Tribune. So it wasn't a complete surprise when Dickinson turned up in the newsroom in the company of the newspaper's book editor, Sally Williams. Upon meeting Dickinson, whom I had seen at the literary event, I told the two women about the quiz, What Poetry Form Are You? Williams lit up. Wouldn't it be fun, she said, if Dickinson took the quiz? Capital idea. The poet good-naturedly accepted the invitation.

The quiz

One quality that makes What Poetry Form Are You? (quiz.ravenblack.net/poeticform.pl) such an endearing quiz is the loopy questions that it asks. "What parts of the 'Lord of the Rings' books did you skip?"Which of the little piggies behaved in a sensible manner?"The best sort of food comes in ... ?" There's no way to decipher what it's trying to find out, which is probably the point. It could be random, for all the quiz-taker knows. But Dickinson gamely worked through the 10 questions with a constant smile and occasional befuddlement. She once started to read "The Lord of the Rings" books but could never finish, so she answered, "I haven't read it yet." She thought the little piggy who cried, "Wee, wee, wee," all the way home acted most sensibly. The best kind of food definitely comes in lumps, said the poet, who runs a sheep farm. The other seven questions included one in which she expressed concern that dropping even a cream bun off of a 66-story building might hurt someone below. Then we pressed the button that said, "What Poetry Form Am I?"

The result

Dickinson's answer came in the form of a poem, as the result always does with this delightful quiz:

I'm the lai, with no sort Of grave, solemn thought, And I Will never be caught By miseries sought, Nor sigh; Where battles are fought Or arguments brought, I fly.

Dickinson, Williams and I looked at one another with the same thought: "What's a lai?" We looked it up online and found that it was a narrative form popular in northern Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Five-syllable couplets are followed by a two-syllable line, but rhyme patterns do not repeat among its indeterminate number of stanzas. The answer is in the form of a lai. Dickinson seemed delighted by the result. She and Williams agreed that the answer described the spirit of her poetry, if not its form.

The follow-up

So how does a nonpoet -- that would be your friendly Web Search geek -- fare in matters of poetry forms? According to the first two lines of my lengthy answer:

I am heroic couplets; most precise And fond of order. Planned and structured. Nice.

So, I'm a heroic couplet. Based on the question about the little piggies, I guess that's better than being a heroic cutlet.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.



Previously:

In the news
That's life
Download this
Nature blogs spring to life
That was then; this is now
Is your number up?
Listen up
“300” more than Ancient history
Looking for E.T.
Put on a smiley face :-)
Speaking of accents
In the news
AnsaThat finds its answer
On top of the world
Another day, another dollar
Prank you very much
How much is enough?
Sound off
Readers have questions, concerns
Quick, give me a word
Driving you crazy
The joy of Bob Ross
Online goes prime time
You don't need to know this
Remembering the creator of Scooby-Doo
Do-it-yourself art
‘Leave me alone!’
Special deliveries
Weight-loss journeys
Daily routines
Working without a map
Just you watch!
New year, new diet
Your mail answered
Chatting: Central characters
Wonders never cease
Secret messages
For your consideration
Freaky food forays
Best of 2006 online
Missed marketing
H.G. Wells’ legacy endures
A quest for dragons
E-mails you've sent
In the news
It's free!
Websites that help you find books that are right for you
Coping with illness
Some serious face time
Some serious face time
In reply to your e-mail ...
Turn your handwriting into a computer-based font that will allow you to churn out homespun greetings
Music for everyone
'Elusive planet' can be viewed clearly from Earth with the naked eye
Central characters
E-mail @ 35
Idle chatter
Funny money
Classic artwork in motion
For an unusual Thanksgiving
Your slip is showing
Best of the worst
Test your mind power
Remain anonymous

© 2007, Star Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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