Saturday, September 4, 2010

Seventeen Syllables of Shame

Yesterday, I abused Stephanie Thornton’s Haiku Blogfest for my own purposes. I feel my actions were justified because I was not promoting myself so much as I was promoting a way for the other blogfest participants and readers to win some cold hard cash.1 Yet, while some people considered my entry witty or creative, others were less than amused.

It has been said that all great art is controversial. And now, thanks to my little stunt yesterday, I have proven that art that is mediocre at best can be controversial, too. (See? I did it for science!)

Anyway, to make up for my insolence, I shall share five more (5! more!) haiku today. Come, let us celebrate Day 2 of the Haiku Blogfest!

First, here’s one related to my novel:
What is that I hear?
Invisible monkeys? Crap!
This doesn’t bode well.
Second, a twist on traditional haiku imagery:
The bough sinks lower
Claws grip the cherry blossoms
Hang in there, kitty
Third, the one I performed at my sister’s wedding last year:
This is a haiku
For both Josh and Naomi
On their wedding day
Then, a short fairy tale:
Once upon a time,
In a land far, far away,
Stuff happened. The End.
And we’ll end with a true story:
Beneath the willow
A cool breeze, or winds of change?
Tomorrow I wed.
If you haven’t had enough yet, you can also check out all the ninja haiku (and the limerick!) submitted for my other contest earlier this year.

So, am I absolved?

(Note: I will announce the winners of the contest at the heart of this controversy later today.)


1 Which is neither cold, nor hard, nor cash. (Amazon gift cards in their digital form are more warm and fuzzy cash-equivalents, don’t you think?)

16 comments:

  1. Ha! I'd say you've made up for your sins, Nate.

    For the record, I took your haiku yesterday in the spirit it was intended :)

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  2. Haha! I didn't get around to everyone yesterday so I missed the first. But that was pretty darn creative in my book!

    I love the fairy tale haiku- I might use that on my daughter the next time she asks for a story!

    And congrats on your upcoming wedding!

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  3. Thanks, Franklin! Likewise, I grasped the spirit of your comment, but just had to respond in a semi-snarky fashion. It's what I do.

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  4. Thanks Stephanie, first of all for hosting such an excellent blogfest (17 syllables is much more my speed than those 500 words 'fests), and also for the congrats on my upcoming (and extremely windy) ceremony!

    Oh, and if your daughter asks for something longer, let me know, and I'll try to come up with a comparable limerick.

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  5. Absolutely absolved! And I second Stephanie's Congratulations! Best wishes!

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  6. hahha thanks for visiting my blog
    I love all your haikus.
    The answer to your question 'hot sauce or mild relish' is 'neither- its wasabi'

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  7. You made me laugh out loud a few times! Love the fairy tale one! Just the way my students like to write stories at the beginning of the year :)

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  8. I missed the haiku yesterday (dangit, coulda had a gift card), but I'd say you're absolved. Your second haiku made me laugh! And you've intrigued me with the first one.

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  9. I wouldn't say I have the power of absolution but those were definatly some highly entertaining Haiku.

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  10. The last two were my favs! Oh, who knew haiku could be so darn interesting? These blogfests are all about promoting each others' blogs anyway and having fun at the same time. I saw no harm done, and the hostess didn't have a prob with it ;)

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  11. These are brilliant! And, woo-hoo, on your upcoming willow-wedding. How cool is that?

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  12. Nate - Quite funny!!!

    You are married now
    Rose-colored glasses in place?
    Love lasts a litetime

    Congrats!!!

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  13. Man oh man - I think between the haiku fest, Karen's barbecue and a visit from the hurricane fairy - yah that's right - you heard me correctly you big palooka - hurricane shcmurricane - what a wimp - but I digress . Between all these I didn't get to everyone's haiku thingy's but I just saw your first and your make up ones and now you're married. jeesh - what a week!
    I like all of them - the crass commerical one and the poignant kitty one which if you think about it is probably more commercial in some ways than the crassly commercial one since many thousands of nutbars in the blogosphere are crazy for kitties but I digress.
    Thanks! Have a tequilla mockingbird (tequila & grapefruit juice with a jolt of blackberry juice)
    Jan Morrison

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  14. Well, I'm finally back (online) after my willow-wedding, and I'm glad you all enjoyed my last haiku written as a bachelor. 'Twas a very fun blogfest, even if I can barely remember back that far.

    Oh, and RaShelle... yes, the rose-colored glasses are firmly in place. In fact, I'm going to see if I can get them surgically attached.

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  15. I'd really appreciate if you share a link to other resources that have data about this theme of course if you are aware of some.

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    1. And I'd really appreciate if you stopped being a spammer who commented on posts over two years old. But I have a feeling neither of us is going to get what we want.

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