A Poets View

Born in Portland Maine on February 27, 1807, Longfellow was and still is one of the best loved poets of all time.  Henry was an active boy, sometimes quick tempered but always sensitive, impressionable and creative.  He loved song and dance but did not enjoy excitement.  He began school at 3 and by the time he was 8 he studied halfway through Latin grammar.  His Father’s extensive library of Shakespeare, Milton, Pope and Dryden, just to name a few, lent to his early curiosity of poetry and writing.

At the early age of 13 he penned and had his first poem published by the Portland Gazette titled “The Battle of Lovell’s Pond.” The poem was highly criticized at that time for being unsymmetrical and and unoriginal.  However Longfellow was not discouraged.  By age 15 he passed the exams for Bowdoin College and studied with well known writers to include Hawthorne.  Although his Father wanted Henry to study law he spent a year at Cambridge college in study of general literature.

His extensive travel and study of foreign language lent to his receiving a professorship at Cambridge and Bowdoin.  Throughout his life he wrote poetry and shared his love of words and language within the genre.  He was a champion of the down trodden and those less fortunate.  He lived his passion and as a result we are left with an exceptional anthology of his works to be savored and shared by generations to come.

He is my favorite poet.  I’ve read all of his works and can testify that I enjoy all of his writings.  I do have a few favorites such as The Day Is Done, The Arrow And The Song, Woods In Winter  and Hymn To The Night.  He was passionate about his work and it shows through each and every collection.  I celebrate his birthday today and everyday as he, through his poetry, allows me to display my creativity and share my love for this craft.  Happy Birthday Henry.

Based on Longfellow’s poem Evangeline, Mexican actress Dolores Del Rio gives an outstanding and passionate performance in this DVD aptly titled Evangeline.  It is heartwarming, passionate and will tug on the heartstrings.  It provides a riveting and action packed sequel to one of the best loved poems ever written.

The video above is a photo and text montage of Longfellow’s poem The Rainy Day.  Enjoy!

I have always been a very visual person and as such I really enjoy photography.  I am not a professional photographer but I love taking photos.

I normally shoot nature scenes though I gravitate towards anything that is unique and speaks to me in some way.  I don’t use photoshop for two reasons.  First, I like my photos to look real.  The only aspect of my Ulead Photo Software I use is focus.  Second,  I have absolutely no idea how to use photoshop.  My Ulead software is fast and easy.

The above photo I took during a Dale Chihuly exhibition at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco.  It was a spectacular show and I was able to snap some great shots of his artwork.  You can view more of my photos at my website Nature Scapes photo album.

I bought the Aiptek DV5900 camera as shown above about three years ago from the Home Shopping Network.  I paid a little more than the price listed through the Buy Now link above.  What I liked about the camera is that is has so many features.  It is a digital camera, video camera, mp3 player, audio recorder and webcam.  It’s an all in one compact camera that can fit right in your purse.  It comes with batteries however I suggest that you buy rechargeable batteries.  I use this camera daily and took it on my trip to Hong Kong where I snapped over two hundred pictures and about a dozen videos all with the same batteries I had charged right before I left.  The pictures came out fantastic and can be viewed on my Hong Kong website at My Hong Kong Adventure.

It comes with the Ulead software for digital editing and also comes with the USB and Audio/Video cables.  With the audio/video cables, I am able to connect the camera to my DVR and record video from the camera to DVD disks.  I can then play them back on my DVD player or computer.  I really love this little camera and it takes fantastic pictures.  I just recently used it to photograph an entire store worth of merchandise to build a website.  It has yet to fail me.  I also like the fact that I can listen to my song list right on the camera’s mp3 mode.  I have everything I need in one neat little package.

A cell phone these days is a necessity if for emergencies alone.  A while back before I had a cell phone I thought it wasn’t necessary at all.  I had friends telling me you need to have one even if you just use it for emergencies.  I didn’t listen until I had an emergency and found myself without a phone.  I was coming home late from work one evening waiting for a bus when someone followed me.  No matter where I walked or moved to get away from him he would follow and stand right next to me.  Long story short I found my way to a restaurant where the owners scared him off and I was able to get home.  That experience scared me into buying a cell phone.

I didn’t want any monthly contracts or bills.  I just wanted something I could add minutes to when needed and use it for emergencies.  I did much research and found Tracfone.  What I liked about it was the simplicity.  I ordered the phone online and it came with detailed instructions and everything I needed to get started.  

I did not have to sign any contracts, I don’t have monthly bills and I just add minutes online when I need them.  You can also buy minute cards at some retailers though I like doing it online.

This particular phone is very sleek and stylish and has all the bells and whistles you need these days.  These phones are also great for teenagers, I bought my nephew one  because there aren’t any monthly bills.  They cannot rack up any charges.  You simply buy the minutes when you need them.

I wanted to share this with you today because I think cell phones are important especially for emergencies so if you don’t have one check this out.