This bit of Internet silliness comes to me from Trina:
The Rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Present an image of martial discord from whatever period or situation you’d like.
Seven random/weird facts about me:
1. I’m pretty sure that Internet memes such as this one exist mainly to help people build web traffic to their blogs.
2. I’ve visited 48 of the 50 U.S. states, missing only Alaska and Mississippi.
3. I have lived in Oak Ridge for slightly less than half of my life.
4. I once took a sauna fueled by a wood fire, then ran stark naked through the snow in subzero weather to jump into a very cold lake through a hole cut into the ice.
5. I was much younger when item 4 happened.
6. When I was in elementary school (around 3rd and 4th grade), I was fascinated by archaeology and read extensively about discoveries in and of ancient Egypt, Troy, and Minoan Crete.
7. My graduate school studies included two semesters’ study of Quaternary pollen analysis.
I choose to present a verbal image of martial discord, in the form of the poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1870):
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
“Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
Finally, in the spirit of sharing, I will tag the following (was 4; now just 3 due to technical problems at one blog; maybe I’ll add more later):
For a long time, there have been hints that the long-awaited redevelopment of the Oak Ridge City Center (Mall) might begin soon.
The latest hint comes from the Oak Ridge Fire Department, which has announced:
“Starting MONDAY, JUNE 16, the OR MALL common areas will be closed to the public. Exterior doors will be locked and exits from the anchor stores will not be used, with one exception. Goody’s has to keep their mall exit as an emergency exit only temporarily. IF customers have to use the mall exit during an emergency, they will exit into a roped off area that will lead them to the exit corridor between Penney’s and Goody’s. This situation is temporary – a new exit corridor is being constructed directly from Goody’s to the existing corridor. The mall office area, security area, and anchor stores (JC Penney, Goody’s, Sears, Belks) will be the only areas open to the public….
…The demolition of the mall areas is being planned right now….”
This is always a busy time of the year. Some of the items listed on my calendar are:
Thursday, June 12, 2008 – City Council’s “Night Out”,, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Civic Center A/B and Club Rooms. The official announcement says: “Council’s Night Out provides an opportunity for City Council members and City staff to meet one-on-one with citizens. The meeting’s emphasis will be Housing and Neighborhoods, although attendees are welcome to discuss any topic of their choosing. Appointments are not necessary.” I expect that red light cameras, proposed commercial development in Woodland, and the ongoing construction on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge (including the fate of the maple trees in front of the Rolling Hills Garden Apartments) will be hot topics.
Monday, June 16, 2008 – City Council meets at 7 pm in the Municipal Courtroom. The agenda includes red-light cameras and proposed commercial development at the edge of Woodland. ‘Nuf said…
Friday and Saturday, June 20 and 21, 2008 – Secret City Festival; it gets bigger every year. One new feature this year: the Secret City Festival is going “green” — aiming for “zero waste.” Organizers of the zero-wast Earth Day event back in April will help with collection and sorting of recycling and compostables, but they are looking for volunteers (this is something kids can do!) to help make this happen. If you are interested, e-mail Stan Duncan (stan dot duncan at comcast dot net) or call 481-6050 or call Angie Palau 223-8267.
July 4th, 2008 – Celebration on the Fourth on the Melton Hill Lake lakefront – Activities start at 2:30 p.m. with a wakeboard competition, followed by musical entertainment beginning at 5 p.m. and fireworks at 10 p.m. This seems almost too good to be true — while the city is putting on the fireworks display, local promoter Mike Brown of M&M Productions USA is (with the help of several sponsors) supplying the other entertainment at no cost to the city!
I do have a couple of misgivings: (1) In years past, I recall that fireworks displays on the lake resulted in traffic jams. This year there are supposed to be shuttle buses to offsite parking at the Roane State Community College campus — I hope that arrangement works… (2) Traditionally, the Oak Ridge Community Band puts on a well-attended outdoor concert (featuring patriotic music) at the Civic Center music pavilion before the fireworks. I expect that this event — along with the change in the fireworks location — will eat into their audience. On the other, there may not be much overlap between the audiences for the community band and the musical entertainment out at the lake.
