Hello, fan(s)! I thought I’d provide a little more value for your newsletter dollar (OK, the newsletter is free, but still…) and start to roll up a week’s worth of Rhyme for the News postings while also including more of the background from the news stories that inspired the verses.
This week was all creature-centric: one news-verse about a spider, and one news-verse about a snake:
Spinning the Hits (posted April 19, 2021)
This one was inspired by a report out of M.I.T. that scientists had created computer- and laser-generated simulations of a particular spider’s web, and extrapolated some interesting conclusions and aural experiences. From the article I read:
Buehler’s team used laser imaging to create a 3D map of webs made by tropical tent-web spiders (Cyrtophora citricola). They identified each thread’s vibrating frequency through its size and elasticity, then converted those frequencies into ones that can be heard by humans. By piecing the visual and auditory layers together, users connect the sounds to the threads they see, mimicking a spider surveying its world, he says.
The team made some artistic decisions, such as using a synthesiser with a harp-like sound. Threads that are closer to the listener or connected to many others sound louder than others. For Buehler, who has spent hours listening to the noises the virtual webs make, they no longer just sound dissonant, but begin to have identifiable structure.
“We believe we have an accurate reflection of what the spider would ‘see’,” he says.
[Read more here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2274185-the-frequencies-of-a-vibrating-spider-web-have-been-made-into-music/#ixzz6srwoa0FK]
There’s an intriguing video found in the link above, with a fascinating sample of what a stroll across the web “sounds” like to the spiders. And just in case you didn’t catch the allusion I was making through the illustration accompanying the verse, or the mention of the non-existent “Charlotte’s Greatest Hits” playlist – I thought of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web and her unsung efforts in saving Wilbur the Pig’s life.
Salad Daze (posted April 23, 2021)
Both AP News and Reuters have “oddities” sections as part of their websites. AP is where I initially read the story of a man in Sydney, Australia, who purchased a bag of romaine lettuce (which is referred to as “cos” in other locales), and, after he brought it home, noticed something crawling in the bag. It turned out to be a snake, and not a benign species, either:
It was a venomous pale-headed snake that authorities say made an 870-kilometer (540-mile) journey to Sydney from a packing plant in the Australian city of Toowoomba wrapped in plastic with two heads of cos lettuce.
The refrigerated supermarket supply chain likely lulled the cold-blooded juvenile into a stupor until White bought the lettuce at an ALDI supermarket on Monday evening and rode his bicycle home with salad and snake in his backpack.
[Read more here: https://apnews.com/article/oddities-general-news-snakes-sydney-dda65f15a3264b8546d8360c32cd2a13]
I’ve read another report recently of a frog found in a packaged salad — while equally revolting, I don’t think a frog in a bag of salad greens poses as great a threat to one’s continued existence as a venomous snake does, yes?
What’s Next?
I had the idea for RFTN a few years ago. I posted a handful of verses before redirecting my creative impulses toward some other writing projects (primarily, the 600 or so verses I posted at TheTrumpPoems.com). When Trump exited the scene (well… the White House, at least), I still felt the urge to write about current events but had had enough of politics for the time being. So, I resurrected the concept of RFTN in January of this year, generally posting 2-3 verses each week about unique and unusual news stories and trying to bring a humorous spin to exploring them. I post them on the website (links to individual verses are also in the titles above), on a Facebook page, and link to them via Twitter and Instagram. I also jumped on the Substack newsletter bandwagon a few months ago; this is my first enhanced-content edition.. TikTok is coming next, perhaps?
My long-term goal is to develop this concept into a syndicated newspaper column. I’m a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and I paid particular attention to a presentation at their most recent conference about how to grow a successful specialty column. I’m drafting my pitch letter and compiling a list of prospective outlets, so please keep your fingers crossed for me over the next few weeks!
What would be helpful, Dear Reader, is for you to help me expand Rhyme for the News’s social media presence by, of course, liking the posts as you come across them on the website or social media or WordPress or this newsletter – but also sharing any of them that tickled your fancy. This will help build up my following and make a much stronger appeal to those editors and syndicates I reach out to.
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I’m always on the lookout for stories to versify – something that can engage interest across the spectrum without alienating any particular interest groups (except, perhaps, for the unions representing spiders and snakes). Please feel free to send a link to anything you think might be suitable by using this contact form on the RFTN website.
See you again next week!
JB