Let It Flow - Happy Hydropower Appreciation Day

Appreciation ● \uh-PREE-shee-ay-shun\ ● Noun – 1a: a feeling or expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude I want to express my appreciation for all you've done. A small token of our appreciation b: judgment, evaluation; especially: a favorable critical estimate c: sensitive awareness; especially: recognition of aesthetic values a class in music appreciation 2: increase in value

Power in the night.

Hydro appreciation.

Always there for you

No Monkeying Around - It's Gonna Be Cold

Devoid • \dih-VOYD\ • Adjective - Being without a usual, typical, or expected attribute or accompaniment.

Fall’s cold grip, summer’s gone

Devoid of mercy, snow comes

Snows blanket the hills

Spike Jones' Diamond Cigar Ring

Götterdämmerung • \gher-ter-DEM-uh-roong\ • noun – collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence & disorder; broadly: downfall

Götterdämmerung

Bad music. Unlike Wagner
It’s more like Spike Jones

Public Power - It's Easy Being Green

Sodality • \soe-DALL-uh-tee\ • Noun - 1: brotherhood, community 2: an organized society or fellowship; specifically: a devotional or charitable association of Roman Catholic laity

Pull together folks

Public Power sodality

We are the greenest

When the Chips Are Down

Serendipity • \sair-un-DIP-uh-tee\ • noun - The faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also: an instance of this.

Serendipity

Dorito with extra “cheese”
A tasty tidbit

A Country Music Encounter

Imagine a Thai restaurant. Country music as the soundtrack. An awkward first date:

First date, spicy food

Pad Thai, three chords and the truth
Won’t see her again

Yummy Gruel - May I Have More?

Snivel • \SNIV-vull\ • Verb - 1: to run at the nose 2: to snuff mucus up the nose audibly: snuffle 3: to cry or whine with snuffling 4: to speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner

Some snivel and whine

“Please sir, can I have some more?”
Loud Voice: “You want more?”

The Sound, The Fury!

Holus-bolus ● \hoh-lus-BOH-lus\ ● Adverb – All at once

POTUS news presser

The holus bolus shouting
Sound, Fury, Nothing

Straight as an Arrow It Flies

Lithe • \LIE-th\ • Adjective - 1: easily bent or flexed 2: characterized by easy flexibility and grace; also: athletically slim

The blurred white arrow
Released from the archer’s lithe bow
Flies true to the mark

The Sun God's Monday Nap

Helios ● \HEE-lee-uss\ ● Noun – The god of the sun in Greek mythology.

Helios asleep

A sun god's break from hard work

Observe. Don’t Panic

The End of the World as We Know It

Apocryphal • \uh-POCK-ruff-full\ • Adjective - 1: of doubtful authenticity: spurious.

The end of the world
Hear my apocryphal tale
Oops, got the wrong date

Men in Rubber Suits on a Rampage - Ode to Godzilla

Monstrous ● \MON-struss\ ● 1: strange, unnatural 2: having extraordinary often overwhelming size 3: gigantic 3a: having the qualities or appearance of a monster 3b: teeming with monsters 4a: extraordinarily ugly or vicious: 4b: shockingly wrong or ridiculous 5: deviating greatly from the natural form or character: 6: very great — used as an intensive

Man in rubber suit
Tiny Tokyo destroyed
Monstrous behavior

Hydropower Flows Here

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Inhere ● \in-HEER\ ● verb – To be inherent: to be a fixed element or attribute.

Hail hydropower
Inhere with green attributes
Reliable too!

A Little Grass Shack...

Copacetic ● \coe-puh-SET-tick\ ● Adjective – Very satisfactory.

Relaxing gulf breeze
Tall, frosty peach daiquiri
Copacetic? Yes!

Big, White Cue Cards - Internet Memes Made Easy

Meme ● \MEEM\ ● Noun – 1: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture 2: an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media.

Those internet memes
Sometimes lead to howling screams
See Conway’s cue cards

Slip Sliding Away

Subterfuge • \SUB-terr-fyooj\ • Noun - 1: deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade 2: a deceptive device or stratagem

When racing with your luge
Beware of the subterfuge
Opponents may cheat

Busy Bee

Twee ● \TWEE\ ● Adjective – Affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint.

The twee bee’s low song

Summer’s heat, restful sunshine

Renews my tired soul

Tent City, Wall Street, NYC - Meet Me at The Bronze Bull

Ruction • \RUCK-shun\ • Noun – 1: noisy fight 2: disturbance, uproar

Occupy Wall Street
The ruction and angst prevail
Penthouse view of tents

Try to Remember, the Kind of September...

Mnemonic • \nih-MAW-nick\ • Adjective - Assisting or designed to assist memory

Mnemonic device
Password protected account
Forgot secret word

All By Myself...

Hermetic • \herr-MET-tick\ • Adjective - 1: relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness: recondite 2a: airtight b: impervious to external influence c: recluse, solitary

Lone, Hermetic Frank

Lived thus not by his choice

Garlic was his vice

Bonneville Power's Transmission System ... Firmly Rooted in the Region

Hands off the Pacific Northwest electricity transmission system...

Empirical • \imp-PEER-ick-kull\ • Adjective - 1: originating in or based on observation or experience 2: relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory 3: capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment

Don’s normative call
Ignores empirical fact
Northwest system works!

Thinking Inside the Box - The Cube Farm Edition

Cube Farm ● \KYOOB – farm \ ● Noun – An office in which employees work in cubicles. 

Gray carpet, gray walls
Life in organic cube farm
Are walls edible?

Hanging Out for the Weekend - The Hammock Edition

Abrogate • \AB-ruh-gayt\ • Verb - 1: to abolish by authoritative action: annul 2: to treat as nonexistent

Thank God it’s Friday
Abrogate weekend yard work
Time for relaxing

Take Two Tablets and Call Me in the Morning - Ten Rules to Live By

Decalogue • \DECK-uh-log\ • Noun – 1: capitalized: Ten Commandments 2: a basic set of rules carrying binding authority

Here’s My Decalogue
God said to trembling Moses
Now, use it wisely

Presidential Press Covfefe

Avoid Twitter gaffes
Compose your tweets offline first
Spell check covfefe

“Oh Captain, I Do Declare!”

Coquetry • \KOE-kut-tree\ • Noun - A flirtatious act or attitude

Fluttering lace fan
Sparkling eyes, a hidden smile
Southern coquetry

When the Bills Come Due

Conundrum • \kuh-NUN-drum\ • Noun - 1: a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun 2a: a question or problems having only a conjectural answer b: an intricate and difficult problem.

Cut, borrow, or tax

Congressional conundrum
The best we can do?

Sex, and Drugs, and Rock & Roll

Suborn ● \suh-BORN\ ● Verb – 1: to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing 2: to induce to commit perjury; also: to obtain (perjured testimony) from a witness.

Nattering Nabobs
Rock and Roll and fast cars, bah!
Youth suborned to sin.

Hot-Footing It - Blistering Speed Edition

Peregrinate ● \PER-uh-gruh-nayt\ ● Verb – To travel especially on foot: walk. To walk or travel over: traverse.

Traversing hot coals
Painful peregrination
Get the ice bucket

Grokking with Groot - Guardians of the Galaxy Edition

Grok ● \grawk\ ● Verb – To understand profoundly and intuitively.

Smart Rocket Racoon

He groks Groot’s repeated line

The line? “I am Groot”

Guardians of the Galaxy

There's a Sound Underground - Can You Dig It?

Bioturbation ● /Bye-oh-tur-BAY-shun/ ● Noun - The restructuring of sedimentary deposits (as in a lake bottom or seabed) by moving organisms (as worms and burrowing clams)

Bioturbation
Clams and worms love to do it
Dig-Dug arcade game

Gimme the Greatest, the Latest - I Want it Now

Sheeple ● \SHEE-pull\ ● Noun – People who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced:  people likened to sheep.

Sheeple or people.
Who wants the latest gadget?
Meee Meee Mee … Gimme

Deface of Defaced Art

Bathos • \BAY-thaws\ • Noun - 1a: the sudden appearance of the commonplace in otherwise elevated matter or style b: anticlimax 2: exceptional commonplaceness: triteness 3: insincere or overdone pathos: sentimentalism

Looking for humor
Bathos rears its ugly head
M Lisa moustache

Boys Beware

Hoyden • \HOY-dunn\ • Noun - A girl or woman of saucy, boisterous, or carefree behavior

Amazonians
The ultimate hoyden clan
Don’t cross them buddy

Haiku for the Marauder

It's a bird feeder
Doing at least half its job
Those dadblamed squirrels!

Miles in a Day

Sketches ● \skech-uz\ ● noun – 1a: a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene and often made as a preliminary study b: a tentative draft 2: a brief description (as of a person) or outline 3a: a short literary composition somewhat resembling the short story and the essay but intentionally slight in treatment, discursive in style, and familiar in tone b: a short instrumental composition usually for piano c: a slight theatrical piece having a single scene; especially: a comic variety act.

Miles Davis. So smooth

Kind of Blue, Sketches of Spain
This guy’s in heaven

Lineman Appreciation Day Haiku

Power is life, heat, light
Loyal linemen keep it so
Show them praise today

#nationalhaikupoetryday

Happy National Haiku Poetry Day

The art of haiku
Sometimes good, sometimes awful
Makes old minds feel young

#nationalhaikupoetryday

Catnap in God's Summer Spotlight

Grimalkin ● /grih-MAWL-kin/ ● Noun – A domestic cat; especially: an old female cat.

Bright square of sunlight
Warms grimalkin’s brittle bones
Sleeps with tiny snores

Sylvan Slumber

Sylvan /SILL-vun/ Adjective – 1 a: living or located in the woods or forest b: of, relating to, or characteristic of the woods or forest 2 a: made from wood: wooden b: abounding in woods, groves, or trees: wooded.

Shaded sylvan glade
Mottled sunlight filters through
Leaves dance in the breeze

Yes Sir. Anything Sir!

Myrmidon ● \MER-muh-dahn\ ● Noun – A loyal follower; especially: a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously.

Slavish myrmidon
Does anything asked to do
Even eat a bug

Season's Change

Deliquesce ● \dell – ih – KWESS\ ● Verb - 1: to dissolve or melt away 2: to become soft or liquid with age or maturity—used of some fungal structures (as the gills of a mushroom).

Soft warmth of summer
Deliquesce to brisk fall
Season’s last farewell

Cool Hands of Healing

Vulnerary ● \VULL-nuh-rare-ee\ ● Adjective – Used for or useful in healing wounds.

A nurse’s soft touch
Rare, vulnerary treatment
Grace from soothing hands

25 Minutes of Silence: Tribute to a Podcast

Evanescent ● \ev-uh-NESS-unt\ ● Adjective – Tending to vanish like vapor.

Silent web podcast
Evanescent verbal pause
Great time for a nap

25 Minutes of Silence

My Toes on Vacation

Sun, sea, sand and toes
Breezes ruffle unbound hair
Warm sun glows, cares flee

A Twitter Troll Trolls Garfield

Eat my lasagna
Bitter tears of my trolldom
All cats bow to me

A Woman Scorned

A friend reported a woman had run amok in her neighborhood, bashing her man's truck with a tire iron. Good mulch for a country song. Or, a horrible haiku...or two:

Version 1

Red lights. Flash warning.
Angry woman with tire iron.
Next? Gray bar motel.

Version 2

His dark, cheating heart
Angry wife, vengeful tire iron
Dents adorn his truck

Hydro Flows Here (a tribute to the Bonneville Power Administration)

If the sun doesn't shine
If the wind doesnt blow
There's always hydro

Dung Polish

Gild the lily • \GILD-thuh-LILL-ee\ • phrasal verb – To add unnecessary ornamentation to something beautiful in its own right

Fossilized Feces
Gilding the Lily of Time
History Is Changed

This was the very first Horrible Haiku done for the Energy News Digest

Motion Sickness Serenade

Deasil • \DEE-zil\ • noun – clockwise

Ride the tidal surge
Inner tube in deasil spin
Give me ‘Dramamine’

Planning on Planning

Ideate • \EYE-dee-ate\ • verb – To form an idea or conception of - to form an idea

Ideate a Plan
Put it into Motion Now
Seemed Right at the Time

The Storm, God's Broom

Maelstrom ● \MAIL-strum\ ● Noun – A situation in which there are a lot of confused activities, emotions, etc.; a dangerous area of water that moves very fast in a circle.

Storm bears down on us
Nature’s fury unleashed
Gods broom sweeps briskly

A Tree's Last Stand

Trees stand so serene
Unexpected tempest looms
Bow down to the storm

I See Stars in Your Eyes

Empyreal ● /emp-pie-REE-ull/ ● Adjective – 1: of or relating to the heavens or firmament: celestial 2: sublime.

Spangled night of stars
Sky of empyreal glory
Pinpoint lights shine bright

Piss Poor Decision

Guerdon ● /GURR-dun/ ● Noun – Reward, recompense.

See instant karma
Pee on an electric fence
A painful guerdon

Haiku Holler for Joseph Clift

Evanescent ● \ev-uh-NESS-unt\ ● Adjective – Tending to vanish like vapor.

Silent web podcast
Evanescent verbal pause
Great time for a nap

25 Minutes of Silence

Horrible Haiku for a Horrible Game

I love watching pitchers duels in baseball. But this was an...um...yeah.

Seahawks, Cardinals
Tie. Tastes like bland tofu. Meh
Bless me, Saints are next.

And yes. I know saying "bland tofu" is redundant...

Elegy for an Election

Verity ● \VER-uh-tee\ ● Noun - 1: the quality or state of being true or real 2: something (as a statement) that is true; especially: a fundamental and inevitably true value <such eternal verities as honor, love, and patriotism> 3: the quality or state of being truthful or honest.

Hued levels of truth
True verity gone missing
Tuesday’s final test

Salmon. A Soft, Light Touch

Lambent ● \LAM-bunt\ ● Adjective – 1: playing lightly on or over a surface: flickering 2: softly bright or radiant 3: marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression.

Prodigal salmon
Swims home ‘neath sharp lambent light
Ends with future’s hope

Curses. My Kids are Golden Statues

Auriferous ● \aw-RIFF-fuh-russ\ ● Adjective – Containing gold.

Gold’s evil glitter
Midas’ touch, king’s unwise choice
Auriferous curse

A Franz Kafka Thanksgiving

Kafkaesque ● /koff-kuh-ESK/ ● Adjective – Of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his writings; especially: having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality.

Thanksgiving weather
Threatens roasted turkey feast
Kafkaesque, you bet

A Snail's Tale

Ergo • \AIR-go\ • Adverb - Therefore, hence

The order was void
The cargo was escargot
Ergo it was yuck

Hauschka Head Games - A Kicker's Lament

Head games for Hauschka
Unpredictable feet too
Missed again, dammit

Farewell Sweet Princess -- Leia

Cognizance ● /KOG-nuh-zents/ ● Noun – 1: a distinguishing mark or emblem (as a heraldic bearing) 2: knowledge, awareness b: notice, acknowledgment 3: jurisdiction, responsibility

The Force is weakened
Sad cognizance, Leia’s loss
Farewell, sweet princess

Happy Thesaurus Day! (January 18)

Thesaurus ● \thi-SORE-us\ ● Noun – 1: treasury, storehouse 2a: a book of words or of information about a particular field or set of concepts; especially: a book of words & their synonyms b: a list of subject headings or descriptors usually with a cross-reference system for use in the organization of a collection of documents for reference & retrieval

It’s “Thesaurus Day”
Words morph, meanings stay the same
Roget’s pretty cool

Ode to Cooper Studios

Photographers flit
Like dragonflies on the wind
Shutterbugs in flight

Song in a Gilded Cage

Carceral ● /CAR-suh-rull/ ● Adjective – Of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison.

In a gilded cage
Songbird sings carceral blues
Tears flow, a sad song

Love's Permanent Mark

Tattoo ● \tatt-too\ ● Noun – 1: a rapid rhythmic rapping 2a: a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters b: outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment
Tattoo ● \tatt-too\ ● Verb – (used with object), tattooed, tattooing. 1: to mark (the skin) with tattoos 2: to put (tattoos) on the skin.

The love in my heart
Permanent as a tattoo
Lives forever more

Froggy's Courting Song

Sing you lonely frog
Join the aquatic chorus
Spring's sweet song of love

Hitler's Phone

Mundane ● \munn-DAYNE\ ● Adjective – 1: of, relating to, or characteristic of the world 2: characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary: commonplace

Who bought Hitler’s phone?
Mundane tool, evil’s mouthpiece
Death dispatched by wire

Bodacious Water Horse

Bodacious ● \bo –DAY-shus\ ● Adjective – 1: outright, unmistakable 2: remarkable, noteworthy 3: sexy, voluptuous

Hippopotamus
Wild Kingdom’s bodacious star
Most impressive smile

Blossom Branches to the Sky

Ramify ● \RAM-uh-fye\ ● Verb – 1: to split up into branches or constituent parts 2: to send forth branches or extensions 3: to cause to branch

Spring’s impending change
Trees ramify; limbs reach high
Bear fragrant blossoms

Sock it to Me, Baby!

Vade mecum ● \vay-dee-MEE-kum\ ● Noun – 1: a book for ready reference: manual 2: something regularly carried about by a person

See Funk and Wagonalls
Vade mecum of “Laugh In”
Sock it to me babe

Sunflower Dominance

Effulgence ● /if-FULL-juns/ ● Noun – Radiant splendor: brilliance.

Sunflower’s vast bloom
Golden effulgence, bee’s feast
Peaceful, green giant

A Dove's Coo

Coo ● \koo\ ● Verb – 1: to make the low soft cry of a dove or pigeon or a similar sound 2: to talk fondly, amorously, or appreciatively.

Soft is dove’s spring song

Sweet coo rouses me from sleep

Day’s promise foretold

When Balloons Attack

Softly they approach
Floating, silent, to your hair
Vexing static charge

Silence of the Tomb

Tomb ● \toom\ ● Noun – 1a: an excavation in which a corpse is buried: grave b: a place of interment 2: a house, chamber, or vault for the dead 3: a building or structure resembling a tomb.


Silence of the tomb
Shelob waits in the shadows
She sees you, precious

Undying Love

Oath ● \ˈōth\ ● Noun – 1a: a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says, 2: a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one’s words. b: something (as a promise) corroborated by an oath. 2: an irreverent or careless use of a sacred name; broadly: swear word.


Promise me something
Any little oath will do
My undying love