We Made Out in a Tree and This Old Guy Sat and Watched Us

Contributed by Claire

The following poem, entitled “Library Born,” was written in honor of the new Kellogg Library on the campus of Cal State University, San Marcos. That’s right — free-form poetry to honor a library. Originally printed at http://library.csusm.edu/about/poem.asp:

Mammoth steel skeleton gazing from the hill,
Rising above the flagpoles,
Hissing flames sealing metal joints,
Zig zag stairs with alligator teeth climbing,
Floor upon floor upon floor,
Empty
Rectangular spaces open to construction,
Sea breezes whistling through hammering,
Roof top steel arms, uplifted,
Celebrating

Soon there will be priceless jewels encased in
this castle,
Carpeted walkways twining to the sky,
Glassy eyes opening to the world around,
Keyboards softly whispering ideas,
Minds Soaring,
Shelf upon shelf upon shelf of
Books
Nourishing hearts and spirits with magical
powers to question, create, solve, dream,
University Gem

by Sandra Castañon

Contributed by Mark

From an article in USA Today on July 23, 2003, entitled “Cutting-edge science creates stain-free pants“:

“People are saying, ‘Geez, this isn’t Star Trek yet, this is just pants that don’t stain,’ but you’ve got to start somewhere,” said Howard Lovy, news editor of the nanotech industry journal Small Times. “I’m wearing nano-pants as we speak.”

Contributed by Claire

From the play “Muerte en el barrio,” by Alfonso Sastre, whom the introduction describes as “one of Spain’s leading contemporary dramatists”:

Genoveva: Bésame.
Luis: ¿Qué dices?
Genoveva: (Le ofrece los labios.) Bésame.
(Luis la besa.)
Luis: Estoy enfermo. Puedo contagiarte.
Genoveva: Te quiero.

In English:

Genoveva: Kiss me.
Luis: What did you say?
Genoveva: (Offers him her lips.) Kiss me.
(Luis kisses her.)
Luis: I’m sick. I might infect you.
Genoveva: I love you.

Contributed by Bridget

A sign outside a cafe in Safita, Syria:

Contributed by Bridget

From the contributor: “This sign is just outside the courtyard of the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Non-Muslim women have to wear a hooded robe in order to enter the mosque, and the room in question is where they hand them out (as the sign points out so eloquently).”

Contributed by Renee Boyer

A British guy explaining why he was able to do a handstand yesterday, but he can’t do one today:

But I was a sober me then … I’m a pissed me at the now.

Contributed by Administrator

As you may have noticed, we post a lot more items in the “Conversations, Statements, and Quotations” section than in any other (more than twice as many as the next closest category, and more than five times as several other categories). The reason for this? Well, we get a lot more submissions that fit that category than any other.

So we are now requesting that our loyal readers, our eyes and ears to the world, keep an eye out for things in other categories and submit them. With digital cameras and camera phones and whatnot, we should surely have more entries for the Photos section, for one. All of the categories definitely have potential; it’s just that the overheard statements are the easiest to deal with, because you can just make a mental note and write it down later or whatever.

So please, keep those submissions coming, and keep your eyes out for the other categories. Don’t stop sending your quotes, just start sending other stuff too!

Contributed by Emily

A poem written by a high school boy for a girl he wanted to date:

Roses are red
Violets are Blue
Oh Sierra Please,
Let me do it to you.

Contributed by RacheltheGreat

The contributor spent a semester in Russia, during which time she noticed some very strange English phrases on t-shirts. Here are some of her favorites:

All Over of the Pizzaz Prince

Zero My Here

Even JGZ Go Free We Singing

Get Out of the Bear

Contributed by Chanel Nelson

The contributor had the following conversation with her 14-year-old sister while playing Trivial Pursuit:

Contrib: [Reading question] What is the name of the Female Master of Disguise in “Forces of Freedom”?
Sis: Carmen San Diego?
Contrib: No, it’s Cat.
Sis: Is San Diego in Chicago?
Contrib: No, it’s in California.
Sis: Is Chicago a state?
Contrib: No, it’s a city.
Sis: Is it in Moulin Rouge?
Contrib: No, that’s in France.
Sis: Oh, I mean Louisiana.
Contrib: No, that’s Baton Rouge.