Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Identity Crisis

All right- time to be honest. I've been neglecting my poor little blog here because I don't know what to do with it. Yes, I know, you type things and publish it. That's not what I mean. I mean, my blog is having a bit of an identity crisis. I'm not sure which direction I want to take it and my focus for the blog- let's just say there really isn't one right now. So, hopefully in the next day or so, I will be reworking this blog a little bit and coming up with a direction and focus!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Mouse of Zen

As many of you know, I like to put Disney with things that you don't normally think it belongs with- such as Nascar. Turns out, I'm not the only person who does this!

Brad Conway is a police officer with a love of Disney. While this isn't unusual, it's how he expresses this love that is different: he writes haiku. (Note: haiku is a form of Japanese poetry usually written in three lines. The first and third line have five syllables, while the middle line has seven syllables.) In fact, Brad has written a whole book of haiku poems dedicated to Disney. The title of the book is, fittingly, Mouse of Zen. There are 351 haiku in this first edition (the second edition is already well under way).

Cover design copyright J.B. Conway and Knell Studio Works
While reading the book, there were several poems that made me just stop in my tracks. For example, this haiku utterly and completely sums up my feelings about Disney World

a place heaven sent
day or night, rain or sunshine
world that never sleeps

And having just returned from a very hot and humid summer visit to Disney World, I find this one very appropriate:

humid afternoon

refreshing treasure unwrapped

chocolate lips licked


There are also poems that remind me of friends and times shared at Disney World


early a.m. sounds

over coffee and pastry

main street crescendo


Every person with a love of Disney, be it Disney World, Disneyland, or Walt Disney himself, will find something in this book that speaks to them. Also, even when the poem doesn't speak to you, because let's face it- they don't all hit home, it's still fun trying to figure out what part of Disney Brad was using as his muse. To sum it up, this book is a must-own for any true Disney fan.


To order Mouse of Zen, click here. Also, be sure to follow Mouse of Zen on Twitter.

All poetry in this post © J.B. Conway