I updated an old poem of mine about the singing by humpback whales by adding a link to hear a humpback whale singing.

ID: 1364138   (Rated: ASR) Singing By Whales  A free verse, narrative poem about the singing done by humpback whales. by Harry

Update on Gulf oil spill on two-year anniversary:

BP has run a lot of ads saying the Gulf is oil-free and back to normal now after the disastrous BP oil spill in April 2010. Things ARE back to normal for BP itself. In 2011, BP reported its highest profit ever of $25.7 billion. For the oil companies, it IS business as usual in the Gulf. In 2010 there were 103 oil rigs operating in the Gulf, with 37 rigs in deep water. Today there are 113 oil rigs operating in the Gulf, with 40 now in deep water.

However, things are not so rosy for the fishermen and communities along the Gulf. Many of the areas that were closed to fishing by the government after the oil spill have been found to be devoid of the seafood they once produced and unsuitable for new spawning now that these areas are reopen. In both Louisiana and Mississippi, oyster harvesting has collapsed. In 2010 the harvest of oysters was down 55 percent in LA and 34 percent in MS from 2009, and even worse numbers are expected for the final 2011 totals once they become available. In 2010, the shrimp crop declined by 52 percent in MS, 48 percent in Alabama, and 14 percent in LA. As of September 2011 the shrimp crop was down by 80 percent from the Gulf. The Gulf crab harvest declined by 42 percent in LA, 37 percent in AL, and 33 percent in MS from 2009 to 2010. Back to normal? Gulf fishermen of oysters, shrimp, and crab are all still hurting.

The diversity and numbers of different fish species have also declined due to the oil spill.
The fish have many more numerous secondary infections, with lesions found on their skin and in their liver, plus the incidence of parasitic infections in the fish is much higher than normal. At some Gulf fishing sites, 50 percent of the fish have lesions and sores.

In February 2011 (during the first calving season for dolphins since the oil spill), dozens of dead baby dolphins and aborted dolphin fetuses washed ashore on Gulf beaches. The normal death rate before 2010 was just one or two deaths a season.

BP oil is still found floating in the Gulf and washing ashore as tar balls and ‘tar logs’ (formed from oil settled and coating the ocean bottom rolling along the sea bottom to form ‘logs’). One has merely to look for it to find BP oil still polluting the Gulf shores.
BP oil settled to coat large areas of the ocean bottom.

Despite all the ads BP may run, the Gulf coast is not back to normal. Far from normal, the Gulf still suffers from the disastrous effects of the 2010 BP oil spill … while BP itself prospers as never before.

SOURCE: “BP Oil Spill Still Tars the Gulf” by Antonia Juhasz, pages 21 – 25, The Progressive, vol.76, # 4, April, 2012 issue.

Back in 2010 while the oil spill was still ongoing, I wrote a poem about the disaster:

ID: 1678968   (Rated: ASR) The Gulf Oil Spill –2010  An opinionated prose poem about the current oil spill befouling the Gulf. by Harry

Easter is coming around again. It's time to mention my Easter trilogy again:

1) The Aftermath Of War --

ID: 653765   (Rated: 13+) The Aftermath Of War  A long free verse poem about a battle and its aftermath, set in Roman times. by Harry

ID: 656581   (Rated: 13+) The Centurion And The Jew  A long thought-provoking storoem about a chance encounter in ancient Judea. by Harry

ID: 665709   (Rated: 13+) The Centurion And The Crucifixion  A long storoem about a Roman centurion present during the crucifixion of Jesus. by Harry

I know a lot of us here have published books through self-publishing or traditional publishers. Promoting your book is always difficult. (I know. I am promoting my own "Poetry Books Don't Sell!" on Kindle at present.) Here is a book all authors should get:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005G5L3DC/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8...

This is a great book to have if you want to market your book: The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or partnering with your publisher (The HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers) by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

"This second edition of The Frugal Book Promoter is an updated version of the multi award-winning first edition. It has been expanded to include simple ways to promote books using newer technology, always considering promotion and marketing techniques that are easy on the pocketbook and frugal of time. It also includes a multitude of ways for authors and publishers to promote the so-called hard-to-promote genres."

I recommend this book for all authors trying to promote their books.

Cheers!

Harry
 

http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Books-Dont-Sell-ebook/dp/B0070RARL8/ref=sr_1_1::QM:...

My newest poetry book will be available for FREE this Sunday & Monday to everyone. Anyone can download this e-book for free without having to be a member of Amazon Prime. If you can download from Kindle, you can get "Poetry Books Don't Sell!" for these two days only for free. It normally sells for $2.99.

The poetry in this book addresses a wide variety of subjects. It is written in various formats or styles, including forty-three rhyming storoems (story-poems), six acrostic poems, five political poems, and twenty-nine free-verse poems. Seven older poems (prize-winners and author’s favorites) are included as lagniappe, making ninety poems and storoems total. It even has one flash fiction story included.

Please spread the word to all your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, strangers, blogs, etc who download from Kindle about this free poetry e-book. I'd appreciate it if you did.

Cheers!

Harry


-Published 2012: Poetry Books Don't Sell!, My newest collection of my poetry.
--Published 2011: Aldric & Anneliese, an action/adventure/historical fiction short novel, 4RV Publishing. Now available!
--Published 2008: "Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man". A collection of my poetry.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Books-Dont-Sell-ebook/dp/B0070RARL8/ref=sr_1_1::QM:...

My newest poetry book is now available on Amazon as an e-book.

Check it out! I'd appreciate your doing so.

Cheers!

Harry
 

I will be publishing a new (my fourth) collection of my poetry soon. It should be available on Kindle and Nook as an e-book first, followed by a print book through Lulu Press in a few weeks. I have chosen the title of "Poetry Books Don't Sell!" This is a truism in the publishing world. Most agents and publishing firms won't accept poetry as a submission. Poetry books tend to be mostly self-published, and, no matter how good the poetry contained is, no one much buys the books. This is a pity because most readers would enjoy reading poetry and would be surprisingly entertained if only they would give it a try. I'm sure most of the poets here know this to be true, especially those poets with published books to their credit. (Frustrating, isn't it?)

My new book, "Poetry Books Don't Sell!", contains storoems and poems addressing a variety of topics. It has ninety of my storoems and poems all together: 43 rhyming storoems (story-poems), 6 acrostic poems, 5 political poems, 29 free-verse poems, and 7 of my older poems (prize-winning and personal favorites).

Look for "Poetry Books Don't Sell!" to become available at Lulu Press, Amazon.com. Barnes & Noble, Kindle and Nook soon.
It will make an enjoyable read and a good gift for family & friends.

Cheers!

Harry
 

I read in today's Shreveport Times that giant Burmese pythons, which grow up to twenty feet in length and weigh up to 250 pounds and eat everything "from birds to mammals (muskrats, rabbits, cats, dogs, deer, etc.) to alligators", are spreading farther throughout Florida. A recent study revealed that even newly hatched pythons can survive an average of a month in full-strength seawater and older snakes can survive many months swimming across seawater. This means there is no physical barrier (seawater) to stop the spread of the pythons from the Everglades and Keys, where they are now thriving, farther up the coast line, maybe eventually to other Gulf Coast states, even to Louisiana and Texas. It had been hoped that being unable to survive swimming in the open seawater would prevent them from spreading. Not so! Bummer.

I first read about pythons being found in the Florida Everglades back in 2008. I wrote a poem about it then:

ID: 1473636   (Rated: 13+) Florida Has Pythons!  A fanciful look at the establishment of Burmese pythons in Florida. by Harry

Today I entered the short story contest at Lulu Press. It really is flash fiction because the maximum number of words allowed is 600. My story is entitled "A 1930s Christmas to Remember". It is an appropriate story for the holidays upcoming, and it is a good read, I believe. You can download it for free here: http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/a-1930s-christmas-to-remember/18646206 . I hope you will read it and let me know what you think of it.

Cheers!

Harry


--Published 2011: Aldric & Anneliese, an action/adventure/historical fiction short novel, 4RV Publishing. Now available!
--Published 2008: "Poetic Musings of an Old, Fat Man". A collection of my poetry.

 

Yesterday I had the most views of my portfolio items ever, ending up with 536 total views of 408 items. Now today I have the second most views ever: at 4:47 EDT I have had 448 views of 406 of my items. 536 views yesterday? 448 views and counting today? What is going on, folks? Does it have anything to do with the phase of the moon or somehow time to return to Standard Time by "falling back" an hour tonight? Something weird is happening for sure!

Cheers!

Harry

NOTE Added: My total views for the day ended up as 475 views of 408 items. (My portfolio includes 409 items.)