This week brings us Public Television Day, and while public television does air programs during prime time hours (the peak viewing time), it doesn’t compete in the same way as commercial networks, right? So the programming might not, at first glance, seem ready for prime time, but still is wonderful!! I love Public Television offerings, and thanks to PBS, I could happily have the television babysit my kids while I chored!

What are your favorite public television shows? Do let me know.

Taking a detour now into something else with my Poetic Sundays, away from television (but kind of still related, in an offbeat kind of way!) Read on…

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Poetic Sundays: Prime Time Banana-na?

Today’s prompt (optional, as always) veers slightly away from our ekphrastic theme. To get started, pick a number between 1 and 10. Got your number? Find the row with your number. Then, write a poem describing the taste of the item in Column A, using the words that appear in that row in Column B and C. For bonus points, give your poem the title of the word that appears in Column A for your row, but don’t use that word in the poem itself.

I picked # 8: banana, rasp, unpardonable.

My Attempt (Includes a Response as well!)

Banana
you looked so fine—
that perfect shade of sunlit gold,
spotted just right, like the legends foretold.
peeled back your coat,
tossed it aside.
paused—should I save that skin?
(they say it helps things grow right)
eh… never mind.
took my first bite,
you seemed alright,
then came the rasp—
a scratch on my tongue,
like licking old brass,
like that chalk I once dared to chew
back in second grade, bored at school
and so, your flavor?
simply unpardonable.
a fruit betrayal.
with nothing to savor!
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Banana’s Reply
You addleplate.
Sure you weren’t the blind one?
Sunlit gold? Please!
I still wore my green coat proudly—
firm, starchy, unbending.
And in this avatar,
I wasn’t for your morning sweet tooth,
but meant to be battered,
fried golden in hot oil,
served with chutney –
yes, like vazhakkai bajji(*),
not chewed in haste like some
midday regret.
That rasp you whined about?
That’s complexity.
A richness layered for tastebuds that wait.
So your review?
Simply unpardonable.
A fruit betrayal.
And frankly, my dear,
nothing to savor.
~ LIR’s Misjudged Banana

*vazhakkai bajji: deep fried raw banana fritters, a favorite tea-time (or rather, afternoon coffee-time) snack in our family (and many Tamil families). Here is a pic for reference (from my personal album, so pardon the casualness)

Recently

On My Blog

My recent posts since and including my last Sunday Scribblings (Each one includes a poetry lesson plan, a poem for NaPoWriMo, books (of course) from the letter of the day, and sometimes other stuff too)

• E is for the Enticing Epulaeryu and Exciting Echoes Too!
• D is for the Delightful Diminishing Verse and More
• C is for the Creative Compound Word Verse and More!
• B is for Beautiful Broadside Ballads and Breaking News
• A is for Alliteration and Amazing Animals!
• Sunday Scribblings #217: The Parody Poem: When Old Lines LOL

& at Home

While I did not make vazhakkai bajji, I did use raw banana (plantains) this week to make a simple south Indian curry. Vazhakkai (kai meaning raw, vazha refers to the banana) poriyal is a simple sauteed dish where the raw banana is peeled, chopped, and cooked, then tempered with spices and condiments (typically, green or red chili, ginger, mustard seeds) and coconut.

Upcoming

On My Blog & Homefront

Hope to bring more poetry and lesson plans and books here. And maybe will make some of that plantain fritters I mentioned earlier. Maybe get some public television watching done as well during prime time! It has been way too long since I watched live TV though.

Speaking of food and of public television led me on a search for books, which resulted in me finding this book, which I need to check out now (for I did enjoy watching this show ages ago).

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week of April include:  Gabriela Mistral and William Wordsworth on the 7th; Barbara Kingsolver and Sara Shepard on the 8th; Charles Baudelaire on the 9th; Anne Lamott and Paul Theroux on the 10th; Thomas Harris (of The Silence of the Lambs fame) on 11 April; Beverly Cleary and Tom Clancy on April 12th; Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney on the 13th of April
• It is International Snail Papers Day on the 7th of April
• Encourage a Young Writer Day is on April 10th
• And April 11th is Poet in a Cupcake Day
• Followed by D.E.A.R. Day or Drop Everything and Read Day on the 12th of April (Beverly Cleary’s birthday)
• National Scrabble Day is on the 13th of April, as well as International Special Librarians Day
• The 1st full week of April (April 7 – 12) observes Take Your Poet to School Week

Foodie Celebrations

• It is National Beer Day and National Coffee Cake Day on the 7th of April
• April 8th is National Empanada Day
• Followed by National Chinese Almond Cookie Day on the 9th
• Then it is National Cinnamon Crescent Day for some sweet treats on the 10th of April
• National Cheese Fondue Day comes next on April 11th
• And more cheese right after with National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day on the 12th, which is also National Licorice Day
• The week ends with National Peach Cobbler Day and National Make Lunch Count Day on the 13th of April

Other Celebrations

• World Health Day, National Girl Me Too Day, and National No Housework Day are on April 7th, along with Public Television Day
• Followed by International Romani Day, World Pageant Day, National All Is Ours Day, and National Zoo Lovers Day on the 8th of April. Another fun holiday (that started in the UK in the 1940s) is Draw a Bird Day
• Then on April 9th, we have National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, National Name Yourself Day, National Unicorn Day, and National Winston Churchill Day. It is also National Cherish an Antique Day
• It is time to reach out to your siblings on April 10th, which is National Siblings Day
• April 11th is Barbershop Quartet Day, National Clean Up Your Pantry Day
• The 12th is International Day for Human Space Flight and International Day for Street Children. It is also Slow Art Day, Walk on Your Wild Side Day, and Wear a Star Day
• National Silly Earring Day and International Plant Appreciation Day are observed on April 13th

Prime Time Finds to Celebrate This Week

• For silly earrings day, I am loving these Unicorn Poop Stud Fashion Earrings! They are sure to get smiles when I wear them soon. And also these out-of-the-world and really cutely silly space-themed earrings (4 pairs), and some foodie earrings too.
• And if you want to draw a bird, then looks like The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds seems to be the way to go.
• To celebrate D.E.A.R. day, why not read some of the lesser known books by Beverly Cleary? Like Ellen Tebbits (enchanting!) or Fifteen (first flirtations!). Then there is Emily’s Runaway Imagination and also, A Girl from Yamhill: A Memoir. One of my personal favorites is Dear Mr. Henshaw.

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon. Also linking up to UBC, NaPoWriMo

And you can find all my A-Z+ posts (this year and previous years’ as well) here:

A to Z Challenge Posts