Halloween

The Raven

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—

    While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—

            Only this and nothing more.”

    Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.

    Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow

    From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—

For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

            Nameless here for evermore.

    And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain

Thrilled me—filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;

    So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating

    “’Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door—

Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;—

            This it is and nothing more.”

    Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,

“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;

    But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,

    And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,

That I scarce was sure I heard you”—here I opened wide the door;—

            Darkness there and nothing more.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,

Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

    But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,

    And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”

This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!”—

            Merely this and nothing more.

    Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,

Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.

    “Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;

      Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—

Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—

            ’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

    Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,

In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;

    Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;

    But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—

Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—

            Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,

By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,

“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,

Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore—

Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—little relevancy bore;

    For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being

    Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door—

Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,

            With such name as “Nevermore.”

    But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

    Nothing farther then he uttered—not a feather then he fluttered—

    Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before—

On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”

            Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

    Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,

“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store

    Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster

    Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore—

Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore

            Of ‘Never—nevermore’.”

    But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;

    Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking

    Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore—

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore

            Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

    This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing

To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;

    This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining

    On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,

But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,

            She shall press, ah, nevermore!

    Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer

Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.

    “Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee—by these angels he hath sent thee

    Respite—respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore;

Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!—

Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,

    Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted—

    On this home by Horror haunted—tell me truly, I implore—

Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!

By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—

    Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,

    It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—

Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    “Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting—

“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!

    Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!

    Leave my loneliness unbroken!—quit the bust above my door!

Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”

            Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

    And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

    And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

    And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

            Shall be lifted—nevermore!

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Deidre Hall (70) Beverly Hills, CA.; Jane Pauley (67) New York, NY; Christopher Russo (58) New Canaan, CT.

POTUS ON THE ROAD - President Trump leaves Friday for the most consequential foreign trip of his presidency — a five country, 12 day tour of Asia. It's the longest visit to Asia by an American president in a quarter of a century.

The stakes couldn't be higher: North Korea races towards a miniaturized nuke that can hit American cities; China keeps propping up North Korea, stealing U.S. intellectual property, and forcing American investors to hand over their technology to Chinese state entities; and American businesses watch with horror as Trump flirts with blowing up the landmark U.S. trade deal with South Korea.

In the midst of all this, Trump will try to reassure America's treaty allies in the region that even as he's throwing trade relationships into flux he won't be the U.S. president that abandons the Asia Pacific and leaves American allies there vulnerable to Chinese domination. Trump wants to dramatically show his commitment to the region and to the post-WWII order that the U.S. built up in Asia. He'll visit several military bases and will flex America's military power.

The first two legs, Japan and South Korea, Trump will mostly address physical security, including a major speech at the National Assembly in Seoul. South Korea's President Moon Jae-in has invited Trump to visit the military base, Camp Humphreys. Administration officials expect the visit to the military base will highlight two things: that South Korea is sharing the financial burden of its defense and that President Moon, who campaigned as a liberal dove, is now fully committed to defending his country against an emboldened Kim Jong-un.

The final two legs, Trump visits Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, a free trade forum for 21 Pacific Rim economies. Finally, Trump attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in the Philippines.

CHINA LEADERSHIP - China's ruling Communist Party has voted to enshrine Xi Jinping's name and ideology in its constitution, elevating him to the level of founder Mao Zedong. Previous Chinese Communist Party leaders have had their ideologies incorporated into the party's constitution or thinking, but none, besides founder Mao Zedong, have had their philosophy described as 'thought,' which is at the top of the ideological hierarchy.

China revealed its Politburo Standing Committee, China's most powerful body, breaking with tradition by not including a clear successor to President Xi Jinping.

All members are ages 60 to 67.

MAGIC NUMBER - America’s retailers have a new target customer: the 26-year-old millennial. That age bracket, bigger than any other—numbering 4.8 million—is part of a generation radically different from its predecessors that is pushing brands to develop new products and overhaul marketing. Many millennials are on the verge of life-defining moments such as buying a house and having children. But companies looking to be part of that have run into a problem. “They’re much more of a ‘do-it-for-me’ type of customer than a ‘do-it-yourself’ customer,” says Joe McFarland, executive vice president of J.C. Penney stores. In response, companies including Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams are hosting classes and online tutorials to teach such basic skills as operating a lawn mower, tape measure, mop and hammer.

FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS - When weighing a big decision, is it safe to just go with your gut? Scientists, authors and motivational speakers (plus plenty of moms) have long touted the power of intuition—and many studies show that decisions made unconsciously, before the rational mind can get involved, are often better. But not always, says John Bargh, a psychology professor at Yale and director of the ACME (Automaticity in Cognition, Motivation, and Evaluation) Laboratory. The gut is good, for example, with complex decisions when the amount of information is overwhelming, but it can also push us to be impulsive. How to best use your intuition? We offer pointers—including to remember that it can be influenced by strong emotions.

HOLLYWOODLAND -- House of Cards' Ending With Sixth and Final Season at Netflix: Netflix is currently in production on a sixth and final season of House of Cards, the landmark drama that signaled its aggressive push into original programming. The final run of House of Cards, which stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright as ruthless and ambitious beltway couple, will debut its last 13 episodes in 2018. ... Official word on its conclusion, which has been in the works since the summer, comes at a problematic time for Spacey. The star and executive producer is embroiled in sexual assault scandal, with an actor alleging that Spacey made aggressive advances towards him when he was just 14.

MARKET WEEK – Investors are buying the U.S. dollar again, expecting a lift from an increasingly aggressive Fed and tumult in European politics, while those betting against the dollar have cut back their positions. After its longest slide in a decade, the dollar has bounced roughly 2.9% from its September lows against a 16-currency basket, powered by gains against the euro, yen and emerging-market currencies. The recovery is yet another in a series of financial-market surprises this year, and while few investors believe the woes are over for the dollar—still down 6.4% against the basket in 2017—even a temporary reversal could have widespread implications for asset markets.

DRIVING THE WEEK - Fed chair pick expected on Thursday ... House Ways and Means slated to release first draft of their tax cut bill on Wednesday ... Trump leaves for a 12-day Asia trip on Friday ... FOMC on Wednesday not expected to make any change to rates or outlook.

Senate Banking on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. has a nomination for Scott Garrett to lead the Export-Import Bank. This one isn't a slam-dunk because corporate America and some more moderate GOP senators despise this pick of an Ex-Im opponent to lead the bank ... House Financial Services at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday has a hearing on data security.

SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

NFL Football Pick of the Week – Sunday 11/5, 4:25 PM ET, CBS: Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) vs. Dallas Cowboys (4-3). KC on a roll they win in Dallas, 40 – 30.(Season to date 4-4).

College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/4, 1:00 PM ET, FSI: #8 Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) vs. #11 Oklahoma State T. Boone Pickens (7-1). State wins 35 – 32.   (Season to date 5-4)

D-III Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/5, 12:00 PM PT: #25 Salisbury Sea Gulls (7-1) vs. #14 Wesley Wolverines (7-1), a huge New Jersey Athletic Conference game. Wesley wins a tight one, 21 – 20.  (Season to date 6-3)

SCIAC Game of the Week (Women Volleyball) – Thursday 11/2, 7:00 PM PT:   SCIAC Women Volleyball Semi-Finals, California Lutheran SATS (15-11) vs. University of La Verne Leopards (18-8), Leos in a tight one, 3 – 2. (Season to date 6-3)

College Hockey Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/5, 7:00 PM CT (FSW): #4 North Dakota Black Hawks (5-2-1) vs. #7 University of Wisconsin Badgers (6-3), defense is the word in this game, Badgers win 3 – 2.   Season to date (2-2)

NHL Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/5, 7:00 PM ET (SUN): Columbus Blue Jackets (8-4-0) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (10-2-1), two first place clubs, Tampa in this one 4 – 2. Season to date (2-1).

Season to Date (76 - 52)

Next Blog: The questions students ask, Dear Rink Rats and Jack Ass of the Month

Until next time, Adios

Claremont, California

October 31, 2017

#VIII-17-359

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – Walsh, The New Yorker