Light Fantastic by Ben Bell Ghost Dog

Light Fantastic by Ben Bell Ghost Dog
Originally uploaded by flickr photographerno1

image courtesy

Ben Bell or Ghost Dog is a keen street poetic photographer.
His pictures hardly need words, words would be disgraced such is the visual eloquence of his pictures.
This is the first time after deleting my buzznet accounts, I went to Ben Bells buzz to retrieve his picture of a Dead Indian that I had used for my post, Ben inspired poetry, everytime I visited his Buzz.
It was Ben who commented on every new post , as you know I post a lot, here at Word Press , I have slowed down, I am searching for the lost pictures , to bring them back on the posts where at Word Press they stand deleted, so it is a painful task, my homesite is locked on my home comp, some technical problem, so I copy at WP, also edit, so gradually WP becomes my main site by default.
Upgrading my Homesite is a tedious task, my son Asif Shakir , will undertake, as this site is a photo gallery powered by Coppermine…
I have discontinued posting at New Bloggers..
My hand wound the gash has healed , but the pain and the swelling remain, I pop pain killers, pray to God it heals as I am dying to go to the Koondathar eunuch festival…in Chennai…
All my pictures of Ashura Lucknow 2007 are hibernating on CDS, the bullock cart race that I shot on Holi…this year..I dont have the strength or the stamina, even this herculean task, of adding missing images at WP I did not want to undertake , but my pictures are the soul embedded in words..
Yes I am an incorrigible Photo Blogger …
My remains the flesh of my words the soul of my pictures will be alive on cybernet… even after I am deleted completely from this planet…

Light Fantastic according to Ben Bell is a poem by Milton.

To “trip the light fantastic” is to dance nimbly or lightly, or to move in a pattern to musical accompaniment.

The expression may also refer to setting in motion some operation, often complex, by means of a triggering device. For instance, “tripping the light fantastic” has been used in reference to the triggering of a green traffic signal by deliberately activating an in-pavement sensor approaching an intersection. Bicyclists in particular often find triggering the sensor requires skill and luck (the rider typically must track a narrow groove in the pavement over the sensor wire), and the expression, used by a bicyclist, seems to capture well both the delicacy of the operation and the euphoric sensation experienced when the signal is made to turn green before a stop is necessary.
This phrase evolved through an interesting series of usages and references. The phrase is typically attributed to Milton’s poem L’Allegro, but a somewhat similar phrase appears in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The phrase in this modern usage comes from the lyrics of the song The Sidewalks of New York. The following chronological list outlines a few notable usages of this and similar sounding phrases.

The phrase ‘tripping on his toe’ appears in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, written in 1611:

Before you can say come, and goe,
And breathe twice; and cry, so, so:
Each one tripping on his Toe,
Will be here with mop, and mowe.
In this context, “mop, and mowe” means ‘a grimace’.

In the poem L’Allegro by John Milton, published in 1645, a similar phrase appears, which seemingly refers to the dance-like gracefulness of the goddess Mirth:

Come, and trip it as ye go,
On the light fantastick toe.
And in thy right hand lead with thee,
The Mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty;
The term trip in this passage means to step lightly or nimbly. The adjectives light and fantastick (as Milton spelled it) refer to the movement of the feet (toe, or dance step).

Thank You Ben...Om Mani Padme Hum

In English this means “the jewel in the lotus of the heart”; it is a reference to the hidden spark of divinity within each of us. The six syllables of the mantra are said to purify the six negative emotions: pride, jealousy, desire, ignorance, greed, and anger, while simultaneously engendering the six qualities of the enlightened heart: generosity, harmonious conduct, endurance, enthusiasm, concentration, and insight.

April 7th, 2007