At dVerse Mish is hosting Open Link Night – the night we choose a poem to post. dVerse Poets – OLN Photo: The Indian Ocean at Skippy Rocks (close to where it meets the Southern Ocean) “Something here about the memory” Robin Walter The Eye Of MemoryThe sky in the cafe was a big skyframing the ocean blue with spumemusing over slice and coffee views,my eyes linger over a sneaky cornerretro…
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Note: An Imayo – origin Japan – with four lines each line having 12 syllables, using caesura or pause the line is broken into seven and five syllables. Image by Jose Sanchez Hernandez from Pixabay “Swept by the tempest of your love, a taper in a rushing wind” Sara Teasdale No Sure WordsCan gratitude be measured, like water leakingmy beta heart seeks its source, in the confluenceof broken…
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At dVerse Grace is hosting Poetry Form with an invitation to write a Nove Otto – a nine line poem with eight syllables per line and with a rhyme scheme of aacbbcddc. dVerse Poets – Poetry Form – Nove Otto Photo by Tycho Atsma on Unsplash “The mean ones wear their masks with pride, but deep down, the pain resides.” Maya Angelou Friendship's EndI looked for your sagacityfound only your…
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay “My candle burns at both ends …” Edna St. Vincent Millay From Where Are You Looking?Have you ever noticedhow time is unequal,would you agreethat winter takes its long time whilesummer skips alongas redolent childforgetting autumneschewing winter,time has its own agendait will andit won't,rarely does it add up,there's no jumping ahead,always the questionsfrom…
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Photo: A white house – found at almostmakesperfect.com “My shadow said to me, what is the matter ….” Margaret Atwood Something DeepI live opposite the white housenot that housemy neighbour's house,glossy in the afternoon sunwindows reflectingpassing birds, carswalkersfront garden,like an aluminium framed Monet,white houselight housebeaming away, exceptmy feeling of resistance,my mood shifts the…
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Image by Bruno from Pixabay “Even this late it happens, the coming of love, the coming of light.” Mark Strand The ClarityIn the beginningthere was lightuntil,as seems to follow,it loses itself in a faint simulacrumthe tragedy of antinomian darkness,always the falling starnever the pinnacle of the tree,here I amever seekinggradations of the luminous in placeswhere light has retreated by theheart…
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Merry Christmas Everyone
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Image: clipart-library.com “carrying their empty fists of sorrow everywhere” Francisco X. Alarcon Towards A New ManifestoHow strangethat we can think and feelyet still be so utterly dumb,completely unawareof the fibres of prejudicethat infiltrate and lurkin our very being.Not all Jews are zionistsnot all Muslims are terroristsnot all Christians are fundamentalistsmost refugees are only…
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Image by Lee Travathan from Pixabay “Live in the layers, not on the litter” Stanley Kunitz Soul FoodSome fruits hold delightbehind a jacket of skin,a bananaan orange mmm mango,some fruits -a strawberryso smallthere is nothing yetit is everything at once,but the pomegranate needs timethe right time,patience a woundinga diggingdeeperfor the arils,seeds of sweetnessunlike any other fruit,like…
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Weirs, also known as check dams (Photo by MSU Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture /Robbie Kroger) “Good fences make good neighbours” Robert Frost Keep That Dam WallThose of us at the head of the stream agreedwe needed water and a planwas devised to dam the flow,enough for each nearbyhousehold and still letting much of it go downstream,and for some length of timethis came to be and it worked so…
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Sports have gotten more and more environmentally friendly, whether it's by reducing plastic waste at arenas, or producing medals with recycled materials. But what if the sport itself was devoted to directly helping the planet? Take a look at SpoGomi, a competitive sport in which teams collect garbage and litter within a time limit and specified area. People get to exercise and improve their communities while simultaneously reducing pollution. It's an overall win!
The name “SpoGomi” comes from “sports” and “gomi,” which means “trash” in Japanese. SpoGomi was created in Japan in 2008 as a way to promote trash collecting in an effort to aid the environment and push back on the climate crisis. “The marine litter problem is becoming increasingly serious worldwide,” reads a message from SpoGomi. “Approximately 80% of the garbage in the ocean is said to come from land (cities), and picking up garbage is the ‘last line of defense' to prevent this from happening. By connecting countries and people, we have expanded our circle even further around the world.”
Now, supported by The Nippon Foundation, the sport is so popular that there are competitions around the world, including the first SpoGomi World Cup, which was held in Japan in November 2023. People from 20 countries and all of Japan's prefectures participated, with the UK team coming out in first place.
SpoGomi is more than simply picking up trash, though, as there's a whole set of rules. These game rules are flexible depending on the area and litter to be picked up. Generally, teams are made up of three to five members who have to collect as much trash as possible within a designated area and time limit. The most common duration is an hour for picking up trash plus another 20 minutes to correctly sort it.
Some trash can be extra damaging to the environment or harder to spot, meaning each piece of litter gets a different amount of points. According to Nippon.com, the rules for World Cup regional preliminary rounds have burnable and nonburnable trash at 10 points per 100 grams, cans and bottles at 12 points, and PET plastic bottles at 25 points. The crown jewel of competitive trash picking are cigarette butts, which will get the team 100 points each.
Other rules stipulate that teams cannot pick up trash that is already in bins that belong to someone else. Since everything must fit into the trash bags that are provided, they cannot pick hazardous waste or bulky items either. And since this is meant to improve the local area, any method of transportation other than walking is frowned upon.
In the end, all participants can bask in the pride of making the environment just a little bit cleaner and healthier. Udagawa Takayasu, a spokesperson for The Nippon Foundation, even admits, “I participated in a preliminary tournament held in Japan just last weekend. Although our team could not win and I faced frustration, the city became markedly cleaner. I think it's one of the fascinating aspects of SpoGomi, even if you don't win, it leaves you with a positive sentiment.”
-via My Modern Met, May 20, 2024
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Hell yeah, gamify this shit!