Loved

We loved with a love that was more than love.

~ Edgar Allan Poe

- - - - -

We get it, Raemonia.  We get it.

Oh, and just for the record, allegedly - according to Raemonia - the shag is a dance. 

Whatever, Raemonia. Whatever.

Communication

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way that we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.

~ Anthony Robbins

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I love language. I love how confusing and beautiful and grating it is. 

So, let's think of an example. Do you have one? (pause) Okay, well I have an example. My example is "brainstorm." First of all it's amazing because of the imagery. 

Now let's play with it a little bit. What if we change a couple letters around so we have "brianstorm"? What would that mean? When a guy named Brian storms out of a room? When a guy named Brian comes up with good and random ideas? Who knows? It's a new word. WE get to decide.

Let's change it one more time. What if we drop a letter? It becomes "branstormed." What would that mean? Well... let's think. Why do people eat bran?

(pause)

Let's not talk about "branstorming" ever again.

Tree

I think that I shall never see,

A poem as lovely as a tree.

~ Joyce Kilmer

- - - - -

Working drafts of this poem included:

I think that I shall never tell,
Of anything lovely as a shell.

I think that I shall never gawk,
At anything lovely as a rock.

I think that I shall never glower,
At anything as lovely as a flower.

I think the tree thing was the best choice.

Play

All art is political in that it serves someone's politics.
~ August Wilson

- - - - -

First of all, let me say that I took this photo before the play started.  I took it before the "HEY! Don't take photos of this play!!" announcement was announced.

Isn't it a cool set?

It was for an August Wilson play.

It was a very, very good play.

All work and no plays makes Jack a dull boy. A dull boy with a limited perspective and a lack of appreciation for the fine arts.

Poor Jack.

Snack

The from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat, so he gave up being king of the wild things.

~ Maurice Sendak

- - - - -

My dad did this thing where he scraped his plate.  He scraped every last little bitlet of food off of his plate.  Sometimes this meant he wanted someone to offer to pass him more food.  Other times it meant he is done.  Anyway, it used to annoy me as a child.

Then, I discovered that I do the same thing.  It has to be environmental, right?  There can’t be a genetic marker for plate scraping, can there?  Well, regardless, the good news is that I don’t do it all of the time.  I only do it at one particular time.  When I am eating chocolate pudding out of one of those little pudding cup things.  Because there should be just one more bite of chocolate pudding before it’s gone.  There isn’t, but if I scrape the sides enough, there almost is.

And then there's Aurora. She wasn't at the point where she was using utensils much when this photo was taken. But isn't she cute?

Singing

He who sings scares away his woes.

~ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

- - - - -

Overheard...

1: She used to sing in band.

2: She was in a band?!

1: No, marching band.  She used to sing when we were in marching band.  It was annoying.

Science

Science is basically an inoculation against charlatans.

~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

- - - - -

If science is a myth, I shouldn't have had to retake Biology in undergrad. 

Also, if facts are myths, I should have gotten a better grade in Folklore and Mythology.  And my journalism classes. And "Normal Psychology." And Astronomy. 

(Pause)

Also, I maybe should have studied more as an undergraduate student. 

Beer

A fine beer may be judged by one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure.

~ Czech Proverb

- - - - -

Some people like to drink.  Some people like to exercise.  Some people like to drink and also like to exercise.  I propose a new way of enjoying both of these activities simultaneously. And I suggest we call it "Treadmillertime."

(pause)

I see absolutely no danger in this concept.

NOTE: I'm not an expert on risk-management.

Dirt

My mother says I was writing before I was crawling. I wrote in the dirt with a twig.

~ Alice Walker

- - - - -

When people say someone is grounded or down to earth, I wonder how literally they mean it. I think that to be those things you have to get a little bit dirty. Being authentic is not being clean. Being authentic is doing work. 

Other times when someone says a person is grounded they mean that person got in trouble and can't come out to play. 

Words are magic.

Literal

lit·er·al

ˈlidərəl,ˈlitrəl/

adjective

1. 1. 

   taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory.

   
   

   "dreadful in its literal sense, full of dread"

   • 
     
     

     
     
   • 
     
     
2. 2. 

   (of a translation) representing the exact words of the original text.

   synonyms:

   word-for-word, verbatim, letter-for-letter; More

~ Google

- - - - -

Lots of people use the word "literally" wrong. 

They use it illiteracy.

Corn

 
I'm a man with many defects. I love. I sing. I dream. I was born in the poor countryside. I was raised in the countryside, planting corn and selling sweets made by grandmother. My children, my two daughters are with me, and I want a better world for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren.
~ Hugo Chavez

- - - - -

I also have many defects. We used to play the card game Pit. I used to hold one of every crop so no one could win. It would go on for a really long time. I liked it. It made me smile. It made me laugh, too. Until everyone would get angry at me after they figured out what I was doing. I think actually they had many defects, not me.

Messages

It occurs to me that we allow ourselves to imagine 

only such messages as we need to survive.

~ Joan Didion

- - - - -

In one of my former work-lives I had a colleague who - after a string of brilliant, funny, fun, creative, energizing exchanges of non-workish stuff over our work listserv (in which she chose not to participate, but was CCd, anyway) asked if we could create a second email list for "fun" things and leave one for "work" things.

I was annoyed.

And also confused - should work and fun not be the same things? At least as often as possible?

Anyway, I found this message recently that I had sent out to all of the staff. I am not sure if it was before or after the request was made:

On NPR this week I learned that female cheetahs are attracted to Obsession for Men by Calvin Klein. If you are planning a trip to the cheetah-lands of the world, you might want to wear it (they like it) or not (if you don't want them rubbing up against you).

So... what list does something like THIS go on, smarty??!

Painting

Painting is damned difficult. 

You always think you've got it, but you haven't.

~ Paul Cezanne

- - - - -

I wonder, in this case, if "VOLS" is short for "VandOLiSm." I wonder only because I think maybe people who deface property might not be good at spelling.



P.S. This is probably done with a marker instead of paint, but SHUT UP.

Cleaning

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

~ Erma Bombeck

- - - - -

I don't mind cleaning. I do when I don't have time for it. And I can't stand crumbs - they gross me out. But dusting, or cleaning the bathroom or whatever. Those things are fine. 

I also don't mind cleaning my own bathrooms. I would not enjoy cleaning someone else's because other people's bathroom dirt is icky. Though, for the record, I have had that job before.

And dishes. I don't mind those too much. It is easier now that we have a dishwasher, though apparently you still have some dishes you have to do by hand either because they aren't supposed to go or don't fit in the dishwasher. 

If you were wondering, even on a busy dish-washing night, unless we have had company over, I can get most of the dishes washed and the rest loaded in the dishwasher in less time than it takes to listen to "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult. And yes, I checked.

Hats

(photo by Chandler Lewis)

I was so captivated by the hats and the stories of the women.

~ Susan Tsu

- - - - -

I believe that any hat can be jaunty if you wear it right.

I also believe any person can be jaunty if they wear their face right.

(pause)

I guess what it comes down to is that I believe in jauntiness.

Money

You don't pay taxes -- they take taxes.

~ Chris Rock

- - - - -

They don't take taxes from everyone.

Field

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.

~ Ovid

- - - - -

Growing things is a lot of work. It takes a toll. This is particularly true when one grows anxious.

So quit it.

Trouble

Trouble is a part of your life -- if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough.

~ Dinah Shore

- - - - -

I once had a conversation with a four-year-old about a person I knew who had been through a lot in her life recently. I said, "She's had almost every kind of trouble you can imagine."

The kid looked at me for a second and then asked, "Has she had a wedgie?"

I don't think the woman HAD had a wedgie of late. So there was that.

Self

If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. In relationship with others, it is only you, mirrored.

~ Osho

- - - - -

I was going through old email the other day and came across this from my dad about my niece: 

Just wanted to let you all know that Sarah announced earlier today that next week is Sarah Appreciation Week.  : )

Well, I blew that celebration off. Sorry.

Library

Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.

~ Walter Cronkite

- - - - -

I worry that people don't read enough anymore. They read Tweets or Facebook posts or blogs (like this one), but they don't read history or literature or political documents (like The Constitution - that's a good one).

I wish that people would read more, think more, listen more, and act more. In that order.

I dream big.