February 25th, 2014 → 8:19 am
“Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs,
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes
Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth.
Let’s choose executors and talk of wills.
And yet not so – for what can we bequeath
Save our deposed bodies to the ground?” – Richard II
Apparently we can bequeath diamonds when we die. Did you know that there is a company that will take your dead loved one’s ashes and press them into a diamond? Any color you want – white, pink, blue, yellow. Any size you want to – 1/4 a carat, 1/2 a carat, more. Then you can set this precious stone as a ring or pendant and wear your dead one around your neck forever. I can’t tell if I’m horrified, or totally on board! The prices are ridiculous – is there even any resale value on these things? – but the concept is certainly intriguing.
February 18th, 2014 → 7:45 am
“When you do dance, I wish you
A wave o’th’ sea, that you might ever do
Nothing but that,…”
Congratulations to Meryl Davis and Charlie White on their gold medal in ice dancing last night. Beautiful!
February 14th, 2014 → 5:42 am
“They do not love that do not show their love.” – The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Make sure to show your love today! ❤️❤️
February 7th, 2014 → 6:00 am
“‘Thus we may see,’ quoth he, ‘how the world wags.'” – As You Like It
The 2014 Winter Olympics begin in Sochi, Russia tonight. I’m looking forward to it!
February 5th, 2014 → 5:11 am
“What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen,
What old December’s bareness everywhere!” – Sonnet 97
And yet, it isn’t even December! It’s February for god’s sake, and we’re still enduring below freezing temperatures, gale winds, piles of snow, school closings, car pile-ups, icy driveways, and front doors frozen shut. I’m ready for this crazy winter to end already!
February 3rd, 2014 → 5:28 am
“A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers.” – Much Ado About Nothing
Well I never expected it to be a shut out. Who knew Super Bowl XLVIII would be so utterly dominated by the Seattle Seahawks? The above quote is really about war, and how a victory in war is twice as good when the soldiers also survive and come home afterwards. But I bet the Seahawks’ victory feels even better accompanied by such a high score. Congrats Seahawks, though it was a painful game to watch from Peyton Manning’s perspective.
January 21st, 2014 → 5:27 am
Desdemona: “How is’t with you, my lord?”
Othello: “Well, my good lady.” – Othello
An op-ed in The New York Times yesterday discussed the cultural significance of Americans’ common greeting, “How are you?” along with the usual lackadaisical response, “Fine.” I found it hilarious. The columnist, Alina Simone, notes how in Russia no one would ever say “fine,” they’d respond with a true litany of how miserable life is. My own mother (also a non-native American, this time an immigrant from Turkey) similarly hated such irrelevant-seeming small-talk. Once, when a woman in an elevator said to her, “Nice weather we’re having,” my mom replied with, “I find that insignificant.” That interaction is now lore in my family. Whether you find small talk interesting, or irrelevant, Simone notes that it’s been around since at least Shakespeare’s time, as noted in the above quote, said just five scenes before Othello murders Desdemona, making it abundantly clear that he is, in fact, not “well” or “fine” at all.
January 19th, 2014 → 6:20 am
“Painfully to pore upon a book
To seek the light of truth.” – Love’s Labor’s Lost
It’s back to school this week! To all the students – and teachers – out there, have fun, study hard, ask lots of questions, and enjoy yourselves!
January 16th, 2014 → 8:01 am
“Dear earth, I do salute thee with my hand.” – Richard II
It has been a crazy winter this year, intense snow storms, a polar vortex, bone cold temperatures. The harsh weather humbles me; it reminds me to salute the earth and everything about it that I still do not understand.
January 14th, 2014 → 7:56 am
“To hold opinion with Pythagoras,
That souls of animals infuse themselves
Into the trunks of men.” – Merchant of Venice
A neuroeconomics professor has been conducting MRIs on dogs and discovering their feelings. A new website details the love of all animals. And an op-ed in the New York Times today is all about According Animals Dignity. Pythagoras may just have been right.