January 28th, 2013 → 8:22 am
“What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more. – Hamlet
My life feels so busy, as though all I do is sleep, feed, work, and take care of my family. I haven’t found time to write in ages… Is such a life beastly? Devoid of higher purpose? If so, I imagine most of humanity is indeed rather beastly…
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 26th, 2013 → 8:38 am
“Since I received command to do this business
I have not slept one wink.” – Cymbeline
My son is going through another one of his not-sleep-through-the-night-at-all phases and it’s exhausting. 1:30 am, 2:30 am, 4:30 am cries, and then 5:30 am he’s up for good. My husband and I feel like we haven’t had a good night’s sleep in two and a half years, and, because we’ve never pawned him off on anybody for a long weekend, that’s probably true. Oye, the joys of parenthood!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 24th, 2013 → 6:36 am
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.” – Henry V
This, of course, is one of Shakespeare’s more famous quotes. It refers to a bunch of (male) soldiers about to enter a great battle together. And I am glad to say that as of today, it is outdated! U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced yesterday that the military is ending the ban on women in combat. Finally. From what I understand, removing the ban was only ever controversial to politicians and ignorant non-military personnel at this point. Few in the military doubted any longer women’s competence and ability in combat roles.
January 21st, 2013 → 6:46 am
“The King’s name is a tower of strength.” – Richard III
Happy Martin Luther King Day. I pray for peace and nonviolence the world over.
January 16th, 2013 → 6:34 am
“Rich she shall be, that’s certain;
wise, or I’ll none;
virtuous, or I’ll never cheapen her;
fair, or I’ll never look on her;
mild, or come not near me;
noble, or not I for an angel;
of good discourse, an excellent musician, and her hair shall be –
of what colour it please God.” – Much Ado About Nothing
I keep reading about booming fracking towns like Williston, North Dakota, where unemployment is less than 1% and money and men abound. The problem is that women do not, and in many of these places the ratio is like 2:1 men to women. Apparently this scarcity of women has led to a lot of crazy things, but what stuck me in the article this morning was the coining of the term “Williston 10” for women that normally would be considered average, but in Williston seem a perfect 10. I can’t tell if this is funny, or offensive. I mean, it does follow basic economic theory, that as scarcity increases so does value, so I should praise its core economic logic. But at the same time, we’re talking people here! All I know is that Benedick would definitely have a hard time getting a date in Williston.
January 14th, 2013 → 8:06 am
“[Aaron] is in his grave;
After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.
Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,
Malice domestc, foreign levy, nothing,
Can touch him further.” – Macbeth
In all honesty, I did not know who Aaron Swartz was until he committed suicide on Friday, though his life did touch mine rather directly through the JSTOR imbroglio (a current research project of mine utilizes copious amounts of JSTOR articles, which I had trouble getting because of what he did). But for some reason, I’m captivated by his life, his death, and everything that’s being written about him now. I feel like he could have been my friend. I don’t agree with everything that he did, but I deeply recognize the passion with which he did it. My heart goes out to him, wherever he is.
January 8th, 2013 → 6:18 am
“Close up his eyes and draw the curtain close;
And let us all to meditation.” – Henry VI, Part II
I’m not all that good at relaxing, so for the holidays I was given a book on meditation. I’ve read the first few chapters and mostly it seems to recommend closing your eyes, drawing the metaphorical curtain shut, and breathing deeply. I don’t know if it will work to help me let go of my worries and angst, but it’s worth a try. Here’s to meditation, and not just after a death (as in the quote above)!
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
January 1st, 2013 → 8:16 am
“Falser than vows made in wine.” – As You Like It
I’ve seen a number of Top Ten lists for New Year’s resolutions lately; they are all relatively similar and include things like: lose weight, go to the gym, spend more time with family, enjoy life more, read more, get out of debt, get organized, etc. Admittedly, I’ve made resolutions like these myself in the past, but you know what? I still need to lose weight, I still could use to go to the gym more, I should spend more time with family, and I definitely need to enjoy life more. Thus, I am not making any New Year’s resolutions this year. So there.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life
December 19th, 2012 → 8:46 am
It’s taken me over a year of writing these posts, of regularly reading Shakespeare and scanning his works for good images and descriptions, to realize that I think maybe Shakespeare had depressive tendencies. I’m not a psychologist so I don’t know exactly how to describe it, whether Shakespeare was indeed depressed, bipolar, or simply an introvert, but he was definitely not a naturally happy man. Every time I want to find a quote about happiness, joy, or goodness I find it rather difficult to find one! Meanwhile, there are entire websites devoted to Shakespeare’s insults and negative descriptions. I have a few books of quotes of Shakespeare and when I look under headings like “Love” and “Happiness” there are a few entries, but they are generally about how illusive love is, or how fleeting is the feeling of happiness. Not exactly an optimistic perspective. In truth, I’m amazed it’s taken me this long to notice how inherently pessimistic Shakespeare is, but that is probably because my nature runs along the same lines…
There is an alternative interpretation, of course: that Shakespeare may have been a happy man but his literature was negative because, well, it was entertainment and what’s more gripping than a good tragedy?! Let’s hope that’s it. And on the happiest note I could find this morning, here’s a quote about trying to stop and enjoy life for a bit:
“Sit by my side
And let the world slip. We shall ne’er be younger.” – The Taming of the Shrew
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art & Other
December 13th, 2012 → 7:54 am
“Joy delights in joy.” – Sonnet 8
My son is really getting into Hanukkah this year. Every day now he wakes up and asks for the candles, by afternoon he’s wondering when it is time to light fire, and when we open presents the look of joy on his face brings joy into my own heart. Joy clearly begets joy.
Filed under: Blog & Other & Self/My Life