Leonard Cohen reminds me of E.E. Cummings

From "The Great Divide"

And when I gathered up to leave
You drew me to your side
To be as Adam was to Eve
Before the Great Divide

And fastened here we cannot move
Except to one another
We spread and drown as lilies do
From nowhere to the centre

And here I cannot lift a hand
To trace the lines of beauty
But lines are traced and love is glad
To come and go so freely

And here no sin can be confessed
No sinner be forgiven
It's written that the law must rest
Before the law is written

And here the silence is erased
The background all dismantled
Your beauty cannot be compared
No mirror here, no shadow ...

Note the feminine ("almost") rhymes, B!

L

Blogger doesn't recognize less than three

MCMLXXXIII.

RIP. IOU. BRB.

L

My hope for the world

If I could teach students, writers, and copyeditors only one thing, it might be this: the past tense of lead (verb, pronounced LEED: to guide others by going in advance of) is led, not lead (noun, pronounced LED: a soft grey metal). I see this error made so commonly that I'm starting to doubt that the distinction is correct (but it is: I checked!).

Professional editors should not make this mistake. But perhaps I am a lone voice in this particular language wilderness.

Sighfully,
L

Toward the new year

From "It Won't Take Long" (as performed by Indigo Girls; original lyrics by Ferron)

...oh beware you sagging diplomats
for you will not hear one gun
and though our homes be torn and ransacked
we will not be undone
for as we let ourselves be bought
we're gonna let ourselves be free
and if you think we stand alone
take a look around and you will see

we are children in the rafters
we are babies in the park
we are lovers at the movies
we are candles in the dark
we are changes in the weather
we are snowflakes in july
we are women grown together
we are men who easily cry
we are words not quickly spoken
we're the deeper side of try
we are dreamers in the making
we are not afraid of why

Ah.

Snowbound,
L

What Book Am I?

Took a quiz to find out what book I am. Here is the result:

You're The Dictionary!
by Merriam-Webster
You're one of those know-it-all types, with an amazing amount of knowledge at your command. People really enjoy spending time with you in very short spurts, but hanging out with you for a long time tends to bore them. When folks really need an authority to refer to, however, you're the one they seek. You're an exceptional speller and very well organized.

Wow! I'm amazed.

Want to take the book quiz yourself? Go here. Enjoy!

Procrastination!

Nothing adds to putting off the inevitable like a joke...

Q. What's a dyslexic agnostic insomniac?
A. Someone who lies awake all night wondering if there really is a dog.

L,
wondering whether she in fact knows a dyslexic agnostic insomniac

I think I can; I think I can...

This comic describes exactly the state of my life right now.

Love PhD Comics!

L

An aphorism ...

... demonstrating rhetorical schemes ...

"Do you have what you need? Do you need what you have?"

L

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping it's wonderful for everyone.

L

(And is there anything as satisfying as shredding documents for an hour?!? woot!)

I hear a lot of stories; I suppose they could be true

What to believe: what one says or what one does? After all, I have faith; I just want proof...

Very very tired,
L

Brer Rabbit Days

As a wise man once wrote, "I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." Or, to put it another way: "You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal..."

Hmm.


"Landslide"

I took my love and I took it down,
Climbed a mountain and turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'Til the landslide brought it down

Oh, mirror in the sky, What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know, I don't know

Well, I've been afraid of changing
Because I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder,
Even children get older
And I'm getting older, too

So, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
The landslide will bring it down...

Musicians Are Bossy

The other night, B observed that there are many songs that instruct listeners "don't" do something. Being who I am, I wanted to know how many songs in my iTunes would demonstrate the concept. Here's the list (and there are others that I know but don't own). — L


Don't Ask Me No Questions - Lynyrd Skynyd
Don't Ask Me Why - Billy Joel
Don't Ask Me Why - Eurythmics
Don't Be Cruel - Cheap Trick
Don't Be Lonely - Quarterflash
Don't Bring Me Down - ELO
Don't Close the Door - Gerry Rafferty
Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Sinéad O'Connor
Don't Cry Out Loud - Melissa Manchester
Don't Explain - Herbie Hancock
Don't Fade Away - Milla
(Don't Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
Don't Fence Me In - David Byrne
Don't Fight It - Kenny Loggins
Don't Fight It - Red Rider
Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) - Glass Tiger
Don't Forget to Dance - The Kinks
Don't Get Mad, Get Even - Aerosmith
Don't Get Me Wrong - The Pretenders
Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel
Don't Go - Yaz
Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John and Kiki Dee
Don't Go to Strangers - Joni Mitchell
Don't Interrupt the Sorrow - Joni Mitchell
Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
Don't Let Him Know - Prism
Don't Let It End - Styx
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight - James Taylor
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - The Animals
Don't Let Me Down - No Doubt
Don't Let Me Go - Billy Squier
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John (also by Oleta Adams and by Roger Daltry)
Don't Make Me Come to Vegas - Tori Amos
Don't Mess with Orgasmatron - DJ Earworm
Don't Pass Me By - The Beatles
Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake - Kate Bush
Don't Put It Down - Hair Soundtrack
Don't Say No - Billy Squier
Don't Say You Love Me - Billy Squier
Don't Speak - No Doubt
Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police
Don't Stop - Chilliwack
Don't Stop - Olivia Newton-John
Don't Stop - The Rolling Stones
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Don't Stop Believing - Olivia Newton-John
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
Don't Stop the Music - Rhianna
Don't Tell Me - Blancmange
Don't Think of Me - Dido
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - Bob Dylan
Don't Walk Away - ELO
Don't Worry 'Bout Me - Joni Mitchell
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

Why the internet is dying...

...advertisers. Sitting, watching, waiting for pages to load. Pages that can't load, won't load, until the streaming video ads load. Time to close that tab. I'm just not interested enough to wait and wait and wait...

I am slowly going crazy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7!
Crazy going slowly am I
7 6 5 4 3 2 1!

L

End of long day

All of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head's a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what I've been through...

— Brandi Carlile

The Imperative Playlist

For your mind's ear's aural pleasure!

Be My Girl
Be Near Me
Burn It to the Ground
Bust a Move
Call Me
Don't Stop the Music
Dream On
Evacuate the Dance Floor
Give Me Some Love
Pour Some Sugar on Me

L

nr: _Schooled_ by Gordon Korman
np: "Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix

How do cats feel about baths?

I love this passage!

It's not that cats don't _like_ baths. It's not that cats have a difficult relationship with baths. It's not that cats chose not to vote for baths in the last election. It's not that cats would rather choose vanilla over baths. It's not that cats neglect to send baths a card on their birthdays. It's not that cats pick baths last when choosing sides for a kick ball game. It's not that cats think about baths in the same way a fire hydrant thinks about dogs. It's not that cats look at baths in the same way that a vegetarian looks at ten pounds of raw liver. It's not that cats once bought baths an awesome present that cost an entire month's allowance, and then baths didn't even have the decency to say "thank you."

It's simply that ...

CATS HATE BATHS!

Despite this warning, if you want to know how to give a cat a bath, read Nick Bruel's Bad Kitty Gets a Bath.

If nothing else, you'll have something to smile about while you heal from the shredding your kitty's going to give you.

L

Meet the iPhone, ca. 1945

Your interesting fact of the day, from an article by Vannevar Bush, 1945, about his proposed device, the memex:

... a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory.

Apart from the mechanization (which has been supplanted by digitization), Bush foresaw smart phones and similar hand-held devices. He did recognize, though, that computers would be integral to the realization of the memex, which he did not live to see produced.

L

Happy places

Libraries have long been my happy places. Tonight on the Edmonton Public Library site I found these pictures. Good times.

The first image shows one of the ducks from the children's section at the Centennial Library. I miss the ducks! And the iguana!



The second image shows the exterior of the Dickinsfield Library, a location where I spent vast amounts of formative time and where my independence began to grow. On the other end of the mall were chocolate donuts, always an incentive.



These are my happy places; these are my heart songs.

L

For Elephants, Whenever I May Find Them

Back to the grind after a long, long weekend. Gird yourself!

Not once in our history
Has an ant gone out and captured
An elephant single-handedly.

Hafiz; Daniel Ladinsky, trans.

Art and Philosophy

Reading about and looking again at my beloved Klimt. Ahh.


The sun will stand as your best man
And whistle

When you have found the courage
To marry forgiveness,

When you have found the courage
To marry
Love.

— Hafiz; Daniel Ladinsky, trans.