“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
–Mahatma Gandhi
” I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close.”
–Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda (1904-1973) was a beloved Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He wrote in green ink which was his symbol for desire and hope.
The Beautiful and Romantic Music of Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975) was a composer who wrote the scores for many famous films. He wrote the scores for the Orson Welles films Citizen Kane,The Magnificent Ambersons and the score for Jane Eyre (1944) that starred Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles. I like this version of Jane Eyre the best.
Hermann wrote the scores for 7 Alfred Hitchcock films including Vertigo. The Love Scene music from Vertigo was used in the more recent film The Artist. I thought it was very wrong that Bernard Herrmann was not mentioned in the credits of this film. When I heard the music I recognized it right away as being originally part of the score for Vertigo.
Here via Roberto Mastrosimone on You Tube is Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LA Philharmonic performing Bernard Hermann’s Scene D’Amour from Vertigo:
“Think before you speak is criticism’s motto; speak before you think, creation’s.”
–E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster (1879-1970) a well known and acclaimed English author who wrote A Room With a View, A Passage to India, and Howard’s End. All were made into films. I have seen all these films but not read the books. His books dealt with the class system in England, their values, and the shifting of power that was occurring in the early 20th century.
Battery Low, Need to Plug into Energy Source to Recharge
When things get to me
It is a kind of draining
Like when you see the battery indicator on your cell phone
Showing the charge is getting low
My energy level goes down along with my spirits
Feeling low
Have to allow time to recover and get recharged.
The Opposite of Low is Elation or Passion
I wrote this on a prior post:
Too Passionate
I think there is a passionate temperament. A person that can feel so strongly. There have been many times when I have been standing upon my soapbox and declaring my opinion about something I found wrong in the world.
During those times of strong emotion I have noted others looking on calmly, almost disinterested. I have thought to myself how can they not feel anything about this? How can anyone not feel strongly about this ? How can people feel so dispassionately about things? It is like they are already dead.
I realized that I was different.
It is not just passionate indignation that I feel. When you have the capacity for strong feelings you can feel great joy and elation as well. Like when you see something you find beautiful or hear music that you love.
I am glad I am different if it means to feel deeply and be more aware in the world. Maybe this is why I always wanted to stand up for people’s right to be different. To be who they truly are.
Have you ever felt different or been told you are different?
Some people are sensitive.
“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this:
A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive.
To him…a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.”–Pearl S. Buck
Beautiful Voice: Renee Fleming sings Song to the Moon by Dvorak via Mr.Frais on You Tube:
I read on Salon.com this morning that a sequel to the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee will be released this summer. The title of the new book is, “Go Set a Watchman.” Harper Lee, who is now 88 years old, is quoted in the Salon article. This is her first novel in 50 years. Ms. Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
One of my favorite films of all time, based on the book, is “To Kill A Mockingbird,” starring Gregory Peck. It has a whole cast of wonderful actors including Brock Peters, Robert Duvall, Alice Ghostley and many more. Mary Badham and Phillip Alford play the children Scout and Jem. The screenplay is by Horton Foote and music by Elmer Bernstein.
We have our own copy of the DVD and have watched it over and over. I think the story is still pertinent today. It is about racial prejudice and prejudice against people who are mentally ill. It about standing up for what is right even when many people around you are against you. It is told through the eyes of the little girl Scout. I love her relationship with her brother Jem and all their adventures with their visiting summer friend Dill. There is some mystery in the story surrounding their neighbor Boo Radley who is shut away in his house except for his nighttime forays where he leaves little gifts in the hollow of a tree for the children.
I am very interested in reading this new book. It is about Scout as an adult. You can read more about it in the Salon article. It states that Harper Lee wrote this book before she wrote “To Kill A Mockingbird” and the novel was just discovered last Fall. I suspect it will be made into a film sometime in the future.
Some fun and hopefully humorous writing as part of my Making Blogging More Enjoyable for Me Project. My posts may not follow a regular schedule. Just when I feel inspired to do so.
I have seen some evidence in the comment section of my blog and from accounts given by fellow bloggers of a certain condition called Grammar Pedant Disorder (GPD). I will attempt to give a description of this disorder. Or at least traits I have identified so far and how I imagine that they develop. This is not a scientific study but based on anecdotal evidence and accounts. I do not claim to be an expert.
Signs of Beginning Grammar Pedant Disorder (GPD) or Stage I:
Signs of Moderate GPD or Stage II:
Signs of Full Blown GPD or Stage III:
This disorder has been in evidence for quite some time and now the medical community is taking note of it. There have been discussions of listing it as a category of mental illness in the DSM. If you feel you may be experiencing some of the signs and symptoms of this condition you should contact your doctor. There are support groups available in some communities for those wanting to recover from GPD.
This post is provided as a public service to new writers who may unknowingly come under the scrutiny of a person suffering with GPD. Having someone with this disorder as your mentor or Imaginary Reader is not recommended. It is also provided as a self-awareness exercise to guard against these traits developing in you.
Additional reading on this topic: I found an essay on Medium.com by a young lady, Mary Rolf, who identifies herself as a former Grammar Snob. She writes very eloquently about all the reasons she decided not be a snob. I have recently had thoughts similar to hers so her writing really resonated with me. If you think you suffer from GPD or think you could be described as a Grammar Snob I recommend you consider some of her arguments against it. https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/why-i-stopped-being-a-grammar-snob-aac6634d79af
I also recommend the book, ” Bad English, A History of Linguistic Aggravation,” by Ammon Shea
I have been thinking about this recently. That I am going to take a break from my blog. My temperament is such that I normally do not like to talk a lot and make small talk. Blogging feels like making a lot of small talk to me. And I have picked up on a mean tone to it. I wrote about it in by blog about the grammar police.
I read something about Winter. That it is a time to slow down, go inward and reflect. I am ready to do that.
Blogging has been an experiment for me to see if I like writing and have any ability. I do think I have some ability. Right now I do not like having it dominate my life. I find that I do not like doing it to this extent. So frequently and so much.
I may drop in and read others blogs, comment and post again myself. Not sure just now.
Glad to meet some other friendly bloggers and appreciate the kind comments some of you have made about my posts. I appreciate the support of my friends and family as well.
“A label is a mask life wears. We put labels on life all the time. “Right,” “wrong,” “success,” “failure,” “lucky,” “unlucky,” may be as limiting a way of seeing things as “diabetic,” “epileptic,” “manic-depressive,” or even “invalid.” Labeling sets up an expectation of life that is often so compelling we can no longer see things as they really are. This expectation often gives us a false sense of familiarity toward something that is really new and unprecedented. We are in relationship with our expectations and not with life itself.”
–Rachel Naomi Remen
Rachel Naomi Remen is a doctor and author. I have read both her books several times. Sometimes I like to read them before going to sleep at night because they give me inspiration and peace. The two books I am referring to are “Kitchen Table Wisdom” and My Grandfather’s Blessing.”
Rachel struggled with her own chronic illness and still managed to get through medical school. She became a doctor when women in medicine were not often welcomed and accepted. She started out as a Pediatrician and later counseled people battling cancer. She is a member of the faculty at the University of California San Francisco Medical School. She founded the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Northern California with Dr. Michael Lerner.
“I have already settled it for myself so that flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.”–Georgia O’Keeffe
|OneLinerWednesday| on Thursday.
“There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and those that don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.”–Lynn Truss
Unsolicited corrections of others writing is not a helpful thing. I am happy that I have not experienced it very much. But this came home to me when I read another blogger apologizing for his grammar mistakes. He went on to say something like he was learning and to cut him some slack. I interpreted this as telling the grammar police, to back off ,in a nice way. Another blogger referred to these critics as “Grammar Nazis.” I believe it is a type of trolling.
Even though I have not been “corrected” often, I did find the experience caused me to hesitate when writing and wonder if I was making mistakes.
This is wrong. We are not writing essays for an English class. If we are going to be published in a magazine, newspaper or book the editors can advise us.
I have a blogging friend who is a grammar expert and writes a blog criticizing grammar mistakes in well-known publications. I did say to her once, that I felt I could be making grammar mistakes and, as she was one of my readers, was a bit self-conscious. She said I did not have a staff of editors like a big newspaper and therefore should not worry. I hope she meant that in a good way. Not that I was making tons of mistakes but, after all, I do not have an editor. 🙂 She has liked my writing.
Blogging lends itself to a stream of consciousness style of writing. If I am truly writing that way, I am probably making errors. Sometimes I catch them and sometimes I don’t. And sometimes I don’t realize I am making them. If my writing is truly unclear, the reader can ask for clarification.
I read that Jack Kerouac did not use periods, wrote on a long scroll, and did not edit himself. I have read a few quotes from his writing and feel, if I could write as good as he did, I would feel fine about leaving out a few periods
Blogging can be a format for experimentation and play. Bloggers are creating something out of their unique perspectives and engaged in exploration. I don’t think they should be held back and made self-conscious by having their grammar mistakes pointed out on their blogs.
I did a bit of experimentation myself with this verse:
To the Nitpickers
So parsimonious,
sanctimonious,
They claim your grammar is erroneous,
Though they claim to be platonic,
Their effect on you is so kryptonic,
When they say your writing is synonymous,
with everything that is cryptonymous,
In reality their critiques are very pompous,
And it sticks in my esophagus,
Piddly, diddly,
Picayune
And
Small potatoes
And one more thing by College Humor on You Tube:
|JusJoJan|
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