Books to add to my “to buy” list:
“The Cave” by Jos� Saramago
“The History of the Siege of Lisbon” by Jos� Saramago
“All Is Vanity” by Christina Schwarz
“The Virgin in the Garden” by A.S. Byatt
“Still Life” by A.S. Byatt
“A Whistling Woman” by A.S. Byatt
I watched the movie “Kissing Jessica Stein” this morning before work. It was great.
You know, I own one Ani DiFranco album, and I’ve never been able to listen to the whole thing all the way through. This is one of those things I’ve never admitted to anyone, because everyone seems to think she’s the shit, despite that fact that you never actually hear anyone out just humming one of her tunes. But here I am admitting it, because, hey, I just found out I’m not the only one who’s not a big fan of hers. Well, that’s a relief.
From the Book: The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
TURNING and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
gyre n.
1. A circular or spiral form; a vortex: “rain swirling the night into tunnels and gyres” (Anthony Hyde).
2. A circular or spiral motion, especially a circular ocean current.
“The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity. ”
That sounds familiar.
(2014 Update: I seem to have posted this poem twice. I must have been REALLY passionate about it.)
Look at this, I’m blogging on my new PowerBook. This is so extremely cool.
Here’s a fun prank to play on your friends: campaign them for political office without their knowledge. Now that’s funny.
On a brighter note, my titanium powerbook with MacOS X just arrived. Happy, happy, joy, joy. I have a bright shiny new toy to play with.
American Science and Surplus. I love this site. I used to get the catalog and buy all kinds of goofy science gadgets. Now I can order them online.
Okay, check out the divorce papers of Tom Greene and Drew Barrymore, and compare what Tom claims are his intellectual property rights versus the intellectual property Drew owns. Hmmm. I think in this divorce, Drew must get to keep the talent. The trouble is that Tom is claiming intellectual ownership of “The Subway Monkey Hour.” Apparently he doesn’t realize that monkeys are mine.
Favorite TV shows, in order:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Gilmore Girls
Six Feet Under
West Wing
CSI
The Sopranos