dual personalities

Tag: quotes

January 1, 2015

Happy New Year!

by chuckofish

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Can you find the pixilated Dual Personality in this festive bunch?

I give you an old reliable–but still wonderful–poem for the new year by Alfred Tennyson. Nothing much has changed since he wrote it in 1850. I mean people are still people and it is good to keep that in mind. Tennyson was writing about the “faithless coldness of the times” back then too.

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darknss of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

 

3 Comments
December 17, 2014

This and that: “Um Dasher, Dancer… Prancer… Nixon, Comet, Cupid… Donna Dixon?”*

by chuckofish

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A Christmas Carol  was published on December 19 in 1843.

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Have you read it recently? One year our headmaster read it in chapel and was much mocked for his efforts. He was new, following a genuine Englishman who could read anything he liked (although there may have been some eye-rolling when he hauled out A Child’s Christmas in Wales every year). Unfortunately the new guy set the tone badly for his tenure at our school with his oafish and over-dramatic reading of this classic (“God bless us every one!”). At least that’s the way I remember it.

I usually watch one of the many versions filmed over the years. Scrooge, made in England in 1951, stars Alistair Sim, and is I believe a very close rendition of the original.

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Indeed, much of the dialogue is taken word-for-word from the book (“An intelligent boy!” said Scrooge. “A remarkable boy!”).

I’ll admit I cheated yesterday and read the end of the book online. Dickens writes that the reformed Scrooge:

…went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows: and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk — that anything — could give him so much happiness.

Dickens himself was a great walker in the city and this passage probably is a pretty good description of himself, don’t you think?

Anyway, I think a re-reading might be in order.

img_1224090636638_291In other news, here’s some interesting advice for my fellow introverts.

img_1224090636638_291I love the  “Humans of New York” blog, but I really liked this one. Is the world random or is there an unseen finger guiding us? Hello.

img_1224090636638_291The first episode of The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” aired on this day in 1989–25 years ago!

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You will recall that in this episode Homer gets a second job as a Santa Claus in a shopping mall in order to pay for Christmas presents. He doesn’t make enough, of course, so he goes to the dog track where Santa’s Little Helper enters into the story and Homer says, “Did you hear that, Boy? Santa’s Little Helper. It’s a sign. It’s an omen.” Bart replies, “It’s a coincidence, Dad.”

Again with the random/not-so-random question. Hmmm. Amazingly, it all ends well.

Have a good Wednesday–we’re over the hump! Daughter #2 arrives on Friday! Can daughter #1 be far behind?

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*”Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (1989)

5 Comments
December 15, 2014

Sleepers, wake!*

by chuckofish

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Advent Three. The second lesson was I Thessalonians 5: 16-24, which you will recall I blogged about last month.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (NRSV)

You would think that it would be easy to rejoice during this particular  holiday season as we await the birth of our saviour. But it isn’t, is it? We feel harried and under the gun. We try so hard and no one seems to notice. We aren’t included causing us to feel left out and once again like our 8th grade personas.  We miss our loved ones and feel lonely. Sigh.

Well, I say turn off Facebook and turn to your prayer book (or Walt Whitman) instead. Take a walk. Give thanks that you can. Have a glass of wine. Give thanks in all circumstances.

It’s all good.

*Hymn #61

4 Comments
December 9, 2014

“There’s a certain Slant of light”*

by chuckofish

Today is Emily Dickinson’s birthday!

emily-dickinsonEmily lived her whole life (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) in Amherst, Massachusetts. She lived in this beautiful house, called by her family “The Homestead”.

emily's home

She had a room of her own, and for Emily, this seems to have been enough. She also had her family and she did not lack for friends. She may have seemed “eccentric” to some, but plenty of people thought she was pretty cool. If she was mysterious back in her day, she is increasingly misunderstood now.

The Emily Dickinson Home, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 280 Main St. in Amherst, MA. Although I lived in the vicinity during my college years, I never visited the house. I saw it, but never went inside. The property, which is now owned by Amherst College, is a museum and is open to the public for guided tours March through December. It is definitely on my “to do/see” list.

So tonight let’s toast Emily and read a few of her poems. Here’s a good one for a winter afternoon:

There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
We can find no scar,
But internal difference –
Where the Meanings, are –
None may teach it – Any –
‘Tis the seal Despair –
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air –
When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
On the look of Death –
2 Comments
December 5, 2014

Yet what I can, I give Him

by chuckofish

Today we celebrate the birthday of Christina Rosetti (December 5, 1830 – December 29, 1894), a 19th century English poet and devout Anglican. She wrote the poem that was set to music and is one of my favorite Christmas carols, In the Bleak Midwinter.

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk,
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air –
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what I can, I give Him –
Give my heart.

Here is a lovely rendition of this beautiful carol:

This may get you headed in the right direction–that is, not toward the mall, but to wherever you go to listen to that still, small voice in your heart.

Have a great weekend and enjoy Advent II.

1 Comment
December 2, 2014

I couldn’t agree more

by chuckofish

PD-James

“My love for the Prayer Book began in very early childhood, before I could read – when I could only listen to it. Of course, it was the only book used then. Later, when I could read, during long, boring sermons I would read it and specially loved the instructions – for instance, those to priests for giving holy communion in time of pestilence. That conjured up pictures in my childish mind of the priest walking with the sacred vessels through the almost deserted village, almost certainly to become ill himself; or the prayers for when in danger on the sea, knowing that they would have been read by everyone on board, and the ship would almost certainly founder.

“There is so much history, romance, and great beauty in it. And the prayers like the General Thanks­giving and the prayers after com­mun­ion are so superb that they meet my need in praying much better than my own words do, and I still use them in private prayer.

“I enjoy services in other denom­inations, like those of the Reformed Church, or going to a Roman Catholic mass with a friend – but what is essential to me is an atmos­phere of devotion and concentration on God. If there’s a great deal of happy-clappy singing and an­nounce­ments of birthdays, and so on, I can see that it binds people together, but I don’t personally find it’s useful to me. I want silence, so I can concentrate on God – not just talking to him and giving him a list of my requirements.”

–Baroness P.D. James, who died last week, quoted in the Church Times, 2009

1 Comment
November 26, 2014

Come, ye thankful people, come

by chuckofish

Raise the song of harvest home!

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I am working a half day today. Then I will get ready for tomorrow’s feast.

I have already started to set the table.

IMGP1131I like to mix up my china, using some of my own fine china pattern (Autumn) and some of my mother’s pattern (Nydia)–both Lenox. And I love this vintage Vera tablecloth! So autumnal.

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And what would a holiday table be without these guys?  Of course.

Have a good day and don’t work too hard.

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

5 Comments
November 19, 2014

“By my troth, I was seeking for a fool when I found you.” *

by chuckofish

 

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Yesterday marked our 1000th post. Gee whiz.

A big thank you to our loyal followers for sticking with us.

I guess I know who we’ll be toasting tonight!

1383845_770969569640056_5004344412959271949_n*Shakespeare, As You Like It

 

13 Comments
November 17, 2014

Our shelter from the stormy blast*

by chuckofish

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Yes, the Christmas cacti are blooming! Can it really be that time of year again?

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It must be…’cause it snowed too!

Note the leaf bags!

Note the leaf bags!

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The anthem at the Offertory at church on Sunday was the poem “Love” by George Herbert (1593-1632) which is a particularly lovely one:

Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,

Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning

If I lacked anything.

“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here”:

Love said, “You shall be he.”

“I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,

I cannot look on thee.”

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

“Who made the eyes but I?”

“Truth, Lord; but I have marred them; let my shame

Go where it doth deserve.”

“And know you not,” says Love, “who bore the blame?”

“My dear, then I will serve.”

“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”

So I did sit and eat.

It snowed all day, but never amounted to too much. Time to get serious, though, about the snowball descent to the end of the year.

Have a good week!

*Hymn #680, Isaac Watts

4 Comments
November 14, 2014

What news on the Rialto?

by chuckofish

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Did you see this funny post on the subject of pet peeves by Emily McDowell on Cup of Jo yesterday?

It got me thinking about my own pet peeves. Here are a few of mine.

1. Newscasters/journalists who make grammatical errors. Zut alors! It is reaching epidemic proportions and it really drives me crazy. I also hate when TV news reporters mispronounce words, such as “thee-A-ter” and “IN-surance”. I mean really.

2. People who microwave smelly frozen dinners for lunch at work and then the whole place smells disgusting all afternoon.

3. When there are many, many empty spots on the fourth floor of the parking garage and I park far away from everyone and someone comes and parks right next to me.

4. People who use the word “folks”.

5. Overuse of the F-bomb in 21st-century films. Ye gods! Is this really necessary? Do people really talk this way? Would it take that  much effort to write dialogue without the F-word? (P.S. Emily McDowell overuses this word too.) There is, of course, one exception to this pet peeve:

 

I laughed when I saw the pet peeve (of Emily’s) that was “excessive movie quoting”. Certainly my family has been guilty of that on occasion (okay, a lot)–but we keep  it within the family (I think). However, I think this has been going on since Shakespeare’s time. “Get thee to a nunnery!”  “What news on the Rialto?” It is just human nature to quote and to feel hip and in on the private joke doing so.

I realize these pet peeves make me sound old, old, old, and I guess I am. Daughter #1 calls me “Oldie Hawn” (btw, overuse of Simpson-quoting is not a pet peeve in my world.) Oh, well. C’est la vie.

Thank goodness it is less than two weeks until Thanksgiving when we can indulge in mega-movie-quoting while watching the above-mentioned movie. Until then, I am thinking of watching another favorite-to-quote-from movie tonight:

“So what else is on your mind besides hundred-proof women,  ninety-proof whiskey, and fourteen-carat gold?”

How about you?

8 Comments