Confessions (#12)

Today I enjoyed a meal of ribs and wings with a side of biscuits; good conversation with my wife, children, parents, and a sibling; and a quiet evening sitting down, typing up a blog post. The week itself, started off rough:  I was knocked out for an entire day by my second Covid-19 vaccination. But I was fine by the next day, and settled into a week of talking and texting with friends, and getting things done. Oh, and reading books. 

So, why tonight's post? Well, memories are a funny thing, and this one is no exception. It has been on my mind for some time, and I needed to release it. Maybe this will help me feel better. Or inspire me to take some sort of constructive action. At the very least, putting it into words will force me to confront it. 

Here goes...

(I am going to pass on sharing an image. I am not in the mood.)  

Confessions (#11)

Well, it was supposed to be a short post, but it turned into something a tad bit longer. Though, not anything close to my lengthier tomes. 

Fortunately, I managed to explain the included image. 

Unfortunately, it requires you to read to the end. 

Enjoy!

On Dreaming (#9)

A few days ago I finished a book about politics, and soon I will be done with one comparing John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. Both books have inspired a ton of thinking, including self reflection. The joy I that have felt tearing through those books has been a reminder. I need to read a lot more. Too often I prioritize the wrong things, or allow certain habits to steer me away from other tasks I enjoy, especially reading. But these past few weeks I set aside time to delve into these books. And I was well rewarded. 

At some point I want to write about them. I would like to regularly post book reviews. It would help me to work on my writing skills, and incentivize more reading. Those are two habits I would love to improve.

But writing good reviews requires a bit more effort on my part. Research and rewrites will be necessary, so I would like to avoid procrastinating. This week, I am going to take a shot at a review, by working on it daily. I will see how it goes, and get back to you. Hopefully there will be something to show by next Sunday. 

  

In the meantime, I have had a series of enlightening dreams: the first about the end of one thing, the beginning of another; the second involving Kevin Bacon; the third, involving death; the fourth, what will come to pass.

(The last dream described reflects this Vincent Van Gogh painting.)

Meandering Thoughts (#8)

After last week's rather depressing post, I have decided to bring a little more levity and brevity to today's writing. Well, more of the latter, as I am not very good at the former. Hmm... I may need to work on the latter as well. Sigh. 

(A birthday card I received from my wife while were dating. It cracked me up so much, I LOLed before LOLing was even a thing. And I have been cracking up about it every since. Seriously, the look on that cow's face. Love it! For the longest time I thought this was done by Gary Larson of the Far Side comic strip. Apparently it is a greeting card design from Leigh Rubin.)

Confessions (#10)

"While still I may, I write for you

The love I lived, the dream I knew.

From our birthday, until we die,

Is but the winking of an eye;

[...]

I cast my heart into my rhymes,

That you, in the dim coming times,

May know how my heart went with them

After the red-rose-bordered hem.

  ~  To Ireland in the Coming Times by William Butler Yeats

While searching for a quote about birthdays--as an introduction to my birthday post--I discovered this particular gem. At the time, I did not share it. Instead, that day, I settled on Franz Kafka and Mark Twain, because they were lighter and simpler, though no less deeper. I saved William Butler Yeats' more somber and complex verses for today's confession. 

(I just love her gaze. Plus, I am stuck on all things Russian right now. Maybe I'll even learn the language someday...)

A Brief Interlude (#14)

"What has mood to do with it? You fight [write] when the necessity arises—no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting [writing]."

  ~ Gurney Halleck, Dune

Apologies to Gurney Halleck and to my readers (all six of them). Yes, I used this quote before, and for the same purpose, but I cannot help myself. Certain quotes just pop into my head when I hear specific words, no matter the context. Mood is one of those words, and this is the corresponding quote (with the necessary insertions to shift its meaning for tonight's topic).

And, if you have been reading this blog carefully since the beginning, you will remember I used this quote to introduce a post that I had written on a night when I was not in the mood.

Well, this is another such night.

(I did not draw this picture. Explain the image in the post.)

Meandering Thoughts (#7)

"Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

  ~ Mark Twain 

"Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." 

  ~ Franz Kafka 

I don't mind, and I can still see beauty, so I should be okay.

It's that time of the year. Forgive me, but I need a moment to figure out how old I am. In the meantime, here is some background concerning my general indifference towards my birthdays.

(IIRC, I shared Pierre-Auguste Renoir's A Dance in the Country before. I enjoyed looking at it so much, I decided to share it again. But in my search for a new link, I discovered that it was part of series. The two other paintings are nearly as beautiful, though a special fondness remains for the woman in a Dance in the Country.)

One Year Anniversary!

Okay, so while doing some preliminary research for this post (i.e., searching through this blog), I discovered something interesting and funny. For the past few weeks I have been anxious about not reaching my 100th post on the one year anniversary of this blogging.  You can read about it here and here. Yes, it is not that important, but it would satisfy a certain part of my mind to have those two numbers align.

Well, I am happy to report I discovered a post from back in September, a Weekly Checkup, that seems to have been reverted to "draft" status. Well, I republished it just now, and found the total number of current posts to have finally reached ninety-nine. 

Today's post is going to bring my to one hundred!

Sigh. I feel relief. And regret. 

Read on to find out why.

(BTW, for the more observant of you, yes, my first two blog posts were published on April 5, 2020. And, yes, this blog post will be published on April 4, 2021, around 10 pm. Unfortunately, for complex reasons, I need to officially publish the weekly blog post on a Sunday night around 10 pm, and quickly follow it up with a Facebook post linking to the blog. Hence the discrepancy in the dates. Trust me, it is complex, but it is worth it.)

(I have shared a lot of beautiful and powerful paintings on this blog, but this is the earliest, and one of my top ten favorite ones.)

Meandering Thoughts (#6)

An older monk and younger one were traveling along a road. They came upon a shallow but muddy stream. Beside it stood a beautiful woman in a pretty dress. Without hesitation and ignoring his vow to not touch women, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the stream, and placed her down on the other side. Without a word, he continued on down the road.

The younger monk, shocked and angered by his mentor's actions, quickly crossed the stream, and fell in line beside him. Hours passed, and neither spoke. However, the young monk, still disturbed and appalled by what he had witnessed, finally said something.

'Why did you carry that woman, knowing that you were breaking a vow?'

'I did carry her, but I put her down immediately, and left her there by the stream. That was hours ago. So, why are you still carrying her?"

~ Old Buddhist Story

I do love that story. For years I have been trying to develop a version that has a middle-aged monk in there, stirring shit up. Because life is not that simple. And it takes a person in his forties to point that out. Haha.

(I can always count on Norman Rockwell. Seriously, check out these images. There are some real gems. I chose the two below because they reflect different aspects of my current mood. I think they are both powerful, but in subtle ways.)

Meandering Thoughts (#5)

April 5, 2021, will be the one year anniversary of this blog. But if I continue my pace of one post a week, I will end up celebrating with my ninety-ninth post. Since I prefer that numbers align neatly, I will be forced to take action. Therefore, I will be writing up something extra during the next two weeks. So, what should I discuss? The subject of my 100th post will of course be an "anniversary" piece. Next week's will most likely address another special event happening that Saturday. So, that leaves the topic of tonight's post and the extra one to be determined. 

And, thanks to an inspiring event this past week, I am all set. 

That floating post, to be published some time over the next two weeks, will be a book review.

And tonight's will uncover some of my reasons for doing it.

(Seriously, my treadmill has several stats it records during my routine: time, distance, elevation traversed, and calories. When they don't end in zeroes, especially the time and distance, it drives me nuts.)  

(I found this painting beautiful, especially the colors, but also amusing, for some reason. There are more paintings of women reading at this link. It includes one of my personal favorites, Jove decadent by Ramon Casas. And one of a nude woman reading. I am sure we have all done that at one time, right?)