{{Singing}} "Brush Up Your Shakespeare...."

I have been very bad about keeping up with my reading of Shakespeare for the past two months. I just really haven't been in the mood. I want to read all his works within 12 months, just to say that I read them all in one year's time, but it's hard to make myself read something I'm not in the mood for.

I shall persevere however.

Here is my updated LIST, if anyone is interested. I've recently read "Romeo and Juliet" (not ever a favorite by ANY means!!!), mainly because I figured it was a good one to use to introduce Eler Beth to The Bard, "King John" (a bit weak, but still Shakespeare), the Sonnets (again, because it fit in with Eler Beth's poetry unit we're doing), and two of my very favorite comedies, "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Twelfth Night". We read them, and then we watched the movies.

Has anyone else kept up with your Shakespeare lately?

Can anyone tell me (without googling) what the titular quote is from?

NaNoWriMo Just Around the Corner

Have decided I'm going to do NaNoWriMo again this year. I have an idea out of which I think I can get 50,000 words. My only problem will be not getting started on it until November 1!!

I Can't Sleep

It isn't unusual for me to have insomnia when it's a full moon.

I have tried, but sleep just isn't coming tonight. And I just keep having to step outside to see that full moon and that bright Jupiter sparkling beneath! That is just so neat!!

That was the best I could do with my camera. In that first one, you can actually see a planet shape.

Okay, so fall is here. Officially today it got up to 99°F in our area, and this was the 81st day of 90° or higher temps for the Louisville/Southern Indiana area. We broke a record set back in the 50s, I believe the news report said. But showers are moving in over the weekend and hanging around for much of next week, and the temps are going to be lower. I certainly don't want cold weather to take over, and I don't really want a lot of rain either, but it would be nice to have fall temps now that fall is officially here.

Patience and Love

I recently came across the following poem by Joseph Mills. I think it's a beautiful poem, and I believe you will think so too.

THE GUARDIAN

by Joseph Mills

I don't think my brother realized all
the responsibilities involved in being
her guardian, not just the paperwork
but the trips to the dentist and Wal-Mart,
the making sure she has underwear,
money to buy Pepsis, the crying calls
because she has no shampoo even though
he has bought her several bottles recently.
We talk about how he might bring this up
with the staff, how best to delicately ask
if they're using her shampoo on others
or maybe just allowing her too much.
"You only need a little, Mom," he said,
"Not a handful." "I don't have any!"
she shouted before hanging up. Later
he finds a bottle stashed in her closet
and two more hidden in the bathroom
along with crackers, spoons, and socks.
Afraid someone might steal her things,
she hides them, but then not only forgets
where, but that she ever had them at all.

I tease my brother, "You always wanted
another kid." He doesn't laugh. She hated
her father, and, in this second childhood,
she resents the one who takes care of her.
When I call, she complains about how
my brother treats her and how she hasn't
seen him in years. If I explain everything
he's doing, she admires the way I stick up
for him. Doing nothing means I do nothing
wrong. This is love's blindness and love's
injustice. It's why I expect to hear anger
or bitterness in my brother's voice, and why
each time we talk, no matter how closely
I listen, I'm astonished to hear only love.

"The Guardian" by Joseph Mills, from Love and Other Collisions. © Press 53, 2010.

I Like This -- I Think!

Check this out. I think it's cool, and at the same time, I'm not sure I could do it without cringing. I'd want to use books that I don't want to read again, but I'd also want to use books that reflect my own tastes and preferences. And if I used books I liked, would I be able to turn them into bookshelves? I guess I'd have to use duplicates of books I like. What do you think? It is a great way to recycle!

J-Land -- Not Forgotten, and Not Really Gone Either

Today, August 21, is the anniversary of AOL Journals, the beginning of our virtual community we called J-Land.


When AOL shut us down and most of us moved to Blogger, it was a bit exciting and hectic for a while, getting used to a new format, getting our own journals transferred over, and finding all our friends. We lost several J-Landers who decided to stop journaling instead of making the switch, but I find that most of my original buddies are still around, and I've found a lot of new friends as well.

I don't blog as much as I used to, but most of that is really just because life is busy these days. I know that my blog and my friends are here whenever I have something I want to say, and I really appreciate that more than I can say. So Happy Anniversary to J-Land, and to all of you!



Thank you Donna for the J-Land tag!

Once, Twice, or Another Number of Times....

Has anyone read any Donald Barthelme? In particular, has anyone read "The Indian Uprising"? If not, I would certainly recommend it. The story has three main themes -- violence of war, male-female relationships, and deception -- and he mixes these themes and blends them quite remarkably. Barthelme's style isn't for everyone, but I love the way he plays with words and syntax, especially in this story. I would also recommend "Robert Kennedy Saved From Drowning", written only two months before Kennedy's assassination, and "Snow White", published in 1967.

If you like the writing styles of T.S. Elliot, Samuel Becket, James Joyce, Mallarme and even Baudelaire, you will like Barthelme. (Well, even if you don't like the above authors and poets, I think you would find something that you would like by Barthelme.) I don't think Eler Beth is ready to read or understand him, but I have enjoyed getting reacquainted with him.

"The Indian Uprising" is included in a collection of short stories by Barthelme called "Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts", which you should be able to find in your local library. There is a pretty decent summary of the story here, but you can't really feel the "weird dream" quality of the story without actually reading it.