Monday, July 29, 2013

Music Monday: Joe Hisaishi Edition

Music Monday, the day when I share any song or piece of music that strikes my fancy. Enjoy!

A cover of The Merry Go Round of Life by Joe Hisaishi, from the film Howl's Moving Castle.


Music trivia: Jean-Baptiste Lully, a French baroque composer, died from a broken toe. No joke. He struck his foot with a large staff he used for conducting during a performance of his Te Deum breaking his toe. Soon afterwards, the wound became infected with gangrene and he died from the infection.  

Friday, July 26, 2013

A Tribute to Awesomeness: David Suchet

Dear Mr. Suchet,

Thank you for playing Hercule Poirot for so many years, thank you for being a stand-up human being, but most of all thank you for simply being awesome.

Love,
Me :)

David Suchet Records the Entire Bible

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Post Graduation Autopsy - Part 1


"The time has come," the Speaker said,
"To talk of your careers:
Of grades - and jobs - and post-grad plans,
Of cum laudes - and of cheers -  
And while in your cap and motor-board - 
We reflect upon these four years."

Alright, so maybe poetry isn't my strong suit. I would, however, like to take a little trip down memory lane and do a top five expectation/reality. Now that I have walked the hallowed halls of my university for the last time, I think it only fitting to make a comparison of my dreamy freshman expectations and my post graduation realizations. 

Expectation
1. I'll work very, very hard and maybe graduate with honors.
2. I'll meet a ton of new people and make a lot of new friends.
3. I'll have a whole range of new and exciting experiences!
4. I'll have the time and freedom to pursue new avenues of study,
5. I'll be able to grow and find who I am in this big world.

Reality
1. I've worked very, very hard and graduated magna cum laude.
2. I've met more people than I can possible count, and made a handful of very good friends along the way.
3. I've had a lot of new experiences, some good, some bad, some in between, but every single one of them has helped me to grow. 
4. I've learned what is really important to me, and what I'm willing to sacrifice and what I'm willing to sacrifice it for.
5. I'm the same person I was before, just older and wiser, and that is who I should most like to be. :)


A Long Silence and a Grand Return

Not that I was greatly missed, as I'm not really sure if my lovely readers actually exist. If they did at one time they're probably long gone now. Hopefully, a little music and a little blogging will bring the veracious hordes galumphing back.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Bit of Silliness

A "paraprosdokian" is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect.

I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.

If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.

War does not determine who is right -- only who is left.

I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

The early bird might get the worm, but the late mouse gets the cheese.

Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

To steal idea from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. My desk is a workstation.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted paychecks.

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.

Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, "In an emergency, notify": I put "A DOCTOR."

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!

I discovered I scream the same way whether I'm about to be devoured by a great white shark or if a piece of seaweed touches my foot.

Some cause happiness wherever they go... Others, whenever they go.

There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

You're never too old to learn something stupid.

To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Love and Friendship


No, no, this post has nothing to do Jane Austen’s satirical short story. That is a post for another day. This post will address the difficulties that people face in their attempts to forge friendships that are lasting. In this day and age “social networks” such as myspace and facebook thwart these efforts every which way. Although these networks can be used as tools to connect and stay in contact with people, they do not facilitate very deep connections between people.


They can only operate on a superficial level, to check the status of the people on your friends list, to chat occasionally, etc. Such things help us to stay informed as to our friends' and acquaintance's movements in their day-to-day lives, but it cannot assist us in knowing the state of our friends hearts and minds. This can only be obtained through true conversation, whether face-to-face, in a letter or on the telephone.

There is an intangible, yet very real, connection of minds and hearts that is completely lost when posted for the whole world to see. True friends take personal interest in the feelings and ideas of those they have befriended, not just their recent activities. True friends are able to bear their souls to one another and feel safe in the knowledge of mutual understanding.