The Sublime Roundabout

Deliver me, my Talisman. Deliver me from fear and feeling, Days of remorse and worry healing. On a sad day you clasped my hand When rising by the ocean strand The waves around me crashed in pounding. And when with lighting clouds are sounding Deliver me, my talisman. Lost in seclusion. In strange lands, In boredom’s lull my bosom taming. In the alarm of battle flaming, Deliver me, my talisman. You are my soul’s own magic lamp, You sweet and sacred trickery, When you drop dawn, are flickering! Deliver me, my Talisman. Wounds of the heart help me withstand Forever; had memories burn with fire! Farewell, fond hope, and sleep desire, Deliver me, my talisman. Alexander Pushkin My Talisman   translated into English by Julian Henry Lowenfeld

Her: I've been worried about something for a long time. The other day at that restaurant you said that the cashier's tattoos were beautiful. And I'm concerned about your relaxed opinion about homosexual behavior. You're setting a bad precedent for our children, teaching them tolerance for sin. Sure, we're supposed to love the sinner but hate the sin, but you don't have to celebrate sin. You need to be careful about what you're teaching our children. Him: (completely befuddled) I don't agree. ~fin~

So, here's a couple of random thoughts for you this morning: First off, here's something that SHOULD be in the news: http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20161117-you-may-have-to-pay-for-an-overhead-bin I know, the bit about the extra charges for overhead bin use and the fat taxes for larger airline passengers is awful. But read down a bit and you come across this nugget: Not only are fizzy drinks capable of rotting teeth, they can also remove rust. One Latvian grandfather decided to put cola to the ultimate rust-removal test by submerging his car in a pool of Coca-Cola. In a video posted online, the unnamed daredevil grandad fills a lined pit with 6,000 two-litre bottles of Coke. He then settles into the driver’s seat and speeds into the hole, smashing the front of his red Audi. Whether or not the rust was removed is unknown, but the Daily Mail contends that “improvement in the amount of rust on the car was more than outweighed by the damage to the vehicle.” Brillian...

It really was a super moon And I was struck with the quality of the light So different from the sun Calming, pure, clean Gentle and lovely Is it any wonder, then That I thought of you Your love and your grace Which blesses the darkened landscape Of my heart

Her: When people reach a certain level of mental, spiritual, and emotional growth and maturity... Him: Yeah. You don't need to say it. Her: (walking away) I'm still waiting for you. -fin-

I used to wake up each morning to a thought from you. You'd stay up late as was your wont (Do you still stay up late, I wonder) And you would write me the most lovely things Things that filled my soul Things that made me whole Things I could scarcely believe I still can't believe that you saw me that way That you felt about me the way you said That anyone could care for me like that Because no one else ever has And I don't think it's possible to find twice I sometimes wish I had kept those thoughts But they'd only serve as reminders Of what I don't have now And each time I read them My heart would rend anew And the light would vanish from my soul And those sweet golden tendrils which bound us Together Would slip away like frost in the cold morning light Alas! My heart! That I knew such love And now it is no longer mine! It's not a wound that will heal. It's just not. How can my soul be whole again when all I feel is despair? W...

I love Harry Potter. The books are fantastic, and the films don't disappoint either. Some of the more poignant scenes in the series involve Harry opening Christmas gifts from the Dursleys. Gifts ranged from a toothpick to old socks to a coat hanger to a tissue. What's great about it is that in the midst of an outpouring of wonderful gifts from those around him who truly loved him, the Dursleys never missed a chance to demonstrate their disregard. No gift at all would have been preferable, but the fact that they remembered him enough to send something showed they really just didn't like him at all. And it's the contrast of the very satisfactory gifts (which he'd never had before) and the awful ones the Dursleys sent him that made the Dursley gifts so much more awful by comparison. Last night we got a Dursley gift. It should be pointed out that "gift" in German means "poison". Coincidence? I saw this this morning: I love Stephen Colbert...

It's astonishing to me how things just seem to work out. Some things are rushed through and turn out OK in the end only after a great deal of remedial work. Other things are more methodical and everything seems to turn out OK only after a longer time. Still other things are initially intended to be one way, only to turn and go a completely different direction, one which finds a better conclusion that could have been anticipated. And some things are abandoned completely, which is its own kind of resolution. But on balance, I've found that things have a way of ultimately and completely working their way out. Fate. Karma. The Great Pumpkin. Whatever. Life works out. I just wish I was more patient and humble, submitting to the inevitable. Never was my strong suit. Ecclesiastes 3 - 1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven :  2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A t...

We're getting down to it in this election. It's been... um... interesting? Disturbing? Frustrating? Disgusting?!? All of the above. But one thing it's not been is boring. I say that, but I've been bored with it at times. There were times when it looked like things were so hand-picked that we're looking at nothing really significant being done. And perhaps that's my biggest beef with Hillary - she's just boring. Donald is repulsive and reprehensible, but he's not boring. So thank goodness for that. The CNN poll I saw today has Hillary ahead by five points. I am not sure how they arrived at that number, but it's significant because even though that's a fairly slim margin in the popular vote, the popular vote has only ever really been the slimmest of margins. This article from NPR points that out: http://www.npr.org/2016/11/02/500112248/how-to-win-the-presidency-with-27-percent-of-the-popular-vote Interestingly, the point of that article is...