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So interesting and what a coincidence. This morning as I read the "news" and saw Kate in her "hat" my reaction is how overblown the interest is in royalty. Personally I couldn't care less, but I do understand the general following. Last night on PBS was yet another British royalty documentary (the dukes and their families and mansions) and from a sociological/anthropological point of view I marveled. I wonder if in the natural/animal kingdom such royalty stuff gets played out. The news will soon be saturated with more! Yes, Kate is cute!
Yes, I am sure to many this is of no interest at all, lol.
I double majored in British History and Literature . . . and in grad school pursued 16th C Elizabethan Lit, so as you can imagine, royal lineage is of great interest to me.
I'm on baby watch too! Kate and Will make a terrific couple...I think it's really a love match. She is quite an amazing young lady, and has not made a single social faux pas, in my opinion. I wish them much happiness.
Just so refreshing in this age of Kim Kardarshian and her ilk looking so -- what is the word? tacky? lol --in maternity clothes to see an example of a woman who has some taste and class.
Diana's birthday would have been this month, I believe. I can't help thinking about how sad that she is not here to see her first grandchild.
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'
"Ozymandias" (above) by Shelley has long been a favorite of mine. Now for the riddle: Who can connect the dots to recent events in the Retirement Forum which caused me to think of this poem?
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.'
"Ozymandias" (above) by Shelley has long been a favorite of mine. Now for the riddle: Who can connect the dots to recent events in the Retirement Forum which caused me to think of this poem?
I enjoy Shelley, too! But I have no idea what events . . .
I love that line . . . "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed" . . .
What this brings to my mind (and has nothing to do with this forum, tho) is "how the mighty have fallen."
I enjoy Shelley, too! But I have no idea what events . . .
I love that line . . . "The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed" . . .
What this brings to my mind (and has nothing to do with this forum, tho) is "how the mighty havefallen."
That's it! How the (would-be) mighty and self-important have fallen! And how their monuments to themselves have disintegrated into dust! (Perhaps my thought processes are too strange and weird!)
I am reminded of another speaker in riddles, the snake in The Little Prince. The Little Prince asks the snake, "Why do you always speak in riddles?" Answer: "I solve them all." (i.e., the snake, bringer of death, will solve all our earthly riddles). ("Pourquoi parles-tu toujours en énigmes?" "Je les ressous toutes".) What a work of genius.
Can't resist another fantastic one-liner answer from the same work:
The Little Prince: It's lonely in the desert.
The snake: It's lonely among people also.
[Le Petit Prince: On est seul dans le désert.
Le serpent: On est seul aussi chez les hommes.]
I consider Saint-Exupéry to be a genius. What a tragedy that he died at age 44 when his P-38 reconnaissance plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, perhaps shot down by German fighter planes. What other great works was humanity deprived of? So many genius creators died young - Mozart, Keats, and many others.
That's it! How the (would-be) mighty and self-important have fallen! And how their monuments to themselves have disintegrated into dust! (Perhaps my thought processes are too strange and weird!)
I am reminded of another speaker in riddles, the snake in The Little Prince. The Little Prince asks the snake, "Why do you always speak in riddles?" Answer: "I solve them all." (i.e., the snake, bringer of death, will solve all our earthly riddles). ("Pourquoi parles-tu toujours en énigmes?" "Je les ressous toutes".) What a work of genius.
Or is the snake the symbol of all knowledge beyond human comprehension?
Can't resist another fantastic one-liner answer from the same work:
The Little Prince: It's lonely in the desert.
The snake: It's lonely among people also.
[Le Petit Prince: On est seul dans le désert.
Le serpent: On est seul aussi chez les hommes.]
I consider Saint-Exupéry to be a genius. What a tragedy that he died at age 44 when his P-38 reconnaissance plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, perhaps shot down by German fighter planes. What other great works was humanity deprived of? So many genius creators died young - Mozart, Keats, and many others.
I was just thinking about this recently . . . how so many of the brightest and best have died much too young.
Sadly, I can't remember who it was that brought that to my mind, however!
I was just thinking about this recently . . . how so many of the brightest and best have died much too young.
Sadly, I can't remember who it was that brought that to my mind, however!
I wish Steve Jobs hadn't left us too soon.
Life is not fair. Some of the best and brightest die young, but mediocraties like Escort Rider continue into their doddering old age! Or worse, embodiments of evil like Stalin die at age 74.
That's it! How the (would-be) mighty and self-important have fallen! And how their monuments to themselves have disintegrated into dust! (Perhaps my thought processes are too strange and weird!)
I am reminded of another speaker in riddles, the snake in The Little Prince. The Little Prince asks the snake, "Why do you always speak in riddles?" Answer: "I solve them all." (i.e., the snake, bringer of death, will solve all our earthly riddles). ("Pourquoi parles-tu toujours en énigmes?" "Je les ressous toutes".) What a work of genius.
Indeed it is. I read The Little Prince as a child both in English and in French. Of course, being very young I didn't appreciate the subtleties of it. I only viewed it as a grand tale. Time to read it again but alas. It will have to be in English I fear. Je ne parle que très peu le français.
I think there's a correlation to some of what occurs here on C-D. Whether to be noticed, to simply encourage then indulge in conversation - making a human connection - or to merely fill their idle hours, threads are begun with questions to which the poser already has their answer or doesn't really want an answer because their mind is already made up. Just speculation on my part but there could be an element of truth to it. Threads go off-topic, feelings get hurt, some get angry and defensive and yet, I've no doubt the same question has been asked and answered many times before over the years; perhaps posed one or more times by the same person with, perhaps, some nuanced changes to make it "fresh."
And with that I'll close.
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A poem ("Ozymandias" by Shelley) and a riddle
