Showing posts with label favorite things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite things. Show all posts

Friday, July 27, 2012

Don't mind me, I'm just feeling pretentious...

Have you ever read The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran? I first came across it years ago (and it's funny reading up about it now, apparently it was quite popular in the 60s, and supposedly he's among the top three best-selling poets of all time, but guess what folks, I was born in the 80s and I had never even heard Gibran's name until I found this tiny book on a friend's shelf), and every once in a while it forces itself back to the front of my mind. 

I'm baffled by it. I never quite know whether it's sublime or overwrought. A little of both, I think. Maybe that's one reason why I love it- the sheer beauty of some sections, and the forced, sometimes awkward drama of others is an interesting reflection of the idea of duality that is woven through the entire book. There are some things that ring so true and others that strike me as completely bogus. I don't know. I like it. Look it up.

And until you do that, here are some of my favorite passages (under their respective section titles):

The Coming of the Ship (i.e. the Prophet gets ready to blow this joint)(my words, not Gibran's)
      "...He descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart: How      shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave   this city. 

      Long were the days of pain I have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness; and who can depart from his pain and his aloneness without regret? 
      Too many fragments of the spirit have I scattered in these streets...and I cannot withdraw from them without a burden and an ache. 
      It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands. Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst."

On Love (don't judge me for loving this passage, I know it's terribly Marianne Dashwood of me)

     "When love beckons to you follow him, 
      Though his ways are hard and steep. 
      And when his wings enfold you yield to him, 
      Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, 
      Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.... 
        But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: 
      To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. 
      To know the pain of too much tenderness. 
      To be wounded by your own understanding of love; 
      And to bleed willingly and joyfully. 
      To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; 
      To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; 
      To return home at eventide with gratitude; 
      And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. "


On Children (probably my favorite section, especially those last two lines)
      "You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 

      The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 
      Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 
      For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable." 

On Friendship
     "When you part from your friend, you grieve not; 

      For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. 
      And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit."

Thursday, June 14, 2012

A blog I love

Have you ever looked at the blog "the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell"?

I'm slightly obsessed and ohsoimpressed. She combines snapshots of life in New York with wonderful, thoughtful, natural writing. The photo posts satisfy my need for adventure, and the written snippets are almost embarrassingly romantic (embarrassing for me to read I mean, because I feel like an interloper- not in any way because of the writing), but still chill-makingly wonderful. Read this, or this, or this series of "letters to the man who'll make me an honest woman". Everything about this blog feels fresh and honest and wonderful.


Remember that one winter when it snowed like madness in Chattanooga? I do. It was heavenly..

Thursday, June 2, 2011

All of my biggest crushes right now are opera stars (I'm looking at you (figuratively) Rene Pape and Bryn Terfel).





I really need to get a life...

Sunday, March 14, 2010

I'm Oprah.

I use Google Reader to keep up with my blog reading. Obviously, that never goes all that well since I often go weeks or months without checking it (mostly because I know that when I log back in, I'll be met with daunting hoards of unread entries). That being said, I still love Reader because it makes my life so much simpler. I love you Google. With all of my tiny, shriveled heart.

Here are some things I've been enjoying recently (some of which I just barely remembered that I loved):

1. The Sartorialist is an amazing blog by sales rep turned accidental fashion photographer Scott Schuman. It started simply as a place to post photos of people he met around town whose style he admired, and not long after was included by Time magazine as one of today's 100 top design influencers. Now, obviously I am no style hound. What I love about this blog is the simplicity of his portraits: usually a lone person standing on a downtown street (most often in NYC, Paris, or Milan), without artificial lighting, some posed, some candid, and always inspiring. I do love this London girl though- she has a muff!



2. Picture Stories by Stephen Alvarez is another great photography blog (weird, I'm seeing an unexpected trend. Maybe it's time to start a new hobby) that I found one dry summer day in Utah when look for a picture of perfect, foggy, rolling smoky mountain-y Tennessee to put on my desktop. The winner was one of Mr. Alvarez', who (as I found after exploring his blog) lives a short distance away from me (hence the lovingly rendered portraits of Tennessee). Apparently he's a photographer for National Geographic, with an interest in cave photography (especially when said caves contain water, which results in ridiculously dangerous situations I imagine, but spectacular photos). Browse around, there are some really fascinating photo essays, and lots of what I'm sure is great discussion about the business of being a photographer (which I usually skip over because, hello, I have no idea what he and his guest posters are talking about). Oh and yeah, some amazing photos.



3. DOCTOR WHO has been my official obsession for the last several months, but I've come to the end of available episodes (until Easter, when the new season with the new Doctor premieres). Netflix is both a blessing and a curse. Anyways, Doctor Who is the longest running sci-fi show on tv. Of course, it hasn't been consistently on the air since it debuted in the mid-60s, but it was recently revived (in 2004, I think) and has been going strong since then. From what I gather, it's something of a national obsession (if British morning news is to be believed) over there, but hasn't really gained as wide an audience here. Yet. If you like British humor, really terrible special effects, sometimes brilliant writing, or random unexpected guest appearances by people like Derek Jacobi (squeal!) or Kylie Minogue, you need to watch this spectacularly addicting show. Oh yeah, did I mention the geeky charm of David Tennant?


4. Finding out that Paper Source carries bookbinding supplies (board, cloth, tools, etc...). I'm not sure why I didn't realize this earlier, but in my defense, it IS rather hidden away on their site.

5. Potato tacos! When I was in California and in the throes of my obsession with Mexican food, I made these at least once a week, but haven't broken this out for years now They're so unexpected (before I ate real Mexican food, potatoes never crossed my mind as a filling for tacos). I usually use 3-4 potatoes, cooked till soft, and mixed with about 1/4-1/3 cup of shredded chicken. Toss in a couple of tablespoons of crema mexicana or sour cream if you can't find it (which is unlikely because even Walmart carries it) to hold it together, a couple of tablespoons of queso cotija (again, Walmart) which is basically Mexico's answer to parmesan cheese, some salt, some pepper, and smash it all together. Never use store-bought taco shells. They are the worst. Heat some oil in a skillet, fill corn tortillas with 2-3 tablespoons of your potato mixture (keeping it to the middle so it doesn't splatter in your eyes while they're cooking) and fry on both sides till brown. Serve with lettuce of chopped cilantro or salsa or whatever your heart desires. Just eat them. Authentic and delicious.