Behind Every Stone Wall is a Story
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 7:56 pm
Last Updated:Apr 29, 2024 2:54 am 23907 Views
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With the beginning of a new school year, I’ve been fantasizing about classes I would love to take. This led me to classes I’ve had. There was this rhetoric course I really enjoyed. When it came to a test, one question required us to explain the meaning of Robert Frost’s Mending Wall.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall
When the results were returned, I saw he was not enchanted with my response to this question. He proceeded to discuss the test and in one word explained the Mending Wall was about “non-thinking.” I thought about this as he continued discussing the rest of the exam. The format of the class allowed us to approach him after his talk so a line formed.
My turn came and I asked, “Do you think Mr. Frost could’ve been saying more than that? I mean, there are so many words in this poem so it seems there must be a lot more to it.”
Sometimes, he would enjoy discussing these things with me. This was not one of those times. All he said was, “No, not really” and turned to the next student.
A few years later, I came upon this (from Robert Frost and the New England Renaissance. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1988. Copyright © 1988 by the UP of Kentucky):
Asked once about his intended meaning, Frost recast the question: "In my Mending Wall was my intention fulfilled with the characters portrayed and the atmosphere of the place?" Characteristically, he went on to answer obliquely.
I should be sorry if a single one of my poems stopped with either of those things—stopped anywhere in fact. My poems—I should suppose everybody's poems—are all set to trip the reader head foremost into the boundless. Ever since infancy I have had the habit of leaving my blocks carts chairs and such like ordinaries where people would be pretty sure to fall forward over them in the dark. Forward, you understand, and in the dark. I may leave my toys in the wrong place and so in vain. It is my intention we are speaking of—my innate mischievousness.
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Here’s a quote of his I love:
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up.
I like a balance of thinking and non-thinking in my life. Sometimes, the more I think, the more I appreciate non-thinking. When it comes to thinking though, I would like to sign up for a class with Mr. Frost along with quite a few others.
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Something there is that doesn't love a wall
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 7:38 pm
Last Updated:Aug 25, 2007 7:56 pm 23671 Views
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Mending Wall
by Robert Frost
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good
neighbors."
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Chocolate - The New Vitamin C!
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 2:56 am
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2007 11:18 pm 28713 Views
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Before I reveal the world's simplest chocolate recipe, I just wanted you to know, it's almost purely for medicinal purposes.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some may see a cup of tea as soothing but chocolate is more likely to lower one's blood pressure, German researchers in April.
Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green and black tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published research in the Archives of Internal Medicine, published by the American Medical Association.
The drop in blood pressure among participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks was in the same range as achieved by someone taking drugs commonly prescribed to control high blood pressure.
The fall in blood pressure credited to cocoa could be expected to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks by 10-20 percent, the report said.
Both cocoa and tea contain polyphenols, a class of chemicals known to help prevent cardiovascular disease that are present in most fruits and vegetables. But cocoa has a different type than tea -- procyanids -- that appear to be more active.
Currently, patients with high blood pressure are urged to eat more fruits and vegetables, although cocoa and tea products account for the bulk of total polyphenol consumption in Western countries, the study said.
But don't start gobbling up chocolate bars just yet, wrote study author Dirk Taubert of the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany.
Treats such as dark chocolate might be substituted for other high-calorie desserts, based on the study's findings, but "we believe that any dietary advice must account for the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with most cocoa products.
"Rationally applied, cocoa products might be considered part of dietary approaches to lower hypertension risk," he wrote.
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Ok, I'm handing out chocolate confections in the interest of everyone's health!
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Forget Your Troubles - Just Make Truffles - the World's Simplest Chocolate Recipe
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Posted:Aug 25, 2007 2:43 am
Last Updated:Sep 1, 2007 9:11 pm 26776 Views
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Here's the world’s simplest chocolate recipe!
9 ounces good quality bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (in chip form will be the easiest so you don't have to chop it, otherwise chop by hand or in food processor so it melts quickly)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brandy, Grand Marnier or other favorite liqueur. Strong coffee is also great for flavoring.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
This is simply a ganache. As some of you know already, my addiction demands a double batch. Half of it will be served as fondue for dipping with anything from fruit like strawberries, raspberries, cherries, etc. to nuts, pound cake, angel food cake and whatever else your heart desires.
The other half can be firmed up in the refrigerator, rolled into small balls and then coated with anything you like. You can use Dutch processed cocoa powder, chopped nuts, shaved coconut or anything else you might enjoy. You can also hide something in the middle like pieces of fruit, nuts, etc. Of course ganache is also an excellent frosting for cakes or brownies. Yes, I ice my brownies with it. There’s only one rule in my kitchen when it comes to chocolate. There can never be too much of it!
Heat the cream in a saucepan until it just bubbles around the sides. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until completely melted. Stir in the butter, brandy and vanilla. Serve as fondue or let cool a bit then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. Shape into little balls and dip into your favorite coating(s)!
Enjoy!
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The Sect of the Flagellants - The History of Self Flagellation
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 5:20 pm
Last Updated:Sep 1, 2007 9:11 pm 28534 Views
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Whipping has been around forever. A form of religious fanaticism during the thirteenth century developed whereby members whipped themselves severely in the streets. This has fascinated me since I first read about it in a college library. Clearly, I wasn’t doing my homework at that moment, at least not for class.
Flagellants is a term applied to the groups of Christians who practiced public flagellation as a penance. The practice supposedly grew out of the floggings administered as punishment to erring monks, although flagellation as a form of religious expression is an ancient usage. Among the flagellants it was an extreme expression of the ascetic ideal. Self-flagellation as a penance was approved by the early Christian church. However, the flagellant movement itself did not appear until the 13th cent., and it was not until c.1260 that the flagellants grew into large, organized bodies. Arising in the towns of N Italy, the movement spread across the Alps to Germany, Bohemia, and even to Poland. Bands of flagellants marched from town to town and in public places bared their backs and beat each other and themselves, all the while exhorting the people to repent. The disorderly and morbid nature of these exhibitions led civil and ecclesiastical authorities to suppress them. The movement died down, although it occasionally reappeared, especially in Germany in 1296 and in Italy under the leadership of Venturino of Bergamo. During the general societal confusion that accompanied the Black Death (1348-49) it flared up again. From the East bands of flagellants spread across Hungary and Germany, to S Europe and even to England, where no converts were gained. In 1349, Pope Clement VI prohibited the practice. Heretical flagellant sects such as the Bianchi of Italy and France (c.1399) and the followers of Karl Schmidt (c.1414) were suppressed; milder forms of flagellation were tolerated, however, and even encouraged by such leaders as St. Vincent Ferrer. There was a reappearance of public flagellation within the church after the Reformation. Catherine de' Medici and King Henry III of France encouraged flagellant orders, but Henry IV forbade them. The Jesuits after a time abandoned this public penance, and the practice died out again, although tertiaries from time to time degenerated into flagellant groups. In Spanish America flagellant orders persisted, usually in defiance of the ecclesiastical disapproval; in New Mexico the Hermanos Penitentes, a flagellant order, is said to practice secret rites today.
Author not available, Flagellants., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2007
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Modern processions of hooded Flagellants are still a feature of various Mediterranean Catholic countries, mainly in Spain, Portugal and Italy and some former colonies, usually every year during Lent. For example in the comune of Guardia Sanframondi in Campania, Italy, such parades are organized once every seven years.
In modern times, it has been speculated that the more extreme practices of mortification of the flesh may have been used to obtain altered states of consciousness for the goal of experiencing religious experiences or visions; medical research has shown that great pain releases endorphins which can have such effect, and even get some fetishists addicted to pain.
Some Christians in Philippines practice flagellation as a form of devout worship, sometimes in addition to self-crucifixion (during the end of Lent season).
Los hermanos penitentes
See Penitentes (New Mexico). In English, "the penitent brothers." This is a semi-secret society of flagellants among the Hispanics of Colorado and New Mexico.[1]
Other religions
Very similar practices exist in non-Christian traditions, including actual flagellation amongst certain branches of Islam (especially Shiites commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali), as well as milder traditions such as whipping women (while spanking men) in a Taoist temple on the Chinese New Year.
The famous internet encyclopedia
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I found even more detailed information with full bibliographies doing a quick search on the internet if you’re interested in learning more about this.
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The Joy of Ideas
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 8:06 am
Last Updated:Aug 26, 2007 2:18 pm 23591 Views
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I love ideas as well as continually trying to gain better understanding of what someone is communicating through their words, actions, art, music, movies, etc.
I’ll give a couple simple examples.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, the poem by Dylan Thomas is one of the great Carpe Diem poems (seize the day), a theme which permeates literature. Of course, the Hilary Duff song I posted a couple days ago says essentially the same thing.
Blowin In the Wind by Bob Dylan (his last name taken from his interest in Dylan Thomas) is a song planting the seeds for change in the 60s.
The Shawshank Redemption is a story about the abuse of power motivating a need for change the title of which is from a painting of an old prisoner.
TC Boyle’s short story Greasy Lake is multilayered but a powerful message from it is our attempt to escape from reality sometimes leads us to the deepest darkest truths of human nature.
What are some of your favorite ideas from these media?
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The Differences Between Men and Women
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 6:45 am
Last Updated:Jun 20, 2010 2:39 am 29538 Views
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I found these delightful!
Q: What is it when a man talks nasty to a woman?
A: Sexual harassment.
Q: What is it when a woman talks nasty to a man?
A: $3.99 a minute.
Q: If your wife keeps coming out of the kitchen to nag you, what have you done wrong?
A: Made her chain too long.
Q. What is the difference between a man and a catfish?
A. One is a bottom-feeding scum-sucker and the other is a fish.
Q. Why do men want to marry virgins?
A. They can't stand criticism.
Q. What is a man's view of safe sex?
A. A padded headboard.
Q. Why were men given larger brains than dogs?
A. So they wouldn't hump women's legs at cocktail parties.
Q. What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
A. After a year, the is still excited to see you.
Q. What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
A. The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.
Q. Who is the most popular guy at the nudist colony?
A. The guy who can carry a cup of coffee in each hand and a dozen donuts.
Q. Who is the most popular girl at the nudist colony?
A. She is the one who can eat the last doughnut.
When does a man open the door of the car for his wife?
A.When he has a new car.
B.When he has a new wife.
A man is driving down a road. A woman is driving down the same road in the opposite direction. As they pass each other the woman leans out the window and yells, "P I G!!" The man immediately leans out his window and replies, "B I T C H!!" They each continue on their way and as the man rounds the next corner, he crashes into a pig in the middle of the road.
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Perhaps there really are only two types of people in the world
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Posted:Aug 23, 2007 9:37 am
Last Updated:Oct 14, 2007 11:35 pm 31757 Views
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The Poetess wrote a wonderful post about the attitudes some have pertaining to switching, bisexuality, etc. which also has lots of great comments. [post 360817]
I didn’t want to go on and on in her blog but it’s attitudes like this that get me rolling so here’s a bit more about my thinking on this.
There is a human tendency to classify everything which is a strength as well as a weakness. Unfortunately, the weakness is this tendency often goes too far leaving one of two possibilities. We hear it all the time; someone is either a dom or a sub, gay or straight, master or slave, etc. but aren’t we all slaves to this basic fallacy at different points in time, not only pertaining to this lifestyle but to our thinking in general?
It’s the classic false dilemma at work. Certainly for some, it’s clear. They’ve known they have a tendency which will never sway but for others, the lines are blurry; they experiment and evolve discovering aspects of their personality they weren’t previously aware of. We like it when someone takes a position and sticks with it. That’s my best guess as to why there’s always dissent for those who ride the middle ground.
I’m taking the position that instead of being so rigid in our thinking about a person being this or that, it would be better to adopt the view that everything is plotted on a continuum and while some may find their point on it early and remain there, many will move along it freely as their life and thinking evolves. For many of us, the way we felt about a specific activity or role five or ten years ago is quite different from how we feel about it now. Variety is the spice of life after all. I love chocolate but sometimes a bowl of vanilla ice cream is just right. If you were an actor, would you want to spend the rest of your life playing one part in the same play every day? Oh, that sounds like Cats!
Growth in our perspective is one of the great joys of living and learning. I suppose there really are only two types of people in the world, those who believe there are only two types of people in the world and those who know better.
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As if I didn't have enough competition already!
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Posted:Aug 23, 2007 7:59 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2007 9:52 pm 24976 Views
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A quick look around the site and I can see I have some stiff competition. I can deal with that but to make it harder, I often have to compete with women, couples at times and occasionally groups too. As if that wasn’t enough, I keep hearing about guys trying to hook women up with man’s best friend!
What’s up with that? I’ve always loved dogs but isn’t that taking things a bit far? Can’t they find Rover someone within his own species? Maybe just let him hump a leg at the most? Are dogs having a difficult time finding compatible partners online these days? Well, I guess dogs are in the pool too. Thinking back, it’s not the first time my best friend tried to screw a girlfriend of mine.
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The She Bird
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Posted:Aug 22, 2007 8:27 pm
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2007 10:01 am 23538 Views
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The She Bird
by Pablo Neruda
With my little terrestrial bird,
my rustic earthen jug,
I break out singing
the guitar's rain:
alleged autumn arrives
like a load of firewood,
decanting the aroma
that flew through the mountains,
and grape by grape my kisses
were joined to her bunch.
This proves that the afternoon
accumulated sweetness
like the amber process
or the order of violets.
Come flying, passenger,
let's fly with the coals,
live or cold,
with the disorderly darkness
of the obscure and the ardent.
Let's enter the ash,
let's move with the smoke,
let's live by the fire.
In mid autumn
we'll set the table
over the grassy hillside,
flying over Chilln
with your guitar in your wings.
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