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Symphonies
I felt lonely and depressed today. It was a heavy and empty feeling that I couldn’t seem to shake. Finally, after a walk, I lied down and listened to Haydn’s 45th symphony. It was so beautiful. My depression didn’t lift immediately, but I felt considerably better upon getting back up. I’ve been doing similar things…
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Ostracize
I finally added the first installment of little etymology curiosities…here it is: I learned about the origins of this word when reading Plutarch. In one of his biographical sketches (I don’t remember which), he explains how ancient Greeks in Athens would periodically vote to kick someone out of Athenian society. Individual citizens did this by…
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Postcard
I recently received a new postcard in the mail for my collection. It features the Russian writer Anton Chekhov (and a couple of cute dogs!). It’s the third postcard I’ve gotten with a picture of Chekhov. He is one of my favorite writers. This card is blank and unposted. Here’s the front:
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London Calling
I was feeling down earlier today, sad and a little alone maybe. I rode on the train to a physiotherapy appointment and everyone in the train car seemed downcast, isolated, and grim. It made me think of the poem London by William Blake: I wander thro’ each charter’d street,Near where the charter’d Thames does flow.And…
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Evening haiku
Midnight, standing stillMind is like a drop of inkRipples in water
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The Lost World
I just finished reading The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (1912). I had a great time reading this adventure story, and felt like a child at times, basking in the wonder of exploration and discovery. It’s a fun adventure with some memorable characters (and great names; one character is Professor Challenger!). It’s also an…
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Theodore the Poet
As a boy, Theodore, you sat for long hoursOn the shore of the turbid SpoonWith deep-set eye staring at the door of the crawfish’s burrow,Waiting for him to appear, pushing ahead,First his waving antennae, like straws of hay,And soon his body, colored like soap-stone,Gemmed with eyes of jet.And you wondered in a trance of thoughtWhat…
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My Own Two Feet: A Memoir by Beverly Cleary
I read this memoir back in May of 2021. I just finished reading My Own Two Feet: A Memoir (1995) by Beverly Cleary. It was an absolutely wonderful reading experience! I felt immersed in her voice and in the unfolding of her life. She seems a lot like how I might have imagined her to…
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Morning haiku
Morning of new snowBranches draped in soft dreamingFrom this moment on
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Vestigia nulla retrorsum
I’ve been reading The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, and am greatly enjoying the adventure of it. It is kind of making me feel like a boy again, tramping along the banks of Apple Creek and dreaming of adventure.