Only five days since my last post...Not too bad, right?
Mid semester break, boys and girls. A week to hurriedly catch up on my assignments, notes and essays. Or, time to hurriedly procrastinate and endure pointless busywork.
I hope that the Easter bunny was splendid to you all (or the Easter bilby, here in Oz) and that there's not too much overindulgence going on. I suppose it's fortunate that all the chocolate consumed over Easter has no calories ;) It's also ANZAC day here, so there's some more time off for the good working citizens of my country. Dreadful that time off is the first thing that comes to mind, isn't it? I wish that wasn't such an Australian thing, lol, but we really do enjoy our holidays.
ANZAC day is important, and should be more carefully thought about, I think. It really marks the first time that Aussies, and Australian diggers (soldiers/military men) specifically, realised and truly recognised that we were no longer an English colony. It was time to fight for ourselves, to build our own identity rather than maintain our identity of being an extension of the motherland (however, some of us remain monarchists). I think that's why the concept of mateship and the idealised image of the Aussie battler is such a big deal here - - that's our national identity...If only we could return to that and stamp out the absolutely rampant racism that's become a serious problem of late.
So, yes. I wish I could bring myself to be more motivated RE uni work, lol, but it's just not happening and I'm not sure why. Actually, motivation is seriously lacking in other areas...I haven't been journalling here or in my pen-and-paper journal anywhere near as often as I would like. But I'm sitting here, reading Emerson for this damn poetry essay I have to write (the essay I've been calling "Poe Versus the Transcendentalists") and have finally found a site that's helping me along with Emerson's poem The Rhodora. Turns out that a Rhodora is a kind of flower in the azalea family. How my life has been enriched for this slice of knowledge. Bless. But seriously, Emerson's work, as a Transcendentalist, is largely focussed on nature and the inherent beauty and power thereof. Poe's poetry uses nature as an agent that causes pain or discomfort...Think about The Raven or Annabel Lee.
In the course of my procrastination over the past few days, I've dug up a couple of gems. The first is the exquisite poetry of W.H. Auden (everyone knows his Funeral Blues from Four Weddings and a Funeral. I dare you to read it aloud without crying.). His poetry series "Twelve Songs" is lovely, and Tell Me The Truth About Love is gorgeous and so simple. Outside of poetry, I came across Ivan Coyote on YouTube. She's (or any other pronoun you like) pretty much a storyteller...Butch, incredible broad shoulders and a lovely demeanour...And so good. Reminds me, in some ways, of Taylor Mali (also a YouTube gem. Look him up). Ivan's work is touching, cute in some ways and painful in others. There is a lot of humour and a lot of attention to detail. The link I've posted below is to one of the first of Ivan's clips I'd seen. Hard to watch a butch be that vulnerable, but great to know it's genuine. While you're there, check out "A Butch Roadmap".
youtu.be/2Q7IzwUa_kI
Onward and upward, all. Big love.
P.S. A quick note to storyfan ...I read you posts about the kitties and I hope all settles down with them. I'm sorry for your loss xox