death, be not proud

[the_grynne]

This letter - or more precisely, Cary Tennis's powerful, poetical reply to it - made me start sobbing at work today.
'Think of evolution, our origins in the sea, our miraculous plankton brotherhood, our kinship with kelp that waves serenely in ancient seas. Think of the sand and how old it is; think of our cells and think of our options, how we

Comments

[dorukai]

*hugs*

I gather that a lot of people feel the way I did when Roger Zelazny died. Condolences :(

[the_grynne]

Zelaney - that was earlier this last year, wasn't it?

I've been meaning to ask you. Have you read Iain M. Banks' "Inversions"?

[dorukai]

Zelazny was in '95 or something. It was a traumatic time, him being my favourite author.

Yes, I have! Actually I have a copy of it on my bookshelf. Excellent book, I thought. Damn he's a strange guy :)

Read it? Like it?

I think Banks' best book is Against a Dark Background btw, if you wanted to read it sometime . . .

[the_grynne]

Ray Bradbury, then? I know it was some giant of sci-fi who died last year.

No, I haven't, but I'm thinking of giving the author a try, perhaps starting with one of his non-space-opera books, since that's not my preferred genre. Perhaps I could borrow it some time?

[the_grynne]

In China, the two practices seem to be employed side by side; there isn't a prejudice against Western medicine. Chinese people, I notice, are also very health conscious as a whole, and to the workings of their bodies, to a degree that in the West (and to me a lot of the time) seems like permanent hypochondria. Living well and long, most people recognise as a matter of daily fact, comes down to lifestyle, constant vigilance, and how you look after yourself.

[the_grynne]

Everyday I wish that there was a Leto II somewhere who could come and save us. ;)

[baleanoptera]

Not just your hormones I think, as that Tennis' article made me all weepy as well. And so apt that you chose a Dune icon, and just that icon, for this post. Coupled with the beautiful Donne poetry it made me all philosophical.

(psst...for a very interesting anthropological book about the values of different cultural health care systems - with a particular focus on the Chinese health care system - I would recommend Arthur Kleinman's
Patients Healers: An Exploration of the Borderland Between Anthropology, Medicine and Psychiatry. It is a very respectful and thought provoking study.)

[the_grynne]

Yeah, my mind makes random wild connections-along-themes like that when I'm depressed.

That book sounds fascinating! I'll definitely look into it. Thanks for the rec. :)

[the_grynne]

PS. I pray every day for a Leto II to come and save us all. ;)

[kismeteve]

I don't know if it's hormones or what, but the Heath Ledger thing keeps hitting me hard at the most unexpected times. It's quite strange, actually.

[the_grynne]

Very unexpected, and very terrible.