Talking about Bush hits Congress for lack of action - The White House- msnbc.com

  Oh, now he is going to play the blame game. How convenient, specially after stimulus checks go out. Bush is an idiot!

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Bush hits Congress for lack of action - The White House- msnbc.com
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I need some inspiration...

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The anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and death.

In honor of Shakespeare's birth and in remembrance of his death (I guess his birth is celebrated on the date of his death, April 23rd, because his exact bday is unknown) I am going to blog some of my favorite sonnets of his. Also, I am in the Flint City Theatre's (http://www.flintcitytheatre.com/) production of Titus Andronicus, which is a kick ass play written by Shakespeare. It has blood, revenge, rape, murder, and oddly enough, a little wicked humor. From Titus Andronicus:

Demetrius: Villain, what hast thou done?
Aaron: That which thou canst not undo.
Chiron: Thou hast undone our mother.
Aaron: Villain, I have done thy mother.

 

SONNETS

 

CXLI.

In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,
For they in thee a thousand errors note;
But 'tis my heart that loves what they despise,
Who in despite of view is pleased to dote;
Nor are mine ears with thy tongue's tune delighted,
Nor tender feeling, to base touches prone,
Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited
To any sensual feast with thee alone:
But my five wits nor my five senses can
Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee,
Who leaves unsway'd the likeness of a man,
Thy proud hearts slave and vassal wretch to be:
  Only my plague thus far I count my gain,
  That she that makes me sin awards me pain.

This is the first sonnet I fell in love with a long time ago. It reminded me of someone I once loved.

CXLVII.

My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth the disease,
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
The uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my love,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,
Hath left me, and I desperate now approve
Desire is death, which physic did except.
Past cure I am, now reason is past care,
And frantic-mad with evermore unrest;
My thoughts and my discourse as madmen's are,
At random from the truth vainly express'd;
  For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright,
  Who art as black as hell, as dark as night

I love this one. A truly lovesick poem. I love the the last line "Who art as black as hell, as dark as night" Awesome!

 

XXIX.

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
  For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
  That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

This one is just sweet.

LXXI.

No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Then you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse.
But let your love even with my life decay,
  Lest the wise world should look into your moan
  And mock you with me after I am gone.

 

What can I say about this one - I love the sentiment. A good one to read if you are thinking of someone who has passed away.

 

Graduation - Less than 2 weeks away!

I got my cap and gown today!!! I also got my silver honor cords and honor button! Awesome!! I didn't expect that. I can't believe I am finally graduating. I am getting emotional. This will be my first graduation since, well, 6th grade. Yes, I dropped out of high school and later got my GED. I wish I would have went to college directly after I received my GED but I guess I shouldn't look back. I should write a blog about being a HS drop out one day. I really think they should raise the drop out age to 18 but that is a blog for another day. "It is never to late to be what you might have been." George Eliot... Now I feel like I am finally on the right track. I have to figure out my next steps. I need to keep plowing ahead towards my Bachelors degree. Then on to my Masters and eventually my Doctorate. I think my goal is to be like Dr. McCain (my favorite professor at MCC) or like Dr. Reeves or Dr. VanEttten - they are two great counselors and instructors at MCC.

 Speaking of Dr. McCain and Psych, another good thing - ! don't have to take my last Psych test. That is a stress relief right there. I don't have to worry about studying. I did well on the other tests so between that and my extra credit I am getting a 4.0 - YES! So that is one thing off my list. I had a Algebra test today (mostly graphing - yuck) and I think I did all right. So that is another thing off my list. Now I just need to concentrate on my paper and presentation for the class I dislike (Reading Pop Culture), my scene for acting class, and the dreaded Algebra final. If I do well on all this I may be able to pull my GPA up from a 3.5 to a 3.7 or 3.8. I hope so.

Yikes! 2 rough weeks of school ahead, then I am done!

I am freakin' out! I have two weeks of school left but a lot ot pack into the 2 weeks. I have 2 math tests (one of which is the final, covering the whole semester - who can remember all that stuff!?), a psych test, my scene for acting, and a paper and presentation for the class that I am not fond of (Reading Pop Culture) to look forward to.  Add to that play rehearsal and I may be starting a new job. I am  a little stressed. I have not felt very motivated lately. I have just wanted to goof off and not concentrate on school. I think it is because spring is finally here. I am excited to be graduating soon, and excited to have a job interview tomorrow but the excitement is making me have ADD, hehee. I am also trying to figure out what I should do about the next phase of my education. If I get the job I have an interview for tomorrow, I will have to work during the day, so I will only be able to take night classes and may only be able to go to school part-time. I looked over the course offerings at U of M Flint and they do not have too many night classes. They have quite a few online classes but I want to stay away from those if I can. I may just stay at Mott an extra year and take some computer, management, and writing classes. I don't know. I just know that I want to stay in school, and keep pursuing my education but I am all fired up now about working too. I have a couple of bills I want to pay off so I don't have to worry about them. It is good not to have to worry about bills while you are in school.  So that is what has been on my mind lately. If you all don't hear from me for a couple of weeks, don't worry - I will be back; blogging with a vengeance after I graduate. I want to keep writing. 

 

I think I made a new friend. I am so excited to have met this person. I went to the cafe at school Wednesday and it was very busy - there weren’t any empty tables. I was seated at a table with someone else, an English professor. She seemed to be about my age and has curly hair like me, so I felt comfortable. I didn't think she was a professor at first. I really needed to study for my psych test but of course I could not be rude and ignore my table mate. I introduced myself and learned  that she was an English teacher at Mott. I am always curious about where people got their degrees from, so I asked her about her degree. She went to U of M and then Michigan State for her Masters. She has a degree in American Literature. She actually teaches at a few colleges and lives north of Detroit. We got to talking - I asked her if she taught any literature classes, she said not yet. I had to talk about books I love (Jane Austen), so we starting talking books - classics, you know. She recommended a book and we talked a little about Louisa May Alcott (Little Women, Eight Cousins) Well, I am not too much into American Lit but I do love L. M. Montgomery - she is a Canadian author who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series, 1908 or so). Come to find out that this professor loves L.M. Montgomery and actually has a sub-specialty in the study her writing. Awesome! As Anne would say - we are kindred spirits! We had a nice lunch talking about Anne of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island (where the Anne books are set), which segued into a discussion about Mackinac Island, Up-north, our love for Michigan .... we actually have a lot in common. We both were surprised to have found someone else who loves the same type of books. She is probably even more surprised to find it in a community college student, hehee. We exchanged emails. I hope that we can become bosom friends (another Anne phrase). Yes, I am a nerd.

 

I am going to miss the cafe when I leave Mott. I am not ready to leave yet.

On this day in history...

On April 15th, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank. "The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic 

I have been a Titanic buff since Dr. Robert Ballard discovered the wreck of the ship in 1985. I don't know what intrigues me about the ship and it's story but I have always found it fascinating. Here are some links to some great books about Titanic:

 

The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors by Jack Winocour

 

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Titanic-Told-Its-Survivors/dp/0486206106/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208239478&sr=1-3

 

Lawrence Beesley, a professor on his way to America, gives his account of surviving the sinking of Titanic. It is riveting. Another good thing about it is he give a great account of what it was like to sail on the great ship. The book is a collective of survival stories.

 

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

 

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Remember-Walter-Lord/dp/B000FTWB08/ref=pd_sim_b_img_4

 

This is an awesome book that compiles many survivor accounts of the sinking. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it.

 

Nicole by Candice F. Ransom

 

http://www.amazon.com/Nicole-Sunfire-No-Candice-Ransom/dp/0590400495/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208250527&sr=1-3

 

Along with the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985, this book is what got me hooked on the subject. This is an excellent fictional account of a young woman's survival of the sinking. It is a book geared toward teens but it is a lovely read regardless of your age.

 

Visit these two great websites for more Titanic information:

 

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/

These people are awesome. They really know their stuff!

 

 

http://www.titanic.com/

 

I wanna' gooooo.......

DANG IT! Dang it!  My husband is going to Colorado in May for a conference and I would be able to go but I am committed to being in the play. The week he is going is hell week for the play. There is no way I can go. I want to do the play but I want to go to Colorado. I will keep my committmet to the play but I am so bummed. I guess its for the best - we will save a little money on a plane ticket. I wish I would have known....

 

I have been a blogging fool today. I just feel like writing. I have been trying to study (reading) for the class I hate, and I did a little gardening before the rain came in. I guess I am kind of scatterbrained today.

Jealousy and vindictiveness rears it's ugly head...

There is a sort of jealousy which needs very little fire; it is hardly a passion, but a blight bred in the cloudy, damp despondency of uneasy egoism.
George Eliot

 

I like that quote about jealousy. Most jealous people have the biggest egos that need constant attention and they are uneasy if they feel less than others or disliked (even if the dislike is justified).

Isn't it curious how someone who is jealous and vindictive likes to blame others for their own lack of reason and good behavior. It is also curious to me how they will accuse the people who dislike them or refuse to put up with their BS of the very same jealousy and vindictiveness they themselves feel. Maybe they ought to think of the fact that reasonable people just get tired of them and their BS and would like to 1. show the jealous asshole that they are not fooled by them and their games, and 2. maybe teach the jealous asshole a lesson (by not putting up with their BS, confronting them, etc) or two for their own good; so maybe they will get over their petty jealousies and vindictiveness and become a real person and stop the madness (for a jealous and vindictive person like that hurts the people they love the most and rarely hurt the people they intend to).

 PS I just love George Eliot, she has the best quotes!! I must read some of her novels.

 

Antique Baby Portrait

I have been watching a lot of PBS lately. They have had some superb shows. A couple of nights ago I caught "Antiques Roadshow" They had this woman on who had a baby portrait from around 1830. The baby in the portrait is so adorable, and the portrait is well done. I love it so much that I have to put in my blog to save it.

 

 

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/200705A33.html

 

I like the fact that the baby has one shoe off and one shoe on. So cute!

 

 

Love this movie...

Here is a link to a review of "Sense and Sensibility". It is coming out on DVD, yeah! This is a great adaptation of Jane Austen's novel.

 

http://tv.msn.com/new-on-dvd/tv/?GT1=7703

 

Graduating with High Honors!!

I am so excited. I have been checking the mail every day looking for graduation information. I applied in December for Graduation this May. Finally, I got the info yesterday. YES!! I will be graduating this year, but the best part is I will be graduating with HONORS! WOOHOO! The letter states "The faculty and administration of Mott Community College are pleased to congratulate you on graduating with high honors." I am ecstatic! I thought I would need a 4.0 GPA or something to gradutate with honors but I guess my GPA of 3.53 (and rising  ) is good enough. I nearly cried when I got the letter - I have worked my butt off. I get to go to a special banquet a few days before graduation to get an award and I hope some special chord or sash to wear at graduation. I sm so happy, happy, happy... Yeah!!

So many books, so little time...

I love to read! I have felt like reading the last few days. I used to read a book a day but I don't have time for that anymore. For one thing, every time I start reading I find myself falling asleep. It is not because the book is boring; I am not sure why this happens. Also, I think reading news and playing "The Sims" on the computer has taken up a lot of my free time. Well, that and having a husband and stepson. My husband said I used to read a book a day because I had no life. Gee thanks honey! I had a life then, I just made time for books. He is not a reader and neither is my stepson. I wish they had a passion for books like I do. I love the smell of a new book. I love the bookstore, but I am always overwhelmed when I go in one. So much to choose from! My husband and stepson dread it when I am in a bookstore or a place that has books. They know I will be in there forever.

 

I have a ton of books - some of them I have not read yet. We are going to build a built-in shelving unit in our living room for my collection of books. I am so excited - it will be like my very own library, hehe. I have all kinds of books - I like collecting them. My favorite books to collect are art books, books about flowers, and books on history and the classics. I want to read more of the classics but again, time is my enemy. A romance or mystery novel goes down much quicker and easier. I have read some of the classics but I have merely scratched the surface.

 

I love Jane Austen. I have read all of her major books. I am dying to read “Sense and Sensibility” again. I just saw the movie on PBS (which was wonderful BTW) so that is what brought all this on. I cannot find my copy of the book. I could read it online but I love to have the actual book in my hands. Ebooks are convenient but it is not the same as reading a real life book. Books are magical in my opinion. They give you the ability to travel back in time or become part of a story/experience you might not ever know yourself. Does everyone who loves to read and loves books feel this way? I think so.

 

Sometimes I think I should be a librarian. I don't think the job outlook for librarians is good. You have to have a masters degree too. It would be silly to get a masters in a career that is not growing. I do love books, and being around books though. Yes, I am a nerd!

 

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm

 

Online Books http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Talking about Elephant Paints Self-Portrait

  WOW! This is crazy.

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Elephant Paints Self-Portrait


An elephant puts non-artist humans to shame by effortlessly painting a self-portrait.

Talking about Facebook Addiction

  Or MSN Spaces or MySpace or Friendster; hehehe  I thought this was cute.

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Facebook Addiction


Facebook is one of the most addictive social phenomena to have ever swept the world! Learn about the common signs of Facebook addiction.