familiaritas obscenitas

Dear Internet,
I knew mania was upon me not because my brain was slightly throbbing or that I was feeling more invincible than usual, but when having lunch with work husband #3, I was keenly intent on the fish monger and his ice. So much so, I struck up a conversation with him about the habits of keeping the oysters and other delicacies chilled as they laid prettily in the case. I followed up my witty banter with some succinct comment on ice machines and what not.
Really, I am quite the charmer.
Sometimes I don’t know what is worse, curled up in bed in an attempt to keep the world at bay or when it flips and I need to fix all of the world’s problems right this very minute. And if it means staying up until the deepest witching hours to get started, then so be it.
Two weeks ago I was so struck with anxiety and despair, I could barely leave my hotel room while attending a conference. Earlier this week, I was so overwrought with rage that the only way to keep myself from falling apart is reading trashy literature. Then it shifts again and now I am HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY.
And making inane conversation with random fish mongers.
I used to long for normalcy, or even better, a chance of being more even. Now, as soon as this week, I’ve realised those are not the things I need, they are the things I want. What I need is a way to harness, if that is even more possible, and make the fan dance of moods work for me rather than against. Stop censoring myself, for one.
And if the darkness comes, and it has , then I need to surrender to it. As long as I don’t let it swallow me whole, as long as I remind myself it will pass (and it will), to be mindful as much as I can that this is cyclic and I will whirl around the peg board towards something else, then I can survive. To quote Neil Gaiman,

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.

And even the very most important thing to remember, (somehow I have to create very visible reminder), to is to apply self-care. Generously. Without regret. For that is how we will slay the dragons.
xoxo,
Lisa

This day in Lisa-Universe:

góða tungl

Dear Internet,

I can see how they do it, naturally, but with much better grace than I. Into the deep they go, followed by the shallow cut formed by their bodies as they slice through the water.

And that is where we end up, here you and I, circling around until the first one falls.

It’s strangling me, holding me down and keeping me hostage. I am gasping for air, the pulling of the under tow as I move faster against the current. “Come back!”, you yell.
But I cannot hear you.
Somewhere between the worlds I survive, neither alive nor dead, neither a ghost nor breathing. Neither heaven or hell, but who am I kidding? The population here is not 1, it is millions. We just pretend that everything is fine.

Lend all the tired ones your light,
tiptoe in every window,
But leave the suffering hearts in darkness.

On paper it looks good. Admirable. Some are envious of our success. But it is all hollow, isn’t it? It means nothing, it is nothing, it will be forgotten sooner than we think. Whatever legacy we had planned or hoped to plan will be for naught. We are but millionths of a second in a time that spans billion of years.
In the cosmic sense of it all, we are either parasites or carriers. Mainly we are destroyers.
I can see how easy it is for them to move across, make that final cut through the void. Choose life over death or death over life. They made a final decision, consequences be damned. They were in control, and for that we should be eternally grateful.
xoxo,
Lisa

This day in Lisa-universe: 2012, 2011, 2009, 1999

RESCHEDULED: Diversity Lecture Series: Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan

By Lisa M. Rabey
Systems & Web Librarian

Dr. Reza Aslan, acclaimed author and scholar, will be speaking on Youth Revolt: The Future of the Middle East April 16 at 7PM at Fountain Street Church.

The event is free and open to the public.

Azlan, who has written four books, will be addressing the topic of the younger generation of Muslims and their acuity for being socially conscious, politically active, and technologically savvy. He will also be discussing the development of the new Middle East and his predictions for the future.

For more information about tonight’s talk, visit the library’s Subject Guide on the [Continue Reading]

Originally published at: Lisa @ GRCC

Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes for April 5, 2014

Johann Georg Hainz's Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Johann Georg Hainz’s Cabinet of Curiosities, circa 1666. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

During the Renaissance, cabinet of curiosities came into fashion as a collection of objects that would often defy classification. As a precursor to the modern museum, the cabinet referred to room(s), not actual furniture, of things that piqued the owners interest and would be collected and displayed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Collectioun of Cunnynge Curioustes is my 21st century interpretation of that idea.
 
Dear Internet,
You can now follow me on Pinterest on what I’m reading, watching, and listening.

Reading

flavia5Speaking from Among the Bones (Flavia de Luce #5 ) by Alan Bradley
(Amazon | WorldCat | GoodReads)
Last year, I was skeptical about carrying on with the series, but I am delighted that book #5 has picked up from the mistakes of book #4 and has been vastly improved upon. The plot twist at the end was definitely not one I was expecting, but considering it has been building up over the course of the series, it was not a major surprise. Flavia is still a delight and her unabashed love for the inspector and his wife, the parental units she never really had, is pushed to the side of the story rather than taking a random, “Oh let us talk about it when I need filler” back seat. But considering what Bradley is setting up, it seems more reasonable we should be discussing this more than not. There are other matters that need to be addressed, which weren’t, but hopefully that and the twist will be the set up for book #6.
P.S. Just found out that there is a movie coming in 2015 of the first book! That is kind of exciting.

Watching

  • Stella
    Christmas special and fourth season confirmed, Jones’ is in talks for a fifth season of this brilliant show. At the surface, it’s a show about a young grandmother (Jones), trying to make it in the world her own way while handling her still young family, her career, and her love life while set in the adorable Welsh town of Pontyberry. But dig deeper, and it’s a show purely about relationships, personal, familial, and intimate, and how there is no one size fits all to any of them. It’s also about being true to you, even it means going against the grain. Stella is not a flash show — it’s not a procedural, it’s not wiz bang, it’s not even really much of anything but a slice of in medias res but the writing, the characters, the side stories endear the fuck out of this show to me. Friday nights are the best nights when this show is on.
  • Mr. Selfridge
    Now beginning its second season in the US, I won’t reveal much other there the show seems to be picking up in terms of story and appeal. Lots is going to happen this season, some of it seems predictable and others, not so much. This show is very much still finding its feet, but it’s going much further then its counterpart, The Paradise, ever hoped to go mainly due to the wealth of side stories happening, making it much more entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Season 3 has been commissioned, so we’ll very much be hearing more of the world of Selfridge’s.
  • W1A
    Never let it be said that the Auntie is not immune to poking fun at herself — picking up where Twenty Twelve left off, our hapless hero Ian Fletcher is now the head of Values at the Beeb and well, hijinks ensue. It’s a short series, only four episodes, but because it’s not centered around an event like Twenty Twelve was, there is a lot of potential to keep it going. Well, as long as Hugh Bonneville can fit it in between his tenure as Lord Grantham.
  • Honest
    A one off series of six episodes from ITV, Honest is available on Acorn until April 7. I banged this out over a few days and was surprised to learn it was not renewed for additional series. You’ll definitely recognize many, many of the actors from various current shows, the send up of it being a criminal family going straight was not badly handled (it had a few gaffes, but what show is absolutely perfect its first time out?), and it was what TV should be – entertaining. If you have Acorn and are looking for something to watch this weekend — this is it. It is also available for on Amazon Instant Prime.
  • The Walshes
    Only three episodes for the entire series, the tales of a close-knit Dublin family alllllmooost made it, but not quite. Written by Graham Linehan, he of Father Ted, Black Books, and other fine television shows, it should be funnier! Punchier! Quotable! But The Walshes, the family, came across as creepy losers rather than loveable rejects.
  • Blandings
    At some point, I am going to do a piece on my love of drawing room comedies, and especially on my old buddy Plum, but it is sufficient to say that another season of Blandings has ended and for that, I am sad. But the wealth of new quotes and such I’ve picked up will forever live on, guv’nor.
  • Top Gear
    Everything I know about cars, I’ve learned from Top Gear. This season felt shorter than usual, but it was still highly entertaining. Carry on, my bridge building friends.

Weekly watching: Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, Doctor Blake Mysteries, The Americans, Survivor: Cagayan, Moone Boy, Edge of Heaven, VikingsThe Musketeers, University ChallengeHouse of Lies, Archer, Under the Gunn, Justified, Reign, Elementary

Links

What have you read/watched/listened to this week?
x0x0,
lisa

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