"Insomnia is a variant of Tourette's--the waking brain races, sampling the world after the world has turned away, touching it everywhere, refusing to settle, to join the collective nod. The insomniac brain is a sort of conspiracy theorist as well, believing too much in its own paranoiac importance--as though if it were to blink, then doze, the world might be overrun by some encroaching calamity, which its obsessive musings are somehow fending off."
— Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn)
"I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed."
— David Benioff (City of Thieves)
"The World is Very Flat, There is no doubt of that. (Night Thoughts of a tortoise suffering fom insomnia on a lawn)"
— E. V. Rieu
"The artist (I suppose) usually pays for the privilege by some sort of partial insomnia, by the possession of one faculty that will not be controlled nor put to sleep. In a poet this must often be the visual imagination, bringing before his eyes a succession of images which he never summoned, and of which some (it is only too likely) will be ugly or pitiful."
— Mary Lascelles (Jane Austen and Her Art)
"In its early stages, insomnia is almost an oasis in which those who have to think or suffer darkly take refuge."
— Colette
On Insomnia
On Music
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
— Kurt Vonnegut
"It's no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn't even speak to each other if they met at a party."
— Nick Hornby
"If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music."
— Albert Einstein
"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent"
— Victor Hugo
Mosaic
My turn for the photo mosaic (please be warned, I have no skill with formatting):
The Rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using ONLY the first page, pick an image to represent your answer.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. Favorite drink?
5. Dream vacation?
6. Favorite hobby?
7. What you want to be when you grow up?
8. What do you love most in life?
9. One word to describe you?
Favorite Authors, Part 2
Sherri S. Tepper
Of her many books, I have read A Plague of Angels, The Companions, Beauty, and The Margarets. I picked up A Plague of Angels at the library simply because I liked the title. I found the beginning of the story a bit slow, but I kept reading anyway, and I didn't regret it. I read The Companions next. A SciFi mystery of sorts with a very detailed set of worlds. The same could be said of The Margarets. Both are very much worth reading. Beauty is very different from the other three. It is all your standard fairy tales, retold in one book and in a very unusual way.
My only complaint: In one aspect of these stories, I found them a bit unoriginal. For those unfamiliar with SciFi, I will explain. A somewhat common theme in this genre is what will happen to the Earth if humans don't take care of it. It seems a popular idea to have humanity living in squashed highrises with hundreds of stories (buildings made possible by the technology of the future, of course) with population control laws in effect. Sherri S. Tepper apparently agrees with her peers. This doom and gloom approach gets a bit tedious after the 6th book from the 3rd author...
And I do suggest, if should decide to read one of her books, to start with The Margarets or The Companions. Of those I've read, they're my favorites.
Ovreall Rating: Several Stars
I Get It, But I Don't Get It...
What would possess someone (a doctor, paramedic, or police officer) to say "GSW" instead of gunshot wound when the initials have more syllables than the words themselves? I know, I know, I'm sure it began when the written word was involved, but is it really that hard just to say the words when you're speaking? Abbreviation backfired in this instance, and it kinda bothers me. That's all I have to say on the matter.
Random Lyrics
The more I see you
The more I want you
Somehow this feeling
Just grows and grows
With every sight
I become more mad about you
More lost without you
And so it goes
Can you imagine
How much I love you
The more I see you
As years go by
I know the only one for me
Can only be you
My arms won't free you
And my heart won't try
Random Fact
The first television show to show any portion of a toilet was "Leave it to Beaver."
Found on How Stuff Works
Spring Cleaning
Every year, about this time, I get all energetic and decide to straighten my life out. By that, I mean clean everything (car, room, desk, etc.), get in better shape, and go on a vacation and come back all zen-like. Most of these projects are begun and abandoned like clockwork. A few days on a project, a few days of laziness and/or busyness, a few days on a new project, more procrastination...I think you get the idea. So this year, I have decided to post my goals here, in the hopes that my potential embarrassment will keep me going.
Goal 1: Clean My Room
Sounds simple. Not so. I'm not just talking tidying up, I'm talking major overhaul. Giving things away, removing wall decorations (and by that I mean posters), painting the whole room (aside from the wall that's covered in bookshelves), and painting the furniture I got from the thrift store (and from my basement). And it doesn't end there. Expect more posts on this in the coming days...
Goal 2: Get Back in Shape
I started taking Krav Maga last May and loved it. The classes can be very physically demanding and it's impossible to get bored when you're constantly learning new techniques. And it's just plain fun to punch things. I had to quit in the fall due to some health problems, but I'm almost ready to go back and I can't wait!
Goal 3: Take a Vacation and Come Back All Zen-like
I am going to Charleston for a week at the end of May. I planned my trip to visit my uncle, not knowing that there is a huge music and arts festival in town the week that I will be there. Since I am taking a friend that I met through my jazz singing, it couldn't be anymore perfect. We can be music geeks for a week with no one thinking we're crazy... Again, more posts to follow.
So please, help me buckle down and get things done. Shame me into finishing what I start. Future blog posts depend on it.