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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Living Life to the Lees -- Tennyson // Footnotes


 "Looking for someone to share in an adventure."


Recently, I've been wanting to read poetry more often. I know, I know. Half of you probably think that's absolutely dull. And I don't blame you. Poetry, especially that by classical authors, can be a little difficult to wrap my head around. It seems so cryptic sometimes.
In one of my classes this semester, I read Tennyson. While I don't always like the subject matter of some of his poems, I love Tennyson's way with words. His poetry is always smooth and lyrical. Here's a few of my favorite lines from his Ulysses. I'll possibly take it a bit out of context


 via GIPHY


 [not completely so don't breathe fire just yet] and, lucky you, I'll omit the extensive analysis of my fellow classmates.

Some background on the poem as a whole: Ulysses is speaking to his men about setting sail to seek more adventures. He's already returned home from the Trojan War. He's no longer one of those youths whom people expect to seek quests and daring deeds.


"I cannot rest from travel; I will drink 
Life to the lees"
lines 6-7

I heard this line in an English class wherein we didn't actually read the whole poem. It was just something that my professor quoted, and I loved it then as I love it now. "Lees" is the very dregs of a cup. I like this idea of getting the most out of life. Never stopping just because it's expected of you.


via GIPHY


Everyone seems to have this idea of what your life timeline is supposed to look like [graduate, go to college, get a good job, get married, have kids, retire // stereotypically go from passionate, to cynical, realistic, nostalgic, then useless]. To me, that seems to call for a lot of settling for less. It's odd to me that we're taught that this settling for less is somehow the best thing and something we all ought to look forward to. Of course, to some people it's not actually settling; it's what they want. And that's great for them. But I wonder how many people might secretly want something else.



"And this gray spirit yearning in desire 
To follow knowledge like a sinking star, 
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought."
lines 30-32

I'm love learning, and I certainly believe there is no age limit to it. To all those elder people [I say that with respect] who say that they would've loved to learn [insert hobby here] but think that it's too late, Ulysses is telling you, you're never too old to be fabulous.


 “ Welcome Friends!! I haven’t had much time to talk while trying to play catch-up here. Both Yule and Christmas arrived faster than I expected. Once the leaves are gone, the days are short and the...



Also, that those last two lines. I'm a great advocate for thinking. Thinking is cool. 


You know, because I'm- smart. You believe that, right?
[can NEVER keep a consistent theme]

"Old age hath yet his honor and his toil. 
Death closes all; but something ere the end, 
Some work of noble note, may yet be done, 
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods."
lines 50-53

This relates a bit to the previous one. Some elder people whom I've met seem to have this mentality that they don't have any future and thus think they ought to stop living life [I'm not speaking literally].


 via GIPHY


No way! Now I understand if someone can't physically do or learn the the things that they want. But truly? Elder people can be great too! Even you are physically inhibited, that doesn't mean you have to be useless or boring. There is so much potential, if anything wisdom, to be found in elder people. I've met a few who are determined to live life to the very lees. And I love being around them and learning from them.

So here's the last of the poem.


"We are not now that strength which in old days 
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are-- 
One equal temper of heroic hearts, 
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." 
lines 66-70


via GIPHY


What do you think? Should/can learning, trying new things, and seeking "adventure" be a life-long pursuits? What's your favorite poem? Or your least favorite?

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Book OTPs As Aesthetics?

It's so strange that "aesthetic" has become such a huge thing. We apply the word to everything and then make anything and everything into an "aesthetic."

So why not OTPs?


your definition of love

has become

define your bookish otp with aesthetic and such

While brainstorming for this post, I realized that I don't have many OTPs? Most of my supposed OTPs I'm unsure about and/or they're not widely known. Apparently, I enjoy and love characters as individual characters, and I don't care if they pair up or not. 

The Mentalist


Yeah, I'm still wondering what's wrong with me too. 

I don't know if this actually counts as an "aesthetic" or if it's just a bunch of pictures and words. Whatever it is, here it is.


Percy and Anabeth


Calvin and Hobbes Girlie Cooties. Who remembers those. Just so you know, that faze didn't last long at all. :)



 ...



 Regenerate https://www.wattpad.com/49012783-regenerate-part-one-x-men-avengers-ch-1


salt breeze flipping book pages | air pockets in the ocean | shell necklaces | summer with extended estranged family | that weird hippie aunt who always ruins your summer | orange | cheesy scary campfire stories | that come true | road trips | storm-chasing | wet cement after fresh rain | angry but cares | arm punches | elbowed ribs | darting looks | going to museums | somehow bringing the T-rex bone display to life | memorized book quotes | the magnetic paradoxical nature of the ocean | stargazing with constellation nerds | late night iris messaging






Valentine




 ....

the choir boys




* name calling
* percy does a stupid
* intensified name calling
* anabeth is secretive
* arguments ensue
* ignoring each other level 100
* thus percy does another stupid
* insultingly insults
* rescues each other
* caringly insults
* hopes nobody heard that
* almost awkward
* but percy does a stupid . . .



But why is it only ok when kids say it?



...



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Elizabeth and Darcy


 ///trees


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 books





fresh-cut roses | rain in early spring | mud-splashed shoes | dancing with people you've known forever | risen indignation | smart stares | kitten swiping at your feet as you go by | small sighs and rolled eyes | sheet music | hiding under a cozy blanket with a flashlight and book | mist in autumn | the smell of tea and morning smirks | secret thoughts | caught glances | scathing sarcasm | that's called flirting | summer evenings | visiting friends while they practice music | pen and ink | quaint bookstacks | fumbling around in front of new people |  long walks in nature | trees | tall trees | thin trees | robust trees | shrubs and wildflowers | the confusing unfamiliar feeling of heart-warming . . . something? | talks over tea | wherein more is said by omission | full moon glittering on the frost of a winter night | fluffy kittens | little whispers | the smell of books and folded pages | lowered lantern flame 






...



...



 


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* high-key insults each other
* smug looks vs zero eye contact
* #mortifiedpride
* misunderstandings ensue
* elizabeth, STOP HAVING BEAUTIFUL EYES, WHAt even!?
* dance challenge
* 257% communications skills vs how-do-thoughts-come-out-my-mouth
* misunderstanding intensifies
* darcy = how do i emotion
* thus removes himself from the thing causing emotion to occur
* elizabeth left without antagonistic stimulant
* boredom and depression and all the rainy days
* plays piano defiantly
* accidentally communicates honesty too well and brutally insults while proposing marriage 
* oops
* elizabeth = i will kill you with my eyes . .  and i have a lot of words too
* the dramatic revelation of truth DUH, DUN, DUUUUUUH
* kiss and make up and have long convo with big words about all the misunderstandings
* lives happily ever after except for slightly unscrupulous/foolish family relations



 Why do i like this?



 




 not today



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Scarlet and Wolf


 ...


 


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the smell of the woods at dusk | hoodie weather | losing the keys to your spaceship | hunting for them for half an hour | before hijacking your own ship | damp soil | the smell of tomato plants | sweet pea vines creeping up the fence | mist on the plain | old barns and fresh hay | impulsive adventures | too stubborn to care | out of breath but still running | the wind in your hair | hardcore determination | and someone reluctantly cheering you on | trying to tell jokes | rants and dares | too close too soon | narrow escapes | quiet moments | understood unspoken thoughts | the unfamiliarity of new things | shy but not shy | caring too much and hating it | gun metal | one thing after another | knowing without knowing | the shock of cold morning air | clouds of breath | cuddling with a movie | stars, stars, and stars forever | and then there's the moon


(49) Tumblr




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~Autumn cameo in Cadillac, Michigan~ photo: Terri Gostola on FineArtAmerica


* friend speaks of brooding dude with green eyes
* so what?
* Scarlet has rant-tantrum on tabletop about society's idiocy
* and maybe shoots things
* is this insta-love or is something in the tomatoes
* stop following me
* #creep
* what are you looking at, no, i didn't just care
* shut up
* #justmet but does daring things like a heroic couple for next 24 hours
* kisses on train
* must be insta-love 'cause the tomatoes should've worn off by now
* BETRAAAAAYALLLLLL . . . ok, it was the tomatoes
* Jk
* but Scarlet still low-key distrusts
* which Wolf totally deserves
* inhumane fighting
* dramatic wake-up-it's-me-and-your-teeth-are-scary moment
* who's the cyborg
* dramatic separation
* Wolf = love sick puppy / *sniffles* longingly at moon
* Scar = get the crazy glitter unicorn away from me! / confused emotions but whatever
* love you to the moon and back



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So who are some of your bookish OTPs?

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

October Footnotes

It's October! The year is going by too fast (not to mention the college semester). So here we are with another Footnotes prompt for everyone!

And who are we? Well, that's an excellent question as one of us [*cough* obviously not me] has changed blog names. Emily @ Ink, Inc. is now Emily @ Stranger Worlds. Definitely go check out her new blog design and all.

I'm so glad you all seem to like Footnotes! If you're new around here, Footnotes is a monthly link up. We give you a prompt, and you find and post a quotation to match. You can expound upon or have a discussion or whatever you want. So first,

Grab the button.



Here's your October prompt

a quotation from a poem


And, of course, don't forget to link up with us!


Have fun quote hunting!