violetismycolor

Shakespeare and words...

I listened to a wonderful edition of RadioLab last week, and it was all about language.

 (http://www.radiolab.org/2010/aug/09/)

   There was a segment on Shakespeare and how he changed English.  I was interested to hear him likened more to a great chef or a great chemist than to a great writer.  It was the way he used words, tossing them together and using the incredible combinations that came out:    

    madcap

    ladybird

    eyedrops

    eyesore

    eyeball

    He was the guy who used "un" like no one else ever had.  Here are a list of some of the words he created with the prefix un-:   

    unnerving 

    unaware

    uncomfortable

    unearthly

    unhand

    undress

    uneducated

    unmitigated

    ungoverned

    unpublished

    unwillingness

    unsolicited

    unswayed 

    unclogged

    unappeased

    unchanging

    unreal  (my personal favorite!)

    These words had never shown up in English before he wrote them into his plays and poetry.  Cool, huh?  

    There's more.  He also could toss words together to make unforgettable phrases, like:

    the truth will out

    what's done is done

    crack of dawn

    dead as a doornail

    a dish fit for the gods

    a dog will have his day

    faint-hearted

    fool's paradise

    forever and a day

    foregone conclusion

    the game is afoot

    the game is up

    greek to me

    in a pickle

    in my heart of hearts

    in my mind's eye

    kill with kindness

    knock, knock, who's there

    what the dickins 

     i could go on and on

    something wicked this way comes

    a sorry sight 

    in stitches

    I have long been a fan of Shakespeare, thanks to my really-cute, freshman-year-in-high-school English teacher at my high school in California...who had us reading and analyzing The Merchant of Venice and who told me about the Oregon Shakespearean Festival.  I vowed to go to Ashland one day and see for myself, which I did while in college at Oregon State.  I have been back many times and have loved it every time .

    Hearing this podcast made me love Mr. Shakespeare even more!

 

 

 

tiger mom...

Apparently, I am not alone in talking/writing about The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom.  I want to put my own position out there.  I think Amy Chua is the kind of mom that drives her kids into therapy.  I think she puts her kids into a one-size-fits-all package.  I think she has been terribly cruel to her children, though I have no doubt that she loves them.  I think her kids may have the idea that her love is conditional on their accomplishing what she wants them to accomplish.

That said, I do think that many parents coddle their children too much in America.  I think that many parents don't have high enough expectations for their children.  

I have three kids of my own.  As anyone with kids knows, every child is different from the other.  My own opinion is that to get the best out of your children, you have to work with that child's individual attributes.  That means spending time really getting to know and understand your child and what makes them tick.  

I am a believer in unconditional love.  I love my kids no matter what.  That doesn't mean that I wouldn't be devastated if they committed a crime or became drug addicts or something like that.  But I believe I would still love them and let them know that I love them.  I think that I would let them know that they were harming themselves and others, and I would try to help them to correct, if they would let me.

I am very lucky in my marriage, my life, and my children, and I know that.  I hope that I have raised my children to be great human beings, great friends, great parents, and great spouses.  I am prouder of them than anyone can possibly imagine and hope that they continue on their (so far) very successful life paths.  

I hope the same for Amy Chua

 

 

sorting it out...

I am constantly amazed by how much 'stuff' we have lying around...like the already-ancient-when-he-bought-them golf clubs that John got for Adam about 12 years ago, like the 6 athletic seat pads we never use, like the leftover yarn from my old store (Spindleshanks Yarnworks)...well, you get it.  I am busy sorting the stuff to give to Goodwill and whoever else wants it.  We have been living in this house for 26 years, we have 3 kids who use our house as a storage facility, and we can be packrats.  The results are too-full closets.  

I am also trying to get myself more organized.  I have things that should be grouped together all over the house.  This sorting process will take some time but I hope it makes my life less chaotic, eventually. This is part of my plan to simplify my life.  Will it work, do you think?

Time long past...

Hard to believe it has been so long since I have blogged. How did I get out of the habit? I am going to try to be better.

Really.

John and I went to Italy last September. It was one of my favorite trips, ever. I think it is only surpassed by our trip to Fiji for our 25th wedding anniversary. Italy has such incredible beauty. We experienced so much while we were there, I could hardly get my head around it.

We were in Venice, Verona, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Tuscany (esp loved Volterra, Montepulciano, and Assissi...well, Assissi is actually in Umbria), Rome, and Pompeii. We were there for two and a half weeks. Amazing.

Here it is January and I am finally processing all my photos. John thinks I should start by deleting tons of photos (I took over 2000), but that's not the way I work. Many look bad at first glance, but with cropping/straightening/photo filters/exposure changes/etc. they are not only save-able but really lovely. So, I slowly work through them I am up to Montepulciano...I try to do one city a day.

I didn't actually get to it today, since I had my gym time today, followed by a few hours of cooking. I had Ross and Jean (my MIL) over for homemade turkey chili, corn bread, and bread pudding. It was really, really good. I sent bunches home with Ross. I love to spoil him with good cooking. It makes me wish that the other two lived in town, too, so that I could spoil them all AND get the pleasure of their company for supper.