Today's poem is by e. e. cummings.  It's one of my favorite poems about romantic love.  I adore cummings's use of unlikely juxtapositions (e.g. "intense fragility").  The words are not complex, but the unusual phrasing means that this is a poem worth reading over more than once.  You really get the sense of how deeply the speaker treasures and is overwhelmed by the subject of the poem.  (Also, as my lovely icon by isiscaughey suggests, to me this poem works beautifully for the Doctor and Rose.)  cummings is also one of those poets who proves that those who can craft powerfully with words can get away with breaking a host of grammatical rules if they have reasons.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

( somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyondCollapse )

My grand plans of posting lots of poetry have sadly fallen by the wayside.  Well, the month is scarcely over half over, and here's another poem.

Mary Oliver is probably my favorite contemporary poet.  Today's poem, "Wild Geese," is one of her better known poems.  I find it comforting when I am feeling self-critical, overwhelmed, or generally down.

Wild Geese
by Mary Oliver

( You do not have to be good [...]Collapse )

I went to see Jurassic Park in 3D.  I really enjoyed seeing this movie, which I hadn't seen in years, on the big screen again.  I would rather have just had a 2D rerelease, but the 3D was done well enough not to be annoying (aside from the ticket price and having to wear uncomfortable plastic glasses over my real glasses, of course).  Getting to see everything huge and with a big sound system was the draw, and it was totally worth it.  The dinosaur effects have held up surprisingly well (although we now know that some of those species should have had feathers), and it's still a well told action story (even if some of the dialog is a little hokey). I love that in addition to the fear, the movie also conveys a strong sense of wonder at the dinosaurs.  The score is a big part of that.  As an adult, I have an enhanced appreciation for all the shots of Jeff Goldblum with a gratuitously open shirt.

I saw Jurassic Park when it was first released in theaters.  I was nine, young enough that my parents didn't normally let me see PG-13 movies, but my love of dinosaurs made me beg to see this one.  I may even have already read the book.  After first going themselves to check it out, my parents decided to let me go.  It was definitely scary for kid-me, but also tremendously fun and thrilling.

In honor of Jurassic Park, I recommend this extremely silly and joyously dino-centric fanvid made a few years ago by bironic.  The entry is here.

I chose today's poem after reading a fascinating article about the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.  I knew that there was some bit about "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses," but I couldn't have told you anything more about the context or the author, not even whether these words were specially written for Lady Liberty or a quote from something else.  I've even visited the Statue of Liberty, but that was over ten years ago, and I'd forgotten if I read the poem.  Turns out those familiar lines are from a sonnet written for the statue's pedestal by Emma Lazarus, a Jewish woman who enjoyed a successful writing career in her day, even if her name gets little recognition today.  (Also, Emma Lazarus is a fantastic name.)  I definitely like the whole poem.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

( The New ColossusCollapse )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I am not a patriot, but this is a vision of America I can get behind.  I want to believe in a United States that actively welcomes the downtrodden and oppressed to a chance at a better life.  I want to believe that my country can choose to be a mild-eyed (yet still mighty) Mother of Exiles and not the brazen giant with conquering limbs our foreign policy has often resembled from the mid-twentieth century onwards.  Even 130 years after the poem's composition, this is a powerful and provocative political statement.

April is National Poetry Month!  I adore poetry, though I read less of it that I used to.  I think this month I'll make an effort to reverse that trend as I hunt up poems and post them here.   I'll aim for at least two a week throughout April, perhaps more if time allows and the inclination remains.

Today's poem is by Margaret Atwood.   It tells a complete story in deceptively simple language.  I like its unique take on a myth and the darkly humorous punch of the ending.

~ ~ ~ ~

( Siren SongCollapse )

~ ~ ~ ~
I'd love to see what poems you feel like sharing, friends.

I have been super lazy and have yet to post my photos or thoughts about Gallifrey One.  (Or anything else, for that matter.  Sorry, dear LJ.)  This is still not a con report, because I'm going contra dancing tonight and don't have the time just now.

This is just a post to let you know that if there is any chance you can come to Gallifrey One next February, membership sales are open and going fast.  Here's the link to register!  Sales opened yesterday at noon Pacific time.  Out of the cap of 3200 memberships, just 729 are left as of the typing of this entry.  If you buy one and then decide you can't make it after all, membership transfers are allowed, and you shouldn't have any trouble finding a buyer.

This con is wonderful.  Everyone is so friendly, the guest list is always excellent, and it's generally quite well-run.  I would love to see more of my LJ flist there.  So if you want to hang out with sexy people like this:( (a very Sexy (but safe for work) picture)Collapse )

then please COME TO GALLIFREY!

Also, while I'm pimping stuff, it's Fandom March Madness time.  Right now it's time to bet on your suspected winners in the office pool, then they duke it out in LJ poll form.  It's highly entertaining, though unfortunately there are a number of people in the comments section whose idea of entertainment seems to be slinging the maximum amount of shit.  A thick skin is necessary for the comment participation. (Many, perhaps most, of the other comments are hilarious in a good way or thoughtful or otherwise worthwhile.) 

God damn it, I had a whole long post that LJ just ate.  >:(  Now I have to rewrite the whole thing.

So, I've been watching Elementary.  I wasn't wild about it at first (other than Lucy Liu, who is wonderful), and I fell behind for a while.  I've finally caught up, and I have to say that it has improved a LOT lately.  I'm really pleased to see it finally hit its stride.  It's great to get a regularly scheduled dose of onscreen Holmes and Watson.  In my opinion, Sherlock is still clearly the better made show as well as MUCH closer to my heart, but I am excited to live in a time that is so rich with diverse interesting Holmes adaptations. 

( here there be spoilersCollapse )

Here's a meme grabbed from the_redjay.  Just so y'all know, I probably won't be able to actually reply to comments until Thursday night, but I wanted to go ahead and post while it's on my mind.  Fandoms open for this include Doctor Who, Sherlock, the Whedonverse, LoTR, and probably whatever else you might remember me posting about.

Give me a character and I'll tell you:
Why I like them
Why I don’t
Favorite episode (scene if movie, book, manga, etc)
Favorite season/movie/book/volume
Favorite line
OTP
Brotp
Head Canon
Unpopular opinion
A wish
An oh-god-please-don't-ever-happen
5 words to best describe them
My nickname for them

I saw the Hobbit!  I have a few major gripes and a few great joys. 

( Here there be spoilers. Also, I complain about the high frame rate version.Collapse )

For anyone else who feels that new friends are a good thing, especially since LJ has been a little quiet lately, I direct you to the Doctor Who friending meme that eve11 is currently hosting. 

I've felt joy bubbling up within me all day.  I walk around with a goofy smile on my face, spontaneously breaking into song at times.  I am just so proud of American voters for making choices that were so much better than I feared they'd choose:

-Barack Obama gets a second term. I watched his victory speech last night, and it honestly moved me to happy tears. Obviously giving a good speech is easier than accomplishing real things.  Still, I am cautiously hopeful that with more experience under his belt and no need to worry about his reelection, maybe in his second term Obama can be more of the president I want to see.  He mentioned climate change in the speech, which is a big deal after he pretty much ignored the issue of our catastrophically warming planet during the campaign.

-Marriage equality passed popular votes in Maryland, Maine, and Washington, while Minnesota voted against putting discrimination in their constitution.  I believe that the tide has turned towards justice on this issue, and I hope to see many similar decisions in the years to come. 

-The Republicans who were prominent dickheads about rape, including Akin and Mourdock, lost.  Looks like women's bodies shut that whole thing down.

-There will now be record numbers of women in Congress, including an all-female delegation from New Hampshire, and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, the first openly gay senator.

-Prop 30 passed in California, leading to temporary tax increases with the money going to stop brutal cuts to education funding.  This is great news for kids, students at public colleges/universities, and also my job security.  California voters have been really reluctant to vote to tax themselves in recent decades, so I'm really pleased that people looked at the big picture rather than just their pocketbooks here.  Also, California voted to ease up our super-harsh three strikes law a little bit.  Sadly the ballot proposal to abolish the death penalty in CA failed, but that was a long shot. 

-Democrats retained control of the Senate, though unfortunately without the supermajority that is needed to break filibusters. 

-Recreational marijuana legalized in Washington state and Colorado.  While I am personally not keen on marijuana, keeping it illegal does FAR more harm than good.  The drug policy in the US is badly broken, and this is a step towards common sense. We shall see whether this actually results in much practical change, because it is still illegal in federal law. 

-My excellent congresswoman, Lois Capps, defeated her Republican challenger in a close race.

It's important to keep things in perspective.  The Republicans still hold the House of Representatives in firm control, so the Democrats still have limited ability to get anything done.  This election was not exactly a sweeping nationwide progressive mandate in all things; many of the races Democrats won were victories of moderate Dems over ultraconservative Republicans.  Still, this is a time to celebrate the triumph of diversity, compassion, data, and good sense over fear mongering, greed, and fundamentalism.

( HUZZAH!!!!! (celebratory gifs under the fold)Collapse )

So relieved.  Thank you America.

Also, Todd Akin loses to Claire McCaskill.  As a friend wrote on Facebook, looks like women's bodies had ways of shuting that whole thing now.  The Senate in general looks likely to remain Democratic, which is AWESOME.

That was better than a lot of recent episodes written by Moffat, but it still had some problems.  I give it one thumb mostly up.


-
( Spoilers for 7x05Collapse )