Wuthering Heights

I used to say this book was my favorite, but I haven't read it in years and years. Probably since junior high. But I opened Wuthering Heights tonight, on a whim, and I found some lines in the Foreward I had underlined a long time ago. This reminds me of why I loved the book so much. Maybe I'll go back and reread it soon. In the meantime, I've included the underlined lines for you below.

"Emily Bronte captures, as few writers ever have, that inward and outward reality that are the components of everyone's life. No one lives entirely in the here-and-now, and no one can afford to ignore it; love and money, work and vision, passion and prudence are often in conflict. She quite truthfully points out that they cannot always be reconciled, and doesn't give false answers where there are only questions. ... The other reason to read it is that it's a terrific story. People grow up, fall in love, mistreat each other, tell stories, make mistakes, have children, try to murder each other, scheme over the possession of houses and inheritances, haunt and are haunted, and occasionally howl at the moon."

"And they shouldn't fence at night, or they're going to hurt the gymnasts"

I am generally not a fan of music videos, but I have to say, these "literal videos" on You Tube are really clever. As they say in the description, "Ever wish songs just sang what was happening in the music video? Well now they do."

Enjoy:

"To care and not to care"

Well, my life got a bit crazy as of late, and on top of that, I came down with swine flu (or something very much like it... still trying to recover), so I've been missing from the blogosphere from most of June. Apologies for that. Tonight I was sitting on my bed with Infinite Jest, my potential summer project (which I'm sure is destined for the wayside much like last summer's 'classic movies' project - most of which have been pushed lower and lower in my Netflix queue) sitting open in front of me, and I started to procrastinate. You're shocked, I know. Procrastinating involved catching up on some blog reading.

Recently, Jeanne posted this portion of T.S. Eliot's "Ash Wednesday" on her blog. It really struck me today. For those who don't understand why I like Eliot, maybe this will help. Enjoy.

***

Ash Wednesday

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessed face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice
And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us . . .

Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still.

Zack Attack

"...but then I moved out west with my two friends and my high school principal..."

Venti Annoying

Today's topic of choice: coffee. Why? Because this morning McDonald's screwed up mine. Which has happened 3 times now since I decided to get McDonald's in the mornings instead of Starbucks because it's delicious and cheap. So I thought I'd post briefly about the three main coffee places around here:

Starbucks

YAY: I love Starbucks, as we all know. At Starbucks, they always get your drink right, and if they don't, or even if you think they didn't, they remake it for you. Also, making coffee drinks is all Starbucks does (you're not fooling us with those breakfast sandwiches, marketing staff, nice try). Which means they can concentrate on getting it right. You get the milk you want, the number of pumps of flavor you want, the shots of espresso you want, etc. No hassle.

BOO: Way way way too expensive. Honestly. Breaking the bank over here. And more than that, I actually don't care for Starbucks' actual coffee coffee. I like their lattes and other such drinks, but their actual coffee is not my favorite.

Dunkin Donuts

YAY: Dunkin Donuts, on the other hand, DOES have great coffee coffee. I like the medium french vanilla with skim milk. Hot coffee is their second specialty, behind donuts, and it shows. They don't burn it like Starbucks, and their sizes for hot coffee are reasonable and also called reasonable names. Oh, and their coffee is reasonably priced.

BOO: They put too many pumps of flavor in their flavored coffee, which is why I get french vanilla - that's the flavor of the beans and therefore the coffee does not include syrup. Also, their iced coffee has actual sugar in it, which means the sugar goes down to the bottom of the cup and congeals and does not actually flavor the rest of the coffee. (I know you can get liquid sugar, but the same pumping issues exist there.) Also, their lattes are not so hot.

McDonalds

YAY: Cheap cheap cheap. And extremely delicious. I don't know what it is about McDonald's iced coffee, but I just love it. And the fact that I could get about 3 of these for the price of one at Starbucks makes it that much better. (Also, their new cubicle' ad campaign is fabulous.)

BOO: In order to get this cup of deliciousness, I have to wait in line with a bunch of really annoying people and then deal with a cashier who has no idea about... well, really anything, but especially about coffee. But I can put up with that, if once I order my coffee it comes out right. But it rarely does. At McDonald's, your options are cream or skim milk, but I don't know why they have those options, since they always just put cream in the cup no matter what you ordered. Then instead of admitting maybe they're a bunch of idiots who screwed up your drink and just going ahead and remaking your coffee, they proceed to insist that it's GOT to be skim milk in your cup, because there's no mark on the cup. (?) Does it, McDonald's? Does it? That doesn't even make sense. Thanks for ruining my coffee AND my waistline.

So the moral of the story is, coffee shops, please get your **** together. Honestly. How hard is it?

Good News Friday

1) Memorial Day weekend = Monday off. Yay!

2) Almost finished my book on the subway ride home. Have a few pages to go and then I get to pick out another book. Basically my favorite thing ever in life. Yay!

3) Going home next weekend and seeing my fam and my awesome hometown friends. Yay!

4) I got two someecards today that could not be more true. One from Katie (first card pictured below) and one from Ryan (second card pictured below). Yay!

"Wild mood swings"

Today I found a new site, thanks to the Mental Floss Blog. It's called "Wild Mood Swings" (wildmoodswings.co.uk), and its tagline is: "Surf the web on a whim." Basically, there's a drop-down that lets you select your mood, and then the site redirects you to another website based on your mood. Try it, it's fun.

For example, I selected "reclusive," and it took me to a site called isolatr.com, where I saw this:



And their FAQ page:



Very entertaining on this dreary, sweats-wearing, Finding Nemo-watching Saturday.

Good News Friday

I'm cutting it pretty close with this week's Good News Friday... but I think I can make it.

I found a new site today, called "Oh Crap, My Parents Joined Facebook." People send in snippets of their news feeds from The Book, showing some funny action parents have taken on Facebook, be it comments on status updates, making status updates, taking quizzes, etc. I don't know why some of these are so funny, but it really makes me laugh.

Happy weekend everyone!

Some examples:



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"In an Apatow world, you would be my girl"

As a Judd Apatow movie-lover, I found this video entertaining. Enjoy:



PS: Click here to watch the trailer for the new Apatow movie, "Funny People."

Good News Friday

1) The biggest piece of good news is that Dr. Ryan Comfort (officially Dr. as of tomorrow) won the world's most awesome dentist award! Plus one other award. Just lots of awards, basically. Congrats, Ryan!

2) I've been sick the last few days, and today I'm feeling a million times better. That's the greatest feeling ever. Yay to health!

3) I'm heading over to McDonald's right now to get some iced coffee. Love it - and love their new ad campaign. Cubicle? No - cubiclé.

4) Lastly, two videos that make me smile, for this Good News Friday. Enjoy!

Where the Hell is Matt?:



Sony Bravia ad:

Anti-Anxiety Playlist

I've been having a lot of anxiety lately about my life, which has led to many sleepless nights and distressed days. Inspired by Ryan's Top 5 Calming Songs post, I created the playlist below. For anyone else experiencing anxiety, feel free to pilfer and enjoy. (PS: I realize that some of the songs below are not the original versions, these are just the versions I find most relaxing.)

1. Fix You (Coldplay)
2. Heartbeats (Jose Gonzales)
3. Breathe Me (Sia)
4. I Won't (Keri Noble)
5. The I Love You Song (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee soundtrack)
6. Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate (Kerry Getz)
7. In My Arms (Plumb)
8. Full of Grace (Sarah McLachlan)
9. I Can't Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt)
10. Clair de Lune (The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack)
11. I'm Free (Amber)
12. Hallelujah (John Case)
13. If No One Will Listen (Kelly Clarkson)
14. When Your Mind's Made Up (Once soundtrack)
15. Iris (Goo Goo Dolls)
16. Furious Rose (Lisa Loeb)
17. Hey Love (Jason Mraz)
18. Angel (Sarah McLachlan)
19. Return to Pooh Corner (Kenny Loggins)
20. Praan (Gary Schyman)
21. River (Sarah McLachlan)
22. The Lighthouse's Tale (Nickel Creek)

Chrome?

PC users: have any of you used Chrome? Do you like it? There's no Mac version yet, so I haven't tried it out. Also, I'm not sure I want Google knowing a whole lot more about me to aid in its plot to take over the world. But have any of you tried it? If so, let me know what you think in the comments.

Good News Friday

1) Uhhh... Paint-with-Water, warheads, Colorforms, the drive-in, Scholastic book orders, Spin Art, TGIF, TMNT, friendship bracelets, Bubble Tape, Cootie, JELL-O pops, Mr. Yuk, Mork and Mindy, Duck Tales, punch ball, Atari, slip-and-slide, Double Dare, pencil grips, Bill Nye, ring pops, Carmen Sandiego (Do It, Rockapella!)... honestly guys, did it get any better than this?? As you all know, I'm very nostalgic lately -- so this site is officially my Mecca. It's called Once Upon a Win: Epic Wins from When We Were Kids. I think the site's design is a bit annoying, but the content is absolutely priceless.



2) I am not a fan of cake (only cupcakes), but I am DEFinitely a fan of this site. The sub-title of this site is, "When professional cakes go horribly, horribly wrong." And oh how they do. Check it out for yourself: www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com



3) Stuff White People Like. I've always been a fan of this site, but I haven't checked it out in a while. There's some good stuff there. Like, Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy. (Assholes.) And... Ugly Sweater Parties. (I hate people who have those. Or go to those. Or post pictures on Facebook of going to those. Does that make me not white?) And... Frisbee Sports. (I'm looking at you, Ben.) And... Children's Games As Adults. (Yeah, I love it, what of it?) And last but certainly not least, GRAMMAR. To quote the site:

When asking someone about their biggest annoyances in life, you might expect responses like “hunger,” “being poor,” or “getting shot.” If you ask a white person, the most common response will likely be “people who use ‘their’ when they mean ‘there.' Maybe comma splices, I’m not sure but it’s definitely one of the two."

4) Last, but certainly not least, this number from High School Musical 2. How can you not laugh at this? This makes for a Good News Friday every day of the week. Bet on it.

Not-So-Good News Friday

Good News Friday didn't start off that great today. On the subway this morning, a couple got on the train arguing with... I should say, screaming at... each other. They proceeded to argue at rising volume levels for about 6 stops, and you could tell everyone in the car was shifting in their seats getting really uncomfortable and wondering whether they personally should step in. I couldn't understand much of what the girl was saying besides "I'm going to call the cops" and "You're retarded" (I hate when people say that). But I could hear everything the guy was saying and it was really upsetting to me. He mentioned that she was a bitch who needed to get her [vulgar name for a lady part] cleaned and who was ugly. He kept saying he would slam her head through glass, for example through the subway window glass, and that he didn't care if she called the cops on him because it would be worth it and he would make bail anyway. He dared her to come over and stand next to him (she was sitting across the aisle) and he would show her right now. He repeated some version of these violent ramblings over and over again at top volume until they got off at 96th street (and continued in the 96th street station, I could hear him as the doors closed). I have to say, I honestly didn't know what to do. I just really hope that she DID call the cops. Or that someone in the station did. I feel horrible for not doing something, but I just didn't know what I could do. I was hands-down the smallest person on the train today. I was kind of hoping someone would say something then and there, but I think everyone was terrified of the guy. But I feel horrible for that girl. It was a scary scary scenario and it made me want to help her and other people like her.

I really think Good News Friday is called for today of all days. So stay tuned to my next post to read something happier.

Quotable

Some quotes from poems, for your enjoyment on this Chipotle Thursday.

"For us, there is only trying. The rest is not our business."
- T. S. Eliot, "East Coker"

"Never try to trick me with a kiss
Pretending that the birds are here to stay"
- Sylvia Plath, "Never Try To Trick Me With A Kiss"

"I am everywhere,
I suffer and move, my mind and my heart move
With all that move me"
- John Berryman, "The Ball Poem"

"And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."
— Kahlil Gibran,"The Prophet"

"If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me."
— W. H. Auden, "The More Loving One"

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams."
— William Butler Yeats, "He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven"

"We must laugh and we must sing,
We are blest by everything,
Everything we look upon is blest."
- William Butler Yeats, "A Dialogue of Self and Soul"

Overheard in the elevator at work...

Guy #1: "That's some sweet swine flu going around. Gotta catch me some of that."
Guy #2: "Yeah it's all the rage."
Guy #1: "Totally."
Guy #2: "Don't think it's quite a pandemic yet though."
Guy #1: "Yeah, it's just a demic."

And people wonder why I can't find someone to date at work.