Poem for Friday and <a href

From 35 Sonnets
By Fernando Pessoa

Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.

However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.

The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill or thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.

We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams
And each to each other dreams of others’ dreams.

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With many thanks to for the poet and the poem!

Lots of random silly thoughts this morning, none of which deserves a full paragraph. Hated the concert, did not go anywhere near downtown so as to avoid traffic for it, loathed and despised listening to Dubya compare football to American values (as Tom Shales asked in the Washington Post this morning, which values would those be -- violence and greed?) Was nonetheless relieved that the Redskins did not humiliate themselves in the season opener, though I barely watched a second of the game which was on in the background all evening and I agree completely that no team called "the Redskins" should have fans anyway.

I rather like the new LJ layout, it's cleaner and easier to navigate assuming one's browser is current enough, in fact it reminds me of some of the things I like about JournalFen only less cluttered. Also, have had a revelation: I would rather read long entries on my Friends page, even if there are lots of illustrations, than have to deal with cut tags and waiting for LJ to load pages and reload after "Cannot Find Page" and all that. If you must take five quizzes in a day and post all of them, just put 'em out where I can see 'em along with the rest of your entry.

Should I say something at this late date about Neil Gaiman, psycho fans and the RPS debacle? Nah. Other than sheesh, it's bad enough when people hand actors slash about their characters and I've interviewed enough to know. Egotistical borderline personality idiots masquerading as academics! I knew enough of those in grad school!

Friday Five:

1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Scrubbing bathtubs. Would rather scrub toilets.

2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
Folding laundry. Can be done with the TV on, is nice and repetitive.

3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
HOWL! It's clean when things are so revolting that people might refuse to go in the room if it gets any worse.

4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
My kids are responsible for their own sink. I don't know how they manage to get toothpaste in the places they get it, but I refuse to try to scrub it off the walls, mirror, ceiling, etc.

5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
The breakfast dishes.


Was feeling the need for something interesting to look at and thinking happily about the fact that next summer, the locusts return. I don't remember them from when I was three and I thought it was neat being surrounded by them while interning downtown in college. This isn't a locust but a cousin; it was outside National Geographic Explorers' Hall last weekend, and I like it anyway.

Am going to meet for cheesecake as she is feeling the need and I can get Thai peanut noodles at the same restaurant. And there's a Borders. And a Suncoast. Off to browse, I am.