The Daffodils
By William Wordsworth
I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee:—
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company!
I gazed, and gazed, but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
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And a photo to go with the poem, taken at St. Oswald's Churchyard, Grasmere, Cumbria:
The graves of William Wordsworth, his wife Mary and sister Dorothy. With daffodils.
Friday, after an absurdly early alarm because my older son had to be at school in time to get on a bus for Annapolis for the state chorus festival (where his school did well, though not quite so well as they did at the county competition),
My son came home tired but content from the chorus festival and instead of wanting to go over to his friend's house he wanted to stay home, so he, his brother and his friend could all play Runescape without having to compete for a computer. They and two other friends spent two hours IMing and chasing each other through the game...does this now count as having a social life for middle schoolers or should I worry about it? (Younger son was also beside himself because he accidentally overwrote his Aragorn file in The Two Towers Game Boy game, meaning that he lost -- um, items? artifacts? something he wanted, at any rate, and which it will take months of experience to gain back. I am so glad I do not play video games and frustrate myself in this manner.
We had dinner with my mother, as my father is in New York, then came home for Enterprise. Here's the "Demons" review, which may net me somewhat less hate mail since I actually liked the episode, though I am sure some people will write and accuse me of having claimed that just to get attention or something. *g* One more week, and then my Trek-reviewing-free life begins...I wonder how strange it will feel after nearly eleven years. Although I promised to review the original series for TrekToday after Enterprise has left broadcast, so I guess that's not entirely true.
1. Readers who refuse to accept that their OTP is not my OTP, that there is nothing they can do to persuade me to write theirs, and that it is possible to have a completely different OTP without being deluded, obnoxious or in denial about "reality."
2. Canon inconsistencies of the sort that aren't interesting little loopholes which generate fic bunnies but rather leave gaping ragged holes that destroy my suspension of disbelief.
3. Writers who suggest that I should leave them feedback when they never leave me feedback.
4. Must we have another widespread kerfluffle, really? Can't people take up their grievances with the individuals who caused the grievances rather than trying to air them for the entire fandom to hear? It really doesn't bother me when people want to bitch about individual pairings or trends or things everyone but them likes or hates or even about their snotty ex-RP partner or that BNF who really can't write, but when the snark starts spreading across journal after journal and into communities, it gets really tiresome.
5. You know, I think this meme has made me cranky. I'm here for the squee. If you aren't, I've probably stopped reading your journal. Or, for that matter, if you squee about things that make me cranky, I've probably stopped reading your journal. *g* Maybe I will start writing Trek fan fiction again! *thinks* *comes to senses* Oh, speaking of fan fiction, in my ongoing effort to reclaim
1. Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not? No. I believe in infatuation at first sight, strong physical attraction at first sight, feeling like a thunderbolt has hit you at first sight...but the only test of love is time and dedication. Sometimes in retrospect it is easy to claim that it was love at first sight, because once you put in the energy and commitment everything worked out just as you'd hoped at first sight, but I don't think you can ever know without trying and testing and growing together whether it's really love.
2. What physical feature attracts you the most (romantically) to another person? A warm smile.
3. What do you think is the biggest benefit of being in a romantic relationship? Comfort, stability, acceptance, passion.
4. Biggest downside? Um. Not being free to leap onto a plane and go live in the Himalayas whenever one feels like it? I've no idea, I've never found any down side to being in a romantic relationship unless it was a relationship with problems that would have come up even if we'd just been friends.
5. Has your idea of love and romance changed? If so, how? I no longer worry that everyone inevitably turns out like my parents.
1. If you could be famous for 15 minutes, what would the headline read? "J.K. ROWLING OPTIONS LUPIN/SNAPE FIC FROM AMERICAN FAN." The 15 minutes sort of fame is the kind people get for stupid things like appearing on a reality show, and I've never aspired to it...or rather I suppose I had it when I got interviewed on three consecutive days about Enterprise's cancellation. And now Salon wants to talk to me, along with the TrekUnited people and various other usual suspects. It's hard to feel special about this kind of fame.
2. Do you think fame would change you? Only if enormous sums of money came with it.
3. Has your name ever appeared in the newspaper? ...what for? Since I've written for several newspapers, the answer to this would have to be yes. I've also been interviewed on various entertainment topics. These were so non-life-altering that I can't remember off the top of my head for what, other than a Chicago Tribune article on Captain Janeway and feminism written by a friend of someone I knew well when I lived in Chicago.
4. Would you like to be famous for *more* than 15 minutes? I'd love to do something of lasting value that contributed to humanity, and I wouldn't really care how famous I was for it so long as I felt like I was getting credit for the work I did.
5. If you could perform one act of Good while you were famous, what would it be? Combatting homophobia. I don't have the knowledge or money to cure cancer, unfortunately.
The local news is all atwitter because the Wizards beat the Bulls and will now have the honor of getting pounded up and down the floor by Miami. I am ambivalent, given that Kwame Brown's troubles have gotten more press than my county's decision to stop teaching sex ed until it can placate the conservatives who want homophobia built in to the curriculum and given that I hate rooting against the Bulls after many happy years living in Chicago. But since my family will be following these events closely, I shall sound my barbaric yawp. Am expecting a weekend of soccer, in-laws and hopefully some fun. And look! I leave you with HP joy:
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