Saturday, October 11, 2008

Poem for Saturday

That Lamp That Needs No Oil
By Hafiz
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky


I have made the journey into Nothing.
I have lit that lamp that
Needs no oil.

I have cried great streams
Of emerald crystals
On my scarred knees, begging love

To never again let me hear from
Any world

The sound of my own name,
Even from the voice of divine thought

Or see that pen you gave me, God,
In the sun's or sky's skillful hand
Writing
Anything other than the word --
ONE.

I have made the journey into Nothing.
I have become the flame that needs
No fuel.

Beloved,
Now what need is there to ever
Call for me?

For if you did,
I would just step out
of You.

--------

No sooner had I sent off the order for the western trip photo book, 2009 calendars and holiday cards than Shutterfly provided me with a coupon for yet another free photo book! So when I wasn't writing a review of Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Transfigurations" and being happy that the Connecticut Supreme Court had overturned the state's ban on gay marriage, I was working on a beach book. Can't decide whether I should stick mainly to arty photos of wildlife and landscapes or whether half the fun are the photos of Sea Shell City, Viking Golf, etc. My family wears an appalling number of tie-dyes, which go better with tacky beach attractions than the mighty mysterious ocean.


During the Colonial Fair at Mount Vernon last month, we walked out to the farm to see the animals.


The wool carded and spun by demonstrators on the grounds comes from the large flock of Hog Island sheep that lives there.


George Washington raised these sheep, but they are now quite rare.


The farm also has pigs, horses, and cattle like these.


The cows seemed to be unfazed by the weapons demonstrations, though some of the children cried from the noise.


Finished products, both food and textiles, were the main focus of the colonial market.


Among the items for sale were this moose rug...


...and more involving cats, rabbits and various other animals.


My parents had plans for the evening, so we did Shabbat dinner here (not a glamorous one, turkey sausage and macaroni & cheese), then watched a bit of the new Robot Chicken collection which the kids just got on DVD before Stargate: Atlantis and Sanctuary. Spoilers: I will risk irritating most of my friends by admitting that I liked the latter better than the former even though I fully appreciate that anyone who knows anything about the Morrigan -- oh wait, that would include me -- should have been mightily offended by its use on the later show. I really like Amanda Tapping -- clearly I haven't watched enough SG-1, since I didn't really know what was going on on SGA with the Asgard people, so I will have to track down the good Samantha episodes -- and despite the Morrigan as man-killing hot girls instead of Triple Goddess with aspects relating to fertility as well as strife, I liked that the women insisted on fighting their own battle instead of becoming pets in the sanctuary (I have some real issues with the idea of rational beings in cages for their own good).

SGA didn't make a great impression but that is in large part due to my own ignorance of the franchise mythology coupled with Way Too Much Keller. The girl working with Zelenka impressed me far more than she did, and bringing up Larrin just invites more unfavorable comparisons. Is she a know-nothing or a really competent member of the team -- make up your minds, writers! And c'mon, Ronon, you can do so much better. It goes without saying that Rodney can too, and funny that I would say that because I don't even like Rodney much, let alone his relationships with women; I should think he and Jennifer deserve each other, but apparently deep down I believe he deserves John. I loved Daniel telling him that only mentally unbalanced people talk about themselves in the third person. John was mostly terrific in this two-parter but I kept wishing that Teyla got to do more, or more specifically that we got to see Teyla doing more, instead of, you know, urgh, more scenes with Keller.

The Friday Five: Can't Live Without
1. What is the one most important thing by your side right now?
My laptop.
2. Why is it so important? I use it to communicate with all you lovely people reading this.
3. Can you live without it? If I have my desktop or my phone, yes. Otherwise, no way.
4. What is the one thing you can't live without? My mobile phone.
5. Who is the one person you can't live without? I'm not choosing among my family members.

Fannish 5: List five characters you think need a hug.
1. Ned the Pie Maker
, Pushing Daisies.
2. Alan Shore, Boston Legal.
3. Cameron, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
4. Martha Jones. Doctor Who.
5. Severus Snape, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

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