I looked it up. I have waited six years for book sixteen in the Harry Dresden world to be published. I have waited patiently, then less patiently. A few months ago, there was a book by Jim Butcher called (tada!)… Read More ›
Literature
THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT: A LOVE STORY – EDWARD LEAR
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear I The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to… Read More ›
APRIL REALLY WAS THE CRUELEST MONTH: THE WASTE LAND, BY T.S. ELLIOT
I tell people I don’t like poetry. That’s not exactly true. I do like poetry. I like funny poems, I like poems that remind me of things that were important but have faded in memory. I don’t like my own… Read More ›
HOISTED ON A WHAT? Marilyn Armstrong
Last night I said to Garry “Aha! He is hoisted upon his own petard!” And Nat Helms wrote a piece about Trump hoisted on his own petard. But really, how many of us have the slightest idea what a petard… Read More ›
BRAIN SNOBS – Marilyn Armstrong
It isn’t just culture that divides us into classes. What we watch on television, see in the movies, and read also puts us into a category, often unfairly by people who don’t “get” why we like what we like. I read… Read More ›
A WORD MEANS JUST WHAT I CHOOSE IT TO MEAN by HUMPTY DUMPTY
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question… Read More ›
BYE BYE GAME OF THRONES. THE PARTY’S OVER – Marilyn Armstrong
Again, I tried reading “A Dance With Dragons” by George R.R. Martin. It is book five of an interminable series called “A Game of Thrones,” the most violent, grim, and repetitive — and long — series ever written. It makes… Read More ›
TOO MANY BOOKS TO READ BEFORE I SLEEP – Marilyn Armstrong
Half a dozen times during the past few months, I’ve seen the sunrise and heard the birds wake and sing the morning in. I have sometimes gotten up very early to see the sunrise and take pictures. It is the… Read More ›
THE PUBLISHING WORLD IS NOT ON FIRE – Marilyn Armstrong
Almost every month, Amazon sends me a bit of money from the sale of my book. The amounts are occasionally enough to get a cup of coffee and a doughnut at Dunkin Donuts, but not enough for a cappuccino or… Read More ›
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS BY CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE – Marilyn Armstrong
By Clement Clarke Moore ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be… Read More ›
2019 – EARTH ABIDES ACHIEVES PLATINUM – Marilyn Armstrong
I don’t know how many copies of “Earth Abides” I have owned or how many times I’ve read it. I first read it when I was a teenager and I’ve been rereading it regularly ever since. I used to give… Read More ›
WHAT ROUGH BEAST SLOUCHES TOWARDS BETHLEHEM TO BE BORN? – Marilyn Armstrong
THE SECOND COMING – William Butler Yeats “The Second Coming “was written by Irish poet W. B. Yeats in 1919. It was first printed in The Dial in November 1920 and afterward included in his 1921 collection of verses Michael… Read More ›
THE HOLLOW MEN by T.S. ELLIOTT – Marilyn Armstrong
A poem for our times and for times yet to come. Mistah Kurtz-he dead A penny for the Old Guy I We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried… Read More ›
THE LONG DARK TEA-TIME OF THE SOUL – Marilyn Armstrong
FOWC with Fandango — Surreal This is the second of the two Dirk Gently books written by Douglas Adams, my time-twin except he’s dead and I’m not. Yet. It’s an audiobook and it was written by Douglas Adams and is narrated… Read More ›
CAMP YESTERDAY, VAMPIRE TODAY. DO I SENSE A TREND? – Marilyn Armstrong
FOWC with Fandango — Vampire Yesterday, we discussed camp and today it is vampires? I feel a trend coming on! Shall we move on to robots tomorrow? If so, can we do the ones from Douglas Adams’ books? The ones who… Read More ›
LEWIS CAROLL – THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER
Of all the poetry from Lewis Carroll, this is my favorite. It is here because I like it. It serves no higher good and contains no hidden meaning. It is a poem that always makes me smile. Hope it brings… Read More ›
