no more despair, or burdens to bear, out there in the yonder

Monday, April 16, 2007
Tibullus: Let all the gold in the world be lost, and all the emeralds too/ Rather than some girl should weep for my journey.

Me: That’s... not very romantic, in context. But kind of practical, I guess. And more conducive to a harmonious marriage-relationship than “Let all the gold in the world be lost, and all the emeralds too/ So long as one girl weeps for my journey.”

Nrgh. Practicality is so not the point of love poetry. Practicality is why people write things like the Oeconomicus. Reading pastoral elegy is like reading distressingly un-emo bad emo poetry. I mean, the emo is the good part.
( Rome Again, Rome Again, with Vampires. And Art )

no more despair, or burdens to bear, out there in the yonder

Monday, April 16, 2007
Tibullus: Let all the gold in the world be lost, and all the emeralds too/ Rather than some girl should weep for my journey.

Me: That’s... not very romantic, in context. But kind of practical, I guess. And more conducive to a harmonious marriage-relationship than “Let all the gold in the world be lost, and all the emeralds too/ So long as one girl weeps for my journey.”

Nrgh. Practicality is so not the point of love poetry. Practicality is why people write things like the Oeconomicus. Reading pastoral elegy is like reading distressingly un-emo bad emo poetry. I mean, the emo is the good part.
( Rome Again, Rome Again, with Vampires. And Art )

say what you must! don't leave it there!

Oh, and my mother called yesterday (highly embroidered. This is not a photorealistic representation, as it were, of what was actually said. This is a realistic representation of how I feel about it).

Mom: Hurry up and send that snail-mail, so that you can get this internship thing settled, because your aunt will be expecting you to house-sit while we’re on our two-week cruise in the Mediterranean.

Me: I- idda- wabba- nnghh... I should have known there was an ulterior motive for this “O my publisher, I have a fantastically talented niece who would love to intern at your company and be your slave” thing.

Mom: So make sure you mention that you’re the fantastically talented niece, because she’s going to need somebody to take care of her pets while we’re swanning around the Greek islands. Seeing all kinds of Things of Historical Interest. Picturesque Aegean islands. Picturesque Mediterranean youths with gleaming skin and liquid eyes. Pretty boats.

Me: I hate you. So very much. Right now.

Mom: Blue water. Really Old Stuff.

Me: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!

Mom: What was that, dear? You know, I’m really looking forward to this cruise, especially after your aunt and I went to the palace site at Knossos three years ago, after your spring break was over and you'd gone back to freezing Boston to write your nautical archaeology paper...

Me: This would never have happened if I’d gone into biology.

say what you must! don't leave it there!

Oh, and my mother called yesterday (highly embroidered. This is not a photorealistic representation, as it were, of what was actually said. This is a realistic representation of how I feel about it).

Mom: Hurry up and send that snail-mail, so that you can get this internship thing settled, because your aunt will be expecting you to house-sit while we’re on our two-week cruise in the Mediterranean.

Me: I- idda- wabba- nnghh... I should have known there was an ulterior motive for this “O my publisher, I have a fantastically talented niece who would love to intern at your company and be your slave” thing.

Mom: So make sure you mention that you’re the fantastically talented niece, because she’s going to need somebody to take care of her pets while we’re swanning around the Greek islands. Seeing all kinds of Things of Historical Interest. Picturesque Aegean islands. Picturesque Mediterranean youths with gleaming skin and liquid eyes. Pretty boats.

Me: I hate you. So very much. Right now.

Mom: Blue water. Really Old Stuff.

Me: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!

Mom: What was that, dear? You know, I’m really looking forward to this cruise, especially after your aunt and I went to the palace site at Knossos three years ago, after your spring break was over and you'd gone back to freezing Boston to write your nautical archaeology paper...

Me: This would never have happened if I’d gone into biology.