If you want to know absolutely nothing about what happens to Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables before reading it in the novels and have not made it though the third volume then do not read this post.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
If She Would Have Been Faithful
I listened to the lyrics of Chicago's song If She Would Have Been Faithful for the first time today, and I have a couple of issues with it. The part that causes problems for me is "If she would have been faithful... I would never know real love. I would have missed out on you."
I have heard many times Spencer W. Kimball's statement that "Soul mates are fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price." Also, you hear a lot about the success of arranged marriages when proper care is taken and effort put in and how they grow to love each other. Well, if this singer/songwriter/whoever I'm talking about truly thought he was in love, I think he had a good start. And I've heard from a lot of different sources that their love has grown immeasurably during the years/decades they have been married. And with these two having already chosen to be together, they probably have a decent start of regard for each other and with enough time and effort and work, they should be able to grow to real love someday.
Also, he is making assumptions here. I am going in a contradictory direction from some of what I said in the last paragraph now. But if she was cheating on him, there were probably already serious problems with the relationship and even if she had not cheated, the relationship likely would have ended anyway. So who's to say he wouldn't have found the new girl later? You can never say what would have happened if things had gone differently.
I have heard many times Spencer W. Kimball's statement that "Soul mates are fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price." Also, you hear a lot about the success of arranged marriages when proper care is taken and effort put in and how they grow to love each other. Well, if this singer/songwriter/whoever I'm talking about truly thought he was in love, I think he had a good start. And I've heard from a lot of different sources that their love has grown immeasurably during the years/decades they have been married. And with these two having already chosen to be together, they probably have a decent start of regard for each other and with enough time and effort and work, they should be able to grow to real love someday.
Also, he is making assumptions here. I am going in a contradictory direction from some of what I said in the last paragraph now. But if she was cheating on him, there were probably already serious problems with the relationship and even if she had not cheated, the relationship likely would have ended anyway. So who's to say he wouldn't have found the new girl later? You can never say what would have happened if things had gone differently.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Random Thoughts
A couple things I thought about at the bus stop this afternoon:
1. I remembered hearing in the news a few years ago that Kobe Bryant's wife gave him permission to sleep with another woman once a year. I also read in Jerry Lewis' memoirs that his wife was fine with him sleeping around as long as he didn't embarrass her. As I see it, that sort of thing is degrading to everybody involved. The wife is basically saying that she doesn't deserve or expect a man who respects and values her and is devoted to her. She is also saying that she thinks her husband is not capable of controlling himself. And the other women... well, it's just degrading.
2. I've heard that when a bone heals after you break it, that is the strongest part of the bone. Also, when you are weight training, you tear apart the muscles and then they regrow stronger than before. I also remembered that in Must Love Dogs (Which I do not recommend seeing. It's been a while since I watched it, but I remember getting the impression that the amount of crassness outweighed its value.) John Cusack's character has this theory that a broken heart grows back with a greater ability to love. And then I thought of Ether 12:27- And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
So I wondered, once again, what it is that the last several months have been trying to teach me and whether and how I have grown. I did contribute a lot to my troubles, but it was a very rough time for me and I think something got broken for a while. So I think that qualifies me to grow back stronger. After all, when you tear down your muscles during weight training, it is something you do to yourself.
1. I remembered hearing in the news a few years ago that Kobe Bryant's wife gave him permission to sleep with another woman once a year. I also read in Jerry Lewis' memoirs that his wife was fine with him sleeping around as long as he didn't embarrass her. As I see it, that sort of thing is degrading to everybody involved. The wife is basically saying that she doesn't deserve or expect a man who respects and values her and is devoted to her. She is also saying that she thinks her husband is not capable of controlling himself. And the other women... well, it's just degrading.
2. I've heard that when a bone heals after you break it, that is the strongest part of the bone. Also, when you are weight training, you tear apart the muscles and then they regrow stronger than before. I also remembered that in Must Love Dogs (Which I do not recommend seeing. It's been a while since I watched it, but I remember getting the impression that the amount of crassness outweighed its value.) John Cusack's character has this theory that a broken heart grows back with a greater ability to love. And then I thought of Ether 12:27- And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
So I wondered, once again, what it is that the last several months have been trying to teach me and whether and how I have grown. I did contribute a lot to my troubles, but it was a very rough time for me and I think something got broken for a while. So I think that qualifies me to grow back stronger. After all, when you tear down your muscles during weight training, it is something you do to yourself.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Bus Route 850
When I take bus 850, I usually miss my stop. I've gotten off in the right place maybe 3 or 4 times. And I've gotten off in the wrong place at least two or three times as often. I don't know why- I've never had this problem on any other routes.
It is a real problem when I'm headed for work. But when I'm going home, it isn't a big deal. I just make sure I know where I am and what direction I'm going when I do get off the bus and it's pretty easy to find my way home. And it's actually helped me in getting to know Provo better. I don't like to wander far from home when I'm by myself. But if I have a purpose, I don't mind it. So my troubles with route 850 have caused me to walk around where I've never been before. And if it keeps up, I should get a decent mental map of that area of town.
But it is a really good thing that I don't live in some other area where the streets have names instead of numbers and aren't laid out in a grid.
It is a real problem when I'm headed for work. But when I'm going home, it isn't a big deal. I just make sure I know where I am and what direction I'm going when I do get off the bus and it's pretty easy to find my way home. And it's actually helped me in getting to know Provo better. I don't like to wander far from home when I'm by myself. But if I have a purpose, I don't mind it. So my troubles with route 850 have caused me to walk around where I've never been before. And if it keeps up, I should get a decent mental map of that area of town.
But it is a really good thing that I don't live in some other area where the streets have names instead of numbers and aren't laid out in a grid.
Overcomplimentary?
Sometimes I don't trust compliments.
Two examples from yesterday- I cooked some chicken for a big potluck dinner involving our entire floor, and I gave a talk in church. And a lot of people complimented me on my talk and on my chicken. And almost every time I wondered if they really meant it or were just trying to be nice or polite or something.
People said my talk was good. But I kept thinking, "But I think I got a bit rushed, and I think I repeated myself, and I lost my place and might have skipped over something. And maybe they are just saying that to be nice and reassure me because they could tell that I was nervous."
And the piece of chicken I took seemed a bit dry and overcooked.
So I wonder.
Two examples from yesterday- I cooked some chicken for a big potluck dinner involving our entire floor, and I gave a talk in church. And a lot of people complimented me on my talk and on my chicken. And almost every time I wondered if they really meant it or were just trying to be nice or polite or something.
People said my talk was good. But I kept thinking, "But I think I got a bit rushed, and I think I repeated myself, and I lost my place and might have skipped over something. And maybe they are just saying that to be nice and reassure me because they could tell that I was nervous."
And the piece of chicken I took seemed a bit dry and overcooked.
So I wonder.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Experiment Ends
I have now started the process of giving out my blog address. Over the course of my little experiment, from October 2007 through April 2009, five people who were not me have visited this blog.
Living Language
When Mom was pregnant, she would get piles of materials- developing baby magazines, information on baby formula, baby name booklets, and so forth. I have no idea what happened to most of that stuff, but the name booklets stuck around forever. And I frequently pored over them, seeing what the names of all my friends and family meant. Then when I was a young teenager, or maybe just 11 or 12, I picked up one of my parents' gospel books- Gospel Symbolism by Joseph Fielding McConkie. One chapter is titled Names: A Story Within the Story. I think reading that chapter first introduced to me the idea that names actually come from words. For some reason I had never realized that's where the name meanings came from.
From these experiences sprouted two significant interests of mine- name meanings, origins, and trends and general etymology. Mostly English, although other languages can be interesting, too.
I see two general trends with regard to the rules of English. On the one side is the view that there are strict English rules, and we should follow them. The other side sees language as organic and developing. The rules are defined by usage, not the other way around. I tend to fall in line with the second side. Language is definitely not static. New words form. Old words become archaic. Some words change meaning. It all changes depending on the needs of the people, which change over time. And the purpose of language is to communicate. If the old rules of our language make communication more difficult or less beautiful, then they need to change. And if the general population starts to use a word in a different way, let them. It is filling a need. Just so long as when they use it, their meaning is clear. It's happened before. It will happen again. And I think it is a beautiful thing, because that means our language is still living.
From these experiences sprouted two significant interests of mine- name meanings, origins, and trends and general etymology. Mostly English, although other languages can be interesting, too.
I see two general trends with regard to the rules of English. On the one side is the view that there are strict English rules, and we should follow them. The other side sees language as organic and developing. The rules are defined by usage, not the other way around. I tend to fall in line with the second side. Language is definitely not static. New words form. Old words become archaic. Some words change meaning. It all changes depending on the needs of the people, which change over time. And the purpose of language is to communicate. If the old rules of our language make communication more difficult or less beautiful, then they need to change. And if the general population starts to use a word in a different way, let them. It is filling a need. Just so long as when they use it, their meaning is clear. It's happened before. It will happen again. And I think it is a beautiful thing, because that means our language is still living.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)