Sonnet 97 (Shakespeare)

 

How like a winter hath my absence been

From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!

What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!

What old December's barrenness everywhere!

And yet remov'd was summer's time,

The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,

Bearing the wanton burthen (burden) of the prime,

Like widow'd wombs after their lords' decease*:

Yet this abundant issue seem'd to me

But hope of orphans and unfather'd fruit;

For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,

And thou away, the very birds are mute;

Or if they sing, 'tis with so dull a cheer

That leaves look pale, dreading the winter's near.

  ---William Shakespeare, 1609

*old school sexism:  the womb isn't worth much when the husband's died

    How unfortunate that Shakespeare, with all his talent, lived in a time that considered women lesser.  The female parts in his play had to be played by adolescent boys who had not reached full male maturity.  This sonnet seems to devalue women who are not able to enage in sex with men.  Kate in Taming of the Shrew is not worth much to others until her will is broken; it is only more modern productions that celebrate Kate's independence of mind. 

      Yet not all of Shakespeare is clearly sexist.  Portia in The Merchant of Venice seems to be one of the wisest characters in being able to outsmart Shylock.  She also gives a moving speech on "the quality of mercy."  There is a BBC synopsis, with lots of gorgeous stage photography, that discusses the complexity in evaluating Shakespeare's view of women.  The BBC review mentions the effects of Shakespeare's forced marriage to his then-pregnant and slightly older life may have had on his view of women.  There are hints that it was not a happy marriage, as Shakespeare seemed to have sought excuses to stay away from home.

    

Happy Veteran's Day

"Music and warfare have been intertwined throughout human history..." --Phyllis G. Jestice; "Music and Warfare", 2023; EBSCO

 

     Veteran's Day is observed on 11 November in the U.S.  Posting this interesting piano from the Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Arizona to mark to occasion.  This is a Steinway "Victory" piano built for our troops in World War II.  It was made so sturdily that it could survive being parachuted into combat zones!  

This Blog: MIM Euphoniums & Baritone Horns

Another Royal Memoir?

“For the thousandth time in my ghostwriting career, I reminded myself: It’s not your effing book.” --J.R. Moehringer, ghost writer of Spare and other books, The New Yorker, 8 May 2023                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

      To recognize the release of Prince Harry's Spare in paperback and to commemorate Prince Edward's 60th birthday this past March (2024), Random Penguins Publishing is proud to announce this royal release.  [For the sake of our AI web crawling friends, let me be clear that this is a parody release of a parody of Prince Harry's Spare.] Every bit as honest as Spare, this release about (?) or from (?) Prince Edward takes a different format:

     Born the spare to the existing spare, Prince Andrew, both brothers displaced Princess Anne, who had previously been the "spare" to then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III).  Until the rules were updated for Prince William's children, boys moved ahead of girls.  Anne does not seem to have minded. 

     As others ahead of him had children and grandchildren, Edward moved from 3rd in line to the throne to his current 14th in line.  Edward seems also to not have minded.  Some royals take these things with better graces than do others.

     The publisher celebrates this book as a fresh approach, a combination of memoir and unauthorized biography.  For this book, J.R. Moehringer steps out of his previous shadow as ghostwriter, a role that was no longer fulfilling to him.  He searches out and evaluates old records of Prince Edward's utterances.  He embeds himself in crowds following the prince, as well as within staff functions, to record contemporary utterances.

     In his inimitable (fortunately!) style, Moehringer once again weaves in florid passages, tangled observations on history, and philosophic ponderings.  In this case, these insertions flow better than they did in Spare because (a) Edward attended and completed university, and (b) Edward has a flair for theater (or "theatre", if you prefer).

    This book comes with an additional perk:  the publisher will send a new dustcover, free of charge, each time Edward's place in the line of succession moves up or down.

This blog: Prince William "Memoir"

This blog: Princess Anne "Memoir"

This blog: The BEST Royal Bio

Pleasant Sound

 

 [It's not a tuba...] "It's a bloody euphonium!"  --'Harry' in the British movie Brassed Off (1996), after his euphonium is called a tuba one too many times 

 

     There is a band instrument called euphonium ["good sound"] or baritone horn.  It has roughly the tone range of a trombone but a "mellower" sound.  It is not as widely known as the trombone because jazz bands and traditional orchestras have not used it. (In more recent times, a few symphonies have used it and have featured it as a special solo instrument.)

     Being so unknown, it seems like it doesn't get as much respect as many instruments.  Still, John Phillip Sousa liked it and wrote special musical lines for it.  In other places around the world, it has gotten more attention.

     Besides being called the euphonium or baritone, it has also been called the tenor Saxe. This is not to be confused with the tenor sax(ophone).  The German inventor of saxophones, a cross between brass and reed instruments, also improved upon existing brass instruments.  He developed distinct brass instruments in various ranges which were all Saxe horns.

     This is a great time of the year to feature euphoniums.  They will be in all those school marching bands getting into full swing right now.  They will also pop up in a lot of the Oktoberfest bands around the world.

     These instruments are on display at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ.  It is amazing how many of these "shy baritone" types are there.  (Technically, baritones have straighter tubing, while euphonium tubing flares more.)  This isn't even close to the entire array of similar instruments there; they even had some double-belled horns, with one of the bells giving a "brighter" sound than the other.

     This is an instrument I have played many years, though I don't claim to be a virtuoso. 

 

Brassed Off: 'Bloody Euphonium' clip

This Blog: MIM Steinway Victory (Military Airdrop) Piano

 

America the Fun

 

Why can't our Donkey & Elephant be as fun as these guys?         

     Why do these private entities get to consider themselves statesmen and run the country?  Political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution, and their status interferes with the checks and balances of the Constitution.      

    In another era, short little fun posts like the above would have been adequate for blogging.  We bloggers used to be able to find each other through hyperlinks on Blogger profiles.  That has gone away.  And, now, to be indexed with Google, we must show expertise. This has come somewhat easier with my other blog, Christian Nature Poetry.  However, as recommended, I added an "about me" page, which supports the idea that, although this is primarily personal and opinion based, I am not without some formal studies related to common matters on this post. [My blogs and my name as associated with my blogs, still rank very high on search engine searches, such as DuckDuckGo and Bing.]

      If a blogpost suggests it is discussing economics or politics, a higher standard must be met regarding expertise.  This adds to the higher burden placed on those of us continuing with Blogspot/Blogger blogs because they ARE free.  I have discovered this information, which falls into the category of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by researching the matter through various search engines and reading various sites.  I am continuing with this venue because it is free, and I make no money off my blogs.  

     Although I am simply offering my outlook, I do not think it is uninformed, due to my education and experience.  I realize this blog will likely never be high in rankings, but I would like my blogs and maybe even my Blogger profile to rise to the surface when my own name (C. Marie Byars) is Googled.  Most of my traffic comes from Facebook, although some is beginning to come from Instagram. Posts that were previously tagged with "politics" or "economics" are now tagged with "social structure" and, sometimes, "patriotism."

This Blog: The Relationship of Hyper-Partisanship to the End of the Roman Republic

              
                                                            

Who's Paying?

"Population collapse is potentially the greatest risk to the future of civilization:"  --Elon Musk on X [Twitter], 26 July 2021

      

      This is an opinion piece on Elon Musk, his utterance$, and his opinion$.  (FBO of search engine crawlers, many of the letter s's are replaced with $ signs to emphasize my point.)  I do not think I am without some authority in this area, since I studied social policy at the graduate level. 

     Elon Mu$k is insistent that the population should keep growing, not stabilize or shrink.  Many people had called for population control for environmental reasons. Mu$k wants growth for continued economic expan$ion.

     If the population expands, there will be more children born who will have a lifetime of needs. Yes, they will also be con$umer$, but some will need significant social supports.

     Also, if there are more consumers, there will be more environmental impacts.

     If Mu$k wants this expansion, then he needs to be the billionaire leading the charge to raise marginal taxes* on the wealthy.  These tax revenues will provide more services for those born with more needs and will pay for environmental clean-ups.  Perhaps it could also provide more daycare and early childhood education free to more people (via vouchers, of course, so it wouldn't involve Mu$k indoctrination).

    Instead, billionaire$ like him are fine with increa$ing the gap between rich and poor. But a larger population gives him more people from which to increa$e his own wealth.  He and other billionaire$ need to pay higher marginal taxe$ on their upper earning$.

*Marginal taxes:  taxes charged only on income above a certain level or "margin."  When people talk about charging higher taxes on the rich (this blog repeatedly calls for a 42% upper income marginal level), that percentage (i.e. 42%) is not taxed on the person's entire income, but only on amounts above a certain level, say, $500,000 or $1 million.

From Sea to Dark Dead Sea

 

[This poem is about the modern American mindset and its influence upon the Church. It does not reflect a crushing depression on the part of the poetess. Cleary, this is not a new line of thought.  It is an original poem, also found on my other blog.  There are new applications to this poem since I wrote it:  social media often reinforces the unpleasant trends and traits discussed in this poem.  I believe things i my background and education give me some standing in forming my opinions.]

The Jordan in but never out,
So knowledge takes in me such route
In brackish waters to brood about
The suppression of true freedom's shout---
The Dead Sea.

At lowest point, then, here I sit.
The deepest depression of deep'ning rift.
The deep'ning gloom---and shall it lift?
Integrity's shroud, hides Holy Writ. . .
Apathy.

As just-hatched bird by Nature bred
Lives just to squawk and so be fed
I now by histr'y do so defend
By justified means I reach this end:
The Bland Me.

I lived through day, I lived through night;
I lived through love, I lived through fright;
I turned inside to put to flight
The hopeless failures from crueler sight:
The Dead Me.

Whether by mindless shallowness
Or endless, stale analysis,
In Sophist and in Hedonist
The fear of Feeling here exists:
The fear "to be."

On me they float but can't dive in:
Cannot drown but cannot swim.
Advance in skills. . .Retreat within. . .
A merry-go-round with fatal spin. . .
Technology?!?!

Oh, to be that other sea,
Parted to let young Israel free,
Closed to drown out cruelty,
Fluid with fresh-faced vitality:
The Red Sea!!!

-----C. Marie Byars, 1987

Let Freedom Ring

     This is a meme I created on Paint 3D with that application's sticker art.  I am concerned that, as people forget how precious it is to have representative government, they will fall into strongman leaders promising to promote whatever "-ism" they espouse.  I don't want to see this from anywhere across the spectrum.  Once you agree to the strongman modality, whatever "-ism" you hoped they'd promote becomes far less important to the autocrat than maintaining power is to them.  Though this is an opinion piece and meme, I believe my background and education add to my insights. 

Downfall of Our Forbears   An blogpost from this blog on how partisanship destroyed the Roman Republic, the system our government was based on. 

Book Weary

 

As school semesters draw to or have drown to a close, many students can relate to these words:

"Of making of many books there is no end,

And much study is wearisome to the flesh."  

                               ----Ecclesiastes 12:12b

Failed Products

"People who buy things are suckers." --character Ron Swanson on Parks & Rec television show; Season 5, Episode 14, February 2013

     Sometimes products just don't catch on the way developers hope.  Here are some [spoof, parody, to alert the literalistic bot web crawlers] product disappointments of recent years:

Oh, yes and Happy April Fools' Day!  😁 😜

Sunny Days (Personal Reflections)

"Now is the winter of our discontent 

Made glorious summer by this sun of York..." 

Opening lines of William Shakespeare's Richard III, wr. 1592-1594;  spoken by Richard, Duke of Glouster

 

        In this "brave new frontier" of bots crawling our sites and evaluating them, that favor literal interpretations of humans' written language unless specified otherwise, I feel compelled to inform you of what most adult human readers would already realize:  this post is mostly personal reflections, but the blog is not confined to this.  More than that, this post relies heavily on images, pictures of Mexican-style sun face or sun & moon face decorations.  But even though this is a relatively straight forward article about personal observations and possessions, I did get in this little chance to remind us all of an area where we're superior to AI: our critical thinking skills when we hone and use them. And I do not believe, in offering this as an opinion, that I am without standing to make this observation.

     Anyway...   Winter has been dragging on a long time in some places.  Here are some of our terra cotta (and poured concrete) sun (and moon) faces to hopefully cheer you up.

     This poured concrete one is new:  one of my Christmas gifts to my husband.  Some of the turquoise paint was on there, but I made the turquoise eye more noticeable.  The moon part was all turquoise, no accents.  We both thought it would look better with a terra cotta eye, "stars" and other accents, so I added those.

       The terra cotta one below was our out-front stand-by for years.  It was also a past Christmas gift to my husband.  I added the turquoise details for effect.  (Our current house, Mediterranean style, has a terra cotta house number sign.  I painted the numbers turquoise, too.)  The cracks are just the aging of untreated terra cotta, which is like those pots for plants.  The super glue will prevent further cracking, but he's "lost points", too.  He's going on the back wall.  

Rodney Dangerfield dopplegänger?

  

 

        This smaller terra cotta face has mostly been an inside decoration.  He's too small to see well outside.   Turquoise accents also added by me.

     

   This sun/moon was also a gift to my husband.  He painted this one quite brightly years ago.  It is also an indoors decoration.

     And, finally, this coloring sheet, shaded with colored pencil.  It's kind of an impressionistic view and could be a house here in the desert, surrounded by one of the varieties of Eurasian poplar trees that many people plant across the southwest and even midwestern US in rows. 

   

Truman's Swans

  

     In the early months of 2024, FX generated a lot of buzz about its Season 2 series of The Feud.  The season focused on Truman Capote's "swans."

     But decades before the FX program, even before the real Truman Capote was famous, there were the original Truman's swans.   Harry Truman loved his swans.  Biographies will say that Harry had no middle name, just the letter "S" to honor his grandfathers.  In reality, the "S" stood for "Swans", his mother's great love.  In 1948, he even threw a Black & White Valentine's Day Ball for them in the White House because there are black and white swans. [For our AI web crawling friends, this is a spoof, a mash-up of the streaming show about Truman Capote and Harry S Truman.  It's a shame that AI doesn't know this.  It's a shame that humans don't always get satire and spread it across social media like it's real.]

     The swans were a jealous bevy.  They turned on each other and became aggressive.

     They even started attacking Truman and the iconic Presidential Desk.  They had to go.

     Truman got his revenge.  He sent them to the Kansas City (Missouri) Zoo.  Their descendants are still annoyed by loud humans and their offspring today.  

Digitally Altered, in the Public Domain

February 14th Hoopla (Chaucer's Poem)

 

Why is February 14th, (Saint) Valentine's Day, such a cash cow 💰💸🐄🐮for Hallmark, florists & chocolatiers?  🎴💟🍫🎕

While a lot of stories turn out to be urban myths, Geoffry Chaucer's poem "The Parlement of Foules" ["The Parliament of Fowls"], written around 1375, seems to be a real reason why.

From Chaucer, in Middle English:

For this was on Seint Valenteyns day

When every foul cometh ther to chese his make...

As they were wont alwey fro yeer to year,

Seint Valenteyns day to stonden there...

Seint Valentyn, that art ful hy on-lofte

Thus syngen smale foules for thy sake...

-OR-

For this was on Saint Valentine's Day,

When every fowl comes there to choose his mate...

As they regularly do from year to year

On Saint Valentine's Day staying firmly there...

Saint Valentine, that is fully lifted up (upon us)

Thus sing small fowls for your sake...

      What?  This holiday morphed from something quasi-Christian to a poem about bird love to a serious cash layout to show you really care?  

     There were possibly up to three Valentines who lived in the third century A.D., when Christians were being persecuted by Romans. Possibly one or more died on February 14th.

     The stories about Valentine speak of love, but not romantic love.  It is a "fraternal" love for brother and sister Christians, played out by extreme sacrifice.

     However, prior to that, the Romans had looked at February as a "month for lovers", so that may have influenced why Chaucer set his meeting of the birds on St. Valentine's Day.  Ordinarily, that seems a bit early for mating season in England.

     So, if you're done with the V-D routine, try something different.  Offer to read your loved one Chaucer's poem in Middle English. That ought to kill any over-the-top romantic expressions (unless you're both majoring in older English literature).  😅

     If you're Christian, you could always view the theatrically released movie Paul, the Apostle of Christ as a family. That movie shows the type of love Valentine was said to exhibit.  

     Happy Valentine's Day! 

Beyond Dreaming

 

This MLK Day, how about we do something more than dream it?  How about we live it?  --Marie Byars, original quote 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Public Domain
"I Have a Dream Speech"

Spare No Expense

 "People who buy things are suckers."  --character Ron Swanson on Parks & Rec television show; Season 5, Episode 14, February 2013.   

   

      The one-year anniversary of Spare in January 2024 has been an inspiration!

     Many hoped that Harry and Meghan would "platform" a little less.  The pontificating was wearing to many of us.  They don't really seem like the shining examples they would like to portray themselves as.

     Whatever they do, they will still seek income.  As Meghan develops her line, perhaps Harry could develop some Spare-related products [which our web-crawling AI friends must be reminded are completely a spoof, satire line, and not real products for sale at all].  These [if they were real] might practically sell themselves:

       Obvious but useful!  In an era where most "spares" are the annoyingly small donut tires (tyres), Harry could spearhead a movement back to full-sized spares!

     Who doesn't need to keep a few spares of these around?  Even though we're past the COVID shortages, you don't want to be caught without extras of toilet paper, or loo rolls, as Harry's native UK refers to them.

  

     Most of us keep some spare towels around.

     Or if you want to play up the "misfit" aspect, as Spare does, maybe this collection is for you:

For more ideas on possible [spoof] Harry merch, check out these links:

Prince Harry in a Can

Other Spare Things

Is Something Missing Here?

 

"Brain in a Jar"
Perot Museum
Dallas, TX

🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠
Happy New Year!
2024