Stuff you hate

[Lord J Esq]

Finally! A William Blake fan at the Compendium!

Finally?!

[tushantin]

Finally! A William Blake fan at the Compendium!

Finally?!

xDDD Like I said, I've never really seen anybody else quoting Blake out here besides Thought.

[Sajainta]

Then the Abbé de Sieyes rais'd his feet
On the steps of the Louvre; like a voice of God following a storm,
      the Abbé follow'd
The pale fires of Aumont into the chamber,
      as a father that bows to his son;
Whose rich fields inheriting spread their old glory,
      so the voice of the people bowed
Before the ancient seat of the kingdom and mountains
      to be renewed.
"Hear, O Heavens of France, the voice of the people,
      arising from valley and hill,
O'erclouded with power. Hear the voice of vallies,
      the voice of meek cities,
Mourning oppressed on village and field, till the village and field
      is a waste.
For the husbandman weeps at blights of the fife,
      and blasting of trumpets consume
The souls of mild France; the pale mother nourishes her child
      to the deadly slaughter.
When the heavens were seal'd with a stone, and the terrible
      sun clos'd in an orb, and the moon
Rent from the nations, and each star appointed for
      watchers of night,
The millions of spirits immortal were bound in the ruins
      of sulphur heaven
To wander inslav'd; black, deprest in dark ignorance,
      kept in awe with the whip,
To worship terrors, bred from the blood of revenge and
      breath of desire,
In beastial forms; or more terrible men, till the dawn
      of our peaceful morning,
Till dawn, till morning, till the breaking of clouds,
      and swelling of winds, and the universal voice,
Till man raise his darken'd limbs out of the caves of night,
      his eyes and his heart
Expand: where is space? where O Sun is thy dwelling?
      where thy tent, O faint slumb'rous Moon?
Then the valleys of France shall cry to the soldier,
      'Throw down thy sword and musket,
And run and embrace the meek peasant.'
      Her Nobles shall hear and shall weep, and put off
The red robe of terror, the crown of oppression,
      the shoes of contempt, and unbuckle
The girdle of war from the desolate earth;
      then the Priest in his thund'rous cloud
Shall weep, bending to earth embracing the valleys,
      and putting his hand to the plow
Shall say, 'No more I curse thee; but now I will bless thee:
      No more in deadly black
Devour thy labour; nor lift up a cloud in thy heavens,
      O laborious plow,
That the wild raging millions, that wander in forests,
      and howl in law blasted wastes,
Strength madden'd with slavery, honesty,
      bound in the dens of superstition,
May sing in the village, and shout in the harvest,
      and woo in pleasant gardens
Their once savage loves, now beaming with knowledge,
      with gentle awe adorned;
And the saw, and the hammer, the chisel, the pencil, the pen,
      and the instruments
Of heavenly song sound in the wilds once forbidden,
      to teach the laborious plowman
And shepherd deliver'd from clouds of war, from pestilence,
      from night-fear, from murder,
From falling, from stifling, from hunger, from cold,
      from slander, discontent and sloth;
That walk in beasts and birds of night,
      driven back by the sandy desart
Like pestilent fogs round cities of men:
      and the happy earth sing in its course,
The mild peaceable nations be opened to heav'n,
      and men walk with their fathers in bliss.'
Then hear the first voice of the morning:
      'Depart, O clouds of night, and no more
Return; be withdrawn cloudy war, troops of warriors depart,
      nor around our peaceable city
Breathe fires, but ten miles from Paris, let all be peace,
      nor a soldier be seen!' "

[Syna]

Hurray for Blake! His poetry mythology is a constant source of mystery and wisdom to me. I've hardly exhausted his catalog, but I feel that's kind of a life project of mine-- his cosmos is a dense one. I haven't touched him in awhile, though-- I need to get through The Four Zoas; it's just so damn hard to absorb everything he's saying.

One of my dearest memories was the first time I took a certain hallucinogen, back in 2007 when I was taking my first class on Romanticism. I loved the Romantics before, but that class took it to a new level: it was basically a religious conversion experience. I had brought this book to a friend's house: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23910.William_Blake

I was in the middle of a conversation with said friends, beginning to feel the effects, when I suddenly turned to look at the book.... and it had, as you may expect, become quite literally illuminated. It was fucking awesome. WB was amazingly onto something, poetically, philosophically, and artistically.

(I'm really pleased that the Romantics have such a presence at the Compendium, btw, though given the themes of the Chrono series that's hardly surprising.)

And I love his political poetry! He was not afraid of the cost of liberty. What impresses me the most about that though I think is that he was so wholly in support of the American revolution. My prof mentioned that he may have even foreseen that it would inspire the French, in certain ways.

BTW, if you like Tarot, you may be interested in this deck: http://www.facade.com/tarot/william_blake/ It's reworked based on his mythology-- the images are a little subpar for copyright reasons, but it's really extraordinarily well-done. I bought it awhile ago and it's actually the only deck I actively use anymore.

<- can talk about WB all day long. This should not be in the stuff you hate thread!

[Lord J Esq]

I hate to see promising people collapse into religious fundamentalism because of trauma in their life, or an existential crisis.

[Manly Man]

I was just reminded last night how much I hate epilepsy. Had two big seizures and didn't get out of the hospital until four this morning, and now I have a terrible headache.

[GenesisOne]

How much has William Blake been an influence in my life?

About as much influence as Big Bird and the Keebler Elf.

Sorry about that headache, Manly Man. Here's best wishes for you to conquer it.

[tushantin]

How much has William Blake been an influence in my life?

About as much influence as Big Bird and the Keebler Elf.

Haha that's funny, because a part of me today is all thanks to William Blake's influence (my in my new thread later).

Man, Manly Man! Hope nothing's too serious.

As for me, I hate myself REALLY REALLY MUCH for for stammering and forgetting words! >< Each time I'm in the middle of a conversation with someone in real life my mind tends to go completely blank, breaking any thoughts I had in my head, and I begin chirping nonsense like a friggin ******. Even when a conversation is low in stress, something too casual, I keep forgetting words (even the simplest of them, like "paper" or "basket") and stammer, uttering embarrassing sounds of broken words that people have a hard time understanding me.

That doesn't mean I have that stammering disorder or anything (damn, what was that called...), because most of the time I'm fluent in English (but not in Hindi, which is why I Slum-Speak/Mob-Speak). But this just happens randomly any friggin time, even if I'm prepared for it, which makes things worse.

[Sajainta]

That doesn't mean I have that stammering disorder or anything (damn, what was that called...)

It's called stuttering, or stammering.

Have you ever considering going to a speech pathologist?  Even if you don't have a stutter, it sounds like it happens often enough to warrant going to a professional.  My mother is a (very good) speech pathologist and has done wonders for people.  A similarly talented speech therapist could probably help you out a lot.

[tushantin]

Yeah, it's often like rushing places, stumbling on rocks and falling headfirst on the round; often happens when I try to explain myself properly.

Speech Pathologist, aye? (And yet another coincidence!) Thanks! I'll see if there's any of those docs in my city. I'll try to get an appointment.


Ranting more hate here:
Almost a year ago, my brother wanted to learn music. He showed some serious dedication there and was stubborn to learn it, but always sought quality with whatever he used. He sounded bad? He blamed it on his soundcard (most retarded idea I've ever heard). He wanted a guitar so he could practice day and night. Being an older brother I understood this and thought I'd save up my salary and buy him one. Many friends, on the other hand, and especially my boss kept warning me that my brother wouldn't stay dedicated for more than a month and that buying him an instrument is just a waste of money. I didn't listen to them and bought him one anyway.

A month passed and he couldn't get the hang of the guitar. I recommended some classes, but he didn't like the idea. Another month passed and he was more interested in Warcraft and Ragnarok more than his Guitar. Yet another month, and he had completely forgotten it. I asked him whether he practices his guitar, and he lied to me he always does, but mom says he's never touched the guitar since the purchase.

A year passed, and yesterday I saw his good friend Shalin playing his own guitar at the cafe wonderfully, and I asked him if he's willing to teach my bro, which he agreed to. Today, I asked my brother whether he's willing to learn from his friend, to which he said he's lost interest in the guitar. I asked him, "then why the hell did you buy it in the first place?"

Wrathfully, he tossed a bottle cap at me and screamed, "Mind your own business! Quit ruining my mood in the morning!"

Ruin his mood? I wanted to tell him how much this statement hurt me. I put faith in his dedication, spent my hard earned money for him to fulfill his passion, and it lays abandoned like a toy he's long forgotten. And he tells me I'm ruining his mood? I wanted to tell this to his face, but realized arguing about it would be pointless.

I've learned a valuable lesson: Never trust anybody, and don't go out of your way when it comes to kindness. Also, most of the time the experienced folks like your boss or some older friends are right on their opinions.

[Sajainta]

I am so, so, so worried about the terrible tsunami.  I have a very good friend who lives close to where it just hit in Japan, and I cannot get a hold of her.  I have friends who live all over that area and I am sick with fear and worry.

[tushantin]

O______O

Try calling, pronto! If the disaster did strike somewhere that close then chances are they won't be able to reply for a bit (ya know, trying to survive and helping people), but it's worth a try. Hope they were able to evacuate in time.

[Sajainta]

I have tried calling.  Nothing.  My boyfriend's sister also lives in Japan (she's in the military and is stationed there).  D has been trying to call her, but nothing from her either.

[tushantin]

-- All public transport, rail, air, port and mobile services were shut down. Schools are providing shelter to stranded commuters

Saj, I know I'm not in the position to ask you to calm, but if she is outside Honshu/Sendai range, no matter how close, there's a high possibility that she's alright. At least I hope so. Mobile services will be out for quite a while, which is why she may not be able to stay in communication. Once they're up, or if she gets the opportunity, I'm sure she'll attempt to contact you.

[Licawolf]

I am so, so, so worried about the terrible tsunami.  I have a very good friend who lives close to where it just hit in Japan, and I cannot get a hold of her.  I have friends who live all over that area and I am sick with fear and worry.

Oh god...I just saw it on the news before going to work. I'm afraid I can't offer much help, but I really hope all your friends are ok.