Delineating Des

"All the heroical fictions of ecclesiastical quixoticism" That, claims, Wikipedia, is the first time quixoticism is mentioned, giving Pulpit Popery, True Popery as the source. Urban Dictionary defines quixoticism as unattainable idealism. Let's take ism from quixoticism and we have quixotic . Anyone who knows Don Quixote would have an idea what the adjective is about.  Merriam Webster defines it as foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action . "It doesn't do to be quixotic. Telling the truth to people who misunderstand you is really promoting falsehood." ~ Anthony Hope Then we take ic from quixotic and finally we have quixote . Enter (drum roll please) Don Quixote of La Mancha, the windmills, skinny Rosinante, ladylove Dulcinea.... Chivalry at its quixotic best!  "The Quixotes of this Age fight with the Wind-mills of their owne Heads" - John Cleveland...

In the spirit of the halloween season spooky does it. Or the beauty of language does. I am positively terrified by images conjured and emotions evoked by grave poetry. Rhymes bury boredom. Meeting words not used in common conversation charms me. With a witch's gait in my head, I roamed cyberspace and filled my HP cauldron with passages from poems of 13 literary greats: 1. Halloween by Robert Burns (1785) Upon that night, when fairies light On Cassilis Downans dance, Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze, On sprightly coursers prance; Or for Colean the rout is ta’en, Beneath the moon’s pale beams; There, up the Cove, to stray an’ rove, Amang the rocks and streams 2. Ulalume: A Ballad by Edgar Allan Poe (1847) And now, as the night was senescent, And star-dials pointed to morn — As the star-dials hinted of morn — At the end of our path a liquescent And nebulous lustre was born 3. The Hag by Robert Herrick (1648) A Thorn or a Burr, She takes for a Spurre: Wi...

Header from Samulli Ever wondered where do famous quotations really come from? How about wondering how did they come about or who really said them? Truth be told, I did not wonder. Not that I assumed everything's perfect in the business of quoting and quotations, I just trusted the language I'm reading and listening to as embellished enough. But I did have fun finding out that certain quotations or attributions did not really originate from whoever they are famous with or how the media present them to be. This list is Part II of last week's TT post . 1. According to Jack Freedman, 'A piano is a piano is a piano' was written by Gertrude Steinway . Ms Stein is also credited with the phrase 'A lost generation' , but this, she always admitted, came from a Monsieur Pernollet, a hotelier from Belley, who referred to a mechanic fixing Ms Stein's car as on of " Une generation perdue' ; those whose formative years had been spent at war. Ms Stein appli...

Music is foremost among the tools I employ in putting my baby to sleep. Around eight weeks into my pregnancy I started playing Ultrasound: Music for the Unborn Child. I used earphones; one plugged in my ear and the other attached to my belly. I bought the CD from Tower Records. Right before I wrote this entry I looked it up in Amazon. The prices now vary. There are also good and not very good reviews there. Personally I love the tracks, all 17 of them and I assume the tiny listener inside would love them too :) Now that he's out and invading my bed, I still play it on for him. A few minutes of these titles quickly send a semi-hyperactive kid to dreamland: Berceuse for Piano in D flat major, B 154/Op. 57, Nocturne for Harp, Op. 20, Rˆverie or Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: no 3, Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy. The latter is my favorite :) Storybooks are just as vital. This one is prescribed by the Lola. History does repeat itself. I had two of the same books along with those Tell-it-again...

Chess is part of my family history. Papa was particularly immersed in it during his free time. I grew up wondering what does the game have to do with Rapunzel's plight. I thought it was a bit insensitive of him to enjoy his game when there were damsels in distress in dire need of rescuing. He was happy playing with neighbors, friends or visiting relatives. I stuck with Snow White and gasped when she ate the poisoned apple. He tried to explain the rules of the game to me but I walked with Little Red Riding Hood through the forest and was busy worrying what would she look like when the wolf was through gobbling her up. Although I was aware of the significance of chess as a mind game, my curiosity froze at the squares. When Papa retired he spent more and more time on the board, the same one he played on since I was a kid. The decades have captured the king, yellowed the queen, fatigued the bishops, rusted the rooks and flaked the pawns; but he enjoyed them like he always did when...