Poems

The one question that is always on my mind is: why on earth did I chose to study English literature? There is no future in there (for me anyway). But then I remember: this is the reason:

"Ione, Dead the Long Year"

Empty are the ways
Empty are the ways of this land
And the flowers
Bend over with heavy heads
They bend in fain
Empty are the ways of this land
Where Ione
Walked once, and now does not walk
But seems like a person just gone

Ezra Pound


"Charge of the Light Brigade"

1.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

2.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

3.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

4.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

5.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

6.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Wuthering Heights, chapter 9:

Catherine: "What were the use of my creation, if I were entirely contained here? My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.—My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."

Emily Brontë

The Hunting of the Snark, The Vanishing

"They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.

They shuddered to think that the chase might fail,
And the Beaver, excited at last,
Went bounding along on the tip of its tail,
For the daylight was nearly past.

"There is Thingumbob shouting!" the Bellman said,
"He is shouting like mad, only hark!
He is waving his hands, he is wagging his head,
He has certainly found a Snark!"

They gazed in delight, while the Butcher exclaimed
"He was always a desperate wag!"
They beheld him--their Baker--their hero unnamed--
On the top of a neighboring crag.

Erect and sublime, for one moment of time.
In the next, that wild figure they saw
(As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm,
While they waited and listened in awe.

"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo-"

Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
Then sounded like "-jum!" but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.

They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away---
For the Snark *was* a Boojum, you see"

Lewis Carroll

There are many, many, many more novels and poems that I love.

I needed news books to read, for I can't think of any to read anymore. But most of all, they show me the long way I have to go before I can consider myself a writer. Everything I wrote until now was childlike and immature. I don't know if I'll ever write anything as good as these authors, it is my belief I will never, but I can enjoy these novels/poems nonetheless.

All Consuming Music

I never thought I'd be listening to Muse (British rock band) or Scorpions (German rock band), but as it turns out, I do. At first I didn't like the loudness (Muse) or the strange voice (Muse and Scorpions), but now I find the music, especially Muse, very compelling. The music draws you in and consumes you wholly. I like to think in terms of 'round' or 'flat' music. 'Round' music is music that just overpowers you, it is all around you in every way. The voice of the leadsinger is thrilling, the instruments are 'full'. In English I can barely explain it, but to visualise it: if you listen to the music of Muse with earpluggs in your ears and you close your eyes, you are just on your own surrounded by music, which wrapps like you like a warm blanket.

Though 'flat' music is not really my kind of music, since it sometimes lacks the comfort feeling that 'round' music gives you, it can also be really good. Sting, for instance, is such an artist. In his case it his voice that gives the song the beauty, not necessarily the band behind the song.

Personally, this is my distinction between bands and solo singers. However, not all solo singers make 'flat' music. Some songs of Robbie Williams (especially his latest one, 'Morning Sun') are 'round' or 'medium-round' songs. Likewise, some band I catogorise as 'flat' music bands (Paramore happens to have been one of my favourite), because their music is good but not as compelling or all consuming as Muse.

And to return to the subject of Muse, here are some of my favourite songs:
1) Neutron Star Collision
2) Sing for Absolution
3) Starlight
4) Supermassive Black Hole
5) Muscle Museum
6) Uprising
And all are fully consuming songs! Enjoy!

Bright Idea

What if... the kings of old Europe were portayed as children?

Colourful

A howling wolf on an amathyst.
From Canada.

Getting Cross over a Cross

At a rather interesting lecture this afternoon, hold by dr. M. Spiering at the University of Amsterdam, we were provided with a hilarious pun. As is often the case with the English language.

Let me give a short background story:
It was a short lecture on the 2000 years of British history. Dr. Spiering gave us the highligts of the British past, dividing it into a Celtic period (before 50 BC), a Roman period (50 BC - 500 AD), an Anglo-Saxon period (500-700), an Anglo-Saxon and Nordic period (700-1066) and the Anglo-Norman period.

He tried to give us a clear explanation of how the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland came into being. Next to that he explained how the nation's flag, the Union Jack, came into being.

And exactly this last part I would like to repeat.

For a long time, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were seperate entities. England has always been the most dominant kingdom in Britain, and this was once again proven in 1563 when King Edward I annexed Wales and forged a Union between the two. The last prince of Wales was murdered and King Edward I gave this title to his eldest son. Ever since then the monarch's eldest son would wear the title of Prince of Wales. The flag of Wales, which contains a dragon, has never been shown on the flag of England.

The Flag of Wales - the red dragon was the emblem of Owen Glendower

The case was different in 1603. Queen Elizabeth I had died without issue and the next in line for the throne was King James VI of Scotland. This forged a natural Union between the two kingdoms and the merger lead to the new title of King of Great Britian, since all of the island Britain was in the hands of one monarach.

It also lead to a merger of the flags of Scotland and of England. The first Union flag appeared in 1606.

The Flag of England - the Cross of St. George

The Flag of Scotland - The Cross of St. Andrews

These two flags resulted in the first Union Jack, as shown below.

It is starting to become fairly similar to the Union Jack that is used today. It needs only one more element and that is the flag of the Irish.

The case of Ireland is more complex. In 1169 the Anglo-colonists invaded Ireland, in 1175 King Henry II declared himself Lord of Ireland and in 1541 King Henry VIII declared himself King of Ireland. Next to that a parliament was started in 1297 (in both England as in Ireland, but in Ireland only the Anglo-Irish were represented, the natives were kept out). In the end of the eighteenth century the Irish patriots sought military support of revolutionary France. In a reaction the British government forced the merger of the Irish and British parliaments, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Ireland.

Once again the flag was changed and the Irish cross of St. Patrick was added to the Union Jack.

Saint Patrick's Cross, the patron saint of Ireland.

Resulting in 1801 in

The Union Jack!

However, the Scots were not pleased. They were far from pleased, actually. Just like the last merger of flags, the English flag was put on top of the Scottish flag and now the Irish emblem was put (below the English flag, but over) the Scottish flag.

In other words: The Scots were cross over the obscurity of their cross!

Eventually they decided to countercharge the crosses of St. Andrew and St. Patrick, as you can see, the flag is not symmetric.

Too Much Data

Studying for Exams.

Splash, Splash, Splash!

The Terrace in our Garden

If it had been colder that day it would have been snow on the ground and not water. The rain was pouring out of the sky for hours, making it impossible for the natural draining system to absorb everyting, hence the enormous amount of water on the ground. Splash, splash, splash!