On blog secrets and secret blogs

Once upon a time, there was a simple blogger who liked to use the 'next blog' button. A lot. And yes, that blogger would, in fact, be me. One day on my push-button travels, I fell suddenly into a magical world of poetry. Sonnets, to be precise. They were not all equally beautiful, some were downright doggerel, but most were entrancing. Even the mediocre ones were charming.

It was clear that I had stumbled upon something I shouldn't have. Hardly anyone had seen this blog, and no one had ever commented on a sonnet. Or so I thought. I made a comment on a particularly enticing rhyme, yet visiting again, I found my comment had been erased. This was a secret sonnet diary blog. I so wanted to link to this special universe - in fact, I believe I did link it, then repented almost immediately and took the link away. Who am I to be so indiscreet? And then, as so often happens with these things, I forgot about it for many months.

And then, this evening, the image of this page came back to me. Could I still remember the address? Did it still exist? Was it still maintained? Was it still so realistically sublime? I could, it did, it was, and most importantly, it was. But it is still a publicly published secret. Almost no one has seen it. No comment can be found on any post, though commenting is, in theory, permitted. It's a regularly updated conundrum.

A conundrum that I would like to share with the world, or at least with a few of my more poetically inclined fellows, and yet the whole point is that it is clearly not for sharing. I would like to comment, but I cannot bring myself to do it, knowing that it will disappear, like writing in milk. I would like to contact the poet, but I cannot, having but a pen name and no more.

Further proof for the lesson that life is full of secrets and intrigue. I know that there are things, both good and bad, big things to me, which I make a conscious decision not to talk about on blog. I'm sure that's true for most people who give information in public spaces such as this. And it would never occur to me to share someone's secrets, if I should be told them or find them out. Yet, a whole blog that is secret, that I feel conflicted over.

*photo info: Eloquence, in the assembly room of the Portuguese Parliament*

Bedtime Story #1: Clumsy Hans (Klods-Hans)

The story of Clumsy Hans, to be read right before bedtime. If it's not that time, you may come back when it is, or rebelling against petty rules is also appreciated:

Once upon a time, there was a princess who decided to marry the man who had the most to say for himself. Two brothers who were a little too sure of their abilities set out to woo her, so that one of them might be the chosen one. A third brother, who was sure of himself in a whole other way, set out to win the princess as well. This third brother started without advantages (he had a goat rather than the fine horses of his brothers), and collected seemingly useless objects on his journey to the castle - a dead crow, a broken wooden shoe, and pockets full of mud. There's no way he could have won the princess.

Except in a fairy tale. He had perfect luck and timing, and his resources were just what was needed, or could be presented that way. The other brothers were forgotten, our anti-hero got the girl, erm, princess, they eventually became king and queen and lived presumably happily ever after.

That Princess. If only modern princesses were married in this way...what work for the tabloids! Would you agree to choose your future King or Queen by public interview? If so, what one quality would you be looking for in all your suitors?

That Hans. Working with what he has, and without inhibition. And it works. How do you do this in your life? What treasures do you carry around with you, to use for winning that princess or prince (or job, or house, or whatever else is in your line of desire)?

Those other brothers: Were they given a bum rap, weeded out unfairly by the selection process? And for that matter, what about all the impressive people in line after Hans?

Answers on a post-it note or blog comment, please.

And, for those who took my suggestion seriously, goodnight and sweet dreams.

More posts about dogs and Danes

I have always been impressed by the overall high level of English among the Danes...but I've only just learned that they also speak dog. This sign, located at about canine level in front my local supermarket is a message to dogs whose owners are shopping inside, from a Fakta employee named Lone. It is entitled 'dog information', and the translation of the doggish is 'Calm down! It will only take 5 minutes.' What isn't immediately apparent is that the sign is lying...as I seem to keep pointing out (which leads to the question of how many times I can mention a store before I have to start a tag for it), the lines at this store are looooong. One can only hope that these dogs who read don't also have a good sense of time passing...but that being said, this dog seems perfectly o.k. with waiting.

1st Annual Official Year of Improvement Day

Also known as, New Year's Resolutions. Which I haven't made any of in a number of years, because, what is the point of making a resolution knowing that you couldn't possibly carry it through for more than 2 hours?

This year, however, I feel much more ready for the challenge, and much more able to set measurable goals. And what better way to ensure resolution completion than by opening myself up to nagging from the blogosphere? Gentle, loving, constructive nagging preferred, thanks. Then, it will be your turn. What are your resolutions? I'd love to be inspired to borrow from your list, too!

But first, here are my official New Year's Resolutions:

1) Complete and blog about the 2007 TBR Challenge: Things are always better packaged as challenges; I'm competitive that way. Here, I will get to read 12 of those books that have been on my list of things to read for, on average, too long. My list is as follows:

1) Ulysses, by James Joyce
2) Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
3) Philosophical Investigations, by Ludwig Wittgenstein
4) Ludwig Wittgenstein, the Duty of Genius, by Ray Monk
5) A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman
6) A Natural History of Love, by Diane Ackerman
7) The Beatrice Letters, by Lemony Snicket
8) Death without Weeping, by Nancy Scheper-Hughes
9) Discipline and Punish, by Michel Foucault
10) Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng’en
11) Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
12) Collected Fictions, Jorge Luis Borges

I realize it's a bit heavy, but, well, that's the stuff that's on my list. Anyone wanting to read along and chat about any of these, let me know. I can't imagine I'll follow the challenge totally to the letter, which is to say, that I'll start and finish each of these books in a month. Some, like Philosophical Investigations, for example, will probably take more than a month, and several others will take much less...for example, Beatrice Letters shouldn't take more than part of a lazy afternoon. My goal then is to finish one of these each month. I also pledge to write at least one post inspired by each of the books on the list. I'll read them in whatever order strikes my fancy, and am starting January with #5, A Natural History of the Senses. Nothing too heavy this month so that I will still have time to focus on...

2) MyTheWriMo: First there was NaNoWriMo, or 'National Novel Writing Month', where crazy people write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November (I plan to be one of those crazy people this year, too.) Then, my brother decided to do a practice run, or MyNoWriMo (well, HisNoWriMo to you and me), in January. That got me thinking about my writing behemoths, and I thought, forced marathon writing...thesis...MyTheWriMo! Yep, a rough draft of my thesis in the month of January. 25,000 words or more (the maximum for the assignment is 28,000). I still haven't totally worked out my problem statement, but have some ideas that are really drawing me in. This is the resolution I most want to keep. I'll try not to post too much thesis angst in this space, but some will be unavoidable. (Gentle, loving, constructive) nagging is especially welcome here.

3) 10 kilos begone: is there a single person who makes resolutions who doesn't have at least one about body shape? Some of this is from my holidays, and will go pretty fast. The rest will involve lots more attention to diet and lots more exercise. I don't plan to blog about this one at all.

4) Fun, fun, fun: I need to have more fun. I have forgotten how to have pure, unmitigated, fun. I vow to go out more, laugh more, but I refuse to post photos.

5) Work, work, work: This is the one I'm most unsure of how to go about completing, but I'm determined to get a job which reflects my interests. Which first means getting accepted into a PhD program and getting funding. Anyone have any idea about this? Not so much the getting in (though that too), but the funding. I hope to blog about all my successes and chosing between lots of cool programs. My virtual fingers are crossed for the foreseeable future.

I'd say that's enough. And now, let the games begin.

Happy New Year!

My original first post of the year was to be about New Year's Resolutions. My second idea was to write about Danish New Year's Eve, which is the rockinest event on the Danish calendar (and I only use such a horrid word as 'rockinest' 'cause it's really true). As it is, I've spent the first day of the year lazing away a combination of champagne and residual jetlag, and have yet to actually compile a list of all my resolutions. They're not so timely, they can wait. However, New Year's Day is soon departed (from this time zone, in any case), so this cannot wait.

May everyone's 2007 be filled with adventure, joy, peace, love, excitement, and oh, whatever else you'd like, really. I know it sounds vague, but I pretty much really mean it.