Complete the Task

We’ve mentioned this before. All three of us are first-borns. It’s not like us to leave a task undone, certianly not one we saw to near completion.

Yet here sits this blog. Unupdated in over seven years.

And here sits the WEM Reading list. Twenty-seven of thirty-one titles have been crossed off. To be fair, we’ve all read, but not blogged, at least twenty-nine of them, but none of us has made it to the fiction finish line.

To add insult to injury SWB put out a new edition of WEM and added a 32nd book.

But we’re going to see this through. Not for you, although we’re glad you’re here reading this, but for us.

We need to finish.

We need stay connected through our love of reading. The trials, tribulations, and even joys of life are to be shared. Through engagement with the written word and discussion of life’s stories – both published and unpublished – we plan to do just that. This is the consolation of conversation that makes up good friendship.

When we started this project my twins looked like this. Today they are eleven.
Don’t worry, I’m not finished with them, either.

 

Oops, I Forgot

We’ve all been there, right?  That uncomfortable conversation with a friend where it becomes painfully obvious that you’ve neglected to ask about something significant in her life.  The birthday glossed over as just another ordinary Thursday.  The date set aside to spend quality time with a loved one forgotten amid the routines of daily life.  The favor you said you’d be happy to do and then totally spaced when the time came.

I feel horrible when these oversights happen, even worse once I finally realize what occurred. I know I’ve completely bunged up, and that the one hurt by my negligence has every right to be thinking, “Man, she’s such an . . . ”

But I want to quickly butt in and say, “No, no, I’m not.  I’m just a memory hole.”

 

Rip and Shred the Insanity Asylum

Every Saturday morning the three of us here at Classic Case of Madness drag ourselves out of our respective beds, yank on varying layers of compression gear, lace up the shoes, and hit the pavement.  Our run is followed by something newly deemed “abstavaganza” by Christine.

It’s just enough for you to know that there are weights, unladylike sounds, sweat, and a fair amount of complaining that goes into the exercise.

I used to think it was all pretty horrible, but then I realized it could be worse, we could have the government critiquing our every push-up through the telescreen.

Physical Jerks?  Yes.  Physical Jerks in front of jerks?  No.  Because, at least so far, my CCOM comrades haven’t started quasi-quoting the best lines from Book One Chapter III.

Put a bit of life into it!

6079 Roberts C!  Yes, you! . . . You’re not trying.

Watch me again.  I’m forty-oneish and I’ve had three children.  Now look.  You see my knees aren’t bent.

You can all do it if you want to.

Anyone under forty-five is perfectly capable of touching his toes.

We don’t all have the privilege of fighting in the front line, but at least we can all keep fit.

And if they do begin to utter such encouragements, I’ll see to it that they star in their own personal fitness DVD and you, too, can reap the benefits.  Jillian Michaels, watch out.

 

Reason #87,341 I Love Readers

Remember a few days ago when I tried to link The Stranger to that oft mentioned Queen hit?  Well, in case you missed the comments on that post, I wanted to bring your attention to the genius of our fellow reader, Jean.

She astutely pointed out that there actually is a song based on Camus’ work.  If you’re like me you might be unfamiliar with “Killing an Arab” by The Cure..

You can watch it or not
Whichever you choose
It amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing.

 

Frozen Stories

Before children, I watched the tv show Friends.

I’ve read chapter XXIV of Uncle Tom’s Cabin: the one that’s titled Foreshadowings and is all about Eva’s beginning to “fail rapidly.”  I quickly read through the following chapter and I’ve peeked ahead, seeing that chapter XXVI is titled “Death”.  I don’t want to read “Death”.

I keep thinking of the episode of Friends where Joey and Rachel trade favorite books.

Anyone else remember this?

Rachel’s favorite book is Little Women.
Joey’s favorite book is The Shining.
During the course of the episode Joey admits that when The Shining gets too scary, he puts it in the freezer.  He’s safe from it there.

Rachel and Joey are reading each other’s books.  This clip shows what happens when Joey gets to the part where Beth March is very sick.

I’m seriously wondering if the kindle will suffer any lasting effects from low temperatures.

 

Don’t miss this!

Friends, don’t forget to go over to Adriana’s blog today and read the wonderful things she has to say about The Well-Educated Mind.

You’ve been to Adriana’s blog before, right?  Good, because our dear reading companion keeps a splendid looking place at Classical Quest, full of insight and beauty.

 

. . . and many more.

It’s our Blogiversary.  One year of reading.  One year of posting.  One year of commenting.  One year of meeting new friends, virtual and literary.  One year of growing closer to the friends we already have.

 

Polyurethane Need Not Apply

One of our dear friends had a cameo appearance in Jane Eyre.  Here’s the quote from Chapter XVI,

Reason having come forward and told, in her own quiet way a plain, unvarnished tale, showing how I had rejected the real, and rabidly devoured the ideal; – I pronounced judgment to this effect: – That a greater fool than Jane Eyre had never breathed the breath of life; that a more fantastic idiot had never surfeited herself on sweet lies, and swallowed poison as if it were nectar.

Not What We're Talking About

No, our friend isn’t the one being overly harsh with Jane, that’s actually Jane’s own Reason.  Our friend is linked to the “unvarnished tale.”  Brontë’s use of this phrase shows us that she knew her Shakespeare, since he first penned “round, unvarnished tale” in Othello.

Don’t be impressed that I knew that, for here is where our good and smart friend comes in:  Cheryl, thank you for teaching me the origin of the phrase, for fixing in my mind the difference between “tale” and “table”, and for writing your well thought blog.  Happy Blog Break, to you.

Head on over to Round, Unvarnished Tale and read some archives.