This year, for the first time, I tracked what I read this year. If you’re interested, here are the results: Continue reading
Hil’s Year in Books
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Author Archives: Hillary
Man and Superman
Why I love Shaw:
Don Juan: …I tell you that as long as I can conceive of something better than myself I cannot be easy unless I am striving to bring it into existence or clearing the way for it. That is the law of my life. That is the working within me of Life’s incessant aspiration to higher organization, wider, deeper, intenser self-consciousness, and clearer self-understanding. It was the supremacy of this purpose that reduced love for me to the mere pleasure of a moment, art for me to the mere schooling of faculties, religion for me to a mere excuse for laziness, since it had set up a God who looked at the world and saw that it was good, against the instinct in me that looked through my eyes at the world and saw that it could be improved…
-Man and Superman, Act III
Why I love the English language:
Don Juan: …Your friends are all the dullest dogs I know. They are not beautiful: they are only decorated. They are not clean: they are only shaved and starched. They are not dignified: they are only fashionably dressed. They are not educated: they are only college passmen. They are not religious: they are only pewrenters. They are not moral: they are only conventional. They are not virtuous: they are only cowardly. They are not even vicious: they are only “frail.” They are not artistic: they are only lascivious. They are not prosperous: they are only rich. They are not loyal, they are only servile; not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic; not courageous, only quarrelsome; not determined, only obstinate; not masterful, only domineering; not self-controlled, only obtuse; not self-respecting, only vain; not kind, only sentimental; not social, only gregarious; not considerate, only polite; not intelligent, only opinionated; not progressive, only factious; not imaginative, only superstitious; not just, only vindictive; not generous, only proprietory; not disciplined, only cowed; and not truthful at all: liars every one of them, to the very backbone of their souls.
-Man and Superman, Act III
Dinner and a [Cat] Show
CCA Cat Show Halifax
Today we went to the Halloween Cat Show at the Halifax Forum! There were, sadly, no Sphynxes to be seen, but there were some Rexes and Oriental Shorthairs (which Des loved because they looked like they wouldn’t shed very much), some Maine Coons (which I loved because I love GIANT cats!) and the tiniest cutest five month old calico entered in the household pet category (which EVERYONE in the entire show loved. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen). Continue reading
A Day Out In Halifax
Desire and I have been ill, so we decided to go out on the town for a short jaunt in order to get some fresh air and get us home before it got too chilly. We started out at the Halifax Market in the Brewery – my first trip there, though Desire had been before when he went to school here. It was VERY different from the Ottawa market that I’m used to – for one thing, Ottawa’s Byward Market encompasses all kinds of independent shops that line the streets for several blocks as well as all kinds of stalls along the street, many of which are there every day for the summer, and much of the spring and fall as well. Continue reading
Links that lead to a discussion of 19th century French theatre
I’m sure everyone has already seen the music video for A-Ha’s Take On Me with new lyrics about the music video itself. And you should have – it’s hilarious. If you saw it when it was linked to by Jason Kottke over at his excellent site, you probably also listened to DaVinci’s Notebook’s Title of the Song, perhaps the most hysterically funny piece of meta I’ve seen this year. In this particular “video”, it’s also accompanied by the uproarious laughter and occasional interjections of some people that were watching it performed. Possibly radio show hosts? I’m not sure, but in any case, I felt that it really added something! Continue reading
It should be noted…
That Hillary ALSO got an Xbox today.
Also, we got shushed by our neighbours. Oops! I rarely got shushed, so I’m savouring the guilt. The last time I got shushed is at a screening for Batman Begins. It was at one of the smallest theatres in Ottawa ( the one in the Rideau Centre, if you know the area), and several weeks after it’d been released, so Mattie and I figured we were safe in the nearly empty theatre for some quiet riffing. But we got angrily shushed as we mocked one of the more hilarious moments (did anyone else notice that every time they mentioned the big drug in the air thing, it gained an extra adjective? “It’s… a drug.” “It’s a psychotropic a drug.” “It’s a weaponized psychotropic drug!” The only thing that beat that for me was the “I will tell him that you saved his life guy” shirking his ONE duty. Hilarious!)
Oh, well, back to being polite and conscientious for me. I just can’t take the guilt!