If thou must love me... (Sonnet 14)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say,
"I love her for her smile—her look—her way
Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day"—
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee—and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry:
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
In some ways, this is kind of on the line of Shakespeare's
...Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken.
I think there's truth in that-- true love is constant, bears all things, endures all things.
However, as much as I might like to believe it, I'm not sure that "love for love's sake" is possible...or even desirable. C.S. Lewis writes, "Love ceases to be a demon only when it ceases to be a god." Beyond that, love generally flows from affection...and affection is usually sparked by "a trick of thought," a "way of speaking gently," etc. I guess the problem comes from building a relationship upon those things...that may change. The love must go deeper than that. But love for love's sake? I'm just not sure.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Media report-- Movies and TV
Movies
*Role Models-- I don't normally enjoy this type of comedy, but I let myself be talked into going to see Role Models-- an R-rated comedy about two men who commit a crime and are offered a choice between community service (in a mentoring program) or jail time. Of course, they end up mentoring and wacky hijinks ensue. It actually IS funny, though, and ends up being kind of touching....though I think the overall message conveys the inadvisability of using criminals as mentors!
*Bolt-- This movie was cute, if predictable. I'd recommend it for kids.
*Milk-- This is a biopic of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office. Besides making me miss San Francisco, I thought this movie was extremely well done. The casting was perfect, as were the performances. They did a great job incorporating actual footage of the time period and certain events. I was surprised that this didn't win anything at Golden Globes (though Sean Penn was nominated). But...I haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet. Anyway, I'll be interested to see how it fares at the Academy Awards. Of course, this movie is rated R and is about a gay man. If (fairly tame, as I recall) scenes depicting gay sex will offend you, this is a movie you'll want to skip. Otherwise, I'd recommend you see it.
*Valkyrie-- The best thing I can say about this movie is that it made me want to learn more about the Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Other than that, I didn't think it was very good. With movies based on historical situations (like Milk, above), we already know the ending. We know that Hitler was not assassinated, so it's clear from the outset that Valkyrie will not succeed. What I needed was a reason to care-- WHY were these German officers different from those who followed Hitler? Why should I care about them or their families? What is their back story? This was not really communicated. Instead, the movie (with excessive close-ups of Tom Cruise) focuses on the details of the plot, the attempt and the executions of those involved. I didn't leave the theater with any real emotional insight into these men so I was all that upset when they died. And of course, I already knew that Hitler would survive until his suicide. So...I'd suggest you skip it.
DVDs
*WALL*E-- The animation in this movie is absolutely breathtaking. It also has a pretty clear message about caring for the earth. WALL*E himself is adorable. I thought it was a little slow, but most kids seem to be fans.
*Torchwood Season 2-- Awesome! Willful suspension of disbelief needed by the bucketfuls, but this show rocks! (If this were an American show-- instead of BBC Wales-- it would be TV-14 or TV-M, probably the former...just FYI.)
TV
*House-- I've been watching when I can. I love Hugh Laurie. I don't care who else is on the show. (Though I was worried when Wilson was away.)
*24: Redemption-- This 24 special takes place in Sangala (filmed in South Africa, though) and highlights the problem of child soldiers. I really appreciate celebrities who use their fame and status to increase awareness of important causes. Not only that, this special is really good-- suspenseful, explosive, what you'd expect from 24 and Jack Bauer. If you rent the DVD (which I did, after watching it on broadcast tv), there is a heart-breaking featurette on child soldiers.
*24: Season 7-- The first two hours started out okay. (I won't say much for those who haven't seen it yet.) In the second two hours, things took a swift nosedive. I'm not sure if they'll be able to pull out of this. If anyone can save the show, Jack Bauer is the man. I wish him luck.
*Lost-- I'm not watching this. I don't care. J.J. Abrams has brilliant ideas...but follow-through leaves much to be desired. After disastrous endings to Felicity and Alias (much worse), I don't trust him. IF my friends who are still watching the show watch until the end of the series...and tell me that the ending was spectacular and wrapped up all the loose threads into a coherent bundle...I'll be the first to go to Netflix and put all the DVDs in my queue. Until then, so long, Lost.
*Role Models-- I don't normally enjoy this type of comedy, but I let myself be talked into going to see Role Models-- an R-rated comedy about two men who commit a crime and are offered a choice between community service (in a mentoring program) or jail time. Of course, they end up mentoring and wacky hijinks ensue. It actually IS funny, though, and ends up being kind of touching....though I think the overall message conveys the inadvisability of using criminals as mentors!
*Bolt-- This movie was cute, if predictable. I'd recommend it for kids.
*Milk-- This is a biopic of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office. Besides making me miss San Francisco, I thought this movie was extremely well done. The casting was perfect, as were the performances. They did a great job incorporating actual footage of the time period and certain events. I was surprised that this didn't win anything at Golden Globes (though Sean Penn was nominated). But...I haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet. Anyway, I'll be interested to see how it fares at the Academy Awards. Of course, this movie is rated R and is about a gay man. If (fairly tame, as I recall) scenes depicting gay sex will offend you, this is a movie you'll want to skip. Otherwise, I'd recommend you see it.
*Valkyrie-- The best thing I can say about this movie is that it made me want to learn more about the Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Other than that, I didn't think it was very good. With movies based on historical situations (like Milk, above), we already know the ending. We know that Hitler was not assassinated, so it's clear from the outset that Valkyrie will not succeed. What I needed was a reason to care-- WHY were these German officers different from those who followed Hitler? Why should I care about them or their families? What is their back story? This was not really communicated. Instead, the movie (with excessive close-ups of Tom Cruise) focuses on the details of the plot, the attempt and the executions of those involved. I didn't leave the theater with any real emotional insight into these men so I was all that upset when they died. And of course, I already knew that Hitler would survive until his suicide. So...I'd suggest you skip it.
DVDs
*WALL*E-- The animation in this movie is absolutely breathtaking. It also has a pretty clear message about caring for the earth. WALL*E himself is adorable. I thought it was a little slow, but most kids seem to be fans.
*Torchwood Season 2-- Awesome! Willful suspension of disbelief needed by the bucketfuls, but this show rocks! (If this were an American show-- instead of BBC Wales-- it would be TV-14 or TV-M, probably the former...just FYI.)
TV
*House-- I've been watching when I can. I love Hugh Laurie. I don't care who else is on the show. (Though I was worried when Wilson was away.)
*24: Redemption-- This 24 special takes place in Sangala (filmed in South Africa, though) and highlights the problem of child soldiers. I really appreciate celebrities who use their fame and status to increase awareness of important causes. Not only that, this special is really good-- suspenseful, explosive, what you'd expect from 24 and Jack Bauer. If you rent the DVD (which I did, after watching it on broadcast tv), there is a heart-breaking featurette on child soldiers.
*24: Season 7-- The first two hours started out okay. (I won't say much for those who haven't seen it yet.) In the second two hours, things took a swift nosedive. I'm not sure if they'll be able to pull out of this. If anyone can save the show, Jack Bauer is the man. I wish him luck.
*Lost-- I'm not watching this. I don't care. J.J. Abrams has brilliant ideas...but follow-through leaves much to be desired. After disastrous endings to Felicity and Alias (much worse), I don't trust him. IF my friends who are still watching the show watch until the end of the series...and tell me that the ending was spectacular and wrapped up all the loose threads into a coherent bundle...I'll be the first to go to Netflix and put all the DVDs in my queue. Until then, so long, Lost.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Health update
I saw my local GI on Monday. My thyroid levels, which had been improving, are back to indicating the far hyper end of hyperthyroidism. I'm not sure yet what they're going to do about that. (I think the Mayo endocrinologist is going to decide if I need anti-thyroid medication.) The GI said that he thinks that I have a systemic autoimmune disease, but he is unsure what it is and that we may need to just wait. He ordered a test for malabsorption and also wants me to return to the GI at the Mayo Clinic.
I have gained some weight (though still not up to 100 lbs), but I'm finding these answers less than satisfying. Though I realize, there may not be clear answers at this time.
I have gained some weight (though still not up to 100 lbs), but I'm finding these answers less than satisfying. Though I realize, there may not be clear answers at this time.
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