Batter My Heart
by John Donne (1572-1631)
Batter my heart, three personed God; for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurped town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end;
Reason, [...]
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To Virgil
by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
Written at the Request of the Mantuans for the Nineteenth Centenary of
Virgil’s Death
(It seems appropriate given that I am currently in Mantova.)
Roman Virgil, thou that singest
Ilion’s lofty temples robed in fire,
Ilion falling, Rome arising,
wars, and filial faith, and Dido’s pyre;
Landscape-lover, lord of language
more than he that sang the Works and [...]
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The World Is Too Much With Us
by William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at [...]
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I have just sat through the entire closing ceremony. Not much to report. They will be closing the press room soon. I have more to say on Turin but it may be a few days before I get it all down. I leave Turin in the morning and access to the internet is uncertain as [...]
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Earlier today, I ran into Hans-Walter Schmitt, the jovial madman behind the annual Mainz Classic events and he was only too happy to describe this year’s offerings in the Rheingoldhalle from August 15 to 20.
First, the “Rapid World Championship” match between Anand and Rajadbov. Then, a series of Chess960 (
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On the women’s side it’s over: Ukraine gets gold, China silver, and Russia bronze. The U.S. finisheded in a tie for fourth, a good four points behind Russia.
On men’s side, it’s also over. China beat the Netherlands to secure the silver medal behind Armenia. That leaves the U.S. and Israel tied for third place. But [...]
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They have scored 3.5-0.5 vs. Norway. Meanwhile, Israel has knocked Russia out of medal contention with a 3-1 victory. China and the Netherlands are tied 1.5-1.5 with game still going on.
As I see it, that puts the U.S.A., Israel and China in a three-way tie for second. Of course, unless China loses the remaining game, [...]
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ruky01
Originally uploaded by allthingshuman.
I understand that every sporting event or sports team is required to have a silly mascot, i.e., some underpaid minion who is required to dress up in a ridiculous costume and walk around the event waving to the spectators and posing for pictures.
I understand that this is so. I don’t understand why.
In [...]
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Four quick draws against Hungary give Armenia the gold and move Hungary (temporarily–very temporarily) into second place. If the U.S. manages to annihilate the Norwegians while the other matches are split, the U.S. could get a medal–little chance of that, however. Similarly, the U.S. women are not mathematically eliminated from a medal, just practically eliminated.
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“When I watch the living meet”
by A. E. Housman (1859-1936)
When I watch the living meet
And the moving pageant file
Warm and breathing through the street
Where I lodge a little while,
If the heats of hate and lust
In the house of flesh are strong,
Let me mind the house of dust
Where my sojourn shall be long.
In the nation that [...]
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