Happy Valentine's Day!

[eldritchhobbit]

To all of you, my friends, a very happy Valentine's Day! :)

In honor of the occasion, a quote:

Hail Bishop Valentine, whose day this is,
All the air is thy Diocese,
And all the chirping choristers
And other birds are thy parishioners,
Thou marryest ever year
The lyric Lark, and the grave whispering Dove,
The Sparrow that neglects his life for love,
The household bird, with the red stomacher;
Thou maks't the black bird speed as soon,
As doth the Goldfinch, or the Halycon;
The husband cock looks out, and straight is sped,
And meets his wife, which brings her feather-bed.
This day more cheerfully than ever shine,
This day, which might enflame thy self, old Valentine.

Till now, thou warmd'st with mutiplying loves
Two larks, two sparrows, or two doves,
All that is nothing unto this,
For thou this day couplest two Phoenixes;
Thou mak'st a Taper see
What the sun never saw, and what the Ark
(Which was of fowls, and beasts, the cage and park,)
Did not contain, one bed contains, through thee,
Two Phoenixes, whose joined breasts
Are unto one another mutual nests,
Where motion kindles such fires, as shall give
Young Phoenixes, and yet the old shall love.
Whose love and courage never shall decline,
But make the whole year through, thy day, O Valentine....

from John Donne, "An Epithalamion, Or Marriage Song, On the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine Being Married on St. Valentine's Day"

Comments

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

Love the Donne, love the icon! God, what a funny movie!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Wasn't it a scream? And now when I feel festive and snarky (well, I always feel snarky), I somehow think of Billy Mack. Hey, he's not just for Christmas anymore! LOL! Happy hearts day! :)

[helveticat.livejournal.com]

Happy Valentine's Day to you! *hugs*

I love that poem! Beats out the flea any day. ;-)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

And to you, m'dear! ((hugs))

Beats out the flea any day. ;-)

LOL! Very true indeed!

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

belated happy v-day! :)

this is a bit of a catch-all comment so I'll keep rambling on:

huge congrats on book #3! greenwood P will have to bring out a whole series just to accommodate your writings, and they can be re-issued 100 yrs from now in tasty commemorative covers. have you thanked Virginia in your acknowledgements yet? there is a snipey undercurrent in some circles about gratuitous acknowledgements, partic of pets. it just makes me wanna thank Chloe (poochie) and Squeak (kitty), and every fish that's graced our household.

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Ha! You are too much! :) Thank you so much for youe kind words.

As for acknowledgements, some circles need to rethink what the word "gratuitous" actually means, because I know my past thanks to Virginia were quite necessary. Who listened as I read aloud while editing primary sources, checking for thematic flow? Who consoled me while I sifted through the sickening medical reports from the aftermath of two separate assassinations? Who, when I would have taken a four-hour "let's dance to Cyndi Lauper" break, literally sat on my lap and forced me to finish my analysis of Benjamin Harrison's position on free silver? Without Virginia, that book wouldn't have been written: end of story. And I think it's very speciesist of certain circles to assume that the only editorial and intellectual input that matters comes from human beings.

I have no doubt that I'll need her even more this time around. So yes, she most definitely will be thanked. :)

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

lol! too true.

and I love having a window into your writing process and range of topics. all so interesting. I think I've bogged myself down (already!) in bitsy reviews/op eds/editing jobs when, really, I need to be attacking the main project of the fellowship. whinge moan. and it's only February! ;)

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Hey there! By the way, I didn't mean to fall into full rant mode above. It's just that I think some circles need collectively to get a life and try to be a bit more human and a bit less... oh, transmediatrical, if you know what I mean. ::wink::

Oh, and you don't want to go into my writing process, I warn you: like Monty Python's Camelot, it is a silly place. :) Best wishes with your project in all its incarnations, narrow and broad -- you certainly sound like a woman with many irons in the fire! More power to you (and much praise, as well!).

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

and I also love that Billy Mack icon. made me lol, remembering the flick. o, and his happy ending. :) awwww....

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

Awwwww indeed! :) I usually despise romantic comedies with a deep and pervasive hatred (weird but true), but not so with Love Actually. I give the credit to Billy Mack. Isn't he a hoot? I am so psyched that Bill Nighy is going to be Slartibartfast in the new Hitchhiker's Guide film. He will rule. :) Thanks for your replies! And happy late hearts day to you, too!

[fungus-files.livejournal.com]

I usually despise romantic comedies with a deep and pervasive hatred

ah, that's cos you're composed of cynical (but upbeat!) bones, A. :) romantic comedies and cynical bones don't mix.

and re new hitchhiker's - o yes, I can't wait for it to screen. methinks the flick has a lot of fan-angst riding on it. you can already feel the maelstroms of geek outrage if something is awry. hurrah for geek outrage!

[eldritchhobbit.livejournal.com]

ah, that's cos you're composed of cynical (but upbeat!) bones, A. :) romantic comedies and cynical bones don't mix.

There you go! That makes perfect sense! You know, I couldn't make it through It's A Wonderful Life until I learned that one whole school of thought reads it as a dark satire. Then I could watch it -- and I laughed and laughed and laughed. It's not that I don't believe in true love -- I do, from personal experience. I just don't believe in Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, or any of the orher Usual Suspects. :)

I originally was persuaded to see LA because of the fact it was a film with both Alan Rickman and Liam Neeson. (Let's face it: I'd pay money to watch those two clip their toenails for two hours.) And now I'm so very glad I saw it, because I would've been sorry if I'd missed Billy Mack!

methinks the flick has a lot of fan-angst riding on it. you can already feel the maelstroms of geek outrage if something is awry. hurrah for geek outrage!

Hurrah indeed! Good point. Should be lots of fun.