Month: December 2022

Why it’s important to study the humanities

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/26/the-guardian-view-on-the-humanities-the-importance-of-being-rounded

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But besides such practical issues is the larger question of what a good life is. This week, a group spearheaded by the British Academy and including the London School of Economics and Arts Council England offered their answer: a parallel acronym, Shape – social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy. So everything from fine art to psychology to economics: the disciplines that help us govern ourselves, understand how we have developed over time and argue for doing it all better.

The argument for Shape can, if necessary, be economic: last year the arts and culture sector overtook agriculture in terms of its contribution, at £10.8bn a year. The humanities’ supposed lack of obvious vocational pathways is in fact a strength in an economy where flexibility and entrepreneurship are prized, while the perception of lower employability is not borne out by facts – 88% of Shape graduates were employed in 2017 (compared with 89% for Stem).

Shape subjects will also be central to answering the most urgent questions we face; science, for instance, is foundational to comprehending the climate emergency, but will not effect the political and behavioural changes needed to achieve net zero. Nor will it necessarily predict or mould the future. Eric Hobsbawm may have found it baffling that “brilliant fashion designers … sometimes succeed in anticipating the shape of things to come better than professional predictors”; the fact remains they sometimes can. The stem of a plant is, after all, sustained and not just decorated by its leaves.

We should not be shy to argue for confidence and curiosity, joy and openness as good in themselves. Along with Stem, Shape subjects have the potential to open up the full extent of our humanity, to help shape a well-rounded, empathetic and resilient body politic. Fighting for equal weighting for these disciplines is not only good but also necessary.

• This article was amended on 29 June 2020 to remove an incorrect reference to Nicky Morgan having been the UK’s education secretary. As education is a devolved matter, Morgan oversaw education policy for England only.

Why Humor and Levity Are Important, According to Experts

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/well/mind/humor-benefits.html

Levity is a mind-set,” said Naomi Bagdonas, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business who advises executives on leading with humor and humanity. “It’s looking for reasons to be delighted rather than disappointed in the world around you.”

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Different Ways to Write a Poem – Pen and the Pad

https://penandthepad.com/different-ways-write-poem-12108301.html

Alexis Jenkins

home » rhyme & rhythm

Poetry is the expression of self, emotions, thoughts and views. While the content, length, complexity and creativity of a poem are determined by you, there are many common poetry styles and elements to guide you as you structure your poem. You can add depth and texture to a poem by using concrete, descriptive words, sensory details — such as sight, sound and taste — and metaphors or similes that compare your subject to other common objects.

Haiku

Originating in Japan, the Haiku is a simple form of poetry that centers around the subject of nature or nature-related themes. A Haiku is made up of three lines. There are five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line and five syllables in the third line, with a total of 17 syllables all together.

there is no map

there is no map that tells us where to go

we may not know our purpose nor our goal.

our senses fade and dimly we perceive

growing older cannot make us whole.

we try to do no harm but that is hard

struggling with our money and our minds.

being generous causes worry to

even so the poor are often kind.

we search the path for footprints as we walk.

As all the world grows misty and goes dark

The torch has broken now we have no light

I think I hear a noise, a small dog barks.

wandering in the desert like the Jews

we do not have a god but nor do they.

the Holocaust destroyed their holy views

we will walk on blindly like lost sheep

while on the ground the noxious rm insects creep.

What is the origin of the word map?

The term “map” derives from Latin “mappa,” a word meaning in antiquity a napkin, or a cloth or flag used to signal the start of games. By the ninth century at the latest the term “mappa mundi” could be used to describe a representation of the known world, either pictorial or a verbal text without any graphic design.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com › pdf

The term “map” derives from Latin “mappa,” a word meaning in …

Climbing cliffs  then caught by geese and God

I remember all the  funny things   we did
Peering into windows lit by lamps
Climbing cliffs  then chased by geese and dog

Walking down  from  Redcar,sea so still
 After Saltburn Pier, the cliffs high jump
I remember all the  funny things   we did

Wandering Whitby in a sea grey smog
Eating a pork pie cut into lumps
Climbing cliffs  then chased by geese and dog

Old Hunstanton ,white sands where we’d sit
The wild spikes of the gorse  spread out  unclamped
I remember all the   colours,scents and that

I feel the joy inside my heart is lit
Woe  is leavened by old nature’s stamp
Climbing  high  then chased through mud by dogs

 

We see in shadows shades are not so stark
In Studland Bay   astonished by skylarks
I remember all the  humour  and the love
Climbing cliffs then caught by geese and God

 

 

 

 

Still whanging? Dialect hunt aims to update prized English language archive

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/28/still-whanging-dialect-hunt-aims-to-update-prized-english-language-archive?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

If you want a regional map of what a cowhouse or freckles or chip pan scraps were called across England, they are in the archive. In the case of scraps, there are 50 variants from craps and cratchings to scratch and scratchings.

 Yorkshire man describes ‘mischief night’ in archive of English dialects

Do not scream

Christmas time is very hard

if from the ale house we are barred

So do not lose your head and swear.

Or they will ban you fair and square.

You can’t say kindly” go to hell”

Nor shout f*** off at little Nell.

We were told that men could shout

When no women were about.

But now the women swear as well

I hear them screaming on Scafell.

It’s for the best to hold your tongue

And in secret sing your song.

All the angels will console

When you are driven up the pole.

But if you are the one it causes pain.

You will have to take the blame

And remember it is kind to phone

Those friends who are living all alone

Why not take them to the Thames.

If they fall in their sorrow ends.

Otherwise just take them in

Let them stay and you can sin.

Prayers for the wildflowers

There are superficial trends in our society to encourage us to build our self esteem and to value ourselves… to develop and achieve  a place suited to our talents.. but what is best for me is when I lose myself in something.I was reading an old blog of a friend and was quite absorbed and went into a different state of mind..then I regretted I don’t manage to lose myself enoughb have an adult having much on my mind and being busy.

Sometimes it can happen when we love a person.Sometimes a wonderful landscape feels like home.. other times a sunset across the Irish sea from the cliffs of the Isle of Man where myriad butterflies swirl and float over flowers and rocks.

Modern life, the News,talk,excitement of the wrong sort seem to lock us into  our self and frighten us so we forget the value of finding something in which to lose ourselves and grow as a result. Sitting by a river  fishing,knitting,sewing,a book, many things can elicit this response  And remember how horror filled was the self consciousness of adolescence and how good to forget one’s self being more comfortable and accepting of appearance and image..How to live like a wild flower for a time… and be happy not to be a rose but just a tiny wild geranium or a moderate  sized  gentle pink flower in a arden

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I’m only a mongrel darling but please love me when you return

These are meant to be cats

Ok if you wondering where I’m from

Lots of my ancestors were Vikings. I’m sure if is true because my uncle has beautiful blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes and look like Danish woman I met on the train.

My maternal grandmother was from Ireland and my sister has got her green eyes and I don’t have those eyes I do have wanted some as well so part of me comes from Northern Ireland

My father’s surname was Anglo-Saxon although his mother came from the west of Ireland. So I’ve definitely got quite a bit of Irish in me.

I have not had a DNA sample tested it’s quite possible that I have some Welsh blood and maybe Norwegian.

I’m not really English so would it help you to know which part of Europe I am from? All I can say is northern Europe although for us England is no longer in the EU.

You might think it was wrong for a Danish man to come over here to seize the land and ravish the women although it was a long time ago.

I don’t suppose Adolf Hitler would have liked my mixed blood. There were a lot of Jewish people living in Northern England until about 1190 CE many many Jews were massacred in Clifford’s tower in York in the year 1190 but I like to think partly Jewish people survived and left descendants and I like to think that there was no in this country in the North I descended from the Jews

So I probably got some Jewish ancestry and and alsoFlemish,Dutch and Norman I’m definitely definitely a mongrel and not fit to be allowed to visit the royal family or what remains.

How poetry can be of help in this difficult world

In this fast-moving technological world, lines of poetry can be food for the soul and help people with mental illness

Joanna Moorhead

How can learning poetry by heart help us to be more grounded, happy, calm people? “Let me count the ways,” says Rachel Kelly, who has suffered from anxiety. Whenever she’s feeling wobbly, she finds reciting lines of poetry is grounding, validating and connects her to others who have felt as she is feeling in this moment. And it’s something we can all do: poetry we’ve learned to recite means we have another voice inside us that’s always there, a kind of on-board first responder in times of psychological need

Emotional security

Winchcombe

We may sink we will be secure when we are totally self-relian the but t don’t feel secure because of that maybe because it is impossibe as we all depend on many other people in our society but should you try to minimise the number of people you can rely on?

Mostly it is mutual and some will be relying on you.

We generally feel most secure when we have a numbernumber of people with whom we have a mutual friendship whether it’s in the flesh whether it’s people far away but we can phone them or email them. We need other people who will tell us their opinion of what we are doing and who are trustworthy. We might like someone who will accompany us to the hospital or a shopping trip or excursion. If we don’t drive we need a reliable bus service and reliable minicab firm.

When we been hurt by people we might withdraw but it’s best if that’s the temporary because we all need each other.

When red sun drops

When red sun  drops and  cooling night  rolls in
Darkness masks both danger and our vision
Ancient minds fear day won’t come again
Courage for the  delicate   seems thin
We  wrestle  with  our indecision
When  sun  drops and night  rolls darkly in
But now , new stricken by   a dread of sin
Who shall aid  the souls   derision?
Our  ancient minds fears   day won’t come again
When  we sleep we we’re entertained within
Deft dreams squander all illusion
When the sun  drops and  the night  rolls in
In reverie we’e loved  and  so  open
Then  fancy turns to full communion
While ancient minds fear   day wont come again
And so  it was that our own life began
When sperm leaped up in  proud confusion.
When  deep sun  dropped and  a   new night  rolled in
When  ancient  hearts cried Day  shall come again”

Angina

I have had unstable angina for 16: years

I was resting at 3 pm when the other nurse who is senior burst in so the door to hit the wall shouting

She barged so the door crashed wall and shouted

Where is that GTN spray?

I said in the little bag I wear all day

She asked to see it

Then shouted,so you use this if you feel anxious?

She took the spray saying she would bring it back but she did it not

I had said you use when the pain starts so as to widen the arteries

That would put me at risk of a cardiac arrest.

I was told by the next nurse I could not have it even if I was in severe pain,

They would haave to ring 999

I felt shocked and terrified so much so I couldn’t stop howling

I know the rules

Weirdly the doctor sent a new one and the nurse gave it me on Saturday,

On Monday the cruel one bursts 6in.be shouting and threatening me

I refused to give it back and again I broke down feeling humiliation and and

She came back and shouted stop that

My arms were trembling a lot 

 But I couldn’t stop them.Its the stress hormones

My sister was coming.

She called the Manager who said the doctor had said they should keep it and I should ask if needed

I refused again

Last

Yesterday I had an attack in the night and the nurse was on another floor

My poor sister Her daughter in law has got brain cancer and she only learned on the day before.L only just had breast cancer

Her face looked swollen with tears then they had a. 5 hour hour drive home

Now the interesting part

I phoned the BHF but rang off

But they reported it to the Social Services as they were worried

Somebody has been to talk me

How to Cope When Everything Keeps Changing

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/smarter-living/how-to-cope-when-everything-keeps-changing.html

But operating from a place of fear doesn’t allow us to tap into our full cognitive abilities, said Margie Warrell, a leadership expert and the author of “You’ve Got This!: The Life-Changing Power of Trusting Yourself.”