Julie Andrews for Queen of Everything

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Dame Julie Andrews spoke at Colorado University’s commence this year, and during her speech, this was one of her many words of wisdom. As someone who lived in fear for decades, all I can say is that I wish I had learned this lesson much sooner!

I don’t think we can live a life void of fear. Fear is natural, and sometimes fear keeps us alive. However, living under the weight of fear and letting fear drive all of our choices is suffocating. Rather than make more of this, I’ll bow out of the way and let Dame Julie say it better than I can. The entirety of Andrews’ speech can be seen below.

GIFs source: Le Jazz Hot

PS. This week is crazy hectic for me, so don’t expect anymore posts until possibly next Monday. Lots of evening/weekend work commitments, visiting family, class responsibilities, a paper due Sunday, my SIL is having her baby Thursday (getting induced), etc.

Crepuscule

Aside

Sunset brings respite from the heat of the day, and the city of N’Djaména breathes out a collective sigh of relief as its inhabitants go through the routines of settling in for the night. Inside, my mother and sister are preparing dinner, and from my seat on the still-warm cement of our front porch, I absorb the last of the early spring day. We have reached the end of harmattan’s towering dust clouds, and this year’s hot season has not quite crescendoed to full strength. Continue reading →

Sunday Links

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Linkin’ you up for some interesting reads and a video! Pull up a chair, pour come coffee, and enjoy.

Continue reading →

A Truth Universally Acknowledged

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

One of the blogs I recently started following posted a link to the following video, and I have to say, it was a very enjoyable way to spend my Friday night. It’s an hour and a half video about a recreation of the famous Netherfield ball in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Some of the history and customs are ones with which I was already familiar from various literature classes, but other points were new. Furthermore, I rather enjoyed seeing the details of the Regency Period come to life. Enjoy!

Product Review: HabitRPG

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Why, yes, if you couldn’t tell by the post about my patronus, I am a geek. It seems weird to say that for a few different reasons (the whole “fake geek girl” business and how geek is chic these days), but it’s the truth. I wear my label proudly. Continue reading →

Why Dormouse?

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

The tea party with Alice, the March Hare, the Dormouse, and the Mad Hatter.

Depending on how well you know me, or how much you’ve poked around this website, you will know that occasionally, I write under the pen name “Dormouse.” I will be the first to admit that it’s a rather unconventional pen name. (Typically, people use people names for pseudonyms.) And, contrary to possible first impressions, I did not take the pen name because of a love for Alice in Wonderland. I actually took it because I love Harry Potter. Continue reading →

Book Review: The Metamorphosis

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is the sort of book that everyone tells you that you must read, very much like Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. Unlike Madame Bovary, however, I actually enjoyed The Metamorphosis, although, as a reader, I was left with the same sort of melancholia with both stories. Continue reading →

Unusual Mural

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Turning a corner in the alley, her breath caught in her throat as she beheld the mural for the first time. Each element had been lovingly placed over the old brick walls, a gradual effort that must have taken years to create such a large piece of art. A rainbow collage Continue reading →

Sunday Links for mid-June

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower, via Wikimedia Commons

Could Queen Elizabeth I–the Virgin Queen–have actually been an imposter in drag?! *gasp!* The evidence in this article is circumstantial at best and seems like it would make for a very sensationalized novel–nothing more. Still, it’s kind of entertaining to read the conspiracy theories. The article is from the Daily Mail so I don’t really count them as a trustworthy source! If anyone who is an actual Queen Elizabeth I scholar has something more substantial on the subject, I’d love to hear it. Also, from a feminist perspective, this theory is really obnoxious and very dismissive of a brilliant female monarch. Continue reading →

Book Review: Renting Lacy

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Ellayne Shaw

Renting Lacy by Linda Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having read Linda Smith’s other book (From Congress to the Brothel: a Journey of Hope, Healing, and Restoration) published through the nonprofit Shared Hope International, I knew I needed to read this book as well. Human trafficking of any kind is a heinous crime, so I knew that this was going to be a hard read as it deals in the realities of trafficking situations. Continue reading →