Friday, January 30, 2009

of children and calamity.

I love children. I can't wait to have some of my own. It'll be fun in a lot of ways. I'll get to feed them, dress them (yeuhhh!!!), and play with them. Oh! And I'll get to sing them lullabies and watch them sleep peacefully... right?

So there I was, humming a lullaby to myself. Perhaps one of the most famous known in the English language. You all know how it goes.

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.
And it suddenly hit me how horrible this song is. I don't know why I never noticed it until now. The howling wind... the breaking branch...the falling baby. eek!

I started to wonder how this disturbing little ditty (that wormed its way into the hearts of so many [loving?] parents) came to be. Ah, trusty Wikipedia. Enjoy these excerpts:

The nursery rhyme suggests a falling, apparently related to a terrible accident in 1706 where the Earl of Sandwich's son was tossed without warning from his cradle. The cradle was later found in the Thames River empty and alone.

Don't like that explanation? Too depressing? Try this one on for size:

Yet another theory has it that the song... refers to events immediately preceding the Glorious Revolution. The baby is supposed to be the son of King James II of England, who was widely believed to be someone else's child smuggled into the birthing room in order to provide a Catholic heir for James. The "wind" may be that political "wind" or force "blowing" or coming from the Netherlands bringing James' nephew and son-in-law, William III of England, a.k.a. William of Orange, who would eventually depose King James II in the revolution. The "cradle" is the House of Stuart Stuart monarchy.

Um... boooringgg. and kooky. I prefer the drowning baby.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

factory worker.

Over the past few days, I've spent hours upon hours doing one thing -- making friendship bracelets. Yes, the bracelets we used to make at summer camps and in our grade school years. Why have I been doing such a thing? Am I desperate for more friends? Well...

No.

I just really enjoy repetitive and menial tasks/motions. That's why my new theory is that I'm wasting my money on earning this degree from the fine establishment of Boston University. I should've just gotten a job in an assembly line. I bet I'd enjoy it just as much.

In other related news, I made my first sock monkey today. It took 6+ hours, but it is a total CUTIE <3 and it involved a lot of repetitive and tedious steps (sewing, cutting, stuffing). My cup of tea :)
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p.s. Anyone want a friendship bracelet?* Since I'm kinda on a roll, I might have enough to give away soon. Please specify color preferences.

*Production not necessarily guaranteed, but you can be hopeful.

I'm aliiiive.

Well, it's been over a month since you've heard from me. I've been meaning to blog (really, I have), but... [insert excuses here].

I am a person who loves structure. Remember my themed weekly posts? Those are no more. Too limiting, I find. I've been asked countless times when Walleteer Wednesday will make its grand comeback. Perhaps one day in the future. But for now, I will resort to writing whatever craziness enters my mind.

Starting tomorrow.