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Showing posts from 2017

A Legacy from the Great War

NOTE : I wrote this back in 2015, but this year, the 100th memorial year,  I think is a good time to give it another airing. A Legacy from the Great War. (WW1) I was watching a television trailer, regarding a forthcoming documentary, examining the life of those who lived and fought from the trenches. I was struck by the number of film clips taken on the front line. That so many have survived for the past one hundred years is quite amazing, considering the ease of degradation of the materials used. I had not previously considered such an archive of moving images existed, considering movie making was still in its infancy at the time. Seeing these short monochrome ( mostly, although a few colour films were produced ), films of men going about their daily lives on the front line, brought the characters of those captured on cellulose to life in a way I did not think possible. In conjunction with this footage was often clear and exceptional commentary. Sev

What a Zen Monk taught me about Time.

I had to share this post in full. Read it and you will know why, Paul.                                                                                            Fi rst posted on               https://www.elephantjournal.com/2017/07/what-shunryu-suzuki-taught-me-about-time Via  Jim Owens on Jul 16, 2017     533 Shares get elephant's newsletter Shunryū Suzuki , was a master of many things, not the least of which were meditation and calligraphy. His teaching—sometimes simple, sometimes confusing, but always profound—has influenced me greatly. I have also admired the work of other remarkable men and women: the Nobel Peace Prize winning,  Thich Nhất   Hanh , the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, and the Buddhist nun,  Pema Chödron . In short, I walk in the shade of trees planted by those who came long before me. The trees planted by Suzuki have borne fruit in ways I could not have expected. None more so than the phrase,  “Do not say too late . “  It’s said to hav

Remembering the Marin Sisters

First published by/on   http://theresecrutchermarin.com/new-blog-page This post has found its way onto Brilliant Blog Share because... well, read it and you will soon know why. I once read,   “If you have one true friend in your lifetime, you are lucky”. With that said, I have been extraordinarily lucky! When I met John in 1976 and we became a couple, I quickly learned that being with him meant having his three older sisters in my life as well. The four siblings had had a difficult upbringing and were exceptionally close and I was thrilled when they welcomed me into their circle. Like their brother, Lora, Marcia and Cindy were kind, positive, unselfish individuals and I became closer to them than I was to my own sisters. Through the years, I would count my blessings for the loving relationship the three sisters and I shared, as they became tried and true friends. These brave, gentle souls would inspire and teach me many lessons that would enrich my life. When the si

The Dangerous Practice of Reading in Bed

A great post from Bob, highlighting how social concepts change over generations with the advent of better living standards and innovation. “The Bed-Time Book, written by Helen Hay and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Photo by Plum Leaves,  CC BY 2.0  via  Flickr  (unedited) Do you like to read in bed? I do. Most of the time, I only read a few pages before nodding off. Usually my wife comes to bed after I do and turns out the light, and I usually wake up just enough to mark my place and put the book aside. Pretty harmless, huh? It wouldn’t have been thought so at one time. I recently came across a blog on the  evils of reading in bed , by Kristen Wardowski, who posts some great stuff about books, reading and writing. She, in turn points to an   article  in  The Atlantic  by Nika Mavrody. The gist of both posts is that there were two dangers, one very real and one feared. The very real danger had to do with how people were able to read in bed. They did so by candlelight.
Of Cookies, People And Individuality First posted by  WORDYNERDBIRD ,   MAY 27, 2017   https://wordynerdbirdwrites.wordpress.com/2017/05/27/cookies As with allposts on Brilliant Blogshare they have to earn their place. This, simple but wonderful, post does just that. People aren’t all the same shape and size As though there’s only one cookie cutter, Nor are they placed neatly onto a tray To bake until they’re all exactly right. Have these people never noticed how Two cookies that appear identical Are rarely ever actually so? Sometimes, even a perfect cookie breaks Under unexpected pressure, or when Rudely bumped into by another. Very often, the best looking cookies Prove to have very little merit When it comes to both substance and taste. Then why, pray tell, should my life or my love, My self-image or physical shape and size, Be required to fit into someone else’s Decision of who and what I should be? Whose crumby, half-baked idea was that?
I generally use this blog to share posts I come across during my regular use of the web. I do not surf the digital world looking for anything in particular, or anything un-particular. If something catches my eye as I scroll, or page hop, I may, if I have time, stop and look. Mostly I find trash, repetitive rubbish, simple mind numbing lists or links to site full of virus and bullsh*t. But, occasionally, very occasionally, I find content that is outstanding. Often these are well written, but even if the grammar leaves much to be desired, those posts will find their way here, onto Brilliant Blog Share, because they are written from the heart. They are a spilling of emotion, of love, of hope, of grieving., or they are full of spirit and hope and dreams. This is what Brilliant Blog Share is all about, sharing the best of what we, the people, have in our souls, touching one another with understanding and compassion. Lord knows that in this day and age, with the

“This is the BBC from London. LONDON BRIDGE IS DOWN"

The words the world does not want to hear, but will inevitably do so. When people think of a contemporary royal death in Britain, they think, inescapably, of Princess Diana. The passing of the Queen will be monumental by comparison. It may not be as nakedly emotional, but its reach will be wider, and its implications more dramatic. “She is the only monarch that most of us have ever known” The royal standard will appear on the TV screen. The national anthem will play. It will be a day when you will remember where you were. For Queen Elizabeth II of England, the plan for what happens upon her demise is known as “ London Bridge .” The prime minister will be woken, if she/he is not already awake and civil servants will say “ London Bridge is down” on secure lines. From the Foreign Office’s Global Response Centre, at an undisclosed location in the capital, the news will go out to the 15 governments outside the UK where the Queen is also the head of state, an

Born to Write

9 Mar 2017 by Liela Casusi on Niume https://niume.com/post/278003 . Hype Favourite Shares     I was writing in my mama's womb. She said, can I please tone it down in there? You see, I had this clunky Olympia typewriter when God put me in there. "Here," He said, "keep busy!" "Write something of note." But since I had not been outside of my mama's womb yet, I didn't know what to write. Furthermore, it was gooey in there. And the darkness! My God, the darkness! I can't very well light a candle in there. My momma's gonna get singed. Not only that. I'm gonna choke in there. So, I wrote in the darkness, familiarizing myself with the QWERTY of the cool typewriter. I went where no man has gone before. How can I not? There was no material to write about. Oh, I correct myself on that one. I had my own "listening post" where I could hear my Dad's loud, blaring music for all

A Fifties Child

A Fifties Child first published on 4 Aug 2016   by Carol Taylor  https://niume.com/post/79822 Hype Favourite Shares     Pin it Born in the early 50's, one of 3 and the oldest we had no Tv or phone we played out until dark and sometimes we were out all day playing in the woods, making camps...I was definitely not one of those girls who played with dolls and pushed someone else's baby up and down the street..for fun! Really...I was  a tom boy...one of my earliest memories was this pink spotted dress my mum made me...she made all our clothes and I remember that when the elbows of our cardigans or jumpers wore thin my mum unpicked the sleeves and changed them over so the darned patch was in the crook of our elbow. I also remember climbing the big old Oak tree in the middle of the green and catching the said pink dress and tore it! Girls then did not wear trousers only skirts and dresses. We made tents in the garden by slinging a blanket over the cl