Libby Weber's Blog, page 21

July 24: Thursday Panels

Three hours of keeping watch and five at play,

Analysis, professional enrichment,

Is not an awful way to spend the day,

Despite a slight but lingering disappointment.

It’s not that there aren’t costumes by the score

That have been built with cleverness and care-

It’s not that there aren’t awesome panels, for

The guests are frequently beyond compare.

This problem is a first-world one at best;

These hypotheticals for choice events:

Will TV panels help keep me abreast?

Will academic panels be too tense?

Lik...

July 23: Preview

This week will be a week of little sleep,

A week of mad activity and joys

Too numerous to count, which I may keep

For days when all the universe annoys.

This too shall be the week of fervent hope

That few things will adhere to my projections-

With predetermined chaos I will cope,

For tumult and disorder are perfection;

Such gifts of chance are thus to us delivered,

Embraced by those both fortunate and wise.

A plan is but an arrow in a quiver;

Its flight may both enrapture and surprise.

Sweet Pandemonium,...

July 22: Fiveplay, An Inflationary Sonnet

Three-night, while walking dogs, my lover spoke

Eleven-derly, he pontific-nine-d

Upon our dachshund, and made two jokes

That left me laughing and exhilar-nine-d.

And as with b’nine-ted breath my darling w’nine-d,

I offered him whiskered, wee ca-ten.

Three do so as he pleased; we both confl-nine-d

Our mirth with wit which spurns the asi-ten.

Our kiss beneath one-and-a-quarter moon

Was promise and seduction all at twice.

And so we seized two moments opportune

And had two interludes that were quite nice.

Su...

July 21: The Great Game

“Who Would You Rather Kiss” is quite the game,

Whose rules were passed down from antiquity:

First, one reverses last and Christian name:

So Black Swan‘s star is Portman Natalie.

Next, two by the creators’ names are known

Because with admiration they were rife:

Winona Ryder always is “Winown,”

And Michelle Pfeiffer must be called “Puh-Feiff.”

The final rule is choosing from a pair

Of any your opponents can devise,

Historical celebrities compare-

It’s quite a pleasant mental exercise.

Who would you rather...

July 20: Brain Brawn

Brain functions are like muscles, in a sense-

Behaviors tone, and frequent exercise

Can make synapses strong and networks dense,

Thanks to plasticity, but this implies

Those mental tasks that one rarely performs,

Enticing challenges or fine intrigue,

May satisfy, but also may transform

Enthusiasm to mental fatigue.

So even when one hums with satisfaction

At one’s success in mastering a skill,

A seemingly straightforward daily action

Will feel as if one’s trying to ski uphill.

One may prevail with pertina...

July 19: Encumbered

It is a gift to see old things anew,

By virtue of a differing perspective-

Though skeptical initially, I knew

That there was more than faculties detective.

How sweet to feel an ardor innocent,

Yet aching to be thoroughly expressed

To a particular recipient,

Without him knowing whose joy was professed.

It is enough for me that he’s aware

Of widespread love from a diverse collective,

So when he must contend with the unfair,

I hope that bit of knowledge is protective.

So celebrate another year alive

And know...

July 18: Exploration

A ladder leading up to space unknown,

The purview of a neighboring department,

Is hardly barred, but neither is it shown,

Once rumored to have been vagrant’s apartment.

So when I climb and clumsily alight

Upon the slab that leads to a locked door,

The roughened pathway fills me with delight-

With eagerness the catwalk I explore.

Alas, the path is short, and leads to naught-

For only hissing pipes lie there beyond,

Within such spaces, enterprise is fraught

With need to see, then sneakily abscond.

Not all...

July 17: A Thor-ny Dillemma

With sun-warm hammer flush against my palm

Its haft emblazoned with familiar runes,

I faced the frosted enemy with calm,

And waited for a moment opportune-

And when my comrade pried ajar the door,

I smote the icy ramparts with a cry

My hammer rang with glorious songs of war

As Jotunheim we ventured to defy.

But when the ice was cleared and boxes saved,

The freezer we allowed time to defrost.

Thus, wet linoleum we boldly braved

To bring our doughty tools back to the shop.

A mundane task transformed to som...

July 16: True, Not Free

When careful planning and hard work pay off

And dreams seem as if they are coming true,

We sometimes show a tendency to scoff

At how much gratitude good fortune’s due;

For in success, self-serving logic lies,

Proclaiming that if something worked for you,

It was because you’re virtuous and wise,

And not for things that anyone could do.

Take heed, Triumphant: do not seek to bear

The point of your success, for it can puncture.

Instead, like ancient arch stones, seek to share

Capacity for strength through m...

July 15: Vincible

I woke just minutes prior to the alarm

And thought, “That week spent two time zones away

Shall cause me no unpleasantness or harm;

I needn’t pussyfoot around today!”

And so I went full-throttle through my tasks

Enthused at solving problems once again

And weighing carefully all questions asked,

Reactivating those bits of my brain.

Adrenaline and quite a bit of luck

Made everything I touched turn into gold,

But afterward, in gear my mind was stuck

And seeking stimulation uncontrolled.

I’m glad my daily son...