K. Morris's Blog, page 622

Five Fascinating Facts about The Merchant of Venice

I went to see the Merchant of Venice with friends a month or so ago. It is a wonderful play and raises interesting questions regarding antisemitism. On the one hand Shylock is a very unpleasant character demanding his “pound of flesh” which he knows will lead to the death of Antonio. On the other hand he is insulted due to his jewishness (the antisemitism in the play makes one feel deeply uncomfortable and, in my view Shakespeare does have some sympathy for Shylock).

Interesting Literature

F...

A few limericks

There was a young man called Adolf
Who was very fond of his golf.
When it came to their wedding day
His girlfriend did say,
“He is with his golfing partner Rolfe!”

—

There was a young lady called Louise
Who kept a hive of bees.
When people asked, “Do they sting?”,
She said, “That’s the thing,
And they are very fond of cheese …!”

Birthday

My hair is silver-grey
And it is my birthday tomorrow.
We all borrow time
But, when young tend not to think
On such things as we drink
The wine.

I will be forty-eight.
Sometimes I glimpse a gate
That opens into a peaceful wood,
Where the blood
Ceases to run
And the sun
Is as one with the dark.

My heart
Beats strong
And I will lose myself in friends, wine and song,
So smile enigmatically and say
“tomorrow is my birthday”.

Death and Rebirth.3.

These dry
Leaves do not die.
They become one with the earth.
A derth
Of green
Is seen,
Then a rebirth,
The old, in the new
Takes root
And does heavenwards shute.
The past, present and future one may see
In the mighty tree,
While you and me
Pass by
With a sigh
As we ponder on our mortality.

Variety is the spice of life

One of the advantages of being blind, is that it enables me to live in a world composed of many and varied surprises. To take one example, when opening a can I am never quite sure whether it’s contents will delight my taste buds with Baxters vegetable soup (please note that other brands are available)! Or custard …! It is, I often think fortunate that my guide dog, Trigger eats a complete dried food, otherwise who knows what I might be enjoying the next time that can opener goes to work …
Tod...

There Was A Young Lady Called Ruth

There was a young lady called Ruth
Who strove to discover the truth.
The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph she did take
And of their opinions did partake,
And thereby discovered something approaching the truth …!

(The Daily Telegraph is a Conservative/centre-right newspaper, while the Guardian is best characterised as liberal/left in it’s leanings).

New Laptop

Back in early 2011, I purchased a Sony Vio laptop (the machine on which most of my writing is done). I had, of course owned both laptops and desktop computers prior to buying the Sony. I do, however have no hesitation in stating that the Sony Vio is the most stable machine ever owned by me. This may stem in part at least from the fact that it is equipped with Windows 7 while previous machines worked utilising earlier versions of the notorious Microsoft operating System Vista. (Anyone who has...

There Was A Young Lady Called Jane

There was a young lady called Jane
Who always did maintain
That she could eat a horse
But, of course
The saddle she would retain …!

January

The bedclothes
Are neatly made
And the lone head laid
On pillows replete
With the scent of soap powder.
The portrait is complete
For nothing in January grows.

There Was A Young Lady Called Lin

There was a young lady called Lin
Who liked to bang on a tin.
She banged it every Sunday morn,
Which caused the bishop to warn
That Lin was committing a sin …!