The There There Letter: Koalas, Kvetching, and Kindness
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Koalas …
This week we watched the movie "What If" starring Daniel Radcliffe (yes, the fellow who played Harry Potter) and Zoe Kazan (yes, the granddaughter of Elia Kazan). We're a little late to this 2014 film, but it was just the sort of cute-sweet watching we wanted to soothe our stressed souls. The two stars in this rom-com are ridiculously over-the-top cute. But then, as I often say, if you can't go over the top, why go anywhere? Reviewer Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com) wrote of Radcliffe and Kazan in this movie: "They are so adorable with their mutual big-eye stares and doll-size stature, they put koala bears to shame." I read that and thought, "but koalas aren't bears." Plus, I don't think they particularly like humans. And eating 2.5 pounds of eucalyptus leaves daily gives them a vaguely medicinal aroma. Then I got wondering if, like koalas, the characters in "What If" only looked cute, but, in fact, were hiding long claws and smelled funny.
"What If" review (the one mentioned above)
10 things you didn't know about koalas (where I learned the weight of leaves eaten)
Second up this week, Kvetching …
Now I feel a little sad for kvetching about a movie review that actually made me want to see the movie. To kvetch is Yiddish for "to complain." So, me using that word, is that cultural appropriation? I'm not Jewish, nor do my genealogical roots rest in central or eastern Europe. But I really wanted a word beginning with the letter K, so I'm explaining away my concerns as either groundless or the result of a momentary loss of scruples. British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli was born Jewish but died some 70 years before the word kvetch was coined. Otherwise, his famous maxim "Never Complain, Never Explain" might have been different. I do my best to live that maxim. I still catch myself in failures. I try not to punish myself too harshly.
From the Art of Manliness website (if you can overcome any concerns that this must be a misogynistic plumping for the patriarchy because I don't think it's that; besides, this explanation is interesting no matter the gender)
Third up this week, Kindness …
I consider myself a kind person. I'd add to Disraeli's maxim: Never Complain, Never Explain, and be kind. I'm certain I could be more kind, to myself and others. Especially in these days of doom and gloom, it's so easy to slip into negativity and mean-thinking. For inspiration, I'm beginning "A Year of Living Kindly" (book by Donna Cameron). There are certainly worse things I could spend my time doing.
A Year of Living Kindly, the book
And a little bit extra …
… a short poem by Emily Dickinson:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Koalas …
This week we watched the movie "What If" starring Daniel Radcliffe (yes, the fellow who played Harry Potter) and Zoe Kazan (yes, the granddaughter of Elia Kazan). We're a little late to this 2014 film, but it was just the sort of cute-sweet watching we wanted to soothe our stressed souls. The two stars in this rom-com are ridiculously over-the-top cute. But then, as I often say, if you can't go over the top, why go anywhere? Reviewer Susan Wloszczyna (RogerEbert.com) wrote of Radcliffe and Kazan in this movie: "They are so adorable with their mutual big-eye stares and doll-size stature, they put koala bears to shame." I read that and thought, "but koalas aren't bears." Plus, I don't think they particularly like humans. And eating 2.5 pounds of eucalyptus leaves daily gives them a vaguely medicinal aroma. Then I got wondering if, like koalas, the characters in "What If" only looked cute, but, in fact, were hiding long claws and smelled funny.
"What If" review (the one mentioned above)
10 things you didn't know about koalas (where I learned the weight of leaves eaten)
Second up this week, Kvetching …
Now I feel a little sad for kvetching about a movie review that actually made me want to see the movie. To kvetch is Yiddish for "to complain." So, me using that word, is that cultural appropriation? I'm not Jewish, nor do my genealogical roots rest in central or eastern Europe. But I really wanted a word beginning with the letter K, so I'm explaining away my concerns as either groundless or the result of a momentary loss of scruples. British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli was born Jewish but died some 70 years before the word kvetch was coined. Otherwise, his famous maxim "Never Complain, Never Explain" might have been different. I do my best to live that maxim. I still catch myself in failures. I try not to punish myself too harshly.
From the Art of Manliness website (if you can overcome any concerns that this must be a misogynistic plumping for the patriarchy because I don't think it's that; besides, this explanation is interesting no matter the gender)
Third up this week, Kindness …
I consider myself a kind person. I'd add to Disraeli's maxim: Never Complain, Never Explain, and be kind. I'm certain I could be more kind, to myself and others. Especially in these days of doom and gloom, it's so easy to slip into negativity and mean-thinking. For inspiration, I'm beginning "A Year of Living Kindly" (book by Donna Cameron). There are certainly worse things I could spend my time doing.
A Year of Living Kindly, the book
And a little bit extra …
… a short poem by Emily Dickinson:
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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