Way back in October, Andrea posted a meme that I thought was great fun:
Leave a comment and I’ll give you a letter. Post ten things you LOVE
that begin with that letter. Then give a letter to anyone who leaves a
comment for you… and the cycle will continue.
I realized today, after reading the posts on this meme by both Cindy and UncleCrappy, that I, too, received a letter with which to create a list! Fantastic! It wasn’t an easy letter, and at first I was stumped as to what things I could even think of that started with the letter “K.” Everything I love seems to start with other, more common letters. It took some thinking, but here’s what I came up with (Oh yeah! Don’t forget to leave a comment for your own letter!!):
10. Kennings: This literary device is just a lot of fun to play with and, besides, what better way to confuse college student than to ask them to explain what a “whale-road” is?
9. Do I really have to explain this? I was hesitant when I was first introduced to Krispy Kreme doughnuts, mostly because I’ve always been a Dunkin’ Donuts fan, but one trip to Krispy Kreme when the “HOT” sign was flashing while in grad school, and I was hooked. There was a boom here in Pittsburgh shortly after I had returned from Alabama where Krispy Kremes were opening all over the place. Apparently they didn’t last and now, alas, there are but a few remaining.
8. “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: He claimed it was composed during a drug induced hallucination. True or not, it’s still one of my favorite poems. “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree: / Where Aleph, the sacred river, ran / Through caverns measureless to man / Down to a sunless sea.”
7. King Crab Legs: I’ve mentioned this before, I know, but there are very few things I love more for a meal than Alaskan King Crab Legs. I wish my phone would cooperate so I could upload the picture I took this weekend of monster sized King crab claws that were on sale at a supermarket. (Hey, the closer to the shore you get, the better the seafood. I’m telling you, these crab claws were ENORMOUS and I can’t wait to get a steamer pot and experiment with the best ways to cook them!) They’re also fun to scare your phobic friends with, and to make creepy scratchy sounds on the windows with for Halloween. Trust me.
6. Koalas: Despite what @DjLunchbox claims about Koala bears, they are not terror driven bears whose goal is to distract you while a black bear attacks your family. No, sir. Not at all. Koalas aren’t even technically bears for that matter! They’re marsupials! Now, I’ve heard they’re kind of ill tempered, and they’re not nearly as cuddly as they look, but one of my favorite stuffed toys growing up was a Koala that hung on my bed post, and they were on of my three favorite things to look up in encyclopedias (Horses and spiders being the others. Wait, did I just say “Encyclopedias?!” ) so leave the Koalas alone!
5. Kentucky Derby: I think I just need to link here to illustrate my affection for Juleps, Bluegrass, big hats, and horse-racing.
4. KITTENS!!! If you’ve never been privy to the LOLcats phenomenon, then you are seriously behind on the small pleasures in life. At first I couldn’t stand the concept, and the use of poor grammar drove me absolutely batty! Then I happened upon one in particular that made me laugh until I honestly was in tears. They’re a pick me up, and they usually make me smile. I, of course, have two adorable little ones of my own (though certain individuals will argue and say they aren’t so “little”), Hamlet and Tybalt. What? You expected something less literary? Please…
3. Knights: I don’t know when it started, and I don’t know how, but I have been obsessed with the Medieval & Renaissance periods for as long as I can remember. Tales of Courtly Love, feats of bravery, valor, and drama have always drawn me in and I suspect they always will. It’s one of my favorite topics to research, whether it’s the literary traditions surrounding Arthurian legend, historical associations, Knights Templar, or the blacksmithing marks for armor from the time. The love triangle between Lancelot, Arthur and Guenevere has always broken my heart, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon and her other books from the period only made my obsession worse (She accomplished something I had dreamed of writing myself). I love Pre-Raphaelite art mostly because it focuses on Knighthood and Shakespearean topics. I swear I was born into the wrong century.
The Kiss by Auguste Rodin
2. “The Kiss” and just “Kisses” in general: Who doesn’t love kisses? Well, assuming they’re good kisses and not horrible slobbery messes. Even adoring kisses from a loved one, or from a pet can make an otherwise wretched day much, much better. The image over there to the left is of Auguste Rodin’s (one of my favorite artists) sculpture ‘The Kiss” which was originally entitled
Francesca da Rimini after the character in Dante’s Inferno. Francesca was immortalized in his 2nd circle of Hell for falling in love with her husband’s brother after reading the story of Lancelot and Guenevere. Francesca’s husband discovered them and killed them both. If you look closely you can see the book in Paolo’s hand. Much like the images in Keats’
“Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the lovers’ lips aren’t touching, and they are, in essence, frozen for eternity tantalizingly close to their greatest desire but never actually able to fulfil it:
“Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!”
1. Karma: It’s not something you see or draw. Karma is something you feel and know inherently. It’s a concept of overarching, universal justice (and to mix pantheons) where every act and bit of energy you exhibit and release into the world has a consequence. It’s the idea that your actions will be rewarded in the end, and that your negative energy spent hating and being toxic to the people around you will be visited back on you with interest (some refer to it as the law of three). The way you treat others and yourself matters–not just in the long run, but in the immediate, in the here and now.
There are plenty of examples of people who seemed to have it all who treated themselves, their friends and families, employees, and coworkers with negativity (Being greedy, selfish, abusive, nasty, self centered, manipulative, and the list goes on), only to have everything they so jealously coveted and guarded–including their pride–stripped from them. Equal are the stories of those individuals who consistently seek to put others before themselves, who struggle so that others might advance, who give away what little they have because others are in greater need. Those same people go out of their way for even strangers. They may not seem to have much, but isn’t it fascinating how they always seem to have enough? It’s pretty simple… you treat someone badly, and you’re bound to be “punished” for that in some profound way. You treat people with love and respect, and you’re bound to be rewarded, and that reward doesn’t always come in the form of money. In fact, I would argue that the best rewards have nothing to do with money at all.
