Saturday, April 26, 2014

Shakespeare, the Hydrologic Cycle, & Flood Stage

Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea
Contagious fogs; which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents:

Titania
Act II, Scene I
A Midsummer's Night Dream
William Shakespeare


Poor naked wretches, wheresoe’er you are, /
That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, /
How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, /
Your looped and windowed raggedness defend you /
From seasons such as these?
King Lear, 3.4.28

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Maternity Leave & Paternity Leave in the 15th Century

From King Sejong the Great, ISBN: 0-9779613-6-2
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19 October, 12th year [1430 A.D.]
The King said to his Secretaries:
"In the past, when a government servant gave birth, she was expected to return to service seven days later.  This provision was made out of concern for the fact that harm might come to the baby if she returned leaving the child behind her, and so this period of leave was later increased to a hundred days.  However, there have been instances of women whose time was near, and who gave birth before reaching home.  I therefore suggest that one month of full leave be granted prior to giving birth.  Please amend the relevant laws."
-
26 April, 16th year [1434 A.D.]
Dispatched to the Ministry of Justice:
"It has been enacted that a female servant, who is due to give birth in a month's time or has given birth within the past hundred days, shall not be required for government service.  Since no leave has been granted to the husbands of such women, however, they have not been able to provide assistance to their wives in childbirth, and because of this some women have even lost their lives, which is most pitiful.  From this day forward, a husband is not required to return to service for thirty days after his wife has given birth." 

---
(In context and in general, a woman upon marriage became a member of her husband's family, and was expected to give birth at the home of her husband's family.  This might require days of travel.)
--- 
King Sejong, 4th Ruler of Choson Korea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejong_the_Great
http://asiasociety.org/countries/traditions/king-sejong-great

Friday, February 14, 2014

Confessions of Love

Confessions will be added to as time, viewing, and copyright permit. Suggestions for inclusion are welcome in the comments.

Video Confessions are best viewed full screen. Please Enjoy!

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Confession of Love: Duelist  (10:53)
It was last winter.
Don't know whether I was possessed by the moonlight or the snow.
I was on my way to a friend's house, with a bottle of booze.
And a man and a woman were fighting like crazy with some sharp swords.
But they also looked like they were dancing.
It was like they were making love under the moonlight as well.
AnnaTheLost's mashup (2:34); Yennchan69's mashup (3:07)

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To Won's Father       June 1, 1586
    You always said, "Dear, let's live together until our hair turns gray and die on the same day. How could you pass away without me? Who should I and our little boy listen to and how should we live? How could you go ahead of me?
    How did you bring your heart to me and how did I bring my heart to you? Whenever we lay down together you always told me, "Dear, do other people cherish and love each other like we do? Are they really like us?" How could you leave all that behind and go ahead of me?
    I just cannot live without you. I just want to go to you. Please take me to where you are. My feelings toward you I cannot forget in this world and my sorrow knows no limit. Where would I put my heart in now and how can I live with the child missing you?
    Please look at this letter and tell me in detail in my dreams. Because I want to listen to your saying in detail in my dreams I write this letter and put it in. Look closely and talk to me.
     When I give birth to the child in me, who should it call father? Can anyone fathom how I feel? There is no tragedy like this under the sky.
     You are just in another place, and not in such a deep grief as I am. There is no limit and end [to my sorrows] that I write roughly. Please look closely at this letter and come to me in my dreams and show yourself in detail and tell me. I believe I can see you in my dreams. Come to me secretly and show yourself. There is no limit to what I want to say and I stop here. 


Confession of Love: "How Could You Go Ahead Of Me?"

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Confession of Love: Scent of a Woman  (3:18, First Confession)
How are you supposed to get rid of your feelings like this?
This is the well-known hot Tango scene. 
Gabi Bo's superb mashup (1:23); Sweetbanilla's MV (3:40); Jayelvid's MV (4:11)
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Confession of Love: My Love From The Star  (5:42)
And you don't look like you are
going to say that you love me.
I will just say it for you.
I love you, Do Min Joon.

When you live much longer than I do,
you will eventually forget.
But a perfect girl like me loved you dearly.
And liked you.
Don't forget that,
And be proud of it.
~
The best super power that I have is...
To stop time.
...
Countless times I have stopped time...
And told you this in times you don't remember,
I love you, Cheon Song Yi.

I felt that if I told you this while time was running...
Then everything will eventually run out and fade away.
That's why I only said it while I stopped time.
I love you, Cheon Song Yi,
I love you.
"...watched 14.5 billion times..." More here and here.

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An Arundel Tomb      The figures represent Richard Fitzalan III, 13th Earl of Arundel
 (ca 1307-1376) and his second wife Eleanor, who by his will of 1375 were to be buried together “without pomp” in the chapter house of Lewes Priory.
      The armour and dress suggest a date near 1375; the knight’s attitude is typical of that time, but the lady’s crossed legs, giving the effect of a turn towards her husband, are rare. The joined hands have been thought due to “restoration” by Edward Richardson (1812-69), but recent research has shown the feature to be original. If so, the monument must be one of the earliest showing the concession to affection where the husband was a knight rather than a civilian.
     In his will Richard requested that he  be buried “near to the tomb of Eleanor de Lancaster, my wife; and I desire that my tomb be no higher than hers, that no men at arms, horses, hearse, or other pomp, be used at my funeral, but only five torches…as was about the corpse of my wife, be allowed.”

 
Confession of Love: An Arundel Tomb  (2:01)
What Will Survive Of Us Is Love

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Confession of Love: A Love Letter To Plywood  (7:27)
By Tom Sachs, Directed by Van Neistat.

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 Shen Xing Ren,
congratulations on winning the grand prize.
Your prize is ...
Confession of Love: Office Girls  (6:42)

The background tall building is Taipei 101, Official Site here.
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