In view of all the sad morose stuff i have been feeling lately i shall blog about stuff that has impressed me enough to make a good feel about life.

St Lawrence: I was deeply impressed by this account that evokes memories from my childhood of reading a book on saints. I won't comment much other than the great emotional response i get when i read this passage that illustrates his life. I respected him with my all and i never failed to gain courage and inspiration from him. He strikes me as a great role model for forgiveness and service. I don't know why but after seeing the longer version of the Catholic Medical Society noticeboard the other day, i felt so down and lost. It seems that i have been lost in wilderness for such a long time. I can't help feeling inspired once again by this entry of his biography, to be willing to let go of all burdens and feel no pain or destructive emotions. It takes a great deal to be able to reach such fortitude and forgiveness and i wish i could emulate. Its a beautiful name, lawrence.

St. Lawrence martyr

Feastday: August 10

Saint Lawrence was one of seven deacons who were in charge of giving help to the poor and the needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St. Sixtus was condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Lawrence followed him weeping, "Father, where are you going without your deacon?" he said. "I am not leaving you, my son," answered the Pope. "in three days you will follow me." Full of joy, Lawrence gave to the poor the rest of the money he had on hand and even sold expensive vessels to have more to give away.

The Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great fortune hidden away. So he ordered Lawrence to bring the Church's treasure to him. The Saint said he would, in three days. Then he went through the city and gathered together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said: "This is the Church's treasure!"

In great anger, the Prefect condemned Lawrence to a slow, cruel death. The Saint was tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by little, but Lawrence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flames. In fact, God gave him so much strength and joy that he even joked. "Turn me over," he said to the judge. "I'm done on this side!" And just before he died, he said, "It's cooked enough now." Then he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic Faith might spread all over the world. After that, he went to receive the martyr's reward. Saint Lawrence's feast day is August 10th. His mummified head can be found in the Vatican Secret Archives.

Polo Ralph Lauren: Well, pardon my excessive contribution here but this is long delayed. I must say that i am extremely satisfied with this season's contribution by the classic american style iconographer. His designs and finishings brings to mind elite cultural and political association of New England together with sunny California with its open glorious celebration of colour. Its bright, bold yet stylish. Gloriously American, it not the classic understated british plaid of Aquascutum or Burberry but the celebration of the class of New England old wealth. Its so Hyannisport or Martha's Vineyard. So pristine and deliciously chic. Its like so classic and stylish. I feel like grabbing everything in preparation of year 3 since its long sleeves are so wondrous. Its the quinessential American look and its marvellously designed long sleeve shirts leave absolutely a million shades of the colour palate in your mind. Its so classic, stylish yet masculine. So Ralph Lauren. I can't wait for the sale of its A/W 2004 to begin. *faints*

Equus: Reading some plays to get an idea of what to come out with for playhouse and i read equus by peter shaffer. An interesting read considering that i have read a royal hunt of the sun before for lit and i have watched my namesake. Amadeus. I should have read amadeus first but never mind. I shall not review it myself as i feel inadequate to write about it after reading it only once. so here are copied reviews from Amazon. Its nothing short of amazing and absolutely fabulous!

I've just finished reading this version of Equus for the third time now, and I never get tired of it. I've also just finished a 23 page paper on Peter Shaffer for my play analysis class, and I have to tell you, Equus is a drama that I thouroughly enjoy. It's probably my favorite play because it deals with not only the subject of the human need for worship, but Equus is also about a search for faith, for Dysart and Alan. It deals with the concepts of religion as well; and being a Christian, I could apply my own teachings to the text. The basic synopsis is an adolescent boy named Alan Strang has committed a horrible crime of blinding six horses in a stable in southern England. After being taking to the local magistrates, he's dubbed as mentally ill (which he is), and is taken to Dr. Martin Dysart, a well-known and respected psychiatrist for evaluation. What unfolds from there, is such an engrossing story into Alan's primal mind and as to why he did this act, you won't believe. Equus speaks to everyone. The conflict for Dysart, who is "utterly worshipless" vs. Alan Strang who activlely and genuinely worships his god Equus is this: I can cure Alan of his illness and make him "Normal"; but how can I do it without stripping him of his genuine worship, which is the core of his life? The story will touch you and make you think, fundamentally. If you've never seen the show, find it somewhere near you and go see it; it's meant to be seen. I had the luxury of seeing it performed at the famously known Stratford Theatre Festival last year in Canada, and it blew me away. The play is quite simply, amazing.

Ostensibly the story of a doctor-patient relationship, Equus is just as limited by the therapist's suite as is Casablanca limited by the walls of Rick's Cafe. The genuis of Shaffer is that he manages to create characters so indelible and unforgettable that they leap out of the read page just as much or more as they do out of the performed page. Put another way, even without Burton in the cinema or Hopkins on Broadway, his Dr. Dysart connects with you. You can easily find yourself joining Dysart as he commences his therapy with Alan Strang. The who, what, when and where are quickly covered as we and Dysart learn that Strang's "presenting problem" is the fact he's just blinded six horses. The why consumes the virtual remainder of the play as we join Dysart in peeling down the oniony layers of Strang's psychosis. Ever the honest observer, Dysart readily admits the plain simple fact of human observational error. His problem -- our problem -- is that our ability to interact and help others is inherently limited by our own myopia. We can only see what we can only see. Fortunately, Dysart understands the problematic nature of probing someone else's consciousness. How can we eliminate the bad without taking some of the good with it? What was it Strang thought he saw in the horses? What was it he was afraid they would see of him?The answers to those questions are really best left to read or see a performance of this play. As Dysart might himself wryly observe: We all ultimately take our own trip to Cavalry.For the here and the now, however, it bears noting that this play is one of the single greatest repositorities of quotable, rememberable lines in the English language.And so: "What way is this? What dark is this? I cannot call it ordained of God. I cannot pay it so much homage. But there is chain in my mouth and it never comes out."So, don't stop with Shaffer's Amadeus, read or see this one too.

I am at the present moment in a lull over my present life. Peace has descended and its temporary due to absence. Im also quite worried over the various stuff that i have heard over the past few days and it worrying to know that people do bottle up their problems. To those whom i was sitting down and discussing after dragging you all to shop, i hope that you all are alright.

Anyway, Marks and spencer's is having a further 20% off its own sale items. I'm starting to like M & S' stuff. They are what i would call simple elegance. Classic.



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