World's First Novel, Novelist

Murasaki Shikibu

Love, intrigue, lust and adventure are all ingredients of a bestselling novel. One such book with these elements thrilled readers almost one thousand years ago. The Tale of Genji, is considered by many to be the first novel in the world. It was written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu.

* I remember borrowing this book from the library some years ago. Didn't finish it (but I'd like to add it to my collection -- next purchase...).

Lady Murasaki's real name is unknown. Murasaki Shikibu roughly translates to "Lavender Secretary". The main source of knowledge about her life is the diary she kept between 1007 and 1010.

The novel is generally regarded as the greatest work of Japanese literature.



The Tale of Genji captures the image of a unique society of refined aristocrats, who were skilled in poetry, music, calligraphy, and courtship. Much of it is concerned with the loves of Hikaru Genji (the shining prince) and the different women in his life. Though the novel does not contain scenes of dramatic action, it is written with an exquisite sensitivity to human emotions. Genji is also very concerned with cultivating a beautiful and elegant lifestyle, a principle called miyabi.

The Tale of Genji continues to have cultural prominence in Japan. Images of its characters grace everything from tee-shirts to stationary, and manga and anime versions of the famous love story have been produced. It is required reading in all Japanese high schools.

Most recently, a new 2000 yen note was produced. One side features an image of Murasaki Shikibu.

References: World's First Novelist, Genji.

Not So Romantic, Quirky Love Quotes

I think there should be a Single's Day holiday -- since there's V-day for couples. As Mr. Oscar Wilde says: "To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance."

Anyway, I received a forwarded e-mail from a friend long ago. These are some of the entries to a Washington Post Competition. The contest asked for a rhyme with the most romantic first line, but least romantic second line.

Caustic witticism. Enjoy!


Stock Vector: I Heart Evil

~

Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss
But I only slept with you, cause I was pissed

Roses are red, violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet, and so are you
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead,
The sugar bowl's empty, and so is your head

Of loving beauty you float with grace
If only you could hide your face

I thought that I could love no other
Until, that is, I met your brother

Kind, intelligent, loving and hot
This describes everything you are not

I want to feel your sweet embrace
But don't take that paper bag off your face

I love your smile, your face, and your eyes --
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

Every time I see your face
I wish I were in outer space

I saw your face as you walked by
but then I saw a better guy

My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
Marrying you screwed up my life

I see your face when I am dreaming
That's why I always wake up screaming

My love, you take my breath away
What have you stepped in to smell this way?

My feelings for you, no words can tell
Except for maybe "go to hell"

What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.

Valentine's Day Cards for Geeks

These are Wii-themed Valentine's Day cards, by Mitch at 4 color rebellion. There are a total of six geek love themed designs -- all are so very nice!

Internet and print versions available for download at the site.

Midday Musings

After shifting 3 blogs over from Blogger to WordPress, I've decided to keep this blog as it is over here. Never mind importing posts, that's the easy part -- it's the image links I'd have to manually go through and fix one by one.

I *could* of course, start the whole blog over, but I'd rather not (I might fiddle around with the .css file here more freely though...).

I initially wanted to feature items according to the holiday/season, starting from this year. However, I guess I'm just the sort of person that isn't into the whole "commercialized" aspect of, well, things in general. This doesn't mean I don't like stuff -- but if I may say so, it's kind of...unimaginative, to feature a wholeeeee bunch of "romantic gifts", just because "V Day is approaching"...

I know this blog focuses on gifts -- but I like to do things differently / my own way (if only to keep things interesting for myself).

And besides (in this V Day case), I've always figured I'd appreciate being shown I'm loved/cared for etc, on any random day of the year based on simple meaningful gestures (nice gifts from time to time included) -- not just on this allocated "Valentine's Day", where one is socially not only licensed but expected to "do something" for their "significant other" to "show they care".

I probably could've done a much better job summing that up in a more concise and cohesive manner, but I'm in a rambling mood today.

I guess now that my other blogs are settled, I'm thinking of how I could liven this one up a little, so please pardon me if posts and updates get a bit erratic (nothing new :P).

I'm quite happy with the way the other now WP-powered blogs are going. I wouldn't like to simply chuck this one aside, and/or have it be too "predictable"...so yeah. I'll see what I can come up with.

PS: Yep, I've a habit of using lots of parentheses (brackets) when thought-processing ^^.