Author Archives for Ellen
Robin Hood
I have been postponing making this clip for a few weeks. Not sure why. I did know the song quite soon. But then i couldn’t import the song in iMovie. Then, last week, i thought i should sing the song again, with the visuals at the same time. As i did my previous video songs. First i thought of me talking a bit beforehand, showing the lyrics i should have written. I don’t know this song completely out of my head. A bit, some parts, and yes, when i hear the song i can easily sing along with it. But a cappella? Nope.
So today i kept postponing it a bit more. This morning i played a bit of wow. A shower next. Then i did some work. Then i realized the light would be away a lot sooner, with wintertime ruling the waves. So blow dried my hair.
Yesterday, in the garden, John had found a selfie stick. I can really use it! So i asked for it. So this afternoon, i put my phone in it. It is a bit loose, but still. Not stretched all the way, just halfway. And i held it a bit angled, so it wouldn’t drop out. I started to sing. The lyrics on my iPad. That is what i look sideways at in the video.
And the first cut i liked. No, not my faint double chin. But i like the way i sing the song. The start and the finish, the red and white at the end.
So yes, here it is, Robin Hood!
I love this song.
Robin Hood
I’ve been longing too long a time
I dream of ending these dreams of mine
Of hope for love forevermore
And just to adore and be adored
The need for someone new now
I’m overawed
I’ve been wishing my life away
For Robin Hood to be king
One day we’ll share the treasures of the world
Oh yeah, when I will get the girl
A flag of blood and lipstick
Will be unfurled
All prophecy will fail
And by that light we’ll sail
I have closed my eyes and seen
Well, I’ve seen the end of the men of means
And so I want that thrill and then
You know I want that thrill again
To a life of hopes and hi there’s
I am condemned
I love in hope
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
I love in hope
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
I love in hope
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
I love in hope
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
I’ll never go back, never ever, ever go back
(Been longing too long a time)
Scritti Politti version
Splitting Apart
The dark lines are about to mount upward and overthrow the last firm, light line by exerting a disintegrating influence on it. The inferior, dark forces overcome what is superior and strong, not by direct means, but by undermining it gradually and imperceptibly, so that it finally collapses.
The lines of the hexagram present the image of a house, the top line being the roof, and because the roof is being shattered the house collapses. The hexagram belongs to the ninth month (October-November). The yin power pushes up ever more powerfully and is about to supplant the yang power altogether.
THE JUDGMENT
SPLITTING APART. IT does not further one
To go anywhere.This pictures a time when inferior people are pushing forward and are about to crowd out the few remaining strong and superior men. Under these circumstances, which are due to the time, it is not favorable for the superior man to undertake anything.
The right behavior in such adverse times is to be deduced from the images and their attributes. The lower trigram stands for the earth, whose attributes. The lower trigram stands for the earth, whose attributes are docility and devotion. The upper trigram stands for the mountain, whose attribute is stillness. This suggests that one should submit to the bad time and remain quiet. For it is a question not of man’s doing but of time conditions, which, according to the laws of heaven, show an alternation of increase and decrease, fullness and emptiness. It is impossible to counteract these conditions of the time. Hence it is not cowardice but wisdom to submit and avoid action.
THE IMAGE
The mountain rests on the earth:
The image of SPLITTING APART.
Thus those above can ensure their position
Only by giving generously to those below.The mountain rests on the earth. When it is steep and narrow, lacking a broad base, it must topple over. Its position is strong only when it rises out of the earth broad and great, not proud and steep. So likewise those who rule rest on the broad foundation of the people. They too should be generous and benevolent, like the earth that carries all. Then they will make their position as secure as a mountain is in its tranquillity.
Six at the beginning means:
The leg of the bed is split.
Those who persevere are destroyed.
Misfortune.Inferior people are on the rise and stealthily begin their destructive burrowing from below in order to undermine the place where the superior man rests. Those followers of the ruler who remain loyal are destroyed by slander and intrigue. The situation bodes disaster, yet there is nothing to do but wait.
Six in the fifth place means:
A shoal of fishes. Favor comes through the court ladies.
Everything acts to further.Here, in immediate proximity to the strong, light-giving principle at the top, the nature of the dark force undergoes a change. It no longer opposes the strong principle by means of intrigues but submits to its guidance. Indeed, as the head of the other weak lines, it leads all of these to the strong line, just as a princess leads her maids-in-waiting like a shoal of fishes to her husband and thus gains his favor. Inasmuch as the lower element thus voluntarily places itself under the higher, it attains happiness and the higher also receives its due. Therefore all goes well.
The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram. This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on which the Book of Changes is based. To rule truly is to serve.
A sacrifice of the higher element that produces an increase of the lower is called an out-and-out increase: it indicates the spirit that alone has power to help the world.
THE JUDGMENT
INCREASE. It furthers one
To undertake something.
It furthers one to cross the great water.Sacrifice on the part of those above for the increase of those below fills the people with a sense of joy and gratitude that is extremely valuable for the flowering of the commonwealth. When people are thus devoted to their leaders, undertakings are possible, and even difficult and dangerous enterprises will succeed. Therefore in such times of progress and successful development it is necessary to work and make the best use of time. This time resembles that of the marriage of heaven and earth, when the earth partakes of the creative power of heaven, forming and bringing forth living beings. The time of INCREASE does not endure, therefore it must be utilized while it lasts.
THE IMAGE
Wind and thunder: the image of INCREASE.
Thus the superior man:
If he sees good, he imitates it;
If he has faults, he rids himself of them.While observing how thunder and wind increase and strengthen each other, a man can not the way to self-increase and self-improvement. When he discovers good in others, he should imitate it and thus make everything on earth his own. If he perceives something bad in himself, let him rid himself of it. In this way he becomes free of evil. This ethical change represents the most important increase of personality.
A full day
Today, Thursday 27 Ocotber, was the funeral of my aunt Tinie. It was crowded. I saw many of my family there, some after thirty years of not seeing them. I saw my nieces and nephews. It was good.
I walked there from the train station. Around 45 minutes walking. Through the living areas, past the busy streets, to the outside of the municipal where the graveyard is. I walked back a slightly different route.
A few weeks ago, i was at the funeral of my stepfather, Jan.
Sad. A sad day to say goodbye. But also a day of smiling and speaking to each other.
Goodbye tante Tinie. Goodbye Jan.
Tree
Happy
My future
I just reread the post My futures.
My life has been very solitary so far. On the whole i didn’t mind that much. I enjoy my own company. But i would like to have friends. I would like to cook for more people. More people than just me. I would like to laugh a bit more. Talk some more.
I do listen to music a lot these days. I actually do sing along too. I like that. But it doesn’t fill the void.
I know the private life. I have lived it for the past thirty years. It’s difficult and hard work. There is peace and quiet. And loneliness.
So, if i have to make a choice, i’d rather choose a public life. It will be equally hard work, it will be equally difficult. But it is also filled with friends. I will not have complete freedom in choosing the things i do. But on the whole, i think i will be happier. A bit messier too. But that’s alright.
Ooh, in both scenario’s i will continue with ellenpronk.com. Of course. It’s what i do. I love this place. Truly.
I do still love this place, ellenpronk.com. I am not sure though, how long i will continue with it. I can envision a couple of possible scenario’s. It could be my life stays still. I can see myself having less updates then, but still regularly. Or it could be my life explodes. Then i see myself working here with five updates a week for quite some time. A couple of years at least.
I do think the choice is not entirely up to me.
Today i had this feeling of my life narrowing right now. Like i’m entering a rapid. My money issues are of course a part of that. Choices i make now seem to make a bigger impact on my life. And i know i want to continue the way i do. I know i’m not done yet. Nearly there, but the most important things i still need to make and post here.
This is not about me proving myself. This is not about me winning in any way. There is nothing to win, nothing to loose. But it is about me being truthful to myself, with all my heart. Doing the things i love to do, with all my heart.
Yesterday i saw the television program VPRO Boeken, VPRO Books with an interview with Jonathan Safran Foer. About living, making choices, being the person you are, being the person you want to be, being the person you can be.
These past two years i have grown. I still have the rest of my life to learn how to be in this world without it breaking me.
Salute!
55. Fêng / Abundance [Fullness]
Chên is movement; Li is flame, whose attribute is clarity. Clarity within, movement without-this produces greatness and abundance. The hexagram pictures a period of advanced civilization. However, the fact that development has reached a peak suggests that this extraordinary condition of abundance cannot be maintained permanently.
THE JUDGMENT
ABUNDANCE has success.
The king attains abundance.
Be not sad.
Be like the sun at midday.It is not given to every mortal to bring about a time of outstanding greatness and abundance. Only a born ruler of men is able to do it, because his will is directed to what is great. Such a time of abundance is usually brief. Therefore a sage might well feel sad in view of the decline that must follow. But such sadness does not befit him. Only a man who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a time of abundance. He must be like the sun at midday, illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven.
THE IMAGE
Both thunder and lightning come:
The image of ABUNDANCE.
Thus the superior man decides lawsuits
And carries out punishments.This hexagram has a certain connection with Shih Ho, BITING THROUGH (21), in which thunder and lightning similarly appear together, but in the reverse order. In BITING THROUGH, laws are laid down; here they are applied and enforced. Clarity [Li] within makes it possible to investigate the facts exactly, and shock [Chên] without ensures a strict and precise carrying out of punishments.
Nine at the beginning means:
When a man meets his destined ruler,
They can be together ten days,
And it is not a mistake.
Going meets with recognition.To bring about a time of abundance, a union of clarity with energetic
movement is needed. Two individuals possessed of these two attributes are
suited to each other, and even if they spend an entire cycle of time together
during the period of abundance, it will not be too long, nor is it a mistake.
Therefore one may go forth, in order to make one’s influence felt; it will meet
with recognition.
62. Hsiao Kuo / Preponderance of the Small
While in the hexagram Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28), the strong lines preponderate and are within, inclosed between weak lines at the top and bottom, the present hexagram has weak lines preponderating, though here again they are on the outside, the strong lines being within. This indeed is the basis of the exceptional situation indicated by the hexagram. When strong lines are outside, we have the hexagram I, PROVIDING NOURISHMENT (27), or Chung Fu, INNER TRUTH, (61); neither represents and exceptional state. When strong elements within preponderate, they necessarily enforce their will. This creates struggle and exceptional conditions in general. But in the present hexagram it is the weak element that perforce must mediate with the outside world. If a man occupies a position of authority for which he is by nature really inadequate, extraordinary prudence is necessary.
THE JUDGMENT
PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL. Success.
Perseverance furthers.
Small things may be done; great things should not be done.
The flying bird brings the message:
It is not well to strive upward,
It is well to remain below.
Great good fortune.Exceptional modesty and conscientiousness are sure to be rewarded with success; however, if a man is not to throw himself away, it is important that they should not become empty form and subservience but be combined always with a correct dignity in personal behavior. We must understand the demands of the time in order to find the necessary offset for its deficiencies and damages. In any event we must not count on great success, since the requisite strength is lacking. In this lies the importance of the message that one should not strive after lofty things but hold to lowly things.
The structure of the hexagram gives rise to the idea that this message is brought by a bird. In Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28), the four strong, heavy lines within, supported only by two weak lines without, give the image of a sagging ridgepole. Here the supporting weak lines are both outside and preponderant; this gives the image of a soaring bird. But a bird should not try to surpass itself and fly into the sun; it should descend to the earth, where its nest is. In this way it gives the message conveyed by the hexagram.
THE IMAGE
Thunder on the mountain:
The image of PREPONDERANCE OF THE SMALL.
Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence.
In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief.
In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift.Thunder on the mountain is different from thunder on the plain. In the mountains, thunder seems much nearer; outside the mountains, it is less audible than the thunder of an ordinary storm. Thus the superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions. In bereavement emotion means more to him than ceremoniousness. In all his personal expenditures he is extremely simple and unpretentious. In comparison with the man of the masses, all this makes him stand out as exceptional. But the essential significance of his attitude lies in the fact that in external matters he is on the side of the lowly.
Tomorrow
A day in the life of Ellen
Waking up this morning around half past eight. I slept through the night. A good thing! Usually i wake up around four in a dreamy world with dreamy thoughts. Not last night. I open the door of my bedroom and let the cats in. Mieke jumps on the bed straightaway. She lies down for a bit, but soon stands up again and sit next to my face. Her little paw with sharp nails carefully tries to touch my hands, my arms, my face. I’m hungry! By this time Muis is sitting on the cupboard next to my bed. Looking at me. So yeah, food!
I get out, open a tin of catfood and give Muis a generous portion. A little bit for Mieke, as she is not a huge fan of wet catfood. She likes the dry cat food better. I go back to bed and get the iPad from the cupboard. Going through my rss feed i jump at an post on the avclub.com about a video with Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch playing Jenga. I enjoy the whole clip.
Around ten i get out of bed. I still have batter for pancakes in my fridge and bacon. So i make two pancakes. Yum! I watch a bit of television, but i turn it of soon. Nothing much to see. I sit myself behind my computer, and whoah! i start writing this post.
Now i will unzip World of Warcraft 3.3.5a and starting it up and try connecting it to Dalaran WOW. I’m curious!
The leaves are turning yellow.
I just played World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King. Definitely my fave expansion. Made a blood elf paladin and leveled up to 5.
Now it is time for some food, dressing up, going out to the garden to empty my compost bucket and get to the shop to get me some cleaning vinegar.. and maybe some more bacon for tomorrow mornings pancakes. 🙂
I forgot the bacon!
But, i did get some red wine. And i ran into Soto. We talked a bit about zero waste and detergent.
While i was walking i thought about today and about me writing. I could write the whole day! But i wont. I could talk about all the things i want to make for here. A post about Life is wonderful. Which i already started in February, but is lying undisturbed. I thought about these weeks, the weeks before my money runs out. I thought about me becoming known. Or famous. I don’t know which one it will be. I know i am the only person believing this will happen. Other people will think i am crazy. But still, i am the only person i can believe. Of course i could be wrong. But if i give up now, than i’m sure i am wrong. So i will continue. Not manic. But easy.
I will make a video for Robin Hood. It is just, i have trouble importing the sound into iMovie. It quits each time i try. So i need to find another way, maybe through a movie. It’ll be done for sure, next week!
I just watched Escape to the Country while i mended two leggings. A dark grey one and a lighter grey one. They all get holes near the crotch. So i mend those holes, with thread and a needle. I have a olive green one which i need to mend too, but now i will start on my soup and my laundry detergent. I want that done today!
The photo is of the garden. Most rows are seeded for the second time this year, with later veggies. Some beans, lettuce, amsoy, and quite a few other things are slowly appearing. We also weeded the surrounding hedges. Sunday we started digging out the pathways. We will get more woodchips and throw it on them. Lovely how it looks now!
OK, no laundry detergent today. Tomorrow! Making the soup took a long time, with cutting up all the vegetables. I decided to cook the white beans i had in my fridge since last friday. They still have an hour to go. The onion, leek, carrot, celery, bell pepper, tomato, basil, chives are all cut quite finely. Halfway i added around one and a half a liter of water, two cubes of stock, freshly ground black pepper and a teaspoon of salt. I checked all the other veg i had in my fridge, they were mostly dried out, so i put them all in my compost bucket. I also did a bit of washing up and cleaning. I still have at least a whole day before i do my next wash, so its fine to do it tomorrow.
The day is done. It was calm. Pleasant. I enjoyed meeting Soto by chance. I enjoyed the soup i made, plenty for at least two more days.
I don’t enjoy Expiditie Robinson as much as i used to. I don’t enjoy the voting out of a person. And most participants are very young. But i still watch it. Not sure for how long really.
Tomorrow i’m gonna work in the garden. Looking forward to it! I should look into insects hotels a bit more, find a way to make the really easy ones, small ones. But i also found a large one which didn’t use any nails and hammering, just a simple setting of stones on each with parts of wood. Will search more!
Have a good weekend.
*kiss*
Pancakes and soap
A lazy day today.
I did make pancakes this morning. Pannenkoeken. With this recipe: Pannenkoeken zoals het hoort (Dutch only).
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour / 220 gram – i used spelt flour
- 2 cups / 500 ml buttermilk
- 2 -3 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons molted butter
I did put the flour and the milk together yesterday and let is soak for more than twelve hours. This morning i added the eggs, salt and butter. I baked the pancakes next. Not as thick as American pancakes, but with the buttermilk a bit thicker than usual for Dutch pancakes. And this evening i baked some more! With apple and bacon and maple syrup. Great!
I also went into town this afternoon. I was a bit dreamy. I did go to Lush to get a soap. I checked at home and saw that that was the next thing i would need. First i did go through the shop and looked at all these things. It was busy. The smell was a bit overwhelming. Finally i did ask someone to help me with picking a soap. Lots of oil, not too heavy a smell. She suggested two soaps, one from the Christmas collection and one called Sultana of Soap. I bought 98 grams of this soap. It does feel very fatty. Good.
I do feel tired. Gonna lie on my couch, watch the Great British Menu and the Great British Bake Off, one after the other. Yay 🙂
Published on October 20, 2016 at 6:00 by Ellen