lynne
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Post by lynne on Aug 5, 2012 11:33:10 GMT -5
Ame I love hearing about the two things you have learned- live for the moment and never give up! Beautiful! 
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Post by midwifespal on Aug 5, 2012 18:51:56 GMT -5
Lynne:  I really loved reading your post and found it very wise. Nice thinking of our boy off da grid this weekend--somehow, in the light of what you said, the grid feels like something we might measure him against, to gauge the size of his growing greatness. But of course, we all look (and feel) greater without that grid behind us. But I'm not too worried about him. There's another way of thinking of what Adam has--he has drive, certainly, but also momentum. And momentum is much more fun! Despite all the hard hard work we know Adam is doing and has done for years and years, there's always been some of that momentum to his rise, I think--some of that joyous ease, like he's riding the wave of his talents rather than powering it. I love that about him. So I'm not worried about NEXT. To borrow from your Shakespeare buddy, I feel strongly that "he is in so far in luck that win will pluck on win." I agree, I'm really glad that his immediate life, the world he actually lives in, his friends and family, is smaller than the wondrous sparkling web that we have (with his help) woven around him. He lives a normal life, and his loved ones have normal, person-sized expectations of him. But this puts me in mind of another Shakespeare quote, perhaps my favorite, which I won't massacre so much (you're welcome). Shakespeare (via Cleopatra) wrote it of Antony, but I always think of Adam now (and thus may have brought it up before, sorry): "His delights were dolphin-like, they showed his back above the element they lived in." Small wonder, really, that we fans gasp and thrill at that soaring glint of him. [Now that I reread the whole quote, after hunting it down, I'm almost certain I've posted it somewhere here before, it reminds me so of Adam, so I apologize for repeating myself. But, in the context of our conversation, it, in its entirety, really makes me think of the ways in which we blow him up until he is larger than life, and the generosity with which he rewards our extravagant dreams: For his bounty,
There was no winter in't; an autumn was
That grew the more by reaping; his delights
Were dolphin-like, they showed his back above
The element they lived in; in his livery
Walked crowns and crownets, realms and islands were
As plates dropped from his pocket.  I think of Kiev, Queen (crowns and crownets) beside him and the masses entranced at his feet, and the way in which he cast his music fearlessly out over them. And I think of Brian and Roger slinging an arm around his shoulders, friendly, human. I wish him much greatness, and much smallness, too, I suppose.] ps--Jesus that Shakespeare show sounds like one hell of a production. Teachers are saints. Seriously. And so important. Bet it changes those kids' lives. |
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mahailia
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Post by mahailia on Aug 6, 2012 9:46:52 GMT -5
This is for lynne, holst, and teachers everywhere, as as mwp just said, teachers are saints, and this is one of the reasons why.
I received the following email from one of my Adam friends that lives in LA:
Too Busy for a Friend.....
One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature. The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher. 'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.' Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him. 'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.'
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home.' Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.' 'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary'. Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'.
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
Sending love and hugs to all my wonderful friends here at Atop.
I have made good friends all over the world because of our love of Adam, and the amazing people here on this board.
Thanks again, Adam!
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Alison
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Post by Alison on Aug 6, 2012 9:54:30 GMT -5
Mahalia--beautiful  |
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lynne
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Post by lynne on Aug 6, 2012 10:05:42 GMT -5
Lynne: I really loved reading your post and found it very wise. Nice thinking of our boy off da grid this weekend--somehow, in the light of what you said, the grid feels like something we might measure him against, to gauge the size of his growing greatness. But of course, we all look (and feel) greater without that grid behind us. But I'm not too worried about him. There's another way of thinking of what Adam has--he has drive, certainly, but also momentum. And momentum is much more fun! Despite all the hard hard work we know Adam is doing and has done for years and years, there's always been some of that momentum to his rise , I think--some of that joyous ease, like he's riding the wave of his talents rather than powering it. I love that about him. So I'm not worried about NEXT. To borrow from your Shakespeare buddy, I feel strongly that "he is in so far in luck that win will pluck on win." I agree, I'm really glad that his immediate life, the world he actually lives in, his friends and family, is smaller than the wondrous sparkling web that we have (with his help) woven around him. He lives a normal life, and his loved ones have normal, person-sized expectations of him. But this puts me in mind of another Shakespeare quote, perhaps my favorite, which I won't massacre so much (you're welcome). Shakespeare (via Cleopatra) wrote it of Antony, but I always think of Adam now (and thus may have brought it up before, sorry): "His delights were dolphin-like, they showed his back above the element they lived in."
Small wonder, really, that we fans gasp and thrill at that soaring glint of him.[Now that I reread the whole quote, after hunting it down, I'm almost certain I've posted it somewhere here before, it reminds me so of Adam, so I apologize for repeating myself. But, in the context of our convers ation, it, in its entirety, really makes me think of the
ways in which we blow him up until he is larger than life, and the generosity with which he rewards our extravagant dreams:For his bounty,
There was no winter in't; an autumn was
That grew the more by reaping; his delights
Were dolphin-like, they showed his back above
The element they lived in; in his livery
Walked crowns and crownets, realms and islands were
As plates dropped from his pocket.[/
I think of Kiev, Queen (crowns and crownets) beside him and the masses entranced
at his feet, and the way in which he cast his music fearlessly out over them. And I think of
Brian and Roger slinging an arm around his shoulders, friendly, human. I wish him much
greatness, and much smallness, too, I suppose.]
ps--Jesus that Shakespeare show sounds like one hell of a production. Teachers are saints. Seriously. And so important. Bet it changes those kids' lives. [img src=" ![]() i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx348/Quu3/Adam%20Smilys/Other%20Smileys/clap.gif"][/IMG] I LOVE your post! I remember one time when I was still busy raising kids, with all that entails, a group of my best girlfriends and I decided to break free for a long weekend and left our families and responsibilities behind and sailed to the island of Catalina. It was a quiet time of year so there weren't many people on the island and the experience was all we hoped it would be, ya ya sisterhood and all, lol, but the highlight of the trip occurred on the way home. As our small boat made its way back home through thick fog and mist, suddenly the motor slowed to a standstill, and the captain's voice came on almost reverently urging us to move to the rails. There, in the hazy mist, we saw our small boat literally surrounded by hundreds, and I do mean hundreds, of dolphins; the water thick with their shiny bodies as far as we could see. It was MAGICAL, as if the dolphins had come to share our moment of freedom with us, smile on our adventures, remind us of the importance of play, and wish us well as we returned to our real lives. Yes, kind of like an Adam Lambert concert. His delights ARE dolphin-like. You nailed it! I love the reference and your comparison! And the idea of Adam riding the waves of his talent. I, too, wish him greatness and smallness, perfectly expressed. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2012 10:19:07 GMT -5
Recently, I was reading about the problem of enforced intellectual conformity. The setting was academia, but as it so often does my thoughts were on Adam and fandom. Hope this isn't too deep for a Monday morning but I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you guys. To set up the obvious: besides sharing news about Adam, one of the main purposes of the message board is to exchange and express our views about that news and, presumably, things like Adam's performances, artistry, fashions, and career options, as well as some larger societal and industry issues that concern Adam. One phenomenon that interests me is how an aura of received wisdom gathers around many subjects in our forum, and gathers with astonishing rapidity. The other day, in this thread, mika questioned some of our assumptions about NCOE and that got me to thinking. How DO we "know" these behind-the-scenes details? Do we actually know them at all? Or did we just create a reigning orthodoxy out of whole cloth? In "The Inner Ring," C.S. Lewis wrote about the desire that burns in each of us to be approved of and acknowledged by people we like and admire. We want to be "one of the gang," at least ... we might even want to be in the "inner circle" and have a nickname and a lot of stars by our names. Lewis wrote: I have no right to make assumptions about the degree to which any of you may already be compromised. I must not assume that you have ever first neglected, and finally shaken off, friends whom you really loved and who might have lasted you a lifetime, in order to court the friendship of those who appeared to you more important, more esoteric. I must not ask whether you have derived actual pleasure from the loneliness and humiliation of the outsiders after you, yourself were in: whether you have talked to fellow members of the Ring in the presence of outsiders simply in order that the outsiders might envy; whether the means whereby, in your days of probation, you propitiated the Inner Ring, were always wholly admirable.The Inner Ring by C.S. Lewis: www.lewissociety.org/innerring.phpIt seems to me that "Inner Ring" longings hold a lot of sway in our fandom (on Atop but not only here; it may be even more pronounced on Twitter and elsewhere). There seem to be a lot of fans who have time and energy to monitor one another's beliefs, smart over minor differences of opinion, and jockey for position. It is easy to see that there are factions and cliques with unelected but acknowledged leaders. So suppose you disagree with a reigning orthodoxy or two? Your choices are pretty clear: grumble with like-minded souls in private; speak out and experience the wrath of other fans; or go along to get along. I know now when something new happens, I have learned to wait to "vote" until I see what the winning side is. Sometimes news happens while I'm away ... even an hour-long lunch break can be long enough to miss an "important" tweet. Before you even have a chance to think it over, you may find that a uniformity of opinion has emerged that you are hesitant to challenge. Most of the time, the issues that occur are minor showers that are here today, gone tomorrow. A few times the fandom has been rocked by major tempests that had me googling the Salem witch-hunts. We human beings are social creatures; the discomfort of this kind of shunning is more than most of us can bear. We get worn down by the barrage of disapproval. We may feel that maybe our own views really were just stupid or mean. Don't know quite where I'm going with this, but thanks to anyone patient enough to read down this far. I think Lewis's essay wisely suggests that building true friendships is the answer, rather than seeking status in "rings." That takes perspective; not easy. Much Madness is divinest Sense — To a discerning Eye — Much Sense — the starkest Madness — ‘Tis the Majority In this, as All, prevail — Assent — and you are sane — Demur – you’re straightway dangerous — And handled with a Chain — (Emily Dickinson) Or as a wise man says: |
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mahailia
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Post by mahailia on Aug 6, 2012 12:30:16 GMT -5
Junie, lynn,mwp, mika et al:
Yall are amazing, loving every post on this board!
I have never really been into poetry much, and am learning and feeling inspired by all the beautiful thoughts here.
You guys ROCK!!!!
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Misha
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Post by Misha on Aug 6, 2012 13:09:34 GMT -5
I love the posts in this thread. The ones on the last few pages have resonated a lot. They've made me think and smile and cry real tears and moved me to say how much I appreciate all of your beautifully expressed thoughts.
An offering for the Moon Garden. I love the imagery of dolphins associated with Adam. This song is a little melancholy (I prefer to think of it as mellow or poignant, and hope you will, too), but it's one of my favorites and suits my contemplative mood at the moment. I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea . . .
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Post by Jablea on Aug 6, 2012 14:37:12 GMT -5
Very interesting juniemoon. It all boils down to group think doesn't it or the popular word from the last couple of years "meme". Love to see a study of all the personality types that appear on a board like this. I'd say probably around 6 to 8 distinct roles that participants generally fall into.
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mahailia
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Post by mahailia on Aug 6, 2012 15:08:11 GMT -5
We had a discussion of personality types here about a year ago? Who remembers?
It was based on several famous studies, and there was a test you could take online to determine what category you fit in. I may be able to find the info................
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I think of Kiev, Queen (crowns and crownets) beside him and the masses entranced at his feet, and the way in which he cast his music fearlessly out over them. And I think of Brian and Roger slinging an arm around his shoulders, friendly, human. I wish him much greatness, and much smallness, too, I suppose.]
