When I left for work this morning, the wind was powerful and cold. The skies were gray and the snow refused to melt and it seemed as though Winter would never leave. When I returned home from work a little while ago, and I came in to this office and looked outside, I noticed that something strange and wonderful had happened.
I opened my window and a gust of wind blew in, but it was not the bitter cold of a Winter morning. Rather, it was the crisp and fragrant air of a Spring afternoon. I looked outside to see the snow receding, the grass showing through. I leaned out of the open window and craned my neck to the side and saw a rather large number of birds sitting at the very top of the tallest tree in our back yard, all of which were tittering away, as though they were discussing the change in season. Around these birds, I noticed the first bit of green I have seen on a tree in almost half a year.
I feel as though Spring will finally visit Minnesota soon, and it feels good. Though, Mother Nature has lied to me before. We’ll see.
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I had wanted to say something about the passing of Diana Wynne Jones here. I had wanted to talk about how important her books are to one’s childhood and what kind of person she was (I did not know her personally, but you can tell a lot about a person by how they write, and Diana was obviously a very dear and brilliant woman).
But it seems as though Neil Gaiman has perfectly summed all of that up here. So, you should probably go read that instead. It gives a rare look at her from the perspective of someone who knew her and knew her well.
Chris Moriarty also had a lovely post about Diana here, entitled “10 Things I Learned From Diana Wynne Jones”.
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The horrible and almost apocalyptic events occurring in Japan right now are impossible to comprehend. When shown footage of the tsunami, when shown images of the damages and when told the numbers of lives lost, it’s almost too much to wrap one’s mind around. But then you’re told about the current nuclear crisis and it all becomes even more astronomically incomprehensible.
That is why they are in such dire need there. That is why everyone should donate whatever they are able to, be it a dollar or ten or more.
To do so, grab your cell phone and text “JAPAN” to 90999. That will automatically donate ten dollars to the Red Cross. You can also go to RedCross.Org.
This HuffPo article lists many other ways you can help.
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Some slightly happier news, the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series premieres on HBO on April 17th. The only thing I can think of that makes me happier than that is the premiere of the latest season of Doctor Who on April 23rd.
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Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hum the Doctor Who theme song while I do dishes. As I normally do.
Ramblings and Musings 