#quotidian

[giftofgabber]

I want to live inside an oil painting of a European city, and factor those oil paintings into my quotidian “Scaffold my life as I live it”

[dylbugz]

Wake up Smash alarm clock Launch out of bed Hit the ground running Eradicate toilet forever Throw rock into mirror Hit the ground running Tear up old clothes Remember what once was Hit the ground running Shoes find me this time Was there always a door here Hit the ground running Peel back the sky Recount moments of anima Hit the ground running Chew on the rubble Let it seep into you Hit the ground running

[fshoulders]

Finally get to see my dermatologist today for my eczema flare and I’m running so early for even my early departure time chosen for an early arrival that I wasn’t sure what to do with myself for a bit. Luckily, Alma is sure: cat bed.

[eliteprepsat]

[66beatsperminute]

🌻🌼🌅 *#!? #%!& 🌋

[aselectsociety]

Opposites Attract

My recent posts have highlighted some Baader Meinhof moments I’ve experienced, and yesterday’s (HERE) dealt with the word “quotidian.”  I then checked Dickinson’s poetry for any use of “quotidian,” “daily,” “ordinary,” “common,” and “routine.”

It turns out that Dickinson wrote just one poem with the word “routine,” “To make Routine a Stimulus,” and what a wonderful poem that is.  That opening line, “To make Routine a Stimulus” conveys such an uplifting message, and TBH, it epitomizes so succinctly the poetry of Emily Dickinson.

Of course, the poem is decidedly oxymoronic, and it reminds me of past morning commutes when I’d pull up to a 7-11 for a cup of their “Regular Exclusive” coffee (alas, I don’t think they call it that anymore).

What a wonderful designation, huh?  To sip one’s “regular” daily fuel that is utterly “exclusive” – and it is so accurately mirrored in the opening line of Dickinson’s poem.

This poem embraces the paradoxical idea that the familiarity of routine can be transformed into a source of inspiration and wonder.  It suggests that one should embrace the “here and now” for the beauty within even the smallest details – for they can provide a sense of beauty and renewal.  

Even when looking back at some experience, one can “live and learn,” for experience examined from a distance can be meaningful and/or healing.

The second half of the poem explores this notion:  The "arrow of Retrospect" could refer to the passing of time and the ability to learn from past experiences. The "power to repair" suggests that even in the midst of routine, there is a chance for growth and improvement – and something that is "Departed with the torment" can "Become, alas, more fair” (a la “time heals all wounds”?). 

What do you make of this poem?

Below: "Quotidian" was the NYT "Word of the Day" for March 21, 2025 (HERE). Also: Some of my favorite oxymorons.

[aselectsociety]

The Daily Grind

My two most recent posts focused on “a supernova of Baader Meinhof moments” I experienced recently when I stumbled upon a 2020 essay entitled “An Acrostic Window on Emily Dickinson’s ‘I dwell in Possibility’” by Julia Hejduk of Baylor University.  YOu can read all about it HERE (part 1) and HERE (part 2). 

In the first of the two posts, I also mentioned, “the article even included a separate, unrelated Baader Meinhof instance for me related to the word ‘quotidian’  – a comment made in response to Hejduk’s assertion, “Emily Dickinson is a poet of incarnation—of the small, concrete, and quotidian becoming a vessel for the infinite.”.

I added, “maybe I’ll explain that one in a post some day soon.”

Well, guess what?  

No, you’ll get no “chicken butt” from me.  Instead, my response to “guess what” is “that ‘someday soon’ is today!” 

Here’s the story:  

Many years ago, I was an administrator at my daughter’s high school, so there was no need for her to take the school bus, she just rode in with me.

When she was a junior, we’d drive to school with a box of SAT vocabulary cards in the car, and each day we’d pick two cards at random to discuss and incorporate the word into our morning conversation. 

One day, I picked “quotidian,” and I remember saying something like, “I should probably put this one back.  People just don’t use this word.”  But I didn’t.  We went ahead and discussed the word, and left it at that.

A couple of weeks later, we were on a trip to New York City, and as we rode a subway station escalator to street level, a restaurant came into sight, and my daughter yelled “Hey, Dad – look there!”

In full view at the top of our ascent stood Le Pain Quotidien. We laughed and chalked up another Baader Meinhof moment.

Flash forward a couple of years.  My daughter sat in her first composition class at college, and the Prof asked students to write papers of introduction.  They were to discuss who they were, what made them tick, what were their interests, their hopes, their goals. 

 “And,” he said, “I want something fresh and original – nothing quotidian.”

He then looked smugly at the class and asked, “Does ANYONE know what that word means?”

LOL.  My daughter was the only one with her hand up.

Sooo…”quotidian.”  Did Dickinson ever use that word in any of her poems?  Nope, although the word has been in use for centuries.  The OED cites its earliest recorded us from before 1400. 

The word initially referred to something that occurred daily, and today it is used to describe the ordinary or mundane aspects of routine life.

Did Dickinson ever use the word “mundane” in any of her poems?  Nope.  However, she did use the word “daily” in 11 different poems, “ordinary” in 3 poems, and – while she never used the word “commonplace” – “common” was used in 24 different poems.

Oh, and then there’s “routine,” a word that Dickinson used in just one poem, “To make Routine a Stimulus.”  

I’ll take a look at that poem tomorrow.

[quotablefanfiction]

Bruce was right about not wanting to have this conversation. He’s so often right, and so rarely happy about it.

Bruce regrets many things (chp. 1)

Quotidian by metisket (AO3) Avengers (Marvel Movies) – Teen #Alternate Universe #Mad Science #Mad Scientists #Doombots #Self-hate #Implied/Referenced Child Abuse #Mentions of eating disorders (starvation)

An average day in the life of Bruce Banner. He tries so hard to mind his own business and stay below the radar. He does try. There should probably be a cautionary proverb about the best laid plans and Tony Stark.