Miltonic Tinsel

 Tinsel. An accident of a word. I think it means trite. OED explains differently. And then we have what Seamus Heaney calls an accident.

Milton in a letter to Diodati, in 1637 (let's not bother who Diodati was, for the present. . . oh okay Charles Diodati, close friend):

"Listen, Diodati,but in secret, lest I blush; and let me talk to you grandiloquently for a while. You ask me what I am thinking of? So help me God, an immortality of fame."

 For Milton, fame and immortality were one. I can understand that.
Wonder what he would feel if he had read Swami Vivekananda: "That thirst for fame is the worst of all filth." 

More poetry would have ensued probably.

Random thoughts.

Tom Hiddleston's Tweets

Happy New Year 2013!

For this first post of a brand new year I wanted to write about a topic which occupies a considerable area of my mindspace: Mr. Thomas William Hiddleston. And his Twitter.

If you read between the lines here, you might not only gauge some connubial proclivities on my part as far this gentleman is concerned, but also indulge in some psychoanalysis and discover the why he is such a hotbed of hopes where maidens such as myself are concerned.

Before that I would like to say, I straggled across The Aloe by Katherine Mansfield. Quite a beautiful story! And yet not designated for the list of favourites. This might be because I read it very slowly, with huge gaps in between (filled with the discovery of Monty Python and Black Adder), and also completed yet another book ("wheels within wheels" Monty Bodkin would say). Still, quite a beautiful story and recommended.

The other book, more highly recommended and got through with in a jiff of time, is Gabriel Josipovici's 'Infinity The Story of a Moment'.  Appealed to me in every way, so that I would marry the book, if it asked me. (No, not really!) Brilliant character, brilliant mix of discourse and story, and above all, a fascinating voice! Absolutely loved it! Even if it's about music which, I do not understand or know anything much about. I read it aloud and the voice would completely involve me, make me the character! Such a pleasure!

But, yes, Mr. Thomas William Hiddleston's tweets.
Firstly, it is not wise to follow anyone who ends their twitter description with "loon".(They sometimes think they're joking but they really aren't).This is unless it is prefaced with such a grand job description. In this case, "Actor". In this circumstance it becomes a question of great good taste. Both on the part of the follower and the followed.

So whats special about this Twitter feed?
Enthusiastic for one thing, intelligent in the extreme, cultured and kind! And funny!

There are regular "Song of the Day"posts (which I've never heard but which I find cool because it is sharing a part of yourself in art) sometimes these are accompanied with enthusiasm. Sample this:

Tom Hiddleston ‏@twhiddleston

MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" just came on @thisisheart radio. Is there anything better on a Thursday morning? Is there anything better? 

or the recent one:

On my way to work for my last day on THOR 2 before Christmas. @thisisheart is playing The Pogues and quite frankly all is well.  (22 Dec)

What is much more pertinent to my interests is that there is the occasional 'Poem of the Day' as well. And so far, I am happy to say, I always like the poems ( happy announcement soon?). Here are a few recent ones:

Poem of the Day: "Wild Geese", by Mary Oliver. http://say.ly/HSw4Ra3 (27 Dec)

Poem of the Day: "Love After Love", by Derek Walcott. http://say.ly/rbh4SbX (31 Dec)

and, my favourite:

Poem of the Day: "The Truly Great", by Stephen Spender. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/241980 (15 Dec)

Now that I know that men who read poetry for the pure pleasure of it exist, I suppose, I shall have to stay single for longer than I originally intended. Such is life.

He has also quoted from 'Prufrock', Livy and Chinese proverbs. So if you have one of those grubby adenoidal existences (called  'teenagers')  festering under your roof, this gent's twitter feed might help inject a tidbit of wit into them.

Also, beautiful snippets from anywhere. Like this last evening: 

Perfect. RT “@exitthelemming: Baby and dog go walking. This may be the best short film ever http://bit.ly/XaJmec  /via @sturdyAlex”( 6 Jan)

He also seems a very idealistic being ( I know, no one with half a brain would fail to get that from the contents of his twitter), which I admire very much. 

So, funny, cultured, idealistic and passionate.

Recently voted Best Dressed Man. Advice given? "Try not to look like a tit!"

Humour. I kid you not!

And then interesting things happen to him. He does a spoof on MTV After Hours with a 'stache named Wendy, and his fans make him a book out of photos with them and wendystaches. The title is 'Project Wendy'. The back and forth was so warm and funny!

So, yes, his tweets are recommended on this blog.

Not that they need recommendation (395, 735 followers). There is a photo of him jumping when his army swelled to 50000.

I'm not sure he should be anywhere near terra firma now.

So that's my out-of-the-box recommendation for a New Year. A Twitter feed of an actor (who, by the way, has a double first in classics from Cambridge).

He's beautiful.

Updated to add: And he just retweeted Stephen Fry:
Absolutely achingly hilarious. “@stephenfry: Just in case you haven’t seen 2012’s finest autocorrect disasters: http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/the-25-funniest-autocorrects-of-2012 …

(I have laughed two seasons of Black Adder out)