Flame, Glass and Ink are Poems, essays, and reading notes by Stefania Joori Suh

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  • Death of Chivalry.

    ims
    Not any longer?

    This sounds rather anachronistic. But I cannot help but think that a man should be attentive and courteous to a woman whether she is beautiful or not. Sounds discriminating in the era of politically correct gender equality? But does this societal change have to eradicate such civilized decorum and care for a human being?

    Chivalry is considered as a thing of the past, especially of the medieval time, when gentlemen and knights showed their courtesy to ladies, attended to female desires with self-sacrifice if their own interests came in conflict with those of the fair sex. Pretty impressive and manly. I like it that way.

    It is not some kind of grand gesture that I consider chivalry. It is a simple but considerate behavior/attitude demonstrated by men to show care for anyone in need. For instance, giving up his seat on the bus to a woman or elderly person standing, opening an entrance door in a store for a a person behind him, and/or helping a needful person in sight are what makes of this code of conduct.

    WK-AK224_BOOKS2_20071011174112
    Where have all they gone?

    Maybe I am daydreaming or pathetically naive to believe that a chivalrous conduct resulted from such motive as aforesaid. Or maybe my sentimentality is of antiquity, and I am not progressive enough to defy all those male chauvinistic attitudes toward the members of my own sex. However, no matter how you will think about my favorable opinion on male chivalrous gestures toward the opposite sex or anyone who needs help in daily lives, my creed for the ideal masculinity in the form of gentlemanly attitude toward women of all kind will remain true-blue. And that is why I remain a maiden until I see such fine man of magnanimity.

  • grammatical voice

    Wit is chicken soup for your soul, making you feel warm, cheerful, and thoughtful. And the quality of wit is based upon its simplicity -no elaborate belle lettres, grandiloquent expressions required. That said, Mr. Atkinson’s works are intelligent, amusing, and attractive.

    Source: grammatical voice

  • Emotional Intelligence=Self Confidence

    Some people who are academically brilliant or well-read are gauche in social interactions. And this betrays our general presumption that cognitive intellectual ability (“IQ”) corresponds to social skills that are essential to achieve success in career and/or relationships. It simply isn’t the case, unfortunately. IQ and EQ are two separate entities that work differently. I will tell you the epitome of what EQ is.

    Emotional-Intelligence_white
    Emotions into a brain.

    Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient (“EQ”) is a faculty of recognizing, comprehending, and making decisions on how we think, feel, and act. It plays a vital role in shaping our interactions with others as well as our understanding of ourselves. EQ defines (1) how and what we learn; (2) allows us to set priorities; and (3) determines  the majority of our daily actions.  In fact, research hints us that the higher EQ is, the more successful one becomes.

    index
    A helpful practical self-aide book.

    In Emotional Intelligence: 30 Days to Higher Emotional Intelligence by Bob Smart (what a great perspicuous name it is!), the study of EQ can be traced back to the work of Charles Darwin who postulated that EQ was critical for survival. So the study of EQ has already been in progress, which asserts that it is not some fad theory to be regarded lightly.

    Basically, what you need to improve your EQ is self-control and self-confidence. Smart in the book avers that it is vital that we should have solid self-confidence to guard ourselves against any disastrous social relationships that will lead us to our own unhappy ending in life. So in order not to be subject to such miserable consequences, the author advises us that we should be our own governors of our acts, not the subject of the act done by others.

    To illustrate, we should say something like the following:

    • I’m angry.
    • I’m upset.
    • I’m belittled.

    Do you get it? Instead of someone makes me feel the above-mentioned, it is “I” who feel that way. True that it was someone who made you feel negative, but it is you who are responsible for all the things that might happen next.  That is, it you take “conscientious” ownership of your feelings and emotions, you will find yourself left with options to choose all of sudden. It will be YOU who will be the one in control and not at the mercy of OTHERS. This change of thinking will empower you to control your emotions and feelings, so that you will know what to say or do next to your own advantage. Thus your enslavement to others acts will be obviated. You are Sui Juris of your own feelings, emotions, and actions. Indeed so.

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    And so can you, if you want to!

    It is a simple but challenging thing to change your mode of thinking that has been conditioned until now. But at least, you can try it. Just give it a go for just 30 days or even longer with consistency, and see how it works. It may not be changed overnight for sure, just as Rome wasn’t built for a day. Nevertheless, I will be an Olympic torch carrier for this mind game because I myself need to revitalize my mind and spirit in development of EQ for betterment. Does anyone want to join me?

  • Blogging as a money fountain?

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    Do you know what the word “Blog” means? It is a synthetic word of the 21st century originally meaning “Web log,” with entries displayed chronologically in the format of personal diary/journal published on the Internet. An oxymoronic definition. Here I am divulging my inner self on my blog publicly, so that people all over the world will read my post – only if the entry heading is enticing enough to make them click on each page of my blog. But I blog, am blogging, and will blog irregardless of limited readership because my aim for blogging is not to generate profits but to exercise my writing workouts which is also  a magnificent self-psychosomatic therapy. Well, at least it works for me.

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    A good, easy to read guide book.

    I have downloaded some e-books I think beneficial to developing my blog on my Kindle: The subjects are a variety of subjects, ranging from Psychology to Romance Novels. (Yes, I do think that a bit of titillating ingredients will do me good as a grown-up not stoical for physical/psychological equilibrium) And the first one I selected to finish reading was a short length e-book called How to Write Blog Posts by David Lim. It is a good guide book for a beginner like me who wants to write in public and to share the information, opinions, and thoughts with the audience who may find my blog intriguing and scintillating. And this book is perspicuously written in colloquial English, which is all the better. The author and I agree to the facts that (1) you should have your own “authentic” blogging voice; (2) you should diligently write your posts almost on a daily basis although you will not publish them immediately; and (3) the subject matters of your blog can be just about “anything”. Ditto, with my whole heart.

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    On the other hand, -just like every coin has two sides- I am still ambiguous about the idea of a blog as an income-generating source, which in fact has recently begun as a kind of new industry. According to Lim, there is a conspicuous relationship between the number of monthly page views a blog gets and the amount of money the blog owner gets. How can this be? Well, Lim expounds that advertising networks such as Google AdSense, Media.net, PulsePoint.com, BlogHer, etc. all cooperate with various advertisers who pay the network to place there ad on your website. Subsequently, you the blog owner could earn a cost per thousand views or a pay per click payment. Sounds easy and almost incredible? Are you also interested in it?

    Keep Calm and Blog on
    Keep Calm and Blog on

    I know that making money is our naturally economical act of surviving and protecting ourselves from inhumane squalor and debasement of our human dignities resulting from deprivations of livelihood. However, I am not wholeheartedly subject to the trend in which so many bloggers in every corner of the world write for monetary purposes ONLY. Well, at least not for the moment. To me blogging is my way of communicating with the world out there, whether I have a fan base or not. As an introvert, this is a way of being ingenuous and convivial with the invisible readers however small number they may be of. And this is a way of marking myself in the world, transforming me into someone with her own history and stories to tell to the world.  I find blogging -or an act of writing- beneficial to finding an avenue to a meaning of my life. And who knows what this blog site will bring to me onward?… It’s all open to any possibilities.

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    Ditto.

  • Cheer up, Sleepy Jean!

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                I like you! Cheers!

    A new day of another week has almost come to an end. Everyone of us should pat on your shoulder for what you have done however satisfied you are with. And if you feel that things are not going well as you expect them to, just grin and bear the result, for it is wise to learn from yesterday, live for today, and look to tomorrow. We humans have free will to make the decision of what’s best for us. Simple, right? Yes, simplicity is indeed the ultimate sophistication as Leonardo Da Vinci has asserted. This colloquial axiom is certified by the Gospel as quoted below:

     

     

    Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

    -Matthew 6:25-34

  • Guitar Tab for Animal Instinct by The Cranberries

    As Henry W. Longfellow has once said, “Still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and wait”, my self-education of guitar playing is still in progress. It takes willpower and perseverance to achieve dexterity in changing chords flawlessly and keeping rhythms while playing the guitar. Every famous guitarist including Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, who were also self-taught, has gone through the same phase I am in.

    When I practice, I play guitar tabs easy to play with chords, such as G, A, Em, Dm, D7, D, Am, A7, C, E, E7, and G7, all of which are used in most of popular songs.  And “Animal Instinct” by The Cranberries are composed of such chords as follows. The tabs herein are posted by the courtesy of www.guitartab.com.

    Em         Am                     C
Suddenly something has happened to me
            D
As I was having my cup of tea
 Em         Am               C
Suddenly I was feeling depressed
        D
I was utterly and totally stressed
 Em    Am                C    D
Do you know you made me cry
 Em    Am                C    D
Do you know you made me die
 Em                       Am
And the thing that gets to me
 C                      D
Is you’ll never really see
 Em                        Am
And the thing that freaks me out
 C                       D
Is I'll always be in doubt
 Em       Am                  C
It is a lovely thing that we have
          D
It is a lovely thing that we
 Em       Am                  C
It is a lovely thing, the animal
           D
The animal instinct

So take my hands and come with me
We will change reality
So take my hands and we will pray
They won't take you away
They will never make me cry, no
They will never make me die
And the thing that gets to me
Is you'll never really see
And the thing that freaks me out
Is I'll always be in doubt

The animal, the animal,
The animal instinct in me
It's the animal, the animal,
The animal instinct in me
It's the animal, it’s the animal,
It's the animal instinct in me x2
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    “The Peanuts” jam!

    I can sing the song while playing the guitar. It’s such an exhilarating sensation to actively and tangibly participate in a musical activity!

    And I love this song! Dolores of The Cranberries is a superb singer.