What is in a name?

"What is in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  Or so Shakespeare said.  I feel compelled to explain my choice of title for this blog and will attempt to do so without boring the pants off of you.  While I am sure many of you haven't the slightest inkling as to what my title refers to (worry not, fellow wanderers - it isn't something that one would be expected to know), I feel a tad bit of joy in the fact that somewhere, someone probably understands my thought process before I can even begin to explain.  I suppose that's part of the perks that goes with connecting with the world via expression - you're never alone.   


One of my favorite poems "The Hollow Men" - written by T.S. Elliot (one of his lesser known works) - outlines the hollow beliefs and actions that have become of a once idealogical group of men.  Wow - that certainly is a mouthful.  I swear I'm not trying to turn this into a literary lesson, kids - almost at my point.  The last stanza leads me to my somewhat muddled point that I hope will become clear, 

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Elliot attempts to portray the emotion that is associated with fading away into existence.  Kind of reminds you of the CSI episodes where the old women die alone and aren't found for weeks, doesn't it?  Elliot had the emotion down pat far before CSI did - that's for sure.  So...why is my blog titled differently than the poem it, in fact, references?  Well, why should we be destined with the fate of fading away?  Who says we can't leave our mark on the world?  Who says we can't go with a bang instead of a whimper?  

...It's up to us.