Nov 6– “The Force of Gravitation” by Michael Faraday (1859-1860)

Gaaaaaaaaay

Nov 6– “The Force of Gravitation” by Michael Faraday (1859-1860)

Summary: Gravitation is responsible for balls crashing into mountains, and if there was no air resistance it would accelerate everything at the same speed.

Commentary: I still enjoy these science lectures. It's cool to see how some of the demos and experiments have advanced in the last 175 years. We did sort of the paper and penny one with a feather and a brick and a vacuum pump when I was in high school physics. They did actually try the mountain/pendulum ball experiment eventually.

Ball/Mountain Experiment

Floaty Chair

Feather VS Bowling Ball

Nov 5– From "The Life of Sir Thomas More" by William Roper (1626)

 More?

Nov 5– From The Life of Sir Thomas More by William Roper (1626)

Summary: Thomas More's son in law really really really likes him.

Commentary: This was a rough one to follow. Literal page longs paragraphs, written by More's hero worshipping son in law. I can't imagine it's a terribly accurate account, since Roper seems to (as More would surely call blasphemy) worship him. Seems to be political/religious bickering. Also, a weird chunk to pick. There's not clean break at the end.

Casually Completing Classics #11: The Odyssey Books 13 and 14

 Book 13

Summary: Oddy makes it to Ithaca, meets Athena, and she disguises him.

Let me start by saying how confused I was that Odysseus made it back to Ithaca half way through the book. What else was he going to do? I wondered. I knew he had to meet Argos, shoot the axes, and kill the suitors, but that didn't seem like it could take another 200+ pages (especially when the whole story so far was about that long).

Truthfully, this is a shortish chapter and I didn't take many notes.

Book 14

Summary: Oddy meets his pig farmer and tells a truish account without revealing himself.

Fitzgerald's translation has a kind of old-timey, charming slightly goofy way sometimes and it really comes out in this chapter. After Eumaeus saves Odysseus from the guard dogs he says, "You might have got a ripping, man!" A page later, the narrator says they eat "two young porkers." I don't think I could eat a pig if someone called it a porker. That's too adorable. 

Eumaeus doesn't get enough attention in culture. Most of the human side characters don't, but it's particularly noticeable with him. He's in a full half the book (unlike the crew members who are lucky to show up on five pages) and he's very helpful and loyal to Odysseus. 

After Eumaeus asks Odysseus how he came to Ithaca ("I don't suppose you walked here on the see") we get the great epithet "the master of improvisation"

    He tells a story of his missing time, which is mostly true in the broad strokes, but changes specific names, locations, etc. (also, less goddess/sorceress fucking). He tells a story about being cold when he had to wear a kilt, which is interesting. I assume the original is "skirt" or something.

    Tomorrow, Telemachus makes it home!

Nov 4– From "Polyeucte" by Cornielle (1643) Translated by Thomas Constable

 INTENSE FACIAL EXPRESSONS!

Nov 4– From Polyeucte by Cornielle (1643) Translated by Thomas Constable

Summary: SIMPING! and famous quotes and a conversion.

Commentary: I wanted to make a joke about Pauline being in peril, but it doesn't really fit here.

     FABIAN.

     Yes,—you may—see her—see her—this you may—

     SEV.

     Thy speech is halting—odious thy delay!

     She loves no more? I grope! O give me light!

I'm amused both by the em-dashes/halting speech, and by the groping when she loves no more. You shouldn't do that.

     SEV.

     To wed a queen—an empress—were only loss and shame;

     One heart for me—Pauline's! One boast—that dearest name!

     Her love was virgin gold! O ne'er shall baser metal ring

     From mine, who live her name to bless! her peerless praise to sing!

     O, words are naught, till that I see her face,

     Then doubly naught till I my love embrace.

     In every war my hope was placed in death,

     Her name upon my lips at every breath:

     My rank, my fame, now hers and hers alone,

     What is not hers, hers only—I disown!

     FABIAN.

     Yes, Polyeucte is her lord.

     He came, he saw, he conquered thine adored.

I would like to know if this reference is in the original French or a translation addition. (My relatively half assed Google provided no answers.) "To thine own self be true" is in there later, which leads me to believe the translator just wanted to put in a bunch of famous quotes. 

 

 

 

 

Casually Completing Classics #10: The Odyssey Book 12

 Book 12

My Summary: Oddy is dumb and a bunch of men die. Syrens, Charybdis, Scylla, and Helios' Cattle.

I think this is the first time I call him Oddy.

This illustration is totally in my copy.

Odysseus is still in his dumbasshole phase here. He takes the men to feast and hang out with Circe. At least it's only for a day this time. She gives them advice on how to avoid dangers on the way home. Syrens (will sing so beautifully you crash your ship and they'll eat you, have the men plug their ears and tie you to the mast so you can listen), Scylla (hydra/giant squid thing will snatch your men in its tentacles on the way through, just go as quick as you can), and Charybdis (a whirlpool monster, avoid it in favor of Scylla since it'll take a whole ship at a time).

Odysseus asks if he can fight them, or otherwise get through without losing men. Circe responds, "Must you have battle in your heart forever?" Which is a great line. Also, don't eat Helios' livestock.

The crew avoids the Syrens without too much fuss. Odysseus is tied to the mast and yells for them to free him when he hears the song (written in sets of four lines, six syllables, ABAB rhyme), but he's kept in place and they get through fine.

They're trying to sail between Scylla and Charybdis now, and, "Kirke's bidding against arms had slipped my mind," and he grabs weapons and armor. You had to remember five things! 

1. Tie self to mast.

2. Wax in men's ears.

3. Sail quickly by Scylla

4. Avoid Charybdis.

5. No eating the livestock.

FIVE THINGS! For a guy who gets an epithet about being a genius every five pages, Odysseus is a dumbass. Despite this, he only loses six men (one for each mouth, apparently), thus not really facing any consequences for his idiocy. I've read some interpretations that say the entire journey segment (being told by Odysseus, rather than narrated directly by Homer/the speaker) is all bullshit. Does that mean he did something even dumber and this is an awkward attempt to cover it up? (I don't really hold a high opinion of this theory. Odysseus doesn't make himself look great in the telling, and doesn't have much reason to lie. He's well respected anyway.)

They head to Helios' island next, and Eurylochus riles up the crew again. Trapped by storms and in danger of starving, he convinces the men to kill some of the cattle. He does sacrifice some to the gods, making him not a total dumbass. "Better/ open your lungsto a big sea once for all/ than to waste to skin and bones on a lonely island," he says. They kill some kine (kine means a group of cattle. It's so out of use that Blogger spellcheck puts the red squiggly under it.)

Helios calls to Zeus to avenge his cows, Zeus complies. He ends the storms trapping them on the island, lets them leave, and blasts their ship with a lightning bolt. Everyone dies, but Zeus protects Odysseus as he sneaks past Scylla. This leads to him making his way (floating on wreckage for a week and a half) to Calypso, where he is at the beginning of the story.

I'd almost be willing to forgive him if he'd chosen to stay with her after all that, as opposed to hanging out with Circe. 

Maybe everyone dying is what makes him less of a dumbasshole.

Nov 3– Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan and Trajan’s response

 I really thought there was some Christian burning in History of The World: Part I, but I was wrong.

Nov 3– Pliny’s letter to Emperor Trajan and Trajan’s response

Summary: Some people might be Christians! Hard to tell. They don't really do anything. Better torture some slaves just to be safe. Also, don't trust anonymous informants.

Commentary: I like how Pliny just sounds totally clueless here. "I know I'm supposed to punish Christians, and I wouldn't want to not punish someone... But I don't really know how to find them. Or what they do. Or what to do with them after I find them... I tortured some slaves just in case. Also, anyone obstinate. Please advise."

And then Emperor Trajan writes back (not in the selection, despite the fact that it's only another paragraph added to an already very short reading) and is like, "Don't worry about it too much. You can punish them if you find any, but if they repent don't bother." The best part is: "Anonymous informations ought not to be received in any sort of prosecution. It is introducing a very dangerous precedent, and is quite foreign to the spirit of our age." Unlike, evidently, torturing slaves just to be safe.

This whole thing read like a satire.

Casually Completing Classics #9: The Odyssey Book 11

 Book 11

My summary: Odysseus meets famous dead people.

Hey, this section came up in 15MAD was at the beginning of the year.

Odysseus is starting to come out of his asshole phase: "One shade came first--Elepenor, of our company,/ who laid unburied still on the wide earth/ as we had left him dead in Kirke's hall,/ untouched, unmourned, when other cares compelled us." (He fell off a roof he was drunkenly sleeping on.)

The shade asks for a proper burial, and he agrees.

Many of the shades want to drink blood, which is not a thing we really spirits today.

There is a heartbreaking segment where he tries to hug his mother, Penelope: "with longing to embrace her,/ and tried three times, putting my arms around her,/ but she went sifting through my hands[...] this embittered all the pain I bore,/ and I cried in the darkness:"

Agamemnon shit talks women a bunch, they're all deceivers, never trust them, etc. After Odysseus willingly spent the last year with Circe, it doesn't hit very strongly.

A bunch of other Iliad characters show up and talk about the Trojan war.

Hebe has "ravishing pale ankles." 

This is an interesting book, but I feel like it gets a bit more attention than it deserves. It's much more popular to talk about than, for example, and of the Telemachus books.

Nov 2– From "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri (1321) translated by Rev. H. F. Cary

 Limbo is for children

Nov 2– From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (1321) translated by Rev. H. F. Cary

Summary: Dante meets everyone getting punished for not believing in God because they didn't know he exists. And meets all his classical Greek heroes.

Commentary: “All hope abandon ye who enter here.” Again, fun to get a quote origin (although this translation is a little different.) I think the DC bits are some of the hardest to follow out of order. Probably because it's very much a literal progression, and also because it's three books. Did I read Canto 3 of Inferno or of Paradiso, etc.? I think I've whined enough about how God is monstrous for punishing people for not believing in him correctly, even if they died before Christ or as unbaptized infants. Infinite punishment for something you didn't even realize you were doing (technically for something one of your ancestors did) and had no reason not to=bad. I'm going to go visual today and look at the art a bit.

Timeless

Boobs ok. But no dicks.

Ancient Greek cameo (totally fanservice)

    It is kind of cool to see all these people/characters from the other readins.

Nov 1– From "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare (1611)

 The Tempest... innnn spaaaace

Nov 1– From The Tempest by William Shakespeare (1611)

Summary: Shipwreck! Romance! Magic!

Commentary: I don't think I've ever heard so many sound effects in Shakespeare as in this version. The Tempest is pretty unique among Shakespeare. Lots of magic, not really funny, but positiveish like a comedy. The action feels more directly resolved than most of the others.