Thanatos's Tharmturges Present: Tropical, Tipsy, and Typically Random Banter #127

[CurlyKitGirl]

Why is it that you now scare me more than the possibility of nuclear war?

I'm very tempted to sig this!
But I probably scared you because I'm a little . . . passionate about English and it's literature.

While I do agree that yeah, poetry itself isn't bad by nature, the stuff I'm studying is just annoying and seems to be trying to constantly press a point, invade my conciousness and kill my inner child with fire as it tells me to feel sorry for whoever the poem happens to be about, but gives me no reason to.

Some poetry works. But I don't think the stuff I'm studying does.

I studied Carol Ann Duffy last year in college for a whole exam. I hated it. We had a book of over fifty poems by her, and there was one I liked.
Carol Ann, for the record, is a Scottish lesbian who now happens to be Poet Laureate and she writes depressing things about suicide, unrequited homoerotic homosexual (as in male/male and female/female) love, kinkiness and gerneral disturbing poetry.
Out of the three hundred odd people who sat that exam only one person liked her work. Not even the teachers did. So I know where you're coming from when you say you hate the themes of the poems; but that's the best part about poetry in general.
You can make it mean anything you want if you've read enough. Also the way you worded it made it seem as if you hated all poetry.

Also, taking my random words and giving them that incredibly disturbing meaning was incredibly disturbing. Like when you scribble on a piece of paper, put it on display and people argue about what it means.

Freud. I blame him and D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers. That's another book that very, veyr few people liked when we did it this year for coursework. You could genuinely open it up to any page and read homoeroticism, Oedipal love or generic sex in anything.
It's also proof of how you can creep people out by learning how to analyse thing.

We lost pretty bad at the quiz. It was music based, but music from a different era. Pah! Pah!

Oh well. And what's wrong with music from a different era?

[V'icternus]

Music from a different era? Personally, I love it, as music from this era seems to cause my ears to jump off my skull, hide under the couch and get mauled by my dogs, and yet still prefer it to being on my head. Old-time music, however, seems to have a lot of very good titles availiable that make me want to rock out loud, cry like a baby that just got hit by a train, sing along so loud I break things or just plain enjoy the thing.

However, not living in that era, I don't know their mindset or all the songs that were coming out, and so I will likely know more about whatever's coming out in modern times than something from pre-2000 that was actually good. (And before I get shot, not all modern music is bad. Some is good. I just rolled with the numbers on this one.)

Oh, and feel free to sig. I love being sigged... makes me feel like the things I say are more important than, say, anything in Sometimes Gladness, my current poetry book, filled with what I can only imagine is the writers attempt to tell people all the different ways that people can feel like they don't belong, oh and also to stop reading the thing because the poems lack any form of any kind and are basically un-fun riddles that even the teachers seem to dislike, as any I have to read for class are provided in the coursework, proving that the teachers know how tedious reading the thing would actually be.

I've read a good book that was nothing but poetry. That's how the story was told, all through poems relating to the events. It was cool, and seemed pretty realistic. But Sometimes Gladness can Sometimes tick me off to such an extent that I actually feel that the book would better be served as a tool for crushing insects, what with it's incredibly hard cover and all...

[Neko Toast]

12 hours of sleep. I am very happy. I did miss Psych class in the process, but I'm not worried. We've been covering stuff I learned last semester, and it's a huge lecture hall class anyway, so there really isn't attendance or anything.

Dunno what I'm going to do about food... Still feeling a little bit blech. I'll probably run to the pharmacy and pick up those meds the doctor told me about.

But I digress. The weather is beautiful out today. How is the weather elsewhere?

[V'icternus]

12 hours? I've had maybe five in the past three days.

...I could be sleeping right now, and if I were a sane human being, would be, but I'm not, so I'm not.

[Dragonrider]

I'm reading the Odyssey. I'd say it's pretty good. [/understatement]

Not too fond of its treatment of women, though. Kinda...sexist. Not that I'd expect anything else...but I've just come from reading about an era when all was fairly equal. (It kind of rose and fell, depending where civilizations were - hunter/gatherer ones, while they divided work by gender, still tended to be fairly balanced in terms of gender. Everyone worked equally hard and had equally little say. )

Oh, and Curly! You'd like this! Last week I read Atrahasis, the old Assyrian myth, which is essentially the Noah's Ark story. Then I read the same story in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Babylonian). Then I read it from another Sumerian source. These are all translations of tablets at least 3000 years old, and you get to the end and it says from the hand of X, junior scribe, checked with the originals by Y to ensure accuracy.

And THEN I got to read Genesis 6-11 in the Bible and in the Torah, which is the same story as the myth told two thousand years before. And there IS evidence that there were some really big floods in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. And reading five slightly different versions of the same myth (the ancient ones had the flood as a work of multiple gods and had the protagonist by a different name - Atrahasis or Utnapishtim).

[/ancient history geek-out]

This is all from ancient Mesopotamia, BTW - Mediterranean.

[Dr. Bath]

*Blah blah blah odyssey*

*blah blah blah Noah*

This is all from ancient Mesopotamia, BTW - Mediterranean.

Mesopotamia was more Middle Eastern than Mediterranean. Iraq/Iran and Saudi Arabia. Babylonians were pretty rad though. Pretty reliant on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers though. Babylon once got taken by the besieging army redirecting the river so they could walk in through the water gates under the walls. Pretty badass. (admittedly this was one of Herodituses stories, so how truthful it was is arguable)

[CurlyKitGirl]

I'm reading the Odyssey. I'd say it's pretty good. [/understatement]

Not too fond of its treatment of women, though. Kinda...sexist. Not that I'd expect anything else...but I've just come from reading about an era when all was fairly equal. (It kind of rose and fell, depending where civilizations were - hunter/gatherer ones, while they divided work by gender, still tended to be fairly balanced in terms of gender. Everyone worked equally hard and had equally little say. )

I loved the Odyssey too! Are you reading a poetic or prose translation? And I'm guessing you're not too far in, probably only read the bit with Telemachus and Penelope at the beginning right?
Well, the 'evil' women are pretty cool. Powerful and stuff; but really, Homer's treatment of women was pretty typical of Ancient Athens, and if anything is slightly more liberal than Classical Athens. I have notes. Actually, they're about the Iliad and Ancient Athenian women in general; but it's all context if you want me to type some up for you.
Plus the Odyssey's more varied than the Iliad so there's a lot of interesting stuff to geek out over.
It's funny, but if after that you go and read the Aeneid you can see where Virgil 'imitated' (ripped off more like) the Odyssey.

I'm Oh, and Curly! You'd like this! Last week I read Atrahasis, the old Assyrian myth, which is essentially the Noah's Ark story. Then I read the same story in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Babylonian). Then I read it from another Sumerian source. These are all translations of tablets at least 3000 years old, and you get to the end and it says from the hand of X, junior scribe, checked with the originals by Y to ensure accuracy.

And THEN I got to read Genesis 6-11 in the Bible and in the Torah, which is the same story as the myth told two thousand years before. And there IS evidence that there were some really big floods in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. And reading five slightly different versions of the same myth (the ancient ones had the flood as a work of multiple gods and had the protagonist by a different name - Atrahasis or Utnapishtim).

[/ancient history geek-out]

This is all from ancient Mesopotamia, BTW - Mediterranean.

*geeks out*
That's absolutely fabulous! I haven't personally read any of those ancient myths, but I'm well read enough about them to know how they link up. And the accuracy thing: so epic. Medieval manuscripts didn't even do that! Sometimes.
And while I've not read the Torah, I'm slowly reading my way through a version of the KJB (King James Bible) on the internet; it's a very good book. And so easy to reference in other book or point out where ancient myths enter in.

Oooh, wait. I believe I have a Gilgamesh copy favourited. I'm off to go see if I have.

[Dragonrider]

Mesopotamia was more Middle Eastern than Mediterranean. Iraq/Iran and Saudi Arabia. Babylonians were pretty rad though. Pretty reliant on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers though. Babylon once got taken by the besieging army redirecting the river so they could walk in through the water gates under the walls. Pretty badass. (admittedly this was one of Herodituses stories, so how truthful it was is arguable)

Part of our class is discussing/defining the Mediterranean, and it's shifted over time. For example, some people include Egypt and some do not; in any case, broadly speaking, that is how my instructor is defining it. We're reading these texts as part of a "Ancient Mediterranean" class.

It's hard to know with Herodotus...he famously stated that Egyptian women peed standing up while the men peed sitting down....



Edit: Koorli: It's amazing!!!!! (multiple exclamations necessary for once.) And it's the poetic, not the prose. I read the prose a really long time ago, and didn't particularly enjoy it. but THIS I enjoy.

[V'icternus]

I'm gonna go back in time and kick him just for that, as it's just so bizzare and doesn't deserve to be remembered by people.

[Assassin89]

It's the first day of classes for my sophomore year of college. I had a third-world literature class first, followed by a lab for embedded systems. Then in about three hours, I have a class for steady state circuits.

[Dr. Bath]

Well your class can be crazy as it likes, but don't you go misleading people as to where Mesopotamia is located by current standards. That's not a nice thing to do!

Egypt could well enough be called Mediterranean, the most important ancient parts were at least fairly near the sea. The famous Mesopotamian rivers don't even flow into the Med!

Herodotus was cool. He just went down the pub and listened to drunkards telling stories, basically. That's the way to become a famous writer! Well maybe he didn't but that is the impression I get. I heard that in Egypt they had, like, gold crocodiles. With no teeth. And like, the Kings steal babies! *nods of approval from Greek audience*

[Cobra_Ikari]

Greek Myth = <3<3<3<3<3.

Though Norse myth is much more fun. Or perhaps "deliciously insane" would be more correct.

[Tiger Duck]

All this talk about classical literature makes my head hurt.

The weather is beautiful out today. How is the weather elsewhere?

The weather is very good here.

[Neko Toast]

All this talk about classical literature makes my head hurt.



The weather is very good here.

I can help make it hurt more. >.> I'm reading the Scarlet Letter and Moby **** (Hopefully you know what I'm talking about despite the censor) this semester in my Literature class.

[V'icternus]

The weather where I live is: Night-time
The current temparature is: I don't knwo and I don't care
The current status of my net is: Abused
And the humidity is: I dunno, doesn't feel humid at all to me. So I'll say... none.

[Tiger Duck]

I recently tried reading Moby Richard but didn't pick it up again after a few chapters. Read the first Scarlett Pimpernel in staid.

[Mauve Shirt]

Weather is cold and kinda drizzly. The first part is good, the second part is not.

[V'icternus]

You don't like rain?

Sorry, here in Aussie-land, rain is very good. And is also a good way of having fun and potentially getting girls to have fun with you, and though that hasn't happened just yet, I'm sure it will if I dance around in the rain long enough.

[Cristo Meyers]

Rain is one thing, drizzle is another. Rain creates steady beats on windows and is all-round kinda pretty. Drizzle is just a kind of blanket of wet, cold, and miserable that just hangs there, permeating everything.

[Neko Toast]

@^: You avatar is ADORABLE.

We could probably use some rain soon. We haven't had any recently. I think there's a low chance of rain for about a week starting tomorrow or Thursday.

[V'icternus]

Rain is one thing, drizzle is another. Rain creates steady beats on windows and is all-round kinda pretty. Drizzle is just a kind of blanket of wet, cold, and miserable that just hangs there, permeating everything.

Rawr?

I mean, uh...

...

That's true, I guess... but if you turn the sprinklers on and promise free booze...

[Mauve Shirt]

I hate rain. I hate getting my clothes wet. Drizzle I can deal with, though it does feel a little more miserable. Rain storms can be fun (as long as I'm inside) but drizzle is just preventing good weather.

[V'icternus]

Hate getting your clothes wet? I can think of a fun and simple solution to that problem...

But it'd likely lead to some form of bodily harm on my part, so instead of saying it, I'll just leave this here to heavily imply it.

[Cristo Meyers]

@^: You avatar is ADORABLE.

BOW BEFORE THE CUTENESS OF CHIBITERASU!

We could probably use some rain soon. We haven't had any recently. I think there's a low chance of rain for about a week starting tomorrow or Thursday.

I haven't been keeping track of the weather much these past few days...too much to do. Once we nail the trim in on our new floor then the last of the major renovations of this bloody house will finally be done and I'll stop accumulating grey hairs...

Rawr?

I mean, uh...

...

That's true, I guess... but if you turn the sprinklers on and promise free booze...

...you get a bunch of passed out drunks on your front lawn.

[V'icternus]

...That could be a good thing, depending on one, two or perhaps three key facts about said drunks...

[Tiger Duck]

I like getting my clothes wet when I'm arriving home. because then I've got a very good reason to walk around in my pj's for the rest of the day

[Neko Toast]

I haven't been keeping track of the weather much these past few days...too much to do. Once we nail the trim in on our new floor then the last of the major renovations of this bloody house will finally be done and I'll stop accumulating grey hairs...

House renovations suck, but... um, I'm 19, and my friends have found a couple of grays on my head. >>;

[Cristo Meyers]

I like getting my clothes wet when I'm arriving home. because then I've got a very good reason to walk around in my pj's for the rest of the day

You need a reason?

Hell, that's like, my routine when I get home from work: home, email, shower, pj's.

House renovations suck, but... um, I'm 19, and my friends have found a couple of grays on my head. >>;

Try being 16 and having someone look down on your head and saying "Dude, you've got like, a mess of grey hair on the top of your head..."

[CurlyKitGirl]

Part of our class is discussing/defining the Mediterranean, and it's shifted over time. For example, some people include Egypt and some do not; in any case, broadly speaking, that is how my instructor is defining it. We're reading these texts as part of a "Ancient Mediterranean" class.

Defining the Med generally I'd say any country or place in it (Italy, Greece, Sicily . . .) or directly surrounding it. I think at one point the Med and the Black Sea were more obviously linked. I'm not so sure about Mesopotamia as Mediterranean, as far as I remember Mesopotamia was more or less Iraq and Iran right?
That's a little bit of a stretch. But Egypt definitely counts; maybe if you go by communications from the Med you could include Mesopotamia what with the gossip angle.

It's hard to know with Herodotus...he famously stated that Egyptian women peed standing up while the men peed sitting down....

Herodotus is the Father of History and the Prince of Lies! Know who else is the Prince of Lies? Satan!
Therefore Herodotus is Satan.

Edit: Koorli: It's amazing!!!!! (multiple exclamations necessary for once.) And it's the poetic, not the prose. I read the prose a really long time ago, and didn't particularly enjoy it. but THIS I enjoy.

Lucky. I think I've - wait.
I have a prose edition and a poetic edition of the Odssey! I can't believe I forgot the poetic edition, but I did only pick it up a few months ago when our Classics department was jettisoning some old books.
I quite liked the prose Odyssey, but I had a really good version. The Iliad definitely has to be poetic though.

Well your class can be crazy as it likes, but don't you go misleading people as to where Mesopotamia is located by current standards. That's not a nice thing to do!

Egypt could well enough be called Mediterranean, the most important ancient parts were at least fairly near the sea. The famous Mesopotamian rivers don't even flow into the Med!

Agreed. Maybe it's only called 'Ancient Mediterranean' as a lot of great civilisations were birthed there (they had a good climate) and leaving out Mesopotamia made them feel very uneasy so the actual title of the class is: 'Ancient Mediterranean and Mesopotamia'.

Herodotus was cool. He just went down the pub and listened to drunkards telling stories, basically. That's the way to become a famous writer! Well maybe he didn't but that is the impression I get. I heard that in Egypt they had, like, gold crocodiles. With no teeth. And like, the Kings steal babies! *nods of approval from Greek audience*

Didn't he write an account about an island of dog - people? Curses, another book to add to my list.

Greek Myth = <3<3<3<3<3.

Though Norse myth is much more fun. Or perhaps "deliciously insane" would be more correct.

As someone who'll soon be learning Old English I can only agree. The Norse folks are crazy. I put it down to their winters without daytimes. And the drink.

All this talk about classical literature makes my head hurt.

Note to self: don't divulge favourite books or reading lists. It's all considered classical.
Beowulf, The Picture of Dorian Grey (seriously, I have to read chapter eleven again!? It's all tapestries and jewels. And drugs.), Malory, Dickens, George Eliot . . .

[Neko Toast]

Try being 16 and having someone look down on your head and saying "Dude, you've got like, a mess of grey hair on the top of your head..."

High school must have been stressful for you.

For me it's usually being at home. -.-;