Well hello there. Happy to be back. Miserable morning, but at least I finally got my car back from the detailing shop. I don't believe I mentioned it last time; but it turns out that, after I take in my car because my friend got sick in it, one of their employees got sick as well. He didn't make it worse or anything. That would have probably made for a funnier strory though. Enough chit chat.
This chapter was AWESOME! I don't know if it was my sleep deprivation or if it was just pure awesome. But this chapter rocked. It's odd how good it was. It was really nothing but a giant, bloody game of "Who Gets to Keep Patroklos' Body." Something about it was just on point.
I think it was due to the fact that the dialogue was a little easier on my brain to comprehend. (FINALLY!) Or maybe I just glazed over with the more difficult dialogue. That's something to talk about right there. This dialoge is not easy to get through. You have to pay attention. You will be tired after just reading one chapter. For one of two reasons:
1) You were just bored. Hence you're tired from not being properly stimulated by the text. Which means that you probably glazed over without really understanding it.
2) You really did pay attention and your mind is getting used to reading this style. The structure is different form what we normally read. It's long, flowing prose as opposed to the normal short and to the point.
And for all you people who don't get tired after reading a chapter. Good for you. Go and help someone else try to get a grasp on the concepts. Either way.
In the end, Menelaos and a fellow Greek finally recover Patroklos' body. But here's the really awesome part. Antilochos has been sent to inform Achilles of his friend's demise. YAY!! Achilles should be back in the fight really soon.
This was fun. Was it good for you too? Hope so. See you later.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 16- The End of Patroklos
Wow. Busy day. But I won't bore you with the details. This chapter has a huge turning point. Let's get to it.
It finally happened. Patroklos died. After a long, successful struggle to beat the Trojans back, Patroklos got surprise-attacked by Apollo. Hektor then finished off the wounded Patroklos. Hektor didn't even do it all himself. I mean, this is not good for Hektor. Patroklos was even more than a match for him it seemed. I don't think he'll be happy to meet Achilles again.
Now that Patroklos is dead, we can finally get on with the destruction of Troy. This is so far off from the movie that I've given up thinking that I have any idea about what's going to happen. I must say that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew Patroklos would die. I just didn't know when.
It's a very curious thing. Homer was blind right? How does he describe everything so well? Maybe he wasn't always blind. Curiouser and curiouser. I don't know.
After the long day, I'm kind of tired at 3:25 A.M. Good bye for now. It's another day tomorrow.
It finally happened. Patroklos died. After a long, successful struggle to beat the Trojans back, Patroklos got surprise-attacked by Apollo. Hektor then finished off the wounded Patroklos. Hektor didn't even do it all himself. I mean, this is not good for Hektor. Patroklos was even more than a match for him it seemed. I don't think he'll be happy to meet Achilles again.
Now that Patroklos is dead, we can finally get on with the destruction of Troy. This is so far off from the movie that I've given up thinking that I have any idea about what's going to happen. I must say that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew Patroklos would die. I just didn't know when.
It's a very curious thing. Homer was blind right? How does he describe everything so well? Maybe he wasn't always blind. Curiouser and curiouser. I don't know.
After the long day, I'm kind of tired at 3:25 A.M. Good bye for now. It's another day tomorrow.
Monday, June 28, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 15- Send in Mr. "Strongbow"
Hello. Interesting thing happened last night. Went out to a bar with some friends, and it turns out that one of my friends has no idea when to stop drinking. And he can't hold his liquor too well. Needless to say, I'm getting my car detailed in the morning. Lovely story right? But it was interesting for me. It was a first. And hopefully a last. In hindsight, I really wish I would have had the presence of mind to really tell him off in a manner similar to Homer's style. Maybe something like, "Thou fall drunkard, who has not the capacity in thy head to cut thyself off, remove thy fouled self from my vehicle. Until such time as you have not more putrid effluence to expel from your weakened form." I kind of like that. Hope you do as well.
I want to give some insight into today's title. Last night my friend drank a lot of "Strongbow" cider. And "Strongbow" is also an allusion to Apollo, who uses a bow. Now to the next chapter.
Big Daddy Zeus wakes up. And he's none too happy with Poseidon. He quickly removes his younger brother from the fight. Then sends Apollo to turn things around. Hektor's back baby! Trojans dominate, and there's a lot of talking and killing. There was also more talk of Patroklos' demise and Achilles' return to the fight. Thumbs up for Achilles. (Poor Patroklos)
Overall this was a very pleasant chapter. I especially love the dialogue between the gods. In books it's a lot harder to make a battle really interesting, but dialogue can be especially intriguing. That's my personal opinion. Homer does add some details of interest to the battles though. He speaks very specifically about where everyone gets hit. It's actually quite amazing to me.
Here I was thinking that everyone before the Renaissance was ignorant about internal anatomy, but Homer speaks pretty detailed about brains, tendons and even bladders. I certainly hope that this was all original and not just an addition by the translator. I prefer to think that ancient cultures were way smarter than our modern civilization gives them credit for. Cool fact. I just perused the contents of Vol. 2 of Aristotle. It's packed with anatomical information of animals. Can't wait to get to that. That's about all for now. Good day to you all.
P.S.: Never drive your car during a night of drinking if you can avoid it. You never know when you friend might get a weak stomach. He might look like he's just comforably passed out, but BEWARE! Bye.
I want to give some insight into today's title. Last night my friend drank a lot of "Strongbow" cider. And "Strongbow" is also an allusion to Apollo, who uses a bow. Now to the next chapter.
Big Daddy Zeus wakes up. And he's none too happy with Poseidon. He quickly removes his younger brother from the fight. Then sends Apollo to turn things around. Hektor's back baby! Trojans dominate, and there's a lot of talking and killing. There was also more talk of Patroklos' demise and Achilles' return to the fight. Thumbs up for Achilles. (Poor Patroklos)
Overall this was a very pleasant chapter. I especially love the dialogue between the gods. In books it's a lot harder to make a battle really interesting, but dialogue can be especially intriguing. That's my personal opinion. Homer does add some details of interest to the battles though. He speaks very specifically about where everyone gets hit. It's actually quite amazing to me.
Here I was thinking that everyone before the Renaissance was ignorant about internal anatomy, but Homer speaks pretty detailed about brains, tendons and even bladders. I certainly hope that this was all original and not just an addition by the translator. I prefer to think that ancient cultures were way smarter than our modern civilization gives them credit for. Cool fact. I just perused the contents of Vol. 2 of Aristotle. It's packed with anatomical information of animals. Can't wait to get to that. That's about all for now. Good day to you all.
P.S.: Never drive your car during a night of drinking if you can avoid it. You never know when you friend might get a weak stomach. He might look like he's just comforably passed out, but BEWARE! Bye.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 14- How to Seduce the Great Mr. Zeus
Hello everyone. And good afternoon. Not much is going on so I'll get straight to it.
This was a fun chapter. Homer gives more time to the gods in this chapter. I'll say that Hera is one conniving, deceptive goddess. She uses sex as a weapon against Zeus in this chapter- I think a lot of women do that. (So I've heard) There was some unintentional humor with this deception. Before Hera appears to Zeus, she makes sure that she looks here absolute best. She even borrows a little beauty trinket from the lovely Aphrodite. Zeus, upon seeing her, starts to compare her beauty to a pretty long list of his past conquests.
I'm no expert, but I don't think women like to be compared to their man's past conquests. I guess Zeus isn't the brightest bolt in the storm cloud. Either way, Hera's plan succeeds. With Zeus preoccupied and exhausted after his close encounter our good buddy Poseidon is free to spur on the Greeks. It's not going well for the Trojans. Even Hektor has some bad luck-- in the form of a giant boulder beating him unconscious. And that's that.
I realized something today. Even if I read one volume of the Great Books a month, I wouldn't be done for 5 years. Good thing I can be patient. Troy wasn't felled in a day. It actually took about 10 years.
That's about it for me. Bye.
This was a fun chapter. Homer gives more time to the gods in this chapter. I'll say that Hera is one conniving, deceptive goddess. She uses sex as a weapon against Zeus in this chapter- I think a lot of women do that. (So I've heard) There was some unintentional humor with this deception. Before Hera appears to Zeus, she makes sure that she looks here absolute best. She even borrows a little beauty trinket from the lovely Aphrodite. Zeus, upon seeing her, starts to compare her beauty to a pretty long list of his past conquests.
I'm no expert, but I don't think women like to be compared to their man's past conquests. I guess Zeus isn't the brightest bolt in the storm cloud. Either way, Hera's plan succeeds. With Zeus preoccupied and exhausted after his close encounter our good buddy Poseidon is free to spur on the Greeks. It's not going well for the Trojans. Even Hektor has some bad luck-- in the form of a giant boulder beating him unconscious. And that's that.
I realized something today. Even if I read one volume of the Great Books a month, I wouldn't be done for 5 years. Good thing I can be patient. Troy wasn't felled in a day. It actually took about 10 years.
That's about it for me. Bye.
"The Iliad": Chapter 13- The Turning of the "Tides"
Hey everyone out there. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long since my last post. That was somewhere around 3 hours ago. Reading late at night doesn't agree with me. Or maybe "The Iliad" just isn't as exciting as I would like it to be.
I'll say this though: This book is very frustrating. Will the gods ever stop interfering?! But, of course, I am a little biased. I don't have much of a problem when the gods help the Trojans. I always liked the Trojans. They just lived with no one really noticing them until Alexandros decided to steal himself a bride from the brother of the king of the Greeks. He didn't really think that one out now did he. Onto the story.
Like I remarked earlier, it's frustrating how the gods keep interfering. The title of this chapter, The Turning of the "Tides", alludes to Poseidon being the god who interferes this time. You get it? "Tides"= Poseidon because he's the god of the Sea. Oh well. They can't all be winners.
In a nut shell, the Achaians start fighting back. (FYI: From here on out, I'm going to refer to Agamemnon's men as the Greeks. I'm reading the book and finding that there are other Greek tribes. Achaians are just one of the tribes. So it's Greeks from here on out.)
Time to continue. The Greeks are fighting back. And they're doing a pretty darn good job too. The Trojans are passingly revealed by an enemy Greek to be unexperienced fighters- just slashing in anger mostly. I can't really says that's the truth. It might have just been an insult from the Greeks. But not every can be a great warrior.
The chapter closes with the two opposing armies reading to make another charge at each other. Sadly, I don't see Achilles coming back into the fight for another 3-5 chapters. That's all for tonight. At least it's night where I am- That's all for today/ this afternoon/this morning for everybody else. Much <3. (See?! I made a heart.) Peace.
I'll say this though: This book is very frustrating. Will the gods ever stop interfering?! But, of course, I am a little biased. I don't have much of a problem when the gods help the Trojans. I always liked the Trojans. They just lived with no one really noticing them until Alexandros decided to steal himself a bride from the brother of the king of the Greeks. He didn't really think that one out now did he. Onto the story.
Like I remarked earlier, it's frustrating how the gods keep interfering. The title of this chapter, The Turning of the "Tides", alludes to Poseidon being the god who interferes this time. You get it? "Tides"= Poseidon because he's the god of the Sea. Oh well. They can't all be winners.
In a nut shell, the Achaians start fighting back. (FYI: From here on out, I'm going to refer to Agamemnon's men as the Greeks. I'm reading the book and finding that there are other Greek tribes. Achaians are just one of the tribes. So it's Greeks from here on out.)
Time to continue. The Greeks are fighting back. And they're doing a pretty darn good job too. The Trojans are passingly revealed by an enemy Greek to be unexperienced fighters- just slashing in anger mostly. I can't really says that's the truth. It might have just been an insult from the Greeks. But not every can be a great warrior.
The chapter closes with the two opposing armies reading to make another charge at each other. Sadly, I don't see Achilles coming back into the fight for another 3-5 chapters. That's all for tonight. At least it's night where I am- That's all for today/ this afternoon/this morning for everybody else. Much <3. (See?! I made a heart.) Peace.
Friday, June 25, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 12- Pulling a B&E
Today is pretty cool. I have finally made it through half of the Iliad. That means that I have 1/4 of this Volume done with 59 volumes left to go. Well my buzz just got killed. But I'm sure that I'll do well enough. I am still worried about Euclid. He is like the geometry master. I didn't anticipate doing math on this journey. But I digress.
This is by far one of the better chapters so far. And it's interesting. Homer kind of reveals Troys fate. He's such a spoiler. But after the spoiler he jumped right into the battle. It was fun. Hektor is just top dog. The Trojans break through the Achaian's fortifications. But that is where this chapter comes to an end. Stupid cliff hangers. But I'll learn how it goes in the next chapter.
That's about all for now. I should get in another post today. Keep your fingers crossed.
This is by far one of the better chapters so far. And it's interesting. Homer kind of reveals Troys fate. He's such a spoiler. But after the spoiler he jumped right into the battle. It was fun. Hektor is just top dog. The Trojans break through the Achaian's fortifications. But that is where this chapter comes to an end. Stupid cliff hangers. But I'll learn how it goes in the next chapter.
That's about all for now. I should get in another post today. Keep your fingers crossed.
"The Iliad": Chapter 11- Raining Blood
Hey there again. How do you like the title? Makes me want to listen to Slayer. As of right now I don't believe that I have any followers..... I'll save my desperate pleas for about 3 months from now. But enough about me. Let's talk about Homer. Simpson?
This chapter was pretty fun. It lost most of its momentum at the end though. As you can tell from the title, there is blood raining from the sky in this chapter. Maybe they missed a step in the Rain Dance. Either way with all the fighting in this chapter the ground was going to be blood soaked anyway. There was a lot of back and forth between the Trojans and Achaians. And guess what! Alexandros is helpful! Our little boy is growing up. Now he makes his insults after he inflicts wounds. Still not the most manly Trojan, but at least he's trying.
To sum up there was raining blood, fighting, alexandros helping and, as always, a loooooooooong narrative by Nestor. This time he's pleading to Patroklos. I would be afraid to read Nestor's autobiography. I think War and Peace would be shorter in comparison.
I'm still liking the book so far. It does get awfully grating. But what can I say. This book was written a looong time ago. I'm a new generation. No real effects to speak of. I don't feel any smarter. But it has given me some new material to discuss with my Dad. (Hi Dad. I'm on the internet!)
That's good enough for now. Bye.
This chapter was pretty fun. It lost most of its momentum at the end though. As you can tell from the title, there is blood raining from the sky in this chapter. Maybe they missed a step in the Rain Dance. Either way with all the fighting in this chapter the ground was going to be blood soaked anyway. There was a lot of back and forth between the Trojans and Achaians. And guess what! Alexandros is helpful! Our little boy is growing up. Now he makes his insults after he inflicts wounds. Still not the most manly Trojan, but at least he's trying.
To sum up there was raining blood, fighting, alexandros helping and, as always, a loooooooooong narrative by Nestor. This time he's pleading to Patroklos. I would be afraid to read Nestor's autobiography. I think War and Peace would be shorter in comparison.
I'm still liking the book so far. It does get awfully grating. But what can I say. This book was written a looong time ago. I'm a new generation. No real effects to speak of. I don't feel any smarter. But it has given me some new material to discuss with my Dad. (Hi Dad. I'm on the internet!)
That's good enough for now. Bye.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)