In sixth grade, I had an extraordinary teacher who introduced his class to The Iliad and The Odyssey. It was an overview only, as we were perhaps still too young to appreciate the finer points of these epic tales. Even so, I was enraptured. I went home, waxed poetic about the tales of battle and voyage to my parents, and the very next day, my father came home from work with two paperbacks, one The Iliad, one The Odyssey. I still have those paperbacks. As he was from Sicily, my uncle (his brother) also suggested I add The Aeneid to my collection. (If you're familiar with the work, you'll know it came later, not credited to Homer, instead written by the Italian poet, Virgil.) Thus … [Read more...]
Here’s What is Really at the Core of Book Bans
In 1977, ROOTS was a miniseries on television. Those of us who watched experienced history with our whole souls, hearts, and minds, as some of the best actors of our time portrayed for us the story Alex Haley carefully researched, and for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. Roots: The Saga of an American Family, tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century Mandinka, captured as an adolescent, and transported to North America. It explores his life and those of his descendants in the United States, down to the author himself, Alex Haley. The novel spent forty-six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, including twenty-two weeks at number one. Alex Haley, was born in … [Read more...]
Compassion
Fun With Shakespeare
Sometimes, the internet is just where you want to be. To the clever souls who came up with these, "Huzzah!" … [Read more...]
Thank you
Thought for the Day: Nolan’s New Film
Ignore the Evidence
"It was as though some huge force were pressing down upon you -- something that penetrated inside your skull, battering against your brain, frightening you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your senses. In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it....The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command..." "Freedom is the freedom to say … [Read more...]
It’s Like Talking to that Teenage Daughter
It's like talking to that teenager daughter, the daughter who who believes she's "madly in love" with the most narcissistic asshole of a teenage boy, the boy who, while he loves having her adoration, loves to brag about how much she "adores him," in reality cares not one whit for her affection or her needs. He manipulates her, uses her, gaslights her, and is generally dismissive of her. But she doesn't recognize his abuse. No, in fact, if you try to point it out, she becomes angry or tearful; she goes on the defensive, comes up with a myriad of excuses for why he does what he does. Or she deflects: "So, what? What about you and Dad? Dad's not perfect either, you know." She avoids answering … [Read more...]