After repeated prodding from my teacher, the other day I finally bought a manuscript edition of the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (for the non-musicians: Bach's handwriting is astonishing, but not that bad once you get used to it; go here for an example). Once I started poking around in it I was delighted to discover that some of the bowings ( Read more... )

So. The other day I saw a review of Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia somewhere online. I think it was Bookslut. Anyhow, I immediately knew I had to go and buy it even though I had no money, if only because I could chalk it up to a professional expense (which happens less often in Classics than it could. All that focus on old stuff). Admittedly, no one ( Read more... )

Okay. I really want to read the translation - either of the translations - of the Tain bo Cuailnge described here, but not for the same reasons the dude who reviewed it likes it. Or at least, not all of them.

First and foremost among them is the fact that -- unlike, say, the Iliad -- the characters in "The Táin" don't stand as archetypes. They're ( Read more... )

Tonight, because I unexpectedly had an evening off, and because I needed some recuperation from the incredible social whirlwind of the last, oh, six days, I decided not to be productive, which would make far too much sense, but rather to curl up with a warm and soothing beverage and watch Troy: The Movie That Made Neve Smack Herself in the Face ( Read more... )