Procrastination tools and the ideal Greek city
One of the best things in the world is to work hard on an essay, then get it back with the teacher's comments saying he thought it was excellent, with quite a few other positive adjectives as well. And English professors know a lot of good adjectives. Now I just hope I can do as well on the paper I have to write tonight.
The BBC has been exceptionally wonderful this week. So wonderful, in fact, that I'm posting links even if no one else cares about the Neanderthal genome or Roman aphrodisiacs.
Genetic breakthrough on Neanderthal DNA
Lesbian couple planning wedding in South Africa
Roman shipwreck from first century AD
Red rain and our possible alien origins
UK's first vegetable oil powered fishing boat
Okay, I'll stop. But there's a lot more that's worth reading, too.
And finally...
The ideal Greek city according to Aristophanes, in the Birds:
Peisetaerus and Euelpides get tired of life in Athens with its constant taxation, warfare, and jury duty, and want to find the ideal, peaceful city. They ask the advice of Tereus, the hoopoe bird who used to be a man. (Yes, that Tereus, for those of you who know the story.) He asks them what kind of city they'd like to live in. Peisetaerus says he wants a city where his worst trouble would be a friend coming over and ordering him to attend a wedding feast. Euelpides adds,
A city where a blooming boy's father would bump into me and complain in this fashion, as if wronged: "A fine way you treat my son, Mr. Smoothy! You met him leaving the gymnasium after his bath, and you didn't kiss him, didn't chat him up, didn't hug him, didn't fondle his balls--and you my old family friend!"
It's worth noting that this is very nearly a word-for-word translation, as much as possible with the Greek idiom. Also, I'm going to be taking an entire class on Aristophanes next semester (a 400-level class, no less), so expect a lot more of this kind of thing.
All right, enough procrastination. Time to go write my paper.
The BBC has been exceptionally wonderful this week. So wonderful, in fact, that I'm posting links even if no one else cares about the Neanderthal genome or Roman aphrodisiacs.
Genetic breakthrough on Neanderthal DNA
Lesbian couple planning wedding in South Africa
Roman shipwreck from first century AD
Red rain and our possible alien origins
UK's first vegetable oil powered fishing boat
Okay, I'll stop. But there's a lot more that's worth reading, too.
And finally...
The ideal Greek city according to Aristophanes, in the Birds:
Peisetaerus and Euelpides get tired of life in Athens with its constant taxation, warfare, and jury duty, and want to find the ideal, peaceful city. They ask the advice of Tereus, the hoopoe bird who used to be a man. (Yes, that Tereus, for those of you who know the story.) He asks them what kind of city they'd like to live in. Peisetaerus says he wants a city where his worst trouble would be a friend coming over and ordering him to attend a wedding feast. Euelpides adds,
A city where a blooming boy's father would bump into me and complain in this fashion, as if wronged: "A fine way you treat my son, Mr. Smoothy! You met him leaving the gymnasium after his bath, and you didn't kiss him, didn't chat him up, didn't hug him, didn't fondle his balls--and you my old family friend!"
It's worth noting that this is very nearly a word-for-word translation, as much as possible with the Greek idiom. Also, I'm going to be taking an entire class on Aristophanes next semester (a 400-level class, no less), so expect a lot more of this kind of thing.
All right, enough procrastination. Time to go write my paper.