The Iliad

Achilles has a nasty temper. Hector is foolish to risk so much for his own glory. Agamemnon seems greedy but noble. The morales are not disguised in many symbols or allegories- they are presented often in dialogue between characters. How violent this story is! How wondrous strange this old world seems. Next: The Odyssey of Homer

Little Women

It's been a long time since I read a book which touched me as deeply as Little Women did. The sweetness of the story was such a wonderful contrast with the bitterness of the social commentary. I fet very much like I was a friend of the girls while reading their coming of age stories.

The basic theme of the book was about a young woman's place in the world. Alcott does this three (debatably four) ways with her girls. True love, hard work and domestic life are discussed in detail. The strength required of girls to become women is shown through only through Jo. I don't agree with that because not only tomboys possess that strength. Meg fails to separate completely with Marmee after her marriage and can't manage her children without Marmee's advice. Beth is too weak physically to even enter womanhood (her life was entirely domestic, Alcott means to say that the woman doesn't belong only to the home). Amy's adult life isn't discussed much since her match is made so late. Joe is the only woman to find a partner to be her equal and to remain independent after marriage. She is Alcott's reflection of herself.

The most surprising part of the novel is the total lack of an antagonist. There's no evil. Not even a fight scene. But isn't that the best part? It's realistic. The villian is vanity and the fight is within each of the girls. Who can't relate? The goal is to be a wonderful woman. Each of them tries in their way to be good.

This is a book I'd like my daughters to read. More than likely, I'll read it again too. There's certainly a reason it's remained a girl's classic for all these years.

Bird on a Wire - Leonard Cohen

"Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Like a worm on a hook
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee
If I, if I have been unkind
I hope that you can just let it go by
If I, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you"

Anna Pavlova 'Rondino' 1926

I don't understand ballet very well. I enjoy this piece regardless.

The Lady and the Unicorn

This tapestry hangs in the Cluny museum in Paris, France. It is a six part series, and each piece is a slight variation of this scene except for the last, which reads "À mon seul désir".

a thing with no fingers

The belly swells like a mind occupied.
Eyes bloom like ideas.
Hearts tremble like hot kernels on the brink of epiphany.
            So strong is the touch of a thing with no fingers!  

'A Universe From Nothing' by Lawrence Krauss

Supernova as standard candles, most energy is in empty space, 10,000 galaxies in a dime, ancient universe is opaque (cosmic microwave background radiation), geometry of universe is flat, experimenting for dark matter, weighing the universe with general relativity and CMB triangulation. Pardon the religion bashing.