The Library

[BarbStAubrey]

The Library Our library  is open 24/7; the welcome mat is always out. Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

[BarbStAubrey]

Aww can't read the Mary Beard article unless I subscribe to the NY Times - seems to me I may have read the article though - Ginny was it on World Literature Today? I'm thinking I read it and my brain went to the loss that high school students no longer are required to read the classics - each year we had a book that was a time honored tradition included in the curriculum so that every Freshmen knew they would be reading Ivanhoe and Hamlet was sophomore year - followed was Scarlet Letter and Macbeth - there was Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars in second and third year Latin and Candide in third year French -

No Odyssey or Iliad or even Beowulf but far more classic lit then today's average HS student - and the latest I read last Spring was that a well known Collage back east was no longer requiring students, even those studying the classics to learn Latin or read most of the classics - it's as if all classic learning as we knew it is no longer - well I have probably about 10 more years to live and so I will not see how the world changes with the current change in education - maybe these in house speaking information towers will be the source of knowledge - how that prepares someone for critical or creative thinking I just do not know...

Anyhow reading the article from Mary Beard brought me to wrestle in my mind with the current curriculum for High School students. I did look up the literature curriculum being used by students in advanced classes and there were many books on the list of 12 then were not even published yet when I went to High School - like Catcher in the Rye that came out the summer after I graduated - I remember while waiting for the train that was going to take me to NY and picking it up at the book seller kiosk, and Fahrenheit 451 two years after I graduated. To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960. By then I was married with three children - All valuable reads but only one Shakespeare made the list however, the Odyssey was on the list. However, the list was for those in the advanced classes so that the average student who may not have been able to keep up had no exposure that being in one classroom they would have at least heard the premise of these classics. Well maybe it is a 'Brave New World' and I am fearful that much is being lost...   

[Frybabe]

Super, Ginny! I looked at the courses site and immediately zeroed in on the Flavian Dynasty. The site is not bookmarked.

Has anyone upgraded to Windows 11 yet? Curious to know how it went. I just got notice that my computer is compatible. Not going to try switching right now because I have the painter coming to powerwash my porch in prep for painting the deck. Also, I am not ready to deal with any problems Micros*** inevitably throws at me.

[Frybabe]

I continued my audio book listen of the crusades last night with the Third Crusade and Saladin. It was an exciting account, especially the Siege of Acre. Did you know that Saladin was of Kurdish descent?

By the time I finished a scifi I was reading, I forgot I had also started Antigone Rising. That is on my agenda for today.

Barb, there seems to be some debate, lately, that we are either heading towards a 1984 style world government or one that looks more like that portrayed in Brave New World. Since I haven't read Brave New World I have no opinion either way.

[BarbStAubrey]

At this point not so concerned labeling the change as tired of the game waking up every day never knowing what is going to pop out next that was quietly hiding in the hedge row - adjusting to these changes constantly busies my mind trying to compare the mountain top values my climb in life was heading - to see now the mountain tops either being sheared off or tumbling with no base - Not my picture of living life in my elder years... so that I find myself often mourning the past as well as, gladly adjusting to some of the benefits from the new - I feel like the sailors on the Nina the Pinta and the Santa Maria seeing signs of land - hoping and yet, no land in sight. And then the knot of uncertainty, what will they see and how will they be greeted after they do find land...

After reading both The Naked Capitalist by Skousen and New World Order? No Way Out? How the One-Percenters Did It by Paul Casselle it appears there is very little wiggle room and the group that meets in Davos along with the international banks have it about sewn up - Problem to me is Leadership is based on wealth and the people have nothing to say about it - the only fight left that I can dope out is if national Constitutions the basis of the law of the land will be discounted in favor of either the UN Constitution, where we loose our individual rights or if another Constitution will be developed that again will superimpose as an International legal system... As Benson says in Mapp and Lucia - we shall see what we shall see...   

A few other books I found interesting and learned a lot...

Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO The IMF, World Bank and WTO by Peet
The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve by Griffin
The History of Banking: The History of Banking and How the World of Finance Became What it is Today by Connors
Understanding Government Finance by Romanchuk
Understanding National Wealth by Richard Smith
Origins of Capitalism by Wood
The Economic Basis of Politics by Beard
Bilderberg by Albert Jack

And what started this curiosity --- Adults in the Room: My Battle with the European and American Deep Establishment by the then Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis.

Like all authors I find some of their thoughts I agree with and others I do not but I learn so much in the process and most often have to research like crazy to better understand what they are saying and if there are any alternatives...

My take is this all started with problems solved to carry on international trade and this same kind of Global agreement so to speak that makes international trade so profitable brought a desire to create a world or global view that would by-pass national specifics - with technology now ignoring borders it is one more notch that made this an overwhelming viewpoint and those who are pushing it have control of the world's money - as they say follow the money...

Once I started to look at the CEO and Board members of some of the international banks and how some were on the board or managing an office of more than one national bank so the connects became more apparent and then following what they were doing to various nations banking systems that alone was an eye opener

Example--- look at Compass Bank - they changed their name and now show it first opened in Alabama where as with their old name they started in heavy Spanish speaking communities like in Texas, Corpus Christi and El Paso - (I remember seeing the sign change from BBVA to Compass at the Mopac location) their service as BBVA was heavy providing small business loans to Spanish speaking businesses and they were the most advanced international online banking so that migrants could safely send money back to their family at the time mostly in Mexico - Compass a part of BBVA - Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria - that about chased out of South America Citi Bank again BBVA the most advanced digital bank at the time - BBVA is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Bilbao, one of Spain's top international banks and then most interesting, back in the late 70s the manager of the Milan branch of BBVA was one of the few lay people who headed up the Vatican Bank - he has since died - that connection then put together for me that if you ever watch Midnight Mass from St. Peter's you notice every year in the front 2 rows are the members of the Spanish Royal Family -

All to say there is more going on than meets the eye and without an understanding of banking and its connections that most journalist do not have in the kit bag of education, even before journalists become partisan with opinion - all this was overlooked and probably is still overlooked so that it takes a major scandal before any of it is opened to our eyes and then it quickly disappears as other news takes its place however from what I have read and my curiosity for more this is the kind of connections that can really give us a hint at Globalism.

I see frybabe you have started satisfying your curiosity with US Power and the Multinational Corporation that i have not read it yet... its on my list of 'to read' - wishing you some happy hunting...

[Frybabe]

Barb, US Power and the Multinational Corporation is listed in my library as waiting on arrival, so I guess I can expect an email from them relatively soon.

[BarbStAubrey]

Frybabe it is super expensive on Amazon $896.09 - found a used copy for 16.85 but have not ordered it - also found what appears to be someone's Doctorate thesis on Amazon for 17.95 The Nexus Between States and Multinational Corporations: State vs. Corporate Power - sounds good - but both have to wait till I finish a few other books because they will stretch my monthly book budget. Appears to me that large international corporations are entwined with International banks and then the World Bank gets in on the act choosing which nation and what loan they will approve.

What I want and cannot find without tons of time researching is the names of whose who are on the boards of all these companies and banks and international funds. Whom ever they are probably foot soldiers for the real power but one step closer to finding the connections.

Also read in a couple of books on China in Africa and that is what they did instead of giving as we have - they invest in major roads and factories that were to use the local resources and hire the locals however, China has been shipping their less prosperous population to Africa for years where they can farm for nothing in comparison to cost in China and now those farmer's sons and daughters are the ones being hired to man the factories putting the locals into poverty again.

[ginny]

Barbara, going back to Mary Beard, it was one of two interviews with her, the one here from the NY Times but there's another one from the Guardian this week also.  I guess it's Mary Beard month. hahaha since she's appearing in Boston this Friday.

I think Beard is her maiden name but am not sure who she's related to.

I just got her new book in the mail and can hardly lift it, it's called The 12 Caesars, the representations of the 12 Caesars in art.

I don't know if you've been watching Jeopardy, but Matt Amodio, who had won 38 times, did not win, it was quite strange, did any of you see it? He seems like a really nice person and won 1.5 million dollars and then some.

The STRANGEST things in the supermarket are not there. There is NO seedless blackberry jam.  My grandson likes it on peanut butter. But there is NONE. In any store of any make. NONE. Is there a blackberry strike? I hope people are not going to start that hoarding stuff again.

I came in to post about a new online channel called Pluto, have any of  you seen it? It's unreal. I will post in the Movies About it.

[Frybabe]

Ginny, seedless Blackberry Jam was one of my Mom's favorites. We kids preferred grape.

Barb, China is insinuating itself where ever it can, even in the US, back to that in a moment. Lots more going on than just building and owning ports. One of the things that struck me a while back was a YouTube clip about some deal they had with one of the island nations to construct a large building project. They partly sold the idea by saying they would hire local labor. They didn't; they imported their own people. Local business did not benefit from the project as expected either. In the US, aside from the port in California (which I think Trump put a stop to, but not sure), any company that China buys into in the US must include a Chinese person on the board of directors.

Directors of the large public companies have been "incestuous" for years.  Not only are board members often on boards of several companies and the same time, but I suspect that some of them are on the boards because of who they are (former politicians or other high profile people) not necessarily for any great business acumen. Often I will see retired business executives on the boards too. They still like to keep their fingers in the pie as well as continue to influence, albeit at a reduced level, business decisions. Directors are an interesting mix. They come from all kinds of backgrounds, not just the particular industry that a company specializes in. These include an astronaut or two, lots of financial backgrounds, medical and scientific backgrounds, some rose up from the "trenches" though companies, politicians and government administrators, and so on. When venture capital is involved with a start-up company, often one of the requirements is that one of their people are on the board. Some of their backgrounds don't, on the surface, seem to have anything to do with their backgrounds at all.

Here is an interesting short article in Logistics Management that gives an overview of the current shipping congestion and some reasons for the delays. Apparently we are not the only ones with ships hanging out outside of ports. China is experiencing the same. https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/project44_data_points_to_heavy_congestion_at_chinese_ports

Someone had a clip up on YouTube about space politics and colonization which includes business involvement. Interesting projections.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21twslWlZVQ  There are others regarding space politics and treaties on this page if you are interested. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=space+politics Some I have seen.

Space treaty, for those interested: The UN "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies", which has been around since 1967, as of Feb. of this year has 111 signatories. UN Office of Outer Space Affairs:  https://unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html

Well, I guess that is more than you all really want to know or asked for. I got carried away. What can I say. I am mightily bummed about not being around for much of this.

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow frybabe - lots of information that is new to me - had not been following China as much as I had been curious about international banking - the UN bit is another mouth dropper although it does not really surprise me -

So much to learn and uncover there are not enough hours in the day and still carry on a satisfying life - your sharing and my own research makes me aware that all the current news and political wrangling is taking the oxygen out of the nation which seems to be a perfect cover for what is really happening and has been happening -

This year I realized how tense I was becoming trying to sort out the news and seeing everything fodder for both parties - I would self talk that there was really nothing i could do about whatever was the current crisis and finally I see it is all drama - I think many of the players in the drama do not even realize they are on stage playing a dramatic role because what is really happening is off stage and those off stage support the drama that they can use to further their goal for more...

Helping me calm down and stop following day by day the daily drama is reading, Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig - He carries shutting out far more than I even thought but he does make some good points.

Back to China, the UN, Banks and and and -  like many I had problems with the concept of more especially in the hands of those who can, in a day use their money, that is power, to make whatever they think, happen - the upshot, they gain more - then it hit me - we all do it ---

If we can find a sale we go for it - we bargain for the best prices and brag about the deals we make that are to our benefit - we talk about sweat shop labor and yet, have no understanding of how the products we buy that are less expensive use the lowest labor cost and that search for cheap labor puts others with similar skills out of a job because where they live they can't afford to work for wages that low -

Another huge learning curve I need to explore - the economics of it all - knowing those who crunch numbers and take risks work hard bearing a burden to those who manufacture and assemble etc.  Regardless on what side we come down on the CEO's decision for Southwest Airline it was an example of how those on the top can affect not only their company but an industry and the customers who depend on a product or service. Everyone including the bankers loan investments have their part and to factor that while I'm sorting this out, I guess its taking a deep dive into understanding capitalism relative to our natural drive for getting the most for ourselves.

I'm thinking those who are pushing for a socialistic approach are trying to negatively affect those who are on top in this capitalistic system - personal opinion, they just change coats and are still the leaders with more power than just money. Hmm maybe I'm actually thinking what Hannah Arendt said with her Banality of Evil as the mock up example for all of us wanting more regardless of how much we have or do not have... 

If that is a possible conclusion then, the concept of social justice has a new face requiring a new understanding and new solutions. I need to look again at Arendt's book - don't remember if she offered an alternative road given her thesis - or if she is simply uncovering an uncomfortable truth - and to understand China I think I need to keep near me and re-read the Tao of War because your post frybabe shows just how far in advance the Chinese (and I do think it is the Chinese Communists making the global inroads) plot and prepare years, decades in advance.

However, wanting more is one thing but the ethics of lying is quite another and if gaining more is creating evil using lies then, there is a legal and moral issue - At issue would also be how often the US lied and then the question how the Nobel Lie comes into play - goodness is there an end to any of this... I could just leave it all and practice my scales or read another novel I suppose --- the bane of curiosity... 

[Frybabe]

Barb, I forgot to mention that China has opened a new route from China through Mynamar to the Indian Ocean. India is a bit worried about it. India, BTW, has been beefing up its navy in anticipation of a larger Chinese military presence in the Indian Ocean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jhFhlxRQXM

WION is an Indian news agency. The newscasts are an interesting difference between how the news is reported here and from India, not to mention, we often don't hear about much of what is going on in that area at all. It certainly would be an interesting discussion about the differences in their broadcasting and ours. I don't see a lot of opinion disguised as news reporting in their casts. The "Gravitas" casts are especially interesting in that the host presents, with some urgency in her voice, the material and then asks 'what do you think?' https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_gUM8rL-Lrg6O3adPW9K1g I take a particular interest in what is going on in Asia and the Asian Pacific lately. Nothing like adding to my anxiety, but I don't want to stick my head in the sand either.

Okay, back to books. I finished Chapter 1 of Antigone Rising yesterday. Using the Amazons as an example, the author showed how the attitudes against women are very long standing indeed (yeah, we know already). I never noticed let alone thought about just how many of the ancient myths included men defeating/killing/subjugating women. For the most part, powerful women were not to be tolerated. I wonder what the author might say about Athena, Hera and Aphrodite who mostly used manipulation (as in The Iliad) rather than direct action to get their way. Attitudes against women haven't changed much in these thousands of years, just gone underground for a while only to resurface again.

I finally finished the chapters on the 3rd and 4th Crusades, and going forward, the author hasn't said a whole lot about the 5th Crusade nor the Children's Crusade (which wasn't an official crusade). There are still a few chapters left, though.

Not only am I waiting on the ILL from the library, but one of Richard Powers' books, The Echo Maker, will soon be available from the online library. I tried one of Powers other books, The Overstory, but couldn't get into it.



 

[Fran]

Ginny, You can get seedless blackberry jam from Stonewall Kitchen located in York,Maine and also from Amazon, with free S&H with Prime.

[BarbStAubrey]

the Gravitas link is fabulous - thanks frybabe - with all the political drama in our news I had no idea the G20 was even meeting and then to hear specifics about how India is offering solutions was clarifying...

[ginny]

Fran, thank you. I  had just looked at  what Wal Mart offered locally online  when you wrote and I thought I'll wait till I go to Wal Mart,  they say they have it online, (this is last week sorry for the late reply) because they said they had it. Not only did they not have it, they didn't have strawberry either, so I may have to order it from Amazon, after all! It seems the height of ridiculous to me to  have to order a glass jar of jam online! BUT if you need that particular kind, I guess you need that particular kind and Amazon DOES have it!

Thanks,

[Tomereader1]

Ginny, awhile back I ordered some of my favorite Bon Mama Apricot Preserves, on-line from Amazon, I think. The well sealed, well-packed box had obviously hit a barrier of some kind...out of 6 jars, three were shattered, with preserves all over the box interior.  A mess to clean up, but I was able to double check carefully, and rescue 3 totally intact jars.  I reported it, and did get a refund.  I really couldn't see how they came to be so messed up.  The exterior of the box was not damaged at all, and there were multiple cardboard "braces", and bubble wrap. Still they broke!
Oh, well, good luck with your seedless blackberry order.

[ginny]

Yeah, that's the thing. These things are in glass bottles, fairly big ones. Just saying that the shipping of anything lately is resulting in LOTS of damage.

What is Bon Mama?

Must be good if you order it.

[jane]

I, too, order jam online.  Only place I can find a new favorite...pear cinammon.  They come with each jar bubble wrapped, plus packing paper in the box.  I've not had a problem so  far.

When you live in a rural area and in a pandemic when those in your area don't mask up, online ordering is a wonderful thing!

jane

[BarbStAubrey]

owww pear cinnamon sounds wonderful - who makes it Jane and where are you making your order

I'm really lucky in that both Amazon and Whole Foods that is now owned by Amazon deliver - if you order over $35 the delivery is free however there is a tip charged that is usually $5 unless you go beyond $75 and then it is a dollar more for each additional $10 - they have 2 hour delivery windows all day on till midnight and leave it at your front door or as I do have them delivery it into my garage - everything including fresh veggies, fruit and meat and then all the usual. Miss picking out my own veggies but not traipsing through a grocery market is worth it.  Frozen items come in the neatest silver insulated sacks or they wrap them in these paper insulated wrappings and all the paper sacks have cardboard that fits the bottom - and do they come in handy...

[Frybabe]

Barb, I just picked up from the library my ILL, US Power and the Multinational Corporation (1975) by Robert Gilpin. which is about multi-national corporations, politics and the trend toward globalization. Even though this is dated, I expect it to be interesting. I'd like to get the history of the trend and to compare the predictions, trends and people involved from back then to what we are seeing now. 

[BarbStAubrey]

Frybabe after you get into it let me know what you think please - because the material is dated I've been having second considerations - the only place here I can find it free to read is to go down to the UT library and I would have to read it there since I am not a graduate of UT and cannot get a card to check books out of the library. My gut says Gilpin had no idea the power and influence of Facebook, Apple, Google etc. - talk about Robber Barons - that is probably the book to read - instead of coal, steel and railroads it is communications and voice command stations as well as robots where their wealth and global communications and influence make them every bit the world power houses as Exon and others - I still think it is the banks that are top dog in global power and influence. - None of them can make a move without banks being a partner and source of investment.

[jane]

Barb...I'll email you the details. 

jane

[Frybabe]

Will do, Barb. I took a look inside and read a few paragraphs of the introduction so far. The print is tiny, so my eyes may rebel. When I read the frontmatter I discovered that this is actually the second of an at least five book series. These are economics books. The first book is about the economics of Imperialism. I forget what exactly the next two cover, but the last (and at that time not yet released) is about the economics of Communism.

I watched this Caspian Report that I found rather interesting clip regarding Chinese communism and their economy. Thought you might too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_kBNRK7HxA Of course, I was interested in the maps.

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow - a terrific explanation - the nations fear are outside investors and that must be the fear for all nations which goes back to Gilpin and others writing about the power of large corporations in control that have no interest or mandate towards providing stepladders for labor achieving a better standard of living. I would like to see the governing connections that hinder the poor -

With China's latest economic Real Estate woes will that bring down many who were uplifted - I wonder if greater. at the root of governing, is fear of the poor massing power, even those governments that are centered in uplifting the poor which could be their way of protecting the economic power structure - everyone has a stake so all boat rise --- hmm if that is true I can see the world's issue with migration in another light - foster more where the world money power can make more profit...

After watching this I'm wondering if governing systems is only a tool and basic is money - who has it and who does not have it, who can parley skills and connections into money and who is dependent upon those who parley their skills and connections to money because it all seems to come down to money is power - the big question I have is all life transactional?

[Frybabe]

I am almost done reading Richard Powers' The Echo Maker. It should have been yet another book that I gave up on, but I persevered. Set in the Kearney area of Nebraska, it is mostly about a guy who suffered a nasty head trauma in a car accident and his sister. The sister and the psychologist/author she consults have issues of their own that complicate things. Most of the characters personalities and behavior seem overly exaggerated. The farther I read into the book, the less I liked any of the characters except maybe for the accident victim who can be excused for his bizarre behavior due to his head trauma.

[BarbStAubrey]

I'm bowled over fascinated - found a poem about Blacksmiths that was NOT the well known and often quoted poem written by Longfellow - you know, "Under the spreading Chestnut-tree..." - The poem found and is in the poetry discussion was written in the 15th century so that most of the words are no longer in use and a glossary accompanied the poem - in the write up there was a sentence about how Blacksmiths were associated with magic that started my research where I learned the Blacksmith was among the original story tellers

Well... frybabe you especially may be interested since this is about Smith and the Devil that later became known as St. Dunstan and the Devil - the article continues explaining the link to this ancient tale by way of the Mabinogion and the article continues to explore the roots of Smith magic with archeological finds in Wales - also included is a magical Smith link to Kenya and Nigeria

https://folklorethursday.com/folklife/folk-oreiron-lore-the-magical-power-of-blacksmiths-and-their-enduring-stories/

[Frybabe]

Neat catch, Barb. I only knew of the short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benét. I do not remember St. Dunstan (although I remember reading about the place) and the Devil. Well, I have plenty of looks ups at home here what with the Mabinogion (which we discussed here), and the Taliesin, which I have not yet read.
 
I interrupted my Gilgamesh listen to start a book about Genghis Khan. The version of Gilgamesh I am used to listening to must have been a shortened and sanitized version. This one is a bit graphic. For some reason I can only take a little at a time. It actually reminds me of some of what Helen Morales points out in Antigone Rising about myth and ancient violence against women.

Getting back to Genghis Khan, the author of the book, Jack Weatherford, keeps mentioning the "secret history" of his life. I didn't know there was a "secret" history. Will need to look up his sources.

[BarbStAubrey]

Good heavens what is going on - nearly everything I touch to read has something to do with Wales - I downloaded on my Kindle the fairly new dairy of Jan Morris - had no idea she lived in Wales - sounded interesting in that I knew she was a well received writer and thought her writing a year long diary in her 90s would be an interesting read. Well here I am learning all about being an elder in Wales - she knows some of the great world writers but talks of them without sounding like she is name dropping - Title In MY Mind's Eyes: A Thought Diary - from the dreary physical changes to the sublime - what she reads and sings in her head so far are two themes she bumps into - I'm floating along easily with her superb writing skills, looking forward to learning more about her life in Wales...   

[Frybabe]

Great Barb. I've read several of her books, including Last Letters from Hav , a novel that I liked very much, and Conundrum , her account of her realization and transformation from male to female, the first time I ever heard about transgender. I personally own, her The Spectacle of Empire: Style, Effect and the Pax Britannica which is chock-full of photos. One set I have always wanted to buy a print (preferably hardcover) copy of but keep putting it off because they are expensive is her Pax Britannica trilogy. She won high praises for the series. Oh, but there is it on Audible which is okay if I don't mind missing out on any illustrations, photos, maps and the like.

[BarbStAubrey]

Wow another find - while reading the excerpt on A Deeper look at Classical Lore and Myth the intro to the author included that he runs this you tube site - gang buster site... 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4Bz5Swatl5iHSuCT_Hlxg/videos

Frybabe I had not read any of Jan Morris' books - just looked up the Amazon blurb on Conundrum - no wonder he wrote about transgender - I like watching Grantchester on PBS and the recent episodes where Leonard, a minister, is blackmailed and then a law suit is filed by the blackmailer so he has to come out publicly resulting in the Bishop removing him as a minster - the most powerful episodes in the series - great writing and super great acting. I had not been that riveted over a TV program in 20 or more years and not because of the topic - For years it was that gay men were the majority in high tech so that in Austin, a large tech center, for years we have openly gay news reporters on our local TV stations - all the local station's web pages get very personal with family news on all the reporters including marriages and children, holidays, visiting their parents etc - so the concern that for many is still an issue is old hat here however, Grantchester is set in the 50s when sex was kept in the bedroom and even unmarried mothers were ostracized much less as then it was called sissified men.   

[Frybabe]

Oh goodie, I wonder if the website has anything on The Green Man (referencing comment in the Poetry discussion). I will be sure to subscribe to that YouTube channel this afternoon.

[BarbStAubrey]

This is another good Youtube video about the Green Man - You have me going frybabe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQHl2mzF1Do

[Frybabe]

Wonderful catch, Barb. The master mason does not look British to me but perhaps Italian, Venetian or a little farther east, maybe, because of the style of hat and curl of his hair and beard. Too bad they don't know who he was.

Oh, and the lone female Green Lady looks a lot like Tilda Swinton when she played Gabriel in the movie, Constantine. https://anotherimg-dazedgroup.netdna-ssl.com/1600/azure/another-prod/370/9/379701.jpg  A wee bit of green makeup and green leaves all around her and Voila!

[BarbStAubrey]

Yes, you are so right - he does not look British does he - the whole historical episode reminded me of the book we read a few years ago - The Architect's Apprentice - where marvels are created and the creators are seldom if ever given recognition.   

Haha and another yes on Tilda thinking about it these medieval sculptors had to have been modeled from locals and so Tilda's looks could be genetic going back in time to an ancestor.   

[Frybabe]

Been mighty quiet around here.

I finished Margaret Attwood's The Penelopiad several days ago. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus (Ulysses), is in Hades. It is the 21st century, and she is reminiscing about her marriage and life in ancient Sparta. It is humorous and fun to read. I especially liked the last few chapters which included a modern day court case against Odysseus for killing the 12 slave girls and some paragraphs about the dead being reborn with a nod to those who believe they remember past lives.  Interspersed through out the book were skits performed by The 12 Maids which were pretty good.

Now I am reading I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories by South Korean author Kim Bo-Young. The title story is about a pair who are on different starships trying to get back to Earth for their wedding, except that keep them from meeting up. The story is told mostly in a series of letters. Kim has won the South Korean SF Novel Award three times since her debut novella in 2004. That one won her the first ever Korean Science & Technology Creative Writing Award.

[Frybabe]

Yesterday I finished listening to the first half of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This audio edition presents the story in modern English first and then in Middle English. We ran across Sir Gawain when we discussed The Mabinogion. What strikes me in the modern version is how the story is very pointed about how women were thought of as sneaky/conniving and not to be trusted. I do not remember The Mabinogion ending up exposing the wife who seduced Gawain as Morgan le Fay, though.

By an odd coincidence, I just started reading Evan Curry's Holy Ground , a modern warfare novel, where one of the fighter squadrons is designated the Green Knights.

The audio book on Genghis Khan is finally finished. It ends with an account of Kublai Khan and his reign in China, and includes how the Black Death began in China, was transported to Europe,  and created a world wide economic collapse complete with another round of persecution against the Jews.

[BarbStAubrey]

Interesting - I did not know the Black Death started in China - I remember reading but completely forgot the name of the book where a father, on a roadtrip so to speak with his son, explains how anyone living with European heritage is very fortunate having ancestors who survived the Black Death - However, there were far more deaths than the less than 4% of the population that have died from Covid - I've heard anything from a quarter to half the population died from the Black Death - Also read how the lack of labor because of the Black Death brought about labor laws in England - I wonder the death count in Asia and if there were changes because of a loss in population.

Frybabe what is the title and who is the author of the book on Kublai Khan

[Frybabe]

Barb: Genghis Kan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford.

Well, the best I can tell as they never quite pinned down where exactly the plague came from, but the likely culprits, according to experts, is Central or East Asia much of which was controlled by the Mongols. Their response was much like we have had to deal with today with many people barricading themselves in, shutting down businesses, etc. The plague pretty much destroyed what was left of the Mongol rule in China. Apparently current thinking (at least according to Wikipedia) is that it spread in part by climate change in China. But I think I misspoke. It was the third plague (1855) that originated in Southwest China. The first two spread out probably from Central Asia. Found this history of the plague on NIH. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7513766/

[ginny]

Interesting, Frybabe!

I'm also reading about history but not quite that ancient.

I'm reading Dead Wake- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, by  Eric Larson  which we talked about here before, I think Pat recommended it. It's fascinating. I had no idea that Cunard preferred to name its ships after Roman territories.

I'm reading a lot of books at once.

I'm also reading a novella called  Lucia and the Diplomatic Incident by  Tom Holt, who is the best chronicler of the Mapp and Lucia series, and this one is new, 2013, takes about 30 minutes, all delightful.

I'm also very much enjoying Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris (the Hunchback of Notre Dame) in French.  I am moving at a SNAIL'S pace but it's so nice to be reading French again, that I don't mind. I missed it, and thought I'd take some time to try. It's worth it.

I started The Thursday Murder Club, and I like it, but for some reason was not really in the mood, so put it back down.

I'm also reading or trying to read Barry Strauss's Ten  Caesars.  Strauss is a WONDERFUL lecturer, I would recommend any of his Youtube lectures to anybody, the face to face students LOVE him,  but as a writer? I only am reading it for the two emperors  my classes cover (although had it been readable I would have read it all). I finished Augustus but it's reminiscent of a 14 year old boy's book report and I don't say that lightly. I am very surprised, but am  used to Goldsworthy, and maybe this is in response TO Goldsorthy's dense style, I have no idea, but that's exactly what it reminds me of.

I now don't look forward to mashing through the Trajan bit. Hopefully it will be better.

I noticed that Isiguro's book Klara and the Sun (which is classed as Fantasy and Science Fiction) has been shortlisted for the Booker Award. I really liked The Remains of the Day. " Once in a great while, a book comes along that changes our view of the world. This magnificent novel from the Nobel laureate and author of Never Let Me Go".... is “an intriguing take on how artificial intelligence might play a role in our futures ... a poignant meditation on love and loneliness."

Have any of you read it and if so do  you recommend it?

It's nice to be  reading again!

[Frybabe]

Nuts! I have two of Strauss's books, Master and Commander and The Death of Caesar in my TBR pile. I saw several of his lectures a several years back on YouTube, but I forget what the topic was.

Right now I am in the middle of reading yet another space military series, this one written by Rick Partlow. My audio book is Nolyn, another of the wonderful Michael J. Sullivan's fantasy series set in his Elan universe. I am taking a break from borrowing a library book although I have plenty sitting in my wish list. I need to get some of my already borrowed from Kindle Unlimited books read. Also, my audio books are stacking up because Audible has seen fit to lend out a bunch of freebies to listen to books, and that pile is stacking up. Sigh! So many books, so little time.

There are also some print books I keep promising myself to read, but the ebooks are oh so more convenient, not to mention space saving.

 

[ginny]

 Yes they are, and I am  beginning to prefer e books to the others for night time reading, especially since my small  ipad is lighter than most of the books in print.

The ipad also has (at its suggestion) a handy French dictionary which I definitely desperately need (how did it KNOW?) hahahaa

But I still feel, perhaps wrongly, that I'm not really READING... can't get that wonderful feeling of being immersed in a BOOK without an in print book and I prefer paperbacks, again because of the weight.

I am enjoying watching the antics of the birds and the squirrels trying to figure out the new bird feeder. My grandson gave me a wonderful one he had made himself from one of those kits sold at Lowe's. We thought the birds could not access it. It was empty, so my husband is going to make a perch for it but meanwhile I bought one of those long tubes and neither the squirrels nor the birds seem able to figure out how to access it, but they ARE trying.