April 22, 2008 at 10:39 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comedy, Comments, Fun, Links)
The new craze amongst medievalists: well, two that I know of… Dr. Nokes over at Unlocked Wordhoard and Jennifer Lynn Jordan at Per Omnia Saecula.
Ok, not strictly manuscripts, but absolutely wonderful nonetheless. I just had to show you a few of my favorites below.
P.S., A little shout out to Jennifer, who just is the new doctoral candidate at CUNY Grad Centre! Well done!
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April 20, 2008 at 8:27 pm (Comments, Gripes)
Tonight’s news has really delighted me, although delighted is probably the wrong word. To hear John Prescott acnowlege an eating disorder. It was a shock, and certainly striking, but finally, here is another attempt to remove the massive stigma surrounding eating disorders. For a British bulldog to admit to a ‘girly’ condition is a pleasure to hear.
This is a subject particularly close to my heart, as one of my dear friends is severely anorexic and has been so for many years. I remember one night switching on the TV and seeing her face, clenching at her skin believing so firmly that she was disgusting in every way. By that point, it had become part of her life, and I had always known that, but to see and hear her speak so openly about her condition, and her love for her condition, was strange and painful. Every day is a struggle for her, and despite having a degree in nutritional sciences, she is seen as ‘unsuitable’ and a bad role model, and is thus not allowed to practice.
I realise this is a stupid sentiment, but I just have such a desire to give all the hurt people on this planet a hug. I want to tell them it’s ok. I suppose everyone’s been broken at some point, but so many people hide it behind a facade of strength, and never let it slip.
Lately i’ve been living a bit of a medical nightmare, but am finally on medication which seems to be helping, and I finally have a diagnosis – which incidentally, most of me wants to ignore. The cracks have started to show, and I know that I can’t always pretend to be perfect. I’ve always had to be.
Slightly depressingly, I think John’s the same…
April 16, 2008 at 5:35 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comedy, Comments, Fun, Links, Literary Theory, Uni Work)
April 16, 2008 at 5:25 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comments, Fun, Links, Relaxation)
April 16, 2008 at 4:56 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comedy, Comments, Fun, Links, Literary Theory, Uni Work)
“Upon seeing an orange…
Deconstruction asks… ‘If the orange peel and the flesh are both part of an “orange”,
are they not in fact one and the same thing?’Ecocriticism asks… ‘How does this orange fit into the wider ecosystem?’
Feminist theory asks… ‘What possibilities are available to a woman who eats this orange?’
Formalism asks… ‘What shape and diameter is the orange?’
Marxist theory asks… ‘Who owns the orange?’
New Historicism asks… ‘How many oranges do people buy?’
Postcolonialism asks… ‘Who doesn’t own the orange?’
Psychoanalysis asks… ‘What does the orange remind us of?’
Reader-Response asks… ‘What does the orange taste like?’
Structuralism asks… ‘How are the orange peel and the flesh differentiated
into composite parts of the orange?’”
April 16, 2008 at 4:39 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comedy, Comments, Links, Uni Work)
Thought this was very clever… Enjoy!
April 8, 2008 at 10:15 pm (Blogroll, Comments, Fun, Relaxation)
Completely seperate note, but I believe firmly that the world must be informed of my latest, slightly bizarre purchase:
Fried of London’s Rio Professional ballroom / dancesport shoe. I am officially obsessed. My first pair of suede ballroom shoes, perfect for quickstepping and salsa!
I have found a wonderful dance club nearby, with the most beautiful sprung dance floor, which I shall soon be using! I am far too happy about a floor surface…
April 8, 2008 at 10:07 pm (Blogroll, Comments, Uni Work)
I loathe examinations. For some reason, I forget absolutely everything I have learnt in the three steps towards an examination desk. And I currently have 3 exams, all of which are mildly horrible. One of which being particularly so.
I have done quite a bit of studying, and am actually rather pleased. I could have done more, but I would probably be insane by now if I had. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to do and which I probably won’t have time for.
On the other hand, the Oxford department libraries and the Bodlean are incredible, filled with books on what i’m studying. Ironically, the only exception to this rule is Old English, which seems limited to copies of the texts. Critical theory texts are in abundance – all over Oxford. In other words, I have to hike halfway out of town to find one, and then to the other side of town for another. Less useful.
I have Middleton and Jonson coming out of my ears.
It is, as I have recently discovered, possible to become utterly fed up with both of them. They were clever, witty, intellectual men, who wrote some wonderful plays. Unfortunately, those who have written about them are rather less clever, witty and (occasionally) intellectual, and are thus INCREDIBLY BORING. Oh, and they take great delight in repeating themselves and each other at great length, and eventually manage to remark in eloquent and often baffling terms about nothing in particular.
As a general comment on the study of literature: Why on earth are we force-fed such twaddle? Surely the beauty of these plays, or indeed any text, is in the sheer amount of possibility they contain? The potential for change, revolution, subversion, tears, joy and laughter. Is that not the essence of what we read?
April 8, 2008 at 9:16 pm (Blogroll, Comments, Fun, Links, Relaxation)
Taken from this blog. Thank you for the procrastination!
I tag anyone who wishes to be tagged.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the picture into your Blog.
1. What is your relationship status?
2. What is your current mood?
3. Who is your favorite artist/band?
(cheating, sorry! But you must have a clue…!)
4. What is your favorite movie?
5. What kind of pet do you have?
6. Where do you live?
7. Where do you work?
8. What do you look like?
(apparently i’m square…)
9. What do you drive?
10. What did you do last night?
11. What is your favorite TV show?
12. Describe yourself.
13. What are you doing today?
14. What is your name?
15. What is your favorite candy?
16. What is your favorite drink?
April 8, 2008 at 8:48 pm (Academia, Blogroll, Comments, Language, Literary Theory, Uni Work)
I cannot believe that no-one has noticed, in any of the criticisms I have read on Wilfred Owen, the distinct difference between his first draft of ‘Mental Cases’, which can be seen at the Oxford Libraries, and the final version which has proliferated the web. I even searched for the text of the original, and absolutely NOTHING appeared. I am disappointed with the intellectual standard of the internet!
Thus, I must remedy the situation:
Mental Cases: May, 1918; Rippon, England
O darkness and smell of many deaths murmurs of deaths
O silence and ceasing of breaths
terrible tremble terror
O sorrow and horror of murdered
Of multitudinous murder
murder
_____________________________
O darkness and murmurs of deaths
O silence and ceasing of many breaths
O terrible trembling of murdered men
the quick
sterile
O multitudinous murder!
O belching of blood from mouths
the lungs that loved laughter
made
O vomit of mud from the green
earth grown venemous
O spite of the earth that she
spawns dark diseases
new
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
O stalking and scorching of
shattering machine guns
deep
O bodies a buried in carcases
carcases bodies
and some writing some nothing
and
O carnage incomparable
Mental Cases: (date unclear)
Who are these? Why sit they here in twilight?
Wherefore rock they, purgatorial shadows,
Drooping tongues from jaws that slob their relish,
Baring teeth that leer like skulls’ tongues wicked?
Stroke on stroke of pain, — but what slow panic,
Gouged these chasms round their fretted sockets?
Ever from their hair and through their hand palms
Misery swelters. Surely we have perished
Sleeping, and walk hell; but who these hellish?
— These are men whose minds the Dead have ravished.
Memory fingers in their hair of murders,
Multitudinous murders they once witnessed.
Wading sloughs of flesh these helpless wander,
Treading blood from lungs that had loved laughter.
Always they must see these things and hear them,
Batter of guns and shatter of flying muscles,
Carnage incomparable and human squander
Rucked too thick for these men’s extrication.
Therefore still their eyeballs shrink tormented
Back into their brains, because on their sense
Sunlight seems a bloodsmear; night comes blood-black;
Dawn breaks open like a wound that bleeds afresh
— Thus their heads wear this hilarious, hideous,
Awful falseness of set-smiling corpses.
— Thus their hands are plucking at each other;
Picking at the rope-knouts of their scourging;
Snatching after us who smote them, brother,
Pawing us who dealt them war and madness.
Personally, I get the sense that the first draft was written in rather more mental torment than the completed version. I can imagine him sitting in a white-sheeted bed, furiously writing down the images from a nightmare or recollection, and spring out in a near-biblical “O’ manner. It’s beautiful, in a rather frightening way.
UPDATE:
I discovered this when browsing the internet:
April 8, 2008 at 12:05 am (Academia, Comments, Fun, Future plans, Travel, Uni Work, medieval)
It’s been a while, hasn’t it… Oops. As usual.
Finally finished my application to Toronto, which will be submitted, clean and shiny, tomorrow. Unfortunately, the transcript has taken quite a bit longer than I would have wished, and thus may have to be sent separately. Silly university-administration-people! The courses i’ve picked sound amazing:
RLG245Y1
Religions of the Silk Road
LAT100Y1
Introductory Latin
SMC441Y1
Old and Middle Irish
FAH424H1
Studies in Medieval Book Illumination
SMC358H1
The Medieval Book
SMC406H1
Mediaeval Seminar II
ENG402H1
Special Studies in Old English Poetry
I only hope that i’ll be allowed onto the advanced courses, which is a mabye. I TRULY hope so! ALthough most of the course I have picked are 400 level and entry via tutor permission, so it’s quite likely i’ll be rejected from some of them.
To start off my year of travelling, i’m also planning a trip back to the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. I don’t really understand the draw, but something keeps pulling me back there. The sheer beauty and history of the place I suppose, and the rather bizarre routine of starting to hike in the dark at 5am, watching the sun rise and reaching a little village in time for the bakery and cafes to open. Wild horses, ancient legends, blisters, severe discomfort and the joy of being completely cut off from the technological world. Seriously, there is nothing more wonderful than coming to the realisation that one can only travel as quickly as one can walk. Every journey does not only begin, but continues with a single step. I don’t think that concept can truly be understood until there is nothing else to experience.
So, in an effort to learn from last time, during the exam revision breaks I have been researching rather bizarre items, and writing kit lists!
A nice hiking bag: Plasma 30, lightweight and designed for weekend hiking (even though i’m going for about a month and a half – but one doesn’t need 30l for a weekend!)
A headtorch (no more rattling the in the bag at 5am!): Petzl E Lite, weighs next to nothing and is about the size of a tic-tac box.
One set of shoes: Merrell Chameleon 2’s, with the slits in the side (hopefully fewer problems with heat and blisters).
One bar of savon de marseilles: both for washing self and clothes – the ancient way of doing things, and far better than carrying soap and fabric wash, full of chemicals!
A polar buff: for the cold mornings – had this for absolutely ages!
There’s much more I need to dig out of the woodwork from last year and I am seriously trimming the things I took. No sleeping bag or mat, but rather two sleeping bag liners. Soap solution above, a lighter bag, lighter shoes, a lighter and better torch, and a slightly better first aid kit (which is desperately needed) with salt and bicarbonate of soda. There’s other stuff too, but i’ll post a proper list nearer the time! I’m also looking into getting a mini-post-exam-reward, in the form of a small music player of some sort to keep me occupied. World music was the one thing which, rather ironically, I missed badly in Spain. I found I didn’t care about phones, computers, books, or even hot showers, but the lack of music was quite a large void.
Must go, will post further tomorrow on the multitudionous adventures! xx
P.S. People are STILL finding my site via “Beowulf bed warmer”. I am still confused.
Disaster story…
April 29, 2008 at 5:38 pm (Academia, Comments, Future plans, Gripes, Uni Work, medieval)
Exam did not go well. The last statement is characteristic Old English understatement (litotes). I know something, but that wasn’t useful.
Basically, the tutor sends round an e-mail saying that *all* of the texts will appear in the commentary section of the exam. By this, she meant the full amounts of a selection – not actually ALL. So I read this incorrectly, and issues result.
So, I need 3 translations and prepare 4, and 2 commentaries, and I prepare 3. I know them all. So basically, I am familiar with 6 texts really well, and a backup. I know 4 fluently. Out of 3 translations I am required to do, 1 text that I actually know shows up, and all the others were my commentary pieces, or ones I really didn’t know. So I decide to do the commentary pieces for translation (and of course, I’m not particularly closely familiar with the texts), and do my backup and one of the translation texts I know well for commentary.
In other words, 1 good commentary, 1 mediocre commentary, 1 good translation, 2 terrible ones. In other words, I am happy with the grand total of 40% of my exam. Which does not bode well for an MPhil application.
I am consequently upset, tired, and very uncharacteristically angry. I have not been ‘angry’ in a very, very long time.
I really wish I had not read that tutor’s e-mail – I suppose there’s nothing I can do now.
P.S. For future reference: When I am a lecturer, (and it is “when”), I shall clarify meanings at all times, and never use *all* when any ambiguity could be present. Thank you.
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