I'm sure that the Jamaica move was entwined in the slavery thing. He refused to invest in plantations and move there due to their use of slaves.
I remember reading an essay about his planning to go to Jamaica. Basically it said he was planning that because he didn't think he had much choice otherwise. He disliked farming, and that wasn't going too well for him anyway, and couldn't find a job as a civil servant; and the welfare of his family came first. It was either suffer a job he would have hated or starve.
John Madden also never flew in a passenger jet and liked his thanks giving turkeys to have 6 legs. he traveled the country in one of those big ole tricked out busses. Not a bad gig if ya can get it.
I'll give Dragonspell this: it's making me want to take a long, hard look at my own fantasy and ask 'what can I do to make this work'. In other words, I'm going to do some actual worldbuilding like I should've done from the very beginning. I can't promise that my story will be any better (or worst) than Dragonspell, but way I see it: a newbie's gotta start somewhere am I right? And when it comes time for me to give it an official title, I'll be sure to ask you all for brainstorming advice. *goes to worldbuild his fantasy*
Ha ha! Reckon Burns has predicted the current pre-election debates in Scotland? He’ll stamp an’ threaten, curse an’ swear He’ll apprehend them, poind their gear; While they maun stan’, wi’ aspect humble, An’ hear it a’, an’ fear an’ tremble!
Haha, I'd like to think so. I'm glad to see on this forum such love for Scotland's bard as has been expressed over the past few pages of this thread. I'm beginning to think it's impossible to overstate his genius, his power, and most importantly of all, his humanity. He seems to be a poet that can cross national, cultural, language, religious, and even ideological borders. Did you know, for example, he was considered the People's Poet of the Soviet Union, and continues to be popular in Russia? And Abraham Lincoln also attended many Burns' Suppers?
Have you ever had someone who seems to think they know more than you do about books they've never read and you clearly have? That's really sad - I've just had some idiot say, for example, that 'The Knight's Tale' from Chaucer isn't set in Ancient Greece despite this from the first two stanzas of that story: WHILOM, as olde stories tellen us, There was a duke that highte Theseus. Of Athens he was lord and governor, And in his time such a conqueror ... By Theseus, and by his chivalry; And of the greate battle for the nonce Betwixt Athenes and the Amazons; And how assieged was Hippolyta, The faire hardy queen of Scythia; Why do people lie like this? When it's plainly obvious they'll just be called out on their nonsense with someone like me, so passionate about actual facts and knowing things, and not interested at all in just pretending pretentiously, silly ideas and arse-gravy? What is even more ridiculous is that this is someone who knows full well that if they say something silly or clearly factually wrong I'm going to call them out on it, but always act surprised when it happens - and then proceeds to throw a hissy-fit. Sometimes you just have to stare in amazement that someone can be so downright stupid. This is the same person who thinks the UN has started every single war since WW2.
Don't think you should be listening to that person anymore, Lemex. By the way, any chance of Caesar's Commentaries in English somewhere on Internet? Been wanting to read them.
Yeah, I think you are right. To be honest. If you are looking for the original texts, they can be easy to find. So, how good's your Latin? In all seriousness, I read him in Latin. I often use the Latin Library when I don't have physical copies of the original Latin texts. It has everything, at least everything I'm aware of, from Classical Rome and Medieval texts like Dante's De Monarchia. Caeser was actually a pretty good writer it must be said, but I don't know how free translations would hold up. However on Wikisource (which is a site from the Gods themselves) you can find most of his writing in English translations. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:Julius_Caesar As I said though, I can't promise anything about the quality of the translations, and translating them myself will take ... a while, let's just say that. Edit: Actually, reading the original text of the commentary of the Gallic wars next to that English translation - the English translation is quite good. You can certainly use that.
I took 2 quarters of Latin at The Ohio State University and signed up for the third quarter. I got to class and the professor was from Scandinavia and had this thick accent I could barely understand. Then the first thing he tells us is that for the entire quarter we are only to speak in Latin! If I can't understand the professor when he is speaking English, how am I going to understand him speaking Latin?!? I ended up dropping the class and never picked up Latin again.
I taught myself, using university handouts and duel-texts of Virgil with the original Latin and an English translation to build up a small vocabulary of Latin words and basic Latin grammar. There was a lot of intelligent guessing and trial and error in those first days of teaching myself the language. And then had help thanks to YouTube videos, and Latin dictionaries and a book on Latin grammar to build on what I had. Such a method has it's disadvantages, my pronunciation is way off - especially of Classical Latin pronunciation, and I'm also far better at reading Latin than writing in Latin. But it's a start. And not a bad start I don't think. To be honest, I've been neglecting my Latin recently, and so my skill with it has been slipping.
I could imagine you'd understand him in Latin just fine...but you might end up speaking Latin with a Scandinavian accent, which would be funny considering how the Romans never got that far NorthWest!
That would be ironic. I could imagine Julius Caesar looking down saying, "We've never conquered the northern lands! Speak with a proper accent!"
My phone keeps restarting... this may have something to do with the fact that I dropped it in the toilet bowl the other week.
Water + mobile = useless gadget, most times. It annoys me that the companies don't spend more technology on water proofing. I mean,we all usually text or call in the rain at some point,don't we? I've lost two mobiles to H2O. Although,one of them has started to work again after a couple of years (with feeble battery power). Just goes to show,don't throw them away. Just thinking,brain getting inspiration,how's this for a story idea...Christine the demon mobile. When Hank buys a cool new retro handset,little does he realise that soon it will develop strange behaviour...texting phantom abusive texts to his girlfriend.,calling his boss at 2am... and playing loud music on the bus. Nothing he does to stop it will halt its evil ways. Can it be..is it possible...is his mobile ALIVE!?!?
What does everyone think of this essay? Frankly, I sympathize with what he's saying. A lot: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ed...les/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/ Yes, it's by Harold Bloom. Sorry.
Yeah, I haven't had it happen before, but I'm not intending to get rid of it soon, as long as it works. My brothers keep telling me to get something new, but I don't use my phone that much, to be honest. Plus, I don't want to be the kind of person that needs a new gadget all the time.
Knowledge and behavior are two separate things. While Bloom's overarching concern is valid, his attitude, as portrayed here, is very poor. His judgment of King is distasteful, and his assertion that Harry Potter cannot function as a literary gateway is unfounded. As a child, I read R.L Stein, the Stephen King of children's literature, and in a few years time was reading classics like Wilde and Conrad.
I often find myself wondering if people who think our culture is being "dumbed down" remember how profoundly ignorant it was in years past. It seems more a case of the initial problem never having been fully resolved than it actually worsening in severity, at least in comparison to America a century or two ago.
These are my initial thoughts as well. As media becomes more accessible, it needs to be dumbed down to reach the lowest common denominator. However, if you consider the growing gap between the rich and poor, isn't it possible that there is a new problem developing?
I agree. I consider myself, and have been since I first read adult novels, a fan of Stephen King. He's not the best novelist in the world, and actually one thing I always respect about Stephen King is that he's perfectly aware of that. He knows he's not some genius, which gives me far more respect for the man himself than it gives me for other fans who think he's some kind of masterful horror guru. Mostly when I read him I find Bloom is often on the right track, but he's pathetically melodramatic. If he doesn't like someone, they apparently cannot even write, while if he likes someone they are some kind of cosmic god of writing - which I find very silly. I know he hates David Foster Wallace, a writer I've been becoming more and more interested in lately. But ultimately, I sympathize, because I know where he's coming from. I think people will get more out of a careful reading of someone like George Eliot than someone like Stephen King. And most of my students will only read Potter or King. That may not really be a bad thing, I guess, but I can't help but notice that the kids who end up doing better are also reading the likes of George Eliot early. As for the way he phrases things - I must admit I don't really care much about that. It doesn't faze me anyway, and even though he's attacking someone I'm a fan of, I'm not emotionally affected by any comment he has to make on King. I'm sure I can make more accurate criticisms of King than he can. I read Stephen King novels like I eat chocolate. On a sofa, on my back, gorging, with the TV on in the background.
How you deliver your message is as (if not more) important than the message itself. Obviously as an aspiring writer I'm going to think that ~_~ See, your post basically said everything that Bloom said, only without the condescension. Your last statement regarding how you read King is objective, and dare I say classy. Your statement regarding your student's success and their reading habits is factual, enlightening, and coming from a position of authority. It's also a very interesting but not surprising and definitely concerning observation. As for King, the only thing I've read by him is his writing book, and I have to say, based on that book, the guy knows what he's doing. He's said some very profound things in that book in regards to writing that not even one person on this forum has ever mentioned, for instance, comparing writing to telepathy, his discussion on voice being of primary importance, and his discussion on how word density on a page (just by appearance) can drastically change the effect it has on the reader.* Like you said, he admits what he is doing, and he does it well. But that guy was writing literature since he was a kid. He is the real deal. * Note, I'm 99% sure it was King who mentioned those things and not Provost.
Not that I plan to engage in the literature discussion and stuff. We've all been there and done that lol which of course is always a fun learning experience as reading the article and convo has been. BUT I wanted to say at the mention of Goosebumps up above does anybody remember those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. The stories weren't anything groundbreaking, a lot of them were just spins on already existing urban legends. But they mad some great artwork XD If you can manage to get a hold of the original ones, I'd highly suggest reading to them to your kid (if you have one) or any child you know and show the images in jump scar manner. Those things really imprint on your brain. So surreal.
