Month: May 2006

What Is So Rare…

The title of this months random thread comes from a famous but unfashionably florid poem by the 19th-century American poet James Russell Lowell…

The title of this month’s random thread comes from a famous but unfashionably florid poem by the 19th-century American poet James Russell Lowell. It starts like this:

And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers…

GAPA Reunion!

Robert was in Northern California last weekend, and he and Rosanne got together with some friends and went to a Chinese restaurant. Photographic proof inside!


Rosanne looking frolicsome, as usual. Note impeccably curly hair, a result of her strict conditioner-without-shampoo regimen.


Robert looking considerably less frolicsome than usual because he had to get up at 3 a.m. Washington time to catch his plane and now has been on the go for 20 hours straight. Don’t be fooled, though: he’s really enjoying himself immensely.

Invisible Thread

An invisibility cloak isn’t necessarily just the stuff of Harry Potter stories. In last week’s Science magazine (where Robert works), theoretical physicists explain how to make invisible cloaks and whatnot — theoretically, at least. You can learn more about invisibility on Professor Ulf Leonhardt’s home page or his page on invisibility.

So, what would you do if you were invisible?

An invisibility cloak isn’t necessarily just the stuff of Harry Potter stories. In last week’s Science magazine (where Robert works), theoretical physicists explain how to make invisible cloaks and whatnot — theoretically, at least. You can learn more about invisibility on Professor Ulf Leonhardt’s home page or his page on invisibility.

So, what would you do if you were invisible?

States and Countries We’ve Lived In: v. 2006.2

In which MuseBloggers describe where they’ve lived in the past, present or future. (Because Darth Yoda asked.)
Remember, though, no names of cities or towns you currently live in. We want MuseBloggers’ identities to remain mysterious. Gigantic cities like Chicago and New York are OK too. If it’s got more than a quarter million people living there, you can give the name.

In which MuseBloggers describe where they’ve lived in the past, present or future. (Because Darth Yoda asked.) Remember, though, no names of cities or towns you currently live in. We want MuseBloggers’ identities to remain mysterious. Gigantic cities like Chicago and New York are OK too. If it’s got more than a quarter million people living there, you can give the name.

Coy Woodnesse, v. 2006.1

A forum for practicing archaic English, foreign languages, and other off-the-beaten-track forms of communication. Back by popular request.

A forum for practicing archaic English, foreign languages, and other off-the-beaten-track forms of communication. The original Coy Woodnesse thread may be worth a look.

(Coy woodnesse means “quiet madness” in Middle English, the version of our language spoken about 600 years ago.)

Useful resources (additions welcome!):

Accents to paste in:
à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ù ú û ü ¿ ¡

“Chaucer’s Middle English” site at the University of California, Santa Barbara
Librarius has another Middle English glossary and a load of information about Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales

World Religions

There’s an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions or (new) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions. Here’s why:

There’s an admission fee for this thread: to post, you must have read at least one chapter of Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions (known in earlier editions as The Religions of Man), and preferably the whole thing. Here’s why:

  • It’s a good book–fair, readable, and full of fascinating information. In a word, Muselike.
  • It’s a topic that most people care about but don’t know much about.
  • It’s something they don’t teach in school.

Suggestion: read the introduction, then skip to the chapter about your own religion, if any. See if Smith gets it right. Then read the rest. You’ll want to.

*** NOTE (22 May): Some MBers say they’re having trouble finding Smith’s book. For them (and others who find Smith’s book hard to follow), we’ll accept The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World Religions as a substitute.

It may take a while for discussion to get started on this thread, but that’s fine. What are summers for?

Other possibly useful sources of information: The Cartoon History of the Universe; and Wikipedia, for example,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends (Quakers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormonism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam

The Iliad in Haiku

For a recent Muse contest, three talented lasses in Virginia condensed the Iliad into haiku: one verse per book, plus a conclusion. The magazine didn’t have room to print it, so the editors sent it to be posted on the blog. Herewith, this amazing feat of distillation, in honor of MuseBlog Haiku Day (Friday, May 19). Respond in haiku, please!

Dear Muse Contest Judges,

The authors of these
Three ladies most beauteous
Sent their warm regards.

These poems are long
But sum the Iliad well
In perfect Haiku!

Sincerely,

Carrie F., 15
Emily F., 16
Grace F., 15

Book I
Runner Achilles
Makes Agamemnon real mad
Rage is felt by all

Book II
Catalog of Ships
Is at the end of this Book
We skimmed the surface

Book III
Paris Duels Greek King
Aphrodite saves the prince
Helen laughs at him

Book IV
Trojans break a truce
Quite a large battle ensues
What a big surprise

Book V
Fighting once again
Can’t they all just get along?
Someone dies–guess not.

Book VI
The domestic book
Where we see Hector in Troy
And Paris acts dumb

Book VII
Hector fights Ajax
But don’t get too excited
It ends in a tie

Book VIII
Lightning sent by Zeus
Stops the fighting for awhile
Believe me, not long

Book IX
There is a meeting
They want the runner back now
Achilles please fight

Book X
Two Greek Captains sneak
To the Trojan camp at night
Like little children

Book XI
The fighters make war
Trojans die along with Greeks
“No way out–no end–”

Book XII
Trojan soldiers fight
Despite an evil omen
They really shouldn’t

Book XIII
Sneaky Poseidon
Starts the skirmish up again
Still fighting they are

Book XIV
This book is filled with
Seduction, deceit, and death
This sounds like a soap

Book XV
Hector was wounded
We forgot to mention but
He still kills people

Book XVI
In Runner’s armor
Patroclus will fight and die
His friend will be mad

Book XVII
Ajax slaughters foes
Defending buddy’s body
The Gods help him win

Book XVIII
Patroclus has died
Achilles goes all emo
Thetis gets armor

Book XIX
Achilles gets dressed
While all the other Greeks eat
His armor’s shiny

Book XX
Zeus lets the Gods fight
Playground bullies once again
Stealing lunch money

Book XXI
The river is full
Choked with the corpses of men
Such great imagery

Book XXII
Poor Hector is dead
As if we couldn’t have guessed
Blame foreshadowing

Book XXIII
Funeral games start
The end is drawing closer
Only one more Book

Book XXIV
Why is this book here?
A question much debated
Was Homer crazy?

Conclusion
Summary of Book:
Greeks kill many Trojan guys
Trojans kill Greeks too

Pumpkin Drop Update

This year’s annual Pumpkin Drop at West Virgina University in Morgantown has been scheduled for Friday, October 26. Start planning now! More information will appear soon at http://www.mae.cemr.wvu.edu/ .

To catch a glimpse of Team Muse’s last entry (and of Robert, Nak, and Nak’s son Aaron), check out The Koko Bomb Saga on the Muse Fan Page.

Meanwhile, if you hear about any other pumpkin drops elsewhere, just let us know, and we’ll post the information here.

Focused Topics The Incredible Morphing Chameleon Thread, v. 2006.1

Closed to comments (though still eminently readable) and continued on version 2006.2.

An experiment: the opposite of a random thread. Once a topic is chosen, posts must stay on the topic until people someone agree decides to change it. GAPAs will zap as necessary to keep things on track.

(Thanks to Pink Stalking Penguin of Penzance and Purple Panda for the idea for this thread.)

Architecture
Plants
Origami and Paper Folding
Musicals
Camp
The May/June 2006 issue
Sheer Joy
It starts at Comment 208.

Families

Special stay-on-topic thread number 1, inspired by Mothers’ Day.

We all have them. What is yours like? Big or small, concentrated in one place or spread out over several continents? Do you keep in touch with your first cousins? Second cousins? Third cousins? Does your family keep track of its history? If so, how far back in time?