Despair has its own calms.

~Jonathan Harker

(Bram Stoker's Dracula)

I have to do volunteer hours at The Adult Literacy Program and I have become very disillusioned. I can also choose to do 5 "outside" hours at a place of my choice. The nice library at Phoebe home is gorgeous but a freakin' mess. No one can find anything. No "by author." "by subject," etc...Just a mess. So I called the Volunteer office and offered to fix their library. I mentioned that I was an English Major to boot. It made them very, very happy. It's hard for residents to find books when there is no system. Kids there also like to read when they visit and they can't find anything.

So if they say yes, I'll make sure I'll go in on a day that Greg's not there (so there is no distraction) and make a day of it. It won't be done in five hours but at least it's something I can do outside of this house that is quite frankly suffocating me and that's five less hours I have to spend at the Adult Literacy Program.

The new Dexter book is available tomorrow.

Dexter by Design. Let's hope it's an apology for Dexter After Dark.

That is all.

Oh yeah, and Dexter is Delicious has been announced but no release date has been revealed.

There is nothing better than J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien on a cool early Saturday morning. I've started his father's re-telling of the Völsunga Saga just in time for ECT. I'm already enjoying it...and I'm not even out of the introduction!

But Wagner's treatment of the Old Norse forms of the legend was less an 'interpretation' of the ancient literature than a new and transformative impulse, taking up elements of the old Northern conception and placing them in the new relations, adapting, altering and inventing on a grand scale, according to his own tastes and creative intentions. Thus the libretti of Der Rin des Nibelungen, though raised indeed of old foundations, must be seen less as a continuation or development of the long-enduring heroic legend than as a new and independent work of art, to which in spirit and purpose Völsungakviða en Nýja and Guðrúnarkviða en Nýja bear little relation."

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
J.R.R. Tolkien
Introduction; Christopher Tolkien pg.10

Of course, all of you know this already. It's just nice to see Tolkien the younger continuing the attempts of many scholars and authors to separate the original source material from Wagner's popular "interpretation."

As Greg said, Christopher basically said Wagner bastardized the original but was able to say it in such a nice way. Some authors just have that kind of skill. They can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually enjoy the trip.

ETA: Oh, and guess what! This book contains a transcript of one of Tolkien's lectures to the Oxford Faculty on "The Elder Edda." It isn't the full lecture but a significant chunk.

The Library says we took out a book called Guji Guji. It's a children's book. They say we never returned it. I flipped through a copy online and I've never seen this book before in my life. I've searched high and low and this book does not exist...at least in my household. However, the records say we took it out and I will purchase a new copy and give it to them.

It's not an expensive book but I don't like having that blemish on my record. They told me to wait until the "we're sending the police for the book" letter (which they do, in fact send out) and to call them. They hope it will turn up between now and then.

I know it's stupid and it's only a $7 book, but I've never lost a library book before (or at least have them tell me I did). It's a good thing they know me there. They said we can take out all the books we want even with this "lost" book pending (they usually freeze accounts). Thank the gods I have a good reputation there. Reputation is everything.

Reposted from a bookstore journal that prints a lot of book oriented news stories:

A day after Barnes & Noble announced their entry into the e-book business, their stock price fell 70 cents (or a little over 3%) to $21.41. Although the publishing industry sees electronic libraries as their next big cash cow, the rest of the world seems to view this as just a bunch of bull.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/ap_on_bi_ge/us_barnes___noble_mover_1

I don't know what this means in the long run, but when it comes to the average book buyer, I still don't think they are willing to give up actual books right now.

Idiots. Library funding should be sacred and untouchable. Looks like Sascha's gonna start a new book donation project. I bet the community could help out a bit and put together one hel of a donation.

http://wfmz.com/view/?id=1232935&title=Public%20Libraries%20In%20PA%20Feeling%20Crunch%20In%20State%20Budget%20Crisis

Because I am re-reading Watership Down
Because the god's name is Frith....

I give you the opening sequence of the movie:

This young man keeps a lending library of Banned Books in his locker.

He's my literary hero.

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/05/24/kid-keeping-a-lendin.html

( For link-a-phobes...full story UTC )

Alrighty then. About to geek out again on you. Planning a text tattoo and I'm not sure exactly what to get. I mean I know what book it's coming from just not exactly which quote or combination of quotes. I have to talk to Watson and see what he thinks about how to design it. It'll be a calf piece. You can pick one or a combination. If you have any other quote ideas put 'em in the comments!

Poll #1398403 Text Tattoo
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14

Which quote do you like?

Incidentally, my bee is not being replaced. This is for the other calf.

...and I picked all three for the poll so I could read the results.

Went to the bookstore today to get Tim a present. There, sitting on the new fiction table was J.R.R. Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. I thought it was his translation because he's translated almost every thing. Well, it's not a translation per se. He did the translation and this is his retelling directly from the translation. Normally when I hear retelling I get all tense in the chest. It's usually bad. Thing is, Tolkien is incredible. I have no doubts at all that while the wording might be different that he'll stick to the story absolutely perfectly. Now, mind you I haven't read the Volsung Saga since high school so I can't be any fair judge, but he had such an incredible and deep love and respect for Norse, Finnish and proto-British literature that I think he wouldn't even think to pen something that would be an insult to the original.

It certainly hope Christopher begins to release more of his translations and retellings.

Greg'll just have to read it and tell us all how wonderful it is. :)

I'm reading the novel The Soloist by Steve Lopez. I'm sure a bunch of you have probably seen the trailers for the movie with Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Fox. It's the true story about a musician struggling with homelessness and schizophrenia and the journalist who befriends him.

Most people know I suffer from Bi-polar II. I've spent the better part of my adult life trying to be well. I found the most profound quote in the book.

"March [the social worker] writes me encouraging notes about Nathaniel and my efforts on his behalf, but seldom offers specific advice, although she is the one who has taught me Nathaniel is not a mentally ill musician, as I've been referring to him, but a musician with mental illness. It's a subtle but significant difference, recognizing the person before the condition." (p. 81)

I just thought I'd share that.

My throat is on the mend thanks to Ann who suggested warm salt water. I knew about it but really never thought to do it. Aside from the fact that it was, bar none, the worst foulness I've ever tasted, it worked.

I'm still exhausted though. I slept horribly for the last three or so days waking up several times a night to take meds or just be miserable. I finally fell into a rather deep sleep fairly early last night and was awakened by Greg scolding Echo. Apparently she was on my nightstand lapping up my water. Bad kitty! I wonder how often she does that in the middle of the night. I know I wake frequently to sip water. Ewwwwwww. I guess I'll find a lidded sippy cup.

I've been reading this "biography" on Athena by Lee Hall. It's pretty bad. Really, all it is is retelling the myths in "modern" language. I haven't found any real analysis or profound ideas. I was kind of put off that Arachne only garnered about 3/4 of a page.

The Amazon.com synopsis said, As a result, Hall's work cannot decide if it's a literary history, handbook of mythology, or Monarch Notes retelling of the Trojan War. The attribution of sources is uneven, the bibliography skimpy, and sentences starting with "Everyone knows" patronizing even for YA readers. Best to stick with Homer.

Yup. I agree. It was far from being scholarly work. No in text citations to speak of which means one cannot locate original source material easily. Many of the myths have different "versions" as it were, depending on who wrote it. Sometimes she picks parts of one myth and mixes it with parts of others trying, in some ways I think, to get a fairly linear narrative. I think she picks and chooses which version of myths to tell as opposed to telling or at least describing the various versions. I think it would be better as a "beginner" book. I'll finish it only because I usually finish what I start.

So that's it. Not much more to speak of. Wishing it would get warmer so I can get the garden ready.

I found The Road to Hel online...in its entirety. I don't know if others know this, but pass it along if you think it could be useful.

http://www.runewebvitki.com/Road_To_Hel.pdf

I'm reading a pretty good book written by a Dr. Charles Seltman of Cambridge called The Twelve Olympians. It's amazing what you find at garage sales if you look. Anyway, published in 1962. It has its good and bad points. The majority of the information is sound though his disdain for "silly old religions" is clear. It's obvious he's a Christian. The rhetoric becomes annoying at times but for the most part it's easy enough to ignore. That attitude however has not detracted from his accurate presentation of the facts identified in other sources such as Hesiod, Homer, Ovid, etc...

Here's the thing. I can recognize most of the source material from the fact that I've read them myself. There are, however things he speaks about that I don't recognize a source. The bitch is....he does not use any citations throughout the entire book! There is a particularly fascinating passage where he talks about the evolution of the gods from Greece to Rome. This is a well understood and researched area. The interesting part of this particular passage states that as Minerva (Athena) evolved she began to be seen in certain areas as the companion to Vulcan (Hephaestus). "Companion" is not defined (and it could mean a plethora of things) but it seem implied that it is a possible "marital" type bond. This flies in the face of her Greek virginity, however, it is known that while they never actually copulated, Hephaestus' seed was spilled during his attempt to "woo" her (OK,OK this was the Greek Gods...rape her) and from the ground rose a child. Athena took the child to be fostered. You then see the connection between the masculine arts of smithing and the feminine arts of weaving. This makes an obscene amount of sense but he cites no references!!! Since he offers no sources for that information (he offers no sources for any) is he considered a reliable source himself? I can't seem to find any further info on this subject. I have a book on Athena coming but should I not find anything there do I just chalk his observations up to UPG?

Thank you all you smarts book peeps.

Take some time out today to read something that isn't work related!

Today is Read Across American Day AKA Dr. Seuss Day!

A woman in my mother's building died and some of her books were given away. I grabbed quite a few. There was one called The First Book of Azrael: Teachings of the Great White Brotherhood. I hadn't seen the subtitle and was quite concerned when I did. When I got it home and looked at it it appears to be some sort of Rosicrucian book.

Here's the blurb I found on the web:

"The group of superhuman adepts or masters who many Theosophists and other occultists believed guide the development of the human race. The brotherhood was occasionally associated with a "great white lodge" situated in astral realms. Modern Rosicrucians define the Great White Brotherhood as "the school or Fraternity of the Great White Lodge and into this invisible Brotherhood of visible members every true student of the Path prepares for admission." Current address unavailable.

The Great White Brotherhood, also know as Great Brotherhood of Light, is perceived as a spiritual organization composed of those Ascended Masters who have risen from the Earth into immortality, but still maintain an active watch over the world. The Great White Brotherhood also includes members of the Heavenly Host (the Spiritual Hierarchy directly concerned with the evolution of our world), Beneficent Members from other planets that are interested in our welfare, as well as certain unascended chelas.

The Ascended Masters are believed to be joined together in service to the Earth under the name of the Great White Brotherhood. The use of the term "white" is supposed to refer to their advanced spirituality (i.e., that they have a white colored aura) and has nothing to do with race. The later versions of Blavatsky described the masters as ethnically Tibetan or Indian (Hindu), not European. Recent research indicates, however, that this description was used by Blavatsky to hide the real identity of her teachers, some of whom were well known Indian rulers of her time."

OK, so who wants it? I'll pack it up and ship it out. It's not my cuppa at all.

Um, did anyone buy Portrait of a Priestess for me? I know I didn't buy it.

Thank you whoever it was!

EDIT: Thank you picklezoet!!! You ROCK! You mentioned a Yule present coming and I totally forgot. What a surprise!

So shopping for books made me feel a bit better. I had a little left on the card lilychild sent me for my birthday. I bought Water for Elephants at her suggestion and I found a neat little gem for Greg.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. Here's the amazon page: http://tinyurl.com/cs89de

It follows civilization through drink; beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and soda. There were some mentions of mead and it's place as the first fermented beverage (accidental of course) so it looks like a keeper. I hope Greg likes it. Something to read on vacation.